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CHAPTER EIGHTY FOUR
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The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER EIGHTY FIVE
The sun has just finished its ascent over the horizon, spreading orange and yellow rays through the skies, when Greyson comes running back. He isn’t hurt, but the look in his eyes tells us that he doesn’t expect that to be a state that lasts much longer.We’re all standing in a defensive formation, shoulder to shoulder, a few rows deep, surrounding the center of the Baja camp and the underground deposit of prism glass. As the leaders of the pack, Nash and I are front and center. His amulet pulses around his neck, and my hands are wrapped with leather straps that Layla gave me, infused with protective magics. Beside us are Greyson and Amanda, their shoulders squared. On the other side are Javier, the Alpha of the Tijuana pack, and his Luna. Carlos and Yatzil are elsewhere in the formation, leading their fighters. Layla, Arnold, Juliana, Samuel, and Stella are far away, having driven one of our smaller cars to a safe location as soon as they heard that a battle was imminent. I
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER EIGHTY SIX
My instincts were correct. The Flagstaff pack members, led by Malcolm and Miranda, come at us on the left, while Brandon leads his fighters in an assault on our right flank. By focusing our efforts on taking down the Rogers Lake crew, we manage to quickly bring their numbers down.At one point, Brandon runs directly at me. I see the vicious, blood thirsty expression on his face, and the gleeful satisfaction he seems at have at the idea of finally killing me.I remember how he looked at me when he had me caged on the boat, like I was just some prize he could keep locked up. I remember how wretched I felt when I thought he was going to force me to be his mate, and the heartbreak he put me and Nash through by making me write that letter.I think back on everything Layla taught me. Taking a deep breath, I channel the power of the stars and the Lupus constellation. Electricity crackles across my skin. As Brandon charges at me, I reach out toward him and send a blast of star energy
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER EIGHTY SEVEN
Soon after we all fall asleep after the battle, though, we’re awoken by a horrible sound. I get up and open the door of the RV to see that it’s midnight, and the moon is glowing brightly. The sound is agonizing and makes me want to cover my ears, but as the Luna, I can’t just ignore it.I walk toward the noise, noticing that many other shifters have been awoken and are also peeking out to see what’s happening.I gasp when I realize where the sound is coming from. Out on the sands, the spirits of the dead Arizona shifters, whose bodies have been abandoned, are crying out to be returned to their ancestral caves. Pale tendrils, like vines, or chains, are pulling up from the bodies as if they’re trying to escape, but are trapped.They look sort of like the spirits that came from the bodies of my parents when I took them back to their ancestral cave, or from Caleb during his funeral, but there’s something pained about them, and their motions look more like struggle than freedom
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER EIGHTY EIGHT
The morning dawns cool and misty, the sea spreading its salty wetness into the air. We eat breakfast, but the group is subdued, still mourning the loss of our pack members from the day before, and worn down by the knowledge that the Tijuana and San Diego packs still have dead loved ones to lay to rest back home.As for me, I’d love to stay in Baja a few more days so we can gather our strength for the journey home, but that just doesn’t seem possible. Stella continues to be fussy and uncomfortable, her sickness getting worse with every passing hour.“We have to get the dead back to their ancestral caves,” Layla tells me. “Their spirits are restless, and it’s making Stella ill.”I see the sadness in Juliana’s eyes, and I know it’s not just the Arizona shifters who need our help returning to their final resting place. We also need to get home so we can put our dead to rest and mourn them properly.“I don’t want to go,” I mumble. I hate the idea of ever returning to the territo
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER EIGHTY NINE
We drive straight toward Flagstaff and the territory of Malcolm’s pack. Without Brandon as the Alpha, it’s possible that the Rogers Lake pack has fully joined the Flagstaff werewolves, or they may be under the leadership of a new Alpha. We’re headed for a situation where the dynamics of power have shifted, and we’re unprepared for what we might encounter.Nash is silent for a while as he drives, the only sound in the car the whooshing of the air conditioner and the occasional gurgle from baby Stella in her car seat. He navigates us along the Mexican coastline, past beautiful ocean vistas, until we hit the low hills and mountains of the border towns. The Tijuana pack give us solemn nods as we pass through their unofficial checkpoint, but we don’t have time to stop and chat, and they’re busy with their own dead and wounded. There are highway signs for San Diego, and it breaks my heart to have to pass them by, heading east instead of north, crossing the state border into Arizona. I
