ALPHA COLTON I watched the ambulance drive off. It wasn't how I intended for things to turn out that evening. "What happened?" Vinny met me by my car but when he caught the fury as my eyes narrowed to slits, he instinctively backed away from me and staggered towards his car where Betty was waiting in the backseat. I sat behind the wheels, peering into the darkness as they drove off. I found the keys stuck in the ignition where the chauffeur had abandoned them in the heat of the outburst. I released an audible sigh. I had completely lost it. My heart was heavy even as I drove from Karl's mansion. Away from his betrayal. I would have killed him. I knew for a fact I could have killed Karl if the chauffeur didn't intercept. If the ambulance together with Vinny hadn't arrived too soon. I strummed the steering wheel as I drove silently through the quiet city. The Pack members were in their homes, surrounded by their loved ones and family. Family. The one thing I was s
ALPHA COLTON "Be sure to send the email to Grimsby before noon." I instructed Ron with my gaze not leaving the work on my computer but my fingers gesticulated to the draft I had crafted the day before. Ron glinted at me as though to be sure he was reading the contents of the draft just right. "You're calling this deal off?" His tone was clipped with bewilderment. "Yeah, so?" I sounded detached and clinical. "It's barely a week." "Send the email and keep your eyes out for a response." I dismissed him. There were a couple of important meetings scheduled for today but the most important was the meeting with the council to let them know I was calling off the deal. There had to be a way around it. I could think discreetly now. I cleared the work on my computer, found my jacket from the holder, and waltzed to the conference hall. The occupants of the hall stood briefly with stiff nods as I got in. My gaze didn't need to wander around the conference hall to spot Jace's
ALLISON KEELERI stood unblinking, trying to process what Phoebe was saying to me. "Did you not say Alpha Grimsby's your pup's father?" Her eyes searched my face. My eyes slammed shut as though to brace myself from the ongoing rumors. I had said it was an Alpha. Grimsby wasn't the only Alpha in the kingdom. But why would Phoebe take the lid off my secret… too soon?"So you did tell people I'm pregnant." I stared at her as though awaiting an explanation. The weight of her actions settled heavily on me causing my head to hang, my gaze remained on my toes as I gulped at the growing lump in my throat. "I was only looking out for you, I had no idea, Payton, that blabbermouth was going to sing it like a canary." She sounded genuine. " So you did tell someone...""I needed her to help me convince the nurse to keep this private. You're going to need vitamins and supplements to get you and your baby healthy." Phoebe took my hands and gave them a quick squeeze. "I was only looking out fo
ALLISON KEELER The next morning was surprisingly sunny, but my anxiety made it hard to enjoy the sunlight. I had the morning off duty because I needed to look my best before Hornsgate Pack's Elders. I didn't know why, but my nerves were reeling. I threw up about three times that morning before I felt at ease. I caught my reflection in the mirror, bruises on my neck and cheeks from Grimsby's assaults the night before. I brushed down my auburn hair to conceal it. I got into the only piece of clothing I had. The one I wore here. Stepping into the clothes and my hair down, I looked different. I looked bolder and more beautiful. But the unsettling feelings in my stomach made me feel sick. There was a soft knock at the door. I went to get the door only to see Phoebe there with a broad smile on her face. I was a bit relieved. I stepped aside so she could get in. She gawked at me in disbelief. "There's no way you're scrubbing the floor in that outfit!" She cocked a brow at
ALLISON KEELERMy heart thumped erratically as I stood before the scrutinizing gazes of the elders of Hornsgate in the vast auditorium. This was one of the umpteen times I wished I possessed a strong wolf that could read minds. This was one of the moments I wanted the ground to swallow me all up. But it didn't. "I can't sense her Luna aura." A white-haired elder cast a skeptical eye my way, "The Westerners are dubious, Colton is a cunning vicious wolf." "There's no proof she's Colton's mate, not when all I can sense is the runt energy." Another elder spoke.The elders deliberated on whether Colton tricked them or not, Grimsby's gaze was heavy on my face with a smirk splayed on his face. He didn't look like he was ready to clear the air. He didn't let Faye into the building. Whatever threat he had on her to keep her off this meeting had worked. Without the pecan-haired Luna, things were much easier. "Do you understand the consequences of lying to the entire council of elders?" The
ALLISON KEELER "And I thought you were beautiful." Matt glanced my way with a soft grin and added, "You look more beautiful when you smile."I looked away from the sundae in my hand and offered him a radiant smile."There's a reason why you're kind to me both in words and deeds." I looked at the melting strawberry sundae in his hand as we walked toward the booth, "You don't like that?"He merely glanced at it with a negligible shrug."You can have it." He stretched it my way. I flashed him a brazen gaze as I went for his share of the ice cream. It was worth it. It tasted better than I had ever imagined."Do you think I'm being greedy?" I jested. He pulled out a seat for me in the booth. I settled into it watching him take a seat from me. "Can I ask you something?" I started licking the ice cream nervously. "If it's the trails out of Hornsgate, I don't have a reply." My jaws dropped and my eyes were on him. He just read my mind. "Supposed I was crazy enough to want to escape thi
