LOGINI walked back to my bedroom with everything just whirling in my brain. The she-wolves were staging a coup. My father was looking the other way to lure back my mother. Now there was a she-wolf that was doing something fishy. Knowing witchcraft is real, maybe there is something is going on with that.
I walked back into my room to see Cas in tears. “What happened?” I rushed over to the bed. “Nothing. I just don’t want you to leave.” I wiped her face and laughed. “Why are you already worried about the end of summer when I just got here?” I collapsed next to her on the bed and I listened to her sniffles. “I know, it’s stupid.” But I could scent the slight tinge of fear in the room, and I knew something was said. “Who came here while I was gone?” I watched her tense, but she relaxed. “No one.” She looked away and the fear disappeared. Like she got control of her emotions. “Talk to me. I can’t help unless I know.” I whispered to her as I wrapped my fingers through hers. “You can’t help, anyway. You will be gone soon and we will just be here again, alone.” Her hand tightened on mine. “Not alone. I will be speaking to the beta and gamma females and together we will get this pack in check before I leave.” This wasn’t going to continue if I could help it. “Really?” I could hear the tiny flair of hope in her voice. “Really. I already talked to my dad. This is all going to stop.” As an alpha, this power shift went against everything we stood for. The only ones with enough power to wield should be in the power structure. Everyone else was equal. That’s how the Moon Goddess intended it. That’s how it should be. “Now tell me what is going on with you.” “I can’t.” She whispered back to me and finally it all clicked. “Who said what to you?” “No one.” Fear leaked from her again, and she sat up. “Don’t push this Amy. Please.” I watched my best friend, my soul sister, beg me not to push. “Fine.” I relented. What else could I do? “Let’s get ready.” I pulled her up and over to the chair in front of my vanity. “No peaking.” Cas just shook her head and closed her eyes while I got to work. I started with her hair. I used my blow dryer to finish drying it, then I curled it. Once she was curled, I twisted her hair up and pinned it into a loose up do with curls falling out. Then I got to work with her makeup. Soft browns and golds accented her bright blue eyes. Her soft blonde hair was styled, and she looked stunning. I finished her with a soft pink lip and then I stood back. “You look gorgeous.” She went to turn, and I pulled her back to face me. “No peaking yet.” I poked her face, and she giggled. “Close your eyes again.” “C’mon.” She huffed, and I shook my head, like she could see me. “Nope. No looking.” I pulled her up and put her on the bed. “You can open your eyes while I get ready, if you promise not to look at the mirrors.” “Fine.” Cas huffed and opened her eyes and I laughed. “I want you to get the full effect, but I doubt you want to sit with your eyes close while I get ready.” I walk back over to the vanity and quickly dry and curl my own hair in soft beach waves. Then I did a dark, smokey eye and a red lip, then I was done. “You look gorgeous. The dark hair and makeup really suit you.” “I know.” I smiled back at her. “It’s time to close your eyes again.” I walk over to her and stand her up. I pulled her to my closet and rummage around for the new bra and under ware I picked out and had cleaned once we got home from the mall. “Put these on. Then close your and call for me when you’re ready.” I close the closet doors and waited while tapping my foot. I was about to just open the door when I heard a soft I’m ready. I walk in and Cas is standing in her under ware and she is holding herself around her middle. I pull out her dress and tell her to step into it, then I zipped her in to it. Then I changed into my own dress and pulled her out of my closet. “One last thing and we are done.” I slipped the necklace on myself and the matching bracelets and earrings. Then I slipped the second set on to Cassie and then I positioned us in front of my big mirrors. “There we are. Look.” Cass opened her eyes and her hands snapped to her face. “Amy I can’t.” “Sure you can, you are just borrowing it.” I winked as I gazed at the two of us. Her soft curves were held snugly in the golden dress, and the gold set with diamonds sparkled against her skin. My dark hair shone brightly against the maroon dress that hugged my curves. The onyx set in silver really brought the look together. We were stunning. There was a knock on my door. “Time to go, baby.” My dad’s word jolted us back to the here and now. This was going to be good.We closed the door behind us, and Rowan laughed. “That was mean…even for you.” I threw my head back and laughed.I started up the stairs without looking back. “It’s not like we had a lot of choices. Luke was the best option on the fly, and I need to get back to my father’s place.”“I know you’re4 right. His face was funny as fuck though.” He chuckled once more before we headed back through the closet to screaming. “Alannah, push.” “No!” She screamed again. The guttural sounds sent shivers down my spine. Rowan stopped short, and I had to push him inside further so I could step into the cottage. I walked around him toward the closet door. “Amy…” His whisper stopped me short, and I turned back. “Yeah?” He pointed to his nose in the dark. It took me a second to realize he was telling em to use my nose. I nodded once and turned back to take a deep breath. “Come on, baby, you can do this.” Ternen’s voice was soft and confident. “Once they come, you have to leave again.” She cried out.
