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
REESE POV“Okay, let’s hear it.” Johan was seated comfortably on the couch, Aunt Alessia next to him. She was glowing and I could see that Izzy was pleased to see her mom so happy and relaxed.Brian was also there. To our surprise, Lucy insisted on joining us, wrapped in a blanket and reclining on the second couch in Brian’s arms. Caleb was at the desk, as per usual, and Ethan was sprawled out on a piece of furniture, also per usual. Izzy was perched on the arm of the couch that Lucy was reclining on.Her clear voice read the prophecy again. “The planet of the moon foretells war. The fire haired leader of the empire three labors with three generals. In the castle of the cold north a dragon will rise, and the moons will fall. The three lions of the defender will conquer the lord of deceit. The harbingers of justice will capture the white baron. The herald of the moon will be revived, an
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