Tatiana returned from her walk to find Luca in the lounge talking with Augustus. Elspeth was out. When Augustus caught sight of her, he nodded at her and excused himself to the other room. Luca stood up and walked towards her. He ran his warm hands down her arms and grabbed a hold of both of her hands. He looked tired and lost.   “Will you come back to our room? I would like to talk to you.”   Tatiana nodded and followed him down the hall, still

Luca ducked into the car to hand Tia her coffee, but knew instantly something was wrong. He found her with glazed over eyes slumped against the seat. Luca dropped the coffee. He climbed in and grabbed her shoulders. He shook her and called her name.“Tia, can you hear me?”She inhaled sharply and sputtered and coughed. Tia hadn’t been breathing. He shook her again and her eyes focused. She shoved him away.“No! It is happening again. You pulled me out too soon!”Luca put his hands on her face and forced her to look at him.“What are you talking about? You weren’t breathing. You scared me to death.”“Luca, I saw it. Another wolf was being attacked, but then I saw him.”“Saw who?”“I saw the

As Ari sat by the fire, he helped himself to a second serving of stew. Being at a more established camp than his own and having someone to talk to felt nice. He enjoyed Gaby’s company. She seemed very protective of her group of misfit rogues. Werewolves were pack animals, so it was smart to form their own pack of sorts. Life is rough and dangerous as a rogue. No protections exist like those afforded to members of a pack. He was transient by choice, but most rogue werewolves did not have a choice.He sensed someone looking at him, and he looked up to find Dorthea watching him. She shuffled over and sat next to the fire. They both watched the flames in silence.“Gamma, instead of seeking revenge, your destiny here is one of leadership and healing. Your presence here will determine the fate of my people.

The next morning, Tia left Luca in bed. He needed the sleep, and she wanted to get to Rialto Village early to fit in extra training sessions. Ryder dropped her at the Village on his way into Port Angeles. She had mind-linked with Gaby before she arrived, so everyone had already assembled. Tia first checked in on the last attack victim, Tyler, but he was healing well. He told her everything he could remember, and Gaby filled in any missing details from the Gamma.Everyone greeted her enthusiastically. It was nice to see them all. They were concerned about Luca since he did not come to training. Tatiana assured them Luca was doing exceptionally well, and she merely wanted to give him a day off to finish healing. As training began, Tia realized she was still healing as well. She tired quickly. Gaby helped out. She had become a warrior and was Tia’s star student. Tia was proud of her for all the hard w

Luca went to Tatiana’s side. As he saw her condition up close, He let out a haunting howl. It made him sick to his stomach. They brutalized her body in so many ways; he was not sure where to start. Her blank, lifeless eyes stared past him. Luca put his hands on her shoulders and closed his eyes. Although his heart felt as if it were being torn from his chest, he had no time to grieve. He focused his energy on her and let it flow from his hands. His hands warmed her cold skin, but she remained unresponsive. Although Luca was not supposed to raise people from the dead, he prayed to the moon goddess that this would work. He had to bring her back because he did not want to live in a world without her. As he let his strength and energy flow into her, he felt nothing but vacuous emptiness. Tears streamed down his face, but he kept at it. Although she showed no visible change, Luca continued to focus completely on healing her. The cold, dark emptiness inside her was something he had never f