~Alpha Zander~ James crossed his arms. “The witch has a name. It is Gemma. She prefers to be addressed as such.” James walked deeper into the kitchen. His gaze taking in the gamma’s body on the floor. “She attacked Marcus.” I pointed out the obvious. James rolled his eyes. “Marcus is the biggest douchebag around. I could feel her hunger from out there. How could it not be choking everyone from here? We tried to find her some food super early this morning and there was nothing. She was acting weird. Weird for her.” Irina remained quiet, listening to what James said. She studied her mate and then turned to Marcus’ body. “How long until he wakes up?” I wondered. “It was only an apple.” Irina frowned at that. “He will rise when I wish him to. Is anyone offering to go retrieve her? Because I am more than capable.” I nodded my head at James. “The witch,” I began. The look on James’ face irritated me. Given the circumstances, I let it ride. “Gemma,” I corrected. “Go get her and bring
~Gemma~ I cuddled the crap out of a wiggly Little Zander. Yes, I was actively avoiding Rina. “Nobody understands me like you do, little dude.” I squeezed him again for the hundredth time. He stared at me with those dark, sage eyes of his. “Are you hiding out in the nursery?” I startled at the sound of the Alpha’s mocking tone. Where the hell had he come from? His hulking frame looked ominous in the cheery and bright room. “What of it? Mind your business.” He crossed those powerful arms of his across his expansive chest. “You are clinging to my son like your life depends on it. Hence, it is my business.” My shoulders hunched a little as I sat Little Zander down. When his hands immediately grabbed for me, I scooped him up again. “It’s no hope for it now, Alpha Zander. Little Z is my new bestie at the moment.” I winked at him. His sweet, cherub face smiled back at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Beta Solar pass by the doorway. “Hey! Beta! Wait up!” I yelled after him, kno
~Gemma~ I doodled on the mostly blank sheet of paper. A sunflower here, a brilliant sun there. Oh! I needed more milk. M-I-L-K. I jotted the word down. Cripes! How long was this meeting going to drag on anyway? I had things to do, important things. My stomach rumbled, accusing me of neglect. Yup. I forgot to feed myself before the never ending meeting. The horrible rumors were true. Coffee alone couldn’t sustain life. I took a deep breath. Surely, it wasn’t normal for a nearly nineteen year old girl to feel more like forty. “Gemma, are you taking notes?” Alpha Devlin’s voice rudely cut through my musings. When I ignored his question, he growled for my benefit. As Alpha of the Midnight Sky Pack, he did his best to act menacing. He suffered from the misconception that the little human, me, trembled at the sound of growling. And tremble I did, just not with fear. Girls, don’t kid yourself. A growling werewolf was freaking hot in the right situation. Not that I would confess such a thi
~Gemma~ I wasn’t overly alarmed. Shapeshifters had a flair for dramatics. “Sadie! No!” Alpha Camden yelled. She sprawled halfway across the conference table before he seized her around the waist. He bound her arms behind her back with one hand. She flopped around on the table with all the grace of a beached mermaid. “Stop! This is very unladylike!” I was embarrassed for her. She screamed at me like a rabid hyena. Not that I blamed her. I’d also be mortified by the lack of effort required to subdue me. I thought lunas were supposed to be hot shit. I shook my head. Luna Sadie broke free and grabbed a handful of my blouse. I yelped. So what if the luna with anger issues startled me? It happened to the best of us. My nails slashed across her face in reaction. Her shrieks swallowed the silence as her skin ripped in jagged tears. “Silver-infused nail polish, a human girl’s best friend.” I wiggled my nails as I reached for her again. Alpha Devlin wrapped his arms around me and hauled me
~Gemma~ “Well?” Alpha Devlin arched one eyebrow, impatient for my reveal. While all alphas were pushy and demanding, his affliction had to be on the extreme side. My eyes snapped open. “Well what?” “Goddess, please tell me there is something in me worth saving!” Alpha Camden groveled on his knees where he belonged. The Moon Goddess enjoyed the taste of his despair. Everyone thought the goddess must be a kind and loving entity. I knew better. In my experience, she was temperamental and egotistical as well as benevolent. In other words, the goddess’ personality was complicated. Go figure. “Not in you. In her.” I spoke in annoyance. “Sadie will carry the mate to Alpha Devlin’s son. Through our young, our packs will flourish.” The words flew out of my mouth uncensored. I blinked. Time slowed to a standstill as I witnessed glimpses into a future I did not want. I held a little boy of around three years old. He was more beautiful than I could ever imagine with a head full of dark curls
~Gemma~ Tyson patiently waited for my rant to conclude. “He is so arrogant. I mean, sure, he works under immense pressure every day. Stress doesn’t give anybody permission to be a dick. Am I right?” I hoped Tyson felt the weight of my displeasure. I deemed him guilty by association and let my wrath fall freely upon him. “I assume we are eventually going to address my issues.” He glanced at his watch with a serene expression. “You have blown twenty minutes talking about your problems.” “Somebody should to listen to my complaints and he is your brother!” “Turn the drama down a notch, love. Put away the claws.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Please accept the fact he will never allow you to escape his control.” “Claws out. Balls out.” My favorite expression lacked any conviction as I blinked away tears. “Why can’t he take a second to consider my wishes for once? The office is perfect, in the heart of downtown next to my favorite coffee
~Gemma~ “Yes. She will come home.” I squeezed Tyson’s shoulder. “Are you sure? Have you seen it?” I rubbed my eyes tiredly. “I do not need a vision to see the outcome.” “If I were waiting for you, would you come home?” He looked insecure as he waited for my reply. I wanted to comfort him. Underneath their rugged surface, most hardcore werewolves were mushy, sentimental fools. “No way!” I patted his cheek. “There are reasons I prefer cats. Dogs require too much upkeep, all the fur and slobber. Yuck.” Tyson scowled. “I hate cats. Why are you hanging out with lupines if felines are your thing?” “Good question. I wonder if the local panther pride needs a psychic.” I pretended to jot on my notepad. “I’ll check into it, maybe request a transfer.” Alpha Devlin grumbled from my desk. No. I did not find it amusing. How dare he steal my court and cast judgments on me from my throne? “Quiet, please! I cannot concentrate wi
~Gemma~ I frowned at him from across our booth. How did I end up in this situation? Right. Alpha Devlin commanded me. And when that failed, he bullied me. It paid to have strength and size on your side. My small stature let me down once again. Alpha Devlin, the lout, had a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes to match the aggravating smirk on his lips. My fingers twitched as I fantasized about grabbing a salad fork and stabbing the offending orbs out of his face. No. That did not make me sadistic, vengeful maybe but definitely not sadistic. One transformation to his wolf form and everything would magically heal. Oh, everything except for his disturbing behaviors. No helping that. “Is there something specific you wished to discuss?” After two glasses of wine, my spine still felt about as firm as Jello. “No more sleepovers with Tyson. I mean it.” I smiled, a glimmer of hope sparking in my soul. “Is that all? Easy. Done. We could have had this chat in my office.” “I also want to discus