[Danica's POV]
Disbelief rolled through me as I blankly stared at the spot where Bryllie had just been.
"Danica, look out!"
A gasp escaped me as Mason's warm, strong body slammed into mine, pushing me out of the way just in time to avoid having the quickly crumbling roof fall on top of me.
"We need to go." Mason growled, getting to his feet.
"But..." I whispered. "Bryllie..."
"We will find her." Mason insisted, yanking me to my feet. "But if we die here under the rubble, we can't!"
I knew he was right and that I needed to snap out of it, but my heart was screaming.
My child was gone. She was gone, and I didn't know where she was or if she was okay. How was I supposed to function knowing that?
"Danica, we need to move!" Mason roared, pulling me to my fight.
So caught off guard, I stumbled forward, crashing into his chest as a gasp escaped me.
"What the hell?" I growled, attempting to step back. "I'm not a ragdoll!"
"Fuss later!" Mason huffed, beginning to move.
Outside of our room, the pack was already on high alert and moving. Blood splattered the ground, mixing with feathers and corpses of both harpies and our pack mates.
It seemed that Rebecca hadn't come alone, and she easily sent her few followers to their demise to keep our warriors distracted.
"Alpha!" Chris boomed, rushing towards us from the opposite wing. "Where is Bryllie?"
I sucked in a painful breath at the mention of my child.
"They took her." Mason growled, letting his aura trickle away from him.
"What?" Chris' eyes grew wide as he took in Mason's words. "You said..."
"Later." Mason snapped. "We need to vacate the building before it collapses.
As if to prove Mason's point, the building began to sway and rumble. The foundation was heavily damaged, and it wouldn't hold much longer.
"EVERYONE LISTEN!" Mason called, extending his alpha abilities. "GRAB THE INJURED AND LEAVE THE DEAD! WE MUST VACATE THE COMPOUND BEFORE IT COLLAPSES!"
I braced myself as Mason's aura exploded from him, making its way to any and all warriors and pack members that were around. There would be no disobeying this command; everyone who had sworn allegiance to Mason would have to listen.
"Let's go."
Stumbling forward, I allowed Mason to pull me along.
As the building around us and the life we knew crumbled to the ground in heaps of debris and dust, the world around me seemed to move in slow motion.It was all so hard to believe.
Once we were outside, we gathered on the training grounds as warriors staggered out alone and with their friends and families clutching to them.
As I watched the building topple and then crash, Mason wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to comfort me. However, I could no longer feel his warmth. It was almost as if my emotions were left behind in that crashing building and all I had left was numbness.
At that moment, I felt something in me awaken. Something dark and all too familiar. It beckoned me with a comforting aura and hand, calling me to it to grieve the loss of my child and my home.
[Mason's POV]
Danica's body shook against mine as we watched everything we knew and loved come crashing down. How was it possible that a day that had started out so perfectly could end so horribly, even when it hadn't begun?
"Mason," Danica murmured, stiffening. "I don't feel well."
"What?"
Feeling shock roll through me, I watched as Danica began to shift right before my eyes. However, the aura and energy I was getting from her wasn't normal.
A low growl escaped her as a paw shot out, connecting with my arm.
Letting out a hiss, I released the now snarling wolf and took it in. This wasn't Danica's normal wolf. Instead, its energy and aura resembled that of a rogue. Its red eyes flicked about, taking in all that were close to it, but it was easy to see there wasn't any recognition.
"Baby," I murmured, holding up a hand. "Are you."
'Stay back.' Danica's voice growled with a hint of menace.
There was something oddly familiar about that voice. It wasn't until I looked at her eyes once more that I knew... her rogue side had managed to awaken.
"What's going on, alpha?" Chris hissed, cutting his gaze to me. "What is happening to Luna?"
"I don't know."
Turning my gaze back to Danica, I tried to make sense of what was going on. Was this due to her being unable to process the loss of Bryllie? It was similar to what Martha said happened to her when her parents were murdered.
'Try to calm down, baby.' I husked through mindlink. Maybe if I could trigger our bond, I could bring her back. 'We will find our daughter.'
'NO!' Danica snarled. 'I WILL FIND MY CHILD!'
Her words were like a slap in the face. Did she really not remember that we were both Bryllie's parents? And how was it possible that she remembered Bryllie but not me and the others?
'DON'T FOLLOW!'
Still reeling from Danica's statement, I couldn't react as she began to dash away, heading straight into the building that was barely hanging on.
"NO!" Why would she go in there? What could possibly compel her?
Surging forward, I began to chase, but stopped as Chris' arms wrapped around me.
"Don't!" He huffed as I struggled. "Look!"
Turning my gaze straight ahead, I watched as the only remaining floor of the building crumpled in on itself. Pieces of wood and dust flew out in a whirlwind of chaos, blocking the rubble from sight entirely.
Despite my attempts to break free of Chris' hold, I couldn't. I was left to helplessly watch as the last of the foundation hit the ground and it all began to settle.
Falling to my knees, I tried to process how it was possible that in the span of a few hours, everything I held near and dear was gone. There was no way Danica could have survived that. And no matter how long I watched, nothing moved from inside.
Standing, I stumbled forward, my heart hammering in my chest, anxiety clawing at my very being.
