Keeva’s POV‘No!’ I hear Channon scream across the room. My mind breaks out of the trance it has been under and I rip myself from Admis’s vice like grip. I feel his sharp tooth slice my shoulder as I pull away, his fangs had been so close to me, a second more he would have plunged them deep not my neck. Was his intention to drain me or turn me into a devil like himself? I turn looking for Channon. His face is pained. ‘I can’t shift Keeva. They must have slipped me some wolfsbane.’ My brows furrow and I try and process what the fuck is happening. How can Channon talk to me in my head? I’m scared and I’m not sure why I feel a sharp pain moving through my body. I kick the ridiculous shoes off and start to try and run towards Channon. One of my beautiful red bottom heels smacks a gawking vamp straight in the face. I don’t say sorry. The bitch who came to the ruins that night with red hair is behind Channon and she smiles evilly, and backs towards the main door. I don’t even notice the sli
Nikitas POVThis must be a joke. One of the wolves from White Claw pack must be messing with me. Keeva is human, she can’t open a mindlink with me. ‘Canagan, Keeva has mind linked me to tell me she is in trouble. They are running from the Midnight Clan and need help.’ Better to be safe than sorry. The woods around me are dark but alive with the sound of insects, the constant buzz sends vibrations through my head. Those silly new women have made me so late going to see Celeste and Zev is going to be mad at me for being gone so long. He wanted to leave tonight, well before Alpha Channon was anywhere near back from his summons to the vampire scum. What could possibly have happened that the three of them are running for their lives? Keeva can’t have a wolf, we would have been able to sense it and there is no way it she could have lied and hidden it from us. She wouldn’t have been put through her ordeal with Zev, let alone the years of whispers and gossiping from the pack if she knew she w
Channon’s POVHer silver fur reflects the moons glow, like a knife’s blade glints in sunlight. I am barley able to keep up with her ferocity and speed. Vampires come at her from every angle, like devils from the darkness of the dense forest around us. Jonas has regained consciousness but is too weak to shift and would be no help in the bloody fight. We both lay side by side and watch as Keeva slaughters one and then the next parasite. Their bodies sizzle and then burst into flames before falling as ash to the floor. The air is so thick with the vanquished, it looks like snow falling around us. Great mounds of grey, soft cinders litter the uneven forest ground. Embers burn in the atmosphere, carried high into the sky by the wind. There are no screams tonight, my mother is long dead, and this time my champion is all teeth and claws, which she savagely rips our enemies apart with. I can’t help but feel like that helpless boy all those years ago. ‘Stop!’ Admis shouts. His
Canagan’s POVWell knock me over with a feather! I never thought Blake and Bleiz would ever find their fated mates, let alone be fated to the same wolf. Ebony is a good match too, as Channon’s Beta she is strong minded and physically tough enough to deal with my two stubborn lads. Blakes strong shoulder is from under my hand when I slap him on the back in congratulation. As usual he plays it cool, like its no big deal. Bleiz, on the other hand, won’t shut up about her. A pang of jealousy hits my hard in the heart and I grieve for the mate I have never had. ‘Round on me boy’s.’ Three whiskeys later and we are all getting a bit merry. ‘Canagan’ Oh Lord, what the heck does Nikita want now. She has been nothing but trouble, always pulling Keeva into her badly judged drama too. ‘Your joking?’ I signal the boy to stop drinking. We need to have our wits about us. If this is true then Channon, Keeva and Jonas could already be cold and stiff on the ground or turned by those vic
Channon’s POVI hear her by my side as I slip in and out of consciousness. Her soft voice is low and she often talks to someone called Selina out loud, but there is no one else in the room. Too weak to talk and unable to move, I let the peacefulness of sleep take me as often as possible. Ophelia has been tending to me with her herbs and spices, the sting of their pungent aroma makes my eyes smart even in this condition. I dream of so many things from my past and visions of what I believe is the future for me and my pack. Terrible visions that make me scream silently and claw at the vail of sleep, trying to break free. White Claw comes to me in my less lucid moments and we talk about the past. How I have become the leader he always knew I would be. But there was a time when he wasn’t so sure that I would become his great leader. The day of my eighteenth birthday was bitter sweet. Happy to be alive but consumed by grief and an over powering need for revenge on Julius and
Celeste’s POV It’s too late now. If I go back to the coven without her, after kicking up such a fuss to come back here and save her ass, then I will be a laughing stock. I can’t believe she hasn’t even been to see me. I thought for sure she would be at the market selling her usual fruit and veggies, but instead her spot was abandoned. It’s not like I can just walk into her packs home and ask to see her. Is it? I mean, Keeva might be pretty upset and angry to see me, after all, it was my request for Julius canines that pushed Nikita to the unthinkable. If I could just explain that I had no choice, that my Coven had forced my hand, she might forgive me. Saying you want someone dead and killing them are two very different things. My little home is still basically bare as all my belongings were moved to my new place. My makeshift bed is in the corner where my bed used to be. It is just a few thick blankets laid on the floor and a pillow. It will do I suppose. I hadn’t planned on staying
