Liberty’s POVAadhya, the first witch, has been waiting for me! I don’t understand what she has in mind, but the display going on in front of me is distracting. I wince and gasp as each crack of the whip opens the woman’s skin and deep claret blood paints her back.“It didn’t go on for long. I wasn’t concerned for myself, I had already decided I would not live beyond this moment. My thoughts were with my girls, I didn’t want them to be subjected to the lives these men would have them live. We are not here to serve them as they would have it, given the opportunity. That is why I cursed them to live as the dogs they are. I made certain my last act on earth would ensure they could have no power without the love of a woman.” Aadhya watches the men pass the whip and four young women screaming for their mother. The men restraining the girls, hold them around their waist with one arm, their fists grip the women’s hair and forcefully hold their heads to face the brutal exhibition.“That’s you
Imelda’s POVI was at the pool bar with Esme when she got the call to come to Liberty’s office. It has been a hell of a week and it has all led to this day.Accelerating our plan is not ideal but necessary. Esme and I have spent the last couple of days charging the old, burned out shell of the cabin, with cloaking and protective energy. It takes a lot of power to hide people, but even more to cloak the energy released by certain acts like the beginning or end of a life.These things have an energy of their own, and a violent death leaves behind a significant scar. Pine Lake is a peaceful place and we don’t want Kendrick’s execution to taint the land or the pack.The meeting is an eye-opener, Liberty has learned much more than I thought and I have a feeling Marcel has a large part to play in that. The two of them are as thick as thieves again and their relationship seems to be in a comfortable place for now.The energy I have been feeling is growing, and as I sit in the chair opposite
Hunter’s POV Liberty knew there were cells beneath the Shadow Ridge pack house, but she had never seen them. On our way there she told Marcel and I that she had only been outside of Kendrick’s room twice. Once when she was taken there after the slaughter of our pack, and then when she first shifted and Justice made a run for it. She had been back in a way, when she projected and saw Melissa, but still she was only in one room, so we had no way of knowing how to find the women he keeps. It didn’t take long for Didier to find us and lead us to them. Marcel had obviously made him aware of our intentions, and not wanting to disappoint Liberty he made sure we would succeed in our rescue mission. My mind was elsewhere most of the time. I have killed before, that is not what was bothering me, or not entirely, but seeing the state of the pack and the land had made it all seem so much more real. I have my work cut out for me, there is no doubt about that. The pack members I had seen on our
Imelda’s POVEveryone felt the shift in power when Hunter ended Kendrick’s life. Even in the protection of my circle, I felt his venomous life force sinking into the earth ready to begin a new cycle. The plants and trees of the surrounding forest will take that dark energy and cleanse it, transforming it into something good and productive before releasing it back to the world .Marcel is still on tender hooks, his unusual fidgetiness has not gone unnoticed by anyone, but as usual, getting to the bottom of it will have to wait.Hunter must return Kendrick’s body to Shadow Ridge and proclaim himself Alpha, then defeat anyone who challenges him for the title. We don’t foresee any challengers and Vitandi and the Elite Warriors have remained there to ensure the safety of the innocent majority.If I know Vitandi, and I think I do, he will have sniffed out any dissenters and have them holed up in the grotty dungeon. Contrary to common opinion, I am not thrilled about the dragon in our midst
Uriel’s POV The last few days have been a whirlwind of action and commotion. The state of Shadow Ridge was so much worse than it appeared on the surface. We knew Kendrick had run the pack into the ground, but some of the things we discovered caught us completely off guard.It was the second day after the big take over that we discovered it. When I say we, I mean Lottie and Liberty. They had been spending time with the women we rescued and helping them settle in, when one of them mentioned something about a facility. Liberty put two and two together almost immediately, after hearing Averson talk about his experience in a rebellion research facility, and knowing of Kendrick’s ties to the Katasan, she knew that it was a very real probability that Shadow Ridge had served as some sort of satellite facility. Liberty has been distracted with everything going on, but she has been pussy footing around me for days. Everything we cross paths, she goes to say something but is immediately calle
Liberty’s POVIt’s been an emotionally taxing few days, but out of everything that has happened here and at Pine Ridge, the thing that had got to me the most was Isobel.I knew that having another Vampyre and humans on pack land was going to cause a bit of a stir. It’s in our nature to be protective of our territory, and the sheer amount of newcomers has us all on high alert. But that woman is something else entirely.The way she followed Marcel around like a lost little puppy, always after his attention, her skimpy outfits leave absolutely nothing to the imagination, I couln’t help cringing at her blatant desperation.Marcel has ignored her for the most part. Until last night anyway. When she strolled into the main hall to join the pack for dinner, she walked right up to him, bold as anything, and sat right in his lap at the table. The looks that passed between us all were badly hidden and the vein in Claudel's temple must have tripled in size.I wish I could describe the look of sho
Esme’s POVWhen they say the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, they weren’t kidding.I knew there would be a rough road ahead before we could settle into some semblance of a normal life, but I was not prepared for the dirt we dug up under the abandoned school house. My visions have been blinkered recently. Before they were broad and I could see how everyone’s paths were intertwined. Now I only see myself, Hunter and Pine Ridge.Before Hunter made his decision, I had visions of many possible futures, this was not one of them. Hunter is constantly stressed and easily agitated. I’m not saying I blame him, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The day he took his place as Alpha, he ended six lives, Kendrick and the five men who challenged him.In the almost couple of weeks since then, there have been half a dozen more challenges and half a dozen more deaths. The people aren’t adjusting to our ways as easily as I had foolishly hoped. Change is hard, I know that, we b
Christian’s POV Yesterday evening I made the grave mistake of mentioning out loud how well everything is going here and at Pine Ridge. Hunter and Esme have found a way to engage their entire pack. They now have a ruling council, overseen by the two of them. It couldn’t have worked out better really, the council members were elected by the people, and they seem to be placated, for now at least. Democracy among wolf packs is rare, but then so is a pack with two very distinct and opposing communities, if that is what works for them, I fully support and respect Hunter’s decision.The women and children we took in have settled in nicely. Most of the women have found mates among our warriors and after Liberty’s little speech, they are embracing the safety and security of the mate bond and our pack. There has been far more going on behind the scenes, counselling, medical treatments, conditioning and training. Liberty and Lottie have worked tirelessly to integrate the refugees into our pack