The rest of the night went well, the more they drank, the lighter the mood got and Ann sat back happily in her chair, listening to Aoife excitedly answer Lexi's questions about her family and the magick that they used. They had explained to her already Lexi's father's theory about why they both thought that Aoife felt so familiar to them, and Aoife was positively over the moon that she could finally talk freely about herself and her abilities. Lexi was leaning over the table, with her chin resting on her hands as she absolutely devoured every word that Aoife was saying, and Aoife chatted animatedly as Ann sipped from her glass with a faint smile on her face. She had taken a rest from the Bellevue selection that Lexi and Aoife were working their way through as she was starting to feel a little queasy, and had switched to a non-alcoholic strawberry and lime concoction that the omega's had only too happily whipped up for her. 'I still think we should keep her..' Maeve whispered
The next morning Ann saw very few people in the corridors as she made her way to the room that Bartholomew had set aside for use for the portrait today. Maeve had already been insufferable today, waking her early on with her insistent chatter and asking whether or not she should shower and bemoaned the fact that no one was around to rub fragrant oils into her coat. She didn't take kindly to Ann's suggestion that no one really liked the smell of wet dog anyway and had skulked back into the recesses of Ann's mind with a petulant face. As she entered the room and saw Bartholomew helping the artist set up the backdrop and props, she wanted to turn around and walk straight back out. She had no idea how they did it, but they had managed to somehow create Maeve's vision perfectly, right down to the crimson silk and crown. Ann winced as Maeve rattled around her head excitedly, practically clawing at her eyes in her excitement to shift. "Ah! You Highness! What do you think?" Barth
Ann stiffened and froze as Maeve's words sank in. "What do you mean 'confirm our pups'?" She breathed, practically holding her breath as the realization of what Maeve had said began to sink in. 'You heard me.' Maeve grumbled, 'Now hurry up and finish getting dressed, I don't want to miss this just because you're too dense to see what everyone has been telling you for the past few days and the mere possibility of baking these little buns after all the pounding you've received is somehow shocking to you.' she finished snarkily as she paced restlessly inside Ann's head, stretching the phantom aches out of her muscles that remained from sitting for too long. Ann dressed in a numb silence before mumbling her thanks and swiftly leaving the room with hasty excuses. By the look that Bartholomew had on his face, he knew something was troubling her, but he didn't press for information, and for that, Ann was grateful. She knew that she should have prepared for this possibility, but it
Ann sat on a secluded bench surrounded by climbing fragrant flowers in the garden near Bartholomew's office, struggling to pull herself out of the stunned silence she had found herself in.. Pregnant. Three pups?! Adam would be over the moon, although she wasn't sure his enthusiasm was going to top Maeve's. "See? I told you! Wow! Three pups! They're going to be the most beautiful pups you've ever seen! And strong too! We can take them for runs in the forest as soon as they shift and... I wonder when they'll shift! With both parents being Alpha's perhaps it will happen even sooner! Ann do you think…" Ann listened numbly to Maeve's chatter. She had given up trying to answer her excited yapping and quite honestly, the constant noise was giving her a headache. Although that could also be the result of the mounting stress that she was finding herself under daily. Emily had sent her away from her office with a prescription for supplements to ensure the babies grew well and she did
"Sit. Eat." Allen demanded as Ann glowered at him furiously. "Shouldn't that be, 'Sit and eat, your Highness'?" Lexi sniggered as Ann shot her a glare that told her in no uncertain terms to shut up. Allen sighed and ran his hands through his hair, clearly a little stressed. "Look, if I don't make sure you eat, Adam is going to kill me… not to mention his wolf… and I quite like having my head attached to my shoulders thank you very much," Allen explained, "Does he even know yet?" "Well, I've hardly had time to tell him yet…" Ann replied weakly as Allen raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "So you had time to throw a text to Lexi and not Adam?" "Listen, there's not a lot he can do from all the way over there is there? Besides, I don't want to distract him if he's in the middle of something. And I would much rather he hear this face to face rather than by text or phone call." Ann snapped. Allen narrowed his eyes at her before turning and walking slowly over to the omega b
Aoife straightened the bedsheets on Ann's bed for what seemed like the millionth time that day, and sat down heavily in the armchair at the side of her bed. The room still held that sterile smell of disinfectant that seemed to invade your senses and overwhelm you the longer you stayed there. Aoife had tried everything that she could think of to try and make it at least smell a little more homely, but to no avail. The constant beep and whirring of the multitude of machines that were hooked up to Ann's eerily still body gave the room a depressing atmosphere, the only thing that made any of them feel better, was that Ann was no longer hooked up to the ventilator that had kept her alive for the past week. It was a tense moment when the tube was removed, as they waited for her to take her first breath on her own and the weight of the tension in the air was almost unbearable. As soon as the first raspy intake of air was heard, the relief that everyone felt was palpable. She still s
TW: Non-con S/A, death. A sound from somewhere in the darkness of her bedroom woke Aoife with a start. Her heart raced as she lay frozen in her bed, wondering if she had simply dreamed the noise, or if there truly was someone in the room with her. She had always been a light sleeper and it had never bothered her before, being used to Felix's gentle snoring waking her occasionally, but this? This was different. The faintest sound of some sort of material moving against itself pricked at her ears as she turned her head towards the sound. As soon as she did so a dark chuckle seemed to cut through the darkness a little too close to her head for her liking. She opened her mouth to cry out, but a hand clamped down over it before she could even take a breath. "Hello Ann…" the voice murmured chillingly as Aoife froze. Whoever this was clearly had the wrong room if they were under the impression that she was Ann. "I must say, I'm surprised to see you recovered this well so soon.
