Benji’s POVI lifted my arms above my head and stretched out the muscles in my back after being hunched over a microscope and medical reports the last few hours. I squint my eyes to the bright overhead florescent lights of the Lab. Removing my glasses, I decide to close my eyes for a moment to give them a short rest. Visiting patients, taking blood samples, reaching charts – I am exhausted, but nowhere near solving what this disease is.I put my glasses back on and decide to get back to work. My phone pinged with a message. I pulled my phone from my lab coat pocket then smiled. Bennet said he was just about to meet the Alpha. I tried to feel happy for my cousin. Maybe the Alpha was his mate. It isn’t unusual for a human to be mated to a werewolf, but the idea of going back to the states without my cousin felt wrong. I quickly pushed the thoughts away. It was just dinner according to Bennet, so I won’t over think things.“I am telling you! It’s some sort of Zombie disease!” Gray argues
Conrad's POV Bennet and I walked out of the restaurant in comfortable silence into the chilly night air, then turned in the direction of the hospital. It was about a twenty-minute walk from where we were, so walking wasn’t too bad. It was a bit cold and I noticed that Bennet was shivering slightly even though he was wearing a sweater over his hospital scrubs. The nights in the North were always cold due to the mountain breezes, even during the summer, so I did the chivalry thing and draped my jacket over his shoulders. As a werewolf, our bodies naturally run at a hotter temperature then humans.“Thank you.” He says and pulls it close to his chin. It is the first time he has actually spoken to me without an attitude. I nod with a smile and continue walking.“Alpha…” A woman greets me with a nod then a few more greet me the same way.I return the greeting to several of our pack members who are also out on an evening stroll, but Bennet just quietly walks next to me. He seems to be lost i
Bennet’s POV“Dr. Mason, Please explain why you and she have the same scent?” Mr. Alpha’s words rang out like a gunshot echoing through the night. No one moved, no one seemed to breathe.Well, this isn’t going as well as my imagination had conjured up a few minutes ago. I thought to myself. Maybe some sort of romance novel action would occur between them. She would run into his arms and he would whisper words of love, kiss her senselessly and they would live happily ever after with a large number of babies. Actually… not too much of that wet sloppy romance because we still need to keep our lab free from contamination.Instead, Bee looks like a deer in headlights and the Alpha looks like he was caught between his lover and his wife. It was pretty comical. Under normal circumstances, I would have laughed, but the tension in the air is thick, so my usual sarcastic banter isn’t appropriate at the moment.I cross my arms over my chest waiting… The standstill was working on my last nerve. Se
Benji’s POVParalyzing fear… That is the only emotion I am feeling or that I can comprehend at the moment. A mate. I was given a second chance mate. How is that even possible? Why would the moon goddess grant me a second chance mate? I was already given the best mate a woman could ask for. Gregory was my everything and now I am mated to this Alpha? No, I can’t do this again. I can’t deal with the pull of the mate bond again. I need to leave. I need to escape this feeling.I feel a soft brush of fingers against my arm, shattering the frozen barrier around my mind. Bennet is looking at me with a concerned look. He is waiting for me to do something, anything. His expression softens when I give him a pleading look. A look filled with more emotions than I can even express. He knows I need to separate myself. The anxiety is building and I don’t think I can handle breaking down in front of everyone.I swiftly escape through the double doors of the lab. The doors swing open with a bang, echoi
Third Person POV“Dammit! I was so close!” I work my way through the dense woods as I made my swift exit from the hospital, the sound of leaves and small twigs crackling underneath my boots is the only sound that accompanies me. I know I am not being followed which is my only consolation prize of the night. The deeper into the darkness I walk, the more I berate myself for that sliver of an opportunity I lost. It had slipped through my fingers like grains of sand. I clench and unclench my fists over and over, the desire to kill just below the surface of my rage.I had gone to the hospital just out of pure gut feeling. I pretended I was mopping the floors as I listened with my wolf hearing to the conversation inside the lab. I learned that damn doctor discovered the blood samples were different from the originals. Guess she was smarter than I thought. I need a way to sabotage the equipment and computers. It may not stop them from discovering the truth about the illness, but it will slow
Benji’s POVHazel Summers… Hazel Summers who almost ruined my best friend Ciara’s life… is here in the North?! What the hell? I reach into my memory bank to remember what happened to her after the court trial. She was tried for treason against the crown over five years ago. Wasn’t she supposed to go back to her pack with her parents and serve as Omegas? I know they were stripped of their Gamma roles but can’t remember anything other than that. Does Alpha King Mars know Hazel is here?! I will have to contact him later and find out.My mind is whirling with questions, but I can barely think straight. An overpowering floral smell is messing with my senses and it is absolutely awful, like someone bathed In dollar store perfume.“YOU!”I look up to see an angry Hazel pointing her long-manicured finger in my direction. She’s barely wearing a deep purple dress. I guess things haven’t changed in high school. She still dresses like a five-dollar hooker.Hazel is still sitting on the Alpha Conr
