Daciana’s POVHe had warned me to behave myself tonight, my feistiness and love to fight is know amongst our own people. My intention hadn’t been to pull Keeva into a full-on scrap, but her nasty little mouth pissed me off. The way she spoke about Zev released my wolf instantly, the need to protect our mate is the strongest emotion I have ever felt. I couldn’t stop myself, I was out of control, and I liked the feeling. In hindsight, if I had known what a huge and strong wolf laid inside her, I might not have been so quick to thrown the first paw. ‘What is the meaning of this?’ My father’s wolf comes closer to me and he sniffs at my back where I have been slashed open. Hid anger is incensed from the sight of me injured on the floor. He turns with a huge snarl and faces Keeva and Alpha Channon. ‘Back down. Now.’ Channon commands him as he releases Keeva from his firm hold on the floor. ‘I demand that wolf be punished. How dare she hurt my daughter.’ It’s her maniacal lau
Celeste’s POVI never thought Channon would ask me for advice or help. When we arrived back from the disastrous attempt to infiltrate my coven from the inside out, I thought I would be heading straight into a hard time. Nikita is quick to retake her claim on the big, upstairs bedroom in what was Alpha Julius’s home The thought of sleeping where he used to fuck my girlfriend makes me uneasy. Nikita is a law unto herself and kicks the couple out that had just started moving in only that morning. Her answer to the was to ‘take it up with Keeva, you know my best friend and Alpha Channon’s mate.’ There was obviously to quarrel to follow and I’m glad she didn’t hear the horrible things they said about her as they left. Or if she did hear she chose to rise above it. It’s late evening when we are called out to the gardens behind the old Alpha and Beta houses. Huge fires send smoke into the sky and the spicy aromas of African cooking fill the air. My stomach rumbles loudly, the
Nikita’s POVHer entire body trembles in my arms and heaves heavily with as her hot tears soak through the thin material of my top. I don’t know what to say or do, I’m well out of my depth here. Magic and all things witchy are still very new to me. Maybe her friends from the coven are in a better position to offer her some advice and comfort. I glance back at the drawing on the table with fear in my heart. The big, dark eyes of a werewolf look out from the page, which in itself isn’t something to cause concern, it’s the writing around it that appears to have knocked Celeste towards hysteria. ‘What does it say?’ I move her hair from the side of her face and it sticks in sweaty clumps to her temple. ‘It’s a warning. I need to talk to Channon.’ She manages to say between huge sobs, Well, fuck me, what the heck is going on now. I nod hesitantly and she simmers down to a soft blubbering mess. ‘Alpha. Celeste says she needs to talk to you.’ ‘Should we pack this stuff away?’
Keeva’s POVThe cool night air rustles my thick silver fur and I scan Channon. He shows no threat to me right now and even backs of slightly. ‘Think about things Selina. Keeva, I’ll be waiting for you at home.’ I breath a sigh of relief when we are alone at last and shift back into my human form. Luck would have it there is a safe box at the lakes edge. I locate it quickly and throw on a pair of shorts and an oversized jumper. It’s not the best look ever but at least I’m not naked. The lake is still except for a few ripples on it’s almost black surface. I choose the most comfortable rock along the shoreline and sit down. It’s time to have the conversation Selina and I have avoided for too long. We must confront her inner demons before it is too late. ‘Selina.’ I close my eyes and go into our shared consciousness, almost like a trance like state. The world falls away from me and I’m face to face with her wolf form in my mind. She paces restlessly, her emotions already r
Alessia’s POVDeep within the depths of the Coven and far from the light and fresh air above ground is where I wait for the high Council to convene. The fires have finally been extinguished and the door to the street expertly fixed with magic from Celeste’s brazen escape. The protection and concealment spells have been recast over the entire Coven so we are once again safe in sanctuary. Once they have all arrived we stand in a large circle facing one another, everyone here with the same determination and twisted sense of purpose. The silence in the underground shrine is absolute. The smell of earth fills my nostrils, the air is damp and moist. I cast my eyes around the circle and address the High Council. ‘My sisters and brothers the time has come for us to rise up and claim what is rightfully ours. For far too long the werewolf packs have ruled and claimed large territories for themselves, expecting all who dares enter them be answerable to them and live under their l
Keeva’s POVThe first rays of dawn paint the sky with hues of fiery orange as I look out the small window that looks over the lake. The silence and peace in my mind doesn’t last long. ‘Help.’ I freeze. It isn’t just one wolf calling for help. No. At least ten different voices all ping around my head at once. Channon sits bolt upright, the deep slumber he was in vanishes without a trace. His face is blank, he is talking to someone through the mind link. ‘We need to go.’ His loud voice pulls me from my seat at the window and I’m next to him on the stairs in the blink of an eye. ‘The witches have broken through our Southern border and the have a large pack of enslaved wolves with them.’ My bare feet hit the stairs hard as we race down them. I can already hear the unmistakable sound outside as large numbers of people shift into their wolves. We are only just outside the confines of our home when we both shift mid leap, into our own wolves. I look at Channon in awe. Since l
Channon’s POVI stand atop the ruins of the place I once called home and a heavy burden weighs upon my already aching heart. The enslaved werewolves are imprisoned in the old cells below my feet. Each one of their bodies are scarred and broken, the signs of the torment and abuse they have suffered at the hands of the witches is clear to see. I have called Celeste to the ruins in the slightest hope that her knowledge and power as a witch can be used to help save my brethren from their enslavement. Jonas looks at me from his station at the top of the stair and I feel his anger in my mind. How could this have happened and we not know anything about it. I had never questioned the lack of rogue attacks as the years went by. I just assumed that with a new age of Alpha less and less werewolves were choosing a life of solitude over the community of pack life. Never in my wildest dreams would I have though that they were being snatched and tortured into slavery. Celeste’s arriv
Celeste’s POVNikita watches from the living room door. There is nothing she can do to help me and I know it hurts that I have Jermiah and Jake with me, but they are seriously powerful and know what it is we are looking for. The old scrolls lay open on the floor and we pour over them with intense interest. They are yellow and brittle with age. Hundreds if not thousands of years old. Jermiah is the only one of us who is fluent enough in the old tongue to read the information out load. ‘It says here that the first witches to enslave a werewolf did so with an ancient artifact that held immense moon power and magic.’ His eyes dart backwards and forwards over the page and he mumbles annoyingly under his breath as he reads. He just syphons out the information that is of relevance to tell me and Jake, so we wait with bated breath for him to talk again. Nikita huffs and leaves again, going back to the kitchen in a strop. I haven’t got time to deal with her over emotional need