*Claire*I sighed as I pushed my food around on my plate. I regretted not grabbing any vegetables, but I wasn’t very good at eating them anyway. Avery usually forced me to grab a side of veggies when we ate together, but this evening, she was working late at the infirmary.I offered to help her since she had fallen behind on some boring inventory-type stuff, but she insisted I go ahead and have dinner without her. She was too sharp and observant and noticed that I barely ate that day. She knew all she had to do was refuse my help, and I would be forced to go to dinner without her.She didn’t seem to realize that if she didn’t eat with me, I was eating alone.I looked over where Kent and the other higher-ups tended to sit during meals. I hadn’t seen the Gamma since we got caught during our training session by Jared. I couldn’t help but be concerned for my new friend.Jared had said Kent and I would still be allowed to train together, but I should have also made sure that the Alpha woul
“I thought you hated me,” I murmured in a heated whisper.Jared just stared down at me, his golden eyes giving nothing away. His large hand came up to cup the side of my face, his breath hot against my skin as he lowered his head toward me.I tried to push him away, to struggle beneath him, but my body wasn’t my own. It wouldn’t obey me. I just lay there helplessly, waiting anxiously for what he was about to do.Jared sat up suddenly and threw his head back, howling deeply, thick tufts of fur growing on his neck and the sides of his face.“What—” I gasped.My eyelids flew open.Just a dream.I blew out a breath, but it immediately got caught in my throat at the commotion outside my bedroom window. Deep haunting howls shook the thin walls of my room and I jumped out of bed, running to the window to see dozens of Moonstone members running.Was this some kind of fire alarm or something?I looked around wildly. No smoke, which was a good sign.I grabbed a thin jacket to throw over my shou
I held the now empty vial in my hand, clutching it as Rob fell backward and shivered hard over the exam table. He started to make gurgling noises, white bubbles forming at his mouth and spilling off the side of his face. His glassy eyes started to roll back into his head.“Claire?” Avery gasped in shock as she rushed over to stand beside me.We watched as the thin wounds across Rob’s chest began to widen, a gush of blood spilling onto the white table.“Why isn’t it working?” I shrieked. I grabbed the whole container of gauze and pressed it to the man’s convulsing chest. I whirled to stare at Avery with wide eyes. “We have to do something!”Avery just shook her head. It was too late.Rob was no longer moving.Avery rushed to his side, grabbing onto his wrists and looking at his face. She put her ear against his chest. She lifted her head and her eyes were hollow and wide with shock.“He’s gone,” she said, her lips barely moving.I felt my ears ringing and the room began to spin.“But h
Shock coursed through me, although it really shouldn’t have.It was obvious from the time I first set foot on Moonstone that Amanda was pining for Jared. Each time she looked at him, she was fluttering her eyelashes and gave him seductive looks.Jared had been harder to read. He seemed to definitely tolerate her even though she didn’t hesitate to challenge him in front of the entire pack. It always shocked me whenever he would allow her to disrespect him. He was quick to berate anyone else when they stopped even a foot out of line.The only explanation was that they were mated.Amanda’s past behavior was making so much sense, from the way she hung on Jared’s arm to the way she could get away with just about anything. I knew that there had to be something else going on. She couldn’t get that much special treatment just because she was the daughter of the Beta.I watched Jared’s face, which was set in stone. It was clear that he didn’t want the news of their being mated shared this way.
I obeyed, shocked that I was able to do so as if I was surrounded by the cleanest air in the world. It was a momentary instant, but enough for me to survive.My body was still weak but my mind was clear.I could sense the tiniest flow of the water, although I couldn’t do much more. So I waited.Finally, a splash rang above me. Jared was swimming toward me, holding a sharp knife in his mouth. He was shocked when he saw me quietly sitting there, waiting for him.I gave him a nod. His handsome face softened, and I could clearly see the worry in his eyes was replaced by relief.Without any delay, he cut the ties and the ropes. My wrists easily broke through the binds and the stones attached to my legs fell away. As soon as I was freed, he grabbed me by my waist and swam toward the surface.The beacon of moonlight above me was whining through the water. He gave me a forceful push, and I gulped in lungfuls of air as I burst through the surface of the water.The air flowed into my lungs so q
*Jared*I could feel my temper rising with each passing moment. Sleep was in short supply for me, but I was sure the majority of Moonstone probably didn’t rest well after the attacks and the near-persecution of Claire.There was hardly any time for rest anyway. As soon as we returned from the lake, I was immediately called by the elders for an emergency meeting. I understood the value of sitting amongst the wisest of our pack members, but I couldn’t help but find it tedious to end such a chaotic evening.“We’ve seen more rogues lately. Not only us, our neighbors as well. We should collaborate with them for patrolling … the rogues we encountered were much more powerful than before, we need to intensify training…”While the elders discussed the further fortification of our borders and the improvement of our troops, which would take weeks in order to complete, I found myself thinking about a certain dark-haired ex-rogue.I was replaying those terrifying moments when I watched her disappe
*Claire*One would think that I would stay away from the lake after almost drowning in it just two nights prior, but I found that I couldn’t do that. Yes, it had been a traumatizing experience, one that I was unlikely to forget for the rest of my life, but it also filled me with a fierce determination to reconnect with my wolf and fulfill whatever wishes my parents had for me before they passed away.After the fight for my life, Avery insisted that I take a couple of days off from working with her at the infirmary. I understood her reasoning. I had nearly drowned and had been soaked to the bone in the cold lake water and while I woke up without any kind of ailment, I was drained and weak from all the intense and exhausting events.I stayed in bed for most of that first day, forcing myself up during meals. I was used to being ignored or thrown dirty looks by people as I wandered through the community, so I was shocked when some people actually greeted me.Of course, there were always s
*Claire*The first sensation I was aware of when I regained consciousness was that I was swaying. My arms were stinging and aching terribly as if circulation was being cut off from them. My whole body was aching. I cracked an eye open and the first thing I saw was the forest floor. It was moving, shifting back and forth in front of my eyes in quick, jarring movements.It took me a few seconds to realize that it wasn’t the ground moving. I was moving. I was tied up with rope and was dangling a couple of feet off of the ground. I stayed as still as I could and peeked above me.I almost squealed with fear when I saw Bentley’s wolf eyes only a few inches away from me. He had shifted and was biting down on the end of the rope that was tied around my body. I looked like a hunted animal as he trotted along. I tried to be discreet as I glanced around, trying not to alert him that I was conscious.The next thing I noticed was that my jaw ached horribly and it was difficult to breathe. I had so