The Falcon Ridge Series Book 5 Set two months after the Battle of Black Rock. In an old growth forest east of Aurora, the city of Dragons. Wren Miller: You can sum up the story of my life in three words I. Am. Alone. I was raised by the Falcon Ridge Security Unit after they told me everyone I ever knew and loved was dead. I traveled through life pretending I felt like I had a pack, but in truth I longed for my own. I often wished for death. That all changes when I find out some of my pack was alive. Living like Nomads in the wilderness. I'm elated to find them, but my happiness is crushed when the Alpha is not even remotely happy to see me. As much as it pains me, I don't want to see him either after finding out what he has become. Lucius Drake: For 10 years I survived in the wilderness. I built us back up from the ashes that were left of the attack on us. I was happy to live this way. Living off the land. Taking care of my pack. Then she shows up. Seeing her makes my blood boil. Not only did she abandon her pack. She abandoned me. I don't care what the Alliance told her. I never gave up on the hope she was alive. Apparently, she did. I'm jaded and angry. It also doesn't help that I have the Dragons breathing down my neck. We've been relying on them for protection and trade, but now they want more. They want us to join them permanently, which I will only do if I'm dead.
View MoreWREN
‘Raven. Don’t let go of my hand. We have to run!’
‘Wren, I’m scared! Where’s mama?’
‘I don’t know. NOW RUN!’
The air fills with screams and death.
‘Raven? RAVEN!! RAVEN!! WHERE ARE YOU?’
‘RAAVVEENNN!!’
I jolt up in bed. My body covered in sweat. My face wet.
I scrub a hand down my face. Breathing heavy. I grab the practically empty whisky bottle on my night stand, pop the cap and chug back a shot.
This is a typical morning for me. Has been for the last ten years.
I have a shower and go to the mirror. I wipe off the condensation revealing my blue eyes, wet jet-black hair. My face void of expression.
Do you know what it’s like?
To wake up day after day. You go to work. You socialize with people. Walk around acting like you belong there, but you know you don’t.
People tell you. You’re part of the family. You’re included. Part of the pack, but you never feel it.
You feel the separation. You feel the loneliness.
Do you know what it’s like?
I do.
But…. I wake up. Go to work. Socialize. I throw on that fake ass smile that says. “Hi. I’m Wren Miller and I’m happy.”
But it’s not true, is it.
As I stare at myself in the fogged mirror, I think, is this the day?
The day I say fuck it. Turn Rogue. Go off into the wilderness. I’ll stay there until just before the Rogue Sickness sets in and walk my ass right into the middle of the Falcon Ridge Security Unit and let them take me.
At least I’d correct the wrong that happened. Correct the fact that I should have died in that storm ten years ago instead of being here. Alone.
The story of my life can be summed up in three little words.
I Am Alone.
And I always will be.
So, I could turn Rogue. Let the Sickness consume me, but I don’t.
Why? Because there’s always a battle to be fought or a person’s life that needs saving.
But one day. One day the burning question will be asked.
Who’s going to save me?
I swipe my hand across the mirror, interrupting my reflection as I leave the room.
I put on my happy face. Today, I train Black Rock’s Luna to control her newly found wolf.
I’ve been training her for the last couple of months because that’s what I do. I train young ones to control their new wolves.
But the Luna is hardly young. She is special. After being poisoned by the chemicals in Torrent's bite, she was miraculously cured and integrated with her wolf. So, she hired me to train her to control it.
I accepted because it keeps me busy. Keeps my mind off the nightmares in my head. When her trainings done, I don’t know what will happen next.
“Ok, Sam. Call the wind.” I instruct. We’re at the back of the pack house property. Today, we’re going to play a little game of tag in the woods. Sam will learn how to properly instruct her wolf and communicate through the link.
We both shift into our wolves.
“Sam, can you hear me?” I link her.
“Yep.” She chirps. Her wolf pants.
“Good.” My black wolf barks. “You’re it!”
I take off running into the trees. Ducking and dodging the brush. Sam is hot on my tail. Her wolf keeps up pretty well. After a few minutes, it starts to stray. She stops to sniff some smells.
“Sam, get control. We’re not sniffing, were playing.” I warn.
“Oops. Sorry.” Her wolf gets back on track.
We’re running in circles and figure eights through the trees when I caught a scent. It doesn’t smell like anyone from the pack house. It doesn’t smell like a rogue either. This is different.
I stop. Sam doesn’t notice and nips my but. “You’re It!” Her wolf barks.
“Wait, Sam. Be quiet.” I look into the trees. Adjusting my vision to see if I can catch any movement.
“What is it?” She asks.
