~Katarina~I stand in the packhouse, lost. I have no idea what to do from here or where to go. This entire situation is fucked up! Too much has changed, and too many things have been revealed. I have no idea what to make of any of it. The most pressing matter is the issue with Titi. That fucking bitch! She’s been my best friend my entire life, so how the fuck did we get to this place?I turn on my heel and move out of the hallway. I can’t go back through the back door because there are a lot of people out there. I walk to the front of the packhouse and right out the front door. I just need to think; I need to go somewhere to make all of this make sense.I can’t go to my aunt and uncle’s house right now. I wouldn’t even know what to say to them. How do I tell them that our Alpha had a hand in my parent’s death? Goddess, this is a fucking mess.I don’t want to go to Aston’s house because it isn’t my home. I spent a lot of time there while growing up, but we are past that now. It’s been
~Katarina~I swear I haven’t slept the past few days. I’ve barely eaten. The nightmare was so real, so fucking real. I really can’t believe that it was something that was fake, a figment of my overactive imagination.Aston has been trying to calm me since that night, but nothing has worked. I can’t pull myself out of this funk; the fear left when I woke up. No matter what, that dream continues to swirl around in my head.*Previous Dream*I run down the stairs of the packhouse, everyone in a frenzy. We’ve had a breach in security, and the pack members are running for safety. They had to have gotten in thanks to that witch. That fucking witch that should have already been taken care of. I push out the back door, running out onto the deck. I was right; that witch is standing in the middle of the field. Warriors are lining up, and pack members are running in fear. The witch throws energy beams out of her hands, and they land on the soft grass. The heat from the beams is scorching the gra
~Katarina~I look into Elder Nadia's pale green eyes, my heart thumping in my chest. Did she really just fangirl me? I mean, how would she even know that I’m a gold wolf? I’m in my human form, so she shouldn’t be able to tell.I turn my face to Aston’s; he looks equally confused as he looks at the Elder. Aston turns to look at me, and his eyes get big. He looks a bit bewildered, and maybe… I don’t know, scared? What’s wrong, Dreamboat?Uh, it’s your eyes.My eyes?Yeah, there’s a gold ring. I just looked at myself in the mirror, and I swear that was nothing wrong with my eyes. I turn back to the Elder and notice her hand stretched toward me. I hesitate briefly before taking her hand. She holds it tightly and gives it a shake before releasing me.“I’m sorry about my colleague. She gets like this when she’s excited. I guess I don’t need to ask the question; I mean you are that, right?” I look at Aston again, and he hunches his shoulders slightly. Even though I'm marked, I could still be
~Katarina~I’m at a loss, if I’m being honest. Nowhere in the history of our species have I ever heard or seen someone who could mindlink whoever they came across. It’s a valuable tool to have, there are so many uses. If you are working with an allied pack, it could make things so much easier.All eyes are on me, and I know why. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. I launch into my dream, making sure I tell every detail. When I’m done, no one says anything. I know it’s a lot, which is why I’ve been so snowed the last few days. Elder Nadia clears her throat, catching our attention. “Uh, I think that’s a premonition, not a nightmare.”She’s right. That was a premonition.How do you know that, Hope?It’s a feeling that I had, and I asked the Goddess about it.You spoke to the Goddess?Uh, kind of. It’s a long story. “Is everything okay, babe?” I look at Aston and give him a small smile.“That was Hope. She says she got confirmation, and we do, indeed, get premonitions.”“She can
~Katarina~I say nothing, keeping my eyes on her while making sure no emotions show on my face. I just don’t understand it. We’ve been friends all our lives, and I never knew she could be like this with me. I feel foolish and betrayed. “Well? Can we talk?” I lean back in my seat and get comfortable.“There’s nothing stopping you. Say what you need to say.” Tatiana closes her eyes and shakes her head. She opens her eyes and looks at Aston before looking back at me.“I was hoping that we could speak privately.” I didn’t mean for it to happen, but a scoff escapes my lips.“Talk privately, like you attacked me privately?” I swear I see anger flash in her eyes, but it’s gone much too quickly. I’m almost certain that my dream was a premonition, so I’m not going to be caught off guard by her.“Please. I know I don’t deserve it, but please.” I swear her teeth are clenched as she talks to me, but I’m not completely sure. I look over to Aston to see his eyes glazed over. When they clear, he has
~Eddie~My body is thrown on a rickety bed. As I make contact, a cloud of dust floats up, causing me to go into a coughing fit. “I know you were awake.” That's a voice I'd known for most of my life. I don't care how old I get or how long I go without hearing it. It's a voice that has gotten me through some good and bad times. It's the voice I clung to when I didn't know if I could survive the day, let alone the hour. “I was going to get on Chandra. For a while there, I thought she went a bit too far with the magic.” I say nothing, and it isn’t just because I'm fucking pissed. I say nothing because what the fuck am I supposed to say?If you had asked me months ago what I thought about this man, I'd have said that Blake is more than the best friend a guy could have. I'd have said that he's a brother to me, and I would have been lost without him. I may not have survived without him. Now, today, I don't know who the fuck he is.He clears his throat, and I can feel his eyes on me. “Come on
