Kane's POVMaybe being void of emotions is a good thing. It's a nice little break from the turmoil, and it will make it easier to execute my father when the time comes.The Alphas are set to visit us in two days’ time, and I haven’t thought about my father’s impending judgement in all this time. I couldn’t. It was just too much on top of everything else I’ve had to deal with.I sit on the couch, staring at the dead TV while I listen to Willow puttering around the apartment as she takes care of our son. Soon after my mother left, she declared that she’ll take care of supper, and I haven't seen her since. I shudder to think what might come out of that kitchen tonight.It doesn’t matter. I’m not hungry anyway.At least I can’t feel that odd longing for Dani anymore, which is a blessing in itself. “Kane?” Glenn speaks in my head.“Yes?”“The undertaker is here. What do we do with Agatha?”“I’ll let him know what the plans are. Willow wants to talk to the witches before we decide what to d
Kane fell asleep less than an hour after we ate dinner. It was frustrating trying to get him to eat. He pushed the food around his plate, and when I finally convinced him to take a bite, he gagged, his lips pulling downwards in disgust, and tried to push the food away. “Tastes like dust.” “I know, but you have to eat it anyway. Nothing will taste good for a while.” Sitting there, watching him force the food down his gullet, made me nauseous with concern. He’s bound and determined to stay dead inside until after his father’s execution, the consequences be damned. I stand by the side of our bed, looking down at my mate. The gentle rise and fall of his chest, his relaxed and calm face – I can almost believe that he’s all right, and not turning into an emotionless monster -- which is exactly what he’ll become in the end. I’ve seen it before. Even with protection, the soul reapers eat bits of your soul away, and if you go deep enough, and often enough, it becomes nearly impossible to r
Kane's POV “Go get our mate,” Dario snarls in my head for the tenth time since she left with Adare. “Quiet. I want to sleep.” “No. You are hurting her. On purpose. I won’t let you sleep until you go to her.” Fuck. I’m annoyed. Mildly, but still, it’s there. The small return of an emotion that I do not want. I drum my arms and legs on the bed like a toddler. “Shut up! It’s just for a few days. She’ll be okay.” “She’s afraid of you…of us.” “No, she’s not. She’s worried she fucked me up. And if you think about it, she did. I wouldn't be in this mess if she didn't insist on helping Agatha.” That's unfair, I know, but I'm grabbing at, and holding on to, any and every straw I can find to justify my behaviour. “Go to our mate.” Dario roars. “We will lose her if you don’t.” I sigh and roll off the bed, pausing at the window to look out at the moonless night. The gardens are calm and peaceful, the night dark and cold. I open the window, letting the freezing breeze in, and gulp in big lu
Kane’s POV “What do I need to do?” I ask, tucking stray strands of curls behind Willow’s ear. “Is there some kind of magic or something you need to use on me?” “No.” She shifts on my lap and manoeuvres herself around, throwing a leg on either side of me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she presses her soft, warm body tightly against mine. Dario purrs happily and finally settles down. “What are you doing?” “Nothing,” she answers me, but she has the most lascivious grin on her face, and her eyes sparkle naughtily into mine. “You just need to be with the ones you love, allow us to love you.” Her delicious lips embrace mine, stealing the last little vestiges of reservations I had left. It’s just a flicker of lust followed by a tiny ripple of love, but it’s enough to remind me that I have to fight for it. Fight for her and Adare, because if I don’t, I’ll lose them – one way or the other, they will disappear from my life. “The negative emotions are always the first ones to come back,
Glenn comes running down the hallway with two guards on his heel, catching up with us in the entrance hall. “What’s up?” Kane asks. “The guards came to fetch me. They say there’s a she-wolf sitting in the garden.” “So?” Kane asks with mock innocence. “This is werewolf territory. Wolves all over the place.” “They say she’s been sitting there for hours.” “We didn’t think nothing of it the first few times we passed her, but now we’re a little concerned and don’t know what to do,” one of the guards says. “She’s been watching you all night.” “It’s Dani,” Kane says. “I’m on my way out to do something about it.” Glenn turns to the guards. “You may go,” he says. The guards look at each other, then at Kane who nods in agreement. They shrug and run outside, back to their posts. “I can actually use a witness,” Kane says to Glenn. “Great,” I pipe up. “Then I can go back to the apartment?” “Noooo,” Kane says and pulls me closer. “You need to see this too.” “Why?” “Because it will put you
I rush past Phillip into the bedroom to check on Adare. He’s still asleep, probably didn’t even notice that we were gone. “Twenty minutes on the dot,” I hear Phillip say to Kane. “Yeah, she’s pretty good that way.” I can hear the smile in my mate’s voice. I hang around the bedroom for a few minutes, waiting for Adare to wake up to nurse, but he doesn’t stir. I’m debating whether I should wake him to feed him when Kane softly calls to me. I take one last look at the sleeping baby and join Kane in the living room. “Is the pup okay?” “Yes,” I answer. “But he should be waking up to nurse any moment now.” Kane looks me up and down, his bright blue eyes swirling with nothing but lust. The air is thick and heavy with his scent. I’m at once excited and terrified. He grabs my wrist and roughly pulls me against him, my body connecting to his with a mind-bending thud. Electricity and red-hot desire courses through me, makes me breathless with the need for him. Still staring at me, he lift
