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The Gathering
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
A Marriage of Convenience Worth it
The look on Alpha Conan’s face was worth whatever repercussions that might follow my comment. His jaw tightened as he tipped his face up, as if that would make him seem tougher than he actually was. His navy-blue eyes sparked with fury as his cheeks flushed crimson. James’ fingers brushed the inside of my thigh, and I glanced over, seeing him smirking at me. “Excuse me?” Conan muttered after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. I widened my eyes, playing into the fake nicety, “Did I misunderstand what you’d said before? It seemed as if you were disrespecting my mate, but he’s an Alpha, just like you.”The tense moment was broken when Alpha Xaden began speaking through a microphone. “Welcome everyone to the eighty-sixth annual Gathering of the wolves,” he started as applause sounded around us.“Tonight, we celebrate the Goddess’ gift to us. Whether you are already mated, or searching for your other half; she has blessed us with the gift of eternal happiness and
A Marriage of Convenience Changing(James POV)
The soft music surrounds us as I hold Rosalind in my arms. Her skin is so warm and soft everywhere my fingers touch.I’m fascinated with her. For years, I was blinded by anger. I was angry at the world, angry at whomever had brutally attacked my pack, but most importantly; I was angry at the Goddess. She’d given me a mate, only to take her away almost instantly. My bond with Marina was short lived. The pull, the sparks, the desire; it was all so brief I hardly remember it. I spent years longing for those tiny moments back. Hours I spent by her bedside, praying to our Goddess to bring her back to me, only for her to send me a second mate who just so happened to be my own wife. I don’t like to believe in fate, but for some reason, Rosalind was placed in my path on that fateful night. As if the Goddess had planned it all so perfectly. If only she’d offer me some guidance now. “Are you sure this is real?” Rosalind’s soft voice reaches my ears despite the noise all around us. Her face
A Marriage of Convenience Bitter pill
My breathing halted as James’ fingertips pulled the thin fabric of my thong to the side. The cool night air sent a shiver down my spine, but the heat from James’ hands as they gripped my thighs sent warmth throughout my body. I’ve never done anything like this. Not sexually or anything in such a public space. I’ve imagined James between my legs hundreds of times over the last few years, but nothing compares to the way it feels right now. Even with the looming threat of someone finding us, I can’t bring myself to stop him. A man like James doesn’t get on his knees. You kneel for him. He demands attention. But as his emerald eyes clash with mine; I realize that he’s offering me an exchange of power. “What do you want, Rosalind?” My name rolled off his tongue in a deep rasp as if he were barely holding it together. I released a shaky breath as he pressed his lips against the inside of my thigh. “I need words, sweetheart. Tell me what you want,” James nipped my skin, sending another
A Marriage of Convenience Feel everything
The entire ride home was silent. Not another word was spoken between the two of us, but words weren’t needed.I could feel everything. He was second guessing everything that had happened between us and all it took was a single tearful phone call from Marina.James couldn’t look at me, not that I wanted him to. My eyes were probably bloodshot from fighting the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks. I hated crying in front of him. There was a time years ago that I’d promised myself I’d never cry in front of him again.That was after he’d called me into Marina’s room to berate me for not making sure that her pillows were changed. He was so angry, telling me that I was an incompetent doctor and he’d regretted choosing me as his wife.His words broke something in me that day, and tears streamed down my cheeks.That had made him angrier. He scoffed at me, shaking his head as he told me how pathetic it was that I was crying when I was awake and well.I didn’t know that man anymore. O
A Marriage of Convenience Always win
The sound of loud knocking against the front door had my face scrunching in pain. Every bang bounced around the inside of my skull, creating one of the worst headaches I’ve ever experienced.My eyes were still closed, and after a few tries, I forced them open to see that I was on the floor of the foyer.Lingering crackles from the fireplace even irritated the throbbing in my head.“Rosa,” Chris’ voice came from the other side of the door, “We’re going to be late.”Late? The expensive empty bottle of wine stared at me from where it was tipped over on the plush rug. It was as if it were staring at me, reminding me of my poor decisions last night. Especially now that Chris is at my door for some reason saying that I’m late for something.Pushing myself off the ground, I wince, feeling the intensity of my bad decisions last night.“One minute,” my voice sounded foreign and scratchy.“Could you at least let me in while you finish getting ready? It’s raining,” Chris groaned.Scooping the b
A Marriage of Convenience Keep it together
I glanced in the fold down mirror of Chris’ car, wincing when I saw my reflection in natural lighting. My eyes still held tinges of pink streaks and the puffiness hadn’t gone down at all.The only consolation is that Chris wasn’t lying about his hangover cure. My stomach was no longer rolling with nausea and my headache had dulled down to a brain fog.“Do you think it’s frowned upon to wear glasses inside of a church?”Chris snorted, “Yes. But who the fuck cares? If his almighty greatness can forgive murderers, he can forgive you for wearing sunglasses to church.”My whole body deflated at the thought of my mother ordering them off before ranting about why in the world I thought it would be appropriate to not only wear the sunglasses, but to get drunk enough to need them the night before Easter.I spotted her the moment we stepped out of the car. My mother was wearing a beige satin dress with long lace sleeves. Her shoes matched perfectly, and it appeared she’d called the on-demand ha
