Thank you!
BRYNN “What about this?” Maya asked. My eyes slid over to the top that she was holding. It was a plum off-shoulder crop top. I knew exactly what it would pair with. “Gimme,” I said excitedly. She laughed at my excitement and handed it over so that I could change. Maya and I had been best friends since elementary school, so she knew me well enough to know my style. There would be a big bonfire celebration in honor of the team that our pack was sending off to the Alpha Games. It was an annual week-long competition for packs from across the country to gather and battle it out to see who the strongest pack was. The Dark Moon pack had always done well. We placed third last year, so the pack was excited to see if everyone’s hard work would place us again. Our pack was a larger pack in Virginia with roughly a thousand members. I was very proud of Dark Moon and loved living here. My grandparents joined the pack when they were newly mated back in the day. I stepped in front of the mirror
THEO I zipped up my duffle bag, grabbed my suit, and headed towards the door. It was still too early in the morning without my coffee. It would be my lifeline to get through the day. Sleep eluded me for the longest time last night because I could not get her out of my head. Our pack was celebrating, but my I spent a lot of the night covertly watching her. Brynn Fullilove was gorgeous, confident, and intelligent. Sure, she was a bit younger than me, but that did not matter one damn bit. The outfit she wore highlighted her curves perfectly, and she knew how to dance. Her body flexed and rolled with the beat in hypnotizing fashion. All I could think about as I watched her dance with a dude was how much I wanted to be where he was, and I was jealous as fuck that he was the one with his arms around her. I wanted to ask Brynn to dance, but I did not want to make a spectacle of it. If I were to approach her then I wanted it to be a private affair where nosy assholes would not be able to
BRYNNI woke up to my father singing Happy Birthday to me. It was a tradition in our house and something I loved that we continued after my mother died.“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he said.His strong arms enveloped me in a hug. My father was the best one that I could have ever hoped for. He was my pillar of strength, a comforting shoulder, and a papa bear all rolled into one.“Thanks, Dad.”He kissed my head and left me to get ready for my birthday breakfast tradition. Maya and Sebastian would meet me at Bessie’s Diner where Bessie would make a killer breakfast for us. This was a five-year-long tradition at work, and one we would continue next year as well.I already had my outfit picked out. It was a dark pair of faded jean shorts and a red fitted V-neck tank top. I paired it with one of Maya’s gifts last year which was a beautiful lace fringe cover to go over the tank top.Then I quickly French braided my hair and threw on light makeup. I loved how it looked. Maya was the one who
BRYNN The food was absolutely delicious. My father was known far and wide for his grilling mastery. There was none better in many people’s opinions. He was a good outdoor chef while I was a good indoor chef. Sebastian and I did not eat a whole lot because losing by way of vomit would be a very lame way to go, and one could never live that down even if they died at the ripe young age of ninety-nine. I changed into a sparring outfit which consisted of leggings and a sports bra which covered all of the fun bits. I learned a few years ago that wearing shorts was not the best idea. Maya carefully removed all of the pins before I threw it into a messy bun. My adrenaline was steadily winding throughout my body, so I focused it, keeping it under control. Too much of it would cause me to burn out fast. Too little of it would make me a sitting duck. Everyone was gathered around the training area that my father built. This was my domain where he trained me. Not a single square foot of it had
THEO I hated to admit that I was distracted this year, but I could not help it. Knowing that my mate was hours away from me split my focus because anything could happen. Our pack was very safe, but even that did not have the desired calming effect. Nightshade was kicking everyone’s asses this year more than they ever had before. Those little pups were theirs, and I watched the little girl easily win against someone older and larger than her. Hell, I watched Luna Elle snap an Alpha’s leg and dislocate his shoulders without ever being touched. Our pack was holding its own, but there was no way in fuck that we could beat Nightshade overall. I doubted many of these packs could. They were wracking up points left and right at a very impressive rate. I could not help but admire their ability. I was not the type of Alpha who grumbled at another pack being more successful than ours at something. It just pushed me to find ways to improve our pack. This was no different. Khalid calling my p
BRYNN I did not know where I was, but it was dark and cold. The last thing that I remembered was Paise, Momma’s wolf, running with me on her back. It was something we did every Saturday. I could not wait to get my wolf. Would she look like Paise with her beautiful caramel fur or more like Rex, Daddy’s wolf, who was a pure black wolf. Either way, my wolf would be very special to me and be my best friend besides Sebastian and Maya of course. “You sure it’s her?” a man’s voice floated quietly to my ears. “Do you really doubt me?” a woman hissed at him, offended by his question. “No. Nothing like that. The Eyes trust you. We’ve just been waiting a long time is all,” the man said, trying to calm her down. A light turned on overhead, and I realized that I was in some type of room. It was an empty concrete room with one of those bright overhead lights. What happened? How did we even get here? I looked over and saw Momma staring at me. Her lip was firmly wedged between her teeth as if s
