Cora's POV As I fling the door to Alpha Thomas's office open the scent of pine fills my senses. My mouth waters and my knees go weak. My wolf is howling in my mind, begging me to go to my mate, but I can't think of anything more humiliating than being mated to a Beta. I knew from the moment that I saw him at my sister's matchmaking party. His fresh scent of pine filled my senses and I wasn't able to take my eyes off of him. But with an Alpha on my arm, I had to pretend like he didn't exist. Lucky for me, Dylan wants even less to do with me than what I want to do with him. He blocks the door of the office and furrows his eyebrows curiously. A small smirk plays on his lips but he hides it quickly before Alpha Thomas sees. I shake my head in frustration and clear my throat. Dylan finally moves out of my way and I hurry passed him. The door slams behind me and I take in a deep breath. But the hallway reeks of Dylan's scent and I am unable to clear my head. I have got to get
Mia's POV My lips are dry and are beginning to crack painfully. I try to lick my lips to moisten them but even my tongue is dry. I can't remember the last time I had food or water. Time is passing too slowly, or too quickly. It is hard to tell down here in the cellar. Each time Alpha Richard or the rogue comes down to see me, I am met with a barrage of questions and beatings. The days and nights are all starting to blur together. Alpha Richard has refused to release me from the chair. Blood, vomit, and urine have made my once beautiful green evening gown stiff. The dress crinkles loudly as I try to move my legs but the silver wire around my ankles bites into my skin. If I wasn't so dehydrated, tears would be falling from my eyes. I spend most of my time praying to the Moon Goddess for help. Praying that Alpha Thomas will burst through the cellar door and release me from my bonds. I fantasize that he scoops me into his arms and brushes my matted hair out of my face and confesses
Thomas's POV My anger is close to boiling over the edge as I enter the hospital. I storm through the doors and everyone in the room immediately bares their necks to me in submission. I try to wrangle in my Alpha Aura but my anticipation is only feeding it to grow stronger. In just a few moments I will find out who was behind Mia's kidnapping. I push the doors to the lab open so roughly that they hit the walls on the other side. All of the lab technicians look up with terrified expressions on their faces and they shrink back against the walls. The lead technician, Jacob, rifles through the papers on his desk and pulls out several pages. His hands are shaking as he hands me the lab results from the syringe. Reading over the contents of the syringe my hands begin to shake worse than Jacob's. I flip through the pages and look for a name that matches the fingerprints but the page is missing. My eyes dart up to meet Jacob's and I notice that his whole body is shaking. "Where are
Thomas's POV I don't waste any time getting back to the pack house after Jacob confirms that Cora's fingerprint is the only possible match. I take the stairs four at a time, racing up them as fast as I possibly can. Stopping outside of the guest room where Cora is staying, I try to cool my temper. My wolf is ready to charge inside and rip her to pieces but if we do that we may never find Mia's location. Plus, there is no doubt in my mind that Cora is just an expendable player in this game. I do not doubt that Cora injected Mia with the drug concoction but I am sure that her parents and Alpha Richard put her up to it. The scent of lavender comes through the door and I am sure that she is in the room, but there is another scent mixed with hers. One that is familiar. Dylan. I try to twist the door knob but it is locked. I swear on the Moon Goddess, if he fucking her I will kill them both. Bracing my hands against the doorway, I kick her door off the hinges and it lands loudly
Mia's POV My eyelids flutter wildly against the bright lights of the hospital. Or at least I think that is where I am. That is where the rogue said he was taking me. I attempt to lift my head but the pain in my neck is too intense. Focusing on the noises around me, I strain to hear the muffled voices that are speaking. "What the fuck, Alpha," someone says. "Who did this to her?" "Remember how we were promised a place among the packs if I completed a task," a familiar voice says. "She was the task." "Please tell me you didn't do this, Donovan," a woman's voice gasps. "I didn't do this," the familiar voice responds. He must be Donovan. "But I also didn't stop it from happening either." "I don't understand," the woman speaks again. "Why isn't her wolf healing her?" "Apparently she doesn't have one," Donovan, says. "A lot of these wounds will not have healed on their own even if she had a wolf," the first man says. "I can't believe you stood by and let this happen." "We
Mia's POV It has been a week and Alpha Donovan hasn't called Thomas yet. I don't know if I feel relieved or disappointed. Each morning I wake up in the hospital I swear I smell his sandalwood scent and a feeling of excitement washes over me, but it always turns out to be a figment of my imagination. Thomas isn't here and he isn't coming for me. I only have myself to blame. Alpha Donovan, on the other hand, has been attentive and sweet. He comes to the hospital several times a day to check on my progress. While I enjoy the attention, I am sure that he is only coming because he feels guilty for standing by while Alpha Richard tortured me. My cuts and bruises are healing quickly but my bones are not and without a wolf to heal me I could be in this hospital for months. Doctor James is studying my chart as he makes his morning rounds. He rarely speaks to me and when he does it is in short choppy sentences. He has made it very clear that he doesn't approve of my being here. "When d
