“Wait—four? What four?” I asked.
“Yes, there is someone else, but we will get to him soon. Let me tell you how we all came to know each other first. Many years ago, there were two young boys who loved to run away from their duties and escape to the Earth realm for some fun and to watch the other supernatural kinds. They wanted to get a look at what the others could do—how they could wield magic and how they could fight. Also so they could go to a pub and get drunk.” Nico and Kai both laughed at that.
“One night the two boys snuck out of the castle and went to the pub. The two boys were drinking beer when they heard a fight just outside of the pub. When they got outside, they saw two young teenage boys being attacked by at least twelve humans. The boys could tell by their scent that the two getting beaten were supes, so they helped the two boys and ran off the attackers. Once all that wa
“When the fae queen started seeing Randall, she thought no one knew. Nico and I started following her to the Earth realm and learned of her affair with the vampire king. We knew she was going to flee Farrarie, so I was tasked to follow her and guard her by Nico—she was his intended bride, after all. Neither of them wanted the marriage, for they never loved each other; they were only to wed for the purpose of merging both the kingdoms together. I followed the queen to your realm and guarded her until I was ambushed by a group of vampires one night and nearly killed. I didn’t know at the time that the queen had begged Randall to save me, as she and I had become close friends in the time we were in the Earth realm. Randall did as she asked, thinking I would not survive the change, but to his utter dismay, I did. The reason I can walk in the daylight is that I was turned with fae blood in my system, and after Randall learned this, he would feed on the queen and
“Well, that explains why they were super uptight about the whole thing,” Alex said with a chuckle. Jax and Kai shot him a death glare.“Shut up, Alex. Why did you both come here, then, if you knew we were bound to see Nico?” I asked.“Because I would follow you through the fires of hell, mi amor. I wanted to protect you. I thought Nico would punish you to hurt me,” he said with a sigh and looked at the floor.I knelt down in front of him and placed my hands on either side of his face and lifted it so he could look me in the eyes. I didn’t miss the growl that came from Jackson, or the snickers coming from the other four males in the room, but I chose to ignore them and focus on the broken man in front of me.“Thank you for wanting to protect me, even if it meant fighting your brothers. I now understand why you did what you did when I was younger. You
“It all makes sense now; Kai couldn’t come back after the queen died. He stayed with Randall so he could try and protect your sister. You sent your best friend into the lion’s den to try to infiltrate Randall’s enforcers, which he did. What you didn’t expect was how far said bestie would go to protect the queen and then your sister. You have not retaliated to Cane’s threats for fear of him hurting your sister. Kai followed us here with an agenda of his own, didn’t you, Kai—you needed the king to think you came to Farrarie for me and not to tell Nico what you had learned,” I said breathlessly.I knew I was right; I could feel it in my bones. Dom started clapping beside me, and I turned to see the biggest smile on his face.“They seriously do not deserve you. I swear you are smarter than what anyone gives you credit for.” Dom had such awe in his voice as he spoke. Wait&mda
“Tell her, Dom,” Nico ordered with a sigh.“You may be king, brother, but you are not my king, so watch the way you speak to me! If your sister does not surrender, Ryan, we will have to take out the threat by any means necessary.” Dom cast his eyes downward, clearly anticipating my unhappiness.My blood started to boil, and my hands started to glow blue. Alex and Chase jumped back, and before I knew what I was doing, I raised my hands at the four men in front of me and blasted the whole lot of them across the room. Nico crashed into the far wall, and Dom smacked into the door and then crashed to the ground with a groan. Jackson was blasted through the nearest window, and Melakai hit the book shelf and collapsed the shelves, sending books cascading down on his slumped body.“Holy fuck, Ry! You just smashed the shit out of them without even trying,” Chase said with
“All of you can kiss my ass! I don’t need a babysitter in my room, and do not ever talk about me like I can’t make my own choices. I am a grown-ass woman, and no one will ever take away my freedom to choose what I want again! Do I make myself crystal fucking clear?” I was seething, and I know I went over the top, but I couldn’t hold back. Control was my trigger button.“Oh, Ry, I’m sorry. I never meant to upset you, I promise.” I could see Alex meant every word he said when he looked at me; he was never a good liar—his eyes always gave him away.“The only reason we want to have someone in the room with you tonight is that we’re worried about your safety. Your sister or Randall could ambush you, and it would just give us peace of mind if someone was here to watch out for you. Please consider it.” I never thought about it like that, and deep down, I
