CHARITY POVClothes land in my suitcase with no rhyme or reason, excitement buzzing through my bloodstream. Summer remains quiet, but her mind is wired with unspoken comments and turmoil.“I am sorry, Summer.” I whisper, setting aside a few of my larger comfy shirts into two separate piles, adding my pillow cases to them. “But we need this. Would you forgive yourself if we passed up this opportunity and one of them found their mate? Or hell, both?”“No, I wouldn’t.” Whimpers echo through our bond, her hurt becoming mine. “It’s still painful to go. We won’t even get to say goodbye.”“If we did we wouldn’t leave.” My head shakes, knowing exactly how that incident would transpire It’s not so much that they’d force me to stay. I’d just crumble when they ask me not to leave. “I’m sixteen. It’s not fair for me to put my life on hold for two men who might not even be mine.”“It still sucks.” She huffs, curling into a ball, with a sad sigh, and a pout.“It does.” A knock on the door distracts
MATT POV My fingers strum along to the Dance Gavin Dance playlist, bleeding through the speakers. Zeke continues pacing in my mind while I drive toward the territory. He’s been like this since yesterday, restless and agitated. His bad mood, without explanation is the reason I’ve cut my my visit short. “Can you chill with the pacing?” My head pulses with the beginning pains of a headache brewing. “Have you heard from Charity yet?” He asks again, growing more worried. “She texted us yesterday.” I remind him, not wanting to admit that it’s a little unsettling not to hear from her today. And Fletcher hasn’t as far as I know. We’ve been keeping each other in the loop, and he has said nothing. “She’s probably busy with school or other responsibilities. We’ll see her in twenty minutes okay?” He huffs, not agreeing with my answer. He continues walking his path. “I’ve got a bad feeling, human.” Zeke’s voice cracks, his emotions leaking into mine. My foot presses the pedal to the floor, inc
CHARITY POVA plan ride to Edinburgh, a train ride to Wick, and then another two-hour drive to our destination. We’re so deep into Scotland that I couldn’t spot it on a map, but Goddess is it crazy beautiful. Soft, fluffy snow covers the hills, the locks frozen, and yet it’s breathtaking. I’m grateful that Camilla and Dean McLaughlin prepared me for my life here during the plane ride.I got to spend every second taking it all in. Even Summer, who pouted the entire plane ride, perked up, taking in the sights of our new home. The car turns onto a windy road, leading toward a run down castle. We pass through a shimmery reflection upon our approach, and the ruins disappear, replaced by a monolith fortress, and an outlay of buildings and fields. Reminding me of a normal college campus if every building was a fucking castle.“A barrier placed by witches.” Camilla says, enjoying my momentary confusion. “It’s quite effective at keeping unwanted guests away. Only those invited can see the trut
FLETCHER POV A gentle beep pulls me from the abyss I have been trapped in. With a groan, my eyelids break apart, the fluorescent lights blinding me, my head throbbing with a dual ache. Jesus fuck, what the hell happened? “Hey buddy.” Xander’s voice makes my head snap in his direction. “Welcome back, you’ve been out for a few days.” I stare at him and it rushes back, the heartache, Charity’s letter, and his part in it. “We’re not talking right now.” I grumble, choking on the words, before staring straight ahead, wincing at the movement. Fuck, it’s like I’ve been run over by a truck. I reach out to Mars, but he’s buried himself so deep into the recesses of my mind it’s like he’s nonexistent. No wonder I am not healed yet. “Fletch, I am sorry.” Guilt riddles his features, his tone dripping with shame. “Fuck your sorry’s, Xan.” I growl, my tempers flaring at his lame ass apology. “She’s my mate. You had no right to let Elle send her away!” “I didn’t know, you never-” I break, glanci
CHARITY POVI push open the gym room door, joining the other students waiting patiently in the indoor sparring center. Like I am this school’s walking plague, students move to put distance between us. They keep their noses upturned, and their insults loud. “The Charity Case.”My confidence doesn’t waiver though, remaining indifferent and unphased to their insults. A scent I despise wafts to me from the side, my eyes roll as the owner appears before me.“Here to continue your losing streak?” She goads. “I mean, you’re a gamma, and you can’t fight. How did you even get your position? Sleep with your alpha?”My head shakes at her audacity, but I don’t entertain her snide remarks, sidestepping her. “I bet that’s what you did.” She trails behind me, incensed that I won’t respond. “I mean, you haven’t won a single sparring session in the weeks you’ve been here. You’re a loser who has to sleep her way to the top.”“Can we beat this bitch’s ass now?” Summer growls, pacing like the caged beast
MATT POV Frigid water splashes against my skin, pouring over my face and shocking me back to consciousness. Liquid splutters out of my mouth, and my eyes pop open, blinking against the bright lantern light. “Get the fuck up, gamma.” Damon growls, standing above me, with Andrew next to him holding an empty bucket. If looks could kill, my alpha’s glare qualifies. I’ve done a lot of things to piss the man off, but this one might take the cake. Fog clouds my brain, unable to remember how I got here. In the bathtub, with these two towering above me. A splintering headache radiates down my spine as I struggle to sit up. The acidic, putrid smell of vomit wafts up my nostrils, bits of the dried chunks stuck to my clothes. “I swear to the mother fucking Goddess, if you don’t get your ass downstairs and start explaining shit, gamma.” The rawness of Damon’s alpha rage knocks into me at full force, and it’s like a cinder block is sitting on my chest. Oxygen is hard to find, as his aura makes t