A Marriage of Convenience Changed everything
“I’m going to plead the fifth when I’m asked about you assaulting that car,” Shawn smirked.“The car deserved it,” I groaned, “The door is locked, and I need sunglasses.”Shawn’s brows pinched together before he reached up, removing the pair atop his head, and outstretching his arm. I walked over, grabbing the pair, and quickly placing them on my face. They weren’t my typical style, but it will do for now.“Why do you need sunglasses?” Shawn closed the distance between us, pushing the pair to the top of my head.“I might be hungover, and my mother might be projecting her insanely oppressive thoughts into my orbit.”“Chris didn’t make you one of his famous smoothies?” Shawn snorted.I scrunched my nose, and my tongue somehow tasted the disgusting concoction, “He did. But I’m not entirely cured, and I can’t handle saving face today around my mother.”“What is she on about now?” he questioned, never breaking eye contact. Normally this level of attention would make me uncomfortable if it
A Marriage of Convenience Mind won the battle
“I’d like to sit next to my wife,” James’ deep voice spoke through gritted teeth. The way he says the word wife with so much possessiveness sends a shiver snaking down my spine. My body reacts to the deep gruff of his voice, but I don’t want it to.I don’t want James to have an effect on me. I don’t want his voice to make my body shudder. I don’t want my thigh to heat where he now rubs against it because Shawn scooted down.“Sorry I’m late,” James whispers against my ear, sending another traitorous shiver throughout my body.My mother dips her head forward, “James dear,” she coos looking starry eyed, “I’m so glad you could make it.”Her fake kindness grates on my already tattered soul. But it’s not her I’m focused on. My father’s head is turned towards us, and his eyes are trained on James. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him look at James in a way that screams his dislike for the man, but the emotion shining in his eyes is new.He catches me looking and instantly, his features so
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A Marriage of Convenience Guilt
“I’ve increased security and will be checking in hourly. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” James held my annoyed stare, knowing that nothing was getting in or out of these walls without him knowing.He held up his hands in mock surrender, “Fine. FINE. I get it,” he stepped towards me, his large frame crowding my space. My butt hit the counter and my crutches fell to the ground. James lifted me with ease and placing me atop the cool, granite countertop. A shiver rolled through my body as the chill seeped into my skin, “I’m allowed to worry about you, you know?”“Worry all you want, but don’t stop letting me live. Please. I’ll be fine and I trust that all of the additional security measures you’ve put in place will keep me extra safe,” I pecked his lips, attempting to pull away quickly, but he grabbed my face, crashing our lips together in a searing kiss.James held me there until we were both breathless, and my chest ached from the lack of oxygen.“The office can wait,” he growled
A Marriage of Convenience The Perfect Mate
James assisted me into a house, where the smell of bleach assaulted me the moment I walked through the threshold. A crew of cleaners froze as we walked inside, but a single look from James had them scurrying back to their jobs.The glass had been removed and the blood no longer stained the white porcelain. A new pane of glass shimmered beneath the midday sun, and I found myself frozen as I stared at the picture-perfect home.“It feels weird to see looking how it was before,” I whispered, still feeling the fear of that night swim through my veins. The large floor to ceiling window overlooked the forest in the backyard, and I silently wondered if that fear would multiply once the sun went down and the shadows of the night came out to play.James pressed his lips to my temple, “I replaced the glass from before with something graded to be bullet proof. Nothing will get through those windows again.”A shiver rolled down my spine. Either James replaced the window with bulletproof glass to m
A Marriage of Convenience Something is off
I was finally cleared to go home from the hospital, but I’m not quite sure how to feel about it. On one hand, I missed my bed and the comfort of my own home. On the other, I didn’t know how to feel about being there after the attack.Not to mention my mind has been running in circles since Marina showed up here yesterday.James came shortly after she left, but something seemed off, and I wanted to dissect everything that Marina had said before confronting James about it. But even more confusing was the fact that she’d specifically said a wolf bite, when she shouldn’t have known that small fact.She couldn’t have known that unless she orchestrated it or James had told her about it, but I was leaning towards her orchestrating the attack.“How’s Ahmed?” I glanced up at James as he wheeled me out to the awaiting car.“He’s awake and recovering. I’ve placed him on paid leave and instructed his wife to come to me if they need anything at all,” James’ voice held an edge to it, but I didn’t c
A Marriage of Convenience Cops(James POV)
