I hurried away from Kalen as fast as I could, without it looking like I was running from him. Once I was calmer and had a better control over my emotions, I would talk to him. Right now, I needed space and something to do. I knew the perfect place to go to help me think and do something — the kitchen.The chef was an older, lithe man who lit up as soon as I offered to help. “Ah, wonderful! Alyssa, you are a lifesaver. Can you take that on?” he said, gesturing toward the mountain of dishes accumulated after breakfast.“Of course, Marcel,” I tell him, and walk over to the large sink.“Thank you,” he said, then glanced at me. “Few people volunteer for the grunt work of cooking.”“It helps me think,” I admit,
Kalen“Father, what are you doing here?” I asked as I walked into my office. Jack had told me he came, but I hoped my beta was wrong. The idea of my father being here made me nervous, especially after nearly losing it. If Alyssa hadn’t been there…I didn’t even want to think what might have happened.“Can’t a father check up on his son?” The king said, leaning back in my chair, sitting at my desk as if he owned the place.“We’re in the middle of a war, right after a failed attempt at peace. I’d assume you’d have other things to do besides pay me a visit,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.My father sighed and sat up. “Look, Kalen, I’ve been hearing some things and I’m not sure what to make of them.”A jolt of panic rushed through me, but I fought it down. Clenching my jaw, I took a moment to master myself. “You came all the way here for rumors?”“Are they rumors?” Father asked, leaning forward to look at me. “Why is the Crimson Fang Luna here? Why did you take her to the peac
I stare at the sunlight streaming through the window, surprised and confused. Had I slept through the night? No nightmares? I sat up and rubbed my sleep numb face. For once, I felt rested and ready for the day. I heard Kalen yawn, wrapping his arm around me. He pulled me against him. “Good morning,” he said as he rested his chin on my shoulder.I leaned into his touch and close my eyes, just wanting to live in this moment. “Morning, Kalen.”As if he could read my thoughts, Kalen whispered, “I want every day to be like this, Alyssa. Just you and me.”“It can be. We can be like this every day,” I told him. “But only after you talk to your dad, Cheslie, and whoever about this wedding.” I can’t help the bitterness in my voice as I mention his wedding with the blonde idiot.“Yeah, I know,” he said. His expression seemed to mirror my thoughts on the idea of him marrying her. It settled some of the uneasiness inside me. “However, her dad is a big supporter of my fathers. It’s going to take m
“Well, good news is that your heart seems to have only suffered minor damage from the poisonings and currently, your baby seems fine,” the doctor said as we finished up. “But I want you to take some precautions. I know you said you believe you were poisoned when you were in the lycan king’s peace talks, but until we can be sure, I don’t want you taking food from anyone outside the kitchen staff and I also want to do weekly blood draws.”Talking about this sent a chill through me and I nodded. “Of course, whatever you think is best.”“Good. Now I will see you here next week for a blood draw and two weeks after that, we’ll have our first prenatal visit.”Just hearing the word prenatal made my heart jump. I still couldn’t quite believe it. Pregnant. I was pregnant again. “Yeah, okay. See you then,” I said and left the doctor’s office. I took a roundabout way to the communal building to avoid Chelsie.Kalen had said it’d take time to untangle this wedding business, and I don’t think I cou
The next few days, I didn’t see much of Kalen. He seemed to always be in a meeting with someone. I usually kept myself busy in the kitchen and taking walks with Adelaide or Thomas and Sara. Today, however, I was walking alone until I ran into James. He seemed surprised to see me. “Hello, Little Luna. What are you still doing here?”Confused, I asked, “Why wouldn’t I be here?”“I didn’t think you’d want to stick around to see Kalen marry someone else.”“He’s not,” I told him as a matter of fact. This was Kalen’s uncle, so I don’t see the reason to hide that fact: the wedding wouldn’t be happening. “Kalen is going to break it off, tell everyone it was a misunderstanding.”“And when exactly did he say he was going to do this?” James asked, giving me a curious look.“A few days ago. Well, he said it would take time, but still doesn’t change the fact the wedding isn’t happening. Why?”His brow furrowed as he frowned. It was the first time I’d seen him with anything other than that smug smi
I grabbed the duffle bag that was still in the corner. My tears stung my eyes and a few tears slipped down my cheeks as I set it on the bed. I wiped them off, angry they fell in the first place. I didn’t want to cry. Not for Kalen. Not again. I slung the strap on my shoulder and started to leave, then remembered the ring. I took it off and set it on the nightstand. If he was telling the truth about its history, then it didn’t belong to me, but Chelsie. The thought made my stomach churn.Taking paths that led me around the community instead of through it, I did my best to avoid everyone. I didn’t want to talk or explain myself. All I wanted was to leave and get as far away from here as I could. I was nearing the edge of town when I heard the voice of the very last person I wanted to talk to.“Alyssa, wait,” Kalen called after me. I
