Several little nuances in this chapter...
CharlieAs soon as I got Alpha Warren’s call to attack, I did two things. I kissed Noelle and then I contacted Haynes. Noelle has been sleeping in my room since she arrived, which means, she’s barely slept here at all. I was thrilled to be able to lay down with her and curl up around her. I want her to get to know me and feel comfortable before we complete our bond. And now, I truly understand Warren’s frustration at waiting to mark his mate. I’m not sure how he can continue to wait. Gregor is going nuts, but we also know that Noelle is exhausted. She went through a lot in a very short amount of time.Now, I’m going to war and I don’t want to leave without kissing my mate goodbye. Properly.“What’s going on?” she asks me when I finish waking Haynes and telling him I need to speak with him.“Alpha Quinton and Alpha Simon are at Alpha Harold’s pack. Alpha Warren wants me to attack Quinton’s pack while he’s away.”“Will you be okay? What can I do?” she asks, worried. It feels really good
YaraI’m worried about Warren. Harold’s pack isn’t as strong as his and he isn’t their Alpha. He won’t be connected to them during the battle like he is to our pack. Our pack…when did I start thinking of myself as his mate and Luna?When he rushes out of the hospital, I turn and focus my attention on what I need to do. “Savannah, we need triage and crash kits. Do you know if they have the supplies here to be able to put those together?”“I’ll find out,” she says.“What can I do?” Rebecca asks, rushing in.“Go with Savannah and help her find what she needs. Bradley, do we know how many warriors are outside the borders?” I ask him as I begin moving things around in the waiting room and grabbing gurneys to have them ready.“No, Luna.”“What do you want me to do?” Henry asks me.I look at him. I want to tell him to go sit with his father and basically hide, but I think about how Warren interacted with him. Henry is an Alpha, and I need to recognize and respect that, even if he is a pup.“S
HaroldI come awake confused. I don’t immediately know where I am or why there is so much noise in my head. There’s a lot of pressure in my mind.‘Wake up, Harold. Our pup needs us.’‘Conrad? You’re awake?’‘Yes, but not very strong, although that lady doctor is making me stronger quickly, just like she said she would. You need to get up. Henry needs us.’‘Why? What’s happening?’‘The pack is being attacked by Alphas Simon and Quinton. Both Alphas are here in the hospital and our son is protecting Warren’s mate.’‘Yara? Why?’ I ask, trying to make my brain and my body work. I push myself up to a sitting position and wait until the room stops spinning.‘It was Alpha Warren’s way to keep him out of the battle, but I’m sure he didn’t know that two Alphas would come for his Luna.’I hear howling outside, the painful cry on a wolf losing their mate.‘What is that?’ I ask my wolf as I carefully put my feet onto the floor.‘I’m not sure. Those aren’t our pack members,’ he says. I carefully ta
YaraI look up and see Warren’s dark eyes, hot with desire, burning into me.“What?” I ask, but it comes out more like a squeak.He turns, focusing on me more intently. I feel heat flushing my cheeks and spreading through my body.“What did you just say?”“I didn’t say anything,” I say, looking around and realizing that Savannah is focusing VERY intently on Harold’s arm, her lips twitching, and Harold is smirking at me.“Oh Luna, you most certainly did say something. I’m beginning to understand what Rebecca meant about your murmurings being funny. Do you really not realize you said that out loud?” Harold asks me.What had I said? I was listening to Warren who was being the most incredible man I’ve ever met, acting like a surrogate father to Henry and I’d thought….oh goddess!I look up at Warren, and I know my eyes are wide. A smile spreads across his face.“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”“I…I…” I’m saved as warriors come pouring in with wounded.“I have to work!” I squeak, standing up qui
QuintonI raced home, only to find my pack dead or gone. I smelled Warren’s Beta, so I know he ran this attack. Warren rarely, if ever, attacks, so it hadn’t occurred to me that while I was away, he’d send his warriors to kill mine, but it should have. He killed Thomas and he must know that we’re after his mate now, so he’s gone from being defensive and reacting to attacks, to becoming offensive and actually attacking, and he’s doing it very effectively. I should have considered that he’d do this, but I hadn’t. I’ve become just as complaisant as Thomas and now my son is paying the price.I knew Quirin wasn’t dead, I’d have felt the tether to him snap. But I was hoping that Yasmin would have hidden him. Since I didn’t feel my tether to her snap either, I assumed that was the case. However, when I arrived home, I searched the packhouse for them. The safe rooms hadn’t even been used. I saw all the, chairs, cups and alcohol outside. My Beta was having a fucking party while I was gone and h
Warren“Charlie,” I say, prompting him to report.“I took half the warriors, as you know, and we ran quietly to Quinton’s pack. His Beta was there, but they were having a party, not paying attention and even the patrols were haphazard. We got in, killed the patrols, the Beta, and several other warriors who were partying in the back of the packhouse before anyone even raised the alarm. The omegas and pups never even made it to the safe rooms, making it easier to get of there quickly. The only order I didn’t follow was killing Quirin,” he says.I raise an eyebrow. “We don’t kill pups.”“I know, but you also said to kill anyone who raised a fist, and he attacked me, as did his mother.”“What’d you think of the son?” I ask, curious.“The son is as expected for a young Alpha. It’s the Luna that has me curious,” he says.“How so?” I ask as we begin walking to the cells.“She’s protective of her son, no doubt, but there doesn’t seem to be any love between her and Quinton. She didn’t say that,
