Hi Readers! My apologies for the delay. I was stuck after the last chapter. It took a bit to figure out the next direction, but I'm all good now. Feel free to comment.
~Zahara~ This is an interesting development. It never crossed my mind that Cory has a pack just like I do. I knew his father had died, but I guess I never thought about all that would be tied to that. The Wild Tail Pack is actually Cory’s birthright even though Laslo is calling himself Alpha. As nervous as Cory is about running a pack, I’d do anything to get him what is rightfully his. This new development filled my mind while I showered. There has been so much going on from finding out about the pills Cory had been given, trying to help at the Winter Pack, Laslo still coming after me, and this new information. The shower proved to be extremely relaxing and exactly what I need. I didn’t want to stay too long because I did leave Cory with my father. Don’t get me wrong, my father is a great man. He is kind and gentle. The fact remains that I’m his daughter and Cory is my mate. Kind or not, a dad is a dad. I finish in the shower and step out, wrapping my t
~Zahara~ As soon as the door closes I huff and hear a chuckle behind me. “I swear, Lennox, you have the WORST timing……always!” Lennox gets closer to me and throws his arm around my shoulder. We head down stairs to get to my father’s office. “Don’t be mad at me, Z. It wasn’t my idea to meet right now. You know I hate to be a cockblocker…….well in your case, a puss-blocker.” Lennox starts to laugh and I elbow him in his ribs. “Shit Z, that hurts.” I turn to Lennox and smirk in satisfaction. We walk into my father’s office and he is talking to Simeon, our Beta and Lennox’s dad. Lennox and I sit on the couch in the office and wait for our fathers. “Guys, how did your trip go?” My father looks between Lennox and I, awaiting our report. Lennox launches into the issues that we had to help the pack with and the training that we helped with. “We have always had a good relationship with the Winter Pack and we hope that you two can continue that once we
~Cory~ I feel sparks on my cheek and my eyes shoot open. Zahara is lying next to me, stroking my face. I look around my room and quickly realize it’s Zahara’s room. I never left her room when she left to meet with her dad. “How long have I been out?” “Not too long, though I have to admit that I have been watching you sleep for a while. I didn’t have the heart to wake you……you looked too cute.” I can feel my cheeks heat up at this revelation. I swear Zahara has the most beautiful brown eyes. I could drown in them. They always seem to look through me and see something in me that no one else has seen. “We need to talk.” Immediately I can feel my stomach coil tightly. Those are not the words that anyone really wants to hear. I look at Zahara, not knowing what to say next. I try to find an answer in her eyes, but there is nothing there other than love. “What do we need to talk about?” I maneuver so that I’m on my back, staring up at the ceiling. Zahara shuff
~Nona~ I’ve had my freedom for a bit now, but it isn’t real freedom. I can’t leave this damn house. The only freedom I feel is the fact that I’m no longer chained like an animal and Zora has finally come back. She is as torn as I am though. She feels the mate bond fully, but hates Nero as much as I hate Laslo. They are holding us here against our will. Laslo comes and goes and when he’s here, the mate bond wins out and we have our way with each other. When he is gone, I reflect on my situation and I feel sick to my stomach. In reality, I’m feeling sick in real life. I have spent so much time bending over the toilet, emptying my stomach. I know what this could be, but I don’t want that to be the case. I don’t want to be tied to Laslo forever. I want to gather as much strength as I can and reject his ass. I just can’t find that strength in me. Zora can’t find it either. She has been so quiet and so defeated. We have always wanted our mate, but never under any circum
~Zahara~ Cory completely freaked out when I told him we need to introduce him to the pack. I know how nerve racking that can be, especially under these circumstances. I know he is afraid of how the pack will receive him, but he has to have faith that he will be welcomed with open arms. Cory and I spent the night in bed, but we just held each other and talked. I always enjoyed talking to Cory, even when it was just a short homeroom class in high school. We would discuss anything and everything and I always felt so at ease with him. It probably should have occurred to me that he was my mate, but I had no idea. We decided a short announcement at dinner the next day would be enough of an introduction. I don’t want to over do it for Cory. He is still very timid about a lot of things and I don’t want him to spiral out. My parents agreed that a short introduction at dinner would be the best way to handle this situation. I had some reports to finish u
~Lennox~ Zahara stares at me, waiting for me to tell her what’s going on. I have to admit that I don’t really know what to say. I know Cory has had no formal training and that his world has been forced down for so long. I also know that Cory is of Alpha blood, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened. I wasn’t prepared for what I experienced today.*Flashback* “Good job, Cory. Make sure you put your weight on that back foot and put all of your power into your swing.” Cory is taking direction really well, I have to say. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. He is used to taking orders and his Alpha blood makes him a bit of a natural. Cory is a quick study and that will make this process so a lot smoother. Cory continues to practice the moves I have been teaching him when we are interrupted by the last voice I really want to hear. “Well look at what we have here boys……the wolfless wonder!” Shit……the terrible trio. How isn’t that they made their way here? We are