I raise my nose up. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it. Luna, get to the pack house.”
Her wolf quietly growls. “I can’t leave you out here.”
My wolf turns to hers and growls. “Just go. I’ll be fine.”
Sam turns back to the house while I take cautious steps around. Whoever it is, they’re moving and they’re quick.
I shift and peer into the darkness. “Whoever you are, this is private property. You will vacate or I will be forced to kill you. I have your scent and you can be tracked.”
I listen for sound, but hear nothing. I also smell nothing.
Shifting back, I run to meet up with Sam. “I think it’s OK. Probably a kid or something getting too close to the property.” I catch my breath.
“Thanks for looking out.” The Luna grins.
I nod. “It’s what you’re paying me for right?” I smile back.
“Right.” She thumbs over her shoulder to the forest. “You want to go back and finish training?”
I fix myself up. “I can't now. I have to report to the Alpha. You know how he gets when we keep stuff like this from him.”
She rolls her eyes. “Please. He’s just dramatic. Honestly. We haven’t had any disturbances up until today so I think he’s just being paranoid.”
We meet Bastian in the house and I inform him of the trespasser.
"So, you don't think it's a threat?" He crosses his arms looking sternly at me.
I shake my head. "Not at all. It's probably someone who got off the beaten path. The Luna is protected so don't worry."
"She better be. I'm paying good money for your protection." He warns.
This gets him a backhand to the chest. "Bastian! That was rude!"
"Ow! Sorry!" He flinches away.
I chuckle a little bit. It's nice to see someone putting Bastian in his place for a change.
"Well, if you'll excuse me. I have some paperwork to fill out and I want to phone Jayson to see how the baby shower went." I bow my head quick and turn on my heels to the pack house security office. Bastian set up a desk in there for me temporarily, to do reports on. Honestly, this place is quite passive. Despite all the events of the last year, not much goes on here.
After listening to Jayson go on about hoping the next pup will be a boy because he hates the color pink, I decide to do a sweep of the grounds before turning in.
I'm skimming the property line when I caught the scent again.
I thought to myself, this guy must have a death wish.
I devised an ambush. I found his trail and followed it. Then I see him.
I sniff again. Her, not a him. A she wolf. I've smelled her before somewhere. I just can't put my finger on it.
She's black. Smaller than me. She's stalking through the long grass along the tree line.
I crouch to get a better location in which to make my move. I make sure to stay downwind as she prowls my way.
Once she's in my zone, I initiate my plan. I spring my ambush and slam into her side. My fur is up and my eyes shoot daggers. Growls rumble on my ribcage.
The she wolf looks almost shocked and tries to run, but I'm faster.
I land on her back, biting her. She's yelping in pain.
I feel the warmth of her blood as I tear into her shoulder. She cries out and calls the wind.
She shifts and I stumble back. I wasn't expecting that.
"Wren, stop!" The naked girl in the grass says.
I shift. I'm standing there blinking as the black-haired, blue-eyed girl stood up and faced me. "Wren." She winces holding her bleeding shoulder.
My brows stitch together as I try to figure out how this girl knows my name. Then it hits me.
"You're the girl with Chase." My chest heaves with anger.
"No....I mean.... I was, but that's not who I am."
"You're a Dragon. I should kill you right now." I step toward her and she steps back.
"Wren! Don't!" She held her hand up in surrender. "I'm not a Dragon."
"Then what were you doing with one?" I demand.
"It's part if the Alliance." She swallows her pain. I can tell she's getting tired. "We have a treaty."
"Who. Who has a treaty?"
The girl looks into my eyes. "Helena."
My rage boils more. "You're lying! Helena was destroyed!" I step closer to her.
"No, Wren. The original was, but it's been rebuilt." She gives a half smile. Something pings in me. That smile looks familiar. "It's not like you remember, but it's home to some of us."
"So what? You just decided that you were going to be the Helena pack? You realize over five hundred people died under that name. How disrespectful can you possibly be?" I seething in rage. Helena was my home. My pack. To think some strangers can just claim it as theirs pissed me right off.
"Wren, not all of us died?" She stepped closer.
"You're lying! Why would you lie about that!" My emotions started to skyrocket. Tears stung the back of my eyes.
Her face softened. "Wren. I'm not lying. If you come with me, I'll show you."
"I'm not going anywhere with you. If anything, I'll be arresting your ass for trespassing." I spit.
"Wren. I know this is a shock, but I can prove it to you. Our pack is alive." She gestured to for me come with her.
I swallow the lump in my throat. "No. This is some sort of Dragon trick. I'm taking you in...." I step to her.