Keeva’s POV‘Don’t be scared young one. I never wanted Admis to bring you to our lair. You all but destroyed our Clan in the woods last week.’ Her long sharp nails are painted blood red to match her lips, and her hair almost looks to be on fire, to match the burning red of her eyes. Is she here for revenge? Selina’s deep growl reverberates around the inside of my skull, and her request to be let out to kill this demon is rejected, for now. I want some answers and dead vampires don’t speak. ‘Elise, surely you haven’t come all this way to congratulate me.’ I move towards her and fear replaces her anger in an instant. The fire in her eyes is extinguished leaving only sadness to reside in its place. ‘You killed my lover.’ A single tear drop of blood leaves her eye, cutting a trail down her white skin as it falls. Only in stories told late at night, with the intention to horrify and captivate, were such things spoken of. I didn’t know vampires really shed blood as tears. ‘I
Channon’s POVHer scream pulls me out of the darkness of sleep and I sit bolt upright. My body is weak and a wave of nausea washes over me. I don’t care. I fling my feet with all my effort onto the floor and try and pull myself to a somewhat upright position. Fuck! I hit the floor hard and my knees smash into the unyielding surface with a thunderous bang. Ophelia bursts into the room with the force of a small rhinoceros and I almost laugh at the look of horror on her face. ‘Keeva needs me.’ The small voice that leaves my lips doesn’t sound or feel like my own. ‘Jonas has taken the Delta’s and they are nearly with her. She is still here on the grounds. Don’t worry Kekere mi, she will be fine.’ Her words would normally sooth my soul but now they just agitate me. I don’t want Jonas to save her. I want to be the knight in shining armour who rides in and saves the day. I weakly struggle to pull myself from the floor, using the table next to the bed to help me. I cling on to it for dear lif
Channon’s POVThe air is so much fresher up here, in the mountains. Keeva snuggles into me as we watch the newest pack of the North put on a show of ancient tribal dances. Their face are painted white and red, their eyes glow yellow form the wolves that lay just below the surface. I made a commitment to them all, all those years ago. I would like to think I have fulfilled my promise to help them build a pack, far away from the hustle and bustle of civilisation where they can be safe and heal from the wounds of their past. A fire rages in the middle of the dances, who leap and spin around it in a big, moving circle. I laugh and clap along with the music, content to just sit and watch the display. Keeva, as usual, has other ideas. She jumps up and grabs my hands, pulling me reluctantly to my feet. ‘Keeva, no..’ I try and plop back down on my bum but she pulls harder and before I can protest anymore I’m in the throng of dancers. I feel silly and the burn of redness slowly
ALMOST TEN YEARS LATER Nikita’s POV The years have passed quickly since the great battle. I watch Finn and Freya play together in the long, green grass, care free and happy. Celeste chases after them and they whoop and scream in delight. She is their Mom, not in blood but in every other way possible. Her promise to keep the legend of White Claw alive has stayed with her every day since. We have a yearly festival to commemorate all those that gave their lives that day. The packs who joined us to defeat the evil that wanted to destroy us all come and pay tribute too. Their whole packs descend upon us, overrunning the huge pack house and surrounding smaller houses. Celeste looks up at me and her eyes meet mine. Finn wriggles on the floor beneath her hand as she tickles his tummy. Huge shrieks of laughter fill the air. ‘You ok love?’ Her voice sounds a bit older and wiser now than it did back then. She has learned more about pack life and the hierarchy that defines out p
Nikita’s POVFinn and Freya sleep soundly in their cot, unaware of the battle that has raged on for hours outside. When I see Celeste again she is in big trouble. I can’t believe she sealed us in here. I know she would have done it to protect us, but I’m quite capable of looking after myself. I feel her pain and exhaustion increase minute my minute through our bind to the point I can’t walk and my whole-body aches. ‘Celeste. Come home.’ I finally decide to call out to her, my silence was supposed to have been a punishment for her act of love, but all it has done is punish me. What if something had happened to her and she thought for even a moment that I didn’t love her. Tears spring to my heavy eyes and pour down my cheeks. I don’t know when I fell asleep but morning is starting to break when the door to the kitchen is flung wide open. Celeste burst into the room. She looks awful. Covered in blood and mud, her hair is a mess and her clothes half gone. I don’t care. I r
