I was right to fear a Moonstone party.I had been content to turn in early and was getting ready to do so, dressed in a comfy nightgown and thick socks. I slipped beneath the covers, sighing and letting the plush pillows and comforter engulf me.Avery burst into my room the moment I shut my eyes.I didn’t even have to open them to know it was her. We had gotten to know each other so well that I was beginning to feel like I could sense her presence.“Really, Claire?” she demanded as she peered at me through the darkness. “You heard what Alpha said. Everyone has to come to this party.”I groaned when she flipped the light on. I rolled over so my back was to her.“It was an invitation,” I corrected her. I grumbled but knew she could still hear me. “What kind of jerk orders attendance at a party anyway?”Avery just laughed and pulled the covers off me.I opened my eyes finally so that I could glare at her.Avery was beaming widely at me. She was wearing a midnight blue dress that was remi
*Jared*I paced back and forth in the pitch-blackness of the watch room, running a hand through my hair and wondering what the hell I was doing.I had a few drinks. Before I was about to go back to my office to finish up a few documents, I was told that someone wanted to see me in the watch room in private. As I was heading over, I was offered another drink and I took it. And here I was, locked in the watch room, and stupidly drugged.It didn’t take me long to figure out it was spiked with freaking aphrodisiac for Goddess' sake!Who did this? Amanda? It seemed to be the only reasonable answer, but she should’ve known better because I had told her to wait until the announcement.If not her, then who else?I shook my head hard, hoping to lessen some of the fogginess that seemed to be taking over my mind. All the rough movement did was cause me to think of a certain blue-eyed omega.No fucking way!I shoved the intrusive thoughts away and punched the wall with frustration.But what if
Naturally, I hardly got any sleep.After tossing and turning the entire night, I dragged myself up to get ready for the day. Contrary to the pretty girl I saw in the mirror yesterday before the party, I flinched at the reflection of a messy face with pale skin and the dark shadows beneath my eyes, even though I was still in the same dress that Avery made for me.I spent several minutes running a comb through the bird’s nest on my head before Avery knocked on the door.“You better have a good explanation for why you didn’t come … Claire, you okay?”I wasn’t shocked when Avery demanded where I had gone last night. I did break my promise to her.“I’m so sorry, Avery. I suddenly didn’t feel very well and decided to come back and take some rest.”Of course, I was too ashamed to tell her about me and Jared in the watch house, but what I told her wasn’t a complete lie either, especially with the tears and nausea from the night before.She looked me up and down, her expression softened, and h
Jared’s intense gaze locked on me, his strong body towering over me at his full height while I cowered slightly. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet.I flinched, tugging uselessly at his hold on me, my face starting to heat up as he stared down at me. I could hear my own breathing start to quicken as I hated myself for comparing this with when he had my wrists pinned above my head at the watch house.He tightened his hold on me but didn’t speak for a while.I swallowed, forcing myself to look him in the eye despite how badly I wanted to look at the wooden floor. Finally, I asked in the most possible leveled tone I could muster. “How am I going to make myself useful?”Once again, his firm words surprised me. “By learning to be a healer.”Instantly, my entire body relaxed. I scoffed inwardly at myself, unable to believe how badly I overreacted. Jared probably had no idea what happened the night before if my theory was correct, especially since he had indeed been drugged.And eve
*Jared*From the moment I was old enough to comprehend the concept, I knew that I would be the next Alpha. According to the elders and my parents, ever since I was little, I was a natural-born leader. I had strong opinions and I cared deeply for the pack.It helped that my father was the fiercest and bravest alpha that Moonstone had ever known.I remembered being a boy, I could only strive to be half of what he was. My twelve-year-old self wasn’t ignorant. I knew that I still had a lot to learn about leading my pack, but luckily, I would have a lot of time to do that.Or I thought I would.Then…everything happened too soon, and I had to grow up fast and take on responsibilities way earlier than I anticipated.It had been more than a decade and I’d figured things out. The problem was, there were people who thought I was still a twelve-year-old.That frustrated the hell out of me.I hardened my gaze as Travis, Moonstone’s beta, continued his rant concerning a recent decision I had made.
