The Uprising (Moonlight Wolves Book 3)

by Jasmine B. Waters

  “I’m sad to say that word has reached us that the rogues in Michigan have disbanded and gone their separate ways,” Hann added.

  “Isn’t that a good thing?” Annie asked, confused for everyone in the room. Weren’t the rogues leaving and not forming the uprising good for everyone else?

  “Yes and no,” Michael jumped in. “We believe the only reason that these rogues have gone their separate ways is because they had orders from Gabriel to. We believe the only reason he did this was because he knows that we know. Someone tipped him off. Maybe he got scared when he heard of the three rogue bodies that we left behind. It doesn’t matter how he got scared or left, but he’s gone and no longer in Scotland. We’re back to square one: we don’t know where he is.”

  “And what are the rest of the rogues doing, then?” Britta asked.

  “They’re lying in wait for their leader to give them orders,” Hann sighed, leaning back in the chair that he was sitting in. “The uprising isn’t over. It’s just momentarily disbanded for the time being. Gabriel is more than likely trying to find a new home. He’s scared. He’s worried that we know too much. He’s no longer a step in front of us. He knows that we’re preparing ourselves for what will come, and he knows that we know that he is using some sort of magic to try and let the rogues win this war. He knows that we are trying to make our own shifter magic poison like he did to offset what they have created.”

  “And are we?” Kato asked. “Making some type of magic offset so that their magic doesn’t hurt us like it did to Britta and Lukas?”

  “Yes,” Michael nodded his head in encouragement. “We are trying our hardest to find a counter spell or potion to make sure that those rogues can’t slice through our society while barely lifting a finger. If and when they strike, they will devastate our ranks. We have to do everything that we can to make sure that this doesn’t happen. This can’t happen.”

  “So, is Gabriel a lost cause, then?” Ethan pipped up, asking the question that was on everyone’s minds. Everyone and their mother wanted Gabriel captured and away from leading this horrible, destructive movement. The realization that they were so close to capturing him and finding out where he was in Scotland, only for him to leave and realize that they were on to him, was devastating.

  They were so close…

  “We’re trying to find out where he is now, of course,” Michael told them. “But we no longer have a lead. And all of the rogues have gone to various parts of the world, so tracking them is going to be harder and less fruitful. That doesn’t mean we won’t try, though. We will try, and I believe Gabriel will slip up again. And when he does, we will be ready.”

  Everyone sat in silence for a few seconds as they took in everything that Michael said. They could only hope that Gabriel would get cocky and slip up again. They could only hope. And hope they did.

  “So, what do we think the other rogues are going to do?” Britta asked, confused. “I mean, they’re obviously still planning for an uprising, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, we believe they are,” Hann told her. “But this is no longer just some rogues banding together. This is an organized front, led by Gabriel. He expects there to be results – results he likes, that is. These aren’t just rogue who are crazy. These are shifters that used to be a part of our society, and now just simply want to bring destruction to everyone. Just because they are waiting for a signal doesn’t mean that the uprising is over. The idea will fester, and there’s the possibility that more and more will go over to their cause. I only hope that doesn’t happen. When will the uprising take place? Or when will they start attacking? I have no idea now that they’re in hiding. The best we can do is make sure that we’re prepared when they do finally decide to strike. But this could be weeks, months, years in the making.”

  So, the whole shifter society would just have to be on alert until something happened. Britta hated that they were going to have to live like this – but it’s not like it’s any different from how they were living, prior to everything. Shifters have always had enemies, whether it was rogues or humans who learned too much. They’ve always had people trying to bring destruction to their society.

  Now, it just happened to come from within. Which was, obviously, never fun.

  “Any good news from all this?” Lukas asked, making everyone bitterly laugh. Hann got that easygoing smile back on his face and it seemed to calm everyone in the room. Whenever Hann was serious, it always brought chills and uncertainty to the group. When Hann was his normal self, they could look at everything with a clearer, less frightened, perspective.

  That was probably why everyone loved Hann and considered him to be the best leader and alpha a pack could have.

  “We’re very nearly close to finding a way to protect ourselves from the magic that the rogues seem to have,” Michael told them, and Britta had that weird feeling that he had a smile on his face. The Elder exuded friendliness and positivity in that moment, and all the shifters in the room welcomed it. They could use some more positivity and optimism in their lives. “We believe Gabriel is the one, with his Elders, that came up with the magic, as Elders are the only shifters that can use magic. Regular shifters can’t. Now, I and other Elders have been playing around with possible ways we can offset this problem. And we’re very close to finding a way that we can actually protect ourselves from this deadly possibility.”

  Having uplifted the mood of the room, the group began to talk together in different ways that they could help prepare everyone for the rogues. Whether it was more classes to teach the shifters that weren’t as adept at fighting, or strategy help, everyone had something to offer.

  Britta noticed Hann smiling as everyone volunteered to help in any way that they could. Britta realized then and there that that was why people like Gabriel and the rogues would never win. Because they didn’t care about each other the way the Moonlight Pack and other shifters did. They were willing to put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect their brothers and sisters. Their pack. The rogues only did it when they were trying to protect themselves.

