Boyd POV“This way,” Laura said in a tone that was too upbeat for me to trust. She was holding the arm of her bloody Alpha mate, skipping along like she didn’t have a care in the world. He took long, steady strides, not put off by her attitude or the way she was hanging on his with her jerky movements at all.I was as tense as I could fucking be. My hands were tied in front of me with infused hemp rope, the fibers burning into my skin. Sirius was barely with me, constrained by the wolfsbane. If that wasn’t enough, I have two guards on either side of me and one behind. These three were elite guards. Ones I had trained and worked with long ago. The tension was evident in their faces, and I could feel their concern as they were tying my hands. It made all this feel even more sinister, despite Laura’s upbeat mood.“Oh, Jasper. You’re getting blood on my shirt,” Laura complained, looking down at her loose-fitted backless halter top. She was the one who was clutched onto his bloody arm, bu
Lenny POV“Did she just call him Mr. Smith?” Kai hissed at me.We were both perched in a tree about fifty yards from the run-down pool of the abandoned resort deep in the woods. We were just far enough that our scents wouldn’t be detected, but to be safe, Rodger had us use scent maskers too. Kai was using his powers to amplify the conversation being had by the Alpha we followed all the way here. Neither of us expected him and what was left of his men to drive only forty miles from Setting Sun Pack. We really didn't expect to see the Alpha go in the abandoned resort and come out not even half an hour later with our missing friend.“I heard it too.” Mr. Smith. That woman definitely called the white hat-wearing man Mr. Smith.Kai sank down on the branch, squinting his eyes as he tried to get a better view. “It’s him. It’s really him.”“How do you know?”Kai looked embarrassed, averting his gaze so I couldn’t see his eyes. “Don’t tell Rodger, but I did the last gig Chloe had with Mr. Smi
Miles POV“You’re sure it was him?” Mick asked Lenny.We were all gathered, all the Broom Stixxx men, Rodger and my men as well. Lenny and the fox shifter, Kai, had just gotten back to the pack and had Rodger call this meeting, saying it was urgent.Lenny took his phone from his pocket and started to pass it around the table. When it got to Billy and Darren, Darren’s eyes widened in surprise.“That’s Mr. Smith. That’s that mother fucker for sure.”“Really?” Billy took his time studying the image on the phone. “I thought he would be older.”“Nope, that’s definitely him.” Darren exchanged a look with Kai. “Did he see you?”Kai looked nervously at Rodger, then back at Darren before shaking his head.I leaned forward and snatched the phone from my Gamma’s hand, eager to see what we were up against. Mick leaned over to stare at the phone with me. The picture was a bit blurry from zooming in, but the middle eastern man was identifiable enough among all the others around him. His clothes we
My mouth dropped. Cruel doesn’t even begin to describe what Jamie just said that Luna did. “Did…. Did the Alpha not care?”“He didn’t know,” Alexi said. “She kept it a secret. She was the Beta’s daughter and wanted to be Luna her entire life.”“She wanted her cake and to eat it too,” Beau scoffed. “The bitch was a master at manipulation. What she couldn’t manipulate to go her way, she threw out commands to get whatever she wanted.” He tossed the phone back to Lenny with a stony expression. “I hated her.”“We all did,” Alexi gripped his shoulder.“All of us except Boyd,” Beau said in a defeated tone.“It sounded like he hated her,” Lenny said. “He got his ass kicked for saying as much.”“Yeah, but she is his fated mate,” Beau’s hard expression focused on Lenny. “We ran away for a reason. That woman commanded us to bend to her disgusting will, but she never had to command Boyd. I’m scared of what will happen if we leave him there for much longer.”“He won’t betray us,” Jamie said. “He n
“What do you mean?” Beau looked confused. I had all eyes on me, and by Lenny’s slight nod, I could tell I was coming to the same conclusion as him.“If she was fully mated to her Alpha, she wouldn’t have been able to use you three and Boyd the way she was. She would have had no enjoyment in it.”“But she was mated.” Alexi looked at me like I was crazy. “We all saw them. They marked each other in front of the entire pack.”“A marking doesn’t form a full bond. Not when another has already been formed between wolves on a spiritual level, or if their emotions connecting a fated pair are strong enough.” I looked at Mick. “You need the spiritual bond and the connection to fully become mates. I think that’s how Chloe was able to take Rome and give him to you. Her spiritual bond with Rome was so strong, even though her emotional one with her ex was nonexistent.”“Is that why Chloe never had any problems sleeping with others?” Darren asked. “I didn’t think it was possible when she first asked
Chloe POV“Eat. Eat!” Nonna scolded me, pushing a spoon to my lips. It was soup with small meatballs and the smoothest, aromatic broth, but my stomach was full already. Too full. I couldn’t take another bite.“I really can’t,” I tried to say, but as I opened my mouth a little wider at the can’t, Nonna shoved the spoon in my mouth, and I was forced to chew as the meatball fell into my mouth. The broth was spilling from the sides of my lips, and she was quick to dab at it with a tea towel.Taylor was watching me from the end of the hospital bed, seemingly amused. She had been recruited to help Nonna carry in several containers of food from the kitchen and stayed to watch Nonna force-feed me everything she could over the last half hour.“I think she’s had enough,” Luna Gail said, flustering over her mother-in-law. "Maybe we should let Chloe rest now. The boys should be here soon."“Nonsense,” Nonna waved her away. “She hasn’t eaten in three days and all she's done is slept. She needs mo
Miles sighed, dropping to sit on the bed beside me. “Okay. We’ll talk about this later.” I grimaced, not agreeing, but not refusing out loud again. Not with their mom, grandma and others listening in. Mick helped me up from the bed, and Miles stood with his arms crossed, a deep scowl on his stoic, handsome face. Their mother had already brought me clothes to change into when I woke up in a hospital gown. Leggings and a comfortable cami. As I was sliding shoes on my feet, Nonna had Taylor at the table putting lids on all the food. “Um, what are you doing with all that, Nonna?” I asked warily. “Packing it for you to go.” I sent a panicked look towards Mick and Miles, then mind linked, “Get me out of here fast.” They exchanged a look, then Mick stooped down, lifting me into his arms and taking off out the door, shoving past Rodger quickly with Miles right behind. My arm bumped into Rodger’s as we went past, and this surge of energy traveled between us. It made me gasp, and in the sp
Rodger POV“Stubborn girl,” I muttered to myself. “Headstrong, reckless, stubborn, stubborn girl.”Why would she refuse to be safe-guarded so adamantly? Why does she not treasure herself the way she should?Her mother was so similar in so many ways. She had herself captured and killed by trying to handle things herself. If she had just woken me, I could have saved her. That horrible, haunting night, if she had just cried out once or told me she hadn't rejected her pack, I would have done whatever I could to save her. Our daughter is just as stubborn, unwilling to be selfish enough to cherish herself.Her mates may be unable to change her mind, and I doubt I can either, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and do nothing.I marched back to my sister’s cottage, fuming the entire walk, muttering to myself about all the things frustrating me, including myself. I couldn’t do anything when that cursed wolf tried to take off with my daughter. My power didn’t touch him. It was unlike