She backs away. "It's not a trick! Not a trick! When I was there. I was there when they attacked..."
I stopped. I stood blinking at the young girl trying to defend herself against my distrust.
"Come with me. Talk to the Alpha. He'll tell you."
My face twisted. "The Alpha is dead."
She shook her head. "No, Wren. It's not the same Alpha, but he’s just as good."
I stood for a minute. Trying to wrap my head around what she was saying.
She looks at me and grins.
"What are you smiling at?" I say through my clenched jaw.
"You're a lot smaller than I remember." She folded her arms. "Or maybe I was a lot smaller."
"Who are you?" I looked the girl over.
She giggled. "You probably wouldn't recognize me. I look a lot different than when you saw me last."
Her laugh sounded so familiar. Her eyes poked at me. Probing at me to find what I was trying to remember.
Her face went soft again and there was a little bit of sadness in it. "I forgive you, Wren."
My eyes went wide. The realization of who this girl was hit me like a lightning bolt to my brain. My body went numb. The tears fell from my unblinking eyes. My face, full of disbelief, heated as the memories flowed through.
I fell to my knees.
"It's me Wren." Tears filled her eyes as she smiled. "It's me."
LUCIUS Bastian stood tall at the podium. I still can’t peg this guy, but I’m starting to not mind him too much. River Blake is OK. A bit smug, like Bastian, but tolerable. Luke is fucking annoying after I let it slip that I might like the walking headache, but I think as far as friends go, I could do worse. Jayson is fine. Now that I’m mated to Wren, I think I can let the whole dating thing go. Besides, the dude’s a little stressed lately with pup number two on the way. Twins from what I hear. Speaking of twins. Our newest council member, Grey Andrews, is joining the meeting after his dad retired. His twin, Wes, is salty to say the least. Grey is someone I could do without. He has this whole military thing going on and thinks he’s king shit. He’s trying desperately to get me to let him in and I’m not budging. “No!” I growl. “Why not?” Everyone else at this table has been there? I think I should be allowed to see it.” Grey growls. Wren looks at me. “He has a point, Alpha.” I scowl
WRENWe stayed in the trees a little longer. Holding each other and basking in the moons blue glow.He ran his fingers over my mark. “This is my most treasured possession. I promise to cherish you for the rest of my life.” He kissed it.I’m resting my back on his chest. His strong arms wrapped around me as were covered in the furs.I turn my head up to him. “I promise to love you forever and be the partner you deserve.”He kisses me gently. “Should we rejoin the party? I’m sure everyone is anxious to see you.”“As much as I’d love to, we can’t hide up here forever.” I smile.“No, we can’t.” He chuckles.After getting dressed and climbing down, we freshen up at home and join the party.Luke and Alexi find us almost instantly.“Well?!” Luke stands with his hands on his hips.I pull back Lucius' shirt collar. “I marked myself an Alpha.” I bite my lip and grin.Alexi squealed. “Wren! I’m so happy for you!” She hugs me.“Atta boy, Tarzan. I knew you could do it!” Luke jabs Lucius' arm“Sto
LUCIUS“Curtis, is everything ready for tonight?” I meet up with him as he walks through the courtyard.“Yep. We got the tables an hour ago and the Alliance will be bringing some food and some more alcohol later.” He bounces his brow, grinning.“Ok. The Alphas have confirmed they’re coming?” I wrap an arm around his shoulders.He nods. “As far as I know, they’re all coming. Seems they’re all excited for this.”“That’s great. God, are you supposed to be this nervous. I feel sick.” I hold my stomach.Curtis chuckles. “Relax. You already love her. This fated thing is just a formality.”“Yeah. Hey, did the Alliance bring that sheet music I asked for?” I pressed a hand to his chest.He walks over to a supply box and searches through it. “Uh…. yep. Right here.” He hands me the music.I take it from him. I wave it between us. “This baby is going to make everything perfect.”He laughs. “Look at you. Lucius Drake. Hopeless romantic. Who knew.”I laugh. “Don’t get used to it.” I smack his arm w
WREN“Ready?” I grin.“Ready.” Lucius smiles from the tree platform.I look at my watch. I place my finger on the button for the stop watch. “And…. go!” I press the button and climb up the ladder to the platform above. I get to the top and take aim and fire.Lucius is across the courtyard climbing his tree to the platform above. He takes aim with his red compound bow. We run the gauntlet. Meeting in the middle at the back of the courtyard.We’re both on the platform. I’m on one knee, firing my arrows at various targets while Lucius is standing behind me firing at his targets.We both jump off. I do a front flip and Lucius just drops to his feet. I’m down on one knee again firing around Lucius' legs while he fires at his targets again.We fire until our arrows are gone.I jump up and smile. “That was good. We work good together.”“I really like this bow and arrow thing.” He looks at his bow.“Good. Because it’s your turn to collect the arrows. I’ll get ready for the council meeting.” I
