IsabellaI don’t feel as confident as Asher. I can’t help the fear overtaking me, and when Asher gets up from behind his desk and pulls me into his arms, I feel my heart rate calm down instantly. Tears burn the back of my eyes as I breathe in his scent.“It’s going to be okay. I won’t let them hurt you. We’ve won this battle, and we will win the war.” He strokes my hair and I feel my fear slowly disappear. I know that he will do everything in his power, but he also doesn’t really know my family and the lengths they would go to, to get what they want.I breathe in his scent and I don’t want to spoil the moment as I push the bad thoughts to the back of my mind. When Lisa shows up for dinner later that night, we discuss what I told the council and how they reacted. According to Asher, he believes that the council won’t intervene again.When I look confuse, Lisa explains that the council only intervenes when things become threatening enough to alert the human world to what might be going
AsherI explain what really happened, and I note the concern start to grow. It is the exact mindset that I don’t want for her. I try to comfort her, by telling her they are probably scouts who are testing our boundaries, but I can feel that her fear is back.She grips my hand a little tighter when we walk into the room we call the dungeon, but it’s actually just an old basement that we revamped. Having cells as part of a pack house is just one of those things that forms part of the lives of werewolves.“Traitor!” The one who wouldn’t stop glaring at me the night before is the first to react. He immediately jumps up and grabs onto the bars, but backs away the moment I take a step closer.“You are traitors. You trespassed into my territory without permission.” I growl. He backs off a little more, but he still glares at Isabella as though he can just intimidate her into submission. I wonder how they thought this would play out.Did her family think these three wolves would just come here
Clair“Why can’t we just adopt?” I glare at my father. He did that for Adam’s parents. Why couldn’t we just do the same thing?“Because we want the bloodline, and you know that the bloodline runs through the female genes.” My father says through clenched teeth. He had the perfect excuse why we had to do it that way. When Isabella’s parents took over the pack, it wasn’t Isabella’s father that took over from his father. Isabella’s mother was the one who carried the alpha gene.I’m so tired of the entire situation. All I want to do is just drink until I pass out. It’s not like Adam or my father actually cares and now that I don’t even have Isabella around to torture, I literally have nothing.AsherIsabella decides to rest, which gives me time to take care of some business. Firstly, I need to strengthen our border security. If they sent scouts once, they are definitely going to send them again. Or they might send warriors.Once the borders are sorted out, I check in with my mom to make s
IsabellaI am in shock. I actually shifted. It didn’t even hurt. My mind reels as I wonder how it is even possible.“How?” I frown at Asher, who is looking just as shocked as I am.“I don’t know, but I think we need to visit the hospital.” He frowns. “If anyone can help us understand, it’s my mom.” As soon as we are both dressed, we make our way to the hospital. Somehow, word had already spread that I had shifted and Lisa is beaming the moment we walk in.“You shifted!” She squeals before pulling me into a hug and I giggle. It is incredible.“Yeah, but how?” I frown as soon as she lets me go. She shows me to the examination table and starts to check me from head to toe while also asking questions.“And you are sure you didn’t feel anything?” She frowns when she is done. I shake my head and sit up. “Well, you are all good. Nothing is wrong. The only thing I can think is that you relaxed and the adrenaline from the run probably made it happen. Isabella, you haven’t had the easiest of li
IsabellaI didn’t think it was possible, but I fell even more in love with Asher at this moment. He is so vulnerable and pure it is almost unbearable. I stroke the side of his cheek and my head rests against it as he leans in. He breathes in deeply, closing his eyes for a moment before kissing the inside of my palm.His kiss lingers there for a moment before he kisses the inside of my wrist and I feel my arousal for him taking over my entire body. He pulls me off the chair into a slight hunch before slowly lowering me to the floor.His kiss is tender and I feel all my senses awaken more than usual. It is almost as though the light is suddenly brighter. The air is suddenly sweeter. As though his scent fills every cell in my body. Our clothes suddenly become a barrier neither can deal with.It is almost as if the entire world disappears. His finger finally slips between my folds and I gasp both in anticipation and relief. We make love right there on the floor of his office as if the wor
IsabellaNot everyone believes in magic. For a long time, neither did I, but as I study the tiny lines on Asher’s face while he sleeps, I believe. Love is magical. Being loved is magical. Our mysterious mate bond is magical. Even if nobody ever saw the moon goddess, we all still believe in her.We all believe in the power of the choices she makes for us. We blindly fall into the arms of our “destined mate” without so much as a question. I am so blessed that Asher caught me that awful night. That he is willing to face the world on my behalf.I smile as I realize that, slowly but surely, he is mending my broken heart. Slowly but surely, he is gluing the pieces back together. I curl up a little closer and snuggle in beside him before I fall asleep.ClairIt is not strange to go into bed alone. It is strange, however, to wake up and the other side of the bed hasn’t been slept in at all. I make my way through my morning ritual and once I’m dressed, I go in search of coffee. I had one hell
