General Rayne’s POV How can so much crap have happened in a day? Not even a day. It’s not even 3pm yet. I look at the people surrounding me. I thank the goddess that everyone’s still with us. Although they may be hurt or exhausted, they are breathing. Oh crap, Elizabeth, the kids. “Hi Honey.” I mind link her. “Hi Honey? You tell me the absolute basics of what is going on. Then you say Hi Honey, to me. Do you know what happened here?” She snaps at me. I can feel her irritation through the bond. No matter how I answer her. I will be wrong. I chose to stay quiet. “How dare you not tell me what was happening? I am your mate. The mother of your children. You didn’t think I should know that you were going to face the fight of your life. We could have lost you.” I said nothing. If I told her, she might have panicked. But not telling her caused her to worry. “Yeah, I got your message.” She will never know how close to death I came today. Or that the girl she sent ac
Ara’s POV The doctor tells me where I can find Brandon. Apparently, he hadn’t left the side of the man that saved him. He is such a sweet child. I’m not sure what I would have done if that man hadn’t gotten there in time. Now his wolf has returned. I am sure he will make a full recovery. I’m headed to room 106, where they took him. I look through the glass on the window, just to check if I am in the right place. Brandon is there asleep on the bed with the man. It’s unusual for Brandon to fall asleep during the day. But there he was, cuddled up with him. The man has his arm draped over Brandon. Like he is still protecting him. I opened the door as quietly as I could. When I stepped inside the room, the scent of peppermint surrounded me. It’s so intoxicating, my wolf Mesha pants. I closed the door behind me. If this is what I think it is, I need to get Brandon out of the room, then I will reject him. I had a mate. He was the love of my life. I don’t think I could lov
Max’s POV At first, we felt confused when Uncle Rayne told us to stay in the living quarters of the palace. The moment we walked in and caught the stench of blood, we understood and agreed immediately. “You can have this room.” I told Christina. Who was walking alongside Nix. “Don’t suppose anyone has any clothes I can borrow. I have been travelling lightly for the last few days.” She asks. “I will get some from Eden’s room.” Jax offers. “I have to go, Christina,” Nix tells her. “Don’t worry. I promise you that you will be safe with them.” She looks at me, dead in the eye. “I know I will be Nix. Quinn will kill them if they try anything. Then I will feed them to Jen.” Jax returns with a few items and hands them over to her and with that, she walks into the room and closes the door. “She is joking, right?” I asked Nix nervously. “Truthfully, it’s hard to tell,” he says, laughing. “Oh, my goddess, what have I been mated to?” “Come on, let’s get you both up to speed,” Nix s
Parker’s POV When Lottie and Maddox returned from River Valley Pack and told me what happened to Millie, I couldn’t believe it. They were leaving to go to the palace with a plan of returning later to recover her body. I decided at that moment what I was going to do. They didn’t need me at the palace. I am not gifted, or special. I won’t make any difference. But I will get peace of mind from what I am about to do. I was supposed to travel with Ethan and Freya. But I couldn’t go. I couldn’t leave her body there. Not amongst all those traitors. Not for one second more than it had to be. She deserved better. The moment the car was out of my sight, I shifted, allowing Saxon to take over. He headed into the pack territory. When we got closer, there were quite a few wolves around. “I guess some of them survived Lottie’s visit.” I told Saxon. Before he shifts. I am smaller than Saxon and can hide better. It's not that I am scared to fight, I am scared I won't be able to achieve
Lottie’s POV The doctor told Caren there was nothing physically wrong with her. She thinks she was just exhausted herself. She also admitted that as Caren is a hybrid, it would be difficult to tell if there was a problem with her powers. The only advice she could give her was to take it easy for a few days. We asked to borrow a car. Then, with our mates in the front seats, we drove home. I held Caren’s hand the whole way. The only sound that filled the journey was our quiet sobs. I couldn’t hold it together when the house came into view. I kept control throughout the entire journey. But now, when I saw the house, it all became real. She isn’t going to be there. She is really gone. Forever. My quiet sobs weren’t quiet anymore. If we had never left, would she still be alive? I looked at my mate. No, I can’t think like that. She wanted us to leave. She encouraged us to live our lives. Be the best version of ourselves. She was the best mom. No, she was a great mom. As
Nix’s POV During the journey back to the palace, Eden slept with her head on my shoulder. Parker was sitting on the other side of her. We sat in silence. I don’t know what he was thinking about, but my thoughts were about Millie. I still blame myself for her death. I have to let Caren know. I have to tell her it is my fault Millie died. I need to beg her and Lottie’s forgiveness. I looked out of the window. What would my mom make of me being responsible for Millie’s death? Tears filled my eyes, a lump formed in my throat. I give a small sniffle. “Don’t,” Parker says. “Please don’t. It will start me off again.” I guess he is thinking of her, too. I nodded at him once and regained my composure. As soon as the car came to a stop, I picked up my sleeping mate. “Ethan, wake up.” I heard Parker saying. “What? Uh? Where am I?” Then I saw Ethan on the palace steps. “No one here knows me. They wouldn’t let me inside. I had nowhere else to go. So, I waited.” I laughed at him. He is no
Rayne’s POV It’s early when Dawson mind links me. I hardly slept thinking about everything that had happened. Elizabeth hasn’t unleashed her wrath on me yet. She told me I didn’t need anything else to worry about, not right now. She also told me about how brave my men were at the hospital, but it was Ara that made the most impact. “From a distance, she helped save them.” It’s laughable that until yesterday morning, I never even knew she existed. Now I am indebted to her. I am making my way to Dawson’s office. When I bumped into Nix, he was waiting for Eden. He is talking to a few friends of his, Parker and Ethan. Parker is Maddox’s younger brother. Ethan is a former member of the Wolf Council. “Former?” I asked suspiciously. He lifts his shirt to reveal some horrible scars. “Yes, former. I have been trapped with Parker and Caren since they saved me.” I walked up to Dawson’s office. Dawson is sitting in a chair, obviously thinking. I sat in the chair opposite him. “Where to st
Summer’s POV “How do you know that?” Nix asked me. I stared at him as my eyes filled with tears. “Wait here.” I told him. I made my way out of the room, sharing my shocked emotion with Alexis. I know for a fact that both my mates are behind me. Their curiosity manifested through the bond. We have been together so long that they know everything about my life. But why would they know about Natalia? I knew her before I met them. I enter my wardrobe. Go to the end shelf and, using a chair, I reach up and pull out a worn-out cardboard box. It’s covered in a layer of dust. It’s been a long time since I opened this box. There are memories from my past stored inside. As I headed down the stairs, I clutched it tightly to my chest. Sitting in front of the fireplace. In front of my family and their mates, I opened the box. “Once upon a time, I trained to be a doctor in the human world. It was beneficial for my pack to have someone trained in obstetrics for that time in a woman’