LOGINLincoln's POV'What the hell, man? How could you let her walk into this?'Tobias's link drips with vitriol, and he's right.Goddess damn, he's right.The tension in the room has every hair on my body on edge. We're supposed to be here to reassure the pack and calm things down ahead of the fucking inspection, and now this?Lex is standing to attention, every instinct focused on our mate, because it feels like a very real possibility that someone might lunge for her, and I know from the set of Xander's shoulders and the way Tobias is squeezing his cutlery they both feel it as well.At least the one saving grace is that they will both put themselves between Zahra and any harm. If this breaks into an all-out fight, Zahra will have my entire unit and three Alphas, as well as her own incredible skill, to keep her safe.I can't fucking believe I put her in this position.'I didn't see this coming,' Lex murmurs, berating himself for the hundredth time.'We don't have a bond with the pack yet.
Zahra's POVLincoln looks around the room, surveying his pack before starting; "Good evening, Shadow Pack. It's wonderful to see you all again and be back on home soil." He pauses as ripples of murmurs spread across the room. "I am sorry to have left you for so long after only just becoming your Alpha, but I had a rather important job to do."He glances down at me, and his eyes very briefly flicker to Tobias's before he continues."I met my mate." He smiles. "I had to wait until the other day for her to come of age and for the bond to reveal itself to her. Shadow, I would like to introduce you all to your Luna, Zahra Larking, Beta female from Bloodmoon."There are stunned gasps, and no one cheers. Not one person.Lincoln registers it too. His jaw tightens before he continues."The feud between Bloodmoon and Shadow died with my father. We have no grudges with them, and this new alliance formed by our bond, and my close friendship with their future Alpha," he indicates Xander, "will ens
Zahra's PovWe chat away in the living room for what feels like five minutes, but when Lincoln squeezes my hand and I look up, I realise the light is golden and the sun is starting to descend in the sky."It's nearly time for dinner to be served. Do you want to change?" Lincoln asks. "We're relaxed here and you look beautiful, as always. I just didn't want to take the option away from you," he hurries on, as if worried I'll be offended by his words.I smile at him and glance at the others. They are all in shorts and T-shirts, or, in Holly's case, a light summer skirt and a sleeveless top.I'm in the sundress I put on this morning to make a good first impression. It's clean and not too wrinkled and will still serve its purpose. I don't want the others to think I'm high maintenance."I'm happy to go down like this," I say to Lincoln, squeezing his hand gently.He smiles, his silver eyes bright, but beneath it I can feel his nervous excitement through the bond.Fuck... this is about to ha
Zahra's POVLincoln continues; "Well, then, once we woke up, Tobias and I went to see Zahra because we'd missed her birthday, and then we were told she'd been poisoned, and naturally we were worried. And when we got there... the bond snapped into place. We've been in Bloodmoon trying to figure things out and spending time together.""Wow, this is complicated," Holly breathes. "Three separate packs, units, the lot?"I nod."Where will you live?"We shrug."We haven't figured anything out yet, and we know the responsibility of our units is going to increase. But thankfully I'm the only acting Alpha at the moment. Hopefully we'll have figured out more of a plan before the others are sworn in."They all look a little shell-shocked, and the room falls into silence. Nobody even seems to blink.My anxiety rockets.They're judging us.They don't want me as their Luna anymore.They're going to think I'm a slut. That I'm unworthy of being their Luna.Lincoln's hand finds mine. He interlocks our
Zahra's POV"So, Luna," Tammy starts, "how did you meet Lincoln?""Zahra, please. You're going to be my unit and, hopefully, my closest friends. Just Zahra is fine," I say, smiling at them all.But her question surprises me."Didn't they tell you?" I say, looking at the guys."Tell us what?" Tammy says.I smile."I've known them all for ages. I met Lincoln and Sam four years ago at the Alpha King's summer training camp. Then I was at the dinner where Tobias and King James introduced Isaac and Jackson to Sam and Lincoln.""Oh, so you've known them all longer than we have?" Holly says, smiling.I nod."I still can't believe you're lucky enough to be mated to Zahra, man," Sam says, shaking his head.Holly smacks his arm."I'm right here," she scowls at him.He chuckles, kissing her nose."Not like that, babe. It's just Zahra here is more than a little special. She's the best warrior any of us have ever seen, she graduated high school at fourteen, graduated Night Howlers Academy early, an
Zahra's POVLincoln leads me downstairs to the first floor and towards what I assume is the living room he mentioned."My father removed the Luna's office not long after my mother died, and he expanded the other offices on this floor instead. If you'd like, we could convert one of the bedrooms upstairs. Or you could do what the other female units do and we could share the Alpha office."I can hear the hope in his voice."Do you, by any chance, like the idea of me sharing your office?" I ask with a smile.He nods."Very much. I like the idea of having you beside me. But if you'd prefer a more traditional approach, we can sort something."I smile."Nothing about this is traditional. I'm happy to share your office."He grins down at me, pulling me into his arms, and kisses me hard. His hand finds my hair, and mine finds his chest, as we make out in full view of anyone in the corridor.When he pulls back, he's breathless and, judging by the tent in his trousers and the scent filling the c
Tobias's POVI storm into my study, the door banging as I go. I head straight to the conference table at the other side of the room, then spin to face the others, my hands gripping the back of a chair until my knuckles turn white.Persephone is dragged in by Alistair, her usually stunning face set
Zahra's POVWhen I wake the following morning, my eyes feel scratchy. We stayed up too late the night before. The beer has burned off without an issue thanks to my wolf metabolism, but I’m tired.I pull on a pair of denim shorts and a pale blue linen T-shirt, then grab my old Converse and head down
Max's POVI gaze across the ballroom at the sea of well-dressed people and sigh. I dreamed of having Zahra on my arm this year, of walking in with her beside me and feeling like I belonged here because she did, and she’s not fucking here. I miss her so damn much it makes my ribs ache, like my chest
Zahra's POVMorgan grabs a slice and talks around a mouthful. “Okay, poker basics while we eat.”O’Hara grunts in approval around a mouthful and starts shuffling. Swallowing, he says. “Texas Hold’em. We all get two cards each. Keep them private. Guard them with your life.”I take a slice, fold it i







