POV: Darrel WilliamsWith every laboring breath, the weight of the truth seemed like a crushing load falling on me. I found myself lost in a sea of remorse and self-doubt, doubting everything I had believed in as the disclosures about my part in Ivory's banishment and Darcy's abduction surfaced.How could I have been so naive, so readily controlled by people I knew? Unquestionably, the data was a devastating critique of the basic pillars supporting my life.The stifling quiet that had encompassed my rooms was broken with a gentle knock at the door. "Enter," I said, my voice tinged with hardly-felt intensity.Hardin entered, his battered features marked with concern. "Darrel, we must speak."I sighed tiredly and pointed for him to settle in. "Old friend, I know what you are going to say. We must be strong and preserve the customs and beliefs that have led our pack for millennia.Hardin dropped himself down onto the chair across from me, wrinkling his forehead. "You are partially right,
POV: JennaEvery labored breath I was choking from the weight of my collapsing kingdom as the walls closed in. I could feel the tendrils of power slinking through my fingers like grains of sand as the truth about my part in the conspiracy against Ivory started to leak.How could this be occurring? Was all the sacrifices, the well-planned manipulations, the lies, and betrayals for naught? The idea of losing my role as Luna, of seeing all I had worked so hard for, turned to ash, drove me to the brink of insane.My whirling thoughts were jerked from by a frenzied beating on the door. "Enter!" I snapped, venom tinging my voice.Kavrin tore through the door, his face pallid and drawn. "My Lady, we have a situation."Rising from my seat, I closed my hands into white-knuckled fists. "Kavrin, what is it now? You cannot perceive I am currently handling a crisis?"Kavrin choked hard, his eyes darting about the room. "It's Darrel and Ivory." Working together, they are launching a rescue effort t
POV: MiaEvery strained breath seemed like a vice, gradually tightening around my chest. The weight of the truth. I was lost in a sea of contradictory feelings as the bombshell disclosures about my family's participation in the conspiracy against Ivory surfaced: astonishment, resentment, and a terrible sense of betrayal.How would this be? My flesh and blood, the same people I had trusted and loved without doubt, had been involved in the abduction of my closest friend's child and persecution of her. The proof was damning, a scathing condemnation of the lies and dishonesty spun around me for years.I was startled from my whirl of ideas by a quiet knock at the door. "Come in," I said, sounding strained and raspy.Ivory entered, apprehension wrinkled over her brow. Mia? Are you ok?I pushed a flimsy smile, pointing for her to sit next to me. Ivory: "I'm not sure. I lately... I discovered something that has rocked me to my very core."Ivory's eyes grew wide and she stretched out, comforti
POV: Callum WellsEvery logical idea, every last shred of sanity, was consumed by the fires of obsession burning white hot inside me. Ivory Wells had driven me to the verge, her unrelenting search for the truth an intolerable affront to everything I had labored so hard to create.The walls appeared to shut in about me, smothering me with the weight of my aspirations as I walked back and forth in my quarters. Like grains of sand washed away by an unstoppable tide, I could feel the tendrils of power sliding through my fingers.A quick tap on the door startled me out of my whirling ideas. "Enter," I snarled, my voice tinged with just subdued wrath.Kavrin dropped into the room, his worn-out features marked with concern. "Sir, we have got concerning reports. Ivory and Darrel seem to have teamed together and are organizing their friends in readiness for a rescue effort.A terrible snarl tore from my throat as his words sank in. Ivory, that terrible wench, dared to rebel once more, working
POV: Ivory WellsAs I bent behind the crumbling stone wall and peered out at the heavily guarded facility ahead of us, my heart hammered in my chest. This was the location where my daughter Darcy was being housed the result of years of suffering and unresolved issues.Beside me, Jeremy moved uneasily, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow, always alert for any indication of threat. "Ivory, are you quite certain about this? It reminds me of a fortification.I nodded, my jaw locked in a harsh line. " Jeremy, I'm sure. Every bit of the data suggests that Darcy is being kept here. And I'll be damned if I let anything stand in the way of getting her back."Jeremy's face grew stiffer, and he nodded resolutely. "then let's start this. You know, regardless of everything, I have your back."Looking at the young man next to me, I felt a flood of thankfulness. Jeremy had developed greatly, his unflinching loyalty and bravery a continual source of strength against the difficulties we had faced.
POV: Jeremy WilliamsAs I struck punches with the guards, the smoke burned my eyes. Though years of training had sharpened my reflexes, their fists flew at me in a frenzy. One by one, I wove and targeted precisely with counterattacks." Go! Get Darcy under cover from here! I yelled across her shoulder to Ivory. I had to purchase time to get away.I watched Ivory grabbing the tiny girl's hand and running for the exit through the cloud. A flood of relief came over me, rapidly extinguished by the hard truth of my circumstances. More guards arrived; their rifles drawn and fingers tightly on the triggers.Knowing I was outgunned and outmatched, I broke desperately for the exit, praying the smoke threw off their aim was off. Gunfights broke behind me as I dove through the gate, rolling to cover gasping for breath. Just minutes before, sporadic gunfire tore the area I had been in.I had somehow made it out alive. But what price would it be? And from here where did I go? My whole life, everyt
POV: Jeremy WilliamsI came out of the blazing property and the smoke burned my eyes; my lungs yearned for fresh air. Coughing fiercely, I doubled over as the gunfight tore on behind me.That brief break let my mind turn into a whirlpool of ideas and feelings. One side was my father, Darrel, the man who reared, coached, and shaped me into the fighter I am now. Our relationship ran more strongly than blood. He was the Alpha, the relentless force that had ingrained in me the morals and rules I followed.But counter that was the fresh will for justice and truth Ivory had awakened in me. Her terrifying search to be reunited with her long-lost daughter Darcy had shown the nasty underbelly of the pack one which prized power and custom over morality.I had seen personally the filth Callum and his ilk could produce in their attempt to keep Darcy under control. I would always be scarred by the maimed hand of poor Roger, dead for our cause. The idea of a child being just a pawn in their horribl
POV: Ivory WellsWith the weight of long-buried secrets and lies descending on me from all sides, the musty air of the safe home seemed stifling. Emotions a whirl of wrath, grief, and frustration, I moved the little area like a trapped animal.Darrel drove everything from the middle. My old friend. Onetime Alpha, the guy I had trusted with my life, my love, my everything only to have unimaginable treachery destroy all.I had stayed away from really facing him about that terrible night for years. The evening when a basic misinterpretation turned into violence that sent our daughter to the winds and drove me from the pack. I felt it lancing across my soul, even now, a physical anguish.but no more. Now that Darcy had been recovered and pulled from the grasp of that monster Callum against all odds I would not allow half-truths and meaningless platitudes. Once and for once, I wanted to know exactly how Darrel helped to plan the events that destroyed our family.The others turned away as I