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00:01Please, slower. I begged my mate, Dane Montagu, the most powerful alpha on the continent.
00:11Three years ago, he was forced to marry me at knifepoint, and now he was pinning me to the wall.
00:17At our mating ceremony, I was still a virgin, but he didn't slow down. His teeth sank deeper into my
00:23shoulder.
00:24Blood ran down my chest. His golden eyes burned with hate.
00:29I am Anne Reed, daughter of Waylon Reed, the alpha who slaughtered Dane's pack three years ago.
00:38The night I turned 19, my father dragged me onto Blue Ridge Land. He left me bleeding in the snow
00:44as bait.
00:45Dane was patrolling the border. He found me. He saved me. He carried me home.
00:52While he was saving my life. My father was slaughtering his pack.
00:56By dawn or rain, his parents were dead. A quarter of his pack lay in ash. My father held claws
01:02to his grandfather's throat.
01:03Marry her, or they die.
01:06The silver in my blood that night wouldn't let me speak. Dane married me at clawpoint. For three years, he
01:14punished me for it.
01:16He never touched me. He never said my name without hate. He slept with a woman named Evelyn. He let
01:24me feel every kiss through our mate bond.
01:30Three years you begged for this. Tonight you get it.
01:36He whispered at my ear.
01:41You went to a witch for a love spell. You drugged me, Anne. Just like your family slaughtered my pack.
01:50He pulled back. His mouth was red with my blood. He didn't look at me. He looked at the entire
01:58pack.
02:01It is done.
02:02We were the only pair in the pack still unmarked. For three years he refused to claim me. Tonight the
02:08mate bond forced him to.
02:10He threw a box of Plan B at me. It bounced off my knee.
02:15I won't let my blood mingle with reeds.
02:18Then he stepped off the altar. He pulled his phone from his robe. In front of the entire pack. A
02:24photo lit the screen. Red lingerie. A caption. He walked toward the doors.
02:31He was leaving. On the night he marked me. I stood alone on the altar in my torn robe. Blood
02:39at my shoulder. The pack staring at me.
02:43I was a fool to think tonight was different. I reached up. I pulled the silver ribbon from my hair.
02:50The one from our forced mating ceremony. I held it up so the whole pack could see. I lifted my
02:55chin. My voice carried through the hall.
02:59Dain Montague. He stopped at the door. The whole pack went silent. Cut the ribbon. Sever our mate bond. I'm
03:08done.
03:13The pack was waiting. Dain stood at the door of the hall. His back to me. His shoulders shaking. He
03:20didn't turn around.
03:21You've taken this little act too far. Do you really think I'll fall for it?
03:26Dain Montague.
03:27You can be free. You can be with Evelyn.
03:32Dain Montague. Beg me.
03:33Dain Montague. His voice was low. Cruel. I lifted the silver ribbon higher so the whole pack could see.
03:42Dain Montague. He turned then. His golden eyes had lost all control. Half wolf. Half man. He sought back across
03:48the hall. The pack parted for him.
