Author’s POVThe smile slipped off Alpha Zade’s face as soon as Jemima was no longer within his sights to be replaced by a small frown. It was the obvious silver streaks in her Auburn hair that bothered him.While he trusted every member of his Pack, he knew he couldn't afford to not be too careful. The streaks in her hair clearly set her apart as someone marked by the Moon Goddess for a far greater destiny than anyone could ever imagine. She was certainly going to leave the walls of his mansion to see what the town looked like and he wondered how the other members of his Pack were going to react to her kind. He could trust them not to be mean to her of course but she was going to be a topic of discussion within themselves. There were werewolves from other Packs currently visiting his town for business purposes and the like. It bothered him that some of them were part of the very large clan strongly against her kind. Alpha Zade had lied to her about the enemy's plan to attack Ad
Author’s POVAt first, he told himself that he was just overreacting. The gold chain had to be somewhere in his room or his study. Or even the training field.It had been a present from Elaine on their third anniversary, and even though he had complained about how childish it was, he only took it off when he wanted to hop in the shower.“Oh shit,” he murmured when he remembered that he had not bothered to remove it before he showered the previous evening. He had been so tired that all he had been thinking of was how fast he could hop out of the shower and into bed. “It's going to be lying around somewhere,” he said to himself. “There’s no need to be so worked up.”The Alpha absentmindedly chewed his fruit salad. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push away the feeling of alarm. What if he had lost it somewhere else and was never going to find it again?He shook his head. The chain had to be in the Palace. It just had to be. He couldn't afford to lose something that Elaine ha
Adrian’s POVPiper was right. We had already unintentionally informed those who sought to kill my mate that she was missing. If I had sat down to think things through, I wouldn't have gone straight to Jemima’s childhood home to ask her father about her whereabouts. Now, Abigail knew about it and was going to tell the others. They were going to think Jemima was more vulnerable since she was no longer under my protection. I needed to find her as fast as I could and the only way was discovering the identity of the owner of the gold chain.“What do we do now?” Piper queried, her voice heavy with worry. “They are most likely looking for her now or spying on us so that we can lead them to her.”“That's if it wasn't one of them who has her,” Garrett said. Piper gave him an impatient look. “I thought we had all agreed that can't be the case. If it was an enemy who found her while she was alone in the forest, he would have killed her, not kidnapped her.”He rolled his eyes. “Who knows if t
Adrian’s POVBefore nightfall, Piper had visited two of the Packs on Garrett’s list. To say that I was impressed was an understatement. Even the Beta couldn't contain his surprise. She moved fast. The only sad thing was that none of the Alphas of the two Packs was the one we were looking for. “We’ll find her soon enough,” Garret said, patting my shoulder reassuringly. “Piper has proven that we can count on her to work smartly and efficiently.”“I really hope we find her soon,” I murmured. The scent of her still filled my apartment, taunting me. I doubted I was going to be able to get any sleep that night.“Would you like me to spend the night here with you?” my beta queried. “That wouldn't be necessary,” I replied. “Come on, we should have a boys’ night. I could ask some of the others to join us. I don't want you dying from overthinking. You need something to distract you,” he pressed. “I'm not in the mood, Garret. Besides, having fun with you guys is only going to make me feel
Author’s POVNot long after his Beta had forced him to take something else other than coffee, Adrian decided to join the soldiers patrolling the forest. He didn't have to but he didn't feel comfortable just sitting and doing nothing while others were actively involved in the search for his mate’s whereabouts. Piper had called earlier to inform them that she had visited one other Pack that morning. The Alpha there wasn't the one they were looking for.Adrian was beginning to fear that perhaps, she wasn't even in the country. “I'm going to find you, Jemima, no matter where you are. Even if it's under a rock,” he whispered to himself. At first, he went to the East side of the forest and questioned the guards there whether they had seen anything out of the ordinary, or anyone acting strangely. They hadn’t.He left that area feeling somewhat disappointed and wondered if the Alpha was even going to return for his jewellery. What if he didn’t care so much about losing it?As he drew ne
Author’s POVThe chain wasn't there. A part of him had known he wasn't going to find it there but he had still decided to try.Alpha Zade couldn't believe that he had not been able to find it. He hadn’t planned on using his powers on the guards but he had to do it to be able to search for it without any interference.Dammit! How could he have been so careless?He could have searched the other areas of the forest as well but he was certain that that was the particular spot he had lost it. If Zade hadn't been certain before, now he was.It wasn't just his smell that would have caused Adrian to instruct his guards to patrol the forest. He had also found his chain. Just as he was considering going straight to Adrian, his cell phone rang.He frowned at the name displayed on the screen. It was the Crescent Guard Alpha. They didn't speak to each other unless they had business to do together. Zade racked his brain to remember if there was an ongoing business between them as he picked up th
