“Stay with me, baby.” I heard my father’s worried whisper in the darkness. I was floating in this nothingness. There was no light, no sound, nothing except my father’s soft whispers. “Please don’t leave me. I don’t think I could go on without you. Nevermind ever facing your mother again.” I wanted to reassure him.It’s okay daddy. I made my choice.“You saved that family, even the parents. They are still touch and go, but they made it to the hospital. So you have to make it too.” His voice grew stronger, and I smiled. At least they made it.I tried to sit up, roll over or move, but I couldn’t move. I was stuck in this darkness. Is this death? Is this the afterlife we have all heard about? Where was the Goddess? Where were my wolves? We are here with you, Amy. Nix’s voice was still with me. I closed my eyes and focused inside, and they were where they have always been even when I didn’t know it. You’re here.Of course we are. Megan’s bright voice made me smile, her snout pulling int
“I just got you back.”“I know, but he needs to do his job. I’m not going to disappear if you let me go.” I laughed and coughed. I waved the doctor over and pushed my dad back to his seat. “A little breathing room.” “Fine.” He sat back in a huff, and the doctor came and checked me over.“Looks like your wolf did the heavy lifting. You are completely back to full health.” He patted my hand. “You had us worried there.”“Sorry.” I settled back into my bed. I turned to my father. “What happened?”“You killed the last wolf and fell.”I gave my father a look, and he sighed. “We aren’t sure yet. Ronnie is looking into it.” “How did she get away from Beck?”“What?”“How did Aurora get away from Beck?” It was the one thing that was sticking out for me. “Even if she could use a spell with nothing or prep, she was tied up. She shouldn’t have been able to get free enough to hurt him.” “What are you saying, Amy?” My father ran his hands through his hair. “I’m not saying anything…yet.” I swiped
The doctor rushed in with a few nurses and started calling out directions. “Andrea cut off his top. We need to see the wound. Sarah, get the stitches cart and roll it in here.”“Doc, there is wolfsbane in his blood.” My dad was pushed against the wall, trying to get out of the way for the nurse and doctor to work. The Doctor froze for a second, then nodded.“Andrea, stop. I need you to start poison protocols.” We watched as they both stepped back and put on gloves and gowns. Something that is so normal with human doctors is so rare with ours. “Okay, let’s get back to it.” They both dove back to Ronnie. They finished cutting off his clothes and we could see the knife was hilt deep, and red lines radiated from the stab wound.“How did this happen?” The doctor probed the wound. Ronnie screamed and passed out. The nurse came rolling back in with a cart. She rolled the cart to the doctor and was going to jump in, but he held up his hand. “Sarah, wait. I need you to go out and get a fifty f
The doctor was stuffing more and more gauze into the wound, throwing the blood-soaked ones to the ground. He became more and more panicked as the used gauze pile grew. “What’s wrong?” My father stepped up to the bedside.“It’s not closing.”“What do you mean?” My father grabbed the Doctor’s arm, but he shook him off. “The lupine saline should have flushed a lot of the wolfsbane from his system, but he’s still not healing. He’s losing too much blood.” The doctor shoved more gauze into the wound and looked up. Sweat beaded down his face and his eyes were wide. “I…I, I don’t think he will pull through.”“Fuck that.” My dad grabbed both of his shoulders. “You save him.”“Alpha…” The doctor shook himself. “We need blood then.”“Take mine.” My father held out his arm, and the doctor shook his head.“You are A positive, the beta is O negative. He can only take O negative blood.”My father staggered back to a chair that was behind him. He slammed into the chair and dropped his head between h
My father sank with each word. I watched as his world crumbled, and I was sorry for it. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it needed to be said. Beck had caused half the issues here. I was sure of it. “How can you be so sure?” His voice was soft, but his eyes held a tiny seed of hope.“I’m not. But if he thinks Ronnie is dead, then we have a chance to catch him.” I gave him the tiny bit of hope. “I might be wrong. I am more than willing to be wrong. But all of what has happened isn’t sitting well with me. Something is wrong, and someone betrayed this pack. That person is the same one that attacked Ronnie.”“You are making a leap.”“No, I’m not.” I looked next to me to Ronnie. “Ronnie ran all the way from where he was attacked to my room. That gives me a bit of information. He trusted who attacked him, and because of the attack, it made him question everyone in the pack. If it was
I shivered for the next ten minutes, waiting for the cart of food. I focused solely on my father’s eyes, the pain, and my breathing. “You can do this, baby girl.” I nodded and bared my teeth. “Fuck.” I screamed as another wave hit my body. My bones shifted, and I pushed my father’s claw deeper. “Amy, I think the claw is counter intuitive. You’re bleeding yourself, and losing more blood than you should.” The doctor came over and tried to intervene, but I just growled. “If you want me to shift, then remove the claw. I’m doing what I can to stop that from happening.” I felt my face shift, and I screamed again, pushing his claw deeper.Finally, the door flew open, and a girl covered in dirt came in with the cart. “What the hell happened to you, Marnie?”“There was a scuffle outside, but I was able to get through.” She panted as she brought the food closer. I dove for a steak and bit into it. The juices flooded my mouth, and I groaned. I was lost to the food until my father stood up. I
I continued eating, and finally, after the full third cart, the need to shift stopped. I looked up at the doctor, amazed, but he was still working on Ronnie’s wound. But something changed, something eased. I felt a soft graze at my hand on the bed and I turned to look at my uncle, and Ronnie was staring at me. I smiled. “Hi.”“Hey.” He looked tired, but his tired voice had the nurse and doctor jolting. “You’re awake.” The doctor smiled. Ronnie nodded and his eyes drifted close. “Thanks to this beautiful pup.” His eyes glowed grey as his wolf came forward. “Thank you pup. You saved both of us while dealing with my needs, and I know it wasn’t easy.”“I’d do anything for you, Logan. You and Ronnie are my uncle.” I smiled, but I felt a punch to my gut and I knew something was wrong. I stood on shaky legs and faced the door. “I need Ronnie in the bathroom. Sarah, can you stay with him?”“What?” The doctor looked at Ronnie and then back at me. “We can’t move him. He’s in no shape to move.