~Shawna~My entire world is crashing down around me, and I don’t know how to make it right. I can’t feel my mate, and Sable can’t contact Jett. I’m sure that whatever happened, wolfsbane was involved. I can only hope that my mate is okay, but hoping is just not enough for me.I follow Katarina and Aston to see the body that was found. I should probably go home, but I know I would be useless against the emptiness that would be waiting for me. We have to sit for a while to allow the doctors to check him out. “How are you holding up?” I’m startled at the sound of Katarina’s voice. She’s standing over me, holding a paper cup in her hand. She holds it out to me, and I take it, breathing in the aroma of freshly ground coffee.“Thanks.” I sigh and grip the cup as tightly as I can, with it being made of paper. “I’m in a fog if I’m being honest. I really don’t know what to do right now.” Katarina is unable to respond because the doctors pick that moment to come out. We follow them back to the
~Topaz~All eyes turn to me as I walk through the door. Tensions are pretty high, but I guess that’s to be expected. I look past everyone to the man in the bed. It looks like someone did a number on him, and I feel bad about it. “I have a few witches coming here to put a protection spell over the pack. Hopefully, that will keep Chandra out.” I walk closer to the bed and feel the residual magic in the air. “This man was attacked with magic. I can do a quick spell to help him recover.”No one says anything, so I step forward and hold my hands over his body. I say a short chant and then pull my hands back. He won’t be better immediately, but he will have a better chance at survival.I turn to the woman staring at me as if she wants to ask a million and one questions. I walk over to her and close my eyes, trying to get a feel of her. It doesn’t take long, and I open my eyes to look at Aston. “She isn’t an impostor, in case you were wondering.” He nods, and I take a step back. “About the o
“BlackPaw Pack! I’m so glad to see you have survived and are supporting each other. You have done what a pack is meant to do. The traitors you had among you have been dealt with as have the poisonous Alpha family that was in charge for decades. You are free of the lies and need someone more honorable to be in charge. That being said, let me welcome your new ranked members to the stage so they can say their vows and take their rightful places.”“I, Aston Wiley, promise to protect and serve the BlackPaw Pack as Alpha. I promise to…”“I, Katarina Harris, promise to protect and serve the BlackPaw Pack as Luna. I promise to…”*Six Months Later*~Aston~It’s been six months since we’ve been sworn in as the ranked members of this pack in a ceremony that took place two weeks after the end of King. I took over as Alpha, with Katarina as my Luna. We made Dominic Beta, and Deacon agreed to be our Gamma. Before you get upset about Dominic, just hear me out.I’ve known Dominic all my life, and he w
~Aston~I blink, feeling like I’m losing my mind. That has to be the case because there’s no way this is real. I close my eyes and silently count to three before opening them again. Nothing has changed, and absolutely nothing is moving.I reach out to the wolf in front of me, but there’s no movement at all. I feel like I could tip the wolf over, and there’d be no stopping it from falling. I am miffed right now because this is something that should only exist in our wildest imagination. “ASTON!” I turn to find Katarina running toward me.Katarina’s hands are on my face, igniting sparks along my skin and shivers up and down my spine. “Did you do this?” I gesture to the frozen wolves around us.“Uh, yeah, I think so. I don’t know what it is or how.” I look around again while shaking my head. Damn! My girl has some nice ass powers. I think I’m a bit jealous, if I’m being honest. I thought my powers were cool, but now I see they were nothing.“How long do you think it lasts?” Katarina shak
~Katarina~Aston wastes no time running out of his room after being called out by King. I don’t want him to go, but I know this has to happen. I run after him, not wanting my mate to have to confront him on his own.King is standing outside, and Tatiana isn’t that far behind him. I have no idea who let that bitch out of the cells, but heads are going to roll. Aston rushes out in the field, stopping a few feet in front of King. I notice some wolves are coming out of the shadows, but it has me on edge. Some seem to be moving to the side where I’m standing close by Aston, and others are standing on the side that houses King and Tatiana. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but we have a serious loyalty issue. It looks like some pack members are still loyal to King, and that’s probably how he’s made it into the pack the last two times. It may even be how Tatiana is free right now.Speaking of Tatiana, her eyes haven’t left me since I got out here. She looks like she’s ready to
