로그인Ronan POVHer blunt questions left much to be desired. I decided to answer just as directly. “He’s dead.”She blinked. “Did you kill him?”I reared back in disgust. “No!”Vira smirked. “Like I said, too much upheaval. Now, what did you want? The cats will need feeding.”Keep your temper. All witches are half-senile. I cleared my throat. “We seem to be having trouble with vampires lately. We keep tracking groups of them heading toward a rival pack, but the bigger problem is that they’re doing so during the daylight.”I tossed the pendant on my desk in front of us both. Vira leaned forward, her eyes sparking with interest then darkening in disgust. “I told them selling out to others was a bad idea. Damn coven.”I’d never heard a witch speak so irreverently about her coven before. A witch’s bloodline was usually considered sacred. “You think your coven is working with these vampires then?”She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “Possibly.”I closed my eyes, willing myself to ha
Ronan POVWhen I woke up, the first thing I saw was my mother’s anxious face. “He’s awake,” she said, relief coloring her voice.Brett was there next, scrutinizing the size of my pupils and furrowing his brows. “Seems alright. The backlash of magic just knocked him for a loop like the others.” Brett wiped his hands and stood.I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I felt like I’d run a marathon yesterday but otherwise normal. “What happened?” I struggled to piece the vampire fight back together in my mind. The door opened and Xavier strode through, his arm in a sling. Seeing him jolted my memories back together.“Aniyah. Is she alright?” Xavier asked.Brett slammed the rag he’d been wiping his hands with down into a pail. “She won’t be leading patrols anytime soon but yes. She needs to stay in bed, however. I was actually hoping you could give her an Alpha order. Otherwise she’s likely to injure herself. As most of you seem to do these days.”His request felt sour in my ears, the a
Lyra POV When he pulled back he must’ve seen the surprise on my face, because he smiled and said, “I’m saving the rest for when we finalize our mateship.” He faced the pack, and I leaned against the rock wall to keep myself from falling to the ground.Rebecca looked up at me, mild horror etched across her face. I nodded at her. We were stronger together; wolves were meant to be part of a pack, and I would never stand by as a female wolf’s life hung in the balance. Rebecca was privileged and didn’t know how to survive this pack. I did. Squaring my shoulders, I righted myself to stand tall. She took note and pushed herself off the ground.Show no weakness. That was the trick to survive this pack.“Let us run!” Travis howled to the crowd. Everyone joined in, a union of howls into the night as the pack shifted together.I WAITED until Travis had shifted and taken off before turning to Rebecca. “You okay?”“Yeah.” She didn’t meet my eyes again as she stripped. Once in her wolf form, she t
Lyra POV My shoulders tightened at his tone. Plenty of things took place behind closed doors, but I had forgotten how Travis relished in the display of dominance, instilling fear and reminding everyone who the leader was. It was sick, something he had learned from his father and his father before him. This disgusting tradition passed down between the Alphas of the Yosemite pack was a love of theatrics that only a narcissist could think was necessary or appropriate.My pulse quickened. How many times had I been used to prove their power before a pack run? Somehow I had forgotten, and my time with Yellowstone had pushed it even further from my mind. I searched the crowd, finding the women huddled in the back. My mother was there, and when her eyes met mine, she gave me a small nod. I couldn’t respond because I was too scared of what was coming. Now would be the perfect time to show me my place. Had he heard my altercation with Victor in the house? Was he going to punish me right now?I
Lyra POVBanging on my door jolted me into a sitting position. Not my favorite way to wake up, even if it was likely late afternoon or more. There was nothing else to do except sleep, it seemed.“Pack meeting!” Victor hollered through the door.Great, the weekly pack meeting, which I’d conveniently avoided the last few times. It seemed Travis wasn’t going to allow my absence any longer. And if I were to show the other women I was packing, that I was one of them, I needed to show up. Now that I had a mission, avoiding the pack meeting wasn’t an option anymore.After snooping in Travis’s office, I’d been allowed out the next day. Rebecca avoided me most times our paths crossed, and to my relief, she kept her word on not saying anything.My daily routine consisted of seeing my mother for 15 minutes a day, but not until after I ate dinner with Travis. It wasn’t easy, but so far I’d managed to keep my head down and be a good little ‘mate’, not drawing any unwanted attention. At first Travi
Lyra POVMy heart constricted in my chest so tightly, I swore I’d never be able to feel anything but anger and pain ever again. I wanted to be rash, to throw myself into battle and fight off the bloodsuckers. To do something while Travis didn’t. I wanted to shout from the rooftops that he’d been selling out packs. I wanted to create an uproar, and a part of me didn’t care how much bloodshed came with it. I felt useless as I was consumed with Pearl’s pain, and the only thing I had ever known how to do was physically fight and stand up for my pack members. The reason I didn’t jump from my chair right then was because her quiet words continued.“He and the others were just going down to the stream. He needed a wash, and they’re just pups. They’re meant to play and have fun. The stream wasn’t far, but of course, they wandered. They went beyond where they were allowed, beyond where Travis told them to, and now I understand why.” Her hands covered her face as a sob slipped out. “I shouldn’t







