We're getting close to the end! Thoughts on little Aidan?
Lukas The battle flowed around me, the smell of blood and sweat hanging heavily in the air. The moon beams were highlighting the deep red of the blood splattering the grass and the fabric of my clothing. A light summer breeze blew the scents around the entire courtyard, along with the sounds of my pack members fighting the royal pack warriors in both human and wolf form. Everything froze, and Tobias walked across the stage, his gun raised and pointed at the lone figure standing at the edge of the platform. Her long locks blew in the wind, and she lifted her chin proudly. Her golden wings spread gloriously for the universe to see who she truly was, her eyes swirling between emerald and gold as she stared down the false king. At her feet, on either side of her, were Drew and Everly’s lifeless bodies, pools of blood spilling out from underneath them, staining the stage and the hem of her long white lace off the shoulder gown. She sauntered forward purposefully, her eyes never leaving
Everly “What’s Drew doing?” Dave asked as he sat down next to me, Amber’s hand gripped tightly in his. I looked up at him, and then over to where my mate sat, his back up against a tree, a plate of food forgotten on the ground next to him, a giant book propped up against his knees. We were all in the clearing we had been in last night, although now it was filled with tables of varying sizes and shapes, each low to the ground and surrounded by cushions in every color imaginable. Each table was covered in various breakfast foods, all cooked to perfection, and all somehow maintaining the perfect temperature. I did not know how long the food had been out, but every time I grabbed more, it was always at the precise temperature that it should be. “He’s trying to learn every single spell from his family’s grimoire,” I explained, rolling my eyes. “Doesn’t he know them already?” Amber asked. I shook my head as I loaded up my plate with more scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy and some
Lukas We had spent the week trying to stay one step ahead of Tobias and the Royal Pack. We had been successful with some packs, and with others, not as successful at reaching them before the royals. Wild Hunt, Gray Chase, Cold Waters, Silver Crescent, and High Plains had all suffered major damages to their buildings and lands, but their members had mostly suffered just minor injuries. Between Everly, and the true werewolf healers we’d saved from other packs, we’d been able to keep the numbers of all the packs up, with no deaths, and only a few with mild lasting injuries. It would have been better if there were no injuries at all, but this was war, and the fact that we had suffered no casualties so far — beyond my parents, at least — was a win in my book. In our book. We had learned from the members of the attacked packs that the High Witch King had taken part in the attacks as well. Veronica had given me as much insight as possible about him and his motivations and abilities and pre
Juniper As the cheers and voices died down and Lukas and I broke apart from our passionate kiss, music began to play, and all the chairs magically disappeared. Left behind was space for everyone to mingle and dance. The cheers restarted, this time in anticipation of the party beginning. High top tables laden with food popped up around the edges of the gathering, and Lukas moved to join the fray, but I tugged his hand, nodding towards the beginning of the forest, to where the tree cover was thicker and more dense. He quirked a brow at me, but followed with no argument. The two of us slipped away while everyone else was busy mingling and eating. When we reached the tree line, I dropped his hand and ran ahead, lifting my skirts so I wouldn’t trip over them. I heard him stumble a little, and I giggled to myself as he cursed under his breath, trying to catch up to me. “Where are we going, petite fée?” he chuckled, his hands grabbing my hips and twisting me slightly so my wings weren’t
Drew The night finally arrived. The night of our big battle. The night we would face Tobias, the night my best friends would reclaim the kingdom as the rightful rulers. We had everything set. Everything in place. Everyone in place. Each of us with our part to play, each of us only knowing as much as we needed to know in order to make sure the entire plan couldn’t leak out. We approached the palace grounds, Lukas in the lead with Dave beside him, Juniper with her hands bound in iron shackles, mine bound in silver etched with magic blocking runes. We both wore our same clothing from the night of the ceremony, although Alessia distressed them a bit. We looked as though we had been on the run with nowhere to hide, with nothing but the clothes on our backs. “I am here to see King Tobias,” Lukas declared, as we stopped at the gate of the pal
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF INJURY IN THIS CHAPTER Drew Lukas and Bianca stepped forward, one of them on either side of the pedestal. Dave stood behind Lukas, on the side closest to me, and Bianca on the other, on the side closest to Mordecai, her grandfather. Our grandfather. I shuddered slightly at that thought, and Felicity cackled quietly beside me. Even though she did not know what caused it, she was taking a significant amount of pleasure from my discomfort. Tobias opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and laughed, glancing at Mordecai. “This is a clever loophole to the curse, wouldn’t you agree?” he asked. “Yes, I was just thinking that,” Mordecai mused. “Breaking their bond by marking another instead of a formal rejection. Painful, to be s
