Wolf County,

USA
Jane

Jaime Rene Soares

Copyright © 2022 Jaime Rene Soares

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in

any manner without written permission, except in the case of
quotations for the purposes of articles and book reviews.

ISBN: 979-8-3882648-5-5

This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places, events, and

instances are a product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously.

Edited by Amanda Cotten

Front cover art by Amanda Cotton

Cover design by Jaime Rene Soares

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 DEDICATION

To Neecie Belle, the most amazingly awesome grandmother

there ever was. Without her pouring of love, care, and
encouragement into my life, this book wouldn’t exist, and
neither would I. You’re a rock star, Grandma. RIP.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you, Amanda Cotten, for your never-ceasing

friendship, complete honesty, and straight-up talents. You
never fail to amaze me.

Thank you to my husband, Jay. You make my whole life

possible, and I love you more than I can ever express.

And to my Readers - thank you, most of all, to you and for

your encouragement when I first posted my story online.
The excitement with which you embraced my work gave me
the courage to take this step.
 Wolf County, USA - Jane

CHAPTER ONE

Jane’s POV (Point of View)

An hour ago. I think that was the last time I could feel my
fingers and toes. I was trying to stay alive. Dear goddess, I
was fighting to keep my promise.
It was the only thing I had left to live for, and there was
nothing else, so I was huddled here alone in the cold.
I vaguely recall reading somewhere that freezing to death
is only painful for a while. The sharp needling pains subside
into numbness, and you begin to feel sleepy.
Falling asleep would be nice. If I let myself fall asleep, I
would be warm and cozy again. Somewhere in the depths
of my childhood memories, I could remember feeling that
once when it was just Dad and me. It seems like another
lifetime now.
I was seated on a pile of rotting black winter leaves. My
torn shirt rustled stiffly with dried blood each time my
lacerated back touched the trunk of the tree I sat beneath.
Curled up with my arms around my legs, I rocked back and
forth. But now, I needed to stop rocking. I was too tired to
move. I closed my eyes and laid my head down on my knees.
So tired.
One thought remained before I welcomed my oblivion,
and I whispered groggily, “I’m so sorry, Tristan.”
I slept.
Something was touching me. Groaning in protest, I
thought, “Leave me alone, I’m sleeping!”
I wanted to say it aloud, but I couldn’t speak. I was too
exhausted to speak.
A masculine voice cursed in a language I didn’t
understand, but its emphatic utterance left me no doubt as
to its content.
Something wet was being rubbed on my lips now.

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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

“Open your mouth!” the voice commanded in a sharp

hiss.
I obeyed because I wanted to go back to sleep. When I
did, there was a rush of liquid across my tongue that tasted
faintly like iron. I couldn’t taste it well because my tongue
was frozen.
“Swallow!” The voice commanded again.
I focused on my throat muscles and clenched them, as
much as I was able, in a reasonable approximation of a
swallow. I felt warmth trickling down my throat, though
most of the liquid spilled over my lips and down my chin. I
couldn’t open my eyes. They felt frozen shut.
“It’s ok,” I thought to myself. “I won’t need them anymore;
I’ll be dead soon.”
Suddenly, the world was spinning. No. Someone was
carrying me.
The darkness overtook me, and everything faded to
black.

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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

CHAPTER TWO

Jane’s POV

I dreamt. Not good dreams or horrible ones, just memories.

Ok, maybe they were a little bit horrible.
“Mousy Brown Mutt, that’s what you are!” The boys
called to me on the playground at school.
Tristan, the Alpha’s son, joined in the fray.
“You’re just a plain, useless orphan. You’re gonna be my
servant, so you better learn to listen to me now!”
All the kids laughed.
I saw my eight-year-old self huddled down there, too.
Come to think of it, I spent a lot of my life huddled down,
hugging my legs to my chest.
My mom died when I was born. Like me, she didn’t have
a wolf. My dad had loved her, even if they weren’t true
mates.
Dad was a good dad when I was small. He was a pack
warrior who mostly worked border patrol. He wasn’t top of
the pack nor the bottom - just a regular old wolf working
his job, protecting the borders.
When Dad was out on shifts, the neighbor lady would
come and sit in the house and watch TV to keep an eye on
me. She kept me clean and safe and fed, but not much else.
Dad was thirty years old when I was five. That’s when
the Alpha’s niece, Jessica, turned eighteen, and they learned
they were true mates. We moved to the pack house where
all the Alpha’s relatives lived.
My new stepmom didn’t like that dad had mated before
and produced me. I know my dad loved me once - I
remember it - but after finding his true mate, he seemed to
love me a little less each day.
To stop Jessica from being jealous, before we moved to
the pack house, he burned every single family photo we had,

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including every image of my mother. All of her possessions

were boxed up and donated to a charity in the village, even
her jewelry.
We moved to the pack house with nothing more than
our clothes and the one toy I was allowed to keep because
Dad forgot that Mom had made it for me when she was
pregnant. It was a stuffed baby doll she’d sewn and hand-
stitched the face on. Even the little dress it wore, she’d sewn
by hand.
After we moved to the pack house, Jessica and Dad
spent most of their time in their room making love. When
they weren’t in there, they were socializing with the pack or
carrying out their duties.
It got to where I only saw Dad at breakfast. I was
expected to get ready for school on my own and eat
breakfast in a corner of the dining hall with Dad and Jessica.
I wasn’t permitted to speak. I found out it was because my
voice caused Jessica anxiety.
Following breakfast, I’d get on the bus, complete the
school day, and come straight home. After my homework
was done, I had to go to the kitchen to work until everyone
else had finished dinner. Next, I helped with the dishes and
cleaned the dining hall. Then finally, I was allowed to eat
some bread and cheese with water and be sent to bed.
That went on for three years.
No one in the pack house took much interest in me
other than the housekeeper and the cook, and only when I
did something wrong. As long as I completed my jobs well,
they ignored me. If I did something poorly, they would slap
me on the back of the head, correct me verbally, and move
on.
A few weeks after my eighth birthday, there was a rogue
attack at the border where my dad was patrolling. Everyone
immediately knew he had been killed because Jessica fell to
the floor and began to wail, clutching her chest right in the
middle of dinner.
I knew what it meant as well. I was an orphan.
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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

From eight until eighteen, I lived in the pack house like

before, attending school and working in the kitchen. Only I
wasn’t allowed in the dining hall anymore unless I was
cleaning it.
I was told to stay away from Jessica. Every time she saw
me enter a room - or in passing - she would fly into a rage
and begin to throw objects at my head. I didn’t have many
talents, but my reflexes got pretty quick.
No one else paid me any attention.
True to Tristan’s childhood taunting, they did make me
his servant. He didn’t like to wake up in the mornings, and
no one wanted to deal with his temper, so I was assigned
the unwanted duty of taking him breakfast in bed every day
at seven o’clock. I had to wake him, endure his wrath, and
then serve him food. I waited quietly while he ate and then
took the tray away.
After school, I was told to do most of his homework
with mine. Everyone knew I did it, and it was just for show.
“See?” The teachers would say, “Even the Alpha’s son
could turn in his homework; why can’t you?”
No kid could excuse themselves in light of this shining
example.
I also had to do Tristan’s laundry and clean his bathroom
every night after he had gone to sleep. My teenage years
were quite disgusting in more ways than one.
Eventually, Tristan turned eighteen, and the whole pack
was waiting to see if he would recognize his mate, but
nothing happened. It was only the day of my eighteenth
birthday when the trouble began.
I woke up early, as usual. After brushing my teeth,
dressing, and combing my tangle of curls, I went down to
the kitchen to start my work.
I prepared Tristan’s tray, and as I came down the hallway
to his room, I smelled something divine, and my stomach
rumbled. It smelled like hickory smoke barbecue and brown
sugar, and it made me feel hungry and satisfied all at once
in a way that felt like home. Like a cozy home where I was
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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

loved and welcomed and free. I hadn’t been allowed meat

in years - or sweets, for that matter - so this was just about
the most delicious scent I could have smelled. There was
something else, too. There was cedar, pine, and warm, rich
chocolate. So many lovely aromas stacked layer upon layer
and released in an order that best complemented
themselves.
As I neared the doorway to Tristan’s room, it flew open,
startling me. Tristan stood there, breathing heavily in
nothing but his boxers. He looked at me in surprise and then
pulled me into his massive suite and shut the door. When
he dragged me inside, the realization dawned that those
tantalizing aromas were coming from Tristan himself. My
adrenaline spiked.
I had a fight-or-flight moment when I gaped at him like
never before. An awakening thwarted my anticipated
retreat. The realization hit me like a truck; Tristan had
grown quite tall and handsome. Why hadn’t I noticed his
defined abs and broad shoulders before? Those
mesmerizing blue eyes and chestnut brown hair streaked
with blond highlights always looked sexy, even when it was
messy from sleep.
“Oh shit,” I thought. “This couldn’t be happening. Why,
goddess, why?!”
How cruel. How hilarious. What a tragedy!
After staring at each other for what seemed like forever,
but it was probably only a minute, Tristan took the tray from
my hands and set it aside on his bed.
When he stepped towards me, I took a quick step
backward. A look of pain flashed in his eyes, and it made
my heart ache a little.
“Please, Jane, just...stand still,” he rasped in his rugged
morning voice.
As his hand came towards my face, I stepped back again,
and he winced in pain.
“Please, I beg you,” his voice implored me with so much
passion and sincerity.
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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

He made no move to come closer. He was waiting for

my reply.
“A-alright,” I finally stuttered my answer.
I fought my survival instincts the best I could and
planted my feet firmly on the ground in an act of bravery so
extraordinary to me that I almost thought myself a warrior.
It turned out to be easier than I initially expected since I
wasn’t eager to see that look of pain on his face again.
It was true he’d bullied me when we were kids, but since
we’d been in high school - and for the past four years - he
largely ignored me aside from a muttered “Thanks” after he
finished his breakfast each day.
There wasn’t any reason for him to pay more attention
to me than that. I wasn’t brilliant, talented, or pretty. I was
invisible.
I stood an average height, around five feet and six
inches. I wasn’t too skinny or too fat. My skin was plain,
cream-colored, neither tan nor too pale.
My hair was an ordinary medium brown color that was
completely uninteresting. It had just enough curl to
constantly be tangled but not enough to be beautiful. I kept
it barely past shoulder length and no longer because I didn’t
have time to detangle it incessantly every day.
Even my eyes were just a drab brown color. My
appearance was average and unremarkable in every way.
But there, in Tristan’s bedroom, with the mate bond
drawing us to one another, he looked at me like I was the
most beautiful person he’d ever seen. It was as if I were his
whole world. The longing in his eyes made my heart beat
way too rapidly.
He stepped towards me, and that longing made me
determined to stand my ground and wait even though I
wanted to flee the territory and never look back.
He reached out his hand. Lightly wrapping one of my
curls around his finger, he moved even closer, placing his
fingers gently but firmly beneath my chin and tilting my face
up to make me look him in the eye.
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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

“Jane, you are mine,” he whispered in awe.

“And you are mine,” I whispered back as I searched his
eyes. I felt light-headed and overwhelmed with things I had
never, ever felt before.
My declaration caused him to growl deep in his chest as
he slid his arm around my waist and pulled me against his
muscular and shirtless body.
Our breaths warm on one another’s skin, we gazed into
each other’s eyes, and there was nothing but us in that
moment.
He bent his head down, coming ever closer. He was
going to kiss me, and goddess help me, I was going to let
him.
At that very unfortunate moment, his bedroom door
was flung open, followed by a loud scream erupting from
the new arrival.
We both turned towards the door to see the Luna,
Tristan’s mother, screeching and yelling with a look of
horror on her face.

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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

CHAPTER THREE

Gabriel’s POV

I stood over her sleeping form, listening to her thoughts. As

she dreamed, her memories played out like a drama for me
to witness.
She was a plain girl, innocent, and barely eighteen - a
child.
She had swallowed just enough of my blood to keep her
from dying or losing any of her limbs to frostbite, but not
enough to fully heal her exhaustion quickly.
I built a fire in one of my many guest rooms and placed
her in the bed after Emma had made it with fresh sheets and
blankets.
Emma had also heated some stones and wrapped them
in a blanket to place under the girl’s feet. Some of the old
ways were still useful from time to time.
Presently, the girl was remembering the boy Tristan
wrapping his arms around her and holding her close while
shouting at his mother to stop screaming.
I knew this family. The Martins’ pack lands touched my
property’s southern border. I’d lived peacefully near this
pack without incident for decades. Primarily, this was
because the Alpha, as his father before him, was proud to
share a border with a vampire of my caliber and frequently
name-dropped me in social situations despite having only
met me in person a handful of times.
The world of vampire and wolf relations became
increasingly political over time. Currently, we, as species,
were accustomed to using one another in mutually
beneficial ways, although this hadn’t always been the case.
Historically, vampires and wolves had many states of co-
existence; the past was fraught with enmity, alliances, wars,
and general turmoil.

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I continued to watch Jane’s memories. I wanted to know

why she was freezing to death more than fifty miles outside
her pack territory, on my land, with dried blood caked to
her back.
In her memory, the Luna had stopped screaming but
remained furious. She told her son that he would mate that
thing over her dead body, then ordered them both to the
Alpha’s study.
I entered her dream mind more fully so I could become
her. I’d feel what she felt and hear what she thought.
Jane followed Tristan into the study and hid behind him,
but he wouldn’t let go of her hand.
The study was dark and dreary; the windows covered in
dark shades barely cracked open at the bottom. The
furniture was dark wood tones and arranged on top of a
deep brown rug that smelled faintly like mud and dust. It
wasn’t particularly clean, and adding the scent of the Alpha’s
tar and smoke aroma made Jane struggle to suppress a
cough.
“Son,” the Alpha began sternly.
“Your mother says that you’ve found your mate, and it’s
that Jane Brown girl hiding behind you - the one without a
wolf - Jessica’s stepdaughter. Is this true?”
“It’s true,” Tristan answered without hesitation.
Jane’s heart soared at the confidence in his answer.
“Reject her quickly and let her get back to her duties,”
he ordered.
Jane’s stomach felt as though a rock was forming inside
it.
“I won’t,” Tristan replied bravely. To defy the Alpha was
a death sentence.
Jane squeezed his hand tighter, and he squeezed back
reassuringly.
The Luna spat out the words in a high-pitched voice,
“She can never be Luna, Tristan! Think rationally! She can’t
even stand in front of her Alpha properly!”
“She’ll learn,” he replied, still sure of himself.
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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

Jane stepped out from behind him to stand beside him,

keeping her eyes lowered to the ground.
“Good girl,” he said to her and smiled, wrapping his arm
around her waist.
The Alpha shook his head, “This won’t do, son. You
know you need to choose a mate to help you lead the pack.
Alpha Norman MacKenzie’s daughter is of age now. It
would be a powerful match, and he’s been hinting at
wanting to mate you to each other since your birthday. We
were only waiting to see if you found your true mate. Now
that we know she isn’t suitable, you can reject her, and the
alliance can proceed.”
“Never,” Tristan replied simply.
Jane couldn’t believe he wanted her as his mate so much
that he would refuse the Alpha’s orders.
The Alpha’s eyes glinted with barely controlled fury,
“Never say never, son.”
“Dad,” Tristan took a deep breath, let it out, then
continued calmly.
“You always tell the young pack members about the
sacred nature of the mating bond. That the goddess
possesses divine wisdom and knows exactly what each of us
needs. You’ve taught that true mates are two halves of one
soul and need each other to be complete. I will not go
against the goddess even if it means I must defy you.”
“That’s just something we tell the children to encourage
them,” the Luna snapped in frustration.
“My true mate was a whore in a strip club, son,” the
Alpha said simply, and the Luna visibly winced. “The
goddess doesn’t care or have any direct involvement in who
our true mate is; it’s just an evolutionary relic that has
overstayed its welcome.”
“I disagree,” Tristan sounded resolute and unmoving.
The Alpha’s eyes blazed silently over his desk, then the
door opened, and six pack warriors entered the room. Two
of them yanked Jane away from Tristan and carried her out
of the study and down the hall.
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Tristan roared in anger.

As Jane was dragged away, she twisted her head around
to look back at him. She saw him break free and take several
strides towards her, but four guards quickly overpowered
Tristan, forcing him to the ground.
His teeth sharpened, and his eyes glinted the color of his
wolf’s eyes as he snapped and bit at them, trying to free
himself to get to her.
It was a horrifying and heartbreaking sight.
Tristan’s desperate gaze found her eyes, and he spoke to
her over mind-link, “You are mine, Jane.”
Their circumstances were grim, but Jane’s heart was
light. Her mate wanted her. He stood up to the Alpha
because Tristan wanted her.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Jane’s POV

I thought they would take me to the dungeon, but they

didn’t. They locked me in a closet I had never noticed
before. I could hear something being sprayed on the door
outside, and then a powerful scent slipped under the door.
It was wolfsbane. The door and walls outside this tiny dark
closet were being saturated with it.
The wolfsbane wouldn’t hurt me; I had no wolf. But it
would keep Tristan or anyone else from letting me out of
the closet for fear of being burned and poisoned. It might
even prevent us from mind-linking through it, but I wasn’t
sure.
I considered everything I knew about Tristan. We were
born a few months apart and grew up mainly in the same
house after my father mated Jessica.
He was much kinder than his parents after he outgrew
his childhood bully phase in elementary school.
Tristan also worked hard at his warrior training and was
physically capable in a fight. The fact that he proved a
challenge for four full-fledged warriors to restrain was
proof.
I also knew him to be strong in his convictions. When
he believed something was right, he would not waiver. I’d
never seen him go up against the Alpha as he’d done this
day, but no one else had ever won against him in a fair fight,
of body or mind, since he’d reached puberty and gotten his
wolf.
I knew Tristan was intelligent and competent, and I
wanted to believe he would find a way, but it felt like we
were at the mercy of the Alpha.
Feeling my way around the walls, I sucked in a sudden
breath as my palm landed flat across a hot pipe. The painful
burn on my flesh caused tears to pour down my cheeks. I

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took several deep breaths to calm my racing heart and

cradled my hand against my stomach. Without any water or
way to bandage it, the heat was going to continue to pulse
painfully across my skin. I focused on my breathing. Slowly,
over and over, in and out.
Ok, this wasn’t going to work. I needed light.
I moved back to the door and gingerly started feeling
around the wall nearby. There was a light switch, but when
I flipped it, nothing happened.
My hand throbbed and burned from contact with the
pipe, but I knew if I waited a bit, I might be able to see a
little better when my eyes adjusted to the dark.
In times like these, I lamented being only human.
Because I had no wolf, I healed at human speed and
couldn’t see well in the dark like a wolf could.
I crouched down and leaned against the wall, hugging
my knees to my chest. My bare feet felt cold against the
polished concrete floors. The realization had me lowering
my burned palm to the floor, allowing it to cool the stinging
flesh just a little.
I wondered what time it was. I imagined it could be
nearing lunchtime at this point. I had no idea how long I’d
been here or would be here. My stomach grumbled
painfully. I’d eaten nothing since my bread and cheese the
previous night.
I considered Selene. The Moon Goddess was said to
deliberately mate those together who would complete each
other. Two halves of a soul, they said. Up until now, I didn’t
have a lot of faith in that. After all, Selene had mated my
dad to an awful she-wolf like Jessica, and I had lost him to
her completely, even before he died. I hated the stray
thought that came to me that Dad couldn’t have been a very
good wolf if she was the other half of his soul.
What did that say about me? Being a true mate to an
Alpha heir in a pack like this...well, did that make me a bad
person? I couldn’t deny that Tristan was different from his
parents, in a good way, so I had that going for me, at least.
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But what could Selene have been thinking? Didn’t she

realize the position this would put us in?
I swallowed against my thirst. My dry throat began to
feel scratchy.
I tilted my head back to rest against the wall I was leaning
on and closed my eyes against the darkness.
“Moon Goddess, if you really mean for us to be together, you’ve got
to help us. There is nothing I can do to help myself.”
A gentle breeze blew across my face like a caress.
I thought I heard a faint whisper saying, “Don’t give up.”
I don’t know if it was a dream or not because I dozed
off for a while out of pure exhaustion. When I opened my
eyes, there was no longer any light coming from under the
door. It had to be evening.
My body ached, especially my butt, from bearing my
weight as I slept sitting up while leaning against the wall and
door.
I groaned as I turned my ear to the door and pressed
against it. I was met with only silence.
I wondered where Tristan was and if he was unable to
mind-link me for some reason. He said I was his, and I
believed he wouldn’t let me go. Was I wrong?
For several more hours, I shifted my weight around and
attempted to rest, trying to find a comfortable position on
the hard floor. There was none to be found, and I continued
to drift in and out of sleep. The hunger was getting more
urgent, and I was starting to feel dehydrated.
I lay with my cheek against the cold floor as I watched a
slight glow began to re-illuminate the crack at the bottom of
the door. It could be someone turning lights on in the
hallway, or it could be morning. There was no way for me
to know. I’d lost my sense of time.
Soon after the light appeared, I heard sounds of activity
on the other side of the door. I might have been locked in
the closet for nearly twenty-four hours.
My hand still throbbed, and I was both thirsty and
hungry.
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I tried to mind-link Tristan.

“Tristan?” I pressed out, “Are you ok?”
Still nothing.
I knew that I’d been able to mind-link people when they
spoke to me in the past, but I had never tried initiating such
a link on my own. I wasn’t even sure it could work.
After a few more miserable hours, the door finally
opened. The sudden light caused me to clamp my eyes shut
for a moment.
Squinting against the sudden assault of brightness, I tried
to see who was opening the door. When my eyes finally
adjusted, I was being roughly dragged down the hall toward
the dungeon stairs. I tried to dig my feet in, but it was no
use. I wasn’t strong enough to resist anyone, especially after
more than a day without nourishment of any kind.
The two pack warriors carried me between them as we
descended into the cold, darkened basement with stone
walls. After a short hallway, they turned left into a large
room with four cells.
Immediately upon entering, I knew Tristan was here. I
could smell him and sense his closeness.
My eyes darted around, taking in the stone floor and
walls and the silver bars that lined the outside of the cells.
The stale aromas of mold and mildew were strong, but it
wasn’t enough to overpower the delicious scent of my mate.
Past the cells was a large open area with a number of
frightening apparatuses on display. A brief glance at them
revealed they were most certainly instruments of torture,
but all I could focus on was Tristan lying on the floor, facing
the wall.
I was tossed into the last cell on the right, directly across
from Tristan’s cell. The door clanged shut behind me before
the guard locked it.
My mate was now wearing only his boxers, and his back
and legs were covered in dried blood. At the sight of his
injuries, I felt as if I would either explode in rage or collapse
in despair.
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“Tristan!” I whispered in a hoarse and heartbroken

voice.
He stirred and turned his head to me.
“Jane, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” He spoke in a hoarse
voice laden with exhaustion.
“Oh, my goddess, Tristan, what have they done to you?
How could they!” I nearly wailed.
He rolled onto his hands and knees and then pulled
himself to his feet. Stumbling over to the bars closest to me
with great difficulty, he stopped himself short of touching
them.
“Have you been hurt, my love?” He asked with concern
on his face. His eyes took all of me in, searching for any sign
of injury.
“Have I been hurt?! Look at yourself!” I cried.
Tristan gave me a flippant grin, “I’m already healing,
don’t worry. It’s just a bit slow with the silver and
wolfsbane. Since they started bringing you down the steps
and closer to me, the wounds are closing more quickly.”
Tears began to stream down my face as I shook under
the weight of my emotions.
“You should reject me, Tristan. Please don’t suffer like
this. I’m not worth it,” I begged him.
Through the mate bond, I felt his anger spike for a
moment before he declared, “I will never reject you!”
I whimpered miserably even as I felt his need to protect
and defend me.
“Look at me, Jane,” he said in a gentler tone.
I obeyed.
“I will do everything in my power to complete the
mating bond with you. I will not reject you. You. Are. Mine.
Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I whispered submissively.
“Do you want to reject me, little one?” He asked after a
slight pause.
“Of course not!” I nearly shouted at him with a raspy
voice.
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His face broke into his charming, handsome smile as he

comforted me, saying, “Good girl.”
After a moment in which the sounds of us breathing
heavily into the dank space were the only noises in the
dungeon, I began to pace around the small cell in frustration
and anxiety.
“What are we going to do, Tristan? What will they do to
us?”
He grinned, “I love when you say my name, Jane Marie
Brown.”
“Tristan!” I hissed in frustration, even as my insides
erupted in butterflies.
His chest rumbled, and then his expression suddenly
turned serious as he stared into my eyes, “It’s going to get a
lot worse, but we have to hold on and trust each other, ok?”
“Ok,” I agreed wholeheartedly.
If he could hold on, then so could I.
No sooner had we finished our conversation than the
door to the top of the stairs opened, and footsteps echoed
down the steps.
I pressed my face against the bars to see who was
coming. It was the Alpha, Luna, Beta, and four warriors I
recognized from the dining hall.
They all walked past the cells to the torture chamber
area, save one warrior, who unlocked my cell door and
roughly dragged me into the room.
I was terrified. I didn’t have a wolf to help me heal
quickly. And whatever they were going to do to me would
hurt Tristan a lot, too. He was nearby, and we were strongly
linked again.
The Alpha motioned to the area above my head, and the
warrior dragging me along clamped a pair of silver cuffs on
my wrists and lifted my arms into the air. He attached them
to some sort of hook-and-chain contraption then I heard
the chains rattle and clink as someone pulled them. My body
stretched straight up until I was barely standing on my toes.

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“Father, no!” Tristan roared angrily, gripping the silver

bars roughly even as they burned his skin.
“She has no wolf! You’ll kill her!”
The Alpha turned to look his son in the eye, “Reject her,
and we have no need to do this. It is up to you, son.”
“I won’t reject her, Father,” he said quietly. “If you kill
her, you will be dead by sunset.”
The Luna gasped. I glanced over at her and saw fear and
regret in her eyes. It was clear that she had no idea her mate
would take things this far when she made a big to-do about
our mate bond.
Tristan’s quiet threat to his father and alpha was said so
calmly and coldly that a shiver ran down my spine.
I was terrified but I also felt pity for the Luna and intense
anger for our alpha.
I made up my mind in that moment that if Tristan wasn’t
going to give up on me, I wouldn’t give up on him either. I
looked up, searching for his eyes. I found them.
Our gazes locked, and he mind-linked me, “Can you hear
me, Jane?”
I held his gaze and tipped my chin down slightly.
“Keep your eyes on me, love. This is going to hurt a lot, but I’m
right here. Just focus on me, ok?” He said into my mind.
“Ok,” I answered back via mind-link.
I heard rustling behind me, and my shirt was torn open
at the back. I flinched at both the sound of the rip and the
way it yanked my body back, swinging me from the hook as
I lost my precarious footing. Even so, I kept my eyes fixed
on Tristan’s.
I’m sure my terror was evident, but Tristan didn’t look
away. We stared into each other’s eyes, our gazes
communicating all the love, encouragement, sorrow, and
pain we were experiencing in that moment.
The air stirred behind me a split second before the crack
of the whip lashed the bare skin of my back.
I grunted in pain, biting my lip. The leather must have
been laced with some kind of metal. It was probably silver,
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which was toxic to wolves. It felt like I’d been sliced open
with a blade. I could feel the blood running down my body,
but I kept my eyes on Tristan’s.
The whip cracked again, creating another stream of
blood from a second wound as I bit down harder on my lip.
I refused to scream out even as my breathing became heavy
and unsteady. There was a third lash and a fourth and a fifth.
Still, I kept my eyes fixed on my mate’s.
They were full of rage and sorrow but also held his love
for me. That was worth enduring anything to see. Ten lashes
later, blood streamed down and off my toes like a fountain,
pooling on the floor. Nevertheless, I kept my eyes locked
on Tristan’s until my humanity overcame me, and I passed
out from the pain, exhaustion, and blood loss.
My last thought as the darkness took me was that I
wasn’t sure if I would ever wake up again. But I did.
I was lying on the floor of my dungeon cell in a fetal
position. Pain and discomfort permeated my senses. The
floor was cold and hard.
My eyes focused on my wrist, where there was an IV line
taped down there. The IV definitely did not have any pain
medication. I carefully pushed myself up into a seated
position with a groan of agony, then peered up at the bag’s
label and saw it was only saline. They were hydrating me to
keep me alive.
Everyone was gone, Tristan no longer in his cell. I was
alone.
My body shivered from either the pain or the cold, but
probably both.
Taking inventory, I could see that someone had toweled
off my legs and feet, and most probably in a hurry since my
skin was still streaked with smears of dried blood.
Oddly enough, my feet were now encased in my gym
shoes. However, my shirt, barely hanging from my
shoulders, was stained a rusty brown.
I didn’t move from my seated position for a while after
checking the IV. My back was on fire from the wounds that
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still gaped open but somehow were no longer bleeding. It

was excruciating, but even so, I was desperate to see Tristan.
What happened after I passed out? Where did they take
him? How much time had passed?
I didn’t have long to wait.
Two burly wolf warriors came barreling down the stairs
and opened my cell.
They each grabbed an arm, ripping the IV from the back
of my hand, and carried me up the stairs, through the large
pack house, and outside onto the front lawn.
It was nighttime again, and the moon was bright.
I blinked a few times at the sight that awaited me. It
couldn’t be real, could it? My brain was confused, and I
shook my head to clear the mental fog.
The shimmer of the moonlight on the tops of the trees
beyond the pack house front lawn distracted me only
momentarily as my eyes adjusted to the dark and my ears
registered the panicked whispers surrounding me.
Most of the pack stood on the manicured grass, and the
crowd parted as the guards carried me forward. They
stopped about five feet in front of a wooden platform
hastily erected with fresh lumber.
The smell of newly-cut wood mixed with the smoked
meat and forest smells of my mate. The pleasant aroma was
a deep contrast to the horrifying sight before me.
I looked up onto the platform in absolute shock as I saw,
standing on a stool with a noose around his neck, my
beloved Tristan. His hands were shackled behind his back,
and his feet were shackled together in silver.
It presented like a scene straight from an Old West TV
show: the criminal strung up on some gallows, the Alpha on
one side of him like the sheriff, and the Beta on the other,
like the executioner.
Tristan was visibly weak with the combination of
exhaustion and the silver shackles that were burning his skin
and preventing it from healing. He raised his head and

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looked me in the eyes. In spite of the circumstances, his gaze

held his relief that I was alive and standing.
The crowd of pack members murmured but silenced
when the Alpha raised his hand.
He spoke fiercely, “No one defies me. I am your Alpha!
When I give an order, you obey. If you do not obey, there
will be consequences. Even my own son will not escape
them.”
Tristan locked eyes with me and mind-linked, “Jane, don’t
worry. He won’t do it.”
My mind couldn’t process what I was seeing and hearing
as reality. I was beaten, exhausted, malnourished, and
dehydrated. My mind reeled from what my senses were
showing me. Nothing was keeping my mate alive save that
small wooden stool beneath his feet.
The Alpha turned his focus to me, “I will give you a
chance to save his life. Reject him, or I will kick the stool
out from under him myself.”
I swallowed and opened my mouth to speak, but nothing
came out.
The Alpha stared at me briefly as I tried to find my voice.
A strangled sound left my lips, but I couldn’t form the
words.
When I didn’t utter the words he demanded, he did the
unthinkable. He kicked the stool out from under his own
son’s feet, and Tristan dropped abruptly down and forward,
swinging from his neck. His face began to turn red while he
made choking sounds, his lungs trying desperately to access
air.
“NO!” I screamed as I tried to yank my arms away from
the guards that held me fast.
Tristan wouldn’t last much longer in this position. His
face began to turn a horrifying shade of purple.
I forced my voice into submission, and, through a
sudden rush of sobs, I cried out, “I, Jane Marie Brown,
reject you, Tristan Bellamy Martin, as my mate!”

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The pain in my chest forced me to my knees as the

Alpha’s face twisted into an evil and satisfied smile. He had
won.
“Cut him down,” he ordered his Beta before walking
down off the sinister stage and into the pack house without
looking back.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Gabriel’s POV

I observed this fragile sleeping child and frowned. An old

feeling I hadn’t experienced in one hundred years or more
stirred in my chest.
It was pity.
The most unbelievable thing about the ordeal was that
Jane had survived. I guess the pack hadn’t seen the need to
kill her in the end. They probably assumed throwing her out
into this wretched frozen winter would finish her off.
It almost had.
Her mind had gone quiet for now, so I settled in the
armchair at her bedside and watched her sleep.
Color was coming back to her cheeks in the form of little
circles of pink in addition to her reddened nose.
Maybe I would have her drink more of my blood when
she woke up so she could recover completely.
I wasn’t yet sure what I wanted to do with her. I was
currently without a living source of blood, and I didn’t enjoy
drinking from bags in the least.
Perhaps we could come to some agreement if she was
amenable to the idea. It’s not like she had anywhere else to
go, and I always treated my feeders very well, but she had to
decide this on her own. I wouldn’t force her.
My last feeder had been a man called Elijah, whom I
similarly rescued as a child of twenty years old. He was with
me for sixty years until he died of cancer in my home, with
me by his side, holding his hand.
I could have healed him with my blood, but he said he
was happy to move on, and it was time. By Elijah’s
estimation, eighty years of life was a good long time. Two
hundred years ago, it was certainly longer than most. I
disagreed, but I respected his wishes.

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There had been no romantic attachment between Elijah

and me, but I had loved him. He lived a good and full life
with me, and we became close friends, like family, over the
years. We’d had a certain measure of friendly affection and
companionship between us, and his final thoughts were for
my well-being. May the powers that be bless his kind soul.
The night I found Jane, I had been considering finding
a new feeder to alleviate myself from the unpleasantness of
bag and animal feeding.
I’d stepped out into the snow to gaze up at the night sky
when I caught the scent of this girl’s blood about thirty miles
west of my house.
Now, I felt that bringing her back was the right decision.
Perhaps it was even crucial to both our fates. Yes, this would
likely turn out very well.
She would be safe with me and live a luxurious life if she
desired. By the time her memory-filled dreams started up
again, I had already decided to make her the offer.
Settling comfortably into the armchair by her bedside, I
refocused my attention on her mind.

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CHAPTER SIX

Jane’s POV

Tristan crashed onto the rough surface of the gallows

platform with a thud. Beta Edward Douglas bent down and
loosened the noose around his neck and removed it, tossing
it aside.
Tristan lay on his side, gasping for air as the shackles
were removed from his wrists and ankles.
His eyes frantically searched for mine as I sat on the
ground near the gallows, sobbing. My body violently shook
in pain and heartbreak.
He mind-linked me again, “Jane, look at me.”
I looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
Through the link, he said clearly, “I don’t accept your
rejection. You are my true mate.”
My eyes widened in fear, but he cut into my thoughts
again, and his words were quick but clear.
“Listen to me, Jane. They are going to take you far away from
here. They might even force me to mark someone else. They will sever
your connection to the pack, and I won’t be able to mind-link you
again. You will be a rogue. But I will find you when it’s safe.
“You’ll be safer away from here. Live with other humans; you’ll
be ok. I need you to survive, alright? Do whatever you have to and
survive. I will forgive you anything. Just survive until my father dies,
Jane. Then I will come for you. I promise. You are my true mate now
and always.”
I stared at him with red eyes and a tear-streaked face.
The aching pain in my entire torso was almost rendered
insignificant by the shock of what he was saying.
He still wanted me as his mate. He wanted me to be safe.
I had to survive.
“Will you do that, Jane?” He pressed desperately into my
mind, “Will you survive for me?”
“I will,” I linked back with all my heart.

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“Good girl,” he said out loud.

Beta Edward scowled at him and then shouted at the
warriors standing beside me.
“Take her out of here. Dump her in the forest at the
north border. She’ll be severed from the pack shortly.”
I was yanked roughly up by my armpits and carried
around the pack house to the driveway. The men threw me
into the back of a pickup truck and started driving. My body
was inflamed with pain, and my heart ached with both
sorrow and a glimmer of hope.
Halfway down the drive, I heard Tristan’s voice for the
last time through the link, “I love you, Jane Marie Brown.”
As the pack link severed, I felt my connection to my
people snapped in two, like the cable of an elevator, and I
was the car that would crash to the ground.
All went silent on the two-hour drive to the edge of pack
territory. Because no one spoke much to me through the
link, I’d assumed its absence wouldn’t affect me much. I was
wrong. Though I wasn’t often spoken to, the push and pull
of the thrumming emotions and the presence of the pack
had been there like the breath I breathe. It existed my entire
life, and I’d taken it for granted. Now, I was utterly,
wretchedly alone.
Clinging to the side of the truck bed, my aching back
offered to the falling snow; I felt the intense cold numbing
the pain a bit.
We were driving through the forest, and I was being
jostled, bounced, and battered for the entire trip before the
truck finally came to a halt.
One of the warriors exited the truck cab, reached over
the side to pick me up like a sack of potatoes, and ruthlessly
tossed me into the snow.
“Run,” snarled the warrior who had thrown me on the
ground.
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I got to my feet and
started running. It wasn’t long before my body screamed at
me, and my lungs burned, but I ran without stopping
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anyway. I silently thanked whoever had put my sneakers on

me in that cell when I was unconscious. Goddess bless that
person.
I ran as my shirt was trying to fall off my body, and my
shorts were crackling and stiff from the dried blood that
saturated them. I ran anyway.
I ran as long as I possibly could before collapsing into a
pile of leaves at the foot of the giant oak tree.
As my lungs heaved and pumped, begging for more air,
the adrenaline began to fade. The precarious and hopeless
situation in which I found myself overtook me as my body
was racked with shivers from the cold and gasped for deeper
breaths. The fear, the loneliness, and the heartbreak began
to diminish as the cold consumed me, embraced me, and
pulled me down into the loving arms of oblivion.
I tried to keep my promise to Tristan. I tried to survive,
but I was miles from any shelter and didn’t have enough
warmth to make it through this cold winter night.
Not having eaten for at least two days, my body was
weak to its human flesh. Seduced into the belief that death
was a welcome and beloved relief, I had finally surrendered.
I must be dead now. I felt warm and comfortable. There
was no more pain in my back, and my limbs were no longer
numb. I felt like I could open my eyes and be awake. This
must be the afterlife.
I needed to check. I turned a little and opened my eyes
to the warm glow of a fire burning in a hearth a few feet
away.
It took me several blinks to focus on the man sitting still
and quietly in the chair beside the bed. He didn’t seem like
an ordinary man or even a wolf.
He appeared to be approximately thirty years old and
very tall. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about him was
how incredibly beautiful he was, which I observed
dispassionately. With black hair and eyes so dark brown they
were almost black, he watched me without moving. At all.

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Maybe this was the afterlife. I didn’t think a normal

person could sit that still. His statuesque lack of motion
indicated he wasn’t even breathing. Was he an angel?
No…he seemed more dangerous than that. A devil,
perhaps?
An amused smile appeared at the corners of his perfectly
sculpted mouth, and then he spoke.
“I am neither angel nor devil, Jane Marie Brown.
Welcome to my home. You are not dead.”

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Tristan’s POV
When they severed Jane’s link to the pack, I felt like they cut
off a piece of my flesh. They didn’t know I had refused to
accept her rejection. Most probably, the pack didn’t know
that I could.
Normally, a refusal to a rejection wouldn’t matter, but
because I had Alpha blood, my refusal could force the true
mate bond to remain intact. Inversely, an Alpha blood’s
rejection was final regardless of the mate’s wishes.
This wasn’t common pack knowledge anymore. With
the freedoms gained by she-wolves over decades of reform,
the councils who rule our kind didn’t want this to be
common knowledge. No woman should be forced to
remain mated to an Alpha against her wishes. I’m sure my
father didn’t think I knew about this. It was well-hidden
information.
It didn’t happen often since most wolves would never
dare refuse an Alpha’s heir. It was usually the Alpha or
Alpha heir who abandoned an unsuitable mate. My father
had been trying to force me to do the rejection. A final
rejection. But when I wouldn’t, he took Jane’s, assuming
incorrectly that I didn’t realize the power my bloodline held.
I stood at my window, which happened to face north,
and stared out over the endless treetops. They had dumped
her in the frozen forest to the north. There wasn’t anything
for miles past our territory except for the vampire.
They believed she was dead by now, but she wasn’t. I
would feel it if she died. Her pain and misery seemed less to
me now than when she had been taken away.
Jane didn’t know I’d loved her for years. The morning I
realized this was the first day I began to thank her for
serving me breakfast every day.

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By all appearances, she was always so quiet and

compliant. Sometimes, at school, I would catch her
mumbling a sarcastic remark under her breath or talking to
herself in an encouraging way. She’d tell herself that she was
strong and she would be ok.
I heard and felt her and found myself rooting for her,
too. She made me smile, laugh, and occasionally roll my
eyes. No one knew why, but I did, and that was enough for
me.
She tried to stay invisible as much as possible around
others, but over the years, I realized she was smart and had
a quick wit. Even though she never disobeyed or stood up
for herself to others, she carried herself with humble dignity
that I’d never seen in anyone else.
I started to pay more attention to her in the mornings
and watch how she moved. She mesmerized me.
I would eat my breakfast as slowly as I dared to spend
more time alone with her.
I knew she never noticed me in that way. She wouldn’t
dare. My position in the pack would seem impossible to her,
so it would never cross her mind.
However, I knew when her eighteenth birthday was, and
I was waiting that morning. I hoped.
It took all my self-control that day to wait in my room
until she reached the second floor of the house.
I could smell her down the hall, and I knew, but I hardly
believed this amazing miracle until I laid my eyes on her.
Regarding the events of the past few days, a lot of the
pack would understand my reluctance to give up the true
mate bond. They would also understand that my father had
to punish me for disobedience. The Alpha’s orders were
law. Treason was punishable by death.
I was only spared death in the end because I was his only
son, and my mother couldn’t have any more pups. He
announced his pardon of my treason for the Luna’s sake.
The pack now believed the Alpha would not even spare
his own family if they did not yield to his law. They were
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terrified and unlikely to disobey any command going

forward after this display of power.
It wasn’t that they hated me. If they did, I would surely
be dead. It was a confusing situation because I refused an
Alpha order, something incomprehensible to them, even if
the reason was understandable. But I couldn’t do it.
On that morning, her eighteenth birthday, I discovered
that which I had longed for was to be; my true mate was
Jane Marie Brown. I felt like the luckiest bastard on earth.
Most wolves who fell in love before discovering their
true mates were unlucky because it was almost never with
whoever ended up being their mate. When the true mate
appeared, due to the sacred bond, the one they loved before
would immediately feel insignificant to them. They may
even believe the love hadn’t been real in the first place.
I felt truly blessed by the goddess that the girl I had loved
for four years turned out to be my mate. She was made for
me, and I, for her.
I reckoned that the road ahead would be difficult for
both of us. In two days’ time, the neighboring pack would
send their Alpha’s daughter to me. Our fathers signed an
alliance that included our mating. It was their hope that we
would have a son who could become the Alpha of both
packs after me and unite them as one. If that were to
happen, we would become the largest and strongest pack in
North America.
Avery MacKenzie was her name. We had met a handful
of times over the years. She was a kind and even beautiful
girl but utterly uninterested in me. I would need to speak to
her alone before the ceremony. Hopefully, she would
understand what I wanted to say.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

Jane’s POV

Sitting up in the strange bed suddenly, I continued to

observe the man in the chair next to the bed.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Gabriel. I found you freezing to death in the woods
not far from my home.”
“You live near pack lands?” I decided not to mince
words. This man was obviously not an ordinary human.
Gabriel shrugged, “My estate is large. It borders two
packs. To be precise, the packs settled near my estate
centuries ago. I found you in the forest on my estate. We’re
generally north of your former pack.”
“How do you know which pack I come from?” I
squinted at him, partially from my headache and partially
out of suspicion.
“You were dreaming about your past,” he answered
honestly.
“Was I talking in my sleep?” I was curious.
“No, I was watching your dreams,” he shrugged.
I’m sure the shock was plain on my face.
He smiled, and I saw two of his teeth elongate into fangs.
“I’m ancient and powerful.” His eyes sparkled as if
amused, and then his fangs retracted into normal teeth
again.
The transition was so smooth that I could’ve been easily
convinced I’d imagined it. Staring at his perfect smile, I was
mesmerized that such a creature existed.
Reaching behind my back, I touched the skin there. The
flesh had been torn open when I was thrown into the
woods, but now it was smooth and healed. Shouldn’t there
be bumpy sores or scars? There was no pain, either.
“How long have I been unconscious?”

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“You’ve been asleep for a day and a half. It would have

been less if you could have swallowed more of my blood,
but your throat was nearly frozen shut.”
“Your blood?” I gaped.
“Vampire blood heals many creatures, especially
humans,” he answered, observing me intently.
“I’m a wolf,” I insisted.
“You have no wolf,” he replied.
I didn’t know if he could really read my mind, but he
knew my full name and that I had no wolf. He also knew
where I came from. Considering I had never been off pack
lands before yesterday and was invisible to most of my pack,
I didn’t see how this was possible any other way.
A slight tremor of fear bloomed deep within my chest,
but I took a deep breath and forced it to retreat.
Gabriel spoke softly, “I assure you you’re in no danger
here. I don’t believe in harming the innocent.”
“Well, Gabe the vampire,” I boldly stared straight into
his eyes, “What now?”
He grinned in the way a doting father might grin at his
kid when he had surprises in store.
“For now, you eat,” he replied.

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CHAPTER NINE

Avery’s POV

My driver had been advancing up the long, formal driveway

path through the trees for at least twenty minutes since we
entered the pack lands of the Moon Blood Pack.
The Martins were always so ostentatious, wanting to
present themselves as a warped sort of royalty. It kinda
disgusted me how my father fed into that and tried to
elevate our pack in the same way. It was always an attempt
to keep up with the Martins.
Using the drive as a time to rest wasn’t happening. I was
exhausted from everything that had happened recently.
That goal was too much to hope for, honestly. I wanted to
forget how the last few days had been like my own
personal hell.
Finding my mate in the past few days had been a
hurricane that had wrecked me completely. The extreme
emotions of joy at finding her, followed by the experience
of losing her so soon after, had me feeling like I’d been in a
fistfight where I couldn’t fight back. The aches and pains
still pulsed through my body without relief. The very
thought of Angelica made me want to smile as my pulse
rose, even amid my misery.
She was perfect for me: friendly, smart, wise, kind,
beautiful, joyful, and genuinely loves caring for others and
being helpful to those around her. I loved her at once. She
was better than me in every way, but I didn’t feel that was a
bad thing. I felt inspired, challenged, and proud.
My parents couldn’t accept that their only child was that
way and assured me the pack wouldn’t either. Nevertheless,
I fought them for a while. There had never been a successful
female Alpha with a female mate, but that didn’t mean it
wasn’t possible. Other female matings were successful in
pack history, so this shouldn’t be any different.