~Zahara~ I did not expect to hear what Lennox just told me. He said that Cory’s Alpha aura is stronger than my own and I know mine is pretty strong. He fought back and broke Frankie’s bone; that, alone, is crazy and so not like Cory. He is usually meek and quiet, letting things happen around him while he tries to zone out. I guess having his wolf wake up is changing a lot about Cory and I can’t really be mad about that. Lennox leaves me after telling me everything that happened with training. I am tempted to find Cory and check on him, but I decide not to. I don’t want him to think that I need to check up on him constantly. I want him to be bold and make choices on his own. The more I think about what Lennox told me, the more I believe this may actually be for the best. Word will spread about what happened with the terrible trio and that will bolster Cory’s image with the pack. They won’t see him as some weak, wolfless person. They will see him as str
~Zahara~ Silence fills the room and I’m in awe. Everyone is suffering under the weight of my mate’s aura. Everyone except myself and my parents. Being Cory’s mate means that I don’t fall to his aura; he doesn’t have that type of power over him and it’s the same for me. My parents are still the current Luna and Alpha so they have more power than myself and Cory right now. Neither of my parents has said anything about what is going on. I would have expected them to stop this or reel Cory in, but they are just watching everything unfold. My mom is shaking her head, but she has a slight grin on her face. My dad actually looks proud. He is sitting in the chair tall and proud. My eyes find Frankie and I watch him. He looks to be dying under the weight of Cory’s aura. His arm is in a sling and he is sweating profusely. I reach out and gently touch Cory. He doesn’t look at me, but I can feel his aura receding. Cory takes a step away from the table to fully face
~Third Person~ Four months have passed quickly, and so much has happened. The Wild Tail pack quickly got over the loss of their known leaders. Everyone wasn’t on board with Cory as Alpha, but no one felt strongly enough to voice their opposition. Cory and Zahara made some changes to how the pack treated others as well as how they went about daily life. Cory’s hope was to have everyone feel welcomed and everyone works together to keep the pack going. Even pack members who are against Cory can’t deny the benefits he was bringing to the pack. Cory and Zahara officially take over the Ash Band pack as well. Things continue to go smoothly there as they had before. Flora decided to stay at the Ash Band pack, there being too many negative memories back home. Flora and Maurice found a few common interests and are rarely without each other. The elders took Frankie because of his crimes against his Alphas. Len and Justin were given the opportunity to do better and o
~Zahara~ Elder Langston had his people take away Margaret and Gunner. He had them get rid of Laslo’s body. There were some wet eyes among the members and a lot of distrusting looks thrown toward Cory. I understand that years-long misinformation can’t be fixed in a matter of minutes, but at some point, they will have to let certain things go. I stay near the stage in case anyone had any questions, but no one is approaching me. Cory is off speaking with Elder Langston while his people take care of the cleanup. This entire situation has been crazy but necessary in the end. There is no way that Cory and I could enjoy our future with any of this hanging over our heads. I hate that Cory had to lose so much, but I will be sure to try to make up for it for the rest of our lives. I notice Lennox sitting in a chair, leaning back, looking up at the sky. He has been quiet since we returned, and I’m not sure what’s going on. I should probably talk to him, but before I
~Cory~ I have to say, as surprised as I am, I'm ecstatic for Cyrus. He is a good guy and has always tried his hardest to do right by my dad and me. I'm glad that he finally gets to have his happiness. As great as all that is, it's time to face the crowd. Zahara and I walk outside so we can address the pack. They were told to meet for an announcement, and it seems that everyone has gathered. It's hard to look out into the crowd. I have known everyone here for some time, and they haven't been the best to me. Some of the pack has treated me indifferently, not really doing anything against me or helping me. Others got their jollies from treating me horribly, and I will never forget that. Zahara and I stand off to the side, surveying the group. Lennox and Elder Langston are standing on the small stage that was put up for this. We are in the back of the packhouse, where there is way more space to fit all of the pack members. We watch Bryn and Cyrus walk by, wea
