-THIRD PERSON’S POV-
Seff abruptly changed his position in the chair to sit forward with his white eyebrows drawn together.
“Money cannot be fake.” Dymian focused his gaze on Jarvaldo. A vein ticked in his jaws as his rigid stare admonished for elaboration.
“Actually, boss, it sure can,” Jarvaldo insisted.
Seff choked raucously on the communion bread. He shook his head, trying to get out. “No. Not true.”
“This is the generation of vipers. Anything is possible in this era.” Jarvaldo snapped bitingly. “And that note is the latest edition.”
Dymian’s gaze was speculative. “How so?”
Seff swallowed, massaging his throat with a scowl because someone had played a nasty trick on them. “I’m going to find that cretin and stuff that note down his throat, and then I’m going to rip it out again.”
“Oi, calm down.” Jarvaldo nudged his head at Seff.
“Why? Because the culprit is going to hell?” Seff scoffed. “At least let me send him there faster.”
Rovell waved the note at Jarvaldo, capturing his attention. “What do you know about these?”
“The gardener claims he knows a guy who knows the friend of a girl who knows a guy who can get us enough money to carry out our plans." Jarvaldo gave them an option he thought they should consider. He dipped his hand under the white robe and re-emerged with a cream, rectangular item. “He gave me this card.”
“So it was the gardener,” Seff muttered in an ominously deep voice, deducing that he was the culprit that gave that fake offering.
“He is not to be touched,” Jarvaldo growled at him. It was a warning. Their blazing red eyes clashed.
Rovell handed the note to Dymian for inspection. Quickly, Seff placed the empty communion wine bottle and tray of bread on the floor to take the card from Jarvaldo and retook his seat.
The gardener fox at the chapel had many links. He piqued Jarvaldo’s interest when he discovered the old man sneaking weed to Sister Bethany one day. Since then, he became Jarvaldo’s little buddy. Making their own money was fundamental to help with the expenses for warfare, plus buying the marakachos to bribe the special army they sought.
It was a great plan. It was a shortcut to riches.
“The guy and I talked on the phone, and then I paid him a visit. He’s a very cunning and strategic crime boss who’s been circulating his notes for years.” Jarvaldo wished that Dymian would agree. He was enthusiastic about waging the war. “He’s the underworld’s accountant. He moves, lends, and redistributes funds.”
“Smart profession.” A snarl curled Seff’s upper lip. “But is he any good?”
“He fooled you.” Jarvaldo swung his thumb at Rovell. “And him too.”
Rovell shrugged with a snort and grumbled, “Because we lack knowledge.”
“Touché.” Seff lowly agreed, embarrassingly.
Dymian fingers drummed along the top of the desk with the note held high in the other hand, and then he picked up one of the papers and lazily flicked his eyes over it.
“Well, I know the real from the fake.” Jarvaldo vouched. “After stuffing him with my cloud and turning it into ice-crystals, he was so nice to show me the full works.” He changed tact and stared directly at Dymian. “Boss, trust me, the banks can barely tell them apart and I’ve got his dude under my thumb. We could do wonders with a ton of those and leave this broke-ass chapel.”
Fixing his gaze at him, Dymian’s jaws gritted.
“How much offering did we get today?” Rovell inquired, steepling his chin.
“Huh?” Jarvaldo gulped. He hunched his shoulders and muttered monotonously, “I don’t know. I lost count at ninety-one dollars.”
“What’s been taking you so long?” Rovell got angry, dropping his hand, and the two began arguing.
Dymian emitted an audible exhalation and shuffled in his chair as he pondered over things. They were just getting acquainted with this new era. Technology was a problem. It was hard to take over businesses when the civilized age could easily manipulate and bamboozle them due to their ignorance.
The idiot Alpha Prince in their custody was of meager help. Even after torturing him, he barely showed them how to use phones and laptops. How could such small devices be capable of such vast functions? It baffled Dymian, yet he saw the usefulness of them.
However, to his dismay, Vaheed also kept his lips sealed regarding current affairs in the realms. Therefore, the clergy had to be coaxed for the job.
The head priest, Father Ramcrook, reluctantly hired technicians, and they were learning slowly while still posing to be a part of the clergy and wearing their ghastly attire.
It was Seff that they relied upon to understand the system quickly, seeing that he manipulated metal, but he had blown up or disfigured goddess knows how many devices. It irked Dymian to the brim because he expected rapid progress.
