I think this is my most favorite chapter that I've ever written.
A week after our eventful breakfast, Zak and I stand at the entrance to the main packhouse with Naomi, Slade, Bella, Gregory, Jamal, and Dev. Arya and Charlie are with Corinda, Carmen, and their mates, getting things set up at Homestead.Today, the West Coast packs and the two packs that had been rounding up rogues are arriving. The West Coast packs flew in earlier via private planes and cars. The rogue round-up crew left the northern satellite location about four hours ago, running in their wolf forms—which means they should be here any minute.In all, they had found about 20 adults and 15 teenaged rogues. The adults were fairly feral, though some had been rehabilitated during their time with the two packs. Those who could be saved had been inducted into one of the two packs. The ones who had been rogues for too long remained completely feral.But it was the teenagers we were most concerned about.The adults had spent time in both human and wolf form. But once the teens shifted into w
“Ok, baby doll. I know this is hard, but we’re gonna try, ok?” I whisper to the tiny pup in my arms.She’s so small. Too small. Even for a newborn.All they had to feed her was human formula—but wolves can’t process it the same way. It doesn’t give them what they need. Our pups may look human at birth, but their bodies and instincts are all wolf.Which explains the vomiting and complete diaper blowout I just cleaned off both of us.That was the most foul-smelling thing I’ve ever had come out of a pup.I had to call Citra, who lived the closest to Homestead. Carmen and Corinda didn’t have anything that would fit either of us—me being petite and Summer being so young. Luckily, Citra had just finished feeding Caleb and was able to come over with fresh clothes.In the meantime, I wrapped both of us in a blanket and settled into the rocking chair by the window. The room was quiet, dimly lit, soft music playing in the background.I’d swaddled Summer in a shirt that belonged to her mother so
Over the mindlink between the alphas, I hear Zak scream:Charlie’s been taken!That was the beginning of these past two weeks of hell.My best friend has been taken by these leathery hags. We’ve been searching everywhere for her and the pup, but nothing. It’s obvious the Riding Hoods took her—but where?Bella, Citra, Hawk, and Marcus managed to track their path into our territory—but it was deliberately messy. The route went through streams, across bare ground, anywhere that would scatter their scent. The only reason we even found their trail was because the witch used so much magick to cover it.Apparently, magick leaves an imprint in the environment or some shit like that.Whatever it was, they were able to track them to a main road, where the trail abruptly stopped.That means they got into a car.And they weren’t alone.A rogue was with the Riding Hood. The rogue had to be the one who carried Charlie, while the witch took the pup.Brandon and Zak have gotten sporadic mindlinks from
Morgana sent Joseph, Clayton, and Rhett on a mission with Lucianne to convince more Crone covens to join the Riding Hoods.I had wondered how they were getting so many witches into the country after the original twenty that Celeste smuggled in. Now, I know.They weren’t just recruiting.They were taking over covens.It didn’t surprise me that some of the Crone covens shared the Riding Hoods’ ideals. America is famous for its xenophobia—just not in the way most people expect. The surprising thing was that ten Riding Hoods could subjugate multiple entire covens.Where the hell is all this power coming from?So they’re off again, trying to bolster their numbers. Because as powerful as the Riding Hoods are, they can’t take on every werewolf pack in America.And if the packs call in their allies among the Mother and Maiden covens?It’s game over.Honestly? I’m glad they’re gone for now.It gives me a break from Joseph’s constant attention. It gives Celeste time to heal. And it gives Iris a
“Celeste told her they’re in the warehouse district of New Orleans,” I inform the combined Alpha and Witch Council over the conference call.“And why should we believe her?” Kare asks, suspicion thick in his voice.“It’s true. She’s a traitor. She could just be leading us on a wild goose chase so we don’t find Charlie and Summer,” Sandra adds, sounding just as skeptical.“I don’t think so,” Bella says slowly. “She was adamant about saving her coven, even at the cost of her own life. I think she’s telling the truth so we’ll rescue them when we go after Charlie.”That actually makes sense.“Great! Then let’s get going!” Zak snaps.He’s been busting at the seams to get out of here and get to our mate. Truthfully, I agree. But we need a plan.Our friends will want to prepare, consult Selene, and figure out how to mobilize everyone without alerting the Riding Hoods. That will take time—time that Zak and I don’t want to waste.My wolf is restless, pacing inside my mind. Zak’s? He’s barely re
It’s been 24 hours since I learned of Lucianne’s and the rogues’ fate at the hands of the Crone coven.An entire glorious day since I’ve had anyone question my command.Letting that Crone coven ambush them was the best decision I’ve made in a long time.Now, I’m free of Lucianne and Celeste in one fell swoop.Of course, I had to wait until I knew whether Celeste was pregnant.After all, there was always the off chance that a true matebond could defy the odds. But the truth?There were never any spells to make a barren woman conceive.That pathetic bitch sold her soul and her coven for a lie.I’m particularly proud of that one.Now, the only loose end is the Crone coven.I can’t have people thinking they can kill my subordinates without punishment.I’ll deal with them when they arrive in a few days.For now, everything is falling into place.We don’t have Citra, but with Iris and that sniveling dike Nissa both pregnant, we have our first generation of hybrid warriors.And we do have Cit
