Amber’s POV Days and nights blurred together and before I knew it, a week went by. Beta Trent and Eric spent the one week before the Culling training me even harder than Alpha Dale used to train me. and not just physically, my abilities were tested as well – as best as they could which wasn’t even scratch the surface deep, but at least I got to know that my abilities had something to do with manipulating emotions and elements. While Beta Trent and Eric spent the day sharpening my senses and helping me be more in tune with my wolf, I spent the night trying to suppress the growing ache in my chest whenever I thought of Alpha Dale – which was always. I found little consolation in talking to Athena – who I was getting to know more and more – and talking to the life forming inside me. On the seventh day, I didn’t feel the least ready but I still dressed in a black hoodie – Eric was sure would hide my face and Janine had gotten me a cream which would mask my scent – I pulled my long,
Amber’s POV As Yeti predicted, her glamour was sloppy but the bad work wasn’t that noticeable. Except someone was standing too close and then they’d definitely see the glitches. So, including rule number one which Yeti had spent at least fifteen minutes drumming into me, I now had to add a second rule. Don’t go too close to anyone. We left the hotel an hour later. The anxiety that I was feeling kept me from noticing how beautiful Free City had become with all the decorations for the Culling. Although, I didn’t fail to notice that the city was packed with people three times the usual. “Free City is hosting the Culling this year,” Eric supplied. “It’s been almost seven years since we hosted the Culling. Too bad it had to be this way.” I glanced out the window, thinking about Derrick and the fact that he might be here. Alpha Dale and I were supposed to be enjoying this day, instead, we were being forced to fight to be together. “The pack house is only a mile away,” Eric said, glan
Amber’s POV I stared at her. For too long than was considered appropriate. Celia. Saying her name in my head stroked chords of fear and anger. I still dreamt of her, and I hated to admit that a part of me still felt that tremor of fear. I dreamt of all the punishments she made me endure. The strikes of whip that tore my flesh. For a minute, I forgot to breathe. My lungs were frozen and no matter how much I tried, my nose just wouldn’t take in any air. She was here. In front of me and I was the weak, vulnerable and frightened girl that was left for dead in a well. Once again, I was trapped in that suffocating cell and starving because they refused to feed a prisoner like me. I heard her laugh and it felt as though a knife was scraping down the inside of my skull. Rage bubbled through me. My hands began to tremble and my vision became blurry. Athena surged to the surface and her fury seeped into my bones. I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to regain control and push the memorie
Amber’s POV The last thing I wanted was to meet Alpha Derrick, but that was exactly what Celia intended to achieve. Panic flooded my chest as she led us through the wide hallways. Even with the loud music blasting through the walls, I could hear my own heartbeat and Yeti’s. There was no getting out of this without looking suspicious. Besides, Celia wasn’t the kind of person who backed down once she had set her sights on something. I could only hope our glamour was enough to see us through meeting Alpha Dale. My heart stuttered the closer we got to the ballroom and as soon as we crossed the door, time seemed to stop. My mind ignored the swirling ballgowns, laughter and glittering chandeliers and immediately focused on the man in the middle of it all. Even with his back to us, I still recognized him. My panic metamorphosed to full-blown fear but this time, I was desperate to maintain my control and composure, although those words sounded very foreign to me. As if hearing my thoug
Amber’s POV I saw only red. Athena wanted to charge at Derrick, pour all our powers into him but this was the only chance I got to save Alpha Dale till who knew when again? Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off Yeti’s lifeless form on the ground. I felt a pang of pain in my chest. She was here because of me. “What did you do?” I cried, my fingers digging into Alpha Dale’s skin unconsciously. “What did you do to her? Do you have no conscience?” The smile that formed on his lips made me froze. He looked like someone who had lost their senses. But then, that made complete sense. Only someone who was insane would be capable of the things this man did. “Now, you have seen the kind of person that I am,” he said softly as if we were on a date and he was trying to convince me to accept his heart. “Even my daughter cannot get in-between me and what I want.” I was momentarily stunned that I did not know my jaw was hanging open. Did he say… “What do you mean by that, you bastard?” I fired. “
Dale’s POV Everything was peaceful and warm and I was wishing it would remain this way forever. I smiled down at the figure beside me, grateful to the goddess that I got to share this moment with her. Amber was barefoot on the grass, her hands in mine and on her face, a smile that was as radiant as the sun. Mine. I told myself. She was mine and will always be mine. I frowned as her smile faltered, my eyes darting to her feet. “Maybe we should get you some shoes,” I said, my smile snapping back in place. When I looked up at her, she was trembling. My smiled fell as I saw blood pooling into her white dress. Her hands clutched mine desperately and she fell to the floor. I fell with her, holding her face with both my hands to keep her focused on me. Panic and pain burned through me and I began to feel hollow and empty. What was this feeling? “Wake up,” she whispered, placing gentle a hand on top my own. “Wake up, Alpha Dale.” My frown deepened and I struggled to understand what
