“Yes, we believe they are,” Hann told her. “But this is no longer just some rogues banding together. This is an organized front, led by Gabriel. He expects there to be results–results he likes, that is. These aren’t just rogues who are crazy. These are shifters that used to be a part of our society, and now just simply want to bring destruction to everyone. Just because they are waiting for a signal doesn’t mean that the uprising is over. The idea will fester, and there’s the possibility that more and more will go over to their cause. I only hope that doesn’t happen. When will the uprising take place? Or when will they start attacking? I have no idea now that they’re in hiding. The best we can do is make sure that we’re prepared when they do finally decide to strike. But this could be weeks, months, or even years in the making.”
So, the whole shifter society would just have to be on alert until something happened. Britta hated that they were going to have to live like this–but it wasn’t like it was any different from how they were living, prior to everything. Shifters had always had enemies, whether it was rogues or humans who learned too much. They’ve always had people trying to bring destruction to their society.
Now, it just happened to come from within. Which was, obviously, never fun.
“Any good news from all this?” Lukas asked, making everyone bitterly laugh. Hann got that easy-going smile back on his face, and it seemed to calm everyone in the room. Whenever Hann was serious, it always brought chills and uncertainty to the group. When Hann was his normal self, they could look at everything with a clearer, less frightened, perspective.
That was probably why everyone loved Hann and considered him to be the best leader and alpha a pack could have.
“We’re very nearly close to finding a way to protect ourselves from the magic that the rogues seem to have,” Michael told them, and Britta had that weird feeling that he had a smile on his face. The Elder exuded friendliness and positivity in that moment, and all the shifters in the room welcomed it. They could use some more positivity and optimism in their lives. “We believe Gabriel is the one, with his Elders, who came up with the magic, as Elders are the only shifters that can use magic. Regular shifters can’t. Now, I, and other Elders, have been playing around with possible ways we can offset this problem. And we’re very close to finding a way that we can actually protect ourselves from this deadly possibility.”
Having uplifted the mood of the room, the group began to talk together in different ways that they could help prepare everyone for the rogues. Whether it was more classes to teach the shifters that weren’t as adept at fighting, or strategy help, everyone had something to offer.
Britta noticed Hann smiling as everyone volunteered to help in any way that they could. Britta realized then and there that it was why people like Gabriel and the rogues would never win. Because they didn’t care about each other the way the Moonlight Pack and other shifters did. They were willing to put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect their brothers and sisters. Their pack. The rogues only did it when they were trying to protect themselves.
Britta had seen it when Kaiser fell and all of his comrades ran away immediately, having given up the war before it even begun.
Britta even saw it when Gabriel had swayed all those Elders over to his side. One word from Michael, and the Elders switched sides and left Gabriel with only a few Elders supporting him.
They were willing to give it up if a better offer came along. The Moonlight Pack? They would never do something like that. They had each other’s backs. They were a family.
And they would never fall to someone like Gabriel. They would never fall to evil.
Chapter 26
Ukraine. Gabriel found out, very quickly, that he hated Ukraine.
Maybe it had to do with why he was in a bad mood. Maybe he was upset because he had to leave his sweet, beautiful, majestic castle in Scotland. Maybe it was because the castle they moved into in Ukraine hadn’t been inhabited for seven decades, which meant that it was falling apart and full of debris everywhere he looked.
Gabriel walked into the main foyer and grimaced with distaste. There was graffiti everywhere he looked, from children spray painting their names. “Anya was here” was followed by “Love is everywhere you turn”. Gabriel spat at it. Stupid children. Stupid humans. Always ruining history like they were the only things in the world that mattered.
Gabriel was in a bad mood, and this dank, decrepit castle in Ukraine wasn’t helping matters. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be in Michigan, but that damn Moonlight Pack just had to ruin it for him, yet again. He was really growing annoyed with the way they were acting.
He was first tipped off that everything wasn’t what it seemed when he got word that three rogues were slaughtered. And one of them was the main rogue that he had grown to rely on in Michigan. What was his name . . .? Gabriel could never remember names. Well, not the names of the little people that truly had no power.
Gabriel thought that this was going to be it. He was finally going to get the revenge he so longed for. He thought he could taste it in the wind, in the air, in his being. Instead, he had to pull out of the whole thing so that he didn’t ruin the good he already had created.
Gabriel knew that something was really wrong when a rogue said he thought he saw Lukas, of the Moonlight Pack, in town right before the three rogues were murdered. And then, when news came that Hann and Michael did know all about what Gabriel was planning, Gabriel knew he had to end it once and for all.
Well, not end it. Just put it on hold for a little while.
He was upset about the whole thing, of course. He hated having to wait. He realized that maybe he didn’t have any patience at all nowadays. But he had wanted to act. He had wanted to enact that revenge. He had wanted to win and see that face of disbelief as he finally confronted Michael for that last time.
It looked like he wasn’t going to be getting that. Not right now, at least. Now, he just had to sit on his hands and wait until the shifters forgot about them and went back to their careless, miserable lives. And then, when they were least expecting it, Gabriel and his rogues would strike.
