“Three witches, three vampires, and three werewolves…” I heard myself say. The corpses of Carmen and Devin came to mind, both strategically placed shortly after their gruesome murders. It brought me no peace to learn that their deaths were for a specific purpose. Learning the truth had renewed my rage, but also invoked a wave of disgust that made me nauseous. I had no doubt that the witches were more than willing to knock off a few of their own if it meant getting what they wanted. ‘That’s why we’ll win in the end. Even under Tyler’s rule our pack had more loyalty for its members than the witches.’ Maya huffed, her tail swishing in agitation. “We have to assume they’ve already sacrificed three of their own. There’s no reason why they’d wait if they have three witches readily available. Hell, they probably offered themselves willingly. We know they’ve killed more than one Vampire, which leaves…” Tristan trailed off, his voice fading but his grimace was answer enough. “Which leaves

Even though I was more than interested in hearing Deacon’s reply, it wasn’t what made me stop. There was this sudden rush of familiarity that swelled in my stomach, making it plummet to the warehouse floor. I felt a harsh tug on my sleeve and whipped my head to the side to lock eyes with a stone-faced Dina. She jutted her chin towards the exit, which was a few rows of shelves behind where we stood and tugged a second time.“Not yet.” I mouthed, shaking my head.Typically, Tristan would be the one trying to keep me out of trouble, but it was hard to do when he too was crouched, peering through the slim gaps in the shelving in an effort to spy on the witches. I held back a snicker and joined him, stretching my hearing as far as it would go, until the voices at the center of the warehouse sharpened.I guess after spending this much time with me, he already anticipated what I’d do. It was risky but getting information about the enemies plans rarely ever came with a safety net.“Mm, I thou

“Oh, Lola.” Ember sang, “Why don’t you come out before I start losing my patience? Wouldn’t you rather walk out with dignity than have Tessa here use her vines to drag you out by your ankles? We’ll even let your little friends go…so long as you don’t put up a fight.”“Lola, did I not tell you to get the hell out of here?” Deacon rumbled, cursing under his breath.Ember turned her attention to the hulking Vampire that had spoken and smiled dryly.“Deacon, you never planned on accepting our offer, did you?” She tutted, eyes flaming with vicious excitement. “I’ll admit, as much as your loyalty would’ve made things easier, I’d much rather watch you all burn.”As the air around her began to shimmer with heatwaves, I had one thought.We needed to get the hell out of here, right now.No sooner than the statement had crossed my mind, the exit doors just a few rows behind us were torn open. Blasted so hard by a gust of wind, they slammed into the walls on either side. The deafening clatter ech

Rather than felt, I heard the screech of metal twisting and tearing, followed by a loud splash. Before I could swipe away the moisture that coated my face, the entire world went dark.“Damn it, Lola…” A voice snarled, practically shouting in my ear. “…one minute before I throw your ass over my shoulder and—”All at once the memories collided in my head, exploding in a symphony of screeching tires, torn metal, and rushing water. The soundtrack was backed by Tristan’s voice, which was growing angrier by the second. When I was able to pry my eyes open, my surroundings quickly sharpened and the forest we were in came into view. While I was more than thankful there wasn’t any light to blind me, there was a gnawing sort of pain covering most of my body.‘Goddess, I hate cars.’ Maya groaned, ‘We’re running everywhere from now on.’“You need to get the hell up before the witches catch up.” Tristan hissed quietly, wedging his hands underneath my arms.As he lifted me to my feet, the pain that

The air around us exploded in a bright flash of light and heat that seemed to come from nowhere. Dina was ripped from Tristan’s arms and flung against the base of a tree, crumpling the second her body made impact. Her clothes were smoldering, letting off thin tendrils of smoke that dissipated in the air. Splotches of light danced in my vision, but I noticed Tristan was smoking as well. The blast had clipped his shoulder, burning a hole in his blood-soaked shirt.Before either of us could act, a second blast followed. This time I was able to track it before leaping to the side, and saw that it wasn’t an explosion, but a plume of red-hot flame.Tristan was at my side in an instant, crouched into a defensive position that would do little to nothing against the magic of a highly trained elemental. There were a reason Rowena’s books warned against angering one. Controlling nature had no limits. All that could determine an elementals range of power was their own personal strength.As if to

