I wonder what Allissa is planning =D
Lyle was completely on board with my brilliant plan and everything was ready. Now it was time to invite the guest of honor.“Cleo.” I smiled as I waved her down. I could see her eye twitch, but she plastered on her disgustingly sweet smile and walked over to me.“How are you feeling?” she asked.“Much better now. And after the few days I spent attached to my mate, possibly expecting a pup.” I noticed her eyes widen as she smiled. Her smile now almost looked like a snarl as she struggled with herself.“Well, isn’t that lovely?”“Yes, we are both excited. But you know how you offered to help me before with lessons? I would love it if you could help me today.” I noticed she almost seemed to be gritting her teeth.“No escort today?” she asked, glancing behind me.“I had to ditch him, so we have to hurry. I was hoping you could show me the prison. I know there is a role where the queen is supposed to pardon and read them their last rites. I was hoping you could show me this process.”“I th
“Oh, I forgot. I met a younger boy on the servant stairs. I think it was Cleo’s mate’s younger brother. We need to go find him. He looked upset because he couldn’t find his brother.”“Already took care of it. I had Rodney find him and tell him not to worry, that his brother would be out in a week.” Lyle beamed at me.“Well look at you … on top of things.” I giggled as I looked over the railing. I stared at the setting sun with a small sigh. “Darren has been gone all day.”“I did the best I could, but there are some things that require his sole attention. Plus, he had to speak with Ivan, too.”I pursed my lips together as I remembered the werebear. “There’s a problem, huh?”Lyle came and leaned his elbows on the edge next to me. “We don’t know that for a fact.”“Lyle!” We whipped our heads around to see Tim coming up to us. “You won’t believe this. Darren controlled his temper!”“What?!” Lyle’s eyes popped open wide as I listened intently.“Yes, just a bit ago in his meeting, there was
“I think she deserved worse. Much worse.” Darren growled as he sat his pen down.“I’m not saying she didn’t, but I felt this was a fitting punishment. Plus, it also offered an innocent man his freedom. What they decide to do from here on out is up to them. But Cleo will most likely be pregnant now. She will no longer be able to be a Waiting Lady and will be forced to leave. She will have no choice but to either live with her mate or go back to her family. And if her family is anything like her, they will not welcome her with open arms.” I had thought about it a lot, and I decided I would give her the choice. She can now choose to be happy with her mate and embrace her new life, or she can live a miserable life. In either case, it got her out of the castle, and that was all I really cared about.“It’s clever.” Ivan leaned on Darren’s desk. “This way there isn’t any trouble with the nobles, but it also solves a problem. Honestly, I am very impressed. Well done.”“Thank you!” Yes, I was
It took two weeks for all the species representatives to arrive. Two anxious weeks while the neutral village of Lyionette remained under the vampires’ control. I knew Darren didn’t like waiting to act, but at the same time, this was bigger than one village. What was being formed right now was a unity for the future.Ivan had gone to get the last representative. I didn’t know we were missing anyone, but he said this person was very important.I glanced over at Lyle as he walked me down the hall. “Should I really be attending this meeting? I feel like I’m not the crowned queen yet, so it might not be appropriate.” I listened as Lyle laughed.“Two things, ‘princess’,” he said, winking at me. “One, you’re the king’s marked mate, and we’re just waiting for the formalities to make you the official queen. And two, Darren wants you there ... he needs you there. I think you’re one of the most important people to be there, to make sure Darren doesn’t lose his temper and cause a war among all th
Amber eyes were on me as the Vampire King made his way toward Darren. He looked as if he was in his thirties, but I knew this man was actually centuries old. He walked right past Darren and stopped behind my chair. I turned sideways in my seat to see him extend his hand to me.“My name is Finn, and—” He raised his brows up expectantly.“Allissa,” I answered, taking his hand politely. His thumb pressed against my fingers, as a smile spread over his lips.“Well, talk about coming full circle.” He grinned. I glanced at Darren, not understanding at all, but I could see that he was confused as well.“You’ve touched her long enough.” Darren pulled my hand away, giving Finn a warning look.“Of course, I mean no harm, but I find all of this very intriguing. I’m sure some of you do as well,” Finn said, looking up at the other representatives. “For those who know ... and I can see quite a few of you do.” His eyes landed on the fairy man before resting back on me.“Know what?”“Darren, have you
