Last Chance - Sample Only!!!

Prologue - 6 Years Ago

6 Years Ago

Trey

"Prepare yourself, Wilkinson."

There is no preparation for this agony.

My body is tearing apart under the teeth and claws of my enraged wolf.

Prepare yourself.

I thought I had. I foolishly thought I understood what it would mean to give up my truemate. I thought I was ready. I thought my wolf would accept another female as a distant second and not try to disembowel us from the inside.

Prepare yourself.

My father lied to me. Not surprising. He's a psychopath, a monster, an addict of greed and lust. Teeth close on my heart, squeezing the bloody organ to a pulp. I rake at my chest before realizing it's in my head. It's all in my head.

Prepare yourself.

I've lost my truemate. Bailey is Claimed by another alpha. A better one. I've lost everything. My wolf is delusional. Tortured. Will I be just like my father? No, I can't be, because I have no mate to cheat on and destroy, anymore. My chosen mate is just as insane as he is. Just as evil. I'm an idiot.

Prepare yourself.

I thought I lost everything, I didn't. We didn't. My wolf howls bitterly before bowing his head, his great shoulders slumped. Slowly, his gaze fixes on the tiny, helpless pup cradled in my hands.

Prepare yourself.

I'm a father. I have a pup. A son. Mikko. I don't know how to do this. He's hungry and wailing and cold. I'm covered in blood. His mother is dead. A she-wolf I never touched, let alone fucked, but my wolf and I know this is our pup. Our son.

I wasn't ever prepared for this. Meeting the cold green gaze of my rival, Conner Grim, Alphason of the ClearHowl, I explain, "I named him, Mikko."

Someone murmurs "congratulations, Alphason." I can still see Nikki's body when I blink my eyes closed, her abdomen torn open by claws, her pale face, and her thin arms shaking with effort as she hands him to me, whispering to keep him safe. I keep my eyes open, straining to not see that image again. I can still hear Lydia's insane cackling. I can't close my ears. My head is ringing with her glee as she celebrates 'her' son.

I try to sob, but it emerges as a rusty, broken laugh, "Alphason? I named him after my great-uncle. He was the actual alpha, not my grandfather. I always wondered if Grandad didn't kill his brother. It seems like the sort of shit he'd pull."

I thought all I had to prepare for was losing Bailey. My truemate. Not this. Never this. Lydia's insanity has bled into every crevice of my life. My arms tighten on Mikko. Not him. I'll protect him however I can.

"Is that Nikki's baby?" Bailey's soft voice chimes in as the scent of honey waft over us. She's smart, my truemate. So clever.

I stare at her, the human luna, not good enough according to my father. My wolf whimpers, a sound of fatigue and resignation. I did what I had to do. I rejected her. I Marked Lydia instead. I hid Lydia's insanity from the pack.

"Yes," I answer the question as gently as I can. I won't ever cause hurt to this female again. "I found him. I... he's really cold and I can't shift because I had to carry him. He doesn't have a blanket."

My wolf snaps his foaming jaws at me. He's glad we lost Bailey. She's better off without us. We were going to rampage. Kill everyone. Let them bleed. Bailey was safe with him. We were going to end this farce in blood.