IZZY POV
“We need you,” Reese growled into my ear. “We need to mate with you. All of us.”
I nodded. I had known that reaffirming the mate bond would be important for the triplets tonight. Their grief was palatable, and they had just taken on the huge responsibility of the pack.
I let Reese pick me up and begin to carry me back to the Alpha House. The rest of the pack followed us out of the woods, before heading to their own homes to try to get a few hours rest before starting their day.
My mother gave me a quick glance and then turned away. I felt for her, knowing that she was dealing with her own grief, but my mates needed me now. I would find her later in the day and be with her then.
Reese was swift and Caleb and Ethan kept up. He bounded up the stairs, not letting my feet touch the ground before he deposited me into our bedroom.
“Get undressed,&rdqu
REESE POVIt has been a week since the Funeral Rite. The hole that the death of my parents left seems almost too much to bear sometimes.My brothers and I shared a large office with three separate desks and a large area in the middle with comfortable chairs and couches surrounding a low table for an informal meeting area. Typical for us, Caleb was the only one that was consistently behind his desk. I tended to sit in a chair and use the low table and Ethan liked to sprawl on the couch and shout his input at us.We were in our usual places going over the suggested warrior assignments for the next month. Alessia remained our Gamma and she was in charge of setting things up and giving them to us to approve.I threw the proposed assignments back on the table. “Alessia knows these warriors better than we do. I trust her judgement,” I said. Ethan opened an eye and looked out at us.&nb
IZZY POVMy days were long and every moment was filled. I woke up with the dawn and slipped out of our room to let Heka run with Stella. One or more of the triplets always comes with me, never allowing me to get near the borders of our lands without some sort of protection. We would then eat breakfast and then they would go to their office.At the same time, Stella and I went to mine. The first day after the Funeral Rite, my mom led me into Aunt Luna’s office and I just couldn’t.“It’s not right,” I said. “There are plenty of other rooms in this house. I don’t want. . . “My mom nodded, sympathetically. “This has traditionally been the Luna’s office,” she said, practically. I shook my head. “Then we change tradition.” Mom gave me a sad smile.“Okay, Luna Izzy.” She closed the
IZZY POV“Try again,” Reese instructed. We were in the basement of the Alpha House and he was trying to instruct me on how to shift fluidly. The triplets could shift mid-air or while running. I wanted to be able to do that.I backed up and began to run and then tried calling Heka while leaping forward. I landed on my stomach, the wind knocked out of me. The poor landing was made worse by the fact that I was naked. I didn’t want to ruin another set of clothes today, so I was racing around the basement in the nude.“Most wolves can’t do it,” Caleb said, kindly. “Other than us, your mom, Silvo and our friend Brian are the only ones that I know that can.”“I don’t care,” I said with gritted teeth. “I will learn.”“Okay, then again,” Reese said, patiently.I got up on my hands and knees, slowly, an
IZZY POVThey carried me to the bed. Ethan disappeared into the closet and came out with a handful of silk ties. I watched with interest, wondering what he planned to do with those.He began by capturing my wrist and tying it to the headboard. He did the same with my other hand, bringing my arms wide open. My ankles got the same treatment, and I was soon spread eagle on the bed, tied with the softest of silk bonds.“Here,” Caleb said, coming forward with a scarf. He gently tied it around my eyes, blocking off the light. I closed my eyes. This was going to be fun.I knew that the boys were mind linking back and forth because no one said anything, but they began moving. I felt the bed dip as one climbed up next to me and began running something light down my body. I shivered. It felt soft, like a feather, and barely tickled me.He dragged it across my chest and around my nipples,
REESE POV“I’ll go talk to her,” I told my brothers. “You guys stay out of this. That way she can be mad at one of us, not all of us.”We had just spoken to the Council. The Council was a group of elder werewolves who knew the lore and the traditions. They made the laws and stepped in when Packs overstepped or didn’t comply. If a Pack is peaceful, the Council rarely intervenes. But if an allegation was made, they would step in and rule.We had a virtual meeting with one of the Elders that had been a good friend to our father. He was aware of the living situation and how it had come about.“Traditionally, the Packhouse is the home of the Alpha, Beta and Gamma as well as where the pack gathers. When your father approached the Council about building a separate Packhouse that would also double as a sort of community center, we were agreeable because your pack had grown t
ETHAN POV “I got a lead,” I said, racing into the office I shared with my brothers. “Do you remember Gavin Burchard? The weird guy in science class?” My brothers nodded. “He turned into a really good warrior,” Reese said, noncommittally. “Yeah. That’s the guy. He went to visit his cousin over at the Firehole River Pack. They went out into town to a local bar, and he overheard a couple of shifters talking about a big order that they had to fill a couple of months back. It was for something they called the Black Draught. He got curious so he asked his cousin about it, and he said that it was a poison that is sold on the black market.” Reese sat upright. “Did he find out where the shifters stayed?” “Yeah. He asked around and turns out they live in town. I want to go talk to them.” I was excited about this lead. I was hoping we could figure out who had poison
IZZY POVI wearily opened the door to my floor and entered the sitting room with Stella. She and I had just gotten back from training. She tended to accompany me whenever I left the Alpha House these days. The triplets had been gone for over two weeks, following leads to find whoever was responsible for poisoning their father.Something crashed in my bedroom and Stella looked at me, alert. Warily I walked to the bedroom door and flung it open. Katie was coming out of my bathroom.“What are you doing here?” I asked, letting the anger fill my voice.“Did you not send in the order for supplies?” she asked me, her voice sounding as angry as I was. “I need shampoo. You didn’t order it, so I took yours.”I stood, speechless at her gall. She took my silence for compliance.“As Luna of the pack, it’s your responsibility to make sure we are pro
IZZY POV “I demand to see the Luna right now!” There was shouting outside of my office, and I hurried to the door to see what the commotion was all about. A very angry woman stood outside the door, shouting at Lucy. “Let me make sure she’s available,” Lucy was trying to soothe her. I opened the door wider. “I’m available,” I said, brightly. “Come on in.” I pointed to one of the comfortable chairs in the seating area of my office and took the one opposite the woman. “How can I help you?” The woman was angry. “You can start by apologizing.” I was confused. “For what?” “For standing me up twice!” She was working herself into a tirade. I was even more confused. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you are,” I admitted. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Are you serious?” she shouted at me? “I’m Melba Able. My son is Tom Able.”
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