Chapter 17“What do you mean Golden Fang won’t let anyone near their borders!” My hand freezes in the air as I pause my intended knocking. I had gotten a report from the Council about Golden Fang rebuilding their pack and that they have chosen their new Alpha and Luna. Some of us speculate that this person is the Head Warrior Quincy Steele and that he has found his Mate, but I have met that wolf a few times at the Annual Assembly of Alphas that take place every August first. He seemed happier leading Warriors under the Beta than leading a full pack by himself – even if he does have a Luna to help.“It is what our men say, Alpha. They flown the plane as close as they could to the pack without being noticed, but when they tried to sneak onto the land, they were stopped and threatened that Golden Fang would kill them for trespassing.” I recognize the voice as Beta Jett – the man who replaced Brynlee’s dad last year. Shocked by the news that my father sent our men to spy on Golden Fang, I
Chapter 18Looking at myself in the vanity mirror, I make sure that no curl is out of place. It has officially been seven days since Golden Fang was attacked and today I will be initiated as their new Beta. I can feel my stomach flip flop with nerves as I wonder if I will do a good job without any Beta training. Miss Asteria, Albert and Marisol have stated that my instinct will guide me and that I have done well with the crash course of being a proper Beta that the three gave me the last few days. I just can’t help but think that I might be too young for this position.I still occupy my room in the pack house and have yet to move into my cottage, too busy the last seven days with Organising training schedules, patrol shifts and hunting parties with Quincy and Miss Asteria. Gale decided he would delve into his Luan role early and began planning where to place a new green house and large garden beds, deciding to leave the leading to us. He even took over leading the Omegas which left me
Chapter 19The full moon hangs high in the sky as Quincy and I exit the pack house. From the steps I can see Miss Asteria and Gale standing beside Alastor under the willow tree, the Council Representative having come down to watch over the ceremony and confirm that the pack indeed had chosen a new Alpha and Luna – Luan in our case. Quincy tells me that Alastor has already helped initiate Gale and Miss Asteria into the pack, hence why the atmosphere was left buzzing with power that radiate from the two. Before leaving the pack house I spied Chase, Henry and Lunette relaxing on the stairs. They will have to be initiated into the pack after me and I can’t wait to watch the three pups finally be given the courtesy they deserved as Alpha blooded wolves.The smile at me as I pass them, and I smile back. I can see the excitement in there faces and secretly pray to the Goddess that she will keep them safe tonight. They have been through so much between living in Pine Moon and leaving Pine Mo
Chapter 20The party for the pack’s initiation is in full swing now that the Ceremony has passed. Everyone in Golden – I mean Crescent Phoenix – are either chatting on one of the many picnic benches or dancing away the night on the dance floor with many enjoying the food the men cook on the grill or that roasted meat from the boar Quest killed a few days ago. I knew that damned pig would be on a fire spit before the end of the week, but it sure was a damned pain to prepare yesterday morning with the Omegas help.Speaking of the Omegas, many were happy to learn that other than preparing the food for tonight in the morning, they would be given the rest of the day off to relax and enjoy the celebration. I spy a few sprawled out by a bonfire roasting marshmallows with a few pups while Quincy and Quest danced with the rest, the little ones entertained by the two goofy warriors.“Brynlee, have I introduced you to the friend that asked Alpha Stanton to allow us to join this pack?” I jump whe
Chapter 21“Shit, shit, shit.” Quincy is beside me, scooping me into his arms as I silently scream into his shoulder, the pain so intense that no sound can form.“Brynlee, I know you can hear me so listen.” Quincy says sternly, his worry for me radiating off of him in waves.“I am going to link Asteria and tell her that your experiencing the pain of rejection finally.” He continues, holding me tighter. I try to say something, to stop him, but the feeling of flames lick at my heart causing me to be unable to breathe for a moment.“Fuck!” Quincy curses, carrying me past the other side of the willow tree. My finger clench at his shirt, the fabric tearing as my body jerks from an onslaught of pain. I can feel the broken bond fizzling. Feel it burning and screaming inside me. I held back the pain for far too long and am now facing the consequences.“Quincy!” As he is putting me in the passenger side of his jeep we hear Asteria call out to him. Quincy turns and lets out a sigh of relief.“I
Chapter 22I groan in frustration as I look at the reports in front of me. My father sent a request to the Council in purchasing land around Pine Moon. He wants to expand the pack even though we have yet to accept new members and It has caused a headache to form. Actually, my whole body feels like a sore ache, like I have just faced a battle recently. Without warning, I fold in on myself, pain so intense I feel like I have been stabbed with a bladed dipped in wolfsbane and force myself not to scream. Tears fall from my eyes like streams and I find myself unable to breath for a moment.“Hey Rune, I have the -” My door bursts open and Caspian walks in, his eyes meeting mine. I watch as panic sets in his eyes.“H-help.” I whimper out, unable to say anything else as pain courses through me. Caspian slams the door shut, making sure that no one saw before rushing to my side. He carefully helps me from my chair to lay on the floor and I curl in on myself, unable to handle the next bout of p
