Nathan POVI have doubled the patrol around our territory and sent my scouts further afield, so we are warned when Nicole's mate turns up. He is coming; there is no doubt in my mind. I can't fault him for wanting to find his family; I would move heaven and hell to find Layla if someone took her. I rub her back as I say,“Layla, sweetheart, wake up.”She moans, moving closer to me,“It's too early, Nathan; come back to bed.”I would love to crawl back into bed with her, but trying to stop Neo from claiming her is torture. I shake her again. My voice is rougher than I intended when I say,“Layla, you need to get up; I only have a couple of days to show you everything you need to know before Jackson attacks.”She sits up, rubbing her eyes, “I’m awake. Just let me have a shower, and I am all yours.”I groan. My eyes travel along Layla’s body; not yet, you aren't, but you soon will be. Neo’s laugh fills my mind; Layla thinks I’m bad. If she knew what Neo wanted to do to her, she would run

Sasha POV The shock on Isaac's face is the reaction I was hoping for; I let my shirt slip off my shoulder, exposing more of my scar, and clutch at his chest. “Please help me, Isaac.” He runs his hand through his greasy black hair before he sits next to me, asking, “Does anyone else know your Michaels daughter Sasha?” “No, Michael said he would kill me if I told anyone.” “What about Layla?” My voice trembles with fear as I say, “She treated me like her personal slave Isaac; the lies she told about me caused everyone in our pack to hate me.” He looked puzzled, frowning at me, and asked, “Then why not leave her where she is and let her suffer? Why should we help her?” I whimper and whisper, “I thought you loved me?” “I do, Sasha, but we can claim this territory as ours.” I smother the growl that rises from my chest, gritting my teeth. Losing my temper won't get me anywhere, so I cover my face with my hands and sob loudly. Isaac moves closer to me, and I sink into his arms a

Layla POV Nathan and I have not been able to spend any time alone since he started preparations for Jackson's attack. Lea's voice has been grumbling in my head all morning. “We should just mark him and be done with it, Layla.” “No, Lea, he can't afford any distractions right now.” She snorts, rolling her eyes as she recedes to the back of my mind. I understand her frustration. Nathan's scent makes my mouth water; the thought of not having him beside me is terrifying. I just want all this over and done with so we can start our life together, the idea of having a pup of my own has never been something I had thought about before I met Nathan, but now I cant wait to have a family with him. I won't lie; I am still angry about not fighting alongside him, but mom has assured me she will be able to stop Jackson from attacking us. My heart starts to race; my breathing quickens; fear consumes me. I know it because I am scared that I will lose Nathan. I whisper a little prayer to the moon-g

Nathan POV My wolves slowly emerge from the bunker; Alec squeals with delight when he sees Jackson; he was running so fast I thought he would face plant the ground. When he reached his father and wrapped his little arms around his knees, Jackson picked him, swinging him in the air. Nicole chuckled as Marian whispered something in her ear, her face reddening slightly. I decided to give him some time to reunite with his family. I think there is more going on than we know about; we still don't understand why the mutt brought Nicole to our territory. As soon as Amy sees Drew, she runs toward him, jumping into his arms, knocking him off balance. He falls, taking her to the ground with him, laughing as she smothers him with kisses. Drew gets to his feet and offers Amy his hand, pulling her up and wrapping his arms around her protectively. I can feel the tension coming off him; he is still pissed that we have unknown warriors on my land. Layla hasn't come out of the bunkers yet; I don't thi

Layla POV The shock from ice-cold water hitting my face wakes me up, I jerk backward, smashing my head against the stone wall behind me, and my ears ring as pain flows from my head to my shoulders. Rough hands grab me, pulling me to my feet; pins and needles run through my arms and legs as my circulation returns—Isaac grunts when my legs give out from under me. Sasha growls as she helps him attach the shackles around my wrists to the silver pin in the roof. My arms are stretched above my head; my feet can't touch the ground. My wrists burn, my elbows hurt, and the muscle in my shoulders scream for mercy as they support all my weight. The pounding in my head gets louder; my breathing is shallow, and my broken ribs grind against each other when I try to breathe. Wolfsbane mixes with the damp stagnant air that fills the cave. Sasha slaps my face sharply; the sound echoes in the confined space. “Wakey, wakey sis.” As soon as I hear her nasal voice, flashes of what happened last night