CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT:~Drake: ‘We need to rest,’ Dane grumbled again. Annoyed with me. We’d been driving for hours. I’d filled up twice since we’d left the motel but outside of that we haven’t stopped. ‘We’re nearly there,’ I sent him back. ‘No, we’re not. And if we don’t stop we won’t have the energy to defeat them all,’ he pointed out - again. I growled aloud, smacking the steering wheel. I didn’t want to stop but the da*n wolf did have a good point. I haven’t been here in what felt like a lifetime. Alpha Rafael was a grade A a**hole but he wasn’t stupid. He likely changed patrols since I left. I wouldn’t be able to use any knowledge on the packlands other than where the buildings were. I had to slow down, build a strategy - figure out how to get in touch with Archer before blowing the element of surprise. If I even had that. Blowing out more agitated breaths I pulled over, bringing the car to a full stop. I’d lost track of where I even was. I was just heading home. All wolv
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: ~Avery: I vaguely registered the gun in his hand before I fell forward on my knees. A sharp pain stabbed me. I put a hand there, pulling away a dart. He shot me! What was even in that? “Just got to make sure we keep you dosed. Can’t risk you getting your voice back can we?” the older O’Dell kid smiled, tucking the dart gun somewhere in his back pocket. My head slunk forward. “Now, before you go back to bed… I need you to take this,” he said with what seemed like super speed. Was he speaking really fast or was everything moving slowly? Darkness threatened to take over my vision and my head swam. I saw a little bright green speck in his hand. “No,” I blubbered out, hands splayed on the ground trying to hold my body up. “Well you take it now, willingly, or I call your mutt’s Alpha and tell him exactly where to find him. Plus - I can always just shove it down your throat when you’re asleep. Which shouldn’t take more than.. Oh,” he looked at his watch, “t
CHAPTER FORTY:~Drake: “I already tried that,” I snapped. Alec heaved out a breath, his patience waning. “Well, try again anyway.” I bared my teeth, his attitude instinctually making my more animalistic traits pop out on their own. Maybe I was wrong about this guy,’ Dane grumbled in my head. “Seriously?!” I gritted through my teeth, meaning to respond to Dane but saying the word aloud. I looked at Alec to see a bored look on his face. “Do I really need to say it?” he drawled. “Oh just shut up, bloodsucker,” I snapped. Beth rushed in front of me a blink later, her teeth bared. I hadn’t seen her for what felt like hours. She’d come rushing from seemingly nowhere. Alec had us stuck in this tiny, hot, stinky room (vamps stink, there’s no getting around it). And we had been trying different meditative techniques to try to reach Avery. “Dove,” Alec chided from his chair several paces away. “He doesn’t mean it. Mutts can just be very grumpy sometimes. Remember he’s away from his
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: ~Avery: My heart thundered in my ears as I ran quietly through the halls, praying to every deity out there to help me avoid detection. The slick hospital-like flooring contradicted sharply with the literal torches near each doorway and I tried to not totally lose my footing as I moved. Between the darkness around long stretches of hallway, and the possibly slippery floor, I had to trust my gut to get me out of this. If I could even hear my gut around the sound of my blood pumping. Another corner became more clear up ahead and I slowed my approach, listening as carefully as I could. Jack was still out there. I’d heard some very far off cursing a few minutes back and I couldn’t tell if I was getting further or closer
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO:~Drake: “Queen- what?” I asked Beatrix, looking away from Beth and Alec. “And you,” she added, closing her syfy eyes, “You are no regular werewolf either.” “Lady Beatrix, what do you mean?” Alec asked from behind me someplace. Beatrix opened her gaze and looked between all of us meaningfully before saying, “Let’s talk someplace private. There’s a lot to explain.” “Let’s use my office,” Alec offered, walking briskly ahead of us. I rose from my knees, confused at the turn this had all taken. We entered a small, ornate building that looked like it had been carved from a giant tree. The closer I inspected it the more details I could make out in the wood. Little moons of various stages, treelines, mountains, even a bat now and then. Beatrix’s steps clicked on the hardwood as we entered. The hair on my arms stood up as soon as I passed the inner door. “Beatrix spelled this space some years ago. Soundproof against supernatural hearing,” Alec explained to me when he
