Author POV -
**Mark's anger melted away into sorrow quickly when he realised that his actions had caused his mate to feel rejected, that was the very last thing Mark ever wanted. He knew his actions would cause Brian pain, and he had regretted it, but he had had to keep him at arm's length for his own good, he was trying to protect Brian from the fall out of a mission gone wrong and from the heartbreak of possibly losing his mate. It had all been for Brian that he had behaved as he had, he was desperate for Brian to understand now.**
“Please, Brian, don’t ever think I don't want you, I do, I love you, you are perfect for me” Brian scoffs at that but Mark continues, “You are, I did it all to protect you, you weren’t there Brian, you have only heard of all he did, you were not there to witness it as I was, I felt
Author POV -Mark and Brian take up posts at opposite ends of the small camp while the others set about getting food and sleeping bags set up. Aria and Tasha set about gathering dry wood for the fire, Harry gets out the sleeping bags and Keith moves to help him lay them close to the fire. Georgina silently moves to take the food from the bags and Eric disappears, returning quickly with water to boil.Everyone settles in for the night, knowing none of them will sleep well with the threat so close to them. Brian and Mark share a look as everyone settles down, and an understanding flows between them as they both acknowledge that the pull of the bond has strengthened since Mark opened up to Brian, letting him see a side of himself that not many others have ever known even existed let alone seen. Their want for one another had grown, but they both knew they would have
Daisy -After driving for 10 hours straight I decide it is time for a break, time for me to pull over and get a couple of hours sleep before continuing on my journey, I am a little over half way there now and though I could continue driving I want to not look like a tired old hag by the time I arrive. Plus I need to stretch my legs, shower and get some sleep as I am not sure how long my initial meeting with the Alpha will take. So pulling into a seedy looking motel I make my way to the reception with my fingers crossed that the rooms are not as grim as the rest of the building.When I get to the reception I find a cute little old lady sitting behind the desk knitting, she hands me the key to the room and lets me know when breakfast will be served, I plan to be long gone by that time so that I arrive at the pack at a reasonable hour. After I check in I head
Brian -After dropping all of us down that strange chute that was hidden in the caves, the bastards that were taking us to what I assume is the camp where Ace is staying, hit us all in the head one by one, I know this because I was the last to be knocked out, Mark was still out cold from the earlier attack so they didn’t need to hit him, I’m not sure I could have handled that, as it is I could have sworn I saw him flinch when they hit me the first time. I have a feeling he is faking, that he is pretending to be unconscious, but to what end I have no idea. I just prayed we would all make it out of this alive, I don't think I could live with myself if anything happened to the others, if I had trusted my mate they wouldn't even be here.I don't know how much time has passed and because I was knocked out I have no clue where we are, how we got here or how
Cassie -Jack and I spent the rest of the day together basking in the news of our impending arrivals. He had a few things he needed to take care of in his office, but he grabbed what he needed and we headed up to our suite. We spent the afternoon snuggled together on the sofa, Jack working his way through his paperwork and me watching some awful reality show, laughing at the idiocy of humans willing to put themselves through such torturous events for 5 measly minutes of fame. Now it is late evening and we are heading down to the main floor to join the pack members for dinner. Moving from the sofa I experienced a little headrush and had to take a second before everything settled back into place, Jack sensing my unease olds my shoulders until it passed, which it did quickly, thankfully. As we get to the top of the last flight of stairs a spasm wracks my body and sends me hurtling down the stairs, gravity rippi
Author POV -While Cassie is being rushed to the hospital by her concerned mate, Jason is steeling himself against the bond that pulls him to his Luna. Though he is concerned about her, having seen the fall but being too far away to help in anyway, he knew she would not want the attention to remain in her, so he had decided that though his bond with his Luna was calling him to be by her side, he knew that Jack was there and that the best place for him to be, was in his office where he could continue to await news from Brian and the others regarding their mission. This had been Jack’s instructions to him before and he was sure that the importance of this mission would mean that Jack wanted him to keep following orders.Rubbing his temples in an attempt to ease the tension building behind his eyes, his thoughts turned to his other abused
