Jolting up, I took gasping breaths before a hand touched my chest. It pushed me back down but I thrashed against it.“Woah. Hold on, Vale. You’re okay. Calm down.”I took a couple deep breaths and my vision cleared. Hector was leaning over a hospital bed, his hand on my chest and he was watching me. A hospital bed that I was currently laying in. Slowly, I laid back against the bed and tried to rub my head but my arm had an IV in it.“Hector…what…?”My head felt like a fog. I couldn’t even feel Naresh. He was there but out of reach.“Do you remember what happened?”I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. I could feel the blooming pain in my head but it wasn’t terrible. I’d come back from a sparring session with Mom in more pain than this. My eyes opened wide as I looked at him.“I…Mom and I sparred. She kicked my ass too hard. I passed out…”“Keep going.” Hector urged me, he sat back down in the chair.What happened? I was knocked out and I woke up and Zeke was telling me something ab
I stood looking out over my old stomping grounds. We decided to bring back Jax’s body to Harvest Moon pack, to our home pack. He was laid to rest next to his parents, since he never was able to find another mate. I stared out at the forest from my mom’s old house. The earth had recovered from when they torched her garden and now it was pretty much being reclaimed by the forest itself. It had been a week, but there wasn’t any news. We had no information. Nothing on Reagan or Rowan. Not a peep difference from Oran. None of our contracts had seen them. It’s like they vanished completely.Mom had come with us but I honestly couldn’t say that she was there. I only saw her during the ceremony and that was from the back. If I even thought I saw her, I would blink and she was gone. Hector was easier to find but there was a pain and anger that scared me. His words from the hospital kept me from speaking to him. Lucy wasn’t able to come with us. She barely managed to survive the surgery but she
I stared down into the mug of black coffee. Today was the day. We would be leaving for the High Council Castle. Today everyone from our pack as well as the others who flew in would be making our way to the castle. It took us two weeks to gather everyone and everything we need. Originally, I wanted it to be just us but the numbers that were pouring in from our spies near the castle were too much. So far, no monsters that my mom described had been sighted, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t there.I’d reached out to a few of the more well known packs, and Zeke actually reconnected with his pack. They sent warriors and his cousin even joined us as well. There were others, from all over. Hector’s father’s pack in Egypt sent five of their best warriors. I reached out to Alpha Evan but he said Luna Naomi was in her last trimester and couldn’t leave himself. But he did send a few of the warriors who I knew from our time over there.Morgan wasn’t going to be there. When he told me, I felt
I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the entire convoy behind us. We had multiple trucks fulled with supplies and then a ton of Hummers. It looked like we were moving an army, which we were, but it was odd seeing that behind you as we drove down seaside road. Zeke pointed out farther down the road and there were two figures standing on the cliffside of the road. ‘Mom, set up the portal. We are close.’ I reached out to her through the Alpha King link. Usually, it felt weird reaching out to people who weren’t part of the pack. I felt it when I mind-linked Hector now but with Mom is was as easy as mind-linking Zeke. The road ahead started to shimmer and I held tight to the steering wheel. The flash of light from the truck that was headed towards us filled my mind as the memory haunted me. Zeke grabbed my wrist and I blinked. The fear and the lights disappeared as the portal grew and shimmered blue. Steeling myself, I continued to drive down the road, steadying the speed. I couldn’t
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by how long it took to set up camp for so many people. Especially with non-magical means. We also sent out scouts to the area trying to exactly pinpoint where Oran’s troops started and where they were deciding to defend. They were definitely defending the castle but none of the scouts saw hint of the Vampire King himself. Nor did anyone see the kids. The High Council castle was huge though, and it made me worry just how many of their numbers were inside the castle.Zeke and I set up our own tent with the help of Hector, who apparently was a master at putting up tents. He had his and Mom’s up within twenty minutes. As well as the kids tent next to them. I looked at their closed tent entrance. The kids hadn’t exited the tent in twenty minutes. Zeke said if they hit forty minutes that we should go in and rescue them. I told him he was on his own. I’d been on the receiving end of those ‘talks’. Add in Grandpa and there was no way I was walking in th
