Bernice I couldn’t get Cora’s words out of my head.Leave Landry; and don’t return. Maybe I should; it might make things easier. He clearly can’t get it in his head that there’s no saving me. So, maybe leaving him is the best choice.“You don’t mean that,” Julia complained. “You love him; just tell him the truth.” Thankfully, Landry hadn’t noticed I left. He was too preoccupied with doing damage control. The kingdom was furious at this discovery. They felt lied to and unsafe and I couldn’t blame them.Landry thinks it’s best if I keep an even lower profile; now that the vampires and bears know that we are vulnerable, they are bound to attack at any moment.When I was in my room and received the mindlink from Cora, I had to admit that I was a little surprised she wanted to speak to me. A part of me assumed she had something to do with the bugs around the palace and leaking the information to the media. I didn’t know that Landry suspected the same thing.Landry and I still haven’t sp
Bernice’s POVI wasn’t sure if it was the emotions of my omega side or the fury of my wolf, but I couldn’t stay in that room any longer. I wanted to go see Landry and ask him how the hell he didn’t tell me any of this information. I couldn’t believe he allowed this woman to stay in the kingdom with what she did. I wanted to find her and rip her head off with my claws.I struggled to keep Julia at bay; she had never felt fury like this before and I almost lost control of her.Jessie could see the many emotions crossing my face and she looked worried. But I also knew she couldn’t blame me. I had no idea how she managed to stay in control for this long after finding out what Cora had done.She had crossed a line of trust for both Jessie and Landry. She shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near them.How had she gone this long without being punished?“He didn’t want me to tell you,” Jessie said, eyeing me carefully. “He doesn’t want anyone to know.”“I don’t understand… why not?” I asked, my voi
Landry’s POV“I want every inch of this kingdom to be searched; am I understood?” Landry barked to his men.“Yes, sir!”“Report to me everything you can. Nothing is too small.”As the gammas departed from the palace, Landry shifted into his wolf form and began sniffing around the outside of his palace. He could smell her blood; it was still fresh. But as soon as he leaves the palace grounds, the blood scent disappears. She must have gotten into a car and driven off.He couldn’t smell the smoke of the car exhaust though.What does that mean? “It was Cora. She was here. The ground reeks of her.” Amon was right; Cora’s scent was everywhere, as was Bernice’s.“Did she say she was going anywhere?” Landry asked Jessie, who was behind him. “Was she meeting Cora again?”“I already said that she said she was getting air…” she answered.“But you said Cora was here previously?” Landry asked. “To talk to Bernice? How long ago?”“Maybe an hour or so ago…” Jessie answered, wariness in her tone. “
Landry’s POV“Sir, there’s still no sign of her,” one of Landry’s warriors said through a mindlink.Landry hadn’t stopped looking; Cora’s trail had gone cold. It’s been a little under 24 hours since he last saw Bernice and with every fiber of his being, he was worried. Though, he tried not to show it to his warriors and more so to his sister.“Keep looking,” Landry ordered. “Don’t bother me until she is found.”“Yes, sir.”Landry closed the mindlink. He was deep in the forest, trying to pick up that scent again, but he was getting nothing. He could sense that Bernice was still alive, but aside from that, her whereabouts remained a mystery.He was going to search the end of this planet until she was safe again.“Landry!” Jessie mindlinked him; her voice sounded frantic. “She’s back!”His heart raced in his chest at his sister’s words. He paused entirely; there was an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. Had they released her? Had she escaped?He didn’t ask any questions yet; he
Landry’s POV“Landry darling…I was thinking about something I wanted to talk to you about,” Bernice says as she comes into his study. She was wearing a very short dress that would have made Landry’s manhood hard, but something was still off about her. His wolf was less than enthusiastic to see her for some reason.He looked up at her and waited for her to approach. To his surprise, she walked around his desk and sits on his lap. Her closeness would have pleased him at one point, but he remained wary. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed down at him, pressing herself close to him.She ran his fingers down his neck, staring at him with a look that seemed odd for Bernice. She never acted like this, and it was making him feel uneasy.“Is something wrong?” He asked her. “You aren’t acting like yourself.”She frowned and dropped her hands to her sides.“I’m sorry… I know I’m being weird,” she breathed, staring down at her hands. She began tugging at her fingers nervously. “I just
Landry’s POV“Are you sure what you saw?” Landry asked, storming out of the palace with Jessie behind him. Cora had already left the palace to get to cover while she recharged. But according to Jessie was a shapeshifter, taking on the form of Bernice.Shapeshifters are powered by the full moon. However, their powers are limited. If they use them too much at once, they won’t be able to shift again until they recharge under the full moon. Which was exactly what Cora was going to need to do if she wanted to continue being Bernice.“I still can’t get it out of my head…” Jessie breathed, her tone growing shaky. “One minute she was Bernice… and the next….” She paused to gather her thoughts. “It wasn’t Bernice. I knew something was weird about her…”“Yeah; I had a feeling too. She proposed marriage to me earlier… that definitely didn’t sound like Bernice.”“What are you going to do?” Jessie asked, peering up at Landry.“I’m going to find Cora,” he told her. “She’s going to lead me directly t
