Springfield, IllinoisTeegan's P.O.V. I watch Petra's face as we drive toward the first pack, which is thankfully not far. Kiana and I had seen how unsure she was around everyone. It makes me think she's been trying to hide her whole life, afraid of the unknown. That's why we did the little pillow fight to ease her nervousness. When Jelena had taken us out of the room so Anton could comfort her in peace. She told us that Petra hadn't left the house much, and sometimes, new things could be overwhelming for her. That was another reason I wanted to help her pack her things. I wanted to let her know that we're all her friends and she's not alone. I'm happy that she agreed to come with us. I think it will do her good, and Anton would have gone mad if she had stayed behind. "Have you ever been to any of the packs around here?" I ask Petra. I already can guess the answer, but I want to give her a chance to open up. I know how much Anton wants to look into what happened to her pack. She
Teegan's P.O.V. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. When Petra ran over to hug Lindsey, she began glowing. The glow got brighter and brighter the more she hugged her. From how she looked at herself in the mirror, I believe this is the first time something like this has happened. I wonder if it has to do with what Joel said about her pack having magic. Why would it suddenly show itself now? "This has never happened before," Petra says softly. Lindsey pulls away from her slightly, and the glow dims. "When she hugged me, it felt like she was wrapping me in a warm blanket and taking away my pain," Lindsey says, still not fully letting go of Petra. Joel steps forward. "Petra, you said your pack was the Mystic Moonlighters. I didn't say anything because I didn't know how much you knew about your pack, but they were known to have magical powers." He tells her. She looks between all of us and then looks far away. "M
Anton's P.O.V. I pull into the parking lot of the hotel we're going to stay at for the night and can't help my nerves. I want Petra to stay with me tonight. Not for sex, although I wouldn't be opposed to it. I want her to stay with me so we can talk. We leave the SUV, and I let the others go inside, but Petra stays with me. "Do you mind staying with me so we can talk?" I ask her. Petra glances at me and smiles. Does she have any idea how beautiful she is? "I don't mind. We haven't had a lot of time alone." She says as we walk into the hotel. The others are waiting for us, and I see Teegan smirk. I'm glad to have her back, but does she have to be able to read me so well? I may feel like I'm walking on air, but my feet are firmly on the ground, so she can't say shit. "We got you two a room to share. Is that all right?" My sister asks. "Yes, thank you," I reply. She hands me the keycard, and we all get into the elevator. Petra and I prepare to follow the others off when we stop,
Columbia, MissouriTeegan's P.O.V. Joel and I go into our room, and I can't help smiling. Kiana and I decided to give Anton a little push. We could tell when Petra told Lindsey she would be luna she was ready for more, but he was still nervous. I wonder what kind of magic Petra has, and will it get stronger after she and Anton mark each other? "What are you thinking about?" Joel asks, setting our things down and pulling me into his arms. "Petra and Anton," I answer. He narrows his eyes. "You're thinking about your brother and his mate?" I chuckle at the look on his face. "Yeah. I wonder what else Petra will show us once they're fully mated." I reply. Joel slides his hands over my bottom, pulling my attention back to him. "The last thing I want to think about right now is Anton and Petra. We don't have a lot of alone time, so I want to take advantage of every second we get." Joel brings his mouth to mine, and all thoughts of my brother and his mate are gone. All I can focus
Near St. Louis, MissouriBlake's P.O.V. It's been a couple of days, and still no word from Brock. What's going on? I sent one of my men to the Silver Moon pack to try and find him, but I haven't heard from him yet. When he finds Brock, he better have a good excuse for ignoring my calls. I need pups. My buyers are getting angry, and I'm out of merchandise. My other suppliers, those who I've intimidated into giving me pups over the years, are ignoring me as well. They're too scared now that someone is sniffing around. Who are these people? When my phone rings, I answer it angrily. "What?" "Alpha, I'm at Silver Moon. I'm hiding in the forest, but I overheard a few guards talking about Brock. He was killed because they found out it was him taking their pups." My man says into the phone. Brock should be happy he's dead because I'd kill him myself for being so incompetent if he wasn't. "Did you find out anything else?" I ask him. "Yes. The king and queen are here. Apparently, two o
Martina's P.O.V. As we're waiting for the alpha to come and speak with Petra, I excuse myself to use the restroom. I'm still in shock that I'm here with them. Knowing where I came from and who my parents were is incredible. What warms my heart the most is knowing that I wasn't unwanted as I had always felt. I could never understand why my birth parents threw me away. Now I know they didn't. I leave the restroom and head back to the private area when I catch a scent that makes my wolf howl with excitement. I try to follow it, and I'm surprised it's leading me to the room where the others are waiting. Is the scent coming from a waiter? When I open the door, I stop and look around. A man suddenly jumps up from the table and begins walking toward me. Should my knees be getting weak just looking at his blond hair and dark brown eyes? I think I'm swooning. When he stops in front of me, his scent is so strong I feel like I'm bathing in it. Why did I have to think of