“Oh and let’s not forget about the whole marriage thing.”“Wait, what marriage thing?” I asked.“Well, Stevie wanted to rule overall, so she thought that if she could get your dad to pass the crown onto her after he took out Jackson and Randall, she could then approach the fae king and offer an alliance through marriage.” I was boiling now, and I could feel my magic rising. How dare she think that she could go and marry my Nico!“What the fuck do you mean, my Nico?” barked Chase. Oops. With a sigh, I began to explain how I knew Nico.“You know how Melakai came to me in my dreams?” They both gave me a nod, so I continued.“Well Nico use to come to me in my dreams, as well; that’s why I knew who he was when we went to Farrarie.”“Wai
“Ahhhh, Jessica but he isn’t alone love. He has me and two warlocks, as well as the strongest, being alive on his side.” God bless Dom and his power to just appear anywhere; he was standing right beside Kai.I straightened and stood on Kai’s other side with my head held high, looking her dead in the eyes, daring her to make a move against us. If she had the power to kill someone just by looking at them, I would be dead. Chase stepped up beside me and Alex stood beside his brother, the five of us against all of them. I didn’t like our odds, but I knew we would all go down swinging.“Don’t make me laugh, half-breed! Do you think that bitch standing there is the most powerful thing in the world? Give me five minutes with her! I bet my life I would kill her in the first thirty seconds.” A few people started laughing with her, and I felt my magic rise with my anger.
I sat down on the grassy bank, buried my face in my hands, and cried. I was crying for the shit mother I’d had, and my crappy childhood; for my dad dying before I ever got a chance to get to know him. For the sister I just got back and then lost again. It seemed like there was always someone who wanted to hurt me, from my mom, to my sister, then Randall, and now the wolves.I just couldn’t understand how I could be so disposable to everyone. I was sobbing so loud I didn’t realize people had arrived until one of them put a hand on my shoulder. I didn’t know who it was, and I didn’t care. Let them kill me and allow me to be done with all this. I just kept my head buried in my hands and continued sobbing.Strong arms came around me and lifted me up. I moved my hands away from my face and saw that it was Jackson that had come for me. He didn’t say anything, he just sat down and held me in his lap while I cried. His big, war
Ryan's POVI avert my eyes from Dom’s face so he can’t see the truth; the truth is Dom is right. I am scared of what I am feeling for Nico.“Take it from someone who has been where you are, babe—don’t run, embrace it.”“How have you been where I am?” I sound like a bitch, but come on. Look at Dom; what stupid woman would run from him? He’s beautiful, with those violet eyes, sun-kissed skin, and shaggy silver blonde hair that you wanted to run your hands through. He was a handsome man, but he was also kind and caring. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.“I was in a similar situation many years ago, and I was too much of a coward to admit my feelings. I lost my chance with the one I crave, but you haven’t lost Nico, there is hope for you two. I see the way my friend looks at you, and I see the way you look at him. You are both s
Ryan's POVStevie’s coming, Nico hid something from me again, and Stevie wants to kill Nico. I keep running those words through my head on a loop. What did Nico do? Why would Stevie be coming here? Has she had a change of heart? Oh my God, Kai will have to face her. I didn’t even think of Kai.As soon as Aurora finished telling us her vision, I left the mess hall and returned to my room, needing some time to sort my head out and prepare for my sister’s arrival. Now I had to read the letter from my dad that Nico somehow has. Why does he keep breaking my fucking trust? Speak of the devil. The man himself has just walked through my bedroom door, without knocking.“When a door is shut it means you need to knock!”“I didn’t knock last night, and it seemed to work out well for the both of us.” The fucking cheek of this arrogant asshole!“I was
Nico's POVAs soon as she drifted off to sleep, I chanted the spell to bring us back to her bedroom in Jackson’s compound. The sun was already rising, and I knew sleep would evade me. I had never felt like this for anyone in my many years of being alive. I laid there, just looking at her sleep in my arms. Her tiny body was nestled in the same position as it was before I took her to our dreamland, and I ran my hand up and down her side, just needing to feel her. As soon as she learned the truth about what I had done she would hate me.I am the reason she is here. I don’t have the balls to tell her the truth, but I know I need to find a way before Kai tells her. I lay there watching her sleep for so long that I must have drifted off too, jerked awake some time later by a constant knocking on her door. Before I could untangle myself, the door smashed open and slammed against the wall. Ryan sat straight up, ready to scream until she saw it was
