Ambers POV He freed her? What did he mean by he freed her? I frowned, trying to grasp at any fragments of memory that would help me understand what he was saying, but nothing. ‘Hello, Amber?’ A soft voice slithered into the back of my mind, causing me to almost jump out of my skin. I glanced at Alpha Dale with wide eyes, trying to steady my trembling hands. There was no way that sweet, feminine voice belonged to him. But then there was no one else present in the room with us. What in all of nine hells was that?A shudder rolled down my spine, and I gripped the sheets under me. I JUST HEARD A VOICE IN MY HEAD! Was that my wolf? That thought was even more disturbing than the idea that the voice could belong to another personality inside me. I took a deep breath in, arming myself with a response when something slammed into me. It was a weight of emotions, and it was crushing against the walls of my chest and sank deep into my bones. For a minute, I simply froze, my body
Amber’s POV I was nothing but a monster. A monster who had brought the end of an entire pack, including her own parents. Tears poured from my eyes as memories from my most recent dream flashed in my vision. My father, holding up burning wood so my mother could save me. Save the monster. My mother,going back for my father. She never came back. I should have stopped her, kept her with me, but… ‘You didn’t kill them.’ Athena said. Her voice was cold and detached, and it made my heart boil with anger. “No,” I growled. “You did! ”Why did I have a wolf at such a young age? Why did I allow her to cause so much destruction? This thing inside me… I would rather have no wolf than live with something like this… With my nails, I tore at my chest as if somehow I could dig enough to reach the wolf and pull her out. “You killed my parents!” I cried. “You slaughtered the entire pack. And now you’ve struggled your way out, again. Why?”I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. The injuries
Amber’s POV All I wanted was to breathe without the crushing weight of anger, regret, and guilt that was weighing heavily on my shoulders. I stormed through the hallways like a maniac, only pausing when I had to open doors. The footsteps behind me made me know that Fabian and Izzy were hot on my heels, their disapproving faces clear in my mind. Janine and Yeti were still far behind, and I was sure that once they caught up with me, they'd do everything within their powers to stop me. I turned a corner too quickly and stumbled on my feet, suddenly feeling dizzy. Finally, I was in the hallway where the meeting room was, and I was beginning to feel queasy, I wasn’t sure if it was because of how fast I was walking. Still, I took a moment to catch my breath before pressing on. “Amber, wait! ”I pressed harder as Janine’s voice filtered into my ears. Janine and Yeti were catching up, and from here, I could hear their panting breaths as it filled the spaces between us. “What the hell
Amber’s POV Their eyes followed us all the way to the table. Their tight expressions barely concealed their irritation and disgust at me. I should waver as I used to before when Alpha Derrick or Celia gave me that look, but for some reason, I felt different. Stronger. Like all their stares couldn’t get to me. Once we were seated, Janine leaned in and pointed to a man. “That’s Dale’s uncle.” She snorted. ‘Very bitter man. It’s best to avoid him.” She added. Alpha Dale’s uncle looked a lot like you would imagine a man who should have been Lycan King looked like. I had never seen him before, but he had almost the same eyes as Alpha Dale. Only his had more grey in them than blue. And right now, they were looking down at me with disdain, disapproval, and hostility. Maybe that was why Alpha Dale had insisted on wedging himself between us. One look at his uncle told me he would definitely use any weaknesses to remove me from Alpha Dale’s life, and I wasn’t about to show him any. “This
Amber’s POV I tried to catch Beta Trent’s attention as we filed out of the meeting room, but he stalked ahead of us, hurrying off to goddess knows where. He even seemed busier than the Lycan King himself. Alpha Dale’s uncle was going to be staying for a few days, though I’d rather not see anything related to him. I hoped our paths never crossed during his time here, but I knew how impossible that request was. Alpha Dale was with me, and that was enough. But I could see that he was in a bad mood after everything that happened in the meeting; still, he stayed by my side, putting up a smile when he needed to and growling at anyone that so much as looked at me. Janine and Yeti followed behind us slowly, ready to bundle me to the kitchen or the infirmary so we could finally have some quality girls time, but Alpha Dale waved them on. “I need to speak with my mate; you guys go on ahead.”It was such a firm, no-argument sort of command that neither of them bothered to question or comp
Amber’s POV There was a flutter of nervousness in my belly as I flung my clothes from my body. The heat in Alpha Dale’s eyes was almost physical, like a hunger that caused an itch on his skin he couldn’t stop scratching. He looked at me like I was dinner just served. The moment I shimmied out of my lingerie, Alpha Dale groaned, catching my bra mid-air as he started towards me. His hand caught me easily, holding onto my waist firmly as he spun me up into his arms with a casual ease. Ducking down, he caught my lips in a blisteringly hot kiss, his naked body—when did he get naked?—plastered against my own, and his hands clutched me in hot demand. I wrapped my legs around his waist, hitching myself more securely to him. His lips moved around mine in another scorching kiss that made my body burn with flames of desire and need. His mouth still taking mine hungrily, he directed us to the bed, tugging my legs open so he could crawl in between them. I moaned into his lips, moaning again
Dale’s POV We found one of them. That was why Trent woke me up so early when he knew I’d rather sleep in with my mate. Her heat period was quite close, and now that she had her wolf, it was going to be intense. I would rather have stayed in bed with Amber, savoring the warmth of her skin against mine. But this was just as important as that. Keeping Amber safe was a part of my duty and one that I took very seriously. Trent knew I shouldn’t be staying away from her too long at a time, but he had good reason for bringing me out of bed. He was convinced the woman they found was the same one we had seen in the CCTV recording several months ago—the one who lured Amber out of the mansion. Mallory, of course, was still MIA, but this woman was going to serve as a good scapegoat for those who thought they could double-cross me and harm my mate for any reason at all. Most importantly, she could lead us to Mallory’s hideout as an added bonus. When I arrived at the interrogatio
Amber’s POV I walked with Yeti to the Moon Priestess's home. It was quite far from the mansion and in a very quiet neighborhood. In fact, it was hard to see any other homes for miles, and many times, I had considered turning around, but Yeti was adamant she wanted to see her. I didn’t know what she thought the priestess could do for a witch like her, and it was only when we were quite close to the priestess’ house that I thought about the possibility that she wasn’t seeking out the priestess for her witch side. She was still a werewolf, even if it wasn’t fully. My mind strayed to Alpha Dale, and memories of the night we spent together came to the forefront of my mind. I didn’t want him to think I ran away, so I sent him an emotion of longing and warmth; hopefully, he was going to understand it. Our connection was still weird, but I wanted to understand it, and I wanted to take full advantage of it. Having a mate was something I always desired. I had always envisioned it with fr
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