Luca ducked into the car to hand Tia her coffee, but knew instantly something was wrong. He found her with glazed over eyes slumped against the seat. Luca dropped the coffee. He climbed in and grabbed her shoulders. He shook her and called her name.
“Tia, can you hear me?”
She inhaled sharply and sputtered and coughed. Tia hadn’t been breathing. He shook her again and her eyes focused. She shoved him away.
“No! It is happening again. You pulled me out too soon!”
Luca put his hands on her face and forced her to look at him.
“What are you talking about? You weren’t breathing. You scared me to death.”
“Luca, I saw it. Another wolf was being attacked, but then I saw him.”
“Saw who?”
“I saw the
Gaby put Ari in charge of stirring the stew, and she combined the ingredients for the fry bread. “So, where do you come from originally?” Ari glanced at her. “Originally, I was born in Fiji, but when I was 15, we moved to California.” “Wow, Fiji. Why did you move to California?” “My father was killed, so my mom moved closer to her family.” “I am sorry.”
As Ari sat by the fire, he helped himself to a second serving of stew. Being at a more established camp than his own and having someone to talk to felt nice. He enjoyed Gaby’s company. She seemed very protective of her group of misfit rogues. Werewolves were pack animals, so it was smart to form their own pack of sorts. Life is rough and dangerous as a rogue. No protections exist like those afforded to members of a pack. He was transient by choice, but most rogue werewolves did not have a choice.He sensed someone looking at him, and he looked up to find Dorthea watching him. She shuffled over and sat next to the fire. They both watched the flames in silence.“Gamma, instead of seeking revenge, your destiny here is one of leadership and healing. Your presence here will determine the fate of my people.
Tia heard trickling water somewhere in the dark. She felt bone-chillingly cold. It was so cold, and she wasn’t sure where she was.Excruciating pain shot through her body as she slowly regained consciousness. As she opened her eyes, she saw the sky and trees above her. The dashboard pinned her legs and hips against the seat.The side window was gone, leaving her and the car partially submerged in a creek. She did not see Luca anywhere. Panic set in as she called out for him. There was no response. She screamed in agony as she forced herself to shift into her wolf form, and she almost blacked out again. It was enough to allow her to wiggle free and climb out of the car. She looked around frantically until she caught sight of Luca’s still form contorted on a rocky creek bed 50 feet from the car. She stumbled over to him and nudged him with her nose. He did not respond. She licked at a bleeding wound on his forehead. Suddenly, his
The next morning, Tia left Luca in bed. He needed the sleep, and she wanted to get to Rialto Village early to fit in extra training sessions. Ryder dropped her at the Village on his way into Port Angeles. She had mind-linked with Gaby before she arrived, so everyone had already assembled. Tia first checked in on the last attack victim, Tyler, but he was healing well. He told her everything he could remember, and Gaby filled in any missing details from the Gamma.Everyone greeted her enthusiastically. It was nice to see them all. They were concerned about Luca since he did not come to training. Tatiana assured them Luca was doing exceptionally well, and she merely wanted to give him a day off to finish healing. As training began, Tia realized she was still healing as well. She tired quickly. Gaby helped out. She had become a warrior and was Tia’s star student. Tia was proud of her for all the hard w
(TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains violence and a rape scene.)Talia crouched down and pulled her lips back, exposing her teeth. They might have the numbers, but she would take as many as she could down with her. Vlad stepped forward, snarling at her.“So if it isn’t the Rogue princess. It is a shame you are out here all alone. Did Luca get bored with you already?”“Vlad, my old friend. Did you come back for me to kick your butt again?”Vlad lunged at her, but she stepped out of his path. His reaction time was pathetic. As he passed, she raked her claws down his side. A large gray wolf rammed into her side, while another pounced on her back. She grabbed a smaller tan wolf in her jaws and shook it until she heard its neck s
Luca went to Tatiana’s side. As he saw her condition up close, He let out a haunting howl. It made him sick to his stomach. They brutalized her body in so many ways; he was not sure where to start. Her blank, lifeless eyes stared past him. Luca put his hands on her shoulders and closed his eyes. Although his heart felt as if it were being torn from his chest, he had no time to grieve. He focused his energy on her and let it flow from his hands. His hands warmed her cold skin, but she remained unresponsive. Although Luca was not supposed to raise people from the dead, he prayed to the moon goddess that this would work. He had to bring her back because he did not want to live in a world without her. As he let his strength and energy flow into her, he felt nothing but vacuous emptiness. Tears streamed down his face, but he kept at it. Although she showed no visible change, Luca continued to focus completely on healing her. The cold, dark emptiness inside her was something he had never f
