JAMES POVI slipped out of our bed this morning and took a long run, trying to clear my head. I was worried about my mate. She was so strong but even strong people have their breaking point. She still had her barriers up with me and I was worried I would never be allowed in. I kept reminding myself that she’s come leaps and bounds with me in the two weeks she’s been here. Scout and I ran long and hard, joining the Patrol as they kept our borders safe.When I came in, I grabbed some clothes from the treeline and put them on. I could hear a commotion going on at the training grounds so I headed over there. What I saw dropped my jaw. Addie was standing in the ring with Zander, one of our younger warriors. He wasn’t our best but he was better than our average warrior. And she was kicking his ass. I flinched when she made the move with her heel to his groin; I was pretty sure I shrank a little inside myself in sympathy. I started watching her moves in earnest. Where did she l
ADDIE’S POVThe week passed quickly. We were in full preparation for the Solidarity Event that James was hosting. We had talked about it and I knew that Alpha Cole was one of the people who was invited. I knew that James was hosting this event as a sort of a front; he was suspicious that some of the Alphas were thinking of breaking away from the current Council that they were involved in and starting their own Council. Doing so would break peace treaties that were already in effect and, in some cases, rip Packs apart as several were joined when mates were found. James suspected that the three biggest packs in the area were planning on joining and then overthrowing the Alphas of the smaller packs. Inviting them here, along with the other Alphas, would allow James to scope out their true intent and possibly garner support from Council members if he could figure out a way to get them to admit it. I offered to help but James was against it unless we couldn’t figure out another way
EMILY’S POVI kissed Gracey goodbye and reminded Tully, the sweet grandma Omega, that she was now taking three ounces of milk at a sitting, not two. And that she had an additional feeding. And that her diaper rash was getting better because we switched creams so please only use the new cream, not the old one. Tully waved me out the door. She was going to be only two floors above me. She’ll be fine.I went downstairs to find Luna Addie surrounded by Omegas. She’s so sweet. She was thanking them for all of their hard work. Most scampered off but a few stayed around to help with luggage and leading guests to their room. The Gamma’s wife, Destiny, was hanging by Luna’s elbow. She was super young but very kind. I was glad Luna included her.“I’m here!” Addie turned to me and gave me a quick hug. “Thank you! Remember, anytime you need to go check on Grace, you just head up and go. Destiny and I can handle everything.”“No, it’s good for me to get a bit of a break. I’m lookin
ADDIE’S POVI left my office angry, but the moment I shut the door behind me I realized I wasn’t that mad. I was mostly embarrassed that James had seen the horrible things that had happened. I wish he had just confessed instead of letting me think that I still had that part of my dignity left. I walked down the stars and checked on Lissa and Evelyn, both doing an excellent job. I told them to mind link the Alpha and let him know he needed to come down and greet his guests as I had an errand I wanted to run. I would have done it myself, but I didn’t want to talk to him just yet. I was halfway down the stairs of the back patio when I could feel James trying to mind link me, but I pushed him out, shutting down the link. I wasn’t in the mood.I headed to the tree line in the back of the estate. There were some trails back there that I liked to follow and a hike through the woods sounded really nice right now, despite my business dress. I took off my heels and held them, walking b
EMILY’S POVMy head was reeling after listening to my mate and his brother talk about the gifts. I vaguely remember learning about them when we learned about the history of our kind, way back in grammar school, but it was always taught as something that once existed, not something that exists today. Frankly, I’m not sure what I think about it all. Knowing my brother-in-law can read my mind kind of freaks me out. I’m not diplomatic in my thoughts and I’m not okay with anyone knowing exactly what I’m thinking. And to know that Addie can boss me around and I’ll do it not realizing it’s her not me. . . yikes. It’s like the mean girls in high school again.And ever since Alpha Cole arrived, something has been nagging at me. I get a really sick feeling when I think about how he looked at me and how he knew my name. I mentioned it to James and Toby but they think I’m just picking up on the vibes Addie had towards him. He’s definitely a sleeze. I heard what he did to her and I’m sho
ADDIE POV“Addie! What the hell is happening?” James was mind linking me.“Make sure Emily is safe. Don’t let her talk to anyone until we figure things out. I’ll be okay.”“Addie! Talk to me!” James was frantic and he was a huge distraction in my head. I pushed out the mind link, knowing it was unfair to him, and looked around the crowd. I could see one of the young warriors that was in the courtyard during my confrontation with Cole, looking uncertain. I could tell he didn’t know if he should come to my defense. I caught his eye and he slipped closer. “Explain what’s going on to the Alpha! Stay back.” I shouted at him, trying to be heard over the crowd. I wasn’t technically his Luna yet, so I was unable to mind link him. I wasn’t sure he understood but he stepped back, nodded once and got a glazed look over his face.The crowd grew to include confused Pack members, an additional Council member and several other visiting guests. I was still being held on my knees in the m
Two hours of interrogation later, I was released to James’ custody, not to leave Packgrounds until a formal investigation was finished. Zoe was pretty pissed about it; the Hellroaring River members lobbied to have me released to them, to wait for the investigation to be finished in their dungeons. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t survive that if Zoe had anything to do with it, so it was a relief when the Council Members decided that James’ suggestion of a sort of house arrest was acceptable. Everyone was dismissed and Council members started straggling to the elevators that would take them to their rooms. Zoe and her gang left for their townhome and James led me to the back staircase. We started climbing them to the top floor. He used a keycard to open the door that we kept locked when we had company. I was glad to see the security tonight. I didn’t want to wake up and find Zoe leaning over me with a knife.The door swung open and a white-faced Emily, holding baby Grace, stood on
JAMES POVAddie was exhausted and, quite frankly, so was I. I wasn’t happy about her plan, but I knew that she was correct. Emily would be executed the moment someone realized she was the Slayer. It was a cheesy name but since no one knew who she was, what she looked like or who her next victim would be, the Council went with that. Even though the Slayer hadn’t been active for over five years, there was still a little bit of fear that was associated with that name. She had killed humans and supernaturals alike and she was wanted by the police, our Council, the Head Coven and the Vampire Illuminati. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Emily I know today is not the Emily of five years ago. Didn’t hurt that I took a peek around her mind to make sure I was correct.I held Addie in my arms, and we talked for a long time, coming up with a plan. I wasn’t happy with it, and neither was she, but we didn’t have the luxury of time. The longer it took for us to instigate it, 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