Regan’s POV It took us almost all day to finally get to our destination. Our last place to visit was a pack whose Alpha was an important Elder on the Werewolf Council of Elders. He was one of the oldest werewolves and Alphas alive and had been a mentor of my father when he was alive. As was expected, I sent two of my warriors ahead to request permission to enter their pack and was granted access. We were escorted by two of their warriors to their pack house where, as was customary, their Alpha and members of their pack were waiting to receive us. I remembered meeting the Alpha of Nighthowl pack when I was very young. He had visited my father and I remembered thinking how strong he looked. I had never met my grandfather or grandmother. So I had seen the way my father had treated him with obvious respect and affection and had thought he was my grandfather. When I had addressed him as such, he had laughed fondly and ruffled my hair, even as my mother apologized on my be
Jasmine’s POV At first I thought it was real, but it did not take long for me to realize, even in my subconscious, that it was a dream. The reason I realized that almost immediately was because of the familiar setting of the dream. The dream was one I had had many times. It was the only dream where I saw my mother’s face. The same dream I had time and time again. Although I had stopped having it often after coming to Regan’s pack. It was the same cabin, small and remote, surrounded by woods on every side. However, for some reason, I could already tell that this dream would be different. It would not be the usual dream I had of my last moments with my parents. Of their deaths. I stood before the family cabin, not too big in size and standing right in the midd of the woods. Just like I remembered it, trees served as a shade for it. As I walked around it towards the back, I saw my mother’s garden. I did not remember seeing the garden in my dreams before. But ther
Regan’s POV When I returned from my run, I had expected to see Luke waiting for me, as I suspected he would. What I had not expected however, was to see the Luna of Nighthowl pack waiting for me instead. I hastily pulled on my clothes after shifting behind a tree, not wanting to keep her waiting longer. “My Lady”, I said as greeting to her as I approached her. “Is there something I can do for you?” I asked, somewhat confused about her presence. She gave that affectionate smile. “Walk with me, Alpha Regan”, she said, and began to lead the way. I followed closely and fell into step beside her, putting a respectable distance between us. We walked silently for a while before she began to speak. “I was wrong”, she said all of a sudden. I turned to glance at her, confused as to what she was talking about. “Wrong about what, Luna?” I asked her. She turned to glance briefly at me before facing forward again. “I had thought you were too young to have remembered his vi
Jasmine’s POV The reality that I had found my long lost cousin was not as surprising as the fact that I had one in the first place. After getting her out of the dungeon she was locked in, I had brought her back to my house and taken her to one of the guests rooms to clean herself and change into one of my dresses. I then took her to the stream for a cool bath, one I could tell she thoroughly enjoyed, before returning to the pack house to rest. Lena had spent the remainder of that day with her mate and so, had no idea about my endeavors until she walked into our breakfast room to see my cousin seated on one of the chairs. She immediately halted in her tracks. “What is she doing here?” She asked, a look of displeasure immediately coming onto her face. “I brought her here”, I told her as I gently motioned for her to take her usual seat beside me. Reluctantly, she made her way over and sat, just as Nana and Gaia walked in. “Gaius will not be joining us this morning”, Ga
Regan’s POV After the revelation I had received from the Luna, I found it hard to summon the courage to face the Alpha. Early the next morning, Luke came into my room for answers to the reason behind my abnormal behavior. I had just finished writing to my mate when there was a knock on my room door and the door came open a moment later to reveal him. I simply glanced at him and went ahead to seal my letter to my mate. “What brings you here so early?” I asked him, acting as though I did not already know why he had come. “What was that about?” He asked, getting straight to the point. “I have no idea as to what you might be talking about”, I said, pretending to be clueless. From the corner of my eye, I could see him turn to me. I felt his glare burning into the side of my face that was turned to him. “You insulted a powerful Alpha who had graciously received us into his pack, and before many witnesses at that”, he listed. “And then stormed off after a pathetic apology
Jasmine’s POV The silence in the room after Isla’s words was deafening. To think that particular thought had never occurred to anyone the entire time was nothing short of astounding. At her words, I remembered the dream I sometimes had. The only dream I could remember. The only dream that had my mother in it. The dream of my parents’ death. I went over each scene more closely, knowing the dream for what it was, a memory. From being woken from my sleep by my mother to being handed over to my father to hide me. It all became clearer. But more than anything, it had all started to make sense. I remembered the last sight of my mother in the dream. Of her fighting off werewolves. Not vampires or witches, but werewolves. I had always wondered why she had not transformed into her wolf to fight them. A clear image of a pure white wolf instantly came to mind. If I had a pure white wolf, that meant my mother had had one as well. And she had purposely not shi
