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

Sleep was cruel and evasive, and it neared the brink of dawn when I finally gave up on the oblique notion.

Darkness kissed the air, and no amount of walking cured the restlessness that echoed through my being. The many rooms that Battleridge home bore seemed to mock me as I paced the great landing, passing the legion of closed doors.

Dust formed a blanket against the carpet the further along I ventured; there were parts of my stolen home that I had barred myself from. There were some rooms in which still bore the traces of the lineage that called the house home before I had eradicated it. Burning it had seemed like a good idea at the time, and I had fed so many priceless heirlooms to the greedy flames, but some things remained.

Chapter77