I'm sorry it took me so long. I was stuck and it didn't help that I had a bunch of migraines this week. But I think I know where to take this story next, so i hope you''ll stick around to find out. I gave Izzy and Orion a little moment, so they would have a break from all the drama and remember what they're fighting for.
Izzy’s povAfter I left Orion in the bathroom, my mind went back to after we had left the police. Dad and I were silent for most of the drive home, but he suddenly turned to me when he had parked the car in front of our house."When did you learn to lie like that?"I scoffed, "did you honestly think this was the first time I had to lie or pretend? You and Mom were both blind to what was in front of you. You still are."I wanted to say more but couldn’t. If I told him the truth about Jordan, it might make things even more difficult for me, Finn, and my mother. Although I cared more about Finn at the moment, seeing as my mother had been involved in the plan to kill Orion.‘She deserves to be locked up,’ Ember growled protectively."What was it like? Living amongst humans?" My dad asked, showing interest in my life for the first time.I smiled, thinking back to that time. "I lived with this woman, Erin. She owns a motel, where Orion worked. Her son is deaf and they taught me sign language
Orion’s povWhen I reached the house, I circled around, looking for a way inside, but before I could, I heard Alpha Ethan speak.Come, Orion; no need to sneak around."I shifted back and walked towards my father. "I needed some air.""The police are gone. Isadora helped us, but you probably already knew that."How did he know? I took a shower. I smelled my arm, and Alpha Ethan chuckled. "You look less stressed. You look happy, so I figured you must have visited her."I didn’t speak, scared of what he might do or say. I wasn’t allowed to see her, but neither was Jordan, and he had done so anyway."I understand why, Orion. But we need to be careful." He whispered.I sighed, "so, now what? We wait? I don’t join your pack. You'll cancel the challenge? What happens now that the police have shown up here? Are you going to send me back?"Alpha Ethan shook his head as he seemed to mindlink someone, "no. I don’t think it’s a coincidence they showed up today."A soldier stepped from inside and h
Orion’s pov The closer we got to our fight, the more erratic Jordan’s behavior became. He was mindlinking Izzy all day long, threatening her, pleading with her, trying to bribe her—whatever it took for her to reject me. I knew he was desperate to win and would do whatever it took. So I stayed to myself for most of the day, mindlinking Izzy to distract her from Jordan. My father didn’t allow anyone entrance into the dungeons ever since Jordan snuck in and hurt Izzy’s mom, but I was sure if Jordan wanted to hurt her, he would find a way. We weren’t out of the woods yet until I defeated Jordan at midnight. ‘What if we give Jordan what he wants?' Izzy asked about an hour before the fight would start. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘He asked if I could come see you before the fight, and he’ll be the bigger man and offer us privacy or whatever, and I reject you.’ I growled softly; the thought alone hurt. I didn’t even know what rejection was until last week, and I had no clue how it would feel,
Izzy’s pov‘I’ll kill you; I’ll kill your whole fucking family,’ Jordan threatened me through the bond as we walked to the area where the challenge was being held.My dad was down in the dungeon with my mother and Finn, and I trusted he would look after them, but who knew if Jordan had people working for him.I felt a sense of relief now that everything was out in the open, but that didn’t mean we were out of the woods. Orion still had to beat Jordan. Jordan had years of experience fighting as a wolf, whereas Orion had one week.In his human form, I was sure Orion would be able to defend himself; he had worked out most of his life, and I had seen what he could do when he fought against that man that attacked us, but still, that was against humans.‘He’s also killed a bunch of rogues,’ Ember reminded me. ‘Have faith in our mate.’While I did have faith in Orion, it was Jordan that I was concerned about. He must have had a backup plan.Orion and Jordan walked to the middle of the field,
Izzy’s pov Sitting next to Orion’s bedside, I felt helpless. I had done all that I could; I had marked him, but Orion still wasn’t waking up. I thought back to when Orion was just injured. I hadn’t seen most of what was happening around me because I was focused on my mate bleeding out, but other people had filled me in on what happened. Jordan had been shouting at his father about how unfair his choice was, and he grabbed the knife blade first. The knife got embedded in his hand, but Jordan didn’t even flinch as he took it out and stabbed his father with it in his chest. The doctors explained that because it was a silver knife laced with wolfsbane, it was making it harder for the body to heal. So when you were cut with the knife, your body responded like a human body would. "Luna Isadora?" a guard asked, sticking his head through the door. "What would you like us to do with the prisoners?" It didn’t register what he was saying until he asked again. "Luna? Your brother and mother
Orion’s povAfter having Izzy in my arms for what felt way too short, it was time for her to tell me everything that happened.Jordan was locked up; he poisoned me using a silver blade with wolfsbane, and she had marked me to help me heal. But there was one thing she wasn’t telling me that I knew deep down to be true.My father was gone.There was this feeling of missing someone, and not just that, I felt so much stronger and so much more connected to the pack. Not that I had that much experience being part of a pack. I had joined just a day before the challenge, but this felt different than before.‘We are the Alpha,’ Knox said, and I was so happy he was feeling better too.The doctor came in before Izzy could tell me more, and he explained what had happened to my body.Apparently the wolfsbane was suppressing my healing, and Jordan had left me on the brink of death. Ripping someone’s throat out does that to a person, I guess. If I didn’t have the tolerance I had for wolfsbane, I woul
Orion’s pov"I will let you rest, but I’d love to talk more after Alpha Ethan’s funeral tomorrow." Danilo said.Nodding in approval while pulling Izzy even closer, I said, "I’d love that too."After my grandfather left the room, we snuggled for a bit until Izzy got out of bed to go to the bathroom. I was still attached to some wires, but most had been removed a few hours ago, and I was starting to feel restless from staying in bed so long. Especially after hearing that Izzy and her brother had been running the pack. This was my responsibility, even if I didn’t know anything about how to run a pack.I got up from the bed, being careful not to get tangled in the wires, and stood up, testing how strong my legs were. The wolfsbane may have made it harder for me to heal, but once it had left my system, my body had worked overtime to correct this. That’s why it took me longer to wake up because my body was using all the strength I had to get better.But I was better. I felt stronger than I h
Izzy’s povWhat Orion lacked in confidence, I had more than enough of. I knew he would be a great alpha, and his choice to change the way we handled our prisoners was just proof of this.Wolves weren’t cruel; they didn’t torture. We had learned that from humans. Yes, our counterparts were more savage when they fought, but what Jordan did—cheating by using a blade—was something he decided, not his wolf.Wolves kill to survive or to eat. Not to see others in pain.So while Orion might think it was a human thing to want to change the system, to me, it just showed how he was more in touch with his werewolf side than he even realized.But we had time to change this pack; first we had to focus on burying Alpha Ethan. Dad, Finn, and Zahra had helped me arrange everything, and I just hoped I made all the right decisions. The whole pack would be there, and it would be the first time they saw me and Orion as their leaders. But it wasn’t just that; I didn’t want to disappoint Orion. This was his