Benji’s POVOnce Ashley and I have the beakers and equipment set up and the flames lit, we get to work. Smashing the petals, we add them to the bubbling solution to one of the clear glass beakers. The Dragon desire emanates a soft Firey glow as the petals heat to the desired temperature. The purple flowers bleed their color into the solution, changing the clear liquid to a deep purple.I discuss the changes while Ashley takes down notes and runs the calculating math equations on paper. The lab is slowly being permeated with the strong smell of floral. The same floral scent from earlier in the dining hall.“I think this is what caused Bennet and Gray to go a little lustful towards Hazel.” I have to admit, the floral smell is causing me to feel horny and stoned at the same time which is a weird sensation.Ashley fans herself, her cheeks are pink and her breathing is a bit labored. “I know what you mean. I am going to open a couple of windows to get the smell out. It’s doing funny things
Conrad’s POVAfter Bennet told me he would talk Benjamina into coming to breakfast after our first encounter at the lab, I returned to my office to go over paperwork and meet with my Alpha Squad. As hard as I tried, my mind wasn’t processing the words on the papers I was supposed to be reviewing. Benjamina’s stunning face continuously invaded my thoughts. She looked so frightened and I caused it. I knew she wasn’t scared of me personally, but of the mate bond with me.I was her second chance mate. It made me wonder what happened to her first mate. Did he reject her? That made me growl in anger. She was too perfect to be rejected. I wanted to look into it, find him and destroy him until he was nothing but ground meat for the buzzards to feed off of! I know all too well the pain of rejection because she was my second chance mate as well.I met Rebecca on her 18th birthday. I had gone to her birthday celebration as a representative from the leaders of the northeastern territory. When I w
Conrad’s POV “Thank you for saving my pups.” I said. Somewhere between leaving Falon’s room and entering Bee’s room, I decided I needed to be honest with her about my pups. I wasn’t exactly hiding my children, but I wasn’t open about them either. Apart of me was scared she didn’t want kids because her career was so time consuming. I was fully aware of all her projects back in the states like her wolfsbane vaccination trials, her numerous medical journals she published and so much more. I even was aware before she came to the North, she was the head surgeon of her hospital. “Y… Your pups?” Her eyes widen at my words. I could feel her heart beating wildly. She was unnecessarily worried about what I was going to say and do.I pulled up one of the plastic chairs up to the side of her bed and sat down. Taking her hand in mine, Titus encouraged me to tell our tale to our mate. It was difficult to keep the small quiver from showing up in my voice, because I was scared. I was scared to tell
Mystery person’s POV From my advantage point, I could see from a distance the rogues surrounding the doctor and the little brat. The bushes and shrubbery covered me from view, but still gave me the perfect exit into the forest in case things go wrong. The rogues snarled and twitched menacingly at the stupid woman as she branded her tree branch at them. I listened as she tried to persuade them to leave. What a fucking joke…. They weren’t in their right minds to even hear her. All they saw was MEAT… Like hungry zombies, their thirst for blood was unquenchable. I made sure of that.Originally my plan was to have the rogues attack the doctor and her team while they were leaving for the evening, but when I saw her and the kids out in the field, I had to take advantage of the opportunity and called… her. I needed the doctor out of the way if I wanted to exact my revenge on the stupid fucking alpha. The child was just a bonus… By killing the child, I fulfilled half of her request and also
Bennet’s POV“Come on… I don’t have all day!” I stomped over to the warriors gathering up the dead bodies. The pungent smell of rotten eggs made me wrinkle my nose in disgust. The putrid smell of rogues was always a nasty scent, but these men had the stench of infection as well. “Well, Hurry up!!” I gave them each a death glare to dare say anything to me right now.I was fuming mad at Bee and whoever got in my war path was going to feel the string of wrath with a vengeance. The six warriors look at me like I have completely lost my mind and I probably have. Was I being a bit overly dramatic, most likely, but I almost lost my best friend and cousin! I deserve to have a mean girl moment. Right?I followed behind the men, not paying attention to anything around me as my eyes only saw red. “Stupid… She-wolf… fucking… brilliant but so stupid…probably would be dead if they hadn’t… Dammit… So stupid!” I grumbled under my breath the entire way to the morgue that was located on the other side
