BRAYDEN
Ring…ring…ring…
Ugh… I roll over on the bed and grab my phone off the nightstand. A groan slips out of my mouth when I see what time it is. It isn’t even time to wake up yet. I should have another hour. Why?
Grumbling under my breath, I put the phone on speaker and practically slam it back down on the nightstand as I grunt, “I still have another hour to sleep. You should have waited.”
Hunter’s cheery voice replies, “I didn’t want to wait. I miss you. Plus, you didn’t call last night.”
Last night. Jacob’s words bubble up in my mind while they also slice right through my heart.
Luckily, Zack was here to take my mind off of it. I have to admit, I didn’t think talking to anyone would help, but it did. I still don’t know why I feel comfortable around him. Usually, the o
ZACKI lean against the bathroom door and take a deep breath. How did I get myself into this situation? Well, I know how, but I don’t want to admit that I couldn’t say no to his cute pouty face when he practically begged me to stay with him. Something within me couldn’t sit back and let him suffer. Anger still pulses through me when I think about the jerk, his so-called boyfriend. How could you be in a relationship, but still go hunting for his true mate? That makes little sense. If Lindsey somehow ended up in a situation like this, I would go and pound the idiot’s face in. I probably would also throw in several extra blows if he made my sister cry as much as Brayden did last night.The images of Brayden’s red swollen eyes flash through my mind, while his soft sobs still echo in my ears.My heart aches just remembering it.When I finally mee
HUNTER The phone call abruptly ends, and I whip my head towards Jacob. Fire shoots from my eyes as I clinch my jaw. “What did you do?! You know how sensitive she is about our mates. She also knows that she isn’t our true mate, and she always puts on a straight face when it is ever mentioned. But you know it is one thing which can hurt her the most.” I take a deep breath while my heart pounds against my chest. “Her biggest fear right now is that we find our mates, and we will toss her to the side and abandoned her, just like her father has done. How could you?! Now, I understand why that jerk Zack was there again. His heart probably couldn’t stand to see her hurt like that, either. I don’t think anyone can.” Jacob shakes his head. “I wasn’t thinking. I was just so pissed about what my father had done. He didn’t even tell me the real reason for the trip. When I found out, I was pissed and came home right away. I don’t keep secrets from Bry. You know that.” My blood b
BRAYDENI stare out the bedroom window as the scene from this morning plays in my head. Zack’s cute look of both shock and horror flashing across his handsome face as his sister blurts out that he is hunting for some action. However, what surprises me more is the tightness in my chest that soon followed.What is going on with me?One minute, I find Zack irritating and annoying. His cocky expressions rub me wrong. Then the next minute, I find myself feeling sorry for him and wishing he wouldn’t leave my side.I think I’m going crazy. It doesn’t help that Jacob was a jerk.I sigh as I look up at the sky. Can the moon goddess please give me a break for once? Can I have something in my life actually work out for me?I let out another sigh. I don’t have to know her answer, because I already know it. She has given me a tough life, but it is
ZACKMy heart pounds against my chest as I lick the large gash along Brayden’s front leg, which is losing a lot of blood.How he managed to stay up on his feet for as long as he did was a miracle.Luckily, we got to him in time and took care of the rogues. I don’t want to think what would have happened if we didn’t get a couple of complaints about the patrols not being where they should be.My small group was coming up to one of our patrol areas when Brayden ran past with the rogues, hot on his trail. Brayden already had cuts all over the front of him with blood streaming down and wasn’t paying any attention to us as he flew by.However, I don’t understand why he didn’t fight them. Five against one isn’t that bad of odds. I’ve fought against more at one time. Plus, I’ve seen him giving pointers to our trainees. He knows how to fight.&nb
ZACKI march into our prison with my brother right beside me. Between the two of us, we have enough steam rolling off us to fog over the windows in the entire building. However, I don’t care. These jerks nearly killed Brayden. They are going to pay for it.As we get closer to the interrogation room, Blake nudges my arm. “Hey, let me start first and you can stand back for a bit. Maybe we will get lucky, and they will spill everything with a little pressure.”I snort and glace to my side at him. “Yeah, right. I don’t think so, but you can go ahead and dream. Since you are the alpha and my older brother, I will let you go first. But as soon as my temper blows, I’m taking over. Don’t dare get in my way, either. Okay.”The edge to my voice tells him I’m not messing around.He takes a deep breath and reluctantly replie