Thomas's POV Sitting down at my desk I groan as I look at the mounds of paperwork that has been piling up since Mia went missing. I have been neglecting my duties as an Alpha in order to look for my mate. Luckily for me, I have a Beta who owes me a giant favor. Grabbing a handful of paperwork I slide it across the desk to Dylan. As much as I wanted to force him to step down from his position of Beta, I just couldn't ask him to do so. Not only was he only trying to protect his mate, he is the closest thing that I have had to a brother. I know better than anyone that when your mate is in danger it makes you do crazy things. But that doesn't mean that our relationship is not strained. I once thought of him like a brother but now I am unsure if I can trust him. Where will his allegiance lie when Cora comes back into the picture? Unfortunately for both of us, Cora managed to slip through my warriors before I was able to send out the mind link to stop her. None of my warriors knew he
Mia's POV Sitting in the back of the car with Donovan makes me more uncomfortable than I would like to admit. I used to pride myself on my ability to hide my emotions. It is a trick that I learned growing up with my father and Madison. If they didn't know how terrible I was feeling then they couldn't use it against me. But it would seem that ability has flown out the window. I am sure the car reeks of my fear. "There is no reason for you to fear me," Donovan says gently. "I do not plan to hurt you." Yep, I was right. The scent of my fear is heavy in the air. But I play it off like I am not afraid. "I do not fear you," I snap back at Donovan. "I simply wish to return to the hospital. I am not feeling well." Donovan scoots closer to me on the back seat and the hairs begin to prickle on the back of my neck. He lays a hand on my leg and leaves it there as we drive along the streets of the small rogue town. As I look out of the window of the car, I try to ignore the fact that he i
Mia's POV Five Years Later I am an elephant or a hippo. Whichever you would like to compare a pregnant woman to. My ankles are swollen, and the doctor tells me I could be any day now. I am supposed to be resting to prepare myself for labor, but I really want to scrub this pack house from top to bottom. Nothing feels clean enough. Sitting by the window, I rest my bowl of Fruity Pebbles on my stomach and prop my feet up on the coffee table. Through the window, I can hear loud giggles coming from outside. Painfully I try to sit upright to see what is happening. And what I see gives me both scares me and puts a smile on my face. Thomas is in his wolf form with our son, Jacob, on his back. Our Beta Mark is in wolf form as well. Thomas and Mark's wolves are lined up, pawing at the ground like they are getting ready to race. That's when I hear Jacob's little voice ring out. "On your mark... get set... GO!" Jacob screams loudly, and I watch in terror as my mate takes off, running a
Mia's POV The doctor shuffles some of the papers on her desk as she smiles at me. What is it with everyone smiling at me? "Luna," she says, grinning brightly. "I have good news. You don't have a stomach virus." "Then why am I so sick? There must be a reason why I am so sick," I moan. "Luna, you are pregnant," the doctor tells me. "I'm sorry," I laugh uncomfortably. "I thought you just said that I am pregnant." "That's because I did," the doctor chuckles. My throat begins to feel thick, and I feel like I am going to vomit. "How far along?" I ask. "Without an ultrasound, I can't determine just how far along you are," the doctor says with a smile. "But I can check right now if you would like." "No!" I shout at her. "I want Thomas to be here." As if on cue, Thomas comes bursting in through the office door. His clothes are a mess and covered in teeth marks. He must have run here in his wolf form. He is breathing heavily and resting his hands on his knees, trying to cat
Mia's POV It has been two months since we arrived back at the Red Moon Pack. I have settled into my role as Luna. Without any formal training, it has been a struggle. Luna Renee has been by my side the whole time, teaching me what I need to know. Slowly, I am finding my place within this pack. This morning I am sitting in front of a mound of paperwork I have been putting off for a week. My second Luna ceremony is coming up, and it is up to me to plan this time. Luna Renee is sitting across from me, tapping her fingers impatiently on the desk, waiting for me to make a decision on colors for the upcoming ceremony. "Well," she says, watching me flip through the color swatches. "I already told you," I moan. "I want Red and Silver." "Those are very bold colors for a Luna Ceremony," she reminds me for the thousandth time. "I don't care," I groan. "I want those colors. Red is the official color of the Red Moon Pack, and silver matches my mark." I cross my arms over my chest
Thomas's POV I watch in awe as Mia transforms into her massive lycan form. Her lycan is lean but muscular, with shimmering silver fur that covers her body. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my whole life. As soon as she takes her new form, something changes within me. Mia's lycan stands on two legs, and she holds her hands up in front of her, trying to catch a glimpse of what she looks like. Without warning, her lycan takes off, running in the direction of the nearby stream. My wolf begins acting erratically in my mind, demanding that I chase after her. Stripping my clothes off, I leap into the air, shifting into my massive black wolf. I land on all fours, shaking out my fur. Lifting my nose into the air, I follow the strong scent of cinnamon. I race through the trees until I come upon Mia's lycan staring at herself in the stream. She twists her body from side to side, and I cannot help but think she is more beautiful than any werewolf I have ever seen. Suddenly sh
Mia's POV It is nighttime when I am released from the hospital, and my body is beginning to feel weird. My skin feels itchy, like it is trying to stretch over my body too tightly. As we walk to the car, I scratch at the skin on my arms, trying to alleviate the sensation. "Your body is getting ready to shift," Thomas tells me kindly. "The feeling will pass after you shift for the first time." We get into the car, and Thomas drives us to a secluded location in the Paxton Pack. Ethan and Emma told us this is where the young werewolves come to shift for the first time. Exiting the car, I notice a nip in the cool summer air. Goosebumps rise along my skin, and I feel slightly panicked. What if I am not a lycan? What if I am unable to shift? "You will be able to shift," Thomas says as he places his hand on the small of my back. "Stop reading my mind," I chuckle jokingly. Slowly I walk up the hill to the spot within the trees where the moon's light shines through the canopy.