Ebony’s POVI see him on the floor and towering over him is a tall, thin woman. She sends a bolt of dark magic straight into his chest from her hand. The pain that rips through me takes my breath away and I crumple to the floor, smashing into a tree from the speed I was going. ‘Don’t stop Blake, save him.’ I whimper through the pain. My vision has blurred from the lack of oxygen to my brain. The pain is so intense it makes me want to die, just so I can’t feel it anymore. She is too engrossed in torturing our mate to even notice Blake's huge wolf streaking towards her. My vision clears just enough to see Blake pounce on her. Her scream bounces from tree to tree and fills this part of the forest with the sound of death. He mauls at her and when her head pops off and rolls along the floor the pain completely vanishes. The wicked witch is dead. I can finally breath properly again. Blake leaves her mangled bloody body on the floor and goes to Bleiz. I stagger to my four leg
Keeva’s POV‘Celeste we are going under here. There are too many of them. Please, help us.’ There are too many of them. My silver fur is soaked through with the dark, stinking blood of vampires and the earthy copper red blood of werewolves. The Witches hide in the tress like the coward they are. Sending their pets into do the hard work. ‘Ebony, Blake, Bleiz. Get into the trees near the river and start taking out the witches. We need to break down their command. ‘Go, now.’ Supreme Alpha seconds my command instantly. I know he thinks Selina is control but the truth is it’s all me. Keeva. Selina has shut down and hidden away in the deep darkness of my mind. The next wave of vampires joins the fray. The frenzied ferocity of which they attack takes me by surprise. They are starved and the scent of blood has them crazed beyond my comprehension and understanding. High pitched screeches pierce the battle field, the blood lust of the undead being sated from the corpses that lit
Celeste’s POV My hands are clamped over my ears to try to block out the horrendous sounds of battle from consuming me. Grief pulls me to the floor and I sob into the cold earth. Even from here the floor shakes beneath me from the pounds paws and feet of the battle and bodies being slammed in to the ground. Barks of anger still pierce through my hands, the pain of hundreds of souls is palpable in the air. My skin crawls with the feeling of being watched and I don’t dare move from my curled-up position on the floor. Surely if It was Keeva or someone from the pack who knows me they would have announced their arrival. ‘Who’s there?’ I’m ashamed of how small and meek my voice is betraying the gut-wrenching fear inside of me. ‘Why do you care so deeply for them?’ This is the first time I have heard his deep, rumbling voice. I look up and am shocked to find White Claw sat just inside the clearing watching me. ‘What do you mean?’ His eyes follow me as I stand up and regain so
Celeste’s POVI can feel it in the air as the witching hour approaches. ‘Nikita, I need to go to my alter to perform the ritual and try to break the curse. It is the place with the strongest concentration of elemental magic.’ Her hands are soft and warm in mine and her tears make my soul weep. I would give anything not to leave her and our babies, but if I don’t do this and succeed then we are all doomed. Finn and Freya sleep peacefully in their cot next to the bed and I look down on them. The love I have for these little guys is more than I thought capable of ever feeling. It’s for them that I go out tonight and fight for our survival. ‘Celeste, please don’t go.’ Nikita pleads with me, her eyes are full of tears and desperation in her voice. ‘Let one of the other witches do it.’ She doesn’t understand and none of my reasons will ever be good enough for her. ‘I am the strongest witch here. If I can’t do it then we have no one on our side that can.’ The bond between us
Alessia’s POVEach step takes me past the long, tooth filled snout of a chained werewolf. Their snarls and growls fill the air along with the crack of whips that send whimpering howls in to the darkening sky. I smile and observe the scent around me. All the werewolves, held under the High Councils control have been brough from all corners of the land to us here. They are the muscles behind the vision of destroying or controlling these beasts, once and for all. I finish moving through the stinking area where they are being kept. My shoes are covered in their excrement that I try and wipe off on the grass in disgust. I feel bile rise in my throat but manage to hold it back. The last rays of sunlight dip behind the trees and the tents around me stir with the occupants that start to rise. I quicken my pace and my heart rate picks up as vampires start to emerge from their sleeping quarters. As I reach the biggest tent in the centre of their camp I’m greeted by Admis himself
Keeva’s POV‘You smell funny.’ I move in closer to Channon and sniff him all over, up and down. ‘Have you wet yourself?’ I blurt out and he steps back. I wrinkle my nose at the pungent odour and feel a bit sick. ‘He stinks of fear.’ Selina moves forwards and our consciousness combines, I feel her sense of smell over take my own. It’s not just his fear he reeks of, it’s the other Alpha’s fear scent that has stuck to him too. Selina moves back in to my mind and curls up, absorbed in her own thoughts on the situation. ‘Why are you all so scared?’ He looks at me and I can see his is genuinely worried. ‘The vampires have joined forces with the witches Keeva, I don’t know how we are going to win this thing.’ His eyes fill and her turns away. ‘I’m going for a shower.’ I let him go. At least he can get rid of the awful smells that cling to him and then I will go help relieve him of some of his frustration and anger. ‘Keeva.’ I turn to the door and see Ebony. She looks so tired