*** Zayle’s POV ***‘Alpha.’I barely heard it. A whisper in the back of my mind.‘Alpha!’It got louder and I curled up against the sound. I was tired. I wanted to sleep. Five more minutes. Or thirty. Or a few hours.‘ALPHA!’I jolted up in my seat, nearly hitting the roof of the car. Riley gasped and jumped, the car swearing a bit before he regained control.“Holy fucking hell.” He put his hand on his chest. “Way to scare the shit out of me.”I chuckled, seeing him off kilter for the first time. My eyes narrowed and I looked out over the road. When did I get in the passenger seat? Why was Riley driving? We were still driving, our car sandwiched between Kirk and Oliver. However, it looked like we were already close to the pack.“What happened?”“You fell asleep. Your wolf actually tried to drive. He was so timid about it. It was actually kind of cute. I got him to pull over and your Beta and Gamma put you in the passenger seat.”I nodded. “Have you been driving since?”He shrugged. “
Pulling out onto the road, Kirk was behind me and then Oliver’s car pulled out up ahead. They did manage to let us catch up as we drove. Riley tapped the window.“It’s going to be a hell of a storm.”Looking up, I wondered how he knew. If we are headed into the storm, it might take longer than we expected to get home. Reaching out to my phone, it started to ring. It wasn’t the guys but my dad. Answering it, I put it on speaker.“Hey Dad.”Riley looked from me to the phone, his eyes wide. He sat up straighter and I wondered if he was going to be okay meeting my dad. He said he had issues with Alphas.“Hey, son. How’s it looking?”“Fine. Think we might be headed into a storm. So it may delay us a bit. We’ve got one more fill up before we’re home.”Dad hummed. “It’s been raining off and on but not too bad here. It might be headed north.”“We’ll see.”My dad was pretty young. He and my mother, his fated mate, had me when they were newly mated. So he wasn’t even fifty yet. While he’d passe
“You have a change of clothes?” I asked as I wiped some of the wet hair from his face.Riley nodded, reaching in and grabbing his duffle from the back seat. As if nothing, he started to pull his we clothes off right there. One of the boys coughed as Riley dropped his pants and looked at me.“Riley…at least…”“It’s fine. The entire population of Georgia has seen me naked. Maybe even railed me. It’s not an issue.”He pulled up jeans that had duct tape holding them together. I’d seen the shoes he wore. I could even see his toes they were so worn down. He’d pulled off his wet shirt and started to pull on something I would consider a rag when the thunder went off again. He turned around, looking out at the rain. Except, Riley gave us a full view of his back, the shirt still not over his head.The brand on his back wasn’t just a small brand I’d seen a few times around packs. No. This brand literally covered the entirety of his back. The scars were puffed up, instead of being indents. It loo
Grabbing the bags of uneaten snacks, I grabbed Riley’s duffle as well. The thing was nearly empty. I wondered if the two sets of beat up jeans and ripped oversized T-shirts was all he had. Tomorrow we would change that.“I can take…” I give him an eyebrow raise. “Right. Alpha thing.”Chuckling, I got out and so did he. Pulling out my keys, I unlocked the door and walked into the entryway. Riley was right behind me and Dad came storming in from the living room.“Took you long enough!”Rolling my eyes, I set my keys in a bowl I had on a table. “You should be home. I’d bring him by when he isn’t so overwhelmed.”“Nonsense.” Dad basically sidestepped me and held out his hand to Riley. “Cesar Fallows, washed up old Alpha and Father to this numbskull.”Riley laughed and shook his hand. “I don’t know about the washed up part. I haven’t come across an Alpha with your level of presence before.”My eyes widened. Could he actually tell how stron
“You’re lying.”I shook my head again. “I’m not, Riley.”“You are! You’re just like the rest of them! They try to say some shit like you are and then…they all…just leave…after getting what they want.”Riley tore his hands out of mine. His hands went through his hair, pulling it as he placed the space in front of me. I didn’t say anything, just watching him. He was more like an animal right now.This had to be so painful for him. At some point, he probably had completely convinced himself that he deserved it all. That it was the only way. But now being provided with a better way, everything he built up his walls around would start to shake. Yes, he was an adult but like this, he was like a scared child. Someone who had been neglected most of his life and didn’t know how to handle what I was offering. It hurt to watch.“You’re fucking lying! I’m leaving! This is bullshit. I should have jumped out at the last city.”It took a lot for me not to
For the second time, I startled awake. This time though, no one was trying to mind-link me. Instead, the wind was blowing hard enough to rattle the window. Next to me was empty and I felt my heart sink. Was Riley already gone? Did he already take off? His scent still lingered in the room so it hadn’t been too long. Maybe I could catch him.Getting up, I walked out when I heard sounds coming from the kitchen. Heading down the stairs and through the living room, I leaned against the entry to the kitchen. Riley was still wearing only a shirt as he moved through my kitchen. He had a few things pulled out as he turned on the stove.“Do you like eggs?”I smirked as he asked. “Yeah. But I never do anything other than scrambled.”Riley looked over at me and smiled. “So your dad wasn’t kidding that you can’t cook?”Shrugging, I walked in and turned on the coffee maker. “Did you not want coffee?”“I…” Riley stopped for a moment, looking over at me she
“You managed to buy yourself out of the contract though? You said a year ago?”Riley looked at me, an odd look on his face. “Doesn’t it matter to you?”“What?”“That I can’t have kids. That I wouldn’t be able to provide you with a family. I mean, that’s the whole reason for having a mate, right?”I set down my mug on the table. “Riley, it’s not about having pups. Having a mate is having a partner to continue through life with. I’ve been alone for a very long time. This house sometimes makes me feel like I’m my own ghost in it. Especially since I’m up at all hours. I’ve wanted to have someone by my side. For myself, not for having pups.”Riley just watched me for a long time before huffing. “You’re a weird Alpha.”Smiling, I leaned back in my chair. “Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”He laughed and nodded. “Good.”Looking up at the clock, it was already almost noon. It would take about an hour to get to the city
“Have you not been in a mall before?”The way Riley looked at me, it made swallow down the laugh that was bubbling up. He looked overwhelmed and I wondered if maybe I should have gone someone with less people.“I mean, I don’t know if what I’ve been to can be considered a mall after seeing this.” Riley wasn’t looking at me but down the long stretches of the mall. “How far does it go?”“There are also offshoots that turn into the food court and such. If we want to get dinner later. Come on, there are a few clothing shops down this way. See what aesthetic you like best.”I pulled him with me but he was far more hesitant. We walked past a bunch of stores until there was a few stores that sold clothes side by side. It ranged from metal to preppy, street, surf, and a few in-between.“Do you have a style or preference? All of these places are pretty different. So if something jumps out to you…”Looking at Riley, he looked like he was going to cry.
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