Marco’s POV “Luna, you aren’t supposed to be back for an hour. Is everything alright?” Ashley runs up to us as we get back to the packhouse. Her blue eyes get wide when she gets close and she skids to a stop, holding her hands up, “Whoa! That’s a whole lot of angry coming off of you, Kas.” Kas seems like she ignores her but starts speaking to her anyway. She’s been so stressed out since we left the botanical gardens that she hasn’t been able to really control her emotions like she usually does. It’s a little crushing. I don’t know how she holds it all in all the time. “Ashley, can you please arrange for a couple of guards to escort my sisters for a run before dinner? Except for Katherine, Amari, Cora, and Tessa. Send them to my office when they get here. I have more to discuss with them,” Kas asks Gamma Ashley, “Oh also, could you please see if Musu and James are available. I’d like them to be part of this meeting. Sorry to load this on you, but I need help since Carly is off for th
From the time Tyree knocks on the door, to the time her sisters walk in, it feels like all that negative energy that was filling the room gets sucked back out. I look over and see Kas looking back to her normal self. Did she just pull all that bad energy back into herself? Katherine is gripping Tessa tightly by the upper arm. She leads her to a chair and sets her down. Tessa’s eyes are puffy and watery and her nose is red. I’m not sure she knows what's going on around her. It’s kinda sad. She lost her mate, got called out for knowing he’s a pervert, had a blowout with her sister, and her wolf is a little loco. A crazy wolf never ends well for the human side. I almost feel bad for her. Almost. Once everyone’s sitting, Kas stands at the head of the table. “Thank you for meeting us here,” she says to her sisters. Even those few words, she sounds more like herself than she has all day, “I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. I let Elexis get the best of me and it won’t happen agai
Bronx’s POV When I get back to pack house, there is a distinct negative energy in the air that feels like Kas. If I didn’t know better, it's almost like she lost her temper or something and it seems to influence everyone. Even Ashley seems grumpy. “Ashley, is Kas back? Have you seen her?” I ask when I see her walk by. “She’s in her office. Why?” Ashley snaps at me. Okay. That's weird. Ashley has never once in the twenty-five years I've known her, come close to raising her voice at me. Even when my mental health was at its worst and I almost killed Reggie. She was nothing but forgiving and worried about me. Maybe it's pregnancy hormones? “Ashley, watch yourself,” I step in front of her, blocking her path, “What’s gotten into you?” She looks at me like she is just realizing I’m there. Her face turns bright red with embarrassment, “Oh Alpha, I’m so sorry. What was I thinking? I didn’t mean-,” “It’s all right, Ashley. Where’s Kas?” I ask again. “In her office with the rest of her t
“I’ll see if there’s any residue on the wall and ask Delilah if she can identify it,” James says after we’ve watched the video three times. I still can't believe it. A shadowy outline of a person came out of the wall. A glass materialized in its hands and handed it to Kas. She didn’t even look to see who it was. She just took the glass and kept on talking. No one around her reacted until I saw Marco look at her questioningly. Sure, the mood of the meeting was strained, but whatever she was drinking intensified the anger coming from her a hundred times over and spilled out into the rest of the pack. “Yeah, and what would have made the cup keep changing form?” Marco points to the screen. The glass vibrates from a regular juice glass to a heavy-bottomed hand blown glass. Every time she picks it up, the cup vibrates, changes shape, and the color of the contents changes. When I walk into the room, it just keeps changing in her hands when no one is focusing on it. The more she drinks out
Kas’s POV I watch Bronx for a minute as he looks at himself in disbelief in the mirror. Then I quietly slip away to give him time to himself so he can process his new appearance. I sit on the upholstered bench in our closet room and take a few deep breaths. In the moment, creating a new eye for Bronx seemed like nothing. Our connection was stronger than ever and it helped me make his healing come to fruition, but now I feel completely spent, like the tank is empty. I can’t let him know how much it drained me or he may want me to stay in the apartment instead of going downstairs for dinner. I take a deep breath and look around at my clothing options. Lex tries to convince me to wear a low cut dress. She always wants me to wear a low cut dress. Much to her disappointment, I decide on a dark gray sweater dress and black leggings with ballet flats. Bronx comes into the closet when I’m sitting on the bench to put my shoes on. I smile at the way his confidence seems to have skyrocketed i
As we make our way across the room, people begin to notice Bronx and me. They stop to pay their respects and smile, happy to see us together and holding hands, looking healthy. They look at him longer than usual, as if they are trying to figure out what is different about him. It’s not clear whether they notice it, but no one points out his missing eye patch. As we get to the head table, Lenora is sitting next to Codi, who claps happily in her high chair when she sees us. Lenora is digging through a diaper bag looking for something to keep Codi occupied until the kitchen staff can bring food for her. Bronx conveniently lets go of my hand before Lenora notices us and makes his way in the opposite direction to avoid her. “Au Ka!” Codi squeals and raises her arms up to me, clapping gleefully. Lenora smiles and pulls the toddler from the seat. She gives her a kiss on her chubby cheek and hands her to me. I gladly pull her into my arms and give her raspberries while she giggles and claps.
"What in the Goddess's name are you talking about?" Lenora snarls at Katherine, "Kas, you better get your sister out of here before I do it for you. If she thinks she's taking my baby to be her mate, she's more fucked in the head than I ever imagined." I look at Lenora to see her eyes are solid black as Justice surface. It only takes a flicker of a glance at Delilah for us to intervene. We both step in between Lenora and Katherine, making more space between the women. All the while, Milo is trying to soothe a hysterical, screaming Codi. "Lenora, please don't make me use my Luna voice. You know I hate that," I try to reason with her, but it's too late. My fearless mama-wolf, Beta, is ready to protect her pup, and she has her sights set on Katherine. She tries to push past me, but I grab her arms and hold her solidly. She may be six inches taller than me, but with Lex helping, I'm still stronger. "I said stand down, Lenora," my Luna voice booms from deep inside me. Almost instantly, L
“...fastest dinner ever...” I hear Bronx say, but he sounds like he’s underwater. The high pitch buzzing sound is trying to push its way forward, but I fight against it with all my concentration. Lex is trying to speak to me, but she sounds like she’s miles away. I stand up so I can join Bronx in front of the table, but Milo and Lenora take my hands and pull me into my seat. Codi is in my lap, hugging me tightly. I can feel the warmth of our special connection and hug her back. Pack members cheer and howl silently as Bronx gives his speech. He paces slowly and confidently while his hands add emotion to his words. Our pack looks so happy. That’s how it should be. Happy. A plate of chicken cordon bleu is in front of me. I look at it curiously. My mind can’t seem to remember how eating works. I dip my finger in the sauce and give Codi a taste. She claps her hands, but there is no noise. Lenora gives Bronx a worried look and shakes her head as she pulls her pup from my lap. Red, gold,