EMILY POVI feel like we’re wasting time in St. Louis. We hacked into the traffic cameras and watched hours of video on fast forward. Snap found footage of Addie waiting to cross a street. Unfortunately, we found the footage five days after it had actually happened, but it was confirmation that she was heading east.We started going into businesses and showing Addie’s picture and asking around. We stuck to main roads and just kept working our way east, hoping that someone would have seen her, somewhere. We weren’t having any luck.I talked to Toby every night and Facetimed Gracey. She was cooing and waving to me, and I loved every minute of it. I miss that little baby girl and my team has convinced me to fly back on Wednesday after the theatrics we are hoping will take place. Today was Monday. We were hitting the streets again and hoping to get lucky. I also had my phone on me, waiting to hear updates of the plan that was in place. First plan of action was that Alice was go
ADDIE POVI got dressed in my new outfit. Wolf was right, it wasn’t leather. It was actually really soft and really stretchy, and it felt good on my body. The boots weren’t exactly my style, but I could fight in them. They were a square heel, like a combat boot, and laced up my calf. `They were definitely sexy in an industrial sort of way. I put on the hood with the mask and only my eyes showed. I tucked my braid behind everything so that no one could grab it. I was ready, so I left the locker room and met Damian and Wolf out on the floor.Wolf seemed to be having second thoughts and Damian was soothing him. “Dude. You said this girl could fight. So let her fight.”“The guys she was fighting were wimps. She’s going to be up against real fighters.”“She has a wolf,” Damian countered, trying to calm him. Wolf frantically shook his head back and forth. “No, her wolf is hurt. She can’t hear her.”I stepped forward. “I’m ready. And I’ll win. I know I’m a fighter. I feel i
EMILY POVI mind linked Troi to join me in the gas station. “This guy knows Addie. Says we have to come back tomorrow to talk to someone named Jenna,” I told Troi. “Oh, too bad,” she cooed. “We’re not going to be here tomorrow. Could you just give us her address? We can stop by and talk with her.”The clerk shook his head. “Nope. Don’t know it, don’t want to. Jenna is mixed up with some crazy dudes. Definitely don’t want any part of that.”I looked at Troi and then walked out. I knew she had ways and that she would get any information he had out of him.Five minutes later she sauntered out of the convenience store, red hair flashing in the light. She handed me a piece of paper with some numbers scrawled on it. “Jenna’s phone number. It’s all the info I could get.”I looked back at the store and saw the clerk looking out the window at us. He looked terrified. “Should we go?”Troi looked back at the clerk and sighed. “Yeah, probably. He might be thinking about calling
JAMES POVIt was Monday night, the first night of the two nights of patrols that we had planned. I was standing next to Callie, the girl that I had seen ripped apart by two wolves in my vision. It was so dark I could barely see her, but I knew she was there.I also knew that Bryon was on my other side, ready and waiting. Toby was further in. That was all the reinforcements we had. We didn’t know who to trust and I hoped that we were enough.Callie moved to the left, starting to patrol her small area of boundary that had been assigned to her. I fell back and to her right, keeping her in sight but staying out of sight myself. Staying out of sight wasn’t the problem. Keeping her in sight was. It was a really dark night. I followed a little closer than I should have but I wasn’t going to let her out of my sight. In my vision I had to give her body to her parents, and I had felt like my heart was ripped out when her mother howled her anguish. I was not going to let that happen
EMILY POVWe were back to waiting and following Jenna home. Every piece of mail was in her parent’s name. Snap tried to find a lease agreement in either her name or her parent’s name but couldn’t find anything that was online, so she was either subletting, squatting or her landlord was entirely on paper and had nothing online. We were stuck for the rest of the night.We decided to go clubbing. I hadn’t been in ages and Snap had never gone. Troi was a pro at it, and she managed to put together outfits for the guys that wouldn’t disgrace us. I threw on some jeans and a leather top that Troi loaned me. My boobs were bulging out the top, several cup sizes larger than I was pre-pregnancy, but I had gotten most of my waist back. Bruce whistled when he saw me. I rolled my eyes at him, knowing that Toby would have snarled. What Toby doesn’t know won’t hurt him.I enquired at the front desk and followed the directions of the hostess who sent us down to the river. Someone had turned
JAMES POVI dreamed about Addie. I dreamed I was on one side of a raging river and her wolf, Talia, was next to me. We were looking across the river at Addie who was calling to us, but we couldn’t hear her.She looked sad and tired. I tried to mind link her in my dream, but it didn’t work. I tried shouting over the noise of the river, but the distance was too great and the noise of the water was too loud. I sat down and Talia lay next to me, putting her massive head in my lap. I stroked her and we watched Addie running up and down the riverbank, trying to find a way to come back to us, yelling for us. I knew she wouldn’t be able to cross, just yet. She would eventually, though. We just had to find her.I woke up with a gasp and lay on my back, tears leaking from my eyes. It took so much control to not leap on to a plane or hop into a car and drive to St. Louis to find my mate. I had to trust that Emily was doing what she could with the information she had. I just wanted mo
ADDIE POVThe guys insisted on dropping me off at my hotel room, even coming into my room to make sure it was safe. I snickered that this; I had just defeated more people in the ring than had ever been done before. But if it made them feel better to make sure I’m okay, then that’s fine. I don’t mind. I kind of liked it, actually.Wolf looked around with distain. “You got enough cash to move out, now, right?” He looked a little disgusted when he looked behind the shower curtain to make sure no big, bad wolf was hiding there.“Yeah. I’d like to get a refund for the week I didn’t use,” I mused. “I’ll ask the clerk tomorrow.”Wolf nodded. “Good idea. Find yourself another place to stay before you come into work. I’ll have one of the girls cover for you.” He turned to go and then looked back at me. “You up for another fight tomorrow? One of the guys in Afton is hosting tomorrow night. It might be a good way to make some bank quick.”I shrugged. “I’m okay with that. An apar