*** Ezekiel’s POV ***My leg wouldn’t stop bouncing all through dinner. It was excellent as usual with Auri’s cooking but I couldn’t concentrate. Vale was making it impossible. His need was so intense that I wondered how he could talk normally with everyone. He would send flashes of what he wanted to do to me mid-bite and I nearly choked a few times. Everyone but Auri would look at me weird. I wanted to kick Vale. Auri was probably getting the images as well. She said sometimes thoughts were shouted at her. I doubted Vale was doing anything to not project.Once I finished my food, the others were planning on staying for a pie that somehow Auri had made in the short amount of time that we had, but I excused myself from the table. I’d been a bundle of nerves all day. The only thing holding me together was doing things; taking action. I couldn’t deal with just sitting still. I tried to stuff it down but I knew Vale could feel it. What I didn’t want to do right now was cut him off from my
There was a prick in my mind. I tried to ignore it but after another two, I peeled my eyes open. It was still dark outside but you could smell the wet dew of the forest. Looking next to me, Vale was passed out, his arm slung across my chest. He was still naked and snoring into the pillows. He must have cleaned me off while I was passed out because there was no trace of any cum on me. I did have a blanket thrown over my lower half while he was just butt naked on top of them.‘I need to speak with you.’I froze, Auri’s mind link coming through clear. Looking at Vale, he obviously wasn’t being woken up as well. Slowly, I slipped out from under his arm and tossed a blanket over his legs and butt. It would be a bit embarrassing if someone ended up waking him up and he was laying there butt ass naked. Creeping over to our duffle bags, I pulled out new boxers, jeans, and a shirt, slipping them on before quietly making my way out of the tent.The forest looked magical. A thick layer of fog co
There was no sound in the clearing for a while. Auri had pinned me with her stare but her words looped in my head. They didn’t want to take root. They shouldn’t take root. How could Auri say something like that right before we were going into battle. Was this just fear? Was this her own inadequacy that she was making this statement? Was she telling me that she wasn’t going to fight and that was why?“Zeke…”“No.”It was the only word I could get out. The only one that made any logical sense. No. He wasn’t going anywhere. He was my mate. He was too young. He was a father. He was our king. He was a son. He was an Alpha. He was everything to me and I would not lose him.“No.” It came out again. Stronger this time.“Zeke, please…”I shook my head. “No, Auri. No. I won’t let him. You won’t let him. How could you even say anything like that? How could you? Are you planning on killing him yourself?”My last question was too far and I knew it. A hand wrapped around my throat as my back collid
Hey everyone. I can't believe we are here. We made it. This is truly the end. This journey has been an epic one and I am both happy and sad all of you could ride this crazy ride with me. It took a long time to get here. Much longer than I wanted, felt needed to, but here we are and it's done. The King's Alpha has finished. I'm sure everyone has the STRONGEST of opinions on my choices of where to go but in the end, I think, I always knew where it was going to end up. And it was here. It just was a struggle to find the right roat to get there. I want to say thank you. To all the mad ones. To all the sad ones. To all the happy ones. To the ones who have stuck by me and given me notes of encourangement through this. To the ones who have left comments telling me that they won't ever read anything of mine again because I haven't finished this story. I thank each and every one of you. Because it means that at some point, my story made you feel something. Made you fall in love or hate
I sat on the balcony overlooking the plains and forest behind it. I’d taken a liking to getting up early, smelling the morning dew as the world slowly woke up. A shot of cappuccino and a bowl of yogurt with fruit and just a drizzle of honey was on the table in front of me. My tablet also was sitting but there wasn’t much in the way of news to capture my attention away from the view.Rowan had called me yesterday from Egypt. He moved there after he found his mate. At first, I thought they might want to both step up as Beta, much like AJ and Jax did back in the day but they started to follow their own paths. Rowan was far more subdued. Taking after the bookworm side of Vale and maybe my introverted side. Reagan didn’t. Reagan was a fists first fight the world kind of girl. She stayed with Golden Moon, though she dragged her poor mate with her wherever she went.She was the Alpha King Nathan’s, Beta and had been for many years now. I had four grandkids and I got to see them as often as I
“Mom!” Syf and Freya both threw their hands around me and I held them close.Týr stood but didn’t say anything. Logan stayed seated next to him, his eyes unfocused as he looked ahead. I wiped the cheeks of my two girls and smiled.“Come on, Vale would be mad that we cried this much over him.”Freya chuckled. “He would say we are being over dramatic about it. Or that we were thinking of other stuff so we would tear up and make him feel better.”I nodded. “We all know it was you two who made him cry most of them time.”“I…we…” Syf looked at her twin before the two of them chuckled. “You’re right.”“I know, I’m right. I’m your mother.”Freya snorted. “Not looking like that you aren’t. I can’t believe you’re de-aging. That’s crazy, Mom. If I didn’t see the effects in you and Hector I would say you were lying.”I tried to smile but it just couldn’t get there. Admitting how much pain I went through wasn’t something I was going to dump here and now. They didn’t need to know. It was the same
