Eden’s POVZane?Was it really him?I saw him across the field of wild flowers. I couldn’t believe it. My heart soared. He ran towards me and I felt like time stood still.And then..I was in his arms. Joy washed through me as he held me tightly. Then his eyes dropped down to my stomach. He looked so relieved. Relieved and shocked. The baby had grown a lot since I’d seen him. I was very pregnant now.He dropped to his knees and pressed his cheek up against my belly. I wrapped my hands in his hair. It felt so good, to be here, with him. Finally.But we didn’t have much time.Alpha Skylar’s army was close by. Much closer than we had anticipated. Astrid had sent out a mindlink telling all the warriors to come immediately to the Northern Field. We had to act fast.Lucia’s wolf moaned. Zane was kissing my belly and his lips felt like heaven. But we had to help Lucia.I told him to go and help her. She was badly wounded from the warrior in the woods and I felt sick to my stomach about it. Z
Zane’s POVThere are no words to express the amount of hate I felt for that bitch.Scarlett.She’d caused me and Eden more grief than I could count. Kidnapping. Torturing. Ridiculing.I Fucking. Hated. Her.Her bow and arrow were aimed at Eden. Yeah right. What did she think? That we were just going to stand here and LET her shoot Eden?I stood up. Astrid and Storm did the same.“Oh look, it’s Eden’s little fan club. How sweet!” Scarlett lowered her bow. “Isn’t that sweet. Don’t you think that’s sweet, Alpha King Skylar?” She enunciated the last few words.“He’s no such thing,” Zane said.“Not technically. Not yet I suppose. But soon enough,” Scarlett scoffed. She fixed her eyes on Astrid. “So nice to see you again,” she said sarcastically. “Still enjoying your hooks?”Astrid clenched her fists. Scarlett was the one who had forced the doctor to put in Astrid’s hooks. She’d also tortured her. Astrid’s hatred for this woman was almost as strong as mine.Almost.Suddenly, the whimper of
Zane’s POV“Brinsle! What the fuck have you done?”Brinsle released her bolt of light before anyone could stop her. Scarlett was hit and then thrown backwards through the air. Thud. She landed against a tree.All eyes turned from Scarlett to Brinsle. Brinsle’s hand was still up, but she dropped it and nonchalantly rubbed it off on her thigh, as though she was wiping off some sort of goo.“That one hurt a bit,” she said lightly. “Probably because I’m out of my own boundary.” Then she giggled, like a little girl.GIGGLED!Like a fucking little girl.For the love of the moon goddess – this young woman was a monster. Eden stood, wide-eyed, staring at Brinsle. I’d seen Brinsle’s magic before, so it wasn’t as shocking to me. But Eden hadn’t. Either had Astrid or Alpha Miles, or Adrian.“What just happened?” Storm called from across the field. He was still with the large, black wolf. Lucia? I think that was her name?“I killed someone,” Brinsle said off-handedly.“Zane?” Eden asked. “Did she
Zane’s POVThe moment Skylar issued his command, the Gammas raised their hands. They were signaling to their warriors.“Astrid?” I asked out loud. As my Gamma, I would take her lead on this.“Eden, go get Storm and Lucia. Take Adrian, Brinsle and your grandfather, get out of here! Go back to the palace and gather the refugees. Run, Eden. Find somewhere safe,” Astrid fired off instructions to Eden in a calm, collected voice.But Eden’s voice was firm. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said.“It’s too dangerous,” I told her. “Please.”“I’m staying with you,” she said, her face resolute.The Gammas were growling now. Any moment, they would shift, and their wolves would come charging at us. We didn’t stand a chance. Not against an army of thousands.“We should all go,” Beta Brighton said. “We might be able to outrun them.”But then what? We just succeed to Alpha Skylar? He crowns himself Alpha King and we live the rest of our lives in hiding? Or we run far away and try to find another pack? O
Zane’s POVOur two armies stood, facing one another. On the front line of our army was me, Eden, Astrid, Alpha Miles, Beta Brighton, and Storm who had left Lucia to join us.On the front line of Skylar’s army was Skylar and all his Gammas.Our army had warriors, but we also had mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grandparents, children, teenagers, maids, omegas…anyone and everyone under the sun.Skylar had just warriors.Our original plan was to offer the Gammas whatever Skylar had offered them. We were going to attempt to bribe our way out of this war.But I had another idea.“I want all the children,” I said. “Storm and Astrid, tell the children to come forward.”“What are you doing,” Eden asked, eyes wide.Skylar and his Gammas were also watching with wide eyes. He’d held back his attack when my warriors arrived. Now he was watching me, skepticism etched on his face.“Trust me,” I told Eden.Astrid and Storm did as I asked. They quickly gathered all the children. Their mothers release
Zane’s POVSkylar rampaged a little while longer. We all just stood and watched. He kept ordering his Gammas to attack, but they shook their heads. There was nothing left for him to do but surrender. It was almost comical, watching him. He’d been so sure he would win this war and become the Alpha King. And now that he knew it was over? Well, he was hanging onto his last thread of hope.Eventually, though, like all threads, his snapped.His expression changed. He was accepting his loss. And with that came the realization that he was in deep, deep shit.He had betrayed me. He had ransacked and killed countless packs. He’d murdered werewolves. He’d made a deal with the witches and used illegal potions. He’d kidnapped Eden and tortured Astrid. These were ALL crimes.He came forward and knelt at my feet.“Please, King Zane,” he said, his voice small and humble. “I surrender. Have mercy on me?”I snickered.“Have mercy? Why should I have mercy? You’ve committed unspeakable crimes, Skylar,”
Eden’s POVHe fell to my feet and clutched at my ankles. He wailed and protested. Begged and begged. It was a disgusting display. I was embarrassed for him, Skylar.“Please, Queen Eden, no! Exile me. Imprison me. Give me a different death! Anything but that!”Blah blah blah. I watched him, my eyebrows furrowed. “Are you done yet?” I asked. “You’re making a mockery of yourself. Stand back up. Be a man. I have cast my sentence. Take it like an Alpha.”Beside me, Zane smiled with pride. I was surprised he’d given me this decision. I knew how much he hated Skylar. I knew how much he wanted to tear him to shreds right here, right now. And Slade? I could imagine what he was thinking.I didn’t know yet everything that Zane had been through. Just as he didn’t know what I’d been through. But I could feel his pain and anger. Just as I knew he could feel mine.Skylar wouldn’t stand. He just kept crying at my feet. I kicked him off.Death by white lace poison was a cruel sentence. I knew that. It
Eden’s POVDusk was falling by the time we made it back to the palace. Zane was shocked to see the grounds in such disarray. The gardens were completely ruined, remnants of the refugee camps everywhere. It looked strange to me now, empty and vacant.We all trudged alone, Beta Brighton, Adrian, Astrid, Brinsle, and Storm, who carried Lucia in his arms. She had shifted back and thankfully, with a little help from Brinsle’s healing spell and her own wolf, Lucia was on the mend.We were all too tired to talk, even though we all had a lot to talk about. We decided that everyone would meet tomorrow morning over breakfast so we could start planning our next steps. For the time being, we all just needed a nice, hot shower and a quiet evening.As soon as we entered the palace, though, Chloe came running.“Zane? Oh Zane! I’ve missed you SO much!”She threw her arms around Zane’s neck and kissed his cheek. Truth be told, I’d forgotten about Chloe. Her stomach was swollen now too, but