(Lily POV) I had just fallen asleep when I heard my phone buzz a couple of times. There were very few people who had my phone number —basically, my bosses, my new co-workers, a couple of new friends, and James— so I knew I should probably get up and check the messages, just in case they were impor
You might be wondering why my time at Red River and Black Moon was not enough to heal me. If you had asked me that question before I left for Hawaii, I would have wondered that too. But the day that I wrote Brady that letter and left Black Moon, I had an epiphany. Being at Red River and Black Moo
(James POV) I arrived back at the packhouse around 9:30 in the morning. Unsurprisingly, my mother and Margie were waiting for me in the front sitting room. I walked right by the two of them, intent on heading straight to my room in the alpha suite. I was not in the mood for a confrontation right
My mother glanced at Margie. “Do not look at her, Mother. Look at me. If you are going to force me into a marriage that I do not want, the least you can do is look me in the eye.” My mother looked back at me, and I saw the hope beginning to form in her eyes. It was a look that turned my stomach
(Lily POV) I meant it when I said that today would be a long day. I am meeting with the Wolf Packers’ doctor from 12 to 3 this afternoon, and then I am working at the girls’ home from 5 to 11 tonight. In between, I need to go grocery shopping, eat, and get a little bit of laundry done. Given my
“Promise him, Lily,” Rose linked. “Whatever this is, it is important.” “O-okay. I promise.” **** (James POV) My conversation with Lily this morning went a very different direction than I thought it would go when I asked to talk to her. In my head, I had imagined another light-hearted conversa
(James POV) After the conversation with Lily, I was much too wired to nap. Instead, I opted to take a shower and mind-link Joey to meet me at one of the local diners for lunch. The Hoffman diner, specifically. Coming out of the bathroom, I was surprised to see Sheila in my room. It looked like
(Alpha Brady POV) I have been having absolutely the best time with Sammy. Despite the fact that I hardly get to see him, Sammy is very much a mini-me. He has my mannerisms, my sense of humor (minus the sexual innuendos), and many of my same tastes in food, movies, and activities. Since he arrive
Author Note: The Inspiration Have you ever wondered where the inspiration for a story comes from? I know I have... and for this book, I promised you a while back that I would tell you. So here goes. I mentioned to a friend in passing that I wrote "My Mate's Wedding Drama." That one was written as sort-of a fun, funny project. Not very serious. Something VERY different from my day job. She asked me, "Is that some sort of therapy for you?" "Therapy for what? I don't need therapy." "Well, with your dad in town... and everything with your mom and sister...." "Oh.... Ohhhhhhhhhh...." And somehow that was literally all it took. Mated in the Shadow of My Sister was born. I feel sort-of disingenuous saying I wrote it, because it largely wrote itself. More often than not, the characters took over my keyboard as I typed, or they started yelling plot points to me in the shower or while I was driving. It was sort of a wild ride, to be honest. To get this book done, I have gott
I could not believe that they had done all of this for me. We spent the next few hours eating, dancing, and laughing. I did not think the night could get any better, but then it did. James pulled me aside. “Sweetheart, I don’t know if you noticed the colors of the decorations…” “They are beauti
(Lily POV) (A few months later) Something is up, but I do not know what that “something” is. What I do know is that everyone has been acting really strangely today. It started when James brought me breakfast in bed… that he had taken the time to cook himself. Then, after we had both eaten, he
When she did not say anything for a few minutes, I decided to go ahead and give her the message I was supposed to deliver earlier. “Evelyn, this may sound a little weird, but I had an opportunity to talk to the Moon Goddess several months ago.” “Because you are the chosen one,” she said, not lifting her head off of the table. Ok, it is definitely the jailhouse newsfeed. “Yes. She gave me a message that I was supposed to give to you when I saw you. I am sorry that I did not give you the message earlier, but everything sort of happened really quickly…” “What was the message?” Evelyn asked. Her head remained sideways on the table, but her tone was curious. “She said that you sometimes ask her a question when you pray. It is usually the same question, and she wanted to answer it for you.” Evelyn sat up. “What… what was the answer?” “Yes, she will and more.” Evelyn began smiling and crying at the same time. “I assume you understand the message?” I asked curiously. Evelyn nod
