Magnus shifted, triggering the release of his enforcers from the buildings. He watched his enemies as they realized they didn’t have the upper hand as they thought. He gained pleasure and appreciated the fear that slipped over many of his enemies’ faces. Some people in the pack fled, and he enjoyed it. Half of the Vagas Moon Pack enforcers met with the Greater McConnell Pack. Magnus engaged Kilburn with a pouncing, clawing attack. Kilburn dodged and Magnus got fur. He cursed his overeagerness and concentrated on recovering his stance and protect his hide from Kilburn’s attack. He might not have hit a blow, but Kilburn hadn’t either.Other enforcers intercepted other wolves when they attempted to interfere in the battling alphas. Kilburn came close again. His anger fuelling his aggression and Magnus soon learned the old wolf was not in his right mind. Even in wolf form, he reeked of alcohol and herbs. Herbs Magnus couldn’t define, and he prayed this was not w
Magnus, among others, left people in charge of the cleanup, they charged others in rounding up the injured and dead. It was disgusting how Kilburn abandoned his people as soon as he’d been injured to any extent. He’d not called a retreat. They left his witch mate to announce their plans for continued hostilities. They wanted the girls back and now they wanted blood. Magnus needed to change up things. The pups and maternal pack members needed to be safe. He knew Kilburn didn’t have information on half the pack and he wasn’t a fool. Magnus recognized Ivory could be there to get information on the pack for her father, and that would not happen. “Hey, Ran, we’re cleaning up here. I’m heading back. Make sure you secure your charge. I don’t want her wandering unescorted anywhere. The less she sees and the less she knows, the happier I will be. I don’t want to find out that she’s lying to us and sending her daddy information.” Magnus couldn’t drive right now if he
Sapphire sat in what others were calling her office, thinking about what was happening. She’d struggled not to pace as she worried about Magnus and his friends. The healers were down the hall in what had been the sitting room. It was not set up as a treatment room for those injured badly. It was nothing like the old healer her father had. Gods, she didn’t know how the Vagas Moon Pack would heal their people with one old healer. This pack had six healers, and someone trained them in various medical types, along with their special skills. Sapphire felt woefully under qualified to help them, so she retreated to her office to struggle alone with her feelings. “You need to eat, dear, and I just got word. Your uncle retreated, and the Alpha was on his way back now. Everything is fine. Now you eat this and I’m going to take a tray up to your cousin right now.” Sarah Ann puttered in with a cloth covered tray and set it on her desk. “You need to figure out h
Hayden lay in the back of the SUV as best as he could. One enemy got in a pretty good bite, and he couldn’t shift now. He wouldn’t die, but this was a pain in the butt. He couldn’t shift, which meant he couldn’t talk. Not until the healers healed enough for him to shift again. April would not be happy with this twist of fate. It would slow down their ability to hunt for whatever was in that hidden place. So there he lay in what should be the vehicle’s trunk and it was a squeeze for him because of his size as a wolf. Every large bump in the road meant his head hit the ceiling of the vehicle. If they didn’t get there soon, he’d probably have to add a concussion to his list of injuries. “How are you holding up back there, Hayden?” He grumbled as best as he could. The vehicle hit yet another bump, and it jostled him, so he snapped at the healer that was questioning them. “Okay, I think he’s telling us we need either a better road or a bet
Ran stood in the entry to Ivory’s rooms and watched her stare out a window. He knew she was aware of his presence, but she’d not acknowledged him beyond ignoring him. “Feeling sorry for yourself yet?” He asked while he checked to see if she’d eaten. “Sorry for myself? I’m too busy trying to figure out how I’m going to survive this.” “Really? What do you think will happen to you now that you’ve left the protection of your father?” “Protection of my father? He protected no one but himself. Everyone, including me, tiptoed around him. Oh, I thought I was manipulating him, but now I think he let me do it so I would be easier to control or predict.” “Really? What makes you believe that?” “The way he changed. He stopped smiling. Started growling and yelling at everyone. Then he hit me. I thought it was because Sapphire was gone and things weren’t getting done. But now…” “Now you know their plans were in danger of falling
Magnus found Sapphire in her office, poring over the information there. Notes and requests scattered about her desk. “So, this is where you’re hiding.” He leaned against the doorpost and watched her work before he said this. Magnus couldn’t help but smile at the look that came over her face when she recognized him. Sapphire dropped everything and hurried toward him, but stopped short of embracing him. “You’re injured and now we’re at war.” “Bah, just a few scratches, and he’ll have other things to deal with soon enough. Like fleeing the results of reneging on the treaties.” Magnus wasn’t sure if her feelings conflicted or confused her. “Will it be that bad for them? I mean, it’s my uncle and aunt that are bad. Well, a few of their trusted people. But beyond that, everyone is just trying to survive.” “They will and probably prosper away from here. They’ve been struggling because the land itself was working against them. Now, are you going to
April couldn’t believe what she saw as the first group of wolves returned from the meeting. They took several wolves into a sitting room that had been turned into a temporary infirmary. One wolf that limped in on his own accord, she knew, had to be Hayden. She couldn’t miss his eyes. Those rarely changed when they shifted. It was one of those telltale things that got them hunted over the centuries. Right now, though, she didn’t care about that. What had her in a panic was the long wound on his hip. No wonder he wasn’t shifting back. It scared her to see it. Yet there he was, hobbling in like he had a splinter in his toe! April started whispering beseeching requests to the gods for him to be okay. She had some deep-seated need for him to be safe and to survive whatever happened to him. She’d started these hours ago, praying for his safety and success. Now she’d heard others state they’d been successful, and the Vagas Moon Pack learned of their terrible loss.
“You must get them back now! Franklin, we must have them. It’s chaos. The fields have turned to mush in the middle of high summer with no rains. The septic tanks are clogging up from worms! These aren’t natural things. We’re in chaos. The main sitting room of the packhouse has a branch growing through it’s main window, like it’s been there for a hundred years. Do something now.” Betty badgered Frank while he was being stitched up by the old healer woman.He’d lost several enforcers today, and he didn’t know if they were dead, runaways or captured. His witch mate was her usual demanding self. Stating things he could see easily with his own two eyes.If he didn’t feel so bagged or hurt so much, he’d backhand her and show her, her place. She’d done all this and now had the nerve to blame him for everything turning on them.“Why don’t you do something for a change, witch? Hmm? You’re always claiming you’re so powerful. Make things happen. Combat this with your powerful magic.” Hi