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
ISABELLA We left the dungeons in time to hear a small explosion. We all looked around to see where it was coming from. I looked at Isaiah with a horrified expression. “That was the pack’s hospital.” Victoria. I quickly went to the hospital, praying to the Goddess for Victoria’s safety. But, unfortunately, half the building had collapsed. Pack members were running out as I made my way through the crowd. Most of them crowded around Isaiah, looking for directions. “Isabella-” “Do what you have to do. I’ll go ahead.” I knew what the title Alpha entailed as I ran through the part of the building still standing. I could hear Isaiah yelling instructions to help anybody who was not injured to help those who were. Instead, I focused on making my way to Victoria’s room. I stopped at her door…well, the space her door used to be. There was a huge hole where her room was. My heart was pounding in my chest, thinking the worst. Then, as if to answer my thought, I felt a burning pai
ALAIA This was comical. Watching Isaiah try to distract me while his mother and sister flanked me was hilarious but motivating. I watched as Isabella and her mother attacked me, pinning me to the ground. How wonderful, I thought. The one time they worked together was against me. I should be thanked for this. I couldn’t help but laugh at this situation. Kill them. The voices spoke to me. You can do it. Of course, I could, but an idea popped into my head. I used my power to blast them off as I quickly grabbed the knife from the ground. “You’re right, Luna Bella. I might not be able to bring my daughter back, but at least I can show you how it feels to lose one.” I made the knife bigger in my hand and threw it toward Isabella. In the blink of an eye, a black wolf jumped in the way and instantly fell to the ground. “No!” Elaine screamed inside my head. Hearing her voice caught me off guard, but I didn’t let that stop me. I had a plan and wouldn’t let anyone get in my way. Not
ZIRAI was running through the woods. It was dark and quiet. Only the sounds of my feet crunching in the snow and my erratic breathing could be heard. Every once in a while, I would glance over my shoulders and see the shadows getting closer. I made it to an opening and instantly realized where I was. The cliff. I didn’t want to be here. This is where it happened. I turned to get away, but it was too late. They were here. The dark figure materialized into Isaiah. He strolled towards me, and I mirrored his steps, moving back. A creepy smile spread across his face, and his green eyes bore into mine. Wait, his eyes? My thoughts were interrupted when he started to laugh. “I’m starting to think you enjoy being thrown off this cliff,” Isaiah said, moving me toward the edge. I looked around for an escape but realized I was already near the cliff’s edge. I glanced over into the abyss. I figured staring into it might be able to wake me from this dream. I was wrong.The moment I turned a
ZIRATHREE MONTHS AGO I remember handing my baby to James. I was watching how careful he was being with him. I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that my baby was alive, happy that I was alive, happy that I had found my mate, but sad that my family wasn’t here. My mom, dad, idiotic brother, rambunctious best friend, and even…even Isaiah. Even if he tried to murder me with his crazy mate. I lay back and closed my eyes. I was so tired and needed just a bit of rest. I heard someone scream my name, and my baby started crying. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn’t open. I tried to reach out to Nina, but I couldn’t. I started to panic until everything just stopped. I felt no pain, no sadness, no happiness. I felt nothing, not even thoughts passing through my mind. I stayed like this for a while, and it was okay until I felt something in my chest. The pain and panic were back. Then I felt another pain, this time on the side of my neck. Then, everything came rushing at me wit
JAMESI could barely look at her, knowing the following words out of my mouth would be hard for both of us to swallow. “I would love to be your mate, Zira, seriously, but…I…I…already have one.” “What!” I could immediately feel a pull on my heart. I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but I couldn’t prolong it to worsen it later. Zira looked at me, shocked, before quickly recovering to a blank expression. We stared at each other for a few more minutes, and I could see she was conversing with her wolf. “Just great, James. Why not just rip her heart from her chest while you’re at it?” Deacon growled. “Deacon-” He quickly shut me out. We’d been arguing for the past week when I brought it to his attention that we would have to reject them. I didn’t want to hurt Zira, but she needed to know the truth. When she returned, she looked at me confused, then walked to the bathroom. I had the urge to follow her, but I stayed put. Following any she-wolf after what I just said wouldn’t be wise. “
JAMES Alpha Fiona pulled me out the door while Trixie confronted Zira. That’s when I started to get irritated. “Of course you are. That should be us consoling our mate, numb nuts,” Deacon growled. “Shut up,” I snapped at him. She just needed a day or two to get over this. Some space might help both of us. “Let’s go for a run,” Alpha Fiona suggested while leaving the pack’s hospital. I nodded and blindly followed her into the woods. Deacon liked the idea of running off his frustration. So we both shifted and took the route that led to a little forest alcove some miles away from the pack. It’s the place I come to when I need to think out loud. The place where Alpha Fiona found me those years ago. I shifted and climbed one of my favorite trees. There was something peaceful about lying in a tree. Alpha Fiona took position near the base of the tree. Probably waiting for me to start. Well, it’s going to be a while. We stood like this for a minute before hearing her sigh down bel
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.