I knew when my twenty-minute head start was up because a large pack howl sounded, and though I’d managed to get a good distance away in that time I still kept my guard up. I'd seen wolves run before and had been chased by them, and it was not a situation I was eager to replicate. Alpha Jackson had said we could hide, and that might be the best-case scenario.If need be I could climb a tree but I didn’t want to take the chance of being stranded. So I jogged for a minute or two to give myself at least a little bit more distance.From what I'd seen of the pack during their training before, a lot of the pack when in their human forms, spent their warm-ups sprinting and were winded before the proper training had even begun because of it. Those would be some of the first wolves caught by the hunters. But speed and stamina weren't going to win me this thing. Smarts would too. Shit!I quickly looked around me to see if I had made too many tracks and cursed myself that I didn’t think of it so
I stumbled to my feet, quickly whirling around as I watched the four of them surround me whilst they growled and snapped. One went for my leg as if to chomp down on it, I'm sure it was a coincidence that it was my newly healed one too. I moved out of the way just in time as another went to do the same for my arm. She narrowly missed and I kept turning around to make sure they kept back.There was a large stick beside me so I quickly went to pick it up, swinging it around like a crazy person because this was the best chance I would’ve had against them. This wasn’t just a training exercise for this group anymore, this was personal, a way to get back at me.“Still a coward I see,” I taunted, taking another swing at one of the wolves.Poppy growled at the comment and barked a command to her wolves. The three of them stayed in a circle around me but backed away, leaving the focus to be me and Poppy. I guessed she didn’t appreciate those kinds of comments anymore. At least she was trying to
The wolf stalked towards us, head held high and fur the colour of moonlight. Unlike in my dream where he seemed scared and hopeless, he stalked towards Poppy and me with a sense of power, like the trees themselves would uproot if he asked them to. Even underneath Poppy, I was on guard against this new wolf, he could've been a bad omen and I wasn't fond of him coming straight out of my dreams.Even Poppy seemed inclined to bow her head and whimper at the new wolf joining us. I wondered if there would be a fight, perhaps. I didn't know what to expect, nor did I know if Poppy knew him either.Still, she didn’t get off of me, even as the white wolf got closer and closer. A sound like a soft grumble came from her chest. It didn’t seem like she was willing to fight this wolf for me, but she was showing her displeasure at having to give me up. The wolf glared at her, almost in surprise that she hadn't let go of me yet. Poppy's eyes drifted back towards me and another snarl rippled up her th
"Go out? We’re already outside." I stated. We’d just finished our training. How much more ‘out’ did she want?Annabelle shook her head and took my shoulders, bouncing up and down, "I mean to town! To get drinks and have a party! Your leg is better and training went really well today. We deserve a night out.""How about we talk about this after we shower and change?"Annabelle grumbled something about my lack of excitement but we quickly changed and left the training grounds, heading to the Mess Hall for food. My hands were still aching from the climb (and falling) but I didn’t see the need to go back to Doctor Heath. We layered up our plates and sat down, Annabelle looked at me with puppy dog eyes as if asking for permission and I sighed."Fine, talk."She sucked in a huge breath and smiled, "So, human town, drinks, club, are you in?"I almost choked on my food at the sound of a human town. I knew that they were allowed to go there for jobs and to buy extra things the pack needed, but
Annabelle had somehow managed to drag Christian with her as I tried on some of her clothes since I didn’t have any party ones of my own. Not that I had any in my previous pack anyway. I didn't even know where to start with picking out what to wear. When I questioned why the alpha had come with him, Christian responded for him saying that the alpha owed him."Owes you?""Big time," Christian added making Alpha Jackson roll his eyes. "And you’re wasting it on seeing me getting dressed up?" I asked dubiously. Why on earth would anyone waste a debt like that on clothing? It wasn't as if this was going to take forever. Christian sighed and moved to whisper in my ear, "Belle can get quite intense when it comes to dressing up and I refuse to suffer alone.""Intense how?" I asked, looking towards Annabelle like she was harmless."Just wait and see,' Christian promised, looking up at the sky and offering a small prayer to the Moon Goddess.Rolling my eyes I created some space between us and
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked Annabelle as we and half the pack waited in line to be let into this club. Mulligans, it was called, and it looked massive, with two floors and lots of bouncers watching the doors. Lights blared from the windows, and the music was so loud it was rumbling the floor. There were so many people already inside that I wondered how we were all going to fit inside. It made me quite nervous, even with Annabelle holding my hand tightly and excitedly. "It’s the best idea!" She responded as we got closer to the entrance, "I’m going to make sure you have the time of your life!""Just make sure you don’t leave without me," I teased, motioning towards my anklet. It would certainly be one way to end the night.Shaking her head with a knowing smile, we were at the front of the line now and the bouncers watched us with interest."My what beautiful ladies you are.""What idiots left you two all alone?"Annabelle waved them off, still smiling, "Who says I’m a
