Clarence heard the clatter outside of the great hall where he sat drinking after dinner. It must be the group he’d sent to harass the Black Dane Pack. It seemed too early for them to return. This irritated Clarence and he ordered some nobody to bring them into the great hall. He wanted them to answer him and tell him what they’d done. There was far too much failure going on lately, and it was wearing on his nerve.
Growling, Clarence threw a bone at the retreating figure because she wasn’t moving fast enough from the room. “I want them in here now, not ten minutes from now. Get moving!” Grumbling, he took another swig of his drink. Damn, this stuff was good. Someone got a little heavier with the sweetener, but it made it better. The drink eased his tension a little and relaxed him a bit. But not enough f
Nathan watched Clarence berate yet another wolf. He loved to degrade women like this in front of everyone. As Nathan listened, he could hear Clarence losing focus of what he was yelling at the poor woman. His words were slow and ragged. They wandered from one topic to another, and it just made him more angry. Finally, he stood up to strike the woman, but collapsed back into the chair. That’s when Nathan realized Clarence could no longer control his legs. The man became confused and aggravated. He dropped his cup and spilled its contents over the ground. Clarence frowned at the puddle of alcohol on the floor. With his words slurring together, he demanded another drink. Like he’d forgotten his legs had stopped working. Clarence frowned at the w
Davis entered the office to find his mate sitting in her underwear, working. He’d be the first to admit that it was sexy as anything he could think of to see her straddling the chair as she typed on her keyboard. But this was work hours, and he thought she’d learned that work hours were for work. Not teasing or flirting. He would not let her sit around like that and have anyone walk in and see her like this. “What are you doing?” Damon demanded as he came to stand over her. He could see the deep cleft where her bra pressed her breasts together. Her thighs pointed away from him, but he could see her soft ivory flesh was open and inviting. Damon couldn’t help but lick his lips when his eyes fell on the firm globe of her bare butt. The urge to make them glow a healthy pink was extremely tempting to him.
Nathan panicked as he moved through the corridors, looking for Asia. He found her in the garbage room, destroying the evidence. “We must go. The guards from above now know there’s something going on in the great room with Clarence. We need to get out of here before they ask questions or lock this place down more fully.” Asia looked pale and frightened, but she nodded and took his hand. They made their way through the corridors. Some in the know they found in the corridors followed behind them. The group slowly formed and moved toward the surface. They could hear fighting behind them. Clearly, the confusion brought out the violence in the fanatics and Clarence’s enforcers. Nathan figured they fought for control over Clarence’s body and the right to rule the pack next. 
Helena sat behind her mates at the head of the round table, listening to the arguments about what must be done and who would do it. When or if it should happen? The day dragged on, listening to the men and their egos. Helena could see she wasn’t the only mate trapped in this room and looking like she wanted to kill her mate for something they said. Even catching a few of their eyes in the process. The silent communication flew fast and furious between the women. It got to where several were now texting among themselves. That’s when Helena’s phone dinged. A stealthy glance at the screen showed her a text message from a Luna at the far side of the table. ‘It’s well past dinner hour now and they aren’t shutting up. What do we do? This isn’t getting anywhere.’ It was true all the momentum
The fighting pretty much ended when the lights failed. The few people left in the corridors and tunnels wandered aimlessly through the smoky spaces. All who remained in the great room were mostly corpses and several zealots who were unwilling to believe their leader was dead or couldn’t bear to leave his body to be consumed. They still argued about what they should do with the body and ignored the smoke slowly filling the dark space. Now in the darkness, the smell of blood and gore mixed with smoke as the wild-eyed people fought with each other about what they should do. One enterprising fool brought an improvised torch into the space, now spreading a gloomy light over the shredded remains of shifters scattered randomly over the floor of the great hall.As others found flashlights and lamps by luck or chance. They found the fire came from the garbage room. Someone set the garbage stored in there al
Davis listened to Josh on the other end of the phone after he explained what he encountered at the border when they went to investigate the alarm going off. He’d seen pictures of Nathan in the pack office with the Luna’s father. So, it didn’t take Davis long to put two and two together. “I’m not sure how many are here yet. Once we know, then we’ll find out how many have injuries. There are several young pups clinging to the backs of wolves.” “Do any fighters appear hidden further in the woods, out of sight?” “I, as far as I know, no, but we are still checking it out and rounding everyone in the woods up to bring them
Helena couldn’t really say much as her mates kissed her and left to prepare for the coming trouble. People milled about her, and Jillian pulled her into a side room, away from the chaos that brought so many memories back from that fateful night when everything changed for her. She couldn’t get the image of her father lying awkwardly on the floor outside his room. She needed to know what happened to him that night. She saw how his body was. He’d been leaving his room, not going to it. Was someone waiting for him in his apartment? They’d still not entered his room to do more than find that book. What did they miss in there? At the time, she didn’t see the mess as anything other than her father’s health, making it hard to
Brian could feel his excitement bubbling in him as he double-checked his small pack. Sure, he knew how to fight and did occasionally. But that was mostly Chris’ job. He was the greater extrovert. Brian felt like people would follow Chris more than him and that’s why Brian took up the slot in the background. He got good with numbers and statistics because he didn’t need to compete with Chris. It achieved nothing fighting for the same spot when it wasn’t something that came naturally to Brain. But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel hurt knowing he was being passed over for his twin. Now, though, they would both need to head up this mission. A new, niggling doubt surfaced. Brian knew he was good enough and that he should be there. So why did he have a fear that he’d screw something up and embarras
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