As soon as Allen had broken the news, Adam and Ann finished their breakfast and made their way across to where the Dark Moon Elders were waiting. Adam and Ann gave them a brief rundown of the events that had transpired and waited eagerly for them to convey the details of the missive from the Enclave that requested their attendance. The Royal Enclave's Elders had obviously been busy since Narcissa and Ada's arrest as they had brought the trial forward to this afternoon.After a brief discussion about smaller matters within the pack, the meeting was adjourned to enable Ann and Adam to make their way to the Enclave. After informing Lexi and Allen of the tight schedule, they made a few last-minute arrangements at the pack house for the day's schedule before making their way out to where the car waited at the front of the house.The journey was tense with Lexi sitting next to Allen and doing her utmost to irritate him with subtle movements and teasing remarks as they chatted casuall
They filed into the dim light together with Ann leading them and Adam at her side, whilst Lexi followed with Allen, walking as close to him as she possibly could much to his irritation. She took every opportunity to brush his arm with her own and flashed him a coy smile and fluttered her eyelashes at him suggestively every time he side-eyed her in disgust.Although he remained silent, the grim line of his mouth showed just how irritated he truly was and as they took their seats, he found himself caught in the middle between Adam and Lexi with no way to move out of Lexi's reach.He sighed and turned to scowl at her, but his irritation was met with a wide grin. He swallowed the remark that he desperately wanted to make and turned to face forward, his shoulders tense at Lexi's proximity as she scooted her chair across a little closer so that her arms were touching his.Ann leaned forward in her chair and shot Lexi a warning glance but she was either oblivious to the meaning or just didn't
"Guilty? You've already decided our fate then, my love?" Narcissa yelled as she raged against the bars and glass of her cage.Leopold glanced across at her and his gaze hardened."I don't think I have ever been your love, not truly. I think, given all of the evidence collected and testimony from various parties involved, that I was merely a means to an end." He said coldly as he stood from his seat and made his way down from the dais towards the area where Narcissa and Ada's cages sat. Narcissa watched him approach through narrowed eyes and smirked as he stood almost nose to nose with her, separated only by the glass and iron bars between them."What would you know about my goals or achievements, Leopold, hmm? No sooner had you decided that you wanted me, did you whisk me away to your palace with the promise of a happily ever after." She laughed coldly. "Did you ever stop to think what I wanted?"Leopold narrowed his eyes slightly as he inhaled deeply. "The guilt trips don't work on
Narcissa's eyes widened in terror for the briefest of seconds before her body froze and seemed to go rigid for a few moments as the color drained from her face and her eyes seemed to glaze over. Once she had regained her composure, her mouth split into that all too familiar disdainful sneer as she spat on the glass in front of her. "You insufferable bastard. All this time you had abilities that you never told me about, and you dare to use them on me?! How is this different from the use of magick?!" Leopold didn't reply, instead staring at her intently with an expression of deep thought on his face. "Were you responsible for weakening and eventually severing the bond with my former wife?" Leopold asked levelly, with no trace of emotion in his voice anymore. If anything he now seemed completely resigned to the process of discovering the truth, however ugly it might be. It was obvious that Narcissa was trying her best to fight the forces that compelled her to answer, but the
Narcissa seemed to have reached the point where she no longer bothered to fight the inevitable and she leaned backward in her position on the floor in a relaxed manner as she tilted her chin arrogantly and chuckled. "So much to divulge, yet where do I even begin?" She chuckled quietly to herself. "The Coven. What are your plans and who do you serve?" Leopold said icily, a dark cloud seemed to have settled over his face as he glared at the woman he had once called his wife. She grinned back at him and sighed dramatically. "The Excidium Coven answers to Daemon Lord Eromaug, his power is like nothing you've ever seen before. We want nothing more than to rise once again, and have our ranks swell as we are returned to our rightful place as rulers of this Kingdom!" She answered, her passionate devotion for her master clear in the vehemence with which she spoke. Lexi snorted and sat back in her chair heavily, almost in disbelief. "That little prick managed to get a foothold here?
The silence that permeated the room after the elders left to make their decision was only interrupted by the dejected sniffling of Ada's huddled figure from where she cowered in her prison.Lexi's knee jiggled incessantly up and down, a clear indicator of the irritation and anger that she still felt regarding Narcissa's comment about her mother, as well as the occasional violent flashing of her eyes, that beautiful yet deadly luminescent red that signified her appetite for violence.Allen glanced at her warily before turning to Adam who remained focused on Ann's face as she stared at the spot where the two women were held before her with an unreadable expression."Father, I want you to ask Ada something," Ann called out suddenly and he turned to face her with a blank expression.He opened his mouth to reply but Ann hastily made her request."I want you to ask her if she is truly carrying Brad's baby... he at least deserves to know that," Ann said, with a slight tremor in her voice.It
Adam knew he didn't have a particularly great chance at reaching Narcissa as her prison was flanked on either side by golems, but he simply couldn't contain the fury of his wolf, Baldur, any longer.Narcissa's face morphed into a look of incredulity as she witnessed Adam transform before quickly turning to one of terror as Adam's huge black beast flew through the air toward her. She scrabbled backward on the floor in terror, pressing herself against the far wall as if expecting him to shatter through the glass.But that simply was not possible.In the blink of an eye, an enormous stone arm shot out in front of him, its stubby fingers outstretched as Adam collided with what would have been the palm of its malformed hand.Baldur howled his outrage and clawed at the hand, desperately trying to free himself as the stubby fingers wrapped around his body and the golem moved its hand towards its face, peering closely at the noisy, enraged ball of fur that it had caught in its hand.As Leopold
A heavy silence descended over the now, much calmer, courtroom. Ann couldn't help but feel a little cheated that they wouldn't immediately be executed, but there was nothing that she could do to reverse the decision.It was, however, a decidedly better outcome than she had initially feared, although, she wasn't sure that Adam would agree with her. His face was still dark with a murderous rage and the aura emanating from him was terrifying.She understood fully now why he had such a terrifying reputation. "With these vile matters resolved and a judgment in place, I move to vote that the current reigning Alpha King Leopold Veritas, his former wife, Narcissa Veritas and his… non-biological daughter, Ada Veritas, hereby be stripped of their royal titles." The Ancient voice spoke from the darkness above.Countless voices signaled their agreement as Ann cast a glance toward where her father sat. The tiniest wave of pity washed over her as she took in his dejected appearance and resolute set
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