FAZER LOGINShe ignores me, doesn't even look at me when she speaks again, her attention remains fixed on the five men spread around the lounge while I remain perched, ram rod.Vaela folds her arms across her chest, black tattoos shifting over powerful muscles, and says, "I'm assuming, as you’ve all been beyond useless so far, that you didn’t think to explain The Council, or let her know they want to meet her, immediately, and won't eat your shitty excuses much longer?"Five different threats bark toward her, all different pitches and tones, but with the same warning at the end of them. The sound releases adrenaline as my body prepares for danger. Vaela doesn’t so much as flinch. "Thought so."The force of disappointment in that declaration sounds more dangerous than shouting.She glances toward Raulf, who leans down so she can murmur into his ear too quietly for me to hear. Whatever it is wipes the amusement from his face. His eyes find mine across the room, and for a second sympathy flickers t
Val escorts us back through the maze of timber corridors and open living spaces, managing to walk backwards for half the journey while continuing an entirely one-sided conversation with Jax. The house feels even larger now they’re here. By the time we reach the huge lounge with its enormous stone fireplace and sofas the size of small countries, I feel wrung out. Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually. Probably medically. She picks up on it, pauses beside me before leaving, reaches out and brushes my hair behind my ear in a gesture so unexpectedly affectionate my chest aches."See you soon, cousin." The smile she gives me is warm enough to melt glaciers.Then she's gone.Jax watches her disappear through the doorway. "Ooh, I really like her." He drops into an armchair and points after her. "Badass betas, am I right?"Corrian rolls his eyes. "She cares for our girl, please try not to annoy her, pup.""And why not?" Jax grips at imaginary pearls. “Annoyings what I do best.”"Because she
The back deck overlooks a valley so beautiful it’s hard to accept it as real. Mountains rise in every direction, their peaks dusted with lingering snow despite the warmth of the afternoon sun, while dense pine forests spill down the slopes like dark green rivers. Below, snaking down through lush green, water rushes over rocks loud enough to hear even from here.Years of choking back city smog have my lungs sighing in relief as I suck in another chestful of clean air, packed full of pine sap and damp earth. Valentine’s wrapped me in a blanket, she decided I’m both emotionally fragile and incapable of regulating my own body temperature. Every few minutes, another curious wolf attempts to wander onto the deck and immediately gets shooed away by her like an aggressive sheepdog.We're curled up on a huge outdoor sofa while she scrolls through videos on her phone. A tiny orange kitten is fighting a vacuum cleaner in the latest one, she’s laughing so hard it’s devolved into snorting. Cat v
She slides a steaming mug in front of me, plops onto a stool next to me and points at it."Drink.""What is it?" I eye the liquid, scared to sniff in case it triggers a further projectile episode. "To stop you puking."That gets my attention. I scrape it toward me and take a cautious sip. "Mmmm," Whatever it is tastes like honey, ginger and love. The second it hits my stomach, the cramps ease. She's a witch, it's the only explanation."Where are Vaela and Raulf?"Val snorts. "Probably growling at the Alpha stud making you this sick."I chuckle, taking another deep sip. "Try five."She narrows her eyes. "Explain.""Five Alpha studs are making me this sick."Her mouth drops open and she folds in half laughing. Full-body, wheezing, can't breathe laughter. She slaps the counter top repeatedly while trying to inhale."Five," another wheeze. "Five.""Starting to feel judged here," I grumble."No wonder you're puking your ring up!" She points dramatically at me. "That's so much giant Alpha
Valentine steers me toward the toilet with practised ease. My hand's clamped over my mouth holding back what is about to be extremely embarrassing. My knee caps crunch as I drop down just in time for my body to attempt the ejection of organs that are definitely not attached to my digestive system."Get it out, love. You're good." She soothes me through the first waves.Several deeply humiliating minutes later, I'm kneeling on expensive tile flooring while Valentine holds my hair back with one hand and keeps up a steady stream of conversation. Apparently the phone she'd given me to hide earlier belongs to her brother. He is, in her words, "an arrogant, overgrown testosterone goblin who doesn't believe in privacy." Between bouts of dry heaving I learn she stole his phone in retaliation for guessing the password on hers. Their initially small battle's escalated into a months-long war, which has included him once replacing all the photos in her camera roll with shots of his bare ass. B
My laughter eventually dies a slow, reluctant death.Vaela continues to look offended by my complete lack of werewolf education, while Raulf is one badly timed comment away from laughing himself. I drag a hand across my face and shake my head."So, just to clarify," I say, trying and failing to sound reasonable. "I know I figured out, all by myself I might add, that I have some wolfy tendencies. That part I've got. No way I can turn into one."There's no time to examine it too closely, because Vaela mutters something under her breath that sounds like, "...gonna kill those idiot boys." and strides toward a chair near the wall. Only when she reaches behind it do I notice the weapon leaning there. One handed, she slides out a huge broadsword and secures it across her back."You carry that around?"Vaela glances over her shoulder. "Frequently.""Why?" My voice is all high and squeaky."Chopping heads off." She jerks her head toward the door. "Come."I look at Raulf, he catches the look a







