Cara’s POV “But why? Why you leave us, Ruby?” I ask my best friend, deeply saddened by her news. “I hate to do it, Cara. But I must. I must go. For Mia.” Ruby says simply. “For Mia?” I ask, confused. How could Ruby leaving help Mia? Mia loves her Auntie Ruby. I imagine what it will be like t
Ruby’s POV “The Bedfords, all of them, supported Lilia and her attempts to become Pack DarkWood’s Luna,” my best friend Cara’s voice was quiet. Trying to prevent children from hearing our words, my voice quiet too: "Oh, that's so disgusting." Then I casually throw the photo aside and never loo
“You do?” I whisper back, looking behind me, checking that neither Cara nor Mia are around to overhear this discussion. There’s no sign of either of them. Ethan nods. “So, what will you do when you’re in DarkWood? Remember that’s where your science competition will be. What will you do if he is
Cara’s POV It’s the day of Ethan’s science competition, and all of us are eager to see how Ethan fares. There’s a large crowd gathered, well over a hundred people. The competitors are a mixture of children from Packs BloodyMoon and DarkWood. At only six years old, Ethan is by far the youngest ch
Ryan’s POV “This contestant’s vehicle is rudimentary at best, and the design of the turning system is flawed to such a degree that it should be grounds for total disqualification,” Matthew Bedford says confidently into the microphone. The crowd gasps in unison in surprise at the harsh critique o
Cara’s POV I hate seeing my son go through this. I can take the trouble that comes my way. I can handle whatever happens to me. But little Ethan… he’s just a child. I can hardly bear to watch. But I know that my son needs my support. Now more than ever before. I hold strong, trying to make e
Ethan's POV The special guest is Alpha King Alaric Grant?! It’s him! My biological father! At least, I think he’s my father… I don’t know for sure yet if that’s true, but I hope to find out. I told Auntie Ruby that I know who my father is, but she didn’t definitively confirm that it’s Alar
Cara’s POV The surprise of the voice completely shattered the moment that had been occurring between Alaric and I. Snapping from my gaze, I turned in the direction of the voice. As more words rang out, I started to recognize the identity of the speaker. “You and your rude, arrogant child shoul
Cara’s POVI blinked my eyes open, still expecting to be in Mia’s hospital room held by Alaric. I was surprised to find that I was somewhere else. No, just somewhere else, but in my own hospital bed…“What happened?” I asked groggily, not anticipating a response.Even so, I received one.“You passed
Alaric’s POVSeeing Richard Auburn again felt like just another turn in this terrible nightmare. Immediately, I stood and placed myself between Richard and my son.Maybe Cara’s other brothers could forgive Richard’s actions against Cara, but I never would.“What the hell are you doing here?” I deman
Alaric’s POVI sat in the private waiting room dedicated to me and the Auburns, impatiently hoping to hear news of Cara. As Mia continued to rest in her own room, Cara had been taken to a room of her own. She was there now, in a bed all her own, presumably unconscious, while the doctors inspected he
Cara’s POVDays later, I sat at Mia’s bedside in her hospital room. She remained asleep, and the Healers were no closer to discovering what was wrong with her. When they spoke with me, they tried to do so with confidence, yet I could see the doubt in their eyes.They had no idea what was wrong with
Cara’s POVWith Alaric’s presence, the hospital administration moved the group of us away from the main waiting room and into a more private sitting room, filled with more comfortable chairs and couches. There was also a coffee pot, which Ryan instantly set up to start brewing, and a television, whi
Cara’s POVI paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room for nearly twenty minutes before Colin made me sit down.“I’m fine,” I told him, even shorter than I had before.Softly, he said to me, “You are worrying Ethan.”Glancing at my son, I could see the fear in his eyes as he stole nervous li
Alaric’s POV“Of course not,” Melinda said, denying everything. “As if someone of my status would ever lower herself to such cruel and malicious devilry. How could you even begin to insult me by connecting me to that?”“You supported Lilia’s return to the pack,” I reminded her. “You pushed the elder
“I think we need to be prepared for anything. Cara is going to need our support no matter what happens.”Hopefully my bad feeling was wrong. Hopefully everything would be fine.But I wasn’t going to count on hope alone.Alaric’s POVAs the Bedford’s were a prominent noble family with high-ranking su
Colin’s POVI listened carefully to my sister’s words. I didn’t know if she could tell, but as an outsider looking in, it was easily to see how much she loved Alaric. Given their past, she was likely still afraid to admit those feelings to herself, or to acknowledge them in any way.For this, she wa