~Zahara~ Cory is so much stronger than he realizes. He keeps getting thrown curve balls, but he rises above and makes it out the other side. I’m not sure how I would have handled all that Cory has had to deal with. We sorted through the presented evidence, which is all compelling. Elder Langston has gone through it and has alerted the other elders. Everyone now knows what happened to former Alpha Brian Williams, and it’s tragic, to say the least. He picked a woman who he felt would make a good chosen mate. He accepted her son and treated him as his own. The minute he brought in his own son, there was an issue, though. From the information we gathered, it looks like they decided to end the Alpha’s life because of Cory because Cory exists. His existence is a reminder that the Alpha created a child with someone else. The thing about it is that he met his fated mate. The fact that they didn’t immediately choose each other is a testament to his loyalty and se
~Cory~ I’m so so tempted to end him right here and right now. Laslo is passed out, and it would take nothing for me to snap his neck this way or even rip his throat out. A hand into his chest, going for the heart, would work as well. Something in me is telling me that isn’t the way to go, that I need to be better about this. I let Laslo drop to the floor and get some warriors to fit him with silver chains so he can be transported back. Nona is still holding onto my mate, and it's a bit troublesome. I want nothing more than to rip her from Nona and truly show her how much I missed her. It is a struggle to hold myself back at this moment, but I really don’t have much choice. “What are you going to do with him?” Nona is using a whispered voice. A part of me doesn’t understand why she should care, but then again, it makes sense. They were fated mates, and that is something hard to turn off. Yes, they rejected each other, but those feelings can still linger to
~Cory~ Laslo came at me quickly, throwing his fist at my face, but I was able to dodge it. That didn’t deter him, as he threw an elbow back and was able to connect with my ear. We kept going like this; Laslo coming at me and me dodging his attacks. Laslo quickly became angered and shifted into his wolf. I spent some time fighting his wolf in human form, and that seemed to anger him even more. I have never been in a position to fight back or to defend myself before, Laslo always having an advantage over me. Now I know who I was always meant to be, and that isn’t someone who is supposed to be a punching bag. Once I shift into my wolf, things get more interesting. Laslo is coming at me again and again while I try my hardest to cut him off. I want to end him, but I don’t want it to be quick. There is no enjoyment if he isn’t able to fight back a bit. Laslo is fighting back. He continues to swipe at me, and each connection is a new sting. I can feel
~Zahara~ Laslo left the room quickly, and that propelled me to try to get out of these restraints. I have to get myself free before Laslo comes back, or I’m sure that he will try to finish what he started. I don’t know how long he’ll be gone, so time is of the essence. I twist and pull, trying my hardest to loosen up the ropes around my wrists. These ropes seem to be expertly tied. The ropes are as tight as when I first got there. Damn, I wish I had Aria right now. I could be out of this quickly by just extending a claw and slashing the ropes. I shake that thought out of my head and focus on the task at hand. The hallways are filled with the sounds of people crying and screaming. I want to know who’s attacking. Maybe it’s actually my pack; if it is, I know I will be out of here soon. If it isn’t my pack, I need to get free, so I can defend myself if needed, but these damn ropes won’t budge. GRRRRRRR! I can hear screams, ‘stop
~Laslo ~ “We’re under attack.” “FROM WHO?!” I growl out, shaking the cave and causing dust and pebbles to rain on our heads. “I…..I….I’m nnn…nnot sssssssure.” Pathetic! I push past the weak wolf with the intent of seeing what the hell is going on. I turn to Zahara, seeing her bent at the waist and breathing heavily. “We will finish this later.” I head down the hall and watch people running back and forth in front of me. I have no idea who is attacking, but I plan to find out. “Laslo!” I see my mom at the cave entrance, and she looks distraught. “What the hell is going on, mom?” She looks outside the cave, at me, and back again. “It’s Ash Band. They found us.” I growl ferociously, and those around me still look fearful. “Take care of Nona and Zahara. I will handle this; it won’t take long.” I can’t believe that weak fucker actually found me and came out here. What did he expect would happen if we met
Time went by fast but slowly at the same time. I tried to sleep and eat, but the anxiety of what's to come took over. I'm beyond ready to start this because I will have my mate back when it's over. I will be able to breathe again once I get my mate back. I head downstairs and out the door to meet with everyone else. Lennox is waiting for me with Elder Langston, Beta Cyrus, and a bunch of our warriors. We have a plan and are ready to go with it. It will take us about 45 minutes to get to the area of caves. We plan to travel in three groups and come from different angles. The plan is to take the site with as little bloodshed as possible. The only blood I want spilling is Laslo's, and I want to take care of it myself. We divide into groups, and half of us in each group shift into our wolves. The rest of us get on all-terrain vehicles to back us up. They will stop a bit away from the area and pick up anyone who tries to flee. We start to run, and I