JAMES
I woke up in a bank of snow. It’s cold but soothing to me. I sat up and looked at my surroundings. I was in the middle of a forest. As I got up, the most intoxicating scent caught my attention. It smells of juniper berries and something else...fir or sandalwood. It kept changing, but I knew it was her.
I started to make my way through the forest. I needed to find her. Maria? No, Zira? I couldn’t tell who I was going after. I ran for what felt like hours until I came to a crossroads. How cliche? Their scent surrounded me like a cloud as I looked back and forth between my options.
Then I heard her voice. It was…Maria.
“Jamesy-bear.” Her nickname for me. I hated it, but it made her smile, and that was goo
ZIRA It’s been a while since I had a nightmare like this. I was lucky that James decided to check in on us. I don’t know what I would have done. After a few minutes of crying into his chest, he got up to get me something to clean my face. I walked over to check on Zacharias, who was awake and probably hungry. I checked the time; it was close to three in the morning, meaning I only got two hours of sleep. James returned with a warm towel I used to wipe my face with. “Thank you.” “Of course,” he replied, sitting at the edge of my bed, ensuring distance between us. I picked up Zacharias and walked around the room. I saw the door joining our room flat against the floor. Can’t
ZIRA James’ words shocked me, but I wasn’t ready to trust him yet. “Why should I tell you? You seem to know more than you let on.” He laughed as if there was some inside joke I was missing. “I told you about Maria and how she was killed by a jealous witch.” I nodded even though I knew he wasn’t waiting for me to answer. “That witch was Alaia. I grew up with her, and during that time, she grew an attachment to me. Unfortunately, it made her vindictive towards anyone who showed me affection. Even after I took Maria as a mate, that didn’t stop her from her ridiculous ideas of us being together. Those ideas led her to kill the only woman I’ve ever loved.” He sat closer to me and grabbed my hands. “Then you came into my life, and everything that happened to Maria flooded my b
JAMESWhen I returned home from the Black Moon Pack, my first instinct was to search for Zira, and I found her on the warriors’ field. I watched as she sparred with one of the warrior women. I refused to let any men near her and was glad Alpha Fiona understood. Like any other day, she held my attention. The connection between us has been getting stronger, even with my absence.She was wearing tight black sweatpants that showed every delicious curve. She had on a matching black crop top, showing off her stomach for the first time since she gave birth. She was getting stronger, which meant it wouldn’t be long until she rejected me and left. Deacon didn’t like the idea, and now, neither did I.“Then let her mark us and complete the bond,” Deacon said.
JAMES I picked her up as she wrapped her legs around my waist and moved us to my bed. I kissed her again before traveling down the side of her neck and sucking on my mark near her collarbone. She arched her back as another moan escaped her lips. I kissed further down her body until my hands came to her panties. My hands were shaking, and my entire body was pulsating with need. It felt as if a fever had erupted over my skin. “Goddess, I want you something fierce, Zira,” I said, sliding her panties down her leg while maintaining eye contact. “James,” she said with a breathy sigh, “I don’t know if….” I threw her panties to the side and moved to capture her lips before she could finish. I broke our kiss and stared into her eyes. Her lips were parted slightly, and her b
ZIRAIsaiah! No!My eyes shot open just as I reached out to grab Isaiah, only to realize it was just air. The last thing I saw was Isaiah standing dangerously close to the edge of a cliff. I screamed for him, but he couldn't hear me. I was less than a foot away when I tried to grab him, but my fingers barely touched his shirt as he went over.A rush of calm washed over me as I saw James staring at me. He was talking, but I couldn't register what he was saying. Was I still dreaming? I shook my head to clear the fog in my mind."Zira, it's okay. It was just a dream."James pulled me into
ZIRAJames taught me a few new techniques, like using my opponent’s size to get them to the ground, going from defense to offense in quick succession, and learning how to use my foundation to add power to punches.After training, the three of us went back to the pack house. I set Arias up with some toys James got from the market. I sat on the couch to read, only to have James pull me into his lap.“See, isn’t this more comfortable?” He whispered, kissing a sensitive spot behind my ear.“Sure, just don’t distract me,” I said, picking up one of the many books I’ve been reading. “I never get past a few chapters before you start...”I moaned softly as his lips found their way down
ISABELLAI’m so bored!I was sitting at the Alpha’s desk, reviewing a few documents. To the left of me were piles of financial papers that showed every expense needed to run the pack and every expense made for the pack. On the right side were papers from neighboring packs detailing our alliance and trade.The middle of the desk housed countless ‘Get Well Soon’ and ‘Sorry for you lost’ cards made from the pups of our pack. I sat the papers down and looked at the two Alphas sitting in front of me with their Betas near the door.“Thank you, Alpha Fennec and Alpha Tariff, for traveling so far for this meeting. I know you were supposed to be meeting my brother today, but, as you see, there’s a slight change of plans.”