We stood gathered on the Italian countryside. It was cloudy but there would be no rain. For the first time in a long time, everyone stood together. Werewolves, witches, vampires, and fey stood side by side to pay their respects to the Alpha King. Vale was encased in stone now. A sarcophagus that stood on the hill of the memorial spot we had chosen. It was carved with running wolves following the one wolf, their king. People came forward and spoke. Spoke of how Vale touched their lives in some way or another. Not just for him though. For Jax, for the wolves we lost in the battles and the ones who went back to their own packs. For Wendy and in my heart all the ones who had lost their lives to Oran’s sick and twisted desires.Hector was sitting on my right, his hand on my knee. Both my hands though were clasped in Zeke’s. Reagan and Rowan were sitting behind us with our kids. Luckily, all four of them made a complete recovery. Only certain things came up, sometimes being alone in a dark
Hector and I stayed by Vale’s side for a while. He held me together as I threatened to fall to pieces. After a long time, I finally spoke. “Oran is dead. Vale incapacitated him and I dusted him. He’s ash in the wind.”“He’s gone. For good.”“But at what cost, Hector? Was the cost worth it? Jax is dead. Wendy is dead. Vale…my son…my king…”Absently, I leaned down and moved a hair out of Vale’s peaceful face. My jaw clenched as I held back another wave of sobs, trying to keep myself together. My body started to shake and Hector turned me away from my son. I looked at him, his eyes as dark and stormy as the clouds above, raining tears down his cheeks. It broke me. Broke my control and I cried out.He put both hands on my face and held me, my hands covering his. It was my fucking fault. It was my fault. My Vale was dead. Our Vale, was gone. Joining the list of ones I loved who left me alone. Absently, my mind thought to the pain of living painfully long and outliving your family. I had co
*** Auri’s POV ***I had killed nine of the monsters that Oran kept in the arena beneath the castle. Nine of them, each one as mutilated and grotesque as the next. They were powerful though and it had taken me too long to kill them all. Too long put them all out of their misery as their minds begged me over and over again to do. Uriel had reached out to me and told me that he had the pups and had left the castle. All that was left was the battle Vale and Zeke were currently fighting.Running as fast as I could, I slid down the hall. I knew the High Council intended that Vale was going to rule inside the castle with them, but I didn’t know they had already built the throne room for him. When Vale first mind linked me about the room and that Oran was waiting for them, I wasn’t necessarily surprised. He was, if anything, a dramatic asshole.I stopped in front of two huge doors that were on the north side of the castle. Using my power, I touched the wood and it turned into a pile of wood
I wiped the blood out of my eyes, trying to focus on the where Oran was in the room. Vale was standing near the center of the room. He didn’t look nearly as bad as I did but that wasn’t saying much. Oran was playing with us but we still couldn’t compare to his strength. Holding up his broken sword, Vale parried Oran’s knife but was thrown back with the power behind the hit. Staggering up, I ran, only shifting my claws since I couldn’t shift my whole body anymore. I caught Oran’s arm as he was making a stab for Vale. My claws dragged across his skin and he dropped the knife.“Well, aren’t you the useful little mate.”I put up my arms to cover my face, sensing an attack either by his fists or foot. Vale though, grabbed the knife and me, pulling us back away and out of reach of the strike. We both were breathing heavily and on our knees. “Vale…we need…”He nodded. “I know. I know, Z. Just hold out a little longer.”Vale lifted up off the floor before brandishing the knife as his own wea
The castle looked empty. At least walking into it from the now ridiculously large exploded hole. Auri, King Uriel, Vale and I stepped over the rubble and the dead bodied of the witches to enter it. Everything was eerily quiet, as though no one had been in here at all. Had all the forces emptied out the different exits just now? Or were they lurking somewhere deeper?“The castle has an underground area as well, correct? If I saw the building plans correctly.” King Uriel looked at the three of us.Vale was the one who answered. “Correct. It has a full underground stadium area and most likely where they are keeping the pups. Or in one of the catacomb areas. It’s a huge labyrinth down there.”He hummed. “We should split up.”Auri frowned. “I don’t know. We don’t know what’s ahead. What we are up against.”“I think he is right, Mom. I think we need to do this. Uriel, if you would take the upper floors. I have a feeling there will be more witches and some other vampires who are able to deal
As expected, the wolves came first. Their snarling and pounding of their paws drowned out every other sound in the forest. Our side had quieted as we waited for their attack. Auri stepped up though, out of the line. Her fur rippled like water as an immense flow of power left her, filling the forest. She barked out a single command and all the wolves we could see coming towards us shifted to their human forms. The sound of their bones assembling back into their body on a massive scale reverberated through the forest.Hector raced forward ahead of her, chomping the closest wolf’s, now confused human’s, head off. It was all that was needed. Our forces surged forward and around us. Vale started to go with them but my paws were planted firmly in the ground. Stopping and turning, Vale looked at me with his gold eyes.‘Can you do this, Z? It’s okay if…’My eyes widened as a wolf came from behind, leaping right at Vale as his back was turned to me. I stepped forward, one step, then another. S