Carl’s POVAmy loved Hunter and the power he afforded her.And Hunter loved not having to love anyone. For him, Amy was a strategic choice – a good woman of good breeding, the second daughter of a powerful Alpha, and, most importantly, she wasn’t his mate. He marked her as his own, and I’d never seen my Ames so happy. It had felt like a win.My buddy and my mate were both happy with what they’d got.Hunter didn’t love her. He’d just needed a woman to take the place of his Luna.It didn’t bother Amy to begin with. If he didn’t want his mate, then she could take her place. She got to be his Luna, the mother of his heirs, and those things mattered to her above all else.Then she found out that Hunter was so against losing control that he drugged himself. It wasn’t just the mate bond he hated – it was all of it. He hated love, sex, and anything that could soften him.“I won’t make the same mistakes as my father,” was all he ever said by way of explanation. Amy asked me to push him, to get
Jane’s POVCold water rushed over my head. I kept sinking, gasping desperately for air; ice slammed down on my chest, filling me inside and compressing from out. Flailing wildly, I managed to bring myself up to the surface. My eyelids were so heavy…Two huge wolves were swimming towards me. Nat and Reg. Relief hit me so hard it made me dizzy.Nat reached for me, biting down on my waterlogged shirt to drag me to the surface. Before he could, Reg snapped at his paws and tossed him aside. Nat rolled in the water, the ripples of his movement lapping at my steadily sinking body. I gargled, trying to cry out for help but just swallowing more lake water in the process.I didn’t understand why Reg was torturing me like this.I could still remember what Hunter had said before – that his wolf had made him help me. So why was Reg teasing me now?Dark water closed over my head. I thought of my boys with my dying breath.Then another jaw locked onto my shirt. As it tightened, dragging me upwards, I
Jane’s POV“Ares, Owen, five more minutes. Mommy’s so tired. Your daddy’s going to take you to school this morning, okay? Go and get your daddy!” I pressed kisses to my sons’ foreheads and squeezed my eyes shut tighter, trying to find sleep for another few minutes.“Damn it, Omega, wake up! What are you doing?” an angry voice snarled.I frowned in my sleep. The voice was familiar, but it didn’t belong to either of my boys. Using all of my strength, I opened my bleary eyes. I blinked myself awake slowly, sleepily – only to gasp when I saw where I was. My arms were wrapped around Hunter. His shirt was off; my fingers dug into his pecs and my lipstick was smeared over his nipples. Red marks gouged his tanned skin – red marks made by my hands.My face flushed red. Hell, my whole body was burning with embarrassment as I looked down at him. I tried to push myself off him, but my leg muscles braced and I just slammed my head into a rock.“Ouch,” I hissed, reaching for the wound with trembli
Jane’s POV“No,” I whimpered, my face screwing up as I battled the twin flames of arousal and pain singeing my nipples, “stop.”I was hyper aware of his body against mine, of every breath he took that pushed his chest against my bare breasts. He laved his tongue over my nipples, taking one into his mouth at a time and tweaking the other between his fingertips. He pinched it. Hard.“Too late,” he growled, sliding his hands down my arms to encircle my wrists. He held them above my head, stopping me from pushing weakly at him.“What are you thinking, Hunter?” My voice came out breathless but determined. “Our kids are here!” This stupid place was too cramped for me to be able to escape him, and with every second that passed with his dick pressed against me I was losing the ability to think clearly. Every inch of me wanted him…He peppered kisses down my neck, trailing along towards my ear. He nibbled gently at my earlobe and murmured huskily, “Don’t worry, they’re asleep and it’s dark in
Jane's POVI froze.I couldn’t believe what I’d done. Shit! . How could I have had sex with Hunter ? And my kids were right next to me? Eyes widening as my brain finally started to work, I gasped, “God,” and roughly yanked Hunter’s dick out of me.The second our bodies parted, mine began to protest. Spasms wracked through me; my breaths came in short, breathy pants. The mate bond screamed at me to slide his dick back inside. Our orgasms had been interrupted, and I knew that Hunter had to be even more irritable than I was.I started fumbling around for the clothes I couldn’t remember taking off.“Ah,” Hunter mumbled, “what the fu–”I slapped my hand over his mouth. “Don’t say the f-word in front of my baby!”“Don’t touch a guy’s body, then! Especially not when he’s been forced to stop half way!” His voice dripped with barely repressed anger. I shivered.He shoved my hand away and reached for his phone. He clicked the flashlight on; the sudden bright light burnt my retinas, but as m
Jane’s POVI didn’t even have the courage to ask Hunter why he’d say that. I knew as well as he did that it was the truth. My worst fear had come to life.He was really going to take my boys away from me. My face paled.I stared at him, a muscle ticking in my temple, like he was my worst enemy. If I’d still had my wolf, I would’ve told Nina to tear into his neck.How could this happen? No – how could I have let this happen?We’d gone from making love – could I even call it that if we’d been fucking in the middle of a rockslide? – to him planning to rob me of my babies.My snow angels, my beautiful baby boys that I’d run away with and raised alone. They were my world, and for a second I’d forgotten them. That second had ruined everything I’d built and everything I had.His eyes narrowed slightly. He was good at masking his emotions, but he’d probably never seen my face marred by such hatred. “Damn it!” His fists clenched. “What are you thinking? I’m not a kidnapper.” He slapped his pal
