HUNTER“Do you have any idea where he might have gone, Lucille?” I asked the older woman.The past days have not been kind to her and she looked old and frail and there were more lines to her face than I remembered.“Oui, I do. But it is something terrible. Quelque chose de tabou. You must try and stop him, Hunter.” The old woman shivered and clutched her hands together.“What is it, Mamie Lucille?” Kane asked, laying a hand on her bent shoulders. “What is the taboo that Joffrey is going to do?”“He’s taken Marcelle’s body with him.” She kept her voice low as if somehow the wrong person might overhear. “He wants to take her to the old witch, the one who does the darkest magic. To restore her.”“What now? To bring her back to life?” I said, my voice rising with dread.Lucille brought a trembling finger to her lips. “You must stop him. What he will bring back will no longer be ma fille. Marcelle would be something else, something bad.”Kane pursed his lips in a thin line, his eyes darke
SYLVIA I could hardly wait for the dinner to be over. It seemed to drag on forever. Nina almost fell asleep in her desert. One of the maids rushed her to bed. Hunter’s warm hand on my thigh stoked my impatience even more. But I had to sit there and listen to King Lucien and King Thorin discussing pack politics and whatnot. I guess I had a lot to learn being the future queen, but tonight I wanted to share my news with my mate and only him. “Yes, this is a difficult time for us as we have to decide on Myra’s fate. I too have decision to make regarding my reign.” King Lucien said and I perked up my ears. Does this mean he wants to step down as king? “Father?” Hunter queried. His hand on my thigh stiffened. “We’ll discuss this later, Hunter. There are still some issues I have to resolve.” He grimaced. “But let’s not spoil our dinner with this. Kane, we wish all the best for you and the lovely Nana. Make us proud, Son.” He lifted his glass towards the couple and we all followed suit.
SYLVIA“What were you two talking about so urgently, Love?” I asked Hunter when he returned, all sweaty and yummy from training. My eyes roved over his ripped pecks and abs. I wanted to lick the salt from his torso to find out how it tasted.Nina ran ahead us off to the kitchens to find a snack. She was growing so fast and had an insatiable appetite. As had I, but mine was different.He smirked down at me one eyebrow lifted. “Are you sure that was what you wanted to know?I felt the blood rush to my face. Was it so obvious what was going through my mind? Of course it was.“Umm… Yes?” I looked away from him and shrieked when he suddenly lifted me over his shoulder.Laughing he sped away to the castle, up the stairs to our bedroom.“You can’t do this to me, you know. Our poor baby…” I protested, but that only made him snicker.“Is a werewolf pup. He will be strong and healthy.” He pulled me with him into the shower.“No, no, Hunter! I’ve just dried my hair.” I tried my best to wriggle o
SYLVIA“Come here, Greystone. There’s a good boy.” I called to Joffrey, mentally apologizing to him for this insult. “He was protecting us.” I said to the security guards who eyed me suspiciously.Fortunately, Greystone padded towards me and sat at my feet, like an obedient overgrown Alsatian. Hunter rushed forward to grab our assailant up from the asphalt. I saw the muscles in his neck cording as he tried to contain himself. He shook the man like a ragdoll.“What were you going to do with my ma- my wife and kid? Who sent you?” he snarled at the ashen-faced man.The security guards flanked Hunter, trying to get him to release the man. The bag with stolen goods or cash lay at his feet. One of the guards picked it up. Another guard retrieved the man’s weapon from under the car where it fell.“Nothing! I swear to God. I just wanted to get away, man. I need the money.” He writhed in Hunter’s steel grip.Greystone sat at my feet, emitting soft snarls from deep in his throat.“Is that uncle
SYLVIAOne by one the she-wolves introduced themselves to me. There were two of them that stood out to me. A tall raven-haired girl with a serious expression caught my eye. She stood taller than the rest and had an air of self-confidence without appearing arrogant. Her name was Tasha.The other one, a redhead, stockily built, very curvy. One could say she was voluptuous. I bet she turned the male wolves’ heads wherever she went. She introduced herself as Aldine. She had an easy-going air about her, but there was a certain glare to her green eyes that warned of a no-nonsense attitude.“Now that you all have introduced yourselves, it’s time to show your Luna what you are made of.” Hunter told them. “Pair off against each other and fight. And ladies, only in human form. No fighting to the death.”“Is our Luna not going to fight us?” a young blonde woman asked, her hands on her hips and head cocked to one side as she eyed Hunter through hooded eyes.The little hussy! If not for the baby I
SYLVIAHunter stood in the bedroom, strong arms folded across his broad chest, a faint smile playing around his mouth. I glared back at him, furious.“What the hell is wrong with you, Hunter? You hardly spoke at dinner time. Then you shout at Nina and me, embarrassing me in front of your father.” I knew my cheeks were flaming red from my rage. If I could breathe fire I would.He frowned at me, narrowing his eyes. “Angel, I didn’t shout at Nina or you. But you are overprotective of Nina. Don’t let your fear keep her from reaching her potential.” He was so calm it incensed me even more.“My fear? My fear!” I poked his chest. “She’s just a tiny girl. My daughter. Mine. I get to make the choices regarding her.”He caught my wrist. “What are you saying exactly, Sylvia? That I have no right? Is that so?” I saw the danger flash in his eyes, his mouth became a hard line.My mind saw but my mouth had a life of its own. “Yes.” I snarled at him.Hunter caught my upper arms and pushed me against
