Highland Wolf
True Mates Generations Book 5
Alicia Montgomery
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 Alicia Montgomery
Edited by LaVerne Clark
Cover by Jacqueline Sweet
All rights reserved.
Also by Alicia Montgomery
The True Mates Series
Fated Mates
Blood Moon
Romancing the Alpha
Witch’s Mate
Taming the Beast
Tempted by the Wolf
The Lone Wolf Defenders Series
Killian’s Secret
Loving Quinn
All for Connor
The True Mates Standalone Novels
Holly Jolly Lycan Christmas
A Mate for Jackson: Bad Alpha Dads
True Mates Generations
A Twist of Fate
Claiming the Alpha
Alpha Ascending
A Witch in Time
Highland Wolf
Daughter of the Dragon
The Blackstone Mountain Series
The Blackstone Dragon Heir
The Blackstone Bad Dragon
The Blackstone Bear
The Blackstone Wolf
The Blackstone Lion
The Blackstone She-Wolf
The Blackstone She-Bear
The Blackstone She-Dragon
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Contents
Also by Alicia Montgomery
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
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Chapter One
Julianna Anderson wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. “That was a lucky shot.”
Her opponent, Chase Harris, shot her a flirtatious grin, his blue eyes sparkling. “So you say.”
Anger simmered to the surface, and her wolf begged to be let out. No, she told the she-wolf. This is an exercise for humans. As a member of the Lycan Security Team for New York, she had to hone both her human and wolf side. For the last six years, she’d been assigned to the special investigations division that watched over the clan and its members.
In the last couple of months, however, she’d taken on a new role. When her sister, Adrianna, ascended to Alpha of New Jersey, she’d needed help training her own security team, and Julianna had volunteered right away.
“You are not concentrating.” Her brother-in-law, Darius Corvinus, stood behind her, his voice soft so only she could hear him. Not only was he her sister’s mate and husband, but he also was her co-trainer.
“Not with you yappin’ in my ear like that, Darius.” She gritted her teeth then waved a wrapped hand at Chase. “C’mon, pretty boy, try again.”
“Aww, you think I’m pretty, Anderson?” He shot her another panty-melting smile. Well, maybe any other girls’ panties would have melted, but not Julianna’s. No, he’d already tried to charm his way into her bed, and while it was tempting, she didn’t shit where she ate.
“Suck my dick, Harris.”
“You know, for a girl, you sure do tell people to suck your dick a lot.”
“Are you guys gonna fight or what?” Angela Hall, one of the other trainees, said with a bored expression as she tossed her cornrow braids over her shoulder.
Julianna liked the spunky young she-wolf, as she reminded her a lot of herself when she began training. “You know Harris. All talk, no action. Hey!” No sooner than the yelp escaped her mouth, she found herself flat on her back with Chase hovering over her. Recovering quickly though, she swept a leg under him, sending him crashing down to the ground. Her wolf howled in triumph. “That was a dirty move.”
“Yeah, well our enemies aren’t always going to fight fair.” Chase got up, then offered her a hand.
Fucking hell, she hated to admit it, but he was right. Refusing his hand, she stood up on her own.
“Everything okay here?”
All at once, the trainees stood up straight and turned to the source of the voice. Julianna brushed the blades of grass stuck to her yoga pants and then smirked up at her sister, who was descending the porch steps of the old Victorian mansion. Only Adrianna Anderson could look regal while eight months pregnant. Darius immediately rushed to her side to hold her hand.
“For God’s sake, Darius, I’m pregnant, not an invalid,” she said, her tone annoyed.
“You should not be up and about,” he scolded.
“Have you forgotten that nothing can harm me?” Since she was pregnant with her True Mate’s child, Adrianna was invincible. No one knew why, exactly, but that was just the way it was.
“Yes, I know.” Darius sighed. “But a fall could still hurt you. And I do not want you in pain.”
“I know, but nothing’s going to happen to me.” She smiled up warmly at him, then turned to the recruits. “Good morning, everyone,” she greeted. “I trust that training is going well.”
“Yes, Primul,” they all said in unison, using the traditional honorific Lycans called their Alpha.
“Good.” She turned to Julianna and winced. “Did you hurt yourself?”
She covered the cut above her lip with her hand. “It’ll be good in a few hours.”
“How about a break?” Adrianna cocked her head toward the house. “You guys have been at it since dawn.”
The training was tough, but it had to be. There was so much more at stake, now that the mages, their archenemies, had resurfaced after thirty years and then attacked them repeatedly. Julianna’s wolf growled at the thought of those evil bastards and what they did. It was only the thought of stopping them once and for all that kept her going these days, especially when she was reminded of the events of the past. No, don’t think of it. Don’t think of that. Don’t think of them.