ALLISON KEELERMr. Smith paused mid-sentence seeing me scurry into the hall going straight away to fix myself in the row of the well-groomed girls. I had woken up too tired, my stomach had churned in ways that rendered me weak, my headache persisted and my morning fever had made me sob. I had waited until I felt a bit better before reluctantly getting out of bed to begin my day. Yes, I was pretty clumsy that morning and if I thought Mr. Smith was going to let it slide then I was mistaken. Gravely mistaken."You're late!" He spelled it out with his staff tapping the floor. "I don't feel good," I replied honestly. I was barely holding up, I felt so lightheaded. "Can I at least take the day off?"Mr. Smith stared at me like I had lost my mind. It didn't matter to me, all that did matter to me was feeling better. I needed some rest. "I got a report from Maggie that you didn't sign up for duty two days ago. You missed two days in a row." His cold voice spoke. A few girls grumbled at t
ALLISON KEELERThe search for Faye's diamond ring continued, stretching out from my room. I locked my room on my way to have the laundry done. The goddess had saved me from the evil plot. Now I knew just how to count my enemies. That didn't mean I was off the hook. Karla still dropped a few hints here that I must've hidden it somewhere. Yes, I hid it somewhere. I saw the ring.I had no idea when Phoebe had slipped the ring into one of my pillows, the one she'd probably suspected I didn't get to touch often but the goddess was solidly beside me. My hands had aimlessly wandered and felt the odd object in the pillow that morning as I slept in. It wasn't until I took the pillowcase off did I realize it was an expensive diamond ring, one that hadn't been there when I changed the sheets and pillowcases the previous morning. My brain cells acted quickly to get the ring from my possession. I went further to sweep the entire room, closet, and bathroom clean of any inexplicable material. L
ALLISON KEELER"What's going on?"I asked Alan after it took Dane forever to spill whatever he had in his guts. "We just received an email from the Western territories of the kingdom." Dane went ahead with a tone that sounded more husky than businesslike. "There's bound to be a war."A war? My face conveyed my shock. War was never a good thing especially when my territory was starting to thrive and recoup from bad governance."Our territory is safe." Alan must've caught the dismay on my face so he chipped in. "We're sealed by magic, it would be hard for the Outlanders to strike.""So why then is everyone acting this way?""The westerners solicit our amalgamation." Dane dragged out the words as though it was supposed to affect me. It did.The Western territories revolved mainly around Colton's territories. His territories were the majority. If we amalgamated our territories that meant going for those meetings, running into Colton, and risking the big discovery of the child we had to
ALLISON KEELER "There's a notice from the border," Alan dropped the folders in his hands on my desk, "It's a good thing we were on guard last night.""We would have been swept last night if we didn't take security measures?" I asked to be certain I understood him. "Here's your speech for this noon." Luca dropped a file on my desk. Smiling, Luca took a photo of me on my executive desk and smiled broadly into his phone. "Hmm, look how good you you look!""Delete that!" I growled at him stretching out to snatch the phone from his hand."You will need some executive photos," he held the phone out so I could see the photo. A smile curled on my lips. I looked so good. "Delete that," I said regardless. "We will have more patrol teams on the borders and send spies and trackers to see what they can gather." Alan went back to business. "You will address the entire Pack today by noon."I already knew that. Thoughts of standing before the entire Pack kicked in my anxiety. "Your executive a
ALLISON KEELER"Congratulations!"Evelyn gushed as I descended the stairs the night of the full moon. The silver dress I wore was perfect as the glow of the moon shone on it, and my hair and makeup looked extremely perfect. This was one of the things that kept me smiling all through. "So we get to leave this hole?" Darlene snorted. "I love this place." I did. The size didn't matter to me, all that did was have everyone together. Sir Garfield, although placed in a facility to help him recover quickly, was now an integral part of my life. A bigger mansion was no doubt going to fit everyone but it wasn't what I fancied at that time of my life. The ritual that night was a rare lucid moment. Without a trace of doubt in my heart, I picked Alan as my Beta. He knew so much about the pack and I was unsure why I picked Dane as my Gamma. This caused a stir in my circle but none of them seemed to own up to their thoughts. Was it because of the crown on my head now?"I don't know what's goi
