GINGER I closed my eyes and transformed, my bones unsnapping and snapping back into place, fur tingling as it sprouted from my skin. I hesitated. Did I want to see myself? The description of demon wolf scared me. Was my wolf really that terrifying? I finally opened my eyes. I couldn't help but whimper at what I saw. While my face seemed okay, and I could see alright, my eyes had an eerie, clouded over appearance to them. I turned to get a look at my torso and whimpered at the sight of the bones of my ribcage sticking out from my skin, hollowed out, my organs able to be seen through my bones. Bile rose to my throat and I began to gag at how horrifying it was to see my innards revealed like that. My skin was broken in patches throughout my body like this, including on two of my legs. I whimpered. I got my wolf back, but she was exactly as Tyce said—a wolf that had risen from the dead, as if I were in a horror movie. I couldn't go out in public like this. I looked over at Splinter w
JASMINE "How'd you sleep last night?" Blake pulled me against him after shutting off the alarm, his hand instantly finding my belly. "Horrible," I replied. "I think my pregnancy symptoms are finally kicking in. I kept waking up to pee all night, and I can't seem to get comfortable." "We'll do a moon run tonight. Maybe it'll help." "I doubt it, but it won't hurt anyway. Your mom did say moonlight is good for me now." "Mmm." Blake nuzzled into me. "You know, something weird happened when you got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I felt something." "What?" "A new wolf." "Don't you feel new wolves most full moons, when the pups finally shift for the first time?" "Yes, but this was different. This was an adult. For a second, I was wondering if I dreamed it, but I can feel her now, and I don't think I did before." "Do you know who it is?" "Yeah, when it happens, I can also tell who it is." "Who?" "Gigi." "What? Gigi? Like Paige's sister Gigi?" "Yeah. I'm goi
JASMINE I had training in the late morning and broke for lunch at twelve with all the other warriors. Paige and I met up and decided to eat outside that day since the weather was so nice. "So, what'd you bring today?" I asked her. "My mom made pasta salads for everyone this morning. You?" Paige looked over at my lunch bag. "Looks like Connie made me some turkey pinwheels and cut-up fruit." I pulled everything out. "That must be nice to have a cook do all that for you. I guess I have my mom for now, but soon I'll be on my own!" "When are you and Dylan finally tying the knot and moving in together?" She sighed. "Don't you think it's weird that I'm only nineteen and already getting married and moving in with a husband?" "Why is that weird?" I studied her. "Everyone gets married and moves in with their mates when they meet them. I guess it takes longer for some than others. But you're one of the lucky ones! You don't have to wait and worry that you'll never meet him and will have t
JASMINE "I was distracted by her eyes," Blake replied. I glanced over, and her eyes seemed normal, but then, I realized, all of us had our night vision on and she didn't. "Do you know how to switch to night vision?" I asked Gigi. "My eyes usually just switch automatically when it gets dark, but maybe you’re suppressing it without realizing it." "Oh, no. I like to train without my night vision," Gigi responded. "It's more challenging." "It flickered on though," Blake elaborated. "That's why I was distracted." He gave Tyce a look I couldn't interpret. "So what? It flickered. She's still learning how to control everything and she's doing great. Mind your own mate," Tyce replied with his jaw and fists clenched. "I want to know what you're hiding," Blake responded, getting closer to Tyce. "I'm not hiding anything that's your business. She's my fucking mate, and as far as I'm concerned, she's already a part of my pack." "She's on my pack land," Blake raised his voice. Gigi whimpered
GINGER After we got back to the packhouse, all I wanted to do was hide—hide away forever. My heartbeat thrashed in my ears and my chest felt tight. Was our alpha really going to attack me because of how I looked? Was this going to be my life now? And my sister too. Everyone I thought would protect me was now impulsively turning on me. I burrowed underneath Tyce's blankets while he went to use the bathroom, thankful they kept the air conditioning at close to freezing in the packhouse. I was safe in the dark where no one could see me. I inhaled his linens. The smell was mesmerizing—like nothing I'd ever smelled before. A musky, warm, almost burnt-vanilla scent, I couldn't quite put my finger on. All I knew was that I wanted to snort it and hold it in my lungs. Under his sheets, I was surrounded and safe in my little cocoon. I was now able to experience so many wonderful things because my wolf came back, but she was also dangerous—not dangerous because she was a demon like everyone tho
GINGER "Paige, I've been speaking to the priest, getting some dates he has open for your wedding," my mom announced at dinner. "I also called Dylan's mom, and she's right on the same page." "You called Dylan's mom?" Paige replied much more aggressively than I was expecting. "Well, of course! We need to make sure everyone's in agreement. Since she only has sons, and this is the first of hers to find his mate, she's dying to be included. But don't worry, I let her know you're very agreeable and will be more than happy to involve her. How do you feel about her coming with us to look at wedding dresses?" Paige blinked rapidly, her mouth agape. "You know, she actually has great taste. She helped decorate for the winter solstice celebration at the temple a few years back, and she had some wonderful ideas. Maybe we should include her in picking out the flowers too." I glanced over at Paige again, and her whole face was red—her hands balled into fists. Shit, maybe Paige and I were more a
