Trista’s POV“Oh my God, Hazel. It’s…it’s black. Why is it black? What’s wrong with him?”My words came out in a jumbled mess. I wasn’t a doctor, but I knew enough to know that a black wound was really, really bad. It likely pointed to some sort of poison. But that kind? It wasn’t wolfbane, that much was clear.Was it a human poison? And if so, what would that do to Liam’s wolf?Or was it a werewolf poison? I glanced at his chest. His veins were blackening, right there, in front of us, as though we could see whatever poison this was crawling up his chest through his veins in real time.It was horrifying.He needed a wolf doctor, that much was clear. This was no ordinary wound. Even if it was a human poison, he needed a doctor who knew about werewolf anatomy.I’d lived in Milan for five years, but I’d lived as a human in Milan. I didn’t know any wolf doctors. Not here.Liam’s body tensed. He clenched his fist and bit down on his teeth.“Hazel! What’s happening?”Liam began flailing, hi
“Give me space,” Doctor Darren instructed, opening up his medical box. “I need clean sheets and hot water. Towels, too.”I watched, horrified, as he pulled out a scalpel. The blade glinted in the light.“What…what are you doing?” I stammered.He didn’t respond. Instead, he gave me a sympathetic look.“No,” I said, realizing what he was about to do. He was going to perform surgery, right there, on my couch.“I need to remove the bullet,” Doctor Darren said calmly. I felt crazed. I was so worried about Liam, it physically hurt.“Come, love,” Mrs. Lemick said softly, taking my elbow. “He’s in good hands. My husband is one of the best doctors around. Give him space. Show me where the extra sheets and towels are.”Mrs. Lemick began leading me out of the living room. I followed her in a daze. Hazel stayed.“When I tell you,” Doctor Darren said to Hazel, “apply pressure right here.”Hazel was assisting the doctor.‘Pull yourself together,’ I chastised myself. ‘Make yourself useful.’ I
Trista’s POVI stared at Doctor Darren in disbelief.“Yes,” I said, nodding. “I am. Gamma Moonlar was my father. Did you…did you know my father?”It had been a long time since anyone had mentioned my father. Yet, this doctor here seemed to have known him. What are the chances? I thought to myself. My father had never even been to Europe, not to my knowledge. Not only had this werewolf doctor come into our lives at exactly the right time to save Liam, but he also knew my father?It really was a small world sometimes.“I did dear, yes,” the doctor sighed. “But it was a long time ago. I was sad to hear when he passed, though. I heard he’d died of illness?”“That’s right,” I confirmed. “It was very…sudden. A shock, really. To all of us.”“I’ll bet it was,” he said, narrowing his eyes. There was something strange about his voice. “Do you happen to know which illness it was, dear?”I shook my head. I didn’t.“Why?” I asked. I felt like there was something he wanted to tell me. He studied my
Trista’s POVJules chatted incessantly. He was yammering on about God only knows what, something about chocolate. I tried to block him out so I could hear the voices upstairs.I really hoped they would say something else, about my mother OR father, something that would give me a clue as to how he knew them.But Doctor Darren and Mrs. Lemick had gone quiet. I figured they were probably sleeping.“Oh shit,” Jules suddenly said. I looked over. Liam’s white bandage was turning red. “What do we do?” Jules squealed, standing up.Hazel leapt up and went to Liam.“Why is he bleeding like that?” Jules asked, horrified.I had to admit, it didn’t look good. His wound was still bleeding, enough to saturate the bandage. Hazel gently pushed Jules out of the way and peeled back the blood-soaked bandage.Jules gasped when he saw the stitched up wound. He took a few steps backwards.“I’m going to faint,” he said, looking woozy. I grabbed his elbow and led him to a chair. “You said he was all right,” J
Trista’s POVA shiver ran down my back. Liam was an alpha and as such, few things rattled him. But I could tell by the look in his eyes right now, he was rattled.Liam coughed then. Hazel handed him some water and we waited. Liam was weak. He should have been resting. His wound was still bleeding and his hands were shaky. He’d lost a lot of blood. He needed time to recover. But we had to hear the rest of the story. And Liam was just as intent to tell it to us as we were to hear it.“Suddenly, all hell broke loose,” Liam continued. “These men rushed in. They were dressed in black and they all had guns.”“I saw them too,” I said. “When I first went up to the VIP room. They were awful. Lewd. Arrogant. I had a feeling they were dangerous but they left shortly after I got there.”“They’re dangerous all right,” Liam said. “They barged in and saw me held against the wall. The man let go of me and turned to the other men. “Don’t,” he told them. But they drew their guns. They aimed them all a