03:52he stopped in front of me blood from my shoulder still dripping on the marble he looked down at
03:58the ribbon in my hand the one binding our souls his claws came out he took the ribbon from my
04:06fingers he sliced it clean in half a snap of magic flared in the hall like a flame going out
04:13every wolf in the pack felt it the mate bond ripped from my chest i gasped the pain dropped
04:18me to my knees on the altar his mark on my shoulder faded to glass the wound began to heal
04:25he felt it
04:26too his brow tightened but his wolf was holding back he stared down at me he dropped the two pieces
04:36of ribbon at my feet this is what you wanted he turned again he walked out of the hall
04:46the doors closed behind him the pack stared at me their fallen luna on the floor of the marking
04:53altar blood at my shoulder a dead bond in my chest two halves of silver ribbon at my feet
04:59the first to come to me was my grandmother-in-law the old luna dane's grandmother
05:07she helped me to my feet she wrapped her shawl around my torn robe
05:14she didn't say a word she walked me out of the hall into the night i walked through the woods
05:20to the
05:21pack house up the back stairs into the bedroom i had shared with him for three years
05:30no one would share it with me again i packed one bag passport cash the two halves of silver ribbon
05:40i zipped the bag shut
05:44then i remembered the box he'd thrown at me on the altar plan b it was still in the pocket
05:50of my torn
05:51robe i dug it out i held it in my hand his final humiliation i almost threw it in the
05:58trash i turned
05:59and slipped it into the side pocket of my bag but the zipper didn't close all the way
06:06i didn't notice the bedroom door opened quietly behind me i turned a tall man stood in the doorway lilac
06:14eyes the same as mine and it's me evander dever my cousin the only family left on my mother's side
06:25my mother sent me to come for you she said you would need me tonight
06:29i stared at him five years since i'd seen him how did he know now isn't the time to ask
06:39he stepped into the bedroom he picked up my bag i followed him toward the door
06:48i didn't notice the pillbox slip from the side pocket it landed on the floor of that bedroom
06:54it was the worst decision of my life i was lying in evelyn's bed evelyn was in my arms she
07:01was kissing
07:02my neck i was waiting for the freedom to come freedom from three years of mate bond pulling me
07:08toward a reed it didn't come my wolf started snarling i sat up evelyn ran her hand down my back
07:15what's wrong baby my bond it's burning it shouldn't be burning anymore evelyn went still you really severed it
07:25i told you i would she laughed i thought you were bluffing i thought you'd never go through with it
07:34what does that mean nothing i just always thought you loved her more than you said
07:39i stood up fast my wolf was howling where is she who my wife you sound like you care
07:49where is she evelyn how would i know you're going after her of course i'm going after her after
07:56everything her family did to your pack shut up i left her there i shifted in the woods
08:04charcoal fur faster than any wolf in three territories i ran toward the pack house my beta met
08:10me on the front lawn his face was white alpha where is she where is my wife she's gone her
08:17car
08:17left for the airport an hour ago what she wasn't alone there was a male wolf with her one i
08:24don't
08:24know i shoved past him into the house up the back stairs into the bedroom i'd shared with her for
08:35three years the closet was empty her clothes her shoes her ribbon halves all gone but her scent was
08:43still here lilacs and silver and another wolf scent under hers a male he'd been in this room
08:51he touched her things i stepped further into the room then my foot hits something small on the floor
08:59i bent down a pillbox plan b the one i'd thrown at her on the altar last night sealed unopened
09:09she'd kept it but she hadn't taken it damn it i should have made her swallow it in front of
09:15me
09:15last night was the first time i touched her she could be pregnant and she hadn't taken the pill
09:21and now she was on a plane with another male wolf she was carrying what could be my child to
09:25another man
09:27the howl that came out of me shook the windows it shook the whole pack it shook the woods for
09:32miles
09:33my beta dropped to one knee at the door alpha your orders i stood the unopened pillbox clutched in my
09:42hand stop that flight at all costs bring her back to me and the male with her kill him
09:54one month later a safe house in the french countryside
