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Ruling The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 3) 47
I shook my head and smiled. “Don’t worry, Cathy, we don’t expect anything like that. Do you mind if we come in?”“Not at all. Come in, come in.” She stepped aside for us to enter her living room, shutting the door behind us. “Adam, we have guests! You three take the couch, Adam and I will stand.”I shot a subtle look at Night and raised my eyebrows as Tavi and I sat down. He gave a brief nod back and leaned against the wall beside me. So, we’d both noticed it: Cathy was more open to this impromptu visit than she’d been the first time. What had put her in such a good mood? Not that I was complaining about such a warm reception.“Who made this?” Tavi asked as she patted the white-and-gray knitted blanket draped across the back of the couch.“I did,” Cathy said. “I haven’t felt much like knitting lately, but I’ve been trying to get back into it. I’m even thinking of getting a stall in the marketplace.”“We’d be happy to have your work there,” Night said.“Hello,” Adam said as he stepped
Ruling The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 3) 48
Though I’d expected this answer, it filled me with a sense of relief that followed me through the day and into the night. The next day, the day of the ritual, that relief slowly shifted into prickly nervousness.I believed in the ritual’s effectiveness, but I had no doubt that I’d be seeing some disturbing stuff in Samuel's memories. When I’d looked into my mother’s memories, it had been to learn more about my parents. Though her life ended tragically, seeing things through her eyes had given me closure and strength. Because of that experience, I felt like I could be a better woman, a better mate, and a better mother.But Samuel would be different. When Night and I had spoken to him months ago, he’d mentioned a shadow monster. There was no telling what he had actually seen, but it had been enough to cause deep hurt and fear that had lasted a decade.Adam and Cathy told us it would be better to do it in the daytime because Samuel was at his most calm, so Tavi, Night, Violet, and I were
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“Yeah, I thought you’d remember me.” I reached for his head, and he winced, his ears flattening, his eyes closing, but when I touched his soft fur, he opened his eyes again. He looked up at me as I stroked his head. “I know you’re scared. And I know that it’s because you probably realized the same thing I did earlier today—you’re going to see things you’ve tried very hard to forget.”Another soft whine, and he wrapped his tail tightly around him.“It won’t be a fun experience, and it might be frightening, but I want you to know that your memories can’t hurt you more than you’ve already been hurt. Today will be the start of the rest of your life, and you’ll be able to look forward instead of back. Understand?”One of his ears lifted. He stared at me, waiting for more.“I also want you to know I will be there with you the entire time.” I scratched him under his chin. “And that’s very lucky. You know why? Because I’ve already done this. I know the ropes. You’ll be okay.”His other ear li
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“Oh.” Suddenly, Trevor didn’t look so dazzling up there; he looked like a little kid. “Maybe we should go home after all. I…I don’t want to end up like them.”“Okay. Do you need help getting down?”Trevor shook his head, then both boys jumped as the leaves rustled. Samuel stared with wide eyes as a dark figure stepped out from between the trees. Trevor yelped and fell off the trunk in his haste to get away. But all Samuel could do was stare as the figure got closer and closer. Finally, the figure started to look less like something dragging itself out of the shadows and more like a person.“Hey, what are you two doing out here?” The figure pulled back its hood, revealing Troy’s face.Seeing Troy as a young teenager punched me in the chest. I recoiled from the memories of him yanking my hair and pushing me down. The gray film over the vision grew thicker as the shock rolled over me.Get it together, Bryn, I coached myself. Just get through it. You can’t lose it now. It took a couple of
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What was equally alarming was how unreasonable Gregor was being. Troy was right; there was no way to increase the number of boys he could kidnap other than sneaking them from their homes. What did Gregor expect?“Let’s begin.” He held out his hand toward his son. “Bring me the knife.”Troy nodded and went to a duffle bag in the corner of the room. He pulled out a surprisingly plain-looking dagger and brought it back. Gregor took the blade and raised it, chanting in a language I didn’t understand. The cavern filled with static electricity, like a storm was about to touch down.He flourished the blade as he slowly moved behind the boys, still chanting. They were all trembling; some had even wet themselves. If either Troy or Gregor noticed, they didn’t care, but the pungent stench heightened the horror of what was about to happen.Gregor stood behind a boy whose red hair glowed orange in the firelight. After speaking a few more words, his hand lashed out, gripping the boy by his chin. He
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“Trevor,” he whispered, “they’re gone, let’s go.”Trevor didn’t respond. In fact, he gave no indication that he was still living. Samuel moved closer, and I wished I could tell him not to get too close, to avoid whatever the boys had been turned into. But of course, I had no control over the past.The stench of blood was overwhelming, but Samuel reached for his friend’s shoulder. “Trevor, please.”The minute Samuel touched him, Trevor whipped around, snapping jaws that were full of small, sharp teeth. He was stuck somehow between both forms. Gasping, Samuel stumbled back, and Trevor got to his feet. He stalked forward, and with each step, his skin rippled as he transformed some more. Soon, the boy was gone, and the wolf took his place.In the darkness, Trevor’s eyes glowed amber, and his claws dug into the soil, ready to pounce.Samuel whirled around and ran as fast as he could. Behind him, he heard the small, crazed howl of the feral pup his friend had become. He slapped his hands ov
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I chewed my lip. “I don’t know. They took an unfamiliar path, but if I could work with some of our trackers, we should be able to find it.”“I hope so.” He splayed his hand over my belly, and the baby gave a hard kick. “We don’t have a lot of time before our pup gets here. I want Troy in the ground and both of you out of danger before you give birth.”I placed my hand over his and nodded. “I agree.”When I looked at Tavi, I saw a similar determination in her eyes. We were all beyond ready for this to be over. The sooner we found that cliff, the sooner we could put this nightmare behind us.Chapter 17NightBryn and I went to bed as soon as we got home. I pressed my forehead to Bryn’s stomach and made a silent promise to our baby that I would see Troy dead before they were born. I crawled over to Bryn to kiss her goodnight.What I’d intended to be a sweet, chaste kiss turned into a deep, passionate outpouring of love and lust. We’d planned to go to bed straight away, but when Bryn moan
Ruling The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 3) 54
I’d had a messenger grab Lance, and he and Dom were standing near the center of the room, eyeing the council members. The Wargs sat on one side, with the Kings on the other. It was strange to see the room divided in half like this, and it added to the tense mood.I let out a deep breath, then went to stand between Lance and Dom. I waited a few more minutes for people to filter in, and when I felt enough time had passed for everyone to be settled, I cleared my throat. “Welcome, everyone.” The sound of my voice silenced the chatter. “Let’s get this meeting started.”I had both councils sit at the largest table with me, Dom, and Lance standing at the head. I saw the reluctance on every council member’s face. This would be a tough meeting, and it was more likely that the Wargs council would give me the most trouble. I would never let them know it, but not having their support set me on edge. Especially now. A pack that wasn’t united allowed danger to get in.Bryn and I’d both had little v
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