I'm so sorry that apparently Friday's chapter didn't publish. I realized it just now as I was publishing today's chapter, so now you get two chapters in one day. (They also were published out of order, but I've asked my editor to fix the issue, so you'll have to let me know if they were in the correct order when you read them.)
I work very hard to maintain my updating schedule and I feel terrible that I missed a day. I appreciate you all leaving reviews over the last several days, and if you haven't already, please visit the book info page to write an official review that will be visible to readers who are considering checking out my novel.
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Much Love,
Anja <3RIEKASomehow, I was both relieved and irritated at Jacinda for how she pushed things on us so suddenly. Since she’d basically just offered to answer all of my questions, I didn’t feel the need to tread carefully.“Were you really present in my dream last night, or was that my mind conjuring you up?” I blurted without thinking.The moment the words left my mouth I wanted to smack myself for speaking so thoughtlessly. I hadn’t told Aleksandr about the dream and if I said too much, he would start asking questions that I wasn’t prepared to answer.I felt a little bad that I was keeping secrets from him, but this was not a secret that would hurt him or anyone else. I shouldn’t feel obligated to talk about my late husband, and I still felt like I would somehow be betraying his memory to speak ill of him after his death.I couldn’t change anything now that he’s gone, so what’s the point in bringing it up.“Yes,” Jacinda answered, interrupting my thoughts “I was there.”I slumped back ag
ALEKSANDR “Do you know who’s out there?” Jacinda frowns but nods. “The Nightshade Pack has found you. It didn’t take them long to realize that you’d left your pack, and they knew you’d come to Europe looking for answers. It was just a matter of time before they figured out where you went.” I cursed under my breath and then my body tensed as I heard someone approaching. Alpha Cornelis’ scent reached me before he did and I was able to relax a bit, but Rieka jumped forward the moment he appeared, asking him a barrage of questions. “Where is everyone? Are the children safe?” Alpha Cornelis didn’t respond right away. His eyes were locked on Jacinda, studying her, as his lips pulled back in a suppressed snarl. “Alpha Cornelis, this is Jacinda,” Rieka attempted to facilitate an introduction, “She’s going to—” “I know who she is.” He growled, “I’ve heard stories about the vampire witch. Just because I allow you on my territory, doesn’t mean I trust you. When this is dealt with,
ALEKSANDRI was in Alpha Cornelis’ office with Jacinda, his Beta, Ash, his Lead warrior, Fleur, and a few other top warriors. We had just finished finalizing the battle plans and Alpha Cornelis was giving his head warriors instructions to get everyone in position when Rieka’s voice came crashing into my head with urgency.‘Aleksandr, I need you here. Now.’‘Love, what’s wrong?!? Are you in danger?’‘No, we’re safe,’ there was a pause, but I could still feel the link open, ‘I can’t explain it, but I just have this feeling like you’re supposed to be here with us right now. It’s so overwhelming. Please just come quickly.’“Alpha Cornelis, I need to see my mate immediately. Where is the central sanctum?”I didn’t leave any room for him to deny my request, and Ash immediately stepped up.“I can take you there Alpha Aleksandr.”“No, Beta,” Alpha Cornelis cut in, “I need you here with me.”Cornelis turned to a warrior standing against the wall, “Thomas, please take the Alpha to the cen
ALEKSANDRAce huffed out a breath of frustration but turned towards the kitchen to help me. The space between the rooms was fairly open, but it was an L shape, so when we were standing in the kitchen, the cabinets blocked our view of the others.If I kept my voice low, they were unlikely to hear our conversation over the sound of the movie. Now I just had to figure out how to start this conversation.“Can you grab some glasses?” I ask as I begin pulling cans of soda from the refrigerator.Ace doesn’t say anything but makes his way over to the cabinet with the glasses, opens it, and starts pulling out 6 glasses. He’s always been a good kid, and even with me marrying his mom, he’s never had a bitter attitude about all of this, but since coming to Europe, he’s seemed more frustrated.Ace begins carrying the glasses over to where I’m standing and dispenses a few ice cubes in each one. When the last glass is filled and the noise of the ice machine stops, I try to start the conversatio
ALEKSANDR The hallway was dark, so I didn’t see clearly before I lunged at the figure in the doorway without thought. My only instinct was to protect my family, but there was a swift movement, and I flew past the figure into the hallway. As soon as my paws hit the floor I spun around, and my body froze. My eyes focused and I saw Jacinda standing just outside the door smirking. “Feeling a little tense, Alpha?” The teasing tone in her voice just fed my aggression, but she’d immobilized me again, so I was powerless to do anything. I immediately shifted back to my human form, but I was still unable to move from my crouched position on the floor. “What the hell is going on?” I growl as I glance back at the door where Mason and Oliver stood watching us cautiously. “We’ve captured the alpha of the pack and he is being securely held, but he is insisting on speaking with your mate.” “Why would I let my mate anywhere near that filth?” “He wants a chance to explain himself and he claim
