Jackson’s POV
We have tried to find traces of how Loreen ended up with humans and what her background is, but there is a gap in the records before she turned 5 years old. We have understood how much she has moved between foster homes, but there is no information about her before that. The file only states that her parents are dead and there are no other family members, but in a wolf pack, such a situation cannot exist. At the same time, she doesn't have the smell of a rogue. According to the scent, she doesn't seem to be without a pack. This makes it even more peculiar that her pack members are not around her. Her alpha should be in contact with her and know about her life, but despite how much we have searched for information, nothing has come up. "Could she be your mate?" Mateo inquired. "You are so distressed, and it's clear that you are having trouble controlling your wolf." "I don't know, but I do know that my wolf and I need her to be okay," I said, watching the road. "Even if I didn't feel the need to protect her specifically, we should still take care of her. We can't allow humans to accidentally discover that there is a werewolf among them, and we live right next to this town." "Yeah, it wouldn't be good at all if the town developed a fear of werewolves. Our entire pack would be at risk if people started hunting wolves more and encroaching on our lands," Mateo agreed. "We need to find her before nightfall, for her own good and for the good of our pack," we both agreed. I drove back towards Ben's workshop. I am sure he knows something. If Nancy doesn't know, then there weren't more people in Lory's life with whom she interacted. He must know something. "See if Matt can start searching for her traces on the internet," I said to Mateo. Mateo took out his mobile phone and called our pack's IT guru. Matt is the strongest in IT in our pack. He has hacked into human systems before when we needed to find someone. But even he didn't find anything more about Lory's past. Maybe he will find something now that will help us find the girl. "Why are we back at Ben's?" Mateo asked as I parked the car. "Because he knows the most about Lory, and I don't believe he doesn't know where she is or where she plans to go. I will go and talk to him and try to find out what he knows," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt and getting out of the car. "Talk to Matt, and if you find out anything, mindlink me," I said, closing the door. My wolf was restless. He was clawing inside me and angry that I didn't let him out. He was sure he could convince Ben, or rather intimidate him, to reveal all the information he knew. I had to convince him to let me try first. But I was willing to let Luke talk to Ben himself if we couldn't get what we needed through conversation and goodwill. As I walked into the workshop, I smelled Lory's scent, and my wolf whined inside. Her scent was stronger than it was in the workshop before. My wolf was excited. Both he and I had hope that she might be here and she wasn't lost to us. Her scent had always been captivating to me; part of it was definitely lavender, but I never could figure out what else was mixed in, it was so blended that it wasn't clear. The closer I got to Ben's office, the stronger her scent became, and I started to feel confident that she had to be somewhere here. Her scent couldn't be this strong without her being present. My wolf was right behind my eyes. He was like an excited puppy, jumping around and wagging his tail. I smiled, thinking how a big, strong male alpha wolf could resemble a small, excited puppy. Despite him being so excited, he wasn't the only one. I could pretend to be tough, but my heart was singing inside, and I couldn't suppress my smile. The fear that we might not see her again was replaced by immense joy and excitement. I opened the door to Ben's office, and it was empty. "Where is she? How can she not be here? WHERE IS SHE, JACKSON?" Luke was freaking out. The immense excitement had turned into panic. "Calm down, let's look around. Maybe they are in the kitchen," I tried to calm Luke down. "We need to find her, and your hysteria doesn't let me focus on her scent. Shut up and focus," I said calmly but firmly. I closed my eyes and focused on the scent and sounds. They are in the employees' kitchen. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but I was sure Lory and Ben were there. My heart was pounding as I walked towards the kitchen. I opened the door and saw Lory blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. It was such an important moment, and I got to be here. I had found her. Her scent was all-encompassing. I was sure she was our mate, although my wolf hadn't confirmed it. There were only hours left until midnight on her birthday, and we had to wait for that. I saw how Lory's demeanor changed. She hadn't opened her eyes but took a deep breath. I was sure she could smell us. Her smile showed us that she enjoyed our scent. She took her time enjoying the scent and opened her eyes. Our eyes locked with each other.Lory’s POV I had reached peace and I had nothing to regret. I knew that I had got my goal, which I really needed to get. It was necessary to remove Fiona and her evil from the world. I couldn't leave her there to destroy my family. She had done so much harm and I couldn't let her go on anymore. I had found peace and that was enough for me at the moment.Naima and I would have liked to stay with our mates, but our happiness is not greater than all the happiness of others that had been destroyed by Fiona. The more I had rested, the stronger I felt I became. My body was dead, but my and Naima's jorney wasn't over, we were strong together, and I didn't feel alone.In the great emptiness, I closed my eyes and thought about all the elements that were in nature: water, earth, air, and fire. I was able to create my own reality for me and Naima, where we can be together. "Look, what do you want our world to have? The forest, the clearings, the hares, who to chase?""And the Moon," said Naima
Lory’s POV My wolf could no longer protect me, we had united, but her strength was not infinite either, and since we were fighting together, she could not heal me. My hand was sore, I realized that Naima had taken much of the pain, but that didn't change the fact that I couldn't use the wand with that hand anymore. Fiona was in triumphant fashion, but I hadn't given up. I knew that giving up couldn't be an option, because everyone else depended on me winning. I couldn't give up, because everyone else would be dead with my death, because Fiona would then be invincible and she wouldn't leave anyone who had opposed her alive. Jackon had reached me, and he was ready to attack Fiona, who had already cast her spell in her groove. Jackson raised his shield and pointed it at me as well. I could see that his shield was stronger now that he was closer. But he was already getting tired. Fiona aimed the fireball at Jackson, and I pulled it to myself because I knew it could damage Jackson's shie
