Deadrick and I aren’t three feet into the packhouse gardens before Alpha Nolan comes strolling up to us. Blessedly, he looks and smells like himself and not a cheap imposter. Shadows linger beneath his eyes, even as the sun shines boldly on his face. And red tinges at the outer corners. With his golden halo of hair glittering like a crown in the light, he indeed looks the part of a mad king. Alpha Nolan smiles, approaching me and my father with his arms stretched wide. The silk of his robe slips open, revealing his bare chest. “Ah, my dutiful Beta has come to fulfill his orders. What a prize he’s brought me.” I was wrong. Nolan isn’t himself at all. He’s worse. “Thank you, Deadrick.” He wraps my father in a tight embrace as if they were brothers to be separated by war. Even his expression is pained when the hug ends. “I’ll take her from here.” “Am I not joining you and Makayla inside?” Confusion arcs Deadrick’s brow as he studies Alpha Nolan’s face. Nolan grasps my father by h
Milla growls through me, biting at Nolan’s fingers as he caresses my brow and temple, completely unphased. He looks at me like some hidden treasure, finally uncovered after decades of searching. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know one another. I think you’ll find my wolf to be amenable and courteous,” he muses. My breathing’s ragged and out of control. Milla’s pulling against me so hard that I can barely keep my focus. It’s taking everything just to hold her still and keep my mouth shut. “Let me speak, Makayla. I have so much I want to tell this monster!” she demands. “You can’t. If he finds out about Rafe—” “Our mate is strong! We are strong! We do not have to bow and accept this from the likes of Nolan. Let everyone know about Rafael Crane. Let them talk and then watch them go silent in his presence. The weak are like that.” “Milla, please.” She lets go, settling deep into the quiet of my mind. I’m in control again and exhausted. Too exhausted to struggle against Nolan’s
I was a fool. I believed I could escape from the packhouse and run away with Rafe that day. I should have known better than to think Nolan would let me go so easily. Not after all he confessed and his plans to block my mate bond with Rafe. The threat of that alone infuriates me more than what happened after Thane escorted me from the room. Three steps. I didn’t make it three steps before Nolan’s personal guards descended on me like I was a criminal. No questions asked, no directions given, and the guards dragged me down to the basement. They threw me into one of the holding cells for interrogations. And here I remain. Hungry, cold, tired, and sore from being tossed around like a ragdoll by the guards. I’m confident they took extra care to make the trip to the dungeon as painful for me as possible. I run my hand along the cold bars of the cell, rust, and dust collecting on my fingertips. The scent of blood lingers, rising from a nearby cell that shows signs of recent… and frequent
Like father like son, the Wrest’s insanity knows no end.At the bonfire, I believed Wesley was toying with me, playing some game that would eventually end with everyone slinking out of the shadows to laugh at me while beating me senseless. That was more believable than his proposal to make me Luna being genuine and sincere.But here he stands, spewing the same nonsense, and there’s no one around but us. And whoever else is loudly whimpering and locked in this prison. His brown eyes catch the light of the bulb, warmth spreading across his features. Again, just like before. Does Wesley actually like me? This isn’t a power play to humiliate me; he truly wants me to be his Luna?!Steadying my nerves, I asked, “What does Quinn think about this?”The prisoner beside me sniffles loudly, and Wesley’s expression grows dark. He snatches their cell door open and slams their head into the hallway’s cement floor until they stop moving. Satisfied by the silence, he stands in front of me, blood spla
A few seconds of silence pass before the smoke clears and the hazy figure is revealed. Alpha Nolan stands panting furiously in the doorway, his blond hair a jostled mess across his head and a fresh gash oozing blood down his cheek. Whatever happened between him and Alpha Thane, I have a feeling he wasn’t the victor. But I can’t count anything out. If Nolan did contend with Thane, how is he standing here if he didn’t win? Then does that mean Thane lost? Did he slay our ally’s Alpha? Are River Crest and Io at war? I have too many questions and enough sense not to ask. Alpha Nolan limps as he enters the prison hallway; the scent of his blood mixes with the already thick air and chokes in my throat. He’s more injured than he appears, but he’s still holding his head high while glaring at his son. “So,” he snarls, his voice deep and rough. “You think you’ve got the balls to overthrow me? You and your ragtag group of mouth-breathing idiots are going to stage a coup and remove me as Al
Two days. I spent two days locked away in those cells. Io vacated the territory during that time after Alpha Thane was pried away from Nolan’s unconscious body. Alpha Nolan had only just regained consciousness when he came storming into the cellar looking for me. The pack doctors and healers did their best to help him recover, but he still looked half-dead when I last saw him. I’m surprised he still had the energy to go after Wesley after Thane almost sent him to the Moon Goddess, express shipping. But he was apparently sound enough to strip Wesley of all authority over the pack warriors, guards, and militia. Quinn was removed from the packhouse and forced to return home to her parents. And all talks of my entering the harem have been halted while Alpha Nolan finishes recovering. It’s been three days since Nolan released me, and I returned to my empty trailer. I’ve been hiding here since then with no news of what’s happening or why. My only aim is to stay out of sight and pray that N
They’re actually going through with it.After Io pulled out of the alliance, the delegation and the accompanying guards left the territory immediately. Talks of war spread through the packs despite the remaining conscious leadership doing their best to foster peace. Apparently, my father met with the Io delegation just outside of River Crest’s territory to discuss negotiations and peace talks.I don’t know all the details and can only catch pieces as Marc and Arlo grumble and hiss about the situation. Meanwhile, Remy remains brutally silent on the matter. But I do know that Deadrick Pride returned to River Crest looking like a man who lost everything. He was seen storming off from the packhouse a few hours before Nolan released me.No one has heard from him since.Or if they have, they aren’t telling me. Why would they? As far as they’re concerned, I am responsible for the state of things.According to the rumors and insults spewing continuously out of Marc, I seduced Alpha Thane and
How did my absolute last resort become the only option I had left?I did everything right. Or I tried to, at least.I accepted beatings, insults, mistreatment, lies, scandal, ridicule, harassment, and assault. I took every lick and kept on bowing and thanking them for it. I learned the laws, the customs, the proper way to show appreciation for being told to lick their boots, and for what?Had I known I was going to end up like this, running through the woods with blood on my fur, the wind in my hair, and a laugh tickling in my throat, I wouldn’t have wasted time with any of it.Why did I try so hard? Why did I bother being anything else?I feel so free with Milla taking the lead; she charges effortlessly through the trees and carries us to the river. Leaping into the cool waters, we rinse the blood of the warriors from our fur, paws, and mouth. I catch sight of my reflection in the water, mentally tallying the ways we’ve changed since the last time I was allowed to shift.Our eyes are