ALEKSANDRIt was instinct. As soon as Rieka mentioned Silas, my wolf growled and began clawing to get out. I shoved him back down, but it was too late. We were surrounded by warriors in wolf form, watching me like I was the threat here.Rieka tried to sooth them, but they were focused on me.Without submitting, I did my best to relax my body and present myself in a non-threatening way, but they continued to circle us and slowly inch closer. It was getting harder and harder to control my wolf with all these others closing in on me and my mate.Since we were surrounded, there was nowhere I could properly protect Rieka and my wolf snarled in my head, wanting the other wolves to back away from his mate.Suddenly, the wolves all froze. Although they’d stopped moving their eyes were all fixed on me, and I could see their lips curling with suppressed growls.“What’s happening?” Rieka whispered.‘I’m not sure,’ I replied through the mind link.Jacinda stepped between two of the wolves, a
RIEKA I knew Aleksandr wouldn’t like it, but I needed to know if this male really had any information, so I nodded my head that I would speak with him alone. “I don’t like this,” Aleksandr growled in my ear. Turning to face him, I place my hand on his chest. I can feel his strong heartbeat pounding. “I know, but I will stay far away from the bars. He won’t be able to touch me.” “Can we speak outside for a minute?” Jacinda asked as she approached me. Although I was confused by her request, I agreed, and we all stepped out of the room together. We all stood there looking at one another for a minute before Jacinda broke the silence. “I know you don’t trust him, but if it would make you feel better, I can stay in the room with her without the prisoner knowing.” “Not that I trust you either,” my mate glared at her, “but who even is this male? What pack does he rule? And what happened to the rest of his pack? Were they all captured, or did some escape?” Alpha Cornelis raised h
RIEKA “Not exactly human? What the hell does that mean?” I scoffed. “We’ve already explored this, and it’s been confirmed several times. I. Am. Human. Nothing more, nothing less.” Alpha Kareem smiled. “So, you’re not ready to listen then…” He was right. I literally just said I was ready to listen, but the moment he spoke, I argued with him. I took a deep breath to calm myself, “Okay, let’s pretend I believe you. How can I trust anything you say? Didn’t you come here to abduct me?” A hearty laugh bubbled out of his throat, and I suddenly felt very sheepish. Why do I always have to be the person who doesn’t know what’s going on? It seems like all these alpha males are always laughing at me. Why are they all surprised that a human doesn’t know the details of their culture? I may be mated to an Alpha, but we’ve only known each other for a few months. How quickly do they expect me to learn everything and become an expert on a world I was just recently introduced to. As A
ALEKSANDRAs eager as I was to see Rieka, my mother had already made it clear that she was stable, and Dustin, my best friend and my Beta, was awake!I turned down the hall towards the room where Drea and little Link had been staying with him.It was a joy to hear his voice as I approached the room.Although I am the alpha and this is my pack house, I didn’t want to walk in and interrupt the moment this family was reunited.I slowed in the hallway as I approached the door, and as I raised my hand to knock, Dustin’s voice broke through my mind.‘You don’t need to knock Alpha!’Laughing, I lowered my hand to grab the handle and open the door.I’m not usually an emotional male, but when I saw Dustin sitting up in bed with Drea beside him and Link in his arms, my vision blurred from the tears welling up in my eyes.“It’s good to see you up!” I smiled“It’s good to be up!” He answered with a twinkle in his eye.“What happened? How did you get out of that?”“Jacinda released me.” Dustin
EMMETT A game? I turned to look at the alpha and, on the surface, he looked bored, but there was something in his eye that felt like a warning. He’s planning something. If I want to figure out what it is, I need to play along. Who knows, maybe I do have some special abilities that this crazy little she-wolf can help me unlock. “Okay,” I smiled cockily, “How do we play?” “Oh, yay! This will be fun!” Devan jumped up and down excitedly. There was something very child-like about her. It seemed odd, but then again, she was working with an interesting pack, so who was I to judge her behavior. “We can’t play here. There isn’t enough space,” she grinned, “Follow me.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and disappeared between the curtains. Slowly, I stepped forward, attempting to appear confident but unbothered to rush. I still couldn’t get a good read on this alpha and I was unsure if he expected me to listen to Devan and do as she said or wait for his instructions. Whe
EMMETTStartled by the sound, I spun around to see a petite female with wild, curly red hair standing next to the curtain that framed the shadows beyond.She was wearing a bright, cherry-red pantsuit with a white blouse and black heels. Her clothes looked much too clean and professional to be in a place like this, however, her wild, unkempt hair and pale, almost translucent, skin fit perfectly with the vibe of this underground labyrinth.She was pretty enough, albeit very small for a wolf. The things that unnerved me though, were her eyes. Framed with dark makeup, they were such a light grey that they almost looked like they had been drained of life itself. There was a vacancy in her gaze that made me feel like she wasn’t fully here.I realized I was staring, and a slow, devious smirk made its way across her red lips.“It’s been a long time since I saw another red wolf,” her voice was higher than I expected, but not childlike.“This is Devan,” the alpha gestured towards the female
