"God no. The loser will be required to do whatever the winner asks. You can have her join the Omegas in Europe.""You're that sure that I will win?""Yes. Absolutely. You have the Vampire's strength and speed as well as the creature's ability to hybrid.""And what if they won't allow me to use my Vampire powers?"His mouth formed a grim line. "Your powers are an asset to your role as Lupa. They can't deny any of your abilities.""Are we truly mated?" I wasn't referring to our Vampire bond. I was talking about the Werewolf mating. I could still feel the bite on the back of my neck. I felt my connection to Paul through it. It didn't hurt, but it was a tangible thing. Nerves had clustered there, and Paul had explained that other Werewolves could smell our mating because of it.He put his hand on my shoulders, and this time I didn't pull back. "Never doubt our mating. It is real. I don't understand why the hybrid reached out to hers, but we are husband and wife and my Wolf has mated

Paul came home every night to sleep beside me, even when I was already dead to the world. Sometimes before I fell asleep, I would stare at him, asking him silent questions about the Alliance and the Wolfpack—his Wolf army. He thought my stare was more accusation about She-bitch, but it wasn't. I couldn't do more than give him a constipated look as I tried to find a way to speak to him about his plans.It didn't help matters that I wasn't allowed around the Werewolves until the battle. He was afraid my presence would spark a revolt. They had agreed to honor the winner of the battle, but that agreement hadn't included a Vampire walking around in their midst beforehand. Knowing that Sasha was there gaining supporters, maybe even tempting Paul, ate away at me. I wanted to know if he had seen her, if they talked, if he felt something for her…But I didn't ask. His answers would not have made me feel better. I would win this battle, and I would send Sasha's ass to Siberia. If I had anythin

My tears seemed to intrigue her, and she tried to wipe away the final traces of them. She turned to Alexis and then urged me to put her down. The two quietly studied each other."Wolf!" BJ barked and then howled as if inviting him to howl with her.Alexis raised an eyebrow at me. "She knows what it is to be a Wolf, even at this young age." He went down on his knees in front of her, threw his head back, and howled. They continued howling for a few more moments, and the sound of their howls brought Sam, the maid, and Alexis' blood donors to us. When BJ was satisfied, she darted out of the room to play.I stared after her. "What just happened?""I believed she just greeted me in Werewolf talk," Alexis said. "Does she do that with her father?""Yeah, she does."Something inside BJ was changing, not physically because she was still the same toddler, but within her she was connecting with the Werewolves. I had no doubt that she would one day be able to turn into one. Paul had said th

I screeched in pain and anger, and suddenly my skin began to split and I grew bigger and stronger than I ever had before—even bigger than when I had attacked Tony and bigger than when I was in Poland fighting the Rogues. I was a monster that dwarfed the two Werewolves. With one push, I effortlessly sent Paul flying across the room where he crashed into a wall.Sasha circled me with gnashing teeth, and I swung at her but missed.Eight vicious Werewolves were on me, biting and tearing at me, but the pain helped me to think. I remembered being in my bedroom and waking up to the feel of a Werewolf gnawing at my belly, consuming me while I was completely aware. Now I knew I was about to die in the room being torn apart by a pack of Werewolves.Terror filled me as the pain of gnawing teeth ripped through my flesh. I could do nothing because while in my creature's form I couldn't flash myself way. As I fell close to unconsciousness, I heard the shattering of bones and howls of pain. I blin

"How long have I been out?" My voice felt raw and hoarse."A few days. I do not want to risk returning to my true form to heal you rapidly because while in this Werewolf body I am linked to the Pack. Paul does not know that I am in possession of this Wolf body and does not know that I read his plans for the Pack.""What plans?" I asked."His plans are to locate you and your child." He sat up, his hair tousled and his eyes puffy from sleep. "You will need to rest. There is a Council meeting tonight, and there will be questions that will need to be answered honestly. You will be excused from this meeting."I nodded in gratitude. I had too many other things to think about without worrying about facing a Council who once again had come to my rescue."Everyone is okay?" I asked. "No one got hurt, did they?""There were no casualties on either side," Alexis answered."And what about Monica?""What about her?" he replied."You ripped her throat out in order to feed me.""I did not k