REESE POV
“Okay, let’s hear it.” Johan was seated comfortably on the couch, Aunt Alessia next to him. She was glowing and I could see that Izzy was pleased to see her mom so happy and relaxed.
Brian was also there. To our surprise, Lucy insisted on joining us, wrapped in a blanket and reclining on the second couch in Brian’s arms. Caleb was at the desk, as per usual, and Ethan was sprawled out on a piece of furniture, also per usual. Izzy was perched on the arm of the couch that Lucy was reclining on.
Her clear voice read the prophecy again. “The planet of the moon foretells war. The fire haired leader of the empire three labors with three generals. In the castle of the cold north a dragon will rise, and the moons will fall. The three lions of the defender will conquer the lord of deceit. The harbingers of justice will capture the white baron. The herald of the moon will be revived, an
IZZY POV“Oh, Izzy! That’s great news!” Lucy was so excited for me. I looked at her. Everyone was waiting for my response.What was my response? I had a gambit of emotions running through me. I had wanted nothing more than to be pregnant again after I lost the twins and I had gotten my wish. If the prophecy was to be believed, I was carrying triplets.But there was the prophecy. It was a rough one. I don’t know of any mother who would be okay with her children’s future being foretold in this way. It sounded like their life was going to be one big fight.On the flip side, at least I had warning. Knowing this, I could train my children the way that they needed to be trained. I was the daughter of one of the greatest warriors in the world. My wolf was a Luna. I had Beta blood. Their fathers were Alphas. They would be strong, and they would
REESE POV“Well, if that’s not a shot in the gut,” Izzy finally said. I snickered.“The Goddess does give awfully cool gifts, though,” I said, putting my hand down towards the ground. Troi came over and butted it with her head and I chuckled. She then bit my pants. I made a face and tried to shake her off without Izzy noticing.“So, I’m the peaceful warrior,” Izzy mused. “I can live with that, I guess. And I love the idea of the triplets having Troi to defend them.”“Sounds like she’s your defender,” Alessia said softly. “She is most definitely dedicated to you.”Izzy scooped up Troi and held her to her chest, kissing the top of her head softly. I chuckled.“You won’t be able to do that for much longer,” I said. “She’s growing fast!”“There are protoco
ETHAN POV“What do you mean that she’s been taken?” I asked, Dex right below the surface.The captain refused to meet my gaze. “Joanna and Piper witnessed it. They reported that the Luna was talking to someone in the tree line. She did not approach the tree line. She turned to come back to the Alpha House and four men came out of the trees. One hit her and three tackled the Kunisada before she had time to shift. Troi fought and killed two of the men, but the remaining two were able to take the Luna. The Kunisada was badly hurt, and the two men disappeared with the Luna.”I didn’t bother to fight Dex anymore. I let him have control and he shifted with a roar, racing out of the arena. I had been on border patrol when all of this had happened, and my captain had found me beginning my training in the arena, oblivious as to what had happened. Training forgotten, Dex
IZZY POVI woke up with a splitting headache. I put my hand up and I bumped it on something. Waking up more, I began to panic.I was in a box. A long, flat, narrow box. Like a coffin.I started banging on it. “Let me out!” I shouted. Nothing.I tried to shift. I couldn’t.Heka? I tried. I panicked even more, not being able to contact my wolf.I’m here. Just weak, she finally responded. I relaxed a little. I was grateful not to be alone.What happened? I asked.I don’t know. Vampires, I think. I think they want our babies.Funny thing is that calmed me a little. They wouldn’t want to hurt me or hurt my wolf, at least until the babies were born. Hurting me would hurt them. I was okay, as long as my theory was correct.I strained my ears and hear
ETHAN POV“Where do you want to wait?” I asked Alessia. She gestured.“Back door. The women’s bathrooms were back there. She’ll act like she’s going to the lavatory and then slip out.”I nodded. I knew that the girl in leather had something for us, something good. I also knew that she was afraid, despite the bravado that she had displayed. I knew that the vampire world was a lot more brutal than the werewolf world ever would be and she had every right to be afraid. I was hoping that my hunch was right, though, and that she would attempt to talk to us.We didn’t have to wait long. Alessia was lounging against the dumpster, oblivious of the smell. I was pacing when I heard the back door squeak open. I halted.“You out here?” the female asked. I could see her outline in the glow from her vaping pen.I stepped close
