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“Look, if this is more shit about Kira belonging to you, and you wanting me back off, I’m really in no mood for that. You’d do better to shut your mouth and walk away.”Gavin rolled his eyes and huffed out an annoyed sigh. “Well, since Kira went ahead and professed her love to you on live television, and the fact that the two of you can’t keep your fucking hands off each other, I don’t really have a leg to stand on. I’m not going to encroach. But”—he held up a finger—“if we do figure out and fix the broken fated mate connections, and Kira really is meant to be with me, you need to be ready to back off.”“Gavin, for real, can we not—”“I know, I know, we can save that for a later date,” he said. “What I really wanted to talk about is the plan for when we get back to the mainland.”This was getting us nowhere, and I really wanted to find Kira. “What part, Gavin? A lot of shit will be happening if we get back home.”“If the war is really getting as bad as they say, then I doubt your litt
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Her words struck me as completely out of the blue. Kira Durst, the person who was more loyal to her pack than anyone else I’d ever met, was talking about the whole system falling apart?“Looks like this island has changed you,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “Never thought I’d hear you say that. What flipped your opinion?”She leaned forward and gave me a lascivious look. “This big sexy lone wolf showed me the truth. Real caring and protection doesn’t come from packs or alphas or hierarchy.” Her face softened, and she reached forward to take my hand. “It’s all pointless if you don’t have more. People should choose their pack. Like you did. Being here? Living with and watching out for other shifters who aren’t in my pack? It’s like what the fuck are we doing, separating ourselves?”“When you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense,” I said. “I never expressed it verbally, but that’s kind of how I feel. Everyone else in the unofficial pack, too.”“Right. I’d be happy with a pack made up o
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“Not exactly fucked, but we don’t have good odds. If we had a couple of weeks to prepare properly, I’d feel better about it. The problem is, we need to hit Simon in the next two or three days. It’s not an ideal timeline. If we rush in too soon, I can’t help but anticipate a huge number of casualties. Simon will be on his guard; he’ll have his staff and security on high alert.”Wyatt grimaced and nodded. “Yeah. We won’t have the element of surprise on our side this time. I’ve got a feeling the shock factor was the only reason we were successful in getting you, Abel, and Leif out.”“I guess that’s one more thing for us to worry about,” I said ruefully. “I’ll think about it. Maybe some grand plan will pop into my head.”Wyatt chuckled. “Good luck with that.”We got up. I put my empty bowl in the large wooden tub near the door, then followed Wyatt out of the dining hall. At the end of the corridor, I spotted Crew trying to catch up to Chelsey, who was assisting some other Haveners with ch
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A chill went up my spine when he looked into my eyes again. I didn’t dare speak. Whatever he was about to say was obviously painful, and I didn’t want to interrupt.Tears welled in his good eye as he continued his story. “They came to my house and gave me an ultimatum. I reject Chelsey and choose a more appropriate mate, or there would be…consequences. They handed me a folder full of pictures of Chelsey and her family that had been taken from a distance.Simple pictures of them going about their lives. Her parents, her little brother, one of her cousins she’s really close with—the whole family.” He let out a bitter laugh that broke my heart. “My mother pointed at her little brother and said, ‘It would be a shame for this little boy to have his brains blown out in front of his sister.’”“Holy fucking gods,” I breathed, putting a hand to my mouth.“Then my father said he’ll have every one of them killed if I chose to mate with Chelsey. He looked me in the eyes, Kira—the man who taught m
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It was the most tragic fucking thing I’d ever heard. Both Crew and Chelsey were dealing with terrible heartache. I understood why he’d done what he had, but the only way this would be resolved was for Chelsey to give him a chance to explain.As I got to my feet, I gave Crew a friendly pat on the shoulder. “I’ll see if I can make any headway with Chelsey. Maybe if she hears you out, you two can smooth things over.”Crew snorted. “Sure, yeah. I’m not holding my breath. I pissed on her heart and kicked her out the door. I don’t know why she’d ever give me a chance to redeem myself.”Leaving Crew to wallow in his misery, I went to find Chelsey. The first thing I had to figure out was whether she actually hated Crew as much as she let on, or if it was only heartache and sorrow making her act that way.My search didn’t take long. Chelsey stood with her arms crossed, face cloudy with some emotion I couldn’t pinpoint, leaning against the wall of a storage room. The place was filled with a cou
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That idea had been at the back of my mind for days leading up to the fall of the mansion. It had worried me at first, but now? The further I strayed from following the old dogmatic beliefs our society had clung to for centuries, the easier it was to see that none of it mattered.“When people feel as strongly about each other as you and Crew do, who gives a damn what some acolyte in a dirty robe says?” I laughed. “I mean, the only true way to know what connections are real would be to talk to Heline directly.”As soon as the words were out of my mouth, a lightbulb went on in my mind. My joke was more than that—it was a glimpse at a path forward. If we found Heline, the moon goddess herself, we could get real answers. We could show her the proof that her acolytes were meddling with the connections. There might even be a chance that Heline would step in and stop the war.My heart rate sped up, and chills coursed through my arms.“I guess you’re right,” Chelsey said. “I’ll do it. I’ll tal
