Josh POV The elves woke us at dawn and the frustration that had been flowing through me yesterday returned, along with a new feeling of dread and resignation. We thanked Chieftain Wallace and Elder Myles, and now Allie and Mulberry were crying and hugging. Mulberry had brought along Spidey, and I noticed that there were plenty of elves who were equally wary of Spidey as I was, which satisfied me. Despite what the girls thought, I wasn’t a sook for being terrified of a giant fucking spider–it was just common sense to be scared of him. “Allie, I’ll never forget you. Thank you for breaking me out and helping me get home. I can never repay you.” “There’s nothing to repay. Thank you for being a friend.” She looked towards the sky. “As soon as the Obsidian Court is overthrown, I’m coming back to visit.” The elf warriors looked eager to leave, so I went to take Allie’s hand. If I left it up to the two girls to decide when to leave, we’d be here all day. “Thanks for everything, Mulbe
Allie POV Rosina smirked at me. I must look absolutely pathetic to her. An Alpha born werewolf, reduced to a snotty, snivelling mess. Too stupid to avoid getting cursed in the first place, and now someone else was paying the price to have it removed. Why would Josh do this for me? Ten years. TEN. I would never–and could never–forget him, regardless. He didn’t need to make this sacrifice for me; it was too much. But knowing that he would do it made my heart squeeze almost to bursting point. “Are you going to behave, or do I have to turn you to stone?” asked Rosina. She could not wipe the smile off her face, and it angered me that she was laughing at my expense. “I won’t interfere,” I snapped back. Josh sat back down on the chair and Rosina sat next to him. She placed both of her hands on his forearms and I had to fight the urge to knock her away from him. It surprised me to realise that the anger wasn’t because she was about to take ten years of his life from him, but because she h
Allie POV Sparks tingled across my hand as Josh took it in his. The feeling was everything anyone had ever described, and then some. A permanent reminder that we were connected, that we belonged together. I gazed up at him with stars in my eyes, completely in awe. It was like I’d known him forever, yet was seeing him for the first time. I needed to know if he felt the same way. “Josh, I–” His lips were on me again, hungry. My hands searched his body, wanting to rest on any part of him not clothed, needing to feel his bare skin on mine. Not a want, a need. I could feel an energy surging through my body that I knew didn’t belong to me. ‘Mark him,’ demanded Stella. ‘Mark our mate.’ ‘No, I can’t do that here! There are people around.’ People around. Oops. I begrudgingly pulled away from Josh and he didn’t look as though he liked it one bit. A low rumble emanated from his chest and I jumped, startled, as a similar sensation and sound came from me. Stella. Josh kissed me again
Allie POV Welcome home? Did he just say welcome home? I watched as Josh returned their greeting, but his eyes were on me. There were worry lines between his brows, and his mouth was in a tense line, jaw ticking away nervously. He reached out to take my hand to lead me, but I evaded his grasp. “How do they know your name?” I wanted my voice to sound strong, but couldn’t help the way it wavered. “Allie, I promise I’ll explain, let’s just follow these guys first.” He ran a hand through his hair as he pleaded with me with his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. Why did they just say ‘welcome home’?” I was firmer this time, planting my feet and refusing to budge. He sighed, and my stomach was in knots. He was hiding something. “Guys, can you just give us a minute?” “Sure, but I’ll get my arse kicked if I don’t tell the Alpha you’re back. You won’t have long before they all come looking for you.” Josh nodded and led me away from them, then turned towards
Josh POVThe house was full of people as I stepped inside, holding my kicking and screaming mate. I’d missed every one of them, but at the moment, all I could focus on was Allie. I just needed them all to get out of my way so I could take her to my room, lock the door, and explain everything to her without her trying to run off.I had accepted the deal with the dark witch willingly, and without any expectations in return, but surely she owed me the chance to explain myself.I’d grovel on my knees for the rest of my life if I had to. I’d do anything to avoid the pain that tore through me when she tried to reject me. I needed her more than I needed my next breath, and I’d happily spend the rest of my life making it up to her for the monumental fuck ups I’d made.Hearing the words ‘I hate you’ coming from her mouth almost killed me more than the rejection had.Allie screamed again, but this time was different, it was pained. I turned to see my brother Zac holding an empty syringe. She cr
Allie POV“Before you go home, you need to know a few truths about your father,” Josh began.“And you think you’re the best qualified person to talk to me about truths?” I scoffed.“You said you’d listen.” He fixed me with a firm look. “As I said before, I’m the youngest son of Leo and Julie, the former Alpha and Luna of this pack, the Teal Valley Pack.”A memory stirred in my mind of the picnic in the forest on the day the Obsidian Court gained power.“It was you, that day the forest changed. You blocked my view, protecting me.”He nodded. “That day, your dad invited my family for a picnic. Apparently, our families used to meet up regularly. Our mums had been friends for years, and our dads were allies. I don’t have any memories of you before that day, though.”“I have one memory,” I said, wracking my brain for anything to do with Teal Valley. “I must have been about five, maybe, and you and your brothers were all jumping off rocks into a lake. I don’t even know where we were.”“Was
Allie POVJosh reached out to take my hand, but I pulled it away. I was trying to keep a clear head while I searched for the truth, and the last thing I needed was the mate-bond zapping my self-control any more than it already was.“In here, baby,” a feminine voice called out as we reached the bottom of the stairs.Josh cringed as he pushed open a large swinging door and we entered the kitchen. It was so… homey. It was hard to believe we were in a packhouse and not some large country farmhouse.Mr Tanner was standing at the kitchen island kneading bread dough. In the forest, Josh had told me his dad was a baker and his older brother was going to take over the family business. I chewed the inside of my cheek.
