Zane’s POVSlade?Slade was the one Calista named? But…Holy shit.It dawned on me then. I slowly realized the magnitude of what Calista had just done. The goddess kept gazing affectionately at Slade, her hands buried in this fur.“I’m gonna bring you back to life. Who’s a good puppy?” she cooed at him. Slade ate it up. I didn’t blame him. I mean, it’s not every day a goddess fawns over you.It all made sense now.Calista was ALWAYS planning on bringing back Slade. But I had to die. If Calista had sacrificed herself while I was still alive, then they’d know it wasn’t me she was bringing back (even though it wasn’t). They would have guessed it was Slade. They could have probably done something, some sort of counterspell. I don’t know. Something.It would have been too obvious.But now….the goddess Yurani would bring back Slade and catch them off-guard. A wolf is a witch’s weakness. Calista was right – this is how we escape.Slade will be unleashed. That won’t see it coming. They’ll be
Zane’s POVAs soon as the witches saw Slade emerge, it was…Pure. Chaos.Witches from the coven started racing around, with no clear direction in mind. Lucinda ran to Sullivan. The Brotherhood of Breeders stood frozen in place, panic on their faces.It was not what anyone had been expecting.And I must say, I was delighted to see first hand what ‘this witch’s weakness’ was all about.They were terrified of Slade. Positively petrified.The only witch that didn’t seem to lose her shit was Brinsle. She just stood, a sly smile on her face, side by side with Beta Brighton.Now, all Slade had to do was get Alpha Miles and Beta Brighton and run, full speed into the forest. That was our sure fire way to escape.And I reminded him of this as he lowered onto his hunches and growled menacingly.The problem was, Slade hadn’t been unleashed in a long time. A very long time. He knew damned well that it was a witch who had caused me to jump off that cliff. A fall that had mangled him pretty much to
Zane’s POV“I’m coming with you,” Brinsle said, her voice confident. Slade continued to growl.“You’re a witch, Brinsle,” Alpha Miles told her. “You can’t come. We’re going back to werewolf territory. Stay here, with your kind.”And speaking of ‘her’ kind, I just then realized that Sullivan and Lucinda had sulked off somewhere while Slade was on his rampage. I wasn’t surprised. Of course they’d escaped.“I can’t stay here,” Brinsle said. “You saw what I did. The fight? The…the dark magic…”She lowered her head. I had to give it to her, she actually looked apologetic.Was she though? Was she actually sorry for anything she’d done?In the short time I’d known Brinsle, there was only one thing I knew for sure – she was completely, utterly, without a fraction of a doubt…CRAZY!“Witches don’t live with werewolves, Brinsle. You know that.”She turned to Beta Brighton. I still hadn’t figured out this whole brother/sister thing, but she was definitely appealing to him like a sibling would“M
Eden’s POVI woke up and immediately felt disoriented. Where was I? It was dark. And something didn’t smell right.“Morning, sleepy head,” Astrid winked. She was huddled over a small fire. The pot was steaming and boiling over. “I went scavenging and found some herbs my mom used to make tea out of when we were traveling. Doesn’t taste the best, but it will fill your stomach a little.”“I slept through the night?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.That surprised me. I must have cried myself to sleep.Slade is dead.The thought came into my head unbidden. Deep down, I’d been hoping it had all just been a dream. Or a nightmare, actually. An awful nightmare where wolves you love die.The look of concern on Astrid’s face told me otherwise.Slade was dead. It was true.“How are you feeling?” Astrid asked softly, bringing the pot over to me. “It needs to cool. We don’t have any cups. You doing okay?”“Yes.” No. “I mean, I’m all right,” I shrugged. I picked at the fabric of my dress. Zara was still i
Eden’s POV“Eden?”“ZANE!!!”The feeling of relief that flooded through me was unlike anything I’d ever felt. Zara and Miva had run fast, back to the pack border. We’d shifted back to human form the moment we stepped over.And only a moment after that…“Are you safe, my love?”The sound of his voice was like angels singing. It was only a mindlink, but it was so much more than I’d had in so long. I bounced up and down from excitement. Astrid watched me, a sincere smile on her face.“Tell Zane I say hello,” she chuckled.“Yes, I’m safe, Zane. And I have Astrid with me. She’s safe too.”“Astrid?” He let out a long sigh. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that you’re BOTH safe.”I knew how much Zane loved Astrid. I could hear the happiness in his voice learning that his two favorite women were safe and together.“Where are you?” I asked.Astrid set about mindlinking the warriors back at the palace. We had no time to waste. We were telling everyone to meet us at the Merryfeather Pack n
Eden’s POVSmack.Storm hit Astrid upside the head.“What were you thinking?” he scolded Astrid. “Just taking off like that? And going into witch’s territory where no one could mindlink you? Do you have any idea how worried we were?”“Ow,” Astrid saying, rubbing her head. “I was chasing after THIS one,” she motioned to me. “If anyone deserves a smack upside the head, it’s her.”“It’s true,” I chuckled. “Zara broke out and took off. I’m sorry.”“Yeah, well,” Storm smiled. “She’s a loose cannon, that one. I personally can’t wait to pass her back off to Zane.” He was teasing me. We chuckled. It felt so good to all be back together.“Zane and the others should be here soon,” Astrid said.My heart fluttered. Not only would I soon see Zane, but I’d also see my grandfather. It was almost too good to be true. Just then, my stomach rumbled loudly.“Excuse me,” I said, embarrassed. “I guess I’m pretty hungry.”“We brought food!” Lucia said. “I almost forgot. Of course you’re hungry! Look at y
Eden’s POV“Shit,” Adrian said under his breath when he realized we were being followed. I knew I was slowing them down. It was hard to run fast with my pregnant belly. I glanced back a few times to see how many there were behind us.It didn’t seem like a lot.Fight or flight. That was the question. If we kept running, could he outrun them and make it to the field? Or would they catch us?In which case, the answer was to fight them.As long as there weren’t too many, I was confident I could take them.But not Adrian and Lucia. I had to get them out of here.I found a collection of large trees all grown together. I motioned for us to duck behind them. I could fight the warriors myself while Adrian and Lucia went ahead to the field.“Shift,” I told them, as we pressed our back up against the trees, hiding as best we could. “The warriors are too close. Let your wolves out and run to the field.”Adrian gave me a pathetic look. Right. His wolf was a damn pup. I almost forgot. Huh.“Lucia,
Eden’s POVMy blood froze. Lucia’s scream still hung in the air.No no no.He’d tracked them down, the fourth warrior. And now Lucia was hurt, I was sure of it. How could I have been so stupid? I’d left her alone. Her and Adrian. I thought I was doing the right thing by sending them off to find the field while I stayed back and fought the warriors.But now?She screamed again.I ran.I ran as fast as I could towards her screams. I tore through the forest like a mad woman, ducking under branches and leaping over logs.I paused. Which way? Where was she?“Zara, can you pick up her scent?”A hundred horrible thoughts ran through my mind. I’d made a promise to Murietta. Lucia was my friend.Oh god, what if she was…“HELP!”This time it was Adrian’s voice. He hollered loudly. That meant he’d shifted back. I tore towards the sound.I heard the growling before I saw it.I approached, cautiously. A wolf with auburn fur was circling the trunk of tree. His growl was menacing as he snapped his j