Asher
“Alpha!” The middle-aged woman wailed as soon as she spotted Logan and me. “My son! Alpha, my son!”
“I can’t,” Logan whispered, looking sick.
“My son,” she whimpered, her eyes peering up at me with hope, with sheer faith in me, her Alpha, her protector. It was like a blow to my chest, one of the reasons why I never wanted to be an Alpha in the first place.
“I…I…” I stuttered, struggling to find the words. Surprising me, Ivy gave my hand a light squeeze and nodded as I peered down at her.
Don’t give her hope…even a second of it would bring years worth of pain, she seemed to say.
Ivy“Hey,” Eli gazed up from where he sat by the artificial lake and blinked as he spotted me standing behind him. “Luna…” he muttered, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes, flopping down beside him. Everything that happened today was just too much to process. So as much as I wanted to take Asher’s advice and rest, I just couldn’t. I tried, but every time I closed my eyes to take a nap, all I could see was the young boy twisting in pain and that innocent young girl. After a while, it pissed me off enough that I decided to take a walk instead. Asher hadn’t returned yet, but I spotted Eli sitting by the lake, his body slumped. He seemed quite disturbed earlier as well, so even though I was no good at consoling anyone, I decided to give him some company. “Don’t call me Luna, please,” I grumbled. “Isn’t that what you are?” he said, eyes fixed on the still, sparkling water of the artifical lake. “I’d rather be your friend, we have already discussed that.” “You’ll always be my Luna, n
Asher“Where were you last night?” Ivy inquired. I didn’t turn to face her, pretending my best to find something to wear. I didn’t come home last night. Instead, I crashed at the lakehouse after chugging down a few drinks. It made no sense to me why I was still irritated and pissed at her after finding her hugging my Delta yesterday. Jealousy wasn’t my thing and I don’t think it was jealousy that I felt. It was something else. But whatever it was, I was still not over it.“Aren’t we going to train today?” Ivy added. “What is my training schedule? Do I train with you or others?” I pulled out an olive V-neck T-shirt to go with my black khakis and threw it on.“You start your Luna training with Cora and Rose today. And I have a meeting, so Eli will see to the training. If you feel like training with him, go right ahead.” It appalled me how bitter I sounded.“You still didn’t answer my first question,” Ivy said
Dad was batshit crazy when I headed for the meeting. Logan and Noah threw me cautious looks, a plea to not irk him with my smart mouth. Elder Silas and Elder Ansel were there too, both giving me a polite nod. I couldn’t help but give the former a look, Ivy’s words ringing in my head.“How did this even happen?” Dad demanded. “Vampires?”“A week or two ago, there was an intruder. Ash went after it but apparently it was too fast and we lost it. It was then that we suspected but weren’t sure until well..yesterday,” Noah answered.“Now, what are we to do?” Elder Ansel inquired, not at all looking pleased.“We need to talk to Orion,” I said. “This has not happened once since we signed the treaty, which was more than fifty years ago.”“Orion won’t break the treaty,” dad muttered. “I am sure of that.”“Well then, he can surely give us some ideas or a direction to investigate so we can hunt down the bastards and get rid of them for once and all.” I replied. “Until then, security will be enfor
IvyMy eyes bore into the old files and books scattered across the bed. I spent the entire afternoon with Rose and Cora for my Luna training. After that, the latter sent me away with all these books and files to read. There were pages after pages of GrayCrest history, and I was surprised to find how ancient the pack was.I scoured through the pages and halted when I came to a part about the Cold War. But weirdly enough, there was just mention of the war and a few details. The rest of the pages were haphazardly torn out. As if no one wanted to have any tangible accounts as to what happened in that war. But why was that?“What are you reading?” I almost jumped and peered up to find Asher frowning at me.“I…Cora gave me all these books and files with info on GrayCrest, ancient history and stuff,” I answered. “Said I should have their contents at the tip of my tongue or at least…try.”“That doesn’t sound fun.
