EllieHaving all of the Alphas from the tournament together in one room--except for the one they were getting ready to fight against--was a bit surreal for Ellie. She was glad to see all of them and counted them as friends, but it was also slightly awkward. She knew that some of them still had romantic feelings for her, and since he didn't reciprocate those feelings, it just made her uneasy.But at the moment, everyone was concentrating on the map River had spread out on a conference table in his office. "This is where Blade was last spotted," River said, pointing to a woodsy patch near her own territory. It made Ellie nervous to see that he was so close to her village. She'd alerted her pack and knew that they were all watching for him to see if he came anywhere near the heart of her packlands, but so far, none of the patrols had seen him. That was exactly how she hoped it stayed."I was thinking we could surround him there if we can confirm that he's still in that area. I will come
RiverBeing out on the battlefield always got the blood flowing through River in a way nothing else could. He loved the thrill of battle, the rush he got from stalking his prey, and then the surge of adrenaline he always got before the attack was enough to make him wish he lived back in the days before the packs were as civilized as they were now. His mother used to tell him stories about his great-grandfather and how he'd conquered the area that was now his territory, taking it over and making the rogue wolves that had lived there for years become part of the pack or leave the area for good. Some of them had been ferocious fighters, but that hadn't stopped his great-grandfather from waging war against them and bringing his pack into this preferred territory.In his wolf form, River stalked across the forest, Alan and his Omega warriors spread out in two lines that spanned almost one hundred yards across. All of the attacking packs that were looking for Blade and his thugs were coming
EllieIt was good to be back in her pack; it was good to be back in her own territory.Not that she hadn't enjoyed her time with River and Luna Patricia. She had--especially toward the end when she and River began to spend more time together. He really was a wonderful guy, and she hoped to get to know him even better once this battle was over. But for now, she could only focus on one man--Blade.Being back in her wolf form was also exhilarating for Ellie. She had shifted a few times since her jump into the river, but for the most part, she'd been working out in her human form. In order for a shifter to be in their best shape in their wolf form, they needed to be strong in their human form. A weak person could never be a strong wolf, and a strong person was almost always a fiercer wolf than those who didn't hit the gym on a regular basis in their human form.Ellie stalked along through the forest that bordered her territory and spilled into the no-man's land where she'd encountered Bla
RiverBlade was moving. Whether he'd sensed that he was being surrounded, or maybe actually seen or smelled the other packs moving into position, the Alpha seemed to know that he had enemies moving in. Either that, or he had just decided to shift his location anyway.It was getting dark. Normally, shifters moved after the sun went down. It was also usually the best time to attack, but River and the other Alphas had decided it would be smart to try and catch Blade off guard. The fact that he was changing his location made River nervous. Carter wasn't quite in position yet, and Lance needed a few minutes more to get to his original position, but Blade was running to the southeast and Lance was coming in from the northwest, so the more Blade moved, the harder it was for Lance to get into position. At least Blade wouldn't be able to turn around and come back the way he came without running into Lance--theortically."Alpha River, Ulysses's pack is reporting that they're in position with no
EllieBlade was getting away, and Ellie couldn't stand it. She knew that he was going to slip right through her fingers. If she had acted on her own without waiting for Carter to get into place, she might've been able to stop him, but since she was following the plan and trying to give Carter a chance to fall into place before she launched her attack, Blade was moving much more quickly than she was. And he was about to cut right past her forces without Ellie so much as landing a paw on him."Luna Ellie, Alpha River wants you to move due east and then cut south to try and get in front of Blade and force him back toward his pack and Ulysses' forces coming in from the north," Dara, Ellie's Omega on the phone, said in her head. She had to assume that had come from Jim, who was doing the same for River."Let them know that I will cut east if that's what I need to do to get in front of Blade, but if we come into close contact with him again, I'm attacking. I don't care if it's only our pack