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My father was too obsessed with carrying on a genetic

legacy and growing the pack through his bloodline. This
whole plan to force Tristan and me to mate was to get an
ultimate Alpha child from his bloodline to merge our packs
into some super-powerful wolf empire.
He had been alluding to something big and mysterious
on the horizon, and he had to get ready, mumbling about
being the strongest pack to lead the coming times in the
right way forward. It was a little unnerving to me, and I was
beginning to seriously worry about him until I found my
mate and realized he was just crazy.
He threatened to exile and turn rogue Angelica’s entire
family from within our pack, hundreds of wolves, if I didn’t
reject her. He seemed crazy enough to do it, and I
recognized the seriousness of his intention. It would have
been a vastly irresponsible and dangerous thing to do.
Angelica’s extended family made up at least a third, or
maybe even half of our pack’s numbers. To rogue that many
wolves and expel them from the territory would not only
weaken our pack significantly but also give them a limited
amount of time to find a pack before the rogue nature began
to corrupt their minds.
In the end, I couldn’t bear to see all of that unnecessary
suffering. I told her she had to let me go. It wasn’t much of
a choice for either of us. Angelica had to choose her family;
it was the right thing to do. She sobbed so much that she
could barely get the words out. I wanted her to be the one
to reject me because I didn’t want her to live with the feeling
that she was unwanted. I wanted her. I just couldn’t stand
to see her in so much pain.
Rejection is brutal, even when you know the other
person doesn’t want to do it. The fire burned in my chest,
and the heat increased over and over, radiating pain in my
bones and out into the rest of my body, even to the tips of
my fingers and toes.
It seemed like my bones were cracking and fracturing to
shift into my wolf but with so much more intensity and no
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 Wolf County, USA - Jane

actual movement or progress toward relief. Physically, the

pain was beyond anything I’d ever felt before, but the
emotional pain was just as bad.
Like anxious butterflies in my belly and heartache on
steroids, my inner turmoil caused an emotional pain so
intense that my head exploded in the worst migraine of my
life. As if pieces of my brain were being carved out of my
head while I was awake without pain medication, I passed
out just after it occurred to me that I could actually die.
When I woke up, I was in my bed feeling empty and
alone. After a couple more excruciating days, my mother
came in to inform me Alpha Martin’s son was of age now,
and they had agreed to mate us under an alliance agreement.
It didn’t matter now who I was forcibly bred to; it would
never be her, so I no longer cared. The only thing I could
do for her now was submit to my father’s will to keep her
safe.
Tristan and I had met a few times over the years, and he
and I got along fine. We just didn’t know each other that
well.
I wondered why he was available to make this match.
Was it because he was being forced, too? Maybe he hadn’t
been able to find his mate or didn’t care about such things.
Perhaps he’d been through something like my own
experience.
My life-long driver, David, who was also, by a cruel twist
of fate, my beloved Angelica’s father, stopped out of view
of the pack house. In addition to my driver, David was my
bodyguard from birth. He knew more about me than
anyone else who ever knew me. In truth, the man was more
of a father to me than the Alpha ever was.
“Avery,” he began without looking back at me, a catch
of emotion in his voice, “I asked for permission to transfer
packs and stay with you, but the Alpha denied the request.
I’m sure you understand the reasons.”
Tears formed in his eyes.

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“I tried, Avery. I’m allowed to stay for two nights to get

you settled, and then I must go back. I’m sorry I couldn’t
do better by you.”
“It’s ok, David. Thank you for trying. At least I have you
for a couple more days, right?” I smiled at him in the
rearview mirror with more calm in my voice than I felt.
His expression remained grim.
“Are you ready?” He asked.
“I’m ready,” I confirmed in a firm and determined tone.
It wasn’t like it mattered to me. If I couldn’t have
Angelica, then the rest was inconsequential.
He turned back to the wheel and continued the drive to
the pack house. We arrived quickly and he exited the car to
open my door.
When I stepped out, I saw Alpha Martin and Luna
Beverly standing with Tristan, waiting to greet me.
Taking in the crisp finished appearance of the Alpha in
his suit and the designer dress of the Luna, I internally
cringed. Tristan was wearing an ordinary T-shirt and jeans
combo and looked handsome enough for most women, I
supposed.
The Luna and Alpha were smiling, and Tristan was
making intense eye contact with a serious expression. He
wanted to talk.
The Luna spoke first, in an overly simpering tone,
“Avery, welcome! We’re so excited to have you with us at
last.”
The Alpha smiled down at me and took my hand, patting
me on the back of it like a doting father, “It’s good to see
you, my dear. I look forward to the joining of our families.
Please make yourself at home.”
He gently released my hand and said, “I’ve got to get
back to my Alpha duties now. My Luna will make you
comfortable.” Then he strutted away without waiting for a
reply.
Luna Beverly took up the conversation without me
having said a word to anyone yet, “You must be tired,
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Avery. Would you like to rest in your room before your

tour?”
I tried to smile at her, “To be honest, I’m a little sore
from sitting in the car so long.”
Tristan, sharp as always, knew his cue right away. He
stepped forward and reached out his hand, “Let me take you
for a little walk to stretch your legs,” he said casually.
I accepted his hand, smiling amicably, “Thanks, Tristan,
I’d like that.”
The Luna sighed in relief and called after us, “We’ll see
you both at dinner!”
Tristan didn’t reply as he pulled me towards the trees.

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CHAPTER TEN

Gabriel’s POV

It’s a strange thing to know the inner workings of someone’s

mind. Inside their head, you see not only their thoughts but
also who they perceive themselves to be. Often, reality is
different.
Here lies plain, mousy, and unremarkable Jane Marie
Brown. That’s who she believes herself to be. But to me, the
truth is very different.
Perhaps living an orphan servant’s life had given her the
idea that she didn’t have anything to recommend her to
anyone. However, I had lived more than ten centuries
reading minds. It made me something of an expert on
people, supernatural or otherwise.
In her memories, I saw what she could not. She was
brave, hopeful, and willing to surrender herself to love
completely. Something which she had, until now, not fully
experienced or known.
With a broken heart and body, she still ran miles and
miles, almost nude, through the frozen forest. After more
than 24 hours without food or water and having lost much
blood, she still fought to stay alive until her body overcame
her.
The survival instinct in most people isn’t that persistent.
I’d seen stronger people lie down and give in to death much
sooner and under much less pressure.
She did it because she promised her mate that she would
do her best to live.
In my eyes, Jane Marie Brown was one of the purest
persons I’d ever had the privilege to meet. She expected
nothing and gave everything.
“What now?” She had asked me after flippantly calling
me Gabe.

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She wasn’t scared or reverent with me. She was truthful

and matter-of-fact. She didn’t hide anything or feel I had
invaded her privacy after watching her life play out in her
dreams. She just accepted that reality.
“Can you drive, Jane?” I already knew the answer.
She scoffed, “Of course not, and you know it.”
“Why do you assume so?”
“Because I know what I dreamed, and it was practically
my entire life flashing before my eyes.”
I chuckled again.
I finally stood and pointed to a door on the other side of
the room.
“Emma placed some clothing in the bathroom through
that door. Please feel free to shower and dress so we can get
you fed. Once the effects of my blood wear off, you could
still die if you don’t eat.”
She nodded curtly, and without worrying about her
modesty in the least, she stepped out of the bed and steadied
herself before walking through the bathroom door and
closing it softly behind her.
A few minutes later, I heard the shower running. When
she stepped under the warm water, she moaned out loud as
if she’d never had a hot shower in her life. Maybe she hadn’t.
She sounded as if it was the height of her experiences to
date.
I walked out of the room and down to the kitchen. I
didn’t use the kitchen myself. I had a butler’s pantry that I
had retrofitted as a walk-in refrigerator in which I stored my
blood bags.
Currently, my lovely housekeeper was cooking a
veritable feast there, her smile as wide as the sky.
When she noticed my presence, her mouth was off and
running. Talking up a storm was one of Miss Emma Jones’s
specialties. One that I didn’t mind in the least.
“Master Gabriel, isn’t it thrilling to have a human in the
house! And such a lovely girl. Poor dearie. I can’t imagine
why anyone would whip such a small thing half to death and
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throw her out in the snow! What an awful world this is, as
we both know full well. Just when I think these modern
times are more civilized than ever, we see more and more
atrocities still exist in this cruel world. Well, you just leave it
to me, Master Gabriel. I’ll make sure she’s fed, pampered,
and spoiled to bits. Only figuratively, of course.”
I grinned at her and didn’t bother to reply. She didn’t
need me to say anything. She’d been with me for more than
one hundred years, ever since I’d rescued her from a run-in
with Jack the Ripper.
She wasn’t even his typical choice of victim. She was
simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. She had been
a charitable matron of forty years of age serving at Christ
Church, Spitalfields. She was trying to lead the little
prostitute girls of London to salvation when she came upon
a gruesome murder just completed.
When I’d seen her earlier in the evening, I’d been
enchanted by her loveliness and had been following her for
a while. When Jack turned his instruments of death toward
her, I’d torn his head from his body and whisked the lovely
Miss Emma Jones to my home in London, depositing the
former Ripper in some hole or other along the way.
She blessed the Lord and her own soul many times
before she finally thanked me and asked much the same
thing as Jane had earlier, “What happens now?”
It was a common question people and supernaturals
alike would ask one of the most powerful vampires in the
world. A question that was born of curiosity and an
admission that they were at my mercy.
I’d given her the choice to continue her work in East
London or come to work for me as my housekeeper. She
said she could hardly go back to normal life after knowing
that someone like me existed, and she might as well serve
me since she owed me a debt for saving her life.
Three years after coming to be my housekeeper, she
nearly died of a vicious virus that was going around. So, I
turned her, with her consent, so that she could remain by
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my side. The idea of losing her had been unthinkable. It still

is.
We both appeared to be in our thirties now, even though
she was more like 170 and I was closer to 1,170.
The vampire nature had, of course, made her look her
best self. Emma was short and curvy with a flawless
complexion. Her long golden-brown hair, which she wore
in a bun whenever she carried out her housekeeping duties,
was breathtaking to me. So many nights, I’d dreamt of
running my fingers through her beautiful locks and kissing
the top of her head.
Her sparkling green eyes always drew my attention,
causing me to stare at her for longer than necessary. I quite
adored her, and if truth be told, I loved her more than any
being I’d ever known.
We were something like a strange middle-aged married
couple - where the wife had no idea she was in a couple -
and it was on my list of goals to someday stop her from
calling me Master and persuade her to love me back. I hadn’t
been able to do it yet since she seemed so happy being my
housekeeper, and I didn’t want to spoil it for her.
I rarely peered into her mind, giving her privacy out of
respect for the kind attention and care she gave me over the
years.
Emma continued cooking Jane’s feast, softly humming
a song to herself while moving around the kitchen. I sat on
a stool at the kitchen island and watched her contentedly.
This is how Jane Marie Brown found us when she
finished cleaning up and getting dressed. She must have
followed her nose to the food.
She stopped in the doorway as her stomach let out an
enormous rumble of hunger, but she was paused there,
observing us and thinking, “Are they a married couple? Should I
go in?”
“I wish,” I said to her and winked.
“Come. Eat,” I encouraged her.

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Emma looked up at me and said, “You wish what?”

Then, she noticed Jane standing in the doorway.
She immediately rushed to the girl and gently took Jane
by the hands, guiding her onto a stool near me.
“Jane, please come eat! You’re nothing but skin and
bones!” She cooed like a mother hen.
Jane obediently sat on the stool in bewilderment as
Emma piled a plate full of fruit, quiche, bacon, and
croissants glistening with butter and jam.
Emma then placed a large glass of water and another of
juice beside Jane’s plate.
Jane stared at it in awe.
“What’s wrong? Is it not good?” Emma asked worriedly.
“Not good?!” Jane nearly yelled, then quietly said, “I’ve
never been given such a feast in my life!”
She dug into the food with the gusto of a starving animal.
Emma refilled her plate twice, and Jane continued eating
while making sounds of pleasure and satisfaction.
Emma watched her with delight and great affection. I
suddenly felt we’d adopted a daughter.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jane’s POV

I filled my belly near bursting. I can’t remember ever having

food so delicious. I sighed and smiled with utter satisfaction.
Finally, I looked up at the pair watching me eat and said
to the woman, “Hello, I’m Jane Brown.”
Emma’s dimpled smile was gorgeous, and her green eyes
sparkled as she came around the island to hug me, “And I’m
Emma Jones. You can call me Emma.”
She squeezed me a bit too tightly until I yelped.
“I’m so sorry, Jane. It’s been a while since we had a
human in the house and, you know, vampires sometimes
don’t know their own strength. I must remember that you’re
softer and more fragile than me. Please don’t be afraid. I
wouldn’t ever hurt you.”
I giggled at her chatter, and she stopped, looking a bit
sheepish.
“It’s nice to meet you, Emma,” I responded sincerely
and with a smile, “Thank you for the food. You’re an
amazing chef.”
Emma dimpled at me again, pleased as she could be,
“Chef! My goodness, what a little flatterer you are. I’m just
the housekeeper.”
I looked over at Gabriel in wonder. How did she not
know he constantly gazed at her with those adoring eyes?
Before Tristan, if such a gorgeous man had ever looked at
me like that, I’d be pregnant.
Gabriel laughed heartily, obviously hearing my thoughts.
I grinned at him, not minding that he was listening to
them. It was comforting, in a way, and made me feel less
lonely. I imagined this must be what it felt like to have a
wolf you could converse with secretly without others
knowing. And somehow, too, I trusted Gabriel. I didn’t
understand why - there had been enough reasons in my life

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never to trust anyone again - but something about him made

me feel safe and at home. Moreover, he seemed to
understand my thoughts weren’t seriously lusty since no
true desire lay behind them.
Emma looked back and forth between us for a moment,
then rolled her eyes good naturedly and began cleaning the
kitchen. She put all the leftover food into glass bowls and
containers, covered them, and placed them in the
refrigerator.
“Help yourself whenever you’re hungry, Jane. I’ve
stocked all the cabinets and the fridge with food. I don’t
know what you like, but we’ll just learn about each other
together over time, hmmm?”
I cleared my throat and began, “Thank you,
Emma...but...I should tell you that I don’t really have any
place to go, and I don’t expect to be a charity case.”
Emma smiled, “And neither will you be one. You and
Gabriel head off to his study now that you’ve eaten, and he
can discuss this all with you there.”
She shooed us out of the kitchen as she started washing
dishes. I caught a glimpse of the miraculous speed with
which she was scrubbing them before being pulled by the
hand down the hall.
Gabriel led me like a small child until we came to a
spectacular heavy wooden door with ornate carvings from
top to bottom.
He swung the door open and brought me to one of two
armchairs arranged before a glowing fireplace. After
gesturing for me to sit and placing a warm blanket over my
legs, he took the other chair facing me.
“We can agree to a mutually beneficial arrangement if
you are amenable,” he began.
“You vant to drink my blood?” I joked in my best
Dracula accent.
He responded with playful sarcasm, “I’ve never heard
that one before.”

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“I vaguely remember hearing some of the older ladies in

the kitchens talking about vampires once and calling
someone a feeder. Is that what you’re referring to?”
Gabriel nodded at me, “That’s right. It’s typically a
lifetime contract between a vampire and a human. But since
I know your situation, I could provide a clause making it
possible to cancel the contract upon bonding with your true
mate, if you prefer.”
“Do you know the Martins?” I asked curiously.
His clear gaze carried more than his reply, “Yes, I do.”
I stared at him for a while, thinking it through. I didn’t
bother trying to put up a wall since I knew he could hear
me.
There is nowhere else for me to go. I have no money or even clothing.
This house is comfortable and able to meet my needs. I’d probably be
safe here since Gabriel wouldn’t be likely to put his feeder in any
danger. I wonder if it hurts.
“I can trick your brain into thinking that it doesn’t, so in
the end, it won’t,” he answered aloud.
Thinking of the supernatural romance novels I’d been
reading since I was thirteen, another question popped into
my head. I really wish I had controlled the imagery better as
my mind produced a picture of us embracing in a sensual
situation with him biting down on my neck like a wolf lover.
His eyes widened only a tiny fraction at the picture, but
he said nothing as my cheeks burned scarlet red with my
embarrassment.
“I’ve read a lot of novels,” I finally admitted shyly.
He replied to ease my mind, “You aren’t wrong in that
it happens that way sometimes, but to me, you are a lost
child who could use my care and provide a needed benefit.
I wouldn’t inject you with my aphrodisiac venom, but
instead, use a mild form of mind control to lead your brain
away from the pain response. This method is easily done for
me because of my particular abilities involving the mind.”
“Where would you...how would you?” I cleared my
throat nervously.
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In the blink of an eye, he was on one knee beside my

chair raising my wrist to his lips. His fangs gently touched
my flesh just below the palm of my hand, and he made eye
contact with me a moment before dropping my arm and
returning to his chair.
My eyelids fluttered open and shut a few times, as my
brain caught up to the sudden movements.
“Are there any side effects?” I inquired curiously.
“I would only take a pint at a time, the equivalent of a
blood bank donation. You would feel a little tired afterward.
You will have to drink my blood, as well, if I need you to
recuperate faster to feed often.”
I nodded, and he continued, “Additionally, there will be
some side effects to the mind control. You will feel attached
to me after repeated exposure to my tampering with your
pain responses. Something equivalent to a caffeine
addiction. It’s mild in some and stronger in others. There’s
often an emotional attachment, too.”
Gabriel continued, “It would be helpful for you to
consider me an uncle or a father figure to direct your
affections in a wholesome and platonic way. I don’t have
any concerns that you’ll develop a serious attraction since
you’ve already found your true mate and will be able to tell
the difference between a real connection and an artificial
one.”
I nodded as I pondered the information. Finally, I asked,
“We wouldn’t be able to have a real connection? Like a
friendship? Do you get attached to your feeders?”
“I’m capable of that, yes. Not every vampire is, but I
don’t live much in the company of others because I prefer
to practice and honor many human ways. I was born
human, after all.
“A dedicated feeder is not essential to survival in an age
of blood bags, but most vampires prefer to drink directly
from the vein. It is a pleasant experience for us to do so. It’s
like the difference between a warm drink on a cold day and
a cold drink on a cold day; a matter of personal preference.”
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He continued, “My last feeder was with me for sixty

years, and I loved him like a son. I would have kept him
longer if he hadn’t decided it was time for him to leave this
world. He passed due to an illness.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said.
He acknowledged my words with a nod.
I asked the final question floating around in my mind,
“Won’t I become a vampire if we feed from each other?”
“That’s a common belief, but vampires have several
kinds of venom that they can choose to release in a
controlled fashion. Venoms such as aphrodisiac, poison,
turning, and even no venom at all.”
I felt satisfied with his answers and asked, “How do we
form the contract?”
“We can do a verbal or a written contract if you prefer.
I have a safe where I can store it,” He gestured to the wall
behind his desk.
“Alright, I agree. It seems like the best option for me to
keep my promise to Tristan. But I want to get a message to
him to let him know that I’m safe,” I bargained.
“That’s easily done. I’m well known to the Martins,” he
assured.
“Thank you. Let’s do a written contract so that I can be
clear on what your expectations are of me,” I knew he
would be able to feel my sincerity and good intentions.
“Let’s move to my desk, and we’ll write it up at once.”
I followed him there, and we spent the next couple of
hours sharing our expectations and wishes.
We agreed to take some time to read what we had drawn
up and think over the details and if we would like to add any
further requirements or stipulations. We would revisit in
five days.
For now, Gabriel encouraged me to explore his estate
and rest to recover from my experience more fully. He
offered me the use of his enormous library, music room,
and art studio, and I couldn’t wait to start my adventures in
the arts.
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CHAPTER TWELVE

Tristan’s POV

I walked through the woods together with Avery until I was

sure we were far enough from anyone else that no one could
hear us.
I stopped in a small clearing and turned to her, finally
letting go of her hand.
“I need to have a very open conversation with you, and
I hope you will be equally open and honest with me,” I
began.
She sighed in relief, “I’d like that very much.”
I got right to the point, “Have you found your true
mate?”
“I have,” she answered and then, “Have you?”
“Yes,” I answered honestly.
“Is she part of your pack? Will you see her regularly?”
She asked with absolutely zero indication of jealousy or
concern.
I felt encouraged to continue.
“It’s not possible. When my parents found out an
orphan pack servant was my true mate, they asked me to
reject her. I would not. They...beat us both…and forced her
to reject me…while I swung from some gallows,” I finished,
my voice full of emotion.
Avery’s face displayed a range of emotions from sorrow
to anger and, finally, shock as her voice trembled her
response, “What?!”
She was at a loss for further words, and I continued, “My
father hanged me to force her. He only cut me down when
she rejected me, and they dragged her to the north border
and threw her into the forest in the snow. I know she’s alive,
or I would feel it, but I have no idea where she is or how
she’s surviving,” I finished.

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A look of compassion washed over her face, “I’m so

sorry, Tristan,” she said sincerely.
Then her brows furrowed, and her expression turned
serious, “But how could you feel it if she rejected you? Isn’t
the mate bond severed?” Her expression steeped in
confusion and curiosity.
“Someone with Alpha blood can refuse a rejection and
leave the bond intact or even restore it,” I revealed.
Hope shone in her eyes, “That’s possible?”
“It is,” I answered, “it worked. I can still feel the bond.
I know she’s safe…for now.”
She stayed silent for a few minutes, her eyes staring hard
in thought. I could see her jaw clenching and unclenching
as she worked through the emotions.
Finally, she voiced her most pressing concern, “I wonder
if it’s too late for me.”
“Why would you wonder that?” I asked her.
She only hesitated a minute before choosing honesty.
“My parents also told me to reject my mate, and I would
not. She was a girl from school whom I had little interaction
with previously because she was my driver’s daughter. I
knew so much about her from his stories, and I knew I
loved her as soon as the mate bond clicked into place. But
my father tries to enforce antiquated things like class
boundaries in our pack and this event was unacceptable to
him.”
“In the end, I told her to reject me since my parents were
threatening to exile her entire bloodline from the pack and
make them rogues,” she finished sadly.
“She rejected you then,” I stated.
“Yes. I didn’t want her to feel that pain or that I didn’t
want her because I did want her. I still do. I want to refuse
her rejection, but it might be too late. Also, we didn’t know
each other well. Maybe it’s better for her to move on and
forget me. It would be less painful for her in the long run.”
“Is that what you want?” I asked.
“Hell no,” she answered without hesitation.
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“In that case,” I said, pulling my cell phone from my

pocket, “why don’t we ask her?”
She looked at my phone for a few seconds and finally
decided to take it and dial a number. After a beat, I could
hear the line being answered.
I took a few steps away and turned my back to her,
although I could still hear both sides of the conversation
thanks to my wolf hearing.
“Angelica?” she said softly.
“Avery! Are you ok?” The voice from the phone
trembled.
“It’s ok, Angel. I’m ok,” she soothed affectionately.
“Are…are you mated now?” Angelica tried to steady her
voice, but it continued to tremble.
“No!” Avery practically shouted.
Stopping to take a couple of deep breaths, she
continued, “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”
“Hmm?” she hummed softly.
Avery’s face cracked into a smile. Despite our
circumstances, Angelica’s voice was soothing her. It made
me long for the sound of Jane’s voice.
“It’s something Tristan told me. This is his phone. Save
the number, ok?”
“O-ok,” Angelica said, not sounding pleased.
Avery noticed but continued, “He told me something
important, baby. He said that someone with Alpha blood
can refuse a rejection and preserve the mate bond.”
Angelica didn’t make a sound, and Avery continued, “I
want to know what your wish is regarding this possibility. It
would be easier for you to move on, I know. So, I will
respect your answer, whatever it is.”
“Easier?!” Angelica began to raise her voice, “This isn’t
easy now, Avery!” she nearly screamed.
“I know, Angel,” Avery tried to soothe her, even as she
smiled to herself, her beloved’s reaction filling her with
hope.

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Angelica sighed, “I’m sorry. I know you’re the one who

had to bear the rejection pain, but I didn’t want to do it. I
don’t want to move on. If there’s a possibility that we can
still be together, that’s what I want. No matter what it
costs,” her voice had stopped trembling and was sure and
steady.
“I’m so happy to hear that, Angel. I’m going to put you
on speaker, ok? Let’s hear what Tristan has to say,” Avery
replied with tears of joy in her eyes.
“Ok,” she agreed, then Avery pulled the phone away
from her ear and put it on speaker.
“Hi, Angelica, this is Tristan,” I began.
“Hello,” she replied shortly.
I continued, “It’s a long story, but I think that you know
how desperately our fathers want Avery and me to mate.”
“Did she tell you what they did?” Angelica asked angrily.
“I told him,” Avery answered, “but what Alpha Martin
did to Tristan and Jane was much worse.”
That startled Angelica into a more friendly tone, “I’m
sorry, Tristan. I should have guessed they were probably
forcing you, too.”
“Don’t worry about it, Angelica,” I continued, “I have
some ideas about this situation that may be difficult to put
into practice. In the end, it would benefit us all, but it’s not
without risk.”
“I’m listening,” Angelica replied simply.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Emma’s POV

I stared down at the mating ceremony invitation in my hand.

By now, Master Gabriel and Jane had shared her story with
me. This card was beautiful yet disgusting for the
information it contained.
Master Gabriel was invited to the mating ritual of Tristan
Martin and Avery MacKenzie. I had no doubt it would be
an enormous affair if he was including his vampire
acquaintances.
I examined the offensive piece of stationery, turning the
envelope over to see it included a plus one. Master Gabriel
hadn’t been to Martin’s pack yet to inform Tristan that Jane
was safe in our care.
We expected he was going to be forced to mate. He’d
told Jane as much before their link was severed, but less than
one week after we found Jane freezing to death in the woods
was a bit fast.
Jane had been with us for four days, two of which she
slept when she arrived. The event was in three days’ time.
I was outraged on her behalf. I knew this wasn’t Tristan’s
doing, but I was offended, nonetheless.
Jane had become dear to me, and it was my great
pleasure to feed and care for her. I already couldn’t fathom
what we would do without her in our home and lives.
I took some time to simmer down before walking down
the hall to Master Gabriel’s study, where he and Jane were
perfecting their Feeder contract.
I could hear them arguing over how much money she
could access. He wanted to give her his limitless black card
with ATM cash capabilities, and she merely wanted an
allowance of a few thousand dollars a month.
“That’s barely above minimum wage, Jane!” he
practically shouted in frustration.

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“You don’t have to yell. I’m standing right here!” she

growled back, “You’re already giving me shelter, food, and
clothing. What would I do with so much money?”
“I have more money than I could ever spend in a
thousand human lifetimes! You might as well help me spend
it; you’ll be feeding me, for goodness sake, you stubborn
girl!”
I walked into this scene. Master Gabriel took one look
at my face, and his frustration turned to concern, “Emma,
what’s wrong?”
He rushed to my side and gently placed his hands on my
shoulders, “Are you ok?”
My angry frown did not dissipate. I simply handed him
the invitation.
Master Gabriel took the card and read it swiftly, then
passed it to Jane.
We watched her closely as she took the invite from him
and read over the details for several minutes. Her heart rate
increased, but otherwise, she didn’t move or show any
expression or emotion.
“Jane?” I asked as I finally stepped towards her.
She looked up at me and smiled, “I’m ok, Emma. We
knew this would happen. He will still come for me in the
end. We just need to let him know I’m alright. Alpha Martin
is forcing him; it’s not like he wants to go through with this.”
“Jane,” I began slowly, “if he marks her, it will cause
great physical pain to you. It will be even worse if they…” I
paused, “…are intimate.”
Jane’s eyes flickered with fear for an instant, and then
she purposefully took slow, deep breaths to calm herself.
“It is what it is,” she finally said after a while.
Gabriel frowned, then placed his hands on her shoulders
in the same manner he had to me earlier.
“I need to visit Tristan. Let’s finish the contract in a
couple of days,” he decided.
Jane nodded, and I took her hand, leading her out of the
study and down the hall to her bedroom. She was wearing a
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T-shirt and leggings and was already barefoot, so I led her

to the bed, and she let me tuck her in. I climbed into bed
next to her and pulled her into my arms. She put her head
on my shoulder and began to weep.
She cried for over an hour before eventually falling
asleep. Jane was utterly and completely emotionally spent.
My shirt and her hair were drenched in tears.
I stayed as still as the dead as her breathing became deep
and even, holding her in a comforting embrace.

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gabriel’s POV

I had made several plans in advance for how to connect with

Tristan. One of the plans included the eventuality of
receiving an invitation to his mating ceremony.
Once Jane and Emma had closeted themselves in Jane’s
bedroom, I picked up the antique home phone receiver and
dialed Alpha Martin’s personal cell number. He answered
quickly.
“Gabriel! You’ve heard the news,” he exclaimed jovially.
“Alpha Martin, I have heard. I want to thank you for
your kind invitation. Unfortunately, I have business
elsewhere and won’t be in the state this weekend.”
“That’s a shame. You will be missed,” his slick voice held
a note of insincerity.
“I appreciate that. I wish it were possible to attend what
I’m sure will be a grand event.”
“Indeed, it will be! We are sparing no expense for my
only son’s mating ceremony,” Alpha Martin sounded happy
- the snake.
“I’d like to give the lovely couple a special gift, if I may,”
I began.
Even from here, I could almost see the greed in his eyes
as his heart rate picked up speed.
“It’s not necessary, Gabriel. We’ve been peaceful
neighbors for generations, and I’m sure our continued
friendship is gift enough,” he paused expectantly.
“I insist,” I said in a firm tone.
“Please send Tristan and Miss MacKenzie to meet me at
the Benz dealership in Cooleyville tomorrow. I want to gift
them a car.”
I could tell Alpha Martin was practically rubbing his
hands together; he was so pleased, “Oh no, we couldn’t
accept, it’s too generous…”

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“I do insist, Alpha,” I replied with a smile. The old wolf

had no idea that I could read his thoughts, even over the
phone.
“Of course, I’d never want to offend such a kind
neighbor. How does 3 pm sound? I’m in meetings until 1
pm myself, so I can’t make it before that,” he explained.
Got him.
“I’m afraid I must make a flight at noon, so it’s a little
inconvenient for me. Why don’t you send the two of them
along at 9 am, and I’ll take good care of them and guide
them to a sensible choice,” I offered.
He was unhappy to miss the chance to suck up to a one-
thousand-plus-year-old vampire neighbor, but he didn’t
want to miss out on the chance for a luxury car either - a
gift he fully intended to take from his son and use for
himself. I could hear it loud and clear in his mind, even
across so many miles.
“Fine, fine. Thank you, my friend,” he answered, “I am
sorry you can’t make the event, but this is a wonderful gift
that I’m sure the kids will be pleased with.”
“That is my hope. I’ve got to run and prepare for my trip
tomorrow. I’ll see the kids at 9 am. Goodbye, Alpha
Martin,” I replied and clicked the receiver down in its cradle.
Now, to prepare for what would be a colossal upset to
the packs of North America. If it succeeded, the kids could
be together with their mates. If it didn’t, they could all end
up dead.
I sent a quick prayer up to the moon goddess, asking her
to be on our side for the children’s sake. We’d need all the
help we could get.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Tristan’s POV
David, Avery’s driver, took us to the Cooleyville Benz
dealership. It was his last day with Avery, and she wasn’t
looking forward to losing his supportive presence.
I wasn’t thrilled with the whole trip for many reasons. I
had no desire to receive a car from an ancient vampire I’d
only met twice, but my father had insisted on accepting the
gift to avoid offense. Personally, I think my father just
wanted a new luxury vehicle for himself.
As we made our way through town to the car’s
showroom, I looked over at Avery, who was sitting on the
other side of the back seat.
She was fiddling nervously with her bag. She was
generally a laid-back kind of person, and I sensed she was
uncomfortable.
“Are you afraid?” I asked her.
She smiled at me sheepishly, “A little bit. I’ve never met
a real vampire before.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
“I can remember being intimidated my first time, too.
Most of the time, when I meet a vampire, they have business
with my father. Gabriel is different. He only makes a
neighborly visit to our pack every few years.”
Avery turned her head to gaze out the window, “What
do you know about him?”
“He has property to the north of our pack and has lived
there for several generations of my family’s Alphas. He’s
over a thousand years old.”
Avery turned to look at me, her eyes widening at the
surprising information.
“How is that possible? I didn’t think anyone on earth
was that old,” she proclaimed.

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I shrugged, “I’ve heard rumors that there are two

vampires even older than him, but he is considered an
ancient one. He comes to visit the pack every decade. His
purpose is to renew his acquaintance with the sitting Alpha.
I’ve met him twice. He’s polite but reserved. To my father,
the most important thing is that he’s very wealthy.”
“Both of our families are wealthy, so it’s not surprising
that an ancient vampire would be, too,” she answered.
I shook my head, explaining, “He’s not wealthy like our
packs are wealthy. He’s wealthy like he probably has more
money than anyone on this side of the world.”
“That explains the extravagant gift,” she chuckled.
The driver turned to speak back to us, “We’ve arrived,”
he stated as he pulled into the parking lot of the dealership.
I knew this place didn’t usually open until 10 am, but I
guess a guy like Gabriel could have it to himself any time he
pleased - open or not.
Gabriel waited for us in front of the heavy glass doors.
His regal posture was visible, and his powerful aura could
be felt, even from inside the car. He was standing perfectly
still in that eerie way only vampires could accomplish, and I
felt a slight shiver up my spine.
I’d never considered much about Gabriel in terms of his
power or lethality before, but seeing him from Avery’s
perspective, I understood why she might be afraid.
David pulled up directly in front of the doors and got
out to open Avery’s door for her. I let myself out.
As I stepped out of the car, a familiar and delicious
aroma reached my nose. I took a deep breath and had to
stop myself from moaning.
I met Gabriel’s eyes, and then mine widened in surprise
at the kind smile he was flashing me. Of course. Jane had
been thrown into the northern forest - Gabriel’s forest.
Jane was here.
He nodded to me and gestured towards the doors.

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Racing inside, I followed my nose to a back office where

her scent was the strongest, and I flung open the door. Jane
was sitting on the edge of a desk.
She was smiling at me as tears spilled over her lashes and
ran down her cheeks.
I strode across the room in two steps to wrap my arms
around her, kissing the tears from her face. Unable to
restrain myself anymore, I captured her lips with my own.
Placing my hand behind her head, I held her still as I
crushed my mouth against hers in a salty, passionate,
desperate kiss - our first.
Sucking her lower lip into my mouth, I moved my hands
underneath her thighs and pulled her legs around my waist.
Her arms slid up around my neck as she kissed me back,
parting her lips to allow my demanding tongue entry.
Emotions magnified by our forced separation, we kissed
with all the love, passion, and longing we’d suffered alone
these past days. Her fingers weaved into the back of my hair,
igniting a delicious fire in every place our bodies touched. I
moaned into her mouth as her tongue pushed back against
mine, sating the void of starvation.
Finally unable to breathe, we reluctantly pulled away
from our kiss but kept our bodies pressed together. My arms
wrapped around her waist tightly, crushing her against my
chest. She didn’t seem to mind.
Her enormous smile likely mirrored my own.
I spoke with great affection, “Jane, you’re ok. I’ve been
driven crazy not knowing where you were. What happened?
You haven’t suffered too much?”
Gabriel cleared his throat from the doorway behind me,
“While I’d love to let you both catch up, we don’t have
much time. Your father expects you and Avery to return by
noon, and you have some choices to make.”
Gabriel entered the room, followed by Avery and a
blonde woman whom I didn’t know. She looked to be in
her thirties. I looked at Jane, raising my eyebrow in question,
and she smiled up at me with a shrug.
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I released Jane, and she unwrapped her legs from my

waist, placing her feet on the floor. She stayed pressed
against me, shifting her arms to circle my waist.
I wasn’t letting go of her. When Gabriel gestured for us
all to be seated, I sat in the nearest chair, pulling Jane onto
my lap. I buried my nose in the curve of her neck and
breathed in deeply. It was heaven holding her so close,
pulling her against my chest. We hadn’t been able to
experience this amount of closeness until now, and my wolf
was practically howling with joy inside my head.
Finally, I turned my attention back to Gabriel and
inquired, “What choices?”
The golden-haired woman who followed Gabriel into
the room, closed the door, and leaned against it. David
didn’t enter the room, but I could still scent him in the
hallway outside the door.
Avery sat next to Jane and me, and Gabriel leaned
against the desk Jane had previously sat on.
Jane stiffened slightly as she observed Avery from under
her lashes. I rubbed my hand up and down her leg to soothe
her.
Gabriel made the introduction, “Jane, this is Avery, who
Alpha Martin intended for Tristan.”
Jane frowned at Avery then, but I stroked her hair gently
while Avery spoke first in a friendly manner.
“Hi Jane, I’ve heard a lot about you. You don’t have to
worry about me. I have a mate, too; she’s back at my pack,
waiting for us to figure out a plan,” Avery explained
patiently.
Jane visibly relaxed in my arms again and smiled
apologetically, “It’s nice to meet you, Avery.”
Gabriel continued introductions, gesturing towards the
woman leaning against the door, “This is Emma, my right-
hand person.”
Emma nodded at me and Avery but kept silent.
Gabriel continued, “It’s best if you just listen and don’t
reply out loud as it will save time. I can read your minds, so
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I’ll answer any questions you have aloud for everyone to

hear.”
He looked around the room until all of us had nodded
our agreement.
“I’ve devised an outrageous plan that will work for
everyone to be with their own mates if you choose it. It will
be difficult, and there may be a small war, but everyone will
have their mates.”
Gabriel paused momentarily to smile at me, having read
my eager response, “Yep. I’m in.”
He held up a hand to gain our attention before
proceeding, “The alternative is to continue with whatever
plan Tristan had to carry on a mating relationship with
Avery until your father dies, and you can come to get Jane.
If you choose the second one, Jane will be safe with me as
my contracted feeder until you come for her.”
He continued, “But if you mate with Avery, I will have
to take Jane far away, or it could kill her. She will feel every
touch you and Avery share between you, and it will be
physically painful for her and Avery’s true mate, as well.”
He paused to listen to our comments and questions
telepathically, then nodded, “Option one, it is.”
Gabriel explained, “My plan involves everyone leaving
with us now. We’ll get on my plane and fly to my one-
million-acre ranch in Montana. Avery can also notify her
mate to meet us at the airstrip.”
He turned to face Avery, “It will be your driver’s job to
get back to your pack and notify your mate’s bloodline to
head to Montana so they don’t face the retribution of your
father.”
Filling us in on the details, he informed us, “There are
no wolf packs in Montana, and your fathers don’t have allies
in that part of the country. I will gift the entire ranch to
Tristan and Jane. Tristan can form his own pack with
himself as Alpha.
“In exchange for a lifetime feeder contract with Jane,
you may take ownership of the land and the financial trust
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accounts that fund the care and operations of the ranch. She
will provide me blood for feeding, and I will provide my
blood to her and her family to keep you all healthy for life.
I will remain living on the ranch while Tristan and Jane live,
and then Emma and I will leave once you are gone.”
Gabriel fell silent briefly, then turned his head to Avery
and gestured for her to speak.
Avery nodded and explained her conditions to me: “I
agree to the plan if I can be your Beta. Since the pack will
start out consisting primarily of my mate’s family, I think
you will need that to establish your authority initially. Her
family won’t accept me as Alpha because my mate is also a
woman, and we won’t be able to produce pups. However,
having their family member and her mate as betas will make
the transition smoother for everyone.”
“How many in your mate’s bloodline will have to flee in
order to escape your father’s wrath?” I asked her curiously.
“Angelica’s family is approximately five hundred in total
and makes up nearly half of my father’s entire pack,” she
answered.
My eyes widened in surprise, “Can your driver notify
them all? Will he be willing?”
Gabriel turned his face towards the wall that separated
them from David, then smiled, “He is loyal to Avery. And
apparently, he is her mate’s father. He agrees.”
Everyone fell silent briefly, and then Gabriel looked me
in the eyes, responding to my chief concern, “The war, yes.
It’s not likely that your fathers will let this kind of betrayal
go. They’ll probably come to find you to discipline you
harshly. If you want to defend your pack and land, you’ll
have to fight them.”
I let this sink in. The burden shifted down heavily onto
my shoulders. Could I really ask all these wolves, new to our
pack, to stand with us and fight two powerful alphas?
Many lives would likely be lost so that we could be with
our mates. It was difficult to weigh the cost of something

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the four of us desperately needed and wanted against the

lives of so many.
Looking up into Gabriel’s eyes, I found him staring
back at me with a new expression. It was respect.
His tone was reassuring, “Emma and I will assist as
much as we can, and it could potentially lower the risk to
your pack, but we will likely be sanctioned by the vampire
council. The only excuse that will be acceptable to them is
that we gave you the land and funds in exchange for the
feeder contract, and when your fathers come, we will say we
were protecting my feeder. Vampires don’t tolerate threats
to their feeders in the same manner that wolves don’t
tolerate threats to their pups.”
The feeder contract worried me, and all sorts of
horrifying images flashed in my mind as I squeezed Jane
tighter against me.
Gabriel looked me in the eye and said, “Wrist, no
aphrodisiac.”
Jane giggled, and I glanced over at her sheepishly.
Gabriel grinned, “Any other questions? Do we agree to
my plan, then? Will Avery’s mate’s family be willing to
relocate and fight?”
David answered aloud through the door, “I think the
majority of them will be willing. There have been a lot of
unfair and extreme punishments dealt out by the current
Alpha that were completely unnecessary. As he ages, he’s
struggling to assert his authority to hang onto his position.
If Avery had been a man, he would already be dead, and she
would be the Alpha. The threats he made against our family
because of Avery and Angelica’s mate connection has left
many of us feeling angry and dissatisfied and even offended,
to be honest.”
“Tristan?” Gabriel waited for my final answer.
I knew what needed to be done.
“I am very grateful for your offer, and as long as Jane is
ok with what you are asking of her, I am ready to go
whenever you are,” I answered resolutely.
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Jane smiled up at me, and the beauty of it took my breath

away.
“I already signed the contract this morning before you
arrived,” she said.
I kissed her with all my heart.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jane’s POV
The plan settled, we parted ways to play our roles. There
was nothing that any of us needed to take from our old lives,
and Gabriel assured us that the trust account had enough
money to supply all our needs. We needed to move quickly.
Gabriel said we needed to be wheels up before noon
because Alpha Martin would expect Tristan and Avery back
home. Once they didn’t return, he’d send someone to look
for them and to Gabriel’s estate to search for him.
The most important thing was that Tristan and I could
now be together. Currently seated on the large private plane
with Gabriel and Emma, we waited for Angelica and her
mother to arrive. Avery paced outside the plane anxiously.
Tristan held me in his lap again, unwilling to be parted
from me. I didn’t blame or complain. I wanted to be near
him, too.
After being separated so soon after discovering we were
true mates, I couldn’t get close enough. I leaned into him,
my legs across his lap sideways and my head resting on his
shoulder. He had one arm around my waist, which I was
stroking with one hand, enjoying the feel of his warm skin
under my fingertips. His other hand gently stroked the top
of my leg. He was breathing deeply, enjoying the scent of
me. His head rested on the top of mine, and our joy was
palpable.
“Jane, let’s mark each other tonight before we sleep,” he
said softly.
My heart fluttered, and the warmth in my belly increased,
but then I realized something.
“Tristan, how will I mark you? I have no wolf,” I
suddenly met his gaze, worry in mine.
“I’ll show you later,” he grinned, a delightful secret
gleaming in his eyes.

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Before I could question him, we heard footsteps

stomping up the stairs to the plane’s open door. We turned
our eyes to see who had arrived and found Avery entering,
looking agitated.
“It’s almost eleven, where are they?” she anxiously
voiced.
Gabriel closed his eyes briefly and then responded,
“David just arrived back at MacKenzie’s pack. He’s headed
home to send Angelica and her mom this way. Tonight, he’ll
alert his family regarding the exodus to Montana.”
No one said anything, but we all knew how dangerous
this could become. He would be suspected when we
disappeared, but Gabriel’s plan accounted for this
possibility.
Avery stood in the doorway, looking out over the
runway towards the small terminal building, watching and
waiting.

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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

David’s POV
I made it home around 11 am and walked in through the
back door. Angelica was sitting at the kitchen table, staring
off into space past a bowl of fruit her mom had cut up for
her.
My mate, Diane, looked up from the kitchen sink in
surprise, “You’re home early, honey.”
I got straight to the point, the seriousness of my tone
indicating there was no time for pleasantries.
“My love, pack a small suitcase each for you and
Angelica and take the old Honda to Cooleyville Private
Airport as fast as you can.”
Angelica looked up with alarm, her eyes finally focusing
on me, “There’s a plan...Tristan made a plan. I have to
wait...”
I walked around the table to put my hands on Angelica’s
arms, “Listen to me. There’s a new plan. Tristan and Avery
approved it. You aren’t going to wait any longer.”
The hope in my daughter’s eyes made the risk one
hundred percent worth it.
“Hurry and go pack. You have five minutes to get on the
road. Only essentials, no cell phones,” I urged.
Angelica ran up the stairs to her room, and my wife
approached me with worry in her eyes, “What’s
happening?”
“We’re leaving. You’ll take a private plane with Tristan,
Avery, and a few others to a new home. I’ll stay here for a
day or two to get messages to our family. They’ll soon
follow,” I explained, “There’s no time, please hurry.”
Diane and our daughter made quick work of throwing a
few things in a couple of suitcases and headed out to the
garage to put them in the trunk.

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I kissed them both and helped load their luggage into the
car. As they backed out of the drive and turned onto the
road, I watched as they drove away, carrying my heart with
them.
Once the car disappeared, I headed inside to fulfill my
piece of the plan.
I drew in a few deep breaths to slow my heart rate. Once
I was certain of the slow, steady beat, I called Alpha
MacKenzie on my phone.
His office phone number rang twice before he picked
up, “Alpha, I’m back early, and I thought I should let you
know. Tristan and Avery were gifted a car as a mating gift
and no longer needed my services.”
The Alpha’s silence stretched for a few seconds before
he asked, suspicion coating his tone, “David, I’m told your
wife and daughter are headed into town. Why?”
I had an answer ready, “Angie’s been down since the
incident. Her mom’s going to take her on a girl’s trip until
after Avery’s mating ceremony. The farther away she is, the
better; I’m sure you understand, Alpha.”
That satisfied him, and he adopted a more relaxed tone,
“I’m sorry about all of this, David. You’ve served our family
for a long time. It’s nothing personal against your lovely girl;
we just need the bloodline to continue.”
“Yes, Alpha,” I answered.
MacKenzie didn’t bother to respond, and I heard the
phone click as he hung up.
I plopped down into my favorite leather armchair and
rested my head back against the cushion. It was time to get
to work.
I mind-linked my uncles and brothers, all 21 of them,
inviting them to poker night tonight at my place. I told them
the girls had gone on a trip until after the mating ceremony,
and the house was too quiet without them.
My oldest brother Jesse responded, “What time?”
“Six pm sharp,” I replied.

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“I’ll bring the beer,” answered my eldest uncle, Walter, the

current head of our bloodline.
Next, I went to the game closet in the hallway and pulled
out the large poker top that fit snuggly over my dining room
table. Carrying it to the dining room, I quickly placed it over
the surface and secured it to the table legs.
Back at the game closet, I pulled out my large set of
poker chips and several decks of cards. I carried them down
the hall to the dining room and arranged them on the poker
top.
Lastly, I headed to the kitchen and started assembling
trays of snacks to set along the buffet table in the dining
room. They might not get eaten, but I needed to make it
look like a real poker game among family.
I had only to get my brothers and uncles here and
explain things. Should any outsiders happen by, like the
Alpha, we would appear to just be having poker night while
the girls are away. Our family poker nights were legendary,
and I didn’t think this would alert anyone else in the pack
that anything was amiss.
Gabriel had prepared me in case MacKenzie brought his
witch with him to probe my memories.
At the dealership, he always kept Jane out of my line of
sight and had entered my mind to explain my part in his
plan.
Before I drove away from the car lot that morning, I
watched as Gabriel shook hands with Tristan and wished
him a hearty congratulations on his mating ceremony.
Tristan and Avery then got into a red Mercedes and drove
out of the parking lot.
Gabriel shook my hand and said, “Nice to see you,
David. Please excuse me; I’ve got a plane to catch.”
It truly was the last memory I had of seeing Avery and
Tristan, even though it was staged. I’d driven directly home
from there. Avery and Tristan wouldn’t return to Alpha
Martin’s pack today.

