Really long chapter, but I didn't want to split it into two. I need to go to bed, or I would have written more. I had originally planned to write about jace and Airk for longer, letting the abuse start slowy and more subtly, but sometimes when I'm writing the story changes. Hope you don't mind.
Brax’s pov "…. You’re calling me out of nowhere, sounding fucking strange, and now you won’t answer a simple question." Argo said into the phone angrily. I waited for Airk to answer and I heard the door open and a muffled sound. "Did he just fucking put his phone down?" Argo growled. "The fucker didn’t even hang up." I put my finger on my mouth and whispered, "put the phone on mute." Argo did what he was told, and Mila, Argo, and I sat around the phone. It didn’t escape my notice that Argo moved closer to Mila and that she was letting him. But I didn’t have time to think about them when I heard Airk shouting at his mate. He had said my name in the heat of the moment, but that wasn’t even the most important part. The way he described them having sex sounded awful. I wasn’t even jealous anymore or hurt that Airk was with another; all I felt was worry and anger that someone treated him this badly. Sadly, the phone call only became worse. Argo stood up, "I’m going to fucking kill h
Jace’s pov How dare he? He was supposed to be my mate. I had shared my most vulnerable self with him, yet he wouldn’t give me what I needed. The only thing I asked for was loyalty and devotion. Is that so hard? When my mate asked me to wait before having sex with him, I did. I had never waited for anyone. Everyone had always been willing to have sex with me, so I couldn’t understand why it took my mate almost a week to want to give himself to me. He just needed a bit of persuasion. I never spent time with others in the bedroom; it was their job to give me pleasure, not the other way around. But if touching Airk would make him finally ready, then I was willing to make that sacrifice. He was supposed to be mine, yet he moaned out another man’s name. Who does that? Have I not suffered enough? And now to have a mate who can’t follow one simple command?! I should come first. I am his Alpha and his mate! My wolf, Caleb, disagreed as usual. We were usually on the same page, but since m
Airk’s pov I stared at the woman Jace was having sex with in front of me. Her moans reminded me of when I caught Argo watching porn. They sounded fake. Her eyes followed me, while her face was almost pressed against the glass. There was no joy in her eyes. She was acting. When Jace was finished, she mouthed "sorry" at me before running out of the room. He said he would name her his Luna. He had been lying to me from the start. Jace would never go public with our relationship. At best, I would be stuck here like Eve had been during Storm’s childhood. Living a life of luxury while being a prisoner inside the packhouse. Never getting to step foot past the garden. Having to hide my identity. And most importantly, I was never allowed to go home to my family. Jace wouldn’t allow me to call them again, scared that I might tell them more. That’s why he kept his name a secret from everyone. So they wouldn’t be able to find me. Everything was a lie, and the sad part was that Jace actuall
Mila’s pov "Again!" Argo shouted to the soldiers. He had been relentless, training them non-stop, but it paid off. Not that the soldiers seemed to mind; they all wanted to help their Alpha and Gamma. Everybody had met Airk during his time here, and he had made an impression on them. They knew that out of everyone, Airk deserved so much better than what he was getting. Someone as kind and gentle as Airk, was mated to someone so cruel. ‘You had called our mate cruel. Are they similar in your eyes?’ Leysa asked. I knew what she was doing. She knew the damn answer. Of course, Argo and Jace were completely different. I had thought about what kind of mate I would end up with often as a child, and someone like Jace was my worst-case scenario. But that didn’t mean I could forgive or forget what had been done to me. One person’s suffering doesn’t just erase another’s, even if it’s much worse than mine. Argo noticed me staring and gave me a wink. "And remember, I’d rather you admit you ca
Argo’s pov Dad pulled me close, "let’s talk strategy." "Yeah." I sighed, wanting to get this over with but also being terrified at the same time. "Mila seems like a good one," dad said. "She’s the only reason I’m still fucking functioning. I don’t think she realizes how fucking important she is to my sanity right now." "I think you just told her," Dad said, and I saw Mila walk in and quickly look away. Of course she heard the whole fucking thing. "I’m proud of you, Argo. Becoming a Gamma and making a life for yourself. It’s really great to see." Mom snaked her arms around dad, "it would have been fucking better if he actually told us he was joining this pack and wouldn’t freak me the fuck out when the link between us broke. But okay." I chuckled and gave mom a wink, "next time." "So. Is everyone ready? We have the rest of the alphas on videocall." Aeryn said. Everyone became quiet as we discussed our plan for tomorrow. "There’s a good chance he knows we are coming. Storm had
Storm’s pov "What does it feel like going back there?" Brax asked me. We had split up into several teams. Some of us are driving and others are on foot. The first wave of soldiers was already fighting, together with Aeryn and Argo. Brax, Asher, and Os were all in one car with me, ready to go rescue Airk. "You should fucking know; you went back to your old home to take over, didn’t you?" I replied. "But I actually wanted to go back…" Brax said, looking at me knowingly. He was right. There were hardly any good memories at the Winter Bone pack. The memories that were good were those with mam, Aeryn, or Cara. And they killed Cara, and the rest came back to the Iron River pack with me. Except for Jace. I had always felt guilty for not taking him with me, but there was only a split second for me to make the choice, and he wanted to stay. I thought of many plans over the years to get him back, but it would mean starting another fucking war. I couldn’t risk the entire Iron River pack f
Argo’s pov "Are you ready, Argo?" Aeryn asked me. "Can you ever be fucking ready?" Aeryn shook her head, "no, but this is your first big battle. I’m just checking. You’ve been dealing with a lot, and now that we’re here for Airk and, -" Mila cut in, growling at my sister. "Just let him do his job! You’re only making him more nervous!" Mila suddenly realized she had just shouted at an alpha. "Shit, sorry, Alpha Aeryn. I didn’t mean it like that. He’s just. He’s ready; don’t worry." My sunshine turned into a fucking tomato and quickly stopped walking until she was walking next to a few soldiers behind us. Mila and I had fallen asleep in each other’s arms and woken up when the sun came up. We had talked about the battle all morning, and I had shared my nerves with her. She shared her crap with me, so it was only fair that I do the same. I told Mila about my talk with Grandpa and that it had occurred to me that I could lose my life, which pissed Mila off. She had said pretty much t
Mila’s pov Argo’s plan was great but impulsive. I knew as soon as he left that he hadn't thought out his plan as well as he should have. I was sure he could kill the machine that was covering the woods in wolfsbane fog, but how was he going to get out of there once he did? I turned to the soldiers, who were waiting on word from Argo for their next move. The wolfsbane in the air had made sure the possibility of mindlinking would be impossible, so it was either me or one of the gammas from the other pack to tell them what to do. And I knew Argo would choose me, and it seemed the soldiers did too. They all looked at me, waiting to be told what to do. "As soon as Gamma Argo has stopped the smoke, we attack." They all nodded their heads in understanding. "The gasmasks limit the enemies vision, but as soon as the smoke is cleared, they’ll take them off. So take advantage of the moment before they do. Sneak up on them, take them by surprise, and get our gamma out of there." "Fuck yeah.