I just have one chapter tonight, and will only have one tomorrow. Too much real life getting in the way :)
~Jett’s Point of View~ “You’re not being rational about this,” I snapped, beyond frustrated. Alice laughed, laughed right in my face. “Rational? Boy, that’s pretty damn romantic isn’t it? I can’t wait to grow up and find my rational mate,” she said, changing her face and tone. She stuck out her tongue and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself in check. I crossed my arms and huffed. Crow was pacing, pissed that I couldn’t figure out how to close this deal. He was adamant that Maura wanted it, and both wolves were apparently trying to get us humans to go along with it. “Look, I do love you Alice. I don't know how many more times I can say it. For days now I’ve tried to show you. I’ve never felt like this about any female, and I know you feel the same. You’re not willing to admit it, but you damn well do feel the same. And you know you can’t raise that pup alone,” I said, doing all I could to remain calm. I was close to smoke coming out of my ears. She tried to run off last night
~Dane’s Point of View~ *What was the point of this again,* Ryder said, weakly. If there was a way, any way at all I could separate my wolf from me and smack him, I’d do it. Oh, well I’d have to also be able to lift my arm and silver kind of prevents that. “I’m going to say this one more time, asshole. What is your rank,” a male asked, spitting something nasty as he did. The Cove never, ever gives intel on its inner workings. It would be the ultimate treason and I might as well just kill myself if I give away our secrets. I’d be hurting all that I swore to protect and defend. Death before dishonor. I couldn’t exactly deny that I was someone in a position of authority, anyone would be able to tell that by just being in my presence. Kasie was being stupid and she’d come to help us, crossed the border. All we needed was for an Alpha, Beta and Gamma to get wiped out at once. It would lead to an all out war. Not to mention they’d just love to get their hands on her, especially to
~Alice’s Point of View~ “You said she was human until recently? And she’s mated an Alpha? He took her as a human and it didn't kill her,” I said, in shock. I very rarely saw humans, they don’t exactly want to hang out deep in the forest away from all modern conveniences. I found it hard to believe one so weak could be mated to an Alpha but I guess the Goddess does what she wants. She certainly didn’t do me any favors with my mate. “Yes, Drake won her in a combat,” Jett said, going on to finish the story. I put my hands on my hips and shook my head in disgust. On the walk to the medical cabin Jett had told me how Lola and Sawyer met, and how she’d ridiculously thrown herself at another Alpha first. Yeah, that would be a very stupid human thing to do. Here I had an Alpha begging for my neck and all I wanted to do was get away from him. But first … Dane. I had to get news of his condition and judging by how badly Lola was sobbing and carrying on it didn’t seem good. Her mate was
~Jett’s Point of View~ “It’s like they are daring us to just charge in and take him,” Gabe said, pointing at a map. We’d gotten word they were going to put Dane on a pole, and we all knew what that meant. Either someone would take him as a sex slave or they’d enjoying torturing him to death. Or both. It was going to be at sunset, we didn’t have a lot of time to waste. I’d left Alice with Lola and I was a complete chicken shit to tell her what was going on. I knew I’d pay for it later. Crow was beside himself, he’d briefly cussed me out for just not marking Dane ages ago but we both knew doing it without his consent wasn’t possible. At least he wasn’t dumb enough to think he could just run into Venom, teeth bared and take throats. That was suicide and helped nothing. They were going to use the combat fields which were insanely far from us. Drake was actually working on getting us a helicopter transport up there, even running on four legs we’d never make it in time. They were likel
~Jett’s Point of View~ *I don’t think we can risk getting much closer,* I said, over mind-link. We were spread out, easily one guardian every half a mile apart. While I knew Drake had several spies he worked within Venom I wouldn’t be able to mind-link them. It killed me to just go in blind, knowing I could leave with fewer males than I’d come with. I was saying Dane’s life was worth more than theirs, and my mind didn’t believe that even if my heart did. On the ride over here all I thought about was Alice. How scared she was and how she was barely holding it together. Though she’d have never admitted that, Crow got it from her wolf. I hadn’t said good-bye because that would have simply taken too much time and I didn’t want the inevitable fight about her wanting to come. This was no place for any female let alone one I was trying to mate. It was also impossible to look her in the eye and promise I’d be back. That I’d be back with Dane in one piece. *I have an idea,* Gabe said, over
~Alice’s Point of View~ Though they were moving most further south it was too dangerous to move Sawyer. Despite getting annoyed at times with Lola I was getting a bit used to the female. I didn’t want to leave and Drake had too much on his plate to fight with me. Lola had said if Venom makes it to the center the pack may fall, and even though I was new I felt this was my home already. I would defend it to my last breath, pregnant or not. I couldn’t go back out into the wild, Maura begged me not to as well. They’d left one of the new Betas to babysit those who weren’t leaving the center. A male that was very short and seemed maybe … Japanese? I hadn’t wanted to get into story hour and you just never know who will be talkative. His name was Bill so that gave nothing away about his background. “I swear it’s as if his heart is a bit stronger today,” Lola said as she tried to give her male a bit of spongebath. They’d had to give him a feeding tube to ensure he got some nutrition and th
