Still flustered from his moment alone with Angel, Layon was entirely unprepared to face the fairy queen. She sat upon her throne made of twisted tree roots and branches, a crown of grape vines upon her head, the most ethereal and regal beauty that Layon had ever seen in his life. Yet it was not a beauty that could be entirely attractive because beneath it was a sense of danger, a sense of wisdom, an ageless being that seemed to be able to maim and kill with a look. She could not be looked upon for very long and Layon found himself bowing his head low in her presence, confused by the feeling of submissiveness she caused within him as his wolf tried to battle against it. "Why are you here?" the queen demanded, her voice both musical and menacing, sending a shiver down Layon's spine. "We have come to bring my sister, Reebah Silverdale, home," Layon announced, then thinking quickly he added, "Your Majesty." He could feel her ice-cold stare on him and was more than a little relieve

They might have been lying there for several minutes or even hours.Layon couldn't be sure, but he found it was not long enough when he heard the sound of knocking on the guestroom door. Angel tensed against him. Stroking her hair back from her forehead, he kissed her gently upon the head before calling, "What is it?""Your sister and the queen's grand-nephew arrive, sir!"yelled one of the guards from the other side of the door. At the same moment, Layon andAngel broke into action, offering each other an alarmed glance as they hurried to make themselves more presentable. Layon couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he watched Angel flit up from the bed, looking almost as thoughshe were a fairy herself in her long silken gown.His attention was drawn away from her by the opening door, and he found that he only just managed to drag his pants back on before his sister and her boyfriend wandered into the room. Reebah's face twisted with a look of disbelief the moment she entered.

Returning to Dale was harder than Layon ever expected. Leaving Angel at her apartment, unsure as to whether anyone might come looking for her, was even harder. "I'll put everything right," he'd promised even as he'd left her at her door with a kiss. "I'll win the alpha challenges. I have to. For us. But if I don't, I want you to run. Run and make contact with Reebah. I'll find you." Angel had cupped his face, looked him dead in the eye, and stated, "I don't need to run. You'll win." Her faith in him was all he had to hold onto now as he faced down his father. The Dale alpha stood in his study with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Layon with such intensity that his son could almost feel his skin burning. "Explain yourself!" Layon sensed the guards waiting outside the room flinch and barely managed to stop himself from doing the same. He couldn't afford to show any weakness right now. Instead, he thought of Angel and of Reebah and Chris and even Jason, who would be d

It had taken months to talk his father round, insisting that everything was different now that the future of their pack was secured, but now he finally had some good news for his mate. AS he had convinced her to move to Silverdale Manor and out of her rat-infested apartment, Layon had only a short distance to travel from his room to hers, and he did so with an extra bounce in his step that morning, anticipating her reaction to all he had to share with her. When he knocked, his insides began to twist with anxiety. What if she rejects me? he thought in the moment before she opened the door. Living at Silverdale Manor had been an amazing thing for Angel. She had become even more radiant since the stress and hardship had been lifted from her shoulders, and her smile warmed his heart when she gazed at him with affection and welcomed him into the room which she had clearly made her own, with all her little knick-knacks and her baby blanket, which she insisted upon keeping at the end of

Even after several days and certain that he had managed to wash Lara’s scent from his skin, Jason found he could barely look Layon Silverdale in the eye. Standing in the library of the Silverdale Manor with his hands clasped behind his back, Jason chose instead to avert his gaze to the floor as he listened to the latest report from his future alpha. “We’ve had reports of strange wolves in the area,”Layon explained, running his fingers through his glossy black hair as he sat on the desk where his father usually sat in order to give them their orders. Already Layon was looking like the embodiment of an alpha, sitting all high and mighty in his father’s chair, and Jason couldn’t help but feel a twisting in his gut whenever he thought of what his best friend might do if he found out about him and his ex-girlfriend. “Tyson and Lukas even scented a couple within the boundaries of the community, but what we can’t figure out is how they are getting in.” Stop thinking about Lara and focu