RICK FORSONRICK SMILED AS he watched his pack warriors battle and spar in the training ground. It made him proud of their speed and accuracy in the way they parried and evaded each other’s blows. He clapped with joy as they went round after round. Soon, the training ground was filled with other young men and even little children.Some children hung around Rick; some sat at his feet while others sat on his thighs and between his legs as they watched the training. “I am going to join the Delta Warriors when I am older,“ a child at Rick's feet said. “Can I, alpha?” He turned and looked up at Rick. “Of course you can,” Rick said. “You can do anything as long as you put your mind to it.” “Where are you?” Jones's voice drifted into his head. “Training center, why?”Jones snorted and did not reply. A few minutes later, he appeared at the gateway of the training center but did not come in. He gestured with his head at Rick to come out. Rick nodded and carefully peeled the children from h
RICK FORSONRICK WALKED INTO the packhouse and heard some sounds coming from the kitchen. He kicked off his shoes and went to the kitchen, where he saw Reine."I told you you don't have to do any of these," He said, coming up to stand beside her. He wanted to wrap his hands around her but he knew she would not stay still. "We have pack members that would be too happy to help out here.""I can't just stay idle in a place," she said, trying to crouch with some effort but couldn't because of her bulging stomach. Rick immediately bent and opened the oven; he took out the hot tray and placed it on the counter."You are a Luna now," he said, watching as she brushed some spiced oil on the baked pastries. "You should not have to do this. Especially in your condition." "I am sick, not pregnant," Reine said. Rick sighed. He was expecting her to say that. "Besides," she said, "All my life, I have been trained to work and work, I cannot just suddenly turn off that part of my brain. I am used to
RICK FORSON "HELLO?" RICK SAID, cupping his hand around the speaker of the phone. "Can you hear me?""Yes, I can," Mitch replied in his usual gruff tone. "Alpha Mitch," Rick said hastily. He gave a signal to Beth that he would be back soon as he walked out of the room and closed the door gently behind him. "I have been trying to reach your kingdom for about a month now, but all my calls have been void. Not even to voicemail... just... void."Mitch grunted. "Yes. We just noticed our collapsed phone lines. We have an average of 5 major ice storms every month here. The weather is unfriendly. One of them must have fallen our lines and we never noticed until a few hours ago." "Oh... I see," Rick said."Yes," Mitch said. "Now tell me why you have been blasting my dead lines with phone calls."Rick chuckled. "Well... I actually wanted to talk with the Luna, Anna." He ran his fingers through his hair. "It's not what you are thinking."Mitch scoffed. "I was not thinking anything, Alpha Mitc
RICK FORSON"I'LL BE BACK," He hastily said to Reine."What has happened? Where are you going?" She asked."Don't worry about that," He said. He looked at the two women beside the bed and said, "Remember what I told you two." They bowed and nodded.Rick walked out of the hall and headed to his office where he was sure that Jones was waiting for him."What is it?" He asked as soon as he walked in.Jones turned. He looked agitated. "You remember when you told me to keep my ear out for any news concerning the mountain Alps kingdom because you could not get through to them?"Rick nodded and waved it aside. "Yeah, but don't bother about that anymore. I just spoke to Mitch. He called me and explained that their phone lines were down all this while.""Oh, really?" Jones asked. His agitation seemed to dampen a little bit. "Yeah," Rick said. "So if that was what this was about, then it is nothing for you to be worried about." He turned and started to walk out of the office, but Jones stopped
ANNA KYLIN CHESTERI PICKED MY PATH through the rubble carefully."You should not be here, Luna," one of the men said easily hoisting a fallen tree on his shoulder with a little grunt. I smiled to reassure him that I was fine here."He is right, though," Draco muttered as he came to stand beside her."How bad is the damage?" I asked."Pretty bad," Draco said. "But luckily, the storm did not get to any residential areas."I nodded, thanking the moon goddess for safety under my breath. We have been having some intense storms for the past couple of days. The storm did not extend to the main parts of the kingdom, but it threw everywhere into cold darkness. I had to have school and trading cancelled until the storm passed over. All that restless energy of people who were used to being busy built up in the kingdom, that at the first sign that the storm was over this morning, a bunch of men were out of their houses.I came out hours later to join them. The storm had broken off a huge slab o
ANNA KYLIN CHESTERI SHRUGGED OFF my coat and handed it to a young server girl. As I kicked off the snow from my boot, Draco said, "I will be in the office."I nodded to let him know that I heard him.I heard some noise coming from the kitchen, when I got there, I saw that the children were at the breakfast table. Ever since dinner that night where I negotiated with Charles and handed the territory to Elijah, I noticed he smiled more often, and was a bit more open to me since then."Good morning, mum," Aiden greeted, hopping on his seat as they waited for Patty to serve the table."Good morning, mum," Addison said."How are you two?" I asked, rubbing their heads fondly. "Did you sleep well?"They nodded enthusiastically."Good morning, Luna," Elijah said in a small voice."How are you?" I asked him. Hailie was still very shy; she only bowed. I kissed her forehead and joined them at the table."Good morning, Luna." Patty came into the kitchen holding the tray of breakfast.I nodded at
