CHAPTER FORTY-NINE:
~Avery:
The guards of the mysterious man began to rub blankets and jackets all over me, as if they were trying to collect my scent. Their rough handling made my skin crawl, and I shivered under their cold gazes. They yanked on my arm, and one held me in place as the other pulled out a knife.
“Hssss!” I sounded as they cut along my arm. “What the h**l?!”
They didn’t say a word as they held me in place.
A tube came out, and it looked like they were collecting my blood. I fought and tried pulling away from the one holding me in place but he didn’t budge. I felt pathetically weak.
The second one who was collecting the blood then grabbed a jacket into the woun
CHAPTER FIFTY:~Drake:I couldn't ignore the pull any longer—I had to find Avery. Leaving Alec and some others I went back to my room, one of the many guestrooms Alec had in this opulent boarding house of his on this land. I sat down in a chair beside the bed, determined to reach Avery. If Alec didn’t want to help right now, then screw him.Ignoring Alec's warning about doing this alone, I delved into the dream state, determined to reach her on my own. The darkness enveloped me like a suffocating shroud, and I searched frantically for any sign of her presence. The pull of our mate bond was strong, leading me deeper into the abyss, but the darkness was disorienting. Panic and pain flooded my senses, I knew they belonged to Avery, but I couldn't discern the direction they were coming from."Avery!" I called out, my voice echoing in the void. "Where are you?"‘You idiot. You egotistical idiot,’ Dane grumbled. ‘Now we’re lost. Avery needs us and we’re lost. And stuck.’‘Stuck?’ I asked hi
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE:~Avery:My heart pounded in my chest as I carefully executed my escape plan. I had to seize this opportunity, no matter the risks. Gripping the frayed rope tightly in my hands, I waited until the guards' footsteps faded into the distance before making my move. I’d been stuck in limbo for what felt like an eternity when I had rounded the corner to see a group of three guards talking by the door I’d planned to use. By sheer luck they didn’t turn my way and only veered off in different directions after deliberating for way too long.Silently, I tiptoed to the door, praying it wouldn't creak or give me away. With bated breath, I turned the handle and slipped out into the dimly lit hallway. The adrenaline coursing through my veins kept me alert as I navigated the unfamiliar corridors. What even is this place? Seemed to me an eclectic designer pieced it together from leftover materials from a million different types of buildings. I had assumed there would be maybe one mor
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: ~Drake: I was feeling totally lost and stupid as I wandered around in the dark. I moved incredibly slowly just like before but this time there was no way to know where to go. It felt like hours there, searching aimlessly for any sign, and then like a glass of ice water in a desert, I felt her. I felt the bond. I took off running in that direction and it only took a second before everything changed. Her emotions were as clear as if she were right in front of me. I felt how she was tired but relieved. How she was worried. How she needed something - someone? Could it be me? I found myself in a familiar sight. The cabin by the lake. I ran furiously down the hill and knew immediately that this was different. This felt real. Avery was dreaming, and she’d pulled me in just like before. I made my way to the cabin and I smelled everything I smelled that night. I went to the window and felt relief wash over me as she turned in the kitchen. She glowed. She smiled at me w
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE:~Avery: I felt so complete after finding Drake, that when I let him go and found myself alone in the cabin, the loss pulled tighter than it had before. Like having a taste and having it taken away was crueler than not having tasted it at all.I let go then and the dream began to fade. I reluctantly let go of this space and felt everything bit by bit, confirming that I was back in the real world. I rolled my eyes and stretched. As I opened my eyes, I felt a renewed sense of determination. It worked. I had reached him, and he was on his way. I wasn't alone in this anymore, not really.I pushed myself up and looked around. The sun had risen higher in the sky, heating up everything another ten degrees or so since I
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR:~Drake: It all happened so fast. Archer ran to Beatrix and picked her up, spinning her around in one swoop. We all ignored the totally upright position of his very erect friend. Then just as fast he put her down, gently. “I- I’m only an Omega,” he stuttered out like he had the wind taken out of his sails. She smiled a bit, her wise mask falling, showing him a glowing part of herself before she said, “No, you’re not. You are mine.” She pulled him forward then and a swirl of wind and leaves surrounded them like a tiny vortex - some concentrated tornado - as they kissed deeply. I looked away, trying to give them some semblance of privacy. I felt a whirl of emotions then. The whiplash of Archer approaching me like that, of finding his mate - of the undeniable connection between him and Beatrix… It was both like a beacon of hope and an anvil on my heart. I was jealous in a way. That they were actually together, unlike Avery and I - who were possibly countries apart
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE:~Avery:The kiss was everything I had longed for and more. As our lips met, it felt like the culmination of all the pain, fear, and longing I had experienced. Drake's touch ignited a fire in me, and in that moment, the world around us faded away. His arms held me close, his lips moving against mine with a passion that sent shivers down my spine. Everywhere he touched me was like lightning. His kiss was fierce. It was a kiss that spoke of promises, of reunion, of his love that had endured despite the odds. It was possessive and final. A staked claim on my soul. And da*nit if I didn’t want to surrender it all to him. When we finally pulled away, breathless and connected, I gazed into his eyes, feeling a sense of completeness I had never experienced before. But was distracted by something coming our way. A few things. I could vaguely make out auras. Something I hadn’t been able to do in ages. Was whatever they did to me wearing off? Seeing Beth after all this time
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX:~Drake:Avery’s soft snoring relaxed me. I worried about the next day, but was just trying to stay present, to enjoy everything about this. I missed too much time with her… As sleep pulled me in, I wasn’t surprised to be pulled into Avery’s dream. What was surprising was what I was seeing.There she was - being sliced open by a ridiculous sicko. My blood boiled. Emotional whiplash raced through me. One second I was finally at peace, and the next I was about to kill something. The darkness was punctuated by Avery's cries of pain, her anguished pleas hitting me like a stream of bullets. I watched, paralyzed by the raw brutality of it all. It wasn't just the physical pain she endured; it was the violation of everything - her body, her spirit - everything.Like my body couldn’t take her torment any longer, I woke up with a start. I panted, drenched in sweat and trembling. The images were seared into my mind, haunting me like a grotesque painting that I couldn't look awa
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN:~Avery: I tossed and turned for a while. Something just felt… off. But I couldn’t name what it was until I finally realized something was missing. Or I guess, someone was missing. My first thought was that he was in the bathroom. It was still dark out, and he said he wasn’t going to be separated from me again… so he couldn’t be anywhere else, right? A pit at the bottom of my heart shook. Something felt wrong, like I wanted to believe that but knew it wasn’t true. I waited, my eyes adjusting, and then it hit like a freight train. He wasn’t here. I flung the sheets off me and bolted to the front door. Outside. He had to be outside. Running, checking the perimeter like at the cabin right? My hands shook as I walked out into the cool night air. I tried scanning the area for auras but couldn’t make anything else. The familiar need to hold onto my magic gnawed at me, making the lack of magic even more stark. “Drake?” I halfheartedly whispered. “Uh,” a voice cam
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