LIAM

I arrived at Red Moon Pack only an hour before the vampires attacked. They clearly weren’t expecting the pack’s full strength because only about 50 vampires were coming at the pack. Their attack was sloppy, leading me to believe Warwick may not be as organized as I initially thought.

Unfortunately, one of Luna Jessalyn’s warriors was bitten. With no way to extract the venom, I knew he would die. The vampire had to be newly made because by the time we had stopped them all and gathered the bodies to burn, the bite was black, and the wolf was in serious pain. We got him to their pack doctor and made him comfortable, but that was all we could do.

When the bodies were burning, and everything else was handled, I finally found a room and crashed. The lack of sleep the previous night, the stress of dealing with Damien this morning, the travel to Red Moon, and finally, the attack had taken their toll. I ached for Azalea, but I knew she was safe at home.

When I finally woke up the next day, I didn’t feel very rested. Looking at my phone, it was almost lunchtime, and I had a message from Azalea. I figured I needed to check on Jessalyn and the bitten warrior before calling my mate.

Luna Jessalyn was with her pack doctor, sitting with the warrior. She looked sick at the sight of him, probably taking this casualty to heart. “Good afternoon, Alpha,” she greeted me.

“Good afternoon, Luna,” I said. “How is he?”

“The doctor has made sure he isn’t in pain to the best of our knowledge. I believe we can only wait now?” she looked at me questioningly.

I nodded my head. “Unfortunately, yes,” I told her. “We haven’t found a cure for the bite. In some cases, we have been able to stem the effects but only with the help of a vampire.”

“Your ally, correct?” she said, her eyes trained on her pack member.

“Yes,” I said.

“Are you so sure that he is your ally?” she asked.

“Why would you ask that?” I replied.

“Why would he help you if achieving your ultimate goal will end in his death?” she said, finally looking at me. I could see the stress and worry lines on her face. She looked worse than she had at the Summit.

“I can’t answer that for him,” I said. “But I have no reason to believe he is lying. Without his help, my Beta may never have woken up. My pups would have been attacked by rogues. He left his sire a long time ago; maybe he is content with dying if it is for a good reason.”

“Very well,” she said. She turned back to her warrior and was quiet for a moment. “If you return to my packhouse, the kitchen staff will be happy to feed you. You are welcome to stay as long as you need. I appreciate your response and assistance in this matter.”

“Thank you,” I said. “If I may ask, have you considered stepping down and appointing a new Alpha and Luna. I believe you said your son was at college?”

She sighed. “When I returned to my pack after the Summit, my son called to tell me he found his mate. A human, to my dismay. I am happy he found his mate, but getting her to accept him will take much longer because she is human. He hopes to bring her home after the semester is over. I couldn’t tell my children about their father after that; I couldn’t put that burden on my son. He shouldn’t have to choose between his mate and his pack.”

“Your children would want to know. They deserve to grieve their father,” I said.

“Their father was a better Alpha than a parent, unfortunately. Yes, they will be upset, but I fear they may also harbor some anger which I would like to avoid for the moment. Until my son can mate and mark his human, I will have to remain in charge of my pack,” she concluded.

I could tell the conversation was over. I gave Jessalyn a tight smile before going back to the packhouse. I understood all too well the struggle of being raised by a man who was an Alpha first and a parent last.

On my way there, I was stopped by one of the more senior warriors in Jessalyn’s pack. “Excuse me, Alpha Liam, could I have a word?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said. “What can I help you with?”

“Well,” he said. “I hate to have to ask, but I don’t think we have any other option. Could I ask you to speak to our Luna about passing on the torch? We are worried about her, and with the war hanging over our heads, we need a strong leader in place.”

I sighed. Before I could answer him, my phone rang. “Azalea?” I answered quickly, holding up my finger to the warrior.

“Liam?” she chirped happily. Hearing my mate’s voice instantly soothed me. I desperately wanted to talk to her but not with an audience.

“Is everything alright?” I asked her.

“Yes,” she said. “I just wanted to talk to you. Did I interrupt something?”

The warrior in front of me shook his head, taking a step back to give me space. “I can talk for a minute, sweetheart,” I told her, even though I wanted to make this short so I could speak with her freely later.

“Well, is everything okay there?” she asked. s**t. I didn’t reply to her message making sure I was okay.