~Dane’s Point of View~ “Where the hell are we,” I said, exhausted. Neither Niles nor myself were in much of a position to shift, so we’d both run on two legs as much as we could. Almost immediately I lost connection to Jett and I had no clue where they were coming in from so I couldn’t just try to go in that direction. The last thing Jett said to me was that they got caught in a fight with a few on patrol. I couldn’t wait around and I was in no position to help them. I told him I was free, on the move and not to try and go to the comat site. It had rained hard for about the first mile then it cleared up and stopped completely. We were both muddy and it made it harder to run. “Not sure, it’s not like they ever let me go far. I haven’t even shifted now in months, my wolf is suppressed. Doesn’t even have the strength to speak to me,” Niles said, out of breath. We’d found a small stream awhile back and at least been able to get a cool drink and I washed up a bit. The night was cold,
~Jett’s Point of View~ “Where the fuck could he have gone?? And how the hell did he get off the pole,” I snapped, raking my hands through my hair. It made no sense. He had to have had help, but Gabe went off with the pack to hunt. Who could it have been? Certainly no female would have been strong enough to get him down. They tie those ropes so damn tight it's nearly impossible for a wolf to get through them without killing the person. I’d really never seen a male leave Venom, Digger wasn’t that stupid. You either fell in line or he probably killed you. He wouldn’t risk someone getting out and telling his secrets. Much to my opposition it seemed Gabe was going to stay awhile. I didn’t like it one bit but he knew the risks. Still if I lost him it would be like losing my right arm, he did so much for us. Not to mention I genuinely liked the male. Things got so hectic in the few moments I was able to mind-link Dane. I hadn't had the chance to tell him where we were. Now we stood around
~Sawyer’s Point of View~ “That’s it, that’s it Jess, come on baby girl,” I said, cooing at my daughter. She looked at me with her bright green eyes and smiled. She put one chubby little foot in front of the other as she took her first steps … like she’s been waiting forever. Like she visualized it and had a plan. I held my arms out to her as she finally collapsed into me. “Ohh!!! Ohh god, I got it! I got it on video,” Lola screamed. My sexy mate was pregnant again, but she didn’t know it yet. I just picked up the scent yesterday. It was likely her wolf would figure it out today or tomorrow so I’d wait and let that happen. I was surprised it took this long to happen again but it was good we had some time between pups. It was damn hard for Lola to wrap her head around the fact that shifters have varying times for pregnancy. For wolf shifters it is usually 20-25 weeks. We had Jess at 21 and she was absolutely perfect. “Did I miss it,” I heard, and looked up to see Lola’s father. She
~Three Months Later~ ~Drake’s Point of View~ *That’s it baby! You got him,* Gage shouted at Helena through mind-link. Gage sat back on his hind legs and proudly stared at the beauty in the snow, who was devouring a large gopher who had given her quite a chase. Corinne was two and a half months pregnant and already growing quite tired from shifting, so this may likely be the last time she does it until after our twins are born. We’d had to start from scratch when her wolf came. It was as if Helena was a brand new wolf coming into her own, and we had to teach her everything. I couldn’t be happier to see her hunting skills were this good already. *That’s my girl,* Remy cooed, over mind-link, open to us both. I rolled my eyes. It was bad enough that Sawyer and I damn near came to blows over Lola, but now we were destined to fight over another female’s attention for all our days. Gage and I were desperate to be the ones to show Helena everything. To grow her abilities and be there for
~Corinne’s Point of View~ Despite Drake marking me, the full moon proved to be too much for his wolf. I caved and just told everyone to leave us be, leave us alone. But Sawyer refused. He saw right through me, and made them take Drake away. I had no clue what they did with him, but I wasn’t sure tonight would be any better. The pull of a full moon can last a couple of days at minimum. I didn’t sleep a wink, my body was crippled with spasms and pain that seemed not to stop. Why couldn’t I just sleep with him? Why hadn’t I just done it? *No,* I heard, making me pop out of bed. “Helena,” I said, barely in a whisper. *It needs to be special, not rushed,* she said. I fell back against the bed, my arms and legs splayed out in all directions. *Goddess I’ve missed you terribly. I’m so damn sorry. I’m so so sorry,* I said, tears streaming down my face. *I’m still so weak. But I think the next full moon, I’ll have it together. Go to mate now, the closeness to his wolf will help me,* sh
