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103 | HOURGLASS
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Alpha Ares 104 | NIGHT-BLOOMING WILDRUSH
Mist swirled around my ankles. My brain felt heavy and slow as I looked down, tracing the way it coiled, snake-like, up my legs. There was something ominous about it. Something I didn’t like.I tried to kick it away. It didn’t move; it just kept coiling, around and around, up and up, until it reached my thighs.Huffing out a sigh, I pushed myself onwards. Forcing my legs to march, darting through the undergrowth in the dense patch of woodland we’d set up camp in – if it weren’t too rudimentary to be called a camp, with nothing more than a couple of cloaks scattered across the ground to keep the damp and the frosty winter’s chill from settling into our bones – I curved away from the tree line and the clearing, where I’d be too exposed, and ducked under strands of ivy as I began my hunt.Dawn light painted the horizon in sweeping brush strokes. I squinted at it through the thick foliage; it took on an unreal quality the longer I tried to watch the colours shift with the sunrise. Shaking
Alpha Ares 105 | REDWOOD
We stayed in the woods for two nights. Part of me was glad for the respite from the horrors we had faced, and those I knew we were still yet to face, but a larger part of me just felt on edge. Like we were wasting time. Like we’d been here too long. Like… Like we were being watched.But I needed Ares to heal, so I tried to tell myself that it was okay to wait. That we’d come back stronger after two nights of good rest. And I tried to tell him that, too – but he was even more restless than I was.He cracked his knuckles on the second evening. Dad had taken Nana Baspy out to hunt with him, and Grandpa Attie was curled up a few feet away, sleeping in his wolf form.Leant with his back against the broad trunk of a redwood tree, a cloak draped over his shoulders, and a beard starting to grow in past the point of stubble for the first time since I’d known him, Ares looked rugged and handsome and utterly, entirely fearsome. My stomach did a flip. With only Medic Flora for company, I shuffled
Alpha Ares 106 | THE HERBIARY
My mouth flapped uselessly, my numb tongue and lips unable to make any real sound. Ares didn’t seem to be in a much better state than me, though he’d curled his hands into fists where they lay, as uselessly as my tongue against the roof of my mouth, upon the ground.Wolfsbane. It cut a werewolf off from their wolf-side - along with a slew of other side effects. In short, we were screwed.I tried to mindlink Ares, Dad, Nana, Grandpa, even damned Flora, but it felt like I’d been cut off from that ability. I stared helplessly up at her, this pretty young girl with a bright sunshine smile, and I felt hatred like I’d never felt before.“You betrayed us all, Haile,” she said, saccharine sweet and clearly loving hearing the sound of her own voice. I sagged against the tree trunk, unable to do anything but listen as the wolfsbane held me hostage in my own body. “You chose him over us.”Not you too, I thought. And stars, Ares was going to be so damn smug about the fact that he’d been right –
Alpha Ares 107 | HEMLOCK AND WOLFSBANE
“Haile!” Dad’s voice burst through the darkness. I couldn’t see him, but I could see the colours of his voice – all warm tones, terracotta and brown and burgundy. It felt warm and safe, and I wanted to stay there.“You did this to her,” he snarled, and though the words were not directed at me the colour changed, no longer warm and safe but as bright as lighting and as hot as flame. “You nearly killed my daughter!”“I did it for your own good,” said another voice, sickly-sweet and painted in shades of lilac and rose pink. Flora. “For the good of the pack.”Was that… Was that how I’d once sounded? Was my duty nothing more than delusion?“She’ll be all right, Xander,” murmured Nana Baspy. Like Dad’s, her voice was warm and bright – fire and passion and endless, burning love. “She’s the strongest wolf I know.”I wanted to get out of here. I needed to help Ares. We had to stop Mum and Etta and Johnea. I needed to tell them everything Flora had said – Blearily, I opened my eyes. The sunlig
Alpha Ares 108 | STAND WITH US
