“Ugh.” A groan from behind the chair had me slapping my hand over my mouth. “Are you trying to kill me, pup?”“I’m sorry.” I looked at my dad, but he was currently bent over, dying of laughter. “Dad?”“Did you see how far he fell back?” Tears were trailing down his cheeks as he cackled. “Rude.” Ronnie stood and dusted off his shirt. “The both of you are rude.”“I really didn’t mean it to do it.” I turned to my dad. “What did I do wrong?”“Well, for one thing, you definitely weren’t thinking about the size of the wisp. All your power rushed to fulfil your wish, and it was as big as it could get.” My dad wiped his eyes and his laughter finally trailed off. “But Ronnie, you know it doesn’t cause harm.”“I know, but I have never seen one that big, and it scared the shit out of me. Sue me.” Ronnie settled back into the chair. “Try to picture it the size of a softball.” My dad motioned me to try again. I closed my eyes. “Iccas lumin torcanta.” I pictured the light a lot smaller than befo
“What is it?” I turned back to face my dad, and he was grimacing. “This isn’t going to be comfortable. But it only has to happen tonight.” He hedged his words, and I just gestured for him to go on. “Ronnie has to sleep in your room tonight.”“What?”“What?” both of us screamed.“The last test is you keeping your scent changed while you are sleeping. Ronnie needs to be close enough to keep track.” My dad pointed to Ronnie, who groaned. “I have to be up all night, don’t I.” My dad nodded and he groaned again. “But you will have tomorrow off to recoup and sleep and I’ll have the Beck with me.” My dad clapped his shoulder, and he dropped his head. “I’m going to go nap then.” Ronnie waved and left the room after my father nodded. “You can go. Keep your scent covered all day.”“Okay. What’s next if I’m able to hold it during sleep?”My father grinned. “Shifting.” I widened my eyes. “What? Really?”“You are ready. Nix and Loki have talked about it and she is ready. She is just waiting
“You can do both.” I shook my head. “I know my dad doesn’t have many female warriors, but that is going to change. You won’t be the only one that wants to be a warrior now. But warriors can still live a full life, including kids.”“I know. But I don’t want to choose.” Cass looked down at her plate. “A mate, a good mate, won’t make you choose.” I patted her hand and finished my steak. “The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. Mates are supposed to be your other half. I think your mate will understand your want to be a warrior and will support you.”“You think so?” She looked at me with hopeful eyes. “I do.” I got up and grabbed more steak. I was starving. It’s your body getting ready to shift. You will eat like this from now on. Alpha’s burn a lot of calories because they need to shift more. Nix’s voice filtered through and I nodded. “You’re eating a lot.” Cass looked at me as I settled. “Nix said I’m getting ready to shift. Alpha’s burn a lot of calories because we have bigger wolves a
I watched Cass pale, and I wanted to hug her. So I did. “Give him a shot. He might surprise you.” I whispered in her ear and then I gave him a small wave. Cass’s arm gripped my hand. “Come on, little wolf, I think we have something to talk about.” Greyson stepped up next to Cass and wrapped an arm around her waist.I pulled my hand from her hand as her eyes pleaded with me. But I just gave her a wave and took off. I turned back in time to see Cass finally turn to face Greyson. She opened her mouth to say something, but he darted in and kissed her. I jumped a little before running the rest of the way to training. “You okay?” Tina called over to me as soon as I reached the training ring.“Yeah. Perfect. Why?”Tina raised an eyebrow. “You dad said you weren’t feeling well the past few days, which is why you missed training.”“Oh right. I’m good now.” I smiled at her and dropped down to stretch next to her. “How has training been?”“Good.” Tina bounced on her toes. “Mostly, anyway. Auro
After training, I headed back to the pack house and up to my father’s office. I heard voices from the other side, so I leaned against the wall next to the door and settled in to wait for whoever was to be done. My ears perked up when I heard my name.“Are you really letting Amy run our pack?” A nasally voice called out sweetly.“Our pack?” My father’s voice was soft and confused. “Yes, my love. Our pack. You promised to make me luna at the next full moon, remember?”“I did?” I leaned against the door and pressed my ear against it. “Aurora, what are you doing?” My father’s angry question caught me off guard. Something was going on inside. Something that my father didn’t like but wasn’t stopping.“Bonding with you.” I heard a ruffling, but I reared back and kicked the door open to see Aurora leaning over my father with his head tilted back. She was pouring something into his mouth, and I tackled her to the ground. My mind linked to Ronnie and Beck. Get to my father’s office now!I bar