Regan’s POV The talk I had with Alpha Regan was one I did not realize we both needed. Coming to Nighthowl pack had not been the mistake I had initially thought it would be. Instead, it had helped me face wounds I had not even realized I still had and had helped me heal from them. Needless to say, my relationship and encounters with the Alpha of Nighthowl pack improved greatly after our talk. At first, we had both been embarrassed about crying but got over it soon. He took pride in showing me around his pack and introducing me to his members as Rhain’s son. Several of the older pack members even shared stories about my father from when he was young. From how they spoke about him, it was clear to see that he had been considered a part of their pack. They told me of his adventures and pranks with Alpha Regan’s daughter, Rhaia. How they had been thick as thieves and how much trouble the two had caused and gotten into in the pack. It was refreshing to hear that there
Jasmine’s POV After Isla’s break down in the study, Lena’s behavior towards her softened considerably. Though Isla did not seem to notice or care, I saw the effort Lena put into making her feel welcome into our pack and I was very grateful for it. I was not exaggerating when I said that Isla did not seem to care. In fact, she made it obvious that her only concern and only reason for being in our pack was to keep me and my unborn pup safe. She kept to herself, only showing up when needed and disappearing to the solitude of Nana’s garden or work room. Ever since finding out about Arwyn, she seemed very focused and determined not to leave any stone unturned. Her dedication earned her Nana’s admiration and even Gaia’s respect. And though she did not seem to require either, she related with them for the purpose of keeping me safe. She taught Gaia new spells and Gaia seemed genuinely impressed by Isla’s abilities. Once, when we were having our usual meeting for her to che
Jasmine’s POV It was a surprise to everyone at breakfast the next morning to see Luke seated to Regan’s left, and the two thoroughly engaged in conversation. I am sure Luke’s mate was surprised as well because we shared a glance of astonishment before turning back to watch our mates interact. It was as though Luke had never left. The only difference was, when before it would be very obvious that they were both mind linking the other, it had now become that they would openly speak to each other. I secretly believed they did that so that Lena could see. If she saw and was affected by it, she hid it well, keeping a blank and almoubored expression on her face and only interacting with the ladies and her mate throughout the meal. It was the bored expression that let me know that she was indeed affected. Lena was never bored. If she was, she created something to entertain herself and others. On the other had, the two friends who had obviously resolved whatever issues the
Regan’s POV It had been three days since Luke came home and I could still feel the awkwardness between us. Lena had still not relented in her mission to pretend he did not exist and for the most part, I felt sorry for him. Lady Zara was getting along famously with the ladies, who went out of their way to include her in every activity they performed. They had even taken her to their favorite place at the stream and it was clear to see that Lady Zara was thoroughly enjoying her stay in our pack. For my part, I was mostly confused. I did not know whether to have Luke perform duties around the pack, just as I normally would. But it was not the same. I did not even know if o could still refer to him as my Beta. We had not had a single meaningful conversation since his return. On one hand, his mate was the last relative of the deceased Alpha of Redclaw pack, which meant that he could take up the leadership of the pack as its Alpha if he chose to remain there with her. O
Jasmine’s POV If I had expected Lena to have forgiven Luke once she sore him, I and everyone else who had had similar thoughts were proved wrong. I had been surprised to look around and find her absent, only to return to the house to see that she had never left in the first place. I had known that Lena’s feelings had been hurt by Luke’s refusal to respond to the several letters she had sent him while he had been away. However, I had assumed that all would be forgiven once he returned home. I had assumed wrong. She had avoided seeing him all day and had remained in the privacy of her room until it was time for Supper. Then, she had emerged in all her cold beauty and proceeded to sit as far away from Luke at the dinner table in the pack house. Despite her avoidance of Luke and her ignoring of his existence, her cold treatment was never given to Luke’s mate, who she had pulled into a hug and gushed over how beautiful she was the moment Nana had introduced her. She had g
