In the silvery waterfall of moonlight, Jonathan Aztec, my second in command, holding rank as Beta of the Northridge pack, was something to behold. His powerful shoulders seemed to carry the waning gibbous, and the shadows that devoured the vast grounds of Battleridge manor granted him a wide berth.
He was a superior specimen. He was a male worthy of the ranking he'd been bestowed. But like all creatures, he wasn't born perfect, and his character flaw was a fault that bled out into the night like a severed artery: Concern.
It charged the air between us, a thick blanket that settled against the lungs like a boa-constrictor's loving embrace.
"What did you find?" I asked. The perverse silence that had entombed the dilapidated courtyard, screaming so loud it rang through my ears like a twisted lullaby, was shattered upon his approach. His boots smacked against the waterlogged ground, echoing in a way that spoke of his failures before he'd even opened his mouth. 
"Nothing,"
.......
"Until I can figure out what's going on, nobody finds out about the boy. Understand?"
"Understood."
"You're not going to ..." The pause that followed dragged out. "He's just a baby, Sterling."
"You're dismissed."

The Littlest Light

I had met his father once before, and though Clyde Lavoe resembled him greatly, it was clear that the kid still had a lot to learn.

The weight of the power that had been left on his shoulders, the title and hardships that came with being Alpha, he carried it well, but his eyes were too kind and his soul too trusting.

He'd make a good Alpha someday; life would teach him the same way it taught everyone. Through blood and pain, through betrayal and loss.

He stood tall, his broad frame emanating the power of his bloodline, and his face, a clash of aristocrat beauty and a war-hardened warrior, was set into a considering twist.

I stood. My hands were behind my back, ignoring the chair that had been placed in the front of his desk, and my back was angled towards the wide glass window that took up the entire space that a wall should have been, overlooking the courtyard we had parked up in.

Chapter23