Fourteen Mason Crescent "What happened, exactly?" I asked when Barrett dragged me out of the room Mia had been put in so that she could talk to Rachel alone. "What do you mean, what happened, exactly?" Barrett asked. "I remember the Hartwell family. One minute, they were the most powerful family amongst the werewolves. Everyone was excited about them having their heir. After their heir was born though, they vanished. At least, that’s what everyone believed." "We were in hiding," Barrett said, "there were too many people that wanted Mia dead. It's rare for a female werewolf to be born an Alpha. The ones that are almost never make it to their eighteenth birthday. The family had to go into hiding to stay alive. We moved into a human city, changed our last names, and did our best to protect Mia. But there was a family that was relentless about getting rid of her. In fact, you might know them." I raised an eyebrow. "Who?" "The Carina Family."
Fifteen Mia Conner I stood in the room staring at my Aunt Rachel. She looked exactly the same. But after everything that I'd found out, I kept on wondering if I could trust her. "Mia?" she said. "Are you going to say something?" I coughed. I should have said something, anything, but there was only one thing going through my mind. Werewolf. I was a werewolf. Not only that, I was an Alpha. A rare thing for a female to be an alpha. Which meant that Harper…Harper had to be one too. There was no way that she wasn't. Not with me and Mason as her parents. People had come after my family because of this. Did I even want it? Was there a way to get rid of it? "Mia, you're scaring me," said Aunt Rachel. I blinked. "Sorry. I'm just trying to take everything all in." I tilted my head to the side. "Why didn't you tell me?" Aunt Rachel sighed. "I was keeping you safe. You were under attack from the moment you were conceiv
Sixteen Mason Crescent I could feel her before she knocked. Mia found me without even having to ask anyone. Her rage was radiating through the door of Masons study and I opened it before she knocked. I smiled at her. "Well, aren't you a radiant vision?" "Aren't you a dumbass?" Mia hissed at me. Barrett chuckled. "I don't know what's going on, but I know a lovers spat when I see one. I'll let you two have a moment." He brushed past the two of us. Mia slipped into the study and slammed the door shut. "My aunt says that you're dying, and that if you die, I will too. And that the only way for the two of us not to do that is for us to…to…" she looked down at the floor, unable to say the words. I laughed. "Don't get sheepish on me now, Princess. We've already fucked. We've got a kid to show for it." "I know!" she snapped. "I spent her whole life raising her alone because her asshole father made a choic
Seventeen Mia conner When the words came out of my mouth, I wondered about where that thought had come from. I wasn't a blood thirsty person. At least, I hadn't thought so. But when Mason had touched me, I had seen everything. How the Carinas had attacked his family…and I knew…I knew they were responsible for what had happened to mine. That had to be why we had been made each other's mates. Because we had a common enemy. One that we would only get rid of if the two of us were together. He was arrogant enough to think that no one could touch him even though he wasn't an Alpha anymore. I was going to need someone like that by my side. Then there was the question of Harper. I loved my daughter, but it didn't feel right having her in this world of monsters and magic. "I'm going to say something, and you're not going to like it, but you're going to have to listen." Mason looked sharply up at me. "What?" "We need to send Harper away," I said. He made a face. "I just came ba
Eighteen Mason Crescent She kissed me. When mates kissed, sometime you could see snippets of the future. Possibilities. When Mia kissed me, I saw the two of us, united. Standing in a field against the Carinas pack. There was going to be a battle. There had to be after all of the history that we had between us. But as long as I had Mia with me, I felt like the two of us could do anything. I just had to convince her that we belonged together. Not just because the two of us were mates. “Daddy! Daddy!” there was a little voice calling out then. I looked up, and I saw my daughter running towards me. Mia’s eyes widened when Harper hugged my legs tightly. “Did you…did you tell her?” I shook my head. “No. I haven’t even seen her before this.” Harper looked from me to Mia. “I had a dream about him. I’ve had dreams about him for a while, mom. I knew he was going to come back to us. I just didn’t know when.” Mia tilted