And it would be a magnificent thing. A magnificent feeling. Gabriel closed his eyes and breathed in that feeling that he would have, forgetting about the dank, smelly castle full of graffiti and dirt. He could forget about his surroundings for just a moment.
But then a rat scurried past him, hitting his foot, and Gabriel had to reluctantly open his eyes and see the “Anya was here” graffiti yet again. He sure did hate humans.
And he really hated this castle. He really hated Ukraine. He really hated Michael. He really hated everything.
Gabriel walked around the castle, exploring his new home with such distaste. He couldn’t wait until he was out of this damn castle and somewhere else. He would just have to lie low and make sure that Michael and Hann were concerned with something else. Then, he would call the rogues back together, give them some more of those magic spells he had been working on to make sure the shifters truly did die at the hands of the rogues, and then everything would be fine.
He just had to find some type of patience in his soul. How could he, an Elder that was centuries and centuries years old, lose patience? What had become of him to make him so antsy?
He assumed it was his deep hatred for everything that kept on beating him and pushing him down. Michael. Hann. The Moonlight Pack. All of the shifter world. They loved to tell him to shut up and sit down. Loved to tell him that he didn’t know what he was talking about at all.
Well, one day, they would regret that. One day, they would realize that they should’ve listened to him all those years ago. They should have given him the attention he so desired. They should have paid attention. Because when he came and destroyed their society and took away all their loved ones, when he became the most powerful Elder and shifter in the world, they would all then come to him and beg for mercy.
They would beg for forgiveness. For his mercy. Fo
r love.
And he would laugh before he killed them all.
Chapter 27
Britta was happy. Even after everything that had happened, she was happier than she had ever been. Sure, she had almost died. And it took her forever to confess her feelings and love to Grant. And it had kind of been a horrible year for all of the Moonlight Pack.
Regardless of all the struggles that they had all faced, that she had faced, she was happier than she had ever been in her life. And she thought she had Grant to thank for that.
“I’ll see you later, Brit,” Ethan yelled over his shoulder as he and Finn left the room in the gym where Britta had just finished her class. It was her first time back teaching since the whole rogue incident, and she was more than happy to be back. She had missed teaching. She had missed seeing Ethan and Finn, Hazel and Lea. She had missed the gym. Hell, she had missed doing anything, as Grant made sure she never left the bed when he was home with her. He wouldn’t even give in when she tried to seduce him. He was way too worried about her health, but now that she was proven to be okay, he had eased up a little.
“It’s good to have you back, teach,” Hazel told her as they all walked out into the main gym together.
“Aw, thanks,” Britta smiled at her friend. She loved that everyone had missed her. It made her feel all warm and happy inside.
Britta walked into the gym, loving the atmosphere that she hadn’t been a part of in a few weeks. She had missed being around her pack on a daily basis. Now, there were even more shifters from packs around the world that were there to learn and even teach in some cases. They currently had some guy from Poland that was a master at offensive techniques in wolf form.
It had been pretty quiet on the rogue front for some time. Everyone knew that they were just laying low and waiting until they could catch the shifters off guard. But Britta didn’t know if that would happen. Every single day, the gym was packed with shifters from all over the world. They were all preparing for an uprising, and Michael was working with the Elders to bring some magic to their own fighting abilities. Morale was higher than ever in the society, and the rogues and Gabriel had to have noticed.
Their desire to break the society apart had backfired. It had only brought the shifters closer together. Had it taken some time? Yes, and there were still certain Moonlight Pack members who tensed up when yet another strange shifter walked into the gym. But it was better than before, and Britta saw so much progress everywhere she looked.
As Britta walked through the gym, saying hello to the shifters that welcomed her back, she noticed Grant ahead of her, talking to Lukas. He hadn’t seen her yet, as his back was to her. She grinned, knowing what she was going to do.
She was going to finally tackle him and surprise him.
She took off at full speed, keeping light on her toes and not making a sound. But Grant turned around and tackled her to the ground, softly, right before she could jump on his back and surprise him.
“Are you serious?” Britta whined, and Grant laid on top of her. She couldn’t help but smile and laugh when she saw Grant’s smug smirk he was giving her.
“When will you realize that I’m better than you?” he asked her, desire filling his eyes. She knew that hers looked the same. She kind of wanted to go away with him and fulfill that desire right then and there.
“Never,” she replied. She was about to lean up and give him a kiss when she heard boos from around her. Both of them looked up to see Lukas with Annie, Finn, and Ethan, all of who were catcalling and laughing at the two on the ground.
“Get a room!” Lukas yelled at them, rolling his eyes and laughing as he grabbed Annie’s hand and walked away.
Grant reluctantly got off of Britta, helping her up from the ground and making sure that she wasn’t hurt in any way.
“We’ll finish this later,” Grant told her in her ear as he pulled her towards him, his hands resting on her lower stomach.