GINGER Sunday evening came far too fast and I was a mess. In just days, my life had completely changed. Now, instead of preparing to head back to school in Boston in a few short weeks, I was withdrawing, researching schools in Alaska, and pulling together a list to apply to so I could start up again in the spring. Between that, work, and not getting enough sleep because Tyce and I were still meeting up most evenings, I was stressed to the max. And now I was super nervous about Tyce meeting everyone. My mom fluctuated between being ecstatic and randomly crying. My dad had to live with the fact that he wasn't going to be able to have his "man-to-man" talk with Tyce about relocating to our pack. I guess my dad hadn't considered the possibility of my potential mate being an alpha—literally the one job that couldn't relocate. And also the one person my dad would never try to convince of anything. I went back and forth on what to wear several times. "Goddess, I wish Hunter were here!" I
BLAKE We were encroaching on late August, and Jasmine was very pregnant now. She was starting to look as if she could pop any moment. "Goddess, I'm so tired," she said when she came home from training for the day. "Jasmine, I think you should cut back on your training hours and focus more on paperwork instead," I said gently. She yawned, plopping down on the couch, and rubbing her big belly. "I really don't want to, but I don't know if I can keep going at this rate." "There's no reason to push yourself. You can always get back to it after the pups are here." I took a seat next to her. "I'm ready for them to be here already. I don't know if I can take another month of this. I've been feeling so much pressure on my pelvis lately." "Maybe you can ask my mom about it tonight when we go see her. Unless you're too tired?" "No, I'll be fine. Just let me shower." "Okay." I leaned in and gave her a kiss. "By the way, I'm definitely going to take you up on that booty calling offer ton
THERESA The excitement in the air was palpable. The whole pack had gathered on the airplane runway. This was the one part of the pack that was consistently plowed so that we’d continue to receive food and supplies throughout the harsh winters after we gave up on plowing everything else, especially the roads that lead to the main highway. It was how I was able to get back and forth from school during the holidays. Full moon runs were a long-time tradition of our pack’s and one of my favorite celebrations during the long, cold, sunless winters. Even when seasonal depression tried to sink its way into my bones and pull my spirit away, these runs tended to give me the adrenaline I needed to keep going. There was something magical about an entire community coming together to expel all their energy in the wilderness, and then subsequently feast together on the kill we’d contributed to the celebration. My heart was full of gratitude in knowing that no matter how tough things got, this pac
TYSON‘Twas several nights after the winter solstice (and one night after Christmas) when all through the packhouse, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. And thank the Goddess for that, because we weren’t really big fans of mice around here. At least I wasn’t. Although, I had come to warm up to rats… well, some very specific pet rats. Other than that, still wasn’t a big fan.But you know what I was a fan of? T&A, especially when that T&A was attached to my perfect, voluptuous, thick AF fiancée and mate. My mate that was very conspicuously missing from my bed. I had gotten used to having her warm body next to mine every night, and every inch of my skin was practically tingling with the loss of her. Because her family was very religious, it had been decided that we would stay in separate housing situations during the duration of our trip to her old pack. She at her parents’ home, and I at the packhouse of my ally, the Midnight Maple Pack.I knew she planned to go back to school
GINGER“Okay, I really thought the people out tonight wouldn’t be so… old,” Lucy said.I sighed but figured I should just make the best of it. Maybe once I got back to Alaska I could meet some friends that knew how to party for real. Not that there were many places to go out in the middle of nowhere where I lived. And it was so strictly conservative too. More so than the pack I’d grown up in, which was saying something.“Here, take these!” Lucy handed Paige and me fake IDs that, as usual, looked nothing like us. She then draped about a pound of penis necklaces on everyone.We all marched in, and everyone’s eyes instantly went to us. Lucy made a beeline for the bar and started ordering us drinks before anyone could protest. I followed her, excited to get my drink on. The bar was playing my favorite Mariah Carey Christmas song, and I was ready to start dancing.After we all had our drinks in hand, an older man with a grey beard asked, “What is this all about? A birthday?”I blinked a few