FLETCHER POV The rocking chair creaks, my eyes closed as the smoke escapes, leaking into the chilly morning air. Placing the joint against my lips, inhaling more of the smoke and try to relax, which seems impossible. With Charity gone, and Matt avoiding me like I have a disease, my nerves have been more frazzled than usual. Matt hasn’t answered my calls, texts, and is never home when I stop by the alpha house he refuses to see me. Andrew has taken over the training responsibilities, and he’s not as fun to teach with. He won’t even bet on the warriors with me. All the New Moon Beta does is glare and grumble at me. His dislike of me is blatant, he wears it openly. Fuck. I really messed this all up. My eyes pop open in alarm when I hear the soft murmur of voices heading toward the porch. They notice me and pause, finding my gaze on them. I smile at Luna Nora, all bundled up against the cold. One of our rogue warriors walking behind her a few paces, alert and prepared to protect her at
CHARITY POV Summer’s been unusually anxious the last few days, her constant pacing leaving me with a massive headache and a knot in my gut. Unable to take handle more, I hop down from my bed, and grab for the phone sitting across the room. Dialing Elle’s number, I pop in my airpods, counting the rings until she answers. “Charity?” The stress in her voice has Summer perking up, her anxiety going through the roof. “Hey, Alpha.” I remain calm and collected, keeping the worry to myself. “Just calling to check in. Everything okay back home?” “Of course.” Her answer doesn’t ease my worry, her tone and pitch is all wrong. “Busy with the usual.” “Are you sure?” My heart hammers in my chest, as I ask the next question, unsure if I want the answers. I’ve done an excellent job of not prodding into their lives, but it’s unstoppable. The words coming out as an embarrassed “What about the boys? How are they doing?” She sighs, contemplating her response, and my heart plummets to the floor. I br
CHARITY POV It’s happening! They’re finally here! In Scotland! Elle and Nora, and the small piece of home they bring. My family. They landed a few hours ago, and are minutes from the school. “Are they bringing your boyfriends, little wolf?” Arran asks, his brows waggling while the others go ‘ooooh,’ and ‘aw.’ These idiots have kind of taken the role of acting like my big brothers, but “Shut up, Arran.” Scowling in his direction, while he grins cheekily. “They’re not my boyfriends.” The month has flown by, and missing them has gotten easier but it doesn’t mean I don’t feel the slight sting when I’m reminded they’re not mine. “With the way you talk about them, you’d think they are.” Harris, a gamma, says in a singsong voice, barely glancing up from his magazine, lounging in an oversized leather chair. “Kind of hard to be dating when I live half-way across the world, and they can find their mates.” I growl, hating when they ask about my boys. Mine. Maybe? Probably not. “Have faith,
NORA POV My brush glides along the wall, the moon and a small lamp is my only light. Inspiration strikes at the oddest times, even when you’re supposed to be sleeping before your red eye flight to Scotland. But the scene, appeared, the perfect mural for our son’s room, demanding to be painted. So here I am, at ten p.m, kneeling in front of the nursery wall, lost in the way the paint glides to form a picture. “Nora.” Xander’s alpha voice snaps me from my trance. My nose scrunching at his tone, because he’s mad. “Why aren’t you in bed?” “Why aren’t you?” I quip, throwing a cheeky grin over my shoulder, to find him stony faced, and arms crossed. He wears his “I mean business, I’m the alpha face.” like a seasoned vet, but it only makes me giggle. “Oh, scary alpha face. I must be bad.” “Goddess, help me.” He mutters rubbing his hand over his face, exasperated by my teasing. “You need sleep, Wildflower. You’re pregnant and we leave for Scotland in three hours.” “Xander,” I shake my head
MATT POVThe cold winter air whips across my face, biting at my skin, but I don’t mind. After the stress of the past few days, it refreshing to be away from it all. Fletcher’s got Enzo, showing Stephan how to use the baby wearing device we brought for my sister. My parents stand in the corner, cooing over their grandsons.“He’s not so terrible, you know?” Melanie’s voice breaks through the whooshing wind. Her shoulder bumps into mine, as she stands next to me at the railing. “The rogue.”She holds out her hand, offering me one of the beer bottles she brought along with her. “No, he really isn’t terrible.” I smile, recalling the first time I met him, and all I wanted was to push him off a cliff.“Oh, you used to hate him!” She teases, her laugh ringing into the night. "Didn’t you?”“So damn much.” I shake, dropping my arm around her shoulders, tugging her close for a side hug. “I’ve missed you, Mel. How is the mated life?”She sighs, wearing a blissful smile and a dreamy look in her ey
