Hunter’s POVThe scene that unfolded before me would confuse me later, but as I raced towards Jane, driven mad by the scent of her blood, desperate to find her, to make her safe again, I didn’t take any notice of the strange group of people surrounding her.S was there, his face almost worried, just a tiny line marking the spot between his eyebrows, a cold cloth in his hand as he rested it on her forehead. He kept looking down at her like he wasn’t sure how he felt, so I felt no remorse in knocking him aside and stealing the cloth from his hand.I almost said her real name. Almost. But a crowd was gathering around the immediate circle surrounding Jane, so I managed to force out, “Luna Eremita,” instead of saying Jane. A woman I vaguely recognised stepped forward, but I took no notice of her in my panic. “Alpha Hunter,” she said, a little breathlessly. “She was coming towards me and she just collapsed.”The twin boys jumped up and down. “Alpha, we don’t know what’s wrong with her!” cr
Rose’s POVI stayed in Moonrise City after Jane left. I’d lived here for more than a year before Jane and her boys had moved to the city, and it had become my home – even after I’d ditched the boyfriend I’d moved here for. I had a house here, friends, family – all of them werewolves, but not me.That was how Jane and I had first become friends. She’d been a tiny slip of a thing, all wide, wild eyes, clutching her two babies close like she was terrified they were going to be taken away from her.It hadn’t taken long for us to strike up a friendship. We shared a kinship that neither of us could explain – at least, not until we became close enough to open up and explain it to each other.We were both from werewolf families, but neither of us had a wolf. That was why my family had moved to the human lands not long after my eighteenth birthday. When it had become obvious that my wolf wasn’t going to show up, they’d decided it would be best for me to be around humans. They hadn’t meant it
Rose’s POV “Step back. I’ll ascertain what’s happened,” the sexy-as-all-hell man said, dropping down beside Maybe-Jane and listening for her breath and feeling for her pulse.“Will Mommy be okay, S?” Maybe-Owen asked, his lower lip wobbling as he bravely blinked back tears. Mr. Hot Stuff was called S, then. I had to fan myself. Actually fan myself. My body ached for him, craved him, but it felt like I was on the cusp of something without quite being able to grasp it. Was it him that had drawn me all this way?It almost sounded like the stories my family, and Jane, had told me about the mate bond. But that was impossible. I didn’t have a wolf, so I couldn’t have a mate. It was as heart breaking as it was simple.Hang on. I’d never thought of it as a bad thing before. At least, I’d never let myself. I’d told myself I couldn’t think of anything worse than having a mate, someone to live and die for, all of the blood in my body beating only because they stood beside me. It sounded so, s
Jane’s POVMy whole body hurt. I felt like I’d had a hand inside my chest, rummaging around inside my organs and displacing them. Groaning softly, I opened my eyes, put a hand to my throbbing chest, and tried to sit up.The first thing I felt were the stitches. I rubbed my palm against them, a frown tugging my eyebrows down.“Mommy!” cried Owen. Beside him, Ares jumped up and beamed at me.“Mom, you’re awake!”I blinked at them, feeling like I was in a dream. They still didn’t look like themselves, but over time I’d got used to their new faces. I could see past their outward appearances and into their eyes, and there I saw my sons.“I’m awake?” I said. It sounded like a question. I shook my head slightly, trying to dispel the haze clouding my mind. “What happened?”Hunter stepped forward then; I froze. Had he been here this entire time?His throat bobbed, and he started to reach for me before stopping himself. “You collapsed into the middle of the gardens. I brought you here.”It took
S’s POVIt just didn't make any sense to me.I’d never found Jane attractive before. I could see why Hunter thought she was, but I’d just never had that interest in her. Her blue eyes were, theoretically, very nice, as was her lithe figure and her long dark hair. Theoretically, and in no other way. And yet even if my Alpha hadn’t liked her, I wouldn’t have, either.It wasn’t me being horrible. It was just me being honest.Then, one day, my heart had beat fast and my hands had gone clammy at the mere sight of her. I’d even smiled at her. Smiled.It was weird.‘Um, actually, buddy, you might want to soften your tone there,’ said Ian, my wolf. ‘Jane is lovely! And her wolf.’ He sighed dreamily. ‘I love her so much. She’s just perfect! I get why Reg used to go on and on about Jane so much. I can’t believe I never realised how amazing she was before! And I can’t believe he doesn’t feel that way for her anymore! She’s soooo great.’I just hmphed in reply. It was generally the safest thing t
Jane’s POVStill stunned by the realisation that Ina, the wolf I’d come to know as my own over the last few months, really belonged with Rose, my best friend, I remained frozen when S burst into the room, with more emotion on his cold face than I’d ever seen before, and knelt down at her bedside.Ina was Rose’s wolf. I was back to being an Omega without a wolf. I was back to being unprotected and unable to protect my boys.I still didn’t move as he took her hand, or as he said, “Mate.”Rose and S were… mates?“Mate,” Rose confirmed, beaming at S like he was the most incredible thing she’d ever seen. I’d seen Rose do a victory dance after fixing some difficult computer problem, grin widely as she took the first big bite of a pizza, but I had never, never, seen her look at a guy like that before.All of a sudden S’s strange behaviour started to make sense. The way he’d thought I was his mate, the looks he’d given me, like he was drawn to me but couldn’t work out why, the way Ina had bee
Jane’s POVColin and I fell into a strange relationship. We became little more than roommates. Whenever I tried to talk to him, he pulled away – but then I’d catch him looking at me longingly. I couldn’t make sense of it and, after a week of his weird behaviour, I gave up on trying to understand it.I missed the way things had been before, when we’d been friends. I regretted having sex with him, and still wondered what had happened that night. I’d not looked at him the same way since, although I missed his kindness and the closeness we’d shared before.That night, though? I’d been frenzied with wanton need and desperate lust. Colin had been the object of all of my desires, the very fire that lit up my soul.It made me even more suspicious of Amy, although I didn’t let it show when she pulled me away to moan at me about her life. She never mentioned anything else about Omega Jane, which meant the time I spent with her felt like time I’d wasted. I needed to know more.Alpha Colin and I
Hunter’s POV“The Alpha wolf isn’t yours?” I asked, careful to keep my tone in check. Despite my efforts my voice still came out strained.“No,” said Jane, and I stopped listening. There was a dull buzzing in my ears that distorted every other sound. I was so confused.And, to make matters worse, Reg started to howl. ‘My heart is lost!’ he wailed. ‘I didn’t like the way Jane smelled, but it was because she had a fake wolf this whole time! I’ve betrayed her! I let my nose trick me, Hunter! She’s been beautiful this whole time, but because she had the wrong wolf I stopped loving her!’ He sniffled hard and wiped his eyes and nose with his big paws.I didn’t cut him off. I couldn’t. Believe me, I wanted to – but all I could do was listen to the thud, thud, thud of my blood pounding against my ears and stare blankly at Jane as she stumbled back and sat down heavily.She buried her head in her hands. I wanted to go to her. I could still see her injured on the ground, bleeding, unconscious…