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

If somebody were to jump out of the shadows that clung to the fringes of the room, camera in hand and snapping shots, the look on my face would have been priceless, for sure.

Peace and deal-brokering took the first sinking ship to the Bermuda, and with a snarl that rang louder than any that had ever strangled its way past my lips before bellowing through the room, my vision danced a path of redness. I didn't even realize that I was storming towards him until the man, who I assumed was Axe Custer, jumped to his own feet, hands raised in surrender, but a warning flashing in his eyes.

Three words, but they were enough to halt me in my tracks. Head snapping back down to the boy, whose eyes had gone wide, I realized there was something odd about him. Or rather, his behaviour.

Chapter53