Chapter 23Two days have passed since Rune has been locked away in his room. Caspian has stayed by his side, the two of us claiming that Rune fell sick. Valor had bought the ruse after I stated someone snuck wolfsbane into Rune’s food as a joke and used a bit too much. The truth is, I had asked Caspian to have someone do it so that when Valor commanded that I tell him poisoned his son that I could be honest and say I did not know who. He was furious but instead of checking in on his son, the man told me to keep him updated.Luckily for me, Tanya chose that time to come ask Valor for help with planning the wedding now that Rune was unavailable and the two snuck off, leaving me time to place a few hidden cameras in Valor’s office. Rune is right, we need to learn what those two are doing, and cameras are the only way to catch them in the act.Now sitting in my office, I look at the new number on my phone. Rose, it was the code name she came up with years ago when I first came to Pine Moo
Chapter 24Curled in someone’s embrace, I open my eyes to find that Quincy is holding me. There are dark circles under his eyes and stubble the same shade of red as his hair on his jaw. True to his words, Quincy stayed with me and helped me through the pain. I lost conscious sometime after he told me he would kept me fed and hydrated and I am glad for that. I feel weak, sore and exhausted.The pain, it consumed me. Captured me. Burned and broke me.But I woke up today. I am alive and I survived.Quincy is fast asleep, his chest rising and falling as he holds me gently against him. His heart beat is comforting and I think back to the last time I spent the night in someone’s arms. I woke up alone. Woke up to the other side cold while I wondered where Rune had went. Then things became worse when I was attacked, rejected and banished because I was left alone.But Quincy never left me alone and I am so grateful for it.“Good morning.” Quincy mutters, his face moving to look down at me.“Mo
Suppressing the snarl rising inside me, I glare at the incompetent Omega that has just spilled my soup. She mumbles out apologies after apologies to me as she quickly moves to clean the spill with the paper towel on my table and kneels beside the chair I am sitting on.“Guards!” I call out, my words ending in the snarl that escapes my lips.“Have this stupid bitch punished for ruining my meal. I am carrying the future Alpha of this Pack and this Omega can’t even feed me properly.” I continue. The Dining Hall goes quiet at this, all eyes on me as two men step forward and drag the Omega away. She is kicking and sobbing, begging for forgiveness while two others step forward, bow to me, and continue cleaning the mess before disappearing. My stomach growls in hunger and I snarl in frustration. How dare these idiots keep me from eating!“My love, what has you so upset?” Looking up from the table, I find Valor making his way to me. His greying black hair slicked back and his eyes focused onl
Watching the bus pull in front of the Pack House flanked by our Warriors, I groan as Quincy fidgets beside me. Ever since lunch, he has been on edge, even having to end his patrol early because he could not focus and nearly fell into a ditch. Had someone not been there to stop him in his tracks, Quincy would have been seriously injured. His attitude has me believing that Rune is right and that maybe Quincy has been given a Second Chance Mate.The bus doors open and Gale is the first to step out. He makes a beeline for Asteria who stands to the side, scooping her into his arms and smiling. It’s been just over a week since he set out with Jett and the others to get the Willow Bark wolves, they must have missed each other.Jett is the next to step out of the bus, helping the others off one by one and telling them to stand just to the right so that we can get them all settled. I knew Jett said that the majority of the refugees had been pups, but I did not expect to see so many between the
Watching the scenery pass by, I listen to the pups behind me excitedly chat about our soon-to-be new Pack and what type of wolves we will be meeting. Gale and my Uncle have told us a lot about Crescent Phoenix and the one thing that has caught my attention is the Beta, Brynlee. She is the youngest Beta so far in the werewolf world. She is also the Goddess-given Mate of my enemy’s son.“We should be there within the hour.” A voice calls out from behind me, making me jump in my seat. Turning away from the window and the endless forest view, I find Ashton taking a seat beside me, his easygoing smile I have gotten used to making me roll my eyes. Even though we aren’t Mates, that hasn’t stopped this wolf from flirting with me, much to my Uncle’s warnings.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He apologizes.“It’s fine. I am just lost in thought.” I reply, letting out a sigh.“Something has me on edge and I can’t put my finger on it.” I admit, getting a hum from Ashton.“Could it be you are