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I also knew more about MacKenzie’s witch than the

average pack member because, biologically speaking, she
was my niece. Her magical giftings were from our
grandmother.
My job as Avery’s driver and bodyguard also gave me a
deep knowledge of the Alpha’s family. MacKenzie had
stolen my niece, Abigail, from my brother and raised her in
the pack house from the age of four, when her magical
giftings were discovered.
Because of all these things, I knew that her ability to sift
through people’s minds was limited to the visual aspect of
the memory and rarely included sound. She could read lips,
so anything people said while you were looking at them
could be interpreted, but she couldn’t hear it.
She also didn’t have access to people’s thoughts that
were not visual. These limitations left me confident that
Gabriel’s plan would work if my acting was convincing
enough.
Staying here was still a risk. I had to inform the leaders
of our bloodline of the plan, all while escaping the Alpha’s
suspicions. I’d been able to rebuff them so far, and I hoped
I would continue to do so.
Shortly before six that evening, my brothers and uncles
began to filter into the house through the back door. Most
had taken routes through the woods that faded into our
back lawn. Family rarely used the street-facing entrance to
our home.
While half of them were settling in around the poker
table, we all turned our heads toward the front of the house.
We could scent our Alpha’s presence on the front porch.
His knuckles rapped twice, and I opened the door
immediately, “Alpha! What a welcome surprise. Would you
like to join our poker night?” I smiled pleasantly.
“I need to speak with you, David. Come out,” the Alpha
replied.
“Of course, Alpha,” I answered, stepping over the
threshold onto the sturdy covered porch. I reached behind
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me to pull the door closed. As the door latched shut, I

looked past the Alpha at the curly-haired figure behind him.
Just as we predicted, MacKenzie had brought Abigail,
the witch, with him on this visit. She walked up the steps
and into the porch light, coming to a stop by the Alpha’s
side.
“David, how long have you served my family?” the
Alpha asked coldly.
“Thirty years, my Alpha. Is something wrong?” I asked
innocently.
“Avery and Tristan did not return to the Martins’ today,
and we can’t reach them by phone. Do you know anything
about this?”
Shock appeared on my face in what I hoped was a
convincing expression of concern, “How could they not
return? I saw them drive their new car away towards Alpha
Martin’s pack territory!”
I tried my best to imagine how I would feel if Avery were
actually missing and responded, “Oh goddess, please, if
anything happened to Avery...” I let a tear roll down my
cheek.
The Alpha’s tone immediately softened although it was
still firm, “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind allowing Abigail to
probe your last memory of them? It may give us some clues
as to where they went,” he ordered in the form of a
question.
“Anything to help find her!” I replied fervently.
The Alpha nodded at the witch, and Abigail stepped
forward, placing her hand on my bowed head.
She closed her eyes for a time, and I focused on the
memory of watching Gabriel wish the kids well and seeing
them drive out of the parking lot in the red sports car.
She opened her eyes again and faced the Alpha, “He’s
telling the truth. The vampire congratulated them. Next,
they drove away. Afterward, Gabriel shook David’s hand
and said he had a flight to catch. David came straight home,
and it doesn’t appear he made any phone calls.”
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The Alpha put his hand on my shoulder, “Thank you,

old friend. We’ll let you know as soon as we find them.”
“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,
Alpha,” I replied earnestly.
He patted me on the back, then turned around. He
headed down the steps and drove away in his black SUV
with Abigail beside him.
I watched them disappear down the street and around
the corner before I headed back into the house.
Stepping back into the kitchen, I raised my voice to get
everyone’s attention, “Gentlemen, we need to talk.”
Twenty-one pairs of eyes turned my way, and there was
nothing but silence.
“It’s time to make a move,” I began.
My Uncle Walter stood up and approached me, clasping
my shoulder, “We’re with you, David. After what the Alpha
did to Angelica...let’s just say there’s been a lot of
restlessness in the ranks.”
A chorus of agreement flooded my ears from all the men
in my family. I bowed my head in gratitude, “Thank you all.”
Jesse came to stand beside us, “That’s what families are
about. So, what’s the plan?”
“We’ll have to make our move right after midnight. This
is the only night for the next six days that border patrol
consists entirely of our family,” I began.
“Where are we headed then?” Walter asked.
“Montana,” I answered, “that’s where our new Alpha
Tristan Martin and Beta Avery MacKenzie await our
arrival.”
Walter called out, “You heard him, boys! Gather your
families, and head out at midnight. Keep it fast; keep it
quiet.”
And everyone did.

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Avery’s POV
Three minutes before noon, Angelica and her mother came
running out of the terminal and across the tarmac. As they
rushed towards the plane, a massive sense of relief flooded
me.
When they ran up the boarding stairs and entered, I
wrapped my arms around Angelica and pulled her into the
plane. Gabriel came to help her mother, closed the door
from the inside, and told us to take a seat. We had to get off
the ground before the alphas figured out what was
happening.
Once the aircraft was sealed shut, Gabriel rapped on the
door to the cockpit with his fist. Almost immediately, the
plane began rolling down the runway.
The jerk of the sudden motion didn’t even tilt him, and
he walked steadily back to his seat beside Emma.
After I sat Angelica down, I buckled us both into our
seats. My seatbelt fastened, I took her hand, and looking
into her eyes, I said, “I refuse your rejection. You are mine!”
She leaned over to put her hands on my face and kissed
me hard for a long time until she needed to breathe. It was
like a dam burst. The link previously cut between us came
together again, snapping back into place with all the passion,
love, and strength of its former glory.
We cuddled together the best we could with our
seatbelts in separate seats.
The smile on Angelica’s face made her seem like she was
a real angel. I sent up a prayer to the goddess that we would
live to a very old age and always be together.
After a few sweet murmurings to one another, Angelica
turned her gaze to her mom, and my eyes followed hers.
Diane had taken the seat across from Gabriel and Emma
and was quietly listening to Gabriel relay the plan. If all went

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well, David and their other relatives would arrive in

Montana to reunite with us within a few days.
Emma watched Diane closely and said, “Are you going
to be alright?”
Diane sighed heavily. Her shoulders seemed to relax as
she glanced over at Angelica and me, and then she smiled
softly, “As long as they can be together, then everything’s
good.”
A comfortable silence fell over us all, and some of us
took naps as the plane hummed through the sky. The seats
were slightly wider and plushier than a regular first-class
seat. They also had a reclining feature that raised a footrest
while the backrest tilted backward.
The flight took about three hours, and then we were
touching down on Montana soil. Because we were on
Gabriel’s private jet and traveling to his private ranch, we
were able to fly directly into the ranch’s small airstrip.
As we taxied to the hangar, I peered out of the window
to take in the Montana landscape. I could see mountains in
the distance, still capped with blankets of white at the tops.
I was surprised to see so much green, even though it was
the end of winter.
From the sky, I had seen many forests surrounding the
main areas of the ranch. The land around the airstrip was
cleared of trees. The ground surrounding the landing strip
and hangar was plush with grass that seemed damp. The
snow must have recently melted. There wasn’t a cloud in the
sky, making the mountains even more prominent in the
landscape. What a beautiful place.
When the aircraft tucked into the hangar, everyone -
except the vampires - stood and stretched their limbs. We
waited as the aircraft steps were wheeled into place, and the
door was unsealed.
As we waited, Gabriel and Emma suited up in long black
trench coats, black gloves, and wide-brimmed hats. As a
final touch, Emma reached into a nearby compartment and

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pulled out two black umbrellas, handing one to Gabriel,

who took it with a smile.
We all filtered out of the jet and the hangar to climb into
a long SUV limo. Somehow, we all managed to squeeze in
together, with Tristan and I pulling our mates onto our laps.
Angelica wrapped her arms around my neck and rested
her cheek on the top of my head with a sigh. I could feel her
satisfaction and serenity through our bond. My happiness
was evident in the sudden purr that rumbled through my
chest.
The drive to the main house didn’t take long. The
hangar was only a few miles away. Before I knew it, we were
climbing out of the vehicle onto a large circle driveway in
front of an enormous three-story house.
Gabriel and Emma exited last, whipping open their
umbrellas to position the large black canopies between their
skin and the sun.
The gorgeous modern structure before us had two sleek
wings that angled back from the central structure of the
home. The third floor was smaller than the other two. It
appeared to be surrounded by a rooftop deck that covered
the top of the second floor. Several sets of modern plate
glass doors stood open to the patio, probably airing out the
space with the gentle, crisp Montana breeze.
It was a beautiful mansion composed of all natural
woods and many large floor-to-ceiling black framed plate
glass windows. The views into and through the house were
breathtaking.
We all stared up at it in awe as Gabriel stood next to
Tristan. He smiled, placed a gloved hand on Tristan’s
shoulder, and said, “Welcome to your new home, Alpha
Tristan.”
Once the phrase was uttered, I gasped at the change in
Tristan. There was an actual, physical, and magical response
to Gabriel declaring Tristan an Alpha of this land.
Because of his preoccupation with the new place, Tristan
didn’t notice the change until all of us made noises in
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varying degrees of disbelief. He suddenly looked down at

Jane, then over at the rest of us, and asked, “What is it?”
I began to laugh, “You really didn’t notice?”
“Notice what?”
Jane was staring up at him in total and complete
adoration. I couldn’t blame her because something
appealing and astonishing had occurred.
No one else was answering him, so as his Beta, I did.
“When Gabriel called you Alpha Tristan, you literally
grew,” I informed him.
“I grew?” he asked in confusion.
“You grew a lot,” I replied with a grin.
He tilted his head to consider this for a minute, then ran
to the door of the lodge, flinging it open. He rushed through
the house, opening the interior doors, looking for
something. I assumed it was a mirror.
I followed him and watched as he finally found a gym
with an entire wall mirror on one wall, and he turned to
examine himself.
He had grown at least two inches in height, and his
shoulders had broadened significantly. His muscles had
toned more and bulked up a bit, and instead of looking like
a fit eighteen-year-old as he had earlier, he now looked like
a body-building man of twenty-five.
Gabriel walked into the gym behind us with Jane and
explained, “It’s the Alpha mantle. When an Alpha comes to
power, he is enhanced with the mantle of authority. When
I welcomed you to your new pack territory and addressed
you as Alpha, the goddess anointed you with the Alpha
mantle. This also endows your voice with the ability to force
wolves in your pack to obey.”
“Ooooh, try it out!” I said.
Gabriel chuckled, “You have to pledge allegiance to him
first and accept the Beta position.”
“No time like the present,” I said.
I knelt before him and recited the pledge all wolves learn
from childhood.
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“I, Avery MacKenzie, pledge my allegiance to you,

Tristan Martin, as my Alpha. This pack shall be my family,
and where you go shall be my home as long as I shall live.”
Tristan responded to me with his Alpha pledge.
“I, Tristan Martin, pledge to you, Avery MacKenzie, to
be a strong and just Alpha. Protecting and leading this pack
as my family as long as I shall live. Stand to your feet, Beta
Avery of the First Montana Pack.”
He clasped my forearm, and I clasped his as he pulled
me up. I bowed my head as a sign of my submission to him
as our pack’s authority. There was something washing over
us, binding us together as a pack. I felt the severing of my
link to my father’s pack like a pinprick, and a refreshing new
light bathed me with a sense of belonging and home.
I sighed in contentment and looked up at Tristan.
“Now try it,” I smirked with glee.
Tristan tilted his head to one side, his fingers stroking
his chin as his mind chewed on the idea. I could feel a bit of
his amusement through the newly established pack link.
“Do ten jumping jacks,” he ordered in his alpha tone.
“Really?” I laughed as my body moved of its own accord
and began to work through the exercise.
“Hey, I could have told you to do one hundred...or
burpees,” he grinned wickedly.
“Ok, ok,” I held my hands up in surrender as I
completed my tenth jack.
I stepped back and turned to Jane as she stepped up to
Tristan with a smile, kneeling at his feet.
“I, Jane Marie Brown, pledge my allegiance to you,
Tristan Martin, as my Alpha. This pack shall be my family,
and where you go shall be my home as long as I shall live.”
Tristan’s eyes were full of love and pride as he replied,
“I, Tristan Martin, pledge to you, Jane Marie Brown, to be
a strong and just Alpha. Protecting and leading this pack as
my family as long as I shall live. I accept and honor you as
my mate and the Luna of our pack. Stand to your feet, Luna
Jane of the First Montana Pack.”
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He took both of her hands and pulled her into a giant

bear hug as I felt Jane’s presence enter the pack link. It was
warm and loving, adding depth and wisdom to our pack’s
presence.
Each time a new person entered our pack and made their
pledge, we’d all feel a sense of who they were. It wouldn’t
be a complete understanding but a general note of their
essence and being.
Jane’s presence was extraordinary. I’d certainly never felt
such an incredible, beautiful, and homey addition to my
father’s pack. I wondered what Tristan had felt when he
received me. Perhaps later, I would ask him.
The feel of the pack bonds being established and the
mind-link forming was perfect. I had no doubt that our pack
would be something new and amazing.
Angelica came forward and made her pledge to Tristan
and the pack. Then Diane followed after her.
We were only a small pack of five tonight, but for now,
it was enough. In the coming days, there would be more.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jane’s POV

I couldn’t remember ever being this happy. Sitting on the

rooftop patio outside the third-floor living area, looking out
at the ranch under the moonlight, my heart soared.
This was our pack territory. Our pack. Tristan’s and
mine. We’d been through so much in such a short time.
While I waited for Tristan to finish signing all the legal
documents with Gabriel’s lawyer, I toured the house and
settled into our apartment at the top of the manor.
We didn’t have many belongings, so it didn’t take long.
There would be a major shopping spree in our future to
obtain everything we all needed in clothing and toiletries.
Gabriel decided to officially turn the property and trust
accounts over to us on our first night here. He said it was
symbolic of the establishment of the pack and should
happen today. Fortunately, he had several attorneys at his
beck and call in each city in which he owned property.
One million acres! This would be the second-largest
pack territory in North America. What a responsibility it
would be for an Alpha and Luna as young as us.
In a few days’ time, our pack would grow to nearly five
hundred wolves when Angelica’s blood relatives arrived
from the eastern United States.
Tristan and I had a few minutes to talk after being shown
the master’s suite, which comprised the entire third floor of
the massive home. Avery had already taken to calling it the
pack house or the lodge.
This floor was akin to a penthouse suite. It had its own
kitchen, dining and living area, an office/study/library
room, and four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.
Just outside the living room was one of many doors
leading out onto the rooftop wrap-around patio, where I
was currently seated. So far, I had noticed additional doors

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leading out to the deck from the Master Bedroom and

Dining Room.
Upon realizing its size, we quickly discussed and decided
to offer Avery, Angelica, and her parents the other spare
bedrooms in our suite while we were short on living
quarters. Once the pack arrived, we’d have to cram people
into every sleeping space available on the ranch until new
homes could be built. Tonight, however, everyone was
leaving us to get acquainted with our new home…alone.
During our conversation, Tristan and I spoke honestly
and frankly about our concerns and fears.
He was worried there wouldn’t be enough housing and
wanted everyone to have a place as soon as possible. I
pointed out that everyone is family and wouldn’t mind
doubling up on accommodations for a while. I also
reminded him that more wolves meant more hands to help
build the ranch into a functioning pack. It was already a
prosperous ranch, after all.
He smiled and hugged me tight, then asked if I was
worried about anything.
I confessed I didn’t know if I could be a good Luna. I
had only known how to serve people and remain unseen.
He reminded me that Alphas and Lunas do lead the
pack, but good leaders, unlike his father, also know how to
serve. That service protects and provides for the needs of
every wolf in the pack.
I was inspired to share that I hoped for us to create a
pack where no one was ever treated like I was under
Tristan’s father. Where even orphans would have a place,
and no one should ever be invisible.
Tristan smiled and held me close, whispering into my
neck as the sparks ignited our skin everywhere it touched,
“That sounds like the heart of a Luna to me.”
Through our connection, I could feel his pride in me,
and I would have purred if I’d had a wolf to do so.

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He sighed, breathing me in deeply, then reluctantly said,

“It’s time to sign the paperwork. Be ready for me when I
come back, Mate.”
I blushed, and then Tristan growled sexily into my ear as
he sucked my earlobe into his mouth momentarily and then
released me. He moved quickly before he could change his
mind and stay with me for hours and hours. I admired his
new, larger physique as he walked toward the door. When
he disappeared behind it, I sighed again like a little lovesick
pup, which I suppose is what I was.
I got cozy on the rooftop deck and sat looking up at the
moon. I found myself sending up a sweet prayer of thanks
and gratitude to the moon goddess for her divine blessing
and intervention in our lives. I hope she continued to help
us weather the coming storm with strength and courage.

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CHAPTER TWENTY

Tristan’s POV
Gabriel and his attorney, Mr. Edward Larson, met with me
in the ground floor study. The paperwork was
straightforward and to the point.
The whole of Gabriel’s one-million-acre ranch in
Montana was being turned over to Jane and me, along with
a trust fund that maintained the ranch containing more than
fifteen billion dollars.
In return, the contract listed compensation as “life-
giving services provided by Jane Marie Brown, ref. contract
between Jane Marie Brown and Gabriel Michael Francisco.”
I wanted to be upstairs marking Jane, but I knew this
was an important step that had to be done before Angelica’s
family arrived in the next few days. Pack business before
pleasure, as it were.
Two hours later, the paperwork was signed, witnessed,
and legal. We all shook hands, and Mr. Larson took his
leave.
Gabriel turned to me then, “I need to press upon you
the urgency of marking Jane tonight. There is only enough
fresh blood here for Emma, and it will be a couple of days
before my buyer can arrange some. I will need to feed from
her tomorrow, and I won’t be able to do so within 12-18
hours of you marking her.”
This surprised me. I had no knowledge of such a
complication.
“What would happen if you did?”
“Wolf bites can kill a vampire, and an Alpha bite is
stronger than most. The venom that is used to mark a mate
is stronger still. I am more than one thousand years old, so
it wouldn’t kill me since a vampire gains strength with age,
but it could make me ill for several days. I must remain fit

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and alert should your father or Avery’s discover our

whereabouts more quickly than we anticipate.”
I nodded, “Jane and I agreed to mark and mate tonight,
anyway. I’ll mark her before midnight, then you should be
able to feed safely tomorrow afternoon.”
“Thank you,” Gabriel replied.
“No need to thank me. After everything you’ve done for
us, we’re grateful. You gave us a way to be together, and
that’s more valuable than anything else,” I assured him.
“It wasn’t much. I have more wealth and property than
I will be able to use in my own lifetime, which is indefinite.”
Gabriel looked hesitant and then continued, “Tristan, I
need to warn you. Your wolf. He isn’t going to like the
feeding process.”
I searched his anxious expression, considering carefully
before saying, “It’s true that wolves don’t like other men
touching their mates, but this is a unique situation in which
my wolf has given no signs of protest.”
“That may be true, but it will be different when I go to
feed. Seeing me bite into her vein and her losing blood, even
though it won’t be painful to her, and I won’t take more
than a pint, instinctually, your wolf might feel that I’m a
threat to her. He may react strongly. Over time, when we’ve
all been together much longer, your wolf will recognize that
I’m not a threat. But in the early days, you may find it
difficult to control if he doesn’t trust me.”
I let my eyes glaze over and went to my wolf while
speaking aloud so Gabriel could hear, “Onan? Do you
understand what Gabriel’s concern is?”
Instead of answering me, my Alpha wolf came forth,
changing my eyes into embers of gold, to speak to Gabriel.
“You’re no threat to my mate. You saved her life. She
would be dead without you,” Onan spoke out in his intense,
gravelly voice to Gabriel, staring him in the eye.
Gabriel appeared surprised when he heard the name of
Tristan’s wolf.
“Onan? That’s a unique name,” he stated curiously.
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Onan grinned at Gabriel as if he held a secret and

Gabriel was fishing for the answer, but there was no reply.
I internally prompted Onan to tell me what he was
hiding, but he wouldn’t explain.
Upon realizing that the information was not
forthcoming, Gabriel bowed his head slightly to my wolf,
“Forgive me for underestimating you, Onan. I thank you for
your understanding.”
My wolf was satisfied by Gabriel’s respectful reply and
faded back into his comfortable den.
“Are we good?” I asked him, eager to get back to Jane.
Gabriel chuckled and gestured towards the door, “Enjoy
your evening.”

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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Jane’s POV
The night breeze was cool and soft on my skin as I waited
for Tristan on the balcony. I couldn’t believe I would wholly
and finally be his, just as he would be mine.
After all we’d been through in such a short time, I didn’t
think this would happen so soon. I’d braced myself for years
of suffering before Alpha Martin died, and instead, I
received my mate and a new home in what felt like an
instant.
Gabriel made it all possible for us. I hoped my feeding
him would be worth it. Even though he seemed not to care
much about money, having more of it than I could imagine,
he was paying a lot for me to be his feeder.
In truth, I’d have done it for nothing but a roof over my
head. Gabriel had been put off by this response and
emphasized that my worth was far greater than I knew. I
was more than a feeder, more than just a convenience. I was
a precious life that had value and purpose. Other than
Tristan, no one had ever treated me as someone to be
cherished.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I turned
my head and called, “Come in.”
Anyone knocking on the door in this house had
supernatural hearing and would hear any soft call.
Emma peeked her head around the entrance to the
apartment and then gingerly stepped in, spotting me on the
balcony. She smiled her blindingly beautiful, dimpled smile
and came out to sit next to me. She had a gift bag in her
hand.
“How are you feeling, sweetie?” she asked.
I smiled back at her, then continued looking up at the
stars.

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“I feel…really happy. I’m grateful. I’m excited and a little

bit nervous,” I answered honestly.
She laughed softly, “Oh my, I remember my first time. I
was a young girl of seventeen, and I’d just been married to
Oliver Jones. He was twenty-five and had inherited a little
tobacco shop in London.”
I turned, folding my legs up into the chair as I got cozy.
I was eager to hear her story.
“I was a virgin, of course, as any respectable girl of
seventeen would be in London unless she were already
married. Mr. Jones was kind and generous. He went slowly
and tenderly. He really did love me, you know.”
“What happened to Mr. Jones?” I wondered aloud.
Emma smiled a warm but sad smile as she replied, “We
had twenty good years together before he passed away of
pneumonia in the winter of his forty-fifth year. He left me a
comfortable widow of thirty-seven years old. I was grateful,
too, to be the wife of such a kind person. After he died, I
spent four years serving the church in East London until I
met Gabriel.”
“You love him, don’t you?” I grinned cheekily.
“Is it obvious?” she smiled back.
“Just as obvious as the fact that he loves you, too,” I
blurted.
“Not at all,” Emma shook her head solemnly, “As you
know, he can read minds, so I’m sure he knows how I feel.
I’ve been with him for over one hundred years. If he felt the
same way, he would have said so by now.”
“Maybe he isn’t reading your mind. You know, out of
respect for your privacy,” I shared my suspicions.
“For one hundred and thirty years?” she questioned with
an expression of utter disbelief.
“In my short life, I’ve seen men do some interesting and
even terrible things for women they love,” my certainty was
evident in my tone.
“I just can’t imagine that’s the case,” Emma said, but
now with a glimmer of doubt.
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“Do you remember when I came to the kitchen that first

day I met you?”
“Of course! What a pleasure to cook for someone again.
And you ate with so much enthusiasm,” she laughed.
“When I came into the kitchen, you looked up because
Gabriel said, ‘I wish’ and you asked, ‘You wish what?’ before
you noticed me standing there,” I explained.
“I forgot to find out what he wished.”
“I know what he wished because he was replying to my
thoughts,” I grinned.
Emma’s eyes narrowed as she stared at me, waiting for
me to tell her.
I giggled, enjoying teasing her before letting her in on
something special for her.
It was right at that moment that Tristan walked into the
room. Our conversation would have to wait.
Emma looked over her shoulder, then leaned over to put
her mouth near my ear.
In a low voice, she whispered, “We’ll finish this
conversation later. Here’s something you might want to
open in the bathroom.”
She handed me the gift bag. I took it, confused and
curious.
She flounced out of the room, smiling over her shoulder,
“Have fun, kids.”
Tristan looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged
at him while holding up the bag.
It did not escape my notice that he was removing his
shirt. I stared at him for several seconds, taking in his
broadened shoulders and rippling ab muscles. I noticed the
grin he was shooting me and cleared my throat, gesturing to
the bag.
“I’m supposed to go open it in the bathroom,” I
answered the unspoken question.
“Go open it then,” he smiled.
I was nervous, so I was thankful for a few minutes alone
to gather myself after Tristan suddenly came into the
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apartment. His new larger size and enhanced good looks

caused warmth to pool in my belly and my heartbeat to
quicken. Honestly, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by him.
I went to the bathroom and closed the door. Placing the
bag on the counter, I opened it wide. It contained
something white and silky.
I reached into the bag and pulled out a beautiful piece of
lingerie unlike anything I had ever seen. It had spaghetti
strap shoulders and a gathered and fitted bodice that
covered the bust.
The skirt part of the dress hung to the floor from the
seam under the breasts. I quickly removed my clothes and
put on the gown.
I stared at myself in total shock as I realized the entire
skirt was a flowing, white sheer fabric. It was completely
see-through. It also had a slit up one side from floor to waist
so that when I walked, my entire leg and hip peeked out
from behind the skirt.
When I first saw the gown was white, I expected a lovely,
chaste piece. What I got was a very sexy, very revealing piece
of lingerie. I looked back down in the bag to find a matching
white thong inside. It wouldn’t cover much, but I put it on
so I wouldn’t feel as exposed.
I knew Tristan and I were mating tonight, and he was
going to see whatever he wanted to see, but I was still
nervous about showing him everything right away.
Tristan knocked gently on the door, “Are you ok, Jane?”
“Why do you ask?” I questioned nervously.
“You’ve been in there for twenty minutes, baby. Come
out and let me see you,” his smile was evident in his tone.
“I’m a bit nervous.”
“It’s ok. Let me make you feel better. Come out,” his
rich, deep voice commanded.
I decided there was no point delaying. I wanted to mate
with him, and it was going to happen. Standing around
nervously in the bathroom wasn’t going to change anything,
nor did I want it to.
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I opened the door slowly, and Tristan stepped back. The

look in his eyes when he saw me gave me confidence. It
was a look of utter adoration with a glint of desire. I took a
step out, and he let out a low and pleasant growl of
satisfaction.
He came to me, reaching out and pulling me against him.
Burying his face in my neck, he breathed my scent in deeply
and sighed with contentment.
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I leaned into him.
After a minute of just holding one another, he pulled his
head up and lifted my chin so our eyes could meet.
“You are the most beautiful being I have ever seen in my
entire life,” he whispered in awe.
I could feel my face blushing and warming, but I wanted
to tell him, “You’re beautiful, too.”
He had his hands on my face and chuckled before he
bent to kiss me on the mouth, gently at first.
He quickly deepened the kiss, infusing it with all the love
and passion in his heart.
Sometime later, he pulled away again to search my eyes.
“I love you, Jane. I want to mark you now. It will ease
your worries, and you won’t have any pain with the first
mating. Are you ready for me to do that?”
“Yes, Tristan. Make me yours, please,” I whispered
shakily.
He growled his approval again, his chest rumbling
against me. Then he carefully gathered my hair on one side
to place it behind my shoulder. His lips came down to
explore the skin of my neck until he settled on that soft,
tender spot right at the curve betwixt neck and shoulder.
After touching his lips softly to the sweet spot, he licked it,
making me shiver.
He took his time with his mouth against the sensitive
skin of my neck and shoulder, kissing me tenderly over and
over. Slowly the kissing turned to sucking at the soft flesh
until a soft moan escaped my lips. The sound made his chest

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rumble again, and then I could feel his teeth elongating into
points and scraping against that magical place.
His teasing was building a deliciously delightful ache
inside of me, coiling up tighter and tighter.
I strengthened my grip around him and shuddered as
very slowly he sank his sharp canines into that sensitive
curve. The slight pain felt like a pinprick at first and then
gradually burst into flames. They seeped into my veins,
spreading throughout, warming me with a feeling of safety
before fanning up into an all-consuming fire.
The thick mating venom worked deeper and deeper into
my being, and I suddenly became aware of several spots on
my body that desperately longed for Tristan’s touch, his
kiss, and his entering.
The place between my legs burned with longing. The
center of my back was desperate to be kissed, and my neck
- my neck wanted to be entirely consumed.
Sensual moans filled the room before I realized it was
my voice creating them. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel
embarrassed anymore. I just felt desire. I was consumed by
a longing for completion and oneness with the man I love.
Tristan picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around
him. His mouth was on mine again, his tongue begging for
entry, so I opened my lips to receive it. They danced
together, tasting one another as we both moaned into our
mate’s mouth. His arms encircled my waist, with mine
around his neck as we tried desperately to draw closer.
He carried me to the bed as his mouth worked its magic
against my skin. The sparks weren’t just on the surface
anymore but flowing through me like molten lava that I
embraced with great pleasure. He gently laid me on the bed,
following closely without breaking our connection.
That night, he loved me for hours. I put every single
feeling of longing, love, and passion I felt for him into
loving him back.
We touched, kissed, tasted, and explored one another’s
bodies with fascination and adoration until we totally,
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completely, and without a single doubt belonged to one

another for all eternity as full and perfect mates.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Avery’s POV

Angelica and I were assigned to a temporary suite until

tomorrow night. We wanted to allow Tristan and Jane a
chance to mate, with fewer of us having to hear it. We didn’t
hear it at all, in fact, because Angel and I were a little busy
ourselves. Truth be told, we needed the same kind of
privacy.
When we were finally alone, we held each other tight for
a long while. The only movement between us was our
breathing and beating hearts. We spoke through our new
pack’s mind-link; just the two of us, our voices inside each
other.
“We’re safe and together, Angel. Forever.”
“Avi, you’re finally mine,” she said before I felt her lips
curve into a smile against my neck.
There was no ceremony, no foreplay, no questioning.
She called me hers, then smiled and promptly bit down into
my neck, marking me to prove it.
I moaned at the intense pleasure this brought me, my
body tingling into a raging inferno.
I pushed her against the bed onto her back and pressed
my chest against hers. Her eyes were as on fire as my body
felt, and I gripped her hair to pull her head to the side, then
sank my teeth into her neck and shoulder.
She cried out in passionate hunger. I licked the spot I
had marked and sucked on it hard.
“AVERY!” She moaned in desperation.
“Mmmmm,” I hummed, “are you ready, Angel?”
“Please,” she begged, drawing out the word desperately.
Then, I proceeded to show her every single ounce of
desire and love my body could inflict upon hers until we
were exhausted and out of breath. It took all night.

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EMMA’S POV

The night air was cool but not cold. My mind was busy
analyzing what Jane said earlier. Gabriel wished for
something, something Jane thought about. Tristan’s
appearance prevented me from finding out.
What could it be?
I sat on the large back porch, looking out across the
ranch. It was dark, and I had the lights off, but I could still
see everything. My vampire vision was more exceptional
than most, and so was my hearing.
Two hundred yards away, I could hear two mice mating
just as clearly as I could hear the two on the third floor and
the other two on the first floor.
Something primal and natural, yet profound; this was the
mating of higher beings. The mice were simply reproducing.
We should get some traps.
I heard Gabriel step out onto the porch behind me, and
shortly after, his hand popped into view, holding out an ice-
cold bottle of beer to me.
I love his hands. They’re so masculine and yet beautiful
all at once. I smiled and took the beer. He sat down in a
nearby chair.
“Thank you, Master Gabriel.”
He knew how to make a woman feel comfortable. I
never had to want for anything practical. Knowing I was
thirsty for a beer before I did, he presented it. Suddenly, I
would realize it was what I was craving.
It was always this way from the start. It’s why I assumed
he read my mind regularly. Which would have meant he
knew how I felt.
Jane said he couldn’t know because of what he wished.
Tipping the beer up to my mouth, I gulped down half
the bottle and placed it on the nearby table, perhaps a little
too roughly.
Here goes nothing.

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“Master Gabriel?”
“Hmmm?” he answered, staring out over the ranch.
“Do you listen to my thoughts?”
“Not for a long time, Emma. Why?” he replied as he
turned his eyes to examine me.
“When was the last time?” I tried to ask lightly as if the
answer didn’t matter.
He sat still as stone, presumably thinking of the answer.
After a solid ten minutes, he finally gave one.
“I read your mind for the first week you were with me.
Then I stopped.”
I met his eyes, refusing to look away.
“Why did you stop?”
“Why are you asking me this?” He asked instead of
answering.
“I’m curious,” I answered vaguely.
“Why are you suddenly curious?” he pressed.
“Why aren’t you answering?” I pressed back.
“I’m not ready to talk about it,” he replied firmly.
“It’s been over one hundred years, Master Gabriel. Why
don’t you give it a go?” I teased, giving him one of my
bright, dimpled smiles.
“Let’s get settled in here first, Emma. This place will be
busy, and the kids will need our guidance.”
My eyes widened as I suddenly realized he was afraid.
“Master Gabriel!” I exclaimed. “What could you
possibly have to be afraid of?”
He leaned towards me, our faces no more than twelve
inches apart. His eyes met mine with intensity.
“There is only one thing in this world that I’m afraid of,
Emma, and that’s losing you.”
“Gabriel,” I whispered with a voice fuller of emotion
than I intended.
He broke our gaze and stood, stepping off the porch and
into the yard.
With his back to me, he softly said, “I’m off to hunt,”
and then he was gone.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Tristan’s POV
I felt when Jane got out of bed. The sun was shining into
our bedroom, and we’d slept two or three hours. I heard her
go to the bathroom and wash her hands.
She walked back towards the bed and then past it to
open the patio door. I could already tell it was one of her
favorite places. Because the portion of the patio from our
bedroom faced the morning sun, it would be shaded in the
warmer afternoons and evenings.
I rolled over to face the balcony and watched her. She
stood in the doorway, with the doors wide open, leaning
against the door frame.
Her soft curves were backed by the sunlight, giving me
a perfect silhouette view of her feminine form. She was still
naked, and the breeze was blowing her hair back away from
her face and lifting it slightly. I could see my mark on her
neck, and my chest filled with love and pride.
“Good morning, my Luna,” I said in my raspy morning
voice.
“Good morning, my Alpha,” she whispered back softly,
her smile evident in her voice.
“You’re not shy anymore?” I asked as I got out of bed
and walked up behind her.
I was naked, too, and I pressed my body against her,
wrapping my arms around her waist. Sparks tingled up my
skin in a deliciously satisfying trail.
“You mind-linked to me how you were looking at me. I
could feel how you felt about it,” she said.
I was shocked and looked down at her, “I didn’t mind-
link that.”
“You didn’t?” she asked surprised.
Turning in my arms, she stared into my eyes. She
concentrated, and then her eyes widened even further.

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“Tristan, I can see through your eyes and feel your

feelings,” she answered in awe.
“Can you see through mine?” she asked.
I focused on her eyes and reached out, but I didn’t know
how to see anything. I could feel her presence in my mind,
her love and satisfaction. When she was surprised that her
ability to see my vision wasn’t something I could do, I felt
the surprise in my own chest.
I only knew how to mind-link. I knew our feelings would
be experienced by one another once we marked and mated.
Typically, for wolves, this was a vague impression and not
anything so clear and vivid. I didn’t expect to feel her in such
a deep and prevalent way.
“I can’t see through your eyes. What does it mean?” I
wondered out loud.
“Let’s get dressed and go ask Gabriel,” she spoke
quickly.
She took my hand and dragged me into the closet to
choose from the handful of meager clothing pieces Emma
had delivered from town yesterday afternoon.
I put on some boxers, jeans, and a fitted gray T-shirt.
Jane put on a pair of tiny pink panties and a matching
lace bra. Next, she pulled on a pair of mid-rise skinny jeans
and a cute charcoal gray v-neck tee that fitted her curves
closely and went down past the waist of her jeans.
When we were decent, she grabbed my hand again, and
we walked together down the two flights of steps to the
ground floor.
“Where did you go to sign the papers with Gabriel last
night? I’m a little turned around,” she admitted.
“Oh, this way,” I replied, leading her down the large
house’s south wing and into the study.
She walked over to the bookcase behind the desk and
pressed in on a nondescript leather volume with the title
“Farmer’s Almanac, 1897” printed on the spine.
The book clicked in and popped back out again. Nothing
happened, but she stood waiting at the bookcase.
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“What are you doing?” I asked in fascination.

“Last night, when you and Gabriel were getting ready to
sign the paperwork, Emma was showing us more of the
owner’s living quarters upstairs. She told Avery and me
about the hidden apartment behind the bookcase in the
study. It’s the only place in the house completely void of
sunlight.”
As we waited at the neat rows of leather volumes, she
explained, “Most of the rooms have blackout blinds so they
can walk around the house during the day comfortably, but
here they don’t have to worry about it, so this is where they
can sleep without concern.”
“Shouldn’t the bookcase pop open?” I asked in
amusement.
“It’s not a button to open up the case. It’s a doorbell,”
she explained.
After a couple of minutes of waiting, the bookcase
recessed into the wall and slid to the side. Emma stood
before us in pajama shorts and a tank top.
“Good morning, Jane. Is everything ok?” she frowned.
“Something strange happened this morning, and I
wanted to ask Gabriel about it. Is he still awake?”
“Yes, he’s taking a shower before going to sleep. If you
want to come in and wait for him, I’ll let him know,” she
smiled sleepily.
“Thanks, Emma. Sorry if I woke you.”
“It’s alright, love.”
Emma walked across the long living space, turned on the
overhead light, and shuffled out of the room.
We sat on the couch waiting.
After about ten minutes, Gabriel came out in sweats and
a tight T-shirt.
Damn, that old dude was somehow both lean and
ripped. How could he be more than one thousand years old?
“Hey, you. What can I do for you?” he smiled.
I gestured for Jane to tell him.

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“This morning, I got out of bed before Tristan. He was

watching me, and I felt his emotions and thoughts about
me. While it was happening, I could see through his eyes
what I looked like to him as I stood on the patio. I could
see myself from behind and felt the feelings he had while
looking at me.
“I assumed he was sharing this through the mind-link,
but he says he wasn’t. Do you know why that happened?”
He tilted his head to consider it for a moment before
answering.
“Well, it’s possible that having my blood in your system
could transfer some of my mind-reading abilities to you. It
happens sometimes between a vampire and a feeder, but
usually, they must have some sort of other relationship, as
well.”
I frowned at this, “Do you mean a romantic one?”
Gabriel laughed out loud, “No, I don’t mean that at all.
I mean, they are somehow related by blood.”
“Could we be blood relatives?” Jane asked him
thoughtfully.
“It’s possible. We could research your genealogy and
find out where your family comes from. Perhaps that could
explain it. But we could also run an easy experiment,” he
proposed.
“What sort of experiment?” I ask warily.
“Nothing complicated or invasive. Jane could try to read
minds other than yours. It's possible she has an ability
surfacing now due to the completion of the mate bond.
Many abilities lie dormant in supernatural beings until a
powerful or significant change occurs in their lives.”
“So maybe she’s just a superhero now who can read
minds?” I teased.
“A superhero, huh?” Gabriel chuckled.
“You might as well be one to us, Gabe,” Jane said with
a smile.
“Thank you, Gabriel. That’s a lot to think about,” I said.

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Gabriel stood and spoke to me, “I’m going to catch an

hour or two of sleep, then I’ll meet you in the study to give
you the layout of the ranch. While you’re gone, I’ll begin
working on the new design of the property as we discussed.”
I smiled, “Can’t wait!”
Jane hugged Gabriel, and we left the secret apartment
the way we’d entered.
“How do you feel about reading minds?” I asked her.
“It sounds exhausting but interesting,” she answered.
I held my hand out to her and asked hopefully, “We have
two hours to kill. Why don’t we head back to bed?”
“Mmmm,” she moaned as she placed her hand in mine,
“sounds perfect.”
I retracted my hand and instead lifted her into my arms
bridal style as she giggled. I bounded up the steps, taking
them two at a time, eager to return to the privacy of our
bedroom.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Jane’s POV
After an hour in bed, which was all too short, Tristan and I
went down to the kitchen to scrounge some breakfast. We
were pleasantly surprised to find Diane there with several
options ready.
The kitchen mostly smelled of bacon and baking, and I
took a deep whiff, which caused my stomach to grumble
out its hunger.
We sat at the kitchen island on large, plush, low bar
stools and ate our heaping plates of eggs, bacon, croissants,
muffins, and fruit.
Somehow, Diane learned that I didn’t like coffee, and
she served me the most delicious, warm cup of cocoa with
my meal. Tristan sipped on his cup of black coffee between
huge bites of mouth-watering food.
Avery and Angelica joined us halfway through breakfast.
Angelica kissed her mom on the cheek before she and Avery
began heaping piles of food on their plates.
“Back in your element, I see, Diane,” Avery smiled
happily as they sat on the kitchen island stools next to
Tristan and me.
I looked up at Diane after I swallowed a bite of muffin,
“You’re an excellent cook. This is delicious!”
Diane smiled at me happily, “Cooking for people is one
of my favorite things.”
A comfortable silence settled over us as we continued
eating, and Diane pulled baked goods out of the oven and
transferred them to cooling racks.
When satisfied, we thanked Diane for the breakfast and
headed out.
There was a lot of work to do to prepare for the arrival
of our new pack members. We didn’t know precisely when
they were coming, but we knew some would arrive soon.

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Angelica and I walked over to the detached garage with

Avery and Tristan. It looked like a large warehouse on the
outside, and once we stepped inside, we could see it housed
over twenty cars. There were twelve pick-up trucks, a five-
seater sedan, one sports car, and three SUVs of various
sizes, plus the SUV limo.
Since Gabriel had turned over ownership of the ranch
and all property on the ranch to us, the vehicles now
belonged to us.
The garage was more beautiful and well-kept than the
house I lived in with my father before we moved to the pack
house. It had a thirty-foot-tall cedar plank ceiling with large
metal chandeliers hanging down from the rafters. The floor
was a shining, polished concrete of charcoal gray.
The walls were a stainless-steel surface with racks,
workbenches, and shelves of tools and supplies. There were
two stations with lifts and pits for changing oil and working
on vehicles, and in the back left corner was a large office
with a giant plate glass window looking out into the garage.
There were two men seated at computers inside the office,
and they stood when they saw us enter.
Tristan walked over to the office, and the two men
shook his hand. I recognized the younger man who’d driven
us from the hangar to the house the previous evening.
“I’m Tristan Martin, the new owner, and this is my wife,
Jane Martin,” my mate began the introductions.
The men shook my hand and then Avery’s and
Angelica’s hands as they were introduced as our business
partners.
“I’m Allen, and this is Crypton,” the older man
introduced.
My eyes widened at the second name, and the younger
man, probably used to such a reaction, grinned and
shrugged, “My parents loved superheroes.”
Allen took us on a tour of the garage, and then, coming
back to the office, he finally said, “I’m the manager of the
garage, and we have one other guy, Tony, who does the oil
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changes and vehicle maintenance and repairs. He works

evenings and overnights.”
“Crypton here is the driver and bodyguard. If Mrs.
Martin needs to go anywhere outside the ranch, he will
accompany her. He’s a trained martial artist and weapons
specialist with extra-human abilities.”
“What kind of abilities?” Avery asked with great interest.
“He was born of a human woman with a vampire father,
which is very rare. He can see in the dark, is extremely fast,
and I’ve seen him chase off a few rogues with ease. They
believed Montana would be easy pickings since there
weren’t any packs here until now.”
“I’m at your service, Luna,” he bowed in my direction.
Tristan seemed satisfied. We didn’t know what to expect
when meeting the ranch staff. We figured they would likely
know about Gabriel being a vampire, but we didn’t know
what they knew of wolves or packs. We thought we might
have to ease them into it.
Allen continued, “Mr. Gabriel explained the change of
ownership and the situation. Since she is the Luna of your
pack and Mr. Gabriel’s feeder, everyone who works and
lives here will treat her with care and the utmost respect.
They will give their lives to protect her.”
Tristan smiled and dipped his head slightly as he said,
“I’m grateful.”
Allen seemed surprised at his humility. Most alphas
would never bow their head to anyone but the king. Tristan
was a different kind of alpha. He was powerful enough to
destroy almost anyone around him, but he believed in
serving, protecting, and showing gratitude.
Allen cleared his throat and said, “Everyone who works
here is alive today because Mr. Gabriel saved us in some way
or another. If he cares for and respects you all enough to
gift you the ranch, then our loyalty is yours.
“None of us employees are wolves, except for Wolfgang.
However, if you allow us, we will pledge allegiance to join

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your pack and continue to serve the ranch and you,” he

finished his speech with a bow of his head.
Tristan looked over the three of us, mind-linking us
before speaking aloud. We all nodded our agreement. This
was a new pack. We have to make the rules here. There were
no traditions to follow, no pack laws to uphold yet beyond
the fundamental wolf rights assigned by the North
American Pack Council.
Tristan finally looked at Allen. “My pack agrees;
welcome to our family. When the next group of wolves
arrives, let all the employees who want to become a part of
the pack know to be there. They can take their pledges with
the others.
“It’s not usual for humans and vampire hybrids to join a
wolf pack. However, we have a human Luna, and Gabriel
and Emma are honorary members, so we aren’t going to be
a typical pack anyway.”
“Thank you, Alpha. I’m proud to serve you,” Allen
bowed his head, and Crypton followed his example.
Tristan grinned, then stepped over to the largest pick-up
in the garage and slapped it on top of the hood. The front
of the truck was nearly as tall as him.
“Where do I get the keys to this beast?”
Crypton’s face broke into a huge smile. He reached just
inside the door of the office, opening a key box hanging on
the wall. He grabbed the set of keys without even looking
and tossed them to Tristan.
“Thanks, man,” he said with the enthusiasm of a kid
about to test a new toy.
“I’ll see you this afternoon, Jane Marie Martin,” Tristan
said as he leaned over and kissed me on the mouth, causing
a delicious tingle to spread down the length of my body.
When he pulled away, I sighed happily, and his chest
rumbled in approval.
Avery kissed her mate and then climbed into the vehicle
with Tristan. Angelica and I watched as they drove off in
the huge monster of a truck.
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They were going to survey all the outbuildings on the

property, including the bunkhouses and cabins built to
house the ranch employees. Their goal today was to see how
many buildings could be used as temporary living quarters
until we were able to build enough for everyone to live
comfortably.
Angelica and I would take inventory of the house and
supplies and see what we needed to order.
I turned to Angelica and asked, “Are you ready?”
“At your service, Luna,” she smiled.
We waved to the men in the garage and left, walking
back towards the house as I organized my ideas.
I talked to Angelica as we went.
“I’ll walk the bedrooms and other rooms of the house
to see how many we can sleep in the main house.”
“I want you to inventory the linen closets and see how
many full sets of sheets we have and what bed sizes they are.
We also need to know how many towels we have.”
“You got it, Luna,” Angelica said pleasantly.
“Call me Jane,” I insisted.
“Ok, Jane,” she replied.
I continued my organizational thoughts aloud, “Diane is
already inventorying the kitchen and measuring the Great
Room to see how many tables we can fit in it for a
temporary Dining Hall. She’ll be running the kitchen at the
main house for now and will continue as long as she wants.”
“Wise choice,” Angelica smiled, “She makes the best
food.”
“Judging by breakfast, that’s totally believable,” I smiled
back.
We got to the side door of the main house to find a
middle-aged man in overalls standing there waiting for us.
“Luna Martin?” he asked.
“That’s me,” I replied, then said to Angelica, “Go ahead
and get started. I’ll be in soon.”
Angelica nodded and went into the house. We both
knew from Gabriel that he ran a tight ship here regarding
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security, so no one was likely to be on the property that

shouldn’t be. Considering this, I felt comfortable talking to
anyone who came looking for me by name.
The man held out his hand, and as I shook it, he said,
“I’m Joshua. I run the wood shop on the ranch. We usually
just repair fences and build things needed for the ranch, but
Alpha Tristan called a few minutes ago and asked if any of
us knew how to make furniture. There are eight of us in the
wood shop, and we all know how to build furniture, so I’m
here to get your orders.”
I’m sure my eyes lit up. We definitely needed Joshua.
“Thank you, Joshua. I’m happy to meet you. I was just
about to walk the house now and see what we can convert
into living quarters temporarily.”
He nodded and said, “I’m not familiar with any rooms
in the house other than the ground floor study and common
rooms, but I can walk it with you. I have my trusty
measuring tape and notepad.”
He patted a couple of the pockets in his overalls.
After pulling out his notepad and a pencil, he continued,
“I can write down what you need us to make as we go. We
also have a storage facility near the shop where we can store
any furniture you need to get out of the way to make room
for beds and such.”
I thanked the goddess again for the great gift of this new
home. It was turning out to be so much more than any of
us realized or expected.
“Come with me, Joshua,” I smiled at him, and we went
to work.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Jane’s POV

Joshua and I walked through the first floor and straight to

the kitchen to see Diane first. She looked up at me from the
extra-large kitchen island where she was prepping dough.
Her face was covered in flour, and she was smiling from ear
to ear.
“You look happy,” I smiled back at her.
“I am. I used to run the pack house kitchen for Alpha
MacKenzie, but when I got pregnant with Angelica, he
basically fired me. He said she-wolves should be home
raising their pups and not working,” she scowled.
“Don’t get me wrong, I loved raising Angelica. It’s just I
enjoy making food for everyone. It makes me happy.”
I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my face. Seeing
pack members happy and loving their work increased my
own happiness tenfold.
Two young men came in from the kitchen side door
carrying bags of groceries.
Diane looked up and said to them, “Line the counters,
boys. I’ll unpack them in a few minutes.”
I tilted my head as I ultimately watched four different
young men bring in more than fifty bags of food and fill the
countertops. Diane glanced at me and then explained.
“The four guys are line cooks from the chow wagon for
the ranch hands, cowgirls, and cowboys that run the cattle.
They have a huge set-up out there, like a cafeteria, for
feeding all ninety-six of the ranch’s employees.”
“Gabriel sent me out there to meet them last night, and
the head chef loaned these four guys to me for the next
couple of days. I gave them a list and the credit card Tristan
had given me to go into town and buy what I needed to
stock the pantry.”
I was very impressed.

