MADDOX

Missy was quiet when she left Luna’s office that night. Langston asked to talk to Liam privately, so I went down and got the girls some dinner. I didn’t miss Azeron in the hall as I left. I laughed to myself, already knowing Luna was going to push back against Alpha’s insistence on her protection.

I brought the food back upstairs, and Azeron and I joined Missy and Luna. Missy was quiet while we ate and put up no resistance when Alpha came to get Luna, putting an end to everything for the night.

I closed the bedroom door behind us. Missy walked over to the dresser and started pulling out some pajamas; I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “You alright?” I asked softly in her ear.

“Yea,” she mumbled.

“Do you miss Azly?” I asked.

She made a soft chuckling sound. “Maybe a little, but I am happy she is back with Lea and Liam.” She turned around in my arms. “Let’s just go to bed,” she said with a wistful smile. I nodded and let her go so she could change.

–

“You asked for me?” I said as I stepped into Luna’s office. She sat on the couch with Azly in her arms, drinking from a bottle. Missy and I were in the kitchen when Azeron linked me the Luna was looking for me.

“Maddox, yes,” she smiled.

“What can I do for you, Luna?” I asked.

“I told you to call me Azalea or Lea. I want to give you something,” she said. She reached over Azly and produced something small, holding it out to me. I came over to her, taking the object. I looked at it in the palm of my hand and saw that it was a key. I looked up at her, confused. “Sit down,” she said. I sat down on the other side of the couch as she asked.

“I know about Missy going into heat,” she said softly.

“Oh,” I said. I was worried about this. It was hard not to go right through the bathroom door the other night, and luckily she hadn’t flared up since. I was afraid of it getting worse, but we hadn’t talked about mating yet.

“Can I assume you know what is going to happen?” I nodded. “I am guessing by the look on your face you haven’t talked to her much about it yet. That is the key to Missy’s house; I am giving it to you because I want you two to be safe. There is too much pressure in the packhouse, so I want you to have a safe place that is yours.”

“So you’re okay with….” I couldn’t quite finish the sentence. Even if it was an accepted part of life for wolves, it didn’t make talking about it with my mate’s mother any easier.

“Yes, Maddox,” she said. “Whether it’s now or later, it’s going to happen. I would just like to know she wants it to happen, and you two are safe.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Talk to her,” she continued. “I think it makes her nervous, but I don’t think she has any reason to be.”

“No, Luna,” I said quickly. “I would never ever hurt her.”

Luna smiled before looking back down at Azly. She didn’t say anything else, so I took it as my cue to leave. I left the office with a million ideas running through my head; I needed to get some things ready and talk to my mate.

LIAM

“I appreciate all your help,” I told Austin honestly. We sat in my office with Langston, discussing everything that had transpired since we arrived back from the attack on Warwick, including his message.

“Absolutely,” Austin said. “I would do anything for you and this pack, Liam.”

“Now, decisions need to be made,” Langston said. Austin and I agreed. The other smaller packs that helped us rescue Azalea and Missy were still recovering from the fight. From what Austin could gather, they were still willing to fight against the vampires but felt we were dramatically outnumbered.

“We need more,” I lamented. “The vampires outnumbered us so easily, and we had no idea. Have we gathered any information on the surviving Clans and their numbers?”

“Some,” Austin said. He stood from his chair and went to the table on the other side of my office, where mountains of papers and files were stacked. He searched through the papers until he found what he was looking for. “From what we could gather, two clans were eliminated during the previous wars; we thought Clan Warwick was as well, but we were clearly wrong on that account. We cannot find any evidence to suggest the other two survived, though.”

Austin passed me a hefty file folder. I opened it and began skimming the contents while he continued. “This was as much as I could get Abraham to help with for the moment. He is still pretty upset about his son. We know there are three other clans on this continent; the others we believe reside in other parts of the world. For the ones here, we know one to have no issue with werewolves and keep to themselves in the northernmost part of the continent.”

I nodded my head as I listened. If what Austin knew was true, then Warwick has two other potential allies to align himself with.

“Do we know how large these clans are?” Langston asked.

“No, unfortunately,” Austin said. “It’s really a difficult thing to figure out. Take Theodore, for example: if we could not smell that he is a vampire, you would be none the wiser. They can easily hide within human populations just as we can.”

“Were we able to get any trail on Warwick after he left the message at our border?” I asked.

Austin shook his head. “I don’t think it was him personally. Our tracker lost the scent when they reached the city. They have been circling around but nothing yet.”

“We need more wolf power. We need more allies,” Langston said.

“But we have gathered everyone close,” I pointed out. “What are we supposed to do, start recruiting across the entire continent?”

Langston’s eyebrows climbed as he tilted his head. “That may not be a bad idea. It hasn’t been done in my time, but there have been cases where entire summits have been held for our race, and leaders from all packs have been brought together to discuss our ways and laws.”

