~Lincoln~The ride to Tia was silent and took way too long. I tried my hardest to drive as fast as possible without getting pulled over by human police. I hate that we have been away for as long as we have, and I hate that we were away for the reason we were. That was an ambush, pure and simple! The question is, who was behind it? I would bet it was Mom because she clearly stated that Tia is not who she wants our mate to be. A part of me is wondering if it was the twins and not mom, though. I have no idea who it was, but I want to find out so they can be taught never to try me like that again, even if it was my mom.We finally pull into the apartment complex, and I park next to Tia’s car. I wonder what happened that it won’t start. Then again, it is an old car, so it’s no surprise. I will have to talk to Landon and see about getting her something new and more reliable. Just as I’m about to get out of the car, a shiver goes up my back, and I’m instantly on alert. Something doesn’t fee
~Landon~I’m not sure that I’ve ever driven as fast before. Lincoln stayed in the backseat with Tia, and I focused on getting us to the Moonlight Pack as quickly as possible. Someone hurt our mate, and I was seething. It was taking everything in me to keep Goliath at bay and keep myself level-headed. I want to freak out……I want to scream and cry. I want to find those responsible and rip their hearts out. Instead…..instead I stay focused and logical. Instead, I take control and make sure we can get to the pack in one piece so Tia can be helped.We are allowed right through the gates, and we make our way straight to the clinic. There are nurses waiting out front with a gurney. As soon as I park the car, the nurses approach the back door to get Tia out of the car. They load her up, and Lincoln and I follow her inside. We part ways with her when the doctor joins the procession into the operating room. Lincoln and I are tempted to go in and make sure our mate is taken care of, but we know
~Tia~Every inch of my body is in pain. I try to move, but the pain is too much. I can hear beeping around me. I crack my eyes open a bit, but all I see is white. I wonder if I’m dead. I try to focus on my surroundings to get an idea of where I am. The first thing I notice is the sparks on both of my hands. I take a deep breath, and I can smell the peppermint, lemon, and grapefruit. My mates are here, wherever here is. I move a bit, trying to squeeze my hands. I can’t speak with this tub down my throat, but I want the twins to know that I’m awake. I move my fingers around to elicit a response. Lincoln groans and moves his head, but he stays asleep. Landon shoots right up and looks around the room before landing his eyes on me.“You’re awake, love! Let me get a doctor.” Landon kisses me on my forehead before opening the door to see a doctor. I don’t try to move anymore or try to think about how I ended up here, wherever here is. In no time, Landon comes back with a doctor who checks m
~Lincoln~My neck and back hurt. I sit up and stretch out, looking around the room. I fell asleep at Tia’s side, and sleeping like this is uncomfortable. I look across from me, and Landon is sitting in the chair, head back, snoring lightly. He has Tia’s hand in his, and Tia is still asleep. I wonder if she’s woken up at all since we have been in here with her. Andricia is back.Have you spoken to her?Yes. She has made it back, and she is healing Tia now. That is a relief, for sure. Tia’s wolf is back, and Tia should be healed in no time.L…..L, wake up.Hmm….what is it? Landon pops up in his chair, looking around frantically. I guess I shouldn’t have woken him up like this. Everything is okay. I just wanted to tell you that Brutus has contacted Andricia. She is back and healing Tia. Landon takes a deep breath and sits back in his chair. He stretches a bit before sitting back in the chair. That’s good to hear. The doctor said it would be best if her wolf came back and helped to hea
I spent one more night in the clinic, which gave Andricia the time to heal me completely. The twins stayed with me, only leaving my side when they had to pee. I slept on and off, and when I wasn’t asleep, we took the time to get to know each other more. I met Alpha Brenner of the Moonlight Pack and thanked him for giving me the care that saved my life. The twins told me that we already had an alliance with this pack, so there wasn’t anything to offer other than my gratitude. Lincoln and Landon packed me up into their Jeep, and we started the journey back. When I asked about my apartment, they told me that they had it packed up and things were going to be moved. I guess I can’t really complain since I didn’t have to pack anything up myself. Moving is always the worst, and this way, I don’t have to deal with it. The drive back to Emerald Lake was pretty quiet. My mind was spinning with so many scenarios and possible issues that I really didn’t have anything to talk about. The twins se
~Tia~I have to say, I never thought of the twins as being domesticated, yet here they are, cooking me a meal. I could truly get used to this. There is something about watching men cooking or cleaning that is a real turn-on. I love watching their muscles as they move and how they glide through the kitchen. I hear a small gasp behind me, but I hesitate to turn around. This pack has not been overly friendly to me in my lifetime, and I really don’t want to see what’s behind me. The twin’s backs are facing me, but before they can turn around, a body wraps around Lincoln. “Hi, babe! I missed you so much!” Aida turns to look at me while stroking Lincoln’s front up and down. Andricia starts to growl in my head, and I can feel the anger start to build up. I try to keep my face emotion-free because I won’t give them the satisfaction.Lincoln grabs Aida’s arms and pushes them down as he turns toward me. The look on his face says he’s uncomfortable, but he hasn’t actually pushed her away. Adela
