Janine sat in her office cursing herself off silently. She couldn’t keep her mind on anything today, and it was showing in the lack of quality work. Haden threw her for a loop last night and she’d still not gotten over it. She’d been dealing with him under the premise that he wanted a long-term fling or a short-term one but will lie about wanting a long-term one. What he was lying about wasn’t the length of their affair. No, it was the fact that he wanted a permanent relationship. If they weren’t so old, she’d say he wanted a second chance mating. That realization was what threw Janine off-kilter. She’d deliberately avoided thinking of any kind of relationship since she’d lost her mate in the last attack all those years ago. Her pack was so devastated that she’d thrown herself into helping others heal and find a new purpose that time had just slipped past he
Damon found the trackers, but currently they weren’t hiding their scent. The enemy would have smelt it before this, so it shouldn’t trigger anyone’s warning bells. “What have you got?” “We found it, but there are guards who are randomly checking up on it. We were just working out how we were going to get to it. Damaging it without making it visible is a simple procedure. We want to keep it where it is and just dismantle it without it being obvious. The roaming security is making this difficult. We’ll get this figured out in the next hour or less.” “Glad to hear it. Now be careful, witches and werebears are involved somehow. Both groups have representation within the packhouse right now.” Damon w
James went for a run the next morning. The sun would not be rising for another hour or two yet. He’d still not proved to Emily that they truly were meant to be together, and it was killing him. He could feel her moods now and James wasn’t sure how she lived with all the high emotions. Emily always seemed so calm and put together. Now he could feel the chaos she endured every day and how his words and actions affected it. James hated it and he couldn’t stand for it. Things must change that he knew for sure. The issue was how to change them. As he made his way through the wooded area, he kept his eye out for anything that was off. Within his fur, he could see, smell, and feel his surroundings so much better. His mate, it appeared, was included in there somewhere. James knew as soon as she’d awakened and the rel
“Now when the howl comes, everyone is supposed to descend into the packhouse in ones and twos. Those with experience fighting will head for locations like the armoury, the cells, and the basement. They must avoid any of the witches and no one takes on a bear alone. Those without experience will head toward the office and other spaces within the house. The object is to push these fools out of the packhouse.” Thomas instructed the healers before they went out with the final instructions for those that would take part in returning control of the pack to Thomas. This was the first step, and it would be hours before they put it into action. They still waited for the return of the team, whose job is returning phone service to the pack’s territory. “If they ask about the witches?” One healer asked to clear up
Banging on the door woke up Janine. She couldn’t figure out what was going on. It was all too early in the morning. Haden, of course, lay beside her. She couldn’t get rid of him if she tried. He was bound to her side so much he only left to change his clothes and use the bathroom. Janine prayed it was a novelty and it would wear down to a more reasonable level as time went on. Janine was still thinking about it when she got Haden to stop growling at the person banging on her door. “What is going on?” Janine swung the door open to find Evan at the door. “Are we being attacked?” “Sort of. No, I don’t think so. Luna Emily needs you downstairs quickly. I can’t do this. It’s above my pay grade.&rdquo
Eva sat in the room with everyone crowded around. She struggled, knowing she didn’t have a job to do. Well, at least not yet. No one outside of this room knew who she was, so she was worthless to send out to spread the word of the plan. But she could help the healers, and as soon as they came back, she’d offer her help. She’d finished her training as a human medical doctor, and she was almost finished with her veterinary medicine, too. She watched as Thomas worked his magic on the representatives of both the witches and the werebears. The witches recognized the two witches and admitted they were a problem. The witches wanted to get their hands on the two for other reasons. Their list of crimes was impressive before they disappeared from the watchful eye of the local coven. They wanted them back and would send in pe
Emily watched James leave the packhouse for a run. She felt tired still but right now she needed to get things going to reclaim some part of her life. Whether it was getting all her personal items in the world back. Or get enough clothes to last until she could. But right now, she needed some stability in her life, or she’d go crazy. You’d think being in a familiar place would make it easier for a person. But that wasn’t what I did it. If that familiar place wasn’t filled with things familiar to you, it was no better than an unknown place. Right now, Emily wasn’t feeling the best. She wanted to blame it on James and him insisting they sleep together, but she didn’t believe it was. Emily slept fine and should have awoke
“The coven representatives will go in with the first wave of wolves. These are our best fighters, and I want a few to stay with the witches to protect them from any physical attacks from others in there as they do their work. They need to combat anything the witches inside might have left as boo-bee traps. We know where things are, but we don’t know how it’s been changed. So we go in slow and steady. Watch everyone’s back. They could be well organized or in utter chaos. Either way has its own group of complications for us. I’m concerned because we know there’s at least one bear, maybe more. But they are dangerous enough alone and a nightmare in a group. If you can get the bears cornered in a location too small for them to shift in, we might stand a chance.” Thomas stood in the woods out back of Elder Ambrose’s cabin talking to several of his pack hidden among the
Janine covered Emily with a blanket. “I’ll get someone to bring you a cup of tea. You just relax. I think I can take it from here. Haden can help me if I need it. James is safe, and we’ll get this cleared up.” Emily nodded and was napping in minutes. Haden watched the whole thing and then whispered, “Is she not well?” “If it’s what I think, she won’t be for a while. But right now, she’s exhausted, and this is not something she should handle. The stress is bad for her right now. Would you get some tea from the kitchen? I need to make sure with James that everything is fine where he is or if he needs something. Then I need to message the front gate because if I know the police, they will want to c