Peelle made time to visit us later that night. It was nearly midnight when he arrived, exhausted and grimed up, and the first thing he did was to borrow Evan's shower to clean off. He came out to join us wearing his spare clothes in the duffel bag he had brought, hair spiky and wet.
I couldn't recall Peelle and Raf ever having met, but they recognized each other and exchanged greetings. Maybe they had met in university? We were all in the same overarching pack after all, even if we were associated with different branches of the massive group. It wasn't unbelievable they had already crossed paths.
"I had to come see for myself when I heard the news," he said with a smile. Despite the fatigue in his baggy eyes, there was a deeply pleased aura coming from him, and his thoughts were more serene and hopeful than they had ever been. "Word was that you stepped away from taking point on the investigation and let the team handle it instead. I didn't believe it for a minute. But
"There's something in these fumes! It's stopping us from being able to shift!" The fire was so loud as it raced up the walls and across the ceiling that I barely heard Peelle's voice over the din. But no, wait, it wasn't only that. His voice was warped in my ears like I was listening to him from the other end of a long tunnel underwater. I strained, dizzy and confused, but my arms couldn't even rise to grab hold of anything. "Claudia, stay still! I've got you." Another voice. Much closer. Wait, that was Evan, how could I forget? I had woken up to him lifting me out of bed and carrying me in his arms like a princess. What would Raf say? She would laugh about how cheesy it was. So embarrassing. But he was warm and solid and strong, and he was so big that I couldn't imagine anything ever hurting me if he was near. I snuggled into his chest as he pounded down the steps, trusting him to sweep away all of the terrible noise and heat the way he always did to his ene
If I had been in my right mind, I would never have let it happen.But sometime between the moment Peelle fled with the car to draw off the pursuers, and the moment Evan picked me back up in his arms, I drifted off. I had no strength left to stay conscious.When I came to, I was somewhere warm, somewhere soft. A soft lamp shone its gentle yellow light from the nightstand by my head, and I twitched around under the covers while regaining my bearings."Don't move. You're still off-balance and you could hurt yourself."My vision went in and out of focus. There he was. Evan had risen from the armchair on the other side of the nightstand and was now standing over me, adjusting the covers. Covers? Bed? Wait, where...?"We're in a safe house. It's not well-stocked and it's uncomfortable, but it's the only secure spot in the city right now. The Scarlet pack is fighting off the rogues and the other enemies from the manor. Once the coast is clear, I'll get yo
The line crackled. It was terrible, trying to hear Raf properly on the other side, but who knew when we would have another chance to speak? Seventy percent of the city had been evacuated already, all the civilians taken out in trucks with only their most essential belongings. Scarlet pack werewolves alternated between fighting off the enemy and escorting civilians to safety from the shelters, and almost no one had had rest in the last forty-eight hours. Most of them were only Deltas, whether trained or not. Things wouldn't last much longer if they went on like this.But at least I could hear Raf's voice one more time before they transported her, too. She and Leon huddled by whatever landline phone they had been given since the last of the cell towers were destroyed in the last day."We couldn't find you!" she cried. "We took the car and drove over but they had the road blockaded. You were attacked!""There were rogues, yeah. And they say there were other shifter
They had set up a temporary stronghold at Scarlet University. It was one of the places most securely guarded when all hell broke loose, and the loyal members of the Scarlet pack had taken advantage of the stored food, backup generators, dormitories and suites, and even the medical supplies. Enemies had taken control of the two smaller hospitals in the city, leaving only the major one in friendly hands, which meant any injured civilians or weaker Deltas with less regenerative power needed all the extra help they could get.But Peelle had been beyond all medical aid. When a team of Deltas had rendezvoused with everyone else at the new base in Scarlet University, they had come carrying his marred body in the mangled car that he had used to kill at least several other pursuers. No one would ever know the full story, but it seemed that because he had been unable to shift, he had turned and crashed his car straight into the enemy vehicles, both of them, as they came around the bend
It was a stalemate. Evan's side had the discipline, the experience, and the Alpha himself to bolster their strength tenfold. But handicapping that was the crumbling unity thanks to the wave of mass suspicion and accusations different sub-packs and families threw at each other in the midst of the boiling tension. It took Evan's snarling warnings to everyone involved that he would personally deal with their pettiness if they didn't shut up.But besides that, the enemy had rogues who would resort to anything, even the lowest of tactics like holding hostages. There were rescue missions here and there to pry free the last of the captured civilians who had been snatched before they could evacuate. It was brutal work with casualties, but the people came first.It was transformative. I had only known Evan these last few month, but before then, I knew as well as anyone else of his blood-soaked reputation. Before this catastrophe, no one would ever have guessed he would devote h
With his hands on my waist, he pushed me toward the bed. The towel was still draped over the top of his head, but it was bound to drop sooner or later as he shoved me onto the mattress with a mischievous smile. I yelped when he dropped on top of me, his body still warm from the shower and intoxicatingly damp. Really! He had time to rest and he was going to waste it like this... Or so I should have complained, but I moaned under the rough strokes of his hands as he dived under my shirt. His lips on the side of my neck teased and nipped at my ear before trailing to my cheek, where he traced his tongue in a tempting, fluttering butterfly trail before reaching my own lips. But the kiss was neither teasing nor slow, and as soon as his mouth was on mine, he surged with dominant strength to tame me with his tongue. Hard and fiery, he pinned me to the bed and kissed me breathless, trapping me under his weight as he let out all the pent-up desire he'd kept back for days. We'd
I couldn't remember falling asleep, but I must have dozed off, the sensation of Evan's warm chest against mine filling my senses and removing all the rest of my awareness. But I did dream, somewhat. On the boundary of wakefulness and sleep, Cassiel appeared, my beautiful white wolf."You look so happy today," I teased as she came to lick at my cheek. Her tail hung low but waved from side to side, betraying her joy with grace. "And you're all better now. You've thrown off the last of the slump."It affects us more than it does others, she reminded me as she sat on the grass. A breeze drifted by, rustling her fur and my hair. We should be careful. Who knows what will happen if we breathe in that poison again?"Everyone needs to be careful, not just us. But you're right. The doctor not only at that safe house but the ones here cleared us, but we weren't feeling like ourselves for days after. Evan and the Deltas who were at the manor all said they
The Glilies were finally getting their meeting with Alpha Evan.He glared at the door he had paused outside of. Beyond it, someone was waiting for him to appear. Funny enough, it wasn't the Alpha of the Glilies family or even his mate. It was their daughter, Flicka.Flicka called herself Evan's childhood friend since they used to romp together with all the other children, back when Evan was not yet an orphan and his father was still the Alpha. Even then, she had fancied herself his future mate. Evan had always been annoyed by that. After all, from the moment they first met when they were barely toddlers, she had insisted to all the other girls that he was hers. That wasn't normal childish behavior. Her parents, the money-hungry influence peddlers Gerald and Lenore, had clearly drilled it into their daughter's head from birth that she must shoot for the stars. Or rather, shoot for the money pile.That attitude never disappeared. When Evan had taken over the Scarl