Marking is next. I apologize for the delayed updates. I'm spending time with family. Updates will continue to be slow until early next week.
My mate has accepted me and I’m done holding back. She’s right, if she was made for me, then she can handle anything and everything I give her. I knew she’d be desperate for an orgasm by the time I let her come and the mix of her orgasm on her tongue and her blood in my mouth was such an exquisite taste that I spent my time, forcing her to stay at her high while I enjoyed myself. Now, however, it’s time for me to put my mark on the spot where werewolves will recognize that my mate is taken, that she is mine. As I thrust, hard and fast inside my mate, I can feel her body clamping down on me. Nothing in my life has ever felt so amazing as the feeling of Leana’s body, responding to me being inside her, the feel of her muscles contracting around me as I continue my thrusts. She arches her back, throwing her head back, opening her throat to me. The blood pulsing in her veins scents the air with her wild, floral scent flooding my senses and overwhelming me. My fangs extend and I growl wi
I was terrified when Drake basically passed out on me. At first, both Kella and I had been overwhelmed with the orgasms that just continued to get stronger and stronger until it felt like my body exploded when his fangs sank into my marking spot. The feeling only intensified as his thick venom began flowing into my system. Then, Kella sank her canines into his neck, marking him as ours. I had expected his blood to taste bad, but it hadn’t. Whether it was because his blood was mingled with mine, or because the mate bond is just that incredible, I don’t know or care. His blood in our mouth had tasted good and Kella had happily started flooding his body with our much thinner venom. It wasn’t until his body had gone limp on top of mine that I’d realized something was wrong. Kella had pulled her canines out of his neck, and I’d pushed Drake onto his back, calling his name. He had stared, lifeless, up at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. I had been terrified that our marking,
We have four days to get information about my father before Leana has to meet with her family and the other Guardians. Now, it’s not just about intel for us and our war, it’s also necessary for the Guardians to find out who is truly against them. Because I can now walk in the daylight with no sensitivity to the sun thanks to my amazing mate, we decide to leave early in the morning. Not only will the vampires not be out during the day, but they will most likely still be sleeping off the remnants of last night’s party when we arrive tomorrow. We run all day, and overnight I carry my mate so she can sleep. We arrive the next morning, early and after ensuring that Leana is fed and ready to go, we make our way to my father's clan lands. The first thing both of us notice is that the humans are no longer guarding my father’s perimeter. Leana stops, sniffing the air and looking around. “There are no auras. What happened to the humans?” she asks. “If I had to guess, I’d say they became food
We only had one more day to watch the castle after listening in on King Raphael’s and King Lance’s conversations; and during that time, I had to catch a few hours sleep. However, while I was awake, Drake and I realized why there were so many extra vampires in the castle. Unbeknownst to King Lance, King Raphael is bringing vampires in. That’s why he disabled the cameras and killed the humans. “Are you going to warn your father?” I ask Drake as we get ready for me to head to Shadow Falls. That’s where the Guardians are meeting. “No, he made his bed, he can lie in it. If they have their own war, that’s fewer vampires for you and I to fight,” he says. “Are you worried that we might need more help? There are other Guardians. I can recruit some help for us while I’m in the packs,” I tell him. “Roughly three hundred and fifty vampires against the two of us. And that’s today. Who knows how many more King Raphael will bring in. Some will be lost if they battle, but that may or may not happ
After leaving Leana, I expected to feel the darkness closing in, but the darkness never came. I miss my mates, I want to return to them, but there’s no darkness inside me. None. When I return home, I search for where Ennata might be, marking off the areas where King Raphael and my father said they’d searched and hadn’t found her. As I look at the map, I begin to see a pattern developing. They may not realize it, but between the two of them, they’re narrowing my search to the north and west of here. There’s another city in that direction, one that I think has the offices where Leana’s family maintains a business. Maybe when Leana comes back, and we deal with my father, we can start there. It’s mid-afternoon when my phone rings. I'm excited, hoping it's Leana telling me she's coming home tonight, but instead of Leana, I see that it's Prince Reyes calling. “Prince Reyes, is everything okay?” I ask. His call is unexpected. “Yes and no. Currently, everything is well, but my father wante
I grab a bathrobe on my way out of the shower, listening to Drake chuckle as I go. I’d be irritated at the soreness in my ass cheek, but I did ask for it. Well, I didn’t know he’d pump his venom into me, but damn it felt good. It just takes Kella longer to heal and the mark will be more significant. I race to the door, as I pull on a bathrobe. When I swing it open to see Riley and Clint standing there. “Hey, sorry, I’m running late. Come in, I’ll get dressed in a hurry, make yourselves at home.” “Nothing like a little nookie in the shower to start your day off right,” Riley says, giving me a knowing look as she walks in. “I couldn’t agree more,” Drake says walking out, completely unperturbed, looking absolutely dashing and completely put together. “Drake Cazien,” he says, introducing himself. “Beta Clint Forte,” Clint says. “Hi, I’m Riley,” Riley says, extending her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Riley Gunnar, second daughter and third child of Eli and Grace Gunnar, and you as