GINGERMy twin sister Paige finished twisting the last bit of my hair around her curling wand and sprayed it down with hairspray. "I miss this." She let out a deep sigh, sitting back on her heels, her body collapsing a bit. We had gathered on the floor of her bedroom while getting ready for the evening—the bedroom that wouldn’t be hers much longer. She would be the last to flee the coop, leaving our parents to an empty nest—something our mother couldn’t stop being melodramatic about. Her wedding was in a matter of days, which was the reason I had flown back to Vermont with my mate Tyce."It's not that much different from when I was in school," I replied, my stomach squeezing a bit, but needing to put a positive spin on our situation."Yeah, but you were at least home for the entire summer then. Now I'll probably only see you a week a year or something like that."Nonchalantly, I blurted, "Maybe the family can move to Alaska." At first, I meant it as an offhand remark that I knew wasn’t
NIKOLAI"Za zdarovye," Sasha and I toasted each other, and I took a gulp of the vodka. After piling our kill in a shed the pack had for exactly that, he invited me over to the beta wing of the packhouse to throw back a few."Not bad, eh?" he asked."Not bad," I replied.He gave my shoulder a shake. "Hey, Volkov, loosen up. Life's getting better. We're free now."I grunted.Sasha was my good friend going back to when we were pups. People had always remarked we could pass for brothers. They clearly lacked keen eyes. Sure, we both sported thick blond hair and tall frames—although I had at least a good ten centimeters on him—our facial shapes were much different. His was more rotund, and his cheeks constantly reddened with emotion.My features were far sharper, and hardened, and had become even more so in the past year. At times, I looked in the mirror, and I saw my late father staring back at me. His ghost haunted me from the beyond, shaping my features to mimic the forehead furrows, life
NIKOLAIForty. That's how many pack members were left in Severnaya Zvezda Pack, including me. A nice, even forty. Our pack had never been particularly large. As opposed to some packs in Russia and other post-Soviet states, where numbers could climb to ten thousand, ours had always maintained a balance of around a thousand. Now only scraps remained of what we had been.After months of coordinating with my late beta’s aunt, Julia Tikaani (née Yulia Vovchenko), we had finally arrived at her pack. When we first fled our war-torn home, we traveled in our wolf forms, carrying only what we could carry as we crossed into Moldova. From there, it took nearly three days by air to reach Alaska.We had left just about everything behind, and a sliver of hope remained.As generous as Luna Yulia’s invitation was, we couldn’t depend on her hospitality forever. Our pack needed stability—a place to truly call home. With my newly elected beta, Sasha, at my side—a man as ruthless in battle as I was—I set o
Author's Note: Several characters in this book are native Russian speakers. To avoid repetitive clarifications throughout the text, assume the following:If a conversation takes place between characters who are native Russian speakers, they are speaking in Russian unless otherwise stated.If a conversation includes one or more native English speakers, it is in English unless otherwise indicated.This approach allows for a more seamless reading experience while maintaining linguistic authenticity.***THERESAHalf-full. Between the two options, that’s the perspective I preferred. It’s not that bad things never happened—I was only mortal after all. But attitude was everything. And a good attitude was particularly important at that very moment as the crushing weight of a sandbag dug into my shoulders, snow crunched under my winter hiking boots, and wind cut at the exposed sliver of skin between my gaiter and hat. I climbed, each step more precarious than the last on the icy slope."Faster
TRIGGER WARNING: This final scene contains torture and is not recommended to the squeamish. It is not necessary to the plot of the book and was only added to give readers some satisfaction with tying up some loose ends. --- TYSON I picked up my ringing phone. "Sara caught the culprits," Trav said, not even bothering to say hello. "Damn," I replied. "She's already tortured them, but offered to let you finish them off. You know, for pack alliance reasons." "I have a feeling that allowing someone else to do the final deed is a gift of generosity in her eyes." I chuckled to myself. Trav's mate was something else. But I'd be damned if I didn't want to watch the motherfuckers that killed my grandfather take their final breaths. Before I hung up, I asked, "Can I bring Dad?" "Obviously that's still a bit of a touchy subject but…" his voice trailed. "But you know that Dad, more than anyone, would want to be the one that does it." I finished his sentence for him. Trav let out a breath.
*Three weeks later* GINGER "Goddess, it's been such a long week!" I flopped onto the bed after showering and throwing on some sweats on a Saturday night in late October. "Your alpha schedule is no joke," I griped to Tyce. "I'm ready to go to bed now." "Do you think you could stay awake for a little bit longer?" He came over and sat on the bed. "Because I have a surprise that just came today." "A surprise? Have I been so busy that I didn't even realize it's my birthday already?" I joked. "It's a 'just because' kind of surprise." "Goddess, stop, Tyce. I can't do all this sweetness. I need a dentist! I think I'm getting cavities." "Okay, the surprise isn't really for you. It's for Splinter anyway. Are you ready for me to bring it in?" "Well, if it's not for me, you should ask Splinter," I teased. "Splinter already said he's ready." "Okay, rat whisperer." Tyce gave me a cute little smile that made my stomach flip-flop. Fuck, why did he affect me so much? Even though we'd now bee