The pack had arrived promptly. They hung around in clusters, whispering and pointing. They knew something big was about to happen. I guess they have been waiting five years for a Luna announcement, and, because I rarely did entire pack announcements, they all knew tonight would be big.Sophie clutched and fidgeted with her hands nervously. On our walk here there had been a lot of what ifs. I tried reassuring her that it didn’t matter what other’s thought as long as we had each other. Knowing this had calmed her a bit.Looking at her now, all I wanted to do was hold her. I wanted to kiss away the fears and worry. I wanted to strip her naked and make her body come alive. Blaze purred at the thought of that, and I chuckled to myself. He wanted me to go to her but she and I both knew we couldn’t display affection just yet. Not with the already large crowd gathering in front of us.As the time to talk neared I began to shake a little. It wasn’

(Warning this chapter contains 18+ content)Eric P.O.V“WAKE UP!” Blaze yelled.I rolled over and moaned. Was it morning already? I hadn’t slept well. Not after last nights events. What should have been a night of celebration ended up being stressful. I know Sophie didn’t handle it well. I woke a few times to find her shivering. I hugged her and held her close to me. I would have thought my body heat and touch would have soothed her, but she didn’t settle. I even tried waking her, but she was in a deep sleep.“Mate is gone!” Blaze yelled.My eyes shot open. Gone? Gone where?“If I knew that I wouldn’t have woken you. Something isn’t right. Dove and Mate are in pain!” Blaze paced in the back of my mind.I leapt out of bed and went straight to the bathroom. There was no sign of her there. I went to the closet and again nothing.&ldquo

Sophie POVStepping outside was the best feeling. I could breathe again. I didn’t look back, I headed straight for the groves. Dove was anxious, I guessed she wasn’t comfortable leaving Eric. I felt drawn to the clearing that was just beyond the line of trees. Dove paced nervously.“I don’t like this, Sophie. It’s not safe without mate.”Don’t be silly Dove. It’s daylight no one will hurt us. I just need to get over there…Dove growled so I pushed her to the back of my mind. What was her problem. I went around the trees feeling the bark. They looked old and weathered and each had its own character. I wanted to feel connected to the earth, so I took off my shoes letting the lush grass spring up between my toes.Out here I had no one angry at me, no one wanting high expectations. It was just me, the sun and the earth. I smiled and let out a sigh. Why couldn’t life be simpl

“What do you mean?” I asked continuing to stand my ground. I would not show him fear.“I didn’t expect you to come to me so willingly.” He looked at me with lust and wanting.“Why did you do this to me? I…I don’t understand what you want.” His hand moved to my arm and he gently stroked up and down. I felt nothing, nothing like before when he touched me in my dream.“Darling, you do understand. We are meant to be together. Eric is using you for his own personal gain. He doesn’t want you as a Luna.” His hand went to my bump and he stroked my belly. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to move. “This pup, I’ll raise as my own. He’s mine just as much as he is yours.”“But he’s Eric’s. Eric won’t stop till he gets his son back.” I was going to play this his way. Just to see how far we’d get. Anger flashed across Blak

Eric P.O.VIt had been four days since I woke up and we were no closer to figuring out how to get Sophie back. We spent most of the time quarrelling. It didn’t help that James still had trouble believing me and it put a strain on our Alpha-Beta relationship. We couldn’t agree on anything anymore and it troubled me.We located Tatiana back at her cottage. She had also been tricked into believing I was the one that released her and that I wanted her back. When she saw me, she flung her arms around me, kissing me. Luke dragged her off and we sat her down telling her she had been tricked into believing I wanted her back. She had insisted that she had felt the mate bond with my doppelgänger. She claimed that the moon goddess had gifted us a gift as second chance mates. To prove her wrong, I clutched her hand and there were no sparks. She was bitterly disappointed.  If anything, it proved that whoever had tricked her was in fact her second chance mate.