The King POVI scan the packed meeting room. Where did all these people come from? Then, I look down the long table at the council, who still have their calm and professional masks on, providing no hint of what they are thinking to the crowd. Several more of my guards stand around me and behind the table, but I hope they aren’t needed. From the end of the table, I give the lead council woman, sitting in the middle, a quick nod to signal for her to begin. She nods back and bangs the gavel. “Quiet. It is time to begin.”People scurry to their seats while others stay standing around the chairs and at the back of the room. Some are also standing in the doorway. Within seconds, the room falls into silence, with everyone’s focus on the lead council woman. She clears her throat and turns her attention to the front row and Drake and his father. “Drake, please stand.”A faint smirk appears as he stands up and slowly looks at every council member before turning his focus back on the
Lance POV A loud explosion rattles the windows and shakes the building. Frantic voices scream in my head as people from the hospital report intruders, while the guards at the palace inform me about another group of intruders there. My father calmly replies, “We knew this was a possibility, and I gave everyone instructions. Follow my orders and document everything. The guards will capture the intruders soon. I might not be there, but we are prepared for this, and Lance is there. He knows how to handle things like this.” The frantic voices subside while my thoughts go to Trinity, her mother, and Bethany, hoping they are all safe in the bunker. I take a deep breath. “I’m still in my office, but I will head out to the most critical spot right away. Are the intruders under control at the hospital?” A few people mumble, “No.” The familiar voice of a doctor confidently adds, “The group is still in the lobby demanding to know what room is Bethany’s. I don’t believe there are an
Trinity POVPain slices through my chest as my mother and a few medical staff carefully help me across the open area to a small room and onto a hospital bed. My legs won’t work no matter how hard I try, and my eyes burn, holding back the tears threatening to fall. What is happening to me? My wolf whimpers in my head, and I frantically call out through my connection with my mate. “Lance! Tell me you’re alright! Please! Say something. Anything.”Tear well up in my eyes as my pleas are answered with silence. Why isn’t he responding to me? This can’t be happening. This isn’t how things were supposed to happen.I clinch the front of my shirt over my chest as another wave of searing pain shoots through me. My mother and the medical staff’s words fade away and turn into incoherent mumbles while my mind struggles to figure out what is going on. With each passing minute still lost in confusion, another pain forms in my chest, but this time it is my heart. Please, let Lance be alr
Trinity POV“Where is Lance? Why isn’t he responding to me?” In a slight daze, I stare up at the medical staff, hoping they have the answers I need. But instead of getting what I want, I’m met with blank looks and a few head shakes. A wave of panic hits me. No. I won’t believe it. I push myself up into a sitting position on the hospital bed and grunt, “I need to know where he is and if he is alright. Right now.” My frustrations boil up, but I force them back down. It won’t help me getting mad at them if they can’t reach anyone who knows. The staff nervously looks at each other and then back at me, but no one offers any answers. My mother rubs my back. “Honey, they won’t know right now. If they are running the same protocol as we do, only the people fighting can link with each other. It keeps worried family from filling up the link, and the warriors can keep an open line between themselves. Now stop this. I know you are worried. I’m worried about your father. If this
Trinity POV “I said do it!” My anger rolls off me and slams into the medical staff, pushing them slightly backwards. Their eyes widen as a doctor softly replies, “But we don’t know if it will work. We should…” I’ve had enough. I cut him off and growl, “His blood works on me. How do you know my blood won’t do the same for him? Do as I say, and if it doesn’t work, you can try something else.” My heart pounds against my chest as rage consumes me. I don’t have to ask who is responsible for this. Drake and his father are behind it. I know it. The doctor stares at me, but after a few seconds, he slowly nods. “Okay. We will try your blood. Maybe you are right, and your blood does the same for him as his does for you. Let’s hope you are right.” I don’t waste another second and push past the medical staff to the side of the stretcher with Lance’s torn and blood splattered body. I bite the end of my finger, and when the blood pools on the end, I rub it around his lips and
Lance POV Ugh… Every part of me hurts, including my hair. What happened? Images instantly flash through my head of a duffle bag and someone screaming threats. Then someone pulls out a little black box with a red button from the bag. I take a quick glance at the hospital and remember all the helpless people who are inside. Without thinking, I use my fast reflexes and charge forward, trying to seize control of the trigger. A sinister laugh echoes in my ears as the guy presses the button. I don’t think twice before I snap the guy’s neck and spin around, catapulting forward in a blink of an eye and covering the duffle bag. My only hope and thought are to save the people in the hospital. Other people pile on top of me, trying to help. My last flickering thought is of my mate and our unborn child. I hope they are safe. The bomb explodes under me and pain rips through me before everything goes blank. Did I survive? Did the others? Luckily, my royal blood makes it harder