*Claire*I was finally starting to feel like I belonged, emphasis on starting. There were definitely times when I would walk through Moonstone where I would get dirty looks from members. I felt self-conscious every time I left my room. There was no chance of going anywhere without being recognized. Jared had put me in front of the whole pack multiple times now. Everyone knew me.What kept me from feeling completely uncomfortable was my healing lessons with Avery. We spent a lot of time going through different journals on healing. Avery was a patient teacher and was helping me memorize some basic herbs and their uses. I could finally make a substance that was used to put on minor cuts and scrapes to keep them from getting infected.We worked for at least 10 hours each day, and I even helped Avery while she tended to injured and sick members of the pack. I didn’t do anything complicated, just went to fetch any tools or herbs that Avery needed or helped her with things like bandaging wou
*Claire*I winced as I rolled over in bed, still feeling the extent of my injuries from Amanda. It wasn’t anything serious, especially after Avery paid extra care to my wounds and made me a special serum that would take most of the pain away. She warned me that I would probably be feeling the cuts and bruises well into the next day, but the serum would at least help me get a night of good sleep.She seemed frustrated with herself, apologizing for not stepping in sooner. I assured her that it was completely fine because it was me who stopped Avery each time she tried to come to my aid.Even though Amanda beat me, she wasn’t able to beat me into surrender. I wouldn’t let her win and get her way. If Amanda thought that would make me leave here, she was wrong.I had worked so hard to earn my stay and I wasn’t going to give up so easily because of a spoiled brat. She wasn’t worth it. Besides the benefit of being able to stay within the safe border and not worry about unforeseeable attacks
*Jared*Since I snuck into her room a few nights ago, I couldn’t get Claire out of my head.At the time, it felt like if I didn’t do something soon, I wouldn’t be able to get her out of my mind regardless. Breaking into her room in the middle of the night seemed like the best option. I didn’t exactly want her to know about the strange effect she had on me. I still didn’t understand it myself.Her scent was unique and I noticed that the first time I met her, I thought, perhaps she wasn’t our kind. It could be explained if she was cursed. However, it was more than that.She was addictive to me. That was admittedly part of the problem. I didn’t know very much about the girl, so I could make no educated guesses as to why her scent spoke to me the way it did.I started looking into her past but with only a name to go after, it wasn’t easy. Avery briefly mentioned that her pack was destroyed, so I asked Kent to look into packs that had been eradicated over a decade ago.No one could add any
*Claire*As we approached our camp for lunch, my nose twitched, taking in a medley of odors that didn't belong to Todd, Bryan or Frank. “Alan, wait a moment!” He responded with a nod. “We have visitors.”We slowed our pace and fell into a crouch. Peering through the foliage, I saw Frank's back was pressed against the tree where Bryan was tied up against. Next to him was Todd and Bryan. The ropes that had bound Bryan now lay discarded on the ground. They were circled by ten rugged scavengers, while two other were rummaging through our belongings."Thank Goodness you're back. Help, Claire," Todd's voice cut through the stillness, "Those freaking omegas, they are stealing our food!""Stay back!” One of the bigger attackers barked in a gruff voice. I assumed he was their leader. "If you don't want your friends to die."I shifted my weight, ready to charge. Despite them having a bigger number, there was no doubt in my mind that we were stronger and faster. Just then, Alan pulled me bac
I whipped my head toward Alan. Suddenly, the air was thick with tension. Todd locked eyes with Alan, neither willing to break the stare. "Todd," I said, tugging at his arm, trying to defuse the situation, "I can just stay here with you. Alan, do you mind hunting without me?" Not that I fully trust Alan, but I also didn’t want to fracture the fragile alliance we'd just build. Besides, Alan seemed to know quite a lot, and I was hoping to get more information from him. Suddenly, a glint of metal caught my eye. Alan's hand moved and a dagger charged toward Todd. "Watch out!" I yelled, adrenaline surging through me. However, the tip of the blade stopped right in front of Todd’s heart, barely touching his skin. "What’s this all about?" Todd inquired, his voice steady, remarkably unfazed compared to my own racing heart. His eyes remained locked on Alan, expecting an explanation. Alan smirked. He extended the dagger to Todd. "Take this." Todd frowned, but he still took the dagger. Ala
*Claire* After Alan mentioned that our potential threats from Reeva, Todd and I almost immediately agreed to the alliance proposal. As a token of good faith, we shared half of our jerky. “Bryan and Frank can take turns to carry Todd,” Alan said while chewing the dry meat, “Sorry, man, we broke a few bones of yours.” “All good,” Todd grinned, “I’ll enjoy my ride for the next few days.” I knelt beside Todd, examining his wounds and the jagged line of his broken bones. “Hold still, Todd, I need to align your bones.” Alan stood a short distance away, watching me. “You're quite skillful at healing. It's not exactly a common skill among rogues. Were you a born healer?” "Not exactly." I secured a sturdy branch against Todd's leg with strips of fabric torn from my shirt. “Then how did you learn it?” “I was once told, that as a weak and useless omega, I should at least pick some skill and do my part for the…pa, people around me.” I realized that I almost let my past slip. I frowned.