LUCIUSI take a deep breath in and stretch my arms out as I walk out of the trees into the clearing. I’m so glad to be home.Wren jogs up under my arm and I wrap it around her shoulder.The clearing is partially filled with stacks of wood and other building supplies. I’m excited to dig in and help build my home like I did when we first settled here.Laughing and walking down the hill, Curtis comes with open arms. “There’s the Alphas. We thought the city swallowed you up.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a bro hug and gave Wren a tap on the arm.“Not a chance. The city can stay there. I got everything I need here. I’m glad to be back.” I smile and we all head to the village.“Well, we had a rough couple of days, but I think things are quieting down.” Curtis informed.“What’s the problem?” I ask.“The Dragons.” He sighed. “Some are having issues with them.”“They aren’t causing problems, are they?” I cross my arms.“No, it’s the opposite, actually. They’re model pack members, but
WREN“Are you ready to go home tomorrow?” I smile as we eat breakfast in a little Café down from the hotel.Last night’s bar event left us both a little hungover. As the night went on, Lucius finally relaxed to have a decent conversation with the guys. Though he still says they annoy him, I think he’s lying just a bit. He fits in so well with the other Alphas. I honestly thought it might have been a disaster, given the politics of where he lives. It’s more brutal than where we come from. Disagreements in the forest are often worked out with fists instead of words.“I wanted to go home a week ago.” He mumbles as he shoves a piece of steak in his mouth.“Even still. You must like something here.” I fold my fingers together and rest my chin on themHe shrugs “I like the shower.”I giggle. “Anything else?”“The beds nice.” He smirks. “It’s bouncy.” He puts more food in his mouth.I tilt my head. “Anything outside of the hotel room.”He lowers his head, thinking. “No.” He drinks his water.
LUCIUS OK. So far, I haven’t killed anyone, so it’s probably a good sign that I’m able to survive being on the outside. It’s not that I don’t remember what it’s like out here. I still kind of remember normal life at seventeen, but the world out here has changed a lot. And it’s freaking me out. I don’t deal well with agitation. Wren has been a total God send getting me through this. I would have probably gone off if wasn’t for her. With just a touch or when she holds my hand, I get this calming feeling all over. Like there’s something in her touch that was designed to specifically calm me down. Wren wanted me to get the whole experience of what it’s like to be part of the Falcon Ridge group. She says I need to have fun. Honestly, I don’t. I just want to lay naked in the sheets with her now that my council meetings done. And because that’s what I want, I’m now walking toward a bar called The Falcon with Bastian, Luke, Jayson and River in front of me. They showed up at the hotel say
WREN“Uh…What’s that?” Lucius points to the bed.I look at the black and white suit on the bed. “It’s a suit.” I look back at him.“I’m not wearing that.” He crosses his arms and scowls. He looks so cute standing there with a white towel wrapped around his waist pouting like a kid.I grab him, spin him around and push him toward the bathroom. “Yes. You are. Now go have a shower.”“Wren, I don’t do suits.” He pouts more.“I’m sorry, Lu, but you can’t go to your very first council meeting in ripped shorts. As sexy as that may be.” I smirk.He growls and squints his eyes.He stomps into the bathroom as I get the rest of his clothes ready.We’re in a hotel in Falcon Ridge. With the Nomads now discovered and the threats down to a minimum, the council wanted to meet the newest member of the Alliance. Though our agreement will be a lot different from everyone else’s. First, any decisions regarding the function of the pack will have to go through both of us. The council will have to recognize
LUCIUS“Remember! Xavier’s mine!” I growl as I fire a gun that Luke gave me.I ran into this battle with full force. Every Dragon I kill is feeling my revenge for hurting my Wren. The man in charge will feel the most of it when I get to him.“Go! We got this!” Luke yelled.I handed him the gun and shifted. Running through the fight, I shredded as I went. They won’t be holding me back this time.I’m painting the desert floor with Dragon blood and I’m loving every second of it. I’m running on pure hatred right now.The Dragons have been our hell for years and now I’m going to be the one to pull all of us out. By spilling the contents of Xavier’s body all over this Alliance.I fight my way to the entrance of the compound and I’m hit from the side. I’m sent skidding across the sand. I stand and shake the sand off and search for the one who’s dead next. Out of the dust, blood and fur, a very large, shaggy black wolf prowls my way. He’s drooling and snarling.Devlin.My wolf lowers his head
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