Conrad’s POVThe steady beeping of the heart monitor seemed to calm my nerves as I watched my little Falon sleeping on the hospital bed in the Luna suite. Doc and the nurses were able to regulate her breathing better and get her asthma under control. Her angelic face was everything to me. A tightness in my chest brought me back to the realization that I almost lost my children today due to someone else’s negligence. Why was Benji out in the field with my children? How did the rogues get so close to the hospital? Why were my kids left alone?“Father! Father!” my son’s voice came through the door as it swung open. A layer of sweat and dirt covered his face and his black hair stuck to his forehead. I could see the worry in his eyes as he looked between me and a sleeping Falon.“Master Finnley, you can’t go in there! Your sister needs rest! Please Wait in Dr. Lancon’s office and I was get someone to take you back to the pack house.” A nurse followed close behind him. “I’m sorry Alpha… We
Benji’s POVA thunderous howl in the distance told me my message of distress was received loud and clear. The calvary were coming to our rescue. The rogues before me were poised to attack, just waiting for the opportune moment to pounce on me and kill me! But I couldn’t let anything happen to Falon so even though my fear was at an ultimate high, I had to be brave.Taking the diplomatic route, I yelled. “Get out of here now before you are killed by the Alpha of this territory!”But the rogues just snarled at me. Their heads twitched violently back and forth and their eyes focused in and out. Flashing between red and black as if their wolves and their humans were fighting for control. They definitely were infected which made this whole situation a million times worse. One scratch from their claws and I was a goner for sure. What was I thinking coming out here alone!? And with two small kids?!One of the rogues took a swipe at me, but I knocked his claws away with my large tree branch. Th
Benji’s POVJust beyond the tree line were three male rogues in their human forms. their growling and snarling callously echoed through the open field. Their claws extending from their fingertips and their eyes glowing a crimson red. There was something off about these men because they were attacking each other in a vicious brawl, completely unaware that they trespassed on pack lands.‘Artemis…’ I spoke through my pack’s mind-link.‘Hey Sherlock, what’s up?’ Artemis’ cheery tone filled my head, but I was nothing close to feeling cheery at the moment. My heart was pounding out of my chest.‘Rogues behind the hospital. I am here with two pups. Call the alpha and bring help.’ I didn’t give her a chance to respond when I cut the mind-link so I could focus on the rogues’ movements. They were still enthralled in their fight with each other which at the moment, I was thankful for.“Finnley…” I say softly without moving a muscle from where I stood watching the rogues. “I need you to calmly wa
Benji’s POV‘Whoa, whoa, whoa…. My pups!? Dehlia, are you nuts!? We don’t even know these kids! Their parents are probably working or something since it is still early in the afternoon. We can’t claim them!’ I spat at my wolf still reeling by her proclamation. She swished her tail at me in irritation. She snorted threw her snout at me and I was taken back by her attitude. I felt a bit of pain in my heart hearing her want to claim these children as her own. We had lost ours and Gregory’s pup the night he died. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was still hurting like I was and this was her trying to fill the void we both were feeling.Dehlia had been more active since Conrad kissed me in the lab. She still wasn’t as chatty as she was over five years ago, but she was more active especially when we were texting with Conrad. It was like his wolf transferred some of his energy into her during our kiss. I knew the mate bond was slowly healing my wolf. Even though I didn’t know how I felt about
Benji’s POVIt’s been a few days since the conversation with Alpha Conrad and his squad at the lab about Hazel and my breakthrough of the illness. My team and I rarely left the lab and hospital except for sleep. Meals and snacks were brought to us regularly by Dr. Lancon who insists we call him “Doc” Now that we are friends.Beta Sean eventually returned to the lab with a freshly cut lip, a black eye and an apology on his lips. He returned a few times in the following days. He would speak quietly to Ashley but she just simply nodded her head before turning her back to him. I wasn’t sure what he spoke to her about but I don’t think it went well because eventually he stopped showing up. I thought Ashley would be flustered by the sudden radio silence from Beta Sean, but she didn’t show any emotions about it. Just focused on the work we were doing.Conrad and I haven’t seen each other in days, but he texted me regularly. We were on a permanent loop of a twenty-questions game. I always smi
Benji’s POVCluster! That was the key word… My filing cabinets in my head shuffled around, sorting through the years of information I have gathered and stored in them. Medical, human, magical, werewolf, it all fit together. To say it was a light bulb moment of realization would be an understatement. It was an explosion of brain waves colliding into each other putting all the pieces into place!“Where the hell is my marker!” I shouted out to myself. Cluster, cluster, I kept mumbling the words while my brain is opening everything. My once organized mind is now a hurricane of stored knowledge recking havoc. The periodic table of the elements flash through my brain waves, picking the elements off one by one like fruit off a tree. ‘Cobalt, No… Krypton… No, Livermorium… No!’ Protons, neutrons, electrons all come together then dissect then move over and recombine. Patterns, shapes, colors… Clusters, Clusters, Clusters.I find the black marker I have been desperately looking for and move towa