THEO Jackson drove me straight to the hospital to check on Veronica. I seriously could not comprehend what happened, and I needed to check on her. “Alpha, how may I assist you?” the woman at the receptionist desk greeted me. “I was told that Veronica Strafford was brought in and was asking for me. Can I please speak with her?” I knew that it was well past visiting hours, but I did not care one bit. Plus, it was not like they would deny me access to somewhere or someone in this pack. She nodded and told me to follow her. There were many questions and thoughts churning in my head, but I did not even know where to start, so I stayed silent. “She’s sleeping, but the evidence folder is on the door,” she said before leaving. I snuck inside as quietly as possible, trying not to disturb her. My hand snatched the folder before looking at her to prepare myself since I had no idea what to expect. Evidence folders were prepared anytime there was an attack. It held all pertinent information
THEO The words were out of my mouth before I fully processed what I was even doing. Pain ripped through my chest, erupting in flames along the bond that had not even fully formed. This was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Brynn stared at me with an expression that I could not even place. She bit her lip, but the pain was not affecting her as badly as it was me. Or she was better at masking it. It felt like someone plunged their hand into my chest and ripped apart my heart and soul. I supposed that was what happened when you lost your soulmate. Zen was snarling up a storm. I had never heard him more furious than he was at this moment. There was no doubt in my mind that he would rip me to shreds if he was able to. “I, Brynn Fullilove, happily accept your rejection.” The pain subsided the moment that she accepted it, but I could not shake the feeling that I just fucked everything up. I had no intention of rejecting her. I honestly thought that we could get through the questi
Hello, lovelies! I just wanted to let you know that “Design of Fate” is officially up on the app, so I hope you will check it out. Jackson is always strong pillar of support when others need it, without question, and without fail. That is why he was chosen for this particular journey with his mate. They will both have difficult obstacles to overcome in order to find their peace and happiness. True to form, the Goddess has connected people together in a significant way. Tune into the new book to see how the design of fate plays out. I sincerely appreciate all of your support and encouragement throughout these books. I love hearing your feedback, theories, and thoughts. – Shana Allen
SNEAK PEEK – “DESIGN OF FATE” - JACKSON Imeela. The name sounded like a prayer. Imeela was my mate that I met two days ago when she was being attacked by a group of vampires. She had held her own very well until it was not. Brynn had got me out of bed for a road trip but would not tell me where we were going. Luckily, she had the forethought to bring warriors with us. Goddess, she fought them like a lethal warrior. Not only was she deadly, but she was fucking gorgeous too. Brynn worked her charm and convinced her to come back here. She was given the choice to either use the extra bedroom in my suite or a guest room. Thankfully, she chose my suite. Well, our suite. However, she was extremely reserved, but I could not blame her. It was easy to see that her life had not been easy. That hurt Zeus and me to think about. She had woken up screaming from a nightmare this morning, and now she had been pacing in her room for the past hour. I had no idea what she was going through, but tha
BRYNN “Have you guys decided on his name yet?” I asked, looking at the beautiful cherub in his arms. Beautiful blue eyes, peachy skin, a head of hair that matched his mother’s color, and the most adorable button nose. He was so perfect. “Matteo Ray,” he said, smiling at his firstborn. “Ray after his godmother just with a y instead of an e,” he said, winking at me. Tears stung my eyes, but I desperately tried to keep them there because it would ruin my view of the little guy. It had meant everything to me when they asked me and Theo to be godparents to their son. To share the same middle name as him meant just as much to me. I took Kalen from her father and got her situated. Goddess, she was two now, and each day was a new adventure. Everyone, us included, had been very surprised with how calm she generally was. There were times when that calm wore off, but that was a rarity in comparison. It seemed that the Goddess’ blessing was quite literal with blessing her with both strength a
