Grace Pain, a searing flash that ripped through the fog of primal fury, brought me crashing back to reality. My jaws clamped down on… metal? Stone? Something so hard, I swear my teeth chipped. The metallic and sparkling tang of blood and something else filled my mouth as I recoiled, a whimper esca
Until I’d ripped the men who took her apart. "Grace!" Charles' voice boomed behind me, laced with urgency. "Slow down! Stay under my shield!" I should have. I wanted to, but I couldn’t get my body to slow or turn back. She was so close. I’m coming, honey. Mommy’s coming. Corners blurred, co
Grace I snarled low in my throat. His presence, even disembodied, felt like a predator stalking its prey. It felt like I was back in that dream, surrounded by destruction and alone. The darkness felt deeper than it should have. My stomach turned. I felt my bravado faltering as memories from the dr
Charles threw himself in front of me and threw up his hands, stopping the beam in midair. “Get her out!” Charles roared. “Now!” Someone else grabbed me. I fought and pushed. Moments later, he followed as the beam came crashing down. The impact sent a shockwave through the building that pushed me
Charles Grace went down like a bag of bricks. Shit. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse. She’d probably feel like shit for days, but I had a feeling that she had lasted way longer than I should have expected. An Enforcer caught her as another group of men jumped out from another building
“Definitely not taking the easy route,” one of the Enforcers said, his face grim. “They probably don’t have that spell anymore, but they’re smart enough to know that it would be damn hard to catch them in this traffic.” We couldn’t put in barriers because it might interfere with the other cars dri
Charles The air crackled with the raw power of the spell. The gun he held clattered to the ground. His body collapsed like a marionette with cut strings, twitching every so often. Blood splashed and spurted out from his neck, covering Cecil as she fell to the ground with a soft sob. The scent of b
Dead. I turned my thoughts away from the coup and back to the present. I looked over at Cecil. Alpha Shadow. Devin's debts. Sean Caldwell. The states. The war. Astarte… There were connections I was missing. Simple answers that might make things clearer, but I couldn't figure them out right now
I nodded. "Don't let me trip." "I'll do my best." With a shared laugh, we headed out the door. Esme was there at the door, hanging back. Gracian stepped away from me and linked arms with her. "We'll see you soon." I nodded and watched them go. We stood in the foyer of the building. From wh
Grace A month later... After the attack, the remaining members retreated into the cabinet to figure out what to do. After all, the other half and the president had been killed in the attack because they attacked Mooncrest. Luckily, Astarte had simply fixed everything, and aside from the aches an
Fire spilled over the doors as we fought our way down the stairs. Something swiped my cheek, but I didn't heed it. We stumbled over the bodies and slipped in the blood. I tried not to think about how many people I'd killed. I didn't want to think about it. "Back up is coming, but we need time, "
Grace I heard dying screams as I ran. The sound of battle echoed down the hallway. I found Astarte holding a group of attackers off at the door of the other stairs. "There was no way off." Astarte snarled. "Your mother's office! Lock the door." "What about--" "Go!" I bit my lip and ran
"A good PR move comes with a splash of fun." Astarted nodded forward. "I believe you should get to your command room, yes?" I nodded and headed upstairs to my father's office, adrenaline pumping through my veins. An attack, contained or not, was a serious threat. The city needed to be locked dow
Grace As we boarded the crowded bus, a knot of unease tightened in my gut. Astarte made a show of being intrigued. She smiled for every photo and seemed genuinely delighted, all the while, she explained her plan. I promised to help you. PR is important. Having me here will get you attention beyo
"Thanks." "Really well," Xavier said, setting his laptop on the table. On one side was a report on my interview, a headline streamed across the bottom. "Alpha Wolfe: A Beacon of Hope in Dark Times." Below it, a graph charted a dramatic rise in public approval for both myself and Wolfe Medica
Grace A nervous flutter danced in my stomach as I smoothed out the wrinkles on my blazer. I'd rather be orienting all the students, including the bright-eyed Westridge students, but Xavier and Amira swore up and down that this was for the best. Charles leaned into my office and grinned. "Nervous
I set my phone down and scoffed. When had my alma mater allowed so many idiots since I'd been an undergrad? Their loss. The lycans, humans, and witches had no problem. Seraphina, Margaret and I met everyone who had signed on in the conference room at City Hall. The excitement was palpable as the n