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“We’ll have to make a list and get on a regular order

system to have things delivered in the long run. I have a
ledger here where I’m going to enter the receipts until you
and Tristan decide on a budget for the main house pantry.”
She turned back to the boys, who had finished bringing
in the bags of food by this time, “Can you gentlemen start
clearing out the Great Hall of furniture and take it to the
storage warehouse? We need to get some tables and chairs
in here.”
“You got it,” one of the guys said as they headed out.
“It looks like you have things well in hand here,” I said
to her happily, and then, “Diane, do you have an
approximate breakdown of who David will be bringing to
us? Avery said it would be somewhere around five hundred
people.”
She dusted her hands on her apron and then walked over
to a counter set up a bit like a desk with notepads, notes,
and pencils everywhere.
She shuffled through the small stacks. She found what
she was looking for and came back with a sheet of paper.
“I made you a list of general numbers and demographics.
This is both David’s and my families. There are twenty-one
heads of household, but as you can see, most of the adults
have mated and are now having children. I’ve made note of
families and a few unmated wolves, whether they’re male or
female, and so on.”
I looked down at the list, thinking that Diane was an
impressive organizer. No one could pay me enough to fire
her from any job in my household. Alpha MacKenzie must
be a foolish old wolf.
I quickly scanned the list: twenty-one heads of house
plus their mates, children, children’s mates, and
grandchildren. The total number of wolves in their families
was 456. Beneath that was written “+53” and the total
circled was “509”.
“What’s this plus fifty-three?” I asked.

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“Avery added that. When Tristan told her your story and
what happened to you both after you found out you were
mates, she told him about these wolves. These are all the
wolves in her father’s pack who have no families and are
treated like slaves. Many of them are orphans who have no
blood relation to us.
“One of the things she and Tristan asked David to do is
to bring as many of them as possible. David had his uncles
gather them secretly before they left MacKenzie’s territory.”
My chest felt tight, and my eyes filled with tears. Who
knows what kinds of horrors these pups had suffered? I felt
so touched that Avery and Tristan had done this. No
wonder he had been so happy when I told him I wanted to
make sure no one was ever treated like I was. He was
bringing to me a lot of wolves that would need this
thoughtful care.
I swallowed and blinked away my tears before reading
the final breakdown of wolves: 75 mated pairs, 41 unmated
adults, 288 children living with parents, and 30 orphan
children.
On the back of the page was the household breakdown
of the number of people per family unit. Diane noted that
she thought the best idea was to create a bunkhouse for the
kids and have a few adults staying with them to care for
them, like a sleep-away camp. Then, we can bunk several
adults in each bedroom temporarily if necessary.
“This is a great idea, Diane.”
She nodded and continued, “I also made note that there
are two bedrooms on the ground floor and thirty bedrooms
on the second floor. They all have private bathrooms.
Additionally, since we are converting the Great Hall into a
dining hall, the formal dining room on the ground floor
could potentially be partitioned into two additional
bedrooms if we can clear out the furniture. That gives us a
total of 34 bedrooms we can use.”
“I know Avery and Angelica are moving up to the third
floor with you and Tristan for now. David and I will take
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you up on the offer to stay in one of the other bedrooms if

that suits you.”
I nodded, “Yes, please do. You will both be working
hard to help us get everyone settled. You need a good bed.”
She nodded gratefully, “Thank you, Luna.”
Joshua had been looking over my shoulder as I went
through the numbers and spoke with Diane. He was making
notes on his pad. He glanced up at me and saw me watching
him.
“What have you noted there?” I asked.
“You’ve got your unmated adults and children that can
sleep in bunk beds for now. That’s 180 bunk beds that will
sleep 360 people. We just need a place to put them all.”
“Let’s plan on 160 bunk beds for the children. I have
another idea for the unmated adults.”
I started thinking about where all these bunks could be
placed and realized we had the perfect spot.
“Come with me, Joshua,” I said with excitement.
We left the kitchen and walked down the south wing
hallway. At the end of the hall, a pair of ornate double doors
were covered in dust and looked like they hadn’t been
cleaned in ages.
“What’s this?” Joshua asked.
“It’s a ballroom!” I revealed as I threw open the double
doors.
Joshua opened his mouth in shock, “I had no idea there
was a ballroom here!”
“Gabriel told me that the year the house construction
was completed, there was a vampire council ball, and he was
the host. That’s why he designed the house with an extra-
large ballroom and so many bedrooms. It was essentially
built to host the council’s celebration that year.”
We stood in the doorway, looking into the massive
space. From this vantage point, it seemed like half a football
field could fit inside.

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I stepped in and looked beside the doors until I found

two panels of switches. I flipped up all the ones on the panel
labeled “lights.”
Examining the second panel labeled “shades,” I also
decided to flip all of these up. A soft humming noise began
to echo across the ballroom as we watched all the blackout
shades rising along one wall.
This turned out to be an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling
windows looking out into the forest. It was breathtaking.
Once the shades were fully open, I turned to survey the
ballroom, which was now flooded with light. It smelled a
little musty, and the floor was covered in a layer of thick
dust.
I walked over to the windows, and as I got closer, I
noticed a larger panel with one big switch just to the right
of the window wall. It wasn’t labeled, but I flipped it up to
see what it would do. The sound of creaking mechanisms
echoed through the ballroom as the wall of windows began
to retract.
The process was slow, and the windows took about
three minutes to open fully. Just outside the ballroom, a flat
stone patio had been laid in a decorative pattern. The stones
went right up to the edge of the forest.
The sudden influx of fresh air lessened the heaviness of
the ballroom atmosphere.
I glanced around, taking in the details of the modern-
style ballroom. It reminded me a lot of the garage, with
thirty-foot-tall cedar-planked ceilings and massive iron
chandeliers of a simple, clean design.
The floors were polished concrete with a beautiful,
scrolling design stained across them. There was a luxurious
fabric wallpaper along all the walls that didn’t contain
windows. It seemed to be made of some linen in a dark
charcoal gray color. Vampires and black appeared to be a
theme.
Joshua called, “I’ll be right back!”

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He jogged down the hall and out of sight. I walked

around the room and took in the fine details as I waited for
him to return. He reappeared in less than ten minutes with
a measuring wheel, which looked like a single wheel on the
end of a stick.
Joshua placed it on the floor in one corner of the
ballroom and jogged the length of the space while rolling
the wheel along between him and the wall.
As he worked, I stepped outside the ballroom back
down the hall and observed two more ornate doors on
either side of the hallway with signs reading “Gentlemen”
and “Ladies.”
I knew the bathrooms were built for the event. I stepped
into the ladies’ room and saw it was massive. There was a
sitting area with plush furniture in shades of brown and
gold. Past that were sinks, mirrors, and a few vanities.
Walking further into the space, I counted thirty toilet stalls
and, past that, a door with frosted glass. It read “Showers”
in the middle of the frost.
Curious, I opened the door to this space and saw a sauna,
a dozen shower stalls, and another door, also frosted, that
read “Pool.”
This surprised me as I didn’t know the house even had
a pool. I pushed through this door and was enveloped by a
pleasant warmth. An indoor pool of Olympic size spread
out in front of me. There were lounging chairs surrounding
the ample space on either side of the crystal-clear water.
And again, there was an entire wall of windows with
mechanical shades. The extravagance and opulence of this
space seemed out of line with Gabriel’s character, but I
knew from our conversation about the council’s events that
these words were synonymous with typical vampires of
great age. It was obvious to me he had built it for the
gathering.
I retraced my steps, exited the ladies’ bathroom, and
crossed the hall to walk through the door labeled
“Gentlemen.” This bathroom was similar to the ladies'
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room but with urinals instead of the vanities installed in the

gentlemen’s room. This gentlemen’s space also had
showers, a sauna, and a smaller room with a half-sized pool
and hot tub.
With the ballroom dusty and disused, it was a surprise to
see these pool rooms so well kept, and I wondered if they
were part of the ranch staff's housekeeping or gardening
chores.
Heading back to the ballroom, I considered how
converting it into a children’s dorm gave the kids easy access
to these facilities. It was very convenient, but I might decide
to lock the pool rooms unless there were adults present to
supervise the children.
I arrived back in the ballroom just as Joshua jogged back
towards the door.
He looked down at his paper and said, “We can fill it
with bunk beds along this longer empty wall across from the
windows. At the far end, I suggest erecting a few cubicle
walls and placing beds and dressers inside to house any
adults or parents who are willing to stay and oversee the
children.”
“Perfect,” I replied.
Joshua looked at me and then asked curiously, “How do
you know so much about the house already?”
“Gabriel gave me an overview yesterday evening along
with the architecture plans. I studied them briefly last night
while I waited for Tristan to finish his meeting, but clearly,
I didn’t read them in great detail.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“There are two indoor swimming pools attached to the
shower rooms in these bathrooms,” I gestured out into the
hallway.
Joshua grinned, “I’ve heard about them, but I haven’t
been there. The landscaping staff maintains the pool areas,
but no one dares to use them without permission.”
I nodded, and Joshua continued, “Do you have any
additional ideas for this children’s dorm?”
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“Maybe keeping the central space open for a play area?

I’m not sure about the size of the bunk beds, but will they
all fit?”
“They’ll fit. I have some ideas for that,” Joshua replied
confidently.
“It’s a lot to build,” he continued. “This will go faster if
we pull some ranch hands, cowgirls, and cowboys over to
help.”
“Including partitions for the ballroom, twelve queen
beds, dressers, 160 bunks, and a dining room partitioned
into two bedrooms with beds and dressers, I think we can
do it in two days if we have enough hands.”
I sighed with relief, “Then go ahead, please. I’ll have
Diane send the boys from the Chuck Wagon over to give
the ballroom a good clean now while you’re working on
gathering supplies and people. You get it done, and I’ll get
the mattresses and bedding ordered for when the beds are
complete.”
Joshua replied, “Hold off on the cleaning for now. We’re
going to build the beds right inside the ballroom, so it’s best
to let us clean up after the builds before the mattresses come
in.”
“Great idea, thank you.”
Joshua nodded, then pulled a cell phone out of his
pocket to call the shop, “Excuse me, Luna.”
I nodded and began to walk down the hallway away from
the ballroom. I could hear Joshua’s conversation as I
walked.
“Vera, get everyone down here to the south wing
ballroom inside the main house–the whole shop. Call
Easton down at the hardware store in town and tell him we
want every two-by-four, four-by-four, and a sheet of sanded
plywood available in the state of Montana...that’s right, all
sizes. We’ve got some work to do, and I need all hands on
deck,” Joshua was saying into the phone.
The ballroom would temporarily sort out the children
and twelve mated couples. That left us with housing to
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prepare for 41 unmated wolves and 63 mated couples. We

had 34 bedrooms once the dining room was converted. So
that left us with a need for 70 beds still.
As I headed into the central area of the house, I mind-
linked Angelica to meet me in the downstairs library to
report on linens and towels. I stopped off in the kitchen
with Diane to ask for something to keep the receipts in. She
happened to have a medium box with a lid that was the
perfect size.
When I got to the library, I saw Angelica seated on a
comfortable sofa in a seating area arranged by the fireplace.
She appeared to be deep in thought, tapping on her notepad
with a pencil.
I walked in, and she looked up at me.
I grinned, pulled the black card out of my back pocket,
and said, “Online shopping?”
Her face broke into a huge smile, “Now you’re speaking
my language.”
I pulled out two of the ranch’s laptops from a bottom
drawer in the large central desk in the room. Gabriel had
told me about the many ranch laptops in the manor and
where to find them.
I handed one to Angelica as I settled on the sofa next to
her. I put my feet up on a small, cushioned ottoman and
opened my laptop. They were not password-protected and
were already on the ranch’s wi-fi network.
We discussed our game plan and then got to work
ordering mattresses, pillows, sheet sets, blankets, towels,
washcloths, and rugs. We focused on stores that could
deliver the items to us the next day or within two days at
most.
Three hours later, we had found enough items to make
the house livable for all the wolves we were expecting.
After completing the orders and printing receipts to
place in our box, we both stood to stretch.
“Let’s get some lunch,” I said, and my stomach growled
at the thought.
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We headed to the kitchen for lunch, where, hopefully,

Tristan and Avery would meet us to give us an idea of how
much housing was available outside the main mansion.
I felt satisfied with a meaningful morning’s work and
couldn’t wait to meet our new pack members.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Tristan’s POV
Avery and I spent the morning meeting all the employees
on the ranch and getting the lay of the land. The ranch was
well-developed and well-managed.
All of the employees we spoke to had heard of our offer
to Allen in the garage that morning and expressed their
desire to join the pack and continue on the ranch.
The more people we spoke with, the greater my respect
for Gabriel became. Each one of the ranch’s ninety-six
employees had been disadvantaged and living tough lives
when Gabriel found them and brought them here. They all
came to work for him not only because they wanted to but
because they genuinely loved and respected him.
Of all the things I’d heard about vampires in my life, this
was the first time I’d knowingly met a one thousand-plus-
year-old one. That he spent his life saving and caring for so
many, humans and otherwise, was remarkable.
Our ranch employees came from so many backgrounds.
There were folks he rescued from sex trafficking, drug rings,
gangs, abusive families, and the list goes on. These were all
good people who had been through some horrific
circumstances, and one powerful being had truly seen them
and offered them a better way of life.
There was something deeply touching about a powerful
being who cared for others whom a lesser man would
consider beneath him. At this point, I would offer Gabriel
my own blood if he asked for it.
As we were meeting the ranch staff, many were being
called away to the house to help my Luna prepare for the
influx of wolves that would soon arrive. I smiled and
released them into her service.
The ranch foreman took us out to the staff cabins, and
we toured one of them. They all had the same layout: a

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kitchen/dining room combo with a living room, two

bedrooms, and one bathroom. They were all furnished
simply with a dining table and a sofa, and each bedroom had
a queen-sized bed with a simple dresser and two bedside
tables.
The foreman informed us that there were 148 staff
cabins, but only 92 were occupied. The cabins were
originally built to grow the ranch, but Gabriel hadn’t
progressed with the next phase of the ranch’s development
yet.
This fortunate set of circumstances left us with fifty-six
vacant two-bedroom cabins or 112 beds in total. I made a
mental note to bring this information to Jane at lunchtime.
The foreman drove us to the stables to meet the staff
that cared for the horses. We would meet the cowgirls and
cowboys another time since they were out with the cattle
this morning.
On the way there, Avery’s new cell phone rang. It was
an unknown number. She looked at me and then picked it
up.
“Hello?”
“Avery, it’s David. We have an issue,” he began.
“One second, David, let me put you on speaker so the
Alpha can hear you, too,” she held out the phone and
tapped the speaker button.
“Hi, David. Tristan here,” I said.
“Alpha, we managed to get everyone out last night. All
509 of us successfully left MacKenzie’s pack. He didn’t
discover we’d left until early this morning when he checked
in with border patrol and realized there was no one
patrolling the borders.”
“He threatened us through the mind-link to return
immediately, or he would turn us rogue and notify all the
packs in the east to capture us as traitors.”
“Where is everyone now?” I asked.
“We gave up all the vehicles to the families with children
to drive directly west along the northern US to head straight
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to Montana. They were driving through the night and

rotating drivers for minimal stops. They should arrive by
tomorrow morning at the latest.”
“Where are the rest of you?” I asked.
Once they pledged to me and I received them into the
pack, I would be able to locate any member through the
link. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be in the pack for another
couple of days at best.
David answered, “The rest of us shifted and started
running south to draw anyone chasing us away from the
children. We made it to the south and have run all the way
to the Louisiana/Texas border since there were large areas
to run through that didn’t belong to any packs.”
“Are they catching up to you?” I asked.
“We got a good eight-hour head start, so it’s not likely
they’ll catch up too soon, but Alpha MacKenzie severed us
from the pack. We are now rogues.”
“From here on out, most of the territory we must cross
belongs to other packs. We’re scenting as rogues, and no
pack is going to allow this large number of rogues to cross
their territory. We’re trapped between three packs and going
back the way we came. We will have to cross one of them
before MacKenzie’s hunters catch up to us,” he finished.
I knew this area vaguely, “All of East and North Texas,
that’s Alpha Clovis’s territory - the Divine Moon Pack. I’ve
only met him once, but I know he and my father didn’t get
along.
“Father said he was too progressive with his attitudes
towards humans. He was also disgusted that he has five
unmated daughters, all in their mid-to-late twenties.”
David replied, “Alpha MacKenzie also disliked him
greatly. I’ve never met him, so I’m not sure how receptive
he would be to letting us through his territory.”
“David, is this your cell phone number?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s a burner phone I picked up at a gas station
nearby to call you.”

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I replied, “Keep it handy. I’m going to try to contact

Alpha Clovis. Hopefully, he’ll be willing to let you through.
I’ll call or text you back.”
I sent David’s number to my new cell phone and saved
it. After, I dialed Gabriel’s cell.
He picked up after five rings, “Tristan?”
“Sorry to wake you, Gabriel, but I have a situation. Do
you know Alpha Clovis from the Divine Moon Pack by any
chance?”
“Of course, I have a ranch in Texas, too,” he revealed.
“How friendly are you with him?” I asked.
“Your pack is rogued and needs to get through,” he said
factually. It wasn’t a question.
“Don’t worry, Tristan. I know him well. I’ll give him a
call for you. Standby for my text,” Gabriel said.
“Thank you, Gabriel,” I said and hung up.
We continued to tour the stables while we awaited
Gabriel’s text.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Gabriel’s POV

Emma popped her head into my bedroom door as I was

getting dressed.
“I’m going to help Diane prepare lunch for everyone.
She’s closed all the blackout shades in the main house,
except for the ballroom, so you can move freely when you
finish your call,” she informed me.
“Thank you, Emma,” I said, and she left the apartment.
I dressed quickly, headed to the small office inside our
hidden blackout apartment, and flipped on the light switch
before sitting at the desk.
I dialed Alpha Clovis in a video call. I needed him to see
the urgency of the situation. I know he wouldn’t deny me
anything if he could help it, but one hundred-plus rogues
crossing pack territory was a big ask.
After two rings, he picked up, “Gabriel, old friend, what
can I do for you?”
He was clearly at his training field.
“How did you know I need something?” I laughed.
“Video call. That’s where you give me the pleading
eyes,” he chuckled as he walked outside of the training arena
to step into the edge of his forest nearby.
My voice somber, I began, “I’ve got a big ask, Clovis. It’s
a serious situation, and you might be the only person that
can help us.”
“Does this have to do with the 116 rogues we can scent
about a mile from our eastern border?”
Alpha Clovis was a bright man with strong senses and a
keen awareness of all that happened around his territory.
“It does,” I started, “I’m up at the ranch in Montana. It’s
no longer mine. I’ve given the entire thing to Alpha Tristan
Martin and his Luna Jane Martin. Jane is my new feeder, and
Tristan needed his own pack.”

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“Tristan Martin? Ah, yes, I remember the boy. He was

an intelligent kid when I met him. Hates his father. We have
that in common, so I liked him right away. He’s Alpha in
Montana now, eh? And your feeder is a Luna?” he asked
curiously.
I answered, “Yes. The million-acre ranch I paid in the
contract is now his pack territory. When we’re all settled,
he’ll be inviting all the North American Alphas to introduce
the new pack.
“But the rogues near your border are his pack. They left
Alpha MacKenzie to join Alpha Tristan. Tristan’s Beta is
Avery MacKenzie.”
Clovis let out a low whistle, “You really took on a big
project this time, Gabriel. A huge crowd of treasonous
wolves on the run from Alphas Martin and MacKenzie. I’m
sure you know there’s going to be a war from this.”
“We’re all aware, but there’s a good reason. The Alphas
in question threatened Tristan and Avery’s true mates to
reject them. They intended to mate Tristan and Avery to
each other. Tristan’s mate, Jane, ended up in my forest near
death. If I had been even three or four minutes later, she
would have died.
“She’d been whipped near to death, Clovis. Martin had
beaten them both, and still, they would not reject each
other. He hung Tristan from some gallows to force her to
reject him before they rogued her and threw her into my
forest. I’m sure he believed I would scent the blood and
finish her off for him.”
Clovis’s stern expression turned angry as I spoke.
“Say no more, Gabriel. We’ll let them through. I’m glad
to hear that Tristan and Jane are mated and safe in
Montana.”
I nodded, “As am I. Thank you, Clovis. I owe you one.”
Clovis waved his hand in the air as if it were nothing,
“Martin whipped and hung his own son, did he? Not
honoring the mating bond is bad enough, but treating his
only child like that is unforgivable.
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“I’ll tell border patrol to get them a few miles inside the
border now, and Saranya and I will go to meet them. We’ll
escort them to the pack house and give them lodging and
meals so they can rest safely before we send them on their
way to you. I’ll even provide them an escort if necessary to
make it to Montana without incident.”
“I’m grateful,” I said truthfully.
“We all have a responsibility to this world, Gabriel, as
you know. If a war is coming, Alpha Tristan and his pack
have my full support,” he assured me, and then we hung up
the call.
I texted Tristan, “All is well. Alpha Clovis escorting pack
to pack house for rest before helping them on to you. Tell
them to meet border patrol at the border ASAP.”
“Thank you, Gabriel,” he messaged back immediately.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

David’s POV

I read the text from Tristan, “Proceed to the border. Border

patrol will take you to meet Alpha Clovis and his daughter,
Saranya. They are offering you food and shelter for the night
and will see you off tomorrow.”
I sighed in relief and passed the phone to my older
brother, Jesse. He read it, handed it back to me, then turned
to address our pack. He didn’t need to speak loudly; we were
all wolves, so we could easily hear him.
“Listen up, dogs! We’re rogued now, but Alpha Tristan
has negotiated food and shelter for the night with the
Divine Moon Pack’s Alpha Clovis. We are to show them
our best behavior and lots of respect while we’re here.
Absolutely no shenanigans! I’m looking at you, John,” he
pointed at one of our brothers.
John looked away, and the other brothers laughed while
his mate, LeeAnn, bit her lip to keep her giggle from
escaping.
“We will obey the Alpha’s orders while we’re here and
bring honor to our new pack. Savvy?”
“Savvy,” we all answered Jesse’s familiar question in
unison.
When Jesse turned back to face the border, we saw a
dozen wolves in their human form waiting to escort us into
their territory.
Jesse stepped up first and shook their hands, introducing
himself as the eldest brother and expressing his gratitude.
The border patrol was friendly and seemed unbothered
by our presence. I wondered how Tristan managed to get
them to trust us so quickly.
We all hiked for an hour, chatting amiably with the
border wolves until we reached a clearing that looked like a
satellite training ground.

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When we arrived, we immediately noticed Alpha Clovis,

an enormous and intimidating figure of about 6’5” or so.
Next to him stood what I assumed to be his daughter.
She was 5’11” if she were an inch and was extremely
beautiful and intimidating in her own right. Her long
reddish-brown hair reached down her back to her waist, and
her eyes glowed a golden-brown honey color. She looked
like a superhero standing there confidently, with the wind
blowing her hair around her.
I realized that if everyone in this Alpha’s family were so
powerful and intimidating, it’s no wonder they weren’t
worried about a few dozen newly rogued wolves on their
way home to a new pack.
“Everything really is bigger in Texas,” blurted John, and
a few of the men snickered, including the border patrol.
The corner of Alpha Clovis’s lip twitched in amusement,
and the daughter rolled her eyes.
“Welcome, First Montana Pack. I’m Alpha Clovis, and
this is my middle daughter, Saranya. She is my best warrior
and is happy to include you in any of her training sessions
while you're here,” Alpha Clovis began.
Jesse stepped forward to bow his head and replied,
“Thank you for your hospitality, Alpha. You’re a lifesaver.
Literally. Nice to meet you, Saranya.”
Saranya nodded at him silently.
“Jesse, is it?” Alpha Clovis asked, and Jesse nodded.
“Is everyone rested enough to shift and run ten miles?
It’s a little way to the pack house,” he continued.
Jesse answered, “We’re ready when you are, Alpha.”
Alpha Clovis and his daughter stripped and shifted so
quickly that we didn’t have time to take our shirts off. Many
of us froze there, shirts half lifted with our mouths hanging
open.
Alpha Clovis was one of the most enormous wolves
we’d ever seen. As a wolf, his back came up to my shoulder
height. While unique, it was understandable because he was
an Alpha.
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What we were staring at with our mouths gaping open

was Saranya. Her wolf was a reddish-brown-furred beauty
with a glowing blue crescent moon on her forehead. But
that wasn’t all. Most astonishing and unheard of to any of
us, Saranya’s wolf was the same size as her father’s.
We’d barely registered this incredible sight when Jesse
breathed deeply and turned his head back toward the
direction from which we’d come. The scent of another pack
nearing the border wafted through the air.
Jesse said, “They sure got here fast. Alpha?”
One of the border guards replied, “The Alpha wants y’all
to follow him to the pack house. Border patrol will handle
it.”
Jesse nodded and shifted. The rest of us shifted shortly
after, and the Alpha and Saranya took off running at what I
guessed was probably half speed for them.
We all followed, now in wolf form. We kept up a good
pace, running through the forest, weaving in and out of
trees, and jumping over fallen logs and underbrush.
Thirty minutes later, we arrived on the large front lawn
of what I assumed was the pack house. It was an enormous
structure that looked more like a palace if a palace could be
made with massive cedar logs.
A gorgeous middle-aged woman was standing in front
of the steps that led to a vast wrap-around porch. She
handed the Alpha some shorts and a T-shirt.
She then passed Saranya a jumpsuit that looked like
spandex training gear. She stepped into the fitted legs,
pulled the sleeves up and over her shoulders, and zipped the
front closed.
All the unmated males in our group couldn’t seem to
take their eyes off her while she dressed. Even though
nudity was perceived differently in packs than it was in the
human world, staring was still considered either rude or an
invitation.
Sensing she was being ogled, Saranya looked up and let
out a low growl. The power carried within that sound caused
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the aforementioned males to look down, and some of the

younger ones even whimpered.
Alpha Clovis chuckled under his breath, and Saranya
glared at her father, who immediately put on a straight face.
As we all shifted back to human form, the lovely older
woman spoke, “Welcome, First Montana Pack. I’m Luna
Megan. Please help yourself to the clothing here on the
porch. You’ve met my daughter Saranya, and these are my
other four daughters laying out your clothing: Audra,
Kendra, Loie, and Desta.”
Four beautiful young ladies in their twenties stood on
the porch draping shorts, T-shirts, and sundresses over the
porch’s railing.
“When you’re dressed, my daughters will show you to
your rooms. You’re welcome to freshen up. All rooms have
showers and fresh clothing, so please help yourselves.”
She smiled as she continued, “Whenever you feel ready,
you can make your way down to the first floor, and someone
will show you to the dining hall. I’m sure you’re hungry after
such a long journey,” she finished.
Our people murmured thanks and selected clothing to
wear. Again, the unmated males in our group were eyeing
the other four girls. They were just as beautiful and only
slightly less intimidating than Saranya.
Saranya walked up the steps to help her sisters. The
single males lingered near the railing, looking at the girls
with open admiration.
Saranya began draping clothes over the rail and side-eyed
the young men, saying in an even tone, “If you aren’t their
mates, then get lost. None of us will settle for anything less.”
The young men looked down and scattered away, giving
the girls some peace.
I watched the whole thing with amusement as I pulled
on my shorts and tee. Once I was dressed, I followed Jesse
up the steps to greet the Luna, who was now in the entryway
with two of her daughters. They were directing guests to the
guest wing of the pack house.
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“Luna Megan,” I bowed my head to her, “thank you for

your hospitality. I’m David, and this is my eldest brother,
Jesse. If anyone causes any problems while we’re here, just
let either of us know, and we’ll take care of it.”
She reached out her hand and shook ours pleasantly,
“Welcome, gentlemen. I’m glad we could offer you shelter,
and I’m confident everyone will behave themselves,” she
said with an amused wink.
“My daughters are happy to show you to your rooms,
and we’ll see you both at dinner,” she offered.
One of the girls smiled at us and said, “Follow me.”
Jesse and I decided to share a room since most of the
guest rooms had two beds, and there were over a hundred
of us. We took turns showering and then went down to have
dinner.
The Divine Moon Pack treated us like honored guests.
After we had our fill of the delicious meal, the older pack
members headed to bed.
The younger ones were invited out with Divine Moon
Pack’s young adults to find some entertainment. There was
mention of a bonfire and dancing, but I was about as
interested in that as I was contracting a serious case of
worms.
Jesse and I got back to the room, and I was out as soon
as my head hit the pillow.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Jane’s POV
It was morning, and I was in the ballroom helping things
along. David said the children and parents would arrive by
the following morning at the latest.
The cubicles with queen beds and dressers were
complete. Each had a nice rug on the floor that Angelica
had ordered. Angelica was dressing the queen beds while I
helped sand the last of the bunks smooth. We had thirty
more to sand down, and the wood shop folks were working
much faster than I. The mix of experience, and in some
cases, vampire, wolf, or hybrid speed, made them
supernaturally efficient. Once the wood was smooth, we
would put on the mattresses and sheets.
We decided not to stain or paint the bunks due to time
restraints, but it could be done at a later date. We planned
to give the beds to the families of our new pack members
once their homes were built.
The beds would all be ready by tonight. Only half of the
mattresses had arrived, though. I thought we might want to
go down to the sporting goods shop in town and get a
bunch of sleeping bags, just in case.
The most remarkable thing was that Joshua had devised
a fantastic solution for fitting all the bunks. He had lined up
the head of half of the bunks along the walls with three feet
between them. Then, he had built a loft above them for the
rest of the bunks.
The ceiling in the massive ballroom was thirty feet tall,
and there was plenty of room to build up. It was all
temporary structure, but it was sturdy and safe.
One of the ladies from the shop, Vera, had even built
the loft to look like a giant, long treehouse with walls, a roof,
and large window cutouts so the kids could look down into

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the ballroom. This was undoubtedly the largest and best

treehouse I had ever seen.
Another staff member didn’t want the kids on the first-
floor bunks to feel bad, so she, Lainey, had sewn cloth walls
at the foot of each bunk that looked like medieval castle tent
flaps and hung twinkle lights to look like stars along the
roof, created by the loft.
Since the bunks were only along the longest wall, and the
adult cubicles were along a second wall, this would leave the
entire wall of windows and the center of the ballroom empty
for the kids to play. Most of the toys we had ordered were
here already.
Amos, the youngest staff member from the wood shop,
and his friends from the stables had built several stackable
wooden toy boxes to hold the smaller toys. They’d even
built a couple of bike racks to store the scooters and bikes
we bought for the kids.
This was like a huge kids’ sleep-away camp paradise, or
it would be when they were finished.
Lainey came over to me, took the sandpaper from my
hands, and smiled. She said, “I’ll finish here, Luna. That
way, you can check on the rest of the house.”
I smiled gratefully at her, “Thanks, Lainey. I’m just
amazed at all you’ve accomplished in two days!”
She replied, “All the cowboys, cowgirls, and ranch hands
came to help and worked all night to make it happen. We
have good people here.”
“I can see that,” I said, waving at her as I headed for the
ballroom doors and down the hall.
I checked all thirty-four guest bedrooms in the house.
Diane had already made sure they had fresh linens on the
beds, blankets, and towels placed in the bathrooms. That
woman was worth her weight in gold.
Avery had driven down just after breakfast to supervise
the dressing of the beds in the now clean and vacant staff
cabins.

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To my surprise, we had enough rooms for everyone. We

would have six cabins to spare, and one of the bedrooms in
Tristan and my third-floor apartment was also vacant, but
we had dressed the beds just in case.
The children’s dorm idea was truly brilliant and made it
possible for everyone to have a place when they arrived.
After a couple of days of settling in and organizing
everyone, we would break ground on permanent housing
for each family.
A big surprise to me was that Gabriel was a full-fledged
architect, among many other things since he had lived so
long. The house in which we now lived was his own design,
and he’d personally overseen construction. Currently, he
was busy working on dozens of plans.
I walked down to the study where Gabriel and Tristan
were working together on all things pack planning related.
Tristan and I decided, with Gabriel’s guidance, that the
best thing to do would be to build a town square with some
essential buildings and a small town. Gabriel had already
designed the square and the road map. At the moment, he
was working on designing all the buildings in the town
square. The speed with which he drew across the paper
baffled my mind.
We were going to have a separate pack house to office
our pack leaders and host official events. The next building
would be a central security facility since the town would be
built between our home and the property’s front gates.
The security facilities Tristan envisioned were a massive
undertaking. He wanted cameras everywhere and for all the
facilities in the square and our home to run on underground
generators, so it would be tough for anyone to disable them.
The Pack House would have a large-scale kitchen,
ballroom, and a brilliant dining hall. I had no idea how we
were going to build all of this or how long it would take, but
Tristan and Gabriel said it was going to be magnificent.
Earlier, when I asked them about the cost involved in all
of this, Gabriel had chuckled. He’d asked if I’d checked the
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accounts that came with the property. I hadn’t, of course.

Tristan had pulled up the banking app on his phone and
showed me that there were twenty different accounts, and
most had balances of more than a billion dollars.
One of the accounts had my name on it. I’d asked what
it was, and Tristan had said it was my personal money and I
could spend it any way I wanted. I’d guffawed at that. What
in the world would I spend a billion dollars on?
Over fifteen billion dollars in funds were available to us
and our ranch. I don’t think we could ever spend it all.
We were basically worth the same as a small social media
empire. It was enough money to fund everything for
generations. Additionally, the ranch continued to make a
profit, which fed into the accounts.
In shock, I’d forgotten my manners and asked Gabriel
how much money he still had, and he’d just shaken his head
and said, “You don’t want to know. First Montana Pack is
now the wealthiest pack in the world, though, so that’s
something.”
“That makes me wish we’d chosen a better name,” I’d
said.
“We still can once everyone is settled,” Tristan had
replied.
When I walked into the room today, I said to them, “I
know what I want to do with some of my money.”
“Oh yeah?” Tristan said as he looked up at me and
smiled.
“Yes,” I nodded decidedly, “In addition to the ranch
hands, we’ll have 509 new pack members. They left
everything behind to come here. They did it because of us:
Avery, Angelica, you, and me.
“I want to give every pack member $50,000 to furnish
their lives. The wolves traveling from far, and the ones here
on the ranch who will pledge their loyalty to us. And
everyone that joins going forward, I want to give it to them,
too.”

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“If we’re going to be the wealthiest pack in the world,

not a single person who lives here should be poor or lack
anything they need. The money should be enough to meet
those needs, but not so much that they don’t want to work
with us on our community.”
Tristan got up from his desk and walked over to me. His
face was full of emotion as he put his hands on either side
of my face and whispered, “Best. Luna. Ever.” Then he
kissed me deeply.
When he pulled away, he was beaming at me with
adoration and pride. I smiled up at him with so much love
that Gabriel started clearing his throat.
“Sorry, Gabe,” I laughed and then walked around to the
drafting table he was sitting at along the wall of bookcases.
“Once your pack arrives, you take their info: names,
birthdates, etc. Add their files to the filing cabinet behind
Tristan’s desk. That’s also where the ranch employee files
are. Once you have all the names, you can take them to my
bank manager in town and have him create bank accounts
for the adults and trust accounts for the children,” Gabriel
instructed as he continued to draw.
“Your bank manager?” I asked.
Gabriel grinned but kept his focus on the drawing, “I
own the bank.”
“You own USEU Bank and Trust!? The International
bank that’s in every city and town in all Americas and
Europe?”
“Mmhmm,” he replied.
Gabriel was probably the most important vampire in the
entire world by any standard you could think of, and I hadn’t
known this before. He was important to me, but he was just
Gabriel.
He felt like a beloved grandfather who saved my life and
made all my dreams come true. Maybe I should call him my
Fairy Godvampire.
He chuckled at that, clearly reading my thoughts.

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I stood beside him silently for several minutes while he

continued to work and watched the plans appear beneath
his fast-working fingertips.
“What’s this?” I finally asked.
“I’ve completed the city planning and the designs on the
Pack House, Fire Station, Security facilities, Training facility,
and the schools. This,” he continued, “is a sound-proof
apartment building. Each apartment’s ceilings, floors, and
outer walls will be sufficiently insulated so that those who
choose to live here will have privacy from supernatural
hearing.”
“That’s brilliant!”
“It was your mate’s idea. He wanted the unmated adults
to have a place to build friendships and a sense of
community. Normally, this is the function of a pack house,
but the large scale of our pack at the start presents some
unique challenges as we can’t house them all inside the pack
house.”
I smiled proudly at Tristan, who was also busy working
on something.
I walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. He
turned his chair and pulled me into his lap to show me his
work.
“This is a contract with one of the largest residential
architecture firms in the country. We’re paying for the
families in the pack to go to their catalog of architectural
plans and pick out the houses they want to build. They’ll
also receive custom alterations to the plans included in our
contract.”
My heart felt so full. Tristan is such a caring and
considerate Alpha. Providing for his pack in every way
possible had already made him miles above his father.
In less than three days here, he had mated, met the entire
staff, taken over the accounts, and started designing an
entire city for our pack. All while considering the security,
well-being, and happiness of each wolf, human, and
vampire, too.
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He was the most beautiful, sexiest, and most incredible

being I would ever have the privilege of meeting, and I
could see through his eyes that he felt the same about me.
It was humbling, and it made me feel warm in the depths of
my soul.
Tristan signed the contract with the architecture firm
and stood, still holding me princess-style.
“We have something to go do, and we better get it done
before everyone starts arriving.”
“We do?” I asked.
He carried me to one of the trucks parked in front of the
house and buckled me in the passenger seat.
He climbed into the driver’s side and headed toward the
barns that serviced the cattle. I hadn’t been out there yet,
and I was curious about why we had to do something near
the barns.
Tristan flipped on the radio as we drove with the
windows down and started singing along with the song
playing. I closed my eyes and reveled in my other senses.
The sexy baritone of his voice made my skin tingle as I
listened to him sing.
The wind blew my shoulder-length hair around, and the
cool air felt refreshing. I loved the smell of the outdoors on
our ranch. It was unseasonably less cold than the eastern
states had been. The aromas of leather, grass, fresh-cut
wood, and wildflowers enveloped us.
Tristan’s rich voice washed over me, and the sunlight felt
warm and friendly on my face. This is happiness. I sighed in
contented bliss.
We pulled up in front of one of the barns, and he turned
in his seat to face me.
“Two things,” he said, “One, Gabriel needs to feed
tonight, so you’ll have your first feeder session since the
contract was signed. I will be there with you in case you’re
nervous, so don’t worry.”
He paused to wait for my response.
“Ok, thank you,” I smiled.
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He nodded and continued, “Two, remember how I told

you that you’ll see about marking me?”
I looked towards the barn and then back at him, “Am I
going to brand you like a piece of cattle?” I joked.
“Yep,” he said, grinning.
“Won’t it just heal?” I asked, “You’re a wolf.”
“Normally, yes. But this ranch, under Gabriel’s
ownership, developed a wolfsbane-infused metal. It’s
infused with many things that are lethal to all sorts of
supernatural beings. Because it was developed by the ranch,
it now belongs to us.”
“Wolfsbane infused metal?! The implications of that are
enormous, Tristan. A wound made with that on a wolf
wouldn’t heal properly. It would create a permanent scar.
That could be very dangerous in the wrong hands,” I
frowned, now worried.
“You’re right. It could be, and that’s why the only people
who know about it are Gabriel, Emma, me, you, and the
wolf scientist who created it with Gabriel.”
“Who is that scientist, and where is he now?” I asked.
“He’s the only wolf staff Gabriel had here on the ranch.
He’s the head chef of the chow wagon, Wolfgang. He’s also
the newest member of our pack. He gave his pledge
yesterday afternoon when Gabriel introduced us.
“I thought I felt another bond forming. Wolfgang, you
say?” I giggled.
“He said he’s older than that other chef of the same
name, so he’s the original.”
My face suddenly became serious as I considered what
he’d revealed, “Tristan, we won’t use the metal, will we?”
“We won’t use it unless there is something massive that
requires it. That would have to be something like a world
war.”
“I’m not going to let anyone get their hands on it,” he
continued.
“Once the security facility is built, it will be kept in a
special safe room that Gabriel, Wolfgang, and I will
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personally build in secret. Only you, Wolfgang, and I will be

able to open the door via biometric scanners. The three of
us and Gabriel will be the only ones that know of its
location.”
“But we’re going to test it now?” I asked.
“Yes. Gabriel told me about it when we were alone
before boarding the plane back east. When you asked how
you were going to mark me, I immediately thought of this,”
he finished with a smile.
I smiled back. He never forgot anything I expressed
concern over, always considering my happiness.
He got out of the truck and came around to open my
door. I hopped out, and we walked into the barn together,
holding hands.
Wolfgang was waiting for us near a large metal security
door behind a huge wall of hay bales.
“Wolfgang, this is your Luna,” Tristan introduced us.
Wolfgang put his hand to his heart and bowed his head
low, “It is an honor to meet you, my Luna.”
I had only seen the very oldest of wolves use this gesture
towards their Alphas and Lunas. Wolfgang must be ancient.
I knew wolves could live a very long time, but a scientist
under Gabriel’s care could literally be any age and not
surprise me.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Wolfgang,” I smiled at him.
Wolfgang turned and placed his palm on a scanner pad
near the metal door, causing a light to blink. Then, the door
popped open.
He held the door and let us in, not coming with us.
“When you are finished, there is a similar pad on the
inside wall that will open the door to exit the room, and
either of your handprints will open it,” he told us.
Bowing, Wolfgang closed the door behind us once we
had entered.
“A wolf of few words,” I said.
An automatic light lit up the space. It was a long, narrow
room the length of the barn. One side had countertops with
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a sink at one end. Two stools against the wall could be

moved up to the bar-height countertop or left against the
wall and still leave room for the occupants to walk the
length of the narrow space to a bathroom at the far end.
Just a few feet inside the room, a short-handled brand
was on the countertop, being heated in a small electric box.
Tristan pulled a stool up to the counter, removed his
shirt, and sat down. He picked up the thick glove lying on
the counter next to the small box. Pulling my hand to him,
he kissed my palm and then gloved my hand.
“The brand handle will be hot, so this will protect your
hand so you can use it,” he explained.
Once I was gloved, he leaned against the counter and
tilted his head away from me to expose that soft, tender spot
that joins the neck to the shoulder.
I stood silent for a moment. My mate and Alpha was
baring his neck to me. Normally, to a wolf, this was a sign
of submission. It felt as though I was walking on sacred
ground.
I lifted my hand to grab the brand and pulled it from the
box. The brand on the end was only about two inches wide
and glowing red with heat.
I stepped closer to Tristan and lifted my hand.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yes, love. Mark me,” he replied in a deep, sexy voice
full of emotion.
I pressed the brand to his neck with a decent amount of
pressure, left it there to the count of two, and then removed
it. The smell of burning flesh filled the room, and I was
expecting Tristan to flinch or hiss or make some sign that it
was painful, but he didn’t. He sat perfectly still and quietly
received my mark.
I placed the brand back in the box and took off the
glove. I looked up at his neck to inspect the burn mark.
There it was, two inches wide. In small, neat letters of angry
red and a little bit of charred black was the name, “JANE
MARIE MARTIN.”
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Tears filled my eyes. I felt overwhelmed, loved, sorry I

hurt him, and happy he wanted me to mark him.
He stepped down to the floor and pulled me to him. We
stood like that, hugging quietly for a long time.
After a while, he pulled back a little and lifted my chin
to say, “Look at it now.”
I looked. The burn had already scabbed over. Normally,
something like this on a wolf would have healed by now,
but because of the wolfsbane-infused metal, it would scab
over and scar him.
“Tristan, you amaze me every second of every day. I love
you,” I whispered.
“I feel the same about you,” he said before claiming my
lips with his own.
It was a long time before we left the narrow safe room
hidden behind the hay bales at the back of the barn.

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CHAPTER THIRTY

Tristan’s POV

Later that evening, we went back to the house. Gabriel was

still in the study, working on the plans. He didn’t need much
rest or sustenance, so he could work for hours at a time
without having any physical needs to distract him.
I held my mate’s hand as I called out to him, “Gabriel,
do you need to feed?”
He looked up at us and nodded before he rose from the
drafting table and walked to the bookcase door entrance to
the dark apartment. We followed him inside, and he closed
the door after turning on the lights.
I settled on the sofa and pulled Jane into my lap so she
could lean on me in case she felt a little tired afterward.
Gabriel pulled a chair over beside us and asked Jane,
“Are you ready?”
She held her arm out to him, wrist up, and smiled, “Help
yourself, Gabe.”
He laughed lightly before responding, “I’m going to start
the mind manipulation now. The first time a person sees a
vampire’s bloodthirsty eyes can be a little frightening. It will
help with the pain, too, as we discussed.”
“Alright,” she answered.
After a few seconds, she went nearly limp in my lap, with
her head resting completely on my shoulder. She was awake
and breathing regularly but was very relaxed.
Gabriel looked at me, and I nodded to him. My wolf,
Onan, was curled up in his den, ignoring the whole process
as if this were just a boring humanoid thing that held no
interest to him.
Gabriel’s eyes flashed red as his fangs extended. He
lifted Jane’s wrist to his mouth, his eyes on hers, while he
bit into her flesh, drinking deeply.

