~Vonte~I know that’s her brother, but WTF?!I know, but he’s the Alpha here, so we have to eat it. I really want to rip my brother-in-mate’s head off right now. He’s being way too aggressive towards my mate. Honestly, it’s not me that has an issue; instead, it’s Abel. I know how sibling love can get, and I think it’s cute.Luna Jenna leads us up the steps and into the packhouse. We stop right inside the doorway, watching Lynn plead for mercy. Mark has her on the couch, tickling her with everything he has. I didn’t realize my mate was ticklish, but now I have something to use to my advantage.I sit in an armchair across from them, and my brother sits in an armchair next to mine. We are both enjoying the show. I turn to Luna Jenna, who decides to stand between us and notice the smirk on her face. “Are they always like this?”“To be honest, I don’t know. Mark and I had a rocky start at best and left right after accepting each other. I’m sure you heard about the mess that pack has dealt
~Devonte~I feel like we got off lightly. I expected an entire interrogation by Alpha Mark and wouldn’t have been mad. If I had a younger sister, hell, a sister at all, I’d probably do the same thing. You want to make sure that your family is taken care of, and any man knows that if he even thinks of hurting her, there will be severe consequences.We follow Alpha Mark upstairs to the second floor. We walk down the hall with him, and I can smell my mate. He points to the door but continues to the end of the hall. There are back stairs that he takes up.I walk forward and bump into my brother. He has the door open but has barely passed the threshold. I crane my neck to look past my brother, and my breath catches in my throat. Our mate is displayed on the bed in the sexiest pose. She’s on her back, slightly propped up with pillows. She has one hand on her breasts and the other rubbing her nub. Her eyes are closed shut, and small moans are escaping her lips.My body responds to the sight,
~Aida~The crash of furniture snaps me out of my daydream. I sit up and hear raised voices. My hand drags across the mattress next to me, but it’s empty. I throw the covers back and climb out of bed. Something’s going on, and if I had to guess, my mate is in the center of it.After meeting up with Adela, we headed to Ivan’s home. I was skeptical that it would still be available after all this time. Ivan’s been locked up for a very long time, and you have to guess that someone would have taken the home as their own or demolished it by now. Ivan assured me that he had left the right people in charge, and he was right.This house is bigger than the packhouse at Emerald Lake. It’s a real-life mansion. I still haven’t been in every room yet, but I’m working on it. The grounds are massive, and I haven’t explored it all. A lot of vampires live on this property, and there’s more than enough room for everyone.I descend the spiral staircase, and the yelling gets louder. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING
~Stuart~I stand at the bottom of the stairs in the packhouse, nervous as hell. I’ve been away; I’ve been grieving the loss of my daughter. The problem is that I’ve neglected the daughter I do have and my grandson. So many nights I spent crying over my lost child, and so many mornings I couldn’t pull myself out of bed.I have a void in my heart, and I don’t know if it will ever go away. If I’m being honest, I’m grieving for two of my daughters. Adela is dead, and Aida is gone. Deep down, I know I will never have that bond with Aida again. I’m not sure what her circumstances are, but I’m positive that they won’t lead her back to me.It’s been so painful replaying their childhood. I remember their first steps and their first words. I remember when they were born and holding them in my arms. The first time they put me on my ass is a memory I could never forget. I’ve spent days reliving their lives and wishing I had more time. The only thing missing in those memories is the presence of Ti
~Tia~I sit back in the rocking chair, watching Kian and Dad play. He’s been here for hours, and we’ve been enjoying our time together. I’ve missed him but didn’t want to put too much on him. I knew he would be grieving heavily, and I didn’t want him to feel like it was wrong.My phone chirps, and I pick it up to see a text message from Lynn. It’s a detailed message that leaves me with more questions than answers. “What’s wrong, love? Your entire face just dropped.” I sigh and fill him in on everything that he’s missed. Dad is silent with a thoughtful look on his face.“I….damn, I’m sorry. I didn’t think.” He shakes his head and gives me a small smile.“While grieving for Adela, I’ve been doing the same for Aida. Something tells me she’s lost to us, and I’d rather come to terms with it now than later.” I nod, having felt the same way, too. “So what’s the plan?”“I don’t know. I wouldn’t even know where to look for Aida. I guess we will have to talk when Lynn gets back.”“Maybe Mark sh
~Mark~“How’s it being back here?” I stand in front of the packhouse at Emerald Lake, and so many memories wash over me. I grew up here and always thought I’d die here. Now, I have a new home and a new role, but this place will always hold a special place in my heart.“It’s not like this is the first time I’ve been back since I’ve left.” Lynn places an arm around my waist and snuggles in close.“I know, but still. It isn’t the same without you.” I kiss the top of her head, and we walk toward the packhouse.My sister and her mates stayed a few days with me, getting to know Jenna and me as an Alpha. Tia called and suggested that I come back with them so we can make a plan about Aida. I hated to leave my mate, but it made sense. I need us to be on the same page. If there’s a pending war or something, I need to know what my involvement may be.It’s late at night, but we’ve been on the road for a while. I’m starving, and I walk into the kitchen to get some food. The kitchen is closed, but
~Sonya~Nothing has changed; the same thing every single day. I’m not saying that I’m surprised, but it’s downright boring. There’s no excitement, no variation. I get that jail isn’t supposed to be fun, but I don’t think anyone really gets the mundaneness of it all. I don’t think anyone truly understands how insane you can go living this way. I mean, unless you’ve been in jail before, that is.The only bright spot has been seeing my jailer, my favorite jailer. I’ve tried to talk to him, but of course, he doesn’t respond. I won’t give up, though. He’s wonderful to look at, and if I can get more from him, I want to try my hardest. I get to see him when he takes me for my visits, and it’s the highlight of my day. I don’t know how or when, but I’m going to get him to cave, and when he does, I’m going to enjoy the hell out of him.I’m wrapping up another mind-numbing visit with my dad. I swear I wish he would find something else to do. I have nothing to say to him since he’s part of the re
~Mark~We all gather in the conference room, ready to come up with a plan. Everyone is chatting among themselves, and it reminds me of how much I’ve missed being here. I’ve created a new family and friends in my new pack, but they could never replace what I’ve known all my life. I clear my throat while looking around the room. “Can we get this started? As much as I love you all, I want to get home to my mate.”“And his baaaaaaaby!” Lynn smirks, and everyone chuckles. I throw a pencil at her, but she’s quick to dodge out of the way.“Okay…. okay. Let’s get to business. Mark is right; we need to go ahead and get started.” I nod at Landon in silent appreciation and sit back as everyone is brought up to speed. My parents are here, along with the former Alpha and Doc Nikki. Stuart is here with the ranked members and their mates. It’s a big group, but everyone here is associated with this case in one way or another.“So what’s the plan? What do we do next?” Eyes land on Doc as she poses the
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