(Lily POV) After I arrived back at Black Moon, I met Charlotte for a quick lunch. We then headed to the dungeon visiting room together, where Evelyn was already chained to a table waiting for us. Like Stephanie and Sheila, she was being taken good care of, but she nevertheless looked awful. “How are you, Evelyn?” I asked. “As good as can be expected, being this pregnant and in here,” she sighed. “You wanted to meet with us?” I asked politely. “Yes, thank you. I know it may seem crazy for me to reach out to you after everything that happened, but my wolf trusts you. And Charlotte, Sammy talks so highly of you every time he comes to see me.” For the briefest moment, I half wondered if we were in the right visiting room. This was not the Evelyn that called me and Charlotte whores as recently as her trial. This Evelyn seemed very, very different. “What is going on, Evelyn?” Charlotte asked. Evelyn sighed. “This pup is going to be arriving soon, and I need a plan. I ori
(Lily POV) Another couple of months have passed, and the trials in both packs have finally all been completed. I am currently on my way to see Evelyn at Black Moon. I need to finally deliver to her the message that the Moon Goddess gave me, and she also wants to talk to Charlotte and I about her plans for her unborn pup. Like all of the other trials, Evelyn’s trial is now over. She was sentenced to 25 years in the dungeons. That was a harsh sentence, but she did not lose her wolf. When I talked to Edy, she told me that she wanted to stay with Evelyn. She said that Evelyn had lost her way, but buried under all of the jealousy and pain, she really did have a good heart. Interestingly, those sentiments were very similar to the ones that I received from most of the wolves that I talked to. In fact, with the exception of the council member wolves that I freed on the night of the takeovers, the only other wolves who wanted to be freed from their humans were those belonging to Ste
Am I done dealing with the past? No. There is more work to be done and issues to be dealt with —including Sheila’s pup; Stephanie’s pup; my father; and Evelyn. But for now I will take a short break from the drama and celebrate.... because tonight is an important night. It is both my mate’s birthday, and Brady and Charlotte’s pre-wedding bash. **** (James POV) If you told me a few months ago that I would be spending my birthday voluntarily enjoying a beer with Brady Hyder, I would have checked you into a mental hospital. And yet here we are. Joey is here too. The three of us are currently at the bar, watching our mates on the dance floor, taking bets on which one of us is going to cave and go to them first. It is amazing how things can change. It is also amazing how much I actually like Brady now… at least most of the time. Of course, it helps that our mates are such good friends. It has forced us to learn to get along. Lily, Charlotte, and Jessica have all practically a
(Lily POV) It has now been five weeks since the pack and council takeovers. Since then, there has been a whirlwind of activity both inside and outside of the pack. Randall and Jane’s belongings were boxed up and moved to (separate) storage units, and James and I moved in to the alpha suite. Meanwhile, the belongings of my parents and Stephanie have also been packed up so that Joey and Jessica could move in. All photographs and shrines to Stephanie have been taken down and repurposed, and the Steffie Garden has been given a very not-sexy new name: “Staff Break Room.” Additional tables and benches have been added to accommodate the re-purposing of the space. Similar changes have occurred throughout the pack. The individual trials are well underway. My mother’s trial was first. I decided to recuse myself from any decision making related to her punishment, both because I am both her daughter and one of her victims. I also decided not to attend the trial, sending James to obser
“Yes.” “I discovered that I was pregnant. I came to your office with the pregnancy test. You threw $500 at me and told me to have an abortion. I want to know Alpha Randall… why you did do all that? I was not the first one or the last one who was raped. Today you have made it seem like your onl