YaraI was completely distracted when I went to check on the patients in our hospital. As tired as I should be, I feel energized and antsy. Now that I’ve made my decision, I want Warren and I want him now.Because I need the connection to him, I reach out, letting him know about Farrah, Piper, and Laney. Piper is doing okay, but she’s still not eating regular food yet, so I want to keep her while she moves into that phase of recovery in case she starts choking. Otherwise, she’s good.“Luna, are you okay?” Anna asks me.I look at her and see her, Katie, Erica, and Noelle all looking at me.“Yes, why?”“You’re not mumbling,” Erica says.“Yeah, you always mumble,” Katie says.“We’ve gotten used to it and now it’s weird that you’re not. It’s just so unusual for you, that we wanted to make sure that you’re okay,” Anna adds.“Is it Savannah?” Noelle asks gently.“No, it’s not that, although that was difficult. But…” I stop, looking around at the four of them and sigh. “When I’m done here and
WarrenIn a life of war, of constant struggles, of losing my parents, my warriors, omegas, and pups, I’m unaccustomed to feeling pleasure. That’s not to say that I haven’t had a sexual encounter now and again, but that had been a temporary release.This, what I feel with Yara, is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. The pleasure of being inside her, her warm, wet heat drawing me into her body, her soft grey-green eyes begging me for more, her sweet moans and her screams of pleasure are unlike anything I ever anticipated when I found her. I knew my parents had a special bond, but unless you experience it, you can’t understand just how powerful, how incredible it truly is.I could have feasted on Yara’s taste for days, the sweet taste of cinnamon and nutmeg on my tongue, listening to her soft moans or pleasure, but I needed to make her mine, needed to know that she is safe from the other Alphas who are trying to take her from me, needed to connect with her in the way that I’
One Year LaterQuirin“Come on, Quirin! You can punch harder than that,” Henry, my best friend and closest thing that I have to a brother, says to me.“It’s your birthday, Henry. I don’t want to make you cry before we celebrate your big day,” I taunt.Where Henry is a shining star of happiness, I’m a black cloud of anger. Being around him helps to keep the darkness at bay, but no one can remove the darkness that has consumed me since the day that I watched my father die.I had planned my revenge on Alpha Warren for years, had intended to take everything that he loved from him. But all that changed a year ago when his mate saved my life. Not only had she saved my life, she’d insisted that I live. She, like Henry, had a bright golden light that shines around her. She’d taken my face in her hands and told me that I wasn’t allowed to die. I had been ready to die, ready to give up the grief that I’ve held so deep in my heart, but she wouldn’t allow it. How that woman saved my life is beyon
Five Years LaterYaraIf you had asked me six years ago what my life would look like now, I’m not sure I would have ever imagined this. My life is filled with love, happiness, work, school, the pack, and most importantly, family.My mate is as perfect a father as I knew he would be. He LOVES being a father and I love watching him with our pups. I never thought I could love that man more than I did, but seeing him being the incredible father that he is with our pups, I’ve just kept falling more deeply in love with him and wanting to give him more pups. After the twins, we decided to wait a bit. Our original plan was to wait a few years while we adjusted to being parents to two babies. Warren wanted to focus on getting the pack financially stable and increasing the pack’s income and I wanted to focus on going back to school and turning our hospital into a teaching hospital.It took about six months of negotiation with the closest werewolf university and a lot of conversations with their
WarrenIt’s been several months since we killed Brady and Dr. Stephens. It took a while, but the pack has settled into what I guess is a more normal routine. We spar, we run patrols, Charlie and I run the pack, Yara and Noelle run the hospital, Haynes and Laney train and manage the warriors.Now that life has settled down, our pack is having a baby boom. I’m pretty sure every one of my mated she-wolves is pregnant and some who aren’t mated are pregnant as well. Yara and I talked about that and we’ve agreed that if both parents are fine with remaining unmated, they can. The ones who don’t agree, have to speak to both of us so we can come to a resolution. Thankfully, now that we’re having pack gatherings with Alpha Harold and his pack, there are fewer unmated adult men and women in our pack.Today, Yara is in the pack hospital making last minute preparations before our twins come. I’m watching Charlie and Haynes working with Carson. It’s been a long, grueling road for him. He’s struggled