JAMES POVZachary was nervous. Too nervous. He was going to blow it and we knew it. I sighed. “Gag him,” I gave the order to the guard and then gestured that Zach sit next to Bryon on the couch. I took out the phone we got from Dale’s body and handed it to Toby. We knew that this would be a possibility, but we were hoping that we wouldn’t have to do it.Danny had dealt with Dale, and we were counting on the fact that Danny probably didn’t know Zach’s voice well. I kept him in the office just in case Danny asked a question we didn’t know the answer to. I could do my little trick, peek into Zach’s mind, and figure it out.Toby called. Danny answered after the second ring.“I know this isn’t Dale. He’s never prompt.”“Yeah. It’s Zach. Brad killed Dale. Got mad about something and next thing I know Dale’s bleeding out. What the hell, man? I didn’t sign up for this.” Oh, Toby was good. A little bit of fear and a little bit of resentment. Perfect.“What did you do with the
ADDIETwo months later, on the day of the full moon and summer solstice, I was dressed in a sapphire blue gown that was fitted on the top and billowed to the ground in shimmery waves. A laughing Emily was trying to help me with my makeup. Her growing belly was in the way, and Gracie was crawling around getting underfoot. Undeterred, Emily tried to add another swipe of mascara to my already heavy lashes. “Come on, Addie! It will make your eyes pop!”I laughed back at her. “My eyes will look like spiders if you put another coat on my lashes!” Tonight was the night of my Luna ceremony. Wolves from many of our cooperating packs were in attendance as well as all of the pack members from our pack. We had invited the Council members and were surprised when most of them accepted. Matthew and Jessie were also going to be there bringing their newborn pup with them. I knew that James had already spent time snuggling their baby boy and getting his fill of the newborn smells. I had bee
ADDIEAfter the excitement of everything, the next few months felt almost boring by comparison. We were busy, that was for sure. My Luna Ceremony had been postponed and we were beginning the planning again. We were also actively involved in helping Matt and Jessie build a new Packhouse before their pup arrived. The old packhouse was being turned into a youth center and dormitory for the continuing education prospects that Jessie wanted to bring to her Pack. In the days of Alpha Cole, it was decreed by the Alpha what the profession of the wolves coming of age would be. Jessie wanted to give them choices and equal opportunities. I was excited to be a part of that.Three weeks after we returned from our latest mishap in the city, Emily asked if we could have lunch in the village. I agreed, knowing something was up.“Do you want me to bring James?” I asked. “No,” she said, a sly look on her face. I agreed, letting her keep her secret for now. I would know soon enough.I met Jam
ADDIE I got into the car and looked James over, satisfied that he only had a few bumps and bruises but nothing was seriously hurt. I could smell the wolfsbane on his breath and knew he had been dosed but I could tell that it was slowly leaving his body. How is he? I asked Talia. Scout is weak but recovering. He will be fine, she answered. I gave a sigh of relief. Toby got into the driver’s seat and turned the SUV over, backing out of the drive. “Where to, Luna?” he asked. “Aren’t we waiting for the other warriors?” I asked, turning back to look at the house. He shook his head. “No, they need to do some cleanup. They are going to need to call the council for help. Vanessa went rogue and there is a lot that will have to be done to minimize exposure to the human world.” He had a look of disgust on his face. "First and foremost, they will have to figure out what to do about two human bodies. Old man and woman. They didn't even have a chance against her." I nodded, suddenl
ADDIE POVI walked out of the conference room with Roman and the other guard chasing after me, pulling along a reluctant Brad. Toby came, too, lips pressed together. I recognized the look. He hated the idea and wanted to set up a counterattack at the park at midnight, but he also recognized that my plan might work. It was fueled by pure rage on my part, but I was positive I would get James back.Alice had called ahead and worked her magic so by the time I made it to the front doors, a valet was there with a set of keys and an SUV was sitting in the drive up. I caught the keys as they were tossed to me and the warriors dove into the back seat, shoving Brad between them. Toby jumped into the passenger seat, buckling up as I started driving away.“What’s the plan, Luna?” Roman asked tentatively from the back seat. Toby glanced back at him but said nothing. “I know the area. It’s estates. I’ll find a spot to pull over and drop you and Brad off. We’ll meet up at the house, but I
ADDIE POV I was pissed. I’ve absolutely had it with Vanessa and Zoe and everyone else who felt like they had a right to mess with James and my happiness. I was going to end this and I was going to end this today. I commandeered an empty conference room and started organizing and planning. The first person to arrive was Alice who came through the door at a dead run. “How can I help?” she panted. I slid a computer over to her. “Figure out where Vanessa is. And, if you can, figure out how I can contact her.” Alice took the laptop from me and started tapping away, accessing the company files to find a current address. "She's moved around a few times. I don't think she's still at the address we have on file, but I'll have one of our security drive by and check." She picked up her cell phone and dialed. I started pacing, wanting things to move faster. Matthew came in to give me an update on Bryon. I listened and said all the appropriate things, but I honestly didn’t care.
