“I couldn’t agree more," I say.Dimitri reminds our pups to be respectful and to listen to Valentina and then we head back to our house.My mate takes my hand as we walk through the quiet streets of our pack. I begin to purr with happiness, all the happiness that I feel from my mate and from my life
AydaPain. That’s all I feel. Pain. It’s radiating throughout my entire body. I can hear the screams of someone in pain, but it sounds far away as the voices and sounds of those around me urgently tell me to push.I am pushing, but it’s been so long. I’m exhausted and the smell of my blood has only
DimitriFucking Masuzyo. He’s lost his mind. Well, he lost it two years ago when his mate and son died in childbirth, but now he’s truly going crazy. He’s waged war on my pack. Why? Because I have the son he never had.He can go fuck himself. I lost a mate too and you don’t see me going all fucking
AydaWhen I leaped off the overhang, I aimed for the wolf that was right in front of the boy. I landed on him, hearing the satisfying snap of his spine as the wolf howled in pain. The other four wolves immediately turned on me.I quicky pushed myself off the wolf and back so I was between the pup an
DimitriWhen I arrived, I shifted quickly. There’s a wolf whimpering nearby, but he goes quiet as we approach. I point to one of my warriors to finish him off, seeing the blood, guts, and dead bodies littering the area in front of the thicket where my son was hiding. I can smell that these are Masuz
AydaI come awake slowly, my entire body aching. When I open my eyes, I’m terrified that I’ve ended up in my own personal hell. I’m back in the hospital room. I can smell my blood and my entire body hurts.I begin hyperventilating, looking around to find him, my son. Where is he? Did I sleep through
I get to the end of the hall and push the door open, feeling the sunlight on my face.‘We still need to be careful,’ Asena says. ‘They’ll still have patrols running.’‘Can you shift?’ I ask her.She thinks for a moment. ‘No. Not yet.’I nod and begin a slow jog away from the pack’s hospital, looking
DimitriWhen we get to Masuzyo’s pack, I can smell the metallic taste in the air, and I know why Sergi called me.‘Are those explosives?’ I ask him in the mind link when I race up.The entire way here, my mind has been on the woman I left behind. Who is she? Is she really my second chance mate? I ne
“I couldn’t agree more," I say.Dimitri reminds our pups to be respectful and to listen to Valentina and then we head back to our house.My mate takes my hand as we walk through the quiet streets of our pack. I begin to purr with happiness, all the happiness that I feel from my mate and from my life
AydaI watch as my son and his friend identify each other as mates in front of the pack, then watch my son claim his mate, the only woman he’s ever loved, with a passionate kiss.“How did you know?” I ask my mate. He called it years ago. At first, I thought he was teasing me but he just kept telling
“What I know is that my son will be the most handsome man in the room tonight…well, besides his father,” my mother says, turning to smile at him, making Zev purr in response.“Good thing I look just like dad,” I say rolling my eyes. I was not unhappy for my parents to move out of the packhouse. I’d
Eight Years LaterCathal“Do I really have to call you Alpha now?” my sister Dimitra asks me, walking into the family living room in our parents’ new house. When I took over as Alpha a few weeks ago, my father moved the rest of the family off of the Alpha floor. Our pack has grown ever since my moth
Ayda leans back against me as I begin to rub circles on her stomach. I frown, feeling her stomach cramping.“Ayda? Why does it feel like you’re in pain?”“They’re just cramps, Dimitri. I get them all the time,” she says, settling against me.“Are you sure?” I ask, feeling another one. I tune in more
DimitriFour months later.It took Masuzyo three days to die. It was impressive, mostly because I didn’t know a person could withstand so much pain. But he was a broad man, and the pack made sure that everyone who wanted their pound of flesh, got it. Literally. By the time he died, the smell of burn
“Do you want me to tell them to kill him? If you want him to die more quickly, I tell them to do it.”I think about it, think about every horrible thing he’s done to me, to Asena, to our son, to Cathal, to Dimitri, to Kelsey and Harper, and what he attempted to do to my daughter. “No, let the pack h
AydaI come awake slowly, feeling groggy, unsure what happened or where I am. My stomach hurts. Did Masuzyo take me roughly again? I’m not throbbing between my thighs so I don’t think that’s it. My face is throbbing, though. Did he hit me? Yes, he slapped me. Why did he slap me?I think hard, trying
“Ramon,” I hear my mother say softly, her gentle fingers moving through our fur. “NO!” she snarls, pushing Ramon behind her and pulling herself to her feet. As she does, Ramon pulls the shift, making me scream in pain as our broken leg and dislocated hip try to find the right spot to fit. I turn, vo