Finn Get in, get Adam, get out, see my family. That was what I kept repeating to myself as we traveled through the secret tunnels, following Damien as he navigated them from memory. He had spent his childhood exploring them with Eric, the two of them using them to play pranks on the palace staff and their parents, and then hide from their unsuspecting victims. I could imagine Drew and Lukas doing the same, if they had grown up here, and I could picture our kids keeping the tradition — sneaking through the passages, trying to hide from their responsibilities or training — but we had to defeat Tobias first, in order for that to happen. We were as quiet as possible, using nothing but our own abilities to see in the dimly lit tunnels. Veronica held onto Damien’s hand, and Lyssa had Lukas’s, since their night vision wasn’t as strong as ours, and I was bringing up the rear, ready to roast any enemies who tried to follow us. Not that there was anyone around to follow us. The palace was s
Drew “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!” Tobias roared from the far side of the courtyard, near Mordecai, Felicity standing just off his shoulder. The entire battle paused, everyone too surprised by the sudden appearance of another Lukas to continue the battle. I was glad that everyone else was clearly seeing the same thing I was, because it meant that I wasn’t hallucinating from the pain, and meant that maybe Everly’s healing had helped more than I thought it had. I was still a little weak from the blood loss, still a bit lightheaded, and Everly was holding onto my waist, helping me keep my balance, the two of us still hidden from view at the edge of the fray. I was so grateful she had figured out how to extend that ability to people around her. It had come in handy both the night of Lukas’s ceremony when she’d helped get Myles and Leo over to us so we could leave for Seeravi, and during battle, when I’d been so gravely injured. Lukas smirked at Lukas, and then the fighting continued, both
A LITTLE OVER 1 YEAR AFTER THE EPILOGUEJUNIPER I paced back and forth in our bedroom as I waited for Lukas to come back from morning training with Drew and Finn. He’d left me sleeping. Or, at least, he thought I was sleeping. I was half awake when he brushed a soft kiss on my cheek and tucked the blankets around my naked body before he walked out of the room. I had been too antsy and on edge to sleep, too ready to enact my little surprise for him. The double doors to our room opened just as a wave of nausea rolled through me. “Oh goddess,” I whimpered, and then ran into the bathroom before Lukas could see me. I turned the faucet on so he wouldn’t hear me retching, but it was pointless. The bathroom door slammed open and his worried gaze scanned over my body right before I hurled my guts out into the toilet. But instead of turning and leaving me, Lukas walked straight to me, kneeling down next to me and rubbing my back underneath my pink and blue plaid shirt, the skin to skin co
Note: This chapter was written as a special holiday chapter during Christmas, right after the chapter where Eric and Claire passed away. It gives a little bit of insight into their lives before they were in hiding. I hope you enjoy it!EricAnother Winter Solstice. Another birthday, come and gone. Another year without a mate.Growing up, having my birthday on the Winter Solstice was always fun. I got extra presents, and it was as if everyone was celebrating my birthday, even though they were really just celebrating that the days would get longer again. But in my innocence as a child, it seemed, of course, that it was mainly about me.Now, at 25, and still mateless, it was less exciting. Now, I dreaded the holiday, and dreaded my birthday.It didn’t help that this year, my best friend, my future beta, Damien, had found his mate only weeks ago — a witch named Veronica — and they were joined at the hip now.I had no ill feelings towards him — truly; I was ecstatic for him. Finding your m
JuniperI breathed out a sigh as I slipped away from the party to get some fresh air on the balcony. My heavy sparkly green skirt swished against the marble flooring, and I smoothed my hands over the velvet belt as I inhaled the fresh honeysuckle scent from the planters. The silver and diamond crown on my head felt heavy, but a good heavy. It was a reminder of everything we’d achieved, everything that had led us to this exact moment.Our coronation after party was in full swing — all of our closest friends and family were celebrating just on the other side of the double doors. The elders had officially crowned us king and queen of Volkor earlier that evening, had a huge fancy ball where anyone who wished to could attend, and now it was just our inner circle having our own celebration.It had been a few months since our victory over Tobias and his regime. The time passed quickly, but the work was difficult, and far from over. This coronation, and ball, and party, was a much needed repr