AsherShe was gorgeous. And that was an understatement. I have never seen a wolf so beautiful, so exquisite, ever before. She was a silver wolf. Like literally silver. I have seen a white wolf. Rose's wolf was almost golden-ish but silver. I have read somewhere that it was extremely rare that anyone would have a silver wolf and there were barely any instances of their existence.But here she stood, all high and mighty, and it didn’t take long for me to realize she wasn’t any ordinary wolf. Her tail, for instance, was much longer than you usually see in a female wolf, her silver coat literally sparkled underneath the moonlight and she had light violet eyes. Again, very rare. And there was a certain dominance to her. Like that of an Alpha.“What is she?” I whispered. “What did the Moon Goddess give us for a mate?”“A fucking goddess herself,” Mac murmured, absolutely awestruck. Before I could respond or ev
Ivy“That deer was a tough nut to crack,” Silver grimaced, panting hard as she spied the dead animal on the floor. “Ugh, I am tired now. Let’s get back.” My wolf turned around and both of us halted.Fuck.“I think we have come a bit too far,” I said, staring around. Although we were still within the forested area, I knew we had crossed the final perimeter. When you walked in through the final perimeter, you could feel that you had entered someone's territory. And right now it didn’t feel like that.“Ah crap, we got a bit carried away,” Silver said lazily.“Let’s get back before Asher sends a search party,” I said. My wolf grunted in response and turned around. But before she could take two steps, something halted us both.A scent.“Wait…” I whispered. “That…that scent…” Silver went completely still and we both sniffed. At first we were greeted with that usual foresty scent but then after a few seconds
Ivy“What the fuck were you doing there?” Asher growled, the moment I emerged after shifting back and pulling on my clothes.“I…” I started, but he was already cutting me off, looking mad and bewildered.“Do you know how scared we got?” he demanded. “We don’t have the mindlink, Ivyanka! I cannot sense if you are in danger, cannot talk or hear you! All we had was your scent and when we realized where you went…fuck.” I was a bit surprised, not expecting him to be that worried.“I sensed my mother’s scent there,” I murmured. Asher stopped running his fingers through his hair and blinked at me.“What?” I nodded.“I hunted down the deer just near the final perimeter and was returning when I caught it…her scent,” my voice broke and Asher’s eyes softened, his panic subsiding. “I had to follow it and before either Silver or I knew…”“Silver?” Ash frowned.“My wolf,” I said. “Her name is Silver…pretty obvious, I guess.”“Very fitting,” he agreed.“Yeah, so before we both realized it, we had gon
IvyI was stunned, but excited as well. If I was right, this could be my biggest breakthrough in figuring out who Killian Price was. Or at least a step towards it. The crazy thirst for revenge, the lack of information about him, all the secrecy…it made total sense. He was hiding and waiting for the right time.Hiding for the past thirty-four years.“Ivy, are you alright?” Asher asked.“Yeah. I want to know more…about RiverPride, about the war,” I said. “Please?” Asher frowned, but then nodded.“I guess you can find more information at the Council archives,” he replied. “But you can only access it once you are officially my Luna. That is, once we get married.” Disappointment crashed through me, but still it was something more than absolutely nothing.“And about that…” Asher added. “The marriage registrar will come by the day after tomorrow and the wedding date, as suggested by Sabrina, is ten days from
IvyI stepped closer, my dagger glinting in the dim light. “What were you doing here? What was the ritual for?”Thalora’s lips curled into a smile as if she were savoring some private joke. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”Sabrina’s magic flared, and the chains constricted sharply. Thalora hissed in pain but laughed again.“You’re standing in the middle of it and you don’t know? Typical. Always so blind to the bigger picture. Fine, fine. You disrupted it anyway, but you might as well know what you’ve doomed yourselves to.” Her gaze flicked to me, dark amusement dancing in her eyes.
IvyThe tunnel opened into a dimly lit corridor, damp and suffocating. The walls were carved from rough stone, and the air carried a mix of mildew and iron—the unmistakable scent of blood. My boots scraped softly against the uneven floor as Sabrina and I moved forward, her magic casting a faint glow that barely pierced the oppressive darkness. I knew this place. This was the Crescent Moon dungeon.“Stay alert,” Sabrina whispered, her sharp eyes scanning ahead.A faint noise—shuffling footsteps and low murmurs—pricked my ears. We slowed, pressing against the cold stone walls.“They&rsqu
IvyI armed myself with whatever possible weapon I could—wolfsbane in small vials, a wolfsbane laced dagger and even small blades laced with wolfsbane. My heart was pounding in my chest as I took deep breaths, pulled on my gloves and headed downstairs. The weather outside was turning darker by the second and Sabrina predicted a blizzard to hit soon.The last update Asher gave me through the mindlink was that the armies have gathered and the glimpse he tried to give me of Killian’s army…things were really not looking good for GrayCrest. We literally had half of what he had apart from the vampires and the hybrids. The only hope now was tha