“Do you think anyone else would come? Would they even believe?” I asked.

“Even if it is not spoken about openly, rumors and stories of the last vampire war and the battle that changed the name of your pack are whispered all around. Some may not believe, but plenty might. They may come for sure curiosity’s sake.”

“Won’t Warwick expect this from us? Won’t he expect me to find strong allies to fight him?”

“Maybe, but surely not the entire werewolf population. Plus, he outnumbered us but not by enough.”

“What do you mean?” Austin asked. “The vampires were easily twice our force.”

“Yes, but if he were to manufacture his own nubile army to rid himself of B***d Eclipse and the Blackfurs completely, do you not think he would have had, I don’t know, three or four vampires to one of us? I do not think he expected you to align yourself with so many other packs; he probably did not think they would follow you out of self-preservation.”

“True,” I said, thinking about Langston’s words. There were a lot of vampires, but if Warwick had planned to ultimately end us, there should have been more. We won but maybe a bit too easily.Content rights belong to .

“So what? We send invitations out to every pack we can find?” Austin asked, looking between Langston and me.

“I think that is our next move,” he said, leaning back in his chair.

I chewed the inside of my cheek for a minute, considering the idea. It would be the best way to get everyone to agree, and the peer pressure alone would work in our favor if we could only convince a few.

“Yes,” I said finally. “We will invite all the leaders of every pack we can find. If we are going to rid ourselves of this threat to our existence, we will need everyone working together.”

AZALEA

Maddox left my office, and I sat with Azly. She finished her bottle, and I burped her before laying her down for a diaper change. She cooed and kicked, smiling sweetly up at me as I got her all clean. I played with her, tickling her tummy and moving her legs about while I waited for Theodore to arrive.

“Luna,” Azeron said from the doorway. “He will be up in just a moment.”

“Thank you,” I said. Despite my offers, Azeron would not take a chair or move from his station at the door. I was temporarily putting up with this unrelenting guardship, but things were going to change when we found and disposed of Warwick.

I got up and took Azly to her bouncer, setting it to a light speed. She quieted quickly, and her soft eyelids fluttered closed. Of the three babies, she was the best behaved. Junior never let me get a wink of work done at this age.

Theodore entered the office. “Good afternoon, Luna Azalea. Glad to see you doing well,” he said.

“Theo, no need to be so formal,” I greeted him. “It’s so nice to see you. Please take a seat,” I said, motioning to the chairs at my desk. I moved to sit behind it.

“How are you feeling? If I may ask,” he started.

“You may. I am still a bit tired and sore but happy to be up and moving,” I said.

“You are very fortunate to have been found in time. I know the doctor was saying he almost lost you in the field hospital,” he said.

“Sadly, my memory around the events of my rescue and Azly’s birth are a bit hazy,” I explained. “But Liam did tell me that Damien was bitten, and that is why I wanted to speak with you.”

Theodore nodded. “I figured as much. You want to know if I was able to do anything to help him?” I nodded my head and waited for him to explain. With a heavy sigh, he said, “When Damien made it back to the clinic here in the pack, the venom had already been in his system for some time. Fortunately, I believe the vampire that bit him was at least of middle age for our kind.”

“I hoped that was the case since he is still alive,” I said. “But why is he still asleep?”

“I have no way to be certain, honestly. I am by no means an expert on this subject. I was able to extract some venom from his system, but there was surely still some left. I could not tell you what effects the Beta will have until he wakes up.”

“When will that be?” I asked.

“I am sorry to say, Luna, but I cannot tell you that either. Since the battle, I have been trying to find accounts or sources of information on this matter, but my race does not document like yours does. None have ever cared much about the effect our bites have on other creatures; those that do not bite to feed simply have no remorse for the consequences.”

My face fell. Lily was a wreck this morning when I saw her leaving the packhouse to head to the clinic. Missy said she usually slept by Damien’s side. I needed to help my best friend and her mate, but I had no idea how.

“Is there anything that can be done that may help?” I asked sadly.

“A colleague of mine had a theory, but it was just that, a theory. A long time ago, he knew a wolf from a special pack a ways from here. The wolves of this pack were said to be blessed by their Moon Goddess and the most worthy having extraordinary gifts. He claimed that the wolf he was acquainted with had a gift for healing supernatural wounds. He believed that particular wolf may have been able to, at least in part, reverse the side effects of our venom. But the pack no longer exists, and I am sure the wolf would be long dead by now.”

My heart skipped. “Do you mean White Moon Pack?”

Theo scrunched his eyebrows together. “Yes,” he said. “Are you aware of them?”

“My mother was from White Moon. A portion of their members are now members of this pack, and some do have gifts, including me,” I explained.

“Do you know of any with an ability to heal others? Maybe they have information on their lineage or the power inheritance?” Theo asked quickly.

I nodded my head. “I do,” I said. “It’s me.”