Nineteen Mia Conner My aunt, even though I was furious at her, and everyone for lying to me, knew exactly what to do. After Harper admitted that she was having nightmares about someone known as The Grey Wolf, Mason explained everything to Rachel. I was glad for it. In my fear for my daughter, I’d lost my words. I was silent the whole time. From putting Mia in the car, to the family dinner my uncle Barrett and brother Oliver called to discuss tactics. I should have said more. After all, it was my family’s future that they were discussing. I didn’t even touch my food. I was left alone, with Oliver watching over me. “Are you okay?” he asked. I glanced at him. “I don’t know you. Why should I tell you anything?” He glared. “I’m your brother. I’m your family. You can trust me, Mia.” “I’ve just learned that everyone---from my family to the guy that is apparently my universe, approved soulmate---has lie
Twenty Mason Crescent She was talking with her brother, and laughing at something he said when I entered. That shouldn’t have made me jealous. He was her brother. But he’d known her less than I had and already, they seemed to have a connection. Barrett was with me. “Are you okay?” Barrett asked. I growled. “What?” He gestured to my hands. The claws had come out. I clenched my fists together. “Sorry. I…I think I’ve been away from her for too long.” Barrett nodded. “You two have had a hard time of it, haven’t you?” I nodded. “Yes. I wish I’d known the truth about her. I wouldn’t have taken so long to make her mine.” “Well,” said Barrett, “you’ll figure it out. But you’re going to need the help from your pack. The Carina Pack might have trouble with getting mates but they’re vicious. And they’re powerful in different ways.” “I’m not letting them take my daughter,” I said, “or Mia. I’ve lost too much time with them. I don’t want to lose anymore.” Barrett patted me on the
Twenty-one: Mia Conner All I had wanted was a trip to Las Vegas. A vacation. I didn’t want to find out that I was secretly a werewolf Queen or whatever, or that my daughter was next in line for the throne OR that I had a mate who happened to be the world’s biggest asshole. Now, to top everything off, there were witches involved. I mean, Rachel had told me she had used magic to keep me from finding out the truth of who I was. But witches interfering with my future? And my daughters? I didn’t know what to think of any of that. If I hadn’t already spent enough time having fainted, I probably would have fainted again. But now, I was hearing Mason’s thoughts in my head. Everything was already so weird. What did one more weird thing matter? “I thought the witches could meet us there,” said Barrett, “they already know about Harper. They’ve agreed to help Rachel keep her safe. They know how important everything is. But they should be there t
Seventy-four:Mia Crescent Somehow, I had survived the fight. Mason took me back to New York. Valentina was dead. My uncle was dead. My brother was dead. And Edwina had nearly died in the process, but she had managed to survive somehow. There was also something strange that had passed between her and Cole that I couldn’t explain. One day, back in New York when Harper and I had been reunited, I had been having lunch with her in the big kitchen as Mason was off working on something pack related for me. I heard fighting coming down the stairs. “We’re not talking about this,” Edwina hissed. “We have to,” this came from Cole. The two of them came into the kitchen. They didn’t even notice me and Harper sitting inn the kitchen together as they talked. “It was stupid!” Edwina shouted. “I made a mistake. That’s it. We’re not going to do anything. It’s wrong.” “Look, you’re from the same world as me,” said Cole
Seventy-three:Mason Crescent The fight had been brutal. Not everyone had survived. The hunters were dead. Oliver was dead. Barrett, who had been a traitor the whole time, was dead. We were in one of the witches homes. Valentina had ended up getting burned alive. She was dead. Turned to ash. Edwina was almost drained of her power. My wife, my precious Mia, was hanging from a thread. She lay on one of the beds in the guest room of one of the high priestesses of the coven. I didn’t even know the woman’s name. All I could focus was that Mia was near death. It seemed that the rumors of mates dying when the other died were just that. Rumors. But when she was weak, I could feel it. I was struggling to even bring myself to her side. “Brother,” said Cole, “are you alright?” I reached out and I grasped my wife’s hand as though simply by touching her that I would be able to gain some of her strength. Or maybe ma
Seventy-two:Mia Crescent It happened the same way it happened with Stacy. My wolf sensed the danger before I saw it. The hunters had known exactly where we were, but judging by the look on Valentina and Edwina’s faces, neither of them had planned on the hunters finding us. I didn’t know how that had happened. Someone had to have betrayed us. Then, through the crowd, I saw someone coming forward. My uncle, Barrett. He was holding something in his hands. Edwina let out a scream. “Oliver!” her wail echoed through the desert. “You know, Mia, I think you’re a bit too trusting. I don’t think that’s going to make for a good leader. So, I think I’m going to have to destroy you and your whole family. Because you weren’t even raised as a werewolf. You thought you were a fucking human for most of your life. You had no idea that you were even being watched by some of the deadliest people on the planet for most of your life.