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER NINETY
“Stop!” Isaac shouts, brandishing a copper colored dagger at us. I’ve never seen a weapon like that before, but based on what I know about the Flagstaff pack and their ever growing collection of stolen magical items, I suspect it has dark powers I’d rather not experience.Nash and I stand perfectly still, making no moves that would spook or threaten them.“It’s good to see you, Regan,” Nash says, keeping his voice low and even.“You’re a liar,” Regan spits, her arms crossed. “You sent me away to be mated off to Brandon. I bet you were hoping you’d never have to see me again.”“I’m glad you’re doing alright,” Nash says. “So this is your old Alpha,” Isaac sneers. He approaches us, looking me and Nash up and down. “I remember you two.”“Yes,” I reply, trying to match Nash’s non-confrontational tone. “We spoke at the pack house. You were looking for Regan.”“You told me she had gone to Arizona,” Isaac says, “but you failed to mention the fact that you’d sent her off a
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER NINETY ONE
I take Stella out of the car, strapping her to my chest so I can keep her close. Nash puts the clay jars of ashes into a backpack and puts it on, then takes my hand. “Where is this ancestral cave, anyway?” Nash asks me. “This way.” I’ll never forget the place we laid Caleb, my first mate, to rest. I lead Nash down a path through the pine forest, our footsteps muffled by the thick layer of pine needles blanketing the trail. Stella waves her little arms and babbles softly, clearly picking up on the fact that we’re about to complete our mission, or maybe connecting with the energy of the ancestral cave.My heart feels heavy as we walk. The last time I took this path, we were saying goodbye to Caleb, and I was on the razor’s edge of being banished or killed. It’s daylight now, so the trail looks different, but there’s something deeply and heartbreakingly familiar about it all.“Up there,” I say, pointing to a clearing in the trees. Nash follows me, and we arrive at the ancest
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER NINETY TWO
I start to tip out the ashes, intending to scatter them at the back of the ancestral cave, when a sound breaks the silence.I recognize the voice, although the song is new. It’s Stella, howling a mournful and bittersweet melody. Beside me, Nash swallows nervously and I glance back over my shoulder. Malcolm and Miranda are still just standing near the cave entrance, looking more and more uncomfortable. I doubt they want to come face to face with the spirits of the pack members who they left behind to be trapped without a proper funeral ritual. Stella keeps singing, and soon the ashes that I’ve scattered begin to float in the air, glowing with a soft silver light. They form into the shape of a wolf, one I recognize from my time with the Flagstaff pack, but whose name I don’t know. It gives us a long, searching look, then nods its head once and runs off into the darkness, disappearing.One by one, Nash and I pour the ashes out of their clay vessels. With each one, Stella’s s
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The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED
Damian is a healthy baby, well loved, and by the time he’s a few months old, it’s obvious that Jasper and I don’t need to stick around in Serpent’s Creek. The mansion is nearly full to bursting with wolf and bear shifters excited to be part of this new family and to dote on the precious baby whose existence symbolizes a fresh start for everyone.Jasper mentions going home to Santa Cruz a few times before I’m happy about it, though. I tell him that Orsina could still use my help, or that there’s still some magic I want to learn from Clara. He sees right through my excuses, though. “Are you nervous and going back to live somewhere with those guys in the basement?” Jasper asks me one evening, sliding his hands around my waist to nibble at my earlobes as he asks. “Maybe,” I say. “Now that he’s not a rabbit anymore, and he’s seen me and spoken to me, and he’s already gotten out once -”“He didn’t get out,” Jasper reminds me. “We let him think he escaped.”“I know, but he th
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE
My eyes fall shut easily, after such a long day. But I don’t sleep very deeply. Instead, I get caught up in a long, complex dream.In the dream, I’m back in the celestial realm, standing in the same dungeon cage that Coello used to keep me in. Sterling is there, too, walking up to me with those piercing gray eyes and that familiar smile. “Hello,” he says. He leans in to kiss me, and I think that the bars will prevent him from being able to, but he just passes right through. I feel his hands on my face, his lips on mine, and he kisses me for a long time.When I open my eyes after the kiss, I’m no longer in the cage. Now, Sterling and I are standing on top of the massive tower where we found him, high up above the rest of the celestial realm. But when I look out, I don’t see the rolling, starlit darkness of the celestial realm. I see the golden yellow plains of Montana, the valley that stretches out around Serpent’s Creek.“Where are we?” I ask, feeling strangely dizzy.
