Davis watched Nathan plod through the woods. He was speaking to anyone that could hear him. Telling them it was safe to come out and seek help. That the nightmare was over. He’d brought back help for everyone. People he and they could trust. It took many hours for them to even find anyone willing to step forward from their hiding place. The wolves were hidden well, but between trackers and Nathan’s words, many came forward willing to trust those offering to help them enough to see what they were offering. It wasn’t easy at all. These people weren’t hardened fighters, but they’d been in survival mode for so long that their levels of trust were nearly nonexistent. Scared pups and women just trying to survive. There didn’t appear to be anyone that was old. Davis didn’t remember seeing any before this, and he worried they’d just died from neglect. That was sad enough
Jillian watched as Davis and Nathan left. She wasn’t sure it was a good idea. But with his mate here in the medical centre, then he’d not disappear into the wild. At least, she hoped that would be the case. Davis appeared not to have a problem with this, but that man was a mystery to her still. She couldn’t understand his logic yet. Gods, she couldn’t believe she was forming a plan in her head to attempt to understand him. But there wasn’t enough time in the day to work out everything or figure out where her life went off track. Right now, she needed to get her friend back into the land of the sane. “Alright, I get it. You’re frustrated and upset. You think he has answers that in truth, we don’t know if he has. You’ve been traumatized and your world turned upside down. Keeping yo
Chris climbed the stairs to get out of the stinking tunnels. They smelled like death, smoke, and decay. What they greeted him with were the crews helping a surprising number of females and pups. They’d sent for Nathan and Davis hours ago and it appeared their presence helped bring the people hiding in the woods. This was a relief, with his eyes burning a little from what they left of the smoke and the sad state of the tunnels from the number of deaths, fire, and shoddy construction. He didn’t know where to start with any of this. A quick look at the numbers of people here and more still at the medical centre in his territory. It would be a near impossibility to find places for everyone among the other packs represented here. Maybe Brian would have a way to solve this problem? Looking around, he found his brother talking
It wasn’t hard for the healers to guilt trip Dimitri into keeping an eye on the two pups. Right now, he sat in a truck giving orders to some of his men. Because the two pups wouldn’t let him go and do his job. They were far too young to look after themselves and, as far as he knew, no one came forward to recognize them. Or take responsibility for them, either. For all intents and purposes, they were orphans, and they’d latched on to him for safety and comfort. He wasn’t sure what he’d do with them once this was all over. He didn’t feel right leaving them with the first person he thought would look after them properly. Now he understood why new parents struggled with leaving their pups alone with someone else. The truck would move people to a safe place for the meantime while they set up someplace,
Davis waited for his turn as patiently as he could. But when the subject that his Alpha’s discussed that he might have the answer to, he stepped in and interrupted. “I think I might have an answer to that. The Blue Mountain Pack appears to be listening to Nathan well enough. He’s not mentioned wanting to lead them. But if the Luna is correct, he’s shown interest in leading before. If he can’t return to the pack, then why doesn’t he stay here and revive this pack? There’s enough pack to revive it, between the survivors and those that fled before he isolated them like this.” “It’s definitely a route to explore. But we’ll need more information on how willing the Blue Mountain Pack would be to
“Alright, so can you tell us what got you here?” Helena and Jillian sat down in chairs by the bed Asia lay in. Helena needed to understand what Nathan failed to explain to them. She couldn’t put the pieces together, and Jillian seemed to be in the same confused state as well. “Well… I guess I should start at the beginning. I was human originally when I first met Nathan and a lot younger. We hit it off instantly at the bar I worked in. He’d come around a few times a week and hang out with me. I was the bartender, so he sat at the bar for hours. He patiently waited for my attention and we’d talk. Nathan didn’t make a scene inside the bar. He was always on his best behaviour. I thought he was a great big cuddly teddy bear of a guy.” Asia looked a little embarrassed about admitting
Nathan was settling in the last few people in the camp. Many were shellshocked and others were too untrusting to let Nathan disappear from their sight once they were all together there. It took him a good long time to convince them he promised to return tomorrow and help them through whatever would be their next step into the future. He wanted to be with Asia and help her heal. To sleep in a proper bed tonight for the first time. Clarence didn’t provide much of anything for anyone. They’d slept on rags and an old mattress on the floor of their alcove. They didn’t rate a room of their own. Now he just wanted to know she was fine and sleep beside her. Bed or no bed. His life changed the night he’d found out about what she’d gone through because of Clarence. She told it like she’d gone through nothin
