“Alright, Reg. Regroup. What do we know?” I open a mindlink while we help get some of the slower elderly pack members into James’s truck so he can take them to the packhouse. “Cason and the Sentinel were frozen, but not time stuck frozen. Lady Camille confirmed it. I heard Aphrodite’s crackle sound when she touched the arrow on Cason, but it went away when she touched Les. The victims unfreeze and are in pain.”“So was Leticia, Kas, and Bronx, even though they weren’t originally frozen. Kas’s ear was bleeding from whatever was causing the pain. That would lead me to believe it has to do with the Menae.” He continues. “Kas saw the blood, and I assume fell into a vision, then disappeared with her sisters, Bronx, and Cason.”“Don’t Menae Leaders and Guardians woke up from a similar nightmare at the same time.” I add after Mister Swanson shakes my hand and thanks me for the help. Reggie and I sit on the edge of the truck bed when we have all the people we can hold.“Except for Dre. He’s n
“Alright, everyone, where do we stan-” As I open the door to the conference room, I get slammed into the wall so hard, the drywall collapses and my head shatters the glass on a picture on the wall. Heavy hands with thick, razor-sharp, curled claws wrap around my throat. Ghost jumps forward and pushes on the man’s broad chest, extending his claws in return.“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?” Klay roars an inch from my face with a guttural growl. I can feel the pulse in my neck. If his claws move at all, he'll nick my carotid artery. “Everyone knows how much you fucking hate her.”"Ghost, don't move or we're dead." I speak as slowly as possible and hold my breath. We are at a complete disadvantage in this scenario. He paces, ready to defend ourselves, but listens to my order.“KLAY!” Reggie jumps up. Three guys from his ops team draw their guns and growling at the attack.“It wasn’t me, Klay. Everyone stand down!” I choke out with my Beta tone. My orders don’t affect Klay the way it does our pack
Bronx’s POV“Come on, Tish. It’s your turn.” I pant while I kneel on the floor and rest my forearms on my knee. I watch blood drip heavily down my body onto the white carpet in deep crimson puddles.My mind is fuzzy, and it’s hard to keep my balance. Saint is fighting the battle against my injuries from the inside. It seems like a losing battle.“Bronx, no.” Leticia kneels in front of me and holds her hands up like she wants to touch me, but she doesn’t know where to put them. “I’m not leaving you or Kas here. Besides, you need time to recover first.”“Come on, Tish, we already agreed. You pulled the memory of the vision from Kas. You need to tell people what you saw.” I groan. “Kas and I can figure another way out once you’re through this portal. Let it close like we talked about earlier. Once it closes, she and I can wait for Saint to heal me.”“He’s right, darling.” I look up and blink blood out of my eyes. Through the pink haze, I see Kas put her hand on Leticia’s shoulder while s
I slide her binder away and set the tray between us. A big part of me wants to pull her on my lap, but the stinging cuts all over my body advise against it. I settle for turning her stool so she’s facing me and pulling it closer. I tear a small piece of the croissant and hold it up to her mouth. She rolls her eyes with a smirk and opens her mouth. “Kas, before you get back to work, I don’t suppose I could convince you to take a nap with me?” I lean my elbow on the table and rest my chin on my palm. “I should really get back to this, Sweetheart.” Kas lays her hand on my knee and pats it gently. “Denied.” Saint hisses with a chuckle. “Okay, well, will you at least put some more of that salve on my back?” I ignore him and raise my eyebrows. “It really feels good, and look at how much it’s helping me heal.” I give Kas my arm so she can examine it. “Okay. I can put some on your back, but then I need to finish working here. Saint needs to pull his weight here, too.” “Called out.” I wh
Kas looks up at me as if she’s seeing me for the first time. I’m not talking about the scared girl who hid her abuse under a baseball cap, hoping no one would notice her hair turned silver and her eyes bright violet. Not the one who didn’t understand who she was or what her fate was meant to be.This is the woman who’s been going through the motions of life, trying to hide in plain sight. She does it lifetime over lifetime without fail. She’s the one who smiles for the entire world, but doesn’t truly let anyone see behind the facade she’s created for them. This woman’s love is fierce, but you don’t know that until it’s gone. And when it is, not even the strongest liquor can fill the emptiness it leaves in its wake. This woman has literally been to Hell and back. She has endured unthinkable atrocities to protect the ones she loves. The ones who need saved so much more than she ever has. Kas Latmus is the reason the Moon Goddess made me who I am. The reason Selene cut a deal with Perse
I reach my hand out, but the spot next to me is empty and cold. I open my eyes and look around, but Kas isn’t in bed. Mixed in with the sounds of the apartment, I hear her in her little lab shuffling things around. I fall back and pull her pillow to my face. The fresh rain and lilac scent infused in it makes me sigh. A comforting feeling washes over me as her scent brings back dozens of memories. “My mate is working on the portal.” Saint says. “Go ask her about this whole ‘next life’ thing. I gotta know.”“YOUR mate?” I groan and rub my face. Kas’s scent lingers on me. The thought of the look in her eyes when she was licking my hand makes me grin. “Can I get a shower first? I want to know too, but I can’t walk around smelling like sex, bro.”“Fine. Make it quick.” Saint grumbles. “Stupid human hygiene. And yeah, she is my mate. I’m not the one who broke the mate bond, dummy. If you want her to be your mate, you need to fix it.”“I can’t just fix it, Saint. It’s not that simple.” I si
“You okay, Baby?” I whisper in Kas’s ear as I trudge through the portal. Her grip on me is getting looser with each step.“There’s no more magic to keep my strength up.” She says with a strained voice. I grip her tighter and keep trudging through the portal toward the tiny speck of light at the other end. Each step feels like walking through thick molasses.“I’ve got you.” I lean in and try to move faster. “We’re almost home.”Falling out of a portal is easy. Protecting your mate as you fall, that’s the hard part. The end of the portal goes from a pinpoint of light to a gaping hole that sucks me in before I can brace myself. As we fall, I twist to land on my back, but there’s no “This Way Up” sign inside a portal. I fall at an awkward angle and land on my side. My shoulder hits the hard ground with a painful snap. I feel my clavicle cave under my weight, making me instantly nauseous. Kas lets go of me, but her leg wrapped around my waist makes a sickly pop when it gets trapped between
Kas’s POV Maya and Dre are sleeping soundly against me. At some point in the night, I rolled onto my side to snuggle with them. I don’t feel Bronx next to me anymore. I turn my head as far as I can and see him having a quiet conversation on his cell phone while he paces the floor. It sounds like a business call, so I let him be. I turn my attention back to my pups. Dre’s dark hair is getting in his eyes. It’s almost time for a haircut. Maya refuses to let us cut her hair. Most days she fights us to brush it, but Diane and I try our best to distract her to comb through it during bath time. When Bronx sees me awake, he comes over to give me a kiss on the cheek. He puts the phone on mute and smiles at me with the babies. “Sorry, Baby. Talking to lawyers about Santoro Enterprises. When I’m done, we’ll go downstairs so the doctor and Jorge can give you a check-up. Diane and Marybeth are outside waiting outside to watch the twins.” Before he goes back to his call, he takes a picture of th