Last one for now. Tomorrow will be the first of the final showdowns.
Hi! We probably only have roughly 10-ish chapters left until the end of this book (emphasis on "ish"). There are a few more surprises coming, but they are mostly things that you have been wondering about so hopefully they will not feel too left-field. Unfortunately, I am finding that the final confrontation scenes are taking a little more time to write, because not only are they highly charged scenes, but also I am trying leave as few loose ends as I can. More writing time + busy holiday season + busy day job means unfortunately I am going to every other day updates instead of the every day updates you had previously been getting. Sorry! The good news is that we really are almost done. And on days that I can post more or more often, I definitely will. Thank you again for all of the love and support that you have shown this story!!!
(Lily POV) “Charlotte, what are you doing?” I asked. We were standing in the middle of the flight lounge while we waited for the flight crew to get the plane ready for us, and she had just ordered a beer from the bartender. “What are you talking about?” she asked me innocently. “You hate beer.” “So does Brady.” “Do you really think that ordering a beer is going to piss him off?” “No. But it will send a message.” “And what message is that?” “That I am mad at him.” I sighed. “Charlotte, I do not think ordering a beer is going to send that message. But even if it is, if you are mad at Brady after knowing him for less than a day, why are you going to his pack with him?” “Because I still really like him. And my gut says that I should.” I reached up and checked her forehead for a fever. When I found none, I turned her around and lifted her hair, checking for any sign that she was wearing a mask. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I am just wondering what happened to my fr
Come to think of it, perhaps Brady really was the right one for her. Somehow, knowing both of them, the thought of them together almost made sense. Just then, Charlotte took a sip of her beer and immediately spit it out. “Goddess, I hate beer. That was a bad idea. Come on, Lily. We need to find some pizza instead.” **** (James POV) We made it back to Black Moon without anyone dying. You may be wondering how the flight went. I encourage you to re-read my last sentence: We made it back to Black Moon without anyone dying. That is about the best thing I can say about that experience. Instead of applying for membership in the mile-high club with me, Lily spent most of the flight either asleep or sitting next to Charlotte at the front of the plane. That left me to sit in the middle of the plane with Brady. We were adults, and so sitting within shouting distance of each other on the same plane should have been fine. Except, of course, it was not. Instead of listening to m
(James POV) Deciding that I was done with Brady’s bullsh&t, I lunged for him. It was not the fact that he accused me of sleeping with Stephanie that bothered me. It was the fact that Brady was continuing to mock our relationship, coupled with the fact that he continued to want to remind Lily about our painful past. Whether his claims were true did not matter; it was his intent that bothered me. “STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!” Lily yelled just before I reached Brady. I do not know if Lily meant to do so, but she used her alpha command —the same one that she had used in Hawaii. I felt the weight of it even though it no longer worked on me. The command caught my attention and brought me back to reality. Instead of giving Brady the punch he deserved, I reached out and wrapped my arms around my mate. “I am sorry, my love. He just went a step too far.” Lily hugged me back. To my relief, she was not angry with me. She was, however, glaring angrily at Brady. “What is with you, Brady?
(Lily POV) It has been five days since we returned to Black Moon. James and I are now preparing to head back to West Mountain Pack so that we can hopefully put an end to the pain and suffering that has been allowed to exist there for way too long. As we make the final preparations, I cannot help but think back on everything that has happened since we returned to Black Moon. As you might expect, our return was just as eventful as the flight here, if not more so… especially for Brady and Charlotte. My heart originally broke for Brady when he realized that Evelyn —the she-wolf that he had loved and worshipped— had cheated on him. However, I found myself slowly and increasingly coming to the conclusion that Brady’s discovery about Evelyn was a strangely positive development. Brady had spent many years of his life living in a never-ending cycle of regret and longing. Realizing that Evelyn was not the she-wolf that he thought she was could be an important step towards him finally m
(Lily POV) After letting Brady stew for another minute or so under Charlotte’s questioning glare, Dr. Hyder invited us to all sit down. He then filled us in on what happened to Sammy, and about everything that he had discovered about Evelyn. James, in turn, filled Dr. Hyder in on the conversation that we had had on the airplane. Like Brady, Dr. Hyder was shocked to find out that Evelyn and Andrew were chosen mates as opposed to second chance mates. He was also shocked to hear that Evelyn had cheated on Brady for a year before the rejection. Watching Dr. Hyder, I could tell that the shock was doing a number on him. Dr. Hyder does not like to be surprised, and he does not like it when his opponent makes a move that he has not anticipated; those things make him feel out of control. And if there is one thing that Dr. Hyder hates, it is not being in control. Brady, for his part, mostly listened. Charlotte sat next to him, holding his hand. “I don’t get it,” I said after a while
(Lily POV) Brady stood up and Evelyn threw herself into his arms. Charlotte growled, but Evelyn did not seem to notice. “Brady, oh thank Goddess you are back,” Evelyn said through her tears. “I am so scared for Sammy. I have no idea who has him or what they are doing to him. We have to find him and get him back!!!!!!!!!!!” Brady gently pushed Evelyn away, but nevertheless looked at her sympathetically. He even wiped a few of her tears off her cheeks. “We will find him, Evelyn. I know that we will.” “Please tell me we are not watching what I think we are watching,” James linked me. I shook my head in disbelief. I wished I had something to clobber Brady over the head with. “It is like he forgot that it is her fault that Sammy was kidnapped,” I responded to James. “And that Sammy is safe.” Watching the scene, Charlotte growled for a second time. This time, Evelyn turned around. She acted as though she had not previously realized that there were other people in the room.
“I will warn you for the last time, Evelyn. Watch your words,” James said in a menacing voice. “You do know that Stephanie is alive, right? Your mom called Andrew and let him know. They are preparing a large welcome home slash engagement party for her and you. You do not have to settle for second-best anymore.” James let go of me and took several steps towards Evelyn. He looked like he was ready to attack her. However, Brady stepped in between them. Evelyn clung to Brady and started to cry once again. James ordered Brady to move, but Brady refused. “She is pregnant, James.” “I am not going to hurt her, Brady. But I am also not willing to let her sit here and disrespect Lily without consequences.” “Please calm down, James,” Brady pleaded. Suddenly, Charlotte came up and slapped Brady across the face. Hard. The slap caught Brady off guard, and he looked at Charlotte with hurt in his eyes. “What was that for?” he asked her. “Have you forgotten what Evelyn did to you?
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