~Drake’s Point of View~ *Skin … creamy soft…* Gage purred. He demanded I touch her sandy blonde hair, it was damp and we wanted to run our fingers through it. I couldn’t possibly help myself despite knowing I had to tread carefully. Even touching Corinne before she was ready could be disastrous. I had no idea when the last time was that a male touched her, maybe the last time she had a pup but I just didn’t know. I’d already spent a lot of time speaking with the doctors about PTSD. It was hardly something I dared to ask her about, the female seemed to resent me and try to run away every chance she got. Gage liked at first, cat and mouse. But after a few days it just became depressing. I didn’t have the heart to just come out and tell her we were mates. Not to mention Sawyer told me to let it run its course. See if her wolf comes out just by being around me. Being around other strong wolves. If her wolf came, she would do wonders for calming Corinne, giving her reassurance. Judgin
~Corinne’s Point of View~ “Mama, I love your cuddles,” I heard, making me stir. I squeezed the warmth in my arms, it was my son Jakob. Oh, and Helena apparently. I really didn’t know what it was to sleep alone but it wasn’t as though I was able to give the kids all their own beds. I couldn’t even believe that I had slept, basically only because my body was THAT tired. That exhausted. I still couldn’t even believe it. Venom was no more. There would be no more cave, no more hole in the earth we called home for so long. But above all … no more males coming in the night and invading our bodies. In a weird way, I’d miss our little bunker. The only home my babies had known. We were now in a large cabin with tons of rooms. Tons of light and colors. Real furniture. A deep breath already told me someone was cooking and my stomach practically lurched me out of bed. I couldn’t believe how nice everyone was, maybe being the Alpha’s sister will have perks. Maybe they’re just actually n
~Drake’s Point of View~ *Fuck this is a long run, we need a drink,* Gage whined. We were exhausted but this was hardly the time to stop. He wasn’t wrong though. *There should be a few cabins coming up, we’ll stop there,* I promised him. I was getting mind-links from all over. Digger had attacked Belle and Lola, now he was on the loose. There were easily a hundred guardians already there on site but our lands were so damn big finding him wouldn’t be as easy as you’d think. They all believed he was heading toward the beach though, and everyone said Jett took Alice there. I knew he would take her to the ship, there’d be no chance in hell anyone could find them hidden away in the cove. It was a perfect hiding spot and likely how the ship ended up there in the first place. Then went to hide their treasure then couldn’t get back out. Everyone had theories. The first cabin we stopped at had a family in it, thankfully they had a bunch of chicken and rice left from dinner which Gage ate
~Lola’s Point of View~ Should have never agreed to go with Belle, all these damn kids in such a small space! But seeing Alice and Jett make eyes at each other constantly made me just feel awkward. I needed a distraction and I wasn’t getting it watching those two practically fucking with their eyes. It took some serious effort but Duncan was actually a massive help getting all the babies to bed. We’d had to make beds out of dresser drawers for the tiny ones, there was so little space. Belle and I were going to be sharing a cot as it was. I didn’t think Sawyer would want me snuggling up to a male. We’d gotten a mind-link earlier that our guardians had defeated Venom and everyone was on their way back. But it could be dawn before they’d be back. I’d gotten some weird feelings and sensations through my mate bond for the last couple of hours and I didn’t know what to make of it all. Sawyer was sad, but yet happy and relieved. I hated waiting to find out why but he was okay and that’s al
~Alice’s Point of View~ “Ohh right there yeah, Ohh Jett, you’re so deep, right in the middle ohh you know my spot,” I moaned. “It’s only the beginning, good thing you have four strong hands to take care of you,” Jett said, licking his lips. Damn, why does he have to be so impossibly good looking? Even just sitting there it’s nearly impossible not to shove him down and-- *There’s noise outside,* Maura shouted. Jett’s wolf must have sensed it at the same moment because he dropped my foot and leapt to the window. There were two guardians on patrol outside the house and I immediately realized that wasn’t enough. An awful kind of dread fell over me, and Maura was begging to shift. We had planned to stay holed up in Dane’s old cabin while everyone was gone, but I was too curious to see the infamous beach house and didn’t think it should sit empty. So we passed the cabin on to Belle and her pups, with Duncan going along. It would be tight for all but it was far enough in the south. T
~Corinne’s Point of View~ “Sa… Sawyer?” The word left my mouth, my heart raced but my mind… My mind tried to convince me I was hallucinating. Vivian took my hand, knowing his name. As many times as I’d told stories of how we grew up. How I’d had to lose everything to the same male who now held me captive. The babies were all scared and restless, having been woken twice in the night now. But this gruff voice in the dark, it was like a beacon of light and hope … more than I’d ever felt. The Goddess was shining her light on me, in my darkest hour. I handed my pup to Viv and took a step forward. She put her free hand on the small of my back as I began to shake uncontrollably. The last time I’d seen my brother’s face he was a contorted mess of anger, rage and half wolf. It was torture to have that as the last memory of my best friend. “Corrie! I’m here, I’m here. I’m real honey,” I heard. His voice was nothing like I remembered, it was so rough and he sounded so pained. Honey … that