Thomas's POV About an hour after Dylan left, I felt his tether to the pack break once again. This time it was more painful than the last time. The last time he left, I knew he would be back. This time I am not so sure I will see him ever again. Going rogue can be risky. Dylan runs the chance of losing himself to his wolf. He could become more wolf than man. He can become a danger to himself and others. Mia stirs a little in her sleep, and my eyes dart in her direction. "Mia, Mia, baby, are you awake?" She mumbles something in her sleep, and I watch her eyes move rapidly beneath her eyelids. She must be dreaming. "Mia?" I call her name again, trying to wake her from her slumber. "Mia, can you hear me?" "I can hear you," she mumbles grumpily. "Five more minutes." I cannot help but chuckle as she stretches her arms to the side and yawns. "Mia, my love," I say as I grab her hand. "You have been asleep since the battle." Suddenly, her eyes fly open, and she gasps. "It w
Thomas's POV Stroking the back of Mia's hand with my thumb, I lay my head on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to wake up. It has been hours since she killed Richard, and she is still asleep. The doctor said the stress of an early shift plus the shock of killing Richard is why she is sleeping. Her brain is trying to recover from the excitement of it all. I just hope that she wakes soon. I am tired of sitting beside this woman in a hospital, waiting for her to wake up. Mia is too headstrong for her own good. If she would have let me fight Richard on my own, none of this would have happened. But as stubborn and hardheaded as she is, I still love her and plan to tell her as soon as she wakes up. I have gone long enough keeping her in the dark. Once I profess my love for her, I will let her go just like I did Emma. Having already found my fated mate, I know how special that bond can be. I would never deny Mia the chance to have that with who the Moon Goddess made just for her.
Mia’s POV My heart swells when Thomas calls me his mate, but I am also nervous. See that Alpha Richard is covered in blood. He must have fought his way into the Paxton Pack. The decrepit old man who needed a cane to get around is no longer standing before me. Alpha Richard is standing tall, restraining Cora easily. He has been putting on an act all of these years. "Emma," Ethan's voice sounds desperate as he turns to his mate. "Get the kids out of here," he commands her. Emma runs to his side and kisses Ethan deeply before she runs to the other room to guard her children. "I have no quarrel with you, Ethan," Richard smirks. "I am just here for what is mine." "You brought this battle onto my pack lands," Ethan snarls. "You are making it my business." "Have it your way," Richard shrugs his shoulders. Thomas's chest is rumbling with anger beside me, and I know he is waiting for the right moment to attack. "Let Cora go," Thomas growls, and let's settle this like Alphas.
Richard's POV I show up on the front steps of the Moonshadow pack house in tattered clothes, with cuts and bruises all over my body. I have been in wolf form for days trying to get as far away from the Red Moon Pack as quickly as possible. I have been living off of rabbits and other small prey, and their blood and dirt are splattered over what is left of my clothes. Raising my hand, I weakly knock on the door. Alpha Aiden opens the door and takes one look at me before trying to slam the door in my face. Holding my hand out, I force the door open and make my way inside. Alpha Aiden looks at the trail of mud that I drug into the house with me and wrinkles his nose in disgust. "Do you have any idea how dirty you are?" Alpha Aiden says with an air of arrogance. "Do you have any idea what I have been through?" I snap at him. Alpha Aiden looks over me with disgust, "You are still alive." His voice is cold and heartless. "No thanks to you," I growl at him. "You promised