Holding two glasses of ice tea, I watch Kane from the backdoor. He’s sitting on the porch, holding his head in his hands. The oaths were brutal and took a lot more out of him than the rest of us. As he did with the messengers, he took most of it on himself, but there were a lot more this time, and he could barely move.Adare toddles up to his father and pats his thigh. “Papa,” he says.Kane lets go of his head and looks down at his son who is holding on to his leg for support. Groaning softly, he leans over and picks the baby up to sit on his lap. “And what did you do with yourself all day?” my mate asks.Adare frowns at Kane. “Papa,” he says again. “Papa sah?”I almost fall on my back. It’s not so much the fact that he’s putting words together that surprises me, it’s that he can tell his father isn’t feel well. My mate, though, is unperturbed. “Yes, Daddy’s a little sad.” He taps the tip of Adare’s nose with his finger. “But less sad now that you’re here.”I walk out onto the porch a

“Goddess, Willow,” Kane says and kneels next to me, taking my hands in his. “Do you understand the risk you took? What if Carmine didn’t die of poisoning? What if Logan ripped his throat out, or--”“Thomas asked Logan how he did it…he wouldn’t have asked if the cause of death was obvious.”Kane let out a stuttering breath. “What did you see?”“His aura…it looked like the black smoke that came out of the oath box.” I looked at the box on the table. It looked innocuous, just sitting there, but we both know the terrifying magic contained within. “And…I could smell it. I’ve never smelled an aura before. It was like…rotten meat and garlic.” I gagged a little. “He wants you dead, that’s all I know.”“The box would have rejected his oath. I could have killed him based on that.”I shake my head. “I can’t tell you how I know this, but…no. He has a way around it.”“Shit,” Kane says and falls back on his ass. “This is bad. If he found a way…it means others…Goddess, what are we doing to do?”“Tom

Kane's POVWe stare at the television in my office in silence, watching as yet another pack is wiped out by The Templars on live television. This is the seventh pack in four weeks that is being annihilated. A small pack that belongs to another king, but it doesn’t matter…the whole world’s werewolves are my responsibility now.Innocent’s feeding us the information as promised, but always on very short notice, never giving us enough time to launch a proper defence, or for the targeted Alphas to prepare.After the third attack, I contacted one of my Gammas, Shawn, who was posing as a Templar. I made sure to establish a mind link with him before he left with Innocent. He had taken Lester’s place as Innocent’s second in command, and he swore up and down that The Pope was giving me the information as soon as he received it.The story we concocted to explain Innocent’s absence was relatively simple: Drummond captured him on the night of the failed attack on Silver Star, but with the help of

I feel around the dark until I find one of the bunk beds and sit down. I am numb. The magic I used did something to me, stole a part of my soul. Arlene blunders around the room, cussing as she slips in blood and bumps into furniture in the cramped space. Soft blue light fills the interior. The she-wolf found an emergency light. “What happened?” Arlene asks. “What did she do?” “Nothing,” Tully says. “That’s what we’ll tell people. She did CPR and resuscitated the baby.” “Yes,” Arlene agrees. “Yes, I think that’s for the best.” I stare at Adare who is sitting on the bed next to Tully. He notices my eyes on him and gives me a big smile. He turns onto his belly, slides feet first off the bunk and runs over to me. He pats my leg. “Mama,” he smiles, drool running down his chin. “Ada luh.” I smile, but it’s a conditioned response. There’s no emotion behind it. “Mommy loves you too, my big boy.” I pick him up and hold him close. “Ada luh,” he says and pats my back. The numbness slowly l

Kane's POV A long time later, I still watch Willow sleep. Her strange rollercoaster emotions are concerning me. It’s almost as if she’s trying too hard to think with her head and not her heart, and when she needs her head, she goes with her heart and vice versa, and it's fucking her up. I’m convinced Silke has something to do with it. She changed after she met the völva. I get up to fetch Adare for the night, hoping that Willow doesn’t wake up again. She doesn’t know, but she wakes frequently during the night, calling out various names – mostly her father's, but every so often her mother’s or Innocent’s will make an appearance. The nightmares are riding her ragged. I remember reading about a mythical creature called a Mara. I don’t know if they’re real or not, but I’m starting to think I need to find out. I wash, then go in search of my son. My mother is sitting on the porch with him, watching the mid-summer sunset. “It’s late,” I say. “He needs to be in bed.” “You need to eat and