Kane's POV Willow watches me from the bed while I get dressed, her eyes pensive. I didn’t handle our physical interaction too well, and it's bugging her no end. She wouldn’t let me hide behind my chosen excuse, and when she went down on me like that, I came very close to shifting. She doesn’t know, because I never told her, that it happens from time to time. If I had shifted while she had my dick in her mouth, I would have scared the living shit out of her, and she doesn’t know what to do when that happens. I had to use every bit of willpower I possess to stop Dario from surfacing. I make a mental note to talk to her about it just as soon as the subject comes up again. “What are you doing today?” she asks. I look at her in the mirror while I fold my tie. “I have some business meetings I can’t miss and the elder council is gathering for the first time today, I have to welcome them.” “What about that ball thing? Isn’t that something I should handle?” I shake my head at her and tu
Kane's POV The flat is dark, empty, and quiet. It’s been a while since I came home to an empty apartment, and it grinds my nerves. “Willow?” I call, even though I know she’s not here – at least it breaks the silence. I go to our empty bedroom. The place smells like my mate, clean linens, disinfectants, and baby. It’s oddly comforting. I kick off my shoes and carelessly throw them into the closet, followed by my tie. On my socks, I undo the top button of my shirt and go back to the living room, taking the good whiskey out of the liquor cabinet. If I didn’t have a pup in the house, I’d get hammered tonight. All my Alphas reported weird human behaviour – some brushed it off as “just humans being humans,” and didn’t investigate, but when I asked them about it, they could at least give me a verbal report. By the time my new council gathered, I already had our first point of order on the agenda. “Kane?” Glenn says through our mind link, interrupting my thoughts. I scrunch up my face and
Dear readers, I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read Willow and Kane's story. This has been one of the longest books I've ever written, and when I started out I did not expect it to turn into this epic saga, but I regret nothing. Nothing I tell you :). I fell in love with Willow and Kane, and I am genuinely sad to say goodbye to these two, but unfortunately all stories must come to an end. Thank you for your support througout this wild ride. It means the world to me. I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until we meet again. All my love, Celice
Kane Madden, Lycan King of Felan, wakes up to an unearthly racket right outside his bedroom door. Slightly concerned, he glances at his heavily pregnant wife and smiles despite his annoyance at his oldest son’s shenanigans in the hallway. Willow Madden, his mate of fifteen years is heavily pregnant with their second set of twins, two boys this time, and Kane sincerely hopes this is the last time. Goddess knows he loves his children, all eight of them, and he’s sure he’ll love numbers nine and ten just as much, but it’s getting difficult to keep up with all the pups. They are exhausting. For a time, he was sure that they’d never have more children, but after one wild afternoon in the forest, Willow did get pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, as their remarkable son predicted. She named the twins Josiah and Jocelyn, after the previous occupants of their home. Kane thought it was macabre, but Willow insisted, saying they had to honour their ancestors. That would be the same twins wh
It’s a beautiful summer’s day, and the drive up to the cabin is pleasant enough. Kane and I have found a peaceful kind of comfort in each other’s silence, and we rarely need to fill the quiet with inane background chatter. We are content, just being together. I inhale the lovely fresh air, remembering the first time I came here. The night Suri was born, the sheer exhilaration of feeling my wolf come to life...and that was all thanks to Agatha. Dear, sweet Agatha who never found a final resting place because we went to war and in the chaos, we forgot all about her. Our funeral home has since been bombed off the planet, and we just take care of our dead our own way as we'd done during the war. There aren’t that many of us left anyway. The few surviving wolves live here now, and those that refuse to come to safety are dying off – Templars bearing a lingering grudge either murder them, or the wolves yield to their unrelenting urge to join a good war. Kane once told me that wolves had be
