“I swear El, if you call your relationship with that little weasel love, I will come over there and smack you right in that beautiful face of yours.” Cora threatens, completely serious. “Hey, I know it wasn’t great in the end, but it’s not like it started out that way.” I defend, wondering if I’m b
Ella As I start to doze, I force my brain to think of nothing but Sinclair, willing myself to dream of him. I don’t let my mind focus on anything else or get distracted, I just keep telling myself to call Sinclair, to make him come to me. Darkness closes in, and then I’m back on that bed in the
“I’m… I’m in love with you, Dominic.” I whisper, too timid to look him in the eye. There’s a pregnant pause filled with the sound of my pounding heart and my blood rushing in my ears. Then Sinclair’s hand is reaching towards me. He catches my chin between his thumb and forefinger, pulling my gaze
I know, but now he’s onto us. I think quickly. We have to move. I don’t know why it’s so important that I don't let Sinclair catch me, but right now the only thought in my head is to get away. I have to make it as difficult for him as possible… for some reason. That’s no problem, my inner voice br
Ella No, I just got out! My wolf rails defiantly. I want to run more! Let me go! The kisses cease, and now Sinclair’s fangs close around my scruff, applying pressure. I immediately realize what he’s doing. If he applies enough pressure – especially if he lifts me off the ground – I’ll be complet
Sinclair towers over me, his heated gaze raking over every inch of my bared flesh as if he’s been starving for the sight of me. It feels impossibly vulnerable, to be spread out in front of him like a feast to be devoured. I’ve never known a man who could light me on fire with a single look, but Sinc
“Dominic, please!” I finally beg, feeling close to tears. “Poor darling, why didn’t you ask sooner?” He teases. I want to reach down and smack him, but before I can he sucks my needy clit into his mouth, and I explode. For someone who has never reached orgasm with a partner at all, Sinclair’s s
Ella My eyes jerk open, and I surge up in bed. A moment ago Sinclair was buried inside me – in more ways than one. My hand frantically clamps down on the spot where my neck meets my shoulder. I can still feel Sinclair’s fangs slicing into my flesh, but there doesn’t seem to be a wound in reality.
He shakes his head at me as tears fill his own eyes and he leans forward, pulling me against him while somehow miraculously managing not to crush our children between us as he holds me tight in his arms. “So, I guess it wouldn’t matter,” he murmurs against my hair as I sniff back my tears and nod.
“Even more than the kids!?” I gasp, my mouth falling open a bit. “I mean, the kids,” he says, shrugging as if they’re not much, which makes me laugh. But then he goes a little rigid as he realizes something, raising his eyes to glare at me a bit. “Wait, are you saying you like the kids more than m
Ella “Nope,” Sinclair says, heaving himself out of bed and grabbing his phone off the bedside table as he does. “I can’t live like this, Ella – I’m calling Roger, I’ve got to know –“ “Dominic!” I say, laughing and grabbing for him, trying to catch the edge of his pajamas and failing because I’v
She laughs and I look first at Sinclair, who shrugs, and then back at my sister. “Come on,” Roger says, nodding at the crowds of people waiting to congratulate us and at the small table of refreshments. “Let’s decide this over some champagne.” Sinclair nods at me and I sigh, moving with my famil
The last image, though, lingers. Ariel, with Rafe and Jesse on either side – as they always are – and her two mates behind her. All standing together on a battlefield with Ariel at the center, magic welling between her hands and passing to her brother, to her cousin. Their faces are serious as t
Cora The images of Ariel’s future come in quick flashes, and somehow I get the impression that the Goddess is eager to share these glimpses of her life. The ones that come first are what I sort of expected, especially after seeing some images of Rafe’s childhood and hearing about the ones that
“We are not,” Cora scoffs, gently taking Ariel into her arms as Sinclair and I laugh. Roger grins, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek before passing Jesse to me. “You know I’m kidding, right, Ells?” he whispers. I smile at my brother-in-law and gently pat his cheek. “When in doubt, Roger,”
Ella Three weeks later – Ariel was born under a waning quarter moon, not a new moon like her brother and her cousin – I stand anxiously in the woods, my little girl held tight in my arms. “I’m sensing some anxiety,” Cora says, grinning at me with a little too much glee as she comes up to my sid
“Oh my god,” I say, the words spilling out of my mouth. “Oh my god,” I sit up straight, staring at Henry, my eyes flicking to his legs – because honestly, I don’t even notice his chair anymore, or think of him at all as someone whose abilities are hindered. Or of me as someone who is able to do an