AnnaWhen the pack came back after attacking Alpha Brady’s pack, they brought Dr. Stephens with them.Dr. Stephens, the man I have despised ever since I started working in the hospital. All of us, the nurses, knew that he was hurting our pack, but there was very little we could do about it. At the time, we were in a constant state of war. We could barely keep the pack going in between battles, and Dr. Stephens had been part of that problem.We’d all turned to Savannah. She was younger than Erika and Katie, but she had more medical experience. Without any conscious discussion about it, we had all deferred to her when we questioned Dr. Stephens' methods. Goddess knows, you never questioned him to his face. He’d berate you in front of anyone and everyone in the room. He was a horrible man for so many reasons.As I stare at the man, who is currently on his knees in front of Alpha Warren, I remember the day I lost the man that I’m pretty sure was my mate. I was almost eighteen. I had actual
WarrenAfter making love to my mate for hours and sleeping off the exhaustion of the battle, I wake up feeling fantastic. While I slept, Arric healed what was left of my wounds, my mate is safe, happy, and pregnant with my pups, and all that’s left is Dr. Stephens who is currently residing in my cells.There’s one more thing that I need to take care of before I deal with Dr. Stephens, and that’s Carson. Yara told me that he wanted to die when he came in. I understand his fear. Not having a place in a pack is a terrible feeling for pack members. While we get ready this morning, Yara and I talk about the options and how we can possibly keep him running patrols. She explains to me about prosthetics and that it will take modifications on our part and his, but once he and his wolf gets used to wearing one, they can continue to remain at warrior status and help defend the pack.But before that, we need to say goodbye to our allies and send them off.When we get downstairs, the feeling in the
YaraThe flow of warriors coming into the hospital finally starts to slow down. When we get one warrior with a spike through his foot, he tells us that they’ve breached the packhouse and the battle is winding down. I’ve periodically felt Warren’s emotions, his pain, but nothing that my mate and his wolf can’t handle.Now that it’s settling down, the fatigue of the day and night is starting to set in. But I know I won’t be able to sleep until my mate is home and I’ve checked him over.I’m still working with the warrior who got the spike through his foot, holding his bones in place while his wolf starts the healing process when I hear a commotion out in the front.“They’re back, Luna,” Savannah says, coming into the room.“Go, Noelle. Go check on Charlie. I’ll be out as soon as I’m done here,” I tell her. She and Savannah rush out of the room.“You should go too, Luna,” the warrior says.“I will, once the bones in your foot are back in place,” I tell him, putting another one together and
WarrenAs expected, we ended up having to send a large group of warriors back as soon as we blew the bombs. I’d heard Carson screaming in my head and told some of my warriors with minimal injuries to get him to Yara as quickly as possible. I have to hope that my mate can work the miracles she always seems to and because I know she’ll do everything she can, I remain focused on the battle.It’s been long enough since they last attacked my pack, that Brady’s warriors are healed. But Franklin and Harold’s men severely decimated their numbers. Even with the number of wolves that we’re having to send back to the pack, we’re still outnumbering them. Add to that, we have two Alphas and two Betas leading this attack on four fronts and it doesn’t take Arric long to get to the packhouse. I send half of the warriors i my group to help the others as I prepare to enter the packhouse. With Brady, you never know what types of traps he’s set.‘Alpha, Franklin and I have Alpha Brady. Do you want us to k
YaraWe only had a couple of hours before the injured started coming in. The first thing I realize is that every single one of them has splinters all over them. Because they blew the bombs with wood, they’ve all been hit with various sizes and amounts of debris.“Make sure you get every piece of wood out of them. If you don’t, they’ll become infected. Warriors, you need to let my team know if you feel pain somewhere so we can get all these wood pieces out of you. If we don’t and you get an infection, I’ll pull you from duty until you’re healed.”“Yes, Luna,” they say with varying degrees of strength in their voice.Savannah and I begin doing triage and I take the worst ones while she takes the ones that she can handle.The first group that comes in have large pieces of tree that punctured through them. I’m guessing others did as well, but this group couldn’t pull these pieces out without causing more damage to their bodies. I take the one with a large piece of wood in the thigh, and Sa
WarrenAfter dinner, I take her upstairs so we can celebrate properly. I don’t spend the hours that I want to with my mate, but when I return, I’ll make it up to her.I’m up before dawn the next morning, Arric and I ready for battle. I shower quickly, letting my mate sleep in. I know that soon enough, she’ll be overwhelmed in the hospital.When I get out of the shower, she’s sitting up in bed. The sheet is laying across her lap, but her breasts are bare for my view. Any other morning, I’d be crawling back into bed. But today, my mind stays focused on the battle ahead.“Why don’t you go back to sleep, baby? We’ll be sending warriors back to you soon enough,” I tell her.She shakes her head. “I’m coming down to see everyone off. I want our warriors to know that I love them and I’m here if and when they are brought back.”I go to her, kissing her deeply, drawing strength for what I have to do today. I know it’s a possibility that we’ll lose warriors. I hate it, hate it even more than I us