Kane's POV I wasn’t sure what would happen in the months and years that followed after we signed the peace treaty, so we went with the tried and tested 'go with the flow' method. For a time, everything went back to normal. Drake and Patrick ran the business, and more and more my little brother took over my duties in the company. Proof, Willow liked to remind me, that Omegas are just as competent as any other wolf. The overseas wolves went home, and as soon as they were sure the threat had really passed, the European wolves followed suit. The only ones that stayed were the humans. I claimed the human town as part of my territory during the peace talks, and the residents now affectionately call it Wolftonia. Leif left, taking his strange sister with him. Only later did we learn that Silke’s time on earth was limited and that she had foreseen her own death long before she ever came here. Unbeknownst to all of us, including Willow, a völva’s dying energy projects outwards, and what we m
Adare runs around the garden with Roland. The two boys growl and stalk each other like prey. My motherly instinct is to jump up and stop them before one of them gets seriously hurt, but Rosie quickly grabs me and pulls me back to my chair. “No Queen,” she says. “That’s how they learn. They won’t hurt each other.” “Are you sure?” “I’ve seen them play this game a hundred times. I’m sure.” Dammit. My throat burns and I have to fight against the tears. I’m so happy that my son is home, but I’ve missed so much. He is the size of an average three-year-old and when I talk to him, I sometimes forget that he’s not even two yet. I choose not the think about it. I choose to focus on the here and now. My family is whole and complete and that's what matters “Mama! Look!” Adare squeals and tackles Roland to the ground. “Good job, buddy,” Kane says behind me. I look over my shoulder at my mate. “You’re back early.” “Yes. Peace talks broke down.” “Why?” “Clement wants my humans.” “I thought
Kane rolls over to my side and pulls me into his embrace. I don’t even bother to open my eyes. It’s been a wild few days. “Oh Goddess, no,” I complain. “Haven’t you had enough?” He laughs breezily in my ear. “Never…but for now, yes.” He flutters kisses over my jaw and neck. “How do you feel?” “Like I got run over by a penis-shaped bulldozer.” “Hey, you wanted it.” I finally manage to drag my eyelids apart. “I did.” I smile at my impressive mate. “The first two days were great.” “I know.” He rolls away and swings his legs off the bed. “The last day always feels more like a punishment than pleasure.” I turn over onto my side and stare at his broad back, the strong muscles flexing under his skin. “No regrets though, right?” He looks over his shoulder at me. “None.” He gets up and stretches, scratching his ass as he walks to the bathroom. A minute later, I hear him open the tap. We don’t have electricity yet, but I’m not so sure I miss it. Life is kind of peaceful without the cons
Kane’s POV I sit on the couch in the dark living room, watching the glowing embers in the fireplace, trying to ignore the call of Willow’s heat and the fever that's trying to consume me. I'd go to her, but she's still asleep. t’s not time, she can’t feel it yet, but she will in another few hours. I should be sleeping, prepare myself properly this time, but I can’t switch my milling thoughts tumbling through my head off long enough so I can go to sleep. I’ve already sent orders out to bring the power stations back online and ordered our army to stand its ground. There’s nothing else to do now but wait for Clement to come back so we can finish up the peace agreement. In the absence of entertainment or imminent danger, the only thing I have to keep myself occupied is my own thoughts, and all I can think about is the possibility that Willow will get pregnant. Here, in the quiet of the night, all by myself, I have to admit the truth. I never want her to get pregnant again – not becaus
Kane’s POV For the next few hours, we talk about the meeting with Clement, the future, and a whole lot of nothing. There’s something comforting in it, just friends having a chat about life, love, and everything in between. I glance at my watch, surprised to see that it was well past midday. “That’s it,” I say and get up, stretching my too-tight muscles. “We’re taking the week off. I don't know about you, but I've had enough of war to last me a lifetime.” “Shall I collect Adare?” Zael asks on our way out. “Not yet. I don’t…Willow thinks he’ll be safe here, but I want to make sure.” “If what she said about The Goddess is true, she’s probably right. She hasn’t been wrong so far, has she?” I scrunch up my face and rub my forehead. “I don’t know. I can’t think straight anymore.” Zael nods. “I know the feeling.” “Did you get any retaliation over the Raymond thing?” “Of course I did.” “And?” “And nothing. I handled it...it won't come back to you.” “Do you think this war is over?”
Kane's POVIt had been weeks since we slept comfortably, and even though we both sort of hinted at passing the night making love, neither of us could actually gather the energy to do more than snuggle down in each other’s arms.For the first time in weeks, perhaps months, I wake with a smile on my face, completely relaxed and almost happy. The only thing I need to complete my joy is my son, and he'll be here soon enough.I stretch languidly, and slip out from under Willow and go to the bathroom to get ready for my meeting with Clement. I hope against all hope that Willow misunderstood The Goddess and that there would be no human war. I hope, and I pray, that Clement would listen to my advice and stop it before it even starts.The castle is freezing, and I’m shivering so much that I cut myself several times while I shave. Rattling like an excited dog, I run back to the bedroom, pull an extra blanket over Willow, then rush to the closet so I can dress in one of my suits and my long, thi