Landry’s POV“Yes, Alpha King…” one of the doctors confirmed. “I’m afraid we will lose them both if we don’t get them to surgery right away.”Landry was frozen, but he managed to step aside so they could bring Bernice to the operating room.Pregnant? They were having a baby? When did this happen? “What happened?” Jessie asked coming up from behind him. “Did you see Bernice?”“She’s heading to the operating room,” Landry said as if he was in a trance.“She’s going to be okay…” Jessie said, but even her voice sounded worried. “She has to be okay…”“Jessie…” he breathed. “She’s pregnant.”…Cora’s POVCora made her way back to the layer; on her walk there, she could feel the moonlight rejuvenating her powers. But she needed a little more time. She knew the vampire Lord had a potion that could help her recharge quicker. She just needed to get to it.The layer was just outside the werewolf territory; it was held deep in the underground and out of sight. It is a perfect hiding spot to ke
Bernice’s POVI felt a sense of calm washing over me. I was no longer in immediate danger, and everything just felt calm. I dug my fingers into the plush bedsheets, the pillow under my head made it difficult to want to wake. But I felt the presence of Landry sitting beside me.He was worried for me.My mind was also quiet; Julia had yet to return to me. My heart ached knowing she wasn’t with me, but I couldn’t let that get me down. I knew within that time she would return to me. My fingers twitched and I was expecting pain to come after that, but it didn’t.Instead, I heard the comforting sound of Landry’s voice.“Bernice…” he whispered, or so I think he was whispering. I couldn’t tell. He sounded so far away. “Are you awake?”“I think so,” I whispered back.I was a bit afraid to open my eyes, not sure how the light would affect my vision. It might be worth it to see Landry once again.I opened my eyes slightly, only wincing a little as they adjusted to the lighting of the room. Landr
Bernice’s POV6 months later“Oh, my goddess, Bernice!! You look gorgeous!!” Jessie squealed as she ran into my room.I stood in front of my mirror wearing the most beautiful wedding gown I had ever seen. It was designed by the best designers around the kingdom. Jessie wouldn’t let me get my dress from anyone different.I couldn’t believe that today was the day that I was marrying Landry. I never thought this day would come. I kept my long hair up and away from my neck; I wanted my mark to be seen by all eyes as I walked down the aisle to my love. My wedding dress was strapless and hugged my curves perfectly, expanding around my waists and flowing in smooth and delicate fabrics around my feet, expanding outward. There were white flowers decaling the fabrics and a couple of white flowers entwined in the curly locks of my hair.I felt like a princess; this must be how Jessie feels all of the time.Jessie, of course, looked gorgeous in her light pink dress.“I’m honored you chose me to b
Bernice’s POVI couldn’t get back to the palace fast enough. As soon as I got through the front doors, I could smell the scent of my pup. He was in the living room with Caleb.Caleb sat on the couch with my pup in his arms; he was laughing and speaking in the baby which made me smile. Caleb looked up and gave me a wide grin.“We were just bonding,” Caleb said fondly.I chuckled as I made my way over to them; Landry stepped beside me to get a better look at our son and I could feel his breathing out in relief. I knew Landry would be pleased that he looked exactly like him. I could feel his heart growing in size as he stared down at the small pup.“He’s incredible…” Landry breathed; he reached out to touch the pup’s cheek, running his hand down the side of his face. “He’s beautiful.”Tears were welling in Landry’s eyes; my heart was feeling so full at that moment. I was so happy to be with my family once again.“He needs a name still,” I tell him. “I wanted to wait for you.”Landry thou
Bernice’s POVI could already hear the music from the ceremony booming through the city. This wasn’t a place to take a baby. I turned to Caleb and handed him my pup.“Can you take him to the palace?” I asked. “I need to find Landry and congratulate Jessie, and then we will come home.”“Of course,” Caleb said with a fond smile as he gladly took my pup from me. “See you soon,” he said, turning away and heading in the direction of the palace.I smiled fondly as I watched him walk away. After a moment, I turned back in the direction of the ceremony and went toward the music.I had to admit that it was incredibly overwhelming. There was no way I would ever get used to this many people in one place; there had to be hundreds of people at the ceremony. Not many noticed me as I shoved my way through them. A couple of them gasped as they got a glimpse of my face, and I heard some murmurs that I was Landry’s Omega.I certainly didn’t like being called Landry’s anything. I wasn’t his property. Bu