Lexi focused intently on the screen of her phone as she picked idly at the snacks that Aoife had left for her. Honestly, if it wasn't for her and Allen keeping her sanity intact after this had happened to Ann, she didn't know what she would have done. She had already been forced to ask her father for help in the few hours that had followed Ann's poisoning when, for the first time since she was a child, her abilities had threatened to overwhelm her as both souls erupted in a helpless, yet furious, rage. If it hadn't been for Aoife's hasty dampening spellwork that had mitigated most of her magickal energy in the area around her, then the destruction could have been astronomical. As it was, the waiting room they had been ushered to had suddenly been in dire need of renovations, and Lexi had promised that she would foot the cost personally As much as she hated to admit it, she needed Greyson at her side as well as Allen. She was still angry with him for being so pigheaded but sh
As their convoy of cars and moving vans rolled up the driveway, Ann's stomach twisted uncomfortably as her anxiety set in. Regardless of what her babies were doing to her insides, the effects that her heightened emotions were having on her far eclipsed any discomfort that her pups were causing. She took a deep breath as she tried to calm the anxiety that knotted her insides and made her heart ache painfully. As far as she knew, her father was still living within the palace and she still wasn't sure that she could forgive him for everything that she had been put through because of his choices. In the worst-case scenario, she could always extend the palace to encompass two main living areas so that she wouldn't have to deal with tolerating his presence. She didn't even want to think about how she would explain to her children that they couldn't ever meet the incredible woman that her mother was because her father had an affair, broke the mating bond, and allowed his mistress and
"Right, I think that's the last of them," Adam grinned as he jogged through the huge doors of the Enclave's entrance hall to where Ann was pacing restlessly and Bartholomew was watching with mild amusement. "Finally," Ann sighed as she rubbed her belly with a grimace, "At this point, all I want to do is get my home back to what it used to be." Adam leaned forward and planted a kiss on Ann's forehead. "Are they making things difficult for you?" He asked gently, rubbing her back. Ann reached for his hand with a scowl and placed it palm down on top of her belly and grimaced as another flurry of movement rippled under her skin and Adam blinked in surprise. "Are they fighting in there?!" He asked in shock. "With two stubborn Alpha's for parents, I wouldn't put it past them." Bartholomew chuckled as he made his way over to them, smiling kindly. Ann lifted her gaze and her face softened as she looked at the kindly face of the old man that had been there for them through so muc
When Coral had returned with the Omega that worked as a nanny to the nobles, the baby boy was handed over to her and she waddled off happily, cooing at the baby in her arms as it gurgled happily back up at her. Coral began to work through updating the schedule for Ann as she dictated, adding additional notes that she shared with Allen's device. He would see to their schedule tomorrow as he had several days worth of reports to hear from Adam as to what had happened within the businesses and the Dark Moon Pack while he was away. Lexi made her way back to her room with both Allen and Greyson following behind her. She paused outside her door and turned to them both with a smile. "Sorry to disappoint boys, but I don't feel like getting frisky right now. Quite honestly, I just want to soak all of this crap off me." They nodded at her as she looked at them thoughtfully. "We really should sit down and have a discussion about how this is going to work between us all, you know." she
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that." Ann said a little breathlessly as she looked between Lexi, Allen and Greyson. Adam shared the same concerned expression as she did at the revelations that Eromaug would clearly stop at nothing to get his hands on Lexi. "You're absolutely sure that your father is willing to ally himself with us?" Ann asked as the baby in her arms began to stir and protest at the noise and unfamiliar surroundings it had found itself in. Lexi snorted loudly. "Of course he is. How could he not when his daughter is your right hand woman?" She winked. "We should put it to the council first." Adam said somberly as Lexi groaned loudly. "I'm sure they'll be thrilled at the opportunity," She muttered sarcastically as Ann laughed. "I think we should get hold of Bartholomew so that he can help us find a way to ‘tell' the council of our alliance, rather than ask for their permission." Ann mused thoughtfully, "He's pretty knowledgeable about who supports us,
