I carry my sweet Angel into the dining room. I can tell she wants to put me down, but it’s a testament to how tired she is, that she doesn’t fight me. I’m constantly amazed at how awesome my mate is. Her show of strength with her aura and the ways in which she can direct and redirect it are incredible. Even Cara can’t do what she’s doing. I used to think that Cara was the strongest she-wolf there is, but now I know, my little mate is. When we get inside, I sit her in my lap and order two plates. I want to make sure that she eats. I’m hoping it will perk her up some and I won’t have to put her to bed. I want her to be a part of whatever it is that Ailduin has in store for us. It’s good for her to see what she and her fellow Guardians are capable of. I catch Ailduin watching Angel again. After reconnecting with my mate last night, I don’t feel jealous, but I really wish he’d stop. “I think the aura is like a muscle.” He looks at me as he says it. “I think practice will make her strong

I’m not sure if I should be excited or offended that some of my pack members would rather talk to Angel than me. In truth, I’ve never really seen a pack run with a Luna, except from afar, like with Rik and Cara’s pack. Before now, everything had to come through me. On one hand, it’s a relief, but on the other hand, I never realized that some of my pack members weren’t comfortable talking to me. I guess it does make sense that some things are meant to be discussed with the pack’s Luna. While it’s a transition for me, I’m thrilled that the pack is already comfortable enough with Angel to seek her advice and assistance. I’m kicking myself for not thinking about the Luna’s office. It’s been so long, that I hadn’t considered that she might need her own office. Dustin is giddy in his excitement that Sarah wants to help. It’s exactly what her role will be if she accepts Dustin as her mate. He’s told me he’s talked to her about it and she’s thinking about it. Being human, it’s a lot to take

Over the next few days, Angel inserts herself as Luna of our pack. Her office gets set up, she and Sarah develop a routine and it seems to run like a well-oiled machine. You’d think that they had been friends, planning to be Luna and Beta for years. While the pack is feeling the tension of the upcoming war, the overall feeling coming from the entire pack is one of peace. I’ve done the best I could, trying to be everything this pack needed, but at the end of the day, a strong Alpha isn’t enough. A pack can’t flourish without a heart, and that’s what Angel has given to this pack. I know Angel is worried that we won’t survive this war. But I don’t know how the Moon Goddess could have finally brought us together, given me everything that I’ve ever wanted in life, everything that this pack has needed for years, only to take it away. It just seems too cruel. Warrior training continues to go well. We begin running drills for the non-warriors to get to the bunkers and safe rooms. We assign

I snarl at Keenan’s comment to Angel. I wasn’t sure which one was him, but I knew it had to be one of the two pompous looking leeches. And now I focus my attention on him. He’s mine. For everything he did to Angel, I will kill him. Angel and the power of the Guardians, give them pause, but only for a moment. They must give a signal that I miss, because suddenly, hundreds of vampires are heading our way. Angel, Cara and Clint push out their aura, Angel making sure it’s directed in front of our line of werewolves and fae. A second wave starts almost immediately after the first. The first group runs right into the Guardian aura and are instantly turned to dust. The impact is taking its toll on them because the second wave starts getting through and another wave is right behind them. I see several vampires heading toward Angel and Cara and I jump into the fight. Cyran bursts through at the same time Kai, Rik’s wolf, does. We begin tearing through the vampires. Remembering what they sai

The blast threw everyone into the air and off their feet. When I get my senses back, I realize two things. Angel is unconscious on top of me, and I hear a keening sound in the distance that makes my heart hurt. I sit up, holding Angel in my arms, looking around. There are fae warriors and werewolves around me, shaking their heads trying to figure out what happened, just like I am. I follow the sound of the keening and realize it’s Cara. She’s holding her father’s lifeless body in her arms, rocking him back and forth. Oh no. Please tell me Clint isn’t dead. I see Rik, picking himself up off the ground, going to Cara. He pulls her into his arms and begins rocking her, trying to comfort her. I know the sound a person makes when they lose someone they love. That’s the sound that Cara is making now. It’s the sound of your heart breaking into a million pieces. I know that Clint is dead, and Cara’s heart is broken. What I thought was a bomb going off must have been a power surge from Cara,