Trista’s POVI leaned against the door and ran my hands through my hair. It had been a long day and I couldn’t take any more. Liam had been shot but some sort of mystical bullet. Something was wrong with Johnson and I was worried for his safety. And now I couldn’t find my children!Where were they?Had something happened to them? Tears stung my eyes. I knew that, any moment now, I’d have a complete meltdown. I tried to bite back my tears but it was no use. I couldn’t hold it all in anymore.But just as I was about to break down, I saw someone waving at the end of the hall.“Trista,” she hissed. I squinted and saw that it was Mrs. Lemick. She was waving at me, motioning for me to come with her.“I didn’t mean to worry you, dear,” she said as I approached.“Where are Billy and Belle,” I asked, my voice desperate.“Everything’s fine, I promise. Follow me.”She led me down the hall and through a utility room. To my surprise, there was a hidden elevator. We stepped inside and she brought u
“I’m from the Red Moon Pack.”“What?”This surprised me. The Red Moon Pack had a terrible Alpha, Jeremy. My mind flashed back to Hazel’s wedding, when I’d found the alpha’s son in a tent having sex with his sister. There was incest in that pack.I frowned.“I know what you’re thinking,” Darren said. “I’ve heard the rumors. But I haven’t been a member of the Red Moon Pack for a long time. And back when I was, the pack was different.”I nodded.“Then how did you know my parents?” I asked.“The Blue Moon Crescent Pack and the Red Moon Pack were friendly back then. I was young, and I was the doctor of the Red Moon Pack. But I often helped with medical concerns in Blue Moon Crescent Pack, too, since I was very skilled and knowledgeable. In fact, I gave your mother all of her pregnancy examinations.” “You did?” I asked, shocked. Then he really HAD known my parents. He’d been their doctor!“Yes,” he confirmed. “Both your parents were in excellent health. All through her pregnanc
Trista’s POVI held Billy tight and inhaled the sweet scent of his hair. I’d been so distracted with everything: preparing my entry for the auction, the auction itself, Liam’s injury – I hadn’t been able to spend much time with Billy and Belle.I didn’t realize how much I missed them.After everything I’d been through, holding my son in my arms was heavenly.“Did we wake you up?” I asked him as he pulled away.“Shhh,” he said, putting his finger to his lips. “You’ll wake up Belle. She’s very tired. We have to whisper.”“Oh, okay,” I said, and we all nodded.“Are you hungry, sweetheart?” Darla asked. “I think I still have some coconut cookies left?”“Yes, please,” Billy said, but his voice wasn’t as enthusiastic as it usually was at the mention of cookies.He sat silently on my lap for a bit, picking at the fluff of his cotton pajama pants. I could tell something was wrong.“Billy?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”He shook his head sadly from side to side. Then he looked up at me.“I kn
“Who are you?” I asked the second voice in my head. Silver’s voice was gone. I didn’t understand. Where was this second voice coming from? It was so different than Silver’s. It was soft and gentle. Silver’s voice tore through my head like a whip. This voice rippled and floated. I was instantly drawn to it.“Quill,” the second voice said. “I’m your other wolf.”Other wolf? But how could that be? Did he mean that…Silver was my wolf? My heart dropped. If Silver was my wolf, then that meant – my wolf was a blood-thirsty, evil beast bent on killing everyone and anything in his path?Oh God.But wait. He’d just said ‘other wolf’. So that meant…“I have two wolves?” I asked, confused.“Yes. We’re twins,” the gentle voice confirmed.Twin…..wolves?“We’re nothing alike, Johnson,” the second voice, Quill, continued. “In fact, we’re polar opposites. We argue all the time.”“Why haven’t I heard your voice before?” I asked.“Silver often overpowers me,” Quill explained. “But I’ve found a way to br
Johnson’s POV“Impressive,” Jake smirked, looking at the shattered window. I hoped he bought it. If he knew that I was trying to protect both Liam and Trista, and that I let them go on purpose, it would only pique his interest in both of them, especially Trista. He’d want to find her and have a ‘good time with the bitch.’ I couldn’t let them happen. I had to persuade him that I hated both Liam and Trista. “Yeah well, he deserved it,” I snapped back, lacing my voice with as much venom as I could. “He was a pompous ass.”Jake nodded appreciatively. “And the bitch?” he asked, meaning Trista.“She’s nothing,” I snipped, waving my hand in the air dismissively. “I was nice to her at one point. I mean, come on, she’s a hot piece of ass, after all. I wanted a taste of her. But she chose that scumbag ex of hers over me. So I naturally got pissed and snapped. I wanted some revenge on the woman who hurt me. But she got away before I could.” I chose my words carefully, hoping I could fool Jake.
