IZZY POV
The rest of the day was mundane in comparison to the first half. Before lunch, we obtained two new pack members, a new member of our extended family and a mate match that no one saw coming. After lunch seemed kind of like a letdown.
We quickly realized Destiny was no longer interested in helping with the Ball so Lucy recruited Sami to finish helping us. To be fair, things were happening quite quickly for Destiny. She was so sure that she would never be mated that she didn’t bother even thinking about it and now that it had happened, she was overwhelmed. I reminded her to show up for the ball and sent both her and Griz off to check out their new home and to figure out what their relationship was going to look like. I was very happy for them.
That night, I stepped into the shower utterly exhausted. Ethan was sitting on the vanity stool, watching me while I showered.
“The Packhouse is compl
IZZY POV“It’s about time,” I heard a deep, familiar voice say. I looked over to see Cornelius sitting in a huge chair, much like a throne.“Is this a vision?” I asked. I was pleased to see that my voice didn’t shake.Cornelius looked amused. “Of sorts,” he said, the corners of his mouth twisting up.I looked around me. I was in a dark room, lit only by the fireplace. The stone walls and stone floor were drafty, and I could feel the cold seeping up into me from my bare feet. I moved to the left where a fur had been thrown on the floor, seeking the insulation for my feet.“How’s Vanessa?” I asked, continuing to look around. A bed was set in the corner of the room and a pair of chairs, one of which Cornelius was relaxing in, was around the fireplace. Other than that, there were no more furnishings in the room. It was a cold, forbidd
IZZY POVReese rolled into me and gathered me into his arms. I stiffened, not sure what was real and what was part of the vision. He immediately sensed that something was wrong and woke.“What’s up Izzy girl?” he asked, opening his eyes. I looked over at him, my sweet mate. Kat had told me in confidence that Troi told her that she was stealing Reese’s socks as a way to show endearment. She loved Reese the most because she sensed that I did. I denied it, of course, but deep down I knew that this was true. I connected with Reese more than I did the other two triplets. I was glad he was the one that woke up for me now.“Something weird happened,” I whispered. He looked at me with concern, so I quickly outlined the vision I had.“Are you sure it wasn’t just a really vivid dream?” he asked. He stroked back my hair, and I was immediately soothed.
REESE POV“What did he mean that he could call for her?” Alpha Steven asked. We had just filled him in on Izzy’s strange journey a few days ago.Ethan shrugged. “We have no idea. We’ve been taking turns watching her while she’s sleeping to make sure she’s safe. So far, nothing. That we know of, anyway.”“I feel like this has to do with the prophecy,” Elder Johan said. “So much has come to pass already.”“Okay, let’s go over it again,” I agreed. We were all in our office, trying to make sense of the prophecy and Izzy’s vision. She had wanted to join in the meeting, but she was busy going over the final touches for the ball with her mom and Luna Jacqueline. When that was done, she still had to figure out what she was wearing tonight. She made me promise I would recap every moment of our meeting for
IZZY POV Mom was tying the ties of my dress and I was grimacing at myself in the mirror. My dress was gold, full length, and the skirt was billowy but hung straight. My belly poked out and mom had manipulated the ties so that it was right under my breasts and above my belly. I looked pregnant. Which I was, so I guess that’s okay. Can you come down to the office? Bring Jacqueline and Alessia, Ethan mind linked me. “The boys want us to come to the office,” I said. Mom smoothed her skintight blue dress over her hips. I smiled. I had good genes if I looked like mom when I was older. Jacqueline fluffed her bright red dress that was tight until it wasn’t, ending in a rush of tulle at the bottom. She tottered to the door on crazy high heels. She looked sleek, sexy and oh, so French. We walked into the office and Jacqueline immediately began scolding the men. “You’r
IZZY POV“What do you mean?” I asked. Joanna was scaring me. She looked very intense. Ethan put his arm around me protectively.“How do you know this?” he asked. Joanna looked at him. Her eyes looked panicked.“Alphas, do you trust me?” She was blunt.“Yes,” Reese said, instantly. “But we would like to understand.”Joanna took a deep breath. “Alphas, my father was a werewolf, but my mother was a witch. I am a half-breed. Please believe me when I say I have never used my magic for anything but good, but I am skilled. I recognize this as old magic. When Cornelius poisoned Luna, he put a piece of himself, his venom, inside her. He can call that piece of him back to him whenever he wants. And since that piece of him is inside Luna, she goes too. The moonstone will help, but he can be stronger.
IZZY POVI felt Reese gather my hair and hold it behind me. Something cold was smeared on the side of my neck and then I heard a match strike. I opened my eyes in panic and then closed them just as fast. Joanna was going to burn me.It hurt. Bad. I gritted my teeth but a cry of anguish escaped my lips despite my best efforts. Troi shifted into Tyra and Reese yelled, trying to stop her from attacking Joanna. Joanna’s hands were firm as she applied the burning poultice to my neck. I could feel something dripping off from my neck and I wondered if it was my blood.And then it was over. Reese had gotten Tyra to shift back to Troi and Joanna was wiping the sweat off my forehead.“Is that it?” Reese asked. I opened my eyes. It was quite enough, thank you, and I couldn’t believe he was asking like that. But then I realized he was talking about what Joanna had ga
ETHAN POV“Bart, you’re not in trouble,” Caleb said, kindly. “We just need to know who you talked to.”“But I never told anyone here that I’m not happy. I am happy here, Sir,” Bart protested. “I wouldn’t say that I wasn’t if I was.” He was clearly nervous. I sighed. We were getting nowhere.“Bart, Cornelius was able to call Izzy to him a few days ago. She is fine, obviously, but he did say that someone in our pack is talking to him and giving him information.” I laid out the facts, ignoring Reese’s glare. We had decided not to tell anyone about what had happened so that we didn’t alarm the pack, but Bart wasn’t getting it. We knew he said something to someone, and we needed to know who. This was too important.Bart looked confused for a moment and then his expression changed to abashed.&nbs
IZZY POVI plopped down in my chair and kicked off my shoes, groaning. I felt as big as a whale, but I still had a month to go before the triplets would be born. Christmas had come and gone and with its departure the millions of things that had to be done around the holidays disappeared. In January, we had Griz and Destiny’s mating ceremony and they left on a trip to celebrate finding each other. Destiny had never been off the Packlands and Griz wanted to show her the world. They were due back any day, having been gone for three weeks.“You all right, Luna?” Lottie, my assistant called through the door.“Yes, thank you,” I replied, trying to reach down and rub my swollen ankles. My swollen belly was in the way so I gave up. The effort caused me to breathe hard and I grinned ruefully at my efforts.There was a light tap on my door and I knew it must be one of my mates. 
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