HUNTER“I need to speak to her.” She lifted her head, hope flaring in her eyes for a moment. But I didn’t intent to plead for her life. What she did was inexcusable.“Hunter.” Barely a whisper. “I never wanted to hurt you.”“Mother, you never loved me. All you did was use me for your own power-hungry purposes.”“No, don’t say that! I loved you more than anything. I only wanted what was rightfully yours. For all I had to give up, Hunter. I sacrificed everything for you. My own happiness.” Tears made dirty pathways down her face and I regarded her shaking shoulders with coldness. “Your father never loved me. He hated me and he didn’t want you.”I glanced over at my father. He stayed silent.I shook my head. “It’s done, Mother. I just want you to know what you have lost.” I held out my hand for Sylvia and she hesitated, but only for a moment, then she placed hers in mine. “You will never get to hold our pup in your hands, never see him grow up.” I placed my hand on my mate’s tiny bump
SYLVIANow that the council left and most of the pack had gone back to their respective homes, I was left by myself. Exhausted by the events I sat on a wooden bench in the rose garden watching the bees collecting pollen from the heavy heads of the flowers, trying not to look at the smoke curling up into the cool blue sky at the top of the hill. They burned her body, but there were no mourners at her funeral pyre.King Lucien locked himself in his room after the execution and I haven’t seen him since. I wanted to be with Hunter, but I respected his wishes to be left alone. He would come to find me when he needed to. I just hoped it would be soon. I missed him.The warm sun on my body made me drowsy and I shut my eyes, taking in the sweet scent of roses. Lulled into sleep by the birdsong and buzzing of insects, I felt more at peace and safer than I’ve been in a long time.A pair of small arms around my neck woke me up.“Mama, you were snoring.” Nina laughed up at my face. Her curly blon
SYLVIA Home at last. Safe in my own bed with my handsome mate and my pups. All four of us cuddling together. Magnus held onto Hunter’s finger while sleeping at my breast and Nina lay in my free arm, snoring softly like a cat.“This is heaven.” Hunter smiled at me, his amber eyes glowing with a soft light. “I couldn’t ask for anything more than this, my Angel.”I couldn’t agree with him more, this was more than I ever wanted, my own family with the one I loved. I felt complete. He kissed me gently, careful not to disturb his sleeping son.“Don’t ever leave me again, Love.” I whispered to him. “I couldn’t live without you, you know. Promise me we would die together.” I thought about Marcelle and how Joffrey’s life ended. The horrible sight was never far from my mind.Hunter tapped me on the nose. “Stop it. We’re going to grow old together and fill this castle with our offspring.” He winked, “And we do have a lot of rooms.”I laughed softly. “That’s what you say now. Remember how much t
SYLVIA“Let’s go.” I said, running toward the open mausoleum. Hunter grabbed my arm and pulled me back.“I go first.” He was taking no arguments.“Wait!” Selena snapped. “You need protection.”Rebecca held her hands out in front of her and a shimmering light shot out from her fingertips and surrounded Hunter and me. It formed a bubble around us. I touched it and it moved with my hand without bursting. It was cold to the touch.“That ought to last a while. It will hide you from them. Be quick.” Rebecca urged us on.“She probably knows we’re here already. Do you have the wand?” I heard him ask Selena as we moved towards the gate.“Yes.” Selena said.I didn’t look back. Hunter held my hand, and we went inside. The stench of death and decay made me gag. We walked in silence down the narrow passage. Debris and old broken coffins lay strewn about, the bones long gone. A large stone sarcophagus stood in the middle of the crypt.“Look there’s something underneath it.” Hunter said and he moved
SYLVIAHis crib was empty. I could still smell his newborn scent. I ran from the room down the passage, colliding with Tasha.“Luna Sylvia, what is it? You shouldn’t be running around like this.”I grabbed her by the shoulders. “She took Magnus! She took my baby!”“Who?”“Aldine! We must find them, Tasha. She’s taken him to Joffrey.” I was in such a state I couldn’t think properly.“I’ll alert the castle guards.” I watched Tasha’s eyes turn opaque while she sent a mind link to the guards.I rushed to King Lucien’s rooms, not caring that I wasn’t properly dressed, and it was not proper for me to go to another male’s room in the middle of the night.King Lucien opened the door to my insistent hammering. I fell into his arms, babbling incoherently and crying.“Gods, Sylvia! Whatever has gotten you into such a state?” He pulled me away from him and held me at arm’s length. I didn’t even notice Tasha had followed me. She stood in the doorway.“She took him, Father. They took my son to the
