All Chapters of Hide and Seek: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

I wake up all at once, screaming for my mother, tears immediately pouring from my eyes.“Mama!”It takes a few seconds for the room to come into focus—for me to understand what’s happening. I’m in a cell. Cuffed in silver at the wrists, chained to the wall, with another silver chain looped around my neck. There’s just enough slack for me to reach the bucket they’ve set beside me and a thin cot shoved into the corner.A single, barred window sits high up on the wall—too small and too far to matter. There’s a bare bulb above me that would give some light if it were on, but it’s controlled from outside the cell. Right now, the night sky is overcast, and the bulb is off. It’s pitch black.The place reeks—piss, mildew, mold, and that damn incense the Riding Hoods always use. But underneath all that, another scent catches my nose—orange and honeysuckle. A she-wolf. I can tell by the scent signature. I strain my eyes through the gloom, but the silver dampens my senses enough that I can’t make

I wake up in the hospital.The light is all wrong—too bright. Mid-afternoon sunshine filters through the windows, but that doesn’t make sense. It should be dark.I sit up slowly, disoriented. I’m not in my bedroom, or even my suite. The sterile smell, the beeping machines… I’m in a room at the pack hospital. And I’m not alone.The second I shift, Aubrey calls out, “She’s awake!”Immediately, the room floods with people. Meredith, Uncle Dev, Bhakti, Liam, Sandra—and all six of my grandparents—swarm in, along with Dr. Hazel. Great. Nothing like waking up to a full-on medical intervention.Uncle Dev, Bhakti, and Dr. Hazel go straight for the machines. Vital checks. Temperature. Hands on my forehead.Until Dr. Hazel pulls rank.“Alpha Devin. Luna Bhakti. I understand Chris is like family, but she’s my patient. I need space to assess her and the pup.”Uncle Dev looks like he’s about to argue, but Bhakti puts a hand on his shoulder and gently pulls him back. “Of course, Dr. Hazel. We’re all

Hearing about my mother being taken was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. Having Rowen there helped. He took care of me—helped me bathe, made sure I ate, curled up with me while I cried myself to sleep.But even with him here, it still felt hollow. We’d been close once, but when Jared and I started pulling apart, Rowen and I did too. His touch was comforting, but it wasn’t the same as having a friend who understood. Fati and JoJo came by, but they had to fly out with their mom to the Artemis Pack.And Chris... God. She’d been unconscious until early this afternoon. Then, when she woke up and learned about Esteban and my mom, she passed out again. The stress hit her hard enough to trigger bleeding. Uncle Dev had to work healing magic on her to keep her from losing the baby. If she had, I don’t think she would’ve made it back from that.That pup is everything to her—especially with Esteban missing. She’s pregnant, newly a Luna, and trying to hold it together for the sake of h

We’ve returned to the Artemis area, determined to pack up Chris and get her out of here, along with the rest of our wolves. We don’t want the Riding Hoods coming after her and hurting anyone else in the process.Meredith, Hakeem, Aubrey, and I have been working together to get wolves moved to different areas. Not everyone lives close to the packhouse—many prefer to be within an hour’s run, deeper in the woods, closer to nature.Normally, we wouldn’t worry as much about those wolves. They’re usually better fighters, better at concealment, and often have a witch or two living among them for magical defense. But now? Now we need everyone out. As their leaders, we have to make the executive call to protect them all.We’ve worked with the surrounding area alphas to move our people to four regions: farther north into Maine, south into Maryland and Virginia, west into Ohio and Kentucky, and northwest to Michigan. We can’t overload any one pack—our wolves deserve more than just safety; they de

Thank the Goddess on high for Nyx’s morning sickness cure. Damn, I feel so much better. I already know I’m pregnant with twins, and I’m scared as hell something is going to happen to them while I’m here. I know they need me to stay pregnant for whatever fucked-up ritual they’re planning, but that doesn’t mean they won’t hurt us in the meantime. And it definitely doesn’t mean they’ll let me carry my pups to term—or care for them once they’re born. If anything, they’ll probably kill them as soon as they’re done with me.I shake my head, trying to push those thoughts away. I’m more emotional than usual, which is saying something. Maybe it’s the stress of being kidnapped, being away from my mates and Summer, the fear of what’s coming… or maybe it’s just the hormones. Probably all three. Whatever it is, I cry so easily right now.I’ve managed to keep it together in front of the Riding Hoods—Nyx included—but Esteban sees right through me. Every time I break down, he looks like a deer in head