Allison's POV To say I was shocked at Alpha Scott's statement was an understatement. The hurt I had felt before was like child's play compared to this. What I had been expecting was an apology and perhaps an explanation of his actions as the pack had most likely gotten a new Beta right after I left. The Alpha was not even talking about a reinstatement or another position I could fill in. He was talking about sending me back to Dante's pack!It took a few seconds for me to wrap my head around the idea. The effort I was making to get myself under control was being wasted. Already, I could feel the tenuous hold I had on my temper already slipping. Could this day get any worse? Perhaps this time, I was at the receiving end of Alpha Scott's rare sense of humor. I laughed even though I did not feel like it. "Alpha, you are joking right?" I asked him.He was grave, not a trace of humor on his face. His mouth set in a hard line."I'm afraid this is not a joke Allison. I'm being serious."My

Dante's POV I massaged my temples in circular motions as I listened to the Alpha's monotonous voice drone and on. The veins there throbbed. My efforts at getting rid of the rapidly growing pressure there were apparently not working. For one, the motion of my fingers was not as soothing as I wanted them to be. For another, I was so angry at everything and at everyone that I could not concentrate on what the Alpha was saying. The fact that I was in such bad shape that I couldn't attend to my pack's business only made me more furious. And so the cycle went on and on, with no signs of ever coming to an end. I was beginning to feel that it had been a really bad idea to listen to Maddox's advice on attending this meeting. Perhaps if I had done what had come to mind initially- going to search for Allison myself- I wouldn't be sitting here feeling useless and unproductive. The Alpha burst into laughter. The tiny part of my brain that was paying attention to our conversation registered that

Allison's POV The first thing I was conscious of was a splitting pain centered around my forehead. I winced and the pain intensified. Slowly, the pain began to spread from my head to my neck and down to my limbs. My entire body felt like one giant ball of pain. At the same time, a feeling of lethargy crept over me. I felt very weak and I did not want to make an effort to know what was wrong with me. Opening my eyes felt like too much effort. I gritted my teeth and forced them open. They drooped because it felt like steel pennies were glued to them. I blinked again and again. I tried to raise my hand to wipe my eyes but it didn't move. I tried again but my efforts were only rewarded by a sharp pain in the area of my wrist. I glanced down and saw that my arm was tied behind me and I was tied to a chair. My entire body was crisscrossed with ropes. I gasped in surprise and my heart began to beat fiercely. I was confused, disoriented, and could not for the life of me figure out how I ha

Dante's POV "Lock him in the dungeon," I ordered without hesitation. Maddox did not look inclined to carry out the order. He sat on the edge of the chair, made as if to stand up, and finally settled into his chair. He started to say something, thought better of it, but voiced it out anyway. "Technically Alpha, he has not done anything wrong you know," said Maddox. I gestured impatiently. "I know that already. Still. . ." I shrugged. "If a sojourn in the dungeon is a price anyone has to pay for me to get her back, then it's a small price indeed. After all, it's not as if I'm killing the man. To me this is worse than war, Maddox. And all is fair in love and war.""I know that. Trust me I do." He leaned forward and paused, gathering his thoughts. "Look at it like this. We have kept him in our pack for two days now. Allison must have heard about it. After all, bringing him here was like an open secret. Most packs have already heard about what happened. It stands to reason that Alliso

Allison's POV I had spent another night in this hellhole. Last night had been every bit as horrible as I imagined it would be. It was even worse than my first night here. I remembered the slowly building fear that had enveloped me as night had approached. It was horrible because I had all the time in the world to notice that the daylight was slowly fading out of the sky and that night was slowly but surely coming. If anyone had told me that I would survive another night like that, I would have called them liars. Before the light faded out of the sky, I had scooted over to a corner of the room. It had taken all the willpower I had not to cry and beg for a light to be brought in. I had asked on the first night anyway and hadn't gotten any. I figured that none of the members of the rogue pack knew I had a problem with sleeping in the dark. Revealing one of my weakest spots to them would give them another potent weapon to use against me. For all I knew, the seeming tolerance of the Al