Poor Rose, getting a shock about wolf pregnancies! The battle is almost here!
ROSEDawn comes both too quickly and not fast enough for my liking. I donât want Tyson to have to leave this morning. I want him to stay safe in our bed while I enjoy his warmth on my body.But I need my baby back. Maddie needs to come home to me, to our new amazing life here in River View. To be among people who are like her, who will love her, accept her, and respect her. I know she has found a little niche there at both Blue Meadow and Pine Woods, but this is her home and where she belongs until she is old enough to accept her birthright and lead her pack, should she want it. She deserves an actual childhood, and that is not what she is getting with Kent.Iâve watched all the videos Sullivan and his team have sent over. The Maddie in those videos isnât the Maddie that I know and have raised for seven years. She is a mini adult, being strong and brave like I told her to. But she shouldnât have to be, no matter what her future holds.Tyson does his best to distract me from my fear and
MADDIEI wake with a start and bolt upright in my bed. My heart is pounding loudly within my chest. It takes me a few minutes to calm myself. I listen to the sounds of the packhouse around me, making a note of all the creaks and groans from the wood and stone. Other than those, Iâm not hearing anything new. So why am I awake?âInfinity? Do you know why I woke up so suddenly? I donât hear anything.â"No, Mads. I donât know why, but I feelâĶ restless. Like something is happening. Be alert today.â Infinity responds and I can feel her pacing in my mind.I decide to go ahead and get up, even though it is earlier than normal for me to start my day. I walk over to my large windows and pull the drapes back. The sun is just starting to lighten up the horizon. It is that magical time between nighttime and daytime. When you can see both the sunâs rays and the stars in the sky, all at once. I usually love this time of day, but today feels different. Ominous.I put on my workout wear and pull my hai
MADDIEBeta Paul walks me down to the dungeon and places me in a cell. He turns and locks it up, then opens the cell across from mine. Inside is Kevin. Heâs secured with silver cuffs up against the wall, his arms pulled out tight to his sides against the cinderblocks. Heâs already got bruises forming on his face and torso and blood dripping down to the floor. Little blood puddles have formed under him. He looks up at me with sadness in his eyes and I know, with that one look, he told them about my involvement. I thought I had kept it quiet from him, but I guess he figured some things out. My guess though, they forced him under Alpha or Beta command. He hates the ranked males in Blue Meadow. He wouldnât tell them poop without being commanded.âYour little lap dog here spilled his guts. Told us all about your's and Lunaâs plans to stage a coup.â Beta Paul sneers at me.âUh huh, sure he did.â I answer back as I look around at my cell and the whole of the dungeon. Disinterest clear on my
TYSONI cut the link to Rose as soon as Zeus and I tell her that we love her. I know she is worried about all of this, and it is her first experience with a shifter battle, but I know Iâll be fine. Zeus is a powerful, ancient wolf. He will decimate dozens before we hit a real challenge to our strength. Although, the biggest challenge will be to try to minimize the lives lost. These warriors we are going up against will be Maddieâs pack members one day in the future. I donât want to kill any of them indiscriminately.It takes a few hours to run to Blue Meadow. We stopped running miles ahead of their territory and proceeded with stealth. My first warriors took out their border patrol silently, with darts laced with a mixture of wolfsbane and water hemlock. Again, weâre trying to not take anyone out needlessly. Most pack members of trash Alphas are only following orders. They donât necessarily believe in the orders. Killing people that are just doing their jobs is what crap Alphas do.On
ROSEI am flying across the roads and highways trying to get to Blue Meadow as quickly as I can. George and Ike are holding on for dear life and I think I can hear George whispering a prayer to Selene when my car catapults into the air. Iâve maintained my 110mph through most of the drive which has kept the guys in high anxiety mode. We donât get too far off the pavement with that larger bump, but the way down is rough, and we bounce several times on the landing.âLuna, please slow down. The rest of the team canât keep up. Plus, it feels like youâre trying to kill us.â Ike pleads with me, looking a little green.âThen they should drive faster. And I am not trying to kill you.ââTheir SUV isnât designed to drive that fast, plus they canât take turns like this car doeeeeeees!â His voice goes higher pitched as I take a curve much faster than heâs comfortable with.âWell, youâre getting your wish. Wolves directly ahead and theyâre fighting. Iâm going to have to slow down. Do you know which
INFINITYMaddie and Kevin step out of the dungeon into a warzone. Both of their eyes blow wide at the scene, and I can feel Maddieâs panic. We knew this was coming, but I donât think she anticipated how ugly it was going to be. I lift my head and I smell the rotting garbage scent of rogues. It seems Maddieâs father knows no bounds. Humans, most likely hunters, for kidnapping, rogues as mercenaries, slavery, killing his mate and sexual deviancy. He really does need to be put down.The panic coming from Maddie hasnât lessened as we look around on where to go and not be noticed. I have been saving up my strength the last few days, so I pull Maddie back and take full control. She doesnât fight me on it and that tells me she is very overwhelmed right now. She puts on a good show, but the constant state of alertness and feeling the danger around her, she is slowly breaking. After this morning, seeing Odette killed, and then staying neutral to save Kevin, sheâs at her max for today.âRest Mad