Surprisingly, Jarvaldo learned faster and was very good at decrypting, but he wasted a lot of time playing games and being on social media. Thank heavens for Farrah and Rovell, who managed to have the previous attack go smoothly.
Why did they expect the world to remain the same after being in a slumber for thousands of years? Watching the news had taught them some information, but not enough since they did not understand the definitions and functions of it all.
Despite their previous victory, the Worgen Guardians were deeply stressed. They were hampered by the fact that they had to study the new age’s arsenal and to find out the Wolversons’ weaknesses.
Jarvaldo and Seff enjoyed taking it out on Vaheed. They loved making him bleed. At those times Farrah would leave the chapel to track the movements of red wolf as a distraction.
Dymian felt an urgency to take over the realms quickly. Unfortunately, they still hadn't gotten the red wolf, and they had to tread moderately to ensure success would be theirs. Raina’s disappearance from Earth was a matter of concern. What were the Wolversons planning? He needed eyes and ears around them.
They hadn't counted on Vaheed being so damn hard to break. With the superior genes disintegrated into these crummy Lycans and werewolves, Dymian genuinely believed he would have gotten all the information that he needed from their prisoner. Even the mind attack didn't work. The pup knew precisely how to block his mental infiltration. So, he could not underestimate the Wolversons.
Farrah entered the room in her nun’s outfit and carrying a long, black garment in her hands. Without stopping, she went directly to Dymian’s side. She placed the attire on his desk and began buttoning his white dress shirt. His body relaxed under the operation of her soft fingers.
"Seff, bring the accountant guy in," Dymian finally decided to gravitate towards the outside source for urgent funds.
Jarvaldo smiled with satisfaction.
Dymian stood, gazing down at Farrah and allowed her to help him with his robe and white stole. "Jarvaldo, go with Seff, but he is in charge.”
Jarvaldo groaned.
“Bring more samples with him,” Rovell instructed the duo, referring to the hundred dollar note.
“When will the final stages of the portal be ready, Farrah?” Dymian concentrated on her as she adjusted his collar.
On a wise note, Farrah’s assurance was in a layered honey tone. “The portal is opening. The vortex is a small crack but it is growing wider and will get the job done.”
Contemptuously, Dymian snickered his mind as dark thoughts flooded him. With a devious chortle, he kissed the tip of Farrah’s nose. “Marvelous!”
Farrah crooked a small smile at the corner of her sheer nude glossy lips. “The Alpha King has left the pack and soon his son will follow.”
Dymian cupped her cheek before turning away from her. He beckoned Rovell to lend him his ear while they communicated privately at the desk.
-
-THIRD PERSON’S POV- “What is this hustler’s name?” Seff engaged Jarvaldo with the business card in his hand. He rose from the chair and his foot knocked over the empty communion wine bottle. It clinked and rolled on the floor. “He goes by the pseudonym of Shekel Moneta,” Jarvaldo divulged. “Give him a call. Tell him that you’re my guy.” Seff stopped the bottle with his foot and bent over to steady it on the floor. When he straightened, he took out his new Android phone to make the call. He wasn’t in the bullshit today with Jarvaldo. He assessed the business card and whispered the contact details: 1 000 EZE BUCKS Looking back at his phone, Seff procrastinated at the dialpad section. Doubtfully, he punched the digits. He knew he got the first part right but where was the rest of the numbers to complete the standardized ten-digit contact. Seff grimaced, pursing his lips. “E. Z. E. ―” His crimson eyes narrowed as he searched the number keypad for the words to press. “Where are you ‘
-VALEN'S POV- “Guys, why did you block the mind-link?” I slid open the rustic barn door to the twins’ rec room inside their cabin. An orchestra of boisterous chatter and laughter pervaded the air. I grimaced with disapproval when I saw the dickheads lounging in front of me in their black aircraft carrier chairs with big-ass, ridiculous-sized red headsets on. They were yelling and shit at the screen of the platinum televisions with game controls in their active hands. Crashing, explosions, and shooting gun noises reverberate over the surround sound system, rattling the single-hung windows. Wentz, who was at the edge of his seat, leaning forward and pressing hard buttons on his remote, suddenly jumped in the air with a triumphant “Ahoo!" With a wide grin, he stared at the screen, finger-slapping at his victory in blasting up the high tower while the others continued operating with deft fingers in their chairs. “Attention!” I boomed over the auditory chaos. Everyone quickly pressed