Bernice’s POVI can’t remember the last time I slept that well; it’s been ages. As I opened my eyes, the sun shining through the window nearly blinded me. I winced, feeling a small headache brewing in my temple. I sat up in bed, staring around the fairly plane room. This was another smaller pack so the packhouse was also on the smaller side.I could smell coffee brewing from downstairs, causing my mouth to water. I hadn’t had coffee since before I was pregnant.Wait.Oh, my goddess!I look down at my bed and saw that it was empty.My pup was gone.With a racing heart, I slid out of bed quickly and ran out of the room. I couldn’t get downstairs fast enough. Someone had taken my pup and they were going to pay for this.I didn’t give anybody permission to…“Caleb?” I gasped as I entered the kitchen.Caleb sat at the kitchen with a plate of breakfast, coffee, and my pup in his arms. I stared at him with such disbelief that he broke out into a grin.“I didn’t want to wake you,” he said. “I
Landry’s POVIt’s been 24 hours since Alaric has been killed. It took a few hours for his men to clean the mess of the vampires and go through all of Alaric’s stuff in the layer. There wasn’t much to find other than Alaric’s plans to take over the werewolf territory and eventually work his way to the bear territory.He knew that not all his vampire issues were solved, there will still be vampires that want to defeat the wolves, and there will also be bears that would want to defeat the wolves as well. But at least his biggest problem was done for right now.He could finally breathe; except for the fact that Bernice still couldn’t be found. His Beta had reported moments ago that they have checked 4 packs so far and Bernice wasn’t in any of them. She still had him blocked from their mindlink, so he couldn’t reach out to her.A nasty feeling formed in the pit of Landry’s stomach. What if she doesn’t want to return home?“Don’t be stupid,” his wolf hissed. “Of course, she wants to return
Landry’s POVCaleb stood trembling with blood splattered across his body, standing over Alaric’s dead body. Landry was amazed that Caleb had that much courage and managed to kill Alaric.Caleb looked utterly defeated, and yet he also looked relieved.Landry knew this was a lot for a 15-year-old to take in.He placed his hand on Caleb’s shoulder, reassuring him that he was there and that he was going to be okay.“We still don’t know where Bernice is,” Caleb cried. “She has all of us blocked. She won’t know that Alaric is dead.”He was right and Landry would be lying if he said he wasn’t also worried about that. But for right now, they needed to clean this mess. There will be other vampires after them once they realize their lord was taken from them.“Alpha King!” His Beta shouted in a mindlink. Caleb also looked up, indicating that he could also hear the Beta speaking. “You need to come out here… something is happening!”Caleb and Landry exchanged wary looks before departing from the l
Third Person POVAt a young age, Caleb had learned from his father how to break into safes. He wasn’t sure why that was a skill his father had taught him, or how his father even knew how to do such a thing. He never thought that type of skill would ever come in handy; until now.It didn’t take him long to get into Alaric’s safe; once he had it opened, there was only one thing inside. It was wrapped in this maroon, silk cloth. As soon as Caleb touched it, he knew whatever was inside was incredibly sharp. He could also feel the dark magic consuming it. It gave him an uneasy feeling.He didn’t think this was something he should be holding; but somehow, he knew that this was the key to defeating Alaric.He unwrapped the object to uncover a dagger. It was an interesting dagger made entirely of silver. The handle was maroon with golden swirls, just like everything else in this room.Caleb was sensing a theme.This was what was going to kill Alaric once and for all.“You thought you were cle
Third Person POVThe layer was dark; Caleb had to squint his eyes in order to see properly. Even with his wolf’s eyes, it was difficult to navigate through the dark halls that to what felt like nowhere. There were no sounds that indicated any life within the layer, and he wasn’t sure where the halls ended, but he found what seemed to be an elevator in one of the darkest corners.His heart was pounding violently against his chest as he stepped into the elevator. He knew already it was going to lead him down to the layer where Alaric has kept his sister for torture. He doesn’t think he was going to find Bernice down there, but he feared for what he was about to find.As the elevator doors opened, he stepped into a dimly lit room. The walls were lit with candlelight; everything seemed to be made of concrete and smelled of mildew and rotting flesh. He nearly gagged at the stench.Still, there were no sounds indicating that there was anybody down there. Could Alaric really have left his la
Bernice’s POV“Talia…?” I said again, forcing myself to sit up and ignore the dizzy feeling that washed over me. “What… what are…” I couldn’t even get the words out of my voice.She continued to cradle my crying pup in her arms while staring at me with a grin spreading across her face.“You didn’t honestly think that Alaric would let you go that easily… did you?” She asked with a fake pout. “You are pathetic to think otherwise. I’m just glad I don’t have to pretend to be your friend anymore.”“It was you the entire time?” I asked, my word quivering. I could hardly believe what was seen before me.How had I not known that it was Talia this entire time? I have lived in her house for almost a month; she showed me kindness and helped take care of me. But it was only so she can get my baby.“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said. “But I must be leaving now.”She turned away as I started to feel my wolf growing furious from within me. She was no longer going to be quiet; she was about to lose