Jemima’s POVWhile Aurora and I were still conversing and getting to know each other better, we heard a knock on the door. Aurora, who had been sitting in my bed, quickly jumped to her feet and went to sit on the chair which was on the other side of the room. Rolling my eyes, I called out, “You can come in.”The door opened and a distinguished-looking man strolled in. He was very attractive but it was his beautiful gray eyes that caught my attention the most. The said eyes danced in amusement at my appraisal and he also didn't bother to hide his assessment of me. “I don't think we’ve met before,” I said, rising to my feet. Before he could speak, Aurora rushed to my side and dipped into a curtsy. “We weren't expecting you today,” she said as she straightened. One thing I immediately noticed was that though she obviously respected the man in front of us, she didn't seem afraid of him like she was of the Alpha. “Zade decided to leave me in charge for a couple of hours and I thou
Author’s POVAlpha Zade of the Midnight Pack returned to his Palace about an hour before dinner time. It only took him a couple of minutes to discover that his Beta, Jemima and even her handmade, Aurora, were not in the building. One of the guards informed him that the three of them had gone in the direction of the forest.Zade scoffed. He didn't remember asking Damien to make friends with Jemima.And where the hell was the file that was supposed to be waiting for him on his desk?With a frustrated sigh, he hurried out of the palace and marched towards the forest. Jemima and Aurora were in the river, splashing water at each other while his Beta was sitting on the river bank, watching them with the same indulgent look one might give to a favourite pet.“Don’t just stand there,” Damien murmured without taking his eyes off the women. Of course, he had sensed his presence.Damien was always super aware of his surroundings even when it seemed his attention was focused on just one thing.
Author’s POVIt hadn't been that difficult for the Committee of Alphas specifically created for the elimination of Jemima, to be infiltrated.The problem was that every Alpha who claimed that they wanted Jemima gone was allowed to join without question. So blinded were they by their eagerness to get rid of the threat that was Jemima that it didn't occur to them that not all the Alphas or witches who wanted to join the committee were truly on their side.It was a good thing for Elena though. She couldn't join the committee but she had an Alpha whom she could trust and begged him to join so that he could act as a spy for her. Liam, Elena’s estranged older step-brother and the Alpha of the Iron Fang Pack had reasons for not wanting to have anything to do with his younger sister.The first was that she had chosen to distance herself from him long before she even got pregnant with Jemima. She explained that she did it to protect him and didn't want anyone to know that they were related
Jemima’s POVRelief flooded my heart but I told myself not to be too hopeful. Perhaps, Connor wanted to psychologically torture us this way. Giving us hope only to take it away at the next minute. There was no way he could have changed his mind. A gasp fell from my lips when the chains suddenly loosened and fell to the ground. I was free. This certainly wasn’t Connor’s doing.The door was suddenly knocked off its hinges and landed with a deafening bang on the ground. A familiar figure stepped into the room and for a moment, I went completely dumb with surprise. “I'm certain you can get up from that chair. You are no longer bound to it,” the Alpha of the Midnight Pack said, mild amusement in his tone. “Zade,” I breathed out and rose from my seat. “How are you here? Why are you here?”“Well, I drove down here,” he replied, his eyes dancing with humour.I rolled my eyes. “You know exactly what I mean? How did you know I was in danger?”“How I have missed your numerous questions,”
Jemima’s POVConnor burst out laughing. An annoyingly grating sound that made me want to rip his head off. “There’s nothing you can do no matter how much I badmouth your mother. You are practically helpless and harmless right now,” he said. “And I thought you even hated the woman so why are you bothered about me calling her names?”“Fuck you, Connor,” I replied and started to struggle against the chains.“Oh please,” he began, his tone laced with amusement, “If you keep on struggling like that I might just pity you. Stop it already.”I ignored him and kept on trying to see if my abilities would suddenly turn back on and help me get out of the silver chains.“The chains are enchanted, Jemima. And you must have noticed that your abilities do not work here. It's going to remain like that for about an hour. It's rather annoying that every spell has a time limit when it comes to you,” he explained. “But don't worry, you’ll be dead long before the spell starts to lose its potency.”Piper
