Zola’s POV I couldn’t move, not that I dared to. I was afraid we would be seen. Samantha was the same. Every noise, no matter how small, terrified her. It gave Samantha and I, a chance to talk about what happened whilst I was dormant. I was shocked beyond words. My human was made to suffer by those she thought loved her. Thankfully, Garth saved her. I will always be grateful to our Gamma for that. I stayed hidden until my stomach churned. I wasn’t sure when Samantha last ate, but the pain in my stomach told me it was a while ago. I knew it was time to move then. I struggled to dig myself out of the debris that Xavier buried me beneath. My body ached so much from the stiffness and stabbing pains I could barely walk. I drank water from a puddle, not caring how dirty it was. All that mattered was that it was wet. It at least quenched my thirst, but my stomach still growled in hunger. I headed toward the river, hoping I could catch something on my way there. But every time I chased
Samantha’s POV Zola’s howls turned to my screams as my bones shifted. I pulled my knees to my chest and rocked. Closing my eyes and trying to breathe through the pain. The sound of the children whimpering distracted me a little.Eventually, I looked at the two small bodies as their hooded heads touched each other, possibly for reassurance. “Your pain won’t be going away in a hurry,” Zola said sadly, urging me to go to them. Over the year since we have been together. Zola and I disagreed on many things, but we were the most excited about motherhood. The unconditional bond between mother and child. These may not be my children, but what if they were? I would hope someone would help them.I crawled on all fours toward them, knowing that it was the only thing I could do for them. I could set them free, just like Garth did for me. I started crying, knowing that no matter how bad the past 24 hours had been for me. It was worse for him.I yanked the knot in the rope around the girl’s ankle.
Ellie’s POV It had been a long day. I fixed the cranial cruciate ligament on a labrador named Quinn this morning. There was a minor complication, nothing I couldn’t handle. But it made the operation run longer than I expected.But I didn’t care. The animal on my table would get the time she needed. This caused my clinic to start late. Everyone with booked appointments was annoyed, but that was their problem. If that was their pet, and I ran into a complication, they’d want me to spend the extra time working on them.Over the last few days, there has been an increase in out-of-town dog owners requesting emergency appointments, causing me to stay late in the clinic. In a frantic search for the missing children, those fools have been pushing their dogs to their limits. It ticks me off that humans disregard the health of their animals, using them as tools, solely for their gain. Maybe that’s why I prefer animals to humans. You always know where you stand with an animal. Whereas with peo
Ellie’s POV How dare William raise his voice in my clinic, especially while I am treating his patient? Kiki snarled at his aggressive tone. But we both knew he wasn’t a threat to me. Despite what I want to say, I need to get the information I want before I tell him what I think of his disgusting behavior. I continued with the task at hand, cannulating the girl. My hand shook a little as I tied the tourniquet around her arm. I am not used to doing this to humans. If anything, it should be easier. She is not covered in fur. A vein is a vein, Ellie. I scolded myself for hesitating in front of William. “John said the children had been found. How are they doing?” I asked as I cleaned her arm. I heard William breathing through his nose as he picked up the vials of ketamine that I strategically placed on the plastic tray. “They’re on the way to my hospital. The authorities have informed their parents.” He informed me. William grabbed my arm. “Now, what did you do to her?” I pulled my
Ellie’s POV I know I don’t have much of a personal life. But when you are a shifter, you are never truly alone. For the past three days, I’ve had to care for someone else and it’s been hard work. I have a new appreciation for people who do it regularly. Kiki and I talked about Sam at night. We are curious about her. Which pack she was from, as there weren’t any within a 50-mile radius. Kiki imagined her family and pack were worried sick about her as wolf packs are close-knit. The woods should now be empty and Kiki was frustrated, but it would mean leaving Sam alone. She’s just about coping. Which is better than I can say I am. I’m going stir-crazy. I have never spent this much continuous time in the clinic and I have decided that after Sam is gone, I am decorating the place, especially the waiting area. I have been keeping Sam asleep while the antibiotics take effect. William followed through and visited three times a day to administer them as well as deliver a concoction of
Sam’s POV “Zola.” I wanted to hear her familiar voice before I opened my eyes. Before I faced reality, “Zola, are u there?” I called out again, hoping I wasn’t alone. I never want to be without her again. Zola didn’t respond, but I could hear her whimpering. After coaxing her to speak to me, her words were not what I expected. “He intended to kill us,” she said eventually. I quickly understood why she was upset. Zola will only ever have one mate, her one true love. He is supposed to love her unconditionally. I grew to love Axel, but it was nothing compared to the love she had for Gunner. She was processing the fact that despite their love, Gunner was prepared to kill her and kill anyone that stood in the way of him doing so.I have heard of people getting second-chance mates, but that union has to come from the goddess herself, and I’m not sure if I believe in her anymore. Because she sure as hell doesn’t believe in me. We could always take a chosen mate if Zola wanted to. But I am n