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE:~Avery:The blinding light of the outside world had me needing to shield my eyes. While the hospital lighting down here had been a shock, this natural light and the heat from the sun was something else entirely. I squinted, shading my eyes, and checked the area quickly. No real threats. Sadness came over me that I tried to will away - I had hoped that I’d regain some normal feeling over my magic once I got out here - but it was the same. A deep empty hole where my magic had been.There was a forest out there and I thanked anyone up there listening for the coverage. The only challenging part was the vast expanse of grass between me and those trees. I ignored my aching body and quickly ran across the distance, keeping my head on a swivel for anyone else who could be out here. Holding my breath, my heart pounding, I pushed my muscles to the brink and - made it. Just behind the first tree I paused. Waiting for someone to yell out that they’d seen movement… But nothing
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR:~Drake: I rolled my eyes, “And how is this time supposed to be any different than the nonsense you were having me do outside earlier?” “Like I said, that wasn’t real,” he grunted, pulling something out from a chest that must have been way at the bottom. Everything clattered loudly as he removed it. “Aha!” he exclaimed, holding up a big golden… arm band? It looked like part of a knight’s old armor. Like it was made for someone’s forearm. He walked over to the table beside where he told me to sit, and laid everything out. It looked like nonsense. ‘Looks like a crazy pirate’s treasure,’ Dane said in a wry tone. ‘And where have you been?’ I asked him right away as I watched Alec sort his crazy collection of random shiny objects. ‘I needed a break,’ he said simply. ‘From?’ I asked. He didn’t reply. Again. My skin was itching to get to Avery but I had no real way of finding her. I looked back up at this crazed vampire and squinted my eyes trying to figure hi
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE:~Avery: The woman in front of me was her, I knew it in an instant. My gut sank. My heart broke. My spirit dissolved. All of them, Tyler and his older brother, and now her, had reasons to hate me. Reasons to track me down like this, to kill me. I’d have done the same thing if someone had done that to my parents… I had taken away their parents. Come to think of it, I killed mine too. In a way. While I know Tyler could have died without me stopping his dad, that doesn’t change what I did. All of my running over the years. It was for me. Not just because I didn’t want to get caught. Not just because I was a danger to anyone who tried to lock me up. But because I was running from this. From facing the consequences of my actions. I was a murderer. A family destroyer. I felt sick. I leaned on one hand, pressing into the concrete floor, suppressing the urge to vomit. I breathed deeply, something between hyperventilation and dry heaving. After a few moments I looked
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE:~Avery: It really was another thing entirely to physically be here, to hear these things, and then to see them. After Drake destroyed this particular guard we wasted no time moving forward. I jumped off Dane’s back to free him up to get the bunker door down. It took three big hits from him but then it was cracked open. I went in first, the opening not quite big enough for him, and I heard him whine as I ran past. My shoes echoed on the cold hard floor as I walked forward. The hallway jutted to the right and revealed a staircase that went down a few floors. Just how many people did they have down here? With another loud boom I knew Dane had gotten the bunker door totally down, and I heard him chasing me as I went down the first few flights of stairs. There were no hallway offshoots until the third floor, and in my rage, with my light fired up and my hair completely lifted, I nearly slipped on the last step before finally seeing a doorway. I moved quickly with
CHAPTER SEVENTY:~Drake:‘I’m not staying here forever, they need to find or pick someone else,’ I grumbled to Dane - again. ‘We were born to lead,’ Dane fires back. It’s been our constant argument for the past week. Pretty much the only time we aren’t arguing is when Avery has our attention. We’re both one hundred percent focused on her when she’s around. Just then, like I’d been summoning her, a knock came to the door. I knew it was her before she opened it, and the instant her eyes met mine, everything else faded to gray. “I can feel you getting… upset?” she asked, closing the door behind her and walking over to the desk I’d been sitting in for too long. I stood up, needing contact with her right away. Without another word she was in my arms and everything seemed lighter, easier. “I’m perfect now, Freckles,” I said, a long breath leaving me. The encouraging tingles from everywhere we touched, accompanied by her intoxicating scent settled me down. Goddess, she’s amazing. The