Author POV -Brian had been right, Ace was not the type of person to allow others any control when he was present, in fact at the moment that Maddie instructed Mark to be let out of the cage for questioning Ace was out on a scouting mission of his own and this time he had learnt from his previous mistakes. This time he had a witch helping him. The witch in question was one he had stumbled upon and saved one night while out trying to gather wolves for his army. For he had decided that if Alpha Sven could replace him as the new heir then he would form his own pack and he would take back Twin Lakes and Cassie, and anything else that he desired. To that end, he had stumbled upon the witch, in a weakened state and she had convinced him that if he helped her, she would in return offer her services. Ace had been reluctant, he hated the weak, he hated their dependency on others, but having a wi
Daisy -I am currently waiting at the gated entrance of Forest Haven pack-lands for the Delta to come meet me. I have decided to climb out of the car so that I am more clearly visible to all of the warriors that I can sense running the perimeter. I know how it is, running the borders, so I want to be as open and visible as I can be to ease their minds. They will be able to tell by my scent that I am not a rogue this way. If I had stayed in the car they may view me as a threat and that is the last thing I need, drama before I even get on their land.I can feel myself starting to get jittery, I hate staying still, and I hate waiting for others. But I manage to contain my fidgeting while I wait. I know getting agitated will only make me snappy and a snappy me may not be something that a pack that doesn't know me can tolerate. I know my flaws, I
Daisy -Walking through the trees on our way to the pack house Carly, sorry, Luna Carly, talks about some of the things her abilities have brought to the pack, her proudest achievement seems to be her ability to protect them from unwanted visitors. She explains about certain talismans she had learned of that she has blessed and placed in strategic places around the borders. Talismans that help prevent outsiders from stumbling across their lands.I must have made a strange sound when she mentioned this, I have to admit, I wanted to stop her and tell her it hadn’t worked since I had had no problem finding the place, but she must have read my mind because she went on to explain that only those who have been given the address, directly, since the talismans went up are able to find it. But this still didn’t make sense to me, if
Dave POV - A cheer suddenly erupts from the crowd, clearly they are of the same opinion as us. As the crowd quieted once more the doors at the back of the hall burst open and Brian and Mark came striding in, followed by about 20 she-wolves that I didn’t recognise. They filed in but didn’t speak. I took this to mean they simply wanted to be here. Joe had arranged for three guards to be waiting by the prisoners so they could be brought out one by one. I turned to him now and nodded, he left and helped them bring in all three prisoners. Jack and Nick stepped up at that point, Nick took ahold of Ace and Jack took ahold of Maddie’s father. Joe stood with Maddie.“Please bring Ace forwards, Maddie will go last.” I say clearly and watch as her eyes scan the people in the room, widening as she realises the seriousness of the situation.Nick steps forward, forcing Ace to walk with him and they stand in the middle of the stage. “Ace, your crimes are as follows; Torture of pack members under
Author POV - The group of 5 made their way through the pack house and out into the darkening afternoon. A storm was brewing on the horizon and the wind was picking up, tossing leaves and debris from the construction sites about them. Nobody else was outside at this time, everyone settling down in the dining hall or attending to their duties. Steve, the head guard, leading the way with Daisy and Joe flanking their prisoner and Dave, defeated, following behind. Maddie, though captured and for all intents and purposes defeated, held her head high, spitting venomous words to Dave over her shoulder, sneering at him, hissing in a low voice that carried over the wind about his worthlessness, comparing him to Ace and finding him lacking. Daisy drops Maddie’s arm and quickly moves the scarf that Maddie was wearing as a fashion accessory up to cover her mouth, tightening it until only muffled grunts could be heard, she then returns to Maddie’s side and grins at the glare Maddie is sending her
Dave POV - I run through options in my mind, my link with Daisy open so she can hear what I am thinking. I could offer her the chance to leave and live, I could banish her, I could lock her up, but none of it seemed right, none of it felt right. How could I do that to the mother of my child? What would I tell my pup about their own mother? Would she even agree to leave the child behind?Of course she would, she is selfish, a pup would only slow her down, but, I know you don’t want to hear this, but, I don’t think we could trust her if we let her go, she would always be a risk to us, even without Ace around. She’s right, I know she is, but I can’t do it, I won’t. Not if she really is carrying my pup.I can barely breathe right now, the worry, pain, deceit clawing it’s way up my throat. But Daisy’s right, first we need to see how she reacts to what I overheard, then how she reacts to the direct accusation I plan to throw her way. Once we have determined her guilt we will cuff her and