His tongue attacked me urgently as his hands roamed over my body. The electric sparks were everything. How could anyone reject their fated mate? Who would deny themselves of the wonderful sensations that only they could bring?! He brought out a side of me that I never knew was there. And the best part? The sex was ALWAYS amazing. I would never get enough of him, and it was an amazing feeling to know that he was my partner in this life.“Ally, I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe what my family did. I am so sorry—”“Dare, don’t.” I panted against his lips. If this man only knew what was going through my mind. I wasn’t thinking about the stupid past. I was thinking of all the ways I could play with his dick right now. “You are a great king and—”“I shouldn’t even be in this position.”I giggled. “You were always meant to be my mate, and because of that you were always meant to be the king.”“Everything that happened to you—” He frowned, shaking his head. “Your life would have been
DarrenI was over-the-moon excited. Allissa was pregnant! We were going to have a child. But then I realized what I had just promised her. She was carrying our pup and still wanted to go and fight. I felt all of my emotions struggling inside of me. I felt everything, but one of the biggest was fear.So much fear gripped me. If something happened to her and she ended up losing our pup, how would she handle it? She had already lost a pup not too long ago. Something like this would be devastating. I understood her reasonings, honestly, I really did. If the roles were reversed, I would want to be by her side, too. But we needed to talk about this.I reached out, pulling her to my chest. “Ally, you keep giving me so much. You are spoiling me, and I’m turning into a greedy child. I love you, and I can’t wait to meet our baby.” I kissed the top of her head, breathing in her scent. “We need to talk. Please, listen to what I have to say. This is a discussion, my love, not a fight.”“Okay.” I li
At some point, all of our clothes ended up off of our bodies. Darren had kissed every inch of my skin and was far from done. I shivered under his touch, my breath hitching as he kissed his way across my body, my heartbeat pounding in anticipation. His lips trailed fire along my collarbone, his warm breath fanning over my sensitive skin, sending tingles all over me. He paused for a moment to suck gently on the tender flesh, eliciting a moan from deep within me. “Darren,” I breathed, arching into his touch.He moved lower still, his mouth following the curve of my breastbone to my belly button. His stubble tickled my stomach as he kissed lower still, toward the mound between my legs. His lips brushed against it lightly, sending shockwaves of pleasure through me. My hips bucked involuntarily as he traced circles around it with his tongue, teasing me mercilessly. “Please,” I begged, unable to contain myself any longer. He chuckled darkly against my sensitive skin before finally closing hi
I turned over in the tangled sheets, my body instinctively searching for Darren’s familiar warmth, but as my hand reached out, I was met with an empty space and a cool spot on the bed. My eyes snapped open. “Darren?” I called softly, scanning the dark interior of the tent. The faint glow of the dull morning light filtered through the fabric walls, casting shadows on the ground below. Darren was gone, and judging by the coolness of the blanket, he had been gone for quite some time.With a sigh, I swung my legs over the edge of the cot and stood, wrapping myself in a thick robe. The soft fur lining tickled my skin as I cinched it tight around my waist.I pushed aside the canvas and stepped out into the crisp morning air. A shiver ran through me as the cool breeze caressed my face. The camp was already stirring to life around me.My eyes scanned the misty field, searching for that familiar, broad-shouldered silhouette. Nothing. Just tents and trees and the soft glow of dawn. My stomach tw
AllissaThe thick canvas of the white tent muffled the sounds from the outside. I stood behind the gathered leaders, my eyes fixed on the map spread across the makeshift war table. Darren was right in front of me, and I watched as his fingers moved over the parchment. The centaur prince to his left growled low in his throat, shaking his head. “That leaves the eastern villages exposed. We can’t risk it.”“And if we pull back to defend them, we lose our advantage in the mountains,” countered the harpy queen, her wings rustling with agitation.I bit my lip, my mind racing as I considered the implications of each strategy. The complexity of inter-species politics had never felt more daunting. One wrong move could shatter fragile alliances, doom innocent lives.My gaze drifted across the tent, taking in the assembled leaders. Battle-worn and weary, they bore the marks of our recent struggles. A bandaged arm here, a haunted look there. When my eyes landed on Asta, standing quiet and watchfu
DarrenI had Allissa taken to the fairy infirmary just to be safe. A petite fairy with iridescent wings, a healer, tested her blood. Her hand glowed with a soft white light as she waved it over Ally’s body. She confirmed there was mistletoe in her blood but that her blood was attacking it. Little by little, it was removing it from her body. The healer also did a special check on our pup.I didn’t know much about fairies before, but they’re amazing. She was able to see our pup. She said the pup was strong, very healthy, and growing rapidly. Our pups tended to do that. Our gestation was anywhere from four to six months, depending on the pup and mother.“You already have a little bump starting to show,” the fairy healer said, motioning over Ally’s stomach. I watched as Ally flashed her beautiful smile up at me. Gods, was it like this for everyone? My heart beat faster just because she smiled at me. I remembered the mistletoe in her system then. “Remarkably advanced for the short time ...