RiverRunning was an activity River enjoyed when he was racing his friends or going for a leisurely jog. Sprinting across the forest floor in his wolf form, terrified that something horrible was about to happen to his fated mate--again--was not his idea of a good time. In fact, River could think of at least a hundred and fifty things he'd rather be doing.When Jim had come through the mind-link to tell him that Ellie was moving in to attack Blade whether or not the rest of the packs were in position, he'd thought that the Omega he'd put in charge of communication had to be mistaken; surely, he'd misheard… or something. How in the world did she think she was going to take on that pack of evil, scrupulous wolves with absolutely no help?She wasn't thinking. That was the only explanation he could come up with. She was so angry and upset at what the other Alpha had done to her that she was thinking irrationally. But far be it for him to tell a woman she was thinking irrationally....So al
RiverEllie was in front of him, charging right for Blade, when two huge wolves cut her off. River did his best to get over there to help her, but she didn't need him. It only took her a matter of seconds to dispatch both of them. River couldn't help but smile as he watched her in action. She was pretty d*mn amazing.But this was a fight, and not something to be taken lightly, so River got involved, too. He saw Ellie going after Blade, but the Alpha wasn't willing to engage with her. Apparently, Glade wasn't so big and tough when Ellie wasn't outnumbered drastically as she had been the last time he'd hurt her..As Blade took off from the woods to his right, Ellie was right on his tail. Unfortunately the b*stard was too fast for her. River wanted to help, already having proven that he was faster than Blade. He was headed that way when another large, dark wolf leapt in front of him, teeth bared. River paused and growled right back at the wolf, which was at least six inches taller than
EllieShe'd had him--the b*stard was within her grasp. And someohow, stupid Blade had managed to get away.He was on the run now, though. It was just a matter of time before she either cornered him or he got tired and had to give up. Ellie would keep running forever, until her legs fell off, if that's what it took to track down the Alpha who'd tried to kill her and finish him off once and for all.Across the way, she saw River flying across the forest floor. The two of them both sprinted off after Blade. Being able to talk to River at this point would be really helpful. Unfortunately, they hadn't marked one another yet, so they still didn't have mind-link capabilities. That needed to change.The idea of what that would entail was distracting, so Ellie put it out of her mind and focused on gaining ground on Blade. Even without being able to communicate directly with River, the two of them would be able to work together to get Blade; she just knew it."Luna Ellie?" Dara's voice brought
EllieThe string quartet was playing a soft, slow song that seemed to make the silver stars above them twinkle even more somehow as Ellie stood admiring the scene. She'd been right. Everything had come together perfectly, and all across the dance floor, couple after couple had paired off. Her students were finding their fated mates. Alphas and Betas from packs far and wide were coming together with women that had trained in her school."Well, what do you think, beautiful?" River asked, stepping over from where he'd been speaking to another Alpha who'd come with his wife and son, who was their age and looking for a wife so he could take over the pack. "I would say this is a huge success.""Definitely," Ellie agreed. "I see so many people dancing together and falling in love.""I know," River said. "Look at Sarah and Alpha Rob over there. And Nelly and Alpha Lance."Ellie had noticed both of those couples. Sarah looked so lovely in her red dress, and Nelly in her blue one, gazing into L
EllieThe final touches for the Moon Goddess Ball were falling into place, and Ellie couldn't believe how beautiful the event center looked. As she looked around at all of the decorations, her heart fluttered in her chest. She could only imagine how many couples might fall in love in there tonight.It hadn't been easy, getting everything ready for the event, but along with Michael, River, Shelby, and several other volunteers, Ellie had gotten it done. Not only had they put together a beautiful event center, but they'd also managed to get several Alphas and Betas from packs far and wide to commit to attending, and for the past several days, they'd been arriving. Many of them were staying in the cabins in the pack village, the same ones that the Alphas who had competed in her contest had stayed in.Ellie pushed those thoughts out of her mind. It all seemed like ancient history now. The bachelors remaining from that contest would be back that night, still looking for love, though there w
EllieThe idea of having a Moon Goddess Ball with the women she'd been training to become Lunas was ultimately the idea behind the training to begin with, so when River came in and suggested that they have the grand opening of the new event center be just that, a Moon Goddess Ball for the women in her class, Ellie couldn't believe her ears."Do you think that's a good idea?" River asked her."No, I don't think that's a good idea," Ellie told him, watching his face fall."You don't?" River blinked a few times. It was clear he was searching for something to say that wouldn't offend her."No. I think… it's a great idea," she said, winking at him.A smile broke across his face, wide enough to match her own. "Oh, he said. Good. I was afraid you were going to tell me that it was a bad idea.""No, I definitely think we should do that," she said. "In fact, I think we should start planning it right now. When is the full moon?"River pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the calendar.
