LUCY'S POV: I looked up at Seth, my eyebrows creased. Seth was only trying to be supportive, but he didn't need to touch me. And what was with that comment? "Was it Alpha Zeak?" Seth asked with malice and disgust in his tone.He asked about the Alpha of the Red Paw Pack as if he knew. He was only one of many to do whatever they pleased with me. I opened my mouth, ready to respond, but my mouth closed again before I looked down. I swallowed hard, feeling the lump forming in my throat.I'm not sure when Jason had arrived in the dining room. I flinched as his hand rested softly on my shoulder until I realized it was him. He looked at me with a sad smile, like he knew more about me than I wanted him to."Alpha Leander bought a slave from Zeak a year ago. That's when suspicions started. The young pup was terrified to speak, similar to you," Seth spoke again without me answering his question."Lucy, you didn't respond verbally for a week after we brought you back to our pack. Alpha had t
LUCY'S POV: It had been two weeks since the night Dax had lost control. It took Seth and me a few days to meet face-to-face and call a truce, and then we were back to sparring and training. I was inches away from beating Seth in a sparring match. In fact, I had a pretty good idea that Nia was holding back on Dax's behalf. I swear you'd think these two were mates, but she swears we're not his mate. Of course, he also doesn't smell like a mate, so I suppose that's settled. When I woke up after that insane night, I was shocked to find out that I had slept for almost 48 hours. Jason's relief when I woke up was endearing. He had been sitting by my bedside, reading as usual. I had noticed this about him. His nose was buried in a book if he wasn't whipping up something delicious. We spent most afternoons around a campfire on the pack patio. Seth and Jason shared stories of the pack, the Alpha, the twins, and other pack members. It felt nice. I could get closer to the pack without being
LEON'S POV:It had been a month or so since Lucy had gone missing. According to my dad, who I wasn't feeling very trusting towards, they had no sightings of her. To appease my insistent nagging, he eventually sent out a small party of warriors to look for her. He seemed completely unbothered by the entire thing. I guess that's what irritated me the most.Bandit had been quiet. I could feel him, and he spoke to me occasionally. I had to go for frequent runs to strengthen him, and I was no closer to understanding why this was happening to me.Sometimes, male wolves can go crazy when they don't find their mate as they age. The need to mate drives us; it's a part of who we are. As an Alpha, it's intense.I knew that if I didn't find my fated mate soon, I would need to take a chosen mate, or I risked losing Bandit forever. This was the only conclusion I could come up with, but I hadn't told anyone what was happening yet.I was sitting in our pack library, finally researching hybrids, when
LIAM'S POV:I was so convinced that Lucy was my mate. I guess it was all just a weird reaction to having a new pack member who was close to my family so suddenly, on top of knowing that she came from the Red Paw Pack as a slave.We had been investigating this pack for a while. My dad would buy slaves from other packs and basically set them free. Often, they stayed in our pack and lived a free life, but when he brought Rosie back, we knew something was wrong.This was the first slave he had bought from the Red Paw Pack.Slaves were known to live harder lives. Often forced into working very laborious jobs with no pay. On top of that, they were always malnourished and timid, but Rosie was different.She didn't speak for months. With a look of terror in her eyes, she would simply nod yes at every question.She was only 15. Just a few years younger than Lucy when Dad brought her home.Thankfully, an older mated couple had grown pups now and were happy to take her in. Dad made sure that she
LUCY'S POV:"Arrgggh" I groaned out loud as I stretched languishingly in my bed. Blinking my eyes a few times before staring up at the ceiling."Nia, pleeeeeease just heal the ache," I complained out loud.Seth had been kicking my ass the last two days after I finally beat him sparring. He was no longer going easy on the workouts.'Lucy, the soreness is a reminder of what it took to get stronger. I'm not healing that part of you,' she said, reminding me for the millionth time."UGH, why do you have to be so wise and stubborn," I spat back while rolling my body to the edge of the bed grudgingly. 'I'm you, and you are me, you know you need this as much as I do,' she replied dryly. Clearly sick of my whining."At least Seth will be gone for a while, so I can take a break. My body feels like it was run over by a semi," I respond, letting my legs fall off the edge of the bed. My feet hit the cold ground before I dragged my body to the door.I let the delicious smell lingering from the kit
When my eyes finally landed on Tricia, I felt some relief but also a flood of anxiety. It was definitely her.She was a few years older than me and while she looked the same, she had definitely grown up. Her features were the same but different and more mature. I'm sure it was the same for me. We hadn't seen each other in four years.Gamma Zev escorted her. I had thought she would have come with a warrior or two, so I'm guessing Leander's inner circle was the only person besides Tricia who knew about me being here. I took a mental note to ask Seth who all knew I was here when he got back.Once she got a bit closer to the cabin, I stood up from the porch swing."LUCY!" she hollered at me before she ran up to me and embraced me in a warm but extremely tight hug.I winced and she immediately pulled back and stared at me with a frown.I laughed a little before explaining. "I'm just sore, Beta Seth has been working me hard. I'll be good by tomorrow Trish."She blew air out through her par
