* * * Max’s POV * * * This afternoon and tonight the guys will be spending time together, to see me off into the mated life with my Luna. The humans call this a stag do, but it’s not quite so dramatic or extravagant. We will be fishing at the lake, running beneath the moon together and finishing with drinks and a barbecue. ‘Alpha Max. Jake has arrived back with a group he says are from the Nights Watch. He said that they are our new pack members’. Cordelia speaks through the link. ‘That’s right. Jake is already sworn into the pack, so he must vouch for every person. Set them up on the system and invite the men to the lake, while showing the women to their temporary accommodation. Please inform them that they must swear into the pack tomorrow. Thank you, Cordelia’, I answer her. I’m pleasantly surprised that the vampires and wizards have agreed to spend the day with us and not just the ceremony. The vampires are looking forward to running with us. The wizards graciously bow out of
* * * Eve’s POV * * *I’d had breakfast in bed with Max this morning. We may even have had a few alternate breakfasts. The way he worships my body makes me feel like a Goddess. I won’t see him until tonight or during the early hours and he has made every moment together count. I don’t like the thought of being away from him. While I know I can survive just fine on my own, the sense of peace he gives me and the love that fills my heart when I’m with him, means I don’t like being away from him. We had greeted the arriving council members, Alphas, Lunas, witches and wizards. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that Alpha Derek is absent and the speculation about what his snub means has already begun. Max is spending the day with the guys, and then tomorrow I will be having my party and won’t see him until the ceremony. Today, after my final dress appointment, fitting and make-up trial, I’m having an afternoon tea with the Lunas of the other packs, where we will also begin preparations for the c
* * * Alpha Paul’s POV * * ** * * 10 Days Ago * * *Sitting on my bedroom terrace, enjoying my morning coffee, I can’t help but admire the view of my pack. The sun is still in its slow ascent in the sky and casts a warm orange glow over the pack. The crisp morning breeze, carrying the scent of the evergreen trees and Earth. We are small, but we were flourishing. I’m glad to be back after attending the Mountain View pack for the investigation meeting that didn’t happen because things royally went to shit. I’m glad that Alpha Charles has been replaced, he’s power hungry, and he’s had me backed into a corner for years. Sending him a quarter of our yearly harvests. His pack is too big and too fierce for me to challenge him, and even though it’s never been confirmed until recently, I knew what he had done to the Coral Lake pack. He’s smart and made sure there was never any proof, so I went along with his demands to keep my pack safe. I really hope that Alpha Max will create balance and p
* * * Alpha Paul’s POV * * *I plan to leave my phone unlocked on the message thread so that they can see exactly what has happened. Then I will go to the no-longer abandoned Coral Lake pack and rescue Alpha Max’s mate. As I lay the phone on the ground, I hear the sound of approaching footsteps. “Please just wait,” I call aloud. I can stop this madness now that my family is safe. The she-wolf is back, and she’s fucking pissed. She approaches me in a low crouch, a predator ready to strike. She’s skilled and able to hold her own against an Alpha. If she’d been blessed with a rank, I probably wouldn’t stand a chance. To make matters worse, the patrol has circled back around, and I’m now trapped within their ranks. “Please, just here me out. I can help you now that my family are safe. Check the phone. Please just check the phone,” I beg them. Letting out a sigh of relief, when the she-wolf scoops up the phone and begins reading the message thread and looking at the pictures.“They have y
* * * Max’s POV * * * My head is spinning with what has to be the worst hangover I’ve ever experienced, or at least the worst I’ve experienced since my 21st birthday party. Not even Nate had been able to heal that shit, and we had been laid in bed for two days wishing for death. Because it had to be easier than what we had felt. I feel a smile creep onto my face at the thought of that night, and the silence around the pack the two days after, while we all recovered. Yeah, this hangover is on par with that. I don’t even try to open my eyes. I allow myself to go back to sleep. The pack will understand if I’m not seen today. I just hope the others are suffering as much as I am.Nate is snoring in my head, totally oblivious to the fact I’m half awake and partially aware. He will wake up when he’s ready. At least with him asleep, I have a chance of sleeping. He’s like a damn Duracell bunny half the time, constantly bouncing around in my head, wanting to be on the move. Sleep and the dark
* * * Eve’s POV * * * I feel myself floating and bobbing within the dark. I recognise this sensation. ‘Why must we always be drugged?’ I ask myself. I recognise this feeling from when Charles had drugged me, I’m floating in the black abyss once again. I can feel Cora’s presence, she’s weak but there. And she’s recovering. ‘From now on, we will trust nobody other than our select few’, I tell her. She bobs her head in agreement, ‘Rest Cora, regain your strength’, I tell her. ‘What was Penny’s game? Why would she do that? What did she have to gain?’ I keep pondering various answers to these three questions, over and over again. But try as I might, no answer makes sense. They don’t have ties to James, and they don’t have any grudges that I’m aware of. Their pack have always been peaceful. I see the bobbing and flickering light in the distance, and I know who’s coming. I patiently wait in my floating black haven, until I can feel his heat radiating across my skin. “Hello Hephaestus, w
* * * Max’s POV * * *The sound of the explosion is still ringing in my ears as I charge forward screaming my mate's name. Large black clouds of smoke are billowing through the air and the flames are rising. ‘Eve, I’m here. I’m coming. Where are you?’ I ask as I reach out through the mind-link. She doesn’t answer.‘Nate, help me reach out, see if you can reach Cora’. I ask my friend. Relying on him to find the connection, as I continue to charge forwards. Sliding across the ground, as a vampire appears before me, swinging his fist towards where my face had been only a fraction of a second earlier. I twist against the ground and push the ground with all my strength to propel myself into the air and deliver the roundhouse kick I’ve been trying to perfect in training. Elongating my claws, I swipe at his neck, almost tearing right through. Taking him by his hair, I twist my body and bring his head over my shoulder. Yanking down and removing his head, I briefly look down, satisfied with
* * * Eve’s POV * * * The wolf that’s standing over me is rabid, foaming at the mouth and twitching as though she’s unable to remain still. But there’s a war raging within her eyes, they keep altering between manic and wild to tortured and scared. I have never seen a wolf look this way before. Her muzzle creases as she snarls. I have to be hallucinating, wolves like this don’t exist. I’ve exerted myself beyond a manageable level, but I just hadn’t been able to walk away and leave people locked up here. The wolf is just a figment of my imagination, but I swear I can see tears falling from her eyes as a sorrowful look befalls her features. She’s watching me; her eyes are apologising, but for what I don’t know. She begins shaking her head, her eyes flickering from alert and aware to wild out of control. The wild and out of control eyes are winning the war, as the alert and aware eyes begin to lose control and appear less and less, until they are no more. The wild wolf is staring at me