Lory’s POVWe had been aware for some time that Fiona's witches had tried to poison our water supplies, and we allowed it to happen beautifully. By that time, I had managed to master my elemental control abilities nicely, and thanks to that, I had no problem separating the poison from the water. This gave us the advantage that they didn't know our true strength. Fiona had an army of witches, and it was good for us that she planned to come after us with only a partial army, as it would have been difficult and would certainly have resulted in deaths if she had come to destroy our pack. We were ready for anything, but this move was in our favor. When I understood what they were planning, I gave everyone the order to submit to the roots, and we could take the battle away from our weakest without a single casualty. Fiona didn't realize that when she was directing her fire at Jackson, I was actually directing the fire and Jackson was projecting his defense onto me and my parents. We protec
Fiona’s POV They were finally here. Their energy was drained, and I was satisfied with that. Everything had been so simple, so logical. Of course, it had—we had planned everything meticulously, leaving no room for mistakes. I was certain of our success. Everything was in place for the ritual to proceed. Ester and Leena had already prepared everything at our camp; now, all that remained was waiting for the right moment. For both wolves and witches, the full moon is a source of power. And since this mutt was a hybrid, the moonlight would be at its peak during the full moon—the strongest possible time to strip her of her abilities. The wolves had made feeble attempts to attack Laura’s witches as some of them regained consciousness, but their efforts were weak and ultimately futile. At our camp, everything was ready to conduct the sacrifice. We had gathered in the clearing, where Lory was staked to the ground, shackled beside her parents. Each of them was encircled by rings of salt
Fiona’s POV We have repeatedly tried to extract Melisande from her cocoon, but nothing we have done has worked. We have wasted too much time on this, which has only given the wolves the opportunity to grow stronger. The day after our attack, we were fortunate enough to seal their entire pack within their territory. My witches maintain a barrier around them at all times, ensuring they have no contact with the outside world and no means of escape. Their supplies have not yet run out, but soon they will. Soon, they will be desperate to find a way out. I am certain they will secretly attempt to create cracks in our defenses, and that plays perfectly into our plans—allowing us to destroy them in small groups as they try. Additionally, we have altered their drinking water. They have not even realized that, with each passing day, they are consuming our enchanted water, which gradually weakens them and makes them ill. One more week, and they will be perfectly ripe for our attack. I wi
Lory’s POV It was time for a shower again, I thought to myself with a smirk. I knew we had to get moving—we couldn’t just stay in bed all day. There was so much to do, and at the same time, our abilities needed to keep developing. After a quick shared shower and getting dressed, Jackson and I headed downstairs to the kitchen. I was starving—my body needed food, and my stomach growled loudly. Jackson just laughed at the sound and started pulling food out of the fridge. “I’ll make you a hearty omelet with bacon. You haven’t eaten properly in a while. In the meantime, you can have one of Mom’s pastries—she saved some from breakfast.” I smiled at him, nodded, and grabbed the basket of pastries Helena had made. They had always been amazing, and I couldn’t wait to taste their delicious flavor again. “You’re finally awake,” Mom said as she walked into the kitchen. “We were starting to think you’d sleep through the entire day,” Dad added as he followed her, placing a quick kiss on my
Lory's POV I was so tired after these rituals that I didn't even notice when I had fallen asleep. When I woke up the next morning at Jackson's parents' home, I couldn't even figure out where I was. I felt different, something had changed, and I wanted to see if that change would show in my appearance. Looking at myself in the mirror, it seemed as if I had developed an orange and silver glow in my eyes. "Naima, how do you feel?" “I don’t know, I feel rested and full of energy, like I’ve finally been set free. I can’t wait until we shift so I can test whether anything has actually changed,” she said cheerfully, bouncing around in my mind. “I feel the same—rested and free. Like I know exactly what I need to do, and I’m ready to act.” “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get moving, ladies!” Naima laughed. I heard the door to our room open, and I immediately knew that Jackson had returned. I hadn’t closed the bathroom door, and he walked in, standing in the doorway with a spec
Lory’s POV Jackson and I stood before our people. The air was charged with magic. The moon, now high in the sky, was clear and illuminated our gathering. Its rays, combined with the glow of our torches, reflected off the lake at our feet. The faint rustling of the forest surrounding the clearing added to the atmosphere. We needed to complete the final part of the mating ritual first. Jackson had already marked me, but there had been no witnesses at the time. Now, he had to bite over my mark, and I had to mark him in return. It was strange—this act was inherently intimate, but we had to skip the more sensual aspects, as I wasn’t willing to perform that part in front of others. Thankfully, it was no longer required as it had been in ancient times. I felt our connection deepen. I hadn’t thought it possible for it to grow any stronger, but it did. We both felt it. Our minds were more intertwined, our emotions more connected. I focused solely on him, and I could see the energy flowing
Lory’s POV Our wolves—our pack—arrived within minutes of realizing we had returned. They were prepared to defend us, though thankfully, it wasn’t necessary. They had fled, and I was glad they had—at that moment, they had no other choice. Today, history did not repeat itself. “Gather our fallen, and our elders will lead the burial ritual,” Jackson said. With the wolves came witches who had recently joined the pack, ready to fight alongside us against Fiona’s rule. I watched as their eyes scanned the fallen witches—those who had died in battle—but they remained silent. They knew that these witches had been enemies of the wolves, but they said nothing. **“Gather all the fallen witches, perform the rituals to ensure their spirits find peace, and bury them beyond our eastern border. Our patrol must be restored, and six men will accompany you to keep us connected in case you need assistance. If anyone attacks, you must return within the borders immediately,”** I instructed firmly.