All Chapters of The Fate of the Alpha's Orphaned Daughter: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

 "They're real," he whispered against my shoulder. "I wasn't imagining them all these years."   "They're real," I confirmed, stroking his dark hair. "And they've been watching over us."   Maison sat up beside us, his hand coming to rest supportively on Matthias's back. "What they told us about your abilities, about the sacred clearing, it changes our approach."   "We need to tell the others," I agreed, though I was reluctant to leave the cocoon of warmth and connection we'd created. "But first..." I pulled back slightly to look at Matthias's face. "How do you feel about what they said? About your abilities?"   Matthias con

Through the chaos of battle, I heard a familiar voice shouting orders, not to our defenders, but to the attackers. I whipped around to see Harley, the tracker we had just promoted to Gamma, directing a group of rogues toward the stone circle."The spy!" I growled through the pack bond. "It's Harley!"Maison's wolf launched immediately in Harley's direction, but the traitor was prepared. He threw a handful of powder into the air that exploded in a blinding flash, momentarily disorienting our defenders."Now!" Sebastian shouted, appearing suddenly beside us. "Complete the ritual before they regroup!"Eclipse and I stood side by side at the ley line convergence, our pendants glowing with blinding intensity. Jacob read rapidly from the journal, translating the ancient Graystone language."By blood and bone, by fang and fur, we claim our ancestral right," I recited, the words coming instinctively as if whispered directly into my mind. "Two heirs united, the circle complete."Eclipse added

"How much farther?" Jackson asked after we'd been hiking for nearly an hour. "Just beyond that ridge," I replied, pointing to a rocky outcropping ahead. "The Crescent Stones lie in the valley below." As we crested the ridge, I stopped abruptly, my eyes saw something that should be here, it was impossible, the ghostly forms of both my parents and my elder brother Kenny. Their eyes seemed to light up as they saw me. Jackson’s face seemed to pale, taking in the sight of the three of them. My mother’s ghostly form spoke, “Welcome home my daughter, our bodies were buried near by here so that even in death to watch over this place for the day that you were destined to find this place.” Kenny spoke next, “My little sister, who is not so little anymore, and you b

“Yeah, he's looking forward to testing Maison and getting to know Jackson, apparently, he reminds him of himself,” Matthias stated flatly. I couldn't help but laugh at that, the tension breaking momentarily. "He always did like to test people," I said, memories of Kenny's mischievous nature flooding back. "He once convinced the entire junior pack that he could talk to squirrels." "Could he?" Dean asked, completely serious. "No," I chuckled. "But he had them all leaving nuts at specific trees for weeks." We continued moving, the terrain growing steeper as we approached the falls. The sound of rushing water reached us long before the falls came into view, a silver ribbon of water cascading down a sheer rock face into a deep, clear pool below.

"Wait," Kenny cautioned, catching my arm. "We need to be careful how we share this. Too much panic could fracture our alliance before the battle even begins." Matthias nodded solemnly. "Kenny's right. Some of our allies are already nervous. If they learn we're facing an enemy so ancient and powerful that even vampires consider it a myth..." "Strategic disclosure," I agreed reluctantly. "Alpha Logan, Sebastian, Maison, and Jackson need to know everything. The rest get the modified version, that Nightshade isn't working alone, but we have the crown to counter whatever she's planning." As we ascended from the ceremonial chamber, the crown secure in its container carried by Kenny, I felt a strange tingling at the base of my skull, a sensation of being watched that had nothing to do with the gua