Dale’s POV … Mallory was dead. Her limp body crumpled on the ground under me, her neck bent to a sickening angle, revealing a gash where my wolf tore through her. He had torn through every part of her like paper in his pure act of rage and anger. Without permission, he had initiated a shift, tearing through me like a tornado. Blood dripped from his fur. Blood was everywhere in the room. His head snapped up as the wind carried the scent of magic to our nose. He sniffed, growled and snarled. The wolf turned sharply to the closed door, as a deathly snarl ripped from his throat. Just then, the heavy oak door blasted open, crashing hard against the wall. My wolf growled at the intruder and rage rose inside me like bile. Witch, I hissed inside. Outside, my wolf growled. I knew he wanted to say that this was my fault as well. I had trusted her and brought her into the home I shared with my mate, but I didn’t want to hear it. Guilt was already eating through me. the people attacking my
Amber’s POV I couldn’t reach anyone through the mind link. I needed to reach Janine and Beta Trent to let them know the plan fell to pieces. We failed. No matter how hard it was for me to admit it. I wasn’t sure if I had been able to reach Alpha Dale, or even pull him out of that spell. I didn’t want to give up hope, but what else was there? I had seen what she did to Eric with my own eyes. His battered body as she dragged him in like a rag doll. His wolf was going to heal him, sure enough, but how long was that going to take? What were they even doing to him? Anger mingled with determination inside and a plan began to take shape in my head. I pressed my back on the cold stone, keeping my eyes trained on the cell bars that were keeping me in. Its been a while since Derrick dumped me in here. I heard nothing outside, I saw nothing past the darkness and had to rely on my sense of smell and hearing. Two things which had never failed me before. Maybe I was overestimating myself, b
Dale’s POV Although we only spent a few hours apart from each other, I was already missing my mate. When Izzy called to say that they were on their way back with Amber, I went down to the dinning hall to shop through the kitchen there, grabbing whatever supplies I could to prepare lunch for Amber. I already knew that my mate was easy to please when it came to meals though, thank the goddess, but I still put extra care in preparing the food for her. A loaded sandwich with trimmings had her beaming at me as I kicked the bedroom door shut behind me. I was making plans to move us to a more permanent bedroom since our sacred space had been tainted and desecrated by Mallory. Thinking about her now made me want to dig out her corpse and kill her again, just for the sake of it. I sighed as I saw Amber looking fucking adorable sitting in the middle of the giant bed in one of my old jerseys and sweatpants. I swallowed. Goddess, she was everything I wanted and needed. “Oh, I love bacon a
Amber’s POV Even after we return to Free City and stop in front of Alpha Dale’s pack house, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Alpha Dale helped me out of the car, wrapping his arms around me to help with the travel sickness and once he felt I was getting better, he moved away from me. I glanced around the garage where we were packed hoping I could spot something out of place, but the only thing I saw was Beta Trent, staring directly at me. The way he was looking at me made me want to climb out of my skin and run far away. Although, just a few weeks ago, we had been working together and even after that, he had quietly acknowledged me, being around him still gave me the jee-bees. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that deep inside me, I knew he agreed with the Council that I wasn’t good enough for the Lycan King. A girl like me with no background, even if my wolf was the strongest and rarest. I swallowed roughly and just stared back at him like an idiot
Amber’s POV With my ability, I could somehow tell that there was just two people in the house. If there was someone else. Alpha Dale and Silas would sniff them out. The lake house was luxurious and it was very clear that Alpha Dale’s family weren’t just rich, they had a sort of wealth that encompassed the entire werewolf community. Everything was perfectly designed, and even though there wasn’t anything particularly flashy or extravagant, it still oozed money. Beta Trent moved through the house with a type of precision that only came from knowing the layout intimately. It made me wonder how often they spent time in any other properties. It couldn’t be that often since for the one year I was with them, we never went anywhere. In under a minute, we were staring Donn and Celia down in one of the many parlor rooms on the first floor. It hadn’t been that long since I last saw Donn, but he was unrecognizable now. His skin looked tight over his bones and he lost so much weight that he