IsabellaI am not looking forward to today, but we have to get it over and done with. Asher wants me to speak to my brother to see if he is telling us the truth. I walk down the stairs on my own, looking back once. Asher smiles warmly and nods.“You got this, babe.” His voice echoes inside my mind and I smile. It still astounds me how much my life has changed since that moment I literally ran into him. It is very dark inside the dungeons, and when the lights come on, Adam squints.He is sitting in the back corner of his cell. He is looking a little better, and according to Lisa, his injuries will all heal. That is why none of us are really believe his story. He looked awful when he arrived at first, but according to Lisa, all of his wounds were superficial. None were life-threatening.“I’m really sorry, Isabella.” He slowly gets up and I roll my eyes. “If I had known …”“Oh, stop bullshitting yourself, Adam. I don’t believe a word that comes out of that filthy mouth of yours. You sure
ClairWhen the door opens, I have to squint. The light is so bright that I don’t see my father coming down the stairs, but I can hear him. He grips my upper arm and pulls me upright, almost dragging me up the stairs.“We have guests coming and if you don’t play your part, you will be spending the rest of your life in the dungeons.” He growls, and it sends a shiver up the back of my spine. I’m rushed upstairs where I quickly take a shower and change before meeting my father downstairs. I have to fight the urge to gawk the moment I see the council.“And here she is. Clair, will you please tell the council what happened?” He smiles and I frown. I glare at him for a moment. How am I supposed to cover his a$s if I don’t even know what he lied about? “Sweetheart, I know you are heartbroken that Adam just left, but …”“We would like to hear what Luna Clair has to say.” A council member interrupts my father, but that doesn’t stop him.“Adam abandoned you and the pack.” His voice echoes throug
BeverlyTWO YEARS LATER, I wake up in the early hours of the morning as a sharp pain shoots through my entire body. Beside me, Matthew jumps up looking startled and completely confused, but I’m in so much pain that I can’t even explain. When it finally lets go, I look at my completely frazzled mate and a giggle escapes between my lips.“The baby’s coming, Matthew.” I say as I get out of bed. The moment I stand upright, a puddle forms underneath me. Matthew looks like a rabbit caught in headlights and I roll my eyes. For such a confident alpha, he sure ain’t looking for it right now, and I take his hand and walk him out of the room.When we reach the stairs, another contraction hits and I have a feeling our pup is going to arrive sooner than anticipated. Matthew’s brain kicks into gear as he picks me up and rushes me to the hospital. An hour later, we are holding our son, and our little family feels perfect.Our story ended up being the best fairy tale of them all. At least, in my opin
BeverlyMatthew is my parents’ son, and they don’t care where he came from. They accepted him, and they have always expected the pack to accept him the same way. As a matter of fact, now that my father has gone and taken that step, I can’t believe that I ever thought one of my uncles would take over.I’m surprised that I never saw this coming. Matthew keeps telling my father that he won’t accept it unless I’m okay with it and, finally, my father looks at me with that “you had better answer me right now” look. I sigh. Do I really have a choice?“I don’t care. Everyone already thinks he should be alpha.” I shrug and get up. Just as I’m about to leave, I feel a strong hand on the back of my elbow and I turn around and glare at Matthew with my eyes filled with tears.I didn’t mean to cry. I didn’t think it would upset me as much. I can’t understand why it does. I’ve always known it wouldn’t be me! I pull my arm from his grip and leave without another word. I have my own problems and I wan
Beverly“Well, I’m sorry! I wasn’t the one who was walking with her head in the dirt.” He doesn’t move out of my way and looks at me that strange way again, and I roll my eyes. He always has these strange sayings that nobody understands!If I didn’t know for a fact that he had gone to school, I would have wondered if he wasn’t perhaps some wild rogue that my parents adopted!“What is your problem?” I frown. He has been acting stranger than normal recently and I haven’t been able to figure out what is up with him.“Sorry. It’s just been one of those days. What did your dad want?” He frowns, seemingly not listening to a word I’m saying, and clearly trying to change the subject.“I guess he wants the same thing that he asked you about that is bothering you so badly that you don’t look where you are going.” I push past him, knowing full well that he won’t leave that comment there. He follows me down the steps and into the street, and we walk in silence for a while.“So? What are you going