The wolves were upon us.My heart still felt slow, still felt sluggish, but I had to try to stand. Grandpa Attie helped me up, and I felt so useless as my legs shook beneath my weight. Wolves filled the clearing; we had only a smattering of trees and vines to keep them at bay. Our last defence, and it all seemed hopeless.Because how could we survive this? Other than Dad, Ares and I were our two strongest fighters. And we both could barely stand.If I were being honest with myself, even if I’d been at my peak physical form, I wouldn’t have been able to lay a claw against any one member of the Blue Moon Pack. Duty or delusion, I couldn’t stop seeing them as my family.I didn’t know what to do. Panic set in. Not for me – but for everyone else. I still couldn’t mindlink, but I tried and tried and tried, over and over and over, my thoughts rattling around in time with my unsteady heartbeat. We needed a plan. And we needed one fast.“We need to be your prisoners,” I said again, my voice h
Alpha Ares 109 | CIVIL WAR
I didn’t lose consciousness. And, in a way, I wished that I had.Because then I wouldn’t have seen the fight break out. Laying upon the ground, my cheek pressed to the dirt, Ares’s arms tugging weakly at my limp shoulders, I could just about see the moment when Flora ripped free of her bonds and charged towards us.Dad was only a half-second behind her, but it was enough. The (somewhat) peaceful exchange of words had been broken, and Dad had lost all authority as Alpha. Then Ares and Dad were hauling me up. My legs buckled again but, somehow, I managed to get them under me just enough to support my swaying weight. “You two need to get out of here,” Dad hissed, clapping Ares on the shoulder. “We can distract them in the fight, but they will notice you’re gone if you don’t move fast.”“I’m not leaving you,” I ground out through gritted teeth.“You don’t have a choice, sweetheart. You can’t fight like this.”I clenched my hands into fists. I felt useless. “I don’t want to go.”“Haile,
Alpha Ares 110 | FIGHT OR FLIGHT
Ares and I took cover in the edge of the woods, backing away from the battle until we were well hidden but still able to watch. Everything in me told me I should be out there, shoulder to shoulder with my Blue Moon wolves, but the poison in my system insisted I remain hidden.I ducked under a curtain of ivy, shrouding us further from view as I stared out in horror at the carnage unfolding in the clearing. Wolves snarled and snapped; chunks of flesh were ripped clean and flung through the air. It was gory and it was vicious, and there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even mindlink, couldn’t even keep watch for my friends and family. “Do you feel as helpless as I do?” murmured Ares. His fingers stroked down my cheek, but the steadying movement was making me more on edge if anything. Still, it seemed to be soothing him, so I let him continue.“Yes.” My tone was clipped, abrupt, so I pulled an apologetic face at him. “Sorry.”“No, I get it. This is driving me mad.”“It has to be Greyhi
Alpha Ares 111 | ONLY THE START
“Haile,” Ares hissed through clenched teeth, “it’s a trap. It has to be. Don’t listen to her.”I knew he was probably right. I knew it, and yet…“You believe me?” I repeated, my heart pounding, still slow, still sluggish, but painfully hard against my chest.Ares squeezed my hand. Hard. “Be careful,” he murmured, gripping me tight. I squeezed back, praying he would understand why I had hope. It was foolish – childish, even – but she was my mum. No matter what, I loved her. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Mum said, stepping closer and holding her hands up. My whole body tensed as she came nearer; every hurtful thing she’d done to my mate and I flashed through my mind’s eye as she took that one single step, from sending Flora to poison Ares to turning on me after I’d revealed that Ares was alive. Dad could swear black and blue that she’d done it all out of love, with misplaced intentions, but that didn’t change how much what she’d done had hurt.And still I loved her. I loved her even
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- Alpha Ares 141 | EPILOGUE
- Alpha Ares 140 | COME TOGETHER
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- Alpha Ares 138 | SURRENDER AND SACRIFICE
- Alpha Ares 137 | BATTLE OF THE MOUNTAIN
- Alpha Ares 136 | THE END OF US
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