Seventy-one:Mason Crescent I wanted to trust Mia. And I did. But it wasn’t Mia that I had the problem with. It was Valentina. Valentina was notoriously power hungry. As we followed her and Edwina to wherever they were taking us, I kept on thinking of Camden, lying there, dead. It was the hunters that were responsible. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something worse coming. “Are you alright?” Mia asked. “You’ve been quiet this whole time.” I shook my head. “It’s nothing.” “Your eyes are glowing and you are clenching your jaw,” Mia told me, “There’s something going on in that head of yours. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” “I’m keeping my mouth shut,” I told her, “Because if I say something, you’re going to get pissed at me. I don’t want you pissed at me. I know you’re trying to be an Alpha. I want this to work for you. But I don’t trust Valentina. I know how her mind works.” Mia sn
SeventyMia Crescent I knew the minute that Mason arrived. I could feel him. Stacy was unconscious and tied to a chair. Without thinking, I left her alone and ran from the bakery down the stairs to the front where Mason had only just gotten out of his truck. “Mason!” I called out. He ran to me, picked me up, and twirled me around in his arms as he kissed me. I could only feel him. There was someone coughing behind us and Mason quickly put us down. I glanced over at Cole and couldn’t help but be sheepish. “Sorry Cole,” I apologized. Cole rolled his eyes. “It’s fine. But you know, we’re kind of in a life-or-death situation here. You’re the ones that have a daughter that you would like to reunite with. We should probably focus on taking out the bad guy’s thing first.” Mason smirked. “Don’t worry, brother. We know exactly what we need to do. Where’s the girl?” “In my apartment,” I told him. “Come on,” he s
Sixty-nine: Mason Crescent There were two, beat up men in the back of the truck Cole and I had driven down. Hunters that had tried to take us out. Mia had already been attacked by another one, a woman that she’d known back in California. “If you grip that steering wheel any harder, you’re going to break it,” Cole warned. “They were right fucking there!” I hissed, slamming my hand against the center console as I drove. “I stayed away from Mia and Harper to make sure that they were safe. The whole time, they were in danger. I fucking wasted time that I could have been with my wife and daughter, Cole. And I didn’t even know Mia was my wife until recently.” Cole coughed. “That’s my fault. I’m sorry. Cal and I shouldn’t have interfered. We just wanted you happy and you were being so stubborn about the whole Mia thing because you thought she was human…” “I didn’t trust her,” I said, “I should have. I should have known t
Sixty-eight: Mia Crescent In the movies, the plan would have gone fast. Because this wasn’t a movie, it took time. Days. Days of being by myself, days of trying to act like everything was normal. The café was finished so I mostly had to order supplies and look into hiring people. I had to wait and pretend that I was clueless to everything. I missed Harper. I missed my husband. I was tired of everything being constant danger. I wanted to be safe. But it wasn’t easy to draw darkness out when you were looking for it. It was much easier for darkness to strike when you weren’t looking. I kept on wanting to call Mason, but I couldn’t. I had to wait until the Hunters came for me. I busied myself with the bakery, and pretending to be back to normal to everyone that knew me from before. But it was almost impossible. I kept looking over my shoulder every time my back was turned e
Sixty-seven:Mason Crescent First, I contacted the other wolfpacks. I let them know that I had reunited with Mia and that she had run away. I made no mention of her being a Luna. I did mention the hunters that had been coming after our packs. After, I started “searching” on my own for her. I went out on runs in my wolf fun. I got closer and closer to where she was. California. The place that she had originally wanted to call her home. With each step of our plan getting closer, I found myself worrying. It was the same worry that I had had since the beginning. That Mia wouldn’t want to be with me if she knew the truth. Only now, that worry had changed to what would happen if Mia got back to California and wanted her old life before me? One that wasn’t complicated by werewolves and magic and me. “You okay?” Cole asked. We weren’t in our wolf form. We had reached Las Vegas just by shifting and running. But now, we were in our human clothes,
Sixty-six Mia Crescent I took a picture of myself at the airport. I posted it onto social media. Connected with some college friends this weekend. Going home. Never thought I would see Mason Crescent again. Blast from the past! The second was of a picture of Mason and me. Edwina had a theory that the hunters were tracking mates through magic and social media. Rachel had been a snake in the grass so I had no idea what kind of tracking devices might have been in my home or in my bakery. When I got back to my home, I was stunned to find that the restaurant was completely finished. The contractors had continued working in my absence. Life hadn’t just stopped in the midst of me finding out who I really was. It hadn’t been that long, yet it felt like it was a million light years away. “Home sweet home,” I muttered to myself as I stepped in. I had had this place built with the hope that it would be my foreve