Libby POV
I have to think on my feet, as much as I like Ben, I’m not ready for my past to return to me.Even talking about it brings back flashbacks of that lake house…“I witnessed a man shift in front of me.” This isn’t entirely untrue, a big black wolf did shift the first time I was chased by werewolves. The naked delicious man is who I often dream about.“Fuck! That must have scared the shit out of you.”“You could say that.”“He let you go?” Ben presses further.It was unheard of for werewolves to shift in front of humans. But I was on the run back then and had been cornered.I didn’t know about the werewolf world back then, that fateful night giving me a crash course.“Not exactly…”I don’t elaborate further, I wasn’t let go…but escaped in the most horrific of circumstances.“Who are you and Beth running from?” I ask Ben, keen to move the topic off me.“What makes you think we are running?” He quirks an eyebrow at me. I thought I knew Ben and Beth, but all this time they had their own secrets. Their own reasons for being on this remote farm.I just hope I haven’t misjudged their characters which I have been known to do so in the past.“There’s only one reason wolves leave their packs…to become rogues. So who are you running from?”His eyes flash to the compact corridor behind me, where Beth is still recovering.“Hhmm you are well informed. I’m running from my stepfather.”“Why?”“He was trying to earmark Beth to marry his brother.”“I’m hoping a younger brother?”“Not by much…50. I couldn’t just standby and watch her marry him. I’ve already lost my mother to my stepfather, I couldn’t lose my sister.”There’s a sadness in his tone, also laced with guilt and regret.Beth was only 14. Bloody hell, I can see why he did what he had to do.“So who are you running from?”“Me?”“Humans runaway too…” He shrugs his shoulders, before finishing his hot drink and placing the mug back on the table.I was starting to feel uncomfortable with his questions. He was well within his right to ask them, hadn’t I just been doing the same.But now I was starting to worry that I was being too oversharing.“Libby, I would never tell a soul what you are telling me. I think everyone here has that unspoken common ground of keeping off the radar. Why else would we be working cash in hand and doing hard labour. But I can tell you are worrying, let’s talk about something else…”We talk about silly things, giggling about what the group of illegals must be really up to. We pass the time watching films on the television both taking it in turns to check on Beth.By 10pm I’m exhausted, my eyes struggle to remain open and my body starts to get cold from the lack of insulation in these caravans.“You’re freezing.” Ben’s hand touches my forehead which makes him flinch back slightly.“It’s the caravan.”“Here, I’m always warm.”He wasn’t wrong and I could have groaned with pleasure as he pulls me to him, his skin acting as an instant radiator.“Why were you in the woods?” He asks me, as I sleepily place my head against his shoulder. My toes curling with joy as I can start to feel them again. They must have been almost blue.“I was just walking, you?”“We need to let our wolves out every so often. We came back from town early hoping the nearby lands would be empty.”“I can stand guard, or watch Beth if you ever want to let your wolf out.” My sleepy voice offers with a yawn. His warmth was better than a hot water bottle.“Thanks Libby, I might just take you up on that.”I feel him reach forward and pick up the blanket that was laying on my small coffee table. He places it on me just as my body gives in to the call to sleep.….I wake up to laughter.My eyes snapping open, a noise I wasn’t used to in my caravan.My neck was aching and it only takes me a few seconds to remember I fell asleep on Ben’s shoulder, having not made it to my own bed.“Morning.” I didn’t realise how angelic her voice was, having only heard her cries of pain yesterday afternoon.“Beth…you’re awake. How do you feel?”“Much better thanks, my leg is healed. I hope you don’t mind, I was so hot in the night I turned off your fan heater.”“Not at all.” I smile as I stretch my arms above my head, straightening my back out. I feel like I have slept in a heated blanket all night. My body actually feels warm for once.“What time is it?”“8am”Shit. I’ve overslept, the bitter cold not waking me before my alarm clock for once.“Don’t worry I’ve fed the animals for the morning, even made sure Anwir had some eggs for breakfast but he seems to have pulled an all nighter.” Ben gives me a look.“Really?”“Yes, I knocked but there was no answer on his caravan.”“I think you were knocking on the wrong caravan. Try the 3rd one to the left next time.”“Ah I see…”Pierce POV “How many guards are on tonight?” “20 in total Alpha. Did you want more?” “No that’s a good number. Not being on high risk anymore, that should be sufficient.” I rub the temple spots by the side of my forehead. Things have been…torturous, but not for any visible reason. The entire pack has been on alert mode for the past 6 months. I have been meticulous in my planning of late. “Did you want to start looking at options for bringing the trackers back…it has been 3 months.” Dane, my long serving beta…my second in command asks. “Can we spare anybody else to take their places?” “No right now Alpha, no. I think they need the break. It has been constant for them, and I know for a fact that they haven’t once come across any Red Stone pack trackers…” They haven’t? In 3 whole months…that surprises me. “They haven’t?” “No, are you sure Alpha Reuben has trackers out in the field?” “That’s what he said.” I stand up from my desk chair, Dane sitting on the other side of my desk,
Pierce POV I’ve visited Reuben’s and Evelyn’s new home plenty of times, but never with a purpose other than just spending time with them. If Reuben’s trackers haven’t been spotted by mine, then there was the strong possibility that he hadn’t sent any out at all.Fate had destined for Reuben and I to be in each other’s lives from a young age. Our Father’s were the best of friends until their feud, forcing Reuben and I to grow apart, to temporarily become adversaries. A few physical arguments as teenagers, I believe one being over both having a crush on the same girl…then our fates crossed again the day he carried a collapsed Evelyn in his arms out of a warehouse located on my outer pack grounds.I found immense pleasure in flirting with Evelyn so openly in front of him, even when he was denying their bond and remaining with Vicky. Now their kids call me uncle. The Royal Alpha family’s house was set away from both packs, geographically in the middle of the Red Stone and the Silver