Sitting in my office, hand on my stomach, I read the reports sent to Asteria and me from the Council early this morning for the third time and sigh. The investigation into Jonnah, Valor, and Tanya has taken a turn that surprises even me and I am not sure how I feel about it. Tanya is indeed pregnant and that the father of Tanya’s child is indeed Valor but that’s not the worst of the news. The worst part is about how Jonnah is on his fifth Mate after killing his fourth – the she-wolf that rejected Quincy.Gale had called stating he couldn’t get a hold of Asteria and wanted to let me know they were a few hours away from the Pack. That’s when I mentioned the email and news of Jonnah Cross being on his fifth Mate. He was pissed, to say the least, but gave me the good news that the Willow Bark Wolves have decided to talk with our Council Representative to help put the nail in our enemies' coffins quickly.This made the weight from the news weighing me down lighten up and after hanging up,
Sitting in the hospital room with Rune holding my hand, I nervously fidget with his fingers. Right now, we are waiting for Jasmin to finish with a patient so we can do an Ultrasound and find out how far along I am with my pregnancy. Rune silently watches me, concern in his eyes as he pulls his hand out of mine and pulls me closer to his side.“Everything is going to be fine Brynlee.” Rune reassures me, giving me a gentle smile.“So just relax and take a deep breath.” Closing my eyes, I do what he says and take a deep breath, breathing in his scent and feeling my nerves settle slightly. Over the last three days, Rune and I have grown closer as we worked side by side in preparing the pack for more construction.He would come to my office after his morning duties as a Warrior and after lunch, we would go over the map of Crescent Phoenix land and work on finding the perfect locations for new homes and dormitories for our constantly growing pack. Once we found the perfect locations, Rune w
Waiving at Brynlee as she drives away, I head into the Pack House in search of the Library she mentioned. I had not explored the Pack House being too busy with training and learning the patrol routes, so I felt lost inside this large building.“Can I help you, hun?” Turning to the sound of a friendly voice, I find a woman with soft blue-green eyes and strawberry blonde hair tied into a braid down her back in hopes of keeping the mess of curls tamed. She carries a stack of books in her arms as she watches me with a curious glance.“Yes actually.” I answer feeling relieved.“I am looking for the pack library and the woman who runs it, Alayne.” I continue explaining, watching a smirk spread across this she-wolf’s face.“Well, I can help you with both.” She responds, shifting the books so that they rest in her left arm while holding out her right hand.“Alayne Arctic at your service.” Shocked to find this unassuming she-wolf being the woman I am looking for, I shake her hand and realize th
Looking at the empty field that will be perfect for building new houses for new families and Mates looking to transition out of the dormitories and into their own homes, I sneak a peak at Rune as he leans against the front of my truck, a sketchbook in his hands. Right now, Rune is working on a basic sketch for three houses that will be built here come spring in hopes of having them ready for winter next year.“I never knew you could draw.” I muse, watching him jump in surprise before a blush of embarrassment creeps along his cheeks. After lunch, he and I had taken my truck out to drive around the territory, making note of the new land we received from Onix Moon a few weeks ago and finding a few good spots along the stretch of land where we could begin building more dorm buildings and houses families and newly mated pairs could move into. This is how we found ourselves relaxing in the warm fall sun when Rune brought a sketchbook out of the backpack he brought along on our ride.“To be
Glaring at the email before me, I suppress the growl threatening to spill. Our council representative has been hard at work investigating Valor, Tanya, and Jonnah to the point they have begun questioning the destruction of smaller Packs surrounding Blood Claws and Pine Moon. What is worse is that other than Willow Bark, no other survivors have been found from any of these smaller Packs that were destroyed. For all the Council knows, they have either become Rogues hiding deep in the forests in wolf territory or blending with Humans in the many cities.One thing is for sure, Jonnah and Valor have committed more crimes than we originally thought.Reading further along the email, my eyes widen and my hand instinctively reaches for my stomach. Judging by the images attached to the email and the medical report the Council’s spies were able to obtain, it seems that I am not the only one expecting a pup. Now the question is, whose is it?“Brynlee, are you in here?” The door to my office opens
Watching Brynlee drive away, I wait for her truck to disappear from my view before deciding to head to my dorm room for the night and get some much-needed rest. Today has been an eventful day that has left me reeling with exhaustion. I had just finished patrol when a sudden urge of danger coursed through me. At first, I thought the warning was because Rogues had crossed our borders into the pack territory, threatening the pack. When I realized it was an internal warning from the Mate Bond, my wolf instincts took over and I rushed directly towards the danger warning without thinking. All I could think of was protecting Brynlee.’I knew I was being irrational when I barged into the training facility without warning. I knew how much of a prick I was when I swept Brynlee into my arms and carried her away from everyone without her consent, but my body kept moving on its own. I felt like a man possessed but until I knew Brynlee was safe in her den – in her cottage – I couldn’t relax.As soon