DECLAN'S POV “I don't care what anyone says. The Luna is our mate,” Maddox growled in my head. “She smells so delectable. Why can't she be ours?” He complained. My wolf gets confused every time he was around Hazel. Her intoxicating aroma reminded him so much of our mate that sometimes his mind went haywire, believing that our Luna is our mate. I tried on many occasions, drilling into his stubborn brain that she wasn't for us and that she belongs to our Alpha and friend. This entire ordeal had put a damper on our and Zander's relationship. I remembered there was a time when the Alpha and I would go out on runs together and just bonded over guy stuff. Everyone knew Carson was like a brother to him, and he trusted Carson with his life, but the beta was an idiot a major percent of the time and there were things Zander needed my opinion on. Like his proposal to Luna, the Alpha asked Carson for ideas of how to propose to a woman and Carson's response was to spray whip cream on his dick

Zander strode towards Major Skully, his eyes lost in darkness as his wolf came to the surface. “You're an evil creature and as the banshee said, you will die tonight!” Zander clutched him by his boney neck and lifted him with ease off the ground. He struggled to speak, but Zander didn't care to hear what he had to say.“How old is the child?” We all turned to look at Lance. He and ghost Carson were standing in the corner of the corridor, ensuring not to interfere with our interrogation of Major Skully.Cedella craned her neck to look at him. “My daughter will be 10 in a few days.”“Then the child must leave. If she stays here past her 10th birthday, the town will begin to crumble to pieces until it is no more," Lance explained.“The ghoul is right, Cedella," Carson the ghost agreed.“OK," Cedella sighed. “But I cannot leave this realm, so I will never see my daughter again.”“Never say never," Isis declared. “There are numerous ways of doing things where I'm from.”Cedella sniffled.

ISIS' POV There is a scream of the mouth and lungs, and then there is a scream of the eyes and soul. But these damn banshees were screaming with their every might. It was the kind of scream that bypassed the ears, so it could speak right to the heart.Their piercing howls of death almost blew a hole in my chest with an ice-cold magnum. The searing agony caused my vision to blur. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move, and my head was spinning, threatening to shut down altogether. My ears popped with a crack so loud it echoed through me, sending more ripples of pain to my already bleeding brain. My head spun violently now, and I tried to move. I opened my eyes just in time to see Zander fighting off two of the banshees. I looked up, and I saw the other four ghastly figures encircling me, like sharks circling their prey. One of them hovered closer to me, with her eyes gouging out and bloodied from crying. She had a sickening grin plastered over her face. “We're just messengers. This

Zander inhaled, welcoming the crisp freshness of the untainted atmosphere. No scent of death, nor decay, nothing repugnant lingered in the surrounding air. The forest was a pretty contrast of oak-brown and it seemed so primitive. They were awed by the size and majesty of the trees. Their knotted arms rose ever upwards, as far as the head could lift. They were hoary fortresses and stood proudly. The orchestra of birdsong could be heard from miles away. It was spirit-refreshing to smell the musky mix of the forest’s perfume. “The air is so clean here," James declared. And Declan couldn't remember a time when he had enjoyed a cleaner supply of oxygen. They walked through the umber-brown, ancient forest. It was like a leafy paradise, reeking of age. Its woody incense was from centuries of snapping branches crashing to the forest’s floor and twisting silently. Every sprawling tree they passed under reminded them of a watchful guardian, a silent sentinel of the groves. An ore-gold moon

The distinct change in atmosphere was immediately apparent. The cave’s hot, dry climate was an abrupt contradiction to the fresh, cool air our heroes left behind outside. Hazel wrinkled her nose against the musty smell permeating the air of this place. They followed behind Layla and ventured deeper into the rock-strewn cavern. Zander was worried about how Hazel would react when she sees what was taking place inside. He didn't have the time to tell the others what he and James saw when they entered the cave earlier. Hazel's mind-link barrier was too weak, so all telepathic communications with her were weakened. Suddenly, a flock of winged-creatures swept across the apex of the cave, producing screeching shrieks that rang through the whole cavern. Everyone except Layla and Declan, who still had an unconscious Seraphina in his arms, knelt with their hands covering their heads. They kept absolutely still until the raging horde of bats finally subsided, and everything was unruffled again.