“Where is the whip? Why aren’t we whipping him? Why aren’t you shutting him up?” Jasper was manic as he ordered his own knights around.I felt bad for them. This must be so jarring for them. No one was comfortable with what was happening right now. Not even the Councilors, their faces marred with conflicting emotions. They weren’t about to stick their neck out against an angry Alpha King though. The only one who looked absolutely pleased was Yara. She had Kian blood running through her so I didn’t doubt how much that poisoned her.“Alpha King…we…we are ready.”Lifting my head off the pole, I braced myself against the wood. It wouldn’t do me any good to jerk and hit my head. I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep my body from tensing up. That also would do more harm than good right now. If I could focus on my back getting hit, it would protect our pups better.‘Zayle?’ I tentatively reached out to him through the mind link.‘My love…my love…my sweet mate…stop this. Please stop this. Tel
I took a single breath before rain poured from the sky like a bucket had been tipped onto us. Lightening flashed bright and screams from the pack sounded as the thunder tore through the center of town. Glass shattered and I felt my breath get stolen away from me for a moment. Opening my eyes, I wanted to cry out in relief.Selene, silhouetted by the rain, stood between Jasper and I. His sword had turned black and was crumbling at his feet. He was holding his hand which turned a fire red.“Selene…” My voice was hoarse but her name came out more as a prayer than anything.‘I’m here, my little rain wolf. I’m here.’My body slumped forward and I let the post hold up my weight. “My pack…”She chortled, the thunder following but were flashes of lightening streaking across the sky. ‘I know, little one. However, I must deal with these strays.’I smiled and nodded. Jasper stumbled back a couple steps, looking at the figure made of the rain before him. Fear consumed his face and even his knight
Part of me wanted Selene to kill him. I wanted to watch the life leave his eyes with a look of utter regret on his face. That was personal though. A hatred that was my own and something I needed to work through on my own. Especially after Selene passed her judgement. It was final and I would not dare go against it. Whether or not I felt he was worthy of it.There was a few moments of Selene standing in front of Kane before she moved. His face was still completely blank, in the daze like everyone else. Her hand pressed against his chest and when she pulled away, a white ball of light burned brightly in it. Closing her fingers around the light, it disappeared.She continued through the group, doing it to every single person on their knees. Selene did leave Jasper and Yara in the corner as they watched the display of our goddess’ raw power. Turning her back, she walked back to stand next to me.‘I am done passing judgement on these ones.’I nodded and started to order them off the platfo
I couldn’t stop staring at Cesar. He was worried about what just happened but I had no words to describe what I was looking at right now. The fact that I had to then tell Zayle ‘Hey, your dad is like thirty now again because he’s taking over as Alpha King’ had all my words caught in my throat.The only thing that tore my eyes away from him was when Jasper started to whimper. Selene was leaning over him, hands made of ice griping his chin.‘You have kept your fears hidden for a long time, wolf. You have acted as though all wolves are equal in your eyes. Made them love you with your lies. But I see past that, Nightfang. I see past all of the facades you hold so dear.’He openly wept as the goddess’ anger crackled and lightening struck the ground.“Will you take his wolf?” I asked, not sure if I could bear another cry like Yara’s.‘No, my little rain wolf. Despite the poison and ugliness, this one will be useful to you in the future. He has already burned his path and I will ensure when h
Leaning forward in my chair, I had my head in my hands. I’d never felt so exhausted. Currently, I was only taking a break for moment before I needed to go back and help. Downstairs, Oliver and Kirk were trying to corral everyone into a more organized way. It wasn’t great, but it was something for now.Cesar was also helping now, since he informed the ministers of what had happened. They would take a few days to get here and for the moment, he could also direct the knights to help where they were needed too. We had to deal with the damaged windows too which Vincent had picked up immediately.We’d put Zayle in my office, since I had a loveseat put in to take naps when I needed it. Oliver basically ordered me to take a break and it wasn’t helping that while Selene, with her last bit of power closed my wounds, they still were fresh and raw. I couldn’t relax but it was nice to have a little peace.There was a knock on my door and Belle opened it up, a mug in her hand. “Luna, I thought some
I leaned back in the lounge chair, trying to take the doctor’s advice to rest. It was going to rain soon. Everyone was outside playing, dressed up for the occasion. Their rain coats and rain hats in different colors made it easy to tell them apart.Nero and Fabian were leading their two other siblings through the grass in search of anything interesting. That included an acorn, a snail, some leftover streamers from the twin’s seventh birthday party yesterday, and a peculiarly colorful rock. Each one of them were set out on the deck stairs, though Mr. Snail was trying to make a very slow escape.I smiled as Lily slipped and as she stood, her face was covered in mud. Nero got down on one knee and wiped off her face with the edge of his shirt. The twins were the perfect mix between Zayle and I. Not quite identical though. Nero was just a little larger than his brother, but to the untrained eye, you might easily mistake them for each other. Lily was Zayle’s clone and our youngest for the mo