09:58evander brought me coffee he said a tablet on the table you should see this the headline filled the
10:03screen a photo of dane he was still handsome but he looked exhausted like a man who hadn't slept in
10:0830 days the article said he had tracker teams on three continents he had personally searched 12
10:12countries for a full month he hadn't returned to blue ridge reports said alpha dane was hunting the
10:17ex-wife who had severed their mate bond i closed the tablet i walked to the bathroom
10:22i'd been sick every morning that week i took the test out of my pocket i waited three minutes
10:30two pink lines i sat down on the bathroom tile i pressed my hand against my flat stomach
10:37a piece of him was growing inside me the man who had marked me in front of his whole pack
10:41the man who
10:42was tearing the world apart to find me i cried for the first time in a month when i came
10:47out evander was
10:48waiting he took one look at my face he didn't say anything he picked up the phone he dialed one
10:55number grandmother she's pregnant it's time that night we drove three hours into the alps a house
11:03carved in the mountain three times the size of the blue ridge pack house the territory of the high alpine
11:09pack the center of the european wolf world an old woman waited on the porch lilat eyes like mine
11:16my grandmother luna of the high alpine pack augustin diver the one i had never known existed
11:21my granddaughter i have waited 22 years for this she led me inside she placed her palm flat on my
11:28stomach she closed her eyes two a boy and a girl strong like their grandfather stubborn like their
11:34mother i started to cry again she held me when i had no tears left she spoke dame montagu will
11:39hunt
11:39you until one of you is dead i will not let that day come tonight you will die my granddaughter
11:44she set a folder on the table there is a reed estate in southern france i will set a fire
11:49there
11:49a body inside female your height burned past recognition wearing your wedding ring and your
11:56two halves of silver ribbon i went still my ribbon he will recognize it he will know it's you and
12:02he
12:02will stop looking five years passed the news of my death in a fire in southern france made the front
12:09pages the world buried anne reed i was reborn under my grandmother's roof the high alpine pack took me
12:15in i learned to fight to rule to lead my belly grew round through the seasons in the middle of
12:23a snow
12:23storm i gave birth to twins a boy tristan golden hair dane's dark eyes a girl seraphina black hair my
12:31lilac
12:32eyes they were four years old now they had never met their father i planned that neither of us would
12:39ever see that man until last week the plan died a messenger came to grandmother's house then my
12:44grandmother ordered me back to american soil augusta devier did not ask she gave commands i had a rival
12:51for the luna title my cousin liliana grandmother had not chosen between us whoever proved herself first
12:56would inherit the high alpine pack my proof was buried in blue ridge a relic from my mother
13:01a journal she had left behind the journal told of an ancient power hidden on the land my grandmother
13:07had lost 25 years ago the land that now belonged to dane montagu to unlock it i needed dane's
13:12cooperation to get his cooperation i needed to walk back into his world and convince the husband who
13:16thought me dead to ally with me i returned to america at the door of my new estate trade and
13:20graves
13:21stood waiting my beta my oldest friend a bear of a man with curly hair and a dark beard i
13:26had saved his
13:26life four years ago he had been mine ever since miss devier the car is ready
13:30i checked the mirror a lilac dress that hugged me like moonlight real moonstones at my throat at
13:35my ears pale hair down past my shoulder blades lilac eyes lined in smoke i was nothing like the
13:40broken woman who had fled this place but i was still recognizable pale hair lilac eyes the montahagü
13:47wife back from the dead the twins were safe in grandmother's mountain their father did not
13:51know they existed tonight he would not learn it tonight was about the journal tonight was about
13:55the alliance tonight was about surviving the man who had buried me the blue ridge pack house was
14:00the grandest mansion i had ever seen 300 wolves in one ballroom every alpha on the continent i walked
14:05in on trajan's arm is that anne reed whispers started at once wasn't she dead crawling back to
14:11dane wolfless i lifted my chin i saw him before he saw me a man on the second floor balcony
14:16standing
14:16alone above the crowd like a king still dazzling still arrogant still dane but his eyes had changed