I stared at my father’s head on the pike for much longer than I would have thought. I didn’t expect to feel sadness at his death, but I do. He deserved what he got, but he was still my father. Once Riley finishes her phone call, we move away from the castle. The vampires will come looking for us tonight and I need to make sure we have a place where we can be safe until the others arrive. “There’s a pack that isn’t far from here, the three of you would be safe there,” I tell Leana. “You mean Alpha Leonardo’s pack? I don’t know that he’ll allow you on his pack lands, Drake,” Leana says, but I already knew that. Alpha Leonardo and my grandfather had an uneasy alliance, but that alliance had improved over time. I’m sure it's gone now that my father killed my grandfather. “I’m sure he won’t, Leana, but you, Betas Clint and Riley will be safe,” I tell her. “I’m not leaving you.” “Leana, you need….” “To stay with you,” she interrupts me. “Don’t make me angry right before we go to war,
I wake early the next morning, ready for the battle that will come today. I take time to enjoy my mate, connecting with him physically and mentally, opening myself to him completely so we can be in tune before tonight. Kella pushes forward, joining us in our lovemaking, making it impossible to know where one of us begins and the other ends. Afterward, we shower and begin to discuss the plans for today. We need to meet up with King Kazimir’s clan but they won’t arrive until after the sun goes down. We’ll have to be careful until they arrive, as it will only be the four of us until then. ‘We’ll hold them off. We’ll have to in order to keep Drake, Riley, and Clint safe,’ Kella says. ‘Don’t tell Riley that,” I say. ‘I’m more worried about Erline finding out I said it. She’s a strong wolf,’ Kella says, talking about Riley’s wolf. ‘She’s a Guardian, same as you. Of course she’s strong,’ I say as I take Drake’s hand and we leave our room. ‘Yeah, but I think Erline is part fox. She’s ver
One hundred and fifty years later I think Lily said it right. She called it a price, a price you have to pay for being mated to an immortal. I have paid more prices than I ever realized I would have to pay when I accepted Drake as my mate. It’s not that I would ever change my decision, even over a century later I still love my mate more than anything. If possible, our love has only increased with time. But saying goodbye to your loved ones is never easy. First there was my mother. She became ill, something only very old werewolves and Guardians do. Because we knew she was dying, all of her children and grandchildren were there when she passed away. My father held her, crying his silent tears as he told her that he loved her, that she had always been the love of his life and that there was never anyone who could have made him happier than she did. She had died in his arms and all of us had cried, holding each other and lamenting our loss. My mate was among those, crying his blood tea
Two Months Later My mate and I have gotten into a routine of working at the castle and managing our vampire clan, then spending time at our home on the outskirts of the city when Leana needs to be in the city for the council. It wasn’t long before Mehira was pregnant and with how often she growls, I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that she’s having a boy. A boy who is obviously an Alpha werewolf male. We have confirmed that Leana is having a boy too and while none of the tests can tell us that our son has the vampire gene, Leana’s need for bloody meat has led everyone to believe that she’s having a vampire hybrid. Because Alpha Leonardo’s pack is closer, his pack doctor has been monitoring Leana during her pregnancy. Honestly, it’s been easier than I expected, possibly due to Lucero’s blessing over Leana and our child. Ennata and Demetrius have joined the witch faction that is working for Holstin Enterprises. While she doesn’t have the ability to work for them full time, being Lea
We didn’t wait too long before going to visit my family. King Reyes and Marlene joined us, as did Demetrius and Ennata. She wanted to meet Maeve. We went to my brother’s pack first, making sure to let the pack know to expect three vampires on the pack lands. It was still tense until mom greeted us at the packhouse and hugged Drake, smiling up at him happily. After that, it was as if the pack relaxed. I didn’t realize that they all still felt such a sense of protectiveness over my mother, but I guess once a wolf is your Luna, they are always your Luna. Or maybe, it’s just my mother. She seems to elicit that response from those around her, my mate included. Maeve and Ennata hit it off right away, both of them having difficult childhoods and both being witches. They talked a long time about Levana and how she has mistreated both of them. I took the time to talk to Xander about everything that had happened between me and Drake, including my own coronation. “You didn’t think to invite
