IZZY POV
“So what do you do, Elias?” Reese asked. I could see his nostrils flaring a little to see if he was a wolf. I didn’t sense a wolf in him, but I wasn’t going to ask. It was kind of like asking someone’s religion or income. If they offer the information, we could talk about it. But only if they offer it.
“I’m a bounty hunter,” he said. Kat was clinging to his arm.
“A supernatural bounty hunter,” she corrected. “He works for the Council, believe it or not.”
Elias smiled. “Kind of. They hire me on occasion. I work for myself,” he corrected her gently.
“Sorry,” she said, smiling. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. I grinned. I was so happy for my friend.
“Tell us about one of your captures,” Destiny asked. She was next to Griz,
IZZY POV I rubbed my swollen belly and sat down behind my desk with a sigh. Baby girl was seriously a week overdue, and I was over being pregnant. I wanted to meet my Talia and that moment couldn’t come soon enough. A lot had happened in the three months since the Summer Solstice Celebration. Elder Voltaire had officially asked permission to join our pack and he put in his retirement notice to the Vampire Council. Apparently, serving as head Council Member for three hundred years was enough for him. We gave the Blood Moon Pack to Griz and Destiny. We talked a long time about it and had first asked Leo if he was interested in taking over for his father. He had vehemently turned down our offer, insisting that he never wanted to see the Blood Moon Pack again. When we had gone to visit, I could see why. The pack needed a lot of work and there was a general sense of discourse. Griz and Destiny agreed to take on the Pack with Griz being named the first non-wolf Alpha of a Pack.
EPILOGUE TALIA POV “Coming!” I answered my mom, looking in the mirror and tucking my hair behind my ear. Today was my eighteenth birthday and I was officially going to introduce my wolf to the Pack. I had technically been able to shift since I was a baby, but we had managed to keep that a secret from almost everyone, though it had been a close call a few times. My brothers were coming back from Mongolia with their mate, Zaria, and their friend, Leo, to help celebrate my birthday. They were on some sort of a mission for the Council, but they got permission to come home for this event. They were twelve years older than me and I liked to tease them about being old. They didn’t think I was as funny as I knew I was. They were cool, though, and all my friends loved my brothers. Their mate was also pretty awesome. She was the daughter of our Beta and one heck of a warrior. She went to the same camp my grandmama was accepted to. Only the best warriors are allowed to go. I ran
Isadora POV The grass was cool under my bare feet and the breeze was sweet smelling. I tipped my head up into the wind and sniffed, appreciating the whirl of scents that it brought me. The season was changing from spring to summer and berries were beginning to ripen. I could smell rain in the distance and the yeasty scent of fresh baked bread wafted from town. I frowned. I could smell something else, something rotten and dirty. I looked towards the woods and could see two men and a woman approaching me. I wrinkled my nose but put a smile on my face. They were probably lost and needed help. They couldn’t help how they smelled. Before my eyes, they turned into wolves. The largest of the wolves bared his teeth at me and growled. I could see the sharpness of his teeth and I could feel the hatred radiating off from him. I cried out and took a step back and bumped into something warm and soft. I turned to see a wolf, the largest and most beautiful wolf that I have ever seen
Chapter 2 ETHAN, REESE and CALEB POV Ethan dumped his tactical bag on the nearest bed and flopped down on his bed across the room, blowing the air out of his mouth. “Today was tough!” he said with a groan. “Yeah, but did you see the look on Jet’s face when Reese came at him?” Caleb chortled. “I thought he was going to wet himself like a pup!” “That was a sick move, Reese,” Ethan admitted. “I would have helped but I was busy with Cole and Andrew.” Caleb threw a wet towel at Ethan. “Cole has no skills and Andrew couldn’t cut a steak with his knives. Not much to keep you busy, dear brother.” He picked up Ethan’s tactical bag and dumped it on the floor. “And keep your sweaty gear off my bed. Put it on your own bed.” “I need my own room,” Ethan moaned. “Me, too,” Reese announced, peeling off his workout clothes. “I hate having to race you guys to the shower.” “We’re not going to get our own room,” Caleb said, practically, for what seemed like the hundredth time. “We’re t
IZZY POV“Ow!” I yelled as my head cracked against the truck window for the third time in less than a mile. Mom was behind the wheel of a rental truck with bad springs. It was the most uncomfortable ride I’ve ever taken. Mom smiled at me, looking excited.“Just a little bit more,” she promised. I looked out the front windshield, a gloomy look on my face. I was excited, but a little nervous. Mom seemed weird when she was telling me about this place.“Tell me again about Moonstone Pack?” I asked, naming the town we were heading towards.“It’s kind of like a gated community, but it’s a whole town,” she patiently explained to me again. “Your Aunt Luna and Uncle Alpha are kind of like the mayors. They run the place. They have triplet boys who will be home from boarding school tomorrow. They’re coming back from Italy. A specialized course of study.”I had heard all this before. I had questions.“So why aren’t we getting our own house?” I pouted. “I don’t want to live with two a
