BLADE. “You’re not a God, Blade. As much as you want to, you can’t save everyone.” How do I tell her if I just gave Soledad what she wanted? Maybe it didn’t come to that. But I shut my mouth and just nodded my head. My hand reached for the stray hair on her face and tucked it behind her ears. “If it was about me, then what was your nightmare last night?” She asked. “Last night, it was not Soledad who died…” I dropped my gaze from her after I said it, but I let my fingers play with the tip of her hair. “I didn’t die… I’m here.” “But what if…” I stopped. “What if I can’t protect you?” “You’ve been doing great at it since day one,” she said in a warm tone. That gave me a little hope, but I didn’t know what to say anymore. I was not good with words, and I had no idea how to convey the fear I felt. My hands clamped against her arms as I gently rubbed them. “I’m not as helpless as you think I am.” She added. “I never think of you as helpless, Althea.” “That’s good, then.” She
ALTHEA. I was not sure staying and waiting for Blade to tell me about his nightmare was even a good idea because every time Soledad’s name would come out of his mouth, it was like a knife piercing my heart. I needed to get past this part. Only then could I decide if this was worth fighting for or if I had already lost this battle from the very beginning. But everything he told me, even the bad and the ugly, warmed my heart. There was no guarantee Blade was one hundred percent mine, but it was enough that he wanted me. I could start with that. “My bad. So tell me now, Althea, what do you want?” His raspy voice made butterflies and ladybugs flutter in my stomach. I giggled, not being able to stop my excitement. Blade was giving me a dual personality — one that was upset one moment and the other, excited like a kid on Christmas day. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear it?” I asked playfully. He nodded. “Last time you asked me about my conditions, I had a long list, so it might
ALTHEA. My small hands were all over Blade, grasping and touching every part of his naked upper part. Until my fingers reached his neck and I remembered something. I pulled away from kissing him, and he grunted, pulling my body closer to him as his mouth devoured my throat. “Can I mark you? For real?” I asked, panting while my eyes were fluttering. “Hmmm…” He mumbled in response, and I was not sure if he even understood what I was asking him. “Blade…” I moaned because his lips were sliding down my neck, and I had no idea how he was able to flap open the front of my dress and get access to my breasts. But I didn’t mind. I liked that he was just as hungry for me as I was for him. “I will mark you…” “Do whatever you want with me, baby…” He said in a raspy voice, and the tingles all over my body intensified. He was not questioning my move. I arched my body, giving him full access to play with my breasts before I pressed my three middle fingers in the crook of his neck and began c
ALTHEA. Blade and I spent more time talking and then giggling and laughing in between. I was fully aware he was naked, and I could feel his cock prodding my core. And although we had shared many kisses, Blade didn’t push further despite seeing his eyes swirling with lust and dilating from time to time. I was grateful for that, as I wanted to discuss many things with him. Maybe it was the part of me that planned everything ahead of time that wanted a clear direction, so I would not be left clueless if something happened again, and I was glad Blade was entertaining all my questions and answering them patiently. By the time we were ready to go home, it was already dark, and my stomach was growling from hunger as I hadn’t eaten much the whole day. Also, by then, we had decided to visit the university within the territory tomorrow so I could enroll and start right away. Although I would be happy spending time with Blade and learning how to be a Luna, I also wanted not to be stripped o
BLADE. It has been five days since Althea and I had a heart-to-heart talk in the middle of the forest, and everything after that has been smooth sailing, except for my fucking cock. I was not able to use it again. We would kiss and grope each other, and she had let me touch her twice, but my little witch would withdraw if things got heated up. And I had no fucking willpower to ask for it, as I knew she might still be recuperating from the trauma I caused her after our first time. Or she was simply punishing me. She also refused to sleep in my room and never invited me into hers. So after we were done with the kissing and the groping, she would leave me alone for the rest of the night. Other than that, our days were spent learning about each other and her learning about the pack. Speaking of learning, Althea was not able to enroll at the university within my territory as they didn’t offer the course she was taking, and she had no plans of shifting to another one. I tried t
ALTHEA. This whole week with Blade was amazing. I didn’t know anyone could shift their attitude so fast. I saw less grumpiness and more smiles on his face, and every time, it made me like him more. But a part of me was still hesitant to go all out. Blade joked with me last night that I was punishing him because I limit our intimacy to just kissing and sometimes - oral. But before I could explain, he took it back and told me he could wait. So I would make him wait. Besides, we were still getting to know each other. Lucy: Tonight is a full moon. Are you ready for it? I bit my bottom lip before typing my reply to her. Althea: I guess so. If it’s like the previous ones, I’m sure, even though it hurts, I will survive. Lucy: You survived the others because Patrea knocked you out, plus Blade is not around. Trust me, if you smell him, you will go ballistic. Althea: Did you forget I’m not a wolfie? I can’t smell him other than his regular smell. I smiled despite myself because,
ALTHEA. “Nice to meet you, Althea. My name is Alas.” I just smiled at him and adjusted my position. I looked straight ahead since the professor had just come in. But I felt him lean closer. “It’s a boring subject, so I am pleased to sit beside an interesting female rather than thread this class for the next hour on my own.” His voice was low. I knew there was some distance between us, but I felt his breath fanning against my neck. I ignored him and kept looking ahead. I was doing my best to focus on what the professor was saying. I had been in the same stiff position for a moment, and I could still feel his stare on my skin. It was making my throat dry. Too dry. I wished he would cease staring at me. The way he was doing it was making me uncomfortable. I would not deny that while I was at the other university, I was also getting attention, but never this way — never did someone look at me as if he wanted to stick his eyes onto my skin. I should find another seat next time
ALTHEA.“I said, fucking run!” Blade roared.My body spun around before I sprang in the opposite direction, going further into the forest.I couldn’t hear anything except the beating of my own heart and the sobs that were escaping from my throat as I ran away.If I had a choice, I would stay. But I knew Blade. Despite everything we went through, despite all the fights and resentment we felt for each other, there was never a moment when he didn’t risk his life to protect me. So even if I couldn’t understand why Rage was so angry with me, I ran away, trusting Blade one more time. I had no idea how long I had been running when a loud growl erupted in the air, and it made me stumble on my path. My body dropped to the ground, and I immediately turned around, inching my ass backward.I saw Rage from afar. He was running, but from time to time, he was also fumbling on his paws as if he didn’t know how to run. Blade must be doing something to stop him from reaching me.I gripped the groun
EPILOGUE 2 BLAIR.I showed Alonso my dagger—a gift from Mama Patrea and Dada Lucius. It was made in the underworld. Mommy taught me a spell where I could summon it even from a great distance, in case I needed it in a time of danger. But I didn’t tell Alonso I was not supposed to use it for simple duels like this. In no time, we were dueling, and I could tell he was going easy on me. Easy, but not really easy. “Oh, shoot!” His dagger slashed into my arm as he was backing away. It was painful, but it was just a small cut. Nothing that wouldn’t heal. He was about to approach me, but I held my hand to stop him. “Moved back. You’ll pay for cutting me.” I said, giggling, and before I realized what I was doing, I threw the dagger at him. Like I’d done twice today, and I didn’t throw hard. I knew he could dodge it.But for some reason, my surroundings felt too warm, like I was placed in a sauna. After that, everything happened in a flash.I saw the dagger flying at full speed toward him.
