Liz’s POVTelling Max I was ashamed my fated mate had treated me so badly seemed to work. His gaze softened, the red slowly dwindling as he said he would give me some time to come to terms with my new life.I went along with it, pretending to be his intended queen, until Marsha got found out. Unsure what to do, I waited for the axe to fall.Nothing happened. She hadn’t betrayed me.When I received a message from Michael via Carla, I couldn’t quite believe it at first. It seemed Byron had suddenly decided to declare for the Lycan side, publicly, on his TV channel.After that, I didn’t know what to think, how to feel.Had my Goddess chosen mate abandoned me after all?Then, one balmy evening, Max kissed me under the moonlight and it was magical. I was too overwhelmed to pray for guidance yet not so giddy that I wanted to submit to him, betray Byron this soon.I met Ernest’s son secretly by the stables. If anyone asked, Max had given me permission to go riding and I needed his help to ch
Byron’s POV Once he had my full attention, Alpha Joe let rip. “What the hell did you think you were doing?” His temples were throbbing and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucas was minded to restrain our unpleasant visitor. I avoided that with a small shake of the head. We didn’t want him complaining he’d been assaulted. Actually, I wouldn’t have minded throttling the life out of him personally. “You’ll have to be more specific,” I said, brushing a crumb from my lapel. “I’m the Lycan’s number two, not you.” “Really?” I raised a brow. “So why did he insist I do the public announcement?” Joey looked uncertain now. “He did?” Sighing for effect, I said, “If you must know, I was threatened.” I knew the whole act would be wasted on him. He was easy to fool. Yet I was enjoying myself and decided to go even further. “Something which extends to you, Alpha. Max isn’t pleased. He isn’t pleased at all.” “Wh – at?” “The Lycan said he was going to kill an Omega if I didn’t comply straig
Liz’s POVI had time to think that night. Not in the shower which was shared and in demand meaning the hot water was in short supply – and with a rich Alpha like Archimedes! So my spell in there was definitely short.Max had managed to bamboozle my mate into believing I was unfaithful. Not once had the latter mentioned our lost pup. Had the Lycan been the one to purge him from my system? That apricot had tasted odd, as if injected with something meant to induce labour.I needed to blame someone other than myself for failing to nurture my lone offspring. It made me feel useless and inadequate. Hopefully hard manual labour would help to restore some of my self-worth.I decided to call the Alpha "Archie" from now on because I was mad with him. Tanya was beside herself. She even bad-mouthed Gregor. I told her that was unfair.‘The Lycan had two wolves.’‘Are you serious?’‘I never joke.’‘I know there was Cerberus.’‘And Lobo. He was a strange one.’That night I dreamt about a doglike cre
Byron’s POVI’d been wondering what to say to Ricky and if he would kick off about my maltreatment of his sister. Unfortunately he’d seen it for himself before I could explain. And I was going to, believe me. But Mo stormed into my office after that mini crisis with a lone rogue who had inadvertently crossed the border.The newbie guard who had sounded the alarm had already been chastised by his superior.Doing that would have been far preferable to facing my sister on the warpath.She stuck her nose in the air. “I’d have told the Werewolf Council where to go. As would Liz.”“Maybe we need them right now.”Mo seized on the hint of uncertainty. “Maybe? And what will our pack members think of your eventual Luna? I take it you still intend to claim her as such?”“They’ll think what I tell them,” I snarled.“Yet only if the WC approves.”My sister was close to finding out what happened when I unleashed Seb. Like my mate who had done it again, riled me simply by throwing my own words back
Liz’s POVI felt empowered in those heady moments. Strangely enough, it was Carla I thought about. I wanted to help them, however long it took, and Byron was showing signs of being friendly – more than that – so I took a chance.Big mistake.Alphas and their egos.“I’ll take them off on one condition. That you agree to rescue those unfortunate entertainers.”“What makes you think you’re in a position to make any kind of demand?”I mistook his tone – though when had he ever been flirty? – and rolled my eyes, gyrating exaggeratedly. If he’d been mean he could have agreed and then reneged which would only reinforce he had me where he wanted me: exposed and at his mercy. He could even have demanded the kind of “extras” I was reluctant to offer up. I wasn’t keen on giving oral and my butt has one purpose, thank you very much!I’d never been tempted to consider an invasion of that kind.Instead, Byron turned into Seb – Archie – and I began to wonder if I would be banished to the Omega quart
Byron’s POV I couldn’t believe I’d been so stupid. Treating my mate and future Luna like that and expecting her not to run. It got worse. My sister’s former nursemaid, Vanessa, told me Liz was pregnant. Had I lost her again, thrown away our future on some pathetic whim only justified by the will of the Werewolf Council? Mo accused me of doing just that and my more rational side agreed with her. “Send Philip to locate her. He’s a decent tracker and will not be tempted to ill-treat her, unlike some.” As if I didn’t already know that. Though I had to ask. “Which of my ranking warriors would do such a thing?” “The Delta, for sure.” She had a point. Adam was a hothead who wanted to impress me. So far, he was going the wrong way about it. I sent for Alpha Richard before he plucked up the courage to confront me. That would have done neither of us any good. “I’ve messed up,” I admitted. “Badly. Your sister is important to me, whatever you might be tempted to think.” “She can be a bi
Liz’s POVIt wasn’t a matter of who was calling the shots – his identity – though I hadn’t much cared for his attitude the first time around; it was what he represented. An authority I’d been raised to bow to, even if sometimes I had been less than cordial when they came calling.Didn’t he realise I had no power any longer?No, it was much worse than that.“If you don’t play ball, I may recommend your pack reverts to us. Like when there’s no suitable Alpha in charge. An improper,” he lingered on the last word, insultingly, “hierarchy.”“That’s not fair. Are you saying Alpha Archimedes isn’t fit to rule, either?”“He broke an unwritten rule when he annexed Moon Tides,” Randy said, with a scowl.So he could be aggressive as well as snide. Bring it on.Yet I was hardly in a position to go toe to toe with him.“What do you want from me?”I was tempted to lay my head down on the table, weariness seeping into my very bones. But I wanted to show no weakness in front of the likes of him.“Be
Byron’s POVThe owner of the Halcyon owed me a favour so I knew within a few hours that someone answering Liz’s description had checked in – using her own name, too. Miss Bell was a cool customer. Just what was she up to?Fancy her not straying too far from our joint pack lands. Maybe she had a good reason. Colm also told me about the guys she had ‘met’ in the bar. Up to her old tricks, was she? I was determined to give her enough rope to hang herself, as the saying goes.Reportedly she retired alone to her single room. Biding her time, perhaps. Two could play at that particular game.Maybe I should spend a few nights away from home. Give Ricky a real test while checking up on his sister.I arranged it personally with O’Donnell, insisting on a suite with uninterrupted Wi-Fi. Sometimes there was a glitch in the system and I couldn’t afford to take my hands off the reins. Alpha Richard was hard work, there was no denying that.I often went ‘missing’. Nobody must know about the weapons p