IZZY POVThe first thing I realized was that I was out of the box. The next thing I realized was that I was colder than I had ever been in my life before. I was freezing.I opened my eyes and realized that didn’t make things better. It was pitch black and I couldn’t see where I was. I tried talking to Heka; her vision was so much better than mine at night, but she was quiet. I could sense her, but she was weak.I felt around, trying to identify things. I was shackled; I figured that out almost first thing. It was an ankle shackle, and I could tell it was silver from how it burned my hand when I touched it. I adjusted my legging bottom to cover my ankle, protecting it from the searing property of the silver.I was laying on a pile of straw that had been tossed on a stone floor. My body felt bruised and sore. I shifted and sat up, moving to my knees and feeling around my prison. I
CALEB POV“Well, that makes sense,” Reese said. “The prophecy mentioned a traitor.”“Dammit,” Ethan swore. I could hear Alessia next to him, shouting.“We need to go back,” she was saying.“Why?” I asked, curiously. Ethan put her on speaker phone.“We need to get Troi. Remember the prophecy? We need to keep her close. The prophecy was very specific.” Alessia was adamant.Brian and I looked at each other. “I got this here,” Brian said to me, quietly. “Go. Go get your mate back.”“You guys keep going. I’ll bring Troi,” I said into the phone. “I’ll be there in six hours.”IZZY POVI took Bart’s advice and I covered up with some of the straw. It was a little warmer. I w
IZZY POVThe jerk didn’t even give me shoes or slippers. I wasn’t wearing any when I was taken, and they didn’t bother to give me any to use. They marched me out of the jail cell across the packed snow and ice to a huge house that loomed in the distance. My feet were numb within the first five steps.I looked around the property. I could see a massive concrete wall around the entire perimeter. Razor wire looped over the top of the wall and there were cameras spaced every few feet. I wondered if it was to keep people in or people out.We stepped out of the shelter of the jail and the gale of wind caught me. I put my arms around my body, trying to shield myself from the icy wind. I was wearing a loose hoodie, and the wind was relentless, finding every opening to blow into. I was shaking hard from the cold by the time we made it to the house.I was unceremoniously pushed into
EPILOGUE TALIA POV “Coming!” I answered my mom, looking in the mirror and tucking my hair behind my ear. Today was my eighteenth birthday and I was officially going to introduce my wolf to the Pack. I had technically been able to shift since I was a baby, but we had managed to keep that a secret from almost everyone, though it had been a close call a few times. My brothers were coming back from Mongolia with their mate, Zaria, and their friend, Leo, to help celebrate my birthday. They were on some sort of a mission for the Council, but they got permission to come home for this event. They were twelve years older than me and I liked to tease them about being old. They didn’t think I was as funny as I knew I was. They were cool, though, and all my friends loved my brothers. Their mate was also pretty awesome. She was the daughter of our Beta and one heck of a warrior. She went to the same camp my grandmama was accepted to. Only the best warriors are allowed to go. I ran
IZZY POV I rubbed my swollen belly and sat down behind my desk with a sigh. Baby girl was seriously a week overdue, and I was over being pregnant. I wanted to meet my Talia and that moment couldn’t come soon enough. A lot had happened in the three months since the Summer Solstice Celebration. Elder Voltaire had officially asked permission to join our pack and he put in his retirement notice to the Vampire Council. Apparently, serving as head Council Member for three hundred years was enough for him. We gave the Blood Moon Pack to Griz and Destiny. We talked a long time about it and had first asked Leo if he was interested in taking over for his father. He had vehemently turned down our offer, insisting that he never wanted to see the Blood Moon Pack again. When we had gone to visit, I could see why. The pack needed a lot of work and there was a general sense of discourse. Griz and Destiny agreed to take on the Pack with Griz being named the first non-wolf Alpha of a Pack.
