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
My body stiffened and it took all my willpower to remember how to breathe as I heard the name of my old pack. Had they been out that night, looking for me? Is that why I couldn't remember the end of that night? No, if the alpha expected I had something to do with it I would’ve woken up in a cell rather than in a room. "I have made the necessary checks, Alpha." She sounded slightly annoyed like he'd asked her that question twenty times before, "The man with her was human and had no connection to any wolves. But it was good that you stepped in when you did"Alpha Jackson sighed, "I’m sorry for questioning you, Clarissa, but with the notes and their scents around our territory-""What?" I interrupted with a growl, sitting up straight, groaning at the splitting headache ricocheting around my body.I was getting angry for multiple reasons:Firstly, the bastard had taken me to the one person I had never wanted to meet for lots of reasons. I wasn’t so blinded with pain that I couldn’t reco
Clarissa let me cry alone for a little while as I bundled myself up on the bed feeling every negative emotion possible: sadness, anger, betrayal, pain. All of it built up into that long, painful crying session. I’d wrapped myself in a blanket so tightly I could barely breathe, or maybe that was just the ache in my chest. I thought we’d gotten past that stage of our hatred and distrust toward one another. I hadn't caused any more problems as far as I was aware and he'd been the one training me. He’d even seen me plant the graves for my family, and I knew it was him who had given me that blanket that night. And yet, he was still blinded by his hatred of rogues and suspicious of me."Miss Clares?" Clarissa knocked at the door before letting herself in, carrying a tray with toast and a cup of tea.Hastily, I wiped away the tears that had left streaks on my cheeks and sat up, the blanket still wrapped around my body as a comfort. I didn’t say anything to her as Clarissa set the tray on t
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
Elise's POVI was sat at the council’s table, no longer the shy, timid outsider I had been the first few times I’d come to the council room. As I entered the room, they all stared at me, but not in the way the first had with suspicion and anger. No, this time as I entered, they all stood from their seats. I didn’t know what to expect since Jackson wanted me to enter first, but as I stepped further into the room, the heads of each faction and their subordinates placed a hand on their hearts and bowed their heads in respect.They’d heard what happened on the battlefield and they knew Jackson had claimed me as his luna, so that meant I was theirs as well.I sucked in a deep breath as I realised that what they were doing was accepting me. One of my worries when I accepted Jackson as my mate and my place as his luna was that the pack wouldn’t want me. It frightened me that they would just see me as a rogue who seduced their alpha and caused a big mess. I was more worried that his choice wo
Elise's POVFor the first time in a while, I slept comfortably in a bed and more importantly I was entwined in the arms of someone I loved.After Jackson woke up and we shared a passionate kiss, Clarissa told us that we still needed to rest. Christian had recovered from his injuries and had taken to governing the pack whilst we healed properly. Jackson didn’t mind that, he liked spending time with me, watching over me and making sure I was okay whilst I did the same thing to him.From what it seemed like, we were both completely fine aside from some exhaustion and aches and pains, but Clarissa was still adamant we needed to rest.I wasn’t complaining.Though Jackson seemed to be quite restless. So much had piled up during his time away to rescue me. He had so many letters to answer and duties to attend to and I knew his instincts were in an inner turmoil as he wanted to lead his pack but wanted to make sure his mate was okay.At the end of our third day free from the infirmary, we wer
Jackson's POV My eyes cracked open and I groaned as I tried to move. Yeah, definitely wasn’t dead. There was a sharp pain in my chest like my heart had been ripped out, but obviously, it was still there, pounding away like nothing had changed. I placed a hand over my chest, feeling the steady heartbeat through my body and letting my body relax to that soothing feeling.As my vision returned to normal, I saw that I was lying on a bed and staring up at a familiar ceiling of white. I’d been in this building enough times to recognise it. I was in the infirmary back in my pack.I sucked in a deep breath as I felt tears prick at my eyes. I wasn’t dead. I was home. We’d won. I tried to sit up, struggling to do so but rested against the headrest, feeling a weight on my legs. Elise was there, her arms and head resting on my body. My heart swelled to see her exhausted, sleeping face. Her hair was a mess, sprawled over the mattress like straw. How long had I been asleep and how long had she be
Jackson’s POV It was dark when I opened my eyes and I had no idea where I was. It was like I was floating in space but there was absolutely nothing surrounding me, just an endless tunnel of darkness and isolation.Was I dead?No, no this couldn’t be happening. Even if I was dead I would crawl my way back to earth to save my pack and my mate.“Hello?” I called out, knowing that it was futile, but on the off chance someone could hear me, I did it anyway.When I didn’t get a response, I chose a direction, left or right it didn’t really matter, and started floating that way in the hopes that I’d find something to help me get out from wherever or whatever this place was.Time was strange in this place. I tried counting the minutes in my head but after a certain point, it was like my mind restarted and the counting started again. Even when I tried to keep track of the resets it didn’t matter. My mind was a mess of confusion and fear.This couldn’t have been what the afterlife was like. If