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
Josh POV We drove in silence. I hated the fact I was taking her to Ellis and her father. I hated the fact I’d have to leave her there. I hated the fact I wouldn’t know if she was ok. I fucking hated it all. She was my mate. Mine to protect, and I wouldn’t be able to do that from two hundred kilometres away. When she’d said she wouldn’t ask me to accept her rejection yet, the relief was immense. She wasn’t going to give up on me so soon, she just needed time. I didn’t like it, but it was the only way to keep her in my life. The closer we got to Viridian Creek, the more Allie fidgeted in her seat. Her delicate hands were being wrung in her lap, and I desperately wanted to take one in mine and comfort her. Only it would no longer be a comfort. She wanted space, and it was the least I could do to try to give it to her. We reached the border and the guards came out to the car. Their faces paled as though they’d seen a ghost when they spotted Allie. “Let my father know I’m home, ple
Allie POV I watched Josh drive away while Stella whimpered. Everything ached. My head, my heart, my chest. I wanted and needed space, but it didn’t mean the mate-bond was happy about it. It was going to kick my butt. “Why don’t you go settle in, and we can talk later,” said Ellis as we entered the foyer. “I want to see Mum.” “I will call the nurses and find out if she’s feeling well enough for visitors,” replied Father. “Go and do as your Alpha instructed.” Ugh. My Alpha. Ellis. Walking through the familiar corridors of my home caused a sadness to form and settle in the pit of my stomach. This was my home, my pack, yet it felt cold, quiet and lifeless compared to the happy chaos I’d experienced this morning in the Tanner packhouse. Another twinge of pain pulled at me. I made my way up the stairs without seeing a single person and opened my bedroom door. I took the card Josh gave me out of my pocket and picked a supernatural creatures textbook from my bookshelf, hiding the card
Josh POVBy the time I drove back through the gates of Teal Valley, I was a mess of emotions. Aster had been quiet. At first I’d thought he was angry at me, but quickly realised he was just resigned to the fact that Allie needed to do this and we needed to let her, as much as it sucked for us.My feet felt like lead as I climbed the steps, and I prayed I wouldn’t run into anyone. The border guards would have let them know I was home, but I just wanted to sleep the rest of the day away.Mum was standing near the base of the stairs as I walked through the foyer, and I felt bad that I stifled a groan. I loved her dearly, but I didn’t want to talk.She pulled me close and kissed the side of my head. “I asked the housekeeper not to touch the room Allie was in.” She kissed me once more, then wandered off towards Dad’s office.I made a beeline for the guest room and opened it to find Allie’s scent still lingering. The only scents in the room were mine and hers. I kicked my shoes off and jump
Allie POVI made sure to miss breakfast the next morning to avoid Father and Ellis and instead made my way to the pack hospital. I was enraged when the nurse had to call ‘the Alpha’ to get permission for me to see my own damn mother, but Ellis allowed it.The nurse led me down a bland, depressing looking corridor and opened a door, motioning for me to enter. The room was just as bad–everything was white and unstimulating. I wondered if Mum went crazy, then they put her in here, or if they put her in here and then she went crazy… this space was not Mum at all.She was sitting in an armchair near the window, just gazing out blankly. Her blonde hair hung limp, and there was a vacant expression on her pale face. She didn’t appear to register our presence in the room.“She’s been like that since the night of the attack, I’m afraid,” whispered the nurse. “Take as long as you want. There’s a buzzer over here if she needs anything.”I grabbed the spare chair and carried it over to sit opposi
Allie POVStella woke me, howling, the next morning. My head was throbbing with a migraine and she wouldn’t let up. She was trying to do everything in her power to get me to acknowledge the mate-bond ripping my chest in half, and go back to Josh.I convinced her to settle down long enough to go for a walk. She was desperate to shift for the first time. I could feel her need vibrating through me, but I knew I didn’t want to shift on my own.My father had never let me roam the pack freely before. Ellis was at least giving me more freedom, although I felt like I was being watched and had no doubt he had guards following me.I guess there was no reason for me not to mingle with the pack anymore. All the secrets they’d been keeping from me were out in the open now.The pack was so different from what I’d briefly seen in Teal Valley. There was no buzz or excitement, no pups running and playing outside. Walking past the shop fronts, there were no colourful signs in the windows advertising pa
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