Hunter’s POVAva had disappeared – again. What the fuck? Why did this have to keep happening to my baby girl?I searched every damn corner of the city and couldn’t find her anywhere. My blood ran cold every time I thought I saw her, only to realise a half-second later that I’d been mistaken yet again.One thought kept pounding through my head: had she been kidnapped again? I’d thought my reaction last time would have been more than enough to stop anyone from trying again. I’d killed her kidnappers, ripping off their limbs first, one by one, and finishing them off by tearing through their necks. I’d wanted to send a message: Ava Burns is protected. If anyone dares touch my baby then I will make them pay.Since then, though, I’d not dropped my guard. I’d been investigating how they’d managed to take Ava away from me so easily.My temples throbbed. Rage pulsed in my blood. I was at breaking point, on the verge of snapping right here, right now, in the middle of the airport – full of
Hunter’s POVI watched the Omega’s expression closely, carefully. Her eyes widened in surprise, but still she played along with Carl’s act. I was exhausted from watching them lie.I was used to it with Amy. She was a mastermind at lying, an artist. But the baby in her belly was innocent, and I would never do anything to hurt her or the child.Everything sucked. My eyes burned at the sight of their shitty acting. I wanted to punch a wall or just laugh at the absurdity of it all. At least I’d found Ava. At least my sweet angel was safe.I didn’t care what their relationship really was. It wasn’t my business. All that mattered right now was Ava, and making sure she was okay. I had to get her home safe; it was too dangerous out in the city for her.She’d tucked herself behind the two boys. I frowned at her gently. It was easy to stop being angry when I saw those wide eyes. I held my hand out to her, trying to encourage her forwards.When I said it was “time to come home with Daddy,” my g
Jane’s POV “Hunter?” I frowned at his back as he marched me up the stairs to our bedroom. “What’s going on?” He shot me a reassuring smile over his shoulder, but didn’t slow his pace. “I just need to talk to you.” We’d moved out of the pack house. It held too many memories for us both. Now, we lived in what was basically a small mansion on the edge of the forest, not far from Rose and S’s house. It was light and airy, all warm wood and draping ivy paired with gleaming, modern appliances and crisp, cream-painted walls. The kids had a room each: Owen’s filled with state-of-the-art tech gadgets, Ares’s with workout equipment, and Ava’s with easels and canvases and a drawing tablet. They had everything they needed, and more space than Owen and Ares had ever had, but most nights they dragged their mattresses into each other’s rooms and slept huddled together. We were safe now, but we’d all been through so much. Too much. I hoped my kids were young enough that they’d recover from the t
Hunter’s POVKim ran towards me, his jaw wide, his canines glinting in the weak sunlight. Owen and Ava clung haphazardly to his back. Fear flashed through me. I started towards them–But they were safe, and Jane was safe, and I was safe, and we were home. I sucked in a long, slow breath, and a forced a smile as they neared me. The smile took hold, tucking itself into the corners of my mouth, and by the time my children had reached me I was grinning at them. I opened my arms wide, and the three of them ran straight at me. We tumbled to the ground, rolling in the grass, laughing; Kim licked my face, and Ava and Owen scrambled into my arms.“Hey, kids.” I pulled back and ruffled their hair. Kim rolled onto his back, his paws sticking up in the air. Ava rubbed his belly.‘Wow,’ I said to Reg dryly, ‘he really is your son.’‘I saw Ares eat a salad the other day – and enjoy it.’ Reg shuddered. ‘I love him, but that really threw me.’I pinched the bridge of my nose. ‘Don’t remind me. Then
Jane’s POVTime passed strangely after that.There were noises out in the hall. Noises I probably should’ve listened to, made something of, but…What was the point? Hunter was gone. My heart, my soul – my life – was dead.My throat closed up around the words I’d spoken. I’d bared every important moment of my life to the Moon Goddess, bound my prayer in my story, and she hadn’t listened.She hadn’t listened.I knew Ava was still with me, still clinging half to me and half to her daddy, and that was the last straw for me. Her pain became glass shards, which scraped at the raw edges of my own wound.For a while, my hurt was so immense that I felt nothing at all. If Nina or Ava spoke to me, I didn’t hear them. I was numb, frozen to the spot, Hunter’s lifeblood going cold and sticky on my palms.Beneath the frost of my numbness, though, a fire roared. I was terrified to start feeling again, to start moving. The second I moved my aching legs and stood up, time would start again.And the sec