“Pup?” Loki’s voice was icy as he stared up at me. “What happened to your face? Who did that to you?”“You did.” I felt my face swell as blood trickled from my eye and nose. “What?” His voice flashed, and he shook his head. “What’s happening?”“I would also like to know what the hell is happening. Why was your dad attacking you for Aurora?” Ronnie dropped into a chair and I let my father up. “I came to see my dad about something I can’t even remember what now, but I heard him talking to someone.” I rubbed my healing face and wiped the blood off. “Then I heard him asking what she was doing, and she said bonding, and something inside me screamed. So I kicked in the door and she was pouring something into his mouth. Then I tackled her and attacked.” “And then?” Ronnie pointed to my dad, and I nodded. “He attacked you?” Loki asked.“Yes.” I nodded again.“What the hell is going on?”“Loki, I need the book of shadows.” “Okay. Give me a moment.” Loki got up and left the room. I looked
“Tell me.” She grabbed for my hands but remembered she couldn’t touch me, so she ended up hovering over where my hands were.“He attacked me.” And I watched her eyes widen.“Start from the beginning.”“When I got here, he was fine, at first. Then Aurora started to show up around him and whenever I said her name or she came around, his eyes would grow hazy.”“Hazy?” “Like he was confused or distracted. Not focused. And his voice became soft and confused. Aurora kept saying that she would be the next luna. No one was taking it seriously, but anytime she was around, he would seem to be considering it. Now today, I was waiting outside the office and I heard her say she was bonding with him.”“She said bonding with him? Exactly that.”“Yes.” “What happened next?”“I busted in the door and she was pouring something into his mouth and I attacked. But he ripped me off of her and screamed that she will be luna. He nearly strangled me to death.” I touched my throat and her eyes zeroed in on t
I sat in my father’s chair as Ronnie picked up the phone. “Amy, are you sure? You don’t have to do this.”“I am and I do. This can’t be allowed to go on. I’ll take the responsibility.”“Amy!” “Uncle Ronnie.” I cut my eyes to him and leaned back in the chair. “She has poisoned the Alpha of this pack. She has tried to brainwash him into making her kuna and betraying his true mate. She has gone against the Moon Goddess and everything we believe in by using magic to take over a pack as an unranked wolf. She has colluded with others to bully, demean, and abuse lower wolves.” I rubbed the pinch that formed between my eyebrows. “If it was just one, or maybe two, of the things I listed, then it would be easier to let her go. But it isn’t, and this is my father. She almost had him killing his pup. Even if that wasn’t me, which it is, it would be punishable by death. This is going to happen, whether or not you are behind me. I am saving this pack and if the council doesn’t agree, I will still
I stood at the door for a few seconds, debating between leaving him or going back in to plead to stay a little longer. But I knew once he decided he would stick to it. And right this second, his mind was made up because something was going on back home.I dropped my hand and turned away, feeling like garbage, but giving him the space he needed. He hated when I left back to the mom’s, so did I. I huffed out a breath and headed down the stairs.The pack house was eerily silent. I was so used to hearing someone run through the rooms, or the omega’s cleaning, that the silence was deafening. But I shook it off. I was being dramatic. I just didn’t want to leave. I reached the bottom floor, and I saw the two families I saved were waiting by the door with Ronnie. “What are you guys doing here?”The four little kids ran over to me and all hugged me. “We don’t want you to leave.” Ry’s voice broke out above the re
My father and Ronnie were waiting for me as I dropped in to the chair. “You okay pup?” My dad asked as my back hit the chair and I hissed again.“Yeah. Just keep forgetting it’s there.” I laughed it off, but my dad shook his head.“I meant, are you okay after saying goodbye to Cass?” I swallowed and then nodded. He watched my face closely and sighed. “Here.” He slid the book over to me, and I grabbed it and tucked it into my backpack.“It’s a good thing I don’t have to go through the airport with this. I would be called crazy for hauling a stone around with my electronics.” I shook my head as Ronnie laughed.“True. It is weird to see.” Ronnie settled back and then he and my dad shared a look.“So, are you going to show us?” My dad leaned back and quirked his head. I smiled and stood. Pulling my top over my back, but covering my front,
Five hours later, we were walking out with giant grins. “Thank you for coming in so early for us.” I kissed MJ and Neil as we left. “It was our pleasure.” MJ called out as he shut the door, and locked it behind us. “They aren’t staying open?” Cass looked back to the dark door. “Nah. They are usually closed today. They just came in for us.” I hooked my arm in hers and we walked into the bustling mall. “Where to now?” I looked down. “I wanted to get some new clothes. Now I want to get some even more. I need to show this off.” She stared down at her right arm. It was covered in a black and white version of the moon goddess with a full moon behind her, and wolves hidden in the forest around her wrist. It was gorgeous and Neil did an amazing job drawing it up on the spot. I nodded, and she stared down at the fresh ink. “How does it feel?” “It stings.” She shook her arm and then smiled. “I didn’t realize what went into doing tattoos on wolves.”&nb
