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
Des Moines, IowaTeegan's P.O.V. After what we encountered yesterday, we need something good to happen. I'm hopeful that when we go to this next pack, the man we want to see is one of the pups taken from Silver Moon. Jelena said he was in bad shape when they found him ten years ago, and he stayed at her brother's group home for a while. Once they got him on the mend, they arranged for him to go to a pack where the luna and alpha fostered pups. Jelena said, according to the luna, he was doing well. He's now twenty-three and hasn't found his mate. When we pull up to the pack, there are pups running around laughing and people smiling. Such a big difference from yesterday's experience. We get out of our vehicles, and a woman with shoulder-length black hair with a few grey strands walks over to us, smiling. "Hello. I'm Luna Marla. Are you the people looking for Scott?" She asks, looking at our growing group. "Yes. I'm Teegan, and this is my mat
Teegan's P.O.V. We all load into the minibus, and it's almost full. It seats twenty, and that includes the driver and passenger seats. Logan and Emily joined us at the rental office for the bus. So there are only three seats left, but having everyone together feels good. One of the guards is driving, and another is sitting in the passenger seat, so the rest of us are in the back. "I'm so glad we were able to join you. I'm going to be as big as a house soon." Emily says, smiling at me. I look at her in shock. "You're pregnant?" I ask. She nods excitedly and puts her hand over her belly. "Congratulations. Do you know if you're having a girl or a boy?" I can feel both Emily and Logan's excitement. It's nothing like Kimberly. All I could feel from her was deceit. How am I picking up all these things about people? I never thought about it much, but since Joel and I marked each other, it's getting stronger. "We just found out from my wolf that we're having a girl. I was so excited
Teegan's P.O.V. We all keep looking at the vehicle following us, and then I get an idea. I don't want any distractions while we're trying to help others, and these people are an annoyance. "Let's pull over and get gas," I tell the others. Joel looks at me, confused. "Why? We have more than half a tank." He says. "I'm tired of them following us, waiting for them to do something," I explain. "What do you have in mind?" Joel questions me. I smile and lean back in my seat. "Let's go to the gas station and get gas. Once we see where they park, we get off the bus, and only one person continues driving. The rest of us will hide and shift into our wolves. I'm sure they want to cause an accident, so whoever remains on the bus needs to be able to jump out before it's too late. I know it's risky, but while they're celebrating, we come up behind them. What do you think?" I look around at the others, and they're all smiling. "No one needs to drive the bus. I can make it go so they think
Near St. Louis, MissouriTeegan's P.O.V. It takes us almost six hours to get back to Missouri and the Blood Fangs pack. Every time Blake begins to wake up, Scott knocks him out again. I was impressed with Scott's strength but also concerned about what he'd been through as a pup. He had said he was tortured, and the thought of someone torturing any pup breaks my heart. This trip has made me realize that my life with my adoptive parents paled in comparison to the trauma that some of these wolves have been through. When we pull up to the Blood Fangs pack, mangy wolves are running next to the bus. I look at Petra and can tell she's already prepared to do her part. I'm never going to tire of seeing what she can do. I know she could have done something to Blake to ensure he didn't wake up during the entire drive, but we wanted to let Scott handle that. We could all tell he needed it. When we come to a stop near what I assume is the packhouse, even though it looks like a large shack. Th
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