“Yea, I took care of things. But I will probably be here another day or two,” I told her with a grimace. I hated being away from her. “Why did you call, though?”

“Well, I had a thought,” she started. “Robert is just hovering. What if I sent him to the city to empty the safety deposit box from Greyback?” I barely heard what she said, though. Another person came running over to us.

“We found a vampire that escaped the group last night!” he said quickly. My eyes went wide at his words. How?

“Liam?” she prompted. “Did I lose you?”

“No, no. I’m here. Yea, have my dad take you into the city. I am sure my mom will keep the kids for the day. Please take Azeron with you, though. Sorry, Little Luna, but I need to go. I love you,” I rushed out and hung up the phone. Azalea was safe for the moment, and I needed to figure out how we missed a vampire.

“Take me to it,” I said quickly. We all took off running. I followed them out close to their pack border. When we got there, there were four wolves standing around a vampire tied up on the ground.

“We found him running away,” one of them told me.

“Who are you?” I asked the vampire.

“M-Melvin,” he stuttered.

“Why were you sent here?” I questioned.

“I was sent w-with the others,” he said. “I didn’t want to. Sh-she commanded us.”

“Who?”

“The woman. The woman that bit me…” he trailed off. He looked around at all of us, scared. He didn’t seem like some loyal follower bent on the destruction of werewolves.

“How did you end up alive?” I asked.

“I hid. I found a grouping of rocks and slipped inside. I waited until I thought the coast was clear,” he explained. “Please, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I didn’t want this. I don’t even know that woman. I met her through a dating app. My mom said I need to put myself out there!”

I observed the vampire a little more. He looked to be around college age, maybe 21 or so. He had glasses and had a very weak physique. He was clearly nervous and timid.

“This wasn’t your choice?” I clarified.

“No!” he almost shouted. “No! I just want to go home. I don’t understand what all this is!”

I looked at the two warriors I came with. “We can’t let him leave. Do you have a place to lock him up for now?” They nodded. “Good. Take him there but treat him kindly. Untie him when it is safe to do so.” I looked at the vampire. “This will be easiest if you don’t resist and don’t try to harm anyone here.”

“Please, just let me leave!” he begged. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could do that,” I said. I turned on my heel and headed to the packhouse. Food; I needed to eat. This was much more of a headache than I wanted to deal with.

JUNIOR

Grandma and Leo were making us some lunch. Leo was making sandwiches very slowly while Grandma got Azly’s bottle ready. I played with Azly in her little bouncy chair. She was a pretty baby, and she looked just like Mom.

Mom and Grandpa were acting weird when they left this morning. I hope Dad comes back soon. Mom is always sad when he is gone, and Grandpa comes around more, making her more sad.

We helped Grandma in the garden this morning, and she said if Mom and Grandpa don’t come home by lunch, then we could make cookies. I wanted to bring some to Delilah. She is a lot happier now that her dad is back.

“Junior, would you like to feed Azly while we finish these sandwiches?” Grandma asked.Belongs to - All rights reserved.

“Sure,” I said. I grabbed the bottle from her and brought it back to my baby sister. I held the bottle to her mouth like Mom showed me, and she started drinking it right away. Her eyes watched me the whole time.

I heard a crashing sound behind me, and I turned around to see Grandma holding her chest. Leo’s face looked scared, and he swayed a little on the stool he was standing on.

“Grandma?” I asked quickly.

“What’s wrong?” Leo asked.

She gasped for breath and slid until she sat down on her butt next to the broken plate on the ground. Leo looked at me. “What’s wrong with Grandma?” he shouted with fear in his voice.

“I don’t know!” I said quickly. I pulled Azly’s bottle from her mouth and set it on the table, then rushed over to my grandma. She was clutching her chest with her eyes squeezed shut.

“We need Grandpa or Dad!” Leo shouted.

Dad! He always knew what to do. Grandma’s phone was on the counter. I grabbed it and found Dad’s number fast.

“Hey, Ma,” Dad answered.

“No, Dad, it’s Liam. Something is wrong with Grandma!” I said quickly.

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” he asked. “Tell me what happened.”

“She dropped a plate. We are getting ready for lunch. When I looked at her, she was holding her chest, and it looks like she can’t breathe!” I told him.