LUCY'S POV:"Hello?" I screamed out into the void.It's all black. Nothingness.I stomp my feet on the ground; there is no sound, no pressure."Nia?" I whispered. I'm beginning to get scared at this point. I'm unsure where I am and what this place is.She doesn't answer. Am I dead?My shoulders slump forward, and just as I'm about to sit and have an entire meltdown, I see a silver glimmer flicker in the corner of my eye. I quickly turn my entire body to it while narrowing my eyes.I feel a pull in my chest as I begin moving toward it. As I approach the bright silver light, I'm engulfed by it, suddenly standing at the tree line by the pack house—the Crescent Wolf Pack House.I look around warily. How did I get here? I continue to look around, seemingly noticing that I am completely alone, when I hear a branch snap, causing me to whip my head to the side."Lucy?" I hear a familiar voice coming closer.Leon's voice.I turn to face the direction of his voice, gently stepping backwards. I
LUCY'S POV:Leon and I look at each other for a short time. I don't know his thoughts or feelings, but he seems calm, so I'm trying to pull myself together."Is Bandit okay?" This was the only response I could think of. I wasn't sure what the dream version of me would say to him, but it was a shot in the dark."No, he has been really weak. I don't know what has gotten into him. My best guess is that I'm getting older, and his need to have a mate is pulling our connection apart. I know it doesn't typically happen this young, but being an Alpha, it would make sense for it to happen earlier," he says, shifting to look up at the ceiling. Damn. Here I am. His actual fated mate. Listening to him talk about losing his wolf because he needs his mate.My stomach flips as he turns back on his side to look at me again.I feel horrible. "Do you want a mate?" I might as well take advantage of this moment to ask a few questions I've secretly wanted to know."Do you?" he counters, looking at me wit
Lucy:I open my eyes and no longer feel so heavy. In fact, my entire being feels lighter somehow. The damp, soft feeling of grass beneath my body soothes me as I take a deep breath.My eyes adjust to the light of a full moon as I sit up.The moon cascades a glow across unfamiliar territory. A soft neon glow illuminates off of the foreign bushes surrounding me.'Nia?' I ask instinctively, as the clouds in my mind start to dissipate and the memories begin flooding back in.No answer.Smoothing out the pants I'm wearing with the palms of my hands, I look around for anything familiar.I can hear the rush of water and whispering in the distance, pulling me forward.I walk cautiously through the terrain, following the sounds in the distance that are luring me to them.As I turn the corner of the rocky hillside, the brightness of the light that hits my eyes makes me fall back on my butt.I use my arm to shield my eyes, instinctively shifting them to their white phase before opening them back
Tricia:The phone held its silence as I grasped what my mom asked."Tricia... I just thought it was better for you not to get your hopes up when I saw what I had," Mom explains."I guess mine and Enya's decision affected more than I had realized," she sighed as I stood there frozen.My heart feels like it is being crushed, knowing that in some version of my life, I may never have met Saul.I look over at Saul, who is doing his best not to intrude on my phone conversation, but I know he has been listening in enough to hear what I did.I hang up. I don't know what to say or how I'm supposed to act. I knew she had kept something from me."Has Liam or Leon ever saved your life?" I ask Saul directly.He looks at me, baffled but clearly deep in thought about my question."Why do you ask?" he questions me, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms now crossed below his chest.It's clear he remembered something, and the connection is making him question further why I'm asking this question myself.He
Lucy:The last thing I remember was feeling weak and my eyelids being too heavy to hold up before I collapsed.All that I can hear now is the faint sound of beeping."She needs rest, Alpha. We don't know enough about Fae to treat her properly," I hear a familiar voice.Jonie, I tell myself. I try to call out for her, but my voice is too weak."Why isn't her wolf healing her?" I hear Leander ask.I want to tell him she is gone, but my body isn't cooperating with me.'Nia?' I call out again, desperately hoping she will give me a sign that she is still there.Nothing. The beeping grows faster as the realization that I may have genuinely lost Nia starts hitting me full force."What's happening!?" That's Liam's panicked voice.I can't open my eyes; they're too heavy. Everything feels too heavy."Alpha, you need to get your boys out of here." That's not Jonie but a man.Dr. Solfere, perhaps?"I'm not leaving her!" I hear Leon; his hand grips my arm.I can feel his grip. No sparks. Does he fe
