I head upstairs, trying to remember which room they put me in. A door opens and Cayd walks out. “Hey big guy,” he says to me. “Hi Cayd. Can you tell me which room I’m in?” I watch as he lifts his head, sniffing the air. “That one,” he says, looking at me. “Is everything okay?” I nod, not feeling like talking and worried that I’ll embarrass myself and start crying. I get to my room and close the door. I look around. Nothing here is familiar. There’s a loveseat in the room and I go to sit on it, pulling a small pillow into my lap and holding it against me. If Maeve is married, she’s going to leave. What if her husband, Xander, doesn’t like me? I’ve heard that animals in the wild kill the young of females so that they can mate with them and have their own children. I know I’m not Maeve’s child, but she’s been my only parent for three years. What if he takes her from me? Meadow is great, but she and I weren’t enough when we were on our own. I never felt safe, and Meadow is pretty go

As my mate begins to glow in a white light, I only have a moment to watch in awe before the battle is upon us. Maeve begins throwing magic everywhere, protection for our pack members, and attacks to the witches that are attacking our pack members. I turn and see Meadow chanting as a film of magic falls over the packhouse. I can see wolves pouring into our pack lands and by the smell of them, they are rogues. The difference between them and normal rogues is that these have a purple glow to them. They’ve been given magic, or at least they are protected by magic. As one of the wolves races toward us, Maeve blasts it with her white light, knocking the purple light out of it. I leap, shifting as I do, Einar attacking the wolf and protecting our mate. Maeve continues sending blasts of magic, out and around the pack. I’m attacking the rogues, keeping close to Maeve, guarding her from attack. I see her turn, sending a blast of light behind us. I turn, just in time to see the magic block an

My mate is struggling with so much right now and I want to try to do something to make her feel better, to make her feel like this is her home too. Rich and Emlyn went to Safe Haven to be with the pack while they bury their dead. Since that is Emlyn’s previous pack, it makes sense that she would need to be there. So, after my mate falls asleep, I reach out to my father via the mind link and ask him to go to Maeve’s shop and get the ashes of her parents. ‘Do you know where they are in her apartment?’ he asks. ‘She said it’s in her room. Their residence was upstairs from the shop.’ ‘I’ll get it. Reagan, Penny and Meadow have been talking all night. They apparently saw Penny on their way here and invited her to the sleep over. This was harder Meadow than I thought it would be,’ my father says. ‘It was hard on Maeve, too. Have Cayd and Tate returned?’ ‘No, Cayd said he was going to spend as much time with Tate as he needed before bringing him back here.’ “Thanks, dad, to both you a

The day after we created a memorial for my parents, I went with Xander to Canyon Ridge pack. They are having a service for an Alpha and his mate who were like grandparents to this entire generation, according to Xander. The Alpha was killed in the battle, and his mate basically died of a broken heart. Xander said that’s not uncommon in their world. Being a soulmate means that once you find your other half and feel whole, you can never go back to being only half a person. So, most mates cannot live once their mate has died. I stand beside Xander. This time it’s me who needs to be strong for him. As I listen to the incredible stories of this man and woman, I’m amazed that while I’ve always known of the werewolves, I’ve never truly understood them. I’ve never really understood the love and camaraderie of the pack nor the adoration of the pack for its Alpha and Luna. An Alpha, a good Alpha, elicits a level of love, loyalty and dedication that humans can only dream of. When Alpha Liam get

The next few days go by in a flurry of activity. Reagan told her parents about the penthouse and the binding ceremony, and the next thing I know, we’ve been given a house warming ‘present’ of furniture to fill our penthouse. Angel took me shopping with Meadow and Reagan and we picked out the furniture I wanted. Xander told me he didn’t care, as long as I was happy and it felt like home to me. He says if it feels like home to me, it will feel like home to him. When we go to the furniture store, I choose a couch with end tables and tell Angel that’s what I want. I am already struggling with the price of the furniture and the extravagance of the gift when she tells me what her intent was. “Sweetheart, we’re furnishing your entire condo. And it’s not just me and Liam, Rich and the pack want to help too. You not only helped to keep our pack safe from the witches, you and your family were essential in helping our wolves heal when they suffered burns from the spells. Not only that, but Mal