"Eromaug?" Linus repeated back to Allen in shock, "Why do you need to know about him?" Allen was silent as he studied his face. The look of shock and surprise that flashed across his eyes, followed by the worried expression that flickered across his face told Allen that Linus did indeed know something about the Daemon Lord. Whether or not it proved useful or not would remain to be seen. "I'm pleased to see that your time here hasn't impaired your hearing at least," Allen commented dryly as he leaned against the wall casually, "I want to know what you know about him." Linus swallowed nervously and his eyes darted around his cell. "That's a dangerous subject to discuss so openly…" He stammered fearfully. "I wouldn't call your cell an open place, Linus." Linus clicked his tongue as his eyes narrowed. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Even in places that you consider safe, you'll quickly re-evaluate your topics of conversation." Linus hissed, "You still haven't t
Allen snarled furiously as he pushed back against the force that held him to the wall as Jasper tittered mockingly. "Well, look at you, haven't you grown?" Jasper purred, "It feels like forever since I saw you last." "If I never saw you again it would still be too fucking soon!" Allen snapped as he strained helplessly. Jasper sighed theatrically. "Well that's not very nice is it?" He tutted as he stroked the back of Allen's hair, his fingers combing almost lovingly through the strands of hair, "And here was me thinking that we could let bygones, be bygones and maybe... I don't know... kiss and make up…" He murmured almost seductively into Allen's ear, sending an involuntary shiver of disgust rippling through his body as he snorted in contempt. "Fuck you Jasper. You're a fucking psycho and a delusional one at that. What the hell makes you think that I would be willing to look past the fact that you brutally murdered my little sister?" "Oh I don't know about brutally, Allen
A look of pure terror settled over Jasper's face as Lexi's hands slammed onto each temple and he froze, the dagger that had been making painful progress around Allen's face slipped out of his hand and clattered to the ground noisily. "No... this…" Jasper squeaked in terror, disbelief written all over his face as he found himself completely unable to move. "Yes, Jasper. Ironic isn't it that my uncle and I are so eerily similar, yet so terrifyingly different..." She purred as her eyes flickered between a furious crimson fire and a violent electrifying blue sheen as she forced Jasper to face her face-to-face. She kept her palms firmly on his temples, her fingers digging into his scalp with her nails as she brought her face almost nose to nose with him as she held his gaze unflinchingly and licked her lips dangerously. "He... Eromaug… I work for him! You can't do this!" Jasper blurted out, his voice rising in panic as he winced at the slow trickle of blood that was running from h
Ann and Adam had been mid discussion regarding potential baby names for each of the pups when a frantic looking Felix practically fell through the doors and into her room. "They… fuck… Jasper… it was him! He was here… he still IS here!" he rushed out between breaths almost incoherently as he leaned on the table as he tried to catch his breath. Ann and Adam froze mid conversation as they took in his panicked appearance and they exchanged a look of concern. "What the fuck has crawled up his ass?" Maeve grimaced as she flicked her ears in annoyance. Ann ignored Maeve's snarky comment and sat up, pushing the sheet back a little as she held her hands out in front of her in a placating gesture. "Felix, slow down…" Ann began in a soothing tone but she was cut off by Felix's furious glare. "No, you don't understand. He's STILL HERE!" He yelled impatiently as Adam growled warningly at his tone. "Growl all you want Adam, this is fucking serious. He killed Aoife, but she wasn'
"I can't believe you agreed to bringing her with us." Baldur snapped testily inside Adam's head. "It's not like either her or Maeve would take no for an answer," Adam snapped back as he readjusted his grip on Ann's legs and shifted her position on his back. "You're an Alpha, Adam… if you can't control your mate…" Baldur snorted derisively. "She's the Alpha Queen for a reason." Adam replied with a sigh, "If you're that salty about it, how about we shift and you can have it out with Maeve, hmm? See how she likes you ordering her around." Baldur whined almost instantly and Adam could see his tail tucked between his legs reflexively. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Adam snorted as Baldur skulked to the corner of his mind and curled up sullenly on the corner. "Everything okay?" Ann asked softly as she tightened her arms around Adam's neck. "Baldur is pissed that I brought you with us." Adam grunted. "I told you I can walk," Ann scowled. "Yeah, but for how long? You still
"So what do we do now?" Felix asked to no one in particular once they were all gathered in Lord Brarthroroz's suite. The guards had been instructed to let them know as soon as Lexi began to stir and Allen stood in the doorway to Lord Brarthroroz's suite so that he could run to their room as soon as she showed any signs of waking up. "The first thing we should be doing is getting my stubborn mate back to her bed in the hospital so that she can get the rest that…" "Not a chance Adam." Ann glowered, "I've been out of action long enough and if I need to rest then I would much rather do so in the comfort of our own chambers." "But, what if you need intervention from the doctors again? Think of the pups. What if…" Adam tried to reason with her but Ann's loud impatient sigh stopped him in his tracks. "What if the sky falls and we're all buried?!" Maeve yelled suddenly in Ann's head and it took everything in her to not snort loudly. "Maeve thinks you're being dramatic, and just f
"I'm sorry, just… wait a minute. Let me get this straight because it seems absolutely fucking unbelievable. What you're saying is, some poor bastard's soul is being used to hold a magickal barrier that stops all communications within it?" Felix asked in disbelief. "Pretty much, yes. It prevents all communication from inside of the barrier, with the outside. It can only be destroyed by the same signature of magic that it was constructed with, so any magick that doesn't match with the caster's variant of magick, simply won't work." Lord Brarthroroz answered. "So how the hell are we going to take it down?" Allen murmured. "Lexi…" Ann breathed as Lord Brarthroroz's eyes snapped to her. "As much as I dislike the truth of your statement, I cannot deny that you are right." he frowned. "Why Lexi? Why does it have to be her and not you?" Allen interrupted fiercely, "She's already unstable and we've seen how using her… powers, abilities, magick whatever you want to call it, has affec
Despite the brave face that Lexi had put on, she had still needed a couple of days to recover as her energy levels were incredibly low. She had fallen asleep a few times when they had all been sat discussing how best to proceed and then been furious with herself afterwards. One thing had been certain though, she was going to find Greyson whether Allen wanted her to or not. They had come to a silent agreement about it, that neither one of them would mention it outright, but they would both participate in planning the expedition out there to take care of the sites. Lord Brarthroroz would go with them, along with a handful of specialists from the Enclave, and a few of Lord Brarthroroz's commanders would accompany them, for back up if needed. Ann would stay behind with Adam and work on having the plans for the portal room in the Enclave approved by the council with Bartholomew's help, and take a closer look at the finances required to get their military force up to scratch, so th
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