เข้าสู่ระบบRAINA’S POVBreakfasts were the worst.The front door barely clicked shut behind Valen before I rushed toward the powder room. The harsh burn in my throat hardly gave me enough time to reach it before I dropped to my knees.I gripped the edge of the toilet as another wave of nausea tore through me, leaving my eyes watering and my body trembling."Oh, Luna." Meera's light footsteps hastened behind me, and she flicked on the light. Before she could give me any assistance, the doorbell rang."Go," I merely managed to say before more content spilled out.She hurried away, and I pushed the door shut, not wanting anyone to see me like this.Not long after, I heard the bathroom door open.“Raina?”I snapped my head up and said hoarsely, “Grandma?”Based on the strange darkness that was cast over the pack, I was surprised she came. Nevertheless, I was happy because I hadn’t seen her in a while.Grandma Nitya’s smile vanished when she saw me. At first, she hitched at the threshold in her loose
RAINA’S POVAzara came up to me. She laid a supportive hand on my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic squeeze. “I informed your Dad. He’s on it.”At the mention of my father, I mind-linked him immediately.“Kiddo, I've sent a team of Elites to gather Intel. The rest will be on standby. We'll move out if we need to. Leave it in my hands,” Dad said somberly. “I know it’s hard, but stay where you are.”I began pacing back and forth with my heart pounding in my throat. “It'll be hours before Intel gets back, and hours for backup to reach Valen.”“That's how this works, kiddo,” Dad’s reply softened with compassion. “I'll keep you posted.”It was not enough.I know he was trying. They all were, but I was going crazy!Valen, Gustav, Devin, and the others could be deep in battle right now, needing us.I ran a hand through my hair in yet another fit of aggravation."Selene," I prayed slowly, calmly, needing to pacify my intensely fretting heart. "Goddess... Selene..." But for some reason, sayin
RAINA’S POVFor one terrifying breath, I was somewhere else, seeing something so horrific I couldn’t understand. It struck my mind like a thunderclap when flashes of Valen projected into my head, and I saw multiple shadows moving between trees. All of them were going after him.Fear seized me, leaving my mind reeling and my chest burning from a crushing pressure.“Aah. Not them.” I stumbled back, gasping and struggling to catch my breath. “Haa…”I stiffened, and if two pairs of hands hadn't grabbed me, I would have fallen over.Oh mercy me. I cursed and blinked a couple of times to get rid of the flashes blocking my gaze.Muffled voices buzzed in my ears as I blinked hard, shoving away the remnants of the vision. Gustav's face was the last I saw before it all faded.Very slowly, I realized I was back at the hearthring with everyone’s puzzled stare pinned on me.I held my chest and rubbed my temple, trying to piece those images together and make sense of it. Although my eyes swept over
RAINA’S POVNo reply.Even after I set my phone down on the table and checked my messages time and again, Valen had not responded. How could he expect me not to worry?There was a gaping hole in my chest, being so far from him. Thinking about him made waves of aching longing spread throughout my body.“Why can’t we figure out how to power the sword up?” Azara asked in frustration, sitting around the table in the basement, snapping me out of my reverie.Her hand paused, her fingers crimping the musty pages of the books. She reached for the tray in the center of the table and picked up a slice of Grams’ well-liked batch of red velvet cheesecake brownies to munch on.“Keep going, I’m sure we’ll find something,” I encouraged her kindly, peering down into my own giant leather-bound black book, right across from her.After many failed attempts to destroy the medallion with the sword, we gave up. Penn led us out of the afternoon sun, and reverted us to her Wiccan books.Even with Jason on th
VALEN’S POVI hummed, and Raina frowned.I placed my finger at one corner of her mouth, pushing it up to change the downturn of her lips, but her frown deepened.She fell quiet. Too quiet.I knew she’d react like this, which was why I decided to tell her at the last minute. Part of me was berating myself for how this upset her. It gnawed at my heart.“I could review the alliance and suggest certain changes that would be beneficial to all parties. It is most likely they will concede. That way you wouldn’t have to go,” she offered with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. “I am versed in Alliance Pacts.”“My brilliant Luna, I know you are, but…” I affirmed softly, moving my hand to the soft burgundy curl on her shoulder. “I have to go and gauge the situation.”I caressed the silky strands before shifting them down her back, but kept my palm on her neck, letting my thumb trace the soft pulse on her delicate throat.It killed me to see her this way, to know I was the reason for her distress.If I
VALEN’S POV“An alliance gone bad. How could six packs suddenly turn against each other?” Theo asked, draping his arm over the back of Azara’s dark aubergine upholstered chair.“Breach of terms, and because of that, they decided to play the spite game,” Devin said, picking up one of his lamb-and-cheese hoagies.We were having breakfast at my house. The eight of us sat at the round, dark wooden table by the sun-drenched nook. The spacious, airy area was framed by windows arranged into a broad wall of glass that gave a beautiful outside view of the side of the house.“Now I'm expected to waste my time mediating and help them work things out. Don't they know I'm trying to prepare for a war?” I said, feeding my mate her artichoke heart.“Can someone fill us in?” Raina advocated for the girls. She looked at the bite before her electric blue eyes locked on mine. She knew the only way out of this was to be a good girl and eat. She opened her mouth and gobbled the artichoke.“Boys, stop keepin
RAINA’S POVThe air fizzled around us. So much anger.These two…good grief, I groaned internally."Don't worry, Rai," Azara offered, full of optimism. "In the long run, they’ll put aside their differences when they realize it’s what they need to do to protect you. They will eventually see eye-to-eye
RAINA’S POVIt’s game on. Both sides would be on edge, crouched in hiding spots, lying in wait to sneak up on their kills. Blayne might smoke them and us along with them since we didn’t have our gas masks.“Get your fight on, ladies,” Venus tried to pump us up, holding up her pistol high. “We’re ge
VALEN’S POVSweat ran down my back as the sun scorched us on the training ground. With adrenaline surging in my veins, my heart beat wildly as my focus locked in on the one woman in the world who could make my chest pang.There she was, as if out of a dream. Though this dream turned into a nightmar
RAINA’S POVMoonlight streamed through the open curtains, like the touch of its soft light had nudged me awake.Actually, what woke me was that dream again. The gut-wrenching scream of seeing deadly, razor-edge claws stabbed into Selene, and the raw tang of blood that raked my nostrils. It felt mor