Allie POV There was a collective intake of breath from around the table, and I felt the mood shift. Josh had told me that his family valued the mate-bond above all else, and here I was crapping all over it in front of them. Stella growled at me in my mind, but I pushed her to the side. “Allie, I understand my son’s actions were anything but ideal. He’s broken your trust, and ours, but his intentions were good, just misguided,” explained Leo. “We’ve been trying to find a way to reclaim the forest for many years now. It’s our only access point to trade with a neighbouring pack, and we have lost far too many pack members over the years, who have ventured into the forest and never returned.” He paused and looked at Josh, the pain showing in his eyes. He truly thought Jos
Allie POV Six years later… The jade green clouds were high in the sky and the sun shone brightly in Olive’s glade, as my family rained utter chaos on the poor unsuspecting forest. Really. Just pure chaos. But in the most lovely of ways. These picnics started off with just the Tanners, but had eventually expanded to include all four of the Alpha families from the packs bordering the forest, plus our fae friends. Bringing us all together as friends and allies. They quickly escalated into events of epic proportions as each of our young families expanded rapidly. Leo sat with Zac and Zoe’s youngest son in his arms. He was the newest grandchild, and number fifteen in total for the Tanners. Julie held a wriggling blonde toddler who was screaming for snacks. Josh and I named her Bree; he calls her Breezy, but really Stormy would be a more accurate nickname. What could I say? She was a girl who knew what she wanted. Queen Neva and King Roman sat alongside them with their new little pr
Allie POV One month later… My favourite moment had fast become Olivia’s late night feed. Sitting in the rocking chair in the nursery with just a dim lamp on in the dead of night, the packhouse completely silent, just me and her. She would look up at me with her big blue eyes, her perfect little hand curled around my finger. And her smell, oh man, her smell. We were all addicted to her. She had everyone captivated. Her dad especially. She couldn’t so much as whimper before he was picking her up, fussing over her. I’d found myself blubbering an extraordinary amount of times in these past few weeks, just from pure happiness, in total bliss, and drunk on love. “Hey, I didn’t hear you get up,” whispered Josh from the doorway. “Do you need anything? Snacks? Water?” He really was the best. “Yes to both, please.” He returned five minutes later and sat next to me, feeding me and holding the water for me, while I fed our daughter. “Can you believe we actually made her?” he asked, soun
Josh POV Several months later… “Have you seen Mum?” asked Allie, standing in the office doorway frowning. “She’s gone with Samson to visit Queen Neva.” “Again?” she snapped. Uh oh. I hopped out of my chair and put my arms around her. “What did you need her for? Is it anything I can help with?” “No, it’s ok. She was going to help me organise all the baby’s clothes.” I swept her feet up, picking her up bridal style. “Let’s go then.” “Josh, you don’t have to.” “I want to. You and Maggie have done almost everything else, I can help with this. Let’s go get snacks first.” That made her smile. She kissed me and snuggled her head into my neck. Her belly was now huge, and she was often tired, grumpy, and completely over being pregnant, but she’d never looked more beautiful. Watching our pup roll and kick around in there was the highlight of every day. I sat her down in the rocking chair, handed her the slice of banana bread we picked up in the kitchen, and she put me to work. I stac
Allie POV I’d spent all day with Mulberry and Spidey helping in the village gardens, and my eardrums still felt like they were bleeding after the moment I’d told her I was pregnant. Her squeal almost rivalled the ones Mum and Julie made when we told them. Aunty Mulberry was just as ridiculously excited as our family were. This baby was definitely one lucky and loved pup. On the way home, I stopped at Olive’s glade. The new saplings were thriving thanks to the extra care of the elves tending to them, and a little magic. It would take some time, but eventually these trees would be full grown, and the cocoons of the new dryad spirits would form. I couldn’t wait to meet them. I filled the watering can up at the lake and watered the saplings and pulled a few weeds. Sitting down, I looked up at the light green clouds and gave my tiny little baby bump a rub. My whole life had changed so quickly. I was still trying to adjust to having a life outside of the packhouse walls, yet here I was
