Bronx POV“Hi Carly. We should be at the main gate in about fifteen minutes. We’ll give most of these folks a chance to get settled in their houses. Two of the guys are going to come up the mountain with me. If you can just direct the drivers to the houses, I’ll get Klay settled into his suite in the guard area later.” “Sounds good, Alpha. I will send the addresses to the GPS systems in the SUVs now.” Carly chirps happily into the phone. “Did you want to stop by the pack house to see your babies before you head up to story time? Diane and I are in the Luna’s suite with them, our babies, and Katie.”“I, uh, I’m going to wait until I’ve spoken to Kas, Carly.” I speak slowly, trying to remember patience. “I want to make sure she’s okay with me being there. I can’t just barge in anymore.”“I understand, Alpha.” Carly’s tone softens and sounds more like it used to before I changed. “It’s good to have you back, Alpha. I mean that.”“It’s good to be back, Carly.” I look out the window at th
I look around and see one of the young women inching toward me. She can’t tear her eyes away from the sight of the man with wings.“Don’t worry, all. He’s a shifter like us… sort of.” I point toward the tree line. “And a little sneak peek for all of you. My other friend is a weretiger. What’s the Blood River motto, everyone?”“Be brave. Stand your ground, Alpha.” They all say in unison.“That’s right. Don’t be scared when he comes out of the trees, okay?” They stop what they’re doing, look at the tree line and gasp when the giant tiger steps out with a low growl. “Everyone, this is Suea. He’s going to be part of our guard. I trust him, which means you can, too.”“A-Alpha… He won’t eat me?” The young omega freezes in place and looks up at me with watery eyes. “My mom just bought my cap and gown. I can’t die yet.”“I promise you, he is more interested in lizards and birds. Not werewolves. You’ll graduate on time just like everyone else.” I squat down to face the girl. “Take a deep breat
“Oh! Look who it is, everyone!” Kas smiles and waves to Saint. His tail immediately wags happily in response. He trots out of the treeline on the opposite end of the clearing from where Kas is sitting. He stops and bows his head deeply to his Luna in front of everyone. Around us, the pack members bow to Saint in return. Children whisper happily at the sight of the pure white wolf while being shushed by their parents. Kas doesn’t stand up, but she reaches out her hand and bids him to come closer. “Come here, Alpha. We’ve all missed you.” Saint hesitates, not sure what to think. I can feel his indecision. Divided between nervous to be rejected by her and wanting to sit as close as he can. There’s something else that I can’t put my finger on. “Saint, go ahead. She wants you to come closer.” “D-don’t you see it?” He says in awe as he steps forward. “I can’t believe it. Holy shit.” “What? What’s wrong?” I try to push forward to see what he’s looking at. “The crown.” He barely whispers
While everyone settles in again, Saint finally approaches Kas. “There’s my guy.” Kas holds out her hand for Saint to sniff. He bypasses the gesture completely and sets his head in her lap. “Something’s wrong with her. Can you feel how scared she is?” Saint whines to me. “I can feel it. I’m not sure why, though. Just follow what the Doc said. Be patient. She might change her mind and if she does, it’s okay to step back and give her space.” I calm him before he gets too worked up. Saint’s worry eases when Kas removes one of her mittens and runs her fingers through the collar of thick fur around his neck. Even without a mate bond, just feeling her close is a relief. “Saint, I have a lot to talk to Bronx about. Not right now, but I’m sure he’s listening. We need to figure out a time in the next few weeks. For now, could you just sit close and stay on guard for me? Just… um, just in case.” Saint takes his place at her side and watches as Delilah turns the sky turn into a beautiful s
I take the newly minted Swagga to the storage hut where the cupboard is, so we can shift and put on fresh clothes. When we get back to the clearing, the crowds are thinning. The pack members who see me greet me with handshakes and introduce themselves to Klay. Codi stops playing with sticks on the ground when sees me and runs over so I can pick her up. I lift her high in the air, making her giggle, then give her a raspberry on the cheek. “My Codi girl! Uncle Bronx has missed you. Have you been behaving for your daddy?” Codi hugs me around the neck and nods against my cheek. “Uncle Bonx, what? I haf a kitty now.” “Oh, you do? That’s awesome.” I smile and look at Klay out of the corner of my eye. “What’s your kitty’s name?” “He a tiger and he dis big!” Her eyes go big as she spreads her arms out as wide as she can. Behind her, Klay gives a silent chuckle, “And he let Codi give him a big hug!” “I’m happy you made a friend, Codi, but you didn’t tell me his name.” I raise my eyebrows
“I just need to check on Kas first.” I look down the road at Milo’s tail lights. “It won’t take long.”“Alpha Regent Bronx Mason, I saw what happened. Are you alright?” Delilah’s thick French accent comes from beside me. She approaches slowly, holding her enormous belly, tentative to get too close.“I’m fine, Delilah. Thank you. We're going down the hill so I can get checked out now. I’m more worried about Kas. I don’t know what happened.” I look at her stiff posture and remember that I haven’t seen her in months. I put her under house arrest, but even after I pardoned her, I didn’t have time to speak with her because I went to rehab. “Reaper just went to shift. James can give you a ride if a couple of you will sit in the bed of his truck?” Delilah tries to grin at me, but she looks distracted.“That would be much appreciated, Ms. Delilah… Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know your last name.” Arrow holds out his hand.“Just Delilah is fine.” She nods politely, but does not shake his hand in r
Saint’s POVHe’s really gone off the deep end. This squirrely bastard went to rehab to get his mind right. Instead, he went insane. He’s hearing voices. I’m not talking about my voice. He always hears me. There’s nothing else there… well, maybe a few dust bunnies.“The Doc is going to die if we don’t do something, so unless you have a better idea, fucking BLOCK ME!” Bronx barks at me.“Fuck my life.” I shake my head. I don’t want to be stuck in his body’s form, but I don’t have a better idea. “Fine. Nighty night, Bronxy.”I grip my claws into his consciousness and yank as hard as I can. It’s almost impossible at first, like I’m trying to pull on two minds. It’s never felt like that before. I dig my claws in and pull harder. It feels like something cracks loose and I’m able to shove him in the little box in my brain. The feeling of pushing forward is different now that he isn’t there.When I am in control, I let go of her neck and hold my hands up in surrender. In the thirty seconds it
“Saint, are you out of your mind?!” Milo’s eyes bug out of his head while he yells at me in Bronx’s office.“First of all, watch your fucking tone, Milo. I’m not Bronx and even if I were, things are different now. Show some Goddess damned respect to your Alpha or get the fuck out.” I let the growl rumble. “And no, it’s the only idea I could think of. If you have any better ideas, we’re all ears.”“She killed Lenora. You’re all okay with this? Bringing her back here again?” Milo looks around the room at Reggie, Ashley, Arrow, Psyche, Klay, and Musu. “You told Bronx what happened was an accident. Have you changed your mind? Because we just spent, like… two fucking months at Doctor Khe’s ranch trying to accept that it really was.” I cross my arms and stare him down. “She will do anything to keep Kas safe.”“Will she though? Why do you think that? And what about the rest of us?” Milo looks at his feet.“I think that because she loves Kas more than her own mother. Kas has spent centuries