The IV was changed from the one I had to a fresh bag of saline and lupine. I felt the rush of cold fill my arm as the solution went to work, counteracting the wolfsbane. Then the doctor and nurse started in on my wounds. They weren’t healing. Which is exactly what I needed them to do. Sure, I could have not made them as deep as I did, but I needed this to be believable.“Fuck.” The doctor looked up and me and I smiled. The nurse realized that she still had on her old gloves and gown, and she quickly changed. I wanted just another level of safety and I mentally flipped through the book of shadows I was working on memorizing and I found a spell. One that was undetectable once it settled. It sealed a room. So I looked to the bathroom door and focused on it. I had nothing that was needed for the spell, not the fire, nor the supplies, but I had to try.I closed my eyes, held out my hand, and whispered. Selta sealter bog forshire. I felt it settle o
Vince turned to look at Brandon. He looked at its stumpy fingers and shook his head. “Why would you bring up the brotherhood in front of the wench?”Wench? Is he trying to be a fucking pirate or something? Nix snorted and rolled her eyes. Vince is stupid.But I watched him. Something was off in the way he watched us. Ever since I ripped off his cheek. I think…I think he likes us, Megan. She snapped her head to mine and then gagged. Absolutely the fuck not. She shook her head. But Nix watched him. I think she is right, Megan. Everytime he says something, his eyes flick to us. He is looking for our reaction. She gagged again. No, you two have to be wrong. We ripped off half his face.I think…I think he likes us because of it. The thought made my stomach clench. Sick fuck. “Wench? Dad…common we all know she is going to be dead soon. So why does it matter?” Brandon snorted as he passed me, kicking out, but I jumped up and snarled. “I would watch your self Bran. She is feisty. She alr
I sat still. I knew I couldn’t run away without being caught, so I would sit, watch, and wait. I was going to hold back on any magic use until I was somewhere else. Since Rick said the forest was covered in magical traps, this was once I was out I would be safe. I just needed to get out first. Rick narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t going to come quietly, are you?” I just settled on the ground. I wasn’t stupid, but I wasn’t going to just fall in line, either. He chuckled and turned to Morgan. “Watch my son. Don’t let him get close to the wolf.” Morgan nodded, but Vince was already turning away. “Rick, come with me. You can carry me back here with our shit and the pup.” Rick’s eyes tightened again and then he nodded. He smiled. “Yeah. Poor thing has to survive another week.”He shifted and left the clearing while Morgan and Brandon glared at me. “Are you seriously still going after Amy’s mom?” Brandon sagged against a tree. “I mean, I get it. She’s hot. And the power of the women in tha
Vince yelled as he tossed me to the ground. Morgan kicked me as soon as I hit the dirt, chunks of grass and twigs flying, the swift kick to my stomach sending me into a tree. I yelped as my shoulder broke, along with a few ribs, but Vince just looked at me with surprise as a chunk of his face slowly knitted itself back together. I looked at him through hooded eyes, but I watched with satisfaction as his cheek slowly rebuilt itself. Blood poured from his left side of his face. The lip hung loose, cut adrift from the portion of his cheek. I ripped away. His teeth were visible, and the surprised look in his eyes made the slow healing a little easier to deal with. Brandon looked at his father with wide eyes. “Are you okay?” He went to move closer, but that was the moment I spat out the hunk of meat I had in my mouth, as if his blood was poison. Vince didn’t look away from me. I sat up and wretched, like I was going to vomit. His blood and bits of flesh clung to the inside of my mouth.
