-Kira-I step out of the jet, and a sinking feeling hits me knowing that this city is no longer under my father’s protection. Last night’s discussion and plans did nothing to quell my uncertainty, even knowing three other packs were joining us haven’t either.Luka takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry. You’ve got three strong Alphas at your back, not to mention a vampire prince. The plan will work out perfectly,” he says, trying to reassure me, but something in my gut tells me not to relax just yet.I sigh, then plaster on a fake smile. “So, have you and Kaia spoken at all?” I ask, attempting to change the subject. When we left Las Vegas, she waved us off and said she would see us when this is all over and that she was excited but nervous to meet everyone. But it all seemed so put on as if she was playing a part instead of genuinely feeling happy.Luka nods, then he smiles sheepishly. “She wanted to know more about mom and dad, but I only told her the basi
-Arkyn-It’s all gone to shit. The entire plan has been flawed from the get go, and somehow I think these fuckers knew our plans. I can’t prove it right now, but I know Jade, or fucking Kaia, had something to do with this.“You seem pissed off,” Eli says as we wait for Alpha Kai to return.I roll my eyes. “Brilliant deduction, Sherlock. Don’t tell me you’re not worried in the least about how easy this shit was?” I ask, leaning against the black SUV and crossing my arms. “No, something’s definitely fucky over here. They’ve let go of their biggest leverage and a literal God who could kill them with the snap of his wrist. Either the witch bargained on this, or they have something worse planned.” He says, gesturing with his hand as he talks. On our way to the Volkov cabin, we ran into Alpha Kai and Eli’s father. Gabriel Priest had somehow gotten wind of the Volkov's being held there, so he went to snoop around, only to find Alpha Kai himself. Adryan Helseth is now dead, and I’m sure his
-Kira-I’m watching as my father has his claws in the back of Luka’s neck, apparently, this is how Alphas see into someone’s past. Whatever happened to Luka will be explained as soon as he’s done and for some reason, I want him to be wrong about Kaia.We had a moment together in the wine cellar; she might have been drunk, but she was sincere. I don’t think she knew who her parents were, but she sure as hell thought they abandoned her. Would Marle have kept her if she didn’t have plans for her?This is all driving me crazy.“I’ve tasked Andreas to bring Kaia here; they should arrive at the latest tomorrow evening,” Alpha Fenriz says after he’s done speaking to his Beta. Arkyn went to see Elijah and his father off, so it’s just been me and my uncles up here.Uncle Kon narrows his eyes. “She didn’t run away?” he asks and Alpha Fenriz shakes his head.“No, in fact, she seemed quite startled that he’s bringing her here,” Alpha Fenriz answers, then turns to look at my father. “Perhaps Kai c
-Kira-I’ve never been this worried before. What could my mother possibly want to speak with Arkyn and me for? We follow her to the back garden, sitting down at a stone bench and table. She looks at Arkyn with an odd glint in her eyes, then she turns to me and takes both of our hands in hers. “I want to apologize to you both for my error and inability to see someone had tampered with your Mate Bond,” she says with her eyes shining with unshed tears. Wait, did she just say our Mate Bond?!Arkyn looks at me with a knowing grin, while I narrow my eyes, confused. “Our Mate Bond, Mamma? Are you saying-”“Yes, Arkyn is your True Mate, baby; but I think deep down you’ve always known that,” she chuckles, then her expression turns serious again. “I didn’t want to admit that my Goddess could have been wrong, but little did I know Marle desecrated her work. She needed Helseth as a pawn to capture us all and even sent Kaia as Arkyn’s Luna Bride. All planned, down to the last second. What she d
-Kira-We’re all in the living room, waiting with bated breath as Andreas pulls up outside the mansion with Kaia in the back seat. Anxiety ripples through each of us when we hear the door closing and the amount of pounding heartbeats nearly renders me dizzy.Uncle Kon, aunt Lily, and Luka are standing closer to the door, aunt Lily has one hand clasped against her chest while my uncle has his arm around her waist. My father and mother are looking at each other intently, while my other aunts and uncles wait just as anxiously. Creed is standing off to the side next to Arkyn; they’re chatting in low voices, but I can tell by the look in Creed’s eyes that he’s actually listening to Arkyn. The night before, we walked in on him brushing my parents off, and Arkyn took him to the forest for a run; they seemed to have bonded after that.I sigh, then walk towards the door to open it for them. Kaia sees me and smiles, then she rushes towards me, capturing me in an embrace.“I’m scared,” she whis
-Kira- Kaia’s welcome home banquet goes on well into the early morning hours. The pack gave her a welcome to remember and my father gave her his bite to make her a BloodCrest pack member formally. Before her induction, my mother discovered several parasites planted within Kaia and her wolf. She promptly banished them and implanted a tungsten stone underneath her skin; tungsten repels magic of any kind. My mother did this to all the members of our pack to stop the parasite problem during the war. Luka and Alexei had theirs removed by Marle in order to imbed the parasites, so she had to redo the tungsten implantation on the two of them. During the banquet, Arkyn was quiet, and it made me wonder what his father spoke to him about. He’s adamant that it’s nothing, but I know Arkyn better than that. We’re walking alone through the forest after the party has died down; he’s holding my hand and looking ahead, still not saying a thing. I decide that I’ve had enough and stop abruptly, pulli
-Kaia-I was too scared to go to sleep last night, terrified that if I woke up again, then I’d be back in my bed in Las Vegas. Because this must be a dream, there’s no way my name is really Kaia Volkova. There’s no way that I actually have a family who has been looking for me, there’s no way they didn't abandon me at birth.All my life, I felt like the only person who loved me was Alpha Azura. Her daughter always saw me as a threat because I was stronger than her; as if an orphan could ruin her plans to become Alpha. The Beta's hated me as well; they all thought I didn't belong with them - little did they know I didn't.Now, as I sit in the backseat of the SUV Alpha Kai is driving, I know this is no dream. This man is not only my Alpha but my uncle! His wife, Luna Caterina, is the sweetest woman I’ve ever met; she’s so timid and soft-spoken, but so strong. How can any woman in this pack not look up to her?“We’re close,” she says, turning her head slightly. “She’s still in town and kn
-Kira- It’s been nearly four hours since my parents left with Kaia in tow. After four hours of not hearing anything from them, and now my anxiety has kicked into overdrive. “They should have been back already,” I grumble, pacing the floor. “Why aren’t they back yet?!” Arkyn sighs again and pinches the bridge of his nose. “For the tenth time, calm down, Blue. I know you’re worried, but have some faith in your parents, okay?” My head snaps toward him, and I shoot him a glare. “Easy for you to say-!” “The gate’s opened,” Uncle Nikolai says and gets to his feet. “It’s them.” My heart comes to a literal standstill at my uncle’s words and I rush forward, looking down the paved road while holding my breath. If they’re here, that means they eliminated the threat. If they’re here, it means Marle is dead. Right? Their black SUV rolls into view and I see my parents wearing wide grins on their faces. Kaia peeks through the middle and smiles, while next to her I see the profile of someone