*Maggie*“GAH!” I scream as I bolt upright in a cold sweat, clutching my cracking leg. Spit flies from my lips as I breathe through the pain and try to keep my sobs to myself. I fall back grunting and sobs wrack my body, only making the pain all the worse. My muscles throb and my femur creaks as it tries to find its other half so it can heal. Each agonizing second it inches closer and closer to where it belongs. An audible snap echoes through the darkroom as I pound the ground with my first.“Mother fucker!” I drag my hand to my mouth and bite down, trying to muffle my cries. Shivers wrack my body in a confused state as every part of me tries to decide if it’s found relief or more pain.“What the fuck was that?” a voice asks softly from the corner.“Adriana?” I ask tentatively. “You know me?” She asks.I bend my legs and test it out, k

 A surge of power swells inside of me as my muscles tickle, and I swear I can feel every single one twitching as my clothing grows a little smaller. I close my eyes and breathe through the pressure building in my abdomen as I try to contain it, control it. If I can remain in control for long enough, then maybe, just maybe, this time, it will be different. I have sent every blue moon since my eighteenth birthday hiding from the source of my strength, fighting it off for as long as possible until it outgrew me and took me over. This time I am desperate enough to work with it so I can save the people I care about. If I can channel, or even have some semblance of control over it this time, then perhaps we stand a chance. “Brutus,” Angus calls in the distance as I try to center myself and relax, embracing each wave of power that the moon sends to me. All sounds around me disappear as I find myself swirling in

*Axel*Something tugs at my stomach as I try to find my way back out of my mind. I could feel Maggie, and hear her voice when she was talking about Adriana, but it had taken every ounce of my mental abilities to force the mind link to work. And now I am back to being a passenger and only feeling the emotions of the ultima. He is worried for the first time in all the years of being a part of me and I take that as a terrible sign.A low growl rolls through us in a possessive and angry manner and shows how he is letting me back in. I blink through the fog and look down at my strange looking body and around the courtyard from the tree I am perched in. There are hundreds of werewolves here armed with guns that they train on me and fire. My body acts on instinct as it leaps from branch to branch, trying to avoid getting hit. My eyes search frantically for Maggie. I can’t feel her presence any more and part of me thinks that may be a

Maggie sags slightly and grabs hold of my arm tightly, squeezing it. I look down at her and see how pale she looks. Pain is etched on her face and I run my eyes over her, scanning for something that might cause her such pain. Alpha Wade is next to me within a moment, while his mate tends to Adriana. “The cut on her neck looks deep,” he says, bending down and looking closer. Maggie groans, holding her side, and I look down in shock. I had assumed the injury to her abdomen had already healed. Especially since she had been carrying on normally and her throat had been nearly slit. I bend down and gently pick her up, whisking her to the stairs where the lamps afford us better lighting. Maggie groans again in discomfort as I lay her as gently as possible onto the chipped steps.  “Sit back Mags, let us look, ok?” She nods. Maggie’s top is drenched in her blood and I slide a glance to Wade, who waits for me to lift the hem of her s

The wolf pounces back, snarling and snapping at my ankles as I dodge every blow. My agility and speed are quicker than I am used to as I lash out and slash at his side. He growls in anger at every missed strike and takes a step back to collect my thoughts. The surprise of this wolf’s eyes has thrown me completely off in a panic.  There can’t be two Ultimas. They can’t exist at the same time. It’s never been heard of before. A warm sensation floods through my mind as knowledge of the ultima and what it means somehow fit their way into my mind like puzzle pieces I never knew were missing. Somehow I have answers to all the questions I have ever had about Ultima’s and what they are, what they do. I look at the wolf in front of me with clearer eyes and I understand exactly what is happening. Only one of us can be allowed to live. This fight isn’t about my pack or hatred. This fight is about determining who gets to live the rest of their life.