Teegan's P.O.V. I look around the pack as we leave the SUV and feel uneasy. Just as I had figured, this wasn't going to be good. Some of the people standing around look terrified, and I can feel their fear as though it's part of me. I can only imagine what they've been through to have this reaction to strangers. I'm thankful our group is growing because we need all the help we can get. When we approach the pack house, a man and woman step out onto the porch. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The man asks angrily. He appears to be in charge, but something tells me to keep my eyes on the woman beside him. Her whole demeanor reminds me of a snake. Joel pulls me close as the six royal guards spread out around our little group. "I'm Prince Joel, and we're here looking for pups taken from the Silver Moon Pack in Michigan. We have proof that this pack bought several pups over the years." I see the woman smirk. "So what if we did? What b
The PalaceLogan's P.O.V. Something is going on, but I don't know what exactly. Wendy thinks she's smart trying to get into the palace while Joel is away, but the guards have strict orders to keep her out. I don't know why she's so dead set on him marking her. No one has informed her that he and Teegan have already marked each other. I also have my suspicions that someone in the palace is here under false pretenses. I haven't been able to find them yet, but there have been several occasions that I know the things on my desk were moved around. Emily and I have been trying to do our part from the palace to help Joel and Teegan when they need resources or anything quickly. I admire them for trying to help those who have been torn from their families. In fact, I'm a little envious. I was raised to be the next king, but a part of me would like a little freedom. "What are you thinking about?" Emily asks as she walks into the office. She's expecting our
One Year LaterTeegan's P.O.V. It has been over a year since Thalia tried to take over the palace. After that chaos, everything seemed to settle down. My Mom and Dad moved to the palace to be closer to everyone. Anton said he didn't want to be alpha, so Dad agreed to let a new alpha take over. After we all came out of our heat, we still traveled to some other packs and were able to reunite a few more stolen pups with their families. We returned to the palace when it was getting close to the time for us to give birth. Now, with most of the pups getting ready to turn one, we're going to have a combined birthday party for them and continue on our mission. Logan and Emily's daughter, Josette, was born first. Our little one, Gracie, was next, followed by Petra and Anton's son, Kaiden. Kiana and Damon had a little girl, Ciera. Landon is Ryker and Martina's son, and Shelby is Scott and Brooke's daughter. Finally, Docia and Jason had a son, Tyson. The palace seemed to turn into a nurser
Docia's P.O.V. Petra mindlinked me that she was in heat, so she wouldn't be out of the bedroom for a few days. Martina and Brooke also went into heat. They're all so lucky. I want my mate, my real mate. Not someone who bought me and forced me to mate with them. I was shocked when I saw Petra come to the palace. I had thought she was dead. I had wanted to run to her, but I was scared of Chris and his witch. She was so little when we were taken. I may be older than Petra, but the way she acts, it seems she's older than me. She's so mature and strong; I admire her. After we were separated, I was with a pack who knew nothing about my magic. I kept it hidden and suffered their abuse. Some of the women were more brutal than the men. I never understood what would cause anyone to treat someone so horribly. All I dreamed about was getting away from there and finding my sister. When Chris bought me, I hoped it would be better. In some ways, it was
Petra's P.O.V. Thalia just made a huge mistake. She can't know that Teegan has power, too; otherwise, she wouldn't have brought her here. I have to relieve Teegan's pain so she can help. Now that I'm mated to Anton, I should be able to mindlink her and Joel. I hope her acting skills are good."Teegan, I know you're in an incredible amount of pain, and I'm going to ease that for you, but I need you to continue screaming like you're doing now. Can you do that?" Her screaming falters for a second as she listens to me. Joel is listening as well. "I'll do whatever you want if you make this pain stop." She mindlinks back. I use magic to ease her pain and make a cooling sensation come over her. It will also help her scent so unmated wolves won't be frantic to get to her. It won't hold forever, but it should be long enough for what we need to do. She continues rolling around in the cage and screaming."I feel better. What are we going to do? I don't know what's going on other than a witc