“Okay,” he said. “Where are your mom and grandpa?” he asked.

“They went to the city. Mom said she had to do something important with Grandpa,” I told him. I could hear my dad curse.

“Okay. I want you to call Aunt Lily, okay? Tell her that you need her and the doctor for Grandma,” he said.

“Okay,” I said. I bit my l*p. “Dad, is grandma okay?”

“She’s fine,” Dad said. “Just get Aunt Lily, okay? I need to make a call. I will see you soon.”

Dad hung up the phone, and Leo gave me a worried look. “It’s going to be okay,” I told him. I didn’t want him to be scared.

ROBERT

“I’m not going to make it out of this,” I thought, trying to keep both Azalea and the vampire from seeing how injured I was. The vampire I just killed may have broken my leg when I grabbed him, lashing out with his hands even as I crushed his skull. I was determined to take this one with me, though. I would not be dispatched so easily, no matter how strong this leech was. Marshall was furious and wanted this vampire’s head, even if it meant giving our life to do it.

“Thank you, old friend,” I told Marshall. “Let’s take this bastard with us.”

“f**k! Him!” Marshall roared at me. “We’ll kill the bloodsucker.”

Putting all my weight on my three uninjured legs, I coiled myself to attack. The vampire had other plans and was standing in front of me so quickly that I didn’t even have time to track his movement with my eyes. A crushing backhand that took the wind out of me landed on my ribs, cracking most of them on that side. It sent me into the wall, where I had trouble standing up. My vision blurred, and I couldn’t draw in breath.

“Robert!” Azalea screamed. It sounded like it was coming from the end of a tunnel, muffled and echoing with the ringing in my ears beginning to drown it out. That’s when I heard the vampire laughing as he sauntered away from me towards Azalea.

“Up!” Marshall demanded. Breathing was excruciating, and I could feel my ribs cracking more with each breath. One of them had broken free and was rubbing against its own shattered end, sending lightning bolts of pain through my chest. As I forced myself upright, I put weight on my injured leg, sending me sprawling forward onto my face. I dragged myself up, my uninjured legs bearing my weight as I drew the broken one to my chest.

“I’m sorry, Lyssa. I won’t be making it home tonight,” I thought, the only plan in my mind to save Azalea not being one that would end in me leaving with her. I ran forward, my gait uneven because I’d never tried to run on three legs. The vampire turned to look at me, his overconfident smile infuriating me as I blinked furiously to keep the b***d out of my eyes. I once again coiled myself to spring forward, this time able to do it as he waited for me. I felt his arms close around me, his hands meeting near my spine and locking together as he began to squeeze. I’d aimed well, though, and he’d fallen into my trap. As I felt my spine snap and the bottom half of my body faded away, my front legs rested on the vampire’s shoulders. I looked down, and I saw him staring up at me with a cry of victory upon his lips.

Before I finished my final task, my eyes found Azalea. She had tears pouring down her face, and she looked frozen in place, unable to move as she watched the vampire crushing me.

“Robert…” Azalea sobbed. I locked eyes with her, pleading with her to take the opening I made her

“GO NOW!” I roared aloud. Being shifted still, it only came out as an angry howl. My vision was beginning to dim around the edges as I wasn’t able to draw in breath anymore.

Now unblocked, I saw her move towards the door as the vampire tried to end me. The vampire snapped his head to look at Azalea as he heard her move behind him, and his grip loosened on me as he began to drop me to go after her.

“Not so fast,” I thought as I opened my mouth wide and, with all of the strength that remained in my upper body, pulled him tightly to me with my paws resting on his shoulders. I bit down on his head, my teeth crashing into his neck. His skin was much tougher than the other vampire, and I struggled to break through it. He squeezed with new desperation, now aware of his impending death. My teeth finally broke through, and they scraped against his spine as I tried to rip it free from his body. The vampire fell to his knees under me, sending waves of both numbness and pain through my body as my spine tried to reconcile the irreparable damage already done to it. We collapsed in a growing puddle of b***d on the floor, and I was able to move my head enough to free the vampire’s from his body. I let it fall from my mouth and tried to take a breath that wouldn’t come. The darkness engulfed my vision, and I knew that my time was up. As I faded into the ether, all I could think was, “I hope that was enough, Liam.”