14:22five years of searching had hollowed them out i whispered as if he could hear it his eyes snapped
14:27down to mine the whole ballroom went silent he didn't take the stairs he vaulted over the railing
14:31he landed in a crouch on the marble floor he stood he walked through the crowd towards me
14:35wolves stepped out of his way trajan tensed beside me i touched his arm let him come
14:39dane stopped one foot from me his scent reached me first cedar and storm
14:44he grabbed my wrist his grip was crushing
14:53his voice was low wrecked loud enough for the whole ballroom to hear anne reed
15:00if you came back for a public execution you're about to get your wish
15:06i was done being afraid of him dane froze dane's hand still gripped my wrist his voice still echoed in
15:13the ballroom a public execution then i saw the people behind him a woman in pearls a man in a
15:19black suit esther and waylan reed the people who had raised me as their daughter the people
15:24who had poisoned my wolf the people who had dumped me in the snow at 19. esther smile was wide
15:28and fake look our little anne returned home to the nest i couldn't speak and move trajan stepped
15:33between us a wall of muscle and rage move waylan ordered mrs deville does not wish to see you
15:39trajan growled esther gave a small false laugh she's our daughter she's been missing for years enough
15:51dane's voice cut like a blade the council demands i tolerate you here
15:55but you will not make a scene or there will be blood trajan got me out the door in 20
16:01seconds
16:03i was shaking by the time we reached the car we were halfway home before my phone rang
16:09the screen lit up with two faces i swiped to answer tristan pressed his nose to his camera
16:14seraphina griggled beside him i smiled the shake left my hands my loves how are you tonight mommy when
16:22are you coming home soon sweetheart ivan dar leaned into the frame behind them his lilat eyes met my he
16:29looked worried they haven't been sleeping since you left trust your gut i told him don't let
16:34anything happen to them the call ended as we pulled into my driveway strange cars in the gravel blue ridge
16:39plates trajan tensed he sent his people
16:44ms deville i'm piper montague dane's sister my brother is worried for your safety he sent us to guard
16:50the estate i forced a smile how thoughtful inside the house i had just taken off my high heel shoes
16:56when my phone rang grandmother i answered on the second ring her voice was wrecked
17:05aurora something has happened the twins are gone so is your cousin edmund i dropped the phone my knees
17:13almost dropped with it aurora what the twins gone evander too trajan's face went hard he was about to
17:21mind link the pack then someone knocked on the front door sharp three times i crossed the foyer on
17:26legs i couldn't feel i pulled the door open ready to fight hi mommy i stopped breathing tristan stood
17:32on my doorstep seraphina behind him evander right behind her a small gray-haired woman behind evandard
17:37mrs melville their nanny i dropped to my knees on the marble floor i pulled both children into my arms
17:42i smelled their hair lilats and warm bread alive safe real mommy you're squishing us i know baby
17:51i didn't let go evander stepped inside he pulled mrs melville with him he looked around the foyer whose
17:57cars are in the driveway blue ridge wolves dane's sister he sent her this morning
18:03mommy evander said a bad word i almost laughed i picked up both twins at once i felt them safe
18:10in my arms
18:11for the first time in a month upstairs now i took them to my private rooms trajan locked the door
18:19behind us mrs melville took the twins into the adjoining bedroom the four-year-olds were yawning
18:24already eight hours on a plane i turned to evander tell me everything evander paced he never stayed still
18:32someone tried to poison them i went cold mrs melville scented it in their dinner before she fed it to
18:39them
18:39by the time we knew the kitchen staff was gone if i'd had a wolf i would have shifted right
18:44there
18:45i would have torn something apart
18:49who evander and trajan exchanged a look you know who i knew liliana my cousin my rival for the luna
18:58title
18:59grandmother will have to listen this time trajan shook his head she'll demand proof if you accuse
19:06liliana again with no evidence your grandmother will disown you i made a wordless sound of rage
19:12then someone knocked on my private door i froze i gestured evander out of sight behind the couch
19:18i opened the door piper stood there she gave a small apologetic smile dane loomed behind her