The inside of the house looked like a massacre. Tiny shards of glass decorated the floor like snow. Some of the larger bits were painted with a deep, blackish crimson from the dried blood, and the smell was nauseating.‘These were definitely rogues,’ Onyx spat through gritted teeth, his anger blending with mine the more we assessed the scene.Through it all, I could smell Rosalind’s blood, and the thought of them hurting her while I was off chasing some ignorant lead on Marina made my blood boil with anger. But the anger was directed at myself.I should have been here. I should have been the one to protect her, and Ahmed did his best, but one man against multiple wolves just didn’t succeed.Rainwater had flooded most of the evidence, causing it to spread before drying. The cops wouldn’t be able to pull anything from this mess. Not anything concrete anyways.I’d learned the hard way how easily evidence can be destroyed. If you’re not on the scene within a tiny window of time, your succ
A Marriage of Convenience Our. Home
“Rosalind,” Chris shouted, shouldering through a group of nurses who were conveniently gossiping about James. They still couldn’t believe he was married to a woman like me. Sure, I was a doctor, but that wasn’t anything special when the most eligible, billionaire bachelor in Georgia was in the running. He was like a God around here. And me? Well, I was simply an average looking woman who also happened to be a doctor. My status as a Red didn’t mean a damn thing, because I wasn’t a hot man who also happened to have enough money to buy the entire United States and not blink an eye. “What the fuck?” Chris muttered; eyes wide as he stared at my elevated leg. Blood had seeped through the bandages because they couldn’t seal the wound and for someone who doesn’t see this kind of thing on a regular basis, it was pretty disgusting. “Close the curtain,” I whispered, and he did quickly, rushing back to my side.“Was that,” he pointed at my injury, “From one of them.”“We are one of them,” I n
A Marriage of Convenience Cross me(James POV)
Pure, unfiltered rage didn’t even begin to describe the poisonous feeling flooding through my veins. The anger feels like a living, breathing thing.Like a Goddamned snake slithering its way beneath my skin, releasing toxic poison in the form of fury that bleeds into every square inch of my body.I want the heads of every single person who stepped foot on my property last night. I don’t give a shit who they were or what they were doing there. If they accidentally stumbled upon the forest at the back of the property…. I’m going to find them and make them pay.Since my driver is now fighting for his life in the hospital with Rosalind, I’m forced to call and wait for a driving service to offer me a temp replacement for Ahmed.A few painstaking minutes pass while I pace a hole in the cement out front of the hospital, sweating from the sweltering, humid Georgia heat before the damn driver finally shows up.‘He is clearly incompetent,’ Onyx spats in my head, ‘Ahmed would never keep us waiti
A Marriage of Convenience No one in or out
“Rosa,” James’ voice filters through the darkness, “Rosalind, baby.”My body shakes softly on my shoulders and my eyelids flutter. The lashes on my left eye are stuck to my face, and after a few attempts, they tear free.Bright lights above my head blind me as I blink away my disorientation.The sound of multiple different voices has my eyes panning around the room. EMS workers move quickly, rushing inside the small space and focusing their attention on Ahmed. I recognize a few of the faces rushing around me, but a relieved sigh falls from my lips as I finally focus on James.“What’s going on?”My voice sounds foreign and gravelly.“Are you injured?” James rushes out, coming back to my side and ignoring the emergency personnel shouting at him to back up.“My…” I start, trying to move the leg that had gotten bit, but it felt numb and stiff, “My leg and my ribs.”“What happened here?” The gold flecks in James’ eyes glitter beneath the harsh lights of the elevator, and his eyes soften as
A Marriage of Convenience Creatures
A loud noise jars me awake and my eyes struggle to focus in my disoriented state. The sky is nearly black and rain pelts against the floor to ceiling windows at the rear of the house.The television remains on, but the show I’d been watching has long ended. Glancing at my phone, I blink away the sleepiness seeing that somehow, I’d managed to nap for the last five hours.Another loud crack startles me as the sky lights up with a flash of lightning. A few seconds later, the power goes out, causing complete darkness to blanket me. The storm raging outside is the only sound I hear, and I quickly grab my phone, illuminating the flashlight as I walk towards the rear windows.The backyard leading into the forest looks eerie blanketed in complete darkness. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and the feeling of being watched envelopes me as I squint my eyes, trying to see anything through the heavy sheets of rain.Another flash of lightning illuminates the sky, and I swear I saw someth
A Marriage of Convenience Liar
James left early this morning for work and forbade me from going into the hospital. I called in with a family emergency, and there was no questioning. They knew if I was taking off, it was necessary, even though it didn't feel that way. Chris remained passed out on the back patio, and I’m not sure if I should force him awake or let him sleep off the shockwave that was yesterday. I still don't even know if I've managed to brush off the reality that I've been a werewolf my entire life and everyone I loved kept it from me..... and I've had weeks to process it.My phone buzzing against the countertop startles me, and I glance over to see that my father is calling.Begrudgingly, I grab the phone, hesitating as my finger hovers over the small green button. I’ve been avoiding talking to either of them. Since my meeting with my father and my mother’s explosion over the scathing interview I did with Mr. Arden; I’m not sure they even consider me a member of the Red family.“Hey dad,” I finally
