IZZY POV
“We, the members of the High Council of the Americas, find Isadora Killian innocent of all charges. The verdict will be noted in the permanent logs of the Council and this charge may never be brought against her in the future. We are also noting the false accusations that were made against She-wolf Killian and those records will remain on the accuser’s records for seven years before being removed. During this time, they will not be able to testify or give evidence in any council matters.”
I wasn’t totally sure what this meant, but I heard the important part. I was innocent of the charges. I would be going home to the dinner Joanna was preparing for me.
“There is a further matter that has been brought to the attention of this Council,” Elder Trey intoned. “The matter of Silvo Dargas, Vanessa Dargas, Katie Dargas and Leo Calvichi. Silvo Dargas has had evidence brought agai
IZZY POV The move was well timed and was almost successful. Silvo leaped from the center of the stadium floor, shifting midair. Heka understood the danger before I did, forcing a partial shift and throwing us to the side. Athena sailed over my head and straight into Silvo’s wolf, the snarls ringing above the screams of the pack members observing from above. It was over in a moment. Athena stood over the body of Silvo’s wolf, her head lowered. Silvo’s wolf had an obviously broken neck and blood coming from a deep belly wound. Athena’s shoulder was torn, and she was not putting weight on one foot. She was shaking. I stood up, my mates trying to hold me back, to protect me. I ignored them, pushing forward to get to Athena. The screaming from the crowd gradually died down but Katie and Vanessa kept screaming. They were fighting the warriors who had the sense to restrain them as I went to my mot
ETHAN POV I got Izzy home and took her up to our bedroom. She was moving like a sleepy little girl, and I realized that she was just drained, emotionally and physically. I gently helped her out of her clothes and tucked her into bed before heading down to our office. “We would really appreciate that,” I heard Reese say as I approached the door to the office. Alpha Steven was sitting on the couch with Luna Jacqueline sitting next to him. “Appreciate what?” I asked. “How is the Luna?” asked Jacqueline in her lilty accent, ignoring my question. “Resting,” I said. “She is exhausted.” “She’s been through a lot today,” Caleb said. “She’s been through a lot this past year,” Steven corrected. I looked down, ashamed. “Yes, she has. And we haven’t helped much.” Steven gave me a sympathetic smile. “No, you haven’t. But I’m done berating you boys. I’m here to help. Jackie and I have two weeks to give you. We’ll help you get things sorted out and taken care of. Jackie will hel
IZZY POVThe next two weeks were enlightening. I think the boys found it harder than I did. I, for one, found out that I was doing too much work.“They can settle this themselves,” Jacqueline said, glancing at a complaint form that was requesting Luna involvement.“But they said that they need help figuring this out,” I protested, picking it up. It looked like a simple property dispute where one wolf was claiming that the other wolf built an outbuilding on the land gifted him by the pack.“So, how would you determine this?” asked Jacqueline.I pursed my lips. “Surely there is record somewhere. I’d find the records, send out a surveyor and have them determine where the property line was. And if it was found that the building was on the neighbor’s land, they could disassemble it and reassemble it or just gift it to the neighbor if he wanted it.”
IZZY POV“What is it?” I forced a smile onto my face.Reese looked at everyone else. “Can I tell her?”Alpha Steven’s eyes twinkled. “Could we stop you?” he asked with a chuckle.“We’re going to build a new building right over there,” Reese said, pointing out the window to a field behind me and to my left. “It’s going to be the Killian Cultural and Teen Center.”“What?” I asked, shocked that they wanted to put my last name on a building. “Why?”“Because, my dear,” Alpha Steven said, leaning forward and clasping my hands. “I don’t think people in this pack realize how absolutely amazing you are. You literally had no knowledge of being a wolf and you came in and threw yourself into it, learning the culture and the history. You probably know it better than a lot
IZZY POV“I admit, I didn’t think of that,” I said, slowly, “But that’s no reason not to take your chance and finally have a mate that you deserve.”Elder Johan didn’t say a word, just watched my mom closely.“But we’ve never been apart,” mom protested.“I know,” I said. “And I’m sad. But, honestly, you deserve this chance. It’s not like you’ll be leaving the country, right? Just going to Salt Lake City where the council is located. That’s a short flight away.”I wrapped my arms around my mom. “You’ve been taking care of me my entire life. Let me take care of myself for a change. And you take this chance.”Elder Johan finally spoke. “Alessia, it’s not like you’ll never come back here. I can work remotely a lot of the time and just go to Salt
IZZY POV“Luna? I’m so sorry.” A little voice cut through my anguish. I opened my eyes to see Piper standing there, fists clenched and tears flowing down her face.“If my friends and I weren’t playing here, Stella would still be alive,” she said, her voice breaking at the end. I opened my arms to Piper, and she ran into them, clinging to me.“No, sweet girl. You didn’t make Stella come down here. She loved me so much. She was always there for me but especially when I was in danger. She would have been down here in the fight whether or not you were here. She was down here because I was here.”“She died a hero,” Reese said from behind me. “And she shall have a hero’s funeral rite. Just as all of our Pack Members who fought and fell here today will.” I noticed Reese seemed to be talking to more than just
CALEB POVWe held the Funeral Rite for the fallen the next night, as was customary. Izzy was part of the procession that carried Stella to the lake. There was no lack of volunteers to help her. As devastating as this last battle was, the townspeople saw her true love for the Pack and any remaining resentment on their part disappeared. The parents of the children that Stella helped Izzy save were especially grateful.I held my mate as silent tears coursed down her face. She bravely lit the pyre, and we pushed Stella’s boat into the water along with the other three warriors. Someone began singing the funeral song for warriors and all the voices joined in, sending our Warriors on to peace.One by one the villagers turned to go back home. Izzy stood there, watching the boat sink lower and lower into the water as the flames engulfed the body of her friend. Finally, it dipped below the surface and the light was blo
IZZY POVI left Reese to go over the logistics with the warriors and I disappeared into the bathroom to change into the dress I was going to wear to the club. I pulled it out of my bag with a grin. When I first saw it in my closet, I had no idea where I would ever wear it. Now I had a place.It was mostly strings and lightweight metal chains with strategically placed patches of metallic fabric. All my bits were covered, but barely. It was most definitely out of character for me; flannel shirts and blue jeans were more my style. It was fun to dress up, though.I looked at my tangled mass of red curls and decided a sleek updo was what this dress needed to get the attention it deserved. Half a bottle of gel later, I had tamed the mess. I added some bold makeup and checked myself in the mirror. I had to smile again. The insecure waif that walked into the bathroom was being replac