For a moment, my heart stopped, as the feral beast came into view. My mate’s white fur was stained red. His eyes were wild and aggressive as they scanned through the flames. His head snapped in my direction, and I was relieved to see that he was okay. He was wounded, but nothing looked serious. He raced toward me, but then Ivan’s enormous beast let out a roar.It was chaos. I’m not even sure what happened. It was a frenzy of movement and sound that left me disoriented. In the blink of an eye, the two massive creatures, their pure white fur stained with blood, were locked in a vicious battle. Teeth gnashed and claws slashed as they tore at each other, the ground trembling beneath their weight. It was a brutal dance, the violence escalating. The world seemed to slow down as I took in every detail of the epic clash before me, my heart racing as I tried to understand what was happening.Ivan threw the monstrous lycan into a burning building. I watched in horror as Darren’s lycan disappeare
My silver fur bristled as I crouched low, muscles coiled and ready to spring. I bared my fangs as the approaching vampire army but something suddenly flashed over them. A bright blue aura surrounded them, pulsing with otherworldly energy.What the hell?My confusion lasted only a moment before their battle cry rang out:“For the King!”Realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. These weren’t enemies––they were Finn’s allies! The blue glow must be some kind of magical marker to distinguish them from other vampires.Well, I’ll be damned. Looks like the exiled king still had a few tricks up his sleeve.As the blue-wreathed vampires charged past me to engage our foes, I couldn’t help but think of Darren. There was no time for celebration. I needed to get to him. My ears twitched at the sound of the battle in all directions. It was impossible to detect my mate.With a fierce howl, I leapt back into the fray, silver claws extended and ready to tear into any enemy that dared cross my path.
My heart thundered in my chest as I stood in front of the second wave army. I felt my muscles coil with anticipation. My feral nature demanded that I jump into the fight and be by my mate’s side. It was all I could do to force myself to remain calm. I dug my nails into my palms, trying to distract myself.“Easy,” Ivan’s deep voice rumbled beside me. I glanced over at him. He looked calm despite the chaos unfolding in front of us. I might not be afraid of fighting, but I didn’t have any experience with war. Ivan’s composure proved that this was not something new to him.I growled low in my throat, the lycan inside me snarling to be released. “I can’t stand this. I need to be fighting near Darren’s side.” It was a blur of bodies in the village and I couldn’t see him anymore. “You’re taller than I am … can you see him?”Ivan’s gaze returned to the distant battle. “I lost sight of him. The vampires are pressing hard on the eastern flank. But our centaurs are holding the line, giving the fa
“So, it’s already decided? You made this decision without me here?” Darren was frustrated but he managed to control his temper. I looked over at the three men in front of us. “You had no right to make that call without consulting me first,” Darren growled, his fists clenched at his sides. I watched Darren’s shoulders tense, the muscles in his back coiling like a spring about to snap. My heart ached, seeing him struggle against the curse that amplified his temper.I felt his darkness pooling inside of me, and I sent my calming energy back to him. I watched as his green eyes glanced at me gratefully before he returned his focus back to the man in front of us.“We have extensive military training. Trust me, this is the best move. I made a tactical decision based on the intelligence we had.” A man with blond hair and brown eyes looked over at Ivan, his brother. “You agree with this strategy, don’t you?”“Anton, it isn’t that I don’t agree with it, but I do think you should have discussed i
Everything moved so quickly today as we prepared to meet with our alliance. We would be reclaiming the neutral village, and from there we all knew it would lead to war with the vampires.“You be safe.” Lyle prodded my nose and I wrapped my arms around him tightly. It felt weird leaving Lyle behind, but it was either him or me. One of us had to stay behind and I didn’t volunteer myself. However, I doubt Darren would have permitted me to stay now. After their investigation, he was still very cautious. I found out that most of the nobles and Waiting Ladies were truthful. None of them had bad feelings toward me.In fact, we found out that the nobles were over sending their children to be potential mates to the king. They all wanted to strengthen their lines by finding fated mates. This was true for all of the families except for Dara’s. Dara had been beaten by her family and cast out for being sent away from the castle. The noble family was within their rights to cast her out. Darren relu
His clothes were off and then his lips, soft and full, pressed roughly against mine, igniting a fiery passion within me. Our kiss deepened, becoming more urgent with every passing second. His fingers glided across my skin, leaving a trail of heat behind them. He knew every inch of my body—the sensitive spots that made me tremble and the secret places that sent tingles down my spine. With each touch, I arched into him, unable to resist his tantalizing caresses. My body was his canvas, and he painted it with desire and need.Darren’s tongue traced the shell of my ear as he moved to graze my neck with his teeth. “Mine,” he growled, his voice was raw ... possessive.“Yes, I’m yours.” I felt as if his mind was teetering and he needed to hear me tell him this. There was a low growl in his throat as his head moved, lowering to my chest. He inhaled a nipple and began to knead the other with his fingers.“Dare,” I moaned, my back arching off of the bed. I could feel him pressing his hips agains