The hunt for Yara continues.
CharlieAfter checking on Noelle and leaving the hospital, I called Harold to tell him about Yara being taken and Brady running home. He told me he’d send Franklin and his warriors after Brady and asked if we needed Savannah.“Honestly, I don’t think she’ll make it on time. Yara’s guard was shot with silver. If Noelle can’t save him, he won’t live long enough for Savannah to get here,” I told him.‘Beta, we have Alpha Quinton and his warriors trapped in the cell block,’ Haynes says in the mind link.‘Hold them there, I’m on my way.’“Let me know if you need anything. Should we send a search party for your Luna?” Harold asks.“Alpha Warren is out hunting Simon down now. If we need help, I’ll let you know. Thank you, Alpha.”“It’s what allies do, Beta. I’m glad to know that we can help.”I hang up as I get to the cells, walking down the stairs and hearing the crying of the omegas, pups and other prisoners. I also hear the sound of their warrior mates trying to soothe them. The smell of f
YaraI come awake slowly. My body is stiff and my arms are aching, like I’ve somehow managed to get tangled up in them while I was sleeping and they’re stuck behind my back. I try to move them out from under me, but I can’t. My head feels fuzzy and it hurts. What’s going on?‘Wake up, Yara,’ Annika says urgently‘I’m trying, Annika. What’s going…’“There she is. Finally,” an angry voice says nearby. My eyes flash open. I recognize that voice. I don’t, however, recognize my surroundings.‘Annika, where are we?’‘I don’t know. He knocked me out too.’A hand grabs my hair, pulling me into a sitting position roughly. My arms are tied behind my back and my legs are wrapped up tightly. My body is stiff and sore. I must have been like this for a while.“You just had to go and fuck him, didn’t you?” Simon snarls in my face.He looks crazed. His hair is shooting out in all directions like he’s been tugging on it so long that it doesn’t bother trying to go back into place again. His eyes are fur
HaroldWhen Franklin returned after attacking Brady’s pack, he let me know that Brady survived, but his pack has been nearly decimated. I sent scouts to watch his pack and make sure that he doesn’t leave. I doubt he will, but now that our pack is getting stronger, I can afford to send a couple of warriors to keep watch.Savannah was beside herself wanting to go back to her old pack to help, especially after hearing that Yara had been kidnapped by Simon. I told her what Beta Charlie said and she’d become even more distraught.“Bradley was shot? Even I wouldn’t know how to save him. Poor Noelle,” he said. Franklin had taken her to their room and tried to console her. I’d waited a few hours and called Beta Charlie.“Alpha Harold?” he answered, sounding exhausted.“I’m sorry, Beta. Did I wake you?”“It’s okay, Alpha Warren isn’t back yet, so I’m still running the pack.”“I wanted to update you on Brady and find out what happened with Alpha Quinton.”“Quinton turned himself in, basically ga
CharlieI haven’t gotten more than two hours of sleep since Luna Yara was taken and Alpha Warren left the pack. I’m beyond exhausted, but more than that, I can feel the tension in the pack, the anxiety about not knowing what’s going to happen to their Alpha and Luna. I have the same anxiety, but I’m the pack’s current leader, so I shove it aside.In the past, I would have also felt the pack’s desire to test me, to test the strength of the leader of this pack. It’s nice to know that Luna Yara’s influence has extended past her and Alpha Warren. She’s somehow made the pack feel whole, like it should. So now, anyone who would try to go against me, to test me, would break that bubble of security and I think the entire pack would turn on them. It feels good to have the pack's confidence in its leadership.My phone rings and it’s a number I don’t recognize.“Beta Charlie,” I answer.“Beta, this is Beta Franklin, Alpha Harold’s Beta.”“Yes, I know who you are. Is everything okay?”“Beta, we ha
WarrenI felt something deep inside me ease when I got Charlie’s mind link about Yara. I’m still about an hour away from Harold’s pack, but Arric pushes us hard to get there, leaving our warriors behind. Yara said she needed us. I don’t know what happened to her, what Simon may have done to her, and I don’t care right now. We’ll get through it. I’m just so thankful that she’s safe.When I get close to Harold’s pack, I howl that I’m coming in. Hopefully they know that I have no intention of waiting for the patrols to let me through. I need to see my mate and nothing will keep me from getting to her.As we catch her scent, Arric pushes even faster, following her scent, along with the scent of antiseptic, to the pack hospital. Arric rushes into the hospital and I shift without stopping. Everyone in the waiting room, including Alpha Harold just points and I rush to her room, slamming the door open.The first thing I see are her bruised, swollen cheeks. Simon will die slowly for touching wh
YaraI wake with the smell of teakwood in my nose and the feeling of warm water surrounding my body. I jolt awake, unsure of what’s happening.“Shhh, we’re both filthy and you smell like Simon. I didn’t want to go to sleep like this, so we’re getting a bath. You can relax, I’ll take care of you,” Warren says. Just the sound of his voice soothes me.I snuggle closer to him, needing his touch and smell after having been with Simon.“Are you okay?” I ask him. I can feel the warring emotions inside of him.He squeezes water over my shoulder, letting it rinse off the smell of the cave that I have on me. That and the scent of Simon. I don’t even want to know why my body smells like him.“I should be asking you that. But, I’m better, now that you’re here and safe in my arms,” he says.I look up at him and when he looks at me, his teeth snap together and he looks away.“I’m sorry you have to see me like this,” I say softly, knowing my bruised face is a reminder to him of what he considers an i
NoelleWhen Charlie left, going to find Alpha Warren, I’d realized something very important. If he didn’t return, I’d be devastated.I’ve watched him tirelessly run this pack while Alpha Warren has been gone. He’s strong, but fair, allowing Quinton’s pack members to remain here until Warren can decide if he’ll accept them into the pack. He’s a better Alpha than Thomas ever was, and he’s not even an Alpha.I haven’t had time to join the pack with everything going on, so I don’t have a mind link to make sure that my mate is safe. And he is my mate, he is everything I have ever wanted in a mate, and so much more. And now that I’ve made my decision to accept him, I want to make official right now.Of course, that’s not an option. The pack is in chaos, our Alpha and Luna are gone and now our Beta is gone. I may be the unofficial Beta female, but without a pack link, I’m useless to assist.The same is true for my sister. With Haynes acting as Alpha, she could help him if they were marked and
YasminThere was only one place for Quirin and I to go. Back to our pack. There’s no one there now, my son is the Alpha of nothing thanks to his greedy father, but that’s okay. We’ll find a way. I’ll find a way to bring my son back to the position he was born for. The only reason I accepted Quinton as my chosen mate was so that my son could be an Alpha. Quinton was fine as a mate, he never forced himself on me, but there was never any love there. It was always an understanding. I give him what he wants and he takes care of me for the rest of my life.I held up my end of the bargain, but he’s completely fallen short on his. He can’t take care of me if he’s dead. And now, I’m weak and I have to protect my young son.It takes us nearly a day to get back to the pack at the slow pace we have to go because my wolf is silent. I can only walk so far before I need to stop and rest. Quirin is quiet and since there’s nothing that I can say to make losing his father better, I stay quiet too.I bre
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