Regan’s POV It had been more than ten days since my warriors and I returned from our successful journey. I had received several letters from the Alpha and Luna of Nighthowl pack. Alpha Regan kept me informed on his progress with the Council of Elders while his Luna wrote to ask about my well being as well as that of my mate and our unborn pup. She also wrote to inform me that she had written to her distant nephew, the Alpha of Moonrock pack, and encouraged me to write to him, assuring me of his acceptance to hear of my request. After receiving that particular letter, I wasted no time in writing to the Alpha of Moonrock pack, convincing Alpha Gaiu to do the same on our behalf. He readily agreed, if for nothing else but for his mate sake, I suspected. However, despite writing and receiving letters, I had yet to receive a letter from the one person I had not realized I had wished to hear from the most. Luke. I had written and destroyed several letters I had meant to send
Jasmine’s POV Regan’s return brought a new light to my days. Once they had been welcomed and fed, each warrior returned to their respective homes. With his arm around my waist, my mate led us back to our home after our evening meal with the rest of the pack to welcome our warriors back. Mira had done an absolutely marvelous job at cooking up the most sumptuous meal for our supper. Everyone had eaten their feel and the mood was very merry. However, throughout the meal, Isla remained quiet as usual, only lightly conversing with Lena or other wise quietly watching and smiling to some antics the warriors did. Most of them were somewhat drunk and were obnoxiously loud. One thing that was clear to anyone with eyes was how much and how often most of the warriors who had returned -most of which were unmated - tried to gain Isla’s attention. At first, they had simply stared at her or passed her admiring glances. But once they started to drink, they grew bolder with trying to g
Regan’s POV Not long after we had taken our morning meal, after we had put Alpha Zolan to rest under the full moon the night before, my warriors and I were ready to continually our journey home. Lady Zara came to bid us farewell, expressing her gratitude for our presence and assistance. And though she did not say it, I could see her gratitude for me allowing Luke remain with her. I waved away her thanks, taking her hand and bowing over it before bidding her farewell. Then I turned to Luke. Our goodbye was a very casual affair as we both knew each other well enough to know that we did not want to get affectionate or create a scene. So we limited our goodbye to a nod and a brief handshake and patting of shoulders. As I turned around and began to walk away to join our warriors who were already gathered and waiting with our horses and supplies for our return home, I caught sight of Emry break away from the group and run past me to Luke. I did not turn around to watch what
Jasmine’s POV When I received another letter from Regan soon after the one telling me about his journey home, I knew it was not good news. The ladies and I were seated in Lena’s room, taking a much needed break from our daily activities when I received the letter. As I tore it open and began to read, I could feel the curious silence that took over the space. Disappointment settled in my stomach when I heard that their journey home had been delayed once more. But when I heard the reason, the feeling of disappointment instantly changed to that of concern and worry. As I finished reading the letter, I lifted my head to face the three pair of eyes already on me, no that eager to hear the news. “Their journey has been further delayed”, I announced. Both Lena and Amy sighed in disappearing but Isla did not look the least upset or even affected about the news. I could not blame her, it was impossible to miss people you had never even met. She did rest a sympathetic hand o
Regan’s POV No matter how eager I was to go home, I did not have it in me to deny Luke’s request to see his mate one more time before we went home. After all, it was still on our path home and would cost us no major discomfort or set back. That had been the right choice to make, for as we approached the entrance into the pack, a white cloth was spread across the entrance. Seeing that could only mean one thing. That Alpha Zolan of the Redclaw pack had passed into the world beyond. Upon seeing this, Luke pushed his horse to go faster, disregarding the normal protocol and I did not have it in me to stop him. I understood how he felt. He had thought only of his mate. I followed closely behind him, and once their pack warriors saw that the intruders were us, they did not make any further move to stop us. I watched as Lady Zara come out of the pack house alongside other pack members. Upon seeing Luke hastily dismounting from his horse, she ran towards him and straigh
Jasmine’s POV Considering how worried I had been about her being accepted into my pack, Isla had fit in quite well. She and Lena had finally started to get along, seeing that they had some things in common. I would even go as far as saying that they had become close friends. Well, as close as one could be as a friend to someone who was used to being alone and valued her alone time over all else. Isla and Lena could not be more different if they were light and day. With Isla’s cool beauty and reserved demeanor, and Lena’s bright attitude and attractive features, they were very different. But somehow, thanks to efforts from mostly Lena who was determined to find something in common with my cousin, they had become good friends. Isla still disappeared to my garden or Nana’s garden whenever Lena became too much for her to cope with, but other than that, she seemed to have gotten used to Lena’s company and even seemed to have grown fond of her. Nana and Gaia had also gro