Ari rested in the chair in Tatiana’s hospital room. Squishing his enormous frame into the little chair was uncomfortable, but he was not going anywhere until his mate regained consciousness. After they cleaned her up, he could see how stunning she was. The small, broken figure he found laying helplessly on the ground surrounded by wolves ignited a blinding rage in him. He ripped the cowards apart that he laid eyes on, but some had escaped. He would find the wolves responsible for such a cowardly attack and finish them, too. However, for now, he would not leave her side until she was awake, and he knew she was safe.Her brother Duncan gave him a mobile phone so he could update him on any changes. Apparently, he was the pack Alpha. The enormous wolf had been a Zeta, which explained the Wolfbane resistance. Ari did not realize there were any Zetas in existence. He had only heard of them. His understanding was that Zetas had healing abilities, but he did not know that they could bring wer
Duncan returned to the packhouse. Sadie was still in bed. Knowing Luca and Tatiana were not there left a gaping hole. One no one else could fill. He quietly went to shower in the guest room so as not to disturb Sadie. However, as he stepped out of the shower, he found clean clothes sitting on the bathroom counter. Wondering who left them for him, he quickly slipped into the clothes. As he stepped into the bedroom, Sadie was sitting on the end of the bed, looking pale, with her hand resting protectively on her stomach.“What are you doing out of bed?”“I heard what happened. Word travels fast around here. How is your sister?”“She is still in a coma. It turns out she is fated to the rogue Gamma wolf. He is with her now.”“Did Luca realize he saved her before he died?”“Yes. He saw her come back before he collapsed. It was the last thing he saw.”“How are you doing?”“I am exhausted. I haven’t slept in 72 hours. I keep expecting to look up and see Luca wandering around the room. I attem
Ari’s eyes flickered in the candlelight as he leaned over her. The feeling of his body and scent so close made her ache for him. Yet he was slow and purposeful as he leaned into her. His lips melted into hers and his warmth overwhelmed all her senses until she felt his fingers pinch her hard nipples. Pleasure shot through her body, down between her legs. She pressed her body against him until she could feel his arousal pressing against her thigh. He nipped her ear as a soft growled rattled in his chest. She moaned as his lips traveled down her body. Her hands running down the hard muscles rippling on his back.Suddenly, Ari’s body froze, and he looked toward the cave entrance. Tia was about to say something when she heard it. The sound of a deep huff and a growl. It was a bear. Ari climbed off of her in a flash and shifted to Nikau as he darted out the door. She could hear a viscous growl rip from Nikau, followed by a growl from the bear. Tatiana shifted into Talia and darted out to f
Dorothea was sitting at the bonfire watching the villagers scurry by preparing to start their day. Ari was finishing up his breakfast, talking to Mike. Mike finished first and left the table. As Ari was about to stand up, Dorothea called out to him.“Gamma, come.”Ari look around and then walked over.“Good morning Dorothea.”She motioned for him to take a seat next to her. Ari sat down and her voice dropped to a whisper.“We need to keep this to ourselves.”“What is it?”“Have you noticed Tatiana getting irritable and feeling off?”He wasn’t sure how much he should share about his personal life with her, but finally, he nodded.“She is going into heat. I give her one or two days, tops. You need to get her out of camp. Once she scents, there will be chaos.”Ari looked stunned, but it explained a lot.“Take her where?”“You need to get her as far away from werewolf packs and villages as possible. There is a cave out on the coast. It is where a lot of she-wolves go while in heat. If you
Tia was eating breakfast when the Kalaloch pack arrived, but it surprised her to see Duncan and Sadie get out of one suburban. Ari had already left for training, and Gaby was leaving for the Arena when they arrived. She introduced Micah to everyone, and said he would take care of their food orders, before she waved and hurried down the path.Duncan and Sadie exchanged hugs with Tia.“This is a pleasant surprise.”“I am sorry I showed up unexpectedly with Duncan, but I am hiding.”Duncan snickered and bent down, whispering in Tia’s ear.“Good luck with this one.”He then walked off to talk to Mike.Tia pulled up a seat for Sadie next to her and motioned for her to sit.“Okay. What are you hiding from?”“It isn’t a what so much as a who, your mother, to be exact.”Tatiana snorted, almost inhaling her coffee. As she coughed and spat, Duncan glanced over and laughed.“Why are you hiding from mom?”Sadie looked sheepish.“I sort of snapped at her yesterday, and now she is upset with me.”T
Sadie came down the stairs with a bundle in her arms. She looked exhausted, but smiled when she saw Tatiana. She came over to her placed Logan in her arms. Tatiana couldn’t tear her eyes away. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He wiggled in her arms and made adorable gurgling noises.“I just fed him, so he should be happy.”Tia looked at Sadie as tears slipped from her eyes. She was mortified, but she couldn’t hold them back. Sadie smiled and hugged them both.“Logan, meet your Aunt Tia. She is going to love you so much. You will always be safe with Mommy and Auntie Tia around, and you will learn quick that you don’t take she-wolves for granted.”Tatiana laughed.“He is beautiful, Sadie. I love him already. You have made the most beautiful pup I have ever seen.”Sadie smiled as she put her forehead against Tia’s.“Your brother makes beautiful boys, doesn’t he?”Tia sniffled.“No, you both do.”She looked up at Carina and Bran and back to Sadie.“This little pup will t