As soon as I stumble out of Morgana’s office, I slump against the wall, gasping for breath.My throat aches from where her magic had choked me.My cheeks burn from humiliation.My mind races with panic.She’s going to use me until I’m wrung dry—until there’s nothing left.And only then will she give me what I want.Will I even be capable of carrying Winnie’s child by the time they’re done with me?No.This isn’t what I agreed to.And I won’t go through with it.If I’ve learned anything about Morgana, it’s that she’s brilliant, but impulsive and vengeful.She’s going to strip me of my rank.She’ll take away my magic.She’ll take away my power over Charlie.She’ll reduce me to less than a common witch.What do I do?Do I go back and help Charlie escape?If I can get her, the pup, and Iris out, I might be able to convince them to help me.But I need a cover story.Something believable.Something that makes them want to help me.Liv and Leo would want revenge on the Riding Hoods for Winnie
Zak? Brandon? I don’t have much time, per usual, but… weird shit is happening.Charlie’s voice in the mindlink is urgent, tinged with suspicion.Brandon and I snap awake instantly, bolting upright in bed. Neither of us had been sleeping well since Charlie was taken.Our friends' mothers had been taking the twins during the day, hoping we’d rest. We didn’t.We spent every moment training, strategizing, and combing over maps.Since Celeste gave Charlie the warehouse location a day and a half ago, we hadn’t slept at all.We pushed ourselves past exhaustion, literally passing out at the Alpha Council table.Somehow, we must have made it back to our cabin.The alarm clock reads six hours.Six hours since our bodies gave out.That means we missed a mindlink.And that doesn’t sit well with me.But right now, we focus.What’s going on, Charlie? Are you okay? I ask immediately.Please tell us you’re okay, Brandon links at the same time.A dry chuckle echoes in our minds.Despite everything, she
The tunnels twisted and turned in an endless labyrinth beneath the Hoia Baciu Forest. The scent of damp earth mixed with the faint metallic tang of blood and decay. The flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows along the stone walls as I strode through the corridor, my Thane, Sybil, walking briskly beside me.“How is she doing?” I asked without breaking my stride.“She is much more stubborn, much more resilient than we anticipated,” Sybil admitted. “But we believe we may have turned the corner, High Priestess.”“Oh?” I arched a brow, intrigued. Morgana’s torture had been… sluggish. Less satisfying than I had hoped.Torture, after all, is not simply about the body—it is about breaking the mind. True suffering comes when a victim loses their very sense of self, when they beg for death, only to have it denied over and over. And yet, Morgana had proven difficult to crack.Nine months. Nine months of relentless torment. We had shattered her bones and healed them daily, forced her to endure t
The ride from Texas to our packhouse should normally take 21 hours, but we’ve made it a one-week trip, sending our beta, Landry, ahead of us in our plane. He will help our people move in and settle while Brandon, our parents, and all of our pups take a little side trip for some downtime.Carl, Richard, and Lauren elected to move back to Artemis lands with us. It’s where they lived, where Carl and Richard grew up, and where they raised their older children. Now that they had a new set of pups, they wanted to come back. My mom and Charlie’s parents were also moving back with us. It was their way to see their grandpups grow but also to honor the lives of my father and Charlie.Carl, Richard, and Lauren were a little upset that Dev, Arya, Jakey, and the twins were remaining in Texas and that they wouldn’t be able to see them as much, but we’ve already got a couple of trips scheduled back and forth so that all the cousins could get together and we could see our best friends.Our side trip t
The past few months have been some of the most emotionally difficult of my life. Not only am I nearing the end of my pregnancy with our little boy, but we are also leaving Texas— all of us. Except for the old Diana pack and Arya and Dev’s pack, the rest of us will be gone by tomorrow.The last three months have been consumed with finalizing pack laws, succession rules, and building the new packhouses for each territory. We've been moving everything from our old homes, figuring out pack logistics, and ensuring every wolf is accounted for. It’s been exhausting, but necessary.We also had to choose our new betas, gammas, and deltas. In a twist of fate, Donavon asked to be our beta so that Kesha could stay close to Slade and Chloe. Rin made the same request to serve under Case, Chloe, and Sev, so their families could stay together. That means Mike and Seth will also be moving up north. But the tech squad doesn’t need to be in the same room to work together, so at least that transition will