I heard them all shift and start after me. One after the other, I heard a growl and then charging feet. Even Rick, who knew I was going to be out here, was charging after me. Rick, fucking Rick.Why would he want me to see all of that? Megan’s words were ragged. She was waning, but Nix was pushing her body to the brink. I think he needed us to see that. Maybe this started as a couple of friends, and he thought they were joking. Or it was a what if, and then he fell in love with Shelly?Nix panted but hummed her agreement. I think it was probably in the middle. He thought they were just assholes joking around with the women they were using, and then he found his mate. But he didn’t want to let go of his friends. Until his pup came back branded. Megan finished, and Nix agreed.I feel bad for him. Her words made us stop. But Nix pushed on. This about it, you’re trying to stay loyal to your friends but faithful to you mate and you think that witchcraft is probably fake and then suddenl
Morgan shrugged. “You should have kept your pants on. You only had to keep it in your pants for a few years, and you can’t even do that.” Morgan leveled him with a look. You can blame Shannon all you want, but let’s not pretend she is the only one you’re fucking.Brandon glared at him for a minute before laughing. “True.” He sighed. “But Shannon was the only one Amy had to deal with.”Morgan level him with another look. “Again, it isn’t her fault you decided you wanted to drain Amy of her power. You could have chosen anyone else.”Brandon sighed. “True again, but she is so fucking strong.” He grabbed his dick. “And she is so fucking stuck up. I was going to enjoy draining her.” Rick laughed. Fucking laughed, but when he turned, I saw it. A flash of something in his eyes. He didn’t want to be here. What the fuck is going on here? Megan called back to us, but neither of us knew. “Shut the fuck up.” Vince called back and everyone quieted. “Verity. How fucking long now?”She sighed as s
The world blurred past us. The trees became blurred sticks as we wove in between. Bushes became wider obstacles that we jumped over. The animals, the birds, they knew something was happening, and they stayed quiet and out of the way. Megan passed the borders of the pack lands, she weaved between the border patrols that were following their routes, and others that were just out for friendly hunts. We finally slowed to a stop to catch our breath and to figure out where to go. She looked around. Nix receding back beside me and collapsing. Are you okay? I hurried to her side. Yeah. She huffed and sagged against me. I pushed too hard, that’s all.I cuddled her to my side, holding her up as she caught her breath, and I realized the sun had set. How long did it take us to run here? Nix huffed out a breath. Not long. Around two hours. Why?Why is the sun setting? I looked around and the woods were definitely darker. Megan looked up, and we saw it. She checked the sun, but there was nothi
I drove past the pack members that had lined the street. All of them were waving and bowing, giving my mother a farewell deserving of a luna, not just another pack member. But she has stepped up where Vince’s mate failed. My mom helped with the pups. She made sure they were taught properly. She fought for the females of this pack. And wolves never forgot their debts. I drove down block after block of our pack, saluting to my mother, who wasn’t even here to see it. I waved as I drove past the guards at the beginning of the land, and then we were out. My mother’s body double disappeared, and I called for the jet to get ready to take a flight to the coast and come back. “Who are we taking?”I laughed. “No one.” There was silence on the other end. “Take you families for a vacation to the coast if you like, my gift to you.” I looked at the dash. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Get everyone to the hangar to leave and I’ll transfer you twenty thousand to have a nice weekend. Make s
We made it back to the house and my mother was ecstatic, dancing her way to my room. We shut the door, and she twirled. “Where do I go?” She turned to me and I just gave her a look. “I know I’m going to the cabin. I just mean how? Won’t the pack notice if I don’t leave?”I waved my hand. “I’ll use magic to pretend to drive you away and I’ll leave your car at the airport and run back. Just pack your essentials and we will go over.” I kissed her temple. “But let’s be quick.”“Why?” She sat on my bed and I pulled out black clothes. She just lifted her eyebrows. “What are you going to do? Rob a bank?” I laughed. “I need a shower and descenting spray.” I rummaged through my bathroom, but my mom stood and went into my closet. “What are you doing?”“I put the extra spray in here, foolish girl.” She came out with a bottle. “Now tell me why.”“Rick.” She just twirled her finger. “Rick what?” She handed me the bottle, and I put it on my counter. “When he told me to go home for the day. He to
Vince looked at me, then he turned to Morgan with a raised brow. “Well, then…” He sat back. “There isn’t much of a choice, is there?”Morgan turned to me. “Amy, you can’t be serious. I raised you. I was your dad.” My eyes flashed and Nix was in front in a second. “Repeat those words and I will call the Cath Báis for pure arrogance from you. You barely looked at us when we were a pup. You did everything and anything to take our mother’s time and attention from us. And when I finally shifted, you stole our bonding night.” Nix chuffed a warning call. “So think before you open your mouth again, beta. If you step on my father’s legacy and my mother’s hard work, then I will not hold back. I will rip you to shreds and reunite you with your mate.”Morgan paled. “Nix…I didn’t mean-”“You dodn’t mean to take credit for work you had no hand in. You didn’t raise me. You didn’t pay my way. You didn’t even house me. Amy bought the house. Amy’s money paid for everything for her and her mother. You