Mj ran through the packhouse with every intention of crashing in Sam’s room, but when she finally stopped her heart practically dropped into her stomach when she realized she was standing in front of her old room. The assassin inhaled and was rewarded when her senses were overloaded with the pleasant scent of smokey cedar, indicating Dante had been there recently. Mj looked around cautiously before sliding the door open and was practically shocked to find the room had been returned to her unharmed. There was even her old dirty duffle bag slung up on the bed with some of Mj’s clothes hanging out of it. The strange feeling of being back in this room was causing Mj’s head to swim with confusion, so she decided to just lay down on the bed and as her body crashed onto the neatly straightened cover Mj drove her face straight into the pillow she somehow knew Dante had used. As she curled herself around the lingering scent of someone else's wolf, the sound of crinkled paper alerted her to di
Mj passed Jay her phone after hanging up with Azreal and pursed her lips as she wiggled uncomfortably in the small, very tight strapless dress Sam had given her. The assassin tried to argue that a sensible pair of pants and a t-shirt would be perfect to move in during combat, but Ace had reminded her they were staging a hand off and nobody showed up to a club in combat boots and jeans. John Pearl stood outside the open car door and handed Jay a syringe before giving Mj’s appearance a once over, “are you hoping to kill them with your legs assassin,” the doctor mused and Mj’s skin ran cold as she watched his eyes travel up and down her exposed skin. Jay swiftly popped his fist upward into John’s nose, and the doctor groaned as blood squirted from his beak.Mj giggled at her brother as he simply winked at her and shoved the business end of the needle into Casper’s arm. The club owners head flopped to the side, and he grumbled, Mj twisted her lips up in uncertainty, “is this gonna work if
Moxie did his best not to fidget or pace as he watched the human guards scurry, slamming Jay’s head into the side of the car while Ace hailed them from down the path. The impatient hunter's body itched with the need to insert himself in the situation, but Moxie took several deep breaths, saving his anxious energy for the coming events. Yanking his phone from his pocket, Moxie called Sam, “the Commander said to keep yo crew in small clustered groups when you head down the embankment, and hurry Sammie… Ace just offered himself up as bait.” Moxie slammed the phone back into his pocket without waiting for a response and swallowed the guilt he felt for exploiting Sam’s feelings for Ace in order to ensure the safety of his own mate.The sound of a snapping twig and crunching leaves directly behind him caused Moxie to whirl around and throw a punch, only to have his wrist grabbed by Sam as the tall thin hunter settled in next to him, “that was fast,” he hissed in amusement and Sam only nodde
Jay bent forward at the waist and cautiously crept toward the dark pod, as he entered he was met with the flash of yellow eyes and a deep threatening growl followed by the muffled cries of a small baby. Jay put his hands up in the air and stood up straight, “we came here to help,” he began and the snarling sound of a young wolf’s desperate attempt to be vicious and intimidating rang out, echoing off the walls of the small room. Jay took a step back and kept his hands up, “ok, it’s ok, we aren't here to hurt you,” he tried again and this time the sound of an angry voice echoed the walls, “LIAR,” a young girl's voice spat, “lab coat,” she growled and Jay kicked himself before shrugging it off and dropping it on the floor. “I stole it from a dead guy,” he admitted and was rewarded with a shocking gasp, “LIAR,” she spat and Jay scratched the back of his head before he shrugged, “look,” he began and stopped when Moxie’s warm chuckle floated into the room, “relax sher, give him a break yea,
Moxie stood outside the large compound engulfed in chaos and tried his hardest not to pace, the group of children and traumatized adults were looking to him for strength but as a LaFlare by birth and a Quicksilver hunter by choice the need to be defending his brothers and sisters was beginning to way heavy on him when the sound of Sam’s voice gave him a slight amount of reprieve. “Is this everyone,” she asked and Moxie grunted as he shook his head, “Jay is still in there, might be more,” he mumbled until the doors burst open to reveal his mate carrying a fragile looking woman while another small group of emaciated wolves followed him out.Sam whistled and held up her hand as a few more wolves from her crew rushed forward to help Jay and the others settle with the rest of the group. Sam’s eyes almost bulged out of her head as the furry young girl slid out from behind Jay. The fair-haired hunter turned to the young extraordinary looking girl and once more knelt to speak to her, “this
After managing to find a small access door hidden flush against the wall, Mack and Marco shifted before peeling the small door away from the wall. Mj smirked as she watched the swamp wolves open the hidden passage like a tuna can and slowly made their way inside before she followed them with Azreal on her tail. The four of them slowly made their way through the dark corridor and as Mj began to stumble in the dim lit passage one of the twins grunted as he pressed his back against her side and Mj smirked as she grabbed his large furry misshapen hand, “lead the way LaFlare I can’t see,” she whispered and although the information seemed wrong, the more she tried to see through the dark the more intense the pressure became behind her eyes and just as the sensation began to turn into another migraine Mj felt Azreal brush past her. The Alpha thrust his shoulder into a sealed door in front of them and with a little resistance, the door burst open, a small fluorescent light popped a small bit