  Britta had seen it when Kaiser fell and all of his comrades ran away immediately, having given up the war before it even begun.

  Britta even saw it when Gabriel had swayed all those Elders over to his side. One word from Michael, and the Elders switched sides and left Gabriel with only a few Elders supporting him.

  They were willing to give it up if a better offer came along. The Moonlight Pack? They would never do something like that. They had each other’s backs. They were a family.

  And they would never fall to someone like Gabriel. They would never fall to evil.

  CHAPTER 26

  Ukraine. Gabriel found out, very quickly, that he hated Ukraine.

  Maybe it had to do with he was in a bad mood. Maybe he was upset because he had to leave his sweet, beautiful, majestic castle in Scotland. Maybe it was because the castle they moved into in Ukraine hadn’t been inhabited for seven decades, which meant that it was falling apart and full of debris everywhere he looked.

  Gabriel walked into the main foyer and grimaced with distaste. There was graffiti everywhere he looked, with children spray painting their names. “Anya was here” was followed by “Love is everywhere you turn”. Gabriel spat at it. Stupid children. Stupid humans. Always ruining history like they were the only things in the world that mattered.

  Gabriel was in a bad mood, and this dank, decrypt castle in Ukraine wasn’t helping matters. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be in Michigan, but that damn Moonlight Pack just had to ruin it for him, yet again. He was really growing annoyed with the way they were acting.

  He was first tipped off that everything wasn’t what it seemed when he got word that three rogues were slaughtered. And one of them was the main rogue that he had grown to rely on in Michigan. What was his name…? Gabriel could never remember names. Well, not the names of the little people that truly had no power.

  Gabriel t
hought that this was going to be it. He was finally going to get the revenge he so longed for. He thought he could taste it in the wind, in the air, in his being. Instead, he had to pull out of the whole thing so that he didn’t ruin the good he already had created.

  Gabriel knew that something was really wrong when a rogue said he thought he saw Lukas, of the Moonlight Pack, in town right before the three rogues were murdered. And then, when news came that Hann and Michael did know all about what Gabriel was planning, Gabriel knew he had to end it once and for all.

  Well, not end it. Just put it on hold for a little while.

  He was upset about the whole thing, of course. He hated having to wait. He realized that maybe he didn’t have any patience at all nowadays. But he had wanted to act. He had wanted to enact that revenge. He had wanted to win and see that face of disbelief as he finally confronted Michael for that last time.

  It looked like he wasn’t going to be getting that. Not right now, at least. Now, he just had to sit on his hands and wait until the shifters forgot about them and went back to their careless, miserable lives. And then, when they were least expecting it, Gabriel and his rogues would strike.

  And it would be a magnificent thing. A magnificent feeling. Gabriel closed his eyes and breathed in that feeling that he would have, forgetting about the dank, smelly castle full of graffiti and dirt. He could forget about his surroundings for just a moment.

  But then a rat scurried past him, hitting his foot, and Gabriel had to reluctantly open his eyes and see the “Anya was here” graffiti yet again. He sure did hate humans.

  And he really hated this castle. He really hated Ukraine. He really hated Michael. He really hated everything.

  Gabriel walked around the castle, exploring his new home with such distaste. He couldn’t wait until he was out of this damn castle and somewhere else. He would just have to lie low and make sure that Michael and Hann were concerned with something else. Then, he would call the rogues back together, give them some more of those magic spells he had been working on to make sure the shifters truly did die at the hands of the rogues, and then everything would be fine.

  He just had to find some type of patience in his soul. How could he, an Elder that was centuries and centuries years old, lose patience? What had become of him to make him so antsy?

  He assumed it was his deep hatred for everything that kept on beating him and pushing him down. Michael. Hann. The Moonlight Pack. All of the shifter world. They loved to tell him to shut up and sit down. Loved to tell him that he didn’t know what he was talking about at all.

  Well, one day they would regret that. One day they would realize that they should’ve listen to him all those years ago. They should have given him the attention he so desired. They should have paid attention. Because when he came and destroyed their society and took away all their loved ones, when he became the most powerful Elder and shifter in the world, they would all then come to him and beg for mercy.

  They would beg for forgiveness. For his mercy. For love.

  And he would laugh before he killed them all.

  CHAPTER 27

  Britta was happy. Even after everything that had happened, she was happier than she had ever been. Sure, she had almost died. And it took her forever to confess her feelings and love to Grant. And it had kind of been a horrible year for all of the Moonlight Pack.

  Regardless of all the struggles that they had all faced, that she had faced, she was happier than she had ever been in her life. And she thought she had Grant to thank for that.

  “I’ll see you later, Brit,” Ethan yelled over his shoulder as him and Finn left the room in the gym where Britta had just finished her class. It was her first time back teaching since the whole rogue incident, and she was more than happy to be back. She had missed teaching. She had missed seeing Ethan and Finn and Hazel and Lea. She had missed the gym. Hell, she had missed doing anything, as Grant made sure she never left the bed when he was home with her. He wouldn’t even give in when she tried to seduce him. He was way too worried about her health, but now that she was proven to be okay, he had eased up a little.