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Wyatt groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Well, that doesn’t sound at all ominous. I know that look on your face. This little idea you have is going to put you in danger, isn’t it?”I shrugged helplessly. “I wouldn’t call it dangerous per se, but it might be risky.”“I can’t let the woman I love dive into something risky on her own. I guess I’m in this with you. Whatever it is.”My stomach gave a happy little flip, as it always did whenever Wyatt told me he loved me. The words came easily for him, like he’d been saying them his whole life.Grinning back at him, I reached forward and poked him in the stomach. “You know you love my little plans.”Wyatt groaned again, then laughed. “Yeah. We’ll see about that.”Chapter 8WyattThe next morning, I woke just as the artificial fae lights of Haven brightened in a sort of simulated sunrise and sunset the magic users of Haven had set up after Crew created the place. Kira lay curled against my side. As I looked down at her peaceful face,
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“I’m starving,” J.D. said with a heavy sigh. “I’m going to grab a bite and come back.” He looked through the bars at Leif. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?” he said to him.Leif, having calmed down again, nodded. “Okay. Yeah, you need to eat something. I’ll, uh…” He glanced around at the ten-by-ten cell. “I’ll be here, I guess.”“I’ll go with you,” Mika said to J.D. “Zoe, do you want me to bring you something back?”“Yes, please. Either oatmeal. Or oatmeal, or if there’s no other option, I’ll take the oatmeal.”Mika chuckled. “Good one. I’ll be back in a bit.”Leif walked to the lone bunk at the side of the cell and lay down, mumbling in that mad way of his.“So,” I said to Zoe, “how have things been going?”Zoe rolled her eyes. “Oof. This place has been busy since Mika showed up. After him, you guys got here, and then?” She blew out her cheeks and used her fingers to simulate a bomb exploding. “Full crazy ever since.”“Why was it busy when Mika got here?”“Oh, that,” she said, t
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Who knew what the future held? Maybe things would look even more different in a few years. After all, look how much had changed in a few short months.I walked down to get a better view of everyone. So many familiar faces. Chelsey and Crew, of course. Mika, with Zoe snuggled right up against him. J.D. and Leif, holding hands. Leif’s body, face, and attitude were stronger and healthier than during our final days on Bloodstone Island. It had taken weeks of intensive work with spell casters, healers, and psychologists, but he’d fully recovered. No longer feral, he’d begun working with J.D. to form a nonprofit company to help shifters who were in danger of going feral or who had recently slipped over. He wanted to give everyone the same help he’d been given.Abel had come with his new girlfriend, the woman he’d always thought should have been his fated mate. My brother Kolton stood beside Eli, their hands clasped together. Eli was even more beautiful than before. After we’d revealed all t
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I needed to speak to Kira alone. Now that everything was wrapping up, I had to see how she was doing. Taking her hand, I led her back down the hallway to a private alcove. I kissed her, my lips lingering on hers for longer than necessary. All the stress of the last few days—hell, the last few weeks—finally felt like it was easing. Now we would have time to think and recover.“How are you?” I asked. “After what Simon did to you in there?”Watching her turn into a mindless animal had frightened me even more than when she’d attacked me. Seeing those soulless eyes glaring down at me while she snapped and growled had damn near broken my heart.Kira took a steadying breath and nodded. “For a minute or two there, I really thought I might kill you. I had no control. The idea of killing my own fated mate was horrifying. I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life. But it’s over.” That beautiful smile returned to her face. “Whatever Lucina did broke that spell. I don’t think I’ll eve
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The elevator trip was spent in silence, each of us basking in the other’s happiness and relief. Kira’s emotions bounced through my mind, and I was ecstatic that we hadn’t lost this deep, binding connection.At the ground floor, the doors slid open and we were met with two voices, one mewling and begging, the other pissed.“Told your ass not to run, didn’t I? And my name is fucking August, not Autumn!”What the hell was going on?“Please, you must let me go, you must. I have fans. Oh, gods, it hurts. What do you want? Money? I can get you girls. Boys, if that’s your speed? Whatever you want!”Von?I turned to look at Kira, and her eyes were as shocked as mine. We sprinted from the elevator and around the corner. Von was pinned to the wall with the broken leg of a chair. The makeshift stake pierced him in the shoulder rather than the heart. August stood before him, using a hand to hold the vampire’s head up. Seeing us coming down the hall, he let Von go, letting the host dangle six inch