Jane’s POVI shifted out. “No!” I wailed. I fell to my knees, then crawled over to him. My fists pounded the cold, metallic floor with every weak, shuffling movement I made.“You can’t be gone,” I whimpered, tears streaming down my cheeks, a lump forcing my throat to close around the words. “You can’t be.”But I knew that he was. The mate bond writhed and shrieked within me, screeching out for the severed other half of its soul.“Hunter?” I choked, grabbing him gently. His head lolled back as I moved him. His eyes were open; their blue irises were cold, so cold, and his pupils were unseeing. Cuts nicked his face.I pried him away from his father. Hunter’s body was merged with Reg’s: his hands were furry and clawed, but the rest of him was human. I wished he had human hands I could hold.It was that thought that shattered me entirely. I would never be able to hold his hand again. It was silly, and childish, and pathetic, but it was that notion that broke me. Not that I had lost my ma
Jane’s POV I was torn between my sons. Owen was safe – for now – so I turned my attention to Ares. His wolf, Kim, hit the ground. I bit back a cry– Kim rolled over, tussling with his attacker. He snarled, revealing huge canine teeth, then dove his muzzle at the other wolf’s neck, again and again and again. Blood spurted, slicking his fur coat. Then they were rolling again, slamming sideways into the thinning crowd of battling werewolves. The wolf on top of Kim was grey, and as big as him, but its size looked abnormal – the result of performance enhancing drugs, not nature, as Kim’s stature was. They fell back, circling each other. Kim’s upper lip pulled back from his teeth, revealing shining white canines with blood dripping from them. My stomach turned over. Beneath that fur coat was my sweet son, who wasn’t quite seven years old yet. He and his brother had seen so much – too much – already. Kim pounced. The grey wolf was a half-second behind, but lunged forward with a snarl the
Jane’s POVAlpha Dylan – or what was left of him – pounced at Hunter. A scream built in my throat, but I was helpless to do anything. He’d given me a chance to get our kids out safely, and I wasn’t going to waste it.I wasn’t even sure how I was alive right now. One moment, I’d been lost to the foggy darkness of unconsciousness, and glad of it, too, after all the pain I’d been forced to endure. Even in the depths of nothingness, I’d known that agony beckoned in the light.But there were other things there besides the pain. Love, in all its many forms, waited for me here. My children. My mate. My friends.So I clung to wakefulness with everything I had and prayed that whatever was keeping me awake would keep working for another second, another minute, another hour. I needed every moment I could steal to get my kids to safety.Amy kicked the door open. My view of Hunter disappeared as Carl pushed me through it. The last I saw of him was his own father grinning at him, sick, twisted, sad
Hunter’s POVEverything moved in a blur. My eyes were fixed on my father, his mutated wolf filling my field of vision as he moved swiftly towards me. But, from the corner of my eye, a sudden burst of movement snagged my gaze.Jane sat bolt upright. She looked like a zombie, her wounds unhealed, her eyes blank – but she was moving, scrambling to grab the kids, crying out my name as my attention was forced back onto my dad.His jagged claws caught the edge of my shoulder. I shifted out before he could claim the upper hand, letting Reg’s powerful body burst out of mine.My father sneered down at me. The knobbed ridge of his spine seemed to snap as he bent low, his sickly orange eyes meeting mine. I could smell his stale breath. “You always were weak,” he said, his voice a hollow growl. It didn’t sound like it had; it was all wolf, vicious and as broken as he was.Suddenly, I wasn’t a grown man, a strong Alpha, a mate, standing before a weak and unwell old man who had clearly gone to desp
Hunter’s POVIt was too late. My hand was on the doorknob and it was already swinging open.There was no turning back now. Reg wailed. ‘I can smell her blood! Jane’s hurt! Jane’s dying! Jane’s dead!’The buzzing in my ears drowned out his mournful howls. Everything was moving in slow motion as I finished easing open the door. I took it all in whilst observing nothing other than the most heart-breaking thing I’d seen since… since...The present was so horrifying it eclipsed even my darkest memories.Jane was lashed securely to a metal table. My heart broke and, somewhere through the haze of my heartache, all I could think was: she must be so cold.Her limbs stuck out at odd angles. Blood covered her. But worst of all was her face. It was empty. It was like someone had made a perfect physical copy of her but had left out the most important part: her soul. The waxy figurine atop the metal table looked like Jane, broken and bruised but still my Jane, only without the bright spark of de
Hunter’s POVI expected for my world to spin off its axis at those words – but it didn’t. In fact, I felt very little. Nothing at all.I’d never clicked with Obie. I’d always been drawn to Ava but never to him. In my mind, she’d been my daughter and Obie had been Amy’s son. Huh. Now I knew why.That was why I fixed Carl with a cold stare and said flatly, “I know.”Compared to the other revelations I’d been through lately – hell, even in just the last few hours – this barely made me bat an eye. Maybe it was because I cared about Jane and Ava and her sons, but maybe it was because, deep down, I really didn’t care about Amy or Obie. ‘Hunter!’ gasped Reg. ‘How can you think that about a poor, innocent baby?’‘That’s the thing. I don’t think anything about him. Anyway, he’s nothing to do with me. Not really. That takes the matter out of my hands, don’t you think?’Reg muttered under his breath that I was horrible and unfeeling, and that was probably also true, but I still couldn’t make my