River Rebuilding after the fire wasn't easy, but it was something that brought the entire pack together. In a way, River was slightly glad, though he'd never say it out loud. Supervising the project while Michael recovered from his injuries was interesting. River invited some of the members of his own pack to come over and help. At first, it seemed like there was a bit of a divide between the two groups, but once the "outsiders" proved their value, everyone began to work smoothly together.It took quite a while to clear away the debris from the old event center. After that, they planned a new one. This one was better. It was bigger with more rooms for different events. River had the pack architect draw it out with input from several of the pack elders and other important members of the pack, including Michael, who was out of the hospital by then and staying with Ellie and River so that the pack Luna could spend as much time as possible with her dad. River knew it had really shaken El
EllieIt took a few days before Michael was able to come out of the coma, but part of that was because the healers thought it would help him heal if they kept him in a medically induced coma, so by the time he finally opened his eyes three days after the attack, Ellie was thrilled.She was also exhausted, but seeing her father's eyes register on her own made all of that fade away momentarily. "Dad?" she said, looking at his familiar face. "How are you feeling?""Ellie?" he said, his voice weak. He still had an oxygen mask over his face, but all of the tubes and other wires had been removed, other than the monitor hooked up to his finger and the IV he had in his arm in case he needed more medicine. "Where's Michaela?""She's at home with River," Ellie said, giving him a reassuring smile. She wasn't sure how much of the battle he would remember. "She's perfectly fine."Her father's head rolled to the side a bit as he released a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the Moon Goddess," he said. "I w
Ellie Watching the healers work to bring her father back from the dead was like watching a dream for Ellie. She stood there with Michaela in her arms, River's hand on her shoulder, thinking none of this could be happening, that it had to be a dream.But it wasn't. It was real. Her daughter had really been ripped from her bed, and now, the same people who were responsible for taking her child from her may have succeeded in taking her dad.Ellie couldn't imagine what her life would be like without her father in it. For as long as she could remember, he'd been there for her. Like a rock, like the brick wall she needed to hold her up anytime she felt like she couldn't stand on her own, he was always there. Even though she had River now, it wasn't the same. No matter how old a person got, they always needed a parent.But if Michael died, she wouldn't have any parents at all. She'd be an orphan.While she could imagine that her father would be happy to finally be reunited with her mother,
RiverSeeing Ellie fighting all of those rogues by herself was enough to make River kick himself into a gear he didn't even know that he had. But when he saw his wife carrying his daughter away to safety, he knew that everything was going to be all right, especially since the rogues were grossly outnumbered.There was just the matter of making them pay for the horrendous atrocities they had committed. Not only had they set the village event center on fire, which may have already spread to other buildings, but they'd also violated his home, stolen his daughter, and taken her off in the middle of the night.None of these wolves were walking away from this fight.Not even the huge male that was bearing down on him now.River didn't care that the male seemed to be twice his size. With the anger boiling inside of him from everything he'd seen, River lowered himself to the ground and waited for the wolf to come at him. When the large wolf's teeth snapped at him, River dodged to the side and
EllieThe fact that she'd jumped right over the Omega's head would buy her some time, but only a matter of seconds. He would turn around and be right after her. So… Ellie had to make those moments count. She needed to head right for the female holding her baby and attack before she had the chance to register what was happening.Ellie landed hard on the ground from her leap and ignored the searing pain that shot up her right front paw. She continued to run, registering the look of fear in the female's eyes. It was only there for a split second, but it was there long enough for Ellie to know that she had the upper hand.She aimed low, darting around for the back of the female, away from her baby. She managed to sink her teeth into the female's leg, causing her to yelp. When she did so, she had to let go of the baby blanket. Michaela tumbled to the ground, but it wasn't much of a drop. Still, the baby screamed in fear and possibly a bit of pain. Ellie considered her chances of grabbing h
RiverLeaving the fire to run out into the night, searching for his daughter was enough to make River's heart catch in his throat. How was it possible that someone had taken his baby from her warm bed in the middle of the night?As he tore through the forest, running in the direction his wife told him she was tracking the culprits in, he tried not to think about the fact that he'd been suspecting something like this in the back of his mind for some time. Ever since the rogues started getting close to the village, he'd been wondering if they'd try a stunt like this. If he'd been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together, if he'd thought it was truly possible that they'd try to take his daughter, he would've been more vigilant. Now, he was running as fast as he could, praying that Ellie or someone else saw them soon.If they found them, they would stop them. They just had to find them."River! I see them!"Ellie's voice in his head gave him hope. River's breath stuttered. "Where?" h