Amber’s POV I was tired and sleepy as hell. While Alpha Dale had been busy walking from one councilmember to the other and interrogating Yeti’s mother, I had been busy with tracing who the actual spy was so we could finally clear Yeti’s name. If the charge weren’t dropped. We had worked till the early hours of the morning and just when I had begun dozing off, the computer geek guy announced that there was a lead! And he didn’t just pinpoint where we could find our spy, but where Derrick and Donn could be as well. It was a vacation lake house just outside of Free city. One of Alpha Dale’s properties which he didn’t use often. We left for the Lake house the next morning and I only got an hour of sleep. Our computer guy had enough intel to find the whereabouts of the security cameras and surveillance around the house Donn, Derrick and our spy was holed up in, so we already knew how far we had to travel to remain undetected. There was a long hike ahead of us, but with a deep brea
Dale’s POV Once I knew for sure that Amber was safely in Janine’s office, I let my beta know that I was heading out for the day. I wasn’t one to check-in and report where I was going to be but, thanks to the current circumstances, we were all at high alert. The fact that a witch had been able to infiltrate our minds, helping our enemy get what they want with us what something I was very much ashamed of. Finding my uncle and Derrick was not just a necessity now, it was what had to be done to prove to my subjects that I wasn’t weak and I could protect them. And now with the council hounding Yeti. It wasn’t just disrespecting me. it was a threat to my title and one that I wasn’t going to let go that easily. “Do you think going to see Graves is really a good idea?” Silas said, keeping his eyes glued to the phone in his hand as he questioned me as if he was nonchalant about the answer. But I knew that was far from the truth. As chief security officer, he shouldered plenty of responsi
Amber’s POV Yeti was the person who kept me going when everyone hated me even in Moonstone pack. I realized that a long time ago even though I hadn’t known her identity then. Although she had been going through a lot herself, she still tried to help me with medical supplies not caring about what would happen to her if she had been caught. If I lost her, I won’t be okay. The panicked flutter in my chest started up again, stealing my breath. It only took a minute for everything to fall apart and the little bit of peace I found gone with one swipe from the council. They were always the problem. Yeti was my goddamn best friend, and if she’d been a spy this whole time, I would have known. Besides, no spy would give their life to save the person they were spying on. All I wanted was hot shower and a bed to hide in for the rest of the day after the way I dealt with that councilman. After I put my powers under control – the best I could – we fell into an uncomfortable silence, but it’s
Amber’s POV My chest was on fire. My lungs screamed for air and my heart thumped inside my ribcage at a frenzied pace, but I couldn’t force myself to be calm as I stared across the room at Janine. I couldn’t bring myself to look Yeti in the eye, not with the sight of her being slammed and strangled by Derrick still fresh in my head. Janine’s eyes bored into mine, her own anger at Donn’s betrayal simmering just below the surface. I didn’t think things could escalate so freaking quickly. One minute I was happy my friend was out of danger and was no longer under the threat of losing her wolf and in the other, I was finding out her fated mate was one of the men who could have killed us had the order been given some nights ago. “It’s true…” Janine said, ducking her head to concentrate on the scrapes and bruises she was healing over Yeti’s skin. “Fabian is her Fated mate. I saw his wolf choose her during the Culling,” Although Fabian was highly trained with more skills than me, Yeti
Amber’s POV I woke up as early as 3:30am the next morning to take another shower and get ready for the day. I had a lot to do and one of them was seeing Yeti and finding a way to clear her name even if the issue hadn’t been raised yet. I didn’t want it to be raised at all. I was done dressing by the time Alpha Dale’s alarm sounded at four. He groaned like he was being murdered, shoved a pillow over his head and grumbled under his breath like he was plotting a murder for whoever it was that woke him up early. He reached out with one arm to find me once he was done grumbling and when he came up empty, he threw the pillow over his head away, sitting up with a scowl. I tried not to laugh because he looked like a child missing his mother. I smirked and waved at him because it was good seeing him off-kilter for once and not the usual composed and straight man that he was. “Stop that,” he growled. “Stop looking smug and get over here. Trent will be here any minute and I need another
Amber’s POV When I woke up, it was long after dark. Alpha Dale was right beside me and instead of distracting himself by getting busy with something, he was watching me sleep. Seeing him beside me, looking at me like I meant everything in the world to him was deliciously tempting. I sat up slowly. There was a nervous energy surrounding me now that I knew I was going to be a mother. I wasn’t worried about my wolf anymore; she had proven herself many times in the last few weeks that I was sure it was time to spare her the benefit of doubt. “You’re awake,” Alpha Dale said drowsily. Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on my lips. “You looked really peaceful, I didn’t have the mind to wake you up.” I smiled, thanking him silently for allowing me sleep. My body needed all the sleep it could get. Glancing around, I saw that I was still in Janine’s office where I had fallen asleep earlier and suddenly recalled why I was here. Yeti. “How is she?” I asked. “But first, how did the council m