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE: ~Avery: It’s been a week since we stormed into Black Mountain. And while I wish things were relaxed, they’ve been just way too chaotic for much anything at all outside of putting this pack back together. We spent the first three nights at Alec’s with Drake needing to come back here for one thing or another, and since he didn’t want me out of his sight, I would tag along too. Not that I was just being pulled around all over to stand around and no nothing. No, it seemed I was stepping into Luna duties right alongside Drake. I spent my time meeting with this group and that, and have now started restructuring the school here. It seems like girls and boys were treated very differently in school and on the training fields, and while Drake has implemented changes for training, the school was overlooked. Not everyone is happy about these changes. There are a group of older pack members who grumble and fuss, and it’s hard not to just snap at them but I’m trying to em
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT:~Drake: Something about the unknown intruder had Dane on edge. I asked him about it but all I got was a noncommittal grunt in return. Helpful. It was hard to leave Avery like that there but I shouldn’t be long and I didn’t know what exactly was out there waiting for me. I wish we were fully marked though, with Beatrix able to link with Archer, I really think that Avery and I would be able to link. I’d feel so much better if I were able to talk to her, knowing she’s okay. It took a couple of minutes but soon I saw two border guards up ahead. I recognized the three of them and they nodded at my approach. The vi
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN:~Avery: God were we ready for this to be over. I saw that in Drake too when he assessed his previous Alpha. There was this huge weight, this expectation I think the group around us had, but no one said a word as Drake went straight for the kill and I had no problem sucking in this tyrant’s darkness. Unsurprisingly he was all dark. Just like Justin. That had been crazy too. I didn’t even know where to start with that, I wasn’t sure I could ever really process everything he ended up being. I just held onto Drake’s hand. It was the only thing I could think to do. We started our walk back while Beatrix, Emery and
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX: ~Drake: I spent some time talking with Avery about what we’d seen. I knew I was adopted, and suspected I had Alpha blood, but to see all that… My parents sacrificed themselves for me and Rafael, Rafael was all behind it. He had killed my parents, my entire pack. And then he killed my adoptive parents, the sweetest, bravest people. I was going to slaughter him like a pig before he took anything else of mine. I didn’t understand what kind of deal he had made with the demons for that insane attack to have happened, but I didn’t care. And Eric, who had he been to my birth parents? Had I been stupid not to look for him earlier? Was it too late now? It was too late to keep in my head though, we were gathering for our strike. I would have to think all this through later. Now, I needed to put it aside. “Teams 1 - 4 are our frontline led by me,” Archer ordered out to the troops. There had been some arguing about this but we were going with what was planned. Ave
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE:~Avery: We were supposed to sleep in to help prep our bodies for what could be a long battle, and I really did not have a problem with that. I woke up once around early morning, feeling anxious, but Drake pulled me tighter into the hold he had me in and I found myself relaxing again. The second time I woke up it happened slowly. I rubbed sleep from my eyes and realized I was the little spoon to Drake’s big spoon. It made me smile. Something so simple like this, something I honestly thought I would never have. But here he was. His hold, his heat, his scent - it all gave him away so I didn’t even need to look. But how I wanted to.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR: ~Drake: It felt good to be heading home. Well. That and other things. It felt natural to be heading back towards where my pack was, but with everything there waiting for me, and the knowledge of my parents’ slaughter… well it was a lot. Avery insisted on taking a turn driving. She was currently scanning the radio for something, I wasn’t sure what. She’d passed by a couple songs that weren’t half bad. She listened for a few seconds before scrunching her nose in distaste and changing the station again. The windows on this old beater we bought from a junkyard couldn’t close up all the way on the driver’s side but instead of letting me cover the gap somehow she had insisted that the fresh air was good for us. So now her hair flowed a bit like she was using a little of her magic. Her hair had grown out a lot since before she’d been taken. As much as she looked beautiful when I met her, and each time she’d changed her look, I much preferred her natural strawberry-b
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE: ~Avery: I thought for a moment before nodding, a silent ask for him to continue. I had to know everything. No more running from this life, from what we might have to face. I felt my whole body tense like I was preparing for some kind of assault. I tried to relax but knew I wouldn’t be able to until I finally heard this. No more secrets, no more ignoring what very well could be reality. “Okay - again - I don’t put too much stock into this,” he glanced at me again. I just nodded once more, still stiff. “Beatrix calls you Queen Mothe