The drive back from the Alpha Conference was always the worst. Yes, having the conference out in the middle of nowhere was a deterrent for anyone to attack, but goddess be damned, it was literally in the middle of nowhere.Since my pack was at the very Northwestern corner of the states, even bleeding into Canada, it was the longest drive out of most of the Alphas heading it. We could have flown but my Beta, refused to get inside a flying metal tube. His fear forced us to drive and I wasn’t about to get through these meetings without him.I’d love to just skip it but it was mandatory or you would incur a penalty that could be serious. I was just lucky enough to be able to take both my Beta and my Gamma. My father currently was watching the pack back home. I also decided to get some of the young kids a chance to see what it was like as well.Oliver was my Gamma and his son Jake was set to take over as Beta, instead of Gamma. Kirk was my Beta and his son, Curtis, was set to take over the
Once our food was delivered, Kirk, Oliver, and I was quiet as we listened to the boys talk. They went from different fights they saw at the conference to deciding whether or not that wanted to hit up the strip club.Oliver and Kirk were shaking their heads. One because their sons were in on the conversation, and two because the both of them were happily mated. That kind of place did nothing for them.Kirk and Oliver were both thirty-six. They started under my dad to help make the transition for me a little smoother. Their mates were both in the pack when they turned eighteen. The both of them mated at eighteen and they didn’t wait very long to have pups.Curtis was seventeen and then Kirk had another three pups at home. Oliver was the one who didn’t know when to quit. Jake was also seventeen and the eldest of eight. I wouldn’t put it past him to still come in and tell me he was expecting more. His mate, Belle, was reserved and quiet but I don’t know how she handled that many kids.I w
I leaned back in the lounge chair, trying to take the doctor’s advice to rest. It was going to rain soon. Everyone was outside playing, dressed up for the occasion. Their rain coats and rain hats in different colors made it easy to tell them apart.Nero and Fabian were leading their two other siblings through the grass in search of anything interesting. That included an acorn, a snail, some leftover streamers from the twin’s seventh birthday party yesterday, and a peculiarly colorful rock. Each one of them were set out on the deck stairs, though Mr. Snail was trying to make a very slow escape.I smiled as Lily slipped and as she stood, her face was covered in mud. Nero got down on one knee and wiped off her face with the edge of his shirt. The twins were the perfect mix between Zayle and I. Not quite identical though. Nero was just a little larger than his brother, but to the untrained eye, you might easily mistake them for each other. Lily was Zayle’s clone and our youngest for the mo
Leaning forward in my chair, I had my head in my hands. I’d never felt so exhausted. Currently, I was only taking a break for moment before I needed to go back and help. Downstairs, Oliver and Kirk were trying to corral everyone into a more organized way. It wasn’t great, but it was something for now.Cesar was also helping now, since he informed the ministers of what had happened. They would take a few days to get here and for the moment, he could also direct the knights to help where they were needed too. We had to deal with the damaged windows too which Vincent had picked up immediately.We’d put Zayle in my office, since I had a loveseat put in to take naps when I needed it. Oliver basically ordered me to take a break and it wasn’t helping that while Selene, with her last bit of power closed my wounds, they still were fresh and raw. I couldn’t relax but it was nice to have a little peace.There was a knock on my door and Belle opened it up, a mug in her hand. “Luna, I thought some
I couldn’t stop staring at Cesar. He was worried about what just happened but I had no words to describe what I was looking at right now. The fact that I had to then tell Zayle ‘Hey, your dad is like thirty now again because he’s taking over as Alpha King’ had all my words caught in my throat.The only thing that tore my eyes away from him was when Jasper started to whimper. Selene was leaning over him, hands made of ice griping his chin.‘You have kept your fears hidden for a long time, wolf. You have acted as though all wolves are equal in your eyes. Made them love you with your lies. But I see past that, Nightfang. I see past all of the facades you hold so dear.’He openly wept as the goddess’ anger crackled and lightening struck the ground.“Will you take his wolf?” I asked, not sure if I could bear another cry like Yara’s.‘No, my little rain wolf. Despite the poison and ugliness, this one will be useful to you in the future. He has already burned his path and I will ensure when h
