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Chapter 41 : A Double-Edged Sword
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Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 42 : The Night There Was No Moon
*Kael*I remembered the night of the raid in haunting clarity.It was an oddly cloudy night, the moon nowhere in sight, the Moon Goddess turning a blind eye to the devastation about to occur.My mother, Kaelin, set me and my other siblings to bed—except Kitron, of course, because he and my father, Adelio, were going to accompany the nightguard Epsilons—not too long after dinner. We slept in the same large, circular room, a third of it having floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking all of Crescent in its shining white glory.Rian was already fast asleep, so my mother returned to my bedside, kissing my forehead and whispering goodnight. I caught her hand. "Mama?"She turned, and with the night breeze stirring her hair, the few candles still alight dancing in the reflection of her blue eyes, I thought she could be the Moon Goddess. I loved her more than anything. "What is it, my love?""I'm fifteen, Mom," I reminded her as if I didn't just two days ago. "Do I have to go to bed
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 43 : Betrayed
*Kael*Jerah and Jaci keep that promise. They did protect me.But they protected me too much.Did they make the same promise to Elara and Rian? If they did, they failed.And I couldn't trust them anymore.Gemma was trying to stop me, but I ripped free to storm to the room that Bly pointed to. I slammed the door open, making Helie shout in surprise and snap, "Hey!" Then, seeing my face, she bolted to her feet and pressed her palms to my chest to hold me back. "Get out of here, Kael. You can't pull this shit—"Both lucky and unlucky for me, Ferio, the silent, steadfast pillar, was there, too, and suddenly took Helie's place to block Jerah from my view."Out of my way," I snarled. "That bastard betrayed me—betrayed my entire pack—""I know," Helie said desperately, "but that doesn't mean—""It's okay, I can take it."We froze at Jerah's voice. Hesitating, Ferio stepped aside. I stalked to Jerah's bedside. Like Bly, he was worse for wear. Some part of me cared and wa
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 44 : Why Are You Hesitating?
*Gemma*The events of the past two weeks flashed in my mind's eye like a bolt of lightning, striking my entire system. My brain fritzed. My heart seized. My fingers curled into fists. Tears sprang to my eyes, and I clenched my teeth so hard it hurt.I could barely get the words out. "I took Lynn's place not as a breeder… but as a spy." It wasn't a question. It was a rage-filled statement. "She backed out of a promise to kill Connor, so she made me go to get out of it?!""The future of my pack rested on your sixteen-year-old cousin's shoulders," Kael said flatly. "What in the Moon Goddess' f*cking hell were your uncles thinking?!""Hell if I know! I can't… I can't believe it. I just… F*ck." I swallowed hard, trying to keep my emotions in check. "All I wanted was to travel. Not walk right into a revolution."It was all so f*cked up. It was just too much to process. There wasn't time to process anything. I looked at everyone in the room and decided that I needed to block
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 45 : Blood-Soaked Sand
*Gemma*The driver slammed his foot down on the brake. Kael, Helie, and I smashed face-first into the seats. The car skidded, swinging sideways, the tires unable to keep traction on the sand. Ahead, the car holding Izar and four other Nightguard shifters was crushed. I couldn't see anyone moving inside it. The two males in the front seats made to open the doors and jump out to rescue their Alpha—but then I looked to see who was climbing out of the enemy car's wrecked doors.The scream ripped from my throat. "No!""Why?" they barked in tandem. "They're just Herrick's guards. We can take them—"Maybe they could, but I didn't want them to risk their lives for my kidnappers.Gralyn and Hadley's feet hit the sand, and they stalked toward Izar's car."Gemma," Helie hissed. "What's wrong?"I wasn't afraid of them, but I was afraid of what I didn't know–their capabilities. Maybe they could be taken down by any of the Nightguards shifters—or maybe they could be strong enough
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 46 : A Body in the Sand
*Kael*I couldn't bear the thought of losing Gemma. And when she yelled rather angrily that she was in love with me, my heart ached so badly that I thought, for the briefest of moments, taking up Helie's exaggerated suggestion and making love to my mate here and now. Even if we burned our skin off on the sand, it would be worth it. She was worth it. And she was worthy of reuniting with her best friend. Cari Maayan, an Epsilon of the Oceantide pack, sent on a mission not to aid Syrus's forces but Nightguard's—and Moonwake. To join the resistance, Moonrise, the operation to reclaim my lost pack and homeland.I almost wept with them."Why are you covered in blood?" Cari demanded, looking Gemma up and down with wide eyes.Gemma blinked and did the same, lifting her hands to see her sliced-up palms. "Oh, yeah, I forgot. Our car was attacked, and they shattered the windows. They'll heal fast.""Healer!" Cari shouted, startling Gemma, and then ordered her, "Sit. I can't believ
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 47 : A New Set of Mates
*Kael*I jumped out of the car before it came to a stop, skidding across the sand and throwing myself onto my knees, putting two fingers to my brother's neck. There—a pulse. Alive.I shook Rian's shoulders—and my horror spiked. He looked worse than I ever did: cuts, bloomed bruises, swollen lip. He'd been tortured. I knew exactly by who.Connor Herrick had tortured my brother.I'd kill him. "Rian, wake up. Wake up, for Mom's sake!"His face was already sunburned. He would look like a molting snake when he healed. When, not if.Helie appeared. "He's alive. I'm going to kill him.""We have to get him in the car." I hauled my brother over my shoulder, lying him down in the backseat just like Jerah. I really didn't want to make this a habit.Cari had squeezed herself in the small trunk, watching Gemma climb into the passenger side. I set Rian's head on Helie's lap as she set to work on his face with the medical supplies that every car was equipped with—along with wate
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 48 : To Victory!
*Kael*"I don't see anyone," Gemma said, leaning forward and squinting past the sun's glare and swirling sand. She was right. The cars weren't running and there was no sign of life. Izar stopped and parked, waving out the window in what had to be a signal to the rest of the caravan. We sat in uncertain silence. "It was not part of the plan," Izar said bitterly, and I now noticed the family resemblance: my mother liked things orderly and according to plan or expectation. "But sometimes you have to just wing it. Alpha Kael, do you have a suggestion for our next move?"Everyone turned to me, and I forgot that Alphas needed to make those kinds of calls. I was the one shifters would be waiting orders from, asking tough questions, hoping—and expecting—encouraging speeches to lift morale and give reason to follow me into battle.I'd barely gotten the chance to practice. Now, I was thrown straight into the thick of it.I looked at my mate, her eyes burning with determinatio
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 49 : The Breeder Returns
*Gemma*I never imagined my uncles could be so conniving.But that didn't matter. If we could make them happy by eliminating a threat to them and the rest of Oceantide, even the entire East—hell, the rest of the West—then fine. Kael and everyone else who was about to fight alongside us; none of us were doing it to satisfy anyone. We were going to war with the intent to free the country from slavery. We were going to save villages and cities, protect daughters and sisters, and prove there could be futures for all without the threat of fear."You just might start a revolution, Gemma Brooks."Maybe so. Maybe I really was the reason an army was standing behind me as I stood beside one of the most important Alphas of this lifetime. Would any of this happen if I hadn't plunged that knife into Connor Herrick's spine?Maybe, maybe not.All that mattered was that it was happening, and there was no going back. Conviction was everything. This was not the time or place for hesita
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