ETHAN, REESE AND CALEB POV“Do you think she’ll like me?” Caleb asked, suddenly in the silence. They were still on the plane, almost ready to land at the closest airport to the pack where their parents would pick them up. “Where did that come from?” Reese asked, taking a long swig from a water bottle. “I spent the last five hours wondering if I was going to like her,” Caleb said. “I didn’t think for a minute what would happen if she didn’t like me.”Reese rolled his eyes. “She’s probably like all the other she-wolves in the pack. Maybe even worse. They’re all full of themselves and busy backstabbing each other to impress the guys.”Caleb was quiet, thinking of this possibility.“Right now it doesn’t really matter if she’s your fated mate or not,” Ethan pointed out. “You’re not eighteen. She’s not eighteen. You can get a good sense of it, but it won’t be confirmed until you’re of age.”“I wonder, though,” Caleb said. “Well, you’ll know in about an hour,” Reese said, lookin
IZZY POVI was in a hurry. I had spent the morning with mom in the basement of the Alpha house. They had a full gym set up down there with weights and exercise equipment and an entire area devoted to what mom called training. It was pretty much her pretending to try to kill me and me fighting back.I was hot, sweaty and so hungry when she finally checked the clock and called it quits.“Sorry, baby girl. I ran us too long. You need to shower quick and get downstairs. The triplets will be home in less than an hour.”I rolled my eyes. I’ve been in this home for less than twenty-four hours and I noticed that whenever anyone spoke of the boys, they called them ‘the triplets’ and had a note of reverence in their voice. I know identical triplets are rare, but it’s not unheard of for crying out loud. I raced upstairs and into my dreamy bathroom. I thought about taking a bubble bath, but I had less than an hour and I really wanted to enjoy my first bath in this room. I hopped into t
ETHAN, REESE AND CALEB POVIzzy stood up from the table and muttered an excuse, bolting out of the room. The boys looked at each other and exchanged glances.“What happened?” Reese finally asked, dumbfounded. His father answered, chuckling.“You overwhelmed the girl, boys. She just got here. Her whole world has been tipped upside down and she has no idea what she’s experiencing. One of you would have been tough for her to handle. Three of you? No wonder she panicked.”Caleb looked sad. “Should we go talk to her? Explain things?”Alessia stood up, pushing her chair away from the table. “No. I had better go. She doesn’t understand what’s going on and I think you would freak her out even more.” She gave the boys a smile, letting them know she wasn’t mad at them. “Why don’t you boys take a trip down to the packhouse after lunch,” his father said, scooping up a big bite of macaroni salad. “I know you have some friends down there who would like to see you before the party tom
EPILOGUE TALIA POV “Coming!” I answered my mom, looking in the mirror and tucking my hair behind my ear. Today was my eighteenth birthday and I was officially going to introduce my wolf to the Pack. I had technically been able to shift since I was a baby, but we had managed to keep that a secret from almost everyone, though it had been a close call a few times. My brothers were coming back from Mongolia with their mate, Zaria, and their friend, Leo, to help celebrate my birthday. They were on some sort of a mission for the Council, but they got permission to come home for this event. They were twelve years older than me and I liked to tease them about being old. They didn’t think I was as funny as I knew I was. They were cool, though, and all my friends loved my brothers. Their mate was also pretty awesome. She was the daughter of our Beta and one heck of a warrior. She went to the same camp my grandmama was accepted to. Only the best warriors are allowed to go. I ran
IZZY POV I rubbed my swollen belly and sat down behind my desk with a sigh. Baby girl was seriously a week overdue, and I was over being pregnant. I wanted to meet my Talia and that moment couldn’t come soon enough. A lot had happened in the three months since the Summer Solstice Celebration. Elder Voltaire had officially asked permission to join our pack and he put in his retirement notice to the Vampire Council. Apparently, serving as head Council Member for three hundred years was enough for him. We gave the Blood Moon Pack to Griz and Destiny. We talked a long time about it and had first asked Leo if he was interested in taking over for his father. He had vehemently turned down our offer, insisting that he never wanted to see the Blood Moon Pack again. When we had gone to visit, I could see why. The pack needed a lot of work and there was a general sense of discourse. Griz and Destiny agreed to take on the Pack with Griz being named the first non-wolf Alpha of a Pack.
