Dane had managed to avoid Jack, only to bump into Lucas and Alpha Roland, who gave him a hearty thump on the back.
“My boy, don’t tell me you still haven’t found that mate of yours yet?” Roland questioned.
“Not yet,” Dane replied with a sigh. “She’s here, but as soon as I catch her scent, it’s gone again.”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Off you go.”
A shrill scream reverberated through the room, stopping people in their tracks.
“She’s dead!”
“Oh my Goddess, someone’s been murdered.”
“There’s a body outside!”
&n
It took one and a half days to get to the Moonlight Ball, but Lucas and Dane were speeding their way through the night, determined to get home in half that time. They knew it would be quicker if they drove solo, so they put Jack in charge of bringing the rest of their group home in the morning.Dane had pulled him aside to remind him to protect his Luna at all times, and it gave him a petty sense of satisfaction to wonder whether she’d still be a fan of his ‘harmless admiration’ when it was directed at her.The engine in Lucas’ finely tuned Aston Martin sports car was getting a workout. They estimated they would arrive at the pack around lunchtime, but what they would arrive home to wasn’t clear just yet.Dane impatiently dialled Hen
Stig hadn’t given Dane a moment of peace for the last forty-eight hours. He had already been a nuisance about Cara having the potion, but the developments at the Moonlight Ball had him consumed with grief and ready to take his anger out on the person he thought responsible.Stig was convinced that Cara had killed their mate, and although Dane wanted to stick his head in the sand and deny it, the logical part of his mind couldn’t discount it. He needed to talk to her, he just hoped he could keep Stig at bay.Dane knew her schedule like the back of his hand and knew she’d be at the gym. He just hoped she’d be alone. It wasn’t exactly a private setting, but at least it wasn’t the packhouse where the finely tuned ears of the maids were looking to absorb every skerrick of gossip.
The look on Thomas’ face is priceless, thought Dane as he entered Lucas’ office and closed the door behind him.Thomas would be the world’s worst poker player. His face was currently broadcasting exactly what he was thinking. What was a Delta doing in a strategy meeting that was only ever attended by the Alpha and Beta?Dane wasn’t the only one taking pleasure in Thomas’ discomfort. Lucas was still bitterly disappointed in his Beta’s behaviour during the battle and wanted to put pressure on him. He knew he would be annoyed at Dane being in this meeting and hoped he’d feel threatened by his presence.“Right, gentlemen. Let’s get started,” began Lucas.
“Thomas! Stop her!” thundered Dane, rushing over.Henrik wrenched the handle of the whip from her, but as he handed it to Dane and began to free Lucas, the she-wolf lunged again. She was now holding the pliers as a weapon and her wild eyes were fixed on the Alpha.Acting on sheer instinct, Henrik dove and intercepted her, his entire body weight crashing on top of her on the cold, hard concrete. Thomas let out a painful, sorrowful roar, and Henrik opened his eyes to see the back of her skull cracked open, blood quickly pooling from it.He’d killed her. He hadn’t meant to, but his weight, combined with the speed and the hard floor…The sound of clothes ripping sliced through
As Lucas pulled open the double doors to his bedroom that evening, his cock twitched instantly the moment he saw what was waiting for him. Cara had spent the afternoon shopping away her disappointment and was modelling one of her new purchases. The matching black bra and panties were mainly sheer, and although there was slight floral embroidery over the material, not much was left to the imagination. She sat on the bed with her back against the headboard and her legs open invitingly, motioning Lucas to join her. He may have had a lacklustre rushed dinner downstairs after a late meeting, but his dessert was certainly one to savour. “They’re new. Do you like them?” teased Cara. Lucas didn’t even answer, he jus
Chewing his way through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, Henrik heard someone call out his name from across the packhouse dining room. He turned to see Cara, a bundle of energy, rushing towards him.“I’m so glad I ran into you alone,” she said, taking a seat at the table with him.“Carrrr... Luna! How lovely to see you.”“Oh, Henrik please. Screw the formalities,” she said with a wave of her hand as he laughed.“So, what’s up?”“I have a favour to ask. After all the vandalism in the packhouse and the graffiti on my car… well, I’m a bit nervous.”
Lucas put his hands behind his head, leaned back in his chair, and exhaled loudly in frustration.“I mean, genocide... seriously? Are these people mad or what?”Despite his address to the pack recently, the anti-unity group was still active. Lucas had called a strategy meeting with Thomas and Dane to work out how they were going to make this little distraction go away, without actually following through on his threat to deal with them severely.He wasn’t even sure what he’d meant by that. Wiping them all out would just fuel their claims in other people’s minds.“Of course they’re mad, they’re from the Cape. We’re all mad as cut snakes,” chuckled Dane.
Thomas opened his eyes, blinking slowly as his surroundings came into focus. His head pounded and he could smell the stale stench of whiskey wafting from his own breath. His back and neck ached, and he stretched, cracking them into place.Another night spent sleeping in his office chair, lulled to sleep by the amber liquid sitting on the desk in front of him. He picked up the empty bottle and hurled it across the room, watching it shatter to pieces against the wall.He’d had everything going for him, and in a matter of weeks his life had crumbled, turning to rubble around him. His mate was gone. Her body left to burn to ash as an enemy of the pack. No headstone or marker left for him to visit – not that there would be anything to put on a headstone, he didn’t even know her.