Mj blinked as Jay shook her, and she could see his mouth moving, but her mind was still trying to work through all the things she had seen inside the facility that she didn’t understand anything he said to her. The assassin pulled Jay’s phone from its safe place inside the tattered remains of the bodice on her dress and handed it to him, “thanks,” she chirped and Jay’s mouth once again hung open as she half ran toward Azreal, who was still barking orders at the newly arriving convoy of vehicles.Jay followed with the feeling of dread looming over him and the feeling only intensified as Mj began to speak, “Alpha, is Casper still here,” she asked and Azreal nodded, only half paying her any mind as he helped load more people into cars and send them on their way. “Casper is still being held in the car you arrived in assassin, I kept it with the driver so that you, Jay and myself had a reserved way home,” he barked and began to count the line of cars.Azreal turned to Sam, “any more injur
Lila stood on the front steps of the pack house pacing, every available motorized vehicle that was on the premises had been sent to assist her mate. The feelings she was reading from Calix were making her feel panicked, and all she could do was pace and worry until the early signs of returning wolves peaked just over the horizon of her vision. Mara put her palm in the center of Lila’s back and the overly worried Beta sighed softly just before Tanner came stumbling out the door, almost falling straight into the both of them. Tanner grabbed Mara’s shoulder and Lila’s shoulder as he squeezed his face between them and hugged both women tightly. “Why the long faces ladies, we won, everybody is coming home,” he cheered and Lila pulled herself away from the celebratory hug before she turned to face Tanner and Mara, “I didn’t want to say anything in front of the kids but, we lost a few wolves,” she said somberly and Tanner grabbed Mara’s hand as she gasped, “about twenty, some from packs and
In the weeks and months that followed Dante and Mj set to work building a pack their wayward people could call home. Some chose to leave, Mj agreed and almost insisted that they all stay in her building in Lowder until they figured out where they wanted to be. She assured Dante this was the best course of action as it kept them safe while they learned about the world and kept the Bijou pack safe, as the Alpha’s could easily keep an eye on anyone wishing to leave. Mj and Lila spoke on the phone almost daily, and the Quicksilver Alpha had even gotten her techno - impaired friend to do video calls, so they could truly visit with one another. In that time, the two women had exchanged troubling tales of walkers that continued to plague the outskirts of Bijou territory, while the Quicksilver pack was having its own trouble training hunters and tracking down the other Triad testing facilities. The two Alpha’s started to become somewhat legendary as they paved the way for a new way. Every wol
Mj looked at the phone in her hand and then at her mate, “I think she hung up on me,” she said and Dante laughed as he grabbed the small square device from her hand and tossed it over his head, “good, now I get you all to myself, yummy” he growled before wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into the center of her chest and inhaling. Mj cupped his face, smashing it between her breasts, “we have time for this later Alpha, we have a pack to rebuild and a family to prepare for,” she said and Dante looked up into her eyes with an excitement she had never seen as he placed the palm of his hand over her stomach, “are you,” he asked, and she let a laugh blast from her chest, “hell no, number one, it’s way too early to know… I think, and two I was actually talking about Moxie and the brood of babies he and Jay now have,” Mj finished and Dante looked at her, first, slightly disappointed and then confused, “kitten,” the Alpha cocked his head, “how the fuck,” he began and Mj laughed
Azreal led Lila by the hand toward the Alpha’s private office, and although she knew they had to make this call now, it did not stop her from dragging her feet all the way to the desk. Azreal smirked at the new furniture arrangement before pulling the large ornate armchair out from the desk, “your seat my lady,” he rumbled, and although she suddenly wanted nothing more than to rip his clothes off and let him have his way with her right there on the desk, she was now the acting Alpha and unfortunately that was a fantasy she would have to put on hold. Lila sat back in the chair while Azreal pushed her up to the desk and as she reached for the phone, Azreal put both of his hands to work on her shoulders. Lila groaned in pleasure as she lifted the phone. “What do I tell her?” she asked, and Azreal kissed the side of her head as he continued messaging her shoulders and neck. “You are the Alpha my love, what do you think you should tell her,” he answered and Lila made a small, unpleasant
