IZZY POV
The 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
REESE POVVanessa gave me an evil smile and ran towards me. Vin was incensed. He wanted blood, her blood, and he was going to have it. We were ten feet apart when Vin launched himself into the air. With a pop, Vanessa disappeared.We landed hard, skidding and rolling in the snow and crashing against a tree. Vin stood and shook his head, and then began racing for the Alpha House.It registered with me a moment after it did with Vin. We could hear Joanna screaming for Izzy and Tyra roaring. Cornelius had gotten to Izzy, and she was fighting. I needed her to hold on until I got there.I was halfway across the yard when I realized that it was too late. An invisible call had gone out to the vampires and rogues and they began disappearing. The rogues were running hard for the border and the vampires were disappearing with popping noises, teleporting away from our pack.The carnage was left
IZZY POVI opened my eyes and saw Vanessa standing ten feet from me, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. I awkwardly climbed to my feet, swaying a little and feeling weak.“What do you want?” I asked. “To come back to the pack? I can arrange that.” I felt my babies kick inside me and I winced. Vanessa noticed and smiled.“Not interested, sweetheart,” Vanessa said. “Cornelius is going to give me everything I want and more. Why would I settle on going back to a pack and working for the rest of my life?”“Sounds like you have it all figured out,” I said. “Now that we have that settled, how about letting me go?”Vanessa snorted. “You’ve always been such a smart ass,” she said. “Keep it up. I’ll enjoy seeing the look on your face even more when you realize that Cornelius figured out a way
IZZY POVWhen Cornelius came back into the cave he was accompanied by a woman. She was older with long black and gray hair that she had pulled into a braid that hung down her back. She had high cheekbones, and her face was very pleasant, except for her eyes. They were black.She ignored Cornelius, walking over to me. I shrank back involuntarily; her black eyes were unsettling and I felt like they had the capability to devour someone, like a black hole in space. She didn’t even look at my face. She reached down and, with a clawlike grip, grabbed my stomach. I cried out and the pups kicked from inside.“They are far enough along,” she said, standing up and walking back towards Cornelius. “They can be born tonight.”“What do you need?” he asked.“I have what I need,” she answered, pulling her backpack off. I lay still, watching her w
REESE POV“Alphas! GET OUT!” Joanna yelled at Ethan and me. She immediately apologized. “Please, alphas, forgive me. But I need to concentrate and you’re distracting me.”“We’re sorry,” Ethan soothed. “Please call us the second you find something. We will be waiting.”Joanna waved us away with her hand, muttering something. I slipped out the door, Ethan following.“Pissing off Joanna?” Kat asked mildly. I started. Damn. She was quiet. Sneaky as, well, a cat.“Seems to be the case,” I said. “Did you find out something?” I knew that she had. She had that look.“Yeah,” she said. “Let me go talk to Joanna real quick and then I’ll meet you in your office.”Ethan and I looked at each other and I shrugged. &ldqu
IZZY POVThe contractions were coming harder and faster and I was no longer able to pretend that I wasn’t feeling them. Another one gripped me and I cried out, leaning forward. The shackles bit into my wrists and I cried out again with the burn of the silver. I felt a gush between my legs.“Her membranes broke,” Agnes said, her voice devout of any emotion.“Good,” Cornelius said. He had been on edge this entire time, pacing. He was driving Agnes crazy, and I could see she was moments away from snapping.Agnes leaned over me and I flinched, pulling away. “I’m your only friend right now, child,” she said, using a wet washcloth to wipe away the sweat on my face. I shook my head.“I have no friends here,” I said bitterly.Cornelius spoke from behind us. “How much longer?” he asked. Agnes’s nostrils flare