~Landon~I would like nothing more than to run after Tia. I could feel the anger rolling off of her even though she didn’t say anything. I can’t believe they would do this, but then again, I’m not that surprised. Aida is still tugging on Lincoln, trying to get him to let her in. He keeps looking at me for help, but I’m trying to deal with Adela. Mom is going on and on, and it’s all starting to be way too much. “Baby, please. I know you love me just as much as I love you. Let’s go talk, just you and me.” L, I’m trying to keep calm, but she’s pissing me off. I shake my head. I don’t know how I can help him. I’ve been telling him to stop placating her, but he never really listened. He always said that he couldn’t help himself. “Are you listening to me? You two need to stop this foolishness. You need to do what’s best for the pack, and that isn’t Portia.” Goddess, does she ever stop? I have always known that there were a few sides to my mother, but she usually only shows certain ones a
~Lincoln~I walk to the sitting room and plop down on the couch. I lean forward with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. I don’t have the energy for this right now. I really just want to find my mate and snuggle up to her. She has been through an ordeal, and I just want some time with her where she isn’t trying to fight for her life or heal from injuries. The couch dips next to me, and I can feel Aida’s body heat next to me. I feel her hand on my thigh, but I push it away. I sit up and lean my head back on the back of the couch. “You have five minutes, Aida. I suggest you don’t waste it.” I can feel Aida’s upper body closer to mine, and I figure she has leaned back close to me. “I….I miss you, Lincoln. I know you miss me too. We had a good thing and I know you are just appeasing Landon by accepting Portia.” I sigh internally. I knew this would be bad, but experiencing it is something else. “You know I love you, and I know you love me too. Don’t fight it……we are meant to b
6 Months Later~Paul~It’s been six long months, and Nikki still hasn’t woken up. Owlyn has been here and tried to get a response from her. Nothing has worked because she says it has nothing to do with magic. The doctors don’t have an answer, and I’m just lost without her.I knew she shouldn’t have volunteered. I felt in my heart that it wasn’t the right choice, but what could I do? I love her with everything I have, and I couldn’t tell her not to do what her heart said was the right thing.I run my hands through my hair and then over my face. I haven’t left her side in six months, and I’m beyond tired of seeing these walls. My sons have tried to get me to leave, and so has Tia. I refuse them because this is where I’m meant to be. As long as my heart is here, I will be here. Tia has been here often and has brought our grandchild, but besides those visits, it’s just been Nikki and me. I refuse to believe that I finally found my fated mate just to lose her so quickly.I put my head in m
~Devonte~The pain in my heart is all-consuming. I want the pain to stop, but I don’t know how to make that happen. I curl up tighter, hoping that the pressure will help with the pain. It’s all too much, and I don’t know what to do to make it better.Abe has gone silent, and I’m not surprised. He’s been struggling the most, and I have no words to soothe him. I wish I could wake up yesterday when things were what they were. I’d give anything to go back.“BROTHER?! BROTHER WHERE ARE YOU?!” I curl up tighter as if that’s going to keep me from being found. I don’t think I can handle the words and emotions that will surely follow my brother. I can’t take what that would mean.His thudding footsteps get closer and closer. I know I can’t hide myself; there’s no way to become invisible. I can’t keep this from happening. I hold my breath, waiting for the inevitable. “D, I found you. I’ve been looking everywhere. Our mate, she needs us. She needs you.” I’m trying to block out his words, but I’m
~Third Person~Everything seemed to happen all at once. Andricia is thrown against a tree trunk and curls up with a whimper. The pain is too much, causing Andricia to shift back into Tia. The twins witness this, and all restraint is lost. They shift and run at Imogene, who quickly wraps them up in blue light.Nikki hasn’t taken her eyes off Imogene, so she’s ready to interfere. As she shoots her light at Imogene, it strikes her in the stomach. Imogene is taken off guard and loses her grip on the twins. They fall to the ground and falter as they try to get on their feet. Eventually, they gain their footing and try to attack Imogene again.Imogene defends herself, reduced to hand-to-hand combat with the edge of magic. She repeatedly strikes the wolves as they throw themselves at her. They are taking a lot of punishment, but they refuse to stop. Their only goal is to defend their love, though they’d rather take the time to see about her.The group is joined by vampires and rogues alike.