Johnson’s POVJake began to chuckle, a low, guttural laugh. I thought for sure he’d raise his strange gun again and shoot Liam right in the head. But he didn’t. Instead, he turned the gun over in his hands. I could tell by Liam’s reaction that it wasn’t an ordinary gun. Clearly, Jake and his men had come to the auction prepared. They must have known they might encounter a werewolf. I could only assume, but something told me that the strange gun had some sort of power over werewolves.Jake proudly showed his men his weapon. They nodded appreciatively. I stared at the gun, my eyes falling to a peculiar emblem. It looked like some sort of S. I had no idea where that gun came from, but there was something about it that I really didn’t like.“Looks like it finally came in handy,” Jake chuckled. “I knew it was.” Then he turned to Liam. “That was for my father, you mother fucker.” Jake motioned at Liam and his gun wound. “He always hated you fucking wolves.”The wolf was gone from Liam’s f
Johnson’s POVI glanced around the room. Any minute now, these men would fire off another shot with their strange weapons. They’d already shot Liam in the stomach, but they wanted to kill him. Their next shot would be through his head.An uncontrollable fury ripped through me. I tried to push it down. I had to save Liam. But Silver smelled blood. He gnashed his teeth! I was so mad at Liam. What was he thinking? Why had he come in here? Didn’t he know these men were dangerous? Why had he just barged into the VIP room unannounced?He was an alpha but he was no match for these men. Not when they were armed with guns.Liam looked at me, confused. He was holding his stomach, blood oozing out through his gunshot wound. Then his confusion gave way to anger. He narrowed his eyes. He thought I was one of them, one of these men. And I had to keep acting like I was. But I couldn’t let them kill Liam! Jake lifted his strange gun again, his lips curled into an evil smile.NO!I reached out and gra
Trista’s POVDagny eyed me with a quizzical look. “Are you certain?”I completely understood her trepidation. It was like a miracle. I was shocked myself. But I was sure. Jules was the person we needed. “Yes,” I said emphatically. “There’s only one personal assistant named Jules at HS. It has to be him.” I grinned from ear to ear. I felt like finally, we’d caught a break. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Jules was supposed to be working for Johnson, but he was Liam’s personal assistant. So he was basically working for Johnson’s rival. It was all so surreal. “You think he knows where the key is?” I asked.“If he doesn’t know firsthand, then he’ll know how to find out,” Dagny said.I nodded. “Then I should go back to the United States immediately,” I told her. Of course, I had some ulterior selfish reasons for wanting to go back.I missed Billy and Belle terribly, as well as Hazel. Relief flooded through me. Finding Jules would be easy. I knew exactly where to look! Plus, I could hold my
Trista’s POV“I know what you’re thinking,” Dagny said. “I have no idea what’s in the vault, I don’t know where the key is and I can’t tell you where Storm and Mercury are so how are you possibly supposed to find them, right?”Yup. She pretty much nailed it right on the head. That’s exactly what I was thinking. But then she flashed me a mischievous smile.“Well, I might not know where Mercury and Storm are, but I know where their son is.” I balked. Their son? I’d assumed that Mercury and Storm were both men. But apparently my assumptions were way off base.“Mercury and Storm fell in love. They got married and had a child, a boy. He’s just a little younger than Jonathan. Maybe four years or so? Anyway, Storm and Mercury wanted their son to return to the land of their ancestors. So they left Europe and brought him to the United States. He was raised there from a young age and they integrated him into human society. He went to school, graduated, and got a good job at a good company.”
Trista’s POVI appreciated Dagny’s support. I wasn’t sure yet what I was going to do. The Erasthai bond came with a lot of inherent risks and I needed time to carefully sort through it all. But in the meantime, we needed to come up with a game plan for our current situation.“What should we do now?” I asked Dagny. “Do you know where Stewart it?”“Yes. He must be hiding somewhere,” Dagny told me. “He changed the color of the curtains in the window in the attic to warn me. So I think he’s around here somewhere. I can stay here, hidden in the cottage and look for him.”I nodded. That made sense. If Steward had been in the estate to change the curtains, then he was probably nearby.“What about Johnson?” I asked. I was really worried about him, even more so now with all the things Dagny had told me.“Well, based on the information you gave me about Milan, I think he’s safe for the time being. It sounds like Felix’s younger son is running the show now. He’s likely taken control of all the m
Trista’s POVI turned the words over in my head.The Lycan Erasthai?“No, I don’t think I have,” I told Dagny. The words were unfamiliar to me.She nodded. “Well, the Erasthai is a special bond that Lycans experience. Werewolves have matebonds appointed by the Moon Goddess. But Erasthai is an emotional bond that comes from the heart.”“It’s like a matebond for Lycans? This Erasthai?” I asked.“Yes, sort of. But it’s much stronger. Much more serious,” she told me.I found it hard to believe that anything could be stronger than a werewolf’s matebond, but I had no point of reference since I wasn’t a Lycan. So I had to take Dagny’s word on that.“I’ve sensed Johnson’s feelings for you. I sensed them when he came to visit us at our estate. I think you might be Johnson’s Erasthai.”I also knew Johnson had feelings for me, but I thought they were just human feelings, since I thought Johnson was human. But now Dagny was telling me that his feelings might be something much deeper. If Erasthai
Trista’s POVI was speechless.Me? Had I just heard her right?She looked at me intensely.“Like I said, Trista, I can’t be entirely sure. It’s only a guess. But something has changed. Something has instigated his wolves and I know how he feels about you. I think you might be his mate. And his wolves are reacting to that.”She stated it so matter-of-factly. But her words sent my thoughts whirling. I was relieved we were downstairs in this secret room. I was grateful for the privacy as I grappled through the enormity of the things Dagny was telling me.I was the reason his wolves had awakened? Me? I didn’t like that thought. It was bad enough that Liam was upstairs right now, injured by a mystical Silvery because of me. If what Dagny was saying were true, then I’d activated Johnson’s dormant wolves? But how? And why? I considered Johnson to be family, but up until a little while ago, I’d thought he was human. I’d known him for five years and there hadn’t been a single day I thought he