I shouldn’t be nervous about going to a bank. But this isn’t some bank run. Nothing ordinary about this.
We are going to an old vault in the bank that will hold the valuables of my grandmother’s pack. Of the pack I’m trying to claim and rebuild. That is if this scepter is in there and I can hold it.
What else am I going to find in this vault? I’ve never really been to a bank vault? Is this going to be like Gringotts? I don’t even know what to expect.
Of course, entering the bank, we got some strange looks. After all, who comes into a bank in a group like this? I’m sure the way we entered didn’t help either.
Logan walked at the front of our group while Nigel took up the rear. Leaving Isis and me holding hands between them like we are the ones with the bodyguards.
I smiled, nodding to some of the patrons and bank staff staring at us. Isis squeezed my hand a little tighter.
‘It’s okay. No one’s going to give us trouble.
Someone's in trouble. Just a matter of finding out who. Hopefully, Logan doesn't lose his cool before that. New chapters are posted Monday-Saturday.
I still can’t believe someone left a fake scepter in the vault. Someone went through a lot of trouble to do this. The only other person who had access to the vault was the late Alpha John Senior. So unless someone managed to get in before the switch to the fingerprint security was added, he’s the only person that could have moved the scepter. But what reason would he have to move it? Wouldn’t it be the most secure in the vault? It just didn’t add up to me. ‘Maybe he worried about Siegfried getting to it? If he managed to get the scepter, wouldn’t he have a way to reclaim the Silverclaw?’ Bastet pondered. ‘Maybe. But Luna Lorraine had been certain her son couldn’t be the next Alpha. So he might not have been able to hold it.’ I shook my head. ‘Having it could be enough to sway the hearts of the pack. Siegfried could also use magic or something to hold it without feeling the pain.’ Bastet pointed out. ‘True. It just doesn’t feel ri
I have a sister. I have a little sister, and not only is Noya looking to exploit her, but her own parents also did it first. What’s worse is that I’m not surprised. I’m not surprised Siegfried broke into the vault to steal the scepter. I’m not surprised he used his own fucking daughter to do it. At this point, I don’t think there is a low too low for these people. And it’s just another reason I need to do this. If Isis and I don’t step up and reclaim the Silverclaw pack from the Syndicate, what future will not just my sister but all the children forced to live among the Syndicate face? If we don’t take action, my sister and other children will be used by these monsters. They are going to be exploited and be raised to think that this is how it is. They will grow up thinking that this is what life is, how you treat people in a pack, and how you treat family. “I will see Noya turned to ashes. I didn’t get to kill Siegfried, but
While I have no point of reference for Wade, I have one for Noya, and everything that Kurt just described is disgusting. I mean, even bad people have mates and whatever. And I know all too well how intense heat can be. But to lock a child in a basement. All to keep her out of the way for your heat seems a bit much. Couldn’t they have had the girl stay with someone else during Noya’s heat? A child shouldn’t have to be exposed to such things. And obviously, she’s too young to understand what was happening. I hope that despite the lies Noya has been telling this child, she will believe Kurt and me. Hopefully, she’ll trust us when the time comes to get her away from Noya. As much as we want to get her away from Noya, I don’t want to do it and cause her more psychological damage. Who knows how much she’s already suffered between her parents and Noya since their deaths. No matter how I think about it, the girl will have trust
Tomorrow. It feels too soon yet too far away. Ready or not, tomorrow we go on the offensive against Noya. We can’t fail. My sister and the future of the Silverclaw pack depend on our victory. Logan gave everyone their marching orders, so to speak. But this is my future pack. This is my sister. I am going to have some say in how this goes down. So as everyone started to disperse, I gestured to David and Mikali to come over. The pair shared a look, glancing at our Luna, who was busy talking to Logan. With a shrug, they came over. “What’s up? Ready to lead a pack and be a big brother? Cause I’m ready to kick some Syndicate ass and hopefully get a shot at Wade.” David questioned, arching a pierced brow at me. “Are you doing alright? I mean, that’s a lot to take in. You’re mated, which congrats. And now you will actually take over a rogue pack to make it legit, and you have a half-sister.” Mikali questioned, putting his hand on my shoulder, honey brown eye
I’m not surprised that Kurt would want to bring any of his friends from Bloodmoon to be ranked wolves in Silverclaw. I hadn’t been sure who he’d want to select. Obviously, he couldn’t select his best friend. Jonathan is already the Delta of Bloodmoon. And even if becoming Beta would be an upgrade, there is no way Alpha Logan would let one of his ranked members go. And I’m okay with Jonathan staying in Bloodmoon. I’m not sure how much would get accomplished or damaged if Kurt and Jonathan were running a pack as Alpha and Beta. I’m not sure who he is thinking for which position. If I was to guess he would be offering Collin the Beta position and Tanner the Gamma. Or at least that would make the most sense to me. I think Tanner and Collin are good choices. Collin might be playful at times, but he is grounded and thinks things through multiple steps ahead. He would make an excellent and supportive Beta. Tanner is easy-going and k