Ryan's POVOh my God! I felt like I was floating on a cloud. Nico made me come so hard, and fuck did it feel good. He nestled himself between my legs and leaned down to capture my lips in a searing kiss that felt like he was branding me. I could taste myself on his tongue, and I’m not shy to admit that I loved the taste of me mixed with the taste of him. I felt his hard bulge nudging my pussy as he was grinding his pelvis into me. I needed him inside me now.“Nico, I need you inside me now, please” The smug bastard loved it when I begged.“You want me to put my cock in this beautiful wet pussy, love?” I loved his dirty talk, it always made me more needy and wet.“Yes!” It was the only reply he needed before he was stripping himself of hi
Nico's POVAfter Ryan left the mess hall, everyone continued to chat amicably about their lives. I noticed Kai had been very quiet for most of this. It was strange, considering he normally added his version of events when I, Jax, or Dom told a story of our youth. However, I didn’t have time to worry about his salty-ass attitude—this might be my only time to ask Ryan’s cousins some things about her. I made my move when there was a break in the conversation.“Were Ryan and her sister close, even though they lived apart?” Both of the warlocks’ faces dropped at the mention of Ryan’s twin sister. Chase was quicker to recover from the shock and answer my question.“Stevie and Ryan were closer than anyone I know. Even though they lived apart, they would always find a way to see each other or talk on Ryan’s hidden cell phone. It would destroy Stevie when she couldn’t sp
Ryan's POVI felt Nico tense. Now he understood what I was trying to say. I knew Kai had hoped to return to his homeland after Randall was defeated, but now he could never go home. I abused his trust in me, and Kai was never going to forgive me.“The spell you cast, though—Kai said he told you what spell to use. He would never use a spell that would block him from returning home.”“I didn’t use the spell Kai told me to use.”“What? Why?” I could hear the anguish in Nico’s voice; he was devastated his brother could never go home.Even after their big falling out, Nico made Kai exempt from the spell he cast in Farrarie after Randall kidnapped Sophia.“Because my dad told me the spell Kai wanted me to use would never work.”“There has to be more to it than that, love.”
Nico's POVI heard her gasp as the portal closed behind us. Was that gasp because she was happy I brought her here or was she pissed off because this was the place Kai had brought her, and where she thought he died?“Nico, I…I—” Dammit, I made a huge mistake bringing her here.I bowed my head, feeling defeated, letting my black hair hang over my face, shielding my eyes. Nothing I do seems to make her happy.Instead, I have a knack for pissing her off“I’m sorry, I’ll take us back now.” As I turned around to open another portal, she grabbed my hand. My eyes shot to hers. She had a beautiful, shy smile on her face, and her eyes told me what she could not. She was glad to be here but unsure what her next move would be.“I’m shocked you brought me here. I have never been to Lake William before. Well, of course, I have, but only
Ryan's POVI was standing between Nico and Kai.Kai was trying to sit up to assess the situation better. I placed my hand on his chest and shook my head. With a huff, he laid back down and didn’t try to move again. Sophia and Dom were still standing in the same place.Jax, Aurora and my cousins were standing on the other side of the bed.Jax was standing slightly in front of Aurora, ready to shield her if Dom did shift.“Deep breaths, Alpha, I don’t want to have to throw your wolf around as well.”Dom laughed at Sophia’s words, which is what I guess she was hoping for, as some of the tension in his back and shoulders started to ease. He wasn’t fully calm yet, but a lot calmer than he was a minute ago. His laughter stopped abruptly, and tension returned to his body.“You’re right, Soph, I deserve so much worse. I will spend my life making it up to
Nico's POVI’m sitting here, staring at her and the way she is running her hand through Kai’s hair. Since when did she stop being angry at him and when the hell did they become friendly like that? I knew they were close in her dreams, and just thinking about Kai having his hands on my woman made my fucking blood boil. I hate the way I’m feeling, like I’m some insecure child. I have never felt like this before about anyone. I hated Kai just for having her hands on him.“Could you stop fucking touching him? He’s alive, yay! That doesn’t mean he needs you to constantly fucking pat him like he’s your pet.” I snarled, shocked at my own outburst.I saw the others staring at me with wide eyes. Dom and Jax both looked like they wanted to laugh. I narrowed my eyes at them until they looked away. I returned my stare to Ryan and found she was glaring at me. The look she was giving me to