Christmas morning was filled with the comforting smell of roasted meats, warm bread, and the spice of mulled cider as pack members gathered around the tables for a feast. No one talked about the war, even if between us, we knew that Silas was dead and Noah had actually sent his dead body over to the Crescent Moon—a Christmas gift Killian would remember. Sabrina told me that she has managed to create the antidote and tomorrow she and Avery will start injecting the warriors and everyone else with it before leaving for the battlefield.Cora, Rose, and I had gathered gifts over the past weeks, and together, we made our way through the pack, handing small wrapped bundles to every member. The omega children squealed with delight as they tore into theirs. Stacks of gifts piled up for Aurie and Theo, each pack member contributing something to bring joy to the children. I glanced at Shae and Lia as they added their own contributions to the ever-growing pile. Everyone’s gestures, big or small,
Ivy“How could they even decide that without asking us what the truth was?” Cora growled as Asher’s eyes scanned the letter, turning dark with rage every passing second.“Natalie must have been very convincing,” I grimaced. “Does Logan and Noah know?”“Yes, I told them,” she nodded.“Are they still working on Silas?” I asked. “It’s been long enough.”“None of what Silas told them is of any use to use. And apparently, even he doesn’t know Killian’s war strategy. Logan has tried enough…you wouldn’t want to see what he has done with him. I have never seen Logan this angry in all my life and I have seen a lot…” I pursed my lips. If it scared Cora watching what Logan had done to Silas, then I definitely didn’t want to know.“Well, if we get through this the Council is fucked,” Asher hissed, crumbling the paper in his hands.“Now what?” Cora asked.“Now we fight with all we have got,” he said. “This isn’t going
Out of all the places, I didn’t expect Asher to take me to a tattoo parlor. Did he want to get a tattoo now?“I don’t think this is an appropriate time to get a tattoo…” I muttered as he headed inside.“I’m not here to get a tattoo, but this is where I have got all my tattoos done, in case you were curious. And when all of this shit is over, I have a matching tattoo planned for us as well,” Asher said. “Now…this is why I am here,” I frowned as he pointed to a woman in black standing by one of the booths. She had pink hair tied in a ponytail and looked pissed as fuck as she watched an artist work on a guy.“Ruby,” Asher called. The woman turned around and I blinked. She was typically not the kind of female I could imagine Asher being friends with.“Hello Alpha,” her scowl instantly turned to a grin as she walked over and gave Asher a hug before turning her eyes covered in kohl and liner to me. “Wait…don’t tell me…it’s her, isn’t it? The Silver wolf?” I frowned.How did she know that?“
Ivy Reed, dad and I were gathered in the common study to discuss war strategy. We had spread out maps and charts and all that stuff and now my father was deep in talks with Reed as he explained the old strategies of the army to him. My father looked much recovered now, very much like the alpha he was. If there will ever be a second in my life where I won’t be grateful for Eli’s sacrifice, then I hope the Moon Goddess kills me right there.“Hmm. I believe Killian’s forces will be advancing from this side…” Dad muttered, deep in thought.“Yes,” Reed agreed, his expression serious as he analyzed the map. “And we’ll be positioned here.” He tapped a cluster of trees on our side of the field. “It’ll be steep and treacherous, but we can use that to our advantage. If Killian’s vampires try to attack from higher ground, the slopes and snow will slow them down.”“They’ll likely position their main forces here—vampires an
IvyHybrids? Did he just say hybrids? We all fell into stunned silence as Silas broke out into his maniacal laughter. Out of everything, we never expected this to happen.“Hybrids?” Joseph exclaimed. “What?” Silas nodded his head.“Yes, hybrids,” he grinned. “Killian has an army of hybrids, and he’s going to destroy you all with them. Hybrids are ten times stronger and faster and more lethal…”“But how the fuck did he even create an army of hybrids?” Asher asked. “It’s not possible…”“It is possible and Killian has done it,” Silas hissed. “That’s why he had taken the young wolves. They were at a vulnerable place and terrified by the pain of the first shift…and you know how it is? The breaking bones, the boiling blood scorching their veins…it’s hell.”“And how does this have anything to do with hybrids?” Logan demanded.“That’s a mystery you can solve by yourselves,” Silas spat. “I have told you enough…”“It w
Asher“Let the truth potion work,” Noah muttered.“Sabrina asked to wait three to five minutes and then it should be good to go,” Ivy said. Silas threw her a glare and ended up getting another punch from me.“Don’t you dare…” I hissed. “Now, enough with your shit…it’s time you spill. Tell us, why did you come here? What was the plan, and exactly what happened after the Cold War? Tell us everything…”“Come on…get talking,” Logan slapped his cheeks.“Patience, Logan,” Noah said.“The fact that he isn’t dead yet is enough sign of my patience,” he responded.“Tell us…what happened after the Cold War,” I repeated. Silas looked up, his eyes turning red, the gash on his cheek from Logan’s punch turning purple already.“When we saw that we were losing the war…Alpha Roman asked me to take Luna Charlotte and run,” Silas croaked. “She was pregnant and just a few days away from delivering the baby. I followed his order and did as he asked.”“We know all that…tell us what happened after Charlotte g