Liam P.O.V. We made the calls, and Maddie was right, once again. Our allies were more than willing to come to our aid. They made haste, and most of them were here before evening. We made sure to accommodate them as best as we could. The kitchen was alerted to the many guests we would have, and they made sure to have enough food and drinks prepared and stocked so we could load up before the evening's battle. Azlela’s vision gave us time to prepare, and I was grateful to her.Maddie immediately installed the wiccan friends in some of the townhomes which had safe rooms attached to them, so their children could hide away. One or two adults promised to stay with them, and that mostly consisted of a few women who were visibly caring a new life in their stomach. I instructed my border guards about the flow of people who would be arriving, and which pack they were from. Mother Bianca even reached out to some of her wiccan friends and explained the situation. Most of them were really surpris
Maddison P.O.V.Liam pushes me behind him as Eileen and Rick lungs towards us. He shifts into Ash, defending me as well as he can, but Rick also shifts into his wolf and they are fighting each other with deadly precision. Eileen has her eyes set on me, and they are shooting lightning, as she is screaming profanities. “You get paid for what you did in the mall and when I was here with my mother you bitch!” She says. I cannot shift into Ember without putting my pup in danger, but no one has said anything about using magic. I send a quick mindlink to our doctor, who assures me I can still fight with magic, but I cannot shift or engage in combat otherwise. “I like to see you try.” I taunt her. I need her focused on me, so she won’t try and attack Liam or someone else close to me. “Don’t worry, your little wolf man will get the same treatment as you as soon as I am finished with you.” Eileen threatens, and I growl at her. No one threatens my family and gets aways with it. I send her fly
Liam P.O.V. Cleaning the battlefield was what took the longest - almost a week before we had burned the enemies and cleaned the ground from blood, body parts etc. Maddie was in bed for the week. She had used a lot of her energy, magical, emotional and physical, in her fight with Eileen, her reunion with her parents and the death of Azlela. She was also furious that Jessica managed to escape, but that was a problem for another day. Her parents asked to stay with her in our pack for the time being, and I granted it after I asked Maddie what she wanted. She wanted time with them to understand why they had done as they did, and after talking to them for days on end, she forgave them their mistakes. They on the other hand had not forgiven each other or themselves for what they did to their daughter, and I can’t say I blame them. I would not forgive myself either if I had treated my own daughter that way - not that I ever would do that! When they learned Maddie is pregnant they were both
Maddison P.O.V.I wake because Liam is not by my side. I open one eye and look for him, but he is nowhere to be seen. I sit up, looking around our room, but it is dark and empty except for me. I don’t feel like he is in danger through the bond, or in distress either. Ember is calm as well. ‘Babe?’ I ask in a mindlink, but he doesn’t answer. I get out of bed and put on a robe. Then I exit our bedroom and go on the hunt for my missing mate. He must be somewhere in the packhouse or grounds one should think. After looking in the office, kitchen, dining room, living room and knocking on his parents quarters, I almost gave up. But then something springs to mind, and I walk outside. The sun has not yet risen from the horizon, making the sky a light pearly gray. I walk over the courtyard, the gravel crunching under my slippers. His scent is getting stronger in the still morning air, and I wonder what made him come out here? I find Liam sitting with Jumper, Flower and Piper in the clearing
Balder P.O.V. I still cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I have been named Alpha of Iron Mountain. I know I will have great support from Maddie and Liam, and my parents, but I am worried about Lilliana. We accepted each other, and I have marked her as mine, but will she stay by my side? Just because we are mated and marked, she put her witch mark on me - a tattooish picture on my neck, just without the bite mark, it does not mean she has to stay with me. Granted the blow from a rejection now would probably kill me, but I would not blame her one bit. She was not very happy when her Luna aura suddenly sprung to life when I was announced by the Elder to be the Alpha. We had a long talk in our room at Maddies pack, and we agreed to give it a try, but I am so afraid she will eventually leave me. “Babe? What are you thinking about? Your face looks like someone killed your favorite kitten or something.” Lillie asks me from the passenger seat of the car Liam borrowed me. I sigh deep
Liam P.O.V.“LIAM!” Ah shit! It’s Maddie. I run out of my office and downstairs, and see the others running in the same direction as me. “What is it, babe?” I ask her, but she doesn’t answer. She just stares at me and then in the backyard. It is bare. The wheels turn quickly and then I mutter a curse. “Ah fuck.” I gesture to the others and we hurry out to get the many tables, chairs and pavilions set up. Why hasn’t this been done before now? ‘Because we, along with the other ranked males, promised to do it this morning or last night, dimwitt.’ Ash snicker in my mind. I roll my eyes while working with wolfspeed. Omega’s rush to our aid, and together we get the backyard set up within the next 45 minutes. Maddie looks like a thundercloud when I return to the living room all sweaty and slightly out of breath. “Why didn’t you do it this morning like you promised?” Maddie asks, her voice irritated and impatient. I lean down and kiss her cheek, and she swats me away. “You stink. Go shower
Maddison P.O.V. I was 10 when my pack threw me out like yesterday's leftovers. The Alpha - Richard, usually was a strict but fair leader, but when it came to his Luna, he went overboard with all kinds of crazy. She fell ill, and even the magic in our doctors couldn’t help her. They couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her, and eventually she died from it and the pack mourned her deeply - or so I heard. By the time Luna Jennifer died, I was long gone and not looking back. The funny thing? I never got the stench or mark of a rogue. It was like I was a regular wolf, but without the pack. Sitting in front of my cave, I think back to the time where my life took one hell of a turn, knowing I dodged a bullet by being thrown out. All my life up to that point, my parents and the Alpha and Luna had it all planned out for me. I was going to marry the Alpha’s son Rick and become the Luna of the pack. But I also needed to keep covering for Jessica, the Alpha’s daughter. She was born without
Maddison P.O.V. I can’t believe I already turned 19. The years have gone by so fast on one hand, and on the other it still feels like yesterday when I wandered through the rough terrain in the pitch black of the night. I’ve been dreading meeting my mate ever since I shifted on the night of my 18th birthday, but so far I’ve been lucky and not met anyone. I hope it stays that way because I will not make good mate material. Not with my past, and with my personality. The morning is foggy, but I know as soon as the sun comes up it’ll burn the fog away with its warm rays. I walk down to the little lake, just down from my cave, to wash myself. I’ve made a small morning fire, and put the kettle over to make a cup of tea. I put the stones there as well for my dough, so I can have some freshly baked bread with honey and cheese. It’s my favorite in these semi cold fall mornings. The day is warm enough, but at night I need to have one of my heating stones active to keep warm. Even with all my