ANNA KYLIN CHESTER“WE ARE GLAD to see you are back on your feet, Alpha,“ Patty said as she brought out the tray of breakfast and placed it on the table. “I was about to have the meals sent up as usual.““Are you ill, Dad?“ Addison asked.“No, princess,“ Mitch leaned across and ruffled her hair gently. “I came down with a little cold, that's all.“I scoffed inwardly. A cold indeed. He was prepared to remain in bed if I had not coerced him by telling him that the children were getting worried about his health. That was what got him out.“Haven’t you had breakfast yet?“ I asked Aiden who was picking some green peas from Mitch’s plate.Aiden grinned and nodded. We all turned at the sound of the door opening and saw Beta draco coming in. His eyes widened slightly as he saw Mitch seated on the table. “I was not expecting to see you here,“ he smiled.“Join us,” Mitch gestured at an empty seat.“I already had breakfast at home, but a cup of coffee won’t hurt, I guess,“ he said as he poured o
MITCH CHESTERMITCH WANTED NOTHING more than to rip the head from Charles’s neck and send it in a box back to the council. He sighed, confused because it had been a long time since he felt like this. This angry, raging beast was the person that Ophelia had fallen in love with. And he had not been that person in almost a decade. He shrugged on a furry overcoat from the door side rack and walked out of the palace. The guards were shocked to see him come out. They immediately stood at attention. “Good morning, Alpha,“ they chorused. He nodded and waved the greeting aside. Two guards from the front gate dogged his steps, following him from a few yards behind as he strolled along the street. His mind was too distracted, so he did not send the guards away.The air was still chilly, but the sky was cleared and the sun was shining through the clouds. The storm had passed, but knowing how unpredictable the weather up here could be, he knew that it could all change before evening.He heard chi
ANNA KYLIN CHESTERHOLDING ON TO Vorenus softly as he led me out, We walked up a flight of stairs and down a hallway till we stopped in front of a thick, mahogany wood. I took a deep breath as Vorenus pushed the door open and stood aside to let me through. Taking careful steps, I walked into the room. It was like a large hall, lit up beautifully with gold chandeliers. There was a small round table in the middle of the room, and Vorenus was seated at the head of the table.He looked at me as I walked in; his eyes widened slightly, but that was the only reaction he gave. His human mistress sat beside me; the look she gave was a nasty, dirty stare, but she kept her mouth shut. Vladimir's eyes followed me all the way to the table. I nodded at him curtly and took a seat. The table was filled with many delicacies, and even a full roast pig sat in the center.“Thank you for coming,“ Vladimir said.It was not like I had any option; I scoffed under my breath. I turned and looked behind me, exp
ANNA KYLIN CHESTERI DO NOT know how long I remained in the cage — listening to the dripping of water in the far dark distance. But I knew when the sun went down, because the mansion became more active, and the sound of night bugs joined in the sound of water droplets.I felt like I was going to run mad, but the door opened and the butler came in. He was human, I was sure of it, but still, there was something off about him. But I could not place my hand on it. He stood a few feet away from my cell and looked at me in a spiteful manner. “My name is Bartholomew the Fourteenth,“ he said.The fourteenth? I asked myself. Does that mean that fourteen generations of this man's family had lived with and worked for Vladimir?“What you are thinking is exactly correct,“ the butler said. “And no, I cannot read minds, but I could clearly see the confusion written on your face.”“What do you want?“ I asked. If he was going to be anything like the other human in the mansion - Janet, I wanted to prep
320LORNA DID NOT know her next move, or why she washed the mind of this vampire, but she knew she had to do something, and this seemed like the first step.“Rise,“ she commanded.The vampire stood up robotically and looked at her with his soulless eyes.“What are you doing here?“ she asked him.“Keeping watch on the borders of this kingdom,“ he replied.“Why?““I was just following orders,“ he said.“Whose orders?“ Lorna asked, even though she already knew the answer, but she wanted to be sure.“The king,“ the vampire replied.Lorna scoffed under her breath. Vladimir. She turned and looked at the way she had come from, considering her options. Should she take this vampire back to the kingdom where he could be interviewed by Mitch for information, or should she take the more riskier option and tell the vampire to take her to where Anna was being kept prisoner?She looked back and forth a couple of times, then she made her decision. She was not going back to the kingdom. She and they w