Daisy POV - Dave is hiding away in his office, I saw Maddie in the kitchen and asked her, he is blocking my mind link and I swear to the Goddess I am about to explode on him… he can’t keep me out of the loop on these kinds of things, I’m his Beta, regardless of my personal life, the pack comes first. I convince Maddie to come with us, we need all hands on deck for this, and the three of us make our way to Dave’s office. I don’t knock, I just push the door open.Surprisingly, I see Dave startle and shove something under his desk. Confusion and alarm flitter through me when I realise what he did, is he hiding something from me? No, I am being paranoid, he had no idea who it was coming through the door, maybe he wanted to keep something hidden from the guards… but then again, even Maddie wouldn’t just barge in, everybody else would knock and wait to be permitted entrance, but why is he so jumpy?Dave quickly collects himself and glances behind me to see who I have brought up with me. Se
Dave POV - If Daisy were not otherwise engaged this would have been dealt with by now, as it is, I am glad that I was one of the 2 people to get stuck down here. Once Maria had moved across the gap to sit with me while we waited, we had talked a little, which was my failed attempt at distracting her. I had mind-linked a few of the guys that I knew were close by, but I didn’t want to ignore Maria for too long, so I gave them an idea of what needed to be done to get us out of here. I could sense Maria’s fear, this went deeper than I could understand, for Maria, this was a true horror, bordering on phobia based on her reaction.. During one of the long silences in which I simply held Maria’s hand for comfort, something else filled the silence. A muffled sound, like people speaking, but it was distant, as though through a wall. I gave Maria’s hand a gentle squeeze and whispered that I would be right back, then I focused my hearing, and my vision on the walls. I made my way around the edg
Maddie POV - I’m not sure how I feel right now, I’m almost 100% sure I am now pregnant, the nausea I experienced yesterday pretty much confirmed it. Its not like I can go to a doctor to check though, the last thing I need is for anyone else to know. They can have their suspicions, but until Ace is free I can’t risk them knowing. If people know, they will expect Dave and I to complete this damn bond and mark each other. Since I have no intention of allowing that to happen, I have to keep this a secret.Today I’m going to do it, I had to put off the plan yesterday thanks to the nauseousness, but I managed to sneak a few herbs from that new herb garden last night and they have eased the discomfort. Although I will admit that being forced to wait a day has actually made my plan much easier, no need to worry about Daisy and her lug of a mate, they are both too wrapped up in each other to worry about what I am up to. So I only need to get rid of Dave and the prison guards for long enough t
Maddie - Pride fills me as I listen from the other side of the door to the commotion, I did that, I created that distraction all by myself, my plan, my execution, my success. Turning from the door I follow the same path as before and make my way to Ace. I can prepared this time, I brought some decent food, a couple of candles for light and a book I know he likes to help him fill the hours while I execute my plan to get him out of here. “Ace, my love” I say quietly when I am only 1 cell away, “I don’t have long, but I have news, and I brought you some things” I pull level with his cell and light one of the candles so I can see him more clearly. He is stretched out on the cot, head turned to me, a small smile graces his handsome face. He stands up, moving like a liquid, and walks to the bars, careful not to touch them. “Maddie, You came back, and what news do you have? I am intrigued,” His tone gives away his true feelings, he misses me, misses my touch, I can almost feel his fingers
Daisy POV - Joe’s words seem to aim right for my heart, which feels like it is about to explode. I have no idea what he is talking about, not even an inkling, but when he suggested I might want to let him go, well that almost made me pass out right there on the spot. Mutely, I nod my head, agreeing that I will listen. I will not interrupt, I will hear him out, I will behave as a Beta should, with grounded reason and logic. I will myself not to vomit on our brand new carpet, and force my feet to take me to the table that is currently holding a vast array of food that my stomach recoils at the sight of. Changing course to avoid the food, I sit down on the sofa in front of the fireplace and curl my legs up underneath me, making myself as small as I can while still maintaining eye contact. Maybe, if I am small, the impact won’t be so big… I know, some logic that is right? But right now all I can think is that he is going to break my heart. Rip it from my chest, stomp on it and throw it
Daisy POV - I’m going to ask Joe tonight, I have it all planned. I spoke with Gail a little while ago, asking her to prepare a tray for Joe and I, so we can eat in our room. Her reaction was stranger than I had expected, the grin on her face when I put in my request spoke of something, though what I have no clue. Joe has been out all morning with the pack, training group after group, and I have spent the morning putting the finishing touches on our new suite in the new pack house. Not many people are sleeping there yet as the last of the paint is being applied and the electrics are being installed, so that should give us some added privacy, though every room is specially sound proofed, nobody needs to be able to hear their next door neighbour doing the nasty night after night….ya know… So I have had out bed built, as well as our other furniture, I have hung the drapes, installed the lamps, filled the bookcase, plumped the cushions, arranged photos of our loved ones, Joe had brought