Part of me wanted Selene to kill him. I wanted to watch the life leave his eyes with a look of utter regret on his face. That was personal though. A hatred that was my own and something I needed to work through on my own. Especially after Selene passed her judgement. It was final and I would not dare go against it. Whether or not I felt he was worthy of it.There was a few moments of Selene standing in front of Kane before she moved. His face was still completely blank, in the daze like everyone else. Her hand pressed against his chest and when she pulled away, a white ball of light burned brightly in it. Closing her fingers around the light, it disappeared.She continued through the group, doing it to every single person on their knees. Selene did leave Jasper and Yara in the corner as they watched the display of our goddess’ raw power. Turning her back, she walked back to stand next to me.‘I am done passing judgement on these ones.’I nodded and started to order them off the platfo
I took a single breath before rain poured from the sky like a bucket had been tipped onto us. Lightening flashed bright and screams from the pack sounded as the thunder tore through the center of town. Glass shattered and I felt my breath get stolen away from me for a moment. Opening my eyes, I wanted to cry out in relief.Selene, silhouetted by the rain, stood between Jasper and I. His sword had turned black and was crumbling at his feet. He was holding his hand which turned a fire red.“Selene…” My voice was hoarse but her name came out more as a prayer than anything.‘I’m here, my little rain wolf. I’m here.’My body slumped forward and I let the post hold up my weight. “My pack…”She chortled, the thunder following but were flashes of lightening streaking across the sky. ‘I know, little one. However, I must deal with these strays.’I smiled and nodded. Jasper stumbled back a couple steps, looking at the figure made of the rain before him. Fear consumed his face and even his knight
“Where is the whip? Why aren’t we whipping him? Why aren’t you shutting him up?” Jasper was manic as he ordered his own knights around.I felt bad for them. This must be so jarring for them. No one was comfortable with what was happening right now. Not even the Councilors, their faces marred with conflicting emotions. They weren’t about to stick their neck out against an angry Alpha King though. The only one who looked absolutely pleased was Yara. She had Kian blood running through her so I didn’t doubt how much that poisoned her.“Alpha King…we…we are ready.”Lifting my head off the pole, I braced myself against the wood. It wouldn’t do me any good to jerk and hit my head. I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep my body from tensing up. That also would do more harm than good right now. If I could focus on my back getting hit, it would protect our pups better.‘Zayle?’ I tentatively reached out to him through the mind link.‘My love…my love…my sweet mate…stop this. Please stop this. Tel
My eyes widened as I saw a group of high school students, including Jake, Curtis, Haley, and Franny coming forward. All of them were running together and I felt fear course through me. Not only should they not be here but they should be safe up north out of reach of the council.“No! You guys! Go home! You shouldn’t be here!” I called out to them.Jake smiled at me and shook his head. “We can help.”One of the girls stepped forward, a folder in her hand. “I am Anastasia Hansen. Councilor Constantine is my father, Alpha King.” She bowed her head. “I work part time at the clinic under Dr. June. She is our town’s OBGYN.”The sound of silence felt heavy as all attention moved to her. However, Councilor Constantine looked livid at his daughter. She stepped forward with Curtis and another one of the boys flanking her.“I was working the day Luna Riley and Alpha Zayle came in. This is their chart. I can confirm that Luna Riley is pregnant. The blood tests and even the photos are all here.” S
With how the center of town looked last night, it was almost like we were transported into a completely different place. They set up a huge platform in front of the statues of the wolves and I snorted. Zayle sucked in a breath seeing the post coming out of it. I’d seen one and been tied to something like it plenty of times of times. I wondered if this was the first time he saw one in person.From around the area, I watched as more and more of our pack started to meander into the area. They kept to the edges and I was happy to see none of the younger kids were present. Oliver and Kirk came forward but the knights kept them from reaching us.“It’s okay.” I smiled and nodded to them.Zayle was focused ahead, looking for the one person who was about to decide our fate. He wasn’t there on time, of course. The clock tower tolled one and we continued to wait. The skies were growing darker and I let myself lean against Zayle. He was standing tall like a statue and I closed my eyes.“Rye, don’
*** Riley’s POV ***When I woke up, I was alone. It was quiet but it was different than normal. The air was heavy and it felt harder to breathe. Sitting up, I buried my head in my hands. I’d fucked up yesterday. I’d been so good but I’d snapped. It was one thing to snap at a Councilor or one of their kids, but the Luna Queen?I was so fucking stupid. Oliver was giving me a play by play of what happened after I left. Everything was my fault. I’d ruined our chances of doing actual good. Worse, I may have gotten Zayle removed as Alpha. He didn’t deserve that. Not because of me.My eyes slipped to the window. It was dark, the clouds threatening rain, but I wanted it to be raining. I needed to speak with Selene. She might know something…anything that I could do that would fix this. As it stood, there wasn’t many options that we had left.The bed next to me and Zayle’s scent meant that he had been up for at least an hour. It was still early in the morning though. Getting up, I padded downst