-VALEN'S POV- “Alpha, we’re lock and loaded.” Theo’s perky voice bore into my head. “Good. Standby. I'm waiting for Dev.” I related, pulling at the black lace on my leather tactical boot. My black combat pants and shirt were already on. I dressed in a flash because I was hoping to have maybe ten minutes with Raina before we left. It was to tell her that I loved her. To remind her that I’m sorry about our baby. To pledge that I would never leave her. To assure her that I’d be closer to her when I got back. To comfort and hold her in my arms a little. Through the mate bond, she was troubled, angry, and ridden with waves of grief. The way she cried out for our child would haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. It was a deep, heart-wrenching scream that sounded like her soul was being ripped apart. This mission had me irked because it was taking me away at the exact time when she needed me to be there for her. The motherfucking Worgens. I will kill them all. “Dev, why haven't you
-RAINA’S POV- Where on earth am I? As much as my head buzzed, I tried to concentrate and avoid the blinding sun. I held my temples. Quite frankly, I did not think using the teleportation ring would work. I was somewhere on Earth. The buzzing slowly receded and took with it the dizzy spell. At least I thought I was on Earth. Detached single-family houses with picket fences surrounded me while I stood on the sidewalk of an empty tarmac street. In front of me, my eyes ran up the peach and mustard yellow Victorian-style manor in God knows where. My heart palpitated with uneasiness. Did I truly want to do this? After talking with Mercedes, two things were inevitable ― my life had an expiration date and my bond had a betrayal date. And, of course, there was the war. Biting my bottom lip, I quickly mulled over the thoughts in my head for a second. My internal argument stoked up a writhing pit in my gut. Dropping my hands to my side, I blew out a long breath and curled my hand aroun
-RAINA'S POV- Her benevolent efforts to circumvent my will were non-effective. I decided to fill her in on crucial details, despite my desire to spare her the whole story. “A war is coming.” I kept it simple. “They want my wolf and I have been through too much because of who I am.” The priestess scratched her sweaty, brown forehead. Her fixated russet eyes pitied me. “Why not just hide her then? Your mate could do that.” “Valen won’t. He needs to bond with his mate, remember?” I mumbled and tucked the ring into my shorts pocket. “Well,” She thinned her lips and folded her arms, thoughtfully. “That’s a good point, but it seems that you are dragging me into your lover’s disagreement. He obviously doesn’t know what his little queen is up to.” A short silence fell over us. It wasn’t awkward or unsettling ― it was guilt-ridden. “I’m doing this for me.” I coaxed, squaring my shoulders and striving to remain deadpan. “Our bond is unfortunate, which means that Valen and I will eventuall
-RAINA'S POV- “Hurry and go back before he gets here.” The high priestess pleaded, her flitting eyes running all directions of the manor. Creaking noises quaked everywhere in the house. The cypress hardwood floor trembled, and French windows began shattering. His aura was spiraling out of control. “Go now!” She yelled at me, freaking out. I nodded. Slowly she backed away from me, staring at the ceiling as the boards cracked. Fido shifted into a white owl to land on her right shoulder. A protective white circle enclosed her. Hastily, I shoved the angelite eggball in my pocket and retrieved Devin’s ring. Holding the teleportation ring in my hand, I held it up. It was hard to think properly with all the awful commotion around me. Frantically, I rubbed the square-shaped onyx stone on the white gold ring. I closed my eyes, advocating, “Take me home.” Nothing happened, and the ring was snatched from my fingers. I froze as a frost-biting shiver traveled down my spine. “Grrrr!” It wa
-RAINA’S POV- “I'm done,” I admitted, eyes getting misty. “If there's no Hera. The Worgens won't have a reason to come after me. They will remain at a disadvantage that might save thousands of lives.” I lowered my heel. “I did what was best for everyone. If giving her up means that you and I are over, then so be it.” “Raina, we could have done it differently,” Devin interjected on a sad note. He leaned his left forearm on the wall to support his bracing posture. I ignored him. “So you stole Devin's ring to do this wicked act!” Valen blasted. “You are heartless.” “It's not like that. You betrayed me first.” Although I knew he wouldn’t understand, I tried to explain. “Besides, Snow told me that I died. That's how you ended up with her. Your family is with her.” “It’s always Snow this and Snow that. Snow is not the fucking problem, Raina. She never was.” He bellowed, adding a palm to his forehead for a second and dropping it to his side. My heart throbbed as we stared at each other