Lucy:I knew something wasn't right the moment I finally pinned her down, and she started laughing.'Shift,' Nia encouraged me, but I couldn't; my insides felt frozen.The longer I was frozen, the more I felt Nia shrinking further into me.Savina always had ill intentions toward me. This much I could feel in her presence. I had assumed this had to do with being Leon's mate, but there's something I'm missing.Nia can't reach me nor can I reach her now.'Mate, get up!' I hear Liam scream through the link, breaking me from the trance I had with Savina.'What's wrong?' Leon links immediately after.I feel like my soul was nearly ripped from me, and my lungs were run over by a truck."How did you do that?" I say, barely a whisper, as I continue to catch my breath.I get to my feet shakily, stumbling backward as she laughs at me again.'Nia,' I whisper, searching for any sign of her.I can't feel her anymore. It's like she was never there to begin with."I told you to forfeit. This didn't h
Leon:"Why is he here?" Liam grumbles as we get closer to the training grounds.It's clear he wants to hate Lucy being around Seth, but it's starting to feel like he's trying too hard to hate it.I roll my eyes, but I can't help but tune into their conversation. Liam had to have been doing the same thing. We shared a curious glance before calling out what we heard.'I have to admit, I feel bad for Seth,' Liam links me as we watch him helping Lucy with her defensive moves.They really did train fluidly together. They moved with one another like a dance. It's the first time I've seen Seth look that happy.'So stop being an ass. Our mate cares for him, and he's our best friend,' I link back.'What if she never gets over him?' Liam questions through our link.I look over at him with a smile. He knows my answers to this already. What he is really asking is if I still care because she already has two mates.'I already told you how I felt, Liam; nothing has changed because she's mated to yo
Lucy:Under the spell that was the lands of the Silver Throne Fae, my mates and I were consumed with unbridled lust and desire.Maybe this was our truth, the raw need for each other. Yet, something was always standing in the way. I was probably the most guilty person in this department, but tonight, I wasn't going to be.I could feel Leon's canines pierce the outer layer of my skin. A small drop of blood runs down my neck.Liam has me on the brink of ecstasy when we hear a twig snap.Liam and Leon immediately push me behind them. I was unprepared, dipping into the water without their support to hold me up.Coming back up for air, I grab Liam's shoulder as I gasp for breath after taking water into my lungs."What are you doing here?" Leon hisses.I can't see over their big frames."Let me up!" I whine in Liam's ear.I grab his shoulders and lift myself. He catches my legs, looping them in his arms like a piggyback ride.My face drops as I see Savina standing next to the spring with her
"Let's go for a swim!" Liam says, ripping off his clothes like he's burning up, yet it's not warm at all.I look around to see everyone doing just about the same thing.'This is my kind of festival,' Nia giggles.'Could you hear Seth? Am I going crazy?' I ask her, taking off my sweater now."Wait up!" I hear Trish from behind us.Liam and Leon pause, standing in their briefs leisurely like it's the middle of the summer."What about my vision?" Trish says, catching her breath as Saul strides up behind her."The Mood Goddess protects us. We give offerings and truth in exchange for this night of celebrations and the blessings within the pack," Leon shrugs casually like it's part of his personality, but I know that's not true.No one is themselves, and yet I don't feel any different at all."Don't you think we should be strategizing nonetheless? What if Zeak takes the opportunity to strike first thing in the morning when he thinks we will be weak from everyone staying out late at the festi
Lucy:As I suspected, they wanted me to light the bonfire with my magic.The magic Sybil spoke of was now starting to take some effect, and it felt like it already had for both of my mates for most of this day."I don't think this is a good idea," Seth finally voiced his opinion.Liam led us to the City Hall, where Leon was with Leander, Sybil, Trish, Saul, and a man whom I'm guessing is Theo.The moment my eyes met Theo's, he tilted his head and smiled widely."You must be Lucy," he bows after grabbing my hand and kissing the top of it.'What the hell?' I ask Nia.I can feel her lurch forward, but she doesn't say a word.I pulled my hand back and smiled politely, even though I felt very weird about his actions."You must be Theo! It's so nice to meet you. I have so many questions for you!" I say, remembering he was a real wizard.The child in me was fangirling."It's better the pack knows now than to have them find out later. Lucy is just as much a Fae as she is a werewolf. The pack m
Lucy:Was I imagining that? Was I starting to feel things that I wanted to just because I had some feelings or connection with Seth?I couldn't stop thinking about his touch.I could tell that Seth's intentions were not just to help me warm up before tomorrow, but rather, he was worried about me.I hadn't been inside the gym much. It was spacious. At least three hundred warriors could train here comfortably."Stretch," Seth says with a smile. "You're not going to scold me for being petty? I do have another reason, you know? Whether some of my reasoning has bad intentions, I also want to help Gatheo," I explained.I sit down and start stretching my legs, waiting for him to speak up, but he just looks at me thoughtfully instead.Never prying too much, just letting me speak as I do naturally."You know I could never scold you for that, Lucy. I was there that night and the following day. I just needed to know, and I needed you to admit it out loud. Now come on," he says, extending his ha