Kalen“Oh, don’t you dare judge me,” I growled at my uncle. I couldn’t believe what he was doing. “Especially when you have no fucking idea what’s going on,” I told him. Where did he get off saying any of the crap he did? He knew nothing about Alyssa and me, or Chelsie, for that matter. In fact, I didn’t know why either he or father stuck their noses in my relationships. Neither of them mattered. All that mattered was Alyssa.I turned to reason with Alyssa, to explain to myself when I realized she wasn’t there. Panic slammed into me as I looked around. “Where’s Alyssa,” I said, ignoring James and my father. I didn’t see her anywhere.“Kalen,” my father said as I started to walk away from them, his tone sharp and serious. “Stop. She’s gone. Leave her be for now.”“For now? You don’t get it, Father. She’s leaving,” I growled at him, then before I could say anything I added, “And it’s your fault! You let her slip away!” I glared at my father, feeling my rage build. My wolf wanted out. He
Once I couldn’t hear Kalen and James shouting at each other, I relaxed. I owed the rogue king for letting me leave. For a moment, I worried that he’d want to keep me there too. I walked through the trees of the forest, knowing more or less what direction I’m going. My father taught me how to find my way through the forest.I knew more or less the direction Kalen and I went to meet with the lycan king. He might know something about my father. That was who I needed now, my father. He would make all of this right, somehow. I know it. Dad could always make things right.I’d been walking for hours when I stopped and to take a small break. Setting my bag down, I took out a sandwich and ate it quietly, trying not to think about anything too hard. As I prepared to get up and continue, I heard a twig snap. When I looked in the direction of the sound, I saw three men walking towards me. All three were dirty and looked like they’d been out here for a long time. These men were probably deserters
EpilogueWith the death of James, there was enough evidence in his safe house to prove he was behind all the conflicts between pack and rogues, and the war officially was over. The lycan king spent the next several months majorly cleaning house. The king stripped most of the alphas of their positions with the choice of being incarcerated or going through a rehabilitation program. Not surprisingly, most were incarcerated or forced the king’s hand into killing them.He was also trying to repair his relationship with Danielle and the rogue king. The kings weren’t friends, but they stopped the petty back and forth they used to do. Danielle thinks there’s hope for them. Me… I am not so sure, but just glad to see their issues probably won’t cause any more wars.The lycan king offered the leadership of the Crimson Fang back to me, but I refused. There was too much bad blood between the pack and me. Besides, the rogue community felt like home to me now. I had friends and family here. Being th
The sun was warm against my skin as Caden and I sat on a blanket in the late morning. I tried to focus on him, and the joy of having him back in my life, instead of worrying about Kalen. Two days have passed since they left to find James, and I’ve not heard a single word about what was going on.“Hey,” Thomas said as he sat next to us, breaking me from my thoughts.“Hey,” I replied and unable to help myself, asked, “Heard anything yet?”He shook his head with a downfallen look. “No, but it doesn’t mean anything. Operations like this take time.”That would’ve made me feel better if he didn’t also look worried himself. He was trying to hide it, but I saw it all the same. Perhaps he wasn’t only trying to make me feel better, but himself, too. “Yeah. You’re probably right,” I said, deciding to play along.“So how are things with this little guy?” Thomas asked, looking down at Caden who had rolled over to his stomach now.“It’s been an adjustment,” I admitted. “You know, you hear about all
The Wolf's PoVI moved my neck to the side and shook off the painful little aftershocks of my shift. I lifted my massive snout and sniffed the air. Sweat, adrenaline, fear and anger. It was the smell of the most basic, primal of all instincts of any living creature. The fight for survival. It was an intoxicating mix. Working my jaw, the desire for blood filled me.I lowered my head and glared at the man before me. He looked equally excited as he did terrified. This man, James, didn’t understand the danger he was in if he was anything but afraid. I wasn’t Kalen. I didn’t care for him or the memories Kalen had of him. To me, he wasn’t family. He was a threat to my family. James separated my pup from his mother. He tried to take her away from me. For all of that, James needed to die. With a growl, I stepped towards him and allowed him to see his death in my eyes.“Why are we fighting, Kalen?” James said, shaking his head with a grin. “Look at the power you command. You could be the king
Kalen PoVI froze, unsure if I heard my uncle right. He was challenging Father? “You can’t be serious,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. James met my gaze, his smile growing. “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”Across the room, Father stood still, his hands clasped behind his back, the way he always stood when he was thinking, or more likely in this case, calculating. His eyes flickered toward me before returning to James. “Is this what you want, James? Have you become so seduced by power that you would fight me, kill me for it?”“You know nothing about me, Elijah,” James said, a growl in his voice. James took a step forward, his jaw tight, his fists clenching at his sides. “You built this all on weakness, nurturing that weakness, claiming it to be strength, but it’s all a lie and I’ve proved that. You haven’t been able to stop anything I’ve been doing.”Father tilted his head, considering him. “And what would you do instead? Be a tyrant? Ignoring those in need? Rule wi
