*** Manzitti *** I feel alive, like the very blood that runs through my veins is electrified. I am going to be as one with my fated mate and from the way Roman is reacting, I think he is content with the arrangement. He has chanted “Mate” non-stop since I shifted back. He is chirruping and howling with ecstasy. I have never felt him this exhilarated over anything ever before. Our Helen, our mate, she completes us. She makes us stronger. She gives life a whole new meaning. I have never felt so invincible before. Ivan meets us at the door when we return to the Packhouse. Alpha, there is some unrest among the pack regarding your human mate. I have told them to get over it and that this is happening, she belongs to you, and you are keeping her. I’m not going to command it; I am going to show it. I will show them all how well suited we are. I will demonstrate why I believe in her ability to be their Luna. I will try to be patient and give them time to adjust. This is happening with or

*** Halle *** ~*~ Four Hours Earlier ~*~ My phone ringing in the middle of the night wakes me from a deep sleep. I check my alarm clock before answering: it’s 2am, this best be good. Brad mutters in his sleep and Summer is in a travel cot at the bottom of our bed, flat-out. “Hello?” I answer in a sleep-filled voice. “Halle? It’s Lieutenant Slayne Goldrick. I’m sorry to disturb you like this but we have a problem.” I dart up in bed. “Ale, wake up now. ALE!” I give him a sharp kick in the ribs, and he grumbles as he opens his eyes. “Slayne, what has happened?” “Manzitti and Helen are missing. They took a buggy car out at midnight. Don’t ask me why. The tracker alarm sounded, telling us they crashed, but we can’t find them. The tracker is now placing the car in The Moon Stone Territory and if they are there, this is bad, really bad. Manzitti was told we are not welcome on their land and Helen’s human.” My heart sinks as I take all that in. I really didn’t need to be adding furthe

*** Helen *** The heat of Manzitti’s stare warms me into a wanton frenzy, but I cannot back down too easily. I am sick of feeling hurt and rejected and lacking. I need to know that he accepts me for me and that all I am will be enough for him. I love him, but if loving him means I have to spend the rest of my days feeling inadequate then I will take my chances on spending it alone. He loves us, the gentle voice from within tells me and it finally clicks into place: I am not crazy or hallucinating. It’s my wolf. I have a wolf. “Manzitti, can you have a wolf and not know it? And how do I find out?” He gives me a huge smile which melts me even more. I can try to resist him and his charm but ultimately, I love this stupid man and I do want to be with him. “Can you feel her, Helen? Roman said he could. He said she is buried deep inside you, but she is there. Maybe you could try and talk to her?” I give him an incredulous look since I have no idea how to do that. “How? How do you talk

*** Xavier *** I had banished everyone from my lands in a fit of rage and now my daughter hasn’t returned to speak to me. A yearning in my chest was stopping me from doing anything else. I needed to see her again, I wanted to know her. My little girl. She is a beautiful woman now and from the tiny scraps of information her mother fed me, I know she was married with a child of her own and living in Germany, she was training to be a doctor. So how did she end up in my territory, mated to my enemy? No doubt her mate will keep her away from me now, and I hated that he had something so powerful to use against me. I had enjoyed testing the boundaries of Alpha Manzitti, who was a stark contrast to his own father. I had never liked Alpha John Goldrick and the incident that caused our fallout had always stung me. I had been painted as immoral for what I had done but I had stuck to the laws of our kind. I did not betray any of our customs and yet I was treated as though I had. I have summone

*** Manzitti *** My mate holds her head high and puts on a serene performance as we walk into the meeting room that holds her father. Although I can feel her trembling and I can feel her fear, yet like the graceful swan she is, she looks in perfect control. I couldn’t be prouder of her. “Welcome Alpha Xavier…” I go to greet him, but he rushes to Helen. “My little girl, my little Helenngelina, after all this time.” Helen takes a wary step back from him. “Xavier, give her some space please. She has only just found out about you, and this has come as a shock to her.” The anger and hurt is evident in his eyes but I don’t really care. My priority is my mate. “Sorry, I’m so sorry, I just never thought I would get to meet you. You are so beautiful, and look, you are mated to an Alpha.” He looks between us both expectantly, and realises this is not the time so he lowers his head before he continues. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to do this. I have dreamed of this moment your whole life an