-RAINA’S POV- The noxious wind howled like a horror movie interlude at midday. Its gothic gale rushed in and out, eddying and swirling into the scallywag atmosphere. Despite that eeriness, we got in Venus’ white McLaren and headed to Noveast, downtown. “This is like old times!” Azara sing-song cheerfully from the back seat of the car. “Oh goddess, we haven't hung out in months.” I hummed, mindlessly gazing out the window from the passenger seat. Venus chuckled around the steering wheel as we cruised the highway. “Don't dwell on that stuff. We're going to the skateboard park to cheer Raina up.” “I'm fine.” I drawled. I've been telling everyone for the past few days, but they insisted on dragging me into activities that will make me feel better after losing my wolf. They were right. How could I be fine? Snow stole Hera. Artemis abducted my child. Valen was angry at me. It hurt in a whipping way when he retorted that Hera was his mate, not me. I haven't seen him since then. Merc
RAINA'S POV-“When your Grandma said she would keep my snow globe safe, she really wasn't kidding,” I muttered with sarcasm as I walked down the dark passageway. Our feet thudded on baked black mud with its walls decorated with brown-black, twining, trunky vines.Leading with a torch in her hand, Pennelope chuckled and then uttered with dramatic emphasis, “Grams never—and I mean never joke around.”“Your home is creepy as hell,” I swear the big vines moved sometimes.Witches' houses were truly a haunted horror for intruders. You could get in, but only the goddess could help you to get out. A modicum of dread weaved through me, but with Penn here, I thought I would be alright.Get it together Raina.It's amazing how the home could transition from a lovely spacious cottage on the upper floors and then descend from the basement into a whole murky forest with thin, white smoky ghosts popping up here and there, whooing around. Ancestors, Pennelope called them.Marlena told me the snow glob
VALEN'S POV-Zeus' volcanic rage was swarming me. It was hard to control him like this. I never expected Devin's revelation to propel my wolf into a hissy fit. Vaheed's attack on my best friend left a bitter taste of betrayal.Not to mention, his actions with Raina were incomprehensible because he was marked by his own mate. Once again, my brother was after my mate. Why? I thought we passed this stage, but no. He’s a damn dickhead who has gone off the rails.“Alpha, did you get the new location?” Jason’s voice came through the communication earpiece.“Yeah,” I replied in a not-so-nice tone. “We’ll move in five.”Nuuk, Bahia Blanca, and Isiro were fruitless. This was the last sanctuary that was on our agenda to investigate. However, Heidi had found that this one in Waipu had a branch in the United States. Pennelope also confirmed high amounts of camouflaging magic that were widespread across the town. All of its energy waves pulsed from that synagogue.I stood to the side with my rifle
VALEN’S POV-I caught Jason standing from his chair with his head down. He was scratching his forehead with his palm blocking most of his eyes, but I saw them sneaking upwards to watch out for my reaction.Guilty as sin. He had to be the culprit who provided the girls with everything they needed, including war gear, despite that he knew how we felt about our women on the battlefield.I growled at him.“We're coming on the mission.” Venus was always the boldest to speak first.With hands on my waist, I rebuffed, “No, that's a negative. You've been up all night, and it’s two a.m., plus the Howl De Lune cannot be planned by itself. The team and I will be gone for days.”“Cleo and Mom are here,” Raina argued, failing to see my point. She shrugged and emphasized, “I’m safest when I am with you.”“Mom left you in charge.” As I spoke, my feet crossed the space to draw closer to her. “Everyone else has to be here to assist you. Besides, the Bolivian and Ugandan wolves rely on your presence. Y
VALEN POV-“This coffee is shit,” Theo’s deep grumpy voice complained, almost spitting the liquid from his mouth after taking his first sip from the cup.“Too bad, I thought it was the perfect flavor for you,” Jason sassed with a cocky grin from around his grand U-shaped desk with the multiscreen computer system up and running.“You are the greatest hacker I know, and you can build the most advanced techno shit. That you can do, but you can’t make a damn good coffee?” Theo exaggerated, gesturing to the hot cup in his hand.Jason huffed and turned his head back to the computer screens, typing away on the keyboard. “Screw you.”“I would, but not today. You’ve got to buy me a beer first,” The Gamma twin jested back and stepped over to Azara with the coffee in his hand, giving it to her.We were at the IT Hub, which was Jason's domain. It was a fawn-colored, single-story federal house located across from the Training Center. He worked hand in hand with the Gammas, being our eyes from the
