It came as no surprise to find out we'd been right about Sarah. I was a bit disappointed that she hadn't had a genuine change of heart, but that was nothing compared to when I found out that she was with cub. It came as a truly stunning shock when we found out Jesse of all males was the father. Mia was reported to be immensely unhappy over the situation, especially since she was unable to have cubs of her own due to an illness which had rendered her infertile.
Naturally, Sarah was rubbing her face in it.
Marcus had taken this very hard, and Jesse had subsequently been kicked out of the Brindlebone pack, his bond with Mia also being revoked at the same time. Sarah being Sarah, she wanted nothing to do with him, having finally got what she'd wanted after all these years, and Jesse was now a rogue. No one wanted anything to do with him, despite his claims he'd been forced into sex with Sarah. I personally didn't want to know about it; done was done, so far as I was concerned.
But when the word reached us that Sarah was now attempting to gain access to the Darkshard packhouse, I Saw Red. I knew immediately what she was trying to do, and though I knew it was better for me to stay where I was, I still longed to return to Liverpool so I could finally bond properly with my second-chance mate. I knew Harry was highly unlikely to cheat on me, but there was that ever-present worry in the back of my brain. Luckily, though, Billy and Darcy were having none of Sarah's wiles, and they'd run her off quite spectacularly.
Sarah was Sarah, though; if someone else had something - or someone - she wanted, then she would get that something or someone, no matter what it took. So she did the one thing she was good at; misdirection and abuse.
In the face of her increasing slew of lies concerning Harry, and how she'd forced him to have sex with her like she'd done Jesse, I held firm. I knew Harry better than that, and that he'd never give in to her. She was barred from the packhouse in any case, and any attempts to return would meet with swift punishment. This didn't stop Sarah from spreading her lies and misinformation, in an attempt to drive a wedge between Harry and I. I held firm, though. I was not going to be baited into rushing off to Liverpool, no matter how strong the temptation grew. And Sarah was very good. She wanted Harry only because I had him - after a fashion - and since it had always been her MO to take anything I had simply because I had it, it was no surprise she was trying again.
Luckily, a reprieve came at the end of spring; Harry had finally turned the corner and was on the mend. He still wasn't 100%, but it didn't matter; what mattered was that he was now well enough to travel. This displeased Sarah immensely, and she made it clear to all and sundry that if Harry came anywhere near the Whitewater packhouse, people close to him - namely his own pack - were going to start dying again, like what had happened almost forty years ago.
Harry refused to rise to the bait, though I imagined Sarah's threat would bring up quite a few painful memories of when the Lightshard pack had done the same thing when he was a child. In short, he told her to go to hell, and if she wanted a crack at his pack, she was welcome to it. But they'd wised up since last time, and were ready to bring the heat to anyone who tried destroying them again.
Sarah didn't take kindly to this threat.
Rather than attacking Harry's pack directly, though; instead she convinced Ben to start going after allies of the Darkshard pack.
And the consequences were devastating.
Naturally, no one liked it when the Nightstalkers and their allies went after allies of the Darkshards, and the Darskshards retaliated in kind, going after any and all allies of the Nightstalkers. It didn't take long for all out war to break out after that, and it was even less time after that when the Nightstalkers openly declared war on the Darkshards, practically ordering them to come out and fight on the battlefield instead of hiding behind petty, tit-for-tat attacks and reprisals.
The Darkshards pointed out (quite reasonably) that the Nightstalkers had started it.
The Nightstalkers did not like that one little bit.
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"Oh, Jesus Christ," Stephanie complained on the second day of summer. "That's torn it. Ben's just gone and called a battle to the death. No quarter to be given or taken."
I felt the blood drain from my face, glad for a chair to catch me as my legs gave way. "Harry's got no hope," I said. "And he'll have no choice but to face the Nightstalkers, or be branded as a coward."
Andy stood, his face dark with rage. "Not if we can help it," he said, referring to himself and the other Beasts. "Alpha," he added, moderating his tone slightly, "we ask permission to return to our packhouse. Our Alpha needs us."
Stephanie looked pained, but nodded. "Of course," she said. "Just be careful."
I stood. "I'm going too," I said.
"Like hell you are," Stephanie began angrily, but I held up a hand and she quieted, though her eyes were still flashing.
"I owe you no allegiance, even though you're my cousin," I reminded her. "And I am going with Andy and the others. Harry needs me there, and at the very least, I'm going to ensure he has something to give him a smile in the event both he and I meet with horrible fates."
Stephanie took a deep breath. "I'm going to miss you," she said, her eyes bright with tears.
I hugged her. "I know," I said. "I'm going to miss me too."
"You're an idiot," Stephanie chided, but she was smiling as we pulled apart. "Just ... be careful. And give Sarah and the rest of those bastards my regards, would you?"
I grinned. "I plan to," I said. 146Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUd2lNTQl3V