Tatiana’s skin touched Ari, and it exploded with tingles. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. Her body was taking over, and it wanted him. His warmth radiated through her and his scent drove her crazy. She cursed under her breath. This fucking bond had her at its mercy. She was made for him. Despite all her defiance toward the fated mates, Ari was intoxicating. His delicious, hard body and soft touches made her want to rip his clothes off and feel his skin next to hers. She fought it with everything she had, but her resistance was crumbling. She looked into his eyes, and a growl escaped her. Before she was aware she was moving, she was on top of him, nuzzling his neck inhaling his scent. Talia was no longer waiting, and she had pushed forward and taken control. Ari’s eyes rolled into the back of his head as he gave in to the feeling of her body on top of his. They flickered as she felt Nikau trying to push forward, but Ari pushed him back. He suddenly realized Talia had take
It surprised Tia to see Zoe arrive with Jared. It was the middle of the night. Jared looked sleepy, but Zoe was wide awake. She greeted Tia with a hug, and congratulations. Jared rubbed his eyes and mumbled his. Ari patted Jacob roughly on the back. He seemed to wake up long enough to do a special hand shake with Ari before he led Zoe into the house. They had a long night ahead putting baby furniture together. Duncan never found the time and Sadie had been too sick. Tia was going to help them until they attacked her. If Luca had been here, he would have assembled them weeks ago. Luca always took care of what needed to be done, no matter how big or small, without complaint. He always thought of others before himself, especially his Alpha. As a result, we left it for Zoe, who I am sure, when she accepted the job of Logan's nanny, did not know it involved putting furniture together at 2 am. Despite all that, she took it in stride, and clearly handled it way better than Jared did. Ari chu
A month passed before Vex returned to the Hoh Forest Pack property. He arrived bloody and dirty looking as if he hadn’t showered since he left. Kyle had enlisted the help of Mora pack to maintain order and help in the recovery after the Kalaloch attack. Vex showed up in silence, stomped to the packhouse and disappeared inside. He nearly knocked Kyle over as he stepped out of the kitchen.“You are back!”“Yes, I am back. I wasn’t sure I would find anyone here.”“Alpha Dylan has helped to loan us some men. It spread him pretty thin, however, and wants them back as soon as possible.”“How many?”“All of them. We are in talks with a pack from Idaho that lost their Alpha and land recently. They are small, with only about 20 warriors, but it would be enough to keep us together.”Vex said nothing, so Kyle continued.“Now that you are back, we can arrange a meeting with the Luna. Prior to returning home to her family pack, she wants to take care of her husband’s pack.”“Good job, Kyle. Set it
Vex was in talk's up north at Mora pack organizing a new transfer of warriors, when Kyle interrupted the meeting. His face was ghostly pale. "I just got news Hoh Pack was attacked. Kalaloch came in early in the morning and attacked before we were able to react. We lost all our warriors."Vex' face turned red and he slammed his fist on the table. "Vex, both Alpha Naren and Luna Daisy were also killed.""How did this fucking happen? You are my Beta. You should be on top of this shit."Vex charged Kyle, but Alpha Dylan stepped in and shoved him back. "It is not Kyle's fault. Are you going to kill the last surviving warrior in your pack? What will that help?"Vex let out a tortured growl and stormed from the room. He shifted as he cleared the building and darted for the woods. Kyle was about to follow him, but Dylan stopped him. "I would not recommend it. He needs time to get his head on straight. You need to get back to your pack.""No, I will wait for Vex.""Kyle, you just told him
Dinner had finished hours ago. Gaby was asleep, but Tia kept having nightmares. She wandered out to the fire. She expected to find Ari asleep, but he was awake and poking a stick at the fire. He looked up as she approached. She pulled her blanket tighter around her and sat on a log.“Couldn’t sleep?”She ignored the comment.“I know right now it feels like I am the enemy, but I hope you realize that is not true.”Still, Tia remained silent.They both sat in silence for a while until again he spoke.“I don’t know your feelings on the matter, but I don’t take the fact that you are my fated partner lightly. We can talk or not, but I am not going anywhere. My place is here with you.”“I know you are not my enemy, and I know you helped save my life. I am sure I seem pretty ungrateful and unfriendly. The moon goddess made a mistake. I am not supposed to be here. Luca is supposed to be the one alive. He loved me and look where it got him. I was stupid and cocky and it cost him his life. I br