I tensed because … I was. I had to be.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, dropping my hands from his face and stepping back in fear that I would lose control again.I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t want to hurt any of them. They didn’t deserve it. They had waited four years for me.Four years, and I’d scarred his face.Tears welled up in my eyes. My knees gave out. I doubled over onto the ground, bending at the hip to curl into a ball. I hated this. I hated this so fucking much. I was nothing but ruined because of Dad. I couldn’t even live my life in peace without him.He had turned me into a monster. He had turned me into a fiend. He had made me so insane that I hurt my own mates, something that he had probably wanted this entire time so he didn’t have to do it himself.ANNAI was a monster.Nobody understood the pain that I had gone through every day for years, how much I had tried to believe that Dad just wanted to use my body for sexual favors and not for … this, how much agony this fuc
About twenty minutes after Ann disappeared into Asher’s room with him, I lay back on my bed and closed my eyes to get some rest for the first time all night. Last night might’ve gone as planned in the beginning, but it had quickly taken a dive into something much worse.None of us knew what Anna really was.And I was terrified that we wouldn’t be able to protect her. That this time, she would be the one protecting us. She didn’t know what she was capable of, and she couldn’t even control herself or that inner demon she had whatever it was.A light knock came on my door, followed by Anna’s sweet scent. " Lucas?”I sat up to lean against the headboard and squinted my eyes in her direction as the sunlight flooded into the room through the open windows. “What’s up, Pretty Bird?”She shuffled into the room and shut the door behind her. “Can I stay with you for a bit?”After I pushed over to give her some of the bed, she crawled in with me and snuggled close to me underneath the blankets. F
“James?” Gregor said. “He’s made big strides to become the next demon leader.”“No fucking shit,” I said through gritted teeth. “He’s also Sina’s ex-boyfriend, and I don’t trust him.”Gregor tensed and swallowed hard. “You shouldn’t. He’s a liar and a cheat. I get that he’s an incubus, but something has never sat right with me about him either. I’ve only seen him in passing, and I have some shit against him that’s my private matter, but … I don’t like the kid.”“Where was he last night? A guy like him wouldn’t have missed a party like that.”?”“South of Bloodmoon.”“That’s funny.” A dry laugh escaped my lips. “Because he fucking told Anna that he was in the north, trying to figure out how many soldiers her father had, that he’d find out as much information for her as possible.”Gregor furrowed his brow. “Last I heard, there’s an army gathering in the south, not the north. It’s a bunch of humans that James was supposed to meet with to try to stop the war against the other species. The
Asher “The perfect beings?”I repeated, brows furrowing. “The Paragon.” “It sounds fucking crazy,” Thayer said, pacing around the prison and running his hands through his hair. He stared at the ground, his wolfish eyes turning a piercing red demon color. “Because it is. How can a species be perfect? Not even gods can reach perfection.” “I’ve read about the Paragon briefly,”Lucas said. “Isn’t it a book in the library? From what I remember, the Paragonian people are a combination of species, almost like you. Multiple species in one.” “The Paragonian people aren’t mutts like me,” Tylersaid. “All the books and lessons we learn during school have been watered down, so as not to cause hysteria, but demon families pass down what they know to be true.” “Then, what are they?” I asked, confused. Still, I couldn’t grasp this reality. Anna had always been human. She had been human four years ago, and she had been human when she escaped her father and returned to Bloodmoon . If she were anyth
Lucas looked at the back French doors. “They’retaking careof a couple of people.”“Like … my father’s people?” I asked.Sighing softly, Lucas nodded. “Look, don’t worry about it because.....” He suddenly stopped and lifted his gaze to the back door.A pregnant human woman stood at the door and waved to us.He jumped up. “I actually want you to meet someone.”I straightened myself, vaguely remembering this woman from last night.She walked into the room and unzipped her light fall jacket. “Hi, you must be Anna.”Nervous for some reason, I stood up and guided her to one of our stools. “Yeah, I’m Anna. How are you feeling? That vampire didn’t hurt you at all last night, did he? I tried to stop him. I’m sorry if I...”“No, he didn’t,” she said, sitting and smiling at me. “I’m Hellana.”“Hellana,” I repeated. “It’s nice to meet you. Well, is there anybody we can call, so we can get you back home? I’m sure you don’t want to stay here with a bunch of werewolves and … whatever the hell I am.”
“No,” I said with a slight head shake. “You won’t.”But still, I wasn’t positive. She had the power to kill me and everyone else here. If Anna wanted to hurt me, she could snap all my fingers and my throat in a millisecond. Paragons weren’t known to play nice when pissed off.“You have to believe me,” I said, drawing her closer. “I know it’s fucking hard. I know you’re scared. But to be honest with you,you’rethe only one who will be able to defeat your father when he comes to take you back.”“He’s ” Anna started, but then cut herself off. She glanced down at her feet and gnawed on the inside of my cheek. “I think I unlocked another memory from my past. If it’s true and real, then my father … isn’t really my father.”“But your mother was, wasn’t she?” I asked. It was all making fucking But your mother was, wasn’t she?” I asked. It was all making fucking sense now.“Yes,” Anna said, voice soft. “She was. How’d you know?”I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the back door. “You’ll s
Tyler.”“Give me fucking all of you.”“D-don’t push me. I’ll l-lose it.”“Then, lose control, Pretty Bird. Show me what you’re made of.”I turned us around and shoved him against the stone wall, my hand tightening around his throat. I desperately wanted to stop myself, but I couldn’t even think straight anymore. My monster had seized control and planned to do exactly what Thayer had demanded.His pulse raced underneath my fingers. He wrapped his hand around my throat and tightened his grasp, mirroring me. And then, like the psycho he was, he smacked me across the face harder than he ever had.A low growl rumbled from my throat, yet I found my pussy pounding. Like he had done to me, I smacked him back so hard that I left a red handprint on his cheek. The excitement in me rose every moment.“Is that all you’ve fucking got?” he asked, smacking me again. “Hmm?”I strummed my fingers down the column of his throat and hit him again, watching his smirk widen even more. As much as he loved ab
Pleasure coursed through my body as Tyler’s canines sank deeper and deeper inside me. My legs trembled. I curled my fingers into his muscular shoulders and let out an unsteady breath.“You … you marked me,” I whispered.When Tyler pulled away, his teeth were covered in my blood, like mine must’ve been with his earlier. He licked his lips clean, eyes rolling back into his head, then drew his tongue across his mark to close the wound.He curled his fingers into my body, a small smile stretching across his face. “Yeah, I did. And I should’ve fucking done it sooner. No more pissing off and listening to Asher. You’re my fucking mate, too, and that was the best fucking thing I’ve ever experienced.”Heart racing, I laid my head on his chest and relaxed against his body. When the pack house came into view, I smiled. Days ago, I had been begging for them to finally mark me, feeling so helpless and lonely. Now, I wore two out of four marks.“You’re back,” Jake called from the back door. When Ty