JAMES POVWhen Bryon and I stepped into the elevator he remained stoic until the doors shut, then he punched me on the arm. “Your mate is one of a kind, you know,” he said, wistfully, with a smile.I grinned at him. “I know. You’ll get your mate, hopefully soon. And she’ll be pretty amazing, too.”He punched me again. “But not as amazing as Addie?” I laughed out loud. “As you said, she’s one of a kind.”He turned to face the door of the elevator again and he had his serious Gamma face on by the time the doors opened. One of the amazing things about Bryon is that he knew when to cut up and he knew when to be serious.I waved to the security guard at the gate. “Until next time, Alpha,” he shouted at me. “Hopefully never again,” I shouted back. “No offense, Jeff.”“None taken, Alpha,” he said, laughing. The double doors to the outside opened, and I heard a loud pop. Byron fell over beside me.It took me a second for my brain to register what was happening. When Bryon fell,
ADDIEThe trial was over for the witnesses. We were dismissed by the Council and the prisoners were taken back to their cells. The Council still had to work out some details, but they were taking a quick break.“I want to talk to Matthew for a second,” I whispered to James. He smiled at me. “Bryon and I will go get the car,” he said. “It takes a little bit of time to get it back from the valet so you have a few minutes.”I gave him a quick kiss on the lips and watched him step into the elevator with Bryon. I had to wait a few minutes; many were congratulating Matthew on the acquisition of the Hellroaring River Pack. He finally was able to break away and he came to me.“Addie!” He gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “I don’t know what to say. What a gift!”I grinned back at him. “Are you sure? I wanted to make sure you aren’t mad at me.”He shrugged. “I will probably step down from the council, much to the delight of some of our Junior members,” he smiled over my shoulder w
ADDIE POVI don’t much remember my hearing when I was being tried for killing Alpha Cole. I think I was pretty much in shock and willing to play the victim. It was one of the few times in my life that I left the fight to others and didn’t much care about my future.I felt no empathy for Zoe or Jackson as they sat in their chairs, glaring balefully at the others. The other Councilmembers were really good with their poker faces; however, most would have a flicker of disgust when their gaze would fall upon Jackson. Exploiting another Pack for their wealth was not unheard of, but it wasn’t something that a prim, proper, upstanding Councilmember would do under any circumstances. Jackson broke that law, and they would be forced to deal with him harshly.I wasn’t surprised, nor was I dismayed when I found that Jackson’s punishment was death. For the werewolf population to trust their leadership, it had to be above reproach. They had to show a unified front and discipline harshly.Matt
ADDIEI looked over at James. I didn’t know Dr. Joanna as well as he did, and I wasn’t as trusting as he was. It scared me that she knew about my gift, and it scared me that she had a gift of her own.“How does that work for you and for us?” I asked. Both of them looked at me with confusion.“James is unaffected by my gift unless he wants to be,” I explained. “He has to literally want to be controlled by my gift. Same in reverse. I have to want him to read my mind. You figured out my gift because you somehow recognized what I was trying to do during the battle. Can you use your gift against me?”Dr. Joanna grinned. “Don’t know. I haven’t ever tried. As you know, there’s not many of us out there.” I nodded, acknowledging that point. “I’ll try. Be prepared to duck.”She pointed to a paperweight on her bookcase and it came flying at me. I ducked but I didn’t have to. The paperweight struck an invisible barrier and dropped to the ground. I sucked in my breath. “That is s