Maverick's Pov I've sent James back to the pack to ease the minds of those I left behind. It wasn't really a hard decision. He was already working my last nerve. It was either that, maim him or kill him. I doubt the pack will trust me much if I killed my own beta. “You've been searching for days now rogue, is your sense of direction that bad?” I said, hitting his already bruised face. “I swear it was around here somewhere. I don't know why I can't find it anymore.” he spat out another loose tooth and blood and started looking around frantically. “You are becoming as useless as the seer. The only difference being you're disposable and she isn't. At least not yet” “I swear. It was around here.” He said again. “You have repeated that word one too many times. ‘I swear'. Your swear means nothing if you can't back it up with facts or evidence” I knelt down to his level “I'll give you one more chance. So think carefully about your answers before you say them. Are we in the right direct
Ares’ PovIt's nerve wracking as I watch the volunteers prepare to leave. With each gear they arrange, I feel muscles coil on itself. I've ingrained each face into my memory. Well, all but one.Carlton helps them with their gears while giving them advice. “Even if you're all going in at different points, put your safety first. If you feel like you're in danger, fall back and signal to the rest of the pack and if you can't signal them, then leave a clue so they can find you”“Your safety comes first. Remember all you need to do is get in and get out. Any information you find is enough. Don't die out there tryna prove something” Jason instructed.I have a really bad feeling about sending them out. Especially with Allison as one of them. She might actually kill them before Maverick gets the chance to. They are about to walk into an enemy camp. While I appreciate that they're doing this for me, having someone's death on my conscience isn't exactly giving peace of mind.“Whatever you do, m
Something that represents me. It was something I had to think long and hard on. How I wanted to represent myself. Josh is indirectly asking who I am and who I saw myself as.Who am I? Am I still the same girl that was rejected by her mate for her sister. Am I the girl whose parents stood by and did nothing as I was chased out or am I the girl whose parents died trying to protect me? Am I the girl who has grown to understand that it's okay to rely on people.How can I channel all of this into one bow?. I thought long and hard before I finally started to visualise it.I did it over and over again. It got easier the more I repeated the action. I carved something new in the bow with each materialisation, by the time I was done, I was drenched in sweat, but I felt good about what I'd created. “What would you name it?” Josh finally spoke when I was done.“Verdant heartstring” I whispered in awe.“Why did you choose it?”“It represents me. It represents my growth. It represents what I've be
Jason's PovI warmed up while I waited for Josh to meet me at the clearing. I tried to fill myself with as much adrenaline as I could before he came.I heard the sound of a car pulling up around the corner before I saw it. The gravel crunch under his weight as he walked towards me.“Alpha” he greeted. I know it was just a sign of courtesy. He was always different. Even before I found out he was the last surviving royal beta. His position was higher than mine before I became Ares’ mate.“Josh” I nodded back. “I saw what Ares did. Good work”“Thank you, but we are not here to discuss her progress. We are here to increase yours” he said “I know how you fight and I know you are good with almost all kinds of weapons. Tell me the one you're most comfortable with” he asked.“There are varieties I'm compatible with, it's gonna be hard to choose.” I said.“Okay. think about it while you shift and have Dax use your powers” he said and leaned against a tree.“You want me to burn my fur?” I asked
“Are you sure he's not a psychopath?” Dax said in my mind. “At this point, I'm beginning to question it myself” I answered as I watched Josh fumbling around his car.“Here, catch.” He said throwing a bottle at me. I caught it mid air before I spoke. “What are you up to, Josh?”“I'm giving you time while I do this” he said and jacked out weapons from his booth. A staff, a katana, chains, another spear and a whip. He really came here with the intention to maim or kill me.“I only practiced the katana ‘cause I thought it looked cool. That thing hardly works on a werewolf” I reminded him.“Oh” he returned it and turned back to me. “So what will it be?” He gestured at the rest.I pinch the bridge of my nose to get rid of the incoming migraine. I am going to regret this. “The chains” I finally chose.“Okay” he returned the rest. “Finished?” He nodded at the bottle in my hand.“Yes” I threw the empty bottle at him.“Let's dance”We walked back to the open field with Josh dragging the chains
Maverick's Pov“We found these two near the camp entrance.” One of the guards reported. I didn't pause my movement as I pivoted the last crumb of food from my cutlery to my mouth.I wasn't sure what he was called. Cahill, Calliou, Carson, whatever it was, I don't care. He didn't enjoy spilling blood as much as Deaton and I so that makes him irrelevant to me.Back to the situation at hand. A trespasser. How wonderful. I was getting bored waiting for the seer to work her voodoo and search for Ares.“And who might we have here?” I speak after swallowing. “No one,” one of them answered fearlessly.“What is no one doing in my camp? I don't remember sending invites about hosting a get together. So I see no reason for you to be lurking about my camp” I said.“I wasn't lurking, I was just passing by when your guys dragged me in” ‘no one’ said. I hummed in thought. “What about you?” I asked the other.“I was travelling in this direction. I'm on my way to visit my sister at the pack over” he sa
Jason's Pov“Don't play around with your food bean” I corrected Adriana again for the third time. Ares has just been watching us argue back and forth about the food for the last minute.“You should listen to your Dad baby. It's bad to play with food” Ares said to Adriana who immediately became docile. My daughter no longer obeys me, she has a new captain. I chose to ignore it.I watch them converse as they eat. Like mother and daughter. Best friends. I lock this memory somewhere in my mind. If all else goes bad, I can go back to this moment.“Alpha. Justin's back”One of the guys on the border patrol mind linked me. Justin was one of the guys we sent out with the other three.“Is he hurt?” I asked in concern. The dead can't share information, my priority is making sure he's alive first.“He only has a few scratches. Nothing too major” he said. That's good news. Any news is good news at this point. We've been waiting for a while now. Although no one said it. I knew they were losing hop
“He's sending a message.” I said “he could have found us since, if he searched well” was he holding back or he couldn't find us?. This was very weird. Bizarre.“There's a reason he hasn't found our pack yet. Let's not push our luck by sending more guys out until we're battle ready.” Luke said. We need to thank whoever was protecting us.“You did great Justin. You should go and rest now. We'll take it from here” Josh patted his shoulders.Justin nodded and stood up on his shaky legs, turning to leave.“One more thing.” He said “there was a room, separate from the others. Two guards were stationed outside the door at all times. He's protecting something or someone there.”It must be the person Cain said. “Is it a male or a female?”“I couldn't see. The door never opened and he never went in. The guards never left their post unless there was someone there to protect the door. They were robotic about it.” he said before leaving finally.This unknown entity might turn out to be a problem f