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Something began to shift, and I noticed my mate bond

with Jane strengthening. As Gabriel continued to feed, it
glistened and vibrated with a new feeling of weightiness, as
if something were being added.
My senses heightened, and inside of me, Onan lifted his
head. If a wolf could smile, he was doing it with his snout
in the air, breathing in deeply.
It was then that I noticed a new aroma in the air. When
I first scented Jane as my mate, she smelled of fresh earth
and citrus. Now, there was a new depth to the aroma I could
only describe as sunshine on a summer day.
I felt mildly disoriented even as I could feel Onan’s
happy satisfaction. He wasn’t surprised, but he was
extremely pleased.
After several minutes, Gabriel removed his mouth from
Jane’s wrist and pierced the tip of his own finger with his
fang.
He rubbed his now bleeding finger against her wound,
and his blood healed the puncture marks completely as if
they had never existed.
Now that he had finished feeding and Jane was healed,
we both watched her face as we waited for something. I
wasn’t sure what.
She was awake, but her eyes were glazed over, as if she
were staring at something, not of this world. It looked like
someone mind-linking or speaking to their wolf, but that
wasn’t possible, was it?
“Jane?” I whispered.
Gabriel put his hand on my arm and shook his head,
indicating that I should wait.
We watched her for a long time, maybe an hour, before
her glazed look faded. She looked up at me and smiled one
of the brightest smiles I’d ever seen on her lips.
She reached out to Gabriel and gripped his hand, saying
simply, “Thank you.”
I wanted to ask her what happened as Onan stood up in
my mind, tail wagging, and playfully grumbled, “Finally!”
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A new voice entered my head through the mind-link. It

sounded like Jane but earthier and deeper. It said, “Onan, my
love.”
“Welcome back, Kasia,” he replied with a wolfish grin in
his gruff voice.
My eyes widened as I met Jane’s eyes. Her joy was almost
tangible.
Gabriel laughed beside us, and we looked at him. He was
happy. Happier than I had ever seen him.
“Kasia? Jane, you have a wolf!” I said in a voice of awe.
Instead of speaking out loud, Gabriel spoke into our
minds, “I thought I recognized your voice, Onan. Kasia, you darling
pup, I’m so happy to see you again.”
I looked back at Jane, and her radiant face beamed as she
said, “I had a wolf all along, Tristan. Kasia has been there
all this time. Jessica, your cousin, and my dad’s mate, had a
witch curse me to separate us and lock her away.
“Jessica wanted the pack to think I was human, like my
mom, so that they would treat me as a servant, and she
wouldn’t have to see me. She knows how your dad feels
about humans,” she frowned briefly.
Many emotions burned in my chest. I was furious with
Jessica for doing something so despicable. I was angry at my
father for thinking humans were worthless. I was mad at
myself for bullying her when we were young because she
was different.
But most of all, and most importantly, I felt even more
complete than I imagined I could ever feel. I felt whole
when I marked Jane, but now I felt...more.
“Why did curse break now?” I asked.
Jane smiled up at Gabriel and said, “You tell him.”
Gabriel grinned, “It was the feeding. Blood from a
person with a curse or a spell placed on them tastes extra
rich to a vampire. I knew right away it was a blood curse, so
I fed until her blood tasted normal. Essentially, I sucked the
curse out of her.

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“I’m sorry I took a little more than a pint, but you

shouldn’t feel too lightheaded. It wasn’t much more, and I
closed the wound with my blood, so you should be fully
recovered by now, especially now that you have access to
your wolf’s accelerated healing,” he explained.
I still had one more question, and Gabriel knew what it
was.
“Your wolves are quite a bit older than the two of you.
I’ve seen it a handful of times over the centuries. Most of
your kind get a new wolf when they’re born, but sometimes,
for reasons known only to the Moon Goddess at the time,
she reincarnates wolves into new people. Typically, this can
only be done when the person hosting the wolf is a
descendant of the previous host.”
“Why us?” I asked.
Gabriel shrugged lightly, “Usually, it’s a big purpose,
which means something important is coming in your
lifetimes that you must do. Your wolves are still you; they’ve
just lived more lives.”
“You knew the previous wolves that hosted Onan and
Kasia?” I asked in astonishment.
“I should say so,” Gabriel chuckled happily, “Kasia was
my granddaughter, and Onan was her true mate.”
Jane was smiling happily up at Gabriel, “I guess we are
related after all.”
“It seems so,” he replied with a grin.
“Your granddaughter was a wolf?” I asked.
Gabriel continued to pull out exciting new information
from his bag of tricks almost daily. He nodded, and his eyes
glazed over with a faraway look as he explained.
“My daughter mated a wolf, and their daughter,
Gwendolyn, had Kasia for her wolf. This was before I was
a vampire. I was just a regular human back then. When
Kasia would come out for runs, I would run into the woods
with her, and we would play.”
“I witnessed her and Onan finding each other for the
first time in those woods. That was more than 1,100 years
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ago. And she, Kasia, witnessed a vampire woman turning

me in those same woods.”
Gabriel continued, “And now the two of you need to get
into the forest right away. Kasia hasn’t had a run in a very
long time, and Onan is impatient to see her again in the
flesh.”
Gabriel walked over to the bookcase door and opened
it, leading us out of the front door and into the woods about
a hundred yards away. He jogged into the forest a few feet
and waited with his back to us.
Jane and I stripped and shifted. Usually, a wolf’s first
shift was awkward and painful, but she shifted with ease,
and I figured it must have something to do with the fact that
our wolves were older.
I receded into Onan’s mind as he took over and
stretched his long legs. The moment he saw Kasia take over,
he ran to her and flung himself against her. The two of them
rolled around on the forest floor for a bit before they curled
up together and nuzzled each other.
My gaze roamed over Jane’s wolf with Onan’s eyes. She
was a snow-white wolf with deep brown eyes, very much
like Jane’s. This seemed an impossible combination to me,
but who was I to argue with visible evidence? She simply
existed this way, and she was beautiful.
It didn’t escape my notice that the two of us were both
larger-than-average wolves. Maybe it had something to do
with our wolves being ancient.
Gabriel stood waiting nearby, looking up into the tree
canopy in the dark. The sun was setting now, and it was
darker in the trees.
A random thought crossed my mind that this was one of
several times I’d seen Gabriel go into the sun. I guessed that
being so ancient and powerful had its perks. He once
described it as moderately uncomfortable, but I knew it
would burn lesser vampires to ash.
After a time, Kasia got up and loped over to Gabriel to
nudge against his leg. He crouched down beside her and put
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both hands around her face, bending down to put his

forehead against hers. They sat there that way, eyes closed,
speaking into each other’s minds for about ten minutes
before they both looked over at me.
Gabriel said to Onan, “Let’s run!”
Gabriel and Kasia took off running at full speed, and
Onan grumbled, “Bloody cheaters,” though he was laughing
as he chased them into the forest.
We ran with Gabriel for nearly two hours before I
scented the multitude of wolves crossing into our territory.
The families and children in our pack were arriving.
Onan let out a howl, calling Kasia and Gabriel to return
with him to the house.
When we reached the place where we had left our
clothes on the ground, our wolves receded, and Jane and I
dressed quickly.
I mind-linked Avery just as we made it home so she
could get the bonfire going in the pasture behind the big
house and call the ranch hands to dinner.
By the time the vehicles started pulling up in front of the
mansion, Jane and I, along with Avery, Angelica, Diane, and
Emma, were standing in front of it, ready to welcome them
home.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Alpha Clovis’s POV

Early, before breakfast, I was in my study with my Beta and
younger brother, Elder. We were discussing plans for a pack
event when my second daughter, Kendra, knocked on the
door.
“Come,” I called.
Kendra stepped into the room and walked up to my
desk.
“Father, I need to go with Saranya today when she
escorts First Montana Pack home.”
I lifted a brow at her, “Why is that Kiwi?”
“I need to see Luna Jane Martin,” she answered plainly.
“It’s important?” I asked her.
“Yes, Father.”
I knew better than to question Kendra’s purpose. Over
the years, we had learned to trust her unique awareness of
the world and events. She never spoke more than was
necessary, so I didn’t pry into her reasons. I trusted her
abilities and knew that if she needed to see the Luna, then it
must be done.
I had already considered escorting the pack myself, along
with Saranya, but Kendra deciding to go just made my
decision for me.
“Ok, my dear. I’ll inform your mother, as well. She and
I will leave with Saranya and you to escort the pack home
after breakfast.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she smiled and quietly exited the office.
I looked over at Elder and said, “Well, I guess the pack
is in your care until we return, brother. Make sure Audra
doesn’t over-train.”
“Will do,” he said before heading out and closing the
door behind him.

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Two hours later, two of my pack’s motor coach buses

were parked in the drive of the pack house. I’d decided that
driving us all to Montana together was safest for everyone.
One hundred and sixteen rogues running across America
would cause more of a stir than was necessary.
Saranya was well known to packs in the West as my
warrior daughter, and she wouldn’t have had any trouble
gaining passage through the country on her own. Having me
with her would make things even more accessible.
My Luna was here because I never went anywhere
without her. Since the day we mated, we had never been
separated by more than 100 miles at a time. Even that
distance was simply because we were on different parts of
our large pack territory.
Saranya and Kendra climbed onto the bus with the
unmated wolves and some of the young mated adults.
Megan and I joined the older mated couples on the bus
where Jesse was sitting with David and their other six
brothers.
It was going to take twenty-four hours to get to Montana
if we drove straight through. We brought two drivers per
bus to keep moving, and there were toilet facilities at the
back of both buses, so we didn’t have to stop at all unless
we had a good reason.
Jesse counted the people on our bus, and then I gave
him the count on the other bus, as mind-linked over by
Saranya, and he nodded that it was everyone.
I mind-linked both drivers to head out, and the buses
roared to life. Meandering down the long front drive of my
territory gave everyone an opportunity to appreciate the
ancient, tall oaks that formed a canopy across the road. As
we moved closer to the exit of pack lands and onto the
interstate highway, I leaned back and adjusted my legs to get
more comfortable.
I found myself eager to meet with Alpha Tristan and visit
with Gabriel. This would be an interesting trip.

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I put my arm around Megan, and she leaned into me. I

rested my head on the top of hers, and we snuggled together
for a long while before Jesse riled up his brothers into
singing bawdy songs from their childhood.
It wasn’t long before we all knew the words, and Megan
and I joined in with enthusiasm. If there was one thing the
Alpha Clovis Entropus family knew how to do, besides
kicking ass, it was singing.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Diane’s POV
Seeing some of our families again was a joyous occasion.
The best part was feeling free. Our family had thrived, not
because of Alpha MacKenzie, but despite him.
Here, with Tristan and Avery mated to their true mates,
this pack was something special. I knew that we were all the
luckiest, most blessed wolves on earth to have found
ourselves in the care of such exceptional young leaders.
My sisters all rushed over to me, crying and laughing,
happy to be reunited. I missed my mate terribly, but these
six sisters of mine were the next best thing.
Dido, the eldest, pulled away from the hug first and then
looked me over.
“Diane, you’re so happy! This place must be amazing if
it’s had this effect on you.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I responded with
excitement, “Avery and Angelica are mated! Alpha Tristan
and Luna Jane are proving to be capable and considerate
leaders.”
Dresda, my third sister, interrupted, “So what can we
do? Driving for two days has worn me clean out. I need
some work!”
I smiled at her ceaseless need for motion, “Don’t worry,
there is so much work to do. Soon, there will be a check-in,
and they’ll take your information. Once they know about
your skills, I’m sure they won’t hesitate to put you to work.”
“Music to my ears!” Dresda said, rubbing her hands
together.
Once everyone was out of the vehicles and scattered
around the drive and lawn, Alpha Tristan held up a hand,
and all the new arrivals became quiet, eyes on him.
He smiled out at the crowd of 300+ children and 75
adults.

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“Welcome to First Montana Pack,” he began.

“Luna Jane and I are proud to have you as a part of our
pack and our family. I know that Beta Avery and her mate
Angelica are very touched and grateful to all of you for your
support.”
The Alpha’s face turned earnest as he continued, “I want
to make it clear that every single one of you is welcome here.
I do need to warn you that this pack isn’t going to be like
any other pack you’ve ever known or heard of.
“No one will be forced to stay. Everyone will have a
place, a job, and a purpose. That job will not be decided by
your Alpha or your Luna but by your wishes, talents, and
ambitions.
“We are also treading new ground because tonight, we
will be welcoming others into our pack. We are the first pack
to welcome humans and vampires who wish to pledge their
loyalty and join our family. They will be full-fledged pack
members who will work alongside us to build a strong pack
where everyone can thrive together,” he declared as a low
murmur made its way around the crowd.
Standing tall, with confidence, he carried on, “If this isn’t
something that appeals to you, or if after some time you feel
this is not your home, your Luna and I will help you find
one.”
Alpha Tristan then turned to Luna Jane, who stepped
forward and scanned the crowd for the children.
She smiled widely and said in a sweet and kind voice, “I
hear we have some special wolves with us. If you are an
orphan, please come to the front.”
About thirty children stepped forward timidly with their
heads hanging low. Some of them even trembled as they
walked to the front.
I counted about thirty children standing in various states
before Jane: some defiant, some terrified. The adults who
brought them here tensed as if expecting something bad to
happen.
“Welcome, pups,” Jane began.
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“Can everyone be brave right now and look up at my

face? I want you to listen very closely, ok?”
Jane paused while she waited until every pup had their
eyes on her before she continued.
“I want to tell you something special. I am an orphan,
just like you.”
One of the little girls, about four years old, blurted, “But
you’re the Luna!”
“That’s right, sweetie, I am the Luna! I’m your Luna.”
The little girl’s eyes went wide with awe.
Jane went on, “I know that many of you have been
mistreated in the past because you had no family to protect
you and defend you. It happened to me, too.”
The kids’ silence was deafening as she continued, “Some
packs aren’t very kind or understanding and take advantage
of kids who can’t protect themselves. But I want you to
know that is not going to happen here in your new home.
You will be a full member of this pack, just like me.”
The tension among the adults relaxed, and many of them
were looking at Jane with complete adoration. She had
already won their devotion.
Jane continued, “You will get to go to school, play, learn,
and grow just as well as any other pup in the pack. And if
you grow up and want to have a job in our pack, then Alpha
Tristan and I will do everything we can to help you.”
“But we still don’t have any families,” another girl of
about six said with a bitter tone.
Jane stepped forward, crouched down in front of the
girl, and smiled, “Would you like to be my daughter?”
The girl’s eyes widened, and she was left speechless.
“What is your name?” Jane asked.
“Amy,” she whispered.
“Listen to me, Amy,” Jane said, looking around at all of
the children. “This goes for everyone here. The Alpha and
I already discussed this before you arrived.
“If any one of you wants to be adopted, then any family
in our pack can adopt you, and you will have a family. If you
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want to stay here in our house with me and the Alpha, then
you will be our children. None of you are going to stay
orphans, ok?”
The four-year-old girl from earlier pushed her way
through to Jane and said, “I want to be addotted.”
“What’s your name?” Jane smiled at her.
“Everyone calls me Selly,” she replied.
“Selly, you are going to be adopted. I promise,” Jane said
to her.
Amy hung her head low, and tears rolled down her
cheeks as she began to cry in earnest. Sniffles could be heard
among the orphans as many of them cried quietly while
others tried to hold back their tears.
Tristan stepped forward and picked Amy up as if she
weighed no more than a piece of paper. He held the child
like a veteran father as she buried her little face in his
shoulder and shook with her sobs. He patted her back and
let her cry, murmuring comforting words to her all the
while.
I scanned the faces in the crowd. Every adult was quiet
and reverent, watching with awe and gratitude as their new
Alpha and Luna had stolen every heart for life - even mine.
The crying soon died down as the Alpha and Luna
circulated, meeting all the children. They took their time
with each one. Tristan would ruffle their hair and pat their
backs while Jane crouched down, gave out smiles and hugs,
and answered questions.
After a bit, Avery stepped forward.
“I know everyone must be tired from your journey.
Come inside and go straight back under the stairs, and you’ll
find the temporary dining hall. Help yourself to the buffet
of food,” she announced.
A few stomachs in the crowd rumbled, and Angelica
giggled next to Avery as she continued, “Angelica and I will
be coming around to register you with the pack and assign
you a place to sleep. Anyone who wants to say their pledge

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to the Alpha tonight before bed, head out to the bonfire

behind the house after you’ve eaten your fill.”
That was my cue. I grabbed my sisters and pulled them
back into the house and through to the kitchen. I’d already
made them plates of food. I needed them to help me keep
the buffet stocked until everyone had finished.
We stood around the large kitchen island together, eating
and laughing as we caught up after a few days apart.
Dido shook her head and said, “I can’t believe how
mature and impressive Alpha Tristan and Luna Jane are.
Didn’t you say they are only eighteen?”
I nodded, “Yes, they are eighteen, but they feel much
older to me, too. I’ve spent the last couple of days getting
to know them better, and I truly believe this is going to be
the best pack in the nation.”
Dana, the youngest of us seven, piped up, “What a
handsome couple, too. They’re magazine cover worthy.”
We all laughed and continued eating before we would
have to check on the buffet.
It was good to be home.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Moon Goddess Selene’s POV

The vampire goddess Kali sat next to me in an elaborate

castle I had fabricated on the moon to watch over my
children. It was invisible to the human eye but often visited
by other gods and goddesses.
Before us stood the wall-sized mirror I’d installed, which
gave a view into the lives of my blessed children. Currently,
we watched Jane particularly, and Gabriel, Kali’s favored
one.
“It happened just as you said,” she admitted while
sipping her wine.
“Thanks to a little help from your Gabriel,” I reminded
her as I tipped my wineglass to her.
She touched her glass to mine, creating a tinkling sound
before bringing it back to her blood-red lips.
“I admit I had my doubts that it would work out this
way. Gabriel never disappoints me, though. He’s my
treasured creation,” Kali admitted.
“You have every reason to be proud,” I agreed.
“Your daughters seem to be faring well,” Kali remarked.
She suddenly sat forward in her chair and shushed me,
“Be quiet now. I want to see this part.”
I chuckled in amusement; I hadn’t said anything.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Jane’s POV
Every single member of the ranch staff and every single
wolf that had arrived this evening wanted to pledge their
loyalty to Tristan and our pack.
It took two hours, and we thought we were done, but
then Gabriel and Emma stepped forward.
Tristan looked Gabriel in the eye and said, “Gabriel,
you’re already a part of our family. We owe you so much;
you don’t need to kneel to me.”
Gabriel grinned, “It’s already been decided. You said we
could join your pack. Is that true?”
“Of course,” he replied.
Emma knelt first.
“I, Emma Jones, pledge my allegiance to you, Tristan
Martin, as my Alpha. This pack shall be my family, and
where you go shall be my home as long as I shall live.”
Tristan replied, “I, Tristan Martin, pledge to you, Emma
Jones, to be a strong and just Alpha. Protecting and leading
this pack as my family as long as I shall live. Stand to your
feet, Elder Emma of the First Montana Pack.”
Emma stood and hugged Tristan and then me.
Gabriel knelt on both knees before Tristan and looked
him in the eyes.
“I, Gabriel Michael Francisco, pledge my allegiance to
you, Tristan Martin, as my Alpha. This pack shall be my
family, and where you go shall be my home as long as I shall
live.”
A wave of power surged from Gabriel’s body and flowed
over the entire pack present tonight. Tristan looked down
at his hands, and they were somehow larger again. He was
larger again.
In a voice full of awe and emotion, he responded, “I,
Tristan Martin, pledge to you, Gabriel Michael Francisco, to

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be a strong and just Alpha. Protecting and leading this pack

as my family as long as I shall live. Stand to your feet, Elder
Gabriel of the First Montana Pack.”
They clasped hands, and Tristan pulled Gabriel to his
feet, and then they hugged one another unashamedly.
Gabriel turned to me and kissed my forehead gently,
then stepped back to smile at the both of us. His smile broke
into a grin just before Avery shouted, “And now we run!”
A great cheer roared through the crowd, and all the
wolves stripped and shifted. Tristan and I shifted, too, and
led everyone into the forest.
Gabriel and Emma kept up the pace with us using their
vampire speed, while some of the wolves stayed behind for
a few minutes to encourage the others.
They nudged the children who couldn’t shift yet and the
human ranch hands, who were now pack members, to
follow us into the forest and run, too.
The children happily followed behind, laughing and
running with all their might through the trees.
Crypton was the first part-human adult to make up his
mind. He made a loud whooping sound and ran into the
woods with the rest of the pack. Soon after, the others
followed, laughing and running through the forest with all
of us at a much slower rate of speed.
Tristan and I circled back around and wove through the
children and humans playfully, encouraging them and
welcoming them to the run.
The air was crisp with the fresh scent of our pack,
weaving itself into the scents of all new members and
floating adrift on the cool breeze that wandered through the
trees.
I looked up as we loped around, and my breath caught
at the magical sight of hundreds of fireflies dancing above
our heads through the trees. Moonbeams cut through the
canopy, and as each wolf darted beneath the beams, their
coats shimmered and shined with the glow of it.

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We ran and played together in the forest for an hour

before the humans began to tire, so we headed back to the
bonfire, where we shifted back and dressed.
I could see that everyone was exhausted at this point and
running on pure happiness and adrenaline.
Tristan and I mind-linked, and then to the pack, he said,
“Everyone, get a good night’s rest. You have no
responsibilities tomorrow other than resting and exploring
your new home. The rest of our pack and your families
arrive the next morning. Let’s be well-rested to welcome
them home.”
Everyone cheered again, and people started filtering into
the house.
Crypton and Allen had brought the SUVs to the big
house and started calling out, “If you’ve been assigned a
cabin, we’ll take you there now! It’s going to take a few trips,
but just wait out here, and we’ll be back shortly!”
I went into the house as they were loading up the
unmated wolves and a few couples to deliver them to their
temporary housing.
Helping the parents corral all of the children took several
minutes, and then I led them to the ballroom. We’d already
explained the children’s dorm, and Angelica had chosen the
twelve couples that would stay with the pups there.
I flung open the double doors, and the children ran in
and looked around, blinking and letting their mouths hang
open.
“There are pajamas on the first set of bunks to the left,”
I called out. Find ones that fit you. The bathrooms are out
here in the hallway. Choose a toothbrush there and brush
your teeth!”
I helped the parents get all of the children’s teeth
brushed, their clothes changed, and tucked into bed. I had
to brush my teeth seven times to persuade some of the littler
orphans to brush.
It was midnight when I finally made my way up to my
room in the third-floor apartment. I flung myself onto the
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bed and was asleep as soon as I pulled the covers up to my

neck.
At some point, after I fell asleep, Tristan came in,
stripped us both, and then climbed into bed beside me. He
pulled me against him, skin against skin, and I fell back to
sleep soundly and snuggly against his warmth.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Saranya’s POV
We’d been driving non-stop on the interstate for twenty
hours from Texas to Montana. We were less than five hours
from First Montana Pack now.
Our bus was full of unmated young adult wolves and a
handful of young, mated pairs. It was awkward at first
because the male wolves couldn’t seem to keep their eyes
off Kendra and me.
I knew we were beautiful, but there were a number of
gorgeous women in their own pack, so it seemed a little
awkward to have them staring at us.
Finally, a young she-wolf of about twenty-two came to
sit across the aisle from us and struck up a conversation.
Her name was Flora, and she was friendly and smiled a
lot. She had soft blonde hair, light blue eyes, and pale skin.
Even her eyebrows and eyelashes were blonde. She had a
smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
She also asked a lot of nosy questions that were none of
her business.
“Are you adopted?” she asked Kendra.
“No,” Kendra answered.
“Why do you look so differently from your sisters?” she
continued to pry.
Three of my sisters and I had varying shades of red and
brown hair. We were all tall and had brown or green eyes.
But Kendra was different. She was short with long black
hair and violet eyes.
Our mother had thought once that she was switched at
birth, but a DNA test had proved she was our blood
relation.
“It’s how the goddess made me,” Kendra shrugged.
“That’s as good an answer as any,” Flora said.
“I’m an orphan,” she continued.

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“We didn’t have adoption in the old pack. The orphans

were servants there. I wonder if the new pack will make us
servants, too. Jesse says they won’t, but I’ve never seen
orphans treated kindly in a wolf pack.”
“I suppose you haven’t met many packs,” I said to her.
“Only three, really,” she considered.
“Most packs aren’t like MacKenzie’s pack anymore.
They’ve finally progressed past the dark ages,” I informed
her.
“Progressed how?” she asked me.
“Pack members have a choice in jobs. Women can be
warriors. Women aren’t forced to relocate to their mate’s
pack. If the female is a higher rank than their mate, the mate
comes to live with them. There are even a couple of packs
with female Alphas,” I listed off a few.
Flora whistled, “Female Alphas? That’s impressive.
Most packs are reformed, you say?”
“There are only three others in the Americas besides
MacKenzie’s and Martin’s packs that believe humans and
orphans, among others, are beneath them. Unfortunately,
they are unwilling to revise their outdated laws and cling to
prejudice and hate,” I explained.
I sat by the window and was talking over Kendra’s head
to Flora. When I noticed the corners of Kendra’s mouth
lifting into an amused smile, I knew what that meant.
I lifted my head and looked around us. The other young
wolves on the bus had crowded up as close to us as possible
to listen attentively to our conversation. Had they been
living under a rock? They seemed to know nothing.
I made eye contact with another young she-wolf, and she
asked, “Do you know Alpha Tristan and Luna Jane?”
“I’ve met Tristan Martin a few times. He was polite and
respectful to me and my sisters. He’s a few years younger
than us. Now that I think about it, he should be just
eighteen,” I answered.
“He wasn’t anything like his father,” I recalled.

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Kendra interjected, “Luna Jane is an orphan, too, and

was treated as a servant in Alpha Martin’s household. When
Tristan and Jane discovered they were true mates, his father
tried to force them to reject each other and beat them both.
They refused to reject one another, so he tried to kill Tristan
to force her to reject him.”
I looked up to see everyone on the bus listening to her
with rapt attention. Kendra rarely spoke so much. She
continued the story without looking back at everyone,
telling the tale of Tristan and Jane and their journey to
Montana.
She concluded, “That is why all of you are on this bus,
leaving your homes to find a new one. You needn’t worry.
You will all find better lives there.”
They went back to their seats and started discussing the
information that Kendra had revealed.
I watched Kendra for a while, then turned to look out of
the window.
I spoke in a low voice, “How did you know all of that?”
“Kasia told me,” she answered.
“And who is that?” I inquired.
“Luna Jane’s wolf,” she replied.
I turned to look at her and narrowed my eyes, “How do
you know Jane’s wolf, Kendra?”
“Circe knows her.”
I turned back towards the window and stopped
questioning her.
Circe was Kendra’s wolf. All of my and my sisters’
wolves were special in some way. Even we didn’t know the
full extent of it, but Circe seemed to know everything.
There was no point in wondering exactly how the
information was gained. If Circe said it, then it was true.
Four hours to go. Now, even I was interested to see
Tristan again and meet his Luna.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Tristan’s POV

Today was a good day. The children were all settling in, and
we’d discovered a number of talented and hardworking
individuals among our new pack.
Family members also gave info on the others that were
coming with Alpha Clovis on the buses.
He’d called me directly and let us know that he was
escorting our pack to us. He’d wondered if he and his Luna
and two of their daughters could impose on our hospitality
to stay a few days.
I’d agreed happily. He’d done us a huge favor, and I
wasn’t about to tell him no. It would be good to see them
again. Their pack was one of the few I highly respected, and
I would gladly host them anytime.
Jane planned to put Clovis and Megan in the largest of
the spare bedrooms in our apartment and their daughters in
one of the available two-bedroom cabins we’d made ready
for our new pack.
The exciting discoveries of our new pack members were
bountiful. It included many teachers, nurses, doctors, and
warriors. There were also chefs and those who loved to
clean and organize. Some artists and musicians had never
been allowed to use their talents anywhere but privately. We
also had several engineers, electricians, plumbers, and
heating and air conditioning guys.
Of particular interest to our workshop staff was a pair of
master craftsman woodworkers who had a talent for
building beautiful furniture.
We even had two veterinarians who used to be in charge
of the health of Alpha MacKenzie’s horses. That man had
treated his horses better than his pack.
Building homes and an entire town was a lot of work,
but we had the means and the people to do it well.

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Gabriel and I were in the study, working on plans and

contracts with local businesses to supply the ranch with
deliveries of food, building materials, and heavy
construction equipment.
The phone on the desk in the study rang. In the few days
we had been here, it had never rung once. Gabriel indicated
that I should pick it up and continued at his drafting table.
“Hello?” I greeted the caller.
“Tristan,” my father’s voice sounded on the other end
of the line.
“Good evening, Alpha Martin,” I replied and then fell
silent.
“You are with Gabriel, as I suspected. Did you turn
yourself rogue? Is that why you severed yourself from the
pack?” He demanded answers in a gruff tone of voice. I
could tell he was furious.
I said nothing.
“Is Avery with you? If you were going to run away with
the girl, I don’t know why you didn’t just mate with her here,
son. You could have been Alpha!” his volume level was
rising.
“I am Alpha, father. Avery is my Beta, and she is mated
to her true mate. As am I,” I added.
“That’s impossible. Jane is dead,” he said flatly.
“You’re mistaken. She’s alive and well and bears my
mark on her neck,” I kept my voice even and void of
emotion.
“This is ridiculous, Tristan. Come home. You can’t play
Alpha without a pack and a territory! If you stay rogued too
long, you know what will happen!”
“I believe you will find that I do have a pack and a
territory. Now, if there’s nothing else, the remaining
members of my very large pack arrive in the morning, and I
have a lot of work to do. Goodbye, Alpha Martin,” I
finished and hung up.
The phone rang again almost immediately, and Gabriel
got up and pulled the cord, disconnecting it from the
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telephone. Then, he simply strode back to his drafting table

and went back to work.
I sat back down at the desk and resumed looking over
the orders for building supplies, my encounter with my
father already forgotten.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Alpha Clovis’s POV

It was early morning, and we were two hours out from the
First Montana Pack border when we had to stop the bus for
a bit. Some of the older pack members needed a few
minutes to walk around and stretch their legs.
I stood at the southern edge of the rest stop, which
looked more like a park cut into the wooded area, and
breathed in deeply. My mind automatically sorted the scents
into buckets.
People I knew and people I didn’t, the creatures in the
forest, vehicle fumes, food, the snacks inside the vehicles,
the forest itself, grass, dirt, rocks, wildflowers, etc.
Then, there was the intoxicating scent of my Luna across
the parking lot - lavender and mint. They were the most
precious scents on earth to me. I could hone in on them
from three states away and tell anyone exactly where she was
and if she was ok.
Not that I’d tested that since we officially mated. We
hadn’t often been more than a few rooms apart since that
day over thirty years ago. She’d slept in my bed every night
since, even when my bed was a forest floor in the middle of
a war.
With determination, she had trained with our pack until
she had mastered enough self-defense to go with me
everywhere. Not that she would ever need to defend herself
without me, but she wanted to stay with me always.
I could scent my daughters standing at other points
around the perimeter of the reststop park. I was watching
the south, Saranya the east, and Kendra the west. The North
was the parking lot where my Luna was keeping an eye on
things at the bus.
To me, Saranya smelled like leather and the forest after
a rainstorm with a hint of autumn apples. Kendra smelled

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like exotic fruits, spices, and nuts, which is where my

nickname for her, Kiwi, came from.
Where my mate’s essence caused intense feelings of
longing, desire, and deep love, the scents of my daughters
evoked fatherly love.
A good papa wolf scented his children and felt
protectiveness, pride, and hope. Hope that they would reach
their potential, find all the happiness in life that was
possible, and always be safe.
I had long since known that my girls could take care of
themselves. I’d stopped defending them when someone
talked down to or insulted them because I respected my
daughters and had earned the privilege of watching them
defend themselves.
I was startled from my thoughts by my cell phone
ringing. It rarely did so since my pack mainly communicated
through our pack mind-link.
I looked at the caller ID. Alpha Martin.
I had been expecting his call. He would know by now
that his hunters tracked MacKenzie’s rogues to my land and
were allowed entry.
I answered, “You’re up early, Martin. How can I help
you?”
“Clovis,” he practically snarled at me, “what is the
meaning of this? Why would you let rogues into your
territory?”
“Last time I checked, I was the Alpha of the Divine
Moon Pack, and I can let whoever I want into my borders.”
“They’re traitors!” he growled.
“I think you need to refresh yourself on pack laws in this
country, Martin. From what I understand, you and
MacKenzie dishonored the mate bonds of your children.
“Additionally, pack members of any pack are allowed to
revoke their pledge and leave their packs to seek new ones.
This isn’t Wild West Wolves; this is the modern age.

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“Instead of allowing the pack to relocate and seek

transfer papers, MacKenzie rogued them in the middle of
the country, which could have had serious consequences.
“I’m surprised you’d want to support MacKenzie’s
actions against your own son’s pack. But then again, you did
hang Tristan from some gallows, so maybe you support
MacKenzie?”
“MY SON’S PACK?!” he yelled.
I grinned into the phone, “You didn’t know about that?”
“Mind your own business, Clovis! This is going to have
serious consequences when I contact the vampire and pack
councils. You and Gabriel better watch your backs,” he spat.
“I’d think twice about that if I were you. The councils
only get involved when the sacred laws are broken. And the
only ones here I can see that broke any laws are you and
MacKenzie.”
The line went dead.
That had been extremely satisfying.
Saranya’s sharp whistle sounded from across the park,
and I turned to head back to the bus. It was 6 am now. We
would arrive around 8 am. I was looking forward to it.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Jane’s POV

I woke early in the morning feeling refreshed and rested. It

was the beginning of dawn, with only a faint whisper of light
peeking over the windowsill in our bedroom.
I rolled over to find Tristan already awake and watching
me with love in his eyes.
Smiling across the pillows at him, I sighed happily.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” he said softly as he reached
over to slide a stray lock of hair out of my face and behind
my ear.
“Good morning, my love,” I answered him.
“Why are you awake so early?” I asked.
“You were dreaming something very intensely, and I felt
it through the bond. Do you remember what it was?”
I considered for a moment, and then my eyes widened
as I recalled the visions I had witnessed in the night.
“It wasn’t a dream, Tristan. Kasia was showing me
Gwendolyn’s life - no, my previous life. We are the same
person. You are the same person as Gwendolyn’s mate. We
were born anew,” I finished in awe.
Tristan smiled brightly, “Yes, I know. Onan showed me
as I slept, too.”
I moved closer to him, and we wrapped our arms around
each other.
“We are so blessed to spend two lifetimes together,
Tristan. Let’s thank Selene on the next full moon,” I
suggested.
“Alright,” Tristan smiled against the top of my head.
I pulled back suddenly and sat straight up as I
remembered something important, “Circe! She’s on her
way. Tristan - Wolfgang and the metal. It’s not just infused
with wolfsbane. That metal isn’t only capable of killing

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wolves. It can kill all supernaturals, even the gods

themselves!”
Tristan sat up and rubbed his hand through his hair,
sighing heavily.
“Wolfgang did his duty, Jane. It’s going to be necessary
in the coming years, but until then, we can speak of it to no
one but Wolfgang and Circe herself,” he revealed.
I nodded my agreement.
He proposed, “When Circe approaches you, tell her that
Wolfgang succeeded, and we await her orders.”
Jane nodded solemnly, “I will do so.”
Tristan leaned against the headboard and pulled me onto
his lap. We snuggled for a while before he got up and carried
me, giggling, into the shower.

OMNISCIENT POV
At 8:07 am, two motor coach buses crossed the border
into First Montana Pack territory and drove straight to the
main house.
By the time the buses made it to the drive near the lodge-
sized house, the entire pack had come out to the lawn and
porches to greet the new arrivals.
Everyone piled out of the buses and reunited with their
families and friends. There were plenty of smiles and tears
of relief that all had made it safely home.
Tristan didn’t make any big speeches this time. He would
save that for tonight at the official welcome-home dinner.
Avery and Angelica greeted Saranya and Kendra and
offered to take them on a tour of the territory, which they
accepted.
Alpha Tristan and Luna Jane sought out Alpha Clovis
and Luna Megan to greet them. They were the last to step
off the bus, and Jane’s eyes widened at Clovis’s large size.
Tristan wasn’t short. He towered over her at 6’2”, but
Alpha Clovis was at least three inches taller than that.

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Tristan and Clovis clasped hands, and Tristan was the

first to speak, “Welcome to you both. I’m grateful for your
help and pleased to see you again.”
Clovis smiled, “You’ve got a good pack here, Tristan.
You have our full support.”
“That means a lot to me, sir,” Tristan replied.
Alpha Clovis clapped him on the shoulder, and they
turned to the ladies, intending to introduce them, but Megan
was faster.
Luna Megan reached out both hands to Jane, who took
them and said, “You must be Jane. I’ve been so looking
forward to meeting you!”
“Thank you, Luna Megan. The pleasure is mine. Please
make yourself at home and let me know if there is anything
at all that you need,” Jane smiled back.
“If I’m to feel at home, you must let me know how I can
help. Shall we go inside and discuss the projects you’re
working on?” Luna Megan asked with a grin.
Jane smiled adoringly at the older Luna and linked her
arm through Meagan’s, leading her into the house as if they
were old friends.
“My mate’s never met a stranger,” Alpha Clovis
explained to Alpha Tristan.
“Would you like to see Gabriel’s design of our pack
territory?” Tristan asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Hell yeah, I would,” Alpha Clovis replied with
excitement, “lead the way.”
The morning was full of excitement and interest for
everyone on the ranch that day. Lots of friendships were
formed, and information was gathered.
Everyone met up in the converted Great Hall at noon
for lunch. The room was packed, and some of the residents
overflowed into the dining tables that had been set up in the
back garden.
Diane and her sisters, with Emma’s help, had turned out
a veritable feast.

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There was Texas-smoked brisket (in honor of Alpha

Clovis’s family) and many other meaty selections. Potatoes
and other vegetables filled out the buffet tables. A vast array
of freshly baked breads of all flavors and colors, just begging
to be devoured, were separated by bowls of freshly churned
butter.
The children kept hovering around the dessert table,
which was more like five tables. It displayed a variety of
cakes, pies, and cookies.
Every few minutes, an adult passed by the table and
called to all the children to not even think about the desserts
until they’d finished their meat and vegetables. The children
lurking there would scurry back to their tables to devour
their plate’s contents while staring at the desserts.
Alphas Tristan and Clovis sat together with Lunas Jane
and Megan, Saranya, Kendra, Avery, and Angelica. They
discussed possible buildings and businesses that would be
nice to have in their new town, and the young ladies came
up with some very insightful options. They discussed all
types of cuisine and shops that would be necessary, as well
as luxury boutiques that would be fun to include in their
business park.
After lunch, everyone planned to go to their rooms and
freshen up for the evening’s festivities, where the rest of the
pack would make their pledges to Alpha Tristan and the
First Montana Pack.
Kendra fell into step beside Jane and asked, “I wondered
if I might have an hour of your time, Luna?”
Jane smiled at her, “You can just call me Jane, Kendra.
And yes, I have some time. Would you like to go for a run
with me?”
Kendra smiled, “How did you know?”
“Kasia suggested it. She’s excited to see you again,
Circe,” she answered.
Kendra’s eyes glowed as they flashed her wolf’s
acknowledgment of the greeting, then she tilted her head
and mischievously said, “Race ya!”
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They split apart, and both ran out from different exits of
the house and out across the lawn into the forest. They
stripped their clothes off on the run and shifted, leaping in
human form and landing in wolf form at the edge of the
forest.
Jane’s snow-white wolf with brown eyes was a stark
contrast to Kendra’s raven-black wolf with violet eyes. A
glowing violet crescent moon on Circe’s front right
shoulder shimmered magically in the light.
They were each slightly larger than the average Alpha
wolf but not nearly as large as Saranya or Alpha Clovis.
They ran together at full speed, weaving through the
trees and crossing paths again and again to taunt each other
into going faster. After twenty solid minutes of running,
they came to a stop at a four-foot-deep stream running
through the forest.
Their wolves lapped at the water, drinking the pure
liquid that flowed past them at a gentle pace. It was warmer
than they expected it to be at this time of year.
Shifting back into human form, Jane waded into the
stream that was clearly fed from a hot spring somewhere on
the territory. Winter had broken, and spring was upon them,
but it was still a little chilly outdoors.
Wolves had higher body temperatures than humans, but
the stream’s warm water felt good on her skin. She waded
out a little way and then bent her knees so that she was up
to her shoulders in the warm stream.
Kendra shifted and followed her in, sighing in
satisfaction at the water’s temperature.
They swam around silently for several minutes, dunking
their heads under occasionally to warm their faces, too.
The silence was comfortable and familiar to them, and
they felt no need to disturb it.
After some time, Kendra spoke.
“This was nice, running with you again.”

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Even though she and Kendra had never met in this

lifetime, Jane knew what she meant. Their wolves had been
friends over a thousand years ago.
At the time, Kasia had been a new wolf and Circe, the
thousand-year-old demigod daughter of Selene, the Moon
Goddess.
“It was nice,” Jane smiled affectionately.
“This isn’t why you wanted to see me, though, is it?”
Jane asked her.
“You and Kasia have integrated well,” she replied.
“She is me, and I am her,” Jane shrugged.
“I’m glad you understand.”
“You want to tell me something? You always know
something,” Jane prompted.
“The barrier is weakening. We have a year, maybe two at
best. My sisters aren’t aware of who they are yet,” Kendra
said, swimming in a circle around Jane.
“Their wolves haven’t told them?” Jane was surprised.
Kendra shook her head, “They need to focus on getting
strong, on getting ready for their mates.”
“Wolfgang is here. Tristan and I know about his mission
now, thanks to Onan and Kasia. Tristan said to tell you that
he succeeded,” Jane revealed.
“That’s what I needed to know. Thank you, Kasia. You
made me a promise, and you kept it. You are a faithful and
true friend,” Kendra said softly.
“As are you, Circe,” Jane smiled back.
After another few minutes of swimming, Kendra spoke
up again.
“Alphas Martin and MacKenzie are not going to back
down. There will be a war. My father will help you when the
time comes, and so will we.”
Jane nodded her understanding and waded out of the
stream, shifting back to her wolf. Kendra followed and
shifted back, too.

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The two of them loped back to the place on the lawn

where they had left their clothing. They quickly retook their
human forms and dressed.
“Thank you, Kendra. That was a lovely way to spend an
afternoon. I’ll see you at dinner?” Jane asked.
Kendra smiled and bowed her chin down in agreement.
Jane strolled slowly back to the house, considering what
Kendra had told her. As she reached her room on the third
floor, she headed into the bathroom to take a shower and
get ready for the evening.
Her thoughts were heavy with the weight of the
revelation. The barrier was going to fail. She was thinking
so deeply about this as the hot water rushed over her skin,
that she was slightly startled when Tristan joined her in the
shower.
“What’s the matter, my love?” he inquired as he pulled
Jane into his arms.
She smiled and leaned against him, her arms coming up
around his neck. He kissed Jane’s nose and looked into her
eyes with love and care, waiting for her to speak.
“Kendra said the barrier is weakening. She said we have
a year, two at best,” Jane revealed as worry etched across
her forehead.
Tristan stroked her back and sighed, “Then we better
make the most of the time we have until we’re called into
service. Don’t worry too much, Jane. If anyone can lead us
to win this war, it’s Circe and her sisters. I’ve heard the
demigoddesses were quite a sight on the battlefield, though
we’ve never experienced a war by their side.”
Jane felt warm comfort spread through her chest at
Tristan’s words. Pulling his face closer, she began to kiss
him passionately. They were a little late to dinner, but no
one minded. It was a party, after all.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Omniscient POV
Alpha Clovis and the rest of the Entropus family bore
witness to the pledges made by the new arrivals to the First
Montana Pack that night after dinner.
Luna Megan could feel that something big was on the
horizon. She sensed that Kendra and her wolf, Circe, knew
something.
Megan was curious but knew she would be told what she
should know when it was time.
Having a best friend and sister-in-law as a powerful
magic user had taught her many years ago not to ask too
many questions. Having Kendra and her wolf, Circe, for a
daughter taught her that some information wasn’t for her to
know right away. Besides, Luna Megan had her own
knowledge to safeguard regarding her family and their
futures.
Jane and Kendra seemed to have formed a close
friendship in less than a day. Her daughter wasn’t close to
anyone outside of their family, and this gave Megan
something to ponder. It obviously wasn’t the first time they
were meeting, but how they could’ve met previously was a
mystery to the older Luna.
Many other thoughts swirled in her mind about the
events of the last few days. Not the least of which was the
fact that in the two years since she had seen Tristan Martin,
he had not only grown to a much larger size, but he seemed
to have mentally matured a decade or more.
Jane also seemed much older than eighteen and she
couldn’t help but think this had something to do with her
newly discovered wolf.
Clovis had told her a lot of things about this pack and
what had been occurring.

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He told her about what Alpha Martin had done to them

and how Gabriel responded to work out a mutually
beneficial contract for himself and the true mates.
Megan always admired Gabriel as both a friend and a
wise elder. It was curious that he’d chosen to join the First
Montana Pack.
To Megan’s knowledge, no vampire had ever joined a
wolf pack, especially not an ancient one like Gabriel.
Clovis relayed to her what Tristan had said about the
event and how, upon Gabriel’s pledge, some of his power
was granted to the pack. This was interesting information,
too.
One thing was certain; woe be to the persons who would
set themselves against this pack. The resources and power
housed within would be something frightening if they were
set against you.
Megan was startled to discover Gabriel standing next to
her and gave him a sheepish look.
“My thoughts were that loud, eh?”
Gabriel chuckled.
“Alpha Tristan and Luna Jane are something
extraordinary, don’t you think Luna?” Gabriel asked.
“I do,” Megan replied sincerely.
“Are they going to end up with thirty adopted children?”
she teased.
“I hear most of the children have been adopted already.
Two girls that asked to stay with the Alpha and the Luna,
and they’ve agreed to adopt them,” Gabriel answered.
“How wonderful!” Megan said.
“Girls are a lot of work, but they are also such a
blessing,” Megan reminisced.
“That we can agree on,” Gabriel smiled back.
“Oh?” Megan said, surprised, “don’t tell me that you
were once a father!”
Gabriel laughed, “Yes, indeed, Megan. I was quite a
good father who both spoiled my daughters endlessly while
- gasp - educating them!”
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Megan tilted her head at him, “I suppose there weren’t

many educated women over a thousand years ago.”
“Most couldn’t read,” he replied.
“But my daughters could read and do higher maths and
understood biology and geography and art. They were
beautiful, too,” he sighed at the long ago memory.
“How many girls did you have?”
“I had two lovely girls. One pursued many studies
happily until the end. The other married a wolf, her true
mate. I guess you could say you’ve met my granddaughter.”
Megan’s eyes widened in surprise, “I’ve met her?”
Gabriel explained, “Jane’s wolf, Kasia. She is my
granddaughter’s reincarnated wolf. But she and Jane have
integrated deeply, and Jane now carries the memories of my
granddaughter. To her, I am beloved family. I reciprocate
those feelings.”
“This explains much. Thank you for sharing this with
me,” Luna Megan replied.
“Now you know why I gave this pack my pledge and my
protection - even some of my power. They are family. I’m
sure you can also guess...”
“Circe and Kasia. They know one another,” Megan
stated.
“Bingo,” he said.
“Well, Gabriel,” Luna Megan finally said, “this has been
a very enlightening conversation. I thank you for your
candor.”
“I’m sure you’re aware how much I care for the
friendship I have with your family. Please feel free to
contact me should you need any other information or if you
have something to share,” he finished, his intense gaze
meeting hers.
“Understood,” Luna Megan answered before watching
Gabriel walk away to rejoin Tristan and Jane playing with
the pack pups.

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The following afternoon, Clovis, Megan, Saranya and

Kendra said their ‘see-you-laters’ and boarded one of their
buses to head back to Texas.
Kendra sat next to her mother on the bus.
“Did you want to ask me anything?” Kendra offered.
Megan smiled at Kendra, reaching for her hand to hold
and then resumed looking out of the window.
“I’m not surprised that my daughter is even more
remarkable than I knew,” she answered.
“Do you know about your wolf, mother?” she asked.
“Mmmm, yes, dear. Since the beginning. Although, I
didn’t expect that to be the case for you, as well. I should
have guessed. I suppose this means your sisters are the
same, even if they don’t know it yet.”
Kendra leaned her head on her mom’s shoulder, and
they rode a long way cuddled together in silence.