ELLE POVI pace, my bare feet pads along the bathroom tile, my stomach twisting violently while we wait. Damon leans against the counter, his eyes on me, watching as I walk back and forth. These two minutes are the longest of my life, the numbers on the timer are counting down at a snail’s pace.“Biscuit,” Damon murmurs, using his nickname for me. His arms reach out, halting my journey, stopping me in my tracks. “You’ll burn holes in the floor if you keep doing that.”He pulls me into his chest, his smell and warmth wrapping around me like a blanket, a shield from the disappointment I’m sure will come. His hand weaves through mine, his other caressing my back. We stand, not moving for what feels like an eternity, enjoying the comfort from the embrace.The sing-song ringtone blares, telling us it’s time, he doesn’t turn it off, letting the noise echo through the room. His fingers caress my cheek, the sparks more potent than ever, growing stronger every day. He tilts my chin upward so t
FLETCHER POV Matt’s music plays through the speakers as the car rolls through the mountains. His voice singing along to the tunes, while Enzo is asleep in the back seat. “We’re almost there.” I interrupt, growing more uncomfortable the closer we get to the Blue Ridge territory. “You should probably drop me off outside the gates.” “No.” He growls, his face turning to me, forgetting the road or that he’s driving on windy roads. “You are family now, and my family needs to get used to that.” “Yeah,” I groan, not liking the idea of being the sole rogue at an unknown pack, where the alpha is an unknown entity. “But it’s still risky to just show up without warning. I’ll be dead before you have the chance to explain. Most pack wolves kill rogues first and ask questions later.” He remains silent, thinking it over before nodding, understanding my side of things. He leans over, grabbing his phone from the center console. “Here.” He hands it to me, “unlock it, and search for “twin” in my cont
MATT POV“Let’s see what you got, Ezra.” I taunt from the center of the ring.“I don’t know why you sound so cocky.” He returns, stepping over the line, and into the center. “I’m the alpha in this fight.”“Then you have nothing to fear.” My shoulders raise in a shrug, arms up, preparing for the fight. He smirks, throwing a glance at his brothers and sisters, who watch from the sidelines. Anticipation clings to the atmosphere, the little monsters whispering from the sidelines, all of them betting on their brother. An alpha. No wonder he’s such a pompous jackass.Unlike other families, each child has a different rank, a rarity among our kind. Ezra, is a confirmed alpha, his twin, Emerson, a beta. Dakota, who has also shifted is a Beta. Everyone else is too young or hasn’t shifted yet to know for certain.Snow falls in heavy sheets, covering the glass dome shielding us from the wetness. Ezra doesn’t wait, launching himself, and I sidestep, keeping my movements frantic and unpredictable.
CHARITY POV “A fucking dragon?!” I squeal, stumbling backwards, tripping over the rug, gravity pulling me downward. “Ow!” My ass lands on the concrete floor, my palms catching me. My neck strains, my head tilted backward, staring at Chrys in awe. Her gold scales shimmering in the firelight, like she’s been covered in glitter. Her gold eyes pierce into my soul, the honey colored flecks, particularly hypnotizing. “You’re breathtaking.” I whisper, unable to look away, shocked by the beauty of her. “Thank you.” Her voice sings through my conscious reminding me she can do that. She nods, sitting back in her hindquarters, amusement in the smirk above her chin. “I didn’t think Dragons existed outside of fairytales.” I whisper, picking myself off the floor, standing until we are at eye level. “We don’t. Not anymore.” She responds, misery and pain lingering in her statements. “Not on this realm at least.” “So, they used to live here?” I ask, my fingers itch to reach out and touch her, but
MATT POV“They’ll come for him.” The pervasive thought invading my mind like a cannonball. “The council, other alphas, witches. They will all come for him and won’t stop.”“Have you told your parents yet?” Aurora responds, not afraid to hit with the hard questions.“No.” Guilt riddles me, keeping this secret from them, not running to them when Enzo entered my life. “I’m not sure it’s safe to tell them anything until things calm down.”“Until you have a handle on the power surges?” Roman asks, cutting into the conversation. Goddess. This family is one massive think tank, bouncing off each other without hesitation. Do they share everything? Like Andrew’s family?“And how the hell do I do that?” I word vomit, pushing the empty beer bottle between my knees, my arms waving around like a maniac. They must think real highly of me. “It’s not like I’m able to call a witch up and ask for help.”Aurora throws Fletcher a look, a private conversation happening between them in a matter of seconds.
FLETCHER POV “He is precious, isn’t he?” My mom coos, looking over my shoulder as I feed Enzo his bottle. Matt is still outside, talking with my dad, Roman. “He is.” Burden makes my chest heavy, as I stare at the bundle in my arms. “Mom, I need to talk to you about something.” She pauses, glancing up at me with concern. “What’s wrong, honey?” “It’s about Enzo.” I whisper, knowing there are too many ears in this house, with their damn wolf hearing. “Where are the twins?” “Brynn and Briar are napping.” She answers, sitting on the couch across from me. “Chase and Cooper are in their shed, building some wacky invention or another. I swear, those two will unintentionally blow something up one day with their science projects.” “Should we worry about the human feds busting down our door?” “Oh, please don’t put that energy into the hair.” My father, Atlas, answers, his chuckle dry with little energy. “What about the older twins?” I fret, not needing them to overhear what I am about to