[Tatiana’s POV]I nervously pull at my shirt while Knight comes around the car to let me out, and when he does, I find myself wanting to stay in place.The next day had come, and it was time for me to meet my mother’s pack and family. Although I should have been thrilled about getting to meet my family, all I could think of was the betrayal my uncle had left me with.“Are you going to sit there all day?” Knight asks when I don’t move. “If you’re second-guessing, we can..."“No,” I say quickly, beginning to move. “This has to happen.”I could only hope that my mother’s side would accept me. It would be much easier that way, but if I had to fight to get them to join me, then I would do that too.The longer we allowed my uncle to control Hunters Moon, Onyx River, and Obsidian River, the harder it would be to reclaim them. We needed to nip this issue in the bud ASAP and do away with him.And Massimo, the small voice in the back of my head, reminds me.Tensing, I try to ignore the flare of
[Knight’s POV]I follow silently as Tatiana’s grandfather leads us through his packhouse and to his office, where we can speak alone. As we move, I take in the walls, which are covered in photos of past leaders, and when we cross one that has a woman who looks almost identical to Tatiana, I can’t help but stop and stare.The woman in front of me is beautiful and radiates a power so strong it managed to get caught in a simple photograph, but unlike Tatiana, her eyes sparkled with promise and weren't shadowed with demons.“That’s Giana,” Tatiana’s grandfather explains, catching me. “It seems that my granddaughter took after her.”As he speaks, he gives Tatiana a look that is both proud and sad.“She did." I agree.Beside me, Tatiana remains silent as she takes in her mother’s portrait, and when I can only assume it becomes too much for her, she turns away and starts examining another photo.“Shall we continue?” Tatiana’s grandfather asks, catching on to Tatiana’s unease.“Sure,” I respo
[Tatiana’s POV]“Thank you." My voice hitches as I feel a wave of relief rush through me. “Truly, I know that you have no reason to join us given our sudden appearance, but..."“I’m going to stop you there,” my grandfather says, giving me a gentle smile. “It was because of that, Giovani, your parents died.”At his words, I feel like a knife is stabbing straight into my chest. So it was known that my uncle was responsible, and I actually believed everything he told me.“What do you mean it was Giovani?” Knight asks as I fight with guilt. “Do you know something no one else does?”“I’ve done my own investigation,” he explains. “Only recently did I hear word of his beginning to dominate other packs. I had one of my men get ahold of your mother’s hospital records. It was said that she died from heartbreak over losing you, but in the end, a potent drug was found in her system. These weren’t the same records I was given when she died. After seeing that, I looked into your father’s death and
[Tatiana’s POV]I stare down at the amulet in my hand while Knight’s words settle in. How did he manage to convince my grandfather to give him this?“Will it really block him?” I ask, unable to fully believe. “Are you sure?”“There’s only one way to find out,” he chuckles, reaching out and taking the necklace from me. “Here, let me put it on you.”Nodding, I lift my hair off my neck and wait as Knight places the delicate chain in place. Where his fingers brush comes alive and improper thoughts immediately begin to invade my mind. When a growl of longing escapes Knight, I know that he can feel what I want, and I find myself wondering if we were going to have a repeat of what happened the day before.“Patience,” Knight murmurs, kissing my skin. “I’m not looking for another quickie.”Blushing, I simply nod and get comfortable as he spurs the car to life, and we begin to make our way back to Crystal Fang.By the time we reach the main highway that will lead us to our destination, I’m begi
[Massimo’s POV]I stare at the large red wolf in front of me as if I’ve never seen a fucking wolf before. What the hell was this, and why was I suddenly feeling this way?Beside me, Giovani lets out a laugh as his minions continue to attack Tatiana until she is down and unable to move. Anger rushes through me, but as quickly as it is there, it is gone, and I’m just left empty.As I continue to stare, her eyes flit toward me, and a look of betrayal and hurt flash in them. Again, I feel that odd emotion that was nagging at me, but I shove it aside. I owed this woman nothing after how she betrayed me.“Don’t you think you’re wasting too much time playing with her?” I ask Giovani when he continues to watch his men rip at Tatiana’s skin. “Fernando won’t be happy if his new bride is gravelly injured.”“She will heal,” he shrugs. “Anyway, she should consider this a lesson for her disobedience.”Disobedience. I hated that fucking word, and each time he used it, I got even more pissed. He woul
[Knight’s POV]I stare ahead, watching Tatiana get attacked by multiple wolves while my vision fades in and out. Fuck, I need to move, but I can’t seem to get control of my body.‘Our mate,’ Bane whines, urging me to go. ‘Help her.’‘I’m trying…’ I huff, finding it drains me to even respond to my wolf. ‘I just…’The rest of my words fade as the world fades, and the last thing I see before the darkness consumes me is Tatiana shifting back to her human form while her uncle stares down at her with a look of satisfaction on his face.“I’m sorry. I failed you.”I don’t know how long I’m out for after that, but the sound of glass shattering and then hands touching me rouse me again, and I find Desmond and Geraldo pulling me out of the remains of my car."Fuck!" Desmond hisses as he takes me in. “They did a number to you, kid.”“Are you surprised?” Geraldo counters.Ignoring their hit, I shift my gaze in the direction I last saw Tatiana and find that no one is there.“Tatiana,” I gasp, attem
[Tatiana’s POV]I watch as my uncle’s body shifts from human to a large black wolf with a powerful aura that presses against my skin, trying to urge me to bow. Fighting it, I prepare to attack again but feel my energy fading due to the collar around my throat.Dammit, I needed to get this damned thing off of me, but I didn’t know how. Feeling my annoyance flare, I watch as Knight attacks again, slamming his body into my uncle so that they both go crashing to the side.As they begin to straighten themselves out, my uncle bites the nape of Knight’s neck and then jerks his head, throwing him in my direction.With wide eyes, I watch as he flies toward me and then slams into my body.‘Why didn’t you move?’ He demands when we hit the ground. ‘Get it together.’Right. I needed to get out of my head and get moving. I couldn’t let the fact I couldn’t tap into my abilities stop me. There had to be something I could do.‘That collar,’ Knight says. ‘It’s blocking your shifting, right?’‘Right,’ I
[Tatiana’s POV]A week passed since the battle with Onyx River, and since then, both my uncle and Fernando have been placed in the dungeon to await their trials. Of course, my uncle would be tried for the deaths of not only my parents but many others, and while Fernando had done his fair share of horrible deeds since I was still blood-bound to him, there was no way he could be killed.“Are you ready?” Knight asks me as I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I’m dressed in a long black button-down with a leather vest and black pants, and my long red hair is pulled into a ponytail at the nape of my neck. This is the typical look for a leader who is in mourning. “If you’re nervous, I can…”“No,” I say, giving him a smile. “I can do this. I need to do this.”Now that my uncle was where he belonged and Massimo was nowhere to be found, Onyx River, Obsidian River, and even Hunters Moon were without alphas, and now was the time for Knight and I to come together to lead all three packs.This