More twists and turns! To see what the note looked like, check out my IG for a depiction :) Thank you to all the new readers and subscribers for joining me on this journey. Thank you everyone for all of the appreciation and support. I'll work on getting another chapter to you all tomorrow. It's Super Bowl Sunday here in the States and I also have to work on my dissertation today. I won't leave you hanging for too long. Thank you for reading! JNS <3
DARIUS POV The three of us spent the rest of the night coming up with a plan and trying to figure out who this Stone-person could be. I didn’t have anyone in my pack that went by that name. Justin’s last name is Toller and Mara’s is Blakenship. I could barely sleep. It was early the next morning and I figured I’d check out the morning training session. Of course, once I said that, Tobias perked up from his spot on my couch and said he’d come with me. Lucas rolled over in his spot on my living room floor. He was covered in a couple of throw blankets, and he used his hoodie as a makeshift pillow. He wasn’t much of a morning person. He usually trained on his own, and now that there were two training sessions, he started joining in the afternoon session with the warriors the last few days. Tobias was practically sprinting over to the training field. It was still early- 5:15 AM. I couldn’t help but shake my head and laugh at him. I’ve never seen him this smitten. If he’s not c
DAYA POV “You want me to pledge to your pack?” I ask him. Suddenly feeling my throat dry up and my stomach twist into knots. There have been a couple of reasons why I decided not to join Darius’ pack. One, with all this fated mate stuff, I just don’t want to take the risk of either of us being hurt or falling victim to the plague. I may not show it well, but I do care about Darius, even if he hurt me. I know he didn’t know he was hurting me. Second, I can’t stay here knowing I was planning on challenging him. If I stay, whether we accept the bond, or not, he will find out and hate me. And who knows what he would do to me and my sisters if he found out. Third, in order to join his pack, he has to learn my full name- my real name. He still thinks my last name is Tannerman. When he realized me, Emmy, and Saph were sisters, he didn’t ask us what our real names are. If he learns my last name, it won’t take him long to put the pieces together that my father was the original Alpha of this
DARIUS POV Confusion. Betrayal. Rage. That only begins to describe how I’m feeling in this moment. I have been walking around like an idiot. I have been giving her space, when I should have been getting to know more about her. I can’t believe I never asked her what her real last name was. I just assumed that since she and her sisters were separated so young, they all changed their names. I guess, technically, they did change their names. Stone. She is a Stone. And an Alpha! Everything makes so much sense now. I’ve never heard of her father, Alpha Bronson Stone. At least I don’t think so. I know he wasn’t in this territory when we moved here. I wonder if Calvin kept any records of who owned this territory before we moved here. I’ll have to check our archives. This still doesn’t explain why I shouldn’t trust her. That note said not to trust a Stone. That means somebody from outside my pack knew about Daya. Is there more about her she still hasn’t told me? Like I told her, she is cl
DAYA POV Darius and I run into the woods, and I can already here the sounds of wolves fighting, tearing into each other’s bodies. I notice a lot of our warriors begin to separate and take on the rogues individually. We have been training for them to fight together. I feel for my newly established connection to the pack and mindlink all the warriors. ‘Warriors, do your best to stay with your teams. Strength in numbers!’ I shout out. I hear many confirmations, and they all begin to shift closer to each other, forcing the rogues to rethink their strategies and fighting styles. Of course, Tobias calls out through the link, even in the heat of battle, he manages to get a quick jab in. ‘Welcome to Running River, Daya! Now help us tear this group of shitheads apart.’ Even if he is a giant goofball, he is clearly a fierce fighter. He is fending off two rogues. I notice Sage is close to him and she is easily handling a gross grey wolf with matted fur. I continue to scan the field; I h
DAYA POV I am in shock. I can’t move. I can’t speak. All I can hear are Sage’s screams and cries of pain. Darius and Tobias are running to her. Before Darius or I could do anything, Tobias is grabbing the rogue by the neck. He slams him against a tree and without thinking, he plunges his clawed fist into the rogue’s chest. The rogue’s eyes bulge out of his head. Then he briefly smirks before Tobias ripped his heart out of his chest. Growling. Tobias stands over the rogue’s lifeless body, his hands covered in blood. “No!” Darius screams out a moment too late. Tobias snaps his head around. A moment later, Sage screams even louder. The bloody mark on her neck turning black her skin looks like it’s burning. “What have I done?” Tobias collapses next to Sage and scoops her into his arms. She is trying to push away from him, but he holds her firm against his chest as she continues to sob uncontrollably. “What happened?” I ask Darius. Not having witnessed a forced marking before in
DARIUS POV It’s been an entire day since the rogue attack. Daya has finally left the medical clinic to go home and shower. I made her leave. She didn’t want to leave Sage, who has yet to wake up. Tobias is still in his wolf form, laying on the foot of her bed now. I tried to talk to him through the mindlink and it’s no longer Tobias speaking. It’s his wolf spirit. Richard has tried talking to him and got the same response as I have. We are hoping when Sage wakes up, Tobias will come forward and take back control of his wolf. Richard is running some tests on Sage because her infection isn’t clearing up. On top of that, I have no answers as to who led the rogue attack. Daya said she saw something on one of the wolves she killed. I told her to wait until we are with Lucas and Emmy to talk about all this. So I’m just sitting in my office, staring at the couch, by my window, that Tobias normally sits in. Not having his presence in here is filling me with an empty feeling. He is alway
DAYA POV Today is a day with so many unanswered questions. We have no leads on Justin and Mara. We don’t know who is partnering with these rogue wolves. And now, we have some secret group, or something, that was part of this attack as well. As I wait in the medical clinic for Dr. Richard and Darius, I decide to talk to Sage. Just because she is asleep, doesn’t mean she can’t hear me- Mara probably did…crazy bitch. Tobias’ wolf hasn’t moved from the foot of her bed. He is resting his head on her legs. He is not talking much through the mindlink. “So Sage, and I guess Tobias, if either of you are listening…I accepted that Darius is my mate.” I grip Sage’s hand as I talk to her sleeping form. Tobias’ wolf continues to sleep atop her feet. “I know it’s crazy. But I’m done denying it. I’m not sure if I’m going to accept the mate bond, but Darius has been truthful and genuine with me this entire time. I’m the one who has been a liar and fraud. He knows most of my story, but he still do
DAYA POV Aurelian perks up as the three of them enter the room. I also sit more forward in my seat. Eager for any new information. “Hi Tobias.” Richard says, trying to stay calm and keep Aurelian calm. I was about to correct Richard and tell him this isn’t Tobias. Aurelian immediately mindlinks me before I can say anything. ‘Not time to tell yet. Sage is more important.’ Aurelian conveys this through our link. I gently nod my head to him. “Something you were going to tell us, Daya?” Darius asks me as my attention comes back to the room. I shake my head and re-grip Sage’s hand. “No. Just eager to find out what’s wrong with Sage. Please, Richard. Tell me you and Saph have figured this out.” I sound desperate and pained. I need to know that Sage will be okay. And it seems that Aurelian and Tobias need her to be okay for them to heal as well. “Okay. Let’s get right to it.” Richard begins to speak, getting all our attention. “We have Sage sedated because this infe