VALEN’S POV-I side-eyed Gamma Blayne furiously. He immediately bowed his head and averted his gaze.The stench of blood got stronger, permeating my senses, causing my legs to speed up. I can't stand the thought of any more of our members getting hurt or killed."What the hell..." I trailed off as I inched closer, crouching down and examining the line of dead bodies. It was just downright sick and twisted to use them for a ransom note effect.A chill entered the air that made everyone shiver. Raina’s eyes widened at the gruesome sight.Venus gasped, going pale with a hand flying over her mouth. “This is barbaric.”All their necks were slashed by claws and two of the deceased were used for the punctuation marks. Reading from left to right, it stated: ‘We have not forgotten, and we are coming for her.’Gamma Blayne crouched at the lifeless body next to me. He touched the wound on the man’s chest, inspecting it. “The gashes aren’t as deep as you’d expect, but this one got a double tap en
VALEN’S POV-Together, Theo, Thaines, Jason, and I pushed forward in our wolf form. Leaves and twigs crunched under our pounding paws. The sight of the full moon took its turn in the sky and the faint wind skimmed my fur.The grim sound of battle reached my ears long before we reached the outskirts of the station. We arrived united, skidding to a halt as we met the bloody scene with hard eyes and fangs bared. The air was thickened with the stench of sweat, blood, and death. Gruel residues of combat.Looking around the field for a target, the sounds of gnashing teeth, angry snarls, and painful shouts that had previously filled the air vanished with the rogues that swiftly fled through the tree line, leaving an eerie silence.“Cowards!” I roared internally, anger filling my veins.“Go now! Don’t let them get away!” Gamma Blayne shouted orders to a specialized team of elite wolves to pursue the escapees. He stood naked, heaving and curling his hands into fists, and his head whipped to spo
VALEN’S POV-“What’s my Alpha doing in a place like this?” Albert the old bartender had the nerve to joke as he wiped down the triple-fronted bar counter with a chuckle.“It’s a bar. What crime have I committed?” Although he was jesting, I was in a foul mood.Arbitration Day with those bumptious Alphas has finally ended. Things at Alpha Camp were going well with Valiant. Devin’s still in his coma and Raina seems to be in a bad mood. She was madder than a fucking hornet and shanghaiing my mental space.Yesterday, everything went downhill. Devin’s condition showed no change and I did not find the damn Worgen. I came here to clear my mind from the weight of failure that settled over me.All I wanted to do was head to Raina’s room and hug her. But knowing that she’d probably bring up Mercedes again, I detoured here. The thought of her name made the beer in my hand so damn distasteful. Out of panicked desperation, I’ve been spinning my wheels all day to come up with a way to get through to
RAINA’S POV-Theo bent and picked up the folder. He placed it on the desk and fell back into position.The file contained four candidates. Me being one of them. It depicted the Alpha cabal, who represented seventy percent of the werewolf kingdom, voting on whom they advocated to be Queen. Mercedes gained the highest votes, while I had a meager one percent. I saw Tallulah Rumer’s photo, an Alpha-Female from the Rym Greyback Pack in New Zealand. Next was Kristen, the Alpha-Female Valen pitted me against in the sparring competition for the world to see.Then there were pages of signatures and pack seals to officiate the petition in demonstrating which candidate held their favor. This was the beginning of an uprising. It could plunge the kingdom into chaos if Valen’s choice upset them.My heart chipped away at the daunting situation. Mercedes bowed her head to hide the gloating smile that curled on her lips.Okay, I see you Mercedes.“Your Royal Elders marshaled me for the task. Their old
RAINA’S POV-"Oh, goddess!" Venus squealed at us, after entering the loft with Mercedes, dragging her by the ear. She dramatically threw one hand over her harlequin eyes while maintaining her hold on the girl."Damnit Venus! Can't you knock?" Valen snapped, clearly still riled up from the hormones stirring between us. He quickly yanked up his sweatpants, though the bulge was quite prominent."How was I to know that this would be going on in here!" Venus yelled back, keeping her hand over her eyes. “Who would ever bang in their kitchen?”“People with mates, little sis,” Valen replied low and gruff, and I sensed the shift in him.My face blushed bright red in embarrassment. I reached over and grabbed my shorts, clumsily slipping them on while sitting on the counter. Once I was mostly covered, I was ready to jump down. Valen's large hands gently grasped my waist and quickly helped me down to my feet."Of all the people in the world, why would you bring Mercedes here, Vee?" Valen asked, t