Hunter Alpha Blake’s words slice right through me and my heart rips to pieces. I still haven’t been able to talk to Bry and resolve the issue from earlier. Now, she is lying in a hospital bed, hours away from me, and there isn’t anything I can do. My hand tightens around my phone as my hand drops to my side. My mind goes everywhere, but I don’t know what to do. If it was up to me, I would call our pilot and tell him to get the plane ready for me to go visit her. Driving would take way too much time. However, I’m the alpha of Moon Sun, and even if I want to, I can’t go running off to sit beside Bry as she lays unconscious in some weird hospital room. My heart aches knowing she doesn’t have anyone there with her. As I stare at the wall in front of me, my eyes glisten. The full impact of Alpha Blake’s words hit me hard. My mother’s voice breaks through my haze. “Son, what is wrong? You look like you just lost your mate.” My face scrunches in agony as I bite my lower l
ZACKUseless. The first prisoner is completely useless.He didn’t give us any information except for the leader’s name, but I don’t know if he actually doesn’t know anything, or he is simply covering up for someone. Regardless of which it is, that was pointless.The only positive thing I was able to get out of him was a release of some of my frustrations. I also left him with several cuts and bruises on his face.The only downside is that since he is a werewolf, the marks won’t stay long, but at least I’m satisfied that I made them and got to see them before they healed.With my frustrations boiling over, I kick open the door across the hall. The middle-aged man doesn’t even flinch as the door slams against the wall. The man stays sitting calmly in his chair. His short, sandy blonde hair is combed over to the side, not a strand out
BRAYDEN I slowly open my eyes and try to stretch, but immediately stop as pain shoots through my entire body. What happened? Even if I’m hurt, I seldom wake up with this much pain. As I look around the room, I quickly realize I’m in a hospital. Images of the fight flash through my mind while my body remembers everything. Pain slices right down my back as the memory of the rogue’s claws digging into me and cutting me almost the entire length of my back repeats in my head. He got me good. If I wasn’t trying to find someone to call for help, I don’t think I would have slipped up like that. I glance down at my arms as my memories jolt to the branches, slicing my legs down to the bone. A cold shiver runs through me. How did I stay standing for so long? Then another image suddenly pops into my head of a big black glossy wolf look
Zack Jacob walks into my office. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be outside with all the pups? Why are you still in your office?” I look up and give him a look like he knows exactly why I’m still here as I motion my hands above my desk and all the papers. Hunter marches through the door, shaking his head. “We have stacks of paperwork sitting on our desk too, but we are here for your pup’s birthday party. I still can’t believe he is 10 already. It seems just like yesterday we were fighting with Bry’s father and throwing Alpha Trevor and his son in the dungeons.” I shake my head. “Why would you even bring up that time in my life? I was worried what that idiot alpha and his son were going to do to get my mate, while also trying to stop Bry’s father from executing his horrible plan. That is a part of my life I don’t want to remember.” Jacob plops down in a chair in front of my desk. “But that is also the time you made your pup, Zane. Why would you want to forget about finding
Bryanna“UGHHHH!!! I HATE YOU!!!” My face contorts in pain while I put all my might in smashing Zack’s hand. He is the reason for this and why I’m in this much pain. He needs to feel a small portion of what I feel.The doctor reaches up above her head and tilts a light. She looks at my face while she stands in between my legs. “You are doing good. It won’t be much longer now. The pup is crowning.”Crowning? I want him out! NOW!!!Another contraction slices through me like it is ripping me apart. I throw my head back on the bed and dig my feet harder into the stirrups. “UGHHHH!!!! I’M DYING!!!!!”I tighten my grip on Zack’s hand, my only chance of relief. He winces and rubs the back of my hand. “You are doing so good, honey. Our pup will be here soon. You can do it.”His calm voice irritates me, and I whip my head around to the side and glare at him. “NEXT TIME, YOU ARE GIVING BIRTH! WHEN YOU PUSH A WATERMELON OUT YOUR DICK, THEN YOU CAN TELL ME I’M DOING GOOD!!!!”A
BryannaI move around in my hard chair, trying to find a comfortable position while I rub my growing pregnant belly. My focus is on the various council members behind the raised wooden ‘judge’s’ bench. The court room is full of people anxiously waiting for their decision. I don’t know if I should be happy or sad my father survived. It was touch and go, but in the end, he pulled through. It delayed his trail until he was healthy enough, though. Zack wraps his arm around my shoulders and whispers, “Are you alright? Do you need something?”I shake my head. “No. I just need to find out their decision. I can’t see how it could be anything other than guilty.” My gut twists, and I know it may not be that easy. He still has some very powerful connections, but if he finds a way out of this, I will do all I can to make sure he pays for it the rest of his life. Zack kisses the side of my head. “It will be over soon.” I take a deep breath and let his amazing, woodsy scent fill my l
