LOGINCaden POVIt is afternoon by the time the mission finally winds down.Between Ryder, one of the royal warriors, and me, we're able to rescue two females who have only just come of age. We find them drugged, bound, and hidden deep inside a cave, most likely waiting to be dragged away later by their captors. We don't find anyone else in the cave, so we assume the wolves we fought earlier were the ones responsible. Perhaps we killed them during the initial fight. Perhaps they fled.Either way, we search the entire area before we're satisfied that there is no one else hiding nearby.The two girls remain unconscious when we finally leave the cave, so we carry them with us until we regroup with Zach and the others near the entrance of the town that appears to be under some kind of secret attack. Their relatives rush forward the moment they see them, relief and gratitude written all over their faces as they take the girls from us.Zach doesn't give us much time to stand around.He orders Cyr
Linda looks up briefly.“Then again, females aren't as... animalistic as we males.” He almost scoffs at himself.Of course they aren't. What male would tolerate another near their mate. Fated or not?None.That's why some males have the audacity to think they can keep more than one female and somehow make it work.Gareth recalls his own shameful behavior a few days ago. Barging into that hotel suite like that when he thought Linda was meeting another male. And she's not even his mate. He didn't have a claim on her.Not anymore. Especially not when their son was now his own man. A grown-up. An Alpha.Yet he'd lost his mind like that.He tries not recall it now but fails. Then he notices the slight frown on her face.“Miss Harding doesn't know, Alpha Gareth.” Linda's tone is suddenly serious. “And Marissa understands that she can't know. At least, not yet.”Something about the serious way she says his name irritates him. As though they're nothing more than Alpha and subject, despite th
Gareth (Third-Person POV)Linda is just stepping out of Marissa Blue's new residence when Gareth sees her.At dawn, he'd called Riley to ask, and the Gamma had told him that the mother of his son was still in Royal City. Gareth had been deeply pleased when he'd heard that. He refused to carefully examine why. Instead he told himself it was because her presence made it easier to keep an eye on her. Because his instincts have been stirring since the eve of the Alpha Blessing ceremony.Linda is hiding something. He's certain of it.But he's determined to keep pretending he believes everything she's told him about Gwen. It's his best chance of getting her to lower her guard. If Linda thinks he's satisfied with the explanation, she'll eventually stop being careful around him.These past two days have been unlike anything they've shared since Caden was born. Somehow, the bitterness Linda has carried toward him for more than two decades seems to have dissipate. She laughed around him. She
Caden POVI'm still turning around when movement catches my attention several yards ahead.Two wolves are lying motionless in the grass.My stomach drops as I register who they are.Ours. Cyrus and another male.I rush toward them and drop beside the nearest one. Eli… or what's his name? He's one of the royal warriors. Cyrus is lying a few feet away. The two are unconscious. I check the warrior first, pressing a hand against his side.“Can you hear me?”The warrior stirs but doesn't open his eyes. Instead he makes a weak sound through his mouth. Cyrus’ groan follows. Thank Fate. At least they're alive. But neither of them shifts.It seems they can't. They're too badly injured to return to human form. The fighting has stopped, and I can sense the others moving closer through the trees. I lift my head, preparing to call for help, when something odd catches my eye in the distance.It's a large figure standing between the trees.The Alpha King.He's poised for another attack, his body
Caden POVGareth did this. It was his special request to move Marissa. He'd told me he was going to relocate her whether I like it or not, and apparently he'd gone to his brother and gotten him to agree. I look at the van disappearing down the road, then back at Zach and Kerris watching me from the edge of the woods. I could make a scene. I could demand to know where they're taking her and insist on following. But that would be stupid.Whatever arrangement they've made, it's not like I'm being denied access to her. In fact, she's being moved to a bigger, more comfortable house where I'll supposedly be able to see her as much as possible.There is no cause for concern.I retreat, and Beta Justin gives me a small nod, as though he's pleased that I'm finally behaving reasonably. I don't care what he thinks. I just want to know why Zach agreed to this without saying a damn word to me. When I look around again, Kerris is gone, and Zach is approaching alone. Good. Maybe now he'll expla
Marissa POVFor a moment, I can't move. The first thing that comes to mind is I want is to be back in the solitude of my old cottage. Or even in the prison cell where I was kept when I was first arrested. It suddenly doesn't matter if I get that roommate who'll use me as their entertainment. Anything but this.“She works for the Queen, Miss Harding,” Linda tells her. “She stays wherever Her Grace chooses.”“That is rather troubling too,” Gwen replies.As though I'm not standing right there and can't hear every word.“How is it possible that she works for the royal family?”I know what her real problem is. Caden paid attention to me last night. That's all. Girls like her can't stand someone like me getting the attention of a high-born wolf. Not when they're used to believing that kind of attention belongs to them.I want to turn around and go back inside, but I'm too proud to give her the satisfaction. I'm not going to run.This is not the first time some rich girl has looked down on
Kerris POV"Where's the temp?" Zach catches sight of me as soon as he asks the question.“Here she is,” Mary replies.This is it. Time for the meeting I've been dreading and waiting for this past two days. I enter the reception and greet, "Good afternoon, your majesty.""Sure is," he responds, the
Tyrel (Third-person) Ty can tell he's not making any sense to the other Alphas. When Axel opens his mouth to speak, he knows the guy is about to pıśs him off some more,"You know, there's rumors that 'playboy Zee' is a little too attentive to his temp assistant. That's your girl, right? Kelsie or
Zach POVAres is no longer ill from the 'evil potion' in the wine. I can feel his strength and passion. As much as I feel the other guy's. All is well in every inch of my body and psyche.Yet I can't help thinking that the drugs have an influence in the feelings run through me. Madison had insisted
Zach POVYes. True. I should listen to her. She's pretty. She'll be Luna Qu--Ares' groans cut off that line of thought. He's struggling to emerge but can't. "Something's wrong...""Nothing is wrong," Madison insists, her eyes turning bright with purpose. I want to disagree with her but can't. H