Josh POV“Alpha?” I glanced up from the computer to find the head housekeeper standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you have a moment?”“Come in, Laura,” I replied, gesturing to the seat across from me. “What can I help with?”“I don’t want to bother you or Alpha Allie, but the kitchen staff reported that trays of croissants had been made overnight and were left cooling on the benches this morning. Croissants that none of them prepared or baked. And the wait staff said all the forks in the main dining room have gone missing.”“Was the kitchen locked overnight?”“Yes, Alpha.”I let out a breath and ran a hand through my hair. These little incidents had started happening across the pack the moment Allie became Alpha, but they were now increasing in frequency, and a lot of pack members were now on edge. It wasn’t normal for the fae to be on our territory.Most instances were harmless. Some were good deeds, like the croissants, or doing housework tasks, and some were pl
Allie POV “Baby, sit still,” laughed Josh as I bounced up and down in the passenger seat of the car. “I can’t help it. Drive faster,” I whined. His wide smile told me he was equally excited as I was, he was just doing a better job of holding it in. It was the first time we’d ventured this far into the Jade Willow Forest since balance had been restored, and it was a completely different experience travelling by car. Most of the old highways and dirt paths had grown over after years of abandonment, the forest swallowing them whole, so it had taken some work from each of the four bordering packs to get them cleaned up and usable again. For now, it was just the main roads open, but over time, the rest would be unearthed again. The news from the fae closest to the Viridian Creek border, was that the fae were just as excited to have visitors again as the packs were to visit. Trades of supplies and products were already underway, and for the most part, the Obsidian Court was keeping
Josh POV The cold and damp conditions of the underground cells mingled with a fetid stench in the air that had my gut churning. This place was miserable, and pretty much summed up what I’d expect from Maurice Everett. I wasn’t unhappy with the fact he was now locked up in this hell he’d created. I squeezed Allie’s hand as we approached his cell and the guards nodded and moved to give us privacy. I pulled over two chairs and we sat, staring at Maurice, who was perched on the end of his bed. “Have you come to gloat?” he asked with a slight scoff. “I’ve come to find out what I need to know about the pack,” replied Allie firmly. “No one can recall seeing Beta Kyan in the last few days, and he’s missing from the pack mind-link, so I’m assuming he’s gone rogue–” “He is dead. He started sticking his nose in where it wasn’t necessary and made Ellis question some of my methods, so I got rid of him.” This guy was unhinged. A complete mastermind who managed to get away with his corrupt mo
Allie POVAs the life faded from Ellis’ eyes, I felt a surge of power run through Stella, right before the howls rang out from all around the pack, recognising the death of their Alpha.Stella raised her head to the sky and let out an almighty howl in response, answering their call and staking her claim as their new Alpha.Slowly, more and more wolves appeared on the packhouse lawn surrounding us. Those in wolf form continued to howl their loyalty to their new Alpha, and those in human form took a knee before Stella. A maid ran out of the packhouse with a dress for me to slip on as I shifted back.I felt his eyes on me before I spotted him pushing his way through the crowd and raced towards him, throwing myself into his outstretched and still bloodied arms. He burrowed his face into my neck as I clung to him tightly, kissing the side of his head.“You fucking did it, baby.” His voice was hoarse and littered with raw emotion. I needed to address the pack that had assembled, but I didn’
Allie POVEllis and my father were similar people. They liked control, and they liked to hold all the knowledge and power. For that reason, I knew Ellis was not happy at being blindsided by the fact that not only did I have a wolf, I was the Jade Wolf… and I was challenging him. I was certain it would be affecting every part of his being.He lunged at me, starting the battle, but I easily dodged. Nate said my best strategy would be to let him lead, watch his moves carefully, and try to spot any weaknesses that I could take advantage of later. Stella was light on her feet, so it was a simple task.Ellis’ overconfidence began to show. His wolf growled and snarled as it snapped its jaws at me, and his moves became sloppy as he interpreted my hesitation for fear rather than observation. He lunged again for my flank and Stella finally made her move, dodging left, then pouncing on his exposed neck. He evaded the hit to the neck, but couldn’t move quick enough to avoid Stella’s teeth as the