Chapter 2

Julie

While Storm was in the nursery taking care of Ciara, I gathered the boys and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

The moment we stepped through the doorway, the familiar chaos of a busy family breakfast greeted me.

Liam, Lilly, Leah and Mike were already seated around the enormous table, helping themselves to the mountain of food spread across the centre.

There was enough food to feed an army.

Then again, with this family, it probably wasn’t far off.

I guided the boys into their seats before filling their plates.

“Here you go.”

Three pairs of eager eyes immediately dropped to their food.

The boys didn’t need any encouragement.

They attacked their breakfast with the enthusiasm only young children could manage.

I smiled as I watched them.

They had always been good eaters.

Sometimes, too good.

I had barely sat down and started filling my own plate when Storm walked into the kitchen carrying Ciara.

“Good morning, family,” she announced brightly.

“Morning, Mom,” Lilly replied with a grin.

“How did she sleep?” Leah asked, nodding toward the baby.

“Perfectly. Same as always.”

Storm looked happy.

Content.

It was hard to believe that the woman standing in front of us was the same woman who had arrived in Ireland six years earlier carrying so much pain, fear and uncertainty.

Now she had my father as her mate.

Four children.

A home.

A family.

She had everything she’d once believed she could never have.

“If you want, I’ll hold her while you eat,” Leah offered.

Storm hesitated.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Leah held out her arms.

Storm carefully placed Ciara into them, and Leah immediately cuddled the baby against her chest.

The sight made me smile.

There was something about watching Leah with Ciara that made her look different.

Softer.

Almost… maternal.

I didn’t think much of it at the time.

I should have.

Mike leaned toward Leah and began feeding her breakfast while she held Ciara.

I rolled my eyes affectionately.

Those two were still ridiculously in love.

Ever since they’d discovered they were fated mates, they had become practically inseparable.

The constant touching.

The lingering looks.

The smiles.

The way they seemed to forget there were other people in the room.

It was sweet.

Really, it was.

Even if the rest of us occasionally wanted to throw something at them.

I was genuinely happy for Leah.

I was.

But watching them together still caused a tiny ache in my chest.

Leah had found her mate.

Lilly hadn’t.

And neither had I.

I wondered sometimes when it would happen.

Or if it would happen at all.

Maybe I was simply being impatient.

I hoped so.

My gaze drifted toward Storm as she sat down and began filling her plate.

I couldn’t help noticing how much food she put on it.

Then again, after four pregnancies and while breastfeeding Ciara, she had every reason to be hungry.

I’d watched Storm go through pregnancy after pregnancy.

And somehow, despite giving birth to four babies, she still had an incredible figure.

I looked down at myself.

If I ever had children, I could only hope I was as lucky as she was.

I smiled at the thought.

One day.

Maybe.

If the Moon Goddess was listening.

⸻

Leah

I held Ciara against my chest, breathing in that intoxicating baby scent.

There was something about babies that made my heart ache in the best possible way.

I looked down at her tiny face.

She was beautiful.

Perfect.

And completely oblivious to the secret I was carrying.

My secret.

Our secret.

I glanced at Mike.

He caught my eye.

The smallest smile appeared on his face.

I immediately looked away before anyone noticed.

Yesterday, everything had changed.

I was pregnant.

Pregnant.

Even thinking the word made my stomach flutter.

I had found out yesterday, and since then, I’d been bursting with excitement.

I couldn’t wait to tell my father.

I could already imagine his reaction.

Alpha Doyle was going to be a grandfather.

I knew he’d be thrilled.

Probably ridiculously thrilled.

I could practically hear him already.

Another baby.

Another member of the family.

Another reason to spoil someone rotten.

I looked around the table at my younger brothers.

Dalton was shovelling food into his mouth.

Finn was attempting to eat with a spoon and failing miserably.

Cian had abandoned his spoon altogether and was using his hands.

Nobody seemed bothered.

As long as the boys were eating, that was all that mattered.

I smiled.

Soon, there would be another little one running around this house.

Another baby to cuddle.

Another tiny voice filling the halls.

And I couldn’t wait.

There was just one problem.

Dad wasn’t here.

He was still in Germany at the pack meeting.

I wanted him home.

I wanted everyone together when I told them.

I wanted to see his face when I said the words.

I couldn’t wait.

My hand instinctively drifted toward my stomach.

So little.

nothing had changed physically yet.

But everything had changed inside me.

I was going to be a mother.

