'Happy Birthday!' Amelia says as I wake.‘Happy Birthday, Luna!’ Seth cheers. I can't help but laugh.'Who would have thought I'd be celebrating my eighteenth in a cold, dirty cell?' I chuckle. Seth and Amelia laugh. We all go silent in thought.'Astrid?' Amelia says, concerned.'I'm terrified. I'm meeting my wolf tonight. What if Ryker doesn't save us in time? What if James marks me?' I worry.'Let's see if I can mind-link Alpha Ryker. James and John injected wolfsbane into me. But unfortunately, it weakened me and hindered our connection,' Seth says. We watch on as he concentrates, his eyes clouding over.'Is it working?' I ask. Seth nods.'I've gotten through to Alpha Ryker!' He says. I run to my cell door, hold the bars, and partially squeeze my head through them.'Seth, tell him I'm sorry. Tell Ryker I am so sorry. I should not have left. I didn't want to leave!' I yell desperately.'Ryker says he knows. Vanessa confessed everything. Did you know Alice poisoned him so Vanessa cou

AstridFocusing, like Ryker, told me to. My body shifts back into human form. I open my eyes to see myself lying in Ryker's arms. I lock eyes with him, but this time, I see him through my wolf's eyes. 'Mate!' I say, and the world around me disappears. I feel a magnetic rush of endorphins and dopamine sweep through me—the attraction and lust I have for Ryker increase dramatically. I want to touch him, hold him, mark him and tell the world he is 'mine'. My arms wrap around his neck. 'Ryker, I missed you so much! I'm so sorry for leaving.'He wraps his warm, masculine arms around my waist and presses me to his chest. He cups my face in his hands. 'It's okay, babe. I know you didn't want to leave. I'm here now, and that's all that matters.' We stare into each other's eyes, and our mouths smash together. My body ignites with the intensity of our passionate kiss. It sends overwhelming, hot shivers down my spine. We eventually part from the kiss and pant.Ryker lets out a little growl and

Three months later,Gently waking Ryker up, I cover his handsome face in kisses. 'I don't want to wake up,' He murmurs. I throw a pillow at his face. 'Hey!' He sits up and throws a pillow back at me. I lean backward, dodging the pillow. I poke out my tongue: 'Ha! You missed!' I tease.'Oh, did I?' He says, jumping out of bed and running toward me, flinging me over his shoulder and whirling us around in a circle. 'Ryker! Stop!' I giggle. 'You'll make me sick,' I say. Ryker stops.'Well, you're no fun!' He feigns a pout. 'No fun? We are always having fun,' I state. 'True.' He says, lifting me over his shoulder.Ryker runs into the dining room downstairs with a grin on his face. I scream his name the whole way down. 'Ryker!' I yell, trying not to laugh at his playfulness. Finally, he sits in a chair and pulls me onto his lap. 'There, I put you down,' he says, winking at me. I roll my eyes. 'Did you roll your eyes at me, Luna?' he laughs.Everyone at the table eats in silence, smi

'Ryker! My Dad! He kidnapped me!''Are you at your father's house?''No, we aren't at his house. I'm in a big, old shed or run-down, abandoned factory. I've never been here before.''Leon is bringing me a map. We'll mark all the abandoned buildings and sheds and check each one.''You need to hurry. Dad said he would kill our baby.' I hear a ferocious growl through the link.'I'm going to kill him if he lays a finger on you or our baby.'Dad grabs my hair. 'Are you even listening to me? Or are you too busy zoning out?' He yells. 'Ryker is going to find me, and he is going to kill you for this!' I yell. 'Your precious Ryker, hey, so, he's your baby Daddy?' he says.'Yes. Ryker is my mate!' I reply. 'Your mate? And what kind of term is that?' He asks. 'The Moon Goddess chose us to be together. We are soul mates,' I say. He smirks and stands, picking the chair up and throwing it. I watch it smash into pieces. 'Please don't. I'm begging you,' I say as Dad approaches me.He picks up t

‘Come on, Magnus, please play hide and seek with me,’ Nina begs me with her large, brown, doe-like eyes.I walk towards her with abrupt haste. She steps back until she feels the bluestone wall against her back. I tower over her with ease. My mother, Astrid, the Luna of Shadow Crest, always reminds me that when I was born, I was double the size of a regular wolf baby and almost a foot taller and much broader than any other ten-year-old. She says I may even become the mightiest Alpha of all one day.Glaring down into Nina’s eyes, I huff, ‘I’m still mad at you for tricking me into putting salt on my cereal this morning instead of sugar.’Nina’s face lights up with a smile. ‘The look on your face when you ate it, though, was so worth it,’ she giggles.Why do you always enjoy making me the laughingstock of the family? Do you hate me that much?’‘It’s not like that, Magnus. You’re my best friend, always and forever. We are just having fun,’‘Fun! You’re not the one who gets into trouble for