A huge rogue stepped out, his body marked by scars of survival, his gaze fixed on our fresh provisions. Behind him were two other smaller wolves. Todd’s wolf had jumped between me and our foes by now, his low growling warned the rogues to back off. I kept to my human form. Todd and I had a plan for situations like this. If attacked and one of us wasn't shifted, we'd stay in our perspective forms. The human would be the bait and play weak, luring the enemy into a false sense of security, while the wolf waited to strike at the right moment. That was why we always camped near trees with climbing ropes at the ready for a quick getaway if needed. In this case, I was the bait. “Don’t… don’t come over!” I faked a shaky, small voice, while getting my escaping ropes ready and started running away. Usually, one of the wolves would go after me, and Todd would evaluate the situation and launch his blow. However, none of the three wolves moved. The hell? Why didn’t it work? I gasped as t
“Wait a moment!” Kent went after me. “What?” I glared at him. He knew he couldn’t talk me out of it. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to stop you. It’s Avery. She just mindlinked me.” He paused, “Urgent.” “What happened?” I frowned. Ever since Claire’s departure, Avery did her best to avoid me. Deep down, she probably blamed me for everything, and she was right, I pushed Claire away. “She said she spotted Amanda and Damien together in the small woods near the lake, Amanda was arguing with him and mentioned something like ‘another vial’. Avery said she was going to tail them and asked me to tell you that…” Kent looked at me a bit worriedly, and cleared his voice and mimicked Avery’s voice “ ‘if the Alpha is upset with me, he can punish me when I’m back.’” “How dare she!” I growled. “You’re not really going to punish her, aren’t you,” Kent hurriedly defended her, “You know, she would never disobey you with ill intention. She’s just—” “Ask her to keep a safe distance and repo
*Jared*I kissed her hard, feeling the desperation surge through me as I hugged her close to my chest. I knew this couldn’t last. I had been through this heartbreak dozens of times already, each time more painful than the last.Some invisible force yanked me away roughly and I was forced to look down into Claire’s confused, but gorgeous blue eyes. Her lips quivered into a frown and I badly wanted to kiss her again so that the sad form would disappear.“I reject you,” I heard myself say in a low, cruel voice.Pain exploded on her face and large tears streamed down her smooth cheeks, as anguish and agony ripped my heart apart.Just as I thought the excruciating burn from the rejection was going to tear me into pieces, I woke up.I gasped and sat up in my bed, my whole body shaking at the nightmare. I wiped a hand over my face, groaning at the pounding headache that felt like it was threatening to split my skull open.
She tried to rip her arm away from my hand, but I held on to her wrist.Yes, I would have to let her go eventually, but not yet.Not right now.She took a deep breath, and then finally parted her rosy lips.“Good, you’re awake,” she said, her voice flat.I tried not to let my expression change at how calm and almost indifferent her tone was. She was acting as if she wasn’t experiencing any kind of emotional turmoil that I had been.No way that was true. I read the intensity in her eyes just now and when we were in the throne room. The pull between us was powerful, undeniable. She had to be feeling it, which meant she was fighting it.I didn’t say anything, just continued to observe her as she started to struggle in my hold. She refused to give in to her own feelings or the irresistible connection between us.Just how stubborn was this woman?“What are you doing? Please let go of me.&rd
I had subconsciously avoided looking at Jared ever since Bentley was dead because I couldn’t bring myself to face my mate’s miserable state. However, there was only so long I could drag.“Todd, give me a hand please.”“You don’t have to get up. Just tell me what to do … okay, fine.”Todd helped me over to Jared after he saw my stubborn face.I almost regretted it as soon as I saw Jared. His handsome face was swollen and bloody, and his eyes were shut. Even in his unconsciousness, he seemed to be undergoing a great amount of pain.My knees gave in, and I kneeled over him. Tears were already streaming down my cheeks as I dug through the medical pouch on my waist, thanking the Goddess that I thought to pack medical supplies.Luckily, his chest was rising and falling slightly but evenly, giving me some confidence. I brushed the tears from my cheek and got to work, using everything I had learned fr
Our enemies had gotten stronger.In the short time since our last battle, the Blood Moon pack had somehow doubled in numbers and were much less sloppy in terms of their strategy. We had to be steadfast and diligent as we moved through the trees.“Three men per group. One defends, one attacks and the third should act as a watchman for the group, focusing on identifying the invisible attacker while providing aid to your other two group mates!!” I gave my order, and within fifteen seconds, my warriors finished forming their groups.“Kent,’ I instructed my Gamma via mind link, “take a small team and stay hidden. We need to figure out what the hell is behind the invisible attackers and how they work!”“Got it.”Then we charged toward our enemies, me included.I fought alongside two warriors just like the rest of my troops. My role in our small group was the watchman. I took a deep breath and started