Kalen’s PoVA still calmness washed over me as I prepared to leave. Father was waiting for me and I saw he wore a similar expression on his face. I couldn’t imagine how hard this had to be for him. James was his brother, after all. As the older brother, I had no doubt Dad looked after James, protected him from bullies and all of that. They’d been through everything together. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The villain was not supposed to be your family.“Ready?” he asked me when I reached him.“Could anyone be ready for something like this?” I replied.Father nodded and sighed. “No. No, I don’t think so, or at least, they shouldn’t be, but this is what we are given and we’re going to deal with it the best we can.”“That we are,” I said, and we started walking to the meeting point with the others coming with us.We were almost halfway there when Father stopped me. “There is something I have to say before we go.”“What is it? Something wrong?”Father shook his head. “No, just the op
KalenIt had been three days since Caden came back into our lives. Three days of the best chaos of my life. Never in my life had I seen myself in a domestic light. Yes, I’d often thought about building a life with Alyssa, but mostly because that’s what people did when they found their mate. They got together, had kids and built a family. I didn’t get excited about the idea, but I didn’t dread it either.Yet, now? Now, despite the crying mountains of diapers, Caden’s inability to stay still unless he’s sleeping. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I can’t remember a time where I felt happier and more at peace with life than how I am now.Alyssa and I visited that woman who claimed to know all about Caden yesterday, when she wasn’t feeling so confident about her capabilities to be a good mother to Caden. No matter what I told her, Alyssa wasn’t convinced, so we went to see the woman. However, the woman didn’t know anything. After some pressure, she admitted she only cared fo
“There he is. There is my grandson,” the rogue king said as soon as he saw us. He walked over and kissed Caden on the top of the head as he took in his scent. “Nice to see our good looks continue for another generation,” he added with a grin. “What brings you both here?”“Basically to catch up,” I said, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Caden didn’t seem to be that heavy, but, after a while of holding him, it felt as if he’d doubled in weight. “I would like to know more about how Caden was found and where.”“And how the search for James is going as well,” Kalen said, sitting next to me.“The search is going,” Kalen’s father replied. “However, I suggest with Caden now back. You should both focus on him and settling in your new roles as his parents.”“And we will, but there are things I need to know,” I argued.“I understand, and I will pass the reports the search team leader made about the search into the building where they found Caden. Though, I don’t think you
Kalen walked up to me and wrapped his arms around the both of us. “No, this is real. We’ve got him back. You’ve got your son back, Alyssa.”I held Caden to me, unable to believe my eyes. “How? When?” I asked Kalen, then glanced up at him, anger trickling into my joy. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”“Because no one knew until they found him,” Kalen replied. “The location they found him, there weren’t any other children. It seemed to be nothing more than a supply depot. Also, this just happened this morning. The trackers told my dad who told me, and well, I thought I’d give you a surprise.”“Who was with him? How was he found?” I said and looked at Caden, searching for signs that they had mistreated or neglected him.“From what they told me there was a woman with him,” Kalen replied. “I don’t know any more than that. We can take him to the doctor now if you like. Though I have to say he looks fine.” Kalen reached out and held Caden’s hand as the baby looked at us with wide eyes, as if taki
Nearly a week passed after our visit with the lycan king. Danielle and I continued our training while I saw very little of Kalen or his father. There was a lot of movement in the camp. It seemed as if we were getting closer to finding James. I tried asking Danielle if she knew anything, but she just said I should focus on my training and trust that if there was news Kalen would tell her.That only made me annoyed, one because I hated not knowing what exactly was going on and second, because she was right. Kalen wouldn’t keep me in the dark about anything important. Yet, where was he? Until recently, he was practically at my side all the time. It seemed strange he wasn’t here.Suddenly, my feet knocked out from under me, but Danielle caught me before I hit the ground. “You’re not paying attention,” she lectured as she glared down at me.“Right,” I said, feeling a bit of whiplash. “Sorry.”“You should be,” Danielle said and pulled me up to my feet. “I’m not doing this for my health, you