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Movement caught my eye, and I glanced at our friends. August was talking hurriedly to Crew, who nodded and took over control of the camera. August then rushed over to take a seat at the table while Crew zoomed the camera in close to August’s face.“Good afternoon, world. I hope you enjoyed the latest episode of the new show, What the Fuck? I’m your host, August Evander.“Now that I have a captive audience, I have some cats—er, dogs—to let out of the bag. I’m sure you’ll all enjoy this. We all love dirt. Let’s spill the tea, shall we?”August rambled off the information he’d dug up, starting with Crew’s parents. He proceeded to discuss the Tranquility Council’s corruption, the assassinations carried out by Tranquility operatives, pay-offs, embezzling, blackmailing, paid-off judges, murders, and more. Nearly every alpha and beta from the upper packs were named in some dirty dealing or another.At first, we stood transfixed by August’s rapid-fire delivery, but eventually, the board membe
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Heline turned and registered the camera. A mix of emotions flashed across her face--confusion, understanding, shock, anger, fear, rage. Her face was even paler than before as she took in the truth. Millions had seen and listened to her admit to all she’d done.Behind me, Wyatt chuckled. “After all this, I can’t believe I’m happy to see a camera.”Heline’s eyes widened, and I thought she was going to unleash a tirade on us. But instead, she grinned and laughed along with Wyatt.“Yes, yes, yes, so funny,” she chuckled. “Of course I knew that camera was there. Do you really think the great Heline would let anything happen to her acolytes? I care deeply for them. I would never allow harm to come to them for something I allegedly did.”“Really?” I asked dryly.“I fully intended to make the fated mate pairings right again. I always did, my dear girl,” Heline added.The way she called me dear girl made my guts go watery and cold. The smile on her lips was no longer jovial. It looked like the
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Stop! Please no, don’t hurt him. Gods, please stop, I screamed out at myself from deep in my mental prison, but through my internal screams, I watched as the jaws that had once belonged to me snapped and bit at Wyatt. He managed to hold me back, his hands under my jaw, but I was strong and he’d been caught unaware. I couldn’t even hear his thoughts or emotions now. All I could see was the terror in his eyes as my teeth drew nearer his neck.“Enough!” a shout erupted from behind me.Even in the manic feral state of my body, whatever controlled me turned to see the mousy woman standing. She lifted her arms and a flash of magic shot forward, surrounding me in a net of darkness, the strands of it digging painfully into me. With a jerk of her hand, I was hauled away from Wyatt, leaving him blessedly safe.Inside the strange magical net, Simon’s influence melted away, the weird connection between us shattering. Suddenly, I was free. Freer than I’d felt since that night all those years ago.
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“I can’t die like this,” he gasped. “My fans. They’re watching. If I die on air, it will be appalling.”Ignoring Von’s pleas, Wyatt said, “Call for Heline, Von.”Von’s murmured begging ceased. “Excuse me?”“Of every person on this show, you’ve been around the longest. If anyone knows the moon goddess, it’s you. You see her at the end of every damned season. Call her. Tell her to get her ass down here. Now.”“But…but…but,” Von stammered. “My boy, I can’t simply call to a goddess—aah!” Von’s words cut off in a shriek as Wyatt dug the pencil in deeper.“Von,” Wyat said with a sad shake of his head, “I am not a fan of yours. Please don’t piss me off. I’ve staked enough vamps in my day to know exactly how scared you are of this pencil.”I couldn’t take my eyes off Von’s face. The sheer terror I saw there was both sad and cathartic. He’d put us through so much shit, had giggled, laughed, and applauded over it. Now he was getting a taste of the danger he loved—and it seemed he wasn’t a fan.
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Every time I tried to open my mouth, nothing came out. I must have looked guilty beyond belief. Wyatt turned toward me and saw the look of horror in my eyes. The fingers of his mind drifted into mine, and an instant later, he spun in his chair, angry eyes leveling on Simon.“He’s doing something to her,” Wyatt snapped.Simon adjusted his glasses and laughed. “Me? I’m doing nothing. Perhaps Ms. Durst is simply speechless with guilt for her crimes. Have you thought about that, Mr. Rivers?”Veins bulged at my neck as I tried to force words from my mouth, but it was like a brick wall had been built between my voice box and my mouth. I stared down at the table, at the pad of paper and sharpened pencil I had before me, trying to make sense of what was happening. Around the room, the other guests and board members glared at me with dark, accusing eyes.A hand touched my leg. Firm yet gentle, gripping my thigh. The fingers cool even through my pants. Von’s assistant. Surprised, I glanced down
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Chapter 25 Kira The hesitancy I felt as we walked toward the table nearly made me freeze in place, but I pushed forward. I would not let these assholes see me weak.Before each seat was a legal pad and pencil, as if they expected us to take notes or something. Wyatt took his seat, and I sat beside him, the mousy little assistant on my other side. The woman still hadn’t said a word, which didn’t surprise me. If I had to be around Von Thornton all day, I’d keep my mouth shut, too. The guy never seemed to stop talking. The poor woman had probably given up on speaking while at work.Simon’s eyes were still on me. Even without looking in his direction, I could feel them boring into me. In the deepest recesses of my mind, I could still catch small hints and whispers of his voice, calling to me. It was less like the connection Wyatt and I shared and more like a faint memory. Any hope I’d had that I’d imagi
