Lilly POV She had her claws sunk into him more than I thought. I grumbled to myself as I shoveled manure. Ruthie probably wasn’t even Ivan's mate. He probably tricked her to look the part. Ivan was there at the pack house manipulating everyone, using his mind games and Rebecca to gain their trust. And here I had been stuck on work detail for two weeks. Thankfully this was my last day. She must feel threatened by me. Somehow she had convinced John to separate Patrick from me. Or maybe that was John finally admitting his jealousy. He wanted to be the one I turned to instead of Patrick. John said he would look into it, but there was no way Ivan or Rebecca would let him know too much about what was going on. I had been learning as much about vampires as I could. More specifically how to track them. I needed to find out where Rebecca was really from. Colorado was my only lead. I had to get there. I had to find some answers. “Hello Mrs. Hunningberry!” I heard Rebecca's sickening voice ec
Everyone was silent. I looked down, my whole body was covered in fire but I wasn’t burning. I was breathing heavily, I started to panic as the fire started spreading from me onto the ground. “Rebecca, stop panicking, you can control it.” I heard Ivan yelling from behind me but it sounded like his voice was in a tunnel. “Your mind controls the fire, quiet your mind. John is safe, you are safe.” I started to use all that Ivan had taught me about quieting my mind and controlling my emotions. I couldn’t get my heart to slow down though. What had I just done? “Lilly,” I croaked out. “Is she?” “She’s alive, focus on your breathing,” Ivan reassured me calmly. I relaxed slightly in knowing I hadn’t accidentally killed her. I watched the fire retreat from the ground, from my body until I held two balls of fire in my hands. “Ivan?” I couldn't stop my voice from shaking. “You don’t need your fire. Everyone is safe. Just release it.” In my mind, I told the fire I didn’t need it and it final
Killian POV We raced through the forest following her scent. I regretted everything I had ever taught her as she became harder and harder to track. Lilly wasn't strong or fast. Her strength was her ability to think strategically and outsmart her enemy, exactly what she was doing now. We made it to our borders and there wasn't a trace of her. Had she really gotten that far ahead? "Killian?" Patrick's voice floated through the mind link, "Lilly is..." The link was cut off, I couldn't even sense him anymore. I hesitated, Lilly could have been using him as a distraction. But if he really was trying to warn us of something, maybe Lilly had hurt him. "Jenna, take your group to Patrick's." I spoke through the link. "You really think she'd go there?" "Maybe. Patrick just tried to tell me something about her but he got cut off. Either he's helping her or he's in trouble." "I'm on my way." We continued the search. How could I have let this happen? Lilly was right there, and I had let h
John POV Ring "Hello?" "Alpha, I have the Elders office on line one." "Thanks, Jenna, did they say what they wanted?" I was always nervous when the elders called. I ran my pack as best I could but still felt like I came up short a lot of the time and I was just waiting to be told so. "Sorry, no. They just asked for you." "Ok thanks." I picked up line one. "Hello, Alpha John speaking." "Good afternoon Alpha John. This is Clarence how are you?" I relaxed a little. Clarence was a great elder. Firm but fair. "You tell me?" He laughed dryly. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Lilly was found. She sought shelter with her parents in New Mexico." "And the bad news?" "She's seeking a trial, which in and of itself isn't bad. But you, Luna Rebecca, and all witnesses must be in attendance. Ivan included." My blood turned cold. "Then I motion to change locations. You know that pack is extreme when it comes to vampires, Ivan won't be safe.” I wasn't going to bring I
"Zander!" I heard Sarah's disapproving voice in the background. "Congratulations! When did you find out?" I asked, completely forgetting the reason I called in the first place. "About thirty seconds ago." "Congratulations" Becca had overheard. "We're so excited for you guys! Put Sarah on!" Rebecca stole the phone from me and chatted with Sarah about anything and everything baby. Once again I found myself fanaticizing about the day we would be calling to tell our friends that we were the ones expecting. Ivan cleared his throat bringing me back. "Bex, I need to talk to Zander." "Oh right, sorry. Sarah, John needs to speak to Zander...Yes, it was nice talking to you too, bye!" I took the phone back. "Zander?" "Hey John, Sorry about that, what did you need?" "We're holding Lilly's trial on Eclipse land, and Bex and Ivan are required to be there." "You need a ride?" “Well now that you mention it, yeah. Any ideas?” “Not to brag or anything, but I happen to know a guy with a plane
John POV I walked back into our room to see Bex passed out on the bed. She was so freaking adorable. Sitting beside her on the bed I used her makeup wipes to clean her face. Took off her jewelry and hung it up. The dress was beautiful, but it couldn't have been comfortable to sleep in. She was already going to feel terrible when she woke up. She should at least be comfy. I found a silk nighty to change her into and tucked her in. Placing water, a bottle of painkillers, and a garbage can at her bedside. Once satisfied she was taken care of, I quickly changed and hopped into bed, pulling her close. “Soon you’ll be my wife” I whispered into her ear. She was already dead to the world. Soon I would be too. ** One more day until we left. Zander was out fussing over his plane again. It had made the trip up with no problem, I wasn't sure why he was so worried, but I was thankful he cared and was being abundantly cautious. The stress was finally getting to me. I was positive Lilly would
For the remainder of the day and the next morning, I spent completely stressed out. I didn’t know what to do. Killian couldn’t find out, not now. Sure, he wanted a child of his own, but this couldn’t have come at a worse time. Maybe after the trial? When Lilly was no longer a threat. But there was still a chance she would get off, then what? I knocked on Sarah’s bedroom door and cracked it open while calling out, "Hey Sarah, can I talk to you for a second?" "Of course." She smiled at me as I entered the room. I sat next to her and wrung my hands trying to figure out how to put my words together. "You alright Jenna?" Alright? I smiled to myself, meeting her concerned eyes. For a moment felt happy I could share my news with at least one person. "Yeah, I guess. Actually, I'm more than alright." I put my hand on my stomach smiling. "Oh my goodness!! Congratulations!" She screamed as she leaned over hugging me tightly. "How did Killian respond? Did he cry? Did he faint?" "I can't tel
Ruthie POV Ding. I looked at my phone seeing Ivan's name pop up on the screen. “I will be walking into our bedroom in 5 minutes. And here’s what I will see: You will be waiting for me on your knees, completely naked, eyes down, exactly three steps in from the door. Your hair will be pulled up in a ponytail. I want you to be holding out the remote control for a vibrator of your choice. Get it on and in you. If none are charged, you will be punished. All our new toys will be neatly spread out on the bed, organized from smallest to largest. You will not make one sound until I say you can.” Five minutes?! Was he insane? “There will be one punishment for each thing not completed. Do you understand?” “Yes sir.” “Five minutes. Go.” I ripped off my clothes and threw them into the laundry basket. Our box of supplies was in the closet and I dragged it out, dumping it on the bed. Smallest to largest, I chanted to myself trying to make it as neat as I could, every once and a while nervou