TYSONThe moment I see Maddie jump toward Rachel; I know it's Infinity up front and in control. Her eyes are glowing a bright green-gold-yellow and the angry expression is one I donât think Iâve ever seen on Maddieâs face before. Plus, I canât smell her on the wind like I can my Rose. I launch forward when I see Rachelâs eyes unfocus in that split second when Infinity lands on her back, knowing Iâll only have a moment to attack with Infinityâs distraction. What Iâm not expecting is Infinity to kill Rachel in that moment. I know Infinity is an ancient wolf spirit, sheâs fast on her feet and I know sheâs killed in her past lives, but to see the blood of a kill on my sweet, baby Maddieâs hands, is beyond shocking.Rose, however, doesnât even flinch at seeing Infinity toss Rachelâs heart to the ground or her splattered in Rachelâs blood. Nor does she pause with the gravity of meeting Infinity. Rose has really embraced the wolf shifter world completely and totally. I couldnât be prouder of
ROSEWatching Tyson battling Kent is one of the scariest things Iâve ever had to witness. Kent looks awful and I feel horrible for his wolf, being saddled with such an atrocious human spirit. I know Tyson will take him down, but Iâm still scared that something will happen to him that he canât heal from. Tyson is my everything. My other half. I know I will live on should he perish during this battle, but it would be for Maddie and our baby only. My soul would be shattered, never to live like I did before. He has to pull through. He just has to.George holds me close, giving me comfort as we watch Tyson fighting Kent. As it progresses, my worry lessens somewhat. Kent isnât fighting well, and heâs not healing from his minor injuries. I hope this speeds up because I hate seeing him suffer. Despite all the shit heâs put me through, I know his wolf doesnât deserve anything long and drawn out.I breathe a sigh of relief when Tyson pulls Kentâs heart out of his chest, thankful that the man re
MADDIEâEPILOGUE THREE10 YEARS LATERI stand in the master bedroom of the newly renovated Alpha suite of Blue Meadowâs packhouse. Today is my 18th birthday and also the day I take my place as Alpha of my pack. I stare at myself in the full-length mirror and think about everything that has happened in the last decade to prepare me for this moment and the life I have ahead of me.I graduated from Zeus Academy at the age of 10. I attended college classes online through the University of Arizona. It wasnât the Ivy League like everyone expected from me; those didnât offer a self-paced program or enough online courses for me to get my degrees. I didnât want to separate myself from my family to attend university, so I chose a less prestigious route that worked the best for me. I have zero regrets with my choice in schools.In eight years of education post-high school, Iâve earned four bachelorâs degrees, two masterâs and one PhD. Iâve also studied diligently with Tyson on how to run a pack an
ROSEâEPILOGUE TWOItâs been 6 months since I delivered Nolan into this world. He has grown like a damn weed and has become the center of our little universe. None of us can get enough of him and his baby scent.Both Tyson and I have retrofitted our offices to accommodate an infant including changing tables, swings, refrigerators, diapers, wipes, spit up rags and pacifiers galore. All the necessities for having an infant. And I can say, without a doubt, Nolan is the easiest going baby Iâve ever experienced. He rarely cries and heâs always happy, as long as heâs being held. He loves skin to skin contact, so much that he rarely wears any clothes. Mads and I always wear spaghetti strap shirts when weâre holding him, and Tyson just takes his own shirt off.It was hilarious when we first figured out that he likes skin so much, Tyson walking around the packhouse shirtless. Granted no one said anything to him about it, but I had the hardest time not whisking him away for sexy time. I mean, all
TYSON â EPILOGUE ONEThe last three months, post war, have been absolute hell! Yeah, I said it. Hell. Getting Blue Meadow back on its feet has been a huge challenge in and of itself. Much worse than most of the other territories Iâve taken over throughout the years. I honestly kept so much from both Maddie and Rose. Neither of them needed to know the intricate details of the rebuild. They were both getting over the trauma and horrors of the battle itself. I didnât want to worry them.Kent, that worthless piece of crap, really did a number on this pack, itâs health and its finances. I had to pay over three million dollars to a mob pack in Las Vegas, for both Blue Meadow and Pine Woodsâ debts. The last thing I wanted was for the mob to demand parts of the pack or worse, them going to the council for payment. I want to keep the council out of any and all of my affairs, as much as possible. They have proved, repeatedly, that they canât be trusted to do their jobs.I made that trip to Vegas
