* * * 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
* * * Max’s POV * * *I feel her chest lower to the floor as I remove my fangs, I lick her wound to seal it. “I love you”, I tell her in a whisper. Oh, Moon Goddess, how I love her so. I send a silent prayer to the mighty Selene, for her to help my mate pull through. I gently scoop her into my arms and lift her from the floor. I’m pleased to feel that she’s maintained her weight gain and that I can feel muscles forming where there had once been just bones. I close my eyes as I kiss her forehead, briefly resting my brow against hers. She has to be OK; her journey has only just begun.I’m confused as I felt Nate’s presence disappear from the front of my mind. He’s gone for a few moments. Without his presence I feel lost and alone. I don’t like it. ‘Where did you go?’ I ask him when he returns. ‘Cora called me. They are weak but recovering. They have asked us to find blood samples for somebody called Katie. She has a resistance to whatever venom the wolf contains; we may find a cure. T
* * * Max’s POV * * *I watch through the car window as two young pups come hurtling down the pathway, screaming for their Daddy. As Alpha Paul bends down to scoop them up in his arms, I feel tears leak from my eyes. There’s no malice here and he’s not a bad man, he’s simply a mate and a father who had been backed into a corner, desperate to protect his family. In all honesty, I would do the same in a heartbeat. From what I can recall, Alpha Paul’s pack is rather small, only 150 members, give or take. I assume that half of them are women, elderly, and pups. Which means that they wouldn’t have had the strength to put up a fight against my father, his rogues, and his vampires. He would have felt like he had no other choice. How my father could send a man picture of his pups with vampires' claws around their necks, is beyond me. But then, growing up, he had never had a paternal side. He had always been cold and brutal. I still have to ask him about my mother. I can’t help but wonder wh
* * * Max’s POV * * * Once we arrive outside the packhouse, I send Damian and Jessica to ensure that my father is appropriately restrained and locked away. They will then, with a handful of warriors, man the gap in the wall, while continuing to build. We briefly stand outside the packhouse. I’m cradling Eve in my arms and Becca has come out to greet Damian. I decide that Damian can fill her in while at the gap in the wall. I have taken him away from her far too much. They need time together. Once we catch a break, every pack member will be treated to a holiday over the course of the next year. “I will take Eve to the Hospital and then hold the pack meeting. Once it’s over, I will send appropriate replacements so that you can all get some rest. Thank you so much, once again for helping my mate and I,” I tell them, as I turn towards the Hospital to get Eve any help she might need. I rush through the corridors; I’ve become far too familiar with this building for my liking. “My mate n
* * * Eve’s POV * * * I sit and take a moment to recall my return to awareness. It sounds crazy, but I was acutely aware of how clean my blood now felt. I was able to sense the poison around my body, in my blood and seeping into my muscles and organs. I almost felt whole and healthy. I knew when I was nearly ready to wake up. I had heard Max asking for tests to be done, and I had prayed to the Moon Goddess that there were no long-lasting effects. Is it even possible for a person to feel if their blood is tainted or clean? ‘Perhaps we can ask the sisters if there’s a way to harness energy stores or to take energy from the Earth. We can’t keep doing this, it leaves us too vulnerable’, Cora tells me, when she has recovered enough to be present again. ‘Well, good morning to you too, sunshine. Aren’t you just a bundle of joy to wake up to?’ I greet her.‘I’m serious Eve; our whole life could have been over. We need to learn when to stop.’ She scolds me. ‘We shall speak to the sisters.