19:24in the bedroom across the suite one of the twins began to cry dane's brows came together is that a
19:29child crying every drop of blood left my face but i would not let him see it yes my cousin
19:35just
19:36arrived from europe with his children dane's eyes narrowed he smelled the lie on me i could see it in
19:44his face i stepped aside i could not block him without making it worse evander we have a guest i
19:51prayed
19:51evander had heard everything i prayed harder that the twins stayed in the bedroom dane walked into my
19:56private rooms his golden eyes sand every corner evander sat on the couch he rose as dane entered
20:05evander my voice steady alpha dane montagu of blue ridge our partner on the project and his sister
20:11piper evander grinned he extended his hand it's good to meet you mr montagu i've heard about you
20:18dane raised in highbrow at me i gave him a cool little smile let him wonder what i told my
20:23cousin
20:23did you expect this visit no it was a surprise true the only true thing i had said all night
20:31do you think it is wise to have children here considering what happened tonight i forced a smile
20:38thanks to you and your warriors i believe it is perfectly safe i needed him to leave now i had
20:46not
20:47known i was pregnant when i ran the divers barely caught it in time i had thought about telling dame
20:52a thousand times every time i remembered the box of plan b i remembered his voice i would rather drink
20:58molten silver than cross our bloodlines if he learned i had hidden his son and daughter for four years
21:04i did not know what he would do what i did know he would take my children i would die
21:09before that
21:10happened dane's eyes drifted to the bedroom door the door behind which my twins slept i felt the blood
21:16drain from my hands if one of them opened that door he would see himself in their face he would
21:22know then his phone buzzed so did mine i glanced at the screen i gasped a news alert a photo
21:31of us at
21:31the gala earlier tonight below it a second photo evelyn barkley hands on her stomach red rimmed eyes
21:37the headline screamed dane's face was white he had not known either i smiled like ice alpha montagu
21:44you congratulations your new wife is pregnant his face went blank i need to leave he turned he walked
21:51out of my rooms the door closed behind him i sit there shaking my twins were safe in the next
21:58room
21:58their father had just learned he was about to have a child with another woman i should not have felt
22:03anything i had divorced him in my own mind years ago so why did my chest hurt why did i
22:10want to chase him
22:11out the door and tell him the truth i drove straight from aurora's house to the city to the penthouse
22:18evelyn picked a place full of expensive things a place that never felt like home the child i'd heard
22:24at aurora's house i couldn't shake the sound of it the cry had felt familiar like something i'd known
22:29before i'd known it but i had a bigger problem my fiancee was pregnant i learned it from the internet
22:37evelyn i'm here sweetheart she came towards me in a tiny dress grinning bright wrong she threw her
22:43arms around me before i could speak why does the internet think you're pregnant she blinked her eyes
22:49filled a small beautiful mask of betrayal oh no how did they find out someone must have leaked it
22:55i wanted to tell you first sweetheart a low growl started in my throat how can you be pregnant with
23:02my
23:02child i have never touched you then i remembered three months ago the eight-year anniversary of the
23:10night the reeds slaughtered my pack the night my parents died the night i was forced to marry the
23:17woman who is now aurora de ver every year on that night i let myself break i drank until i
23:23couldn't see
23:24straight i never came home from it sober that night you were drunk you came to my bed sweetheart
23:30evelyn's cheeks went pink my jaw locked a year ago i'd face the truth i didn't love evelyn i felt
23:36only gratitude she'd saved my life when i was 11 years old a girl with a crescent birthmark on her
23:43arm
23:43i owed her my life i told her the truth i tried to end the engagement she wouldn't hear it
23:51and now if she really carried my child then aurora's face flashed through my mind then the faces of two
23:58children a little boy with dark eyes and golden hair a little girl with dark hair and aurora's
24:04lilac eyes i had never met those children but i knew them like they had been waiting in my mind
24:10my whole
24:10life i knew you'd be excited she grabbed my hands she was babbling about names and nurseries i felt cold
24:17i didn't want her child or a life with her but i owed her i grew up without parents i