THEO Remember that flash drive the doctor mentioned? Yeah, it had quite a bit of fucking shit on it. The contents definitely gave the Council everything that they needed to intervene. Trust me when I said that they definitely decided to intervene in a creative way once the bastard was apprehended. Would you care to take a guess what they decided? Mhm. Exactly! They called my mate in. So, we headed back over to Coverstone with a viewing party, consisting of all the leadership. Dahlia was thrilled to be brought in officially as Gamma Female. She was a multi-threat personality, so we would see how this played out. Brynn decided that we would be playing a new game. She still had not explained to any of us what it would entail other than to imagine Twister meets carnival games. That explanation really set me ablaze with need. I needed to witness this game and needed to see what damage it would cause. From what we understood, it would be the dipshit CEO, the doctor, and the P.A. all in
BRYNN Today would be interesting to say the least. We had a few things to accomplish, so we began our day early. Mira wanted to come along, and she accomplished it with those damn wolfy pup eyes that she perfected. That was her terminology, and I would never be able to think or say puppy dog eyes ever again. Our first stop would be to Coverstone so that I could question the doctor and P.A. myself. Trust me that was not why she wanted to tag along. Nope. It was because of our second stop. Theo, Mira, and I would be visiting the site where the study was being conducted. As such, we needed to look the part. That was why I donned a midnight blue pencil skirt and matching blazer with a white blouse underneath it. My hair was pulled back into a twisted bun. Only minimal makeup was on my face because I had always preferred to have a fresh look. Then I put on low heels because I did not want to kill my feet too much today. Mira looked so adorable in her little business outfit. She had insi
THEO We had left Scarsdale in promising hands. Alpha Scott, even though he insisted on us still calling him Scott, had many great plans to strengthen the pack and cleansing it of his father’s touch. We made sure that he understood that we were only a call or text away. Caleb and Thalia were growing closer and developing a sibling bond. She felt overwhelmed at times, but my mate was definitely helping her to find her place in the pack. Thalia had a rough life thus far, so we wanted her to feel free and happy. Brynn had taken it upon herself to work with her each day as she taught her self-defense. Thalia was a hard worker and eager to learn everything that she could. I watched as Brynn walked hand in hand with Mira from the swing set. These two females were everything to me. Although, I should add in the third one that I had yet to meet. Some of the guys had joked that I must be hoping for a little boy to help counterbalance the estrogen in the house. It would not bother me if all o
THEO Scott was left with the Council and their warriors to get things situated. Luna Charlotte and Richard offered to help Scott, but he just asked her to rest. Robert offered to take her to lay down somewhere, but she did not want to go back to the Alpha floor. He understood that and offered to take her to his home. They both looked happy with the truth of their mate-bond. They would have their own trials to overcome, but I believed that they could be happy together. We went with Caleb to see Thalia. He was extremely nervous, knowing that this was his sister. He also felt guilty because he had left, and even if he did not know that she was his sister, the truth remained the same. He escaped and found a good life for himself, but she was left here within the clutches of a lunatic Alpha. Hopefully he would one day see it was not a burden that he should carry. The past needed to be left in the past so that the future could be embraced. Caleb stood in front of the door that Scott had
BRYNN While the bastard Alpha was apprehended, we would need to deal with the remaining pack. An Alpha set the standard for a pack. This Alpha was a fucking bastard who did extremely despicable things, so it was safe to say that there would be more in this pack who shared the same ideals. First, we needed to speak with Scott. The safest option was for her to mindlink him, getting him up here. I helped her rinse off the powder first so that it was possible. Surprisingly, I was able to keep my anger reigned in when I took stock of even more injuries. Luna Charlotte was extremely embarrassed that someone else was seeing the state that she was in even if that embarrassment was misplaced because there was nothing to be embarrassed about. It did not take a rocket scientist to pinpoint what caused her to feel that way. “I want you to look into my eyes so that you know I’m speaking the truth with these words.” I paused until her eyes met mine. “What he did to you is unforgivable and shows
THEO As much as I did not want my mate to be on this mission, I did see how much her presence had already helped. From being able to pull on the shadows for our cover to doing what she did with the chick in the kitchen. Brynn and Moira had both been training hard with Tris and Paise to master her Vessel abilities. They still had not been able to identify them all since there were hundreds of possible abilities that previous Vessels had of their own. Not everyone had the same abilities. Thus, it was a long process of figuring out which ones they were able to utilize. ‘Our mates are powerful and sexy,’ Zen commented. ‘Not to mention that they both are really adventurous.’ He snickered as he remembered the last time that Moira surprised him by calling him out to her trail and attacked him. Okay, attack was definitely a loose term. You could not attack the eager and very willing. Her howls of pleasure were loud enough to catch the attention of a couple of patrol wolves. When they came