“Let’s go eat.” I pulled her from my room and raced down the stairs.“Where are we going?”“I’m not telling you.” I looked back at her and grinned. “It’s a surprise, but you will love it. I promise.” I pulled her into the dining hall and we grabbed biog plates of food. I went and sat next to my exhausted father. “You okay?”“Yeah baby girl. I’m just tired. But I got it done.” He took a sip of his coffee and looked over at me. “You look excited. What’s up?”“Cass woke me up at the butt crack of dawn to get some quality time in.”“But she hijacked my plans and now I have now idea what we are doing.” Cass pointed out and I laughed.“You made the mistake of waking me up.” I leaned into the warmth of my father. “We are going to see MJ and Neil.” My dad looked over at Cass and laugh
I woke with a start, jolted up from my bed, and clutched my heaving chest. What the heck was that? I searched my room, sure that I would find the black wolf with bright blue eyes there, but I was alone.“What was that?” I dropped back to my bed and huffed out a laugh. Just remembering his voice had my skin breaking out in goosebumps. I closed my eyes and his eyes flashed in my mind. “Who are you?”There was a knock at the door and I sat up again, pushing the mysterious wolf out of my brain. I got up and looked down at my ruined sheets. “The blood.” Ugh. I shuffled to the door, wiping my eyes. I cracked it open and Cass pushed in. “Wake up.”“Cass?” I wiped my face as I turned to face the irrate Cass sitting at the end of my tossed and ruined bed. “What are you doing here?” I looked at the clock on the bed-side table. “It’s six in the morning.”“Exactly.” Sh
“Daddy…I don’t want to leave you like this.” I tried one last chance.“I know, pup. But your mom needs you.” He looked worried. “She wouldn’t have asked for you unless it wasn’t important. And she has been pretty insistent. In all the years she sent you here, she has never once acted like this. We always had this unspoken rule that we would never keep you from the other.”“I know.” I started to worry about my mother, too. “But I don’t like leaving you with this mess.”“I’ll be fine. I have Ronnie, and the rest.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs of the pack house. “But your mother is alone. So I need you to go back and take care of her for me, since I can’t.” I stumbled as we went and he stopped and picked me up.“Dad!”“Sorry pup. I know your tired. I am too.”“Then why don’t you
My father coughed. “Okay.” He called out, and we all turned back to the room.“Anyway, I hate a few thoughts.” Ronnie’s face fell into neutral lines. “Greyson and Cass take over as the lead Gamma pair, and if Lynn is okay with it, she travels back with Amy under the guise of finding her mate.”The room grew silent. I could tell Lynn was thinking about it. “Would I be able to come back with my mate?” Her question caught me off guard.“Would you want to come back?” My father’s voice was measured.She turned to look at Greyson and Cass. “I don’t want to insult you two. You both are amazing, and you have grown so much since we started training. But you two aren’t strong enough to be the main Gamma pair.” Cass smiled and looked up at Greyson.“We aren’t insulted. We know. We are both still very young and Cass just became ranked. We l
I staggered back from his blow. I shook my head slowly. “I don’t want to go back yet.” I grabbed for his hand but he crossed his arms. “Daddy, I’m not ready.”I watched closely as he closed his eyes, as if my words hurt, but I watched as he pulled himself together. “If it was my choice, pup, I wouldn’t make you go back. But your mother has been messaging these last few days. She says she needs you home. Sooner rather than later. It seems like something is going on and I need eyes there.” He wrapped his arms around my shivering body. “You are a strong, amazing alpha. You will make such a strong luna, Amy.”“I’m weak.”“No baby. You were never weak. Not even in your first life would I believe you were ever weak, but now, now you have your wolf. You have your power. You still have so much growing to do. You are still so young. But you are so strong.” I closed my eyes as I list
Once the warriors moved the three out of the room, the doctor and nurses checked both Ronnie and me out once more, and then they left as well. I finally collapsed against the bed, and Ronnie and my father came to stand in front of me.“Are you alright?” My dad stared down at me until I nodded. “I am just exhausted. How are you handling everything?” I gestured to the both of them.My dad turned to Ronnie and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’d never question you, but I have to ask. Are you sure?” I could hear the hope in his voice. Even after everything that had just happened, he was hopeful. “Am I sure I know who stabbed me in my stomach?” Ronnie gave a tired chuckle. “Yeah Gav, I am.” He sagged next to me on the side of the bed. “I checked on him after the Agora and the attack. He was in bed, but healed. I told him about the attack and he played it off as if he knew nothing. With all the injured coming into the hospital, he got dressed.” He looked over at me. “Your dad mind-linked me