BeverlyMy biggest frustration as I make my way through the crowd, however, is that I can see the looks. You know? The ones that say they are so sorry that I’m still single! It puts so much pressure on me to find a mate. Yeah, my family all had fairy tale true loves. Great!I don’t. Not yet. And honestly, I’m in no hurry. I’ve never been able to understand the concept of it all. So, you barely turn eighteen and have barely become a grown up and the entire world expects you to fall in love, get mated and have a baby.All within the first month of turning eighteen! I smile at one of the older guests who tells me that I shouldn’t worry and that my turn will come. I could have told her the same thing, but I thought it would sound a bit rude. Sighing, I make my way to the back of the party to try and just get away from all the looks.The day has been perfect. The ceremony, the party. All the packs are behaving. Why does it all have to be ruined by the fact that I don’t have a mate?! The ni
BeverlyThe sun streams through my window and I yawn and stretch before jumping out of bed. Today is a big day for our pack. After three generations, we’ve finally built a monument in honour of the people who brought us peace.My family were the ones who fought for that peace and, according to our history, my great-great-grandmother or one of those was the one who defied the old council. She was mated to her destined mate after her entire life was turned upside down.She is my hero, and although I don’t want to fall in love under the same circumstances, I would really like it if I have a love like she had. I suggested the monument to my parents, and they jumped at the chance to do something.It has been built in neutral territory so that any wolf from any pack can go there and just look at our history. It is a secret location, of course, so the humans don’t find it, but it is open to all werewolves. Keeping it secret was a bit of a thing.We had to find somewhere the humans didn’t go
NicoletteI watch as Eli finds his beautiful and shy mate, Amy, and my heart just soars as I see their love grow. I keep thinking back to the couple that started it all, and I’m grateful every day that they stuck to their guns. They didn’t have an incredible start, but they stuck to it and saved our people.A couple of years later, I watch my baby Isabella turns eighteen. She finds her mate, Liam on the same night and I almost wish I could go back a couple of years and just experience some of the first days of being in love.Those first moments that you spend together. My true love wasn’t a fairy tale in the beginning either, but as soon as the problems were solved, life was just perfect. I have watched my children grow up in a world where they are safe from harm, and they know that they are loved every single day.Time ticked by too fast, and on a rainy day just as the leaves turned the most beautiful colours right at the beginning of fall, I had to say goodbye to the man I had loved
NicoletteTwo years after everything changed for me, I’m sitting in our son, Eli’s room. He is crawling around making baby noises and I can’t help but smile as my hand protectively covers my stomach. We have just found out that I’m expecting our second child, and I can’t be happier.My mind drifts to our history and how incredible not only my fairy tale but also the rest of this family’s fairy tale has been. My mother passed away a year ago, which has broken the last of my ties with Max’s pack. I did as she asked and buried her with my father.I will never visit their graves, but it doesn’t bother me. I have my memories of them and that is all that matters. Max’s pack has slowly started to deteriorate now that everyone knows what he is up to and, slowly but surely, most of the females left to find their destined mates.Without the money, Max is unable to take care of all of them the same way he used to. It is sad, but it doesn’t bother me anymore. I have been spending my time away fro
NicoletteThere are so many unanswered questions, but only one of them is right at the top of my list. Is Max my father? I try and find out from my mother, but she refuses to tell me. I also know that Max will never tell me the truth and even if he does, I won’t believe him. Which leaves me with only one option.“I want a paternity test.” I look at Paul the first second we are alone and he frowns.“Are you sure?” He seems hesitant, but I know why. Once I have the actual physical confirmation, it will change everything.“I’m sure. It will not just give me certainty, but if he is, then we have more proof that Max hasn’t been honest with anybody.” I sigh. Paul informs his parents and, before long, I’m sitting in the hospital wing where they are gathering everything they need.Paul joins me moments after the doctor has finished to confirm that the pack that is holding Max will be gathering his samples in the next few minutes. It will take a couple of days to get the results, since nobody
NicoletteSurprisingly, it doesn’t take very long for the packs to send us their suggestions and a month later, we walk back into the beautiful hotel. Sadly, after my previous experience, it has lost some of its luster. Everyone is eager to get down to business.After Paul and I have greeted everyone, we all get together in the conference room and start working on our new constitution. It takes a couple of hours to get it all set up and, after a wonderful lunch, everyone returns. Paul had one of his pack members type up the new agreement and with great anticipation, everyone signs.Once that is settled, we all agree that we would like to rest before dinner. We need to decide on Max’s fate, and it seems everyone is a little hesitant to do that. The previous council caused so much damage to our people, and when I’m honest with myself, I have to admit that my existence is because of that.Out of all the alpha’s Max is the second oldest. There is one alpha who never met his mate and didn’