Chris felt off. He’d felt off for the better part of the mission. Knowing that he could only think it started at some point in the tunnels. He wasn’t sure if he’d touched something or stepped on something that triggered him. But he wasn’t acting like himself, and it grated on his nerves. Chris could see it was grating on Brian’s too. That’s how he knew there was something wrong and he wasn’t imagining it. But there was no time or place to talk to Brian about it. That too annoyed him, along with how slowly the others thought and debated on everything. At one point, he wondered if he’d caught something from Clarence that rotted his brain and turned him into such a hateful creature. He needed to know what was happening to him. It grated on his nerves to think this might happen to someone else. There must be magic involved, because there wasn’t anything in the a
Jon could see his team was exhausted. His mind was running on two tracks right now and he was glad the more dangerous one was ending. His team was done with the darker job of moving the bodies into the tunnels and setting explosives for a controlled collapse of them. They were leaving the tunnels and ensuring that no one was in the danger zone of the blast. The Blue Mountain survivors didn’t need to experience this, it traumatized them enough. The other train of thoughts that kept overriding the other was the sight of Dimitri holding those two small pups in his lap as they slept. Gods, they’d just found each other and were getting to know one another. They weren’t ready to think about things like family. Both of them agreed they wouldn’t tell anyone about their interest in each other until they themselves wer
Life settled down for them after that, and a routine formed. Their pack understood their unique relationship. It helped when Alfred could come up with some documentation he’d found while doing his own study on their unique bond. It and Bethany fascinated the man became a friend to Helena and Jillian. Nathan and Asia eventually settled on a date to be formally accepted by their pack and to acknowledge their mating. It was something their pack needed to. Life for them soon became full of creating and building. Several of the lone wolves filtered in and requested a place within Nathan’s pack. Davis helped greatly with that because he could identify these lone wolves and vet their stories. By winter, there were enough homes to keep the Blue Mountain Pack safe from the elements. Money appeared out of the rambling and incomplete financial status. Helena didn’t look too closely, but she suspected several packs contributed funds and investments so that they could start agai
Asia now understood how much she didn’t know about wolf shifters and their society. The mating ceremony wasn’t elaborate, but there were meanings behind everything. Luck and good fortune were part of the reason everything was being done. Prosperity and abundance. She was told so many stories and traditions that her head spun from all of them. It was so different from what she’d learned in her time underground with them. The other women were afraid to speak of these things while Clarence was alive. Afterward, there were other things to think about. Now they were looking forward to the Alpha Acceptance Ceremony and their Mating Recognition Ceremony. It was so busy that most nights everyone went to bed exhausted to start again the next day. They could get the new packhouse built and several outbuildings so that they could winter with a roof over all their heads. They planned a school for the new year for all the packs in the area to send their pups, too. So the
The pack came alive with the discovery of the celebration. These were things they lived for. Births, matings, and all the little cornerstones of member lives. They were a close knit family and community. This was something they could sink their proverbial teeth into. Presents weren’t necessary, but someone would always find something to bring.They planned a nighttime ceremony as tradition dictated and that gave most of the day to prepare the simple things for the ceremony.Dusk was falling and Helena cornered Jillian in her apartment to get ready. Davis took an hour and greeted those attending. Jillian fluttered about in a distracted and nervous state. Helena couldn’t figure out what would calm her down. But she started out with some logic.“First off. Here’s the dress. Let’s get you dressed. Honestly, you’d think Davis wasn’t yours already. At least, your instincts were smart enough to catch him. Everything is already recorded and technically, this is just to get your sister to leav
The work lunch was going well, but as the meeting came to an end, Chris noticed Jillian again adjusting the collar of her top. With a frown, he watched her for a little longer. “Is that a bite on your neck, Jillian?” Her response was to put her hand over the mark and blush. “It is! Well, I guess congratulations are in order for both of you. When are you planning to have your mating recognition ceremony?” “We’ll see. We’ve not set a date yet. There’s no hurry after all this stuff happening.” Jillian tried to take the pressure off of the subject, because she hoped they would drop it. “We’re going to have one as soon as it’s possible. No time to waste pretending things might change.” Davis interrupted Jillian’s uncomfortably nervous rambling to state the opposite of his mate’s words. “Davis! What are you talking about? We can’t do that. It’s too soon after all the deaths.” Jillian looked askance at Davis, unable to believe he’d said none of this to her