24:24would never
24:24let a child of mine grow up without a father set the wedding date her eyes lit up she threw
24:30herself at
24:31me again i held her without feeling a thing across town in my pocket my phone buzzed i pulled it
24:38out my
24:39beta had it a little boy at the bedroom door golden hair dark eyes looking out at the empty hallway
24:45where
24:45i had stood 20 minutes before my breath stopped i sat in my car outside the doctor's office i stared
24:53at the photo on my phone a little boy with golden hair and dark eyes standing in aurora's hallway
24:58looking out at where i had stood he looked four years old maybe a little more i did the math
25:03five
25:04years plus nine months equals i couldn't breathe but aurora had told me he was her cousin's son
25:12evander devory of the high alpine pack a man i had just met a man whose age i didn't know
25:18a man who could have a son who looked like
25:21me i made myself put the phone away i needed evidence not a feeling not a face in a security
25:29feed at midnight i called my beta archer run a background check on evander de vere his marital
25:35history his children's birth records quietly don't let it get back to aurora i would not confront her
25:41without proof if i was wrong i would lose her again if i was right i would not give her
25:46the chance to
25:47run again across town i had finished reading the twins to sleep i sat on the couch in my private
25:54rooms
25:55treyjun stood at the door i dialed liliana's number she picked up after two rings
26:00aurora she purred you never call how wonderful then she gave a shocked little face i couldn't see
26:05oh i heard the twins were missing how terrible i smiled with all my teeth it seems someone tried to
26:11poison them evander brought them to me to keep them safe a pause just one beat too long oh they
26:18are
26:18with you now i called to let you know you should expect a gift from me her eyes sharpened through
26:25the phone i felt it someone knocked on her door i had timed it perfectly she rose she opened it
26:31a
26:32basket of apples sat on her doorstep round juicy the same fruit she had poisoned for my children
26:38her smile vanished i don't know what you are implying oh i think you do i drawled and if you
26:44ever come for my children again it will not be poison that kills you lily i will do it with
26:49my bare hands
26:51i hung up i tossed the phone across the couch evander leaned in the doorway tall and broad well
26:57done unless that brings her down on you harder she will have a hard time reaching me here especially
27:02now i suppose i should be grateful to dane his name in my mouth hurt the phone rang again
27:10grandmother i tapped answer she did not greet me aurora dear i need you to have dinner with some vampires
27:17two nights from now it is urgent two nights later i drove to man leering manor
27:24trey june beside me dane's number went unanswered his beta said he was out of town
27:29i sat in my car outside her house i watched her tail lights pull away
27:33i read the report on evander born 33 years ago single no children
27:40i started my engine i followed her into the dark
27:45managering manor rose at the end of a long driveway the butler led us into a sitting room
27:50violet mannington sat by the fire a small woman in a black silk dress pale beautiful wrong she did not
27:58rise when we entered she did not blink for a long time her voice was a whisper through dust
28:06welcome to my home i lowered myself into the chair across from her trajan stood behind me i introduced
28:12myself per hyokine protocol she did not respond in kind she tilted her head at a wrong angle the
28:18fire dimmed the shadows moved like puppets on strings this was not a vampire this was something
28:24wearing one there are two it whispered the sage and the sentinel their blood together is the key
28:31i had no idea what it meant i had no time to ask i reached into my dress pocket a
28:37vial of blessed
28:38water from a green witch let us leave trejun's body grew beside me seams popping claws elongating
28:44the thing screamed it flew at us i threw the vial in its face it shrieked steam burst from its
28:50skin
28:51the shadows wavered just long enough to see the door i shouted i lunged for the doorknob
28:58lock behind us the thing began to laugh then a roar shook the house wood splintered the front door
29:04tore off its hinges a massive charcoal lichen stood in the doorway dane golden eyes blazing in his wolf
29:10face he saw me first his chest rumbled with relief then he saw the darkness behind me his instinct took
29:17over get outside he growled for once i obeyed i ran past him into the cold air i heard the
29:24fight behind