Once both bags were full and Vince’s pack was completely drained of lupine solution, we all headed out of the med building. Luke locked the door behind us, and when I tilted my head watching him, he scratched the back of his neck. “Everyone else is already at the pack house waiting for the meeting. I guess I just locked it out of habit.” The tips of his ears turned a soft pink as I turned away. Rowan shifted, and I heard a soft smack that was followed by an indignant yelp. “Don’t flirt with my mate, Luke. You’re my friend, and I’d hate to kill you.” That made me smile as I started toward the pack house. “I wasn’t.” Luke tried to deny it, but Rowan just grunted as they both followed me. He cleared his throat. “I assume you need the lupine solution urgently, so why are you having a meeting at the pack house?”I puffed out my lips as I thought of my father’s pack. “We do. But as the Alpha of this pack, I also have to worry about the wolves here.” I looked over my shoulder as we turned
We cleared the tent and ran into Toya. “Are you okay?” I grabbed for her. The cut on her face was healing as I watched, and the worry I had disappeared. She grinned. “Yeah. My family just got back from hunting down some runners. We just came back to check in before we went for another run.” She looked around. “Everything good here?”I shook my head once. “I’ll send Nix to you to explain. We are heading back to the pack house.” I sighed. I grabbed her arm once. “Stay safe until we get back.”She tilted her head and nodded once. “Be safe.”I smiled at her, then I shifted into Nix and started running. Megan…go tell Toya everything. She took off before I hit the trees. Erubus caught up with me, and we ran to the pack house in silence. “We are heading back to Vince’s pack, right?”I nodded once. “They have a med building, and I’m sure they have a huge stock of what we need.” I called over to him. “Plus…”“Plus what?”“It gives me a second to check in on Alannah.” We ran past the pack hou
The waking world returned to me in tiny fragments. My eyes were still closed, my mind half awake, but I felt fingers intertwined in both of my hands on either side of me. I felt my fingers twitch, and both hands tightened on mine. “Baby?” Rowan’s words were a soft siren call, pulling me from the depths of the darkness that held me. I felt the tendrils of blackness slowly slipping from my body as I swam to the surface of my conscience. “Baby? Are you there?” I tried to talk. I’m here. I called out, but my mouth refused to move. I was still fighting the hold of exhaustion that still ate away at the edges of my mind. I’m here. I tried again, but my body still refused to listen. I kept fighting because I needed to re4ach Rowan, and my dad.That thought was like a bomb going off in my mind. Everything came rushing back. The cave-in, my magic failing, Ry’s words. My dad’s last goodbye. I felt the burn behind my closed eyes as tears trailed down my cheeks. “Baby?” Rowan’s fingers trailed
I focused on the little boy in front of me. His little sister clung to my side as voices rang out around me. “Is that everyone?”“I don’t know.” Another voice called out.“How many were missing?”“How many did we pull out?”“Baby.” Rowan’s voice called my attention back. “Amy?”“Yeah?” I shook my head to clear it of the mist that seemed to still coat it. “Did you hear me?” Rowan leaned over my shoulder and stared into my eyes. “What?”“Did you hear me?”My mind processed what he was saying. “What? No…Yes, I mean. Yes, I can hear you.”Rowan smiled. “I’ll take that as I no. You didn’t hear what I said.” I must have frowned because he smiled bigger. “I need you to stop pulling rocks out and instead look for anyone else still buried.” I must have paled because he reached out and cupped my face. “We just need to be sure there is no one else still buried. We don’t want to leave anyone trapped still.” His face fell for a second. “Everyone deserves to come home.”I nodded once and licked m
My entire world shattered as my vision flickered black again. But I heard some wolves call out, and I knew I had to hold the shield for as long as I could. Even if my father was gone…The words caught in my throat. I couldn’t think about it. Hold the shield. Protect the pack as long as I could. Those words became a mantra, even as I felt my wolves start to fade. Even as Loki disappeared. I wanted to stop. To save him, but I was duty bound to hold the cave for everyone else. I felt tears coursing down my face as my heart splintered. My mind flickered to my mom, and a heard a sob break free from my lips. She had just gotten her mate back, and now he was gone. I felt my power sag again, and someone cried out as a rock snuck past the shield, hitting the ground near them. I wish I could look to see if they were pulling people free, but my world was still dark. Darkness had long taken over the clearing in my mind. I was down to the tiny flickering flame of my magic. Everything else was go