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CHAPTER FORTY

Omniscient POV
Days on the ranch of the First Montana Pack territory
became extremely busy over the next few months.
Jane, now aware of her relation to Gabriel, began to train
her newfound abilities under his guidance. Her power to see
into others’ minds was getting stronger.
She couldn’t read minds as clearly or as effortlessly as
Gabriel, but she could see enough to distinguish lies from
truth and understand the motives of others.
The sense of completion and oneness that the
revelations of the past several months had brought to her
and Tristan as wolves and as mates was astounding and
satisfying in the extreme.
In other news, everything was suspiciously quiet on the
Alphas Martin and MacKenzie front.
The pack broke ground on the town square and hired
hundreds of construction workers from seven states to
come and lay out the square, build the roads, and pour the
foundations of the planned community.
In the end, with the help of Gabriel and the pack
engineers, as well as their plumbers and electricians, Tristan
decided to go ahead with plans for their own power and
water treatment plants.
In six months, they had fully operational power grids,
sewers, and treated water supply.
The town square was also completed at that time. The
Pack House, security facilities, fire station, schools, and even
the apartment building were constructed around the square
on three sides.
The fourth side was a strip of more than thirty shop
fronts that were yet to be occupied. Pack members weighed
in on the shops and restaurants they were hoping to see take
up residence there.

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Tristan received several applications for shop rentals

with proposed business plans for their purpose. He and Jane
would need to think carefully about which they would
accept since they had more applications than shops to lease.
It looked like they might need to plan another phase of
businesses to build in the near future.
All the unmated adults and many of the young families
relocated to the apartments and settled into a close-knit
community lifestyle as they sent kids to school and took up
jobs in the pack.
Fifty-three individual homes were also completed for
larger families with too many children to fit comfortably
into an apartment. Each home had a five-acre plot of land
on the streets and blocks that radiated out around the town
square.
They were close enough to be part of the community but
spread out enough to offer some privacy while living among
other sensitive hearers.
The builders had been careful to build the homes
without cutting down too many trees, so the five-acre home
sites, cut into the forest, still retained much of the forest
around them to further cement each resident’s privacy. This
setup was also crucial in supporting the health of the pack
members’ wolves, who needed frequent runs.
Another two dozen homes were in various stages of
construction and would all be completed within the next
couple of months.
Gabriel used his connections in the Montana state
government to help Tristan annex their one-million-acre
ranch into its own county. This way, many of the taxes
collected would go to maintaining their own town.
Diane and David had chosen to move into one of the
ranch’s staff cabins permanently.
Avery and Angelica chose to live in the apartment
building with their now-adopted son, five-year-old Bryant.
It was close enough to the school for him to walk to and fro
each day since he was a remarkably independent pup, and
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the school was only across the square from the apartment
complex.
Bryant was a brilliant kid with a mop of crazy wild brown
hair and silver eyes that shone with above-average
intelligence. He latched onto Beta Avery early on his arrival
to the pack and followed her everywhere he was allowed to
go. It particularly irked him that he was now forced to attend
school Monday through Friday with the “children.”
Bryant would go to school each day, then rush home,
finish his homework, and wait for Angelica to take him to
the main house to visit his next favorite person in the world,
six-year-old Amy.
Amy and Selly both accepted Tristan and Jane’s offer to
adopt them. They were settling in well to the third-floor
apartment bedrooms at the top of the main house, which
had recently been vacated by Diane, David, Avery, and
Angelica.
The girls were complete opposites of one another. Amy
also had above-average intelligence, was tall, and had a great
sense of humor once she became comfortable in her new
home. She was tough, hard-working, and honest and adored
her new little sister. She was also attached at the hip to
Bryant whenever family life or school did not separate them.
Selly was only four years old and tiny for her age,
possibly due to malnutrition from their former pack. She
had curly golden-brown hair, crystal blue eyes, and a
preference for princesses and fancy dresses.
She loved dolls and tea parties and all things pink and
rainbow. She liked to spend her free time in the kitchen with
Grandma Diane after pre-school. She would often shoot
Diane the puppy dog eyes to get her to read her articles in
homemaker and interior design magazines that Diane kept
subscriptions to.
Selly thought that Emma was the most beautiful creature
in the whole world and had convinced herself that she could
turn her own eyes from blue to the sparkling green of
Emma’s once she grew up.
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Both girls loved Tristan and Jane and had long since
begun calling them Mom and Dad. They also called Gabriel
granddad, which pleased him to no end.
It was late afternoon on one particularly windy, early
autumn day. Angelica was driving Bryant to the main house
to drop him off so he could spend the evening there and
have dinner with Amy. Avery would bring him back after
she had dinner with those still temporarily in residence at
the main house. She wanted to update them on the progress
of their home builds.
Angelica couldn’t stay since she had promised to take the
elementary school teachers into the nearby town for a nice
dinner to celebrate the new school year and the opening of
their official elementary school.
Angelica was the principal of the elementary school since
no one else wanted the responsibility. She had worked all
through high school in the administrative offices of her
previous pack’s school board and had a good understanding
of how schools operated. Most of the elementary teachers
were experienced teachers who appreciated Angelica’s
efforts, and they worked well together.
Angelica was rushing to get Bryant to the main house so
she could head into town and secure the large table for their
reservation as soon as possible.
Bryant rode in the back seat, his nose pressed to the car
window when he noticed a group of birds scatter wildly in
all directions up from the woods and over the trees. He
immediately knew that something was wrong and called up
to Angelica.
“Mommy, when will we be there?”
“We are pulling uuuuuuuup..........now,” she said.
“Thank-you-mommy-I-love-you-bye,” he called as he
jumped out of the car and ran into the house.
Instead of seeking out Amy as was his habit, he
immediately raced down the hall to the ground floor study
and walked in without ceremony.

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Tristan was seated on the sofa, reading lease applications

for the shopfronts from a file. He looked up to see Bryant
walk past him and drag a chair over to the bookcase door
behind his desk.
The boy climbed up on the chair and searched the titles
until he found the Farmer’s Almanac doorbell button and
began to press it once every five seconds.
Tristan raised an eyebrow at this odd behavior and called
out, “Bry? Is everything ok?”
“No, Alpha! I need Gabriel to tell you!” he replied
urgently.
Soon after, the bookcase recessed and slid open to reveal
Gabriel standing there. He registered the sight of Bryant on
a chair next to the door.
“What can I do for you, little man?” he asked jovially as
he picked him up and carried him to the sofa where Tristan
sat.
Bryant pointed to his head over and over and said,
“Look at what I saw, Elder Gabriel!”
Bryant closed his eyes and focused on the memory of
the birds fleeing from the forest.
Gabriel immediately turned serious and mind-linked the
images to Tristan.
Tristan put his hands on Bryant’s shoulders gently and
said, “Good job, Bryant! I’m proud of you!”
Tristan picked him up and carried him to the kitchen to
leave him with Diane and the girls before rushing out to the
garage to hop in one of the trucks. Gabriel climbed in next
to him.
Tristan next mind-linked Jane to stay with the children
until she heard from him.
Tristan drove the mile down the road to where Bryant
had seen the disturbance, mink-linking Avery, and their
security center to send some warriors over for backup. He
and Gabriel were going in to check it out.
Tristan parked the truck on the edge of the forest, and
the two of them got out and stepped a few feet into the
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woods. They stood still, listening and taking deep breaths to

try to catch any unfamiliar scents.
Their conversations transitioned over to the mind-link
to hide their thoughts from possible intruders.
“I smell nothing. That’s not normal,” he told Gabriel.
“The absence of any scent means magical interference or protection,”
the vampire replied.
“Alpha MacKenzie has a powerful witch by his side,” Tristan
said.
“Yes, he does,” Gabriel answered and then waited for
Tristan’s decision.
“Logically speaking, you are the most capable of piercing such a
barrier to scout out the situation,” Tristan finally said through the
link.
Gabriel nodded and disappeared in a blink.
A few minutes later, Gabriel blinked back by Tristan’s
side.
Still speaking telepathically, Gabriel said, “We’ve got
company. I count about fifty wolf warriors spread throughout this part
of the woods, tracking toward the main house. They’re MacKenzie’s
men. The witch is with them.”
Tristan sighed. Things just got real and fast.
Tristan mind-linked the security team and instructed
them to check in with the south border patrol and get
responses from every single wolf ASAP.
It was only a few minutes before the reply came, “No
response, Alpha. Border Patrol presumed MIA.”
Tristan mind-linked the pack, “All security personnel to your
designated forest’s edge station. Wait for my orders. All other pack
members shelter in place. Don’t let anyone unknown to you inside.”
“Yes, Alpha,” came the chorus of responses.
“How do you wish to proceed, Alpha?” Gabriel asked.
“With a vengeance,” Tristan answered.

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CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Jane’s POV

After Tristan’s mind-link came through, Diane and I took

the children into the secret apartment. Emma was waiting
for us with the door open.
Mind-linking Avery and Angelica, I informed them,
“Bryant is with Diane in the secret apartment. She’ll keep the kids
safe.”
Angelica answered, “Thank you, Luna.”
Diane took them inside and waited for me to enter, but
I shook my head.
“Emma will help you look after them. I have to make a
call,” I told her.
She looked worried, but she nodded. Emma hit the
button to close the bookcase door.
As soon as the door was sealed shut, I turned and walked
over to Tristan’s desk. The phone had remained unplugged
since his father had called him. I plugged it back in and
dialed a number I had taken care to memorize.
As the phone rang, Tristan’s mind-link came through to
me with details regarding the situation.
“About fifty of MacKenzie’s wolves. His witch is here. She’s
created some kind of magic void around them where they can’t be
scented.”
“Understood,” I replied through the link just as the phone
was answered.
“Jane?” Kendra’s voice sounded on the other end of the
line.
“Yes. MacKenzie is here with his witch. She’s helped
them into our borders with magic.”
“What does the magic do?” Kendra asked.
“It makes them undetectable by scent. I’m not sure what
else she’ll do. She’s here with them,” I replied.

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“Standby. I’ll get my Aunt Amelia here to help us,” she

said.
“Circe, can’t you just...” I started to ask.
Kendra replied, “I could if I could release our full power,
but we aren’t able to yet. It’s sealed until I’m mated. The
tough thing is that Aunt Amelia is definitely more powerful
than MacKenzie’s witch, but she is terrible at transportation
magic. I don’t know if she can get us to you quickly or not.”
A click sounded. Another phone receiver was picked up,
“Luna Jane? What’s the situation?”
“Hi, Amelia. Sorry for the intrusion, but we have a war
practically on our doorstep,” I began, then proceeded to
explain the situation.
“Kendra told me to expect this. I’ve already reached out
to my coven to have a couple of transporter witches on
standby to get Kendra and me to you quickly. Until then, I
understand that the witch is MacKenzie’s?” Amelia spoke
quickly.
“Mmm, yes,” I answered.
“Do you know if there’s anyone who transferred packs
and shares blood with her?”
“Let me check. Standby,” I answered.
I mind-linked Avery, “Your father’s witch. Is anyone in our
pack related to her by blood?”
The answer came quickly. “Yes! Most of them are. The closest
is Jesse, David’s older brother. He’s her biological father, but he didn’t
raise her. My dad took her from him when she was a child because he
realized she was powerful.”
“Thanks, Avery,” I answered.
“You got it, Luna,” she replied.
I went back to the phone, “Amelia? We have her
biological father here.”
“Perfect! Get him to your location. We have a couple of
witches who can transport us to you. See you soon,” and
with that, Amelia and Kendra hung up.
I mind-linked Jesse, “Jesse, I need you in the first-floor study of
the main house.”
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“On my way, Luna,” he answered immediately.

Then, I sat on the edge of the desk to wait as Tristan’s
reports kept flooding in.
“Fifty on the south border.”
“Seventy-three on the north border.”
“Thirty on the west border.”
“East border...794.”
“Tristan?” I might have just panicked a little.
“It’s ok, Jane. We got this. You just do your part, and it will all
be fine, ok?” Tristan spoke back, comforting me.
We had less than three hundred warriors. All told he had
nearly 1,000, and that’s only what we could see!
I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry.
“Yes, Alpha,” I linked back.
Waiting here in the study was the longest ten minutes of
my life.

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CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Jane’s POV
Jesse entered the study shortly after my phone call with
Amelia ended.
“Jesse, I need to ask for something big,” I began, my
body tense with the gravity of what I would ask.
“I am at your service, Luna. Whatever it is,” he replied.
“Abigail is here. Her magic is cloaking the scents of the
intruders. I have some powerful witches on the way. They’re
going to need your blood,” I gave it to him straight and
observed him closely for any sign of reluctance.
“You got it, Luna,” he answered without hesitation.
“Is this going to be hard for you? You can say no,” I
added.
He sighed in resignation, “I ceased to be her father long
ago. I will do anything to protect the pack,” then he looked
straight into my eyes, “My loyalty is to my Alpha.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed, “Thank
you, Jesse.”
The phone rang, and I picked it up to Kendra’s voice on
the line, saying, “Go out to the drive, Jane! We won’t fit in
the study. Transporting in sixty seconds!”
Then she hung up.
Jesse and I ran out to the front porch just as a loud crack
sizzled the air outside.
I had to blink to register what I was seeing.
Kendra and Amelia were there with a dozen other
witches. Fine. Sure. Got it.
It was what was behind them that both startled me and
brought me a great sense of relief.
The entire Entropus family stood behind them, along
with about 400 wolf warriors.
Tristan! Gabriel! I mind-linked, “Divine Moon Pack is here:
Alpha’s family, witches, warriors! They came!”

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The dozen witches scattered and disappeared into the

woods.
I embraced Kendra, “You amazing woman. I adore
you!”
Kendra grinned, “The Old Man insisted. He said he
made a promise to support your pack when the time came.”
I stepped forward to Alpha Clovis and hugged him
gingerly, “Thank you, Alpha.”
He chuckled and patted my back softly, “Don’t worry,
Luna. The day shall be ours!”
I stepped back and smiled at him and then turned to
Luna Megan, holding my hands out to her. She enveloped
me in a warm hug and then whispered, “You stay strong,
Luna. We’ve got this!”
I was more grateful to them than I could even express.
Amelia cleared her throat, “First things first. We have to
neutralize the magic. If we use blood that flows through her
veins, then her ability to cloak scents will have no power
here. Are you the father?”
Jesse nodded and stepped forward.
“Hold out your hands, palms up. I’m going to slice them
both open. You have to squeeze them into fists above the
bowl. Do it quickly. You will heal fast,” she instructed him.
Jesse obeyed.
By the time the blood hit the bowl, the dozen witches
who had previously disappeared into the forest had returned
with items they had gathered: grass, bush leaves, moss,
pinecones, rocks, dirt, bark from trees, etc. They placed the
items they brought back into the bowl, and each item
touched a part of the blood. Amelia chanted in a language I
didn’t understand, and then the blood turned a glowing blue
and consumed the gathered materials.
Amelia nodded with satisfaction, “It’s done. Her
cloaking magic won’t work within view of any of these
forces of nature.”
I nodded and sent the information to Tristan, Gabriel,
and the security team through the link.
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Tristan linked back, “Got it. We can scent everyone now. You
did it, Jane!”
I listened to a few short instructions from Tristan that
he wanted me to relay to Alpha Clovis.
“Alpha, Luna, Tristan says he’s glad you’re here,” I
began.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Clovis said with a grin.
“Tristan wants you and your daughters with him. He’s
tracking MacKenzie and his witch. Gabriel is with Tristan.”
Clovis nodded and said, “There are five Alphas here
besides Tristan and me. As soon as the magic faded, I could
scent them.”
“Five?” my eyes went wide.
“MacKenzie, Martin, Trent, Fillmore, and Kline. These
are the Alphas who have been against progressive values in
the packs and the council. They defy the council and
continue to treat humans, their subordinates, and women
like property.”
I frowned. This was serious.
“We can handle it, Jane, but you have to make sure
everyone is safe,” Clovis said.
“You let the non-warriors and children know they have
to lock themselves indoors.”
I nodded, and he turned to run. His wife and daughters
followed him, stripping at the edge of the south forest and
shifting as soon as they entered the woods.
That was a sight to behold. Seven of the largest wolves I
had ever seen besides Tristan’s and mine. They could
probably strike terror into the hearts of every non-Alpha
wolf in the forest today.
I assumed Alpha Clovis linked his pack because they all
shifted, splitting into four groups, each heading in a
different direction.
I turned back to Amelia, “Everyone has already been
asked to shelter in place. Can your witches put barriers
around the buildings to keep the children safe?”

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Amelia turned to her coven and motioned to one of the

witches and the dozen ladies vanished with a crack of the
air.
“Come,” she said to me.
I followed her into the house, and she headed to the
study, where she placed a hand on the hidden bookcase
door and spoke a few words. A blue light seeped from her
fingertips and covered the door before retracting behind it
and disappearing.
I linked Diane to let her know it was a protection spell
so the children wouldn’t be afraid.
Amelia walked out of the study and up the staircase to
our third-floor apartment and stepped inside.
She hurried across the living room, and the balcony
doors flung open for her to step out into the night air.
The balcony that wrapped around our apartment offered
360-degree views of the entire ranch. It was really a rooftop
patio since it sat atop the part of the second-floor roof that
wasn’t covered by our apartment.
Amelia crouched down and put her hand on the patio to
the left of her feet, then stood slowly, stretching her arm up
into the air to draw a magic blue light arch over her body
and completing it by touching the patio next to her right
foot.
She then opened both hands wide and pushed at the
arch. The arch turned into a growing bubble that eventually
formed a barrier over the entire main house.
We were currently facing south, where I knew Tristan
and Gabriel were trying to deal with MacKenzie and the
witch Abigail.
Amelia stretched out her hand towards the south curve
of the barrier and pulsed it three times. A point of more
vivid blue light appeared on the bubble, and it began to
draw.
It drew the forest beneath us and then wolves all in
miniature like a map. Lots and lots of wolves. They were
running through the trees. I could make out the seven
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massive wolves running towards another large wolf and a

man who were being surrounded by dozens of smaller
wolves.
It played out like a movie but was translucent, with
glowing blue lines showing the outer shells and motion of
the creatures. I understood this was like a live feed of what
was happening, and it was Gabriel and Tristan who were
being surrounded.
When Amelia was satisfied with the reach of her view to
the south, she began to walk around the entire wrap-around
patio, pulsing her hand toward the barrier as she walked.
More points appeared and began to draw the forest and the
creatures moving inside of it.
She came back to the south, where I was watching
Tristan anxiously.
Amelia walked closer to the bubble and tapped the seven
large wolves running toward Tristan and Gabriel. They
began to move faster. She had somehow boosted them to
an otherworldly speed.
She finally gestured to the bubble and said to me,
“Command Central. You are the mind-link to First
Montana, and I am the link to Divine Moon. Speak your
communications aloud so that we can relay information
more efficiently.”
“Got it,” I replied.
Amelia walked around the circle, scanning and watching
the other movements in different directions while I stood,
my eyes fixed on my family as they were surrounded.
The detail on the feed was excellent. I could see how
Tristan shifted his face towards MacKenzie’s stench, and
Gabriel had turned his back to Tristan, facing the witch’s
direction.
“Alpha Clovis and his family are almost there, Tristan.
Hang in there,” I linked aloud.
Seven wolves on the front line broke through the trees
and lunged at Tristan and Gabriel.

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Gabriel moved at vampire speed, snapping the necks of

four of them while Tristan crushed the throats of the other
three, one after the other, with his jaws and tossed them
aside.
Amelia mind-linked aloud, “The 700 plus to the east are
half rogues!”
“Divine Moon Pack is here to aid us. Half of the army
to your east are rogues,” I repeated through the link for my
pack.
I glanced at the feed to the east and saw a large crowd of
Clovis’s pack joining up with half of our warriors waiting at
the forest’s edge. The wolves greeted and intermingled,
loping to sniff one another until they could recognize their
allies by scent.
There was a chorus of “Yes, Luna” in reply.
The combined army of First Montana and Divine Moon
dove into the woods at full speed toward the invading army.
The invaders caught scent of them and began to run
towards them, though they were some distance apart.
We were four hundred wolves to the east against 794
invaders, half of which were rogues.
I took several deep breaths and sent up a prayer to the
goddess that she would protect our packs tonight. I didn’t
want to lose a single wolf.

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CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Tristan’s POV

The blood of our enemies dripped down my muzzle. There

were eighteen more closing in, and the bloodthirst of my
wolf was full-on.
These smaller average wolves stood no chance. I felt a
twinge of human sorrow at the loss of lives in so
meaningless a way, but my wolf answered it with the howl
that was his battle cry.
Must. Protect. Pack.
Yes, Onan.
I could smell their fear as if they were spraying it directly
up my nose. My size, coupled with the presence of such a
vampire as Gabriel, had them quaking in terror. But they
could not disobey orders from their Alpha.
This was a tragedy - one of MacKenzie’s and my father’s
making. They would have to pay a price - a foolish price that
could have been avoided if they had simply stayed away.
The eighteen wolves closing in were crouched down
low, crawling towards us, preparing to lunge. I braced
myself for the inevitable tearing of my flesh, but they
wouldn’t bring me down. It was physically impossible.
In a flash, they pounced directly at me. Their attempts
to avoid Gabriel were in vain. His vampire speed was
legendary. He dispatched a dozen of them in the time it
takes most people to bring air into their lungs and let it out
again.
The remaining six were upon me. Onan met them with
the full force of our body, knocking four of them up into
the air and away until their bodies’ flight was cut short by
slamming into various trees and rock formations.
The other two were snapping and snarling, attempting
to latch onto my throat. I hooked my teeth onto the throat
of one wolf, dragging him toward the other before I

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gathered both of their necks in my muzzle at once and bit

down, crushing the life out of them.
We hadn’t even broken a sweat yet. But it was going to
get harder from here.
MacKenzie was closing in behind the remaining twenty-
five warriors and the witch. He was emitting an alpha aura
and command to force the warriors into battle. Some were
resisting, or he wouldn’t need to command them with his
Alpha order.
They shouldn’t have to die, but once the Alpha
command was received, they couldn’t be stopped unless
they were dead or the command changed. Such was the
nature of our wolf forms. Pack is all.
The twenty-five were nearing. We could see them all, but
I couldn’t lay eyes on MacKenzie, though his stench was
palpable.
In the blink of an eye, several things happened at once.
The twenty-five warriors leapt into the air at Gabriel and me
just as the Entropus wolves arrived on the scene.
Alpha Clovis burst through the trees first, with Saranya’s
wolf at his side. They had ripped out four throats each
before they even reached us.
MacKenzie lunged out of hiding, going straight for what
he perceived to be the weakest link, Luna Meagan’s wolf,
and earned himself a pile of four Alpha-sized daughters
sinking their teeth into his flesh and tearing chunks asunder.
He managed to remain standing and darted behind some
trees to circle around, trying to get at me.
Luna Meagan’s wolf, not slowed by MacKenzie's
attempted assault, dispatched three warriors by snapping
their necks clean in half.
Saranya avidly sought out the other enemies without
pause and with precision. She had taken down five more in
a flash.
The acrid aroma of MacKenzie’s blood permeated the
air. Other than him, only nine warriors, plus the witch,
remained in our vicinity.
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She stood in the trees several yards away doing nothing.

We knew her barrier had been neutralized by her father’s
blood, but she was still a wolf. Not to mention, she must
have other magical tricks up her sleeve.
Gabriel, seeing things were well in hand here, made eye
contact with her and stalked towards her. He could have
been at her side in an instant, but instead, he took deliberate,
terrifying, red-eyed, fang-mouthed steps toward her.
She didn’t move. She simply stood still and waited. She
made one final attempt to raise her hands in the air towards
him and chant, but nothing happened. She was defeated.
There was no circumstance in which Gabriel would
allow her to live. When she got her magic back, she would
be able to come back. She couldn’t run fast enough, even in
wolf form, to get away from him.
When he reached her, only one step away, she bowed
her head and closed her eyes in resignation. Gabriel took the
last step, fisted her hair to pull her head aside, and sunk his
teeth into her neck. He drank her empty of every last drop
of her blood in less than sixty seconds. Her pale, empty shell
flopped to the ground.
Renewed with the power of his feeding, he returned to
my side.
I stood scanning the forest for MacKenzie as the
Entropus family took care of the remaining warriors.
He had retreated like the coward he was. His stench
lessened with every mile he put between us. Just as I was
deciding whether or not to go after him, his scent vanished
in the wind.
My wolf made eye contact with Gabriel, bowed his head,
and then blinked away in a flash, heading for the army to
the east.
Jane had mind-linked me the information from Clovis
about the other Alphas that were here.
Having taken care of the situation in the South, Clovis
and I had a clear understanding of one goal and one goal
alone. Find the Alphas and take them out.
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In sync, we turned towards the west and bolted into the

forest, following our noses to the closest one: Trent.
Six of the fiercest she-wolf warriors in existence
followed close behind.
Trent didn’t stand a chance.

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CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Gabriel’s POV
I arrived at the eastern forest front in less than five minutes.
Closing my eyes, I focused my mind. Over one thousand
wolves running at each other through the trees, and I
listened to them.
Hundreds of warriors were emitting scents and thoughts
of hatred, war, and fear.
Something was off, though. I knew there were rogues
here, but their thoughts were different. They had no pony
in this race, and they didn’t want to be here.
I listened for a few more minutes and realized what was
happening.
There were 397 rogues present in the forest. They held
hate in their hearts only for Alpha Martin of Moon Blood
Pack. Every last one of them had been exiled from Martin’s
pack over the years for unjustifiable reasons.
All they wanted was a pack - a home - safety for their
families.
Telepathically, I ordered our pack and Clovis’s to stop
running and wait for direction.
I reached out to the most powerful rogue I could find -
a former Beta - and I entered his mind.
“Beta Wolf, what is your name?” I called into his mind.
“Who are you?” he answered gruffly.
“I am the vampire Gabriel, an elder of First Montana Pack. Why
do you fight for Martin? You don’t want to be here,” I questioned.
“Gabriel! This is Homer Anders. Please help us! Martin is
holding our mates and children hostage. If he loses the battle, he will
have them slaughtered.”
I knew this wolf. He was Martin’s beta fifteen years ago.
I met with him a handful of times back then to negotiate
trade between Martin’s pack and me.

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“Homer, I’m going to help you. Are you able to link the other
rogues?”
“We have no pack. There is no mind-link,” he answered
desperately.
“It’s ok! I will reach out to the ones furthest from you first. Scent
out the ones you can find and try to pull them away towards the south.
I’ll link Alpha Tristan. We will fix this, Homer. You have my word.”
“Thank you, Gabriel.” Relief flooded back to me with his reply,
and then he was on the move.
I mind-linked Tristan, “Alpha, we have good news and bad
news.”
“Yep, let’s hear it,” he linked back as he ran towards the
west.
“The rogues to the east aren’t here of their own free will. They don’t
want to be here. They are wolves who were rogued from your father’s
pack for unjustifiable reasons. He’s currently holding their mates and
children hostage and forcing them to fight,” I revealed.
“We have to take my father down,” Tristan replied.
“Yes, but here’s the bad news,” I started.
“You mean that wasn’t the bad news?”
“Not even close. Martin is keeping their families somewhere with
instructions to kill them all if they lose the battle.”
“What do you recommend?” he asked me.
I hesitated.
“Tell me, Gabriel,” he pressed.
“Alpha pack leadership automatically transfers to whoever
challenges and kills the Alpha,” I reminded him.
“The only way to rescue their families is for me to challenge and
kill my father. The hostage keepers will obey me as their new Alpha,”
he replied grimly.
“It doesn’t have to be you. It just has to be an Alpha. Clovis could
do it,” I suggested, but I knew he wouldn’t accept that
answer.
“It has to be me, and you know it,” came his response.
“I’ll enter the rogues’ minds and send them a message, but it will
take some time. I’m telling them to continue to move towards us

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discreetly. They won’t be able to keep MacKenzie in the dark for long.
He’ll start to realize something is wrong.”
“Do it. Clovis will handle the others. I’m on my way,” he linked
back.
I stepped into the forest behind our pack and Clovis’s.
First blood had yet to be shed on the eastern battlefield.
The rogues were at the front of Alpha Martin’s army. He
was sending them to slaughter first to preserve his warriors’
lives. He was the worst kind of creature: a beast of no
redemption.
I could smell Avery a couple of minutes before she
appeared at my side in wolf form, covered in the blood of
other wolves.
“The north is clear,” she linked to me.
I mind-linked her the situation. She yelped at me in
acknowledgment and linked me, Tristan, Jane, and the First
Montana pack members currently before her in the east
forest.
“The rogues are being forced to fight. Let them pass you by. Do
not attack,” she linked.
I understood what she was saying. This was a more
strategic plan than sending them off in another direction. It
would take longer to detect the deviation from Martin’s
orders.
I focused my mind. My ability to enter the minds of
multiple wolves at once - ones outside the pack - was sharp
and empowered by the blood of the witch I had drained.
I reached out to every rogue nearest us and spoke into
their minds: “This is the vampire, Gabriel. We know your families
are hostages. We’re going to help, but you have to follow our plan. Run
towards us as if you were going to attack. Run through and past us to
the edge of the forest. Wait there for further instructions.”
The minds erupted in response.
“Gabriel! Thank the goddess!”
“Please save my mate!”
“I’ll do anything just save my pups.”

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I quickly moved on and sought out more rogues,

repeating my message into their minds.
I did this again and again until I had reached everyone.
By the time the last was told, the first set of rogues was
speeding past me and out of the trees. It would take time
for them all to get through. They couldn’t go too quickly, or
MacKenzie would catch on.
I stepped out of the forest and called out to the rogues,
“Shed some blood the Alpha can scent. We have to keep
him in the dark as long as possible!”
The rogues started biting into their own legs and paws,
causing them to bleed. They loped in circles with the liquid
flowing down their bodies so that the wind could blow the
aromas through the air.
I could smell Tristan nearing us, and so could the rogues.
They bowed down, their eyes to the ground as he raced past
us and into the woods.

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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Jane’s POV
The north and south forests were largely empty now, the
intruders slain. I watched Tristan break off from the
Entropus family and head east.
Walking inside our blue magic Command Central, I
followed him. I heard all the links and knew where he was
going - to kill his father. It was the only way to save the
hostages and free the rogues.
My heart was heavy. It wasn’t that we held any great love
for his father. It was likely that if Tristan had stayed and
been forced to mark Avery, he would have killed him in the
near future anyway.
What saddened me was that an Alpha of a very large
pack and a father was such a spiteful, hateful, and awful
individual that he had to force his son to kill him or watch
hundreds of ill-treated wolves be murdered for his own
selfish ends.
We didn’t even know how many of these wolves were
actually from Martin’s pack. There were five Alphas here,
and they probably had brought warriors from each of the
packs, but not all of them. If they had each deployed all their
warriors, there would have been quite a lot more than one
thousand.
I could see that most of the rogues were out of the forest
now, and the forces were more evenly matched on each
side. Both sides, sans rogues, were now clashed in a vicious
battle. Wolves were dropping all across the forest.
My heart ached as I watched them fall. A heavy ball
formed in the pit of my stomach as my eyes followed my
mate through the trees, weaving through and leaping over
the smaller wolves engaged in battle. He wasn’t wasting any
time. He was following his nose to the end goal.

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The sooner Alpha Martin fell, the sooner he could call

off that pack’s warriors. It would turn the tide of the entire
battle and possibly end it once and for all.
Behind me on the west side of Command Central,
Amelia spoke aloud her link to Clovis.
“Alpha, Trent is moving towards the north to join up
with two of the other alphas. Tristan is on his way to the
east to deal with Alpha Martin. Alpha MacKenzie is no
longer on the field. I’m unable to locate him.”
I couldn’t hear the link back from Clovis, but I looked
over my shoulder and saw Clovis’s large-wolfed family split
into two groups. They were going to circle the three alphas
that were meeting up to the north.
I turned back to Tristan, who was still heading straight
for a particular point.
I looked ahead of him on the feed, and I could see one
bigger wolf among the others. That was Alpha Martin. His
wolf wasn’t as big as Tristan’s, but it was still larger than a
regular wolf.
I knew better than to underestimate the strength that
was gained from a hateful heart. Watching Alpha Martin
kick the stool out from under Tristan’s feet that day at the
gallows had taught me this painful truth.
I mind-linked my mate, “Tristan...”
“Don’t worry, my love,” came his answer.
“But he’s family. Are you ok?”
“No, Jane. You are family. Amy and Selly are family. Gabriel is
family. The pack is family. Alpha Martin is nothing more than a
threat to that family. After today, he never will be one again. To
anyone,” his voice sounded calm and focused.
“I love you, Tristan.”
“I love you, Jane. I've loved you since we were fourteen years old.
Do you know the day I knew it?”
Fourteen years old, that was when we started high
school. What had changed?
I suddenly realized, “On the first day of high school. When you
started to thank me for serving you breakfast.”
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“Did you know?”

“No, I didn’t. I was afraid to even look at you then. If I had, I
probably would have known.”
“And now?”
“I can’t wait to put eyes on you. Hurry and come back to me so I
can,” I smiled.
“Yes, my Luna,” he answered.
Tristan was closing in on Alpha Martin, and he fell silent.
He would reach him in a few minutes. I closed the link and
let him focus on the task ahead.
A loud crack behind me startled me. I turned to see a
beautiful middle-aged bronze-skinned woman standing next
to Amelia. I sensed her goodwill and relaxed.
Amelia turned to her and bowed her head, “High
Priestess. What brings you here?”
The woman waved her hand at the blue globe
surrounding us, and dozens of glowing green points
appeared and started to draw across the map.
“That nuisance of a witch, Abigail,” the woman said.
“She’s tipped the balance by interfering in unnatural things.”
The green lines finished drawing and completed our
view of the surrounding area. There were hundreds of new
people on the map. I started jogging around the patio,
looking everywhere. They were everywhere.
“What is that?! Why couldn’t we see them before?” I was
terrified.
“Luna Jane, this is Her Majesty Esperanza Consuela
Maria Rodriguez, wolf witch High Priestess of the Western
Hemisphere, Queen of the Fae,” Amelia introduced.
My brain and body froze for a split second, and then I
bowed my head, “Your Majesty.”
“Let’s just keep that Queen of the Fae and Her Majesty
business on the down low, shall we, Jane? Call me
Esperanza,” she replied.
“And that,” she motioned at the green people now on
our radar, “is necromancy.”

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Amelia tapped her finger on her chin, then furrowed her

brow as she studied the display before her. Her jaw clenched
as understanding dawned, “Abigail didn’t run from Gabriel
because she knew she couldn’t get away. She didn’t run
because she needed him to drink her blood and use him to
power her undead army.”
“What?” was all I could say.
“To achieve necromancy on this scale, Abigail had to
give up all of her life’s blood. But she also needed magical
energy, and a lot of it, to power it after she was gone. Now
all of that blood is inside an ancient vampire of great
power,” Amelia explained.
“There are so many!” my voice cracked.
“Breathe, my dear, breathe,” soothed the high priestess.
Esperanza waved her hand, and the twelve witches who
had transported Amelia and the army to us appeared on the
patio beside us.
They appeared startled for a moment, then noticed
Esperanza and bowed their heads in respect.
“High Priestess,” they said in unison.
“Go and get the vampire Gabriel and tell him Luna Jane
needs him. Transport him directly here,” Esperanza
ordered.
“Yes, High Priestess,” they replied, and they vanished
with a loud crack.
Esperanza turned to me, “Go down to your kitchen’s
walk-in fridge and bring up every bag of blood you have in
there. And prepare to be fed on. Bring Emma back with
you. The children will be safe with Diane.”
I started to run through the apartment to head
downstairs when Esperanza called out, “Every single bag,
Jane!”
“Got it!” I called back as I ran.
A voice sounded in my head, “Are you ok, Jane? Is
something wrong?”
It was Gabriel.

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“Come with them, Gabriel. You are needed at the house,” I

linked back.
“I’ll be there in less than five. Just give me a minute,” he
answered.
I ran straight to the study and called to Emma through
the bookcase door to meet me in the walk-in. Then, I
sprinted to the kitchen.
I looked around the dry pantry for a moment and then
found the reusable shopping bags folded neatly in a bin on
the floor under the shelves.
Emma came in when I was pulling them out.
“Blood. We need all of the blood carried to the rooftop
patio,” I explained.
Emma took some of the bags without question or
hesitation and opened the walk-in. We both entered and
started filling our sacks with blood bags.
It only took us a minute to load up all the bags. Emma
and I raced back up to the apartment and dropped the bags
on the patio. A loud crack sounded, and the twelve witches
appeared with Gabriel.
I looked around us at the green-outlined bodies on the
map moving towards the east and the west. They were
moving slowly, but there were so very many.
I stepped to the patio railing and looked down. Looking
through the magic bubble and down to the lawn of the
house, I could physically see some of them walking across
the grass and past the house. The stench was overwhelming.
Most of them looked like burnt skeletons with torn,
rotting clothing and flesh hanging from their bones. Some
of them were fresher and looked more like people with stiff
and awkward joints.
“Ah, Esperanza,” Gabriel made a courteous but friendly
bow, “it’s been a long time. Nice to see you.”
“Remember that in a few hours when you’re cursing my
name,” Esperanza smiled back.
“Why would I ever do such a thing?” he replied.

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Then Gabriel looked up at the globe of visibility into the

pack lands. He was startled and flashed to my side to peer
over the railing.
He sighed in acceptance of the situation, “Well, this
explains why that witch didn’t run.”
Amelia had dragged two reclining patio loungers over to
Esperanza and said to Gabriel, “Lie down.”
Gabriel nodded at the witch, but first, he strode over to
Emma. He took each of her shoulders in his hands and said,
“I love you, Em.”
Then he kissed her hard on the lips. Her eyes opened in
shock and confusion for a moment, but soon, she was
leaning into the kiss. When he pulled away, her eyes were
glistening, “Gabriel?” She whispered.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Gabriel, you’re going to be fine,”
Esperanza rolled her eyes.
Gabriel ignored her and was looking down into Emma’s
face. “I’ve loved you for over a century. When I wake up, I
want to marry you. Will you have me?”
“Wake up?! What do you..?” Emma sputtered, clearly
having many things trying to come out at the same time, “I
- Gabriel, what’s happening?” Her hands gripped his shirt
in front of her.
Esperanza answered her, “I have to completely drain
him of blood. He will lose all of his power. We will replace
the blood with the bags you’ve brought, and he will be able
to feed on Jane even in his coma. But it will be some time
before he wakes up again.”
“How long?” I asked.
“I don’t know the answer to that. Whatever time it takes
for his body to convert the blood from the bags into his
own blood. He will need your blood, Jane, in order to
accomplish this since you’re a direct descendant through
your mother,” Esperanza answered.
My head was spinning.
Tears were running down Emma’s face. “I will marry
you, Gabriel. I love you, too.”
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“He can’t die, right?” my voice trembled as I asked.

“Oh no, no, no,” Esperanza assured.
“You may go,” Esperanza said to the dozen witches, and
they cracked the air as they vanished.
Esperanza turned to me and Emma, “He can’t die. He’s
immortal. But you will have to keep his body safe in that
dark apartment of yours. If anyone knows about this, it
would be a lot easier to remove his head from his body, and
then he would die.”
Gabriel kissed Emma again and then stepped over to
me, hugged me tight, and kissed me on the top of my head.
Then he stepped over to the lounge chair and laid down.
“You too, Jane,” Esperanza said.
I laid down next to Gabriel in the other lounger.
“What am I to do?” I asked.
Esperanza crouched down to look me in the eyes and
said, “Listen, Jane. We don’t have time to beat around the
bush, so I’ll give it to you straight. It is both fortunate and
opportune that you are currently pregnant.”
I bolted up in the lounger, “I’m pregnant?!”
“You are. And when a she-wolf is pregnant, her body
changes to accommodate and tolerate more than one blood
type within her body. This is fortunate for Gabriel because
all of these blood bags can be used to restore blood to his
body, but it must flow through your body first.”
“Like a filter?” I asked.
“Something like that. The blood will flow through you
and touch your blood, and then when Gabriel drinks from
you, all of the blood will have some of yours in it. As a
descendant of Gabriel, your blood will keep his veins from
rejecting the foreign blood. Normally, a vampire’s own
blood consumes foreign blood and turns it into
nourishment. But he won’t have any of his own blood for a
while. A drained vampire is vulnerable.”
“But the baby?” I asked worriedly.

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Esperanza reassured me, “The baby will be fine, I

promise you. He has a great destiny before him, which this
will not alter.
“This is going to take some time, though. He can only
drink two pints from you at a time, so we have to put two
pints of the bagged blood into your system and wait an hour
or two before he feeds again. You have to keep eating and
drinking during this time so you have the strength to
process the foreign blood, ok?”
I nodded.
“He’s going to be unconscious while he feeds, so he will
not be able to stop himself. Amelia will have to be here to
stop him after two pints each time until all of the bagged
blood is gone.”
Esperanza turned to Emma, “Red meat, spinach, kale,
lots of fruit and starches. She needs iron and sugars to
process the blood faster.”
Emma, who was holding Gabriel’s hand, nodded at
Esperanza in understanding.
Gabriel reached out and squeezed my hand, “You don’t
have to do this, Jane.”
I scoffed, “Of course I do, you idiot. Our family can’t be
without you for long, so you better recover quickly. Don’t
miss your great-great-great-and-so-on grandson’s birth, or
I’ll never forgive you.”
Gabriel laughed, “Ok, my dear.”
Gabriel and I looked up at Esperanza and nodded that
we were ready.
Amelia waved her hand in the air, and a medium-sized
black caldron appeared beside Gabriel’s chair on the
ground.
I laughed out loud at the cliche despite my fraught
emotions.
Amelia side-eyed me, “Some old things still have their
uses.”
Esperanza waived into existence a refrigerator, IV bag
rack, and a tray of medical supplies.
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“Emma, do you remember any of your medical

training?” Amelia asked.
“Enough to tap a vein, I should think,” she replied with
a nod.
Emma got to work cleaning my arm in the middle at the
inside bend of my elbow. Before I knew it, she’d inserted
the tube into my vein and taped it down. She attached a
saline bag to one line and hung a blood bag from another
hook but didn’t yet attach it to the second line.
She then got to work putting all of the remaining blood
bags in the refrigerator nearby.
Lying there, I had time to seriously ponder the oddness
of my life since turning eighteen. I wondered how I
managed to have so many strange and extraordinary
circumstances thrust upon me in less than a year.
Gabriel chuckled beside me but said nothing.
“I’ll begin then,” Esperanza announced.
She took hold of Gabriel’s forearm and held his hand
and wrist over the cauldron. Then, with her finger pointed
straight, she slid it down his forearm, from inside elbow to
wrist, and the blood soon began to flow out of him and into
the iron pot.
The liquid falling into the cauldron hissed and popped
as if it were burning, and indeed, that’s what was occurring.
Amelia had heated the metal to destroy the blood as soon
as it hit the surface of the inside of the cauldron.
As blood began to burn, a few of the lit-up green undead
on our radar began to blip and disappear. As more blood
drained and burned, more and more of the undead fell.
“That’s going to be one hell of a clean-up job,” I sighed.

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CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Alpha Clovis’s POV

My family and I ran towards the west through the forest. I
received a mind-link from Amelia letting us know that the
other Alphas were headed to the north.
I heard earlier that Beta Avery had already cleared the
north, so I wondered why they were headed that way.
I reached out to my mate and daughters to let them
know.
Saranya split off to head north directly with Audra and
Kendra. Of my daughters, they were the three strongest
warriors.
I continued west for a ways with my Luna and two other
daughters, Loie and Desta, before hooking around to head
north.
We would come at them from two sides. Three Alphas
wouldn’t be a problem for the seven of us to take out, but
it might take some time.
Suddenly, a rotten stench permeated the air. It didn’t
take long to identify it, either.
Inside the woods to the north were hundreds of undead
wandering around seeking meals in the form of flesh.
I mind-linked my family and warriors, letting them know
what I was seeing and advising them to use caution.
We were going to have to take the long way around. We
couldn’t go through them without severe delay, so I shifted
course, continuing further west again to try to go around
them.
They were denser than I initially thought, and I couldn’t
see an opening anywhere. What’s worse, they were circling
in behind us as we ran.
“Father...” Desta linked to me as we ran.

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“Rip their heads clean off. Just breaking necks or tearing out the
throat won’t do. Heads off is the only way to terminate them,” I linked
to all the girls.
“Yes, Alpha,” came the reply.
Here goes nothing, I thought as we could no longer
avoid the creatures. I leapt into the fray, clamping my jaws
around heads and popping them off their undead bodies.
This slowed our progress by much, but we didn’t have
any other choice. It was clear now why the Alphas were
running to the north. To put the undead between
themselves and the enemy.
Painstakingly, we cleared a path through the trees, felling
the rotten army like plucking flowers. My wolf’s mouth
flooded with saliva, attempting to wash the foul taste of the
putrid flesh from our jaws.
It took more than an hour to finish clearing a path, and
we were covered in so much dead flesh that it would be
surprising if the Alphas could scent us at this point without
assuming we were undead.
The creatures that lined the path we cleared turned to us,
following us as we ran, but we did not heed them. I pinned
down the scents of Alphas Trent, Fillmore, and Kline. They
were familiar to me as I’d met them all previously.
They were a nasty trio who were aging and outliving their
place in this world. No longer in their prime, it was clear
that they were hoping to avoid personal confrontation while
sending their warriors into the fray.
My eyes located them just where my nose said they
would be. They were in human form, up on an elevated hill
surrounded by a large circle of boulders with a small clearing
in the center. Their heads were visible above the boulders.
From that vantage point, they would see anyone coming
for them, and the boulders would shield them from any
undead activity. It would have been a smart choice if it
hadn’t been for my family.

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Saranya’s wolf, Alessia, made eye contact with mine, and

we jumped to the top of the rock formations. Megan and
the other girls were circling the outside.
We stood still and silent, looking down at the three
Alphas as they shifted, snarled, and growled warnings at us.
If I had been in human form, I would have laughed in
their faces. I could smell the fear radiating from them at the
sheer size of Saranya and me.
Saranya and I began to creep and leap across the tops of
the boulder circle until, finally, jumping down into the
clearing before the alpha cowards.
We towered over them, and Kline’s wolf hip-checked
the other two towards us before leaping up to the tops of
the rocks and disappearing over the edge.
When he jumped down the back of the hill, I heard
Audra and Kendra growl low before the sounds of ripping
flesh reverberated into the night sky.
Trent lowered his head and fell to his belly at my feet,
showing me his neck. He was hoping that the submissive
stance would save his life, but it would not.
I was aware of the hundreds and hundreds of she-wolves
and humans he had tortured and killed in his four decades
as alpha, and because of this, his life would end here today.
I walked towards him, clamped my jaws around his
bared neck, and bit down, snapping it in two.
While I was ending Trent’s life, Fillmore slid his paws
back slowly under Saranya’s wolf’s watchful eye and made a
run for it toward the base of the boulders.
Alessia’s teeth clamped down on his shoulder in mid-
leap, and she twisted her head, throwing him to the ground
hard. As he drew in a deep breath to try and get the air back
into his lungs, her quick jaws wrapped around his throat,
and she yanked her head back, ripping his head from his
shoulders.
Alessia huffed into her nose and snorted, clearing the
blood from her airways. Then she lifted her face to the sky
and howled long and loud. The deep, mournful sound was
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one of both victory and sorrow. Her sisters’ wolves

answered her cry with howls of their own.
I jumped up again to the top of the boulders and
scanned the woods around the clearing and noticed the
undead had fallen. Whatever magic had breathed life into
them was now extinguished.
Three packs had new Alphas that day, and I suspected a
fourth would soon follow.
Saranya, Audra, and I mind-linked our new pack
members with a clear message, “Stand down. Go home. Await
your new Alpha.”
All of our minds flooded with responses of, “Yes,
Alpha.”
I tipped back my head and howled my deep booming
howl into the air, which meant, “All is well. Goddess speed,
Tristan.”