While Isis researched with her aunt and brother, I followed John to their living room. John got out a map spreading it out on the coffee table. “Alright, come over here. You’ve never been to Mount Adams, but I have. Based on what you found tracking your sister, let’s figure out where in the city they are hiding.” John gestured me closer. I nodded, sitting down and looking at the map. Of course, like the four cities of Bloodmoon, you won’t find a street map anywhere online. You might find it on Silvercloud’s computer if you can get past his numerous encryptions. We can’t risk humans easily finding our cities. Nor would any good Alpha want to risk the safety of their pack by letting outsiders easily not only find but navigate their way through their territory. I sighed, looking at the map. The city layout felt familiar in a way. I just can’t place why it looks familiar. “When the Argyris family first settled here, they modeled
I feel like a weight is off my shoulders. I know we talked back at the apartment, but it was just Khalid and me just now. It offered more closure. I think we can move forward. It may not be the same as it was before. And honestly, that’s not a bad thing. Before all this, we were close but not very. Before all this, I still held some jealousy and contempt for him because mom treated him so much better than me. But I’m starting to think that while she treated me with contempt, Khalid had to carry the weight of all her hopes and dreams. He was the one expected to fulfill the duties as the next Adio guild leader. And now that I’m expected to be Luna, to rebuild a pack with Kurt, I’m starting to feel that weight. It terrifies me when I think about it too much. I’m so young, and these people will look to me for answers. These people may not even like me, given that I’m a hybrid. I know Noya is part of the Syndicate, so they must be o
I am not surprised that John going to help Sarael look for ingredients would go astray. She would have been capable of finding everything herself. He wanted an excuse to be alone with her. The only problem with their attempt at a quickie is we’re all here. Sure I had no reason to go looking for John and Sarael. But my poor scared-for-life mate did. I don’t care if the sight of John and Sarael making out scared Khalid. Screw him. But honestly, there are worse things to walk in on. They weren’t having sex, so there’s that. And I’ve had the misfortune of walking in on people in the act. So Isis and Khalid dodged a bullet there. It’s best to just put it all behind us. We have more important things to worry about right now. Tanner is onboard with joining Silverclaw as the Gamma. It just means I have to talk to Collin about being Beta and then to Logan about letting them leave Bloodmoon with me. The latter is the scary part. Though askin
Dacian POV Mother fucking back… rib stabbing Sevastian. I don’t care that he’s my brother by blood. He has betrayed me and the rest of the Death Legion in favor of those go monkeys in The Black Vipers. They dumped me just inside werewolf territory, knowing the sun would be up soon and if I somehow found shelter without help, I’d be dead before the wolves found me. Sev trusted the wolves would find and kill me if I lived that long. With me out of the way, our father and the rest of the legion would never know the truth. He’d either carry on as a double agent for the Vipers or help destroy the Legion. I had to live to stop either of those outcomes. Sev would pay for his betrayal. I would be the one to make him pay. I just needed to survive long enough to do it. I’d managed to get from where Sev had dumped me to a secluded cave before sunrise. I knew that in my state, I didn’t want to be here later when the black bear, based on the smell and massive scat, almost stepped in and came hom
Zoraida POV Do I believe my little cousin that he saw not only Luna Laraine’s ghost but also a little girl, possibly a witch, during the full moon last week? Not really. It’s not a slight against Jamil. It’s just that he’s five, and the night before, he was told a ghost story about his very dead great-grandmother. Of course, it was going to make him jumpy. Tiziano is the only one that fully believes Jamil, but well, he’s a sucker. Owen and Olivia were more skeptical, but they smiled and told Jamil that if he was sure that’s what he saw, that’s what happened. Just what my cousin doesn’t need, a bunch of ‘yes men’ in his ranks. I’m the only one that called bullshit and suggested Jamil had a nightmare. I couldn’t explain the girl, but that doesn’t make it any less bullshit. When Aunt Isis and Dad checked his room and the dungeons, they found nothing suspicious. I’m a hunter, so I believe in what I can prove. Jamil is family, and I love him, but because of that, I have to be honest with
Nyx POV “Go spy on the wolves. You’re too small for them to notice. Your magic isn’t strong enough for the hunters to trace.” I grumbled, repeating my grandmother’s demands. I’m only five. What does Grandmother expect from me? I like to think I’m powerful for my age. Not that I have other witches my age to compare myself to. It’s just me and my grandmother, though there’s a coven not far from us that grandmother is trying to get us into. I hoped to find something on this spying assignment to get us in with the coven. I’m only five and sick of being just me and my grandmother. I wish Mom were still alive. I don’t even remember her. All I have is her picture, which I keep in my locket. I frowned, stopping to pull the gold necklace from under my shirt to look at it. “I wish I could remember you,” I sighed, touching her picture. When the smell of a campfire and the sound of voices reached me, I quickly closed the locket and put my necklace under my shirt. I suppose grandmother was rig
