~Tessa~ After rushing to shower, Tessa and Dainin joined the celebration downstairs. The gathering was in full swing with an endless amount of food and entertainment. "It's so nice to see everyone enjoying themselves," Tessa thought happily, feeling fortunate that the beast needed the warriors alive to build his army, otherwise, this may have been a funeral. Her body tensed with the thought it could have been her funeral if it weren’t for Cadence reacting so quickly. "We still haven't seen her," Tessa's wolf pointed out as her eyes scanned the room, but she was nowhere to be found. "Cadence," she tried through the link, but there was no reply. Tessa's chest constricted with worry as she tried to contact Zander, but again, no response. "Something isn't right," her wolf worried, imagining every worst-case scenario of something terrible happening to her Beta and cousin. Before she overreacted, Tessa spotted her Uncle Tyler from across the ballroom and swiftly weaved through the bust
~Cadence~ The smell of leather-bound books, the rough feeling of parchment beneath her fingertips, and the soft glow of the table lamp was all Cadence had to keep her company while she tirelessly searched for an answer that could save them all. Each new sunrise meant another day closer to the fight and even with the packs training harder than ever, wolves were no match against an experienced witch. The archives from the Great War warned a single witch could wipe out an entire battalion if they were powerful enough. Thankfully, it also mentioned a magic binding elixir had been gifted to them by the Moon Goddess herself. Now, all Cadence had to do was find the ingredients for this elixir and make it. The only obstacle was it needed to be injected directly into a witch’s body, like wolfsbane. "We'll find a way to lure her out," her wolf swore. They weren't going to underestimate this witch's power and Cadence was determined to take her out of the equation altogether. It was well past
~Tessa~ Tessa broke the mind link after seeing enough from the past to understand why Cadence harbored so much hatred toward the witches. "Well, they helped attack our pack so that's enough for me to hate them," her wolf stated the obvious, and Tessa couldn't really argue with her. There had been other packs that fell victim to the monster's wrath during his conquest for power and that would mean the witches were accomplices to those murders. "Why did they suddenly decide to betray that thing now? Their combined power should have been more than enough to overthrow or escape their Master," Tessa wondered as a feeling of disgust wracked her body. “So, why didn’t they? Based on the archives about the great war, there has been no contact with a witch or signs of a coven since it ended hundreds of years ago,” her wolf wondered, unsure of what the answer could be. “Could they have actually been working with that monster to get revenge? Do you think others are out there trying to destroy
~Dainin~ Dainin finally escaped the clutches of Tessa’s Grandmother after what seemed like hours. Lori had been proudly introducing and showing off her Granddaughter’s “Alpha mate” and it had been the most intense interrogation he’s ever experienced. They wanted to know everything about him and he hoped his answers wouldn’t damper their excitement. Another popular topic was kids. Whenever Lori mentioned spoiling her future great-grandchildren all of her friends gauged Dainin’s reaction. “It’s like they could sense something,” Dainin sighed, leaning against the wall to take in the cool air of the hallway. He was drained. “They were being pushy, but you held it together. Tessa would kill us if you shared the news without her,” his wolf cringed. He was also enjoying their moment of peace. If it wasn’t for Tessa’s Uncle stepping in, and distracting the women, Dainin may have told them everything. Hearing the front door open, Dainin turned around to find Tessa walking in with Cadenc
~Unknown~ When the young wolf woke from his comfortable slumber, he was surprised to find his captors never found him. His days of freedom had been exhilarating, but the best moments were watching the sunrise and set. While it had only been two days, he would never get tired of seeing the breathtaking beauty for the rest of his life. Before leaving the familiar area, the wolf used the dim light of dawn to sniff around the perimeter of the rundown packhouse. He found all their scents had gone stale, meaning there hadn’t been anyone coming or going since he escaped. He rejoiced at the fact he was finally free. "Isn't this great! We'll never cross paths with them again," he rejoiced, trotting his way back into the forest, but the voice remained silent. The wolf shook it off and continued his exploration where he found a serene lake with a beautiful cascading waterfall running off a tall cliff. He cautiously walked to the water’s edge, enjoying the serenity nature had to offer, but
~Unknown~ “How much further,” the wolf wheezed, frothing at the mouth with his tongue hanging as he ran. Every ragged breath felt like a claw dragging along his throat. His legs burned, shaking with exhaustion, but he forced himself to keep running. The group was already being considerate of his pace, but he knew they wouldn’t be so understanding if he gave up. After what seemed like hours, the black wolf led the group to a stream. The cool water was heavenly against the young wolf’s aching feet, and even more refreshing when it quenched his thirst. The sun was just beginning to rise when they started their journey, but now it was shining high in the sky. Taking another drink, the young wolf observed his escorts. The synchrony of the wolves made him wonder if he stumbled onto a pack's land. His guards always complained about how difficult a Rogue's life was and how packs had it easy. There were also many conversations about invasions and how crossing a pack's border meant certa
~Tessa~ The night sky cast a moonlit shadow over the packhouse, illuminating Tessa's bedroom with a calm sense of tranquility. She slept peacefully beside Dainin, but her few hours of serenity didn't last long when a mind link from Zander woke her from a dead sleep. "We just received an alert of a trespasser crossing our border to the north. I'm taking some warriors with me to check it out. We may not return until this afternoon," he informed her. "Wonderful, let Cadence know when you're coming back. I want her to meet you halfway. Be careful," Tessa ordered, frustration filling her chest. Rogues rarely crossed her borders, but Zander recently discovered rumors were spreading that Blue Ridge was weak after the fight. Now it seemed some wolves were ready to test that theory. “Let them challenge us. They’ll quickly regret it,” her wolf growled. Yearning for a distraction, Tessa pressed against Dainin and gently blew over his mark. Excitement warmed her body when he began to stir.
~Tessa~ While Tessa was busy searching for any reports made about a possible missing pack member, a few hours passed. She knew something like this could have happened before she was even appointed Alpha. “Surely my father or John would have noticed,” she questions, but just thinking of that traitorous, vile man caused anger to erupt inside her. He wouldn't have cared if a pack member went missing, or worse, he could have been involved and covered it up. "Maybe this wolf heard something he wasn't supposed to,” her wolf wondered, knowing John was a man of secrecy. Guilt crept into Tessa’s mind as she thought about any possible way she could have stopped something like this from ever happening. "How many more members became victims of his schemes," she shamefully thought, fighting the bile that rose to her throat at the endless possibilities, but she failed and made a quick dash to the bathroom. As the contents of her stomach emptied into the toilet, pleasant sparks danced over her s