IZZY POV“So what do you do, Elias?” Reese asked. I could see his nostrils flaring a little to see if he was a wolf. I didn’t sense a wolf in him, but I wasn’t going to ask. It was kind of like asking someone’s religion or income. If they offer the information, we could talk about it. But only if they offer it.“I’m a bounty hunter,” he said. Kat was clinging to his arm.“A supernatural bounty hunter,” she corrected. “He works for the Council, believe it or not.”Elias smiled. “Kind of. They hire me on occasion. I work for myself,” he corrected her gently.“Sorry,” she said, smiling. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. I grinned. I was so happy for my friend.“Tell us about one of your captures,” Destiny asked. She was next to Griz,
IZZY POV“How are you doing?” I asked Destiny. We were busy hanging decorations around the backyard, and it was the first time I had a moment alone with her in a week. I knew she was feeling really guilty about Kat leaving.She shrugged. “I’m okay. I just feel awful every time I look at Griz. I never intended for her to leave. I just wanted her to be more careful.”I dropped the streamer I was holding and put my arm around her. “I know. And so does everyone else, including Kat. She just needed a change. She spent so much time and effort making sure every part of Cornelius was destroyed that she doesn’t know what to do now. She’s just trying to find her place.”Destiny sighed. “Tell Griz that. He is worried about her.”“She’s moving around pretty quickly,” I offered. “I think sh
IZZY POVThey say a Luna’s work is never done. They’re right.I got back and had my bath and some alone time with my mates, but the pack business didn’t slow down. I was involved in the planning of the half-way house we were building as well as another youth center. I approved budgets and began working on the nursery upstairs, a room we hadn’t used in eight years. And then I began to plan the summer solstice celebration, a tradition that we had upheld since we first started it thirteen years ago.“Black and white this year?” Destiny asked. “I hate black and white,” Lucy said. “It makes everything look so formal and this should be fun.”“Okay. Black and gold?” Destiny was relentless. Lucy threw a wadded up napkin at her.“You only want black because you love it,” Lucy accused her.Destiny shrugged.&
IZZY POVThe gavel dropped and the room exploded. I turned and Kat flew into my arms, hugging me. She wasn’t normally demonstrative, and I was pleased. I needed someone to hug right now, and Kat was perfect.She was also a great bodyguard. She pulled me through the reporters at the door and only got tripped up by one of the fae reporters who used projection to try to block us. Kat pushed him over and got me out of there and into a taxi without further incident.“Keystone Airport,” she told the taxi driver, naming a private airport. I was guessing that my mates had communicated with her.“I can’t wait to get back to the pack,” I said, leaning against the back seat. “I’m exhausted. I just want a bath and an uninterrupted night of sleep.”“I’m not going back with you,” Kat said suddenly. I sat up.“Why?
IZZY POVThe twenty-four members of the Councils filed out, leaving me standing at my table, still in the handcuffs. Thanks to Johan, the handcuffs were the normal ones that they used in the human world which meant I could break them if I needed to, but I wasn’t going to. I wanted the shifter world to see what was going on.After the council members left, Kat walked over to me bringing a couple of chairs. She plopped them down and I gratefully sat. “Did you have a vision earlier?” she asked.I nodded, rubbing my forehead. “Was it obvious?”“To me,” she answered. “I know you. I was about ready to create a diversion.”I chuckled. “You’re a good friend,” I said. A look crossed her face for a second but then disappeared. I had said something that bothered her. Curious.Her phone chirped and she looked at it.&n
REESE POVThere was an outburst from the spectators in the viewing area. The main werewolf and main vampire council members were banging their gavel, telling people to be quiet. We all exchanged grins.“We are not the ones on trial here, Luna,” the main vampire council member said fiercely.“No. You’re not. I am. And I am telling you why I had to do what I did,” Izzy said. She turned to the werewolf council again.“Who among you believed that the prophecy from Nehum thirteen years ago was about me?” She kept eye contact until all twelve members had their hands raised. “And who among you thought that the prophecy was also about my sons?” The same twelve hands were raised.“And the same on the vampire side?” she asked, turning. Reluctantly, some of their heads nodded. The others resolutely ignored her, keeping thei
REESE POV“This session will now come to order.” We were watching the trial on television. The Council, in their infinite wisdom, had decided at the last minute to broadcast the trial on a special encrypted channel that Packs would have access to. We had turned it on first thing this morning when we woke up, looking at an empty room somewhere in Salt Lake. We were watching when the members from both Councils filed in, twenty-four in total. Johan was part of the werewolf council. Alessia had gasped when she saw him take his seat.They had brought Izzy in with handcuffs on. I had roared, losing control of my wolf, but Alessia had wrestled me down. “It’s for show,” she had soothed me. “They’re not silver. Just look. She’s fine. She can break them in a second.” Vin was not convinced but at least he gave me control back.“Isadora Killian, Luna of the Moonstone Pack, you were called before the Council today to answer to an entire list of charges. But you were not the only one