ALEKSANDR As I rushed towards the house that I’d been told was where the mother of the pup lived, my natural instinct was to scent the air. I knew that Jacinda didn’t have a detectable scent, but that didn’t stop my wolf from searching for her with every sense he possessed. Glancing through a window as I approached the house, I thought I saw two women standing inside. I rushed to the door and thought about shifting, but Jacinda had already had me in compromising situations too many times before, so I remined in my wolf form to avoid being naked in front of her. My weight slammed the door open with such a force that it hit the wall and I heard a loud crack. I would apologize later and make sure the door was properly repaired. Turning in the room, eyes searching, I saw a she-wolf standing there in shock with her mouth open, but there was no one else with her. I opened my mind through the pack link to the she-wolf before me. ‘Where is she?’ I demanded. ‘I know I saw her through
ALEKSANDRPanic, anger, and fear flowed through my body like I’d never felt it before. Why does the moon goddess taunt me. All the strength and power I possess as an alpha, and it’s all worthless. I hated that my mate was once again in danger, and there was literally NOTHING I could do to save her.Here I am, one of the most powerful alphas in the world, and I’m powerless to save and protect my own mate.Leaving my mother with Rieka, I had to move. I had to do something, to take action.Flinging the door to the pack house open, and smelling the forest outside, I immediately shift into my wolf and took off towards the homes of the pack members. I only had one idea left for who could help, and as much as I didn’t want to go there, I was desperate.The challenge was how to find her. Jacinda has a skill for staying hidden when she doesn’t want to be bothered, but she had to know what was going on.With only one idea of how to find her, I went to the only place I thought she would be
ALEKSANDR After several minutes of trying to rouse Rieka without success, I began to panic. My natural instinct was to shake her harder to wake her, but I knew that wouldn’t help. I would be extremely frustrated with myself if I ever hurt her, but even more so at a time like this when she was unconscious. ‘Mom, something is wrong with Rieka!’ I linked, ‘Please come to our room immediately!’ ‘I’ll be there in three minutes,’ she responded promptly. ----- I was pacing the room growling to myself when the door opened, and my mother flicked the lights on before rushing over to the bed. Lightly placing the back of her hand over Rieka’s forehead she asks, “How long has she been like this?” “I just came in and found her like this about 10 minutes ago. What is going on?” My mother remained silent as she examined my mate. Then she clasped both of Rieka’s hands together, closed her eyes, and bowed her head until her forehead touched Rieka’s. I watched in awe as my mother began to ra
I'm so sorry that I didn't post this sooner to keep you all updated, but my mental load is streched beyond capactity right now and I am forced to take a short break for both my mental and physical health. I will do my best to keep writing over the holidays and will continue publishing in January as we come to an end for this novel. You all have been so patient, understanding, and supportive of me over the last year as my family has faced some MAJOR changes and challenges, I promise you will not be disapointed with the ending to this story. I'm just sorry that it's being delayed. Check back by Wednesday January 3rd for more updates! Much Love,Anja
JACINDA I couldn’t believe how much Maeve was opening up to me and sharing with me. The more I learned about this alpha, the more I wanted to end him, but I didn’t dare interrupt her story. “I was doing everything I could to be cooperative, to make him and the guards trust me. My pregnancy was easy and even though I knew the alpha didn’t care about me, he was very interested in the pup I carried, and he visited me regularly. He had the pack doctor monitor my pregnancy very closely to see how strong the pup was.” “Before I gave birth, I started having recurring dreams of me and a baby girl. I would be holding her, and she would smile and giggle, but then the alpha would show up, and she would begin crying. The alpha always wanted to hold her, but she would just cry louder, so he would get frustrated and hand her back to me.” “A few weeks later, the alpha left the territory. I didn’t know where he was going but I knew he’d be gone for at least a week. He left the doctor with s
RIEKA The moment I stepped into the space between the curtains, I was enveloped in cold darkness. I couldn’t see a thing, and besides the cold I could only feel the ground beneath my feet. Slowly shuffling my feet forward, feeling for a drop or a wall, I pushed myself to keep going. After moving straight ahead a few feet, my toes felt something warm and I knew I must have found the other side. I reached my hands forward and my fingers felt the warmth as well. One bold step and I found myself in a small warm room that looked vaguely similar to my mate’s office. There was a desk where the alpha was sitting comfortably; his chair reclined, and his feet propped up on the desk. There were two chairs in front of the desk, but Emmett was standing beside them rather than sitting. This space was darker than the large room we’d just come from, so I stayed close to curtain hoping I would not be noticed by Emmett. “Tell me, red wolf, what is it that you’re hoping to gain by coming here?