  “It’s good to have you back, teach,” Hazel told her as they all walked out into to the main gym together.

  “Aw, thanks,” Britta smiled at her friend. She loved that everyone had missed her. It made her feel all warm and happy inside.

  Britta walked into the gym, loving the atmosphere that she hadn’t been a part of in a few weeks. She had missed being around her pack on a daily basis. Now, there were even more shifters from packs around the world that were there to learn and even teach in some cases. They currently had some guy from Poland that was a master at offensive techniques in wolf form.

  It had been pretty quiet on the rogue front for some time. Everyone knew that they were just laying low and waiting until they could catch the shifters off guard. But Britta didn’t know if that would happen. Every single day, the gym was packed with shifters from all over the world. They were all preparing for an uprising, and Michael was working with the Elders to bring some magic to their own fighting abilities. Morale was higher than ever in the society, and the rogues and Gabriel had to have noticed.

  Their desire to bring the society apart had backfired. It had only brought the shifters closer together. Had it taken some time? Yes, and there were still certain Moonlight Pack members who tensed up when yet another strange shifter walked into the gym. But it was better than before, and Britta saw so much progress everywhere she looked.

  As Britta walked throughout the gym, saying hello to the shifters that welcomed her back, she noticed Grant ahead in front of her, talking to Lukas. He hadn’t seen her yet, as his back was to her. She grinned, knowing what she was going to do.

  She was going to finally tackle him and surprise him.

  She took off at full speed, keeping light on her toes and not making a sound. But Grant turned around and tackled her to the ground, softly, right before she could jump on his back and surprise him.

  “Are you serious?” Britta whined and Grant laid on top of her. She couldn’t help but smile and laugh when she saw Grant’s smug smirk he was giving her.

  “When will you realize that I’m better than you?” He asked her, desire filling his eyes. She knew that hers looked the same. She kind of wanted to go away with him and fulfill that desire right then and there.

  “Never,” she replied. She was about to lean up and give him a kiss when she heard boos from around her. Both of them looked up to see Lukas with Annie, Finn, and Ethan, all of who were catcalling and laughing at the two on the ground.

  “Get a room!” Lukas yelled at them, rolling his eyes and laughing as he grabbed Annie’s hand and walked away.

  Grant reluctantly got off of Britta, helping her up from the ground and making sure that she wasn’t hurt in any way.

  “We’ll finish this later,” Grant told her in her ear as he pulled her towards him, his hands resting on her lower stomach.

  “You can bet on it,” she told him, stealing a quick kiss before jumping away from him and walking in a separate direction. From the way he smiled at her as she walked away, Britta knew that tonight was going to be all sorts of fun.

  As Britta walked to the women’s dressing room, more and more shifters came to welcome her back and say that they were happy she was okay. She was a bit astonished from all the love, and she almost felt like she was going to burst into tears from all the support she was getting.

  She knew then and there as all those shifters, some from her pack and some not, came up to talk to her that everything would be okay. When the rogues came back, they would be ready. When Gabriel came back, they would be ready. They would be ready for anything that life threw at them.

  Because they were a family. All of them would fight to the ends of the earth for each other. She didn’t know when Thea and Annie and Kato became her family. She didn’t know when Lukas became someone she could rely on. She didn’t know when Ethan
and Finn and Hazel and Lea had become her friends. And she sure as hell didn’t know when Grant had become the love of her life.

  But they all were a part of her now. And she knew that, no matter what, everything would be okay. And they would win.

  And she had her friends, her family, her loved ones all around her. And that was all that she truly needed.

  THE END

  The Coven Box Set (1-5)

  Book 1: Origins

  Chapter One

  It may not seem like the truth, but once, long ago – I was a girl. I was a normal child. While I always struggled with my beliefs, I tried my best to remain steadfast and hold strong to my family’s beliefs. My parents were on the fringe of the godly. My father had narrowly escaped death back home, in England, after which my family fled to the New World, seeking salvation and divine inspiration.

  The New World was a frightening place. Where we had once lived in a grand home with wooden floors and glass panes in our windows, we now had nothing but a small shack with a muddy floor covered in rushes. My father remained convinced that this was best. “Excessive hedonism turns one away from the Lord,” he always said. “Ligeia, it is your duty to make sure that your heart remains steady and true.”

  My mother was more concerned with breeding. She had lost three babes in the New World, and I felt as though nothing could ease her grief. Despite my father’s attempt at comfort, Mother remained isolated and cold. When she fell pregnant once more, her devotion to the Lord and Savior seemingly increased tenfold overnight.

  At twelve years old, I was now expected to care for my younger brothers and sisters as my mother’s confinement became imminent. The burden of cooking, cleaning, and childrearing fell on my shoulders. Godly children were always expected to be self-sufficient, and my parents had very high expectations of me.