Before I knew it, the stranger’s grip was loosened and replaced with Alpha Jackson’s as he held my wrist and pulled me towards him. I landed on his chest and looked up at him with a glare, despite the fuzzy vision I was starting to get. "Hey," I whined, pushing myself from his chest but he had an arm around my waist, keeping me in place and pressed against him."Come on man, let a dude have a good time. She wants me," The man said, extending an arm towards me with a nice smile. I wanted to go with him. I wanted to feel wanted. I went to go towards him again but didn’t make much progress. Alpha Jackson’s body was warm against mine and goosebumps littered my skin. This was strange. This was a man who hated me. I wanted to go to the man who liked me. "If she wanted you so much then why did you put something in her drink?" The alpha almost snarled, his grip on me tightening.I didn’t know what he meant by that. I’d had so many drinks tonight that I’d lost count of which ones tasted li
My dream wasn’t like the previous ones. I wasn’t lost in the forest or trapped in that vile cage. It was like I was floating in water, my hair waving around me with the moon high above. I reached a hand towards it, but no matter how hard I tried to swim or reach it, there was no way I could get to it."Elise Clares," A voice whispered through the darkness from behind me.Sharply I turned and there was the owner of the voice. She was a lady dressed in such pure white it looked like she was glowing. Her dress flowed to the ground and rippled like a river, along with her blonde hair, almost platinum, waving softly around her. And her face… The only way to describe it was undeniably beautiful. A ghost wasn't a good description of her, she looked ethereal, celestial even, like a star made human.She looked at me like she was barely seeing me. I took a cautious step forward."Hello?" I called out cautiously, my voice echoing like I was in a cave.She seemed to grow taller at my voice, peeri
Fredrick's POV It wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.In that dungeon, trapped like a common animal I had time to think. And in that time I thought of all the ways I could make them suffer. Make Jackson, the puny brat who barely deserved the title alpha pay, and most of all make Elise suffer ten times over.I’d planned to play nice, it wouldn’t do if the other packs saw me abuse my luna, but now I had no choice. I still needed her, her visions of the future would help me take control of the world, but I only needed her alive, not comfortable.“Alpha Fredrick, Master Caius requests your presence,” One of the filthy thralls knocked at my door, daring to order me around.I flashed my canines at the servant, but he was too drained to flinch or show any kind of emotion.I stood without doing more to acknowledge the thrall as I left the private room Caius had designated for me. I think he meant to be insulting. I was an honoured guest yet I got a ‘spare’ room and was being ordered around by a
Elise's POVWe wasted no time hurrying to the dungeons, barely letting the warrior’s words sink in as we hurried into a run. I was a luna now, their luna, I didn’t have the privilege of time to be worried or scared because now I had people to protect.I barely felt myself breathe as I ran to the dungeons where Fredrick had last been held. We entrusted Christian with keeping the pack calm as we went to investigate.All the warriors were on guard and Jackson had given orders, “Secure the grounds and gather the trackers for footprints or anything we can use to find them!”When we saw the cells, they were still locked tightly, but the three of them had gone. There were no signs of struggle against the bars or the locks, no damage to the interior walls and the smell of wolfsbane was still thick in the cells.It was like they’d just vanished.I might've believed that too if it weren't for multiple guards passed out besides the three cells, not a mark on their body but looking pale and uncom
Elise’s POVMy heart was hammering as the rope was wrapped around our wrists and I couldn’t help but stare lovingly at my mate. He was looking at me the same way and I felt like crying.This was it. This was my family. This was my home.My first encounter with Jackson had been me rejecting a pack, and now I was accepting one.“Honoured guests,” Clarissa started, “We are gathered here today, not just to join two mates together for eternity, but to welcome Elise Clares into our pack as our Luna.”Cheers erupted from the crowd and I found myself checkling, a happy tear escaping from my eye. I saw Annabelle and Christian yelling the loudest with Doctor Heath holding his mate close to him and kissing her at the top of her head.“Do you, Alpha Jakson of the Full Moon pack accept Elise Clares as your destined mate?”“I do,” Jackson said without any hesitation as his grip on my hands tightened slightly, “From the moment I met you Elise, I felt something pulling me towards you. At first, I tho