The thought sent a rush of happiness through me.

I looked at Mike again.

I was going to have a baby.

And my life was about to change forever.

⸻

Alpha Doyle

I’d reached my limit.

I sat at the conference table beside Sean, listening to yet another round of pointless arguing.

Voices rose.

Accusations were thrown around.

Everyone seemed to have an opinion.

And nobody seemed to have a solution.

I glanced at the clock.

Every minute I spent sitting in this room was another minute I was away from my family.

My mate.

My children.

Home.

I’d tolerated the meeting for long enough.

But this?

This was getting us nowhere.

I slammed my fist against the table.

The crack echoed through the room.

“Enough!”

Silence.

Every head turned toward me.

I slowly rose to my feet and let my gaze travel around the table.

The Alphas who had been arguing moments earlier suddenly seemed very interested in remaining quiet.

“This idiocy has gone on for far too long.”

Nobody interrupted me.

Good.

“How is it that we have the Alphas of some of the strongest packs in the world sitting around this table, yet not one of you can come up with a solution?”

One of the Alphas shifted uncomfortably.

“Alpha Doyle, it isn’t an easy problem to resolve—”

“It is.”

He stopped.

I leaned forward, planting both hands on the table.

“The rogue attacks aren’t random.”

Silence.

“We’ve all been dealing with the same problem. Different countries. Different packs. Different rogues.”

I looked around the table.

“Yet the pattern is the same.”

A few of the Alphas exchanged glances.

“Have any of you stopped to ask why?”

Nobody answered.

I continued.

“When something escalates this quickly, there is usually a reason. A motivation. Someone wants something.”

Sean shifted beside me.

I knew he was following my train of thought.

“The rogues aren’t suddenly becoming more organised on their own. Someone is coordinating them.”

A stunned silence fell over the room.

One Alpha finally spoke.

“Are you suggesting rogues from different countries are working together?”

“Yes.”

The word hung heavily in the room.

Another Alpha shook his head.

“That’s impossible. Rogues are selfish. They don’t trust one another. Why would they cooperate?”

“Because someone is giving them a reason to.”

I paused.

“And that’s what we need to find out.”

I straightened.

“Think about it. The rogues attacking your packs aren’t travelling across continents. They don’t have the money or resources to do that.”

I pointed toward the map spread across the table.

“The rogues are local.”

I tapped my finger against the map.

“But someone is coordinating them.”

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

Somebody was pulling the strings.

And until we discovered who, we were fighting blind.

“So the question isn’t simply how do we stop the rogues.”

I looked around the table.

“The question is…”

I let the silence stretch.

“Who is telling them what to do?”

Nobody spoke.

For once, there was no arguing.

Only silence.

A Luna finally broke it.

“How do we find out?”

“We capture one.”

Several people looked at me.

“Alive.”

I continued.

“Next time one of your packs encounters rogues, don’t simply kill them. Take some prisoner. Question them.”

“And if they don’t know anything?”

“They might not.”

I shrugged.

“But we won’t know until we try.”

I looked around the table.

“These rogues are the foot soldiers. They may have no idea who is behind this. But even the smallest piece of information could lead us to the person calling the shots.”

The room remained silent.

Then our host slowly stood.

“Alpha Doyle is right.”

I resisted the urge to sigh.

Finally.

“We’ll all attempt to capture rogues alive and see what information we can extract. Perhaps we’ll finally get some answers.”

He looked around the table.

“I believe we’ve kept everyone away from their packs long enough. This meeting is adjourned.”

Relief washed over me.

Finally.

I was going home.

Sean stood and clapped me on the shoulder.

“Thank you.”

I looked at him.

“For what?”

“For getting through to them.”

I gave him a tired smile.

“I’m just glad it’s over.”

“You and me both.”

Siobhan rose from her chair.

“I am more than ready to go home. If I never have to sit through another one of these meetings, I’ll die happy.”

I laughed.

“Next time, Siobhan, you can stay home.”

She pointed at me.

“Alpha, I am going to hold you to that.”

I smiled.

“Fair enough.”

I gathered my things.

Home was waiting.

My mate was waiting.

My children were waiting.

And somewhere in that house, my family was living the ordinary, peaceful life I’d fought so hard to protect.

I had no idea that while I’d been sitting in Germany trying to figure out who was behind the rogue attacks…

someone else had already begun moving the pieces into place.

And whatever was coming next wasn’t going to stop at the borders of a pack.

It was coming for us.