1. Prologue

Prologue

Dalton

T he void was endless. Boring. I'd been there for what felt like forever, just sitting there, wondering what the hell had happened. Was this the end for me? Was this it? Eternal rest or whatever? This couldn't be all there was. I refused to believe it.

Last I knew, I felt feverish. My limbs felt like they were encased in concrete. They ached so badly. Felt so heavy, like they were pulling me into the ground. The light hurt my eyes, and I just wanted to sleep for a year.

All through the compound, there were calls of similar things happening to other betas. One by one, they were falling asleep, with no one able to wake them.

The beta sickness was in Sweetwater and was wreaking havoc. None of the betas were safe. I wasn't safe .

Naturally, I caught it too. Just when my job as assistant to the Second, Axel, and his twin, Chase, was more important than ever. They urgently needed me to be myself and keep things going.

The Alpha, Blake, had left the pack compound for the safety of his unborn pups. A sound decision, one I really respected. Admired even. It proved to me he was the Alpha we deserved. Though he was our leader and his presence kept the pack stable, he had an obligation to his fated mate. He had to put him first, especially since Kade was carrying the next generation of Sweetwaters.

When Axel and Chase showed signs of symptoms, I knew my time was running out. I spent most of my day following them around, fixing things for them, and generally doing all I could to ensure the pack could run smoothly. So I knew my continued exposure to whatever this was meant I'd get sick, too.

I prepared as best I could. Dakota, Blake's assistant, took the twins in since he already had a house full of sick betas. I arranged their transportation and care as best I could while shivering with fever, lights dancing behind my eyes.

It was a relief to hand over their care to the council's medical staff, considering how crappy I felt. I had felt my time coming, there just had been so much to do!

The council had acted swiftly for a change, actually putting us lowly betas first and getting those who remained awake the help they needed to ensure our proper care.

Paperwork piled high, I stumbled to my little house, aware enough to leave it unlocked for the council's medical personnel to check on me later. They'd already seen me suffering and urged me to rest. Aware I was only making a nuisance of myself, I left the mansion and headed for home.

Inside the safety of my little house, I wrote a note for whoever was going to check on me for someone to feed my cat, Priscilla, and my ferret, Spice. They would need more care than just feeding, but I wouldn't know that until much later. I'd underestimated how long this would last.

Stuck as I was, in this hellish space with no one to talk to, nothing to see, I spent some time panicking that nobody would look after my animals, that I would come out of this and they'd be gone. I hoped they would stick together and escape again if that happened.

It was rare for a shifter to have pets. A lot of creatures avoided us because of our alters and strange scents, so I worried they wouldn't know what to do.

"They have the internet. It'll be fine," I reassured myself. My raccoon alter made a soothing noise. I petted his fluffy head, feeling better that he was with me.

The little raccoon comforted me as best he could, despite his own perfectly rational fears. We spent a lot of time just talking to each other, bonding over the crap we had gone through when we were younger and the dreams we held close to our heart. Even with that as a distraction, I couldn't rest properly, my mind stuck on the fate of my pets.

It wasn't like I had anyone else in my life. No mate. No close family. Not anyone I was in contact with, at least.

Spice and Priscilla were my family. They had chosen me when I had been at my lowest point. We had saved each other. I'd left my birth pack, well, if left meant being thrown out, and was traveling to Sweetwater, hopeful the temporary Alpha would take me in. My cousins already lived there, meaning my odds were pretty good they would. Having family, even if we weren't close, to vouch for me was a point in my favor. Plus, I may not have been a fighter like other packs wanted their betas to be, but I had skills I thought could be handy for such a large pack. I knew I could find something useful for me to do.

Just before I got to the compound, I'd found them together in a dumpster. Spice had been wrapped around an injured Priscilla, guarding her carefully. They had been thrown out like trash, same as me, really. I found them at their lowest so they could keep me going when things got hard.

As soon as I'd set my eyes on them, I knew I was supposed to protect them. I was nearly late for my appointment with Deke, who was acting as Alpha at the time, because I had taken them to the vet with the last of my funds. The vet had taken pity on me and charged me less for fixing the poor cat's leg, a debt I'd repaid later by organizing his filing system better. He still called when it was getting out of hand again, always when my pets needed checkups or vaccinations. Spice adored him, Priscilla tolerated him. I was never changing my vet.

Turning up at the Alpha's office with a malnourished cat and ferret in a carrier might have been a poor first impression, but it had done the trick. Deke had accepted me instantly, setting me up in a house and finding me a job.

At first it was just admin for the factory, then I moved up to working for Axel. Those Sweetwaters were challenging to work for. They had strict standards of behavior and how tasks should be completed. I loved it. Here was the order and calm I had been craving after so many years stuck at home, blindly following orders when I knew in my gut it was wrong .

The Sweetwater pack had given me a purpose, safety, family, and a place I finally belonged. The only thing they couldn't give me was the ability to have a family of my own.

"What if I could bestow this gift?" a strange, feminine voice asked, loud in the quiet of the void I was stuck in. My raccoon scrambled from my lap, ready to defend me.

"Lady, I'd do just about anything." I'd steal, beg, lie, okay, maybe not. I had principles. If it didn't hurt anyone, then I would do it. Pretty much the reason I was ejected from my birth pack. I refused to steal like them. Or keep stealing. My conscience still prickled with guilt when I thought of all the years I'd just done what I was told and didn't look too deep into what I was doing.

The voice let out a throaty laugh. "Oh, Dalton, you are wonderful. You have found your true family in the Sweetwater pack and because of them, you will have everything you want."

Everything? Sounded too good to be true.

"They can't give me a baby." I was blunt, but not rude. This voice, it was someone important. I knew to mind my manners, though I believed they would appreciate my honesty.

"No, my darling raccoon, they cannot." I sensed a smile through the speaker's tone. "Yet I can, and I see the heart of who you truly are. You thought about your principles, gave up your home to travel on the path of good. Dalton, you really are worthy of this gift and it is my pleasure to give it to you." Her voice was filled with such pride. For me. No one had ever spoken to me like that.

Her words struck me right in my heart. My eyes filled with tears, my chin wobbled as I tried in vain to hold them back. The raccoon part of me, my beloved alter, scampered into my arms and held me as I wept. "Thank you, goddess," I got out around my sobs. She could only be the one we called The Luna.

"You are welcome, Dalton. My gift may take some time, so be patient. Stick to the path your heart tells you is right. Do not stray, for there are consequences if you do."

"I understand, my lady."

"Good luck Dalton. I am sorry for the trials coming your way, but faith is its own reward."