29:24me claws on something solid that should not be solid tearing bleeding screaming then two sets of paws
29:31trejun stumbled out first bleeding from three gashes dane behind him human now tall naked furious
29:39the house behind us went silent the darkness did not follow
29:44get in the car dane ordered he took the wheel
29:49i climbed into the back with trejun i pressed a piece of cloth against his bleeding side we drove to
29:55my house in silence dane carried trejun inside himself he called for a healer named celia i hovered
30:03over trejun's bed i felt dane's eyes on me hot possessive jealous i knew that look even after five
30:11years i knew it then a small voice came from the doorway they said uncle trejun is hurt my whole
30:18body went
30:18still i had told mrs melville to keep them upstairs i turned slowly tristan stood at the door seraphina
30:24behind him golden hair dark eyes black hair lilac eyes the boy who looked like his father the girl
30:32who looked like me i saw dane's face change i saw him look from the boy to me i saw
30:37the math happen
30:38behind his eyes five years plus nine months equals his mouth opened he took a step toward the children
30:46aurora his voice was raw whose children are those
30:52before i could answer evaner came skidding down the hallway he scooped both twins into his arms
30:58he grinned at me apologetically sorry they got away from me i exhaled like i had been holding
31:03my breath for a year dane you remember my cousin evaner dane stared at the children in evander's arms
31:09he stared at the little boy's golden hair he stared at the little girl's lila eyes
31:14i watched the suspicion build in his face then i watched him push it down i had been holding the
31:20box of plan b in his hand the math should not work he turned back to me these are your
31:26children it was
31:27not a question to evander it was a question to me they're his evander nodded naturally this time time
31:34for a snack in the kitchen he told the twins he walked away with them my son and daughter clinging
31:39to
31:39his legs my heart walked out the door behind them dane watched them go his face was wrong something in
31:45him hurt and he did not know why then he turned to me come out i have something to say
31:50i closed
31:50the door behind me in the hall he said one word book we walked to my bedroom i unlocked my
31:57safe i
31:58instantly regretted it inside the book but also the photos of my twins together in my arms photos i had
32:05treasured for a long time photos no cousin's children would explain i flipped them face down
32:09i lifted the book out fast what are you hiding nothing that matters he reached past me he picked
32:16up the photos i could not breathe he looked at the first one his own face went pale he set
32:23the photos
32:24down he turned he backed me against the wall not threatening not looming but close so close you are
32:31lying to me about those children i'm not he caught my chin he forced me to look at him his
32:37voice dropped
32:38to a growl anne or aurora or whoever you are are those children mine no they are not i leaned
32:47forward
32:47i pressed my fingertips against his chest a cold smile and if you keep looking at me that way i
32:54might
32:54reconsider showing you the book dane stepped back his face was still wrong but he could not press me
33:01not yet i pulled the journal from the safe the pearl pendant i left inside the book my
33:06grandmother believed marked me as the chosen i flipped through ancient pages symbols only i could
33:11read when i neared the back dane caught my arm stop what is that he traced where three pages had
33:20been
33:20torn out the remaining edges stained rust brown old dried blood esther reed tore them out why
33:29i don't know what are these pages a ceremony to reveal the moon goddesses chosen dane went very
33:38still then we need them we don't the book guides us to the relic that's enough aurora his voice was
33:46low
33:47my grandfather knows ancient magic you do everything required or people die we go to the reed house we find
33:54those pages i went cold no we don't he stepped close rage and threat back in his voice yes we
34:02do meet
34:03me there day after tomorrow he left i closed the safe with shaking hands that night i dreamed i dreamed
34:14of
34:14that night my family killed my wolf
34:18i crawled through the snow my veins on fire
34:23my wolf curled in a tiny corner of my mind whimpering dying
34:30please hang on please don't leave me then a warm hand on my face his voice
34:37shh what's your name and in that moment she died
34:45i woke in tears my pillow soaked
34:492 a.m i lay there hating that part of me still loved that voice
