When I wake up in the morning, I reach out my arm to pull my mate to me, but Zara isn’t there. I open my eyes to confirm what I already know, then sit up quickly and look around for her. The bathroom light is off and her scent is faint in the room. “Rocky, where did she go?” I jump out of bed and throw the bedroom door open. I try to swallow down the panic. “To get ready, I think.” But he doesn’t sound too sure of himself. I run down to Zara’s room and knock on the door. “Zara? Are you in there, Pocket?” I listen closely, but there is no answer. Her scent is stronger here, so she must be inside. I crack the door open and peek in. The bathroom is dark, but the bedroom light is on. I step in and look around. There is a minute sound in the closet. Shit. “Zara? Are you in there?” I approach the closet door and open it slowly. She is crouched down in her usual hiding spot behind the shoe boxes, trembling under a blanket, hoping to go unseen

I try to stand up, but Mom and Dad pull me down. Mom hisses at me. “Keller, wait until you get permission.” “Let me go! I need to get to Zara. She needs me.” I try to escape their grasp when I see her shivering under the table. I can feel her fear and it’s overwhelming. What is it doing to her? “She can’t do this anymore. It’s too much! I need to get to her. Zara, hold on, Pocket. I’m coming.” The Luna Regent stands up and nods to the guards, who Rocky believes are the ranked wolves in disguise. She motions with her hand to the other guards, who all move without being given direction in a well-rehearsed maneuver. Two of them remain in front of the Regents, facing the audience, while the rest position themselves around Zara and Mike’s table. “Keller Joseph Marshall,” I hear the Luna Regent’s voice say my name, “you may collect your mate. Based on what we’ve seen so far, we can proceed without her. Someone will advise you when it’s time to bring her back for ou

From behind us, I hear Mom and Dad approaching. I turn and see them hand in hand, smiling. “Well? What did they say?” I can’t help but be impatient. “Sorry, my boy. You heard the Luna Regent.” Dad shrugs and tilts his head toward Zara. “Zara, get in the car, please. I need to speak to my parents.” I open the door and help her in, not giving her a chance to argue, and close the door. “Okay? Spill.” Mom pulls me away from the car to make sure Zara won't hear. “They are being banished. They have tonight to collect their things. Mark said will go with them so he can stay with Sylvie. The Regents are providing names of other packs that may accept them for a probationary period. None of them are ever allowed to come into contact with Zara again or they will go to prison.” “We never have to worry about them again.” My heart skips a beat at the news. “I think the Luna Regent didn’t want Zara to feel guilty for the fate of those girls.” Mom fro

Estelle looks at me from the sofa, clearly confused and a little annoyed. “Kell, what’s he talking about? Zara can’t have two mates, can she?” “I don’t think he’s talking about Zara.” I think about it for a moment, then look back at Tyree. “That’s impossible, bro. She’s human. Humans have chosen mates.” He stares at Estelle for an uncomfortably long time, forcing himself to not move from the spot. He finally pulls his eyes away from Estelle and looks at the Luna Regent. “What do I do?” “What’s with you guys finding your mates in every corner of the earth except for our pack?” The Luna rolls her eyes in an exaggerated, playful manner, not seeming to be concerned that her werewolf guard found a human mate. “Reggie, can you please get the Alpha up here to help with this? Milo, take Tyree to the anteroom and calm him down. Estelle Renee Barker, if you wouldn’t mind, find a place to sit that will reduce your scent, please. A bedroom or office, maybe? Just until we can

Keller’s POV“If I hadn’t seen a glass wall appear in my living room an hour ago, I wouldn’t believe any of that.” I shake my head at the Beta and Gamma. “Dude, if we hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t believe it either.” Milo nods and raises his eyebrows, taking a drink of his water. A cell phone chimes, he pats his hands over his pockets, and pulls out his phone. “Ah. That’s my daughter. Excuse me.”“So, why exactly are you guys here? And by here, I mean, my condo.” I turn my attention to Reggie as Milo walks out of the room.“We have a sigma pup in our pack. Once the Luna found out what that could mean for her future, she immediately searched for a solution. Short story… she found Zara.” He looks down at the counter and picks at imaginary crumbs. “It’s not my place to go into my Luna’s upbringing, but it was bad. O