“You can bet on it,” she told him, stealing a quick kiss before jumping away from him and walking in a separate direction. From the way he smiled at her as she walked away, Britta knew that tonight was going to be all sorts of fun.
As Britta walked to the women’s dressing room, more and more shifters came to welcome her back and say that they were happy she was okay. She was a bit astonished from all the love, and she almost felt like she was going to burst into tears from all the support she was getting.
She knew, then and there as all those shifters came up to talk to her, some from her pack and some not, that everything would be okay. When the rogues came back, they would be ready. When Gabriel came back, they would be ready. They would be ready for anything that life threw at them.
Because they were a family. All of them would fight to the ends of the earth for each other. She didn’t know when Thea, Annie and Kato became her family. She didn’t know when Lukas became someone she could rely on.
She didn’t know when Ethan, Finn, Hazel, and Lea had become her friends. And she sure as hell didn’t know when Grant had become the love of her life.
But they all were a part of her now. And she knew that no matter what, everything would be okay. They would win.
She had her friends, her family, her loved ones all around her, and that was all that she truly needed.
* * *
* * *
Book 4: Finn
Chapter 1
Finn found himself not exactly fitting in. And that was a first for him.
Finn had come to Maine a few weeks ago to train and better himself as the threat of a huge uprising became evident–which was led by Gabriel, a turned Elder that now wanted to cause chaos and disruption in the shifter society after he’d failed at trying to force shifters to not associate with humans in any way. Finn knew that he wouldn’t be able to get the training that he needed within his own pack, the Hollow Lake Pack, so he gained permission from his own alpha to come over to Maine.
His pack friends from the Hollow Lake Pack came with him, as they were all to learn what they could from the Moonlight Pack, and then return home to teach everyone else. Finn found himself not wanting to return home, though. He didn’t even miss it. Even as an outcast in Maine, he had more fun and was better respected than he was among his Hollow Lake pack members. And all of his friends who came with him agreed.
“We’re just going to have to figure out how best to assimilate ourselves, guys,” Finn sighed as he sat down at the kitchen table one morning, his three pack mates sitting there and eating their breakfast.
“Yeah, but how?” Lorelei countered, slurping as she ate the cereal she had poured for herself seconds earlier. Desmond, who was sitting next to her, hit her slightly on the arm to get her to stop, which prompted her to stick her tongue out at him.
Lorelei was the youngest of the four that had come from Hollow Lake, but she was by far the smartest. She wasn’t the strongest, though, which was why Finn begged his alpha to let her come along. If she was a pro at defense and attack methods, she would be unstoppable with her strategic, intelligent brain. Her long blonde hair was always tied in a low ponytail so that it stayed out of her way, and her glasses were always present. She didn’t like contacts. And if she didn’t have her laptop with her, she had a book.
“Lore’s right,” Desmond concluded after his silent sparring war with her. “They’re not exactly the most accepting pack in the world.”
Finn nodded in complete agreement. Desmond was right. The Moonlight Pack wasn’t accepting at all when they first came to Maine, but Finn couldn’t really blame them. They had been one of the only packs that had faced the constant battles, from Kaiser, a crazy shifter that brought a group of rogues to slaughter their whole pack, to Gabriel, an Elder that decided that he was going to kidnap and deal with a human involved with the pack that knew too much.
The pack ended up not really trusting strangers, regardless of where they came from.
And Finn wouldn’t hold it against them.
Now that the four of th
em had been in town for a bit, things had started to loosen up. More pack members were willing to have a nice chat with them at the bar after work. Some were even offering to show them the human town that they lived next to. But it was a slow process, and the four were still not really trusted.
Finn remembered his first day in Maine like it was yesterday. When the four of them had walked through the doors of the gym complex where they were to be training for the next few weeks, it was like everything immediately stopped. Every shifter turned to look at them; stare at them–arms crossed with anger and distrust in their eyes. Only when Kato, the next alpha in line, came to send some friendliness his way did the other shifters start to ease up a little. But they still watched him like a hawk.
And then–Finn being Finn–he decided that he was going to flirt with the really pretty woman that he saw when he first walked in: Britta. Little did he know, Britta was in the middle of a mess of a relationship with another shifter named Grant. Or was about to be in one. Grant walked in, saw the way Finn was hanging on Britta’s every word, and all hell broke loose. If Finn would’ve known that Grant and Britta were going to end up together in the next few days, he would’ve never tried anything.
Luckily, Finn and Grant had put everything aside and were attempting to be friends. Britta and Finn were friends now as well, and Finn made sure that he didn’t flirt with her in any way. The last thing he needed was Grant all up in his face again. Because even though he’d like to think he could take the other shifter, Finn knew that Grant would end up winning that little fight.
But now, they needed to try and adjust to their life in Maine. Because none of them really wanted to go back to their pack in California. He couldn’t help the love he was beginning to have for Maine and its weather.
It was now spring time, and the sun was coming out and washing away the cold that Finn felt was never going to go away. He couldn’t wait to see Maine in the summer; if he would be able to stay during the summer. He sure hoped he would.
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