*VANCE’S POV* ‘Why the fuck are you so slow tonight?’ I growled impatiently at my Gamma as we ran into the forest. My mood was not going to tolerate slackness. We ran through the forest. My heart was beating fast, almost at the same rate to match the throbbing of the empathic Alpha bond. The moon in the sky was hidden behind the thin sheet of clouds. The stars decorated the night sky like brilliant silver snowflakes. Hold on, I urged desperately, as I felt another sharp pain in combination with the throbbing. My mind also hoped that Sianna was coping well with the pain. I’m partly sulking about having to leave her tonight. But she’s a brave and strong woman who can handle the unexpected and that is what encourages me to focus on the pack member who needed his Alpha at this time. ‘Your Alpha is coming to help you. Just hold on.’ I tried to send the message through the mind-link. We continued to move deeper and deeper into the forest, attempting to locate my injured pack member. Ens
*BLAYNE'S POV* “Why is this flipping man waking me up this early in the morning?” I battled within myself to control my rage as I listened to the irate Beta speak as he changed into his clothes. Duke was after all correct. Just after midnight, when it was quiet, I had roused him up. But Jeffrey had died and the Alpha wasn’t going to let me sleep until this murder case was solved. I think he probably had to leave Keisha in bed disgruntled as well. I didn't want to apologize to him in any manner, though. Because we worked together in extreme circumstances, and this I do believe, fell under that category. "Hurry up, man!" I finally shot back at him, my body tense. Knowing that Keisha was going to curse me later didn’t matter. The urgency of an attack preceded all else. Even though Jeffrey's body was at the morgue now after being formally pronounced dead at the hospital, I had not been able to unwind since I had carried him there. I had hardly made an effort to preserve the life of m
*VANCE POV* I had taken Sianna home and lulled her to sleep by my soothing touches. Fatigue was certainly all over her. As Luna, she felt the need to be there when something this grave had occurred in our pack, but I didn’t want her to be stressed. I could have concealed this from her if only she didn’t feel the connection to the pack as strongly as I did. I wasn’t going to lie to her but at least if she didn’t know, she wouldn’t have to worry. Was I overprotective because I wanted her to have an easy-going pregnancy? Goddess, she was beautiful “Alpha, are you awake?” “What’s the news, Blayne? Did he make it?” Blunt and directly to the point, he knows if he stalled I’d be pissed enough to find him and punch the hell out of him. We carried the conversation through the mind-link. “We lost him.” His voice in the mind-link strained. “Were you able to talk to him before he passed?” I asked while trying to drown in Sianna’s scent. My heart sank at the tragedy. “No, he never revived co
*DUKE’S POV* Neither Blayne nor I had a good night's sleep that night. He had arrested Cleo as the pack demanded. It was also done for her own safety from the retaliation of Jeffrey’s family or friends. Luckily, Keisha quieted down the social media protest and has been monitoring the feeds. Olivia has been temporarily tapped to have her under control. The two of us descended the steps and entered the streets after I left Keisha at home. It’s another night to investigate. I started to say, "So," and even in the pitch-blackness of this night, he could have frowned at me, his best friend, because he could tell by the tone of my voice that I was about to be mischievous. He said, sounding strict, "Whatever you are about to say, just drop it. In addition, we need to inspect the forest. There must be trails somewhere that led to the location where this rogue had attacked Jeffrey." "Let's go there and take a look around,” that was our intention tonight. To visit the scene of the crime and
*VANCE POV* After a quick shower, I went to the kitchen and made breakfast. Sianna still slept soundly and I knew she would be down for a while. I decided to head to the cells today to visit my newest prisoner. Quickly leaving a note on the countertop beside the covered meal, I hopped in my jeep and made it to the pack house. I went across to the old saltbox building, down to the basement, and through the corridor door. Duke was with Blayne as they carried out the investigations. By now the mountain rogues were surrounded and unable to leave the campsite. My elite men hid in areas where they would not be detected and they followed around whoever left the campsite to see what they would be up to. I could imagine Blayne’s cantankerous mood, but Duke would know how to handle being around him. As three best friends, we knew how to deal with each other well. Rogues were always a problem and that is why I came up with the Rogue Integration System to give them a second chance at having a
*HAILEY’S POV* Groggily, I forced my lids open to the fluorescent morning light in the room. As I had kept the windows open last night, the birds’ nonrhythmic chirping pinched my ears, and the morning air refreshingly invigorated my room. Whispering sounds entered my hearing and I suddenly realized that someone was in the room with me, like more than one person. My smelling senses kicked in as I tried to detect who the intruders were, while my eyes tweaked. I pulled my sluggard body to sit upright and stared at them with my distorted morning face and disoriented appearance. “You should give your sister the privacy that she needs. Storming into her room like this while she’s sleeping is rude, Duke.” “I need answers and I’m getting them today.” “But so early in the morning, she hasn’t had breakfast as yet.” “Then my sweet darling, why don’t you go and help the omegas with breakfast?” “Duke!” She whisper yelled but he shooed a vexed Keisha away. He stood in the center at the end
*VANCE’S POV* In the dead of the night, another pain hit both Sianna and me. This one was searing but ended quickly. Another one had died seconds ago, his death swift. I scanned through the pack link to see if I could find anyone who could be a suspect in the recent murder, but nothing. Their thoughts were clean. No doubt that the killer had military instincts. Sianna groaned, but thankfully she wouldn’t have to endure much of the painful loss. I looked down at her and kissed her forehead. She threw her hands around me and slept. This was her way of telling me to stay in bed with her. I let the allure of her scent vaporize into my nostrils to appease me. I brushed my lips over her neck, wanting to feel the mark I gave her. She smiled and positioned her leg over mine. I was genuinely content, though I had to deal with the pack’s main issue. Cleopatra’s memory was clean, she was not guilty. Nonetheless, it didn’t mean that her rogues were innocent. It was conceivable that one or a fe
*SIANNA'S POV* This morning, Vance and I had breakfast together. I slipped into one of his T-shirts and headed to the kitchen. I was able to get up at four in the morning to make his favorite. He was already gone when I woke up most mornings, so I hardly ever had a chance to feed him. Due to the wily attack on his soldiers, it was expected that he was stressed out. I truly wished that I could do more to assist, so when he asked me to console the family, I was more than happy to oblige. Bonding with the grieving family and demonstrating to them that we care, and will honor him for his service and dedication. There was wailing in every conversation. Understandable, I can only imagine the grief. This was fine with me because I was his Luna, and working with my mom at the hospital had put me in this tragic situation before, where breaking the bad news to the family presented itself. I understand that learning of the death of a loved one is never a pleasant experience. The sun was just