ADDIE POV“Hey, Little Pup.” The man spoke those words to me, and I grinned back at him. “Hey, James,” I said, lowering my stance into a fighting pose. The bell dinged. He didn’t move, just kept grinning at me.“I really missed you,” he said, standing still, turning his palms to me, body relaxed. James. Why did I know that his name was James?Mate. I heard Talia say, quietly. I stilled. Talia? I asked. Are you back?We’re back, Little Pup, she said, and I felt a warm feeling flood me. I looked over at James, seeing him again for the first time. His scent washed over me, blueberry pancakes, freshly mowed grass and cloves. Mate, Talia said, again, louder this time. I knew. I could feel him. “James,” I said, quietly but with emotion. He could hear the connection in my voice. His grin got bigger. “Oh, Addie. I’ve missed you so much!” He still stood there, not moving. I was acutely aware of the crowd, silent, watching our exchange. “Throw me in the river so I can take

ADDIE POVWe landed and hopped from the plane to the helicopter. Light was just peeking over the mountains and James was trying to decide whether to take the helicopter straight to the Packhouse or have it land the next town over and we run in. Bruce pointed out that we were so close to the end that we didn’t want to jeopardize anything, so James decided that we would run in.The helicopter landed about fifty miles away in a remote little town. The pilot borrowed the local hospital’s pad so that it would look even less suspicious. We walked into the hospital and then out the back door and into the wood. I folded up my clothes neatly behind a tree, hoping someone would find them and enjoy them. We shifted and then raced for the pack in the early dawn hours.James mind linked the warriors on Patrol and we were met as soon as we crossed into Packlands. Many of the warriors came up and nuzzled Talia. Scout gave a low bark and we continued on, right to the Packhouse. Most Packhous

JAMES POVI thought after Danny’s death that the battle would start winding down. It didn’t. If anything, it fueled the enemy warriors, and they started fighting harder. “Cover me,” I said to Addie. “I’m going to try to see what these guys are thinking.”She nodded, looking as perplexed as I felt. Rules of engagement for werewolves is fairly simple. Fight until there’s a victor. But if you’re fighting on another’s land and your leader, the reason you are here, is killed, most of the time the enemy retreats. Why continue to fight a fight that has no point?I wondered, briefly, if they were fighting for Zoe. I tried using my gift on a few warriors and got nothing. Absolutely nothing. I thought, for a moment, my gift had failed, and so I looked at one of my warriors. His mind was screaming out countermoves a split second before he did them. My gift was fine. Something was wrong with the enemy warriors.I ducked; one of the enemy warriors had made it past Addie and took a s

ADDIE POVJames picked me up bridal style and carried me out of the cafeteria, me trying not to giggle and disturb the patients. A few of the patients watched us warily, but I was past the point of caring. When we passed the guards, James put me back on my feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me out the front door. He took off at a slow jog and I followed him, surprised that he didn’t have a vehicle waiting for us. No big deal. I had been inside for too long and needed the fresh air.I was surprised that it was so dark. The moon was a fingernail sliver in the sky, but it was bright enough to light up the ground, deepening the shadows. James tugged me towards the woods, and I followed him.We walked down a narrow path, hand in hand, enjoying each other’s company. We ended up at the lake that Emily delivered her baby but a little bit further down the beach. The moon left a silvery trail down the center of the lake, and it was beautiful.“This is gorgeous,” I breathed out. “Yes, y

ADDIEI looked over at James. I didn’t know Dr. Joanna as well as he did, and I wasn’t as trusting as he was. It scared me that she knew about my gift, and it scared me that she had a gift of her own.“How does that work for you and for us?” I asked. Both of them looked at me with confusion.“James is unaffected by my gift unless he wants to be,” I explained. “He has to literally want to be controlled by my gift. Same in reverse. I have to want him to read my mind. You figured out my gift because you somehow recognized what I was trying to do during the battle. Can you use your gift against me?”Dr. Joanna grinned. “Don’t know. I haven’t ever tried. As you know, there’s not many of us out there.” I nodded, acknowledging that point. “I’ll try. Be prepared to duck.”She pointed to a paperweight on her bookcase and it came flying at me. I ducked but I didn’t have to. The paperweight struck an invisible barrier and dropped to the ground. I sucked in my breath. “That is s