“Julianna?” Her sister’s look was that of concern. “Are you—”
“I’m great,” she said. “We don’t need a break.”
The collective groans from the trainees made her whip her head back and narrow her eyes at them.
Adrianna placed her hands on her hips. “In that case, I’m ordering you to take a break.”
She very well couldn’t ignore a direct order from her Alpha. Well, Adrianna technically wasn’t her Alpha since Julianna was born into the New York clan. Their father, Grant Anderson, had been the Alpha then, and she’d always been part of his clan. But their mother was also Alpha of New Jersey before Adrianna, and Julianna was now helping Adrianna so, well, frankly, she didn’t know where she belonged. Not anymore.
Squashing those dark thoughts threatening to weigh her down, she pivoted to the house. “Fine. Let’s go inside.” As she followed Adrianna and Darius, she winced. “Jesus, how can you move? You look like you should have given birth yesterday.”
Adrianna laughed, her mismatched eyes—one blue and one green—sp
arkled. “I manage. I imagine when you get pregnant, you’ll carry it better. Taller women always do.” While she and all her siblings inherited the heterochromia from their mother, Adrianna and their youngest sister also got their petite stature from her. Julianna was tall and athletic like her brother and father.
“Highly unlikely, since I don’t plan on ever getting pregnant,” she snorted.
Adrianna raised a brow, but said nothing, and instead motioned for her to take a seat at the kitchen table. Her sister then poured some coffee from the pot, sat beside her and then pushed the cup toward her. “Julianna, Darius told me that you’ve been … off, lately.”
“Off?” It was hard not to sound defensive because the comment caught her off guard. How did he—
“You are distracted,” Darius said. “And unfocused.”
Her nostrils flared, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Even her wolf seemed offended by the implication that she was not competent.
Once upon a time, she truly hated Darius’s guts, but that changed when he nearly died to save all of them from the mages. He also showed them all that he truly loved Adrianna. Julianna was now his biggest fan and co-conspirator, especially when it came to protecting Adrianna. Her sister would often joke that she didn’t know if she preferred them to be enemies or friends, especially when they fussed over her.
Right this moment, however, she really wanted to claw his eyes out. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Adrianna’s eyes dropped to the cut on her lip and Julianna instinctively shielded it by lifting the coffee cup to her mouth. The damn liquid was hot and burned her throat as she swallowed, but she didn’t dare show them any sign of weakness.
“Julianna.” Adrianna reached over to put a hand on her shoulder. “Do you need to talk about something? Ever since what happened at Lucas’s ascension ceremony …”
The deep melancholy was there again, creeping in, but she wouldn’t let it take over. Never. Her wolf growled as that heavy feeling was present enough for the animal to feel it. The bottom of the coffee cup met the table with such force that it cracked the porcelain. “Shit!” She rushed toward the sink, tossing the cup as hot brown liquid seeped from the fracture. “Sorry. I’ll fix that.” She took a deep breath but didn’t dare turn around to face them. How could she, when they could see right through her?
“Adrianna? Darius? Are you home?”
Spinning around, her eyes immediately tracked toward the newcomer standing in the kitchen doorway. She had been so distracted she didn’t even hear him arrive.
“Lucas, you’re early.” Adrianna got to her feet, but before she could even take one step, her twin brother quickly crossed the room and accepted her hug, then motioned for her to sit down. “For crying out loud, not you too.”
He put up his hands defensively. “Hey, Sofia’s a month behind you, but she’s already cranky if she has to get up and grab the TV remote.”
“How is Sofia these days?” Adrianna asked.
“She’s healthy.” He frowned. “But if her captain didn’t force her to take maternity leave, you know she’d be chasing down suspects until her water broke.”
Julianna guffawed. Her NYPD detective sister-in-law was tough, and she could totally see her doing that, which is why she respected Sofia so much.
“Hey, Julianna,” Lucas greeted as he came over to the sink. “How’s—” He frowned when his gaze dropped to her swollen lip. “What happened?”
“Training,” she said with a shrug. “What’re you doing here?” Adrianna seemed to have expected him, but Julianna certainly didn’t know he was coming by to visit.
Before he could answer, a loud, frustrated sigh drifted into the kitchen. “Ugh! Why hasn’t the cellphone company fixed the signal around here? I’ve been trying to post this photo since we got off the highway!”
Julianna stiffened as she heard the voice of her youngest sister. Sure enough, Isabelle Anderson strutted into the kitchen like she was on a catwalk at Fashion Week, dressed head to toe in designer clothes. “You know, the world won’t stop revolving if you don’t post photos to your social media pages every ten seconds.”