~Jenna~I scramble backward, making sure my back is flush against the tree trunk. I try to quiet my breathing, but it's proving to be a task. I search around me, but there’s only darkness. The night air is still filled with the sounds of a battle, but I can’t see what’s going on.“Ughhhhh.” I slap my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stay quiet. I look down and see the bright red blood. I shut my eyes tight and try to think about anything else. If I freak out right now, I won’t be able to get back to safety.Every inch of my body hurts, but I can’t think about that now. I need to get out of here and make it back to the packhouse. I struggle to my feet, using only my right arm. My left just hangs against my body. Every twist and turn of my body brings a wave of excruciating pain, but I have to ignore it right now.I finally get to my feet and stand against the tree trunk. My breathing is erratic, and my chest is heaving up and down. “Where’d she go? I don’t see her.”“Sniff her out.”
~Aida~I’m applying pressure to my sister’s neck, and I feel her body giving in. This is so easy it’s pathetic. I would have thought that she would have trained during my absence. She had to know that I would return, and with my return would come the fight for her life. I guess having a brain doesn’t guarantee that you’ll use it.Portia’s body slumps to the ground, and her breathing gets heavier. I swear she’ll be dead in a minute. While part of me is rejoicing, the other part of me feels that she’d be getting off too easily. She’s the cause of all my problems, even the cause of Adela’s death. I may have administered the final blow, but it wouldn’t have come to that if she hadn’t disrupted our plans.Portia completely falls under, and I let her go with a thud on the ground. I get to my feet and walk around her limp body. Her breathing is shallow, so I know I can still play around with her before I kill her. I just need to figure out what games will be fun to engage in.I walk around h
~Ivan~One of the twins lunges at me, and I step out of the way. The other twin moves toward me, causing me to dodge slightly. This can’t be how they expect to beat me. If things continue this way, I’m going to win without breaking a sweat.I don’t want to spend a lot of time with these two. I need to go find Aida and so help anyone who has tried to put their hands on her. No one will hurt my love and live to tell the tale. I’d scorch the Earth before I let anyone hurt her.These imbeciles are staring at me but have stopped lunging. I guess they realize that it’s useless. It doesn’t matter what they do to me, they won’t win. I’m a vampire, so my natural state is on a different level. On top of that, I’ve been around for a long time. There isn’t much that I haven’t seen before, so they are hard-pressed to find something new to throw at me. “We’re wasting time, boys. I have more pressing matters.” I flip two fingers in the air back and forth. I hear reinforcements moving in. “Let me jus
~Lynn~I reach into the vampire’s chest and pull out its heart. My hand is covered in blood, but it’s as black as tar. There’s a stench to it; it smells like it’s rotting. I guess that makes sense because vampires aren't like the rest of us. They are the undead.I look to my left and can make out Abe in the distance. He’s ripping the head off of a vampire. Another vampire has climbed on his back, but he shakes him off. I look to my right, and Mace has the leg of a vampire in his mouth, and he shakes him like a rag doll. I duck quickly, missing the clothesline that was intended for me. I look behind myself and kick out, catching the perpetrator in the stomach. I wind the rope around my fist and throw a punch. The rope, mixed with the strength of my punch, causes my hand to literally push a chunk of her arm onto the ground. I follow up with a round kick and straddle her body as soon as it hits the ground. I rain a combination of punches on her body before ripping her throat out.I’m tir
~Jenna~I’m herding those who can’t fight into the safe rooms. We have entry points on both ends of the pack, but I’m only worried about those on this end where the packhouse is. Elderly pack members, as well as children, have been running here in droves. The sooner we get them to safety, the better off we will all be.I take one last look around and turn to the opening that will lead to the underground tunnels. It isn’t a long walk from the tunnels to the rooms; we wanted to make sure everyone would have a chance to get to safety. Once I get inside, the doors will be locked, and we will wait for word that everything is over.Crying sounds behind me, causing me to whip around. A pregnant woman with a toddler is running toward where I’m standing. A few warriors rushed out to her, working overtime to keep the vampires back.I watch the woman run forward with her baby’s hand in hers. She trips, and her knees hit the ground, causing her to lose her grip on her child. She cries out and cra
~Mark~I’ve been on alert all evening. I know tonight is the night, but I have no idea when. It’s just a guess, but we expect an attack on this pack. It isn’t that I’ve done anything to Aida, but her enemy is my best friend, and my mate has gone after her obsession. It seems they are trying to hurt Tia in any way they can, and that would include attacking this pack.I haven’t been Alpha that long, and I’ve only had my fated mate a bit longer than that. I have a baby coming and I like my life right now. I don’t want to lose anything right now, but this battle could have me lose it all.I clean off my desk and put files in the filing cabinet. I think the best thing right now is to have time with my mate. I want her to know how much she’s loved, just in case. I close the office door behind me and turn to head up the stairs. Alpha, we have a breach! My heart begins to thump in my chest as the seriousness of the situation grabs me. I take a deep breath and let it out. Hey, beautiful. Wher