ROSEâI thought I was going to lose you yesterday, Rose. Donât do that to me again. You are my whole world.â He says as he slows his thrusts, showing me how much he loves me. I open my eyes and see Zeus shining out with him. I cup their cheeks and bring their mouth to mine. I kiss them with all the love I have within me. We continue slowly but with passion until we both explode in delicious orgasm.âI hope our sex continues to be this amazing in the years to come.â I tell him as we separate from each other.âRose, from what I understand from other mated couples, it just gets better and better.ââIâm not sure how it can get better, but I look forward to learning.â I say with a sassy smirk over my shoulder as I step into the water. Tyson joins me in the water and does what he always does. He washes me and kisses the scars I have left. Apparently, they are much smaller than they once were.When I get out of the shower, I turn to look at my back and I gasp at what I see. The main lines are
ROSEWatching Tyson battling Kent is one of the scariest things Iâve ever had to witness. Kent looks awful and I feel horrible for his wolf, being saddled with such an atrocious human spirit. I know Tyson will take him down, but Iâm still scared that something will happen to him that he canât heal from. Tyson is my everything. My other half. I know I will live on should he perish during this battle, but it would be for Maddie and our baby only. My soul would be shattered, never to live like I did before. He has to pull through. He just has to.George holds me close, giving me comfort as we watch Tyson fighting Kent. As it progresses, my worry lessens somewhat. Kent isnât fighting well, and heâs not healing from his minor injuries. I hope this speeds up because I hate seeing him suffer. Despite all the shit heâs put me through, I know his wolf doesnât deserve anything long and drawn out.I breathe a sigh of relief when Tyson pulls Kentâs heart out of his chest, thankful that the man re
TYSONThe moment I see Maddie jump toward Rachel; I know it's Infinity up front and in control. Her eyes are glowing a bright green-gold-yellow and the angry expression is one I donât think Iâve ever seen on Maddieâs face before. Plus, I canât smell her on the wind like I can my Rose. I launch forward when I see Rachelâs eyes unfocus in that split second when Infinity lands on her back, knowing Iâll only have a moment to attack with Infinityâs distraction. What Iâm not expecting is Infinity to kill Rachel in that moment. I know Infinity is an ancient wolf spirit, sheâs fast on her feet and I know sheâs killed in her past lives, but to see the blood of a kill on my sweet, baby Maddieâs hands, is beyond shocking.Rose, however, doesnât even flinch at seeing Infinity toss Rachelâs heart to the ground or her splattered in Rachelâs blood. Nor does she pause with the gravity of meeting Infinity. Rose has really embraced the wolf shifter world completely and totally. I couldnât be prouder of
INFINITYMaddie and Kevin step out of the dungeon into a warzone. Both of their eyes blow wide at the scene, and I can feel Maddieâs panic. We knew this was coming, but I donât think she anticipated how ugly it was going to be. I lift my head and I smell the rotting garbage scent of rogues. It seems Maddieâs father knows no bounds. Humans, most likely hunters, for kidnapping, rogues as mercenaries, slavery, killing his mate and sexual deviancy. He really does need to be put down.The panic coming from Maddie hasnât lessened as we look around on where to go and not be noticed. I have been saving up my strength the last few days, so I pull Maddie back and take full control. She doesnât fight me on it and that tells me she is very overwhelmed right now. She puts on a good show, but the constant state of alertness and feeling the danger around her, she is slowly breaking. After this morning, seeing Odette killed, and then staying neutral to save Kevin, sheâs at her max for today.âRest Mad
ROSEI am flying across the roads and highways trying to get to Blue Meadow as quickly as I can. George and Ike are holding on for dear life and I think I can hear George whispering a prayer to Selene when my car catapults into the air. Iâve maintained my 110mph through most of the drive which has kept the guys in high anxiety mode. We donât get too far off the pavement with that larger bump, but the way down is rough, and we bounce several times on the landing.âLuna, please slow down. The rest of the team canât keep up. Plus, it feels like youâre trying to kill us.â Ike pleads with me, looking a little green.âThen they should drive faster. And I am not trying to kill you.ââTheir SUV isnât designed to drive that fast, plus they canât take turns like this car doeeeeeees!â His voice goes higher pitched as I take a curve much faster than heâs comfortable with.âWell, youâre getting your wish. Wolves directly ahead and theyâre fighting. Iâm going to have to slow down. Do you know which
TYSONI cut the link to Rose as soon as Zeus and I tell her that we love her. I know she is worried about all of this, and it is her first experience with a shifter battle, but I know Iâll be fine. Zeus is a powerful, ancient wolf. He will decimate dozens before we hit a real challenge to our strength. Although, the biggest challenge will be to try to minimize the lives lost. These warriors we are going up against will be Maddieâs pack members one day in the future. I donât want to kill any of them indiscriminately.It takes a few hours to run to Blue Meadow. We stopped running miles ahead of their territory and proceeded with stealth. My first warriors took out their border patrol silently, with darts laced with a mixture of wolfsbane and water hemlock. Again, weâre trying to not take anyone out needlessly. Most pack members of trash Alphas are only following orders. They donât necessarily believe in the orders. Killing people that are just doing their jobs is what crap Alphas do.On