LORNA LOOKED OUT the window and watched as Mitch addressed the guest from the Red Moon pack; she saw the way they looked at him with awe and adoration. They were here out of respect for him and love for Anna.She turned away from the window and went to the bed where Aiden was sleeping, brushing her hand across his forehead. He mumbled something inaudible and shuffled slightly, but he did not wake up. She sighed sadly, wondering what the medical personnel were going to make of this. Aiden was not entirely in a coma. He responded to touch, and she had seen his flicker in his eyelids when Mitch had whispered something in his ear a few hours ago. It was just like he was in a deep slumber without being able to wake up. She imagined it to be like he was trapped in his own body.“If only your mother were here,“ she muttered in a small voice. “She would know what to do to bring you back.“ Lorna spoke gently to herself. She sighed and leaned in to kiss Aiden's forehead. She felt very connected
MITCH CHESTERMITCH COULD FEEL the animosity in the tense air as soon as they walked in. Draco was behind him, and Delta Adam walked beside him as they walked to the front of the hall. All heads followed their movement. Mitch stopped and overlooked the senate; he cleared his throat to stop all side talks and make sure all the attention was on him before he said, “We have some guests in our midst,“ he said in a strong voice. “And I expect us to be hospitable and treat them well.““They are from the inland pack,“ a small, stubby man muttered.“From the lunas former pack,“ Mitch nodded. “And they are here to help us in rescuing her. I hope we will be able to put aside your differences and work together.“The hall was silent for the next few seconds, so Mitch continued, “And they brought some weapons to give us an added advantage,“ he said.“We will be fighting with weapons now?“ Sil asked, astonished, “Like the humans?“Mitch cocked his head and nodded. “I'm afraid so,“ he said. “We need
MITCH CHESTERMITCH SAT DOWN heavily and examined the faces of the members of the Senate before him. They knew something was off in the balance of the kingdom. He cleared his throat and said, “What called for this meeting?““I think the meeting is long over due, Your Highness,“ Lane said in a small voice. Mitch looked around at the nods of agreement around the table.Mitch snorted.“We got the news that we had guests.“ a fat man muttered. “Guest. Warriors from another pack. As if the military in this kingdom is not enough.““So it means there is a heavy war coming,“ Sil said. She paused and continued, “A war that would mean we are accepting help from other inland packs.“A ripple of murmuring went round the pack again.“It is not just any inland pack,“ Mitch said. “They are from the red moon pack. Luna Anna's former pack.““Talking of Luna Anna,“ Sil cut in. “Where is she?“Mitch sighed. Truly, there are so many things that they need to address. Where would he even start? He asked him
MITCH CHESTERMITCH HAD BEEN waiting for the past 20 hours. All the pent up and nervous energy was making him agitated. He hated waiting, but that was what he had been forced to do for the past 20 hours. When he could not take it anymore, he went upstairs to Aiden's room, Lorna was still there. But up in Aiden's room was another waiting session as they waited for him to wake up.Lorna sat up when Mitch walked in. He looked around and noted that Elijah and Oliver were absent. “What of the boys?“ he asked.“They left an hour ago," she replied. “They had to eat and wash up, but I think they will be back here anytime soon.“Mitch nodded and sat down heavily with a sigh. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms.“How did the meeting go?“ Lorna asked after a few seconds of silence.“As fine as it can get,“ he said.“You and Enrique did not clash heads?“ she asked. Everyone knew about the both of them.He shrugged, “We did. But we came to an agreement.“She smiled softly. “That is good
315ANNA KYLIN CHESTERI HAD NO idea how long I had been locked in the cell when the door opened. I sat up expecting it to be Vorenus; instead, it was the skinny, sick looking mistress of Vladimir. Her name was Janet or something like that.She stalked to the front of my cell and pouted at me. “So you are a woman… and pretty too.“ If that was meant to be a compliment, it did not sound so, as it was laced with venom.Gathering some energy, I stood up. I was taller than her and was pleased when she tilted her head to look up at me. She took an involuntary step backward. I smirked at her.“You are never going to take Vladimir from me,“ she blurted.“What?“ I gagged. Who was this dumb lady? “If you are thinking I am here of my own free will to snatch your undead boyfriend, you have the brain of a 15 year old high schooler.“She placed her hand on her hip and frowned. “And what? You have the brain of a mature woman…“ She frowned and leaned closer to me. “Wait a minute, don't I know you?”I
MITCH PACED OUT of the mountain with Draco and Alphonso closely behind him. He paused outside the mountain. Darco came to stand beside him. He could feel his beta brewing with questions, but he ignored it.“That is a high profile prisoner,“ Mitch said to the guards outside. They all nodded with slight frowns on their faces. They could already sense that something was wrong.“Good,“ Mitch muttered and went to a buggy parked by the side.Draco gestured with his head to Alphonso, who immediately jumped into the driver's seat and started the car.“Take us to the palace,“ Mitch said.Alphonso pursed his lips and eased the car out of the snow. Mitch could feel Draco throw him some subtle glances as they made their way to the palace, but he chose not to say anything as he prepared his mind on how he was going to tell them everything.Half an hour later, they pulled into the front gates, and Mitch got out. Draco followed and Alphonso started to drive away but Mitch said, “Come with us, Alphon