34:55three rooms away my phone lit up on the nightstand
34:59piper montfrey i answered aurora the reeds are here
35:04broken forest wolves have your house surrounded esther wants in
35:10i came downstairs in three minutes traven was in the foyer his wound torn open from trying to fight
35:16two blue ridge warriors holding him back then esther walked in like she owned the house
35:23she sat on my couch she lit a cigarette she blew smoke and lazy spirals
35:29two of her biggest warriors flanked me
35:33evenger had gotten the twins out the back
35:36they were hiding in the woods sense masked the blue ridge wolves watched from across the room
35:41council packed tied their hands no blood no bond no interference unless esther struck first
35:49what do you want esther you've been back a while anne you still haven't visited your family
35:54i'm no reed she tilted her head of course you are i clenched my fists
36:02i would not let her see me shake i know i'm a devore i know my mother came to georgia
36:08i know she disappeared fill in the blance esther she smirked don't you remember who you are
36:15who you serve a cold dark feeling poured through me dark memories swam at the edge of my mind
36:23forest at night candle light on stone walls blood on my small hands things i could not look at
36:31things i had never been able to look at i don't know what you mean but my voice wavered
36:36you're remembering aren't you ann weyland opened it dane stood there alpha reed i am here to make
36:45sure you do not violate the pact i almost wilted with relief dane's eyes found me first they scoured
36:53me head to toe then he looked at the windows i flicked my eyes toward the woods he understood the
36:58children were safe he turned to esther and weyden he folded his arms casual dangerous anne reed is a
37:03false name this woman is aurora devy of the high alpine pack esther smiled like a snake her mama
37:10gave her to us celeste sold her in a blood oath anne is ours my blood went ice my mother
37:17had sold me
37:18i pressed a hand to my mouth no that's not true i met dane's eyes i let him see me
37:22stripped bare then
37:23dane moved he extended one finger into a claw he sliced his own palm blood welled he let three drops
37:30fall
37:31warm on my clenched hands aurora devale is under the protection of blue ridge any blood spilled here
37:38is mine hurt her and the council falls on us all alpha power crashed through the room i stood there
37:46his blood on my skin he had just bound my fate to his again 2 a.m i sat up
37:55in bed dane wanted to drag
37:57me through the reed pack house himself i would not let that happen i knew where esther kept her hoard
38:03i would retrieve the pages alone i dressed in black i took my car as far as the woods would
38:09allow
38:10then i walked the road through the trees was darker than i remembered 20 steps in i stopped
38:19i knew this place this was the road my father had dragged me down this was the ditch i had
38:24bled into
38:26these were the boulders that had cut my hands this was the wall the wall where dane had found me
38:34the wall where i had met him eight years ago i touched the moss covered stone something in the
38:40air tasted like fate aurora what the hell are you doing here i spun around dane stood on top of
38:47the wall
38:47the moon behind him his broad shoulders bare his chest naked he had run here as a wolf i tried
38:54to bolt
38:56he caught me in three strides his grip on my wrist was iron you may be under my protection but
39:01trespassing
39:02on my land without permission means death dane please let me go there are there are things i need
39:07to do alone his face changed he thought i was lying where are you going anne to join them
39:12are you betraying me eight years of swallowed words rose up my throat dane i have never lied to you
39:19from the night i met you right here eight years ago i have been loyal to you you hated me
39:27anyway
39:28you never gave me a chance tears in my voice dane's grip loosened just for a heartbeat i ripped my
39:34wrist
39:35free i ran behind me a roar shook the trees he shifted mid-stride charcoal lylan exploding through the
39:41dark he wowed at the sky i sprinted uphill toward the disputed border i did not realize where i had
39:48run i felt him close behind me his huge clawed hand closed around my middle he lifted me throw me
39:57over
39:57his shoulder let me go he turned to carry me back to his land then howls split the night all
40:05around us
40:06so familiar four lycons stepped from the trees two dozen wolves behind them yellow teeth patchy starving
40:11fur esther we were on reed land now she had been waiting
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