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY EIGHT
Clara and Zach arrive soon enough, and we all go careening up the mountain. With Clara behind the wheel, we get back to the house in record time. Orsina is sweating now, her breaths coming heavy and hard, and Zach has to help her out of the truck and into her room.“Can you shift?” Clara asks her, gently lowering the laboring mother down into her bed. “It’s so much easier if you shift.”“I think so,” Orsina says. She squeezes her eyes shut, holding her breath. It takes a few tries, but soon she’s a bear, curled up on top of the quilts in her bedroom.“Perfect, perfect,” Clara coos. “There you go, mama bear.”“Could that cause a problem for the baby?” Zach asks, hovering in the doorway. Clara asked him to bring towels, and he’s already brought twice as many as we’ll need, but he has yet another armful. I don’t even know where he’s getting them from, at this point. Even a mansion like this can only hold so many towels.“What do you mean?” Clara asks, her voice calm and unf
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SEVEN
When we call home to let Regan and Isaac know what’s going on, they’re thrilled to hear that Barrett is okay and that Zach and Orsina have a safe place to land. They tell us that Howling Wolf is doing amazingly well - after so many volunteers and friends came to help us with the battle, we’ve gotten tons more clients in the shifter world, and we’ve been able to hire a handful of new employees.Since they seem to have things well in hand, Jasper and I decide to stay in Montana. We set up in one of the westward facing bedrooms, next door to Zach and Orsina. Clara and Bennett take an upstairs bedroom, smaller but cozier and with more privacy. With Weston defeated and his supporters scattered after our Santa Cruz victory, the rest of the bear clan needs a leader and a place to stay. Through a peaceful process, Clara and Barrett become the Alpha and Luna for the bear clan. Bear clans don’t typically refer to their Alpha’s mates as a “Luna,” but Clara is a wolf, and the title just see
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY SIX
“Barrett!” Orsina rushes to his side, laying a hand over his forehead. He lifts his head weakly at her voice, then his eyes spark with recognition.“Orsina…” he croaks, his eyes fluttering shut again. “Help…”Everything then happens in a flurry of activity. Clara sends everyone but Orsina out of the room, giving each of us specific directions. Jasper is sent to get a bowl of hot water and towels, I’m supposed to find a medicine kit under the sink in the kitchen, and Zach is told to go secure the perimeter of the house, especially the rear door.I return with the medicine chest in my arms. It smells familiar, full of the healing herbs and magical potions Layla often uses. It’s also got modern medical stuff like clean white bandages and stitching kits.Clara instantly sets about getting Barrett to sit up. She holds a glass of water to his lips, encouraging him to drink and take a handful of pills and capsules she’s picked out of the medicine chest. She works on Barrett fo
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY FIVE
We barely have time to process everything Clara has told us before she’s packing us a picnic dinner and ushering us out the door. We pile into her battered, ancient Jeep, which is almost definitely running more on shifter magic than gasoline at this point, and she heads out toward the mountains. “So, uh,” Orsina asks, after a bit of silence, “does that mean this is, like…you?” She rolls up her sleeve to show the tattoo mark of the wolf that appeared on her arm after the spirits from the carving gave their blessing.“It is perhaps an image of me,” Clara says in her cryptic way as she careens up the switchbacking roads. “Or, perhaps it is another manifestation of my spirit. There have been many over the years.”“What about your beloved?” Orsina asks. “The bear shifter you fell in love with. Where is he?”“That is a lovely question,” Clara says softly. “At times, we have found each other. At other times, our spirits have been far from one another. Since the curse took a deep
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY FOUR
It takes Malcolm and Coello a little while to accept the reality of their new situation - that Malcolm is irreversibly bound to Coello, and that Coello is bound to us by virtue of some very powerful magic Layla cooked up for us. They snarl and fight, argue and wheedle, and even try to bust out of their chains by brute force. But nothing works. We’ve won. Malcolm and Weston are both banished to cells in the basement, very far apart to prevent them trying to scheme together. Maybe someday we’ll have another use for them, but for now, it’s a breath of fresh air to know that my biggest enemy, and the biggest enemy of my pack, are both completely neutralized. I had hoped that we would be able to relax and settle down for a bit now that this problem has been solved. In fact, we had a lovely day after the battle, with all our friends and volunteers and former trainees lounging on the beach and splashing around in the cool water.But something is bothering Orsina. She paces, agitate
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY THREE
The Moon Rabbit doesn’t waste any time once Malcolm agrees to the binding spell. With quick, almost spider like hands, Coello spreads the stalks and herbs out on the rocky beach, fluttering them into complex shapes. I stand on my tiptoes, peering out from behind my hiding place. Coello’s form of magic is rough and brutish, nothing like the delicate work Layla does. But it does the job. Malcolm steps over the edges of the intricate shape Coello has created on the ground, and even I can feel the burst of intense magic that snaps through the air as the spell takes effect. “I look forward to having you in my service,” Coello says with a low bow. “For now, however, I must depart. Do enjoy your newfound power.”Malcolm smiles, flexing his hands like he can somehow feel himself getting stronger. Then the two separate, Coello sneaking back into the tree house before anyone catches him outside.I’m surprised, but not entirely so. Some of us thought Coello would try to get as far a
The Alpha's Mate CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO
The various wolf shifters staying with us to help out have been instructed not to speak with the Moon Rabbit, but to keep a close eye on him. Coello soon gives up trying to draw them into conversation and instead just wanders around the busy tree house, doing what he clearly thinks is subtle reconnaissance in preparation for his escape attempt. What he doesn’t know is that his ability to slip out of here isn’t going to be the result of his own careful cleverness. It will be perfectly engineered by me and my team, right down to the very moment. It’s early afternoon when we get the signal. We’ve had scouts placed in inconspicuous locations all around the forest and the town of Santa Cruz watching for any sigh of Malcolm or Weston. Sure enough, they roll into town with a huge entourage of bear shifters and werewolves. Our scouts say that they’ve set up a campsite near the beach about a mile south from our location, and that Malcolm is heading our way on his own, apparently to chec
