Dante's POV
I closely studied the document that Maddox had handed over to me. For the past hour, we had been having a long overdue conversation about the packs' affairs. It was breakfast time now but we were still at it. Maddox leaned forward to peek into the paper I was looking at.
"Is er- it to your liking?" he asked. "Lucius sent it to me a few days ago. I went through it first before presenting it to you. It looked good to me though. We seem to have made appreciable progress in such a short period."
I flipped through the other papers and nodded. Maddox was right. What I saw here on paper really looked good. It was a record of the packs' holdings and financial transactions in the past few weeks. After the episode of the traitors, I had made sure that the pack ventured into other lucrative businesses. I believed that money
Allison's POVAs I ran through the woods, I kept looking back. I told myself that I was making sure that I was not being followed by Dante's guards, but that to tell the truth, that was not the only reason. My paws did not seem to touch the ground. I was running faster than I had done in a very long time.The thrill and exhilaration I got from running in the woods were absent. I was restless and on edge and even in my wolf form, I could not get over those feelings. With every step I took, I felt like a part of me was being ripped apart. It was a sign of the mate bond between Dante and I getting strained. I fought it every step of the way but still, the feeling persisted. I hated the feeling. I kept reminding myself over and over again that the Shadow Moon pack was not my home and that Dante Colle meant nothing to me.He i
Allison's POVI felt betrayed and more hurt than I had been in my life. In Dante's pack at times, I had been treated as less than a child. But I couldn't remember being this hurt. I had dedicated all of my life to this pack and this was how they chose to repay me. I would gladly have laid down my life without hesitation for my pack. It was the way I was trained and the kind of training I had given to the guards and warriors I had trained.Now, they had wiped out all traces of my existence. To think that I had only been absent for just six months. The man carrying the sheets bowed stiffly and gave me a wide berth as he passed. The way I stood was beginning to attract attention. I realized my eyes were beginning to get misty.Appalled at my weakness, I rapidly blinked back the tears. I could see some of the men working inside t
Allison's POV To say I was shocked at Alpha Scott's statement was an understatement. The hurt I had felt before was like child's play compared to this. What I had been expecting was an apology and perhaps an explanation of his actions as the pack had most likely gotten a new Beta right after I left. The Alpha was not even talking about a reinstatement or another position I could fill in. He was talking about sending me back to Dante's pack!It took a few seconds for me to wrap my head around the idea. The effort I was making to get myself under control was being wasted. Already, I could feel the tenuous hold I had on my temper already slipping. Could this day get any worse? Perhaps this time, I was at the receiving end of Alpha Scott's rare sense of humor. I laughed even though I did not feel like it. "Alpha, you are joking right?" I asked him.He was grave, not a trace of humor on his face. His mouth set in a hard line."I'm afraid this is not a joke Allison. I'm being serious."My
Dante's POV "Can somebody open their damn mouths and speak up? Or have the lot of you suddenly gone dumb?" I yelled. I looked again at the row of guards lined up in my study. They stood totally still under my scrutiny. One would think they were dummies if not for the rise and fall of their chests at intervals. I found myself wishing that one of them would twitch or break ranks. I looked out for a shify eye, restless fingers, shuffling feet, a curl of the lip- anything that would allow me to give vent to the insane rage I felt. I was suddenly conscious of a sound- an annoying sound like rattling wood. My lips curled into a snarl as I studied the men, searching for the culprit who dared to irritate me with such noise. I couldn't answer for the man's life if I caught him. All the men were as still and attentive as they were supposed to be. It was then I looked down at myself and found out that I was the source of the sound. My hands which were placed on my desk were shaking so badly
Dante's POV I massaged my temples in circular motions as I listened to the Alpha's monotonous voice drone and on. The veins there throbbed. My efforts at getting rid of the rapidly growing pressure there were apparently not working. For one, the motion of my fingers was not as soothing as I wanted them to be. For another, I was so angry at everything and at everyone that I could not concentrate on what the Alpha was saying. The fact that I was in such bad shape that I couldn't attend to my pack's business only made me more furious. And so the cycle went on and on, with no signs of ever coming to an end. I was beginning to feel that it had been a really bad idea to listen to Maddox's advice on attending this meeting. Perhaps if I had done what had come to mind initially- going to search for Allison myself- I wouldn't be sitting here feeling useless and unproductive. The Alpha burst into laughter. The tiny part of my brain that was paying attention to our conversation registered that
Allison's POV I hardly felt the weight of my body as I ran. It felt like I was running on air. I felt weightless like I was floating. That sensation of floating was disturbing so I did not want to examine that feeling too closely. The last reserves of my energy were what I was banking on at this time. I was beginning to feel very weak but I could not afford to stop or give up now. Throwing in the towel was what everyone would want, what they would all expect. I could hardly believe that I was on the run- not because I had done anything wrong or committed a crime that would warrant me being banished from my pack. But because I was thought of as the property of an egoistic Alpha who everyone was too chicken to stand up to. The anger I felt threatened to swamp all reasoning. A low growl erupted from deep within me. I would kill them- kill them all. Everyone who had contrived to put me in this situation would face my wrath. I had something specially planned for those who had murdered m
Allison's POV The first thing I was conscious of was a splitting pain centered around my forehead. I winced and the pain intensified. Slowly, the pain began to spread from my head to my neck and down to my limbs. My entire body felt like one giant ball of pain. At the same time, a feeling of lethargy crept over me. I felt very weak and I did not want to make an effort to know what was wrong with me. Opening my eyes felt like too much effort. I gritted my teeth and forced them open. They drooped because it felt like steel pennies were glued to them. I blinked again and again. I tried to raise my hand to wipe my eyes but it didn't move. I tried again but my efforts were only rewarded by a sharp pain in the area of my wrist. I glanced down and saw that my arm was tied behind me and I was tied to a chair. My entire body was crisscrossed with ropes. I gasped in surprise and my heart began to beat fiercely. I was confused, disoriented, and could not for the life of me figure out how I ha
Allison's POV I blinked and my mother was still there. She seemed to twitch a little. Those eyes seemed to accuse me of not being able to do anything to prevent her death. I squeezed my eyes shut and sobbed. I was a child at the time so what could I possibly have done? I could barely even defend myself. Still, that accusatory voice would not keep quiet. "You are still to blame," that voice said. "After all these years, you were no closer to finding your parents' killers. Now they found you by chance. You take pride in being the first female Beta ever but where did that get you in the end? You defend others, but how about your own? Even Darius is more serious about getting revenge than you.""No, no, please no," I cried, shaking my head, trying to shut out the voice. I tasted salt and realized I was crying. I rocked rapidly back and forth to the extent that the chair was in danger of overturning. It took me a while to convince myself that my mother was not really lying there. It h