A few days had passed since I had told my mates about my magic lessons with the moon goddess. Since then, Nicholas had been a bit distant, seemingly lost in thought, constantly looking concerned.Brian and Cheney had been enthusiastic about the lessons and encouraging. They asked questions and showed interest in my new abilities. They were sweet and passionate about this new thing in my life.Each time it was brought up, though, Nicholas’ brows would furrow, and he would eventually leave the room. I could tell he had something to say but didn’t know how to get him to open up to me.He finally confronted me with his worries, "Beryl," he began, his voice low and hesitant, "I've been thinking about those magic lessons. Is it safe for the baby?"Cheney and Brian exchanged glances, their brows furrowing in worry. It looked as though they had had this discussion between themselves already and had just now thought of a way to talk to me about it.This bothered me a bit, but I sighed, underst

The tensions in our world had reached a breaking point, and it was clear that we needed a united front against the looming threats. The meeting between the packs had reconvened, the weight of our discussions heavy in the air.Solomon stood beside Armand, showing how united the two of our packs had become. The two of them exchanging solemn glances as the other leaders filled in around them.They had just been deep in conversation, discussing the logistics of our alliance and the potential for peace among our kind. They had hopes of finally coming to terms with the other packs today.The dissenting pack was a problem. Their desire to mate Nicholas to one of their females had faded away into the background, or at least I had assumed it had, since I hadn’t heard anything else about it.Armand's voice resonated through the chamber as he addressed the assembled alphas and their representatives. "I understand that this arrangement is new and uncharted territory for all of us. But I believe t

 Beryl:I had gone in search of Nicholas, wanting to finally put to rest whatever it was that had come between us. The baby was going to be here soon, and I didn’t want whatever this was to dampen the happiness of our impending child.As I had wandered the grounds looking for him, I had run into one of the dissenting pack members who had lingered after another discussion with Armand and Solomon. He looked at me, with a smirk and asked if I was alright.“Yes, I’m fine thank you

 Beryl:After our sweet moment, my mates were able to tell me what was going on with the prisoner, and we headed to the dungeons together. Nicholas and I walked hand in hand, and he kept glancing down at me as if I might fade away into the night.As we approached the dungeon, I could feel the dark magic at work. When I entered the cell that held the prisoner, I could tell that he was connected to the darkness in a much stronger way than Nicholas had been. It would take much more than a touch to release him.

 While I had been asleep, they had decided to plan an all out attack on the vampires and the dissenting pack. The plan was to hit them soon, before they had a chance to move too far away from their current encampment.The overall consensus was that we were ready to go now, so they had decided to gather our forces and proceed with the attack the very next day. With Amy under heavy guard, and unable to use her magic to bolster their forces, they would be weakened and unready to withstand this kind of assault.My mates were invigorated, ready for the battle, but I was wary and t