Hey rebels! Thank you for your patience for this chapter. These overlapping timelines can be a real tricky beast. I appreciate all the gems, comments, views and reviews! XOXO Emma Taylor
CHARITY POV Jess and Nick argue in the background, New Girl plays on the tv while I stare at my calculus homework. The numbers and letters mixing, making my head spin. Where is Elle when you need her? The itch to call and beg for her help is strong when a knock has me turning at shock. Standing in my doorway is Fletcher and Matt….together. Here. In my room. Has the earth turned upside down? What the hell is going on? “Are you gonna say something, Fireball or just stare?” Fletcher asks, my gaze meeting his sea- green irises. “What are you doing here?” I demand, standing from the chair. I hurry to them, grabbing a hand from each, ignoring the sparks even though they turn me to jelly. Yanking them inside, I peek outside, listening for my mother. She’ll lose her shit if she finds them. Not hearing her anywhere in the house I shut the door, spinning to glare at them. Fletcher is walking around, picking up different objects, inspecting them, and then replacing them. Matt sits on bed com
CHARITY POV“Shortcake,” a soft whisper pulls me from the comfort of sleep. I’m the most relaxed I’ve felt in days, my skin buzzing from the steady stream of electricity and sparks surrounding me.“Fireball,” another murmurs. Both are like honey, sweet and delicious. “Come on sweetheart, wake up.”Why would I want to wake? To willingly leave this place of warmth and security sounds stupid. “Baby, you gotta wake up. We’ve got a loser to hunt.”“Five more minutes?” I mumble, trying to shake myself awake, but it feels impossible with them around. Chuckles fill my ears, warming my insides. They’re like a melody and harmony separately, but together they’re a symphony singing to the heavens.“I’m sorry, Fireball, but you can’t. We are almost at the park,” Fletcher says, jostling me awake. Growling, I snap to attention before glaring at him.“Told you she’s a cranky when she first wakes up.” Matt taunts, “you know what that means.”“I know, I know,” he groans, rubbing a hand down his face in
CHARITY POV Anxiety riddles my knotted gut, the winding roads not helping the situation any. Sparks ignite as Matt laces his fingers through mine, his thumb making little designs on my palm. No one speaks. Damon speeding like a mad man eager to return home to his father. We make it back in record time. He drops Matt and me at the Alpha house before rushing off with Elle in tow. Nora says her goodbyes, walking across the yard going over to Beta Theo’s house Staying there until Xander comes back. Left alone outside the house, Matt takes my hand once more. “Andrew isn’t home. Wanna watch a movie with me?” I check the time, noticing how early in the evening it is, my parents not expecting me home for hours. "Come on, Shortcake,” he tugs me toward the door. “I can tell how anxious you are, but Fletcher will be fine. If you need to worry about anyone, it’s that asshole who beat Nora.” That’s not what’s got me all twisted. I trust Fletcher to handle himself in any situation. “It’s not tha
MATT POVCharity dashes up the stairs while I race around trying to clean up the room. Damon and his dad waiting until the upstairs bathroom shuts, before a pissed off alpha comes storming around the corner.“Of all the fucking places? My god damn couch?” He growls, on the verge of murdering me. “You’re lucky Elle isn’t with me she’d fucking murder you.”The gleeful laugh of another person distracts me as Charles walks around the corner, eating an entire pecan pie. “Were you left a little blue, my boy?”I cannot even respond, too stunned to see him upright and talking. No one had expected him to get better after what he’d been through with his ex-mate, Damon’s mom. It wasn’t pretty.“He’s lucky if blue balls are all he is ends up with.” The alpha growls, while his retired father one shovels more pie in his mouth finding the situation amusing. “Seriously? My couch?” Damon asks again, not letting the subject go.“At least it’s not blood?” I ask, hands raised, and I swear Damon is about
CHARITY POV In less than twelve hours, our entire world has turned to shit. Theo called when he was outside Nora’s pack, Northern Lakes, and we haven’t heard from him or Nora since. Andrew is going crazy over Theo, and if Xander were around, he’d be acting the same about Nora. The alphas have us at deathcon level five. Matt and I have been running around getting warriors prepared for the unexpected. I am throwing extra supplies into my bag at home, preparing for the worst, when a knock distracts my work. My mom enters, her hands twisted together, anxiety wrapping around her. “Charity,” she sounds soft and nonconfrontational. “Please don’t go. Please let the others handle this.” “Mom,” I don’t stop moving, getting all my things in the bag. “You know I cannot back out. I am the gamma. I have to go. What would the warriors think of me if I backed out?” “That you’re only sixteen! That you have time before dealing with these things!” She steps forward. Her hand resting on mine gently.
FLETCHER POVThere’s nothing quite like being home, nothing smells like it. My feet crunch against the fallen leaves littering my parents’ property. I left Xander alone with Nora’s ex. They’re hanging out in the shed at the furthest corner, far away from the main house where my younger siblings live.I pass the tire swing, which hangs from the oak tree in our front yard. “Guys, Fletcher’s home!” Ezra calls out, jumping up from the rocking chair. His twin, Emerson barreling out the front door. At seventeen, they’re nearly as tall as me and bulky little shits. Before I know what’s happening, three more sets of twins emerge from Goddess knows where. Without warning, I am bombarded with questions from nosey ass younger siblings.As the only non-twin, single child, and the oldest, it could feel pretty lonely sometime. Until my parents adopted Xander and then it wasn’t as much.“Did Xander come with you? Did his Luna come too?”“Did you bring Charity? Is it true she survived a force shift?”
MATT POV Leaves crunch, while I pace in the cool fall air. The wind from Lake Erie chills to the bone, seeping past the layers of my clothes. Andrew, Charity, and I waiting five miles outside of Northern Lakes. We are stuck waiting on Fletcher and Xander to get out of bumfuck nowhere so they can call us back. For fuck’s sake, they can’t even get cell service. What kind of primitive shit is that? I’d never admit it to another living soul, but not hearing from that jackass rogue beta is worrying me. However, my anxiety is nothing compared to Charity, checking her cell every few minutes. Her brows furrow with disappointment each time she tries to hide it and fails. I know her too well. Andrew is on the verge of losing his mind, ready to make a move inside the territory, but we can’t go in without the rogues who won’t budge. Their stubbornness and loyalty are admirable, but damn frustrating to the rest of us. They won’t move until Xander or Fletcher give the order, but they love Nora en
ELLE POV It’s been a long few days, everything restless, and chaotic, especially now that we’re thousands of miles from home. My nights have been consumed by doubts and nightmares. A subtle reminder that I am not fit to lead. My beta is gone, and the woman I swore to protect in danger. I should have fought harder, my insecurities eating me inside out. My life is a whirlwind of lies, and secret identities to the point I don’t even know myself. What if the biggest lie is me? Am I really the right woman for this job? “Male alphas fail all the time, Biscuit.” Damon’s honey voice breaks through the link, shivers racing down my spine. “We make mistake, lose our members, become greedy. You do the best with the information you have.” Tingles dance, sparking and nipping at my skin, a hard chest pressing against my back. Sandalwood, with an undertone of eucalyptus, invade my nostrils, instantly calming the raging anxiety. “Let’s take a walk, love.” Damon whispers. He walks around, taking my h