Nathan all but dragged himself back to the camp. He’d not fought all that much. It’d just been a long night. Too long if you asked him. But he represented the Blue Mountain Pack until the end. The witches would not all him to sit in and watch the trial. But he knew that witch and golem were now no longer a threat to the Blue Mountain. Now what would he do since the pack chose him to be their leader? Did he dare think of himself as the perfect candidate? He’d done a right fine job of being a roadblock to the current leadership there. Would he bring that blindness to this pack? Or could he be confident that he’d learned his lesson? If only he could see into the future and everything it held. Asia would see him as the stuff Alpha’s were made of. But he knew she’d read far too many romance novels involving werewolves, and they were far from correct in most things about wolf shifters. The camp was moving today, which meant he wouldn’t get much sleep, nor would the few peo
Jillian watched Davis make sure that her sister and mother, with her mother’s latest side piece, were settled in their cabin. Gods, the guy wasn’t much older than her sister. He’d be better suited to her sister. What did these men see in her mother? She had two adult daughters. She didn’t care if her mother found someone. Actually, Jillian would love her mother to find someone she had something in common with. This guy wouldn’t be able to keep up with her in a conversation and she wouldn’t be able to keep up with him in pretty much any physical activity. Jillian could see this becoming another crash and burn. She bet he’d not met his fated mate and when he did, he’d have a devil of a time removing her clinging mother from him. Or Jillian would have to deal with the high drama. At least, right now, Davis showed no interest in her sister’s advances. He’d spoken to her once already, and her sister acted like he must be mistaken. Now Jillian wasn’t sure if she m
“If we are going to return to some form of normal, we need to finish preparing the Alpha apartments for us. You know. Get all our ducks in a row.” Chris mentioned as they ate breakfast in their apartment. This was the first day of the rest of their lives together in his estimation, and he was becoming impatient at how must mess it left and the sheer number of strings that weren’t tied down. This wasn’t something he wanted to have happened again. “As long as those ducks don’t turn into raccoons or squirrels, I’ll be happy. I thought we setup for them to be renovated by now?” Helena pushed her plate away from her. How this would play out, she didn’t know, but she had to get it going or she’d get bogged down in her grief. “We did, but half of the work crew was called up to hunt. Which put the schedule back and I’ve not been given a revised schedule.” Brian added, and he clearly felt horrible about that. They didn’t need so many people to hunt down the golem or
Alfred walked from the room they used for their courts and formal audiences. It wasn’t used much these days, but it was never pleasant. The council agreed to punish Veronica with imprisonment and being stripped of her abilities. Not a simple thing to do. She’d never live a normal life if she finished her imprisonment. Veronica would have to stay hidden from the mortal world because of the knowledge she could spread. Basically, she’d just trade one prison for another and the identity she knew once would always be a faint memory. In the old day, they’d have just killed her, and Alfred believed that was a far more merciful thing to do. None of this gives her hope and then lets someone else deal with the fallout. Though he could wash his hands of her. She’d go with the elders of the council back to their homeland, which was secreted away. That’s where the sentence would occur. Their coven didn’t have the resources or place to keep her during her punishment. This was the end of th
Veronica didn’t know how long she’d been there. The light turned off and on several times. She could have been there for hours or days. She didn’t know. Finally, someone gave her food. Once she ate, it didn’t take long for a small group of people to come along and haul her out of the prison, she found herself in. She was prepared to celebrate her freedom until she found herself locked in a chair in another dark room. Veronica could hear the movement of people in robes on the edges of the large empty room. She wasn’t sure what to expect from these people. Veronica schooled herself not to give into the fear. She couldn’t quite achieve that, so she sat there attempting not to admit to anything incriminating or to give up on her very life. Finally, the lights came up enough within the room, that left little to the imagination of what they used this room for. It was a courtroom, and she was on trial. They dared to force their views and rules on her. That, alone burst her