Jemima’s POVA flicker of irritation passed across Connor’s features as he looked at Piper who was standing right beside me. Because of what had happened the previous night, it was now much more difficult to get her apart from me even for a couple of minutes. “You didn't say she was going to tag along with you,” the Alpha of the Silver Paw Pack began, “Discussing matters that have to do with this Pack is supposed to be private. No outsiders are allowed.”Piper scoffed but I secretly gave her side a pinch to keep her from saying anything. “I am also an outsider, Connor and you are allowing me to even take an active part in something that concerns your Pack,” I replied.He rolled his eyes. “You were born here. Besides, you were the one who chose to leave. You weren't banished.”Considering the circumstances that brought about me leaving the Pack, I was supposed to be mad at him at that moment but I chose not to. Instead, I offered him a sweet smile and said in a firm tone, “Piper has
Jemima’s POVThat night, after I had discovered that my mother only abandoned me because she wanted to protect me, I couldn't sleep. I had later placed a call to my mate to let him know that I was okay and also to tell him about the letters I found in my father’s Study. “You really should stop pacing and come to bed already,” Piper suggested, her tone laced with concern. “How do you expect me to just do that, Piper?” I queried. “For most of my life, I have hated my mother for what she did and now I am just filled with guilt.”“But you shouldn't feel guilty,” she replied, heaving herself into an upright position on the bed. “We both read those letters and it was clear that she needed you to think that she abandoned you. If you had known the truth you certainly would have gone looking for her.”An exasperated sigh fell from my lips. “I really need to find her. We can get through this together. Her life is also in danger.”“Well, you have already said that you know who you are going t
Author’s POVFor Connor, going through some humiliation rituals was necessary for a person to achieve the desired end result. Before learning about the situation and how it would affect him, the Alpha of the Silver Paw Pack had never imagined that he would ever go down on his knees in front of a woman he had formerly rejected. It was humiliating but he had to do it. He had despised her a lot when they were still mated and he had found out that she was wolfless. At least at that time, she was.Finding out just a few months after he rejected her that she wasn't actually without a wolf and was actually so powerful, would have made him regret rejecting her if not that her powers, which were from a strong ancestral bloodline, were going to lead to the end of his reign.Thankfully, he wasn't the only one who thought that uniting all the Packs as one was totally unfair as it was going to strip them of their leadership positions which would also result in losing privileges and benefits tha
Author’s POV“Mom, you know that was wholly unnecessary,” Tamar began as she helped her mother get settled on the bed. “Knowing how powerful she is, you shouldn't have provoked her like that.”Abigail gave her daughter a look. “If I didn't know any better I would have thought you were on her side instead of your mother’s.”Tamar rolled her eyes. “All I'm saying is that you should be careful when dealing with her. She is no longer the frightened girl with low self-esteem that you used to know. She’s changed.”“It means nothing,” Abigail replied stubbornly. “She can't be more powerful than thousands of us put together. And do not forget that we have the support of a few witches. When the time is right, we are going to put an end to her existence.”Tamar tried not to show how uncomfortable she was with her mother's words. It wasn't as though she was totally against bullying her step-sister, but killing her was an entirely different matter. Even though she tried to ignore it, she still
Jemima’s POVTamar was instantly by her mother’s side, murmuring words of care while Piper wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you,” she murmured. I wondered why she was thanking me. Tamar helped her mother to her feet and within seconds, they were out of the Study. Piper released me to go lock the door which they had left ajar. When she returned to where I was standing, I realized that her eyes were wide with fear. “I knew I should have come here with you,” she said. “Has it been thirty minutes since I left the room already?” I asked and she shook her head.“Your mate called and was really mad at me for not being with you. He ordered me to come to you and call him the minute I get here,” she explained and then started to dial his number. “You do not have to do that now,” I said, snatching the phone from her hand. “I am going to call him and give him an explanation.”She rolled her eyes. “You had better do that now before he starts blasting your phone with calls.”As if on cue,
Jemima’s POV“I think I would prefer to remain standing,” I replied, not daring to take my eyes off her.The last time we had a conversation alone was when I came to her to report Tamar’s betrayal. She had laughed in my face and told me that I was a good-for-nothing who didn't deserve to be mated to an Alpha. She also told me that she was certain that the Moon Goddess had somehow made a mistake. “Whatever,” Abigail said. “Whether you choose to sit or stand is none of my business.”Of course. Why wasn't I the least bit surprised? “So why exactly am I here, Abigail?” I queried. “If it's about the salvation of this Pack, Connor and I have already spoken about it.”“I also need to give you my two cents about the situation,” she replied. “As an elder of this Pack and also the soon-to-be mother-in-law of the Alpha, my opinions are of importance.”I mentally rolled my eyes wondering who the hell had made her an elder. She wasn't even qualified to be one yet. Or did being a mother to the