Jackson's POVI took a deep breath feeling more nervous than I’d ever felt in my entire life. I was wearing a dark blue suit with a white rose pinned to my breast pocket, my hair styled and slicked back with The Alpha’s Crown placed securely on my head and my face cleanly shaven for once. Christian had said if I didn’t shave it he was going to strap me to a chair and do it himself. As much as I trusted my Beta, I didn't exactly want slices on my chin for my wedding day.I ran a hand over the smooth skin and tried to remember the last time I’d shaved it properly instead of trimmed, I'd always found the scruffy look made me look more intimidating and I was pretty sure Elise liked it. Oh well, I could grow it back. It seemed like I was trying to think of just about anything to pass the time as I waited fro Elise and tried not to fidget like an idiot.Christian was smirking next to me and I managed to subtly jab him in the ribs.I remembered making fun of him as he waited for Annabelle du
Elise’s POVFrom the second I woke up I was pampered by Clarissa and Annabelle who seemed to be more excited than me for the Luna Ceremony, which was saying a lot considering I was jittering with nerves and excitement. I never expected to accept this kind of arrangement so quickly but it just felt like the right thing to do. I wanted this ceremony to happen, I wanted to officially be Jackson’s mate for the world to see and be the Luna of this amazing pack that I now called family.Annabelle shoved me into a large bath filled with so many bubbles, salts and essential oils that I didn’t think the smell of lilies and roses would ever leave my skin.Then they pulled me into a chair as they dried and styled my hair for what seemed like hours, not in a negative way because the two of them made me laugh as we took photos and told funny stories. They curled my hair so it fell like a wave against my back before they braided and tied it so I looked like a blonde Celtic princess.The makeup came
Jackson's POVAfter we managed to get some kind of normalcy in the pack, there was still an air of stress and anxiety. We had multiple members of Fredrick’s pack join us and made sure we kept them far away from the dungeons and monitored them sufficiently just in case anyone tried to break Fredrick and the others out.“The guards and warriors won’t be too rough with them, will they?” Elise asked the last time I saw her, clutching my arm as she watched some of the refugees being directed to their houses looking terrified.I shook my head in assurance, “No, they have strict orders to treat them carefully unless they prove to be a threat, even then they are to take them down with as much force as is necessary and take them to the dungeon.”No one had seemed to try to convince any of my guards to let them pass into the dungeon or even look that way. Instead, they looked somewhat relieved to know that their former alpha was imprisoned there. Nor did they try to fight my pack. Elise was rig
Elise's POVIt was strange walking through the dungeon, free and in charge rather than as a prisoner. I’d been held captive twice in two different dungeons and had to admit that I wasn’t a fan. Maybe that was because I hadn’t deserved it, but neither had the people who got experimented on at Fredrick’s hand. I felt no sympathy or empathy for the ex-alpha as we reached his cell.There were five guards posted in the dungeons, two to watch Fredrick, two to watch Melanie and one to watch Poppy. They all seemed serious and offered Jackson, Christian and me a bow of respect before immediately resuming their posture and attention.As we rounded to Fredrick’s cell, I had to stop and stare.He looked terrible, not the large, imposing alpha who made everyone tremble at just the mention of his name. His clothes were dirty and ripped, his hair was a greasy mess and he looked like a feral animal. I never thought it was possible to see him looking so pathetic and powerless.I noticed the large amou
Elise's POVJackson asked if I wanted to move into the Pack House before the Luna Ceremony and I accepted. But before I could do that, I wanted to go back to the house I’d lived in when I first came to the pack. Before I could move into somewhere new, I wanted to say goodbye.I hadn’t lived in that house long, but it was the first thing that was mine and held a lot of memories like first connecting with Annabelle and Christian, the movie nights with Annabelle and just a general sense of safety and security.“I can go with you if you want,” Jackson offered when I first brought up the idea. “No, thank you,” I said softly, smiling at him, “I don’t have much to move… It’s just to say goodbye.”He didn’t argue or protest, he simply gave me a kiss on the cheek before I headed off.As I walked through the pack, I couldn’t help but reminisce how everything was different now. The first time I was newly out of chains and was being escorted to my new home by Christian. Everyone looked at me war
Elise's POV It was a question we’d all been dreading and I knew that it was partially my fault. If it wasn’t for me then Fredrick would be dead in the dirt and the packs would have one less thing to worry about. But he wasn’t dead and though I knew it was the right decision I also knew that a lot of the other wolves, both in the council room or not would find it difficult to understand.“With all due respect, Luna, would you mind explaining further as to why we can’t kill him?” Doctor Heath asked me, treating me like his luna already though we hadn’t had the ceremony yet. The others might have been saying it out of respect but I knew that Doctor Heath had meant it. He had been one of my first friends when I came here and he'd helped me through so much that I could never thank him enough for it.“I know it’s hard to believe, but a long time ago my family were blessed by The Moon Goddess.”I paused, waiting for some kind of negative reaction. Encountering The Moon Goddess was rare and