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CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Tristan’s POV
Something big had just happened. No one told me anything,
but I felt it. Gabriel’s presence was faint in the pack. He was
still there, but it was like he was small and very far away,
fading into the distance.
This was what it felt like when a pack member was dying.
I knew this from the many members we’d lost in my father’s
pack while I was growing up.
Onan stopped running and turned his head back, circling
towards the house and then towards Alpha Martin, trying to
decide.
We had completely passed the armies at battle and were
in an empty part of the woods only half a mile from my
father’s location.
I mind-linked him, “Gabriel?”
There was no answer.
I tried again, “Avery?”
“Yes, boss,” came the instant reply.
“Have you seen Gabriel?”
“He was with the rogues just outside the forest when I got here. I’m
in the fight now,” Avery linked back.
Ok. Next.
“Jane?” I linked.
“Tristan,” she answered, sounding sleepy even through
the link.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong?” I asked, becoming
concerned as Onan loped in a circle between the two places
I needed to go.
“Everything is fine, my Alpha. I’m just tired. Need to
sleep...Emma. Talk to Emma...” and her voice faded.
I immediately linked Emma, “What’s happening?”
“It’s a long story,” Emma replied, sounding worn out.

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“Summarize,” I demanded, my tone imparting more

Alpha command than I intended.
“When Gabriel drained the witch Abigail, she was giving her
blood for his power to supply her necromancy and an undead army of
hundreds. The High Priestess Esperanza arrived, and she and
Amelia, Clovis’s witch, had to act fast to down the undead army.
They’ve drained Gabriel of his and Abigail’s blood. His power is gone,
but it worked. The army has fallen.”
“Emma,” I growled.
“He’s going to be ok, Alpha. He’s just in a coma. Jane’s tired
because she had to feed him more than usual. We’re replenishing her
blood and feeding her well. She just needs to rest since she’ll be feeding
him more often for a while.”
“She’s pregnant! She can’t do more!” I roared into the link.
“You knew?!” Emma sounded astonished.
“Of course, I knew! What kind of Alpha can’t scent his own pup
growing inside his mate?! I was just waiting for her to tell me,” I
snapped, Onan’s ears twitching in frustration.
Emma was cut off from the mind-link, and a new voice
sounded. It was feminine and warm, trilling with an accent,
and so calm it bordered on casual.
“Alpha Tristan, High Priestess Esperanza here. Forgive the
intrusion, but I felt you needed some reassurance in order to keep you
on task.
“I assure you that your pup will be fine. It is because Jane is
pregnant that we can save Gabriel. This is a process, and everyone will
be a little tired, but your son has a great future ahead and a destiny in
this world. He will fulfill it.
“Now it’s time to fulfill your destiny and stop Martin. He’s about
to become aware of the rogues’ treachery. You don’t have much time left
to save those families. Esperanza out.”
The link went silent again.
Onan stood still, torn between his mate, pup, Gabriel,
and the mission. It didn’t take long for me to urge him,
“Today, Martin pays for his sins.”
Onan answered back, which was rare for him, “Yes,
Alpha.”
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He turned back towards my father and took off running

again.
I felt touched and humbled by his response.
Alphas and their wolves are complex creatures. We are
Alphas because of our wolves because they are Alpha
wolves and carry the mantle and power of authority. But we
are also the ones who command those wolves, oversee
them, and use their power. We keep their baser instincts
under control where situations call for more subtlety than
wolfing out and ripping a throat apart.
It’s a symbiotic relationship but a complex one as well.
We are the same being, two sides of a coin, but we can still
think independently of one another.
In my case, Onan and I had an entire previous lifetime
together, but he had also had an afterlife long before he
came to me again. An experience he’d only given me
glimpses of until now. He was old and wise and a being in
his own right, becoming a willing part of me at my birth.
More than that, he was the reason I was not like my
mother and father. Before I even understood it, he was
teaching me, raising me, and correcting my course.
He would bleed his emotions into me to teach me right
from wrong. When I would bully Jane as children, he would
let his disappointment and guilt flow freely through my tiny
body until it wasn’t worth it to do such a thing anymore.
When I made a good choice, his pride wrapped around me
like a warm blanket.
This great ancient wolf who had led me to manhood had
submitted his instincts to my command with a simple, “Yes,
Alpha.”
I knew he could feel how touched I was, and he sent me
an image of him licking my face, and then his focus returned
to the hunt.
I could see him now, my father’s wolf. He was standing
alone next to a tree, waiting for me.

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I was fairly certain he thought I would pause before him,

but Onan and I had decided long ago that this wolf, this
man, wasn’t anything to us.
Right now, he was just the enemy, with hundreds of
mates and children held hostage.
Onan growled out his challenge only a split second
before we made contact.
My larger body, ramming into his, slammed him against
the nearby tree, but he dropped low and slipped away
underneath us, grazing my leg with his teeth. He wasn’t able
to sink them into anything but made a long scratch up the
side as he wriggled away.
I could practically taste the fury radiating from him. He
always radiated anger when things didn’t go as he expected,
and I was a much larger wolf than the last time he had seen
me. Good. Angry wolves make foolish mistakes.
He circled quickly and tried to latch onto my
hindquarters, but Onan kicked out our back paws and
clawed him across the face.
While he was reeling from the assault, I whirled around
and bit into his belly, ripping it open. It wasn’t a large rip;
he had pulled away at the last second. I hadn’t gotten as big
a bite as I’d hoped, but he still had a gaping wound there
that was soaking his fur in his blood.
He began to snarl and growl, frothing at the mouth like
an angry, out-of-control dog.
He jumped forward, going for my neck, but I lowered
my head and lunged at him, head-butting him in the mouth.
The pain this caused him made him jerk backward, and I
continued aggressively and purposefully.
He backed away as quickly as he dared, and then his nose
twitched. He was learning something I didn’t want him to
know. I took advantage of his distraction before he could
link anyone holding the hostages and bit into his neck. He
growled and snarled, trying to yank his body away from me,
but I clamped my jaws down tighter. He was trapped.

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I pressed in, forcing him to lie down at my feet, my

mouth still around his neck. When he was on the ground, I
tightened my grip to sink my teeth further into his neck
before I crunched down completely, snapping his neck in
two.
His neck was broken, but he was still breathing, so I took
hold of his throat and tore it out. Now, he was dead.
Mind-links flooded my mind, ones that were meant for
Alpha Martin. I was the new Alpha of the Moon Blood
pack.
“Your orders regarding the hostages, Alpha?” I recognized the
voice of my father’s Beta.
“Release them,” I ordered.
There was a pause, and then, “Tristan?”
“That’s Alpha to you, Douglas,” I answered.
“Releasing the hostages, Alpha,” he replied.
I linked the entirety of my father’s pack, “Go home. Your
new Alpha will meet you there soon.”
A chorus of “Yes, Alpha” followed.
Then, another voice full of sorrow and pain permeated
my mind, “Tristan.”
It was my mother.
“Rest now, mother. I’ll be back to sort things out soon.”
There were a few seconds of silence, and then her
broken voice replied, “Yes, Alpha.”
That settled, I turned towards home and ran as fast as
Onan’s legs could carry me back to my mate.

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CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Avery’s POV
The battle had been won. Four Alphas were dead, and their
packs were transferred to others. All of the enemies on the
field that day stood down either because they had new
alphas or their Alpha, my father, was MIA.
I’d tracked Alpha MacKenzie’s blood from the place
where the Entropus family had taken a few bites out of him.
I followed it to where he ran, and then the trail simply
vanished.
My attempts to contact him at home via phone over the
next few days also met with dead ends. According to my
mother and his higher-ranking wolves, he hadn’t returned
from the battle, and they hadn’t heard from him since.
My mother said she could still feel him alive through the
mate bond, but he wouldn’t respond to anyone. The pack
was in chaos, and the Beta wasn’t able to keep it under
control.
Wolves that had been oppressed their whole lives were
up and leaving or trying to take control.
I urged my mother to leave there, but she insisted on
waiting for her mate. I told her to go to Martin’s old pack if
she was in danger, that it now belonged to Tristan, and he
would offer her sanctuary, but as far as I knew, she hadn’t
done so yet.
Alpha Clovis, Saranya, and Audra had gone directly from
First Montana Pack to the packs of the alphas they had
defeated and became their new alphas. They determined to
bring the packs into the modern age, abolishing laws and
customs that persecuted women and the defenseless. The
packs were coached on equal treatment of women,
protecting humans, not harming them, and working for pay
rather than in servitude.

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They were offered the chance to join Divine Moon Pack

under Alpha Clovis or to be free to go find another pack.
Most of them chose to join Divine Moon, and only a few
left to seek other homes.
A handful of those wolves were headed here to Montana
to join our pack since they had family that mated into my
father’s pack years ago and wanted to rejoin them here.
The lands and properties left behind were being
auctioned up to other packs via the council. All money
received by Divine Moon pack from the sales would be put
into trust for the children of the original packs.
Alpha Martin’s pack reverted to Tristan after he’d killed
his father.
It had taken two weeks for Jane to process all of the
blood bags and feed them to Gabriel. Amelia had gone
home to Divine Moon, and Gabriel was still in a coma under
Emma’s watchful eye.
Tristan assigned Jessie, David, and the rest of the
brothers to trade shifts, stand guard in the study, and alert
security if anyone showed up who shouldn’t be there.
Tristan left this morning, taking Jane and the girls to the
pack where they grew up to sort things out there. He hoped
his mother would return with them, along with the other
pack members. They were already automatically integrated
into our mind-link once Martin died, but they still had to
swear loyalty to Tristan if they were to stay.
The pack Tristan and Jane came from were good people
and wolves who were forced to obey Alpha Martin’s evil
orders. They all knew Tristan, and he was confident they
would all submit to him since they had expected him to be
their Alpha one day anyway.
I was left in charge at First Montana to keep things
running until they returned.
There was just that one little problem I couldn’t shake.
Where in the world was my father, the former Alpha
MacKenzie?

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CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Tristan’s POV
I knew Jane had reservations about bringing the girls with
us to our childhood pack. She was maltreated there, and her
only good memories were of her and me, but even all of
those weren’t good.
She didn’t know what I knew - now that she was Luna,
she would be treated with respect and kindness.
They were good people who followed bad leadership to
preserve their own lives. Most would decide to do the same
in the face of a powerful tyrant if only to keep their families
safe.
It was still going to be difficult. We would see people
that had mistreated her. I was going to have to face Beta
Douglas, who had whipped both Jane and me and helped
my father hang me from the gallows.
My mother was another issue. Jane’s only memories of
her were being ignored for eighteen years and then her
overreacting to us being mates and causing a fuss that
turned into us being beaten and separated.
I knew my mother hadn’t intended any of it when she
told my father we were mates. At the time, she believed I
would reject her and we could move on. Until that day, she
hadn’t known the extent of my father’s hatred nor my
commitment to spending my life with my true mate.
We would also have to deal with my cousin Jessica, who
had paid a witch to lock away Jane’s wolf.
I had realized the previous night, as we were preparing
to leave, that technically, Jane and I weren’t fully mated. I
had marked her, and she had branded me, but now that she
had her wolf, she could mark me as a wolf.
She had wanted to mark me over the brand to hopefully
hide it, but I wouldn’t let her. I loved carrying her name on
my flesh. Instead, she sunk her teeth into the opposite

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shoulder, and our night had been full of passion and a

renewed closeness, unlike what we had experienced
previously, which I hadn’t thought possible.
I noticed today that completing the bond was helping
her anxiety as we flew closer to the east.
We were on the private plane, and it turned out Crypton
was the pilot. We headed towards the place that was no
longer home.
It was my hope that the children would tug at my mom’s
heart and bring her and Jane together. She loved children,
and she had wanted me mated as soon as I was eighteen
because she wanted grandpups.
Her true objection to Jane wasn’t necessarily that she had
been a servant in our house. It was that she had no wolf.
That presented the possibility that any grandchildren might
not have a wolf, as well.
My mother knew better than anyone my father’s hatred
for those with no wolf, and I knew her objections, though
poorly handled and communicated, were based on a fear
that her eventual grandchildren would be mistreated.
Jane and I had discussed this all and more as I reassured
her that my mother’s reactions to her would be different
now that my father was gone.
She trusted me, but it was hard for her to imagine.
I’d asked her how she felt about going back to our
childhood pack, and she’d expressed anxiety over it. I wasn’t
surprised to learn that she felt it was her duty to go anyway.
She said that she had lingering feelings of anger and
resentment but that she didn’t want them to overtake her
role as Luna. She believed she was to be empathetic and
compassionate to all of our pack, even the ones that had
made her childhood hell.
While I was proud of her commitment to her duty, I also
made it clear that I thought her anger and resentment were
valid and justified. I, too, had those feelings when I thought
of my parents and the former leadership of that pack.

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Together, we determined to do right by the pack anyway.

We could choose to be better than they were. We could
bring about change by being a good example rather than
seeking vengeance.
I watched Jane following Selly, who was opening and
picking up everything on the plane that wasn’t bolted down.
Amy was sitting in her seat on the plane, looking out of
the window with fascination.
Soon, there would be a third pup that belonged to us. A
son, the High Priestess had said. Jane hadn’t told me yet,
and I wondered if she knew it was a boy.
Selly finally came back to her seat and leaned against her
window, looking out at the same sky Amy was observing.
After a little while, she slumped in her seat, drifting off to
sleep to the vibrations of the plane’s engines.
Jane tried to walk past me to take her seat, but I pulled
her onto my lap instead and held her close. She nuzzled her
forehead against my neck and sighed, resting her full weight
against me.
I smiled to myself and then placed a hand on her belly.
She sat upright and looked into my eyes.
“You knew?” she smiled.
“Silly mate. I could scent him weeks ago,” I revealed.
She wrapped her arms around me and laid her head back
on my chest. I held her firmly as I stroked her back with one
hand. Eventually, her breathing turned deep and even, and
I knew she was asleep.
I was glad she was getting some rest.

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CHAPTER FIFTY

Tristan’s POV
We arrived at our childhood pack, and there weren’t many
people hanging around the pack house. I told the warriors
all to go home and wait for me at the pack, but they were
clearly in their homes and not here.
Jane and I took the kids up to my bedroom, which
seemed to have been cleaned thoroughly since I disappeared
that day almost a year ago. It smelled like my mother.
There was a knock on the door, and I answered, “Come
in.”
The door opened slowly to reveal my mother. She
appeared much older than the last time I had seen her. She
somehow looked like she had faded. All of the vibrancy and
pride she carried previously was gone.
“Tristan,” she started, but her voice cracked, and tears
fell down her cheeks.
Jane was closer to the door and rushed over to wrap her
arms around my mother in an act of kindness so generous
that my mother clung to her, and she began to sob in
earnest.
I walked over to them and wrapped my arms around
them both. Soon after, Selly was trying to wrap her arms
around our legs, and Amy was gripping the edge of my T-
shirt.
I started to laugh, and Jane looked up at me with a smile.
My mother sniffled and pulled away, looking at Jane with
guilt clear on her face, “Jane, I...”
Jane held her hand in both of her own and said, “Shhhh.
It’s forgotten.
“Now! I’d like you to meet your two granddaughters.
This is Amy, and this is Selly.”
“Girls, come meet your grandmother,” I said to them.

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My mother’s eyes widened, and she looked at both of us

in surprise as the girls stepped closer.
“Hello, I’m Amy,” she said from a bit of a distance.
Selly walked right up to her and said, “Hello,
Grandmother. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Selly, and I’m four
years old, but I’m almost five years old. My birthday is next
month. Will you come to my birthday?”
My mother crouched down on a level with Selly and said,
“My, what a friendly pup you are. I would love to come to
your birthday.”
She looked over at Amy and said, “It’s nice to meet you,
Amy. How old are you, dear?”
“I’m six,” Amy said simply. She wasn’t as talkative with
people she didn’t know well and liked to say less and
observe more.
“Let me show you ladies and your father to your rooms,”
my mom said as she stood up.
It suddenly made sense why my former room smelled
like her. She had been living in it.
“You switched the rooms around, Mom?” I asked.
“You two are the Alpha and Luna now. You will use the
Alpha’s quarters. I’d been living in your old room since you
left, anyway. I didn’t move just because you said you were
coming,” she explained.
She must have been really angry with my father to have
moved out of their rooms when I left. That somehow gave
me a little bit of satisfaction that he had suffered a bit from
his actions. Other than the me killing him part, that is.
We arrived at the double doors at the end of the hall, and
my mother opened them and then stood to the side for us
to enter.
I hadn’t been in here since I was a child. The rooms had
been cleaned and freshened. The only scent that lingered
was my mother’s. She must have made it ready herself.
The doors opened into a little entryway that my father
had used to strip off muddy or bloody clothes before taking
the door to the right, which was the bathroom.
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There was a large shower big enough for four people and
a giant bathtub I used to imagine swimming in when I was
a pup.
Past the bathroom door was a sitting area with a fireplace
and two comfortable armchairs nearby. The other shelves
were lined with bookcases full of novels and history books.
My mom was an avid reader, and my parents had spent
occasional evenings here when there was nothing pressing
in the pack.
Through the sitting area, a single door led to the
bedroom. It was huge, with a larger-than-king-sized custom
four-poster bed. It had clearly been fitted with a brand-new
mattress and linens.
There was a walk-in closet to the right that also
connected with the bathroom behind the sitting area.
A prominent window to the left had a window seat
beneath it, and the curtains were open, allowing sunlight to
flood the room.
On one side of the window was another single door that
led to another bedroom, which had been the Luna’s room
way back when packs tried to emulate Europe’s lavish
aristocracy where the lord and lady of the house kept
separate beds. To my knowledge, my parents had never used
it.
My mom walked over to the door and opened it.
“I did clean this room and dressed the bed although I
didn’t think Jane would want to use it. I’m happy I did since
it will make a good space for the girls to sleep.”
“Thank you, Mom,” I said.
“What would you all like for dinner?” she asked.
“Not everyone eats at the pack house anymore. They got
out of the habit, trying to avoid your dad and his bad
temper,” she frowned.
“That explains why there aren’t as many people around,”
I replied.
“What do you usually have for dinner, Luna?” Jane asked
her.
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She waved her hands in front of herself, “You’re the

Luna now, Jane. Just call me Beverly… or Mom, if you’d
like to.”
“Ok, Mom, what do you usually have for dinner?” Jane
repeated her question.
I smiled with pride at my Jane. I never expected her to
forgive my mother. Or be anything more than tolerant of
her presence while we sorted out the business of these pack
lands.
She was extending not only forgiveness but also an
invitation to be a part of our family. That was something
even I couldn’t do. It had to come from Jane, but I never
hoped or even imagined it would occur.
The girls were getting bored standing there listening to
the adults, so I took their hands and led them into the
Luna’s bedroom through the door.
There was a queen-sized four-poster bed that was a
smaller version of the one in the main bedroom. A large
window here faced the same direction as the one in the
Alpha’s room, and bookcases full of books lined the back
wall. There was also another walk-in closet that connected
with the Alpha’s closet and through to the bathroom.
The girls ran over to the bed and pulled themselves up.
Amy stretched out her feet with her hands behind her head,
and Selly began jumping on the bed, making her sister
bounce slightly where she lay.
I smiled down at them and then let out the playful growl
I give when we play Daddy’s-gonna-get-you’. The girls both
squealed, jumped off the bed, started laughing, and ran
about looking for places to hide.
Amy discovered the walk-in closet and grabbed Selly’s
hand. They took off through the closet back into the
Alpha’s room for a quick escape.
I gave them a ten-second head start and followed them
through the closet, popping my head out on the alpha’s side
just as they ran out of the suite’s doors and into the hallway.

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Jane and my mother were still discussing menus and how

many people usually came to the main house for dinner.
I stalked the girls out of the door and down the hallway.
I could scent that they had gone left where two hallways
intersected, and so I took the left corridor and stopped in
my tracks.
The girls stood in the middle of the hallway, looking up
at my cousin, Jessica, who sneered at them as if they were a
couple of filthy insects.
I guess she wasn’t one of the ones who had moved out
of the pack house, unfortunately.
I walked up to the girls, crouched down next to them,
and said, “Let’s play later. Why don’t you run back to
Mommy and Grandmother for now, ok? Maybe you can get
them to make you some cake with dinner.”
Selly’s eyes lit up, and she started tugging on Amy’s hand
to go back the way they had come, “It has to be chocolate
cake, Amy! Hurry, we have to tell them!”
Amy followed Selly but watched us with a frown until
they turned the corner back towards our rooms.
I stood up and looked down at Jessica. I had always been
taller than her, but now I towered over her since I bore the
Alpha Mantle.
The sour look changed to a fake smile as she whined out,
“It’s good to see you, cousin. We missed you so much.”
“Cut the bullshit, Jessica,” I replied.
Her eyes widened, and she replied, “What’s the matter,
Tristan? I haven’t seen you in almost a year, and I don’t
think I’ve done anything to warrant such a hostile greeting.”
“Oh, haven’t you?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
She began to look nervous and shuffled her feet.
“I suggest you pack your bags and find somewhere else
to live. I’m not kicking you out of the pack yet. That will be
up to Jane to decide. But you can’t stay at the pack house
anymore,” I said in a stern tone.
Jessica squeezed a few fake tears out of her eyes and
squealed, “What have I done to offend you? Surely, my
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stepdaughter wouldn’t want her own mother to be

homeless. I’ve hardly been in the same room with her since
she was a child!”
“Your Luna knows about the witch and how you had her
wolf locked away. Guess what, Jessica? The wolf is back,” I
finished with a humorless grin.
Her eyes went wide with shock, and she hunched her
shoulders for a moment before turning and rushing back to
her bedroom to pack her bags.
“Be gone before dinner,” I growled after her.
I went downstairs to my father’s old study. His scent
lingered there. I stood there for a moment, processing all
the emotions his scent and his old domain brought up inside
me. Mostly, it was anger mixed with the relief that he would
never be able to poison our lives again. But beneath that was
a more simplistic sadness. Feelings from the child
somewhere deep inside me who had grown up not hating
his father and now grieved his loss.
No one had touched it since he’d left, and it was starting
to gather dust.
Papers were strewn over the desk, and filing cabinets
were bursting with documents. In life, my father had never
been particularly tidy, and he’d never let anyone else handle
his papers.
I knew there was also a safe behind the large portrait of
my father and mother that hung on the wall above the desk.
My father had given me the combination on my eighteenth
birthday. I wondered if it was still the same.
I walked around the desk, sat in the oversized, worn
leather chair, and looked at the papers lying across its
surface.
There were invoices for kitchen supplies and letters from
other packs.
I picked one up and read the letter. Then, I picked up
another and another. These were between my father,
MacKenzie, and the other three alphas that had invaded my

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pack territory. He hadn’t even bothered to hide them. The

hubris of that old dog was astounding.
I gathered all of the ones between the five alphas and
made a pile. I would read through them in detail later and
see if there were any clues as to where MacKenzie might
have gone.
For now, I sorted through the other piles of paper on
the desk and found several unpaid and late invoices for
supplies to the pack.
Curiously, I flipped on my father’s laptop and waited for
it to boot. When the password screen came up, I entered
the password my father had always used for everything, and
it still worked.
Opening the web browser, I typed in the name of the
pack’s bank and logged into the accounts using the same
login and password my father used for his laptop. It also
worked there.
There were seven accounts under this login, and six of
them were in the red, overdrawn, and collecting thousands
of dollars in fees.
The seventh account had over a million dollars in it, and
when I clicked on it, I could see that it was my mother’s
trust account. Her father had given it to her when she
married my father, and it hadn’t been touched.
Clicking on that account, I could see that while this login
had access to view the account, there wasn’t anything that
could be done with it. All the action buttons, like “transfer
funds” and “order checks,” were grayed out and
unavailable.
I was sure that if they had been available, this account
would also be in the red.
I clicked on the overdrawn accounts and viewed the
transactions. Several relatively large amounts had been paid
out every year to the council. Packs weren’t required to pay
this much for council membership or maintenance. This
amount was more than one hundred times what was
required.
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Why did my father pay so much to the council? Were

they bribes? I now knew that the way my father and
MacKenzie ran their packs was outside of the guidelines the
council had set for acceptable pack operations. Were they
able to do this because they’d bribed the council?
It wasn’t just the pack council, either. He was also paying
hefty amounts to the vampire council.
What was my father’s neck deep in? I suddenly felt like
I’d just stepped into a whole lot of dog shit.
I wished Gabriel was awake so I could talk to him about
this.
There was a knock on the door, and I sighed heavily. It
was former Beta Edward Douglas.
“Come in,” I called.
He stepped into the room, closed the door behind him,
and then got on his knees on the floor with his head down.
“Douglas,” I said.
“Yes, Alpha,” he replied, his head still bowed.
“Why was my father bribing the councils?”
He was startled into looking up at my face. He didn’t
know about this.
“You didn’t know?”
“No, Alpha,” he looked back down at the floor.
“What do you know?” I asked.
“Not much. Your father sent me off for six months,
capturing rogues and their families. He built a prison camp
for the families, and I was in charge of that. The rogues were
brought here for training.”
“Where is this prison camp?” I asked.
“In the mountains of Arizona,” he replied.
“The pack council is in Arizona. Did you see the council
while you were there?”
“Yes, Alpha,” he answered.
“Douglas, don’t make me ask specific questions. Tell me
what you know,” I warned.
“Three members of the pack council were in charge of
inspecting the prison camp. Alpha Martin paid for the camp
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and was allowed to use it to house the rogues’ families. Once

we were...done with it...it was going to belong to the
council.”
“So, you’re saying my father spent every dime and then
some of this pack’s money to build a prison camp with the
council so that he could hold rogue families hostage? Then
he forced the rogues to go into battle against their will to
enact his revenge against me?” I summarized.
“Yes, Alpha,” he answered honestly.
I thought for a moment. Douglas had released the
hostages upon my orders, and shortly after, the rogues had
left my pack territory and disappeared.
I knew now that many of those rogues had been
unjustifiably exiled from my father’s and MacKenzie’s
packs. They shouldn’t even be rogues in the first place.
“Douglas,” I said quietly, “get up.”
He stood up but kept his eyes on the floor.
“You are no longer Beta of this pack. The Beta of my
pack is Avery MacKenzie. That being said, you need to
inform everyone to be at the training arena tonight at 8 pm
after dinner. Everyone. I want every single pack member in
attendance. Clear?” I said.
“Yes, Alpha,” he said.
“You’re dismissed,” I said, and he left quietly.
Jane and I needed to make some decisions. This pack
was without funds and was, therefore, dead. I would put the
territory up for auction with the council to pay off the debts
accumulated at the bank.
It was the corruption of the councils that gave me pause.
This would need to be handled carefully. I had more than
enough proof in my father’s office to make accusations and
bring them to trial, but it wouldn’t be an entirely safe
endeavor.
The only other thing to do immediately was to decide
who would come with us to Montana and who would be cut
loose. I didn’t relish the idea of roguing any of the pack, but
it may come to that in the end.
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It was going to be a long few days. I looked forward to

getting back home as soon as possible.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

Jane’s POV
That night, Tristan, his mother, the girls, and I had a quiet
dinner together in the pack’s smaller family dining room.
The cook, Connie, and the housekeeper, Liza, served us and
kept glancing over at me nervously.
They were the ones I had worked under during my time
as a servant here, and I’m sure they were wondering what
was going to happen to them.
They hadn’t really treated me that badly, just the
occasional smack on the back of my head when I got
something wrong as a child. This was a pretty common way
in any pack to correct pups. It wasn’t the modern way, but
in their generation, it was common everywhere.
When the cook set down the third plate in front of me,
and it rattled down because she was shaking so badly, I took
her hand in mine and looked up at her.
“Connie, calm down. I’m not angry with you, ok?”
Her eyes widened in surprise, and her face scrunched up
as she started to cry, “Luna, I’m just that sorry! You were
such a sweet and good little child, and we didn’t show you
any affection. You were just a poor, lonely orphan with that
nasty Jessica for a stepmother. We should have done
better.”
Liza had come to her side during her tearful speech and
said, “She’s right, Luna. We could have been more
compassionate and not so harsh. We both regret it and have
ever since the day he threw you out in the cold. Connie cried
all night when they did it. She thought you had died and
we’d given you such a miserable childhood. She prayed to
the goddess every night that by some miracle you survived.”
“Then your prayers were answered,” Tristan said
cheerfully.

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“Let’s not think of it anymore. All is well, and no one is

upset with you,” I finished.
“Thank you, Luna. You’re just as lovely and kind as ever
you were. Goddess bless you, Luna!” Connie blubbered.
Liza turned to Connie, “You just go wash your hands
and face now. I’ll finish service.”
Connie left the room, wiping her tear-stained face on her
apron and crying some more.
Tristan reached out, put his hand over mine, and smiled
at me. His pride was evident on his face.
Selly piped up, “Mommy, why was that old lady crying
so much?”
I paused, considering how I should explain it to my four-
year-old.
Beverly answered her, “When your mommy was a little
girl here in this pack, she was an orphan and had no wolf.
Some of us weren’t very nice to her. But your mommy is a
kind and strong person who is better than us. She knows
how to forgive and show kindness. We can learn a lot from
her.”
“We were orphans, too. Now we’re the daughters of the
Alpha and Luna,” Amy said. “You should never be unkind.
You don’t know where someone will end up.”
Beverly turned to her, “You’re a very smart pup, Amy. I
wish more adults could think like you.”
I cleared my throat and wiped my mouth with my
napkin. Tristan and I had discussed telling his mom and the
girls at dinner, so I decided this was a good time.
“Daddy and I have something to tell you and
Grandmother,” I began.
Tristan’s eyes twinkled with delight.
“What is it, mommy?” Selly asked.
Amy tensed, and her big eyes focused intently on me.
“Mommy has a little pup growing in her belly. I’m
pregnant!”
Selly hopped up from her chair and ran over to me,
jumping up and down, “I’m going to be a big sister!”
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Beverly’s face lit up with happiness for the first time

since we’d arrived.
Amy, on the other hand, did not seem pleased. She sat
quietly, staring down at her plate, and stabbing her chicken
with her fork.
Tristan and I exchanged glances, and he got up and
walked over to Amy, picked her up, and then sat back down
with her on his lap.
“What’s wrong, munchkin?” he asked.
“Congratulations, Daddy,” she said flatly.
“Thanks, kiddo. Congratulations to you, too. You’re
going to have a little brother,” he replied.
She nodded but said nothing.
I pushed my chair back from the table and said, “Amy,
come here.”
She came over to me and stood there, looking down at
the floor.
“Would you like to listen to the pup?” I asked.
“No, thank you,” she said.
“Remember what I told you when you joined our
family?” I reminded her.
She looked up at me then, “You said that I’m your first-
born child and would always be the first one to make you a
mommy. But I’m not your firstborn; he is,” she said and
pointed to my stomach.
I took Amy in my arms and pulled her onto my lap.
“Baby, you are my firstborn. You’re the eldest of all of
our children and the first one we adopted. I became a
mommy because of you first. That is never going to change.
I wasn’t a mommy before you came into our family, and
then you came, and I was. You made me a mommy. That’s
special to me, and you will be special to me forever.”
She relaxed a little in my arms and laid her head on my
shoulder.
“Congratulations, Mommy,” she said softly.

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Selly had been quietly waiting for us to talk it out, and

then she smiled, “And congratulations to me! I’ve never
been a big sister before, but now I am!”
Tristan picked her up and said, “Congratulations to you,
big sister!”
“I even bought some special shirts to celebrate our
growing family,” I grinned.
Amy sat up and said, “Can I see?”
“You absolutely can see. We’ll be having dessert later
with the pack, so we can go up now and take a look,” I said.
We all traipsed up to the Alpha’s quarters, and I
unzipped my bag, which was sitting on the bench at the end
of our bed.
I reached in and pulled out a stack of charcoal black T-
shirts with white lettering on them. It was kind of cringe,
and I hoped Tristan wouldn’t refuse to wear his, but I
thought they were cute.
I handed Tristan his first, and he held it up. In the white
block lettering, it read “Alpha Daddy.” He grinned at me,
stripped off his plain T-shirt, and pulled the new shirt over
his head.
He looked sexy as hell, standing there in jeans and the
tight black shirt that showed every single ripple of his arm,
shoulders, chest, and ab muscles. Thank the goddess for this
fabric.
I felt a little warmth in my center, gazing at how sexy he
looked wearing that silly T-shirt with a proud smile on his
face.
I pulled out the next one and tossed it to Beverly, who
had followed us in and not expected it. Her wolf reflexes
kicked in, and she grabbed the shirt just before it fell to the
floor.
She turned the shirt around and held it up to her chest
with a big smile. It read “Grandma Wolf.”
Selly was jumping up and down, demanding Amy read
her the shirts, which she did.

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I handed Amy hers next. She held it up to read it out

loud to Selly, “It says ‘Alpha’s Little Genius’.”
She grinned up at me and said, “Thanks, Mommy.”
Selly was reaching out her hands to me, flexing her
fingers over and over in a gimme motion.
I handed her the little shirt, which she immediately put
on over her dress and said, “Read it! Read it!”
Amy giggled and said, “It says ‘Alpha’s Little Princess.’”
Selly’s eyes went wide as she stroked the white letters
and nodded, “Yes, that’s good.”
I finally pulled the last shirt out of the bag and put it on
over my sundress. Over my chest, it said, “Luna Mommy.”
And over my belly, it said in smaller letters, “Alpha’s Little
Warrior.”
Tristan laughed, and Beverly came over to give me a hug
and a kiss on the cheek, saying, “Congratulations, dear.”
I hugged her back, and Tristan and the girls piled into
another group hug.
I could get used to this family tradition.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Jane’s POV
About a half hour after we had all changed into our jeans
and family T-shirts, including Beverly, we took a walk out
to the training arena that was a half mile from the pack
house.
The girls needed to burn some energy, and this would be
our first meeting with the whole pack as Alpha and Luna.
Tristan warned me that we needed to make some
decisions regarding moving these wolves to the Montana
pack. A lot of them would have to stay in the main house
with us and at the ranch-hand cabins until more housing
could be built.
We decided to build a second apartment building with
the same plans as the first so that we could quickly add more
housing until more single-family homes could be finished.
That building had been underway when we departed for
our trip here, but it would still be three months before it was
completed.
We stepped into the arena, which was lit up in the field.
Hundreds of pack members, including men, women, and
children, were in the stands.
Douglas came running up to us as we entered the arena
and said something to Tristan, who leaned over to Beverly
and said, “Sit there on the front row with the girls.”
She sat in the space reserved for them, and Tristan took
my hand as we walked out to the center of the training arena.
Tristan called out in his rich, booming voice. He didn’t
have to talk very loudly; this was an arena full of wolves, but
his voice exuded authority.
“Two weeks ago, I challenged my father, Alpha Martin,
when he invaded my territory in Montana with the intent to
kill me and my pack. I won the challenge. I am here to
receive your allegiance or your challenge. Choose now.”

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There was a murmur around the crowd, but it didn’t get

very loud. No one came forward with a challenge, and
Tristan nodded.
“You can make your pledges tonight at the pack house.
If you wish to offer neither pledge nor challenge, you may
pack up your belongings and leave to find a new home first
thing in the morning.”
“If you choose this option, you will notify First Montana
Pack when you have chosen a new pack and a proper
transfer will be made. Only those who have broken the law
will be rogued from this pack.”
He paused again to allow everyone to consider his
words.
Then Tristan held my hand up in the air for a moment
and said, “This is Jane Marie Martin. Many of you remember
her as an orphan servant in this pack house who was exiled
from the pack. Jane is my true mate and my Luna.
“Some of you might remember that you were unkind to
her. If you have such a memory, you need to come down to
the field and line up to speak your apologies. Be specific. I
don’t want any generic sorries.
“I think you will find that your Luna is a kind and
forgiving woman. It is not she that has asked for this. It is I
who am requiring this of all of you.
“If your apology does not satisfy me or if she does not
forgive you, you will be exiled. Abusing innocent pack
members who have done nothing wrong is against pack
council law, and there will be no exceptions. You are at Luna
Jane’s mercy.”
There were gasps everywhere in the crowd, and slowly,
people got up from their seats and made their way down to
the field to line up before me.
I was a little overwhelmed by the length of the line, but
I recognized all the faces, and the memories flooded my
head.
I looked over at Tristan. He stood near me, off to the
side, with a steady expression on his face. He locked eyes
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with me, and I suddenly realized Tristan wasn’t doing this

to punish them or to stroke my ego. He was doing this to
give the pack a fresh start and to show them what we were
made of. This would not be like his father’s pack.
I understood him. After Connie’s reaction at dinner, I
believed he was making a good decision for the pack. It just
so happened that it was also good for me.
This gave me a chance to heal and them an opportunity
to alleviate their guilt. Then, we could all move forward
together in Montana as a united and free pack.
I stood there for two hours listening to apologies and
forgiving people who had bullied me and spoken ill of me
to my face. There were even a few people who had done
things I never realized, and their apologies were honest and
sincere. With each person I forgave, I felt lighter somehow
and ready and willing to welcome them into our pack family.
At the end of the line was Jessica. She looked nervous
and uncertain, but she came forward and knelt at my feet.
“Luna, I’d like to apologize to you for everything,” she
said.
“What is ‘everything’?” Tristan demanded harshly.
“F-f-for treating you badly when I became your dad’s
mate. For making you hide from me as a child because of
my temper. For being a bad stepmother,” she stopped again.
Tristan glared down at her, “And?!”
“I’m sorry for paying a witch to lock up your wolf and
making my uncle think you were human so he would make
you a servant,” she finished.
There were gasps all around the arena. People hadn’t
realized that I wasn’t just a woman without a wolf. It wasn’t
surprising they hadn’t noticed since, to them, I would
primarily smell like their Alpha. He had long since marked
me, and my scent had changed accordingly.
Immediately, people began to look at her with scorn and
hate. This was a serious crime and offense in our world. To
restrain someone’s wolf, a child’s wolf, who had done
nothing wrong would be equivalent to cutting off
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someone’s arm or leg just because. It was a high crime and

cruel in the extreme.
In that moment, I knew that it didn’t matter if I forgave
her or not; the pack wasn’t ever going to accept her again.
They would only consider her a danger to others after what
she had done.
I thought carefully for a moment, and our pack fell silent
as I began to speak: “Jessica, you were a terrible mate to my
father and a worse stepmother to me. What you did was a
serious crime. I am thankful to the vampire Gabriel, who
was able to remove your witch’s curse and set my wolf free.
It is because I have been restored and because I wish to
never think of you again I am choosing to forgive you.”
People gasped in astonishment. They had not expected
me to be so lenient. But I wasn’t finished.
“However, you can’t be trusted to be loyal to this pack.
We also can’t be sure that you won’t be a continued danger
to me or others. Because of this, I have no choice but to
think of the pack’s safety. You will be exiled. I’ll give you
tonight to leave the territory. You will be severed from the
pack at first light.”
Jessica fell into the dirt of the arena floor and began to
sob. I turned on my heel and marched out of the arena,
never to think of her again.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

Jane’s POV
A few days later, Tristan and I returned home to First
Montana Pack with our children. Beverly stayed behind to
pack up all the things in the house she wished to keep. Not
long after, she relocated to Montana with a moving truck
full of boxes.
Most of the pack chose to stay with Tristan and me and
moved to Montana, too. A few others scattered to other
packs where they had family.
The old pack lands had been sold, and this chapter of
our lives was closed, but our work was far from over.
Tristan and I would be making a trip to meet with the
highest wolf authorities in the world: the Royal High
Council of Wolves, aka the Wolf Council, and the King.
We were scheduled to present our evidence regarding
the transgressions of the five dead alphas and the conspiracy
with several of the wolf council members.
Since the dead alphas had already been taken care of, this
trial would focus on the corruption of the American Wolf
Council and the lives they had cost the Western
Hemisphere.
The allegations were numerous: corruption, bribery,
inciting war, and interfering in true-mate bonding. Though
some of these crimes were Martin’s and MacKenzie’s, the
council was aware of what was happening and, in doing
nothing, became accomplices to the crimes.
Alpha Clovis and his family would meet us in the royal
city and stand witness to the allegations during the trial
against our council. We were so thankful for their support
and alliance and would never forget, despite their protests,
how much we owed them.
One of our concerns regarding the proceedings was an
allegation against Tristan and me for which we would face

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trial. The Vampire World Council had noticed Gabriel’s

absence. His duties for and communications with the
council had ceased.
They had decided to make the journey to the wolf royal
city in order to accuse us of killing him. There would be a
trial, and our legal counsel strongly advised us to produce
Gabriel.
This was something we were unwilling to do as he was
still unconscious and unable to awaken, which left him
defenseless. Transporting him to the wolf council would
give any number of his enemies a chance to sever his head
and, therefore, end him.
Onan had explained to Tristan that even several of the
Vampire Council members wished him dead, and this was
likely a plot to take advantage of his unconscious state.
We had to choose a different route that involved
producing witnesses to his continued existence without
revealing his location, and it would be no easy task. Several
demands would be made to reveal his whereabouts, and we
would likely be held in contempt of court when we refused
to comply.
In light of these circumstances, Wolfgang revealed that
there was a secure bunker somewhere in the vast acreage of
our ranch that would be invisible to all and impenetrable by
anyone. Emma took Gabriel there and stayed with him to
ensure his safety and keep us updated through the pack
mind-link regarding his recovery.
They were under orders by their Alpha not to leave the
bunker for any reason until Tristan himself arrived home
and called the all-clear or Gabriel himself awakened.
When I expressed concern to Wolfgang regarding the
accommodations, he explained that the “bunker” was more
of an underground house that had fully functioning
electricity, plumbing, etc., that was invisible as all the lines
and even the door had been buried well beneath the ground.

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He promised to stock it full of everything Emma and

Gabriel would need for several months, even though it was
unlikely they would be sequestered there for that long.
My mind was eased a bit, but I was still worried about all
of the upcoming trials besides the fact that I had never
before met the King.
King Avalore was a lycan wolf over four hundred years
old and was on his second chance mate, which was rare for
a lycan. Most lycans died when their mate died, but
sometimes, rarely, the goddess saw fit to spare them and
bless them with a second mate bond. The King and his
current mate, Queen Alexandra, had ruled together for
nearly three hundred years and had seven children, each of
whom was more than 100 years old.
Alpha Clovis Entropus and his family were close friends
of the King, and Clovis tried to reassure me many times that
Tristan and I would have his support during the trials.
Tristan spoke to the King over the phone, and during
the call, the King confirmed this sentiment with Tristan
directly while officially inviting us to stay at the palace
during the proceedings.
We accepted the invitation, but I was nervous to do so,
not having been raised in conditions that taught me formal
royal etiquette. Tristan explained that only very minor
etiquette was required as we were all wolves, and the most
crucial thing about wolves was hierarchy. No one cared if
you ate with your fingers or your fork.
My wolf Kasia tried to soothe and comfort me and
promised she would be present near the surface to offer me
kind advice and reach out to the other wolves for
information. It did make me feel a little better to know that
she and Onan would always be near to support us.
I’d done all the reading I could about the Royal City and
its rulers up until today. In the morning, we would depart
on our private plane and begin the journey to Russia.
We traveled only with Crypton as our pilot, our team of
attorneys, and a small squad of pack warriors as bodyguards.
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Alpha Clovis recommended this because many people

believed we knew where Gabriel was and would happily
stoop to nefarious means to find out.
The children were staying with Beverly on the ranch
since we weren’t sure what we’d be facing once we arrived.
We would stop over once on the way to fuel and
continue.
That night, I curled up against Tristan as closely as I
could and allowed him to wrap himself around me. His
presence soothed me into a peaceful slumber.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

Jane’s POV
After two days of flying, Tristan, myself, and our team of
bodyguards and attorneys finally touched down on the
runway of the royal airfield two hours outside of St.
Petersburg in Russia. It appeared that we were landing on a
large airstrip in the middle of nowhere between several
hangars surrounded by forests.
Disembarking our private plane, we were met with
several large black SUVs with royal emblems that would
ferry us to the royal palace. Said palace was supposed to be
a mere fifteen minutes away from the airfield, but as I
searched the hills behind the forests, I couldn’t make out
any buildings of any kind amongst the landscape.
Our luggage was loaded into the cars. Tristan and I took
up the backseat of the first SUV in the line of vehicles and
settled back in the comfortable leather. Tristan rested his
hand on my thigh and squeezed gently, smiling down at me
encouragingly.
I smiled back up at him and placed my hand over his.
He flipped his hand to lace our fingers together.
Turning to look out of the windows as we drove, I could
see nothing but road, hills, and trees. I was curious as to
when the palace would appear and kept pondering this
mystery until, at once, a blue shimmer passed through the
car. I recognized this energy as a magic barrier similar to
the one the witch Amelia had placed around our home
during the war.
The SUVs passed through the shield without incident,
and we were suddenly on a considerable road driving
through a bustling city. In the distance, I could make out the
faint outline of an enormous palace up on a hill through the
trees. A gentle fog settled over the palace towers even as the
sun shone behind it.

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As our motorcade made its way through the city, other

cars in the streets pulled over to the side of the road to allow
us to pass without interference.
“The royal vehicles always have the right of way,
regardless of who they are carrying,” Tristan explained.
I had so many questions but decided to ask the one to
which Tristan was most likely to know the answer.
“Does the barrier make the royal city invisible to the
outside world?” I wondered.
Instead, the driver answered in a light Russian accent,
“Yes, the city can only be seen by those who know where
and what it is. The royal vehicles have free pass through the
barrier, but any other persons or vehicles must stop outside
of the barrier to gain clearance.”
It seemed we were receiving the VIP treatment, but I
wouldn’t complain. It made me feel a bit better about being
somewhere we were obviously welcome.
A few minutes later, we were passing through an open
ornate gate and winding up a long drive. We came to a stop
under an elaborate portico that led to the entrance of the
palace. Men in navy and gold uniforms were standing near
the columns that supported the portico’s roof. They stepped
forward to open the vehicle doors so we could exit.
Tristan walked around the rear of the vehicle to my side
and reached out his hand to help me step down from the
high carriage of the SUV. He squeezed my hand firmly and
smiled at me one last time before he led me through the
open doors of the palace.
The warmth of his hand around mine gave me a measure
of calm, and I was glad for his support.
We entered a grand foyer that seemed entirely
constructed of gold and was the size of a small ballroom. A
formally dressed gentleman wolf bowed his head before
greeting us in perfect English, “Alpha Tristan Martin, Luna
Jane Martin, welcome to the Royal Palace. Their Majesties
are waiting to greet you in the throne room. Please follow
me.”
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Tristan mind-linked me, “He’s the butler.” And then out

loud said, “Thank you, Mr. Madison. It’s nice to see you
again.”
Mr. Madison turned his head to the side as we followed
him out of the foyer and down a marble hallway that was
just as grand. He replied, “Likewise, Alpha Tristan. It is a
privilege to host your stay in the capital.”
Every wall was covered in ornate designs, and every
ceiling was molded with gold.
We reached an ostentatious set of double doors that
were bright white with deep gold carvings decorating the
surface of the wood. I suddenly felt as if I were in a fairytale
castle. The large handles on the enormous doors seemed to
be made of solid gold and still shone brightly after probably
decades, if not centuries, of daily use.
Two guards stood outside of the doors and stepped
forward to swing the throne room doors inward and held
them for us to pass through.
Mr. Madison proceeded us into the room and then
paused just inside, calling out in a firm but not overly loud
voice, “Alpha Tristan Martin and Luna Jane Martin of First
Montana Pack.”
When he finished his announcement, he sidestepped and
turned to bow to us. Tristan passed him, my hand in his,
and led me to approach the two thrones, which were only
raised from the main floor by one large 18-inch step onto
the dais. As lycans were often taller than wolves, they didn’t
need to be raised much in order to see out over a crowd.
I kept my eyes lowered to the floor as we approached,
and Tristan brought me to a stop several feet away from the
platform. I could sense his head was also bowed, and he
remained silent, waiting respectfully.
A deep, warm, and friendly voice greeted us, “At ease,
Alpha, Luna. Welcome to my home.”
Tristan raised his head, and I ventured to do the same.
I brought my gaze up to scan the King and Queen seated
on their thrones, careful not to make eye contact.
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They were large and beautiful creatures, both well over

six feet tall. Everything said about lycans must be true. They
appeared youthful well into their fourth and fifth centuries
and had flawless skin and shining hair in their human forms.
Their royal highnesses appeared to be in their mid-forties,
even though they were both over four hundred years old.
I carefully took in the fine details of their courtly clothing
and fit physiques and was glad I had worn a lovely dress to
our first meeting.
“We are grateful for your kind invitation, Your Majesty,”
Tristan replied with a smile.
King Avalore stood and took the hand of his Queen, and
together, they stepped down from the platform to come
down and greet us.
As Tristan and King Avalore shook hands, the Queen
stepped closer, placed a manicured finger under my chin,
and raised my face to hers. I might have been terrified,
except that I felt nothing but warmth and good intentions
radiating from her mind.
“Jane, you are free to look me in the eye and call me
Alexandra. I have been eager to see you for many months,”
her rich, friendly voice carried her sincerity.
I met her eyes and smiled shyly as I admired the blazing
green of her irises and her long, black lashes.
“You wanted to see me, your Highness?” I asked quietly.
She frowned at me, and I corrected myself, “Excuse me,
I meant Alexandra.”
She smiled at me and then probed further, “Does Kasia
have anything to say, my dear?”
Kasia giggled into my mind and then unlocked a
memory centering around those unforgettable green eyes.
My own brown eyes widened in surprise, and then a
joyous smile broke out on my face.
I met Alexandra’s eyes again as full understanding
dawned on me, “You are much older than your rumored
four hundred years…Aunt Alex.”