Ann and Adam stood on the front steps of the Enclave, eagerly waiting for the return of both of their Beta's. Adam chuckled as Ann fidgeted with her hands and struggled to stand still, her gaze fixed on the curve of the driveway. "They'll be here soon, don't worry." He soothed, wrapping his arm around her as she nibbled on her bottom lip. "What if something happened though?" She worried as she rubbed her little bump in an act of self soothing. Adam's eyes glazed over slightly as he linked with Allen and then grinned down at his anxious wife. "Allen said stop worrying, it's not good for the baby. They'll be here in seconds." "But…" As promised, the front end of the transport pulled around the corner of the driveway and Ann let out a sigh of relief. "See, my Queen? Nothing to worry about." Adam chuckled as he watched them pull to a stop in front of them. As soon as the door opened and Lexi's head emerged, Ann broke away from Adam and bolted down the steps towards her.
Lexi knew that she was still conscious, but the pressure that engulfed her head, and the rigidity of her body teamed with the almost distant voices of protest from Allen and Greyson let her know that she had no control over what was happening right now. The initial black curtain that had descended was suddenly filled with hundreds upon hundreds of memories from her childhood, all played out in glorious technicolor and accompanied by sounds and smells that made her heart ache with familiarity and her breath catch in her chest. There was no way that she could catch each and every memory at once, but she could see it clearly. The bond that both she and Eromaug had shared at an early stage was filled with love and an intensity that she had known only with Allen and Greyson. By the time the images had begun to fade in her mind's eye and her vision returned, she was overwhelmed with emotions. As she sat there trembling, clasping her hands together tightly so that she wouldn't cry wit
Lord Brarthroroz guided Lexi over to one of the chairs around the table and gestured towards the flap of the tent. "Make sure no one enters for the time being, Steve." He said with an air of resignation to his voice as he took a seat next to his daughter. Steve nodded expressionlessly as he moved to the open flap, released the material to close it and ducked through to stand outside. "You two should sit as well," Lord Brathroroz advised as he gestured to the seats across from Lexi, "This isn't easy for me to talk about." He continued with a grunt. Greyson and Allen moved to comply and took their seats next to each other, both of them focused on Lexi. Lord Brarthroroz sighed as he turned back to his daughter and cupped her face fondly. "Before I start, I want you to understand that before your mother and I had you, neither of us realized just how deeply we could love and the desire to protect you from harm eclipsed everything else in our lives completely." He said gently a
It hadn't taken their force long to clear the halls and clean up the bodies that were left behind. The losses had been minimal on their part and considering the forces that they had thought they would be up against, their plans had meant that they had been far better equipped than the coven itself. The Coven had left very few prisoners alive, and the ones that were still breathing were in pretty bad shape. Lexi and the other healers and medics had done what they could but there was no growing back limbs…no matter how proficient of a shifter you were. Lord Brarthroroz had stationed huge numbers of his daemons within the winding passageways and caverns that the coven had previously inhabited and returned to the surface with his portalmancer Steve at his side. He strode angrily across the makeshift camp to the command tent and paused at the entrance, glancing across at the medical tent where Lexi had been working. Currently, she was cleaning her hands off as her mates watched
She stood and with one last look at the lifeless body below her, turned her attention to the chaos at the other side of the room. Narcissa had no problems keeping the attacks of the wolves at bay and Lexi could feel the emotions of the past few minutes bubbling wildly inside of her as she stormed towards her, her eyes blazing furiously. Her father was still making little headway against Eromaug, but she wasn't concerned about his survival, he was more than capable of taking care of himself against his bastard of a brother. Narcissa on the other hand…she had a lot to fucking answer for. Lexi strode through the fighters battling the twisted Daemons that had emerged from the shadows, throwing her magick lazily towards the monstrosities as she passed, a sneer curling at her lips as the shifters watched her in terrified awe. It wasn't long until Narcissa noticed her approach and her face split into a sneer that matched Lexi's as she swept her arm in front of her, knocking the ma