IZZY POV
Mom and I had always lived in resort towns. She had lots of clients, many of them men who wanted to be more than clients. I was no stranger to fancy restaurants and shopping malls. I was frequently taken there by the men who wanted to impress my mom by including me in their attentions. I usually just picked at the dishes I couldn’t pronounce and sold the items they bought me at the local pawn shop. The gifts were always impractical and just reminded me of my mom’s self-imposed celibacy and the desperation of these men to get close to her.
This was different. Gia and Tonya hurried to change out of the tactical pants they were wearing and into cute skinny jeans, boots and sweaters. At my mom’s urging I threw on some jeans and a flannel shirt. We left the boys lounging in the sitting room with both televisions tuned into the games. A huge room service order was already in the works, and they
IZZY POV“Troi?” I was confused. “What’s a troi?”The waiter gestured to me and, with a questioning look at my mom, I followed him into the back of the restaurant, the three women trailing behind me.“We can’t do this in the restaurant,” the waiter apologized. “Health department rules.”I nodded, acting like I knew what the hell was going on, but I really had no idea. Mom snickered at the look on my face. I’m glad she was amused. I was just confused.The waiter led us down a hall and then held his hand up to me, disappearing into an office and coming back out with a large box. It was about the size of a laundry basket.“Is the troi in there?” I asked, trying to be polite. He gave me an odd look while mom and Gia burst into laughter.“Be nice to her,” Tonya said, sympathetically. “S
IZZY POVI held Troi almost the whole night.Mom had arranged for a litter box to be brought up to the room. I cuddled Troi while I fed her some soft kitten food and some milk. She preferred to suckle it from my fingers than to lap it up in the bowl, so I wondered if she was even younger than I had been told. She was going be huge.Reese was a little less than impressed. He put out a tentative finger to touch Troi’s head but backed off when she tried to nibble it with her little baby teeth. They were really sharp. He inspected his finger, a drop of blood shining on the surface, until his wolf healed him.“She’s just playing,” I offered up as explanation.“My brothers are never going to let me take you anywhere again,” Reese prophesied.He was even less happy when I insisted that she share our bed. I was worried she would get cold or scared, being in a new place.&nb
IZZY POVI was idly tossing a ball for Troi while Lucy and I lounged on a blanket on the lawn. The day was one of those amazing fall days where the wind wasn’t blowing too hard, and the afternoon warmed up to a beautifully comfortable temperature. Lucy and I decided to quit working early and take a little break.“I can’t believe you have a cat that plays fetch,” Lucy said with a grin.“She’s really smart,” I said, petting Troi and making kissing noises at her. In the ten days she’s been with me she’s almost doubled in size. The triplets were getting used to her. Stella used to mind her own business, but Troi loved being around people and she really loved playing. They were warming to her.“You need kids,” Lucy said with a grin. “You sound like those doting pet moms that fill their social media with photos of their “kids” doing thin
IZZY POVThe Alpha House was too far away. If they breached the front gate it would be a matter of minutes until they were at the Alpha House, if that’s where they were intending on going. We had a safe room in the House, but I wouldn’t get Lucy there in time. She was barely moving, gripped with the contractions that were now coming hard and fast.I looked around frantically. The tree line was fifteen feet away, much closer than the Alpha House that was a hundred yards away. I made a decision, scooping up the blanket and tugging Lucy towards the trees, Troi nipping my heels thinking this was a game.“Luna! I’m coming!” I turned to see Joanna racing towards me. I felt a surge of relief; I didn’t realize how scared I was until the moment I saw her. She reached me and took hold of Lucy’s other arm. Between the two of us we made it to the tree line just as the howling mob
IZZY POVThe fighting wasn’t over. More rogues were joining in. Several more of our warriors joined the fight, all of them stopping in their tracks when they saw Troi.I’m going to help Brian defend Lucy! Ethan mind linked. Izzy, stay and hold them back with Reese. Caleb, join me.Ethan was in his element. During a fight, he was a natural General.Ethan turned on his heel, Caleb followed. Heka squared our shoulders and we jumped, landing behind a rogue that had one of our warriors down and on his back. I grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling his snapping jaw away from the warrior. He turned to bite at me, freezing for a second and then falling limp. I looked back. Troi had grabbed the bottom half of the wolf in her massive jaws and snapped him in half.That was one way to do it. I turned to the next group of rogues, Troi on my heels. They tu
ETHAN POV“Give them all another injection of wolfsbane,” I instructed the warden of our jail. “And then feed them. I don’t want them starving.”I hung up the phone and looked at my brothers. “What?” I asked. They were both looking at me.“I’m surprised you’re not ordering them whipped and shackled,” Caleb observed, mildly. I shrugged.“Maybe I’m getting soft. Maybe seeing Brian and Lucy’s pup has tempered me.”“I doubt it,” Izzy said, opening the door to our office and slipping inside. We all turned to her with smiles.“I’m hurt,” I said, unable to erase the grin from my face.“No, you’re not,” Izzy corrected, coming over to me and sitting on my lap. She put her arms around my neck and kissed me gently on the lips. “You’r
IZZY POV“Me?” I asked in disbelief. “They wanted me?”Reese nodded grimly. “We need to get Johan back here. I want Council in on this.” He looked at his brothers. “It involves Nahum.”Caleb stopped. “Seriously?” he asked quietly. Reese nodded again and Caleb immediately took out his phone.“Who is Nahum?” I asked Ethan.He sounded angry. “A prophet,” he said. “Not good, but not evil. At least he shouldn’t be biased.” That didn’t really answer my question. I wanted to know why the guys got that look on their faces when they heard that Nahum was involved.“He’s on his way,” Caleb said, disconnecting the phone. “You’ll get to see your mom sooner than you thought, Izzy,” he added, keeping his voice light. I ignored him.&
IZZY POVI walked into the room, the guard holding the door open for me and Troi. He slipped out and shut it firmly behind him. I knew my mates were standing right outside the door, ready to burst in if needed.“Hello, Stevenson,” I said. He looked at me with surprise. “What’s that look for? Are you surprised I know your name?”He refused to answer, just glared at me.“Do you want to know how I know your name?” I asked, making my voice conspiratorial. He didn’t look at me. I lowered my voice to a whisper. “The Kunisada told me.” I lowered my hand towards the floor and crooked my fingers a few times. Troi immediately came to me, twining herself around my legs and making happy noises. Stevenson looked at Troi in fear.“What the Kunisada doesn’t know, and what I want to know, is what the prophecy says. Will you tell