~Aston~I know this will get me some crazy looks, but I was so turned on when I watched Katarina end Chandra. I know how sick that sounds, but I can’t help it, and I refuse to lie. She was poised and confident and I was definitely responding to that.There wasn’t much to do once Chandra was dead. Topaz let us know that they found her lab and were going to raid it. I figured there would be no answers for me there, and Topaz promised to let us know if she found anything useful.She brought us back to packlands, and we are walking hand in hand to the packhouse. I want a nice hot shower, to talk with my dad, and time with my mate. It feels like we’ve been on the go for a while now without stopping. I know it’s due to all of the emotional upheaval we’ve been dealing with, but it’s still a lot.We walk into the dining room to have all eyes on us as we step through the door. Katarina snuggles against me, and I guide her to our table. Mom and Dad are already there and snuggled up together as
~Topaz~I didn’t know what to do while I waited to talk to Eddie. I walked the perimeter of the pack, making sure our wards were in place. I tweaked everything, making sure to keep the pack accessible for the proper individuals.I look at the time as my nerves set in. I’m scared, I can’t lie. I don’t know how this talk is going to go, and that scares me. I know that if I don’t give it a try, I will regret it for the rest of my life.I’ve tried to rehearse the words in my mind, but I changed them a bit each time. I really don’t know what to say, and I don’t know what he’s going to say. I know what I’m attempting to do, and I know that most will view it as the worst thing I can do. I get that, really I do. I just can’t help my heart right now. I have to know for sure that it’s really over between us.A sound behind me shakes me out of my thoughts. There’s a giggle that is filled with nothing but love and happiness. Something is telling me not to look at the scene behind me, but I’m comp
~Eddie~I follow Shawna home, letting the events of the day swirl around in my head. So much has happened in a short amount of time. The entire situation is crazy to me, but it’s also heartbreaking. I had no idea my best friend was capable of such evilness and selfishness. If it hadn’t been for him, my family wouldn’t have gone through the pain that they suffered. I don’t know if I could ever make it up to them, but I’m sure as shit going to try.Sparks on my cheek break me from my thoughts, and I look at my surroundings. We are standing in the middle of our bedroom, and I didn’t even realize we had walked this far. Shawna is standing in front of me, looking worried. “I’m fine, love. I’m just a bit lost in thought.”“You’re fine?! You’re not fine, Eddie. You’ve gone through something traumatic at the hands of someone you trusted.” I suck in a breath, not wanting my emotions to overwhelm me. “I know you, and I know what your thinking. It wasn’t your fault. You had no idea that Blake wa
~Eddie~We all make our way into the packhouse and my office. So much has gone on since I stepped foot on packlands; it’s hard to wrap my head around everything. Besides needing to talk to the kids, I want to put my hands on my mate.Her scent hits me before I can see her face. A blur comes at me, and my body hits the floor. Sloppy kisses break out all over my face and neck, but pain also erupts in my stomach at the same time. “Goddess! I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again!” I manage to roll my emotional mate on her side, and I secure her to my body. I take deep breaths, trying to ignore the pain I feel. “Eddie?! What is it? What’s wrong?” I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. There’s no need to worry anyone right now.“Dad? Is something wrong?” I open my eyes to Aston standing over us. There’s worry in his gaze, but I’m able to give him a stiff smile. He reaches his hand out, and I grab it, allowing him to help me up. Shawna is by my side, holding onto my arm. I walk over to the
~Katarina~I turn to see Tatiana glaring at me. I'm overwhelmed right now with everything: seeing that Aston is truly alive and okay, almost being snatched by King, and feeling the loss of my Alpha and Luna. With all of this, there's no fucking way that I'm going to deal with this bitch. I’m sorry, Hope, but I’m sick of this!I’m with you. This isn’t the same Titi we’ve been friends with all these years. Even if Hope hadn’t agreed, I’d be doing this anyway. It just feels better that we are on the same page.I balance on my feet and meet Tatiana head-on. Tatiana stops right in front of me, but I don’t move a muscle. “You always ruin everything! I fucking hate you!” All I can say is that the anger has accumulated, and it's come to a boiling point. My fist connects with her throat, causing her to bend over, sputtering and coughing.I crouch down in a fighting stance as I watch her try to suck in air. “Bring it bitch! It’s time to end this shit!” It doesn’t take long before Tatiana mirror
~King~The moment I saw my father kill Aston, I knew this was the time to get what was mine. I took off and shifted into Conan, letting him take over and take us back home. I don’t know what Dad’s plan is, but I plan to make moves before he can mess me up.It was beyond easy to get on to packlands. I already knew the routes and patrol groups. Some people are still loyal to my family and me, so letting me in wasn’t a huge issue.I have to say, Katarina made it easy for me. Conan caught her scent, though it pissed him off that it was mixed with that loser’s. We watched her pace back and forth for a while before I decided to go in.I shifted to my human form and put a pair of shorts on my body. I kept myself quiet and snuck up behind her. I grabbed her arm and turned her body toward me. The shock written all over her face didn’t deter me in the slightest. “King?!” I pull her body close to mine, making sure there’s no room between us. “Wh…what are you doing here?”“Seriously?” I look down