*VANCE’S POV* ‘Why the fuck are you so slow tonight?’ I growled impatiently at my Gamma as we ran into the forest. My mood was not going to tolerate slackness. We ran through the forest. My heart was beating fast, almost at the same rate to match the throbbing of the empathic Alpha bond. The moon in the sky was hidden behind the thin sheet of clouds. The stars decorated the night sky like brilliant silver snowflakes. Hold on, I urged desperately, as I felt another sharp pain in combination with the throbbing. My mind also hoped that Sianna was coping well with the pain. I’m partly sulking about having to leave her tonight. But she’s a brave and strong woman who can handle the unexpected and that is what encourages me to focus on the pack member who needed his Alpha at this time. ‘Your Alpha is coming to help you. Just hold on.’ I tried to send the message through the mind-link. We continued to move deeper and deeper into the forest, attempting to locate my injured pack member. Ens
*BLAYNE'S POV* “Why is this flipping man waking me up this early in the morning?” I battled within myself to control my rage as I listened to the irate Beta speak as he changed into his clothes. Duke was after all correct. Just after midnight, when it was quiet, I had roused him up. But Jeffrey had died and the Alpha wasn’t going to let me sleep until this murder case was solved. I think he probably had to leave Keisha in bed disgruntled as well. I didn't want to apologize to him in any manner, though. Because we worked together in extreme circumstances, and this I do believe, fell under that category. "Hurry up, man!" I finally shot back at him, my body tense. Knowing that Keisha was going to curse me later didn’t matter. The urgency of an attack preceded all else. Even though Jeffrey's body was at the morgue now after being formally pronounced dead at the hospital, I had not been able to unwind since I had carried him there. I had hardly made an effort to preserve the life of m
*VANCE POV* I had taken Sianna home and lulled her to sleep by my soothing touches. Fatigue was certainly all over her. As Luna, she felt the need to be there when something this grave had occurred in our pack, but I didn’t want her to be stressed. I could have concealed this from her if only she didn’t feel the connection to the pack as strongly as I did. I wasn’t going to lie to her but at least if she didn’t know, she wouldn’t have to worry. Was I overprotective because I wanted her to have an easy-going pregnancy? Goddess, she was beautiful “Alpha, are you awake?” “What’s the news, Blayne? Did he make it?” Blunt and directly to the point, he knows if he stalled I’d be pissed enough to find him and punch the hell out of him. We carried the conversation through the mind-link. “We lost him.” His voice in the mind-link strained. “Were you able to talk to him before he passed?” I asked while trying to drown in Sianna’s scent. My heart sank at the tragedy. “No, he never revived co
*DUKE’S POV* Neither Blayne nor I had a good night's sleep that night. He had arrested Cleo as the pack demanded. It was also done for her own safety from the retaliation of Jeffrey’s family or friends. Luckily, Keisha quieted down the social media protest and has been monitoring the feeds. Olivia has been temporarily tapped to have her under control. The two of us descended the steps and entered the streets after I left Keisha at home. It’s another night to investigate. I started to say, "So," and even in the pitch-blackness of this night, he could have frowned at me, his best friend, because he could tell by the tone of my voice that I was about to be mischievous. He said, sounding strict, "Whatever you are about to say, just drop it. In addition, we need to inspect the forest. There must be trails somewhere that led to the location where this rogue had attacked Jeffrey." "Let's go there and take a look around,” that was our intention tonight. To visit the scene of the crime and
*VANCE POV* After a quick shower, I went to the kitchen and made breakfast. Sianna still slept soundly and I knew she would be down for a while. I decided to head to the cells today to visit my newest prisoner. Quickly leaving a note on the countertop beside the covered meal, I hopped in my jeep and made it to the pack house. I went across to the old saltbox building, down to the basement, and through the corridor door. Duke was with Blayne as they carried out the investigations. By now the mountain rogues were surrounded and unable to leave the campsite. My elite men hid in areas where they would not be detected and they followed around whoever left the campsite to see what they would be up to. I could imagine Blayne’s cantankerous mood, but Duke would know how to handle being around him. As three best friends, we knew how to deal with each other well. Rogues were always a problem and that is why I came up with the Rogue Integration System to give them a second chance at having a
