ZACKIt’s been a few months since the attack on my pack. With the help of Alpha Isaiah and Alpha Gregg of the Whispering Winds Pack, I was able to get control of the damage. We still had a long way to go to return to where we were before, but the people were optimistic. I wish I could say the same for myself. Mirja, my mate, was still in a coma. Harry, James’ warlock friend, finally figured out what was wrong with her. She was trapped inside her mind. So, everything she saw felt natural to her. The only way to break it was to go inside to convince her it wasn’t real. I volunteered myself, but Harry refused. He felt he would be more experienced if something happened. So here I was, pacing back and forth at her door. Harry insisted I stay out of the way so he could concentrate. I said-well Alexi told him he was out of his witchy mind if he thought he was leaving his mate alone with another man. I tried to explain to Alexi that Harry was batting for a different team, but still, he w
ZACK This bond was completely taking over my senses, making me pull her close to inhale her wild berry and honey scent. I was happy that she was returning the favor. I slowly but reluctantly helped her back to bed. “You should probably take it easy.” She shook her head. “We have to find her. She has completely lost it and is tapping into the magic beyond her control.” “That was the plan. I just needed the proof. You,” I said, pointing to her. “Now I can bring Alaia back to the Elder Witches and-” “No,” Mirja said firmly. “You tried that before, and look at what’s happening. If she has found a way to access the power in my family’s grimoire, this is beyond the council. She has to be stopped.” “What do you suggest?” I asked, knowing the answer. I knew eventually, it might come down to eliminating the problem, but it was still hard to come to terms with it. Alaia was still my little sister. At that moment, Harry entered the room with a glass of water and gave it to Mirja.
ISABELLA I nervously watched George examine Victoria. I was fortunate to get James to bring someone to see her. He stood beside her bedside as I paced back and forth, watching them through the window. James kicked me out after growling at George numerous times for touching Victoria. It was more Jas than me, and she refused to listen. Ever since that night, I have been convinced Alaia had something to do with this. On the other hand, Isaiah believed her when she said she healed Victoria after Nas attacked her. Nas supposedly knocked her out before she could fully heal her. I just didn’t believe it. That girl doesn’t have a good bone in her little body. Then, finding out Zira was with them and suddenly disappeared, I really lost it. I had another huge fight with Alaia and Isaiah that still ended up with me looking like a jerk yelling at two people who had just lost their baby. Now, I could barely look at Isaiah without feeling a bit shameful. So, I kept to myself and watched ov
ISABELLA My mother stood with her hands placed in front of us. She stared at me, waiting for me to continue. I thought about everything that had happened this past year, but I wanted to start at the beginning for her. Start where this all began. “I knew I was gay when I was thirteen, maybe even before then. It may have been the day you pulled me away from Lana’s sleepover, which she totally kissed me first, by the way. I remember you being so furious with me. You kept saying, ‘Oh, what are people going to think?’ and ‘What will they say?’ You looked at me like I was a…a…freak. Like something was wrong with me. You made me feel like it was the worst thing in the world. So, from that day, I kept that part of me hidden. Just to please you, and it was killing me inside. I didn’t even notice until I met someone who didn’t look at me like you did. Zira and her mother accepted me without a second thought, and you know what, Mother. Their acceptance hurt even more than your displeasure
ISAIAH I had to share this news with someone who would feel the same as me. So I hurried to my office with Isabella at my heels. I ran for an hour without stopping when I found her scarf. Besides, Devon didn’t mind being out. He hadn’t gotten over the fact that Elaine hadn’t surfaced in the past few months and was getting oddly suspicious. I decided to see what Alaia had to say. According to her, Elaine hadn’t spoken to her in a while, keeping herself hidden. Devon, of course, didn’t take the news so well, so I had to get him focused on something else. “Where did you find this, and why didn’t you call when you first found it?” Isabella asked, holding up the necklace and the scarf. “I lost my phone on the way back, but that’s unimportant. I found the necklace on the cliff the night she disappeared. The coat and the scarf were found near the riverbank, which could have meant she was alive when that happened. She has to be alive, Isa. I just know it.” “Zira’s alive?” Isabella
ISAIAHWe both started to walk out of the room when Isabella’s phone rang. She looks at the screen and back at me. “It’s Zack,” she said, picking it up. I used my werewolf’s hearing to listen to the conversation. “Bells, I’m glad I caught you. I tried calling your brother, but it’s going straight to voicemail. I need to talk to you both, and it can’t wait,” Zack said urgently. Isabella noticed me listening and switched to her speakerphone. “Zack, he’s right here. We can both hear you. What’s going on?” “It’s about Alaia,” Zack started. “She’s been playing us all from the start. She’s why the rogues attacked the pack and tried to kill Zira.” I couldn’t believe my ears. “How do you know this?” “Because the person who had front-row seats is standing next to me,” Zack said before another voice chimed in. “You have someone in your custody. Nas, right?” The woman asked. I looked at Isabella. I was still trying to wrap my head around the first bit of information. “Yes, he’s here,”
ALAIAThe sounds of beeping machines were all around me as I tried to focus. There was a constant throbbing in my head. “Elaine? Are you there?”She said nothing, but I could still feel her emotions. Her heart was heavy, making me feel just so. Something was wrong. I should be happy. Zira was gone. Victoria won’t be speaking any time soon or ever. I had Isaiah all to myself. We were going to have our own little family. So why was I feeling so…so empty right now? On cue, Doctor Callie walked into the room. “Luna, you’re up?” Doctor Callie walked in and sat near my bed. “What happened? How long have I been out? Where’s Isaiah? What’s this pain I’m feeling?” I kept throwing questions at her until she stopped me. “Luna, breathe and slow down. We’ve been over this every day now. A few days, you had a procedure and-” I pushed her away from me. “Procedure? What procedure? What happened?” Doctor Callie hesitated, and I was starting to get pissed off. Doctor Callie lowered her head. “Ma
ALAIA My heart beat so fast that I had to hide in a room before they noticed me. I smiled at the thought that James still made me feel this way. Granted, it wasn’t like the bond of a mate, but it was damn close. The night I saw him, I thought I was delirious from the pain and somehow dreamed him up, but no. He was there, and now he is here. So close. It wasn’t a coincidence that the moment I lost something was the moment he returned to my life. The moment I saw him, everything changed for me. I was reminded of what I really wanted. It was him. It had always been him, and no one would stand in my way this time. To change things, a person has to act, do something, and make certain sacrifices. I made the necessary sacrifices. Now, it is time to act. I could hear them talk about Victoria. They sounded hopeful, so I needed to act fast. I needed to find a way to get to Victoria alone. As much as I wanted to stay and see him one more time, I made my way back to the packhouse. There w
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.