Jamil POV “I’m going first!” Owen Kearney shouted. “All right, fine. Wow us, Kearney.” Zory waved her hand around the circle of heirs seated around the campfire. I giggled. My cousin is unintentionally funny. She’s like Tio Khalid and Tia Dani, so serious she’s funny. I know she’s our oldest, but she should lighten up. Maybe she doesn’t think she can lighten up as the only human among us heirs. It would explain why Tio Khalid is always so serious. “Talia told me this one when I was Jamil’s age,” Owen began. “Ooo, I know which one,” Olivia, his twin, interrupted. “And I’m the one telling it. So quiet.” Owen rolled his eyes, pressing his finger to his mouth to shush her. The Kearney twins are always fun to be around. They had a fun dynamic, always teasing each other. Sometimes, it made me wish I had a brother or sister. Being an only child can get lonely. Tiziano knows how I feel. Zory, too, but she had a big brother who stopped to visit, so it’s different. I know my Aunt Talia, b
The following chapters are a Halloween treat, featuring the heirs of Silverclaw and some new faces we may meet again someday. It’s been over a decade since Alpha Kurt and Luna Isis overthrew the crazed werewolf-witch Noya, freeing those forced to follow her and restoring the Silverclaw pack to the glory of old. Now, to the children of Silverclaw, all the danger and death of their parents’ time are merely scary stories to tell around a campfire. Tales even the heirs tell to scare each other. What happens when those scary stories start to become real? As an added note, The Reluctant Alpha, including these bonus chapters, is now available in paperback.
Time flies when you’re having fun. Or at least that’s how the saying goes. And given Isis and I are going on a second honeymoon vacation to celebrate our third wedding anniversary, it rings true. It still feels like just yesterday that Isis popped into my hotel room in London, and we learned we were mates. So to realize that it’s been five years since then is crazy. And now we are off to Athens to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. We planned to be away for a week, though our fellow ranked members assured us we could take an extended trip. It mainly was Collin and Tanner teasing me that this wasn’t a second honeymoon but a baby-making trip. And I guess, in a way, it is. Isis and I have discussed starting our family, and she didn’t get a new birth control implant so we could start trying. But I also know this trip is more than just a chance to be alone with Isis and perhaps conceive an heir. I choose Athens over all the places in the world to travel to for a particular reason.
In the last two years, my life has changed so much. It had its high and its low points. But for every low point, I had infinitely higher points. I found out I was a werewolf hybrid and that my online crush Kurt was my soulmate. I lost my mother, and the only man I knew as a father disowned me. But I didn’t lose all my family. I kept my brother and gained a sister-in-law. I also reclaimed an estranged Aunt acquiring an Uncle and his family by extension. So losing my mother and the man I called father was far outshined by the new larger family I gained. Then there was the whole mess with Noya wanting me dead to take Kurt for herself. But she failed, and it cost her both her mate and her own life in the end. And I gained a little sister and a pack. That has been the most significant and beautiful change, only seconded by Kurt proposing to me. It’s been a challenge to learn how to be a Luna while finishing my studies. But I made it through knowing I could depend on Kurt as well as my f
It’s only been a few days since the pack ceremony, and it’s still weird to hear the voices and feel the emotions of hundreds. Sure I was in the Bloodmoon pack link, so I was connected to thousands then, but as Alpha, it’s different. I can’t believe Logan manages to deal with this on a larger scale. Isis, Khalid, and Dani experienced difficulty adjusting to the pack link. None of them are used to being linked to multiple people like this, Isis more so as Luna. Khalid and Dani got it easier as they just had to tune out their thoughts. As Alpha and Luna, we have also to keep emotions out. But I think we’ve been doing well, and we’ll keep getting better at it. Today, however, the thoughts and emotions of the pack are strong. Today is the winter solstice, and Isis had her mind set on a pack-wide holiday festival. Everyone in the city is buzzing with excitement and joy to celebrate. Isis has no real experience celebrating Christmas, so I was more involved in this event. I’m of course ver
I don’t think I’ve been more nervous about something in my life. I was so jittery while getting ready that I nearly let my hair stay in the curling iron too long. Thankfully Zelma took the iron from me before my hair singed. Thankfully I had the others to help me. And I tried to distract myself from how nervous I was about the ceremony. I don’t know what all goes into a pack ceremony like this. I witnessed Aunt Sarael’s Beta ceremony, but that’s very different. All too soon, it was time to go. Everyone had gathered downstairs, waiting on Kurt and Khalid. And oh boy, when Kurt came down the stairs. Don’t get me wrong, Kurt is handsome no matter what he’s wearing. ‘Especially when he’s wearing nothing.’ Bastet snickered. I opted to ignore her, which was easy enough given I was distracted by how good Kurt looked in his tux. I had picked it out and knew he’d look good, but I hadn’t realized how good. Given how we both seemed to be in a lustful daze looking at each other, I at least kn