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Alexandra pulled me into a firm but gentle hug and

sighed happily, “Let’s just keep that little piece of
information between the four of us, shall we?”
I smiled into her shoulder and returned the hug until she
released me and stepped back again.
Tristan grinned down at me and teased, “Kasia is quite
good at keeping secrets, isn’t she?”
“That’s the understatement of the century,” I replied
seriously.
King Avalore chuckled and gestured towards the door,
“Please allow us to show you to your rooms. I’m sure you’re
both tired after your long journey and would like to get
settled in.”
Tristan bowed his head to the King, and the two of them
led the way out of the throne room and down the hall.
Alexandra and I followed behind, chatting happily. She
asked me about First Montana Pack and wanted to know
about how it was growing and what we had built. She
seemed genuinely interested in all the fine details and asked
intelligent and probing questions.
I found myself enjoying the conversation immensely as
we walked through the enormous palace and down several
hallways until we reached another grand set of doors.
The King produced a key card from his pocket and
handed it to Tristan, “Your luggage will have already been
placed in your suite. Please rest as long as you would like
and join us tomorrow evening in our apartment for a quiet
dinner.”
“I look forward to that,” Tristan replied with another
bow of his head.
The Queen smiled at both of us and then looked me in
the eyes again, “Rest well, my dear. We can continue our
conversation tomorrow evening.”
“I can’t wait,” I replied, returning the smile.
They turned and walked away, hand in hand, down the
long, bright hallway, chatting pleasantly with one another.

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I watched them for a few moments until I heard Tristan

slide the key card in the door. It beeped and clicked open,
granting us entrance to our temporary home.
We stepped inside a small entryway that opened up into
a large suite. A living room with big, bright windows looked
out into the forest. To the right was a small hallway leading
to a fairly large guest bedroom with a king-sized bed.
Attached to that was an enormous bathroom, the likes of
which I’d never seen in my life.
The golden theme carried into the guest quarters and
accented all the trims and fixtures in the place.
To the left of the entry was a lovely medium-sized
kitchen open to a living space. It had a long island with eight
comfortably plush bar stools with high backs. Everything
was on a larger scale than usual, to the point that I felt a bit
like a child next to the high kitchen countertops and twenty-
foot ceilings.
“Everything is lycan-sized,” I laughed.
“I kind of like this. I don’t have to bend over to use the
countertops. Maybe I should get our kitchen remodeled like
this in our apartment back home,” he teased.
“Don’t even joke about it. I’d need a step ladder just to
make a snack,” I laughed.
Tristan helped me up onto one of the tall bar stools, and
I laughed again. It was pretty comfortable, and I didn’t mind
Tristan lifting me up anytime, anyplace. Maybe I would
consider a remodel if he was going to help me up onto the
stools every time.
He got me a bottle of water from the fridge and opened
it before passing it to me.
I greedily drank the cool, refreshing water. I didn’t
realize how thirsty I had become, but he must have felt it.
After I finished drinking, he asked, “Do you want to talk
about your link to the Queen?”
I smiled softly, reveling in the new memories Kasia had
given me access to.

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“There isn’t much to it. She’s Gwendolyn’s and,

therefore, my aunt. Onan never knew her because she
disappeared a year before he and Kasia met. But I’m
surprised that Gabriel didn’t mention it.
“He once told me that of his two daughters, one was my
mother, and the other stayed single her entire life and
pursued studies until the end. But that daughter was
Alexandra. She didn’t die.
“I know Gabriel must know she is the Queen. I’m sure
he’s been here before. And how is she a lycan when
Gabriel’s daughters were human? This makes no sense to
me, although I know I’m not mistaken.”
Tristan replied thoughtfully, “The most likely
explanation is that King Avalore is also much older than his
rumored 400 years.”
“When a lycan finds his mate, no matter what species
she is, his mark will force his mate to become a lycan. This
is for the lycan’s own survival. When a regular wolf loses a
mate, it is excruciating, but when a lycan loses a mate, it can
drive him mad or even kill him.”
“So, in a sense, Alexandra, the human, did die. She was
simply reborn lycan.”
He thought for a moment and then continued, “It’s very
plausible that this is a secret that Gabriel didn’t feel was his
to share. It’s obvious that, for some reason, the royal family
didn’t wish for people to know how old they actually were.
And it’s possible that the entire reason Gabriel became a
vampire was to stay alive with his family. He was the
grandfather to the royal princes and princesses, after all.
“The only people that would be aware of any of this
information are those that are old enough to know, which
means maybe a handful of vampires and any other lycans of
similar age. That can’t be many people.”
“I guess that all makes me a cousin of those princes and
princesses,” I grinned.
“I suppose it does,” Tristan chuckled.

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“Just when I think I’ve discovered all of the family

secrets, more are revealed,” I shook my head in amazement.
“I guess you aren’t nervous anymore?” He asked
jokingly.
“How could I be? Aunt Alex! She may be beautiful and
perfectly graceful, but that girl knows how to play. The
hijinks she would get up to with her favorite niece were
legendary back in the day,” I revealed.
“I can’t wait to hear all about it sometime, but for now,
I think we should sleep,” he stated as I let out a monstrous
yawn.
He picked me up princess style and carried me down the
hall to the bedroom, where he stripped me of my clothes
down to my panties. He left me standing there for a short
moment while he took one of his softest T-shirts from our
luggage and pulled it on over my head.
Afterward, he stripped down to his boxers and carried
me to bed, climbing in next to me and pulling my back
against him. I wiggled my butt across his belly, and he
growled low.
“Sleep, Jane. You and the baby need rest. I’ll play with
you in the morning,” he promised, and I sighed happily in
response before drifting off to dreamland.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Jane’s POV
It turns out that Tristan making me sleep was brilliant since
it would be a while before we had such a peaceful rest again.
The following day, we lingered in bed, making love many
times over and drifting into naps between rounds. By six
pm, we were well satiated in one sense but starving in
another. We made our way to the King and Queen’s royal
quarters.
We were led to their double-door entrance by Mr.
Madison and then left there to knock ourselves.
Alexandra opened the door, and she warmly invited us
in.
As we followed her to the dining room, I took in the
ornate and tasteful decor of the enormous apartment. It
appeared that their quarters were large enough to fit our
own home inside of it and then some.
The dining room was very welcoming, with a fire
burning in the hearth at one end and a long table with
twenty chairs arranged around it.
There were already several people seated around the
table, and I paused in the doorway to ask, “I’m sorry for
keeping everyone waiting. Are we late?”
The King stood and came forward to take my hand,
raising it to his lips for a quick kiss, “Not at all, my dear. We
are only family tonight. Allow me to introduce everyone.”
The King led me by the hand to the head of the table so
that I might see everyone’s faces. Tristan followed and
stood beside me.
“Attention beasts,” the King teased, “This is Alpha
Tristan Martin and Luna Jane Martin of First Montana Pack
back in the United States. Luna Jane is your mother’s niece

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and, therefore, your cousin. Treat her better than you treat
your other cousins, Boys, or your mother will have your
head.”
There was good-natured groaning and chuckling around
the room as the six male lycans around the table stood to
their feet.
The largest of the six bowed his head slightly to me and
introduced himself, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jane, Alpha
Tristan. I’m your eldest cousin, Alexander, but you can call
me Xander. These five beasts, in order of birth, are Agron,
Arduin, Alfonso, Atreus, and Arthur.”
The five other princes bowed their heads in
acknowledgment, then smiled up at us in a friendly and
open manner.
Before Tristan or I could say a word, a beautiful young
lycan, who appeared to be the youngest of the family and
bore a strong resemblance to Queen Alexandra, entered.
She surveyed the room, and when her eyes fell upon
Tristan and me next to the king, her face lit up. She rushed
forward to pull me into a warm hug, then stepped back,
grasping my hands in her own.
“Jane! I’ve been waiting all day to meet you, but Mother
wouldn’t let me disturb you. I’m Atia, but you can call me
Tia,” she smiled excitedly with bright eyes and much
sincerity.
I finally found my voice and smiled back, “It’s a great
honor and surprise to meet all of you. Tristan and I are
grateful for the opportunity to get to know you better.”
Everyone responded with a mixture of smiles and grins
and then began to chuckle as my stomach let out a loud
grumble of hunger.
Alexandra’s musical laughter preceded her declaration,
“Let’s all sit and feed this girl before she wastes away.”
The King pulled out the chair to his right near the head
of the table and gestured for me to be seated, giving me the
place of honor at his table. I sat down in awe of this
arrangement as Alexandra came to Tristan’s side, and sliding
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her arm through the crook of his, she led him to the foot of
the table. There, she gave him the seat to the right of her
own, which was the second-best position at the table.
Tia sat to the left of her father and smiled warmly at me,
clearly happy she would be able to converse with me
throughout the meal. To my other side sat Xander, and on
alternating sides down the table, the rest of the princes were
seated in order of birth.
Once the ladies were seated, the King sat in his throne-
like dining chair, and then Tristan and his sons made
themselves comfortable in their places.
She-wolves dressed in the same navy and gold uniforms
as other palace staff entered the room and placed plates of
delectable-looking dishes on top of the chargers in front of
us. My mouth watered with hunger, but I waited for all of
the dishes to be served and turned to look at Aunt Alex,
knowing that no one was supposed to eat until the Queen
took her first bite.
She tore off a piece of her bread roll and placed it
delicately in her mouth, and then the males at the table
began tearing into their food with enthusiasm.
It didn’t seem like we were going to be served a formal
meal of several courses since on my plate was a large piece
of beef smothered in a butter sauce along with asparagus,
potatoes, and a giant, roasted turkey leg. It was common for
wolves to receive two kinds of meat with their meals since
we required more protein than humans.
We were each given two large bread rolls on small plates
and a generous serving of butter on a tiny plate next to that.
Everyone was eating comfortably and informally, which
made me relax. I cut a huge piece of the beef to thrust into
my mouth. It was so tender and juicy that it nearly melted
in my mouth, and I moaned in delight.
Tristan was watching me and winked with a smile from
down at the other end of the table.
Tia continued to smile at me as she ate and then
suddenly asked, “When are you due, Jane?”
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I looked up at her, surprised since we hadn’t told anyone

yet that I was pregnant.
King Avalore chuckled at my expression and then
explained, “Lycans can scent a pregnancy at conception.”
I nodded and smiled back at Tia, “I’m a little over two
months along. So…four months to go.”
Typical she-wolf pregnancies lasted six months as
opposed to the human length of nine months. This allowed
them to have as many pups as possible during their
childbearing years if they so desired.
Alexandra’s brow furrowed as she voiced her thoughts,
“I hope this trial business is concluded well before then so
you can return home before he arrives.”
King Avalore spoke to his wife in a warm and
comforting tone, “I’m certain we can make sure of that, my
love. Don’t worry overmuch. I won’t allow them to do
anything extreme to our niece and her mate.”
“I know, Avi, but the Vampire Council will make
demands. You know as well as I do they have a dark agenda
that will be difficult to combat… legally speaking, that is.”
Aunt Alex looked at me, “Jane, I know you and Tristan
did not bring Gabriel with you. I know, too, that you are
keeping him safe. But have the two of you thought of a
strategy for when they demand proof of life?”
I smiled at my aunt, trying to ease her worries, “We have
several witness testimonies as recent as three days ago that
he lives. We have a notarized sworn statement from Emma
Jones testifying that he is in her care until he recovers and
that he cannot be moved.”
Avalore smiled at me, “Those are a good start. Emma is
well known to the Vampire Council and has actual medical
training for vampires.”
Tristan looked up at the king, “Medical training for
vampires?”
Avalore nodded, “Yes, vampire medical training focuses
on circumstances that threaten the lives of vampires

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specifically, much like medical emergency training for

humans.”
“Very few things can harm vampires, but the medical
training teaches treatment for UV wounds, healing stake
wounds if they don’t actually pierce the heart, and treating
wolf venom bites. There are also courses on combatting
magic used against vampires specifically.”
Nodding thoughtfully, I interjected, “I knew that Emma
had some medical training, but I just didn’t realize it was
specifically for vampires.”
Alexandra replied, “Emma is one of the most skilled
doctors in the vampire world and has been offered many
positions at educational institutions for vampires, but she
wouldn’t leave Gabriel.”
Grinning at my aunt, I revealed, “They’re going to get
married when he wakes up.”
“Finally!” Alexandra shouted, startling her sons, who
merely grumbled and continued eating the second round of
plates they were served.
Xander piped up, “I win! I called the year.”
Tia narrowed her eyes at him, “Wait just one minute,
mister. They aren’t married yet, and we don’t even know
when he finally confessed and proposed. Those are all
separate bets!”
I laughed, “It was about three weeks ago, during the
pack war. Gabriel had to be drained of blood because of the
witch Abigail’s necromancy spell. Just before he submitted
to the procedure, he kissed Emma, confessed he’d loved her
for centuries, and asked her to marry him when he woke up.
She said yes, of course.”
Tia grinned an almost wicked grin at Xander, “I won the
bets on confession and proposal. You still don’t know when
he will wake up and actually marry her.”
“I won first kiss!” Arthur exclaimed.
I started giggling, and the royal family all smiled at me
and each other before Alexandra started laughing, the hall
ringing with her rich musical tone. I hadn’t known what to
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expect when I’d anticipated getting to know this family, but

I had to admit it hadn’t been this. They were full of warmth,
playfulness, and evident love for each other.
“It is a relief, after all, that they’re finally progressing,”
Aunt Alex admitted.
I groaned, “You’re telling me. Tristan and I had to live
with them for months, watching them avoid the subject
altogether. It was practically torture!”
“How romantic!” Tia sighed.
We all burst into laughter again and settled into a
comfortable silence as we finished the meal.
We spent a good two hours after dinner with the royal
family in their great room, learning more about them. It
turned out that none of the princes and princesses had
found their mates yet, even though they were all over 100
years old. However, not one of them looked a day over
twenty-five.
It was commonplace for lycans to wait more than one
hundred years for their mates since they often had to wait
for them to be born and reach the age of eighteen. They also
had to travel to find them, and the royal offspring hadn’t all
seen the world yet.
The conversation was pleasant and informative, and I
enjoyed myself immensely. I truly felt a part of this family
and marveled at the speed with which my family was
growing.
I never would have believed the course of my life if
someone had told me before I reached eighteen that it
would be this way.
That night after Tristan made love to me again in our
quarters, I sighed dreamily as my happiness bubbled over
and warmed my mate’s heart, too.
We snuggled, fitting together perfectly, and slept well,
even if that sleep only lasted a couple of hours.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Tristan’s POV
A loud pounding on the door of our quarters woke me at
six in the morning. Jane groaned and tried to snuggle deeper
into my side.
I stroked her hair as I gently pulled my arm out from
under her, throwing on some sweatpants on my way to the
door. I opened it to find guards there, but they weren’t
wearing the royal uniform. Behind them stood three men
who were completely still and quite pale. I realized suddenly
that these were vampires.
“How can I help you, gentlemen?” I inquired with a
passive expression on my face.
One of the guards spoke aggressively, “You and your
Luna are under arrest for the murder of Gabriel Michael
Francisco. Both of you are to get dressed and come
with us!”
I glanced behind the guards to find two of the vampires
staring at me with utter disgust and the third observing me
with mild interest. I could detect no malice in him, but he
might just be more skilled in hiding his motivations.
Mr. Madison came running down the hall to address one
of the vampires, “Your Grace, I understand you have a
warrant, but you still have no right to barge into the royal
guest wing without invitation. You should have presented
your warrant to me and allowed the King to deliver the
Alpha and Luna to you for questioning later today. That is
proper procedure! You know this!”
The vampire addressed as ‘your grace’ hissed at Mr.
Madison, “Serious crimes are beyond protocol!”
Mr. Madison stood his ground, “The law does not
support your statement, sir.”

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His Grace bared his fangs and stepped towards Mr.

Madison but was interrupted by a gust of wind that blew
past him.
King Avalore appeared beside Madison at an impossible
speed and declared in a slightly raised tone of voice, “I know
you were not about to inflict harm on my loyal servant,
Nevil.”
His Grace, Nevil, replied with a sneer, “You ought to
teach your servants some respect, Your Highness.”
The ‘Your Highness’ was said with biting sarcasm, but
Avalore ignored it.
“Council members with an inability to follow law and
royal protocol have a long way to go to earn respect. Even
from my servants,” the King declared.
Nevil was so enraged I could practically see steam
coming out of his ears, but he held himself in check. I
wondered who would win in a fight between them. My bet
was on Avalore.
“Your warrant?” Avalore asked, holding out his hand.
One of the other vampires glided forward and placed a
thick sheet of paper on his open palm. He held it up and
read it briefly.
“Your ‘warrant’ is not an arrest warrant, as I’ve been told
your guard declared moments ago. It is a summons to court
for questioning. You have no right to barge in here and
attempt to remove my guests from my home to take them
to goddess knows where. I expect you to vacate the
premises and leave it to me to deliver them to the court at
the appointed time.”
Nevil sneered, considering his options. Apparently
seeing none, he spit, “Fine!”
At that, the entourage of vampires and guards was gone.
If I’d blinked, I’d have missed it—hell, I missed it anyway.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Emma’s POV
Things were getting heated in the royal city. Tristan had
mind-linked me with the details, and I knew that they would
have to attend court for questioning later that day.
I leaned over Gabriel to check his condition and then
sighed heavily, sitting down in the chair beside his bed.
“My love, things are getting difficult for Jane and Tristan
at the capitol. Try to wake up soon. They might need you,”
I sighed again.
I gripped his hand in mine and held it for a good long
while. He squeezed back in reflex but made no other
movements. I pressed my cheek against the back of his
hand. He shouldn’t be asleep much longer, I knew, but I
worried it might be too late.
Tristan refused to allow me to transport Gabriel to the
royal city. He said it was far too dangerous with Gabriel in
a defenseless state. I knew this was true, but I also suspected
Gabriel wouldn’t have wanted to stay in a bunker when Jane
and Tristan were in trouble, regardless of his state of
awareness.
Still, I wouldn’t argue with my Alpha. He was making
this decision out of love, and I understood that all too well.
If they were imprisoned or otherwise punished, then
such a decision could be reversed once Gabriel awakened
unless execution was the punishment. That could not be
corrected. However unlikely, this was my greatest fear.
I could only wait and pray to the goddesses that they
would speed his recovery along and keep our Alpha and
Luna safe.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

Omniscient POV
King Avalore escorted Alpha Tristan and Luna Jane Martin
to the vampire wing of the royal courthouse later that
afternoon.
He and Queen Alexandra had assured them that they
couldn’t be taken into custody after one round of
questioning unless there was overwhelming evidence that
they had murdered Gabriel outright and on purpose. There
was none, and so they felt somewhat reassured.
Additionally, the King commanded the head of his legal
team to join the Martins’ team in order to ensure the best
possible defense.
Jane loaded up on good food until she was very full,
packing in as many nutrients as possible so that she could
focus her mind on the coming trial. It would be beneficial
for both her and Tristan if she could sense who intended to
do them harm and who did not. Though, there would likely
be more of the former than the latter.
The vampire wing of the courthouse had a gothic feel.
There were gargoyles and gruesome images of humans
being fed on lasciviously. It felt surreal and inappropriate
for a courthouse, but the supernatural world had its own
rules and customs, and art wasn’t something they tended to
police in any way.
Jane shivered as she approached the doors to their
assigned courtroom.
Tristan took her hand in his and whispered, “What’s
wrong, Jane?”
She mind-linked him back, “There is a lot of malice behind
that door.”
He squeezed her hand and nodded in reply. The guards
opened the doors, and the two of them stepped through
together.

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Their legal team had entered behind them but now

moved in front, leading the way to the defense table at the
front left of the courtroom. Before them stood a large,
raised desk the length of the room. Five judges sat behind
the desk, looming over the court, all of them vampires.
There was no jury in a vampire court. Five judges
presided over all of the cases, and they were a panel
appointed by the Vampire King whenever a seat became
vacant. Judges held their positions for life unless they did
something to lose their seat, like murder other vampires or
start wars or something of that ilk. They were similar to the
US Supreme Court in how they were appointed, but their
function was quite different.
They heard legal and criminal cases of the highest order
regarding serious crimes and accusations and decided based
on law and evidence as to the guilt of the parties accused.
While innocent until proven guilty was the model
followed by both the vampire and wolf royal courts, the
vampire court tended to take a more aggressive stance
against the presumed guilty parties than was necessary.
Tristan and Jane had been warned of all of this by their
legal team and were prepared to face the severity of the
situation, although they had faith that no proof could be
produced that they were guilty. No honest proof, that is.
As they seated themselves behind the rather long
defense table, they were surrounded by their lawyers. The
two leads sat with them at the defense table, and the rest of
the legal team sat on the bench behind the table.
Jane glanced over at the opposite side of the room where
the accusing parties sat, waiting for the center judge’s gavel
to pound and call the court to order.
The vampire called Nevil was seated with the two other
unknown vampires Tristan had seen outside their quarters.
They appeared to have an extensive team of lawyers.
A judge banged her gavel once and cleared her throat,
“The Royal Vampire Court is now in session. Plaintiff, what
are your grievances?”
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One of the attorneys stood and began to read from a

sheet of paper, “The accused Alpha Tristan Martin and
Luna Jane Martin of the First Montana Pack, Wolf County,
Montana, USA, stand trial for crimes against the Vampire
Council. Chief among these crimes is the murder and
disposal of an Ancient, one Gabriel Michael Francisco.”
“Additionally, they are accused of conspiracy for
financial gain as all of Mr. Francisco’s assets have been
willed to the Martins in the event of his demise. The council
believes that Luna Jane Martin deceived Mr. Francisco into
believing she was a descendant of his bloodline, thereby
defrauding him out of his estate before depriving him of
his life.”
Tristan jerked his head at the mention of Gabriel’s will,
and he stared at the attorney reading the statement. Neither
he nor Jane knew that they were the beneficiaries of
Gabriel’s estate in the event of his death. This made things
a little more complex but still not impossible. After all, they
knew Gabriel was still alive.
The plaintiff’s attorney sat down again.
The Vampire Judge turned to our table, “Defense, how
do you plead?”
King Avalore’s attorney, Jackson Wilder, stood and
offered his statement without a sheet of paper to reference.
“The defense pleads not guilty on all accounts.”
The judge nodded.
“Very well. We will reconvene for trial tomorrow
evening at eight pm. Let’s not have another repeat of the
disturbance to everyone’s daytime slumber, eh, Nevil?” she
concluded as she peered down her nose at him.
His Grace, Nevil, of the Vampire Council, glowered but
said nothing.
The judge banged her gavel again, and everyone rose as
she led the other four judges from the room.

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CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Tristan’s POV
Jane and I sat in the great room of the royal family’s
apartment with King Avalore, Queen Alexandra, and
Jackson, the head of their royal legal team.
Alexandra focused her attention on Jane, “Were you able
to sense anything in the courtroom?”
Jane nodded and thought carefully for a moment, “Our
accusers are primarily malicious in intent except for one of
the Vampire Council. I’m not sure what his name is, but he’s
more curious about us than anything and hasn’t made up his
mind yet.” This confirmed what I had observed when the
three vampires had harassed us in the middle of the night.
Jackson hummed and said, “That would be Viscount
Milo Manor. He is one of the few Royal Vampire Council
members who does not hold hatred towards other races. He
is the Vampire King’s nephew. He asked to be included in
representing the council at trial in order to make sure it
would proceed justly. His Grace was not pleased that the
King granted his request.”
“Nevil is an ass,” Avalore stated plainly.
“That’s an understatement,” Alexandra said.
“He’s probably the one that wants Gabriel dead the
most,” she revealed.
“Why?” Jane inquired.
Avalore was the one who answered her, “The woman
who turned Gabriel was Nevil’s mate. She did it out of
kindness and sympathy for his daughters, who would
outlive him significantly if she hadn’t done it.
“Nevil was enraged by the act of compassion, thinking
that she loved Gabriel. Turning someone is an act of
intimacy most vampires choose never to implement. It
creates a lifelong bond between the two when a new

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vampire is born, much like a parent and child. Or in the case

of a romantic turning, it can be as strong as a mate bond.”
“I didn’t know that Vampires had mates,” Jane thought
aloud.
Alexandra explained, “Most of them don’t unless they’re
mated to a wolf or turn someone with love. The literary
concept of a Beloved in vampire fiction is not entirely correct.
However, a love turning can resemble this dynamic.”
I nodded, “This explains why Gabriel feels so strongly
for Emma, apart from the fact that she’s a beautiful person.”
“Yes, in their case, he turned her romantically as he
already loved her, and she became a chosen mate with a
mate bond as soon as she was born a vampire,” the Queen
confirmed.
Jane shook her head, “Then why did it take so long for
them to get together?”
“Dad always did take chivalry to a ridiculous level.
Emma was the first woman he loved since my mother, who
died hundreds of years before Emma was born. He didn’t
want to force her into anything, and though he was
reasonably sure she felt the bond, he didn’t want to take
advantage of it where her feelings were concerned,” she
explained.
Jane sighed, “Stupid grandfather.”
I grinned at them both, calling Gabriel by his familial
titles. I knew he would be happy to hear them do that. I
hoped that soon he would.
Jackson refocused the conversation on the trial, and we
went over some possibilities and strategic responses
available to us. There was a lot to remember about court
etiquette since the vampire court stood on much more
ceremony than the wolf courts, but I was confident that
both Jane and I would present ourselves well.
After an hour of going over the information, Jackson left
us to continue strategizing with our legal team.

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We stayed and had dinner with the royal family again,

socializing until the wee hours of the morning when Jane
could barely keep her eyes open anymore.
I carried her down the marble hallways back towards our
guest quarters and tucked her into bed safe and sound. I
wanted nothing more than to take her home with me, and I
was annoyed by this entire situation.
After the vampire trial, we still had to hold the wolf trial
against the American Wolf Council.
I took a quick shower, then climbed into bed next to
Jane to grab what rest I could while I had the chance. It was
going to be a very long few weeks.

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CHAPTER SIXTY

Jane’s POV
Here, we sat in the courtroom, listening to our accusers’
counsel drone on and on in his opening statement. He
talked about the animosity between vampires and wolves
and how much Tristan and I had gained by associating with
Gabriel.
They cast shadows on our characters by selectively
sharing information that Tristan was the son of an unlawful
Alpha and had killed his own father for power.
They spoke of how Tristan then stole Alpha
MacKenzie’s pack and built wealth by acquiring some of
Gabriel’s assets.
They said I was nothing more than a spiteful servant girl
who had manipulated Tristan and then Gabriel in order to
elevate myself to a woman of status and power.
It was all ridiculous half-truths and assumptions
surrounded by flowery language and spiteful commentary. I
was sure almost no one in the courtroom believed it was all
true, not even the man who was speaking the accusations.
I had learned from Jackson Wilder that if the Royal
Vampire Council could “prove” what they were saying
about Tristan and me, Gabriel’s assets could be confiscated
and turned over to the council. That is, if he were dead,
which the plaintiff’s attorneys consistently stated as a fact.
Gabriel’s assets were virtually limitless, and he owned so
much that it would give the Vampire Council a powerful
financial reach beyond any other council on earth. This
would be pretty dangerous to other species as some of the
old vampire ways still lingered within the council - ways of
hatred and prejudice, the belief that vampires were superior
to every other species that existed.
I couldn’t fathom how anyone could agree with this. Not
that I felt wolves or lycans were superior, but I now knew

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that beings such as the fae, gods and goddesses, and the
titans were all real and existed. How could a vampire
possibly believe he was superior to the titans who birthed
the gods? It was a ridiculous notion.
The plaintiff’s counsel completed his opening statement
and strongly suggested that the Royal Vampire Court should
take custody of Tristan and me to be sure we couldn’t
escape punishment should we be found guilty.
I could have sworn I saw the head judge roll her eyes at
this suggestion. So far, she had been very hard for me to
read, but there was no malice in her intentions that I could
find. It was more like probing against a brick wall. She was
entirely neutral to my senses.
In fact, I found her quite humorous. When she peered
down at any of us, I got the impression she was glaring at
us over the rim of schoolmarm spectacles, except vampires
had perfect vision and didn’t need glasses.
Anytime I felt myself amused by her reactions and
responses, she would glance my way. After a while, I
realized that she likely had the same gift as Gabriel to read
thoughts. This probably came in handy for a Royal Court
judge.
It was Jackson Wilder’s turn to give our opening
statements, and I focused my attention back on him.
“My clients deny all of the charges brought by the
plaintiffs. Gabriel Michael Francisco lives but is currently
unable to wake. We will present evidence, including
eyewitness testimony and sworn statements confirming that
Mr. Francisco is very much alive. We will also submit DNA
evidence provided by the royal medical staff confirming that
Luna Jane Martin is a direct descendant of Gabriel Michael
Francisco.
“Because Luna Jane is a blood relative of Mr. Francisco,
she is unwilling to bring his defenseless body to the capitol
and risk the possibility of harm befalling him. He is simply
too precious to her to risk it.

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“And finally, regarding the other accusations, we request

that all charges and allegations involving Alpha Tristan
Martin’s dealings in the wolf community be stricken from
the record as that is a separate matter that will be addressed
in the Royal Wolf Court upon the conclusion of this trial. It
is not for the Vampire Court to interfere in dealings
between wolves, and therefore, such accusations have no
place in this court. Thank you, Your Honors.”
Several of the vampires present hissed with offense at
Jackson’s statement, essentially telling them to mind their
own business on wolf matters, but the judges remained stoic
and impassive.
The head judge announced, “We will break for a half
hour while we discuss the proposed limitations of the
council and the defense.”
She banged her gavel in dismissal, and all stood as she
led the other judges from the room.

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CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

Jane’s POV
The judges returned thirty minutes later and granted our
attorneys’ request to drop any charges relating to wolf
matters. While they didn’t grant the council’s request to
imprison us in vampire custody, they did request that we be
placed under restriction within the royal palace.
This meant that we were to be confined to our royal
guest quarters (outside of the trial in the courtroom), and
the only visitors we were allowed were attorneys, witnesses,
and others related to our defense.
The judges added that if this restriction were not
adhered to, then they would remove us from the palace and
remand us into the vampire council’s custody.
The next few days, or nights in this case, were spent with
the Vampire Council and their attorneys presenting their
case before the court. They had very little evidence other
than the fact that no one could locate Gabriel, but the crux
of their case was a demand to produce him or admit guilt.
We knew this would happen, and there was absolutely
no way we would bring him here, but we were prepared to
present other evidence when the time came. Many witnesses
would testify that Gabriel was alive and simply recovering
from his ordeal in hiding.
While we were in the palace, we weren’t even allowed to
see the King and Queen. At least Tristan and I were
together.
Attorneys and witnesses came and went, but we did see
some of our friends and family. It was an arduous journey
for them to come all the way to Russia to present testimony,
but I was grateful to each and every one of them for being
willing to stand with us.
At long last, the day of our defense arrived. The first day
was made up of the court clerk reading notarized affidavits

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of testimony aloud by those who could not attend, and this

included Emma’s statement. Emma had thought of
including a video of her reading her statement next to a
sleeping Gabriel, who was in view of the camera. The video
was dated the day before it was played in court. This was the
most substantial piece of evidence we had, but we knew it
still wouldn’t be enough for the council because they wanted
access to Gabriel himself.
We knew this was for political reasons, and his enemies
were hoping for this to be the forced outcome. However,
we were not going to ever give in to this demand no matter
what happened. It was the least we could do after everything
he had done for us.
The second day of the defense involved interviewing
witnesses on the stand. A long list of people from our pack
were asked to give their version of events on the date of the
pack war as well as the last time they had seen Gabriel,
where they had seen him, and what condition he had been
in.
Alpha Clovis’s pack witch, Amelia, shared her valuable
testimony. Since she had been intrinsically involved in
inducing Gabriel's current state, her account of events was
critical.
It got a little dangerous when Wolfgang was on the stand
because they kept asking him if he knew where Gabriel was
now, and he had to answer, “Yes.”
Then they asked him where he was, and he would
answer, “He is with his fiancé, Emma.”
“Where is that exactly?” they inquired.
“I cannot say,” he answered.
“Cannot say or won’t say?”
“Both, to be honest,” he replied.
“Why can’t you say?”
Wolfgang answered, “My Alpha has commanded me to
protect Gabriel from everyone.”
“Even himself? Even Luna Jane?” The attorney thought
he was being clever.
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Wolfgang answered, “Yes,” without hesitation.

“Is there anyone else who knows where Gabriel is?”
The attorney asked.
“Only Emma, Gabriel, and myself know where he is,
and I am unable to say by my Alpha’s orders,” Wolfgang
answered.
“If your Alpha released you from that order, would you
tell us where he is?”
“No,” answered Wolfgang.
“Are you aware you would be in contempt of court if
you did not reveal this information?”
“Objection,” Jackson called calmly, standing for a
moment. “Intimidation and well,” he paused, appearing
chagrined he was forced to add something so distasteful,
“professional misconduct.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tristan suppress a
smile.
“Sustained,” replied the judge.
She looked down her nose at the council’s attorney and
said, “You do not have a say in who is in contempt of this
court. We decide that. Your questioning of this witness is
complete. Does the defense wish to redirect?”
Jackson bounced up for a moment, “No, thank you, your
Honor.”
“The witness may step down,” she stated.
All of the other witnesses were much the same. Asking
them if they knew where Gabriel was and when the last time
they had personally seen him was.
At the end of the day, the head judge made a statement,
“The court will concede that only Wolfgang, Emma Jones,
and Gabriel Francisco are aware of Gabriel’s location. The
court also concedes that Gabriel was alive as recently as
yesterday. There will be no more questioning along these
lines. His location will not be revealed by this court or any
witnesses here. Therefore, we will not waste the court’s time
with such questions.”
“Your honor!” Exclaimed Nevil.
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“Sit down, Nevil. You will not get your claws into a
defenseless Gabriel, and I urge you to abandon such
ambitions,” the judge admonished before going on.
“Court will reconvene tomorrow at 2100 hours, and we
will begin with the defense’s questioning of Luna Jane
Martin. The court is adjourned,” she concluded as she
banged her gavel and left the room before anyone even had
a chance to stand.
Nevil curled his lip in an angry sneer as he glared over at
me. I was getting distinct vibes of hatred from him, and I
successfully suppressed a shiver at its potency.
Tristan took my hand and led me out of the courtroom
with our attorneys and pack warriors surrounding us.

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CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Jane’s POV
The next evening, we sat in the court, waiting for the judges
to emerge and begin the session.
Something was delaying them. It was already 9 pm, and
the courtroom was filled with the chattering sounds of
attorneys, witnesses, and spectators.
The judges’ chamber door opened, and everyone stood
as the five judges made their way to their seats. The head
judge banged her gavel, “Court is in session. Defense, your
witness.” She took her seat without any further explanation
or statements.
Jackson stood and said in a loud, clear voice, “The
defense calls Gabriel Michael Francisco to the stand.”
My eyes shot up to him in a state of shock, and I turned
to Tristan, but he looked just as surprised as I was.
The doors at the rear of the courtroom swung open, and
the most magnificent sight I had ever seen in my life filled
my eyes with tears.
My vampire grandfather, Gabriel, was striding down the
aisle towards the stand. He shot me a smile and a wink as
he passed our table and gracefully took the witness seat.
Jackson bowed his head respectfully towards Gabriel
and stood for a moment until a hush returned to the room.
Then he began his questioning, “Mr. Francisco, are you
alive?”
Gabriel grinned, “That is quite the philosophical
question, Mr. Wilder. There is a school of thought that
generally states that vampires are not living creatures at all
but members of the classification ‘undead.’”
Jackson smiled, “Then allow me to rephrase. Are you
dead, Mr. Francisco?”
“No,” Gabriel answered, this time with certainty.
They were enjoying this.

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Nevil was fuming in his seat. The other vampires at the

plaintiff’s table seemed to be subtly shifting in their chairs
away from him.
Jackson continued his questions, “Is Luna Jane Martin
your blood relative?”
“Yes,” Gabriel answered.
“Is that the reason you gave your Montana ranch and
corresponding bank accounts to her and her mate?”
“No, it is not,” he answered.
There was a general intake of air from the gallery. They
hadn’t been expecting that answer. But Jackson’s tone
remained unfazed.
“Why did you give them such valuable property and so
much money?”
“Luna Jane Martin and I formed a feeder contract before
I even knew she was a blood relative,” Gabriel answered.
The vampires in the room hissed. This was a little piece
of information we had all kept up our sleeves, and until now,
no one on the Royal Vampire Council nor any member of
the court knew this.
The judge banged her gavel, “Order, please. I can have
the gallery removed if we do not have quiet for these
proceedings.”
Taking advantage of the commotion, Jackson pulled a
few pieces of paper out of his folder on the table and
stepped back to the witness stand. He handed Gabriel the
documents and asked, “Is this an original copy of your
contract with Luna Jane Martin?”
Gabriel looked over the papers and nodded, “Yes, it is.”
“The defense submits the feeder contract as defense
exhibit A,” Jackson said as he handed one set of documents
to the opposing counsel and another to the court guard,
who brought it to the judges’ table.
She took a moment to review the contract, then nodded
at Jackson to continue.

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“What is the reason you made Alpha Tristan Martin and

Luna Jane Martin beneficiaries of your entire estate in your
will?”
“That was because they are family, and I want them to
have everything should anything happen to me,” Gabriel
answered.
“Thank you, Mr. Francisco,” Jackson concluded, “No
further questions.”
The judge looked over at Nevil, “Care to cross-examine
this witness?”
The council’s attorney shook his head, admitting defeat.
Even so, Nevil sat in his seat, fuming in rage.
I glanced at Tristan and mind-linked with him, “If looks
could kill…”
The judge continued, “All charges against Alpha Tristan
Martin and Luna Jane Martin are dropped. This case is
dismissed. Court is adjourned.”
She banged her gavel, and the five judges exited the
courtroom in a hurry.
The other two council members pulled Nevil out of the
courtroom. They were tired of the entire ordeal and a bit
perturbed at wasting so much time.
I ran to Gabriel, and he picked me up, crushing me
against him in a hug and kissing the top of my head.
“Gabriel,” I sobbed with relief.
He stroked my hair and patted my back, “Now, now, my
sweet girl. Everything is alright. I woke up before the birth
just like I promised.”
Emma approached and wrapped her arms around both
of us, also kissing the top of my head.
I sobbed for a while longer, letting go of the stress and
exhaustion of this awful experience.
I wanted nothing more than to go home with my family
and see the children, but we still had the wolf trial to go.
However, this turned out to be a much simpler and
faster affair. Eager to redeem themselves, the Wolf Council
of the Americas had conducted an internal investigation
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which had identified five corrupt members out of the total

twelve. They themselves presented the members to the
Royal Wolf Court with more evidence on top of what we
provided.
They were quickly found guilty of many charges,
including conspiracy, bribery, murder, crimes against sacred
pack laws regarding true mates, etc.
There was no leniency for these kinds of offenses, and
they were sentenced to death due to the countless crimes
they had committed and their severe nature.
The court also sentenced Alpha MacKenzie to death
even though he did not show himself despite his court
summons. Still, none of us knew where to find him, and no
witch, vampire, or wolf had been able to locate him. It was
as if he vanished from the earth altogether.
The Royal Wolf Council made the announcement that it
would nominate several candidates to replace the corrupt
former members of the American Council. It was up to the
American packs to vote on who they would accept into the
recently vacated positions.
At long last, we were free to go home to our pack and
family, and I was full of excitement at the prospect.
King Avalore, Queen Alexandra, and all my cousins
came to see us off under the portico in front of the palace.
We said our goodbyes amongst promises to see one another
again soon and finally climbed into the royal SUVs that
would take us back to the royal airfield.
This time, the two-day journey home was peaceful as
Tristan and I caught up with Gabriel and Emma. Emma was
transcendent as we discussed her upcoming wedding and
my pregnancy. She never left Gabriel’s side, and I frequently
caught them gazing silently at each other in what looked like
rapturous bliss. It’s easy to recognize it when you’ve
experienced it yourself. We had so much to look forward to,
and I was glad that most of the turmoil was now in the past.
I prayed to the goddess that it would stay that way.

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CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Jane’s POV
We arrived home at long last and settled back into a
comfortable routine.
So far, Alpha MacKenzie had still not been found, but
the Entropus family wasn’t going to stop searching for him,
utilizing the magic resources at their disposal. It was odd
that such methods had yet to turn up any information on
his whereabouts, but they assured us that they would keep
looking.
After a few months of searching, Tristan and Avery had
found all of the rogues that their fathers had exiled over the
years. Those who had not committed serious crimes were
offered the chance to join First Montana Pack. None
refused. They brought their families and made their pledges
to their new Alpha, Tristan Martin.
One year after absorbing his father’s pack, Tristan
completed the building in our territory.
The First Montana Pack - or Wolf County, Montana -
was one million acres, somewhere between the size of
Rhode Island and Delaware, with a population of 3,497. All
were part of the pack, which became the wealthiest and
largest pack in the Western World.
Our little town square and neighborhood of 5-acre home
sites had blossomed into ten apartment buildings, 1700
houses, some two hundred businesses, shops, and
restaurants, and a thriving Pack House with an ultramodern
security facility.
We were entirely self-sustaining with our own power
plant, water supply, water and sewage treatment plants,
recycling plant, and garbage processing facilities.
Tristan and I were beloved by our pack, as were our
children: Amy, Selly, and our new son, Rowan.
We’d allied with packs in the neighboring states and

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frequently held parties and events to get the young, unmated

wolves together.
We were steadily growing in numbers, thanks to many
of our pack members finding mates from those surrounding
packs.
We always found milestones to celebrate.
On this particular day, a monumental milestone was
occurring.
Emma stood in the middle of our living room, looking
at herself in the long mirror Tristan brought in for her. I’d
been surprised to learn that the whole vampires-can’t-be-
seen-in-mirrors thing was a myth.
She wore a deep red gown that fitted her curves like a
second skin and flowed to the floor in a puddle at her feet.
The neckline hung just off the edge of her shoulders and
plunged into a deep v between her curvy large breasts. The
sleeves were three-quarter length and fitted to her arms.
I stood back, admiring her in the dress, her ruby-red lips,
and her golden locks, which shone in the light. Best of all,
her green eyes were shimmering with happiness.
The sun had set a couple of hours previously, and the
pack had worked all day to set up chairs in front of the
enormous outdoor pavilion our woodshop had custom-
built for their wedding and reception party.
I knew that right now, the pavilion and surrounding lawn
were aglow with fairy lights and flames, creating a romantic
atmosphere in the night air.
Everyone was invited - all of our pack and everyone who
knew Gabriel. Most had accepted the invitation. Vampires,
wolves, fae, magic users, royalty, and humans were present.
Tristan would be giving away the bride at Emma’s
request, while Avery was to officiate the ceremony.
“Emma, you look amazing!” I said in awe.
“Are you nervous?” Tristan asked with a smile.
“Not. At. All,” Emma answered, grinning at him
through her reflection.
“Then let’s get you married,” Tristan said.
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“I’ll see you down there,” I kissed her cheek and heard
a flash as her photographer caught the moment. We giggled,
and I waved as I rushed down the stairs to the car waiting
to taxi me to the pavilion wedding site.
I made it a good fifteen minutes before the bride and
rushed down to our reserved seats in the front row next to
Angelica. I smiled back at Beverly, David, and Diane in the
second row with the children. We were all dressed in our
best, and I smiled at my girls and whispered, “You both look
so beautiful.”
“Yes, we do, Mommy. Just like you,” Selly proudly
crowed.
Rowan squirmed a little in Beverly’s arms, and she
shifted him to a more upright position so he could see what
was going on. He settled down again as his wide, observant
eyes roamed the crowd.
Gabriel walked in with Avery, and they took their places.
He was gorgeous as always, in a black tuxedo with a blood-
red shirt, vest, and bow tie. He looked exquisite and full of
happiness.
Avery was wearing a similar black tux but with a white
shirt and vest and no bow tie. She looked sharp and elegant
in the perfectly tailored clothes. She grinned as she glanced
over at Angelica and winked. Adorably, Angelica giggled
and blushed as she blew her mate a kiss.
Just then, the music started floating across the pavilion
lawn, and we all stood and turned to look down the aisle at
the happiest, most beautifully perfect bride we had ever
seen.
Tristan escorted her down to the front, where Gabriel
waited impatiently, eyeing Emma like he wanted to devour
her in a way that she would immensely enjoy.
Once they were about a dozen steps away, and with
vampiric speed, Gabriel flashed to Emma’s side, picked her
up, and sped with her back to the alter.
Everyone laughed.
Tristan came to sit beside me in the empty chair reserved
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for him. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close

to his side.
I sighed with contentment as we watched two of our
family and pack members join together while promising
eternal love and devotion to one another. This was a
promise the two of them were actually capable of keeping.
When the ceremony was over, there was a big reception
that lasted until morning. At some point around midnight,
Beverly had taken the children to tuck them in and gone to
bed herself.
We partied with our families and guests until Gabriel and
Emma took their leave, not long before dawn, beneath a
night sky lit up with fireworks.
As the Entropus family began to pile into their oversized
limousine, Kendra leaned over to me and said, “The first of
many mating ceremonies soon to come…”
Saranya and Audra glanced at each other and then
gracefully waved goodbye to Tristan and me before
disappearing into the limo.
Tristan and I returned to the pavilion and stayed until all
the guests had left and the staff had cleaned up the pavilion’s
hall. When they were all gone, we remained, sitting on the
chairs at a long wooden table that had hosted the bride and
groom.
We silently watched the sun rise over the mountains.
Tristan smiled so warmly down at my legs resting across
his lap. He was stroking them with his big alpha-sized
hands, raising the hem of my long gown. The familiar heat
in my center was set aflame, and I hummed as he shifted in
the chair and both of his hands slid higher between my
thighs to part my legs.
He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me onto his
lap so that I was straddling him; the skirt of my dress rode
up and ballooned around us. He began to kiss and suck his
mark on my neck.
“Janie,” he rumbled into the sensitive skin there, then
kissed his way up to suck my earlobe. The teasing of his
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tongue on my skin made me shiver with pleasure.

“Hmm?” I moaned in response.
He nibbled on my earlobe, then put his lips against my
ear and whispered hotly, “I’m going to make love to you
right now on this table.”
“Yes, Alpha,” I said back in a shaky voice full of
anticipation.
“Good girl,” he growled.
And then he did.

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