-Cain- “And what will your first order as king be?” one of the older alphas asked. “To protect our kind. I want us to take the rogues weird behavior more seriously and get it under control.” “You mean you will order a war?” “Not war. Protection,” I corrected. “I want more capable fighters out there to take charge and bring the cities under control. They used to be run by lone wolves who never bothered anyone, but now the rogues have gotten so bold as to take over. We need to stop them before the cities become completely unsafe for all wolves.” The council nodded approvingly. “Where will you get the fighters?” another alpha asked. “I would ask the other alphas. I would ask them for the fighters they could spare.” “You would want all these different fighters to work together?” “In a time where things are dangerous and tricky, us wolves can come together. We have shown that. We have proven we can stand shoulder to shoulder in trying times, despite the packs we belong to,” I expla
-Willow-We were all nervous as we waited for Carter’s interview to conclude, but once it did, we were all called inside. We took our seats again as Carter and Cain stood in front of the alphas, ready to hear their verdict. I focused on Cain, but as I did, I noticed Carter looking my way. Our eyes locked, and I felt a strange pain in my heart. I had never felt that way when we looked at each other, but I could also see pain in his eyes. Nonetheless, I hadn’t chosen to go around sleeping with a lot of people. Even if he felt hurt by me, it didn’t excuse his behavior. I looked away, focusing on my father, who cleared his throat, looking at the princes.“Now we have come to a decision,” he stated. “Some didn’t think we should continue, that Prince Carter is still the obvious choice.”I noticed the brothers glancing at each other, but then my father smiled, and I knew what his choice had been.“But most of us thought Prince Cain should at least have a chance to show what he is capable of.
-Cain- I walked into our bedroom and saw Willow lying on her stomach, reading a book. She looked so adorable with her feet in the air, swinging them back and forth. It had been a few days since the meeting, and despite us agreeing we should talk more, we had been busy. The pack always needed our attention, and I had gotten into contact with my old crew, the ones I had had to leave when my father called me home. They were wolves not belonging to any packs out there fighting to keep peace, and I knew they needed help. It was why they had reached out, but I couldn’t leave now. I had a trial in front of me and a pregnant mate. Alphas were completely incapable of leaving their pregnant mates for longer periods of time, so I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. Yet the situation out there was worsening, and I wasn’t going to be king for a long time. Even if I was chosen by the council, my father wasn’t old. He was still going to lead, so I needed to figure something out. I was going to the castle
-Willow-“Why are you staring at me? Eva?”I called out to my friend as she scrutinized my flat stomach while she sat in front of me. Her arms were resting on her legs, and she was leaning forward, observing me.“Eva?” I called again.“Shh, I’m trying to connect to it,” she told me.“Excuse me?”“I am trying to connect to the little clump inside you,” she whispered.“You’re trying to connect... to a very tiny thing inside me?” I asked in disbelief.“Yes, it’s important she knows who her aunt is and that she always comes to me if her mother is being too controlling.”“Me?” I exclaimed.Eva smiled at me and then focused on my stomach.“You do know it could be a boy, right?” I asked.“No, it’s a girl, I can feel it,” she said, making me laugh.“You feel nothing! Could you stop that? I am sure Cain wouldn’t enjoy you trying to turn the child against him and recognize you as the father instead.”“I would be a wonderful father, a better one than Cain,” she stated, leaning back and throwing
-Willow- I was getting up later, feeling more tired these days, and so I ate breakfast alone this time when a pack member came to inform me that I had a visitor. “A visitor?” I was confused. “Yes, an older luna,” she said. “Older…” I realized who it was and hurried out of my seat. I went to the entrance of the house, where my mother stood, looking around and assessing everything. I knew she already deemed the house unworthy of a future queen, but I really liked it. It was smaller than I was used to, but it had a cozy vibe. More members had come to the house, and it was starting to fill with life. Yet I was uncertain why my mother had come. “Mother,” I called as I walked closer, and my mother smiled when she saw me. When I was close enough, she pulled me into a hug before releasing me and then looking me up and down. “How are you feeling?” she asked. “So far, good.” “Has a doctor taken a look at you?” “We still need one for the pack, but I will get checked out soon,” I assured
-Cain-“Where are they?” I yelled, throwing my fist against the rogue’s face and seeing his head fly to the side before whipping back and continuing his cruel laughter. “Where?”I hit him again and again, his head always whipping back, ready to receive more. It didn’t matter I had beaten him beyond recognition. He kept laughing, and it annoyed me greatly. I was about to hit him again when Bran came up behind me, grabbing my shoulder. I turned around and saw him shake his head.“You can’t mean I should stop,” I panted.“Stop,” was all he said.I turned to the rogue, who could barely see out of one eye. We had him tied up and drugged with wolfsbane so he couldn’t change, yet I could see that almost happiness in his eyes at hearing Bran ordering me to step back.“This isn’t over,” I promised him before I took a few steps back, turning and then following Bran out of the dark room.I closed the metal door, and then I saw the dark look on his face.“I can get the answer from him. I can find
-Willow-I sipped that awful tea again, feeling less inclined to drink it, but I couldn’t get my mother’s words out of my head. I knew Cain just didn’t want to lose me, but I wondered how he would really react if I either lost the pup or if it came out to be a girl. My nervousness was killing me, and I was starting to feel a slight turn in my stomach as if I should throw up, but nothing was coming up through my throat yet. The tea wasn’t making it easier. Though the powder had no taste, it still felt like drinking acid because I knew something was in the tea that was trying to alter my body. It didn’t feel good, and it took me ages to drink it this time. When I was done, I went to find Cain and Henry, who were both working in the office. I had taken a small break from the work to go drink the tea, and when I came back, they were almost arguing, which surprised me since they never seemed to argue. I looked confused between them, but they didn’t even notice me.“What is going on?” I ask
-Cain-When it grew late, I sat alone in the office working on the proposal to the council about offering fighters from all their packs. I hoped they liked the idea, however, as I was working on the speech, someone knocked on my office door.“Enter,” I told them, but I was surprised when I saw Eva entering. “Eva? You’re still here?”“We need to talk.”“Us?” I asked in disbelief, hearing her chuckle a little as she closed the door behind her and came up to my left side.“Yes, I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s regarding Willow.”“Oh?” Now I was intrigued. Anything regarding Willow was important to me. However, when Eva threw a small plastic bag down in front of me, I didn’t know how to react because I didn’t know why she had done it. I picked it up, opened it, and sniffed the powder, but it was odorless. “What is this?”“Your mate has been ingesting that for almost two weeks now,” she told me.“WHAT?” I exclaimed, standing up and holding out the bag to Eva. “What the fuck is this?”“I d