The sound of hushed voices woke Azreal with a start as he realized his youngest children were no longer cradled between his arms as they had been when he fell asleep. Sitting up, he exhaled when Lila and Beth stood in the kitchen, each with one small bundle wrapped in their arms. Azreal stood up, stretching his arms, before he approached the women in the kitchen. “Alpha,” Beth said respectfully and bowed her head. Azreal glanced at Lila and smirked, “Beth… I am no longer an Alpha, just call me Azreal,” he mused and watched as the corners of her mouth twitched up just slightly as Briella and Matty made their way back into the suite, followed by Aliza and Adler.“Momma can we take the babies outside to play,” Aliza asked as she twirled around in her canary yellow dress and as Lila inhaled to answer, Azreal bent down to address his youngest daughter, “Lizzie sweetie, the boys are very young and they are vulnerable, it's not safe for them to be without me or your mother,” he explained and
After making it into their suite and getting the muddy youngsters clean, Lila waited until they were occupied with other activities before she approached Azreal, “we need to talk Alpha, alone,” she said softly and Azreal looked at her with a genuine but soft concern. Azreal stood, reluctantly leaving the side of his sleeping infant boys, and approached his mate. “You seem tired my love, would you like a bath?” he asked her with a wry smile and Lila grinned at him warmly, “Azz I would love nothing more than to take a bath with you, but I think you should hear me out first, you may not want to be in the same room with me let alone a bathtub,” she warned and Azreal’s eyebrow arched so high it almost disappeared in his dark hairline, “my greatest love, my Beta, my mate, and the mother of my legacy, there is nothing on this planet or any other that would make me not want to be naked with you,” he said with a heated look and Lila sighed. “Azreal I mean it. I already spoke with the hunters a
Lila exhaled again as she dismissed the hunters and followed them out of the Alpha’s private office. Mara turned to her and offered a warm smile, “for what it’s worth, I think what you are doing is incredibly brave, for what it's worth,” she tried and Lila offered her an appreciative smile, “thank you Mara, I really needed to hear that, sometimes I just don't know what the right decision is,” Lila shook her head, fighting back the tears threatening to fall from her face, “especially right now,” she added and Mara offered the Beta a firm and warm hug, “don’t worry Lila this pack loves you almost as much as the Alpha does, they will stand behind you the way we are, because even we can see the change in him,” she finished before Tanner turned to find his mate lagging behind with their Beta. As he approached Lila tucked her head slightly and Tanner cleared his throat, “Be- uh, Lila, when things have settled here I would very much like to take a trip up to see the new Bijou Alpha and Beta
Moxie watched Azreal disappear with his children, and as hard as the faithful hunter tried, he could not keep the hateful poison from his heart. Thoughts of sadness and melancholy swirled around his mind as the swamp wolf stood by waiting for direction. “Why should Azreal be the only one to enjoy the wholeness of his family,” Moxie thought to himself and, almost as if his Beta could hear his thoughts, Lila approached him and held out her arms.Moxie looked at her suspiciously and she only smiled at him in kind, “I miss him too, but not more than you, do you need-,” she began, and before the Beta could finish, Moxie landed against her chest, his arms wrapped around her waist like a small child as his back shuddered with every silent tear he shed. Sam, Tanner, and Ace all stood by looking between one another in confusion and a growing sense of worry, “his sadness consumes him,” Briella murmured from behind them and the trio all turned to the young Alpha for direction, but she only tur
Azreal tried to settle into the uncomfortable silence that had engulfed their ride home since Lila watched Jay chase the S.U.V. Moxie was in, howling a forlorn tale as the shifted hunter galloped furiously alongside his departing mate. The sound of Jay’s whaling howl finally faded into silence and as Azreal looked to his mate, she tightly folded her arms around her chest and sat with her back as rigid and unforgiving as a steep mountain cliff, “I won’t speak to you,” she snapped and Azreal sat back into his seat slightly in shock, “why,” he asked, genuinely curious and Lila simply shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. Azreal threw his hand into the air before letting it fall onto his thigh, making a loud smacking sound, “what would you have had me do Lila,” he asked in a frustrated but soft tone and the Quicksilver Beta snapped her head in his direction with a look of malice seated deep into her eyes, “did you hear his heart break Azreal, how could you,” she hissed and Azreal l
Mj waited with her heart pounding in her chest for the crowd to make their decision, and although she could tell quite a few of them were not pleased with some of the things that were happening, they were also not leaving, so she took several deep breaths and placed herself calmly in the seat at the center of the podium. Lou and Dante followed, although Dante moved his arm to caress the side of her fingers, trying his best to show her that he was there to support her through the tough decisions they now had to make. “Bring the first one forward,” Mj spoke with a hint of the wolf beneath her voice, and Dante sat next to her with pride swelling in his chest to such a vast degree he thought he might pop. As the first Nerezza guard was shoved forward and slammed to his knees, Mj peered over the podium at him before she looked out over the crowd, “state the nature of his crimes,” she demanded with the confidence of an Alpha, and with little hesitation the other pack members began rattling