HUNTER As soon as the alpha wolf submitted, the whole pack followed. It was not my intention to take over the pack, but I had no choice. They accepted us, welcoming us into the pack with whines, displays of submissions and licking our faces.“This is so gross, but so awesome.” Teo said through our mind link.“There’s no telling how they would react if we should return to our human form.” I was worried about the young alpha. He would have to take his pack back when we leave, and it won’t be easy for him.“What would King Thorin do when we arrive at his village with a real wolf pack?” Teo laughed.I didn’t think the wolves would go that far though it may be out of their territory. The pack moved higher up the mountain and we followed. They led us to their den, a large opening between two rocks – it could hardly be called a cave. There were a few cubs and omegas, the lower ranks looked after the pups. At first, they were wary of us, but soon welcomed us and the pups sniffed at us, being
SYLVIANo, this can’t be happening now. The baby was coming, and Hunter wasn’t here. I was not ready!“Just breathe, Sylvia. Breathe.” Selena grabbed hold of my hands.“I can’t… give birth now…” I panted and cried out when the contractions racked my body.“You have no choice! This pup wants out. Work with me, Sylvia. Breathe.” Selena turned to Arno. “Call the King. Now.”Arno rushed from the room.“Why?” I asked. Why did she call for King Lucien. I needed my mate. Then I remembered the horrible vision. He was in danger far from here.“Be strong, Sylvia. For your child’s sake. Now push!” she demanded.I howled in pain as another contraction made me bend backwards. The door burst open, and I sensed King Lucien, followed closely by Tasha and Aldine.King Lucien grabbed my hand. “You’re doing fine, my child. We’re here for you.”Pressing down on his strong hand I looked up into his blazing blue eyes. He smiled down at me, wiping my sweat drenched hair from my face.“Father, Hunter is in d
HUNTERI was bored out of my mind. Will this day never end? Gods! Some of these Alpha’s were like old women, carrying on and on about things and not coming to a point. Teo fell asleep at some stage, head thrown back and mouth agape, snoring softly. He had partied himself to exhaustion with the unmated she-wolves. Lucky bastard.Feeling spiteful, I kicked the chair from under him and he crashed to ground amidst raucous laughter. Blushing a deep red, he picked himself up, righted the chair and mumbled an apology.King Thorin chuckled. “Looks like our she-wolves kept you up all night, young Teo. I thought the Blood Fang pack’s warriors had more stamina?”Teo for once was tongue-tied.“He needs more practice.” I said, winking at the king.Teo smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck with one hand.***The meeting went well, new alliances were formed, and some old issues were resolved. Kane pulled me to the side while the others went back to the feast.“I hope you don’t mind, Hun
SYLVIA I received countless messages and photos from Hunter, saying he was so bored, but it looked like he was having a great time. The photos he sent were of people dancing, tables laden with all sorts of food and drink. They were busy wrapping up the Alpha Meeting, but the party was still going on until the end of December.My phone rang in the middle of the night. It was him.“Hunter?” I breathed, half asleep.“I miss you.” His voice slurred.“Are you drunk?” I asked laughing.“Maybe.”Werewolves don’t get drunk easily.“They have no end. These people are in party mood, and they don’t take prisoners,” he groaned.I giggled; I can’t imagine him being drunk. I’ve seen him slightly tipsy when he drank too much Absinthe and then he was horny as hell.“Are you alone?” I asked, a little apprehensively. There better not be another she-wolf after him.He laughed softly, “Of course, Angel. Teo is having a blast here. He’s proving to be a huge hit with the she-wolves here. So funny.” His
HUNTERGetting on that plane was one of the hardest things I had to do. This annual Alpha meeting couldn’t have come at the worst time. At least I get to see Kane. But leaving my angel behind especially with everything we went through drove a knife in my heart.I will make it up to her, I promised myself. At least Father was there, and I had more confidence in the witches to protect her. Selena assured me the castle grounds were well protected that no supernatural force was going to break through. I believed her because I saw how powerful they were. It helped assuage the guilt I felt for leaving.Teo babbled non-stop on about the gods knew what. I tuned him out, lost in my own thoughts. Thinking about Sylvia clinging to me and crying like she was never going to see me again. I was worried about her. Could be the effects of what happened, I tried to reason her behavior away. Or maybe just the pregnancy hormones affecting her. I sent a text to Selena to keep an eye on her and maybe give
SYLVIAWinter was upon us. The days were colder and grey as December drew near. Not that cold ever bothered us. I watched from my windows as the clouds rolled in low over the grounds. Winter always made me restless, and I longed to be out there with the wind in my hair and the scents of forest around me.“Will it snow, Mama?” Nina danced around the room. She spent a lot of time with me here in the castle as Hunter refused to let me go out.“I don’t know, Nina.” I smiled at my little princess who seemed to be growing up way too fast. She was turning into a formidable little fighter as well, according to Tasha who trained her diligently. Tasha adored Nina and Nina adored her right back.“I hope it will. I love snow.” She announced, spinning dizzyingly around and around until she fell at my feet, giggling and out of breath.“Oh, you do? Well, let’s hope it does so we can build a snowman.” I knew it probably won’t snow, but you never know…Hunter came to check up on me. He kissed me deepl