Drake POV“Are you sure both the King and the Crown Prince are gone? Do we have confirmation of it from someone reliable?” I stare at my father and look for any sign he was lying to me. He shakes his head. His greasy, uncombed black hair sways back and forth with several strands sticking out. “I have it from a very reliable source. The son was killed in the hospital explosion, while his father was killed in the explosion after we had escaped the room. You can stop worrying about it. The only one we need to focus on now is the third royal which we don’t have any information about. I don’t know who the person is or where they have been hiding. The mother is off on another one of her research projects and might not know about what has happened to her husband and son.”I narrow my eyes and glare at him while he leans against the dirty wall. “Are you sure she isn’t the third royal your people are referring to? Did she, by chance, come home to visit and was back during the attac
Trinity POVWith my mind full of all the various pressing matters at hand, including the hunt and capture of Drake and his father, I step into the room beside Lance’s room in the bunker. Lance’s mother looks up at me from beside the bed. “Chad is doing a little better today. How is Lance? I feel bad I haven’t stopped in to see him much, but I know you are there.” A hint of regret is woven through her words and written across her face. I shrug my shoulders and give her a small grin. “He wants to get up and see his friend and the other injured people. I’m sure it won’t be long now before he sneaks over here. He doesn’t have far to go.”A faint spark shines in her gray hazel eyes, but it doesn’t overpower the tiredness and the dullness they have become. Her natural glow has faded almost immediately upon seeing Lance in such a battered state while not being able to get the King to respond to her constant attempts to reach him through their link. Her long strawberry blonde hair,
Trinity POV *** Two years later *** “You look amazing.” A smile erupts from me as I turn and face my parents and brother while they walk into the bedroom. Bright smiles adorn my parents’ faces and my brother cracks a small grin, which I’m still not used to seeing. Through the years growing up, he usually would carry a look of frustration and irritation when dealing with me. But now, he has slowly won the pack over, and they have accepted him as the pack’s alpha. It wasn’t a small thing, either. A few of the pack members held out for what felt like forever. In the end, his heroic actions in various battles, including saving a group of small children, won them over. They couldn’t deny it any longer. My brother deserves the alpha title. His continued effort to improve his alpha skills and knowledge has also helped show everyone he is the right person for the job. I carefully step forward, making sure not to step on the floor length ornate robe. “You made it. I’m so hap
Lance POVMy heart pounds as fear consumes me. It isn’t time yet. The baby shouldn’t be coming now. Something is wrong. I know it. With Trinity in my arms, I run through the mansion towards the front door. The doctors had been preparing a special delivery room in the mansion, so she wouldn’t have to leave. But it isn’t ready yet. They thought they had more time. “UGH!!!!” Her body tightens in my arms while her hands cradle her stomach. Pain, like I’ve never felt before, shoots through our bond and my body. My knees almost buckle as her scream echoes down the hall. I’ve been in plenty of battles and have been wounded many times, but this almost stops me in my tracks. I’ve already told the medical staff we are coming. My gaze stays focused ahead as a couple of staff walk into the hall. I shout, “Open the door!”Bethany and her parents run beside me. Bethany caresses the top of Trinity’s head. “Everything will be alright. They know what they are doing. You are in the b
Trinity POV “How are you doing? You are smiling. Does it mean things are going well?” I ease down in the dining room chair across the table from Bethany. My hand caresses the side of my large baby bump. I almost thought there were two in there, but the doctor has proved to me there is only one, really large pup. A shiver runs through my body. Hopefully, there won’t be any complications when the time comes. Bethany glances up from her plate of breakfast food and nods. “Luckily, things are going better. I’m still not able to eat with everyone in the dining hall, but the doctor thinks I can ease myself into it soon. One good sign is seeing the male staff doesn’t cause me to flinch anymore. I’m so thankful for the King allowing his friend to come and help me. When the doctor first arrived, I was too afraid of him, and all men. But I’m so much better now.” She has come a long way but has so much farther to go. Her scars are deep. “Good. Regardless of where you are at, I wi
