Hunter’s POVI went back to my apartment to wash the blood from my body. But even the soothing hot water of the shower couldn’t cleanse the stains from my memory. My blood mixed with Carl’s and Ivan’s, and I watched with an old ache in my heart as it swirled down the plughole.I hated to let myself bleed in the middle of a fight. It took me back to my nightmares, and I struggled to claw my way back out of them. Since I’d left home, my insomnia had only worsened. Memories, blurred at the edges but sharp where I least wanted them to be, plagued me in the quiet, lonely hours of the night.My reflection eyed me coldly in the gleaming metal of the shower. I stared at it listlessly, helplessly, wondering if I deserved to be haunted by the ghosts of my past.I’d never had the strength to avenge her and, with no way to kill my father, I’d allowed myself to take the coward’s way out, pretending he didn’t exist rather than facing him like the Alpha I was.But the things that Ivan had done remin
Hunter’s POVThousands of thoughts flashed through my mind. I tried to make sense of what I’d seen, tried to understand what it meant for me, but I kept circling back to my father. If I were him, why would I have done this? And what would I do now? My head pounded, the weight of my unanswered questions slamming full force against my skull.I was almost relieved when S spoke, his calm voice cutting through my inner turmoil. “Alpha, the doctor said Luna Amy is in a very bad state. Without the antidote, both she and her baby could die.”That was a problem I could solve. “Right,” I said, forcibly relaxing my tensed shoulders. I had to put Ivan and the butt-birthmark mystery aside. Amy and the baby needed me.And I needed that baby, too. He could be useful to me. Shameful though it was, I had to use him. I had to use him to find out who Ava’s kidnappers really were, and to work out what they wanted.“S, are Ava and the two boys okay?” I asked, heading to the stairs and away from the blood
Hunter’s POVOnce the gas had cleared, I pulled my hand away and barked a command at S. “Pick the boys up and get them to the hospital.” S lifted them awkwardly and then looked to me for help. I shook my head at him. “S, they’re babies, not bombs. Do you need me to show you how to carry them?”‘Really, Hunter,’ cooed Reg, his tone conspiratorial, which meant one thing: gossip. ‘Do you think S will be single for the rest of his life? He can’t even hug,’ he scoffed. ‘Ian says he still hasn’t even had his first kiss! Shame on him.’‘Stop,’ I growled. ‘I don’t want to hear it. Leave me alone,’ I snapped, my heartstrings pulling as I looked at the two sleeping boys. Then, aloud, I said to S, “The gas is harmless, right? Nothing bad will happen to them?”“It’s harmless, Alpha,” S confirmed, but I still felt uneasy about using it.“It will just put them into a deep sleep, yeah? With no after-effects?”“None. The doctor in the brain neurology department told me it was harmless. I’ve confirme
Hunter’s POVAfter the damn horror show of watching Jane feed her sons her own blood, I went to visit Carl in his hospital room. Unlike Jane, he didn’t have any personal belongings on the nightstand, and he was staring with empty, dazed eyes out of the window even when I rapped my knuckles on the open door.A wide bandage was wound around his neck, keeping him propped up at an awkward angle. The nurses had fluffed up the pillows at his back and tucked the sheets around his lap, atop which his arm rested with an IV sticking out of his wrist. He’d lost a lot of blood yesterday, but I knew his injuries weren’t as bad as they seemed. Wolves healed fast, and I’d been controlling my strength yesterday. I’d meant to teach him a lesson, not kill my own Beta.Carl drew his gaze up to me, his throat bobbing and his mouth opening and closing uselessly. I must’ve really hurt his throat yesterday. Then he dropped his eyes to the starchy white bed sheets. He didn’t know how to face me and, as I ho
Hunter’s POVWhen we arrived, Reg panting and demanding his subscriptions before I’d even checked the perimeter, it looked like nobody was there. I sent the Shadows to check the grounds, and to give Reg his subscriptions back; then I shifted out, dressed in a fresh shirt and trousers, and went to look in every corner of the house. When I was certain nobody was home, I took a beer from the fridge, relishing in the cold bite of the condensation dripping down the glass against my palm. With my gaze fixed on the door I sipped it slowly.‘Hunter…’ Reg danced from paw to paw. ‘Why do I get the feeling that you’re unhappy? You think that’s Jane’s wolf, don’t you?’I made a noncommittal noise and took another sip.‘Isn’t that a good thing? She can protect herself now.’S mindlinked me to let me know that the last of Reg’s subscriptions had been restored – just as Reg started cheering. But he quietened quickly, and I was silently stunned that he’d learnt to care about my emotions. He was willi
Hunter’s POV I dropped slowly to the ground, wincing as shards of glass and debris from the fight dug into my back. Focusing on my own plan, I mindlinked S. ‘Come here and wait on the porch. And, S, don’t forget, you must agree to every demand she makes.’‘Yes, Alpha.’ As my eyes became heavy, my lids drooping shut, I heard the near-silent brush of S’s feet over the grass. I could sense his nearness, my whole body tingling with it.Then I drew my attention to my breathing, adjusting it until it came evenly and slowly. My chest hollowed and filled, hollowed and filled… I was getting so sleepy…My ears pricked at the sound of Jane getting dressed, the fabric sliding up her long, lean legs and pulling taut at her waist. Even that had me salivating. There was a soft jingle, one that I attributed to the poison bottles latched onto her belt, followed by a beat of silence. Then she called out to S. “S! Come here. I know you’re outside. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”My eye
Jane’s POVI glanced in the rearview mirror at my sleeping sons, nibbling at my bottom lip as I worried over this choice. They’d suffered through so much upheaval over the last couple of months, but I had to keep going. I’d never wanted to live a life on the run with my beautiful boys, although as I looked back at them, their hands loosely clasped on the middle seat, I knew I’d run forever if only it meant they were safe.But we’d been living this way for a little over a month now, and I wanted to find somewhere we could settle down. It was exhausting, never knowing where we’d be from one day to the next, waking up in beds that weren’t our own and, sometimes, waking up cramped on the backseat of my car. I picked each place with the roll of a dice across a map, not wanting anyone to guess the logic behind each decision I made and find us there.My boys needed more, deserved better. So I drove on, hoping that when we arrived we’d find somewhere far away from Hunter and his packs that
Jane’s POVThree days sounded like an age until they passed in a blur. I was kept in the cell, given food through the gaps in the bars and a bucket to accommodate my other needs. Every time a guard brought me food or water I asked them to see my sons, but they just laughed in my face and spilled my rations on me.I was no stranger to such humiliation, and it didn’t bother me. I was worried about my sons, but since they thought they were useless pups, I hoped they wouldn't bother to do horrible things to them… right? I kept reassuring myself. But it didn’t ease the panic I felt.I ate only because Ina prompted me to, telling me I needed energy to be able to rescue my boys when the time came.Knowing my sons were out there somewhere gave me purpose. So I’d listened carefully and asked questions, gathering as much information as I could before my time was up. Ina filled in some of the gaps, too, though she didn’t know much more about the Sand Wolves than I did.There were two Alphas of