SYDNEYI stood with my hands laced over my belly, my back against Quade's chest, and his hands over mine. Monica and Lana had just arrived and we all wanted to give them the homely welcome they always received. Because this was their home, they were always welcome here. Monica spent more time here than she spent in her own pack. Mom thought it had a lot to do with the fact that she lost her wolf all those years ago."Gracey baby," Monica gushed with enthusiasm, throwing her arms around mom's shoulders and wrapping her legs around her waist, "I missed you."Mom caught her with ease, laughing at the antics of her best friend, "Yeah, Yeah. I missed you too, Mono," she replied between bubbles of laughter.Monica slipped both feet on to the ground, finally letting go of mom and giving my dad a once over, "Daddy Silas," she taunted, shooting him a wink that had my father awkwardly shifting from one

SYDNEY"As far as I know, there are only two ways for his body to end up like that: either another vampire or werewolves," I pointed out, taking a seat behind my desk.In my study with me was Tane, Quade, Victor, my parents, my brother, and Xander. It was a full room but I hadn't stopped there. The moment I entered the pack house I had a conference call set up. The two betas from the packs I had taken over, the head of the hunter's circle, and Tiana and Zephyr were listening in."I'm not seeing what the big problem is," the head of the hunter's circle quipped. He was a middle-aged man with solidified beliefs that couldn't be changed. Therefore, I expected his response, "vampires are blood-sucking vermin anyway. You say we shouldn't kill your kind because you're harmless to humans but they aren't. They deserve to die.""Is this your way of admitting it was you who did this," Zephyr sneered, tak

SYDNEY"I'm sorry, it's what she wanted and I couldn't say no," Quade mumbled for the umpteenth time, "she wanted to be with him. If I didn't do it, she would have gotten someone else to."And I understood that. I knew what the need to be with your mate felt like. Being away from Quade for two days left me restless. The thought of Ambrosia living her life without Dimitri sounded like a form of torture I wouldn't even wish upon my worst enemy. Vampires were different from werewolves in that sense. When their chosen mate dies, they had to go on with their immortal life bearing that pain."I know, Quade," I breathed, looking down at the grave we had buried the two in.Dad wanted to bury them with our fallen warriors because they were one of us. We would have waited for Julian's presence but the other wolves were getting uncomfortable with dismembered vampire body parts being kept in the morgue.

QUADEI stood at the window of our room, bathing in the silver glow of the moonlight. It wouldn't be silver for too long. Each member of the pack could already feel the effects of the blood moon. I hated feeling so fucking weak. My mind felt caged as the moon suppressed my beast. The pack link was no longer in play as well. With everything that had been happening, the blood moon couldn't have picked a worse fucking timing. We were left completely and utterly defenseless against anything that wanted to attack us. I didn't want to show it because stressing Sydney was the last thing I needed to do but I was scared. We all were scared. Julian already took up residence in the holding cell for the night. Silas and Victor were there to watch over him if anything had to go wrong. I remained with Sydney, knowing if he got out, her scent would draw him to her. She smelt more human than wolf which was a massive downside in such a situation. The more I

QUADEMy father's fear was palpable. I could feel it pricking the tips of my fingers, could taste it on my tongue — it was my favorite type of poison. It had been so long since I had felt this rush of adrenaline filling me. My body was on a high I never realized I missed. Even through the fucking pain and exhaustion I couldn't get enough of the pleasure coursing through my system. As sadistic as it sounded, knowing I outsmarted my father had me on cloud fucking nine. He thought he could kill me during the blood moon. He didn't realize it wasn't me meant to be dying today.I had too much to live for now. Then, I would have happily died for my course. Now, I had no other choice but to win. For Tatum, for my pack, for Sydney and our pup, but most of all for myself. I held out this long so I couldn't lose now. It would be a crying fucking shame if I made it this far to lose against a cunt that couldn't beat me fair and square.