Lance POVThe scent of blood and sweat, along with something rotten, assaults my nose and has me wishing I would have brought something to counteract it. Trinity marches beside me, but the stench doesn’t seem to affect her. Her eyes are fixed on the door a short distance ahead of us. Muffled screams of agony seep out from under the solid metal door, while the determination in her gaze never wavers and stays strong. Our heavy footsteps echo through the corridor, signaling the end is coming soon. In a hushed tone, I huff, “I’ll handle the interrogation. There is no need for you to put yourself in danger. You have…”Her lip twitches as she steps ahead of me and grabs the door handle. With steam rolling off her, she growls, “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”She yanks the door open and lets it slam against the wall before she storms inside.If I have thought the stench was bad in the hallway, it is nothing compared to the overwhelming foul smell in the dingy room. Blood
Trinity POVPeople. Everywhere. My feet slowly drag along the cement floor as I make my way through the bunker. Every spot has been converted into a hospital area. The medical staff have packed beds in any place where one will fit. Each patient has the same symptoms as the next. As soon as the white mist got near them, they collapsed.Luckily, all the medical staff had gotten to the bunker in time before any explosions happened or any chemicals were released into the air. I still have heard nothing from my father regarding his pack, but I’m going to assume the same thing has happened there. I silently pray to the moon goddess he got all the medical staff safely in the bunker before the chemical attack started. My stomach churns, and a sense of dread gnaws at me. If the goal was to break Alpha Derrick out of his cell, his brother has gone through all this and has come up short. The lycans had prepared for this and were waiting. Anyone stepping close to the dungeon or the al
Trent POV My father’s voice booms in my head. “The King and Queen are under attack!” My stomach sinks. It can only mean one thing. The wait is over. Seconds later, a howl reverberates through the training grounds, and my head whips around in its direction. Luckily, after healing me with my sister’s blood, I feel like a kid again. My energy is off the charts, and I seem to have a spring to my step, even when I’m angrily stomping around. I turn back to the field full of warriors. “This is it. We have known this is coming. Use your training and don’t let them get to the pack house. They must be stopped at all costs.” My alpha voice confidently roars out with my last sentence. It doesn’t hold the force and authority it will once I officially take my title and go through the ceremony, but it is still a command they must follow. The large group nods before turning towards the warning cries. Through the pack link, my father barks orders and the group scatters in all dir
Trinity POVSeveral weeks have gone by without an incident. The information the King had gotten must be wrong, but I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. This isn’t over yet.Everyone in the two packs was getting restless and wanted out of the bunkers, so my father and the King had no choice but to allow it. Neither of them wanted to agree. The two could have stood their ground, but they didn’t have a solid reason to deny the people’s demands. Plus, everyone was lashing out at each other. Being locked up for a few weeks, even though both bunkers are fairly large, was getting on everyone’s nerves. If they had to stay down there much longer, there would have been a fight within packs. Something tells me they will regret their requests. Lance tightens his arm around my bare back and pulls me closer to his broad chest. “Babe, what is wrong? Are you not feeling well? Is there something wrong with the baby?” The corner of my mouth curls downward as I shake my head and s
Trinity POV“Why do you need more blood? Is something wrong with me?” A flicker of fear takes hold of me, and my throat tightens. “Is there something wrong with the baby?”Please don’t let there be anything wrong with my pup. Please. The Queen looks up from her table full of medical supplies and shakes her head. Confusion fills her eyes. “No. Nothing is wrong. I’m wanting to see if I can isolate and reproduce the qualities in your blood which provide the healing powers to my son, your brother, and Bethany. If I can isolate what makes your blood different from others, I can generate enough for whatever may come our way.”My eyebrows knot together as I tilt my head and stare at her. “I don’t understand. Yes, my blood heals people faster, both lycans and werewolves. But what does that have to do with trying to isolate the reason for it?”She gives me a faint smile and a soft chuckle. “Is your pregnancy having this much effect on your thinking?”I scrunch my eyebrows closer
Lance POV“Are you sure?”I glance across the desk at my father as he rests his elbows on his desk and drums his fingers together. The slight smirk and spark in his eyes dare me to answer incorrectly. Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly shake my head. “I don’t know. I’ve been coming home late and leaving early to avoid her as much as possible. She has said nothing.”He raises an eyebrow. “Has she even been awake to say anything?”I shift nervously in the chair as he stares at me. His gaze is like a spotlight I don’t want to be under. After a few seconds, I slowly shake my head. “I think she has been asleep.”He snorts and rests his arms on the desk. “I don’t think ‘think’ will work. If she is anything like your mother, she has been awake and waiting to see what you will do. She has probably called her parents and has gotten all the information she wants about the attack and her brother already. There is nothing to hide or sneak away from. If she was going to go to her fa