IZZY POV
I 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. 
IZZY POVI left the office, miffed and working on a plan. First, I stopped by the dining room to see if Molly had left the donuts out. Priorities.She did. I helped myself to a chocolate frosted long john and a cinnamon cake donut and then went back to my office. I plopped myself in my chair and leaned back, closing my eyes. I was tired. Carrying around three pups inside me was taking it out of me. I was glad I didn’t have to go through nine months of this. I felt like I was being pushed apart from the inside out.My door cracked open, and Caleb slipped in. I smiled at him, and he pointed to his upper lip.“You have some chocolate here,” he said, pointing. I used my tongue and tried to lick it off. His eyes dilated and I saw his wolf peek through.“That’s so sexy,” he growled in a low voice.“Really?” I asked in disbelief.&
REESE POVThere was a raised podium in the middle of the town square. On nice days, the teenagers would use it as a jump or ramp for their skateboards. In February, it was still covered in snow and ice. I shivered slightly under my coat, not because I was cold but because of the wind. It was brisk.I looked over at my brothers. Ethan gave me a barely perceptible nod. It had been decided that I was going to speak to the crowd. I was friends with most of the warriors and their families and our little group consisting of my brothers, my beta and Alessia had decided that I was the most approachable.“I’m here!” Izzy said, breathlessly, pushing through the crowd and putting her arm around Caleb. I smiled at her. She was always breathless these days. Her body was changing and growing and so sexy. Even now, as I listened, I could hear three extra heartbeats coming from her and I c
IZZY POVThe crash reverberated through the entire house, the foundation shaking. I gave Lexi a rueful smile and she dissolved into laughter. We could hear feet thundering on the floor above us, racing towards the basement where she and I were practicing.“Izzy!” Caleb shrieked from the top of the stairs. Lexi snorted and headed to the hallway to intercept him.“We’re fine,” I could hear her calling. There was some murmuring going on in the hall and then Caleb poked his head in the training room.“Lexi said you made an energy ball the size of a watermelon,” he said, his eyes twinkling.“Yeah,” I admitted with a grin. “I probably need to take the training outdoors.”Caleb looked over at the hole in the concrete that the energy ball had made. It was charred black and the divot was a good four inches thick. He ran his finger over th
IZZY POVI climbed into bed and arranged the pillows behind my back so that I could sit up in bed. Troi climbed up next to me and cuddled against my side, purring. Kat plopped herself into one of the comfortable chairs in my room and looked out the window, blankly. I couldn’t see anything out there, but she had cat eyes so she probably could.“Thanks for coming,” I said with a smile. Kat gave me a tight smile.“Anything to thwart Cornelius,” she said.I frowned a little. Every time she spoke of Cornelius, she sounded bitter. “Did he do something to you?” I asked, curiously. Kat didn’t answer immediately, then she sighed.“Yeah. He tortured me and had my mate killed.”I gasped. “I am so sorry. I had no idea,” I said. Kat shrugged.“Werecats are different. Wolves mate for life
ETHAN POVI suspected a trap the second we got there. We had gotten word that there was a stalled vehicle on the road leading to our front gate. I divided up the warriors, sending everyone we had on hand to go check the parameter and I led a handful of warriors to the car. We got to the stalled vehicle, and I could see someone behind the wheel. It was Alex, the vampire I had questioned in the bar when we were originally looking for Izzy.I shifted back to my human form. “Alex. Good to see you again,” I said, standing in the shadows of a tree. The moon was really bright tonight. “How can I help you?”“I’m here to ask that Lord Cornelius’s property be returned to him,” Alex said, his voice trembling a little. I looked around. My warriors were on edge, too. This was too weird.“Where’s Jasmine?” I asked, naming his sister.
IZZY POVI heard several more crashes and then the mind links began coming in from the pack members.Help! I’m being attacked!Someone make sure the Luna is okay! I can’t get to her.We’re being overrun.Send help! I can’t find Alpha Caleb!That last mind link panicked me, and I fought the urge to run out and fight with everyone else. I was trying to be smart even though my wolf was panicked at the thought of one of my mates being hurt. I knew that if I left my room, I would only put more pack members in danger. We had asked for their help, and I couldn’t knowingly put them at an increased risk of harm. I wasn’t in any shape to fight, and I was safe here for the time being.I ran to the window and opened it, leaning out to see if I could see anything. I heard the battle before I saw it, the sounds of growling and scr
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