Pierce POV “What do you mean she is safe?” I can feel my face screwing up as I ask my own question. My own mind at a loss of what he means. “Exactly that, that she is safe.” This is beggar’s belief. “How long….for how long have you known this?” “For 6 months.” For 6 months…for 6 months he has known she is safe yet he has let me think the worse. Every time I have been here I have opened up to Evely, told her how I have been struggling…no wonder he was so quiet, the prick was holding back from me. I could feel my body trembling, my beastly wolf wanting out…to punish this so called Alpha King for letting me think my own mate was possibly dead. My beast becoming ferociously dangerous in this lovely high-end designed kitchen of theirs. The only way to prevent a shift is to attack in myhuman form. The only warning I give him is the snarl that leaves my mouth. I lunge at him, it doesn’t matter there is a dinning table in my way. I knock him to the ground, our bodies rolling around
Pierce POV Reuben prepares me for a long wait. He says he has no idea where Libby has been hiding but from what he suspects, it is the other side of the country. At least, hopefully, she was still in the country and hadn’t gone overseas. That is what filled me with dread…that she would have used smugglers to get her out of the country. Libby has no trace of a digital record, something her father Odin made a point of ordering. She is on the records until she reached the age of 12 and then it’s as if she died…I even have her death certificate…and her mother’s. Claiming she died of pneumonia. We know for certain that Libby’s mother was human, which makes my mate half human half werewolf. A fact she didn’t know until she stumbled across our kind, both Reuben and I chasing her out of one of my warehouses. I have plenty of regrets with Libby. I regret letting her into this world so quickly…she wasn’t ready. She had also lived a life apart from most humans since her mother died. Her an
Libby POV It was a fresh new week on the farm and I was excited on what it might bring.The weekend had been eventful, I now know my friend’s Ben and Beth are secret werewolves with their own problems, hiding just as I am. I now had a fresh batch of tablets to suppress those stomach cramps, Ben and Beth non-the-wiser on my own part in the werewolf world….I was feeling great. Life was starting to seem less…bleak. My life will never be easy, but at least it was a life I was finally choosing for myself. Ben and Beth left my caravan and headed to theirs to freshen up. I took the eggs that Ben had left outside Anwir’s place and was busy making him his favourite breakfast on the campfire. He’ll be out of someone’s caravan momentarily and I’m pretty certain I know which one. I am crouched down by the campfire when I hear a door creak behind me, my head turning to find the culprit. “Why am I not surprised?” I mutter to myself as I witness Anwir climb out of a caravan, as soon as I start
Libby POV I’m slow in comparison but I manage to follow Ben and Beth, breaking away when I reach my own caravan. This was it. Time to move again. I cannot be caught. I rip open the cupboard door under the sink, reaching for my backpack and hoisting it onto my back. I rush to the fridge, clumsily reaching for bottled water as my adrenaline kicks in. I’ve been planning this for months but now that it is happening…I feel severely unprepared. I just don’t possess that…hunter mindset within me. “What’s going on?” Anwir is watching me, too cooly, at the steps leading up to my door. “They will only inspect the others and then move on. Why are you worried?” He turns and I stick my head out the door when I see the blue sirens gathering distance on us…on me. “Anwir…” I hush him, at the sight of the illegal farm workers starting to run away from the now running police officers in the fields. This was like a scene from those tv dramas I used to watch. But now I was in one. I can’t get
Pierce POV I’ve been traveling throughout all of last night and now today. I’ve checked plenty of farms in this area, none of them seem to be hiring illegal farmers from what I can see. Not that they would be advertising this but I have searched the areas for any signs of people remaining hidden. Anwir wasn’t exact in his location, he was holding back on Reuben and I, but I had a small part of the map that he pointed to and didn’t wait to start my search. I knew instantly this was the right farm. The police now swarming the area was the sign that I needed. I keep driving around the farm’s border fencing until I find the accommodation entrance, finding police loading people into vans and vehicles under arrest. I curse under my breath as I exit my vehicle…I was going to have to act as a detective to get any chance of gaining information. I head to the boot of my car, placing a long black smart coat over me…checking the fake detective badge in my inner pocket. “Can I help you?” A po
Libby POV We’ve been moving for hours…my legs were like jelly. I needed a break. I needed to catch my breath. I was already pushing through the burning sensation in my lungs, now fighting a painful stitch in my side. We must have covered miles since we left the farm, surely this would be enough distance for one night. “Ben.” I gasp which finally forces him to turn around to check on us behind. He had been leading our expedition and I had complete faith in him, but he was so hell-bent on getting us somewhere safe he forgot how much stronger he was than the rest of us. His eyes glance nervously upon Beth who was also panting slightly. She may have a wolf, but from what I understand, she hasn’t got her full strength yet. That wouldn’t come until she was of age. Therefore, for right now, she was stronger than me, but not considerably. “Okay, let’s stop for the night.” He agrees, my chest already feeling some relief from his words alone. “There’s a barn about half a mile in that dir