Sam’s POV Ellie canceled her non-urgent clinic appointments over the next few days to look after me. She ordered food to be delivered to the clinic, and she showered in the kennel area. Her place of work was relatively small, consisting of a reception area, clinic room, operating area, kennel, storeroom, kitchen, and restroom. Ellie reopened her clinic once I could move around without being in pain. I was still experiencing some discomfort, but it was bearable. I helped with minor tasks, such as cleaning. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could manage, and it kept me busy. Ellie never once complained about me hiding in the back, away from the humans who brought their pets in for check-ups. I had never interacted with humans before and was anxious. Listening to Ellie talk so confidently made me jealous. She knew so much and she gave the animals the best possible care imaginable. Yes, she was blunt, and she was not afraid to tell anyone what she thought of them. But then I remembere
Ellie’s POV “I woke up from a coma when I was about 7 years old. I didn’t know my name or where I lived. William told me I had amnesia. He told me my memories would eventually return. In the meantime, as I was medically stable, I had nowhere to go. I was placed in a group home.” I told Sam as she slurped on her milkshake. “Being the new kid, I got bullied nonstop. They made me sleep with the dogs in the kennel. As I stunk like a dog in the morning, the kids called me ‘smelly Ellie’, since I didn’t have a name. But I didn’t care, as I knew that one day my parents would come for me.” I took a deep breath. “Days turned to months and the only memory that returned was one of a pair of boys promising to take care of me. Despite the police searches, no one ever came to claim me.”“Oh, Ellie, I’m so sorry,” Sam said sympathetically. But I don’t need it.“I’m not. Mrs Fletcher, the baker, used to stop by with treats and must have seen how I was treated. The first day I was put up for adoption
Reagan’s POV Although we were traveling in a luxury car, the journey was so long. Not because Phillip was driving slowly. But because of the silence. I had never known Sam to be so quiet for so long. Every time I looked at her, she looked deep in thought.Whenever I asked her if she was okay, she brushed me off, telling me she was thinking about Frank and how, if she hadn’t bothered. No one else would have. The thought saddened me, as everyone deserves to be remembered. “The funeral director has Frank’s service file. It may contain a picture. You could put it in a frame in your new home,” I suggested to Sam. I don’t think Caspian would mind considering his office is full of pictures of our ancestors. I began to think about who would remember me after I was gone. When Caspian thought I was dead, he still remembered me. Then I had a sad thought. What if the people who tried to kill me then went after Caspian? Sure, we would have been remembered as the Alpha Kings, and our names woul
Sam’s POV It was three days until Frank’s funeral and only five days until the full moon. Five days until I will be marked. I still have my apprehensions, but Zola didn’t. She felt Caspian was my true mate, but to find him, something dramatic had to happen. Whereas I think it’s the goddess trying to make amends.Reagan and I planned on travelling to South View after the funeral, so that I could share my news with Ellie. I didn’t know how she would take it, as I still hadn’t told her about Caspian. I was hoping she would come back with us as Ellie will want to meet Capsian. The main concern I have is that she’s not a social person. But then again, she hasn’t been around many wolves. What if they insult her? She’s likely to kill someone with that power of hers. But that is a worry for another day.But what would happen afterward? Will I want to share Caspian’s life with him at the palace? It’s nice and all, but I am constantly escorted around, and it doesn’t have the freedom a home sho
Reagan’s POV “I believe this is bigger than I first thought,” Richard told me. I grew concerned about my old friend. “Be careful and keep me updated,” I told him. If what he discovered was worth killing me over. He may paint a target on his own back, and with him being out there alone, no one would know for a while. “I will,” he said before he hung up the phone. I spun the chair around and stared out of the large window. The view from here has always been a favorite; that’s why I made it my office. “I should help him,” I told myself. But if the intention was to kill me, I could be giving them another opportunity. If the intention was to dethrone me as the Alpha King, then mission accomplished because the title has been handed over. But I didn’t know which one it was. The door bursting open behind me pulled me from my thoughts. Caspian rushed through it with a huge grin on his face, and he was dragging Sam behind him. She hadn’t come to our suite last night, so perhaps Caspian’s pl