My mate and I quickly get into a routine of ruling over our vampire clan. We begin to make plans to visit the packs and to visit the fae land. Leana doesn’t like it, but she does find a way to eat real food and still feed on me to fulfil her need for blood. I know it’s only temporary, but I love my mate feeding on me, wanting me, needing me, the same way that I want and need her. It took a couple of days until we saw Ennata and Demetrius again. I heard that food was being sent to their bedroom and I definitely heard enough screeching and banging to know that Demetruis was doing his best bond my sister to him. When they finally emerged from the bedroom, Ennata seemed much more calm that she did when she arrived. “Do I take this to mean that you’re staying?” I ask her when she and Demetrius come into the office that Leana and I now share. She looks at Demetrius. “Try to deny me my love, I dare you,” Demetrius says to her. Ennata grits her teeth but pulls her turtleneck away from her
I wake up warm, wrapped in my mate’s arms. However, as I wake, I realize that I’m stiff. I open my eyes and sit up, realizing that Drake has been holding me while I slept all day. “Hello baby,” I say, tilting my neck and feeling the release as it cracks, then stretching my back and feeling the cracks down my spine as well. “How long have I been asleep?” “Most of the day. I was just about to wake you so I can get you fed before we begin to make our way home,” Drake says, smiling at me. “Food, mmmmm,” I say, then I remember and my head whips around to see Ennata sitting with us. “Hey,” I say to her. “Hey,” she says. “Do you sleep?” I ask her. “Not really, it’s more of a deep meditation.” “What about food? Do you eat or do you drink blood.” “Both. I can survive off of either one.” “Preference?” I ask as I stand, feeling every joint in my body cracking from so many hours of being in the same position. “I like blood,” she says. “Well, I need real food and since I’m pregnant and
The moment I caught her scent, I went after her. This time, I’m prepared. I won’t let her get away. “Ennata!” I yell as she runs. In response, she throws a ball of magic my way. I notice that hers is a lighter color than the other witches, not quite white, not quite purple, something in between, almost a lilac color. I duck the magic as I chase her, hearing Leana behind us, trying to catch up. “Ennata, please. I just want to talk to you,” I say. “Yeah, just like everyone else!” she yells, tossing multiple balls of magic at me this time. “I’m done being locked up!” “I have no intention of locking you up.” “Then you want to sink your fangs into me and bleed me dry, no thanks,” she yells, sending more magic over her shoulder. “I have a mate. Believe me when I tell you that no one’s blood tastes better to me than hers,” I say, leaping over fallen trees and branches that magically move into my way as I approach them. “Prove it,” she yells. “I would if you’d stop running. Listen, y
After my coronation, Drake and I sat down with the Alphas and Lunas of the packs, including my two sisters and my brother, and also with Aolis and Lily. King Reyes joined us with his mate, Marlene, and together we formed an alliance unlike any alliance that has ever been created before. “While our new alliance allows vampires onto our lands, I’d prefer to get my people used to it by having the two of you, or even the four of you, come for a visit first,” King Aolis. “I would love to visit the fairy tale lands,” Marlene says. “The fae lands, love,” Reyes gently corrects her. “Are they not the same?” she asks, looking from Reyes to Aolis. “Not exactly. A fairy tale land is a fake world that humans created for books. The fae land has many fae creatures but it is ruled by the elves,” Aolis explains. “But, there are leprechauns, giants, and unicorns, right?” she asks excitedly. “Just one, unicorn, Lucero,” Lily tells her. “There were many prophecies about my mate,” Aolis says, smili
After I wear my mate out, I lay with her for a few hours until I hear the others start to get up. Last night was great, better than I expected, but tonight, it will be even better. My mate will take her place at my side as my Queen. I disengage myself from her, feeling happy and excited in a way that only Leana and Kella can make me feel. When I get downstairs, I check in with Demetrius who tells me that all of our werewolf guests are still sleeping. I make sure there is food available for when they wake up, and for the rest of the morning the clan and I make our preparations for the ceremony and the party afterward. “Do you need some help?” Reyes asks, coming up beside me. I turn and look at him. “Did you do this with your mate? Make her your Queen?” “Not yet, but after this, I’m sure she’ll expect it.” “Because you didn’t already have a plan in place to make her your Queen?” I ask, jokingly. “Actually, I’m trying to convince her not to change. She lets me feed on her, but I ha
The week without Drake goes by quickly. Whether it’s because she knows that it’s hard for me to be away from my mate or because she’s trying to pack months of shopping into a few days, my mother makes sure that I fall into bed exhausted every night. My time in the council is great. I love learning all about how to make our decisions, and Riley, Mehira and I are taking this time to get to know each other better. It’s great because I know in the future, I can invite them to stay with me when they’re in town. Or, if they choose to stay elsewhere, we’ll still be able to spend time together. Riley and Mehira hit it off right away and I invited Mehira to stay with me this week while she’s in town. She declined because Alpha Leonardo came with her this week, wanting to make sure that his new Luna was safe. The second night, I had everyone over for dinner and Alpha Leonardo and dad went around my property. When they returned, Alpha Leonardo looked at Mehira. “We need to find a house like th