Sapphire stood with Ivory on the second floor of a shop on the edge of the outdoor market. A cousin of Magnus was with them, along with Magnus. The two men were instructing them on what they were expecting from each girl. Sapphire worried about Ivory. She knew she’d say one thing and do another on a whim. She didn’t know which way Ivory would run with any of her stunts, and there was always a stunt somewhere. The problem was, who would then be the receiver of that stunt? Her father? Her mother? Magnus? Herself? Sapphire didn’t know, but she feared the explosion when it happened. “If I even suspect either of you are going to say something off script, I will pull you from that balcony immediately. We are ending this today by removing you from your birth pack. Once you both are gone, it will force your birth pack to renege on their treaty. That will break that treaty and it will force them to leave the region until this is all cleared up.” Ran wasn’t angry as he said t

Sapphire watched in horror as Magnus’ enforcers opened the doors to several shops and wolves poured from the shops. She’d never seen so many wolves. She thought her father’s pack enforcers were a terrifying sight to behold. But here she watched these wolves move fast and with an intent so intense she felt it bordered on feral. Then she found herself and Ivory ushered through the building by several of Magnus’ enforcers. She wanted to go back and watch to ensure Magnus didn’t get hurt. No one listened to her, and she was pushed along out the back of the building. They could hear fierce fighting going on. Sapphire knew a fight could be loud, but this… This was a whole new type of loud. They bundled Sapphire and Ivory into a vehicle and were leaving the area within minutes. Returning to their territory where April waited. She felt the bond break once she finished saying her piece; it wasn’t painful, but it felt… Isolating. Like being in a room full of noise and

Magnus, among others, left people in charge of the cleanup, they charged others in rounding up the injured and dead. It was disgusting how Kilburn abandoned his people as soon as he’d been injured to any extent. He’d not called a retreat. They left his witch mate to announce their plans for continued hostilities. They wanted the girls back and now they wanted blood. Magnus needed to change up things. The pups and maternal pack members needed to be safe. He knew Kilburn didn’t have information on half the pack and he wasn’t a fool. Magnus recognized Ivory could be there to get information on the pack for her father, and that would not happen. “Hey, Ran, we’re cleaning up here. I’m heading back. Make sure you secure your charge. I don’t want her wandering unescorted anywhere. The less she sees and the less she knows, the happier I will be. I don’t want to find out that she’s lying to us and sending her daddy information.” Magnus couldn’t drive right now if he

Hayden lay in the back of the SUV as best as he could. One enemy got in a pretty good bite, and he couldn’t shift now. He wouldn’t die, but this was a pain in the butt. He couldn’t shift, which meant he couldn’t talk. Not until the healers healed enough for him to shift again. April would not be happy with this twist of fate. It would slow down their ability to hunt for whatever was in that hidden place. So there he lay in what should be the vehicle’s trunk and it was a squeeze for him because of his size as a wolf. Every large bump in the road meant his head hit the ceiling of the vehicle. If they didn’t get there soon, he’d probably have to add a concussion to his list of injuries. “How are you holding up back there, Hayden?” He grumbled as best as he could. The vehicle hit yet another bump, and it jostled him, so he snapped at the healer that was questioning them. “Okay, I think he’s telling us we need either a better road or a bet

Magnus found Sapphire in her office, poring over the information there. Notes and requests scattered about her desk. “So, this is where you’re hiding.” He leaned against the doorpost and watched her work before he said this. Magnus couldn’t help but smile at the look that came over her face when she recognized him. Sapphire dropped everything and hurried toward him, but stopped short of embracing him. “You’re injured and now we’re at war.” “Bah, just a few scratches, and he’ll have other things to deal with soon enough. Like fleeing the results of reneging on the treaties.” Magnus wasn’t sure if her feelings conflicted or confused her. “Will it be that bad for them? I mean, it’s my uncle and aunt that are bad. Well, a few of their trusted people. But beyond that, everyone is just trying to survive.” “They will and probably prosper away from here. They’ve been struggling because the land itself was working against them. Now, are you going to