Sam’s POV I rolled over and thumbed the hard lump under my head. But I hit something solid, something that moved. I instantly freaked and thrashed about, screaming, fearing the worst. “Sam, Sam. It’s OK,” a voice told me. I quickly recognized that it belonged to Caspian. As I calmed myself down, Caspian threw his arm over me and dragged me to him. The closeness to him helped me relax.“What am I doing in bed with you?” I asked him when I was ready.He moved a piece of hair off my face. “You fell asleep last night, and I didn’t want to wake you. So I carried you to bed.” He sniffed my hair and then kissed the top of my head. “I haven’t slept that well in a long time,” he told me gently.I want to be annoyed with Caspian. This wasn’t the deal. We move at my pace. But how could I be mad? I had the best dream. I was in my family home with my mom and dad. We were eating dinner at the table. It was an ordinary family event, and the meal was nothing special. But they were there, and we were
Reagan’s POV Sam and I have slept in the same suite since we arrived. Sam takes the bedroom, but she leaves the door open as she likes to know I’m around. This upsets Caspian, as she is still closer to me than him. But should that change, he is more than welcome to sleep on the couch.A positive outcome of Sam spending time with Caspian is that her nightmares are less intense. I know she still has them, but she doesn’t wake up screaming.Whereas in my dreams, my dark-haired mystery woman continues to taunt me. When she touches me, I feel alive even though I can’t move or speak. She runs her fingers through my hair and over my skin, sending sparks of electricity to my core. Although I have had many sexual encounters in my life, none of these women has ever made me feel the way she does.My dreams are so intense that I have to rush to the bathroom most mornings. So Sam doesn’t interrupt me while I deal with my erection. I like to think that the mystery woman is my mate, and I am dreami
Reagan’s POV It took Caspian and me several days to review and fix all those files he signed. Like hell was I doing it alone, as I wasn’t the Alpha King anymore. Caspian needed to learn how to fix his mistakes. The Wolf Council was not happy either, as their workload had just increased. But they should have done their damned jobs in the first place. “I hope you have learned from this,” I told Caspian.“Reagan. I’ve taken full responsibility for my screw-ups. But I don’t know how these files made it past these reports got past the Wolf Council without being investigated.” He told me this daily, and he raised a good point; whoever was responsible for the investigation knew they were passing incomplete files to Caspian. I just can’t figure out how they got him to sign them off. One, maybe two, could have slipped past him in the early days. But there were dozens, and it had been going on for weeks.“Could you live with yourself knowing an innocent person suffered or died because of your
Sam’s POV Caspian was beaming as he invited me to see the private palace gardens. “Won’t you get in trouble with the Alpha King? What if he finds out I’m there?” I told him I would offend him unintentionally. Zola also had her concerns. “If he tries to have me sent to the dungeons again, I am out of here!” Caspian looked like he was thinking, and then told me the Alpha King was with Reagan. “I only got the head of security job because Reagan went missing. I was the second choice for the position. I never thought I would get it. Now Reagan’s back, and classed as my advisor, the Alpha King prefers to talk to him rather than me,” he said, snickering.I followed Caspian as he walked along the empty hallways. Then he stopped in front of a glass door. I felt naughty as I walked through it. But once I took a few steps outside, I forgot all about the Apha King. It was beautiful. Everywhere you looked, there were beautifully pruned flowers in every imaginable color.Caspian walked beside me
Reagan’s POV Although I have never needed the services of Dr. Monroe, I have met him many times over the years. I have relied on him for his medical knowledge more than anything. He is also an asset to have around for those people who are wolfless or pregnant.At first, he felt awkward, and he kept calling me ‘your majesty’. I was no longer the Alpha King, and I had to keep correcting him. In the end, he settled for calling me ‘sir’ as he didn’t feel comfortable calling me by my first name. To distract himself, he talked about the pregnancy spike within the kingdom. It was good to hear, as new pups meant the next generation was being born. He measured multiple parts of my body with a tape measure. “Do you have a preference on what style of leg you would like, sir?” I hadn’t even thought about it.“What are my options? What is your opinion?” I asked him.“This is not the sort of thing we offer in the wolf kingdom, so when I was asked about it. I did a quick bit of research on what hum
Reagan’s POV It felt strange walking into the Alpha King’s office. It was once a place where I spent a lot of my time. But now I am no longer the Alpha King, and it belongs to Caspian. So much has changed since I have been gone. Yet this room remained the same; Caspian hadn’t changed a thing. But everything in this room is a memory for us both. Portraits of our elders, pictures of our parents, and photos of us from our youth. There is even a picture of the family we were so close to once upon a time. I cherished that picture; it was our mom’s last photo before her murder.A man was sitting at Caspian’s desk. But my business here was to meet the Wolf Council. Phillip opened the door for me, and I made my way inside. Every man got to his feet and bowed his head in respect.I am no longer their superior, but they treated me as if I were. I took a seat opposite my brother, who now sits at the head of the table. Everyone sat down, except for George. He was a senior member of the Wolf Coun