LUKAS POVThe evening was warm, the sun setting behind the foothills, leaving behind streaks of red and purple and orange in the otherwise clear blue sky. My hands were in my pockets, and I breathed deeply, my face upturned towards the disappearing sun.I lowered my gaze back to my surroundings, taking it all in so I would never forget this day, the day my June and I claimed each other in front of the realm.It was just a formality, really, since we were already marked and mated, but it was tradition to have a ceremony, especially since we would be the rulers of both the werewolf and the fairy kingdoms. And June wanted a Fae ceremony, and what my June wanted, my June got.Not that I wasn’t excited. I was over the moon. I had been waiting for this day since my 19th birthday. Longer, really. Probably my whole life, if I was being honest.I bounced on my toes, a grin spreading across my face as I counted down the seconds until Juniper would start walking towards me, her dad and her fathe
Lukas I woke up to an empty bed, the space next to me cold. I jerked upright, my heart racing in my chest as I scanned the unfamiliar darkened room, trying to remember where I was, trying to find my mate. I knew she had been next to me, remembered falling asleep with her held in my arms, our legs tangled together, her head resting on my chest as we talked late into the night, talked of our past and our future, of what we felt for each other and what we wanted to accomplish as both mates and rulers of two kingdoms. But, she was no longer next to me, no longer in my arms, or even in my bed. I was about to jump out of the bed and sprint out into the hallway when my eyes finally landed on her. She stood in front of one of the large floor-to-ceiling windows; the drapes pulled open, so the moonlight framed her body, casting an otherworldly glow around her. Exquisite. She was just… exquisite, standing there, in a floor length golden robe, her hair loose and tumbling down her back. I
JuniperA deep, loud, rhythmic rumbling broke me from my slumber. I squeezed my eyes tighter, praying to Gaia that maybe it would help block out the sound, but of course, it didn’t, since ears couldn’t be turned off by shutting your eyes.I peeked out through one squinted eyelid to find Drew sitting in a chair, his chin resting on his left hand, his eyes closed and his mouth wide open. And he was snoring. Loudly.I covered my mouth so my laugh wouldn’t wake him, then turned my attention to the surrounding room.The last thing I remembered was Lukas holding me, kneeling in the grass of the ceremony grounds outside.Now, I found myself in an opulent bedroom, laying in a white four-poster bed with gauzy drapes, fluffy gold and white pillows and bedding. Ornate furniture was placed throughout the room, and there were two large doors leading out of the room, and a single door leading into what I can only assume was the bathroom.As soon as I had that thought, I realized my bladder felt lik
LukasI scratched my beard and then scrubbed my hand over my face to hide my yawn. I had lost count of how many times I had done the same move in order to hide how exhausted I was.All I wanted to do was find whatever room and bed they had put my mate in, and wrap myself around her and sleep until next week.But we had all agreed that there were some things that needed to be discussed before we all turned in for the night, things that just couldn’t wait until morning.So, with reluctance, I had relinquished my hold on June, handing her over to Drew, who had followed his mom through the palace to find a room to put her in while she slept. Finn offered to stay on the battlegrounds to help with cleaning up the area and interrogating some of Tobias’s men. Leo then led us to one of the conference rooms on the ground floor of the palace, and we each collapsed into our chairs in exhaustion.When Veronica returned, she was alone. Drew remained with Juniper, both for my sake and his own, to wa
LukasThe next few moments were a blur. One second I was standing over Tobias’s body in triumph, and the next, I was in front of Drew, trying to get to my mate, who he had clutched against his chest.But I couldn’t get closer than a foot away from him. He had a force-field raised around them, keeping everyone out of his space.I pressed my palms against it, trying to push my way through, but it was pointless.“Drew!” I shouted, but he didn’t even react to my voice, either too caught up in his grief to pay attention to his surroundings or unable to hear me over his sobs.“Drew, drop your shield!” I roared, pushing my alpha tone into my voice.He didn’t even flinch, didn’t even budge an inch or drop the protective barrier he had raised around himself.My heart was racing in my chest, and my hands were trembling, and everything was growing blurry. I growled and screamed out, “DREW!” one more time, but his own screaming and sobbing didn’t let up in the slightest.“He’s in a complete prote
WARNING GRAPHIC DETAILS IN THIS CHAPTERLukas“I love you, Lukas,” June’s voice murmured in my head.And then everything went black.Only, it wasn’t black for long. There was a split second of darkness, and then a bright golden light blazed beneath my eyelids. On my chest, just above my heart, there was a warmth and a tingling sensation.Power and strength surged through me, originating from that spot on my chest. The weakness I felt from the poisoned silver on the dagger dissipated, leaving behind a renewed vigor.A pulse of magic jolted my body, and my eyes sprang open. I stared at the empty space where Juniper had been only moments before.I knew she had been there, but I didn’t have time for confusion. I had a challenge to win, a usurper to overthrow, and a kingdom to save.I turned back to Tobias, who was still crouching over me in his wolf form, stretching out his supposed victory over me. I could see it in his eyes. He’d thought he’d won, thought there was no way I would come b