*HAILEY’S POV* Groggily, I forced my lids open to the fluorescent morning light in the room. As I had kept the windows open last night, the birds’ nonrhythmic chirping pinched my ears, and the morning air refreshingly invigorated my room. Whispering sounds entered my hearing and I suddenly realized that someone was in the room with me, like more than one person. My smelling senses kicked in as I tried to detect who the intruders were, while my eyes tweaked. I pulled my sluggard body to sit upright and stared at them with my distorted morning face and disoriented appearance. “You should give your sister the privacy that she needs. Storming into her room like this while she’s sleeping is rude, Duke.” “I need answers and I’m getting them today.” “But so early in the morning, she hasn’t had breakfast as yet.” “Then my sweet darling, why don’t you go and help the omegas with breakfast?” “Duke!” She whisper yelled but he shooed a vexed Keisha away. He stood in the center at the end
*VANCE’S POV* In the dead of the night, another pain hit both Sianna and me. This one was searing but ended quickly. Another one had died seconds ago, his death swift. I scanned through the pack link to see if I could find anyone who could be a suspect in the recent murder, but nothing. Their thoughts were clean. No doubt that the killer had military instincts. Sianna groaned, but thankfully she wouldn’t have to endure much of the painful loss. I looked down at her and kissed her forehead. She threw her hands around me and slept. This was her way of telling me to stay in bed with her. I let the allure of her scent vaporize into my nostrils to appease me. I brushed my lips over her neck, wanting to feel the mark I gave her. She smiled and positioned her leg over mine. I was genuinely content, though I had to deal with the pack’s main issue. Cleopatra’s memory was clean, she was not guilty. Nonetheless, it didn’t mean that her rogues were innocent. It was conceivable that one or a fe
*SIANNA'S POV* This morning, Vance and I had breakfast together. I slipped into one of his T-shirts and headed to the kitchen. I was able to get up at four in the morning to make his favorite. He was already gone when I woke up most mornings, so I hardly ever had a chance to feed him. Due to the wily attack on his soldiers, it was expected that he was stressed out. I truly wished that I could do more to assist, so when he asked me to console the family, I was more than happy to oblige. Bonding with the grieving family and demonstrating to them that we care, and will honor him for his service and dedication. There was wailing in every conversation. Understandable, I can only imagine the grief. This was fine with me because I was his Luna, and working with my mom at the hospital had put me in this tragic situation before, where breaking the bad news to the family presented itself. I understand that learning of the death of a loved one is never a pleasant experience. The sun was just
-VANCE’S POV-Looking up from the laptop with concern, I found Sianna sultrily shimmying out of her dress. My lips parted to the slightest bit and my cock hardened. Our wanton eyes clashed. She raised a brow at me and sashayed her sexy body towards me.The conference was still going on and I couldn’t let them see her in that incredibly salacious lingerie, but I couldn’t take my heated eyes off her.“I came to join the meeting.” She teased in such a sexy way that made a growl slip from me.The soft lines of her hips and thighs had my cock stiffening in my pants. Her hips swayed in that sheer lingerie set in black lace with a crotchless G-string. The rosy nipples of her round breasts peeked through the matching bralette and a choker adorned her neck.The culmination of all my impulses was the need to latch onto those nipples with my lips, suck on them, and bite them down until she released that startled, demanding moan. My cock desired mainly one thing.Her.My addiction. I need to touc
-SIANNA’S POV-“Can we go home now,” Venus hoarsely pleaded with harlequin eyes, sitting up in the hospital bed of the bright sun-filled room. “I could eat some burgers, fries, and a coke.” Her gaze flickered from me to her Dad. “I’m starving.”Miriam, Marlena, Vance, Hailey, Mom, and I laughed as she said that. A sigh of relief left me as I looked at my daughter who was back to her old self after receiving the antidote. A lot of love flowed through the room.It’s been two weeks since she has been comatose. Can you imagine how thrilled I was when my mate told me about the antidote to get all of the kripling’s blood out of her system? We arranged everything for the next day.Just the sight of my daughter was enough to clog my throat with tears. Mom’s slender hand was warmly in mine as Marlena and Miriam helped Venus awaken from her coma. Vance held my shoulders, standing behind me. Hailey chewed her nails, ruining her manicured fingers.“We’re almost done, princess,” Vance stated, nonc
-VANCE’S POV-A thin smile curled my lips to see him being the usual hot-blooded Gamma that he was. Instead of thinking of himself, Blayne was coercing me into another battle. Contrarily, I preferred to fix the rift between me and my Luna. There was no anger or burning sensation in the link of the mate bond, but it did not mean that she was not still upset with me.“No.” I finally answered him. “We killed their king and generals. The Supernatural Triad Council’s gatekeepers are searching for Squiggles.” I deciphered. “The werelions will be humbled by their loss and the drastic reduction in their population. It will take years before they wage war against us. It is at that time that my generation will eliminate them.”“All planned out, huh?” Blayne scowled with disappointment. Even with his limp, he managed to keep up with me.“Yep.” I dictated as we made it to the top and sniffed the air. My eyes narrowed slightly as my face wrinkled up. “You smell cheesy, Blayne. Take a few days off.