Isabelle flipped her long, glossy hair over her shoulder. “This is my job, Julianna. People expect to be updated on the latest trends and fashion.”
“Job?” she sneered. “Right. Being a walking talking billboard—”
“Okay, children.” Lucas massaged the bridge on his nose. “Stop before I make you both stand in the corner.”
“She started it!” wailed Isabelle.
“Did not!” Julianna stuck her tongue out at her.
“I don’t care who started it, I’m going to end it.” He shook his head and rubbed a hand down his face. “Why do I always sound like Mom around you two?”
Adrianna cleared her throat. “Isabelle, why don’t you come upstairs with me? That’s why you’re here, right, to help me with the nursery?” Getting up from her seat, she made her way to the younger woman and linked their arms.
“I have so many ideas!” Isabelle clapped her hands, seemingly forgetting about Julianna. “I saw the cutest bassinet at.…” She trailed off as they walked out the kitchen, but not before Adrianna signaled to her husband, who followed them.
“Can you guys ever be in the same room without starting a fight?” Lucas said in an irritated voice.
It’s not that she hated Isabelle; she was family for God’s sake, and she loved her youngest sister. But they were as different as night and day. Isabelle was vain and vapid and never took anything seriously. Julianna, on the other hand, was single-minded and focused.
“She was the one who—” When Lucas gave her a warning look, she scowled. “I get it. She’s your favorite. You and Papa both.”
His jaw hardened. “Julianna, that’s just not true.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Isn’t it?”
“Look,” he began, his tone gentle. “No one is mine or Papa’s favorite. But Isabelle … can’t you see? She’s always needed a little more help and attention. You, on the other hand, you’ve never needed our help. Remember when you had that science fair and Mama forgot to help you because she was stuck in Chicago during that snowstorm? When she got home, she was so apologetic, and what did you do?”
The corner of her mouth tugged up involuntarily. “I showed her the volcano I made from the stuff I found around the house.”
His face lit up. “See? You never complained, never got mad, didn’t even cry. Instead, you pulled yourself up by your bootstraps and got things done.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve always been independent and wise beyond your years. Which is why I came here.”
She shot him a confused look. “You came here because of me?”
“Yes.” He motioned for her to sit at the table.
She took the seat she’d previously occupied. “What’s this about?” Lucas’s demeanor had changed, as she often observed he did when it was a matter of clan business. The man standing before her now wasn’t just her older brother, but also, the Alpha of the most powerful clan in the world.
“As you know, the mages haven’t resurfaced in the past couple of months. Not since my ascension ceremony.”
As if by sheer willpower alone, she stopped the cold sweat threatening to form on her temples at the mention of that particular event. “I don’t think they’ve given up.”
“Not by a long shot.”
“And the third artifact?” The mages were trying to collect three artifacts that once belonged to a powerful mage, Magus Aurelius. It was said that when all three were brought together, the mages would gain magic and power that no one had ever seen in a thousand years. No one was sure what that power would be like exactly, but if the mages wanted them bad enough, then it had something to do with killing all the Lycans in the world and enslaving humanity. As of the moment, the mages had one of the artifacts, while the Lycans had another. The third was still a mystery.
“No leads,” he said. “Cross has been searching for
months.” Cross Jonasson was a hybrid—half wolf and half warlock—who could travel long distances and bend matter to his will. He had been tasked with finding all of the artifacts before the mages did.
“What can I do to help, then?” Just thinking about the artifacts made her nauseous. But, if Lucas needed her, she wasn’t going to back down. But how could she even begin any search for the artifacts? Where would she look?
“I want you to be my envoy,” Lucas said. “And meet with other Alphas to begin forming alliances.” Although Lycan clans all over the world were loosely connected and governed by a central body—the Lycan High Council—they didn’t have any formal connections or partnerships, unless it was through marriage. Even then, there was no agreement that one clan would come in aid of another. Not that the clans didn’t get along, but in these modern times, wars or being exposed to humans simply weren’t as big an issue as it had been before, so alliances were no longer a necessity.
“Lucas, I’m not exactly the diplomatic type.” Indeed, she was the opposite of diplomatic. “Why not send someone else? Someone who’s a people person. Like Jared or Aunt Cady?”
“They can’t, they’re needed here. Don’t underestimate yourself, Julianna. You can be very persuasive if you want to be,” he said. “Besides, all you have to do is meet with the Alphas as my official representative and get the ball rolling. I’ll take care of closing the deal. I don’t like the idea of sending you out when the mages could attack at any time, but I know you’ve trained well as part of the Lycan Security Force and can handle yourself.”
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