Even with years of careful composure, I couldn’t hide my shock. This might have very well been the most surprising thing I had ever heard. Aksala started to say something multiple times but stopped. I could feel shock ripple through her, too.Alpha Raymond's face mirrored my own, but his was mixed with a sadistic sort of rage as he turned clench-fisted to his son. His shoulders lifted as he heaved mighty breaths, but no words came out, nothing but a guttural, choked sound.“Is that, is that even sanctioned?” an Alpha asked, stepping forward. I didn’t see him before so he must be Alpha Timothy who told me no in hiding. I crossed my arms gently and fixed him with a stare he eventually couldn’t look away from. It was apparent he was a small man, not in stature, but one that was given too much power, and that was the only thing he could wield over others. Elder John’s brows tugged together; he tilted his head and finally said, “I do think it is.” The crowd gasped, but I wasn’t sure i

Earlier The Luna was tied up, her arms behind her in as tight of a knot as I could create from a bathrobe. She did manage to get a kick in as I tied her feet before I dragged her to the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out to the ground floor of the new gardens.She was spitting a string of profanities and threats, but it was easy to ignore her.Well done - Aksala praised me as I stood to admire my work. She only needed to be held down for a few minutes, though.“Someone will come; someone will hear me!” her voice was panicked now, and I reveled in it. Finally, the fear that came with knowing what would happen to her. I was worried I wouldn’t get the satisfaction.“They won’t, though,” I responded. “Soundproof walls.” I glanced around for show. “The building plans are in your office,” I explained. “Also, your pervy sons would go on about how no one would hear me scream.” I tugged my lips into a brilliant smile. “Isn’t this just poetic?” I asked her.I think it is - Aksala agree

He put his full force into it, but I ducked under him. When I turned on my heel, he was on the ground, shaking. His eyes bore into me, holding the hatred I had suppressed toward him for years.A slow smile spread across my face. “Going to shift already?” I asked, pouting. “That’s no fun.” I untied my pouch and cast it aside while Raymond fought for control over his wolf. “No, no, go on.” I motioned toward him, slowly removing my gloves. “I don’t want to keep your wife waiting in the afterlife for long.” His torrent of anger overtook him, and he roared. I sensed some of the others backing up further. When he saw he didn’t affect me, his face twisted into a horrible mix of disgust and confusion.“You-” he snarled.“Bitch, whore, something like that?” I asked, waving my black gloves in my hand. Tia appeared at my side and took my gloves from me, bowing her head. I didn’t know how she managed to get so close to an Alpha like this, and I admired and loved her for it.“Thank you, Tia,”

I stood over his dead body, swaying. I knew I had lost a lot of blood, and my skin was beginning to feel cold. The others seemed to push in closer to ensure he was actually gone of this world. I looked at Nova, who smiled for a split second before dropping her face back to warrior neutrality, but still, her golden eyes held that joy. I forced myself to look into the eyes of the other Alphas and Lunas here. “Alpha Raymond cheated to kill an entire pack, leaving only one,” I announced, my voice carried through the wind. “But this is what happens when you leave one single member of Blood Moon alive.” I paused, and many shifted their gaze. The fire crackled through me. “We do not forget a debt owed,” I looked at Alpha Alexander this time, the one who had repaid my ancestor's debt by being here and backing me today. “No matter what it is.”“My only advice to you is this.” My gaze was steel and my tongue a weapon forged from my anger and repaid blood. “Make sure you do it right and th

“I thought it might have just been me and my not-to-hidden infatuation with you.” He smiled briefly before his eyes went far away, back to hours earlier. “So I forced myself to look at everyone else. They were all completely still. The power that radiated from you felt like it washed over us. Some people reached up as if they could touch it.” He shook his head. “It was different than just an Alpha aura; it was something else entirely; I can’t find the words.” I shifted slightly to focus on him, happy to find there really was no pain from the movement.“It was old, ancient. It called to me on an instinctual level as if I were basking in the Moon Goddess's light.” One of his shoulders tilted up, and he shook his head more vigorously than usual. “I know it sounds poetic and dumb-”“It doesn’t,” I cut him. He eyed me, and I shrugged. “It’s hard to put to words things you have never categorized before.” I had to do it with my feelings for him, and I was still trying to piece that togethe