-VANCE’S POV-Approximately one hundred of our warriors lined the gray plateau at the summit of the cliff, southwest of the territory. Awe-inspiring scenery can be seen here thanks to the panoramic view of the horizon and the thundering waterfall to the right which plummets directly into the ocean.Given its natural beauty and the absence of unpleasant recollections of bloodshed, it would be a pity to tarnish the region's unblemished history today.It was the Black Ops Patrol Station at the end of Beacanview Forest that alerted Raj of our visitors. Undoubtedly, he must have gotten the word to Blayne, or maybe Blayne beat it out of him. Either way, he was not supposed to be working.“Oh damn!” I inspected my battered Gamma up and down before we went down the granite cliffside trail. “You look worse than Freddy Krueger.”My heart went out to him and, oh boy, I was thrilled that he was alive. Although, he was disobeying my orders.Blayne was in black gym shorts with his blistered top shi
-THIRD PERSON’S POV-Venus and Vaheed sat around the breakfast nook. Vaheed was busy on his phone while Venus was reading the Brew'n Herald Newspaper. The paper was previously brought in by Zuzu and she flew away to have her morning flight in the forest.“The investigation update was posted on the front page. Turns out that the kriplings only attacked us. The vampires and witches were not attacked.” Venus highlighted with her harlequin-green eyes fastened to the paper.“Who cares? Dad’s dealing with it.” Vaheed shrugged, finding his phone more entertaining.Venus was disturbed by his uncaring attitude. “Those things were pretty powerful and they hurt me. How can you say that?”Understanding that his words hurt his twin sister’s feelings, Vaheed put his phone on the table and patted her on the shoulder. “Vee, you are safe now. Dad will make sure that they don’t hurt us again.”Venus sighed, gulped down her dose of halo-moon serum from the vial on the table, and went back to flipping th
-SIANNA’S POV-“I wanted to know what my punishment is.” Valen petulantly said as he continued descending the stairs, freshly showered.“Not a good time, Valen,” Vance told him without looking behind. I turned around and picked up a magazine from the center table, blindly flipping over pages.“Well, aren’t you going to give it to me tonight?” Valen pressed with hands in his jeans pockets.“Why are you so eager?” I continued scrolling the page with brewing agitation. “Do you think we’ll go easy on you?”“It’s not that, Mom.” Valen approached the couch, sheepishly. “I just wanted to start it right now.”“Why?” I flipped my head around and turned my body on the couch to scrutinize his face properly.“My punishment will end on Friday and there’s a party at Benji’s house on Saturday,” Valen dared to mention, battling an inner monologue.I glared at him. “You have the gall to tell me that you intend to go to a party when your father has just brought you back from an unapproved outing.”“Go
-SIANNA’S POV-“I’m sorry, Mom.” Valen expressed his regret as he entered the foyer of our home with Vance. He did not let me lash out at him for his recklessness.Automatically, I placed my hand over my heart. My entire body slumped in relief as I exhaled heavily. Still, he was going to get the hot seat.I sat in the living room on the long U-shape black leather couch with my head turned in his direction. “Valen, I can’t accept that apology until you explain to me what the hell was going through your head.”Vance stood by the Faux Marble White console table with a gold base, allowing me to handle our son's latest escapade. He would also feel the scourge of my tongue later.It was a little before sunset that Vance and the team went back to the aircraft carrier ship. The journey to Dark Wolverson was long from Oscianever Loch of the Pacific Ocean and so it was the next day in the afternoon when they arrived home. I fretted the entire sleepless night, watching the hours and praying that
-VANCE’S POV-My razor-sharp teeth flashed through the cold smile that I sent to Assad when Raj kneed Tygart into his crotch. Tygart’s eyes went as round as saucers as he dropped his knife, protectively clutched both hands before his family jewels, and fell to his knees. He was as vulnerable as a newly hatched chick coming out of its shell.In a rapid dash, Raj picked up the weapon and slit his neck. Tygart fell on his side and clutched his blood-leaking throat as his life slipped away right before his king and brother.Assad wrestled like crazy to be freed from my grip to no avail. He was powerless and helpless. The defeat eliminated any spark in his orange eyes. “We surrender,” his voice was a hoarse croak.“It doesn’t work like that, trog.” I gritted to Assad as fury rose, burning through my veins.In the meantime, muscles bulged in Kodjo's pallid neck as he ground his teeth in frustration, refusing to relent. As the tenuous seconds ticked by, his breathing labored during the kickb
-VANCE'S POV-Nyx returned in an ethereal white glow and spat out a dead fizzing repulsive form of a kripling and laid it down on the deck of the only ship left intact. He shook his large white head, flashing out his tongue at the distaste of the creature.Nyx set afire the dead kripling that burns into cinders. One down. Two to go. Next, Zuzu, materialized on the deck with the necromancer in one claw and a flailing Assad in the other."Tell her to take them to the shoreline of the first island," I told Valen, and he directed his guardians to do so.With that, all the jets altered their destination to Holmeva Ferney Islands. We found a clearing and managed to land.Alongside five elite warriors, Duke, Raj, Marlena, Valen, Devin and I trotted through a scanty area of bayberry and beach plum trees to the beach. My elites stood behind the criminals with their artillery leveled at them while we stood in front of them.The sea air arrived with a lofty nostalgic draft as blood, death, and s