An hour later, I found myself sitting in the passenger seat of an old work van, listening to Breyona recount the moments before she vanished from Giovanni’s bedroom and reappeared in the forest.Calling her name back in the forest seemed to trigger her human side. She’d quickly shifted and accepted Tristan’s shirt before scaling the hill and finding us a ride. By the time she pulled up with the van, whose paint was peeling so badly I almost missed the picture of the plunger on the side, Tristan and I had hauled Dina most of the way.The Vampire who had helped save my life was still unconscious. Her heartbeat was muffled, not nearly as strong as it should’ve been, but all that mattered was that it was there.Not only had Breyona gone the extra mile by helping Tristan and I carry Dina the rest of the way, but she’d also offered up some of her blood to help speed their healing.“I was laying in bed when I heard screaming, but it was in my head. It wasn’t like the mind-link, though. It wa

When Tristan left, the front door clicking shut behind him, I slumped against the kitchen counter and took a deep breath. The bottle of blood I’d been sipping on sat untouched at my side, which didn’t go unnoticed by Breyona or Giovanni.“You feel like death, and I’m not talking about how exhausted you are.” Breyona commented, her voice laced with worry. “Did something else happen?”Clutching the bottle in my hand, as though it’ll somehow give me the courage to break the news, I mumbled, “This is going to take some getting used to.”Breyona was already more intuitive than your average wolf, but now the two of us were magically connected. Even now, I could feel the smoky threads between us, connecting our souls.Her nod was one of understanding, and as much as I appreciated it, it only made my heart seize in my chest.“I promise not to pry any more than I usually do, but I get the feeling there’s something you need to tell me, but you really, really don’t want to.”“You might want to s

The conversation between Giovanni and I replayed in my head as I traipsed upstairs and collapsed into bed. Even after it had run its course, I fought the sleep that tried to claim me and focused on mind-linking Asher.Another hour had passed, one without any success.I’d considered reaching out to Zeke, but after pouring all of my remaining energy into getting through to Asher, I had nothing left to expend. In a haze of utter exhaustion, I slipped away into a restless, dreamless sleep.I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the sun had yet to risen when I was yanked from sleep. The bedroom was cloaked in absolute darkness, even with the beams of moonlight streaming through the curtains. Luckily, I didn’t need light to tell who was hovering over me, their hand pressed firmly over my mouth.It was his eyes I noticed first, the sight of them telling me that something was very, very wrong.They were entirely gold, practically glowing in the darkness as they stared at me with a heat t

Really?” I scoffed, staring open-mouthed at Asher through the glass of the holding cell he was in. “Is this necessary?”Asher paced back and forth, his head snapping in my direction whenever I spoke. His eyes were still that violent shade of gold, telling me his wolf was still in charge and very much feral.The holding cell he sat in was a part of the newer renovations Asher had orchestrated. There were dozens of these cubby-like rooms, each one with a cot and a small table, reinforced with military grade equipment to keep the prisoners contained.I bet Asher never thought he’d land himself in one.Both men standing before me were grim, their lips pursed, and eyes cloaked in shadows. I was used to seeing that particular expression on Brandon, but not Zeke. Neither one appeared too happy about how things played out, but I needed to keep the conversation going. If I didn’t, I’d start thinking about what they barged in on and have no choice but to drown in embarrassment.Brandon spoke fi

I softened my voice, knowing he’d hate it, but it was all I could think to do.“You scared me for a minute there. When you came into the bedroom, you weren’t yourself. It was like your wolf had taken over, but there was something wrong with him. I know he’d never, ever hurt me, but this was different. You were both different.” I explained, glancing at the two-way mirror where I knew Zeke was currently watching.Asher went still, his muscles growing taut where he sat against the wall. He closed his eyes and turned his face away from me.“I forced myself onto you, didn’t I?” His voice dipped low, laced with rage and disgust.“No, not exactly.” I shook my head, placing my hand on his arm.With his lip curling, he pulled away from my touch. I tried not to let it get to me, but rejection stung in my heart like a shard of glass. Anger had me reaction, along with frustration for everything we’d been through. There was no way in hell I’d let him beat himself up over this. This, of all the thi