Liz’s POV A strange thing had happened: a sea change in my feelings. I couldn’t believe I was warming to Max. His presence was like a drug. Had he hypnotised me? That didn’t mean I would ever be disloyal to Byron. I just wanted to be around the Lycan. Constantly. It was what I had agreed to do, after all. And at least I didn’t have to perform escort duties. I hadn’t thought it through. It wouldn’t have been nice fending off strangers and perhaps succumbing to their base desires. What would my mate think of me then? Would he want me back? I could tell he wasn’t pleased at that dinner. Fortunately, Alpha Joe was gone by then. Sourcing fresh meat, he claimed. I didn’t like the sound of that but wasn’t going to influence the Lycan this soon. In time, I wanted his visits to be restricted and sporadic in nature. Sure, they were business partners but I could sense Max’s dislike of this venal Alpha. When I heard about the accident at the mine I realised, by the way my heart was beating
Byron’s POVHotwiring a truck wasn’t part of my skill set. Ricky proved alarmingly knowledgeable about it, thankfully. I wasn’t about to judge him.Part of me wanted to go back – Gregor had changed his mind about the importance of what Liz was doing; he missed Tanya! – but I had to think about the bigger picture, like my mate.We had a long journey ahead of us but I was confident we would make it. I had to be.Trevor spent most of the time worrying how Mo would react. No wonder he’d relinquished his Alpha status. Yet I couldn’t think of a better husband for her.“Wait until you see your pups,” I said, wincing because I sounded like a doting female myself.“Zane and Zoe. I hope they won’t be hostile.”That was something I hadn’t even considered.There was one scary moment early on when we were stopped by the human police. I had no way of knowing if they were in the pay of Lycan Max. It seemed we’d been speeding but my celebrity status came good unexpectedly and we had an escort to the
Liz’s POVI’m not sure exactly when I began to feel dizzy. Had I been overdoing it? Hardly compared to when I was acting Luna. Yet the emotional turmoil of being apart from Byron was taking its toll. I think my pup could sense it.The medic had checked me over and said I was only carrying one. I began to obsess about fertility. Only Max’s presence calmed me down.“The doctor says you’re otherwise healthy. Maybe single births run in your family?”That was probably true. I just hadn’t thought about it before. Ricky was my younger sibling and nobody had ever mentioned any miscarried pups in either ‘litter’. Maybe there was a predominantly human element in our genes. Wouldn’t that go down well with the conservative Wild Horses pack?I hoped the Moontiders would have my back. Yet how must it look? As if I’d stayed voluntarily with the Lycan while pregnant with their new Alpha’s heir.I wasn’t even showing yet.Perhaps that was why I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything after I lost our p
Byron’s POVMs Dodds appeared to be a more intelligent member of the Werewolf Council which wasn’t saying a lot. Her companion said very little, just stared.“How did she seem?” Mo asked, nursing a sleepy Zoe, which was amazing in itself.“Down.”I was tempted to roll my eyes but I had to remember my status.“And do you think – ?”Whatever my sister had been about to ask was interrupted by the late arrival of Ricky. This wasn’t a good start.My frown reduced slightly when I heard his excuse. He’d been reassuring some of his pack members that this situation was only temporary.That remained to be seen. He’d have to up his game for there to be a parting of the ways. Some ex Moon Tide shifters, particularly the border guards, even preferred to be here. Or so it was rumoured.Predictably, he asked about the females we’d left behind. In particular a certain Omega.“Can’t the authorities intervene?”She sighed. “I’m undercover, remember.”“I’m sure Alpha Richard didn’t mean you, personally.
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