IZZY POV“So what do you do, Elias?” Reese asked. I could see his nostrils flaring a little to see if he was a wolf. I didn’t sense a wolf in him, but I wasn’t going to ask. It was kind of like asking someone’s religion or income. If they offer the information, we could talk about it. But only if they offer it.“I’m a bounty hunter,” he said. Kat was clinging to his arm.“A supernatural bounty hunter,” she corrected. “He works for the Council, believe it or not.”Elias smiled. “Kind of. They hire me on occasion. I work for myself,” he corrected her gently.“Sorry,” she said, smiling. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. I grinned. I was so happy for my friend.“Tell us about one of your captures,” Destiny asked. She was next to Griz,
IZZY POV“How are you doing?” I asked Destiny. We were busy hanging decorations around the backyard, and it was the first time I had a moment alone with her in a week. I knew she was feeling really guilty about Kat leaving.She shrugged. “I’m okay. I just feel awful every time I look at Griz. I never intended for her to leave. I just wanted her to be more careful.”I dropped the streamer I was holding and put my arm around her. “I know. And so does everyone else, including Kat. She just needed a change. She spent so much time and effort making sure every part of Cornelius was destroyed that she doesn’t know what to do now. She’s just trying to find her place.”Destiny sighed. “Tell Griz that. He is worried about her.”“She’s moving around pretty quickly,” I offered. “I think sh
IZZY POVThey say a Luna’s work is never done. They’re right.I got back and had my bath and some alone time with my mates, but the pack business didn’t slow down. I was involved in the planning of the half-way house we were building as well as another youth center. I approved budgets and began working on the nursery upstairs, a room we hadn’t used in eight years. And then I began to plan the summer solstice celebration, a tradition that we had upheld since we first started it thirteen years ago.“Black and white this year?” Destiny asked. “I hate black and white,” Lucy said. “It makes everything look so formal and this should be fun.”“Okay. Black and gold?” Destiny was relentless. Lucy threw a wadded up napkin at her.“You only want black because you love it,” Lucy accused her.Destiny shrugged.&
IZZY POVThe gavel dropped and the room exploded. I turned and Kat flew into my arms, hugging me. She wasn’t normally demonstrative, and I was pleased. I needed someone to hug right now, and Kat was perfect.She was also a great bodyguard. She pulled me through the reporters at the door and only got tripped up by one of the fae reporters who used projection to try to block us. Kat pushed him over and got me out of there and into a taxi without further incident.“Keystone Airport,” she told the taxi driver, naming a private airport. I was guessing that my mates had communicated with her.“I can’t wait to get back to the pack,” I said, leaning against the back seat. “I’m exhausted. I just want a bath and an uninterrupted night of sleep.”“I’m not going back with you,” Kat said suddenly. I sat up.“Why?
IZZY POVThe twenty-four members of the Councils filed out, leaving me standing at my table, still in the handcuffs. Thanks to Johan, the handcuffs were the normal ones that they used in the human world which meant I could break them if I needed to, but I wasn’t going to. I wanted the shifter world to see what was going on.After the council members left, Kat walked over to me bringing a couple of chairs. She plopped them down and I gratefully sat. “Did you have a vision earlier?” she asked.I nodded, rubbing my forehead. “Was it obvious?”“To me,” she answered. “I know you. I was about ready to create a diversion.”I chuckled. “You’re a good friend,” I said. A look crossed her face for a second but then disappeared. I had said something that bothered her. Curious.Her phone chirped and she looked at it.&n
REESE POVThere was an outburst from the spectators in the viewing area. The main werewolf and main vampire council members were banging their gavel, telling people to be quiet. We all exchanged grins.“We are not the ones on trial here, Luna,” the main vampire council member said fiercely.“No. You’re not. I am. And I am telling you why I had to do what I did,” Izzy said. She turned to the werewolf council again.“Who among you believed that the prophecy from Nehum thirteen years ago was about me?” She kept eye contact until all twelve members had their hands raised. “And who among you thought that the prophecy was also about my sons?” The same twelve hands were raised.“And the same on the vampire side?” she asked, turning. Reluctantly, some of their heads nodded. The others resolutely ignored her, keeping thei
REESE POV“This session will now come to order.” We were watching the trial on television. The Council, in their infinite wisdom, had decided at the last minute to broadcast the trial on a special encrypted channel that Packs would have access to. We had turned it on first thing this morning when we woke up, looking at an empty room somewhere in Salt Lake. We were watching when the members from both Councils filed in, twenty-four in total. Johan was part of the werewolf council. Alessia had gasped when she saw him take his seat.They had brought Izzy in with handcuffs on. I had roared, losing control of my wolf, but Alessia had wrestled me down. “It’s for show,” she had soothed me. “They’re not silver. Just look. She’s fine. She can break them in a second.” Vin was not convinced but at least he gave me control back.“Isadora Killian, Luna of the Moonstone Pack, you were called before the Council today to answer to an entire list of charges. But you were not the only one