"DANICA!!!"
[Bryllie’s POV]"I don’t want to hear that." I whispered, trying to contain the emotions that were rolling through me. "From you or from Armond.""Armond?" Desmond repeated, frowning. "Are you saying…""That’s right." I snapped, not caring if I drew attention to us anymore. "He said the same exact thing. It seems that I’m magically mated to both of you! I don't know if this is some kind of game between the two of you, but it isn't funny, and I'm not interested in being your target."Unable to control my emotions any longer, I stormed forward, shoving my way past Desmond and towards where my parents stood chatting with Grandpa and Uncle Killian, who must have just arrived."There she is!" Mom announced, motioning for me to come forward. "Come greet your uncle Killian."Nodding, I began to move but stopped as a hand wrapped around my wrist.Whirling around, I took in Desmond’s desperate expression."What?" I demanded, pulling myself free. "I don’t want to hear anything else you may have
[Bryllie’s POV]"Warned." I repeated, clenching and unclenching my fists. "Did you just say you warned me?"Nodding, Desmond let a smile spread across his ill-at-ease face, and I had to admit, that pissed me off even more."That’s correct." He responded easily.Nodding, I moved, slamming my fist into his cheek."You piece of shit!"Pulling back, I prepared for another attack as Desmond gave me a look of both shock and appreciation. Yuck. Did he actually enjoy getting hit or something?"I guess I deserved that." He chuckled, rubbing the spot I punched. "But it doesn’t change anything I said."Letting out a growl of warning, I reached for the door and pulled."Then you should just stay away from me." I sighed, yanking my bag from him and hefting it over my shoulder. "Consider our years of friendship the only reason I didn’t beat you black and blue."Giving Desmond one more look, I stormed out, this time not bothering to look back at all.I tried to avoid Desmond for the next few months,
[Bryllie’s POV]"Now boarding Flight 166."Frowning, I looked to where Armond sat sipping on his coffee."That’s your flight." I murmured, feeling my heart tug. "Shouldn’t you be getting up?"Nodding, he slowly got to his feet and then slung his bag over his shoulder."I guess this is see ya later." He announced, a sad smile on his face."Yeah," I agreed.Moving forward, I allowed myself to be wrapped in Armond’s strong arms and pressed against his chest. Letting out a sigh, I took in his warmth and smell while he plastered a kiss on the top of my hair."Don’t you dare forget me." He warned, pulling away. "And don’t you dare find someone new.""Don’t joke." I huffed, beginning to bristle. "Do I seem like that type of woman?""You never know."Letting out an indignant growl, I untangled myself and punched his shoulder while trying to stop the tears that were beginning to prick at my eyes.This was it. This was goodbye for at least two years.From what I knew about basic training for my
[Bryllie’s POV]I remained silent as my mind felt like it was shutting down due to my inability to process what just happened.Did Armond really just do what I thought he did, or did I imagine the whole thing?"You’re going to swallow a bug if your mouth continues to hang open like that." Armond sighed, brushing his fingertips from my cheek to my jaw before gently pushing my chin up. "And honestly, I’m feeling offended by your reaction to my kiss."Snapping back to my senses, I scurried backward before quickly looking around to see if anyone else had noticed. When I found that we weren’t being watched, I turned my gaze back to Armond."Why did you do that?" I rasped, trying to keep my voice low. "What if someone saw?""Let them see." Armond shrugged, "And if they didn’t see the first time I could always do it again."Gasping, I held up my hand and pressed it against Armond’s mouth as he attempted to kiss me a second time. What was this guy actually thinking? He had to be out of his mi
Three Years Later[Bryllie’s POV]I stood in front of the large full body mirror of my room staring at the woman in front of me. After hours of being dolled up, I barely recognized myself.Today was my sixteenth birthday, and my parents insisted on making it a grand event despite my insisting that it wasn’t necessary.However, in the end here we were. I looked like a damn debutante making her grand debut into high society while all my guests waited for me to appear.Letting out a huff, I took one last look at my reflection, taking in the light blue prom dress my mother insisted that I wear and my blonde hair that fell in ringlets down my chest and back.Turning, I made my way across the room just in time to sense my mother and auntie Bella just outside."Bryllie?" Mom called, slowly opening the door that separated us. "Are you…"No other words escaped my mother’s lips as she took me in with wide eyes that were quickly beginning to tear up."You look beautiful." She managed as Auntie B
[Mason’s POV]For the next few days, I spent my time going through physical therapy and then visiting Danica in the medical wing. Although she had healed up nicely, she had to stay for observation to make sure that there wasn’t any permanent damage.At first she fought tooth and nail to not have to do it, but in the end she caved and listened. Not without making sure everyone knew just how annoyed she was about it, of course.When I wasn’t training or with Danica, I was with Chris and Killian going over the list of prisoners from the battle between us and the harpies.Out of the many that attacked, only a few remained thanks to the valiant efforts of my pack, the hunters, and Black Forest. I had to admit that, despite my distrust of each group in the beginning, I now knew that if there ever came a time when we were in trouble again, they would be there for us. Likewise, we would be there for them too.After three days, our dead had been buried, and the remaining elders had managed to