KADE “So, essentially we have no leads, no idea where she is, or who the fuck took her?” My voice was dripping with the anger and pain that was tearing through me. Apollo scrubbed his hand over his face and sighed. I saw how this was weighing on him, and I really was not trying to be a dick, but I could not lose her again like this. The last time she was taken still haunted me. The things they did to her. The blood. Her naked and torn body chained to the wall. I felt hands on my shoulders, but I was just stuck in an endless loop of what was happening to her right now. My chest constricted as my breathing became erratic. Second by second, the panic lessened, and I could finally breathe. I looked up and saw Dante, realizing that he must have pulled that from me like how he pulled the pain from Elle’s dream that time on the jet. “Thanks,” I mumbled. “Anytime. We’ll find her, and whomever is responsible will wish they never even looked at her,” Dante promised. I looked around at t

ELLE “We need to let you in on something before it’s announced later,” Kade said. Our people had all gathered together for a private breakfast. It was provided by the Board because they obviously felt guilty for what happened. Their delicious food would not buy us off, but we would definitely enjoy it. Not even monsters could turn down homemade cinnamon rolls. “Last night, Luna was kidnapped by some of the Alphas, Lunas, and one Beta from packs competing in the games. They had the help of security personnel to sneak in aerosolized wolfsbane and helped sneak her out of the territory. Luckily, we got there before anything serious happened. Luna proposed that their packs should still be allowed to participate after we determined that others from their packs were not at fault. However, those at fault were detained and will be answering to the Coverstone Council with Luna as the master interrogator. For those who didn’t know, she’s highly skilled in the art of interrogation.” All eyes t

ELLE Everyone was eager for the Award Ceremony. We all worked our asses off this week. There were some minor injuries on our team, but nothing too serious. Kade and I were so incredibly proud of our pack. It was a safe bet that we would take first for a ninth year in a row. We had quite a few people who were the last contenders in their categories. “I love it,” I told Brianna as I took in bouncing curls she put in my hair. I donned a dark and light gray ombre beaded halter dress that ended a couple of inches above my knees. It was a gorgeous dress that cinched in all the right places. Tinsley did my makeup for me which included a double wingtip eyeliner with a mixed-tone gray and purple smokey eye. A light pink gloss over my lips finished it off. It was minimally classy. “Good to know. I think Alpha will too,” she said, winking. Everyone else agreed with her. “How about we go find out then if everyone’s ready.” Even my voice had a hint of the butterflies that were currently takin

ELLE Pylorna was more than happy to spend the night undercover. She said that she needed some ‘me time’ so that she could get a break from her extensive band of brothers. I could not imagine having all of them. Sixteen brothers sounded like an aneurysm waiting to happen. She actually captured someone who was in that area last night and brought him back to the cells. This was why I knew she was the right one for the job. “Do you want to take the lead on this?” Kade asked as we stepped into the elevator. We were on our way down to interrogate the prisoner. I bounced on the balls of my feet with that question. I never realized that I would be good at interrogations, but apparently I was. It was always very entertaining for me to see even the strongest-willed idiots melt into a puddle of helplessness. “Are you sure you don’t want to play too?” I asked him. Caiathus, Dante, and Kade all cracked up laughing with my question. Theirs were those deep laughs conveyed their amusement loud a

KADE I had always thought Faye’s name was ironic once we started working with Caiathus. Never realized until last night that it was more reality than anything. Tyre and I were both thrilled with the idea that we would be able to help protect not only our mates but our pack better now too. The idea that we could control shadows was honestly a bit daunting. However, Faye promised to safely teach us just as Elle was taught. The first lesson came when I woke up to a blanket of shadows moving over the top of us. It freaked me out, but Faye helped me focus and understand what was going on. Shadows were not just a trick of the light because they had an energy to them as well. Shadow Wielders, which was what we were now, could manipulate and control that energy. The only reason that the shadows converged this morning was because we needed to establish a bond to the shadows. That was how I came to be standing in a room with a damn audience because Elle thought it would be really cool for t