* * * Eve’s POV * * * We’re floating in the blackness. Only this time it’s different. I’m floating in my human form and in front of me is the most magnificent creature I’ve ever laid eyes upon. The creature's fur is a deep grey, almost charcoal. Its eyes are a brilliant sapphire blue, and it’s on fire. Small flickering blue flames cover its entire body. “Cora?” I question, quietly and in awe. “Yes Eve. This is me within my true form. Within our true form.” She tells me.“You are truly beautiful. You are majestic. I’m honoured,” I say.“The honour is all mine, my friend. It’s a pleasure to finally look upon you with my own eyes.” She speaks truthfully. “Why are we here? Are we dead? Can we go back?” I ask her.“No, we’re not dead Eve. In time we can go back, but first we must heal. It’s the price we must pay when we exert so much power. One can only use so much power freely, anything more and it costs us. Using the maximum amount can kill us. We are lucky. Our bodies and minds mus
* * * Max’s POV * * * ‘Come on buddy, we can do this. We will find her; we will save her and we will cherish her. I need you. I can’t do this alone’, I say gently to Nate.‘You’re never alone. I’ll always be here for you. But don’t stop me when we find him’, he tells me. I feel him come forwards as he forces the shift.With his nose to the ground, Nate hunts his mate’s scent. Trying to ignore the smell of sex. He’s confused as there is another scent in the mix, stronger around the smell of sex. He follows his mate’s scent away from the sex and circles a bush once, twice, three times and a fourth slow circle. Raising his long snout into the air, he finds her scent. He has her. He tears up a tree from the ground, claws at another and then howls to the emerging moon. His howl tells the group he has found the trail. He howls again, hoping that somewhere in the distance his mate will hear him and know he is working to make her safe. His final howl calls his pack into action. He turns whe
* * * Jacob’s POV * * * I hang up my keys and remove my weapons from my belt. It’s been a long shift, monitoring the bay. But that’s a part of the watch. Monitoring the bay and making sure that any potential threats don’t sneak into the National Park via the water. It’s usually the human hunters that cause problems, occasionally a vampire feeding to heavily or rogue wolves looking for trouble. The nights are boring, it’s been almost two months since the last vampire had tried to trespass on our land. He’d claimed he was just passing through. But with attacks on the rise, we couldn’t risk that. We had dealt with him quickly. Had I been alone, he would probably have killed me. That’s why we hunt and fight in packs. Because it makes us strong. You would’ve thought that any trespassers would’ve given up long ago.“Thank you for stepping in at the last minute, Jake. I know you did the dawn shift. You must be tired man”, Jasper pats my back. “Not a problem. Just remember that you owe me
* * * Jacob’s POV * * * The alarm continues to sound, omitting its high-pitched shriek and the warning lights are flashing red, intermittently. I know they’ll be flashing in every room and along every corridor. ‘How has he found her so quickly?’ I ask myself.‘We have to get her out of here’, Christopher tells me. We pace from the cafeteria. We have to find Jasper. We have to let him know that we won’t be going to our station. I jog to his room, knowing he will be putting his combat gear on. Being without a wolf, means he needs armour, unlike the rest of us. He won’t heal the same as the wolves. Despite that, he’s a fierce warrior. He works harder than everyone at training sessions, always aiming to improve himself. I barge into his room, as I predicted. Jasper is putting on his armour. “It’s my father. He’s come for her”, I tell him.“Come for who? What’s happening?” He asks me. Of course he’d ask that. I haven’t told him about the young girl in my room. I haven’t told him I’d me
* * * Max’s POV * * * Those obsidian eyes are blinking rapidly as they watch me. Flickering from vacant to alert and intense.“Alpha Charles, you are to submit for questioning,” I tell him.“Alpha Charles can’t come forth,” Alpha Charles says with a raspy voice. His eyebrows crease as an intense look of concentration crosses his face.“Who are you?” I ask, trying to broach this from a different angle. “I am David... NOOO... sorry, control is difficult. He’s strong. I am his wolf,” the voice called David says.‘Jason, I need you to bring me Dorothy.’ I speak through the mind-link to my pack. “David, I know someone who may be able to help. Will you talk if we can help? Can you keep control?” I ask him.He begins rubbing his forehead and occasionally shakes his head. After a while, he speaks. “Yes, I can keep control. I will tell you what you need to know,” he says, grimacing as though it is truly exhausting.Dorothy comes jogging out of the tree line, slowing to a cautious walk, when
* * * Damian’s POV * * * The first of my senses to return is my hearing. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. ‘Piss off, it’s definitely not time to get up,’ I grumble to myself. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. ‘Fuck off’. The second of my senses to return is the sense of smell. The sanitary smell of cleaning disinfectant and lemon bleach – the air is pungent with it. Wherever I am, it’s silent, only the sound is the beep, beep, beep that’s already slowly driving me insane. And the sound of my own breathing. I listen closely for any other sounds and smell the air around me. There’s a lingering scent of jasmine and lemon grass that makes my heart rate pick up. My mate has been here. The beep, beep, beep sound increases to the same rhythm of my heart. It’s a heart rate monitor, which means I’m in a Hospital. I open my eyes slowly, in an attempt to sharpen the blurred images before me, and to also shield myself from the blinding light. I glance around and looked at the scarcely furnished room, which ha
* * * Eve’s POV * * *Racing back to the Nights Watch has been tedious and feels as though time has slowed down. One day, I’ll stroll through this land, taking my time to appreciate its beauty. However, the slow and tedious, soon change when we arrive. The next events happen so quickly I barely have any time to process them. We have run to where the sound of snarling wolves is coming from. As we exit from the tree line, there’s a tall man with a hulking physique, facing a smaller man lying on the floor. Whatever’s happening, Jake isn’t happy. He lets out a ferocious growl and then charges towards the man, repeatedly glancing at the man on the ground. It’s then that I notice Alpha Charles standing in the clearing, without a care in the world. He’s brought a small army with him, to get me. All my years of mistreatment, the beatings, being locked away in the institution and finding out that he murdered my parents, they fuel my anger and I charge towards Alpha Charles. The enormous man
* * * Eve’s POV * * *“Come with me” he tells me, standing from his Hospital bed. He holds out his hand towards me. He’s very tall, much taller than I had thought, but then most of the time I’ve seen him he’s been lying down. I place my petite hand within his, my hand fully enclosed by his large warm hand, and let him lead me. Together we walk through the Nights Watch. He seems to know where he’s going, I’ll have to ask him about that. It feels as though we have walked the entire length of the Nights Watch, when we come upon a spiral staircase made of stone. He never lets go of my hand as we walk up the winding staircase. He seems to feel when I get tired, and we pause briefly so that I can catch my breath. I really need to sleep soon. I nod to him, signalling that I’m ready to make the rest of the climb. There are occasional doors attached to the stairs, but we continue to climb until we reach the top. The staircase ends at a door. He opens the door and leads me to a windowless ho