Luciana’s POVThis cannot be happening.But it was happening. And as much as Luciana didn’t want to see Alpha Reed or have him near her pack and family, he was already there. Her worse nightmare was becoming a reality.She knew that Alister was going to be disappointed in her for leaving the welcome party line; hell, he was already disappointed in her if the cold shoulders he was giving her were anything to go by.She hated the fact that her secret was tearing a hole and creating a wedge between her and her mate. She hated the fact that she had to run whenever she heard the name Alpha Reed.Why should she be the one running? Why wasn’t he the one running? He had rejected her and almost killed her. He should be the one running, but here she was, running away from him again.It felt surreal that Alpha Reed, the same alpha who had rejected her after using her, was now with her second-chance mate in the pack, discussing whatever he was there for.A thought occurred to her, and she

Alister’s POV"You are not supposed to be here..." Luciana mumbled in a shaky voice as Alister entered the room and closed the door.Alister paused by the door to stare at his mate. She looked more fragile than she had been the night he first rescued her.He sniffed the air; it was damp and heavy, meaning she had been crying. Maybe she was sorry for what she had done."I’m where I’m supposed to be..." Alister retorted a bit harshly, moving further into the room.Lucia took a step back, only stopping because she could not move back any further because of the bed there. He sighed, tucking his hands inside his pockets.Surely Luciana was not scared of him, so wherever the thought was coming from, she had to be insecure.Luciana sighed, dragging her hand through her hair. "I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have left the welcoming party line: " she apologized.That was not what he was expecting to hear first, but they could start from there and work their way through this tension between them. She

Alister’s POVAlister’s heart beat raced as he ran through the woods after Matt. He was not in his wolf form, but he was still fast. Many scenarios ran through his mind about what might have happened, but he pushed them down.Matt had not told him anything other than that he needed to see whatever it was urgently and for himself.He sighed as they approached the cliff where they raced to during their morning run. He didn’t need to go any further to know what had happened.The smell of blood hit his nose, and he had to cover his nostrils because it was very strong. The smell was heavy and it filled the air.He paused, trying to calm his raging heart and breathe in fresh air. "How many are they?The smell of blood is strong" he asked Matt, who had stopped too.Matt shook his head. "You should see it yourself," he replied.Alister huffed a sigh and waved him forward. They crossed the bridge and then rounded the cliff on the other side, leading to the back of the edge.The first thing he c

Elijah’s POVElijah was distracted. Maybe by his emotions or feelings, or perhaps by what had been happening in the pack lately since Alpha Reed showed up, whichever one, he was distracted and couldn’t even find the focus to work.He looked at the letter on the screen again and sighed. Whatever Alpha Reed’s plan was, he was sure to cause trouble for them. The letter was a summon by the council, and he didn’t need to read further to know what it was about.They were expecting two council members in their pack that morning, and then Reed submitted a petition to the council for their land. At this rate, the council might as well take over their pack.There were times when Elijah felt that he had lost control of things, and that moment was one of them. What went wrong? he thought. They had been functioning well as a pack, even after Alister’s uncle’s attack, so what went wrong? Luciana.The name echoed in his thoughts, and he couldn’t help but agree. He loved Alister to pieces, and that

Elijah’s POV “okay…” Elder Henry shifted in his seat.“ the dark fangs pack… Do they recruit rogues to do their bidding?” he asked.The other elder cleared his throat to get Elder Henry’s attention before shaking his head. How the fuck did the council send two ignorant elders to come investigate a case as complicated as this? He thought.Elijah pursed his lips in anger, “They don’t recruit rogues to do their bidding; they are a rogue pack with a rogue Alpha. We submitted this information when they attacked, but I think it’s clear that the council has no plans of capturing these rogues and serving justice,” he fired.“ Elijah!” Alister warned him, but he ignored his friend and boldly excused himself from the office, making sure to bang the door for effect.Alister could continue without him. He had merely left there because he didn’t want to offend Elder Henry any further, because if he had remained, he wasn’t sure what he was going to say and he sure would regret it.The same counc