ISABELLAI needed to check in with Victoria, but she wasn’t at physical therapy like she should have been. Lately, she’s been trying to walk independently without help and gets frustrated when she can’t. So, she’s been lashing out at me these past months.I walked through the hospital looking for her when I bumped into Mary. She was attacked by Alaia, also. Though, I never understood why she was there in the first place. According to her, she had been spying on Alaia, along with Victoria, for a while now. Victoria corroborated her story when she explained the events leading up to her getting hurt.Alaia has been manipulating Zira from the beginning. Heck, manipulating a lot of people without us noticing. Of course, we had an inkling, but nobody could prove it. Victoria’s last memory was Zira whispering
ISAIAH Water splashed on my face for the hundredth time as my son’s laughter filled the bathroom. I looked down at Arias, who apparently got a kick from throwing soap in my face. Each time seemed to make Arias laugh more. “Arias, we’ve been in here for twenty minutes. You have to let me wash you,” I said, trying to grab him, but Arias slipped out of reach. “That’s it. I’m coming in.” Arias shrieked, trying to get away from me. I couldn’t help but laugh. Who knew bath time could be this fun? After another ten minutes or so, I was able to thoroughly wash and dress Arias for bed. I laid Arias down in his crib and grabbed a book to read from the bookshelf. Arias climbed out of his crib and
ZIRAI stretched and yawned as the light from the window crept across my face. I reached across my bed and realized it was empty. I instantly sat up. Panic starting to set in. I looked around the room for him, and it was empty.I was on my way to get out of bed when the door to my bathroom opened. James walked out and noticed my panicked face. He cocked an eyebrow, with a smile playing across his face.“What?”“I thought,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “I thought you were gone.”James laughed. “Where would I go?” James asked sarcastically. “You barely let me pee without hovering over me. And that snoring-”
ZACKAfter Alaia’s death, getting things back together slowly improved as the days passed. I took her body back to my pack to have a proper burial. Mirja didn’t think she deserved it. She wanted to burn the body, but I stopped before she could.True, Alaia was evil, and I knew that. However, she was still my sister, and I felt partially responsible for everything that had happened. So, I brought her home and buried her next to our parents. She was their problem.After that matter was settled, our days were filled with rebuilding the Blue Moon Pack. With the help of Alpha Isaiah and Alpha Fiona, we were now working at a ninety percent capacity. Most of the houses were rebuilt, and Bronx proved to be a responsible Beta. George and Harry came around more often. Harry was obsessed with Mirja’s knowledge of
ISABELLA"No, no, no!"Luna Bella's screaming filled the entire hospital room and down the hall. She sat in bed, holding her hands out in front of her while Victoria stood in front of her. Victoria sighed, holding a teacup of medicine in her hands."Luna Bella, you have to drink this to get better," Victoria said to her, clearly frustrated. "Are we seriously going to go through this every morning?""Are you seriously going to force me to drink that crap," Luna Bella growled at her.Hitting the breaking point, Victoria growled back. "Drink it!"Luna Bella leaned back with a shocked expression before glaring at Isabella, who sat back, watching everything unfold.
THIRD POV After her little laughing fit, Alaia turned her attention back to Mirja, who was trying to claw her way out of Alaia’s grip. Alaia could see her brother stalking back and forth beyond her little shield, looking just as helpless as his little mate. “You know,” Alaia started with a malicious smirk, “it tickled me when I found out you were my brother’s mate. All this time, I couldn’t figure out why you always dismissed my plans of wanting to kill him. Subconsciously, you were always on his side. You just didn’t know why. So now I’m going to enjoy killing you while he watches.” Alaia tightened the hold around Mirja’s neck as Mirja gasped for air. Alaia was so wrapped up in her fury to kill that she didn’t notice anyone entering her space until the last moment. She whipped around and came face to face with James. 
THIRD POVAlaia blocked another attack from Deacon as he pushed her away from Arias and Zira. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Zira finally getting up and assessing the situation.Alaia looked around, confused. James’ wolf, Deacon, was attacking her, but she could clearly see James’s body in the hall. Unfortunately, her mind was so clouded that she couldn’t figure out who was real. Besides, this wolf was moving too fast for her to focus on attacking.This…this wolf had to be an imposter or some sort of trick. She thought.Deacon kept attacking her, pushing her back, and she could feel herself getting weaker, or maybe it was tiredness. She watched Deacon stand between her and Arias. The one whos
THIRD POV It took a moment for Zira to realize she was being carried. Then, she looked up and saw James, who noticed she was awake. “You...you rejected me,” Zira said softly, and it tugged at James’s heart. “James would not reject you, Zi. I can tell he loves you,” James said to her. Zira looked at him, confused. “You’ve never called me Zi before, and why are you speaking in the third person?” “I’ll explain when I get you as far away from here as possible,” James said as he proceeded down the long hallway. They descended a few hallways before Zira squirmed out of James’ hold. “No,” Zira screamed. “I have to get Arias. I have to find him.”
THIRD POVThe sounds like that of beating drums echoed throughout the woods as werewolves collided with each other. More rogues descended upon them as they tried to hold the line. Deacon maneuvered as best as he could, taking down a rogue every step of the way, but they seemed to be multiplying. He did his best to concentrate, but he felt pain spiral throughout his body occasionally.Zira. He had to get to her, but there were too many obstacles.“Portals are open,” George linked him.Deacon immediately started running towards George when a rogue jumped right before him. Maybe it was because he was only a few minutes away from her, but he felt a new kind of energy surge through him.
THIRD POVMary gripped the bottle behind her back as the rogues glared at her. She tried controlling her fear as she approached them, but it slowly took over as she felt her legs shaking slightly. She was still just an Omega with meager fighting skills.“No one should be in this area,” growled the she-wolf as she gave Mary a once-over, noticing the shaking. “Why are you here?”“Luna Alaia,” Mary squeaked out before clearing her throat and failing to stand tall. “I’m here at Luna Alaia’s request. She wants me to check on the baby.”Mary tried to step through them, but the she-wolf held her back. Mary was able to get close enough to spray the pheromones on the she-wolf.