Alpha Colton"Bullshit," I spat with vengeful eyes on Grimsby. All he said to me made no sense at all. "Where the hell is she?""You're not here for war now are you?" Grimsby sounded nervous but he kept a feigned composure. "You give me the girl and we're all good." I tried not to let my fury consume me. "She's not here." Grimsby huffed.My face dissolved into a confused frown. What did he mean she wasn't here?He met my inquisitive eyes and chose to explain things."Allison is safe. Trust me but I'm not the only northern ruler bonded to this deal, we don't want to turn this into some bloodbath." His tone was gravely low, "Let's talk at my office."Vinny released a breath glancing my way. I completely understood the dangers of striking out at the moment. The risk to these innocent pack members' lives was great and even worse, the weaker Western territories were going to feel the heat. The northerners were only going to strike brutally as revenge. This didn't feel right. "It's jus
ALPHA COLTON "I can't sense her," I informed Vinny the second we made it through Hornsgate borders. "You don't expect her scent to waft up your nostrils if she's a million miles away from here." He replied, his gaze on the map on his phone. "Hornsgate isn't that big a place." I inwardly scorned it. I had been to bigger territories, this was absolutely not one of them. "Grimsby will realize we're in his territory in no time." Vinny glanced from his phone. "I want him to as soon as possible. I just can't wait to end this." I hissed and drummed the steering wheel as the car zoomed through the highway. The thoughts of the northerners pooling in on us were now so overwhelming that I gestured to Vinny to get the anti-wolfsbane and anti-silver spray that Haedon had given me. If anything, this barbaric Pac was only going to try to use these two lethal forces on us. I knew just that. From a distance, three trucks zoomed up behind us. There was every possibility they were Gri
ALLISON KEELER"Would you abandon your territory to become Colton's Luna if he wanted you?"Dane typed a few things on his computer making a few edits to the speech Luca had just sent him. My coronation speech."My people are now my priority. So, no." I was unsure why he brought this up. Dane rarely talked to me and lately, he was all bent on asking about Colton. Did he fancy the ruthless ruler as well?He stretched and glanced at his wristwatch before he put his computer away. "I want to grab dinner," he slammed the computer and got to his feet grabbing his keys, "Coming?"Me?I thought he didn't like having me around but what did it hurt? I nodded and got to my feet. I left Sir Garfield's home office to first check on Fihl before I followed Dane out towards his Rover. "I want to see the pack, I want to meet with and get to know my people," I said in the front seat of his car. "You will, in a few more days." He glanced at me and reached out to grab the little fancy gift bag stre
ALLISON KEELER Matt was eerily silent all through the meeting with the pack elders. Alan and Chase did most of the talking. The elders swore their fealty and were more than willing to back me up on my rulership as the Luna of the pack. The day for the official crowning was the next full moon which was in just six days. I was happy. My joy was radiant but Matt's silence caught me even as we were all gathered for dinner he didn't say a word. All he did was cast me weird gazes and toy with his salmon. Something was bothering him and he denied it each time I asked. I offered to help Evelyn clear the table and stack the dishwasher. She was teasing me all over again about Grimsby's felicitations. I rolled my eyes and remained silent. "A diamond ring?" She gasped, "That's an awfully expensive one." She was talking about the ring Grimsby had sent my way amongst other gifts and items which were now in Darlene's possession. I didn't want anything from Grimsby. But what if it was
ALPHA COLTON "This is extremely impulsive," Vinny breathed, "We don't act on impulse." "If Grimsby wants to make this into a war then so be it." "This can cause a lot of damage, this can lead to regret." "I'm already wallowing in both." I hissed, "There's nothing left to lose." "Your territories?" I flail my hand in the air in an attempt to ease the fury inside of me. "I've already made up my mind. Do what needs to be done around here, I'll be back in a few days." "I'd be doomed if I let you off on your own." He met the fury in my eyes and quickly added, "You're a strong Alpha no doubt but the Northerners..." "I want the Pack matters that need my attention to be instantly sorted out, I want you to..." "Fuck it, Colton, I'm coming with you." "You're not leaving my territory unguarded, you're the Gamma of this pack..." "Karl will take care of what needs to be taken care of. We'll find a wolf to track her scent and I..." I hoisted the backpack from the coffee table and hea
ALPHA COLTON "Not that frown again," Shirley clucked her tongue with a broadening smile on her face. "What do you want?" I asked my face, suggesting I was not pleased to have her meddle in my part of the property. I had been unnecessarily liberal when I chose to offer Jace a part of my mansion to live in. Now I had to deal with it. "I miss you." She pursed her lips reaching out to touch my face. I acted instantly to prevent her from touching me. Whatever we had ended a while ago. She was now with my stepbrother. There had to be some boundaries. A lot was going on with me and having to pick a fight over a girl with Jace became a luxury I couldn't afford. "From now on you will speak discreetly. There's nothing between us anymore so I expect a more discreet relationship." The smile on her face faded, and a snort appeared on her face. "There's no gain being with you." She hissed, "Jace had a lot more to offer. I'm happy and content with my small family." "I'm glad to hear t