Petra's P.O.V. The witch smirks at my sister and me. She doesn't seem like she's scared of us and our magic at all. "You need to leave. Chris will not be king, and you're not welcome here." I tell her. She looks at Chris and shakes her head. "Do you think I really care about this fool? He was a pawn to get to my real prize. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Thalia, one of the witches from the Mystic Flame Coven. I'm over three hundred years old. I've waited a long time for you, sisters of the Mystic Moonlighters. When I discovered Docia was for sale, I had Chris buy her. I didn't know where Petra was hiding, but I knew you would eventually find each other. I heard you were hanging out with the royals, so I convinced Chris it was time for him to take his rightful place on the throne." Thalia stands up and walks over to where Chris is sitting. He turns to us and grins evilly. "Get these chains off me so I can take my place as king." Thalia sits on his lap and kisses him. While they
Petra's P.O.V. I have a sister? When I study Docia, she looks like me but older. I was three when I was taken from our pack, and I remember other pups being with me, but I can't remember her. "You're my sister?" I ask her. She smiles and nods but then glances at Chris nervously. "Yes, and you need to surrender to us before it's too late." I hear what she's saying, but her eyes tell me something different. She looks desperate. "I don't think my sister wants to be with him." I mindlink the others. "Try to mindlink her." Anton mindlinks me back."Docia, can you hear me?" Her eyes widen, and she glances toward Chris."Yes. I can hear you. Petra, I'm so scared. Chris forced me to mate with him because of my magic. He bought me from another pack a few years ago." She looks like she's going to cry. I mindlink the others again."She says Chris forced her to mate with him after he bought her from another pack," I tell them."Ask her if he has anyone else helping him that has ab
Petra's P.O.V. If the people who took over the palace were going for shock value, they succeeded. However, I'm the only one not vomiting because I'm staring at the heads hanging on the ceiling. Something isn't right. Anton grabs my arm as I start to walk into the dungeon. "What are you doing?" He asks with concern. "I need to look at something." I don't want to tell him my theory until I'm sure. I know he doesn't want to go with me, but after what happened in Texas, he hasn't let me go anywhere alone, so he follows me inside. Just as I thought. The heads aren't real. "Logan, Kiana, this isn't your family." They both jump up and look at me in disbelief. "What do you mean?" Logan asks, trying to avoid looking at the heads above me. "They're not real. Someone made really good replicas, but they're fake." Everyone comes in and sees the same thing I saw. At first glance, they look real, but when you really examine them, they are clearly manmade. "Are they dead?" Logan asks, pointi
Near Dallas, TexasLogan's P.O.V. We're at the Dark Tails pack, where Seth had told us their unmated females were taken. We found them and others from nearby packs. They were told they were going to be sold as breeders. We soon realized that many in the pack didn't agree with what their alpha and beta were doing, so we let them carry out the punishment and decide on a new alpha. They also said they would help the women get back to their homes. Just as we're preparing to leave, I get a text. It's from Eric, and all it says is Come back to the palace now. When I try to call him, his phone goes straight to voicemail. I try my parents, and they don't answer either. There is no answer when I call my sisters and brother. What's going on? I try everyone I can think of in the palace, but no one answers. "I don't know what's going on, but we need to go to the palace now. No one is answering, and I received a text from the head of security that I needed to return. Le
Warning: Parts of this chapter may be difficult for some readers.Wendy's P.O.V. When I see the look on Richard's face, I stand up and try to run out of the room. He grabs me by my hair and throws me to the floor. I look at my mom, but she's too busy screaming about me having sex with her mate to notice we're in danger. "What the fuck do you think you're doing having sex with your stepfather?" She asks as I stand up. I put on my robe and back away from Richard. "Mom, he knows you're sleeping with other men, so don't try to act like you care." I try to get her attention, but she just continues to yell. I don't have time for this. I can tell Richard means exactly what he said. "What do you want from us? My father is already dead, so you got your revenge on him." I argue. Mom finally shuts up long enough to listen. "Your dad drugged my mate to make her sleep with him. She was so ridden with guilt that she killed herself. He took everything from me. My mate and our pup. She was
Teegan's P.O.V. I feel numb. I'm still trying to wrap my head around being taken by a demon, terrorized by a giant spider, and saved by a prince from the underworld. It feels like I'm watching myself in a horror movie, but it's not a movie; it's real life. Petra was incredible. I was so busy watching the spider that I didn't realize she had her magic back. My thoughts were on Joel and never seeing him again. They were also on the spider that I was sure was going to eat me or scare me to death. Not Petra, though. She was busy getting us free and summoning Paimon. When our hands touched, I felt powerful. It was an amazing feeling and gave me a glimpse of what Petra must feel all the time. Paimon was a creepy guy. I could never really see his face. No matter which way he turned, he was always in the shadows. I was glad for his help, but a part of me worried he would try to take us with him. We're getting ready to leave the pack now. A lab t