ZackMy heart hammers against my chest as a mix of fear and hatred consumes me. My eyes lock on Bry and her father, and my gaze snaps to her arm where blood is trickling down. A small pool of red liquid forms on the floor in between them. No! He is hurting her!A growl rumbles within me, but before I can bolt forward, Blake grabs my arm and whispers, “Not yet. This is a battle she has been building to for most of her life. She needs to do this on her own first. If she stumbles or her father gets the upper hand, you can then step in, but let her fight this by herself first.”I don’t want to, but I know he is right. She might resent me if I interrupt them now. My wolf jumps forward and claws at the front of my mind, trying to take over and not wanting to obey my brother. He doesn’t care if Blake is right or not. He just wants to protect our mate. I take a deep breath and push my wolf to the back of my mind while I keep my eyes on Bry and her father. Every move her father ma
BryannaAnger courses through my veins. How could my father do something like this? I know he is behind the attacks, but knowing he is here after getting the top-secret intel about the new recipe has my blood boiling. It is to be expected, but seeing him leaves no doubt about him. Nothing is going to stop me from being there either when my father is captured and punished for his wrongdoings. Not even my pregnancy will stop me. As I run through the forest towards the factory, I rub my belly and silently pray the little one will work with me on this. I’m sure the baby would agree with me if it knew what my father is doing. My lip twitches up into a snarl, and I grind my teeth together. A wave of anger rakes over me, and when it reaches my feet, the ground rumbles. I ignore it though and continue running as fast as I can. My mind is consumed with my father and what he is doing and has done to Blake’s pack. And for what? Money? No. He did it for power. It is as simple as t
JacobHunter and I march through Bry’s pack house towards the meeting room, where several of the attackers are being held, waiting for us to come and handle them. Who in the world would have the guts to do this to her pack? It takes a lot of nerve to attack any of our three packs. We have the best trained warriors, and they are evenly spread across all of our packs. My lip lifts into a snarl when we turn the corner, and the room comes into view. Hunter remains silent beside me, but he is far from being quiet. His feet pound against the hard floor and echo down the hallway, expressing his true feelings without saying a word. We burst through the door, and our feet stop right inside. My eyes widen and my mouth falls slightly open at the captive people as I stare at the last two, who I didn’t think would do something like this. Hunter’s steps falter, but his rage doesn’t allow his shock to overcome him. He balls his hands into fists and stomps his feet forward. Through gritted
BryannaZack holds my hand as we walk through the halls. “Baby, you should go back to the room and rest. You still look pale. The medicine is working, but you are still fighting with an upset stomach.”I shake my head. With determination in my voice, I grunt, “No. This is my father. I need to be in on it, too. There isn’t anyone who knows better than me what he is like or is capable of. I want to be there and see the look on his face when he finds himself backed into a corner with no way out with his world crumbling down around him.”He squeezes my hand. “But we aren’t to that point yet. We are still talking about what to do. You can go rest, and I’ll tell you everything we discuss.”I press my lips together, and my stomach churns. “No. I want to be there to help plan it.”I fight back the bile rising up. There isn’t anything that is going to stop me. I will be there. Zack sighs and shakes his head but remains silent. We walk through Blake’s open office door. Zack sh
ZackI expectantly look across the desk at Blake. “Is your person reliable? Are you sure this is going to work?”My foot bounces as my fingers fidget with the side of my jeans. I really don’t want to be here right now. I’d rather be back in my room with Bry. The doctors are watching her and have a staff hovering around her. None of them have ever come across a woman having as much trouble as Bry with her pregnancy, and it has just started. They have warned me they may have to put her on bedrest, which she has strongly argued against. But when I tell her that she might lose our pup if she doesn’t listen to the them, she quiets down. He nods. “Yes. Our little birdie is quite reliable. Don’t worry. Now, how is Bry? I didn’t get a chance to go to your room to check in on you two.”My fingernail flicks the seam along the side of my jeans as I slowly shake my head. “She is having a really rough time. Thank goodness, the doctors have been able to find a medicine which will ke
BryannaI hug the bucket to me as my stomach lurches again. There can’t be anything left in me. I’ve been sick all day. Isn’t morning sickness supposed to only happen in the morning? Why is it lasting all day? Does the moon goddess hate me or something? My wolf growls in my head as she grunts, “You only need to watch out for your father. No one else would dare go against us.”I hope she is right. “Maybe.”My wolf shakes her head. “You still don’t know what we are capable of doing. Believe me, no one else will dare to cross us. Only your father is dumb enough to do it.”The corners of my mouth curl upward. “Okay. I’ll believe you. Can you help me with this nausea? I don’t have anything left to throw up. My stomach is empty now.”Her head and shoulders drop as she shakes her head. “Sorry. This is one of the few things I can’t help you with. If you get to a point where you can’t take it any longer, you need to call the doctor.”I sigh. She softly adds, “Believe it or