*** Vale’s POV ***Looking up at the building, it had artwork all along the front with the name of the club ‘The Naughty Night’ that wrapped around the sides of the building. It was alone, either side were a parking lot while the rest of the street was littered with bars and tattoo shops. It was about eight in the evening and the line was wrapped around the building. A hand slammed into my back and Peter looked at me, smiling. He was dressed up in a silk maroon shirt and slacks. I was glad I had forgone the suit jacket I was debating bringing.“Sorry I’m late. Ran into some nonsense on the way here. Shall we?”I nodded and looked back at the building. Peter walked towards the bouncer, handing him a gold card. Coming up behind Peter, the bouncer unbuckled the deep purple rope and allowed the two of us past. As we walked in, I took in the dark interior.“Borrowed the card from a friend. She’s an informant for some higher ups and has a standing invitation here. Since she provided informa
Everything had already been cleared from our table save the two drinks we were nursing and so she spread out a map onto the table as well as a pile of documentation. All over the map there were X’s and little numbers next to them. It ranged from one to fifty-six. Sitting up, I leaned over the world map, looking over the red X’s that were scattered throughout the map. “Each stop…” she placed her finger on the markings “…is a known sighting of The Huntress within the past few years.” Pulling from the top of the stack, she placed a paper over the map. “This is the first, the China incident where over 200 vampires died in an explosion at a lab. All the info we could gather on the incident as well as the lab information is on the sheet. Each incident or sighting has been marked with a number, corresponding with a page of documentation.” My eyes widened. “Wait, fifty-six places have been attacked?” Camilla shook her head. “Fifty-two actually ended with a lab explosion. Four of which wer
Closing the door to the bedroom as quietly as I could, Zeke was taking up the entirety of the bed. It was about two in the morning when I finally got home. I’d checked in with AJ and he was still out with Morgan chasing down an obscure issue in Egypt. He’d actually asked me if this was a real mission but I didn’t acknowledge the question. I felt bad for not providing the truth that his mission was to keep Grandpa out of our way but we needed it to get some information.'Outdated information.' Naresh growled in my head.Sighing, I placed my duffle on the couch we had in the room. 'Maybe, but it was more than we had before. We hadn’t heard any movement for over four months. So it was new to us, just not what we were looking for.'Naresh’s tail swished in my mind, irritated. While he didn’t agree with the bounty or trying to hunt her down, he did want to talk to her. Ask her why, ask her questions that only she could answer. It was the only reason he had gone along with all my running ar
I smiled, sitting on a blanket in the grassy fields just north of the town center. Zeke was up, running through the grass after our two munchkins who were laughing and trying to avoid him. At one point, Reagan made a quick turn and Zeke must have caught something because he fell out of my sight into the grass. Roaring, I paused my snacking as I tried not not inhale the crackers. Rowan and Reagan had converged on my mate only to climb on top, their heads now visible above the grass.Suddenly, both of them were lifted up, Zeke carrying each one under his arms and getting back to me and the picnic spread we had laid out.Once depositing the kids, Zeke flopped down unceremoniously, laying on the blanket. Rowan and Reagan started to rummage through the smaller of the picnic baskets. I clicked my tongue and they both looked up at me.“Are you hungry?”Both their heads nodded furiously and I wondered if their necks were still connected.“Alright. But while you eat, you cannot leave the blank
“Hello, Vale.”I had to bite back a growl. “What do you want, Dad?”“Can I not call my pup? I haven’t spoken to you in years. Is that really the tone you want to take with me?”Rolling my eyes, I stood up from the picnic and started to pace just behind the blanket. I felt Zeke’s eyes on me, watching me but he didn’t say anything.“You could have called sooner to check up on me. Hell, I’ve talk to Týr more lately than you. Not that you would feel any sort of attachment for me.”He sighed. “Vale, I’m not calling to argue.”“I don’t know where she is. I’ve given up trying to find her.”“I’m not asking where your mother is either. I don’t care. She will come to me when she realizes she needs me.”I scoffed, shaking my head. “Then what do you want?”There was a moment of silence and I stopped pacing, waiting for him to answer.“Some of the Alphas are gathering for a meeting together. A lot actually, including Týr.”“What do you mean? I haven’t heard…”My father interrupted me. “I know. You
I sat at the head of the table in the meeting room that was rented out. There were around twenty-five Alphas at this meeting. It was more Alphas I had seen together and we were still missing some more notable ones. AJ was standing next to my chair on my right whereas Bryan was on my left. I’d decided to take these two because I wanted to make sure I was getting all the information and whatever I didn’t catch would be picked up by Bryan or AJ.I’d shown up for the meeting and at first, the Alphas weren’t happy but when I said I was here to observe and see where I needed to help, they settled down. I was largely ignored for the rest of the time. There were documents strewn out on the table along with a giant map that had different marks on them.It was the third day they were meeting. The first day was just a bit of catchup; basically gossiping about different things like a bunch of Luna’s at tea. The next day was more productive. They started setting up who was getting attacked, who wa
Walking back into the meeting, I felt a renewed sense of purpose. A lot of the Alphas had already come back and a loud argument was already starting. Shaking my head, I stood in front of my seat. AJ and Bryan flanked me again. Týr nodded to me and I smiled back. Most of these Alphas were older than me by at least ten years, if not more. Grabbing one of the paperweights, I knocked the table a few times, grabbing everyones attention. A hush fell over the room as they looked to me. Standing up straight, I gestured to the table.“I have been listening to everyone and it seems we have hit a roadblock.” I waited for anyone to disagree and when they didn’t, I continued. “We all are having a different issue with our neighbors. Whether it be other packs, covens, or fey. I think the only way to come to a consensus, one that everyone will listen to, is having the Kings pass the treaties that affect every single one of their people.”There was silence only for a moment before the Alphas raised th
“I know you were working with the Mother Witch when we were with the Crescent River pack. Do you think she would be willing to talk to you again?”He clicked his tongue. “Talk, sure. Much else, I don’t think so. They pretty much viewed our transaction as done when we got out of there. Since our kind were the ones who technically stole their children, there really wasn’t a feeling that they owed us. Which was fine but if you asking for anything more…”“No no, just to talk. I’m wanting to get her to come to a meeting with the other kings. I want to be able to get all the leaders together. I’ve decided to bypass the High Council. I want to build a treaty with all the races. The best way to do that is the one entity they all look to and view as their leader.”“I think I could arrange that. I know she would actually be really happy to be included. Witches sometimes get lumped in with humans and it’s pretty frustrating for them. When did you want me to reach out?”I thought for a second. “L
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