"Reports have been consistent from all of our sources. Other than one of the fae discovering what was left of Locasta’s body in the bayou, there hasn’t been a single sighting of any Riding Hoods on American soil,” Hawk says.We’re in one of our combined council meetings, with all the alphas from every pack in the U.S., as well as the heads and representatives of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone covens for Hecate. There’s also a representative from the Seelie Fairy Court and an ambassador from the Unseelie Fairy Court. The sooner we can get all of us on the same side, the better we’ll be protected from groups like the Riding Hoods. We’re hoping to expand this into a global alliance—a kind of supernatural U.N.For now, the fae are willing to let the U.S. be the test subject. Convincing the other shifter groups, however, has been difficult. Many remain elusive or outright resistant to the idea. Zak’s presence would have helped—his Goddess gifts have a way of swaying even the most stubborn mi
After the ceremony, Gregory and I help Jamal back to our cabin. Every time I see him in that damn wheelchair, I get livid all over again. Those witches. I can’t believe Locasta and Morgana got the drop on him.He freely admits he was distracted—he had taken a call from Seth and Mike about incoming witches. It turned out to be nothing, just the Crone coven sweeping through like they promised. Apparently, no one had thought to inform our tech team of that part of the plan. And no one but Jamal had their phone turned on.Morgana had woken up just before the call. While Jamal was preoccupied, she directed Locasta to retrieve a knife from her boot—silver and coated in wolfsbane. They cut themselves free, then stabbed Jamal in the back of the neck, severing part of his spinal cord. He collapsed immediately. The wolfsbane knocked him out, and the silver cauterized the damage. For a time, he couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t even breathe on his own.Arya and Dev managed to purge the wolfsb
Zak and I have been in a fog since Charlie’s death yesterday. The one and only thing that has brought us any solace is our pups. It seems like, overnight, they began looking more and more like their mother. Though both of them have always had Charlie’s gray, raincloud eyes, their faces and bodies seem to have gotten leaner, their chins more pointed, their cheeks hollowing slightly to reveal high, sculpted cheekbones. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but others in the pack have noticed it, too.Our families are around us. Friends come in and out of our cabin. All of our mothers—Lauren, Danielle, and Clara—busy themselves with the pups, cooking, keeping things moving as if that will help. The house bustles with people, but I barely register them.The only things that ground me are Zak’s hand in mine, the weight of Christy’s sloppy kisses on my cheek, the warmth of Jerry’s small body as he curls into my chest.I know I eat. I shower. I dress. I might even respond to people. But it’s all
So many emotions. Thank the Goddess on High that I’ve been training on how to empty myself of other people’s feelings. If not, I’d be drowning in them, rocking in a corner with my thumb in my mouth. Despair. Pain. Rage. Dread. Determination. They flood over me like a tidal wave, crashing against my mental defenses. But using the techniques Meredith taught me, I let them wash over me and drain away, like waves receding from the shore.I have to keep my head on straight. My job is twofold. First, I need to help my friends process their grief without letting it consume them. Zak and Brandon’s pain is like a living thing, a force that threatens to unravel everything if I don’t keep it contained. I push their suffering to the back of their minds, tempering their anger to something useful. They don’t want this—but they need it.Then there’s Dev. His grief is just as raw, just as deep, but there’s a difference. Beneath his devastation, there’s acceptance. A flicker of hope. He knows that he’l
Zak and Brandon push through the door, Brandon almost immediately shoving Zak to the floor as a ball of lightning rushes through the air toward them. It slams into the door just above their heads before Gregory vaults over them, a shield of the same crackling energy covering us as we begin to move through the doorway.Gregory’s ability to mimic Morgana’s powers surprises her, giving Jamal the time to step into the room after his mate. His power fills the space, nullifying all the goddess gifts of those within a 100-foot radius (we checked). That includes all the witches’ powers. The only ones that won’t be affected by Jamal’s power are Arya and me. Our gifts aren’t Goddess-given but Goddess-like. He can’t take away what is part of the Goddess.The look on Morgana’s face as she drops like a fucking stone is almost enough to make me smile. Her scream echoes through the stairwell, the resounding thud as she lands and the breath whooshes out of her is immensely satisfying. Unfortunately, o
I don’t know what gave me the idea of the salt trail. Honestly, I haven’t been able to think of much since I’ve been here. The thought of us being so close to freedom seems unreal. I never thought that I would escape the Riding Hoods alive. It makes the frustration that Charlie is feeling about us going around in circles barely register to me. I’m still finding it hard to believe that we’re going to get out of here.But the salt sparks a memory of my favorite childhood fairytale. My mother hated it, the way that the witch was portrayed, but I loved the thought of children being able to outsmart an adult like that. I read every version I could find and acted it out with my toys all the time. I even made Mom, Dad, and Bella call me Gretel for about a year.So, I really shouldn’t be surprised that my old favorite story came to me in a time of need. The whole scenario was made better by the fact that Charlie called me Gretel. I feel like I’m getting some of me back. Like I’m starting to wa