FIVE YEARS AFTER EPILOGUE 1 Blair 11 years old Alonso 16 years old Luther 12 years old Blast 7 years old Lukas 6 years old Lily 6 years oldALTHEA. I sliced another portion of the cake and placed it on Blast’s plate. He, Lily, and Lukas had been eating non-stop, and if I was not aware of who their fathers were, I would definitely ask them to stop. But I knew they could all handle the sweets and food. They had an appetite bigger than the whole Kalmerus. “And you were saying?” I inquired as I made my way toward the sink. I had to wash the cake knife directly and place it back inside the drawer afterward, as it’d be a big risk to leave it on top of the counter where Lukas could see it. Lukas had a fascination with knives, and at six years old, he had no control over his reflexes. Everything he throws would end up exploding. “Sorry, I spaced out,” I added.“I said Blair is doing great in the Alpha camp. It didn’t matter that she was the only female there. She could make all th
6 YEARS AFTER BLAIR’S BIRTH.‘Luna Althea…’ The Omega’s voice reached my head, and my heart dropped. She was panicking, and I could tell she was running.‘Where are you?’ I asked as I opened the door from where I was.I saw Meredith running toward us with Blair in her arms. I grabbed my daughter from her and checked for any injuries or something strange, but there was nothing. “What happened?” Blade asked as he stood behind me. He was holding Blast, our two-year-old son, in his arms. We were celebrating Blair’s sixth birthday, and we had a small celebration in the packhouse. I was in one of the receiving rooms with our guests when Meredith mindlinked me. She was Blair’s Omega, and she had been with her since she was a baby. When I was not with our child, she was the one responsible for her. So, the worry in her voice made me panic, too.“I turned my back to her for a few seconds, and when I looked back, she was already outside the door. I didn’t hear her open the sliding door. I kne
ALTHEA.“It is no longer in our control, Althea. But I’m keeping my hope that one day, Elliot will realize we are not the enemy.”Althea didn’t reply and just let the silence rule us. The last car passed by, and we acknowledged the nod of respect they gave us. Once they were out of our sight, Althea turned her body around and wrapped her arms around my waist, resting her cheek against my chest. “Shall we call it a night, Alpha?”“Hmmm… The night is young. Would you like to go somewhere with me?”“You know I will go anywhere you lead. What do you have in mind?”My eyes dilated before a smile graced my face. I licked my upper lip before I leaned down, my mouth brushing against her ear. “Rage wanted to take control tonight. If you let him…”She pulled away from hugging me, and I always laughed out loud at the way her eyes squinted and her lips pouted. “Rage or you? You’re always using his name…”“My Luna knows me so well,” I chuckled before pressing my forehead against her. She was so sho
BLADE.“You need to be careful with your words, Blade. He’s too young to be traumatized.” Althea said. “I’ll try my best…” I let out a breath and tried to calm myself. Althea was traumatized as a child, and she made it her advocacy to look after children’s welfare. She had built a women’s center in our territory, which was run by females and served as a safe haven for women and children. As much as I tried to have a peaceful territory, domestic abuse was still present, but no one was complaining about it. So Althea wanted the women’s center to reach out to every school and hold symposiums and meetings to build awareness that there was a place they could always go to. Her vision and effort were rewarded, as lately we were able to save two females and their children. It was not a big number, but it was still celebrated on our end. While one of the perpetrators managed to escape and has yet to be found, another has already received a whipping and is currently serving his sentence in
ALTHEA.Six months had gone by since Blair was born, and so far, everything had been quiet. We had not heard of Alastor. I was not even sure if he was aware that I had given birth already, as there were no strange occurrences within the territory.Blade had beefed up the security, investing in the same equipment that Adan had used before to detect a demon’s presence around his territory. He used Lucius’ body temperature as he was the closest to what Alastor was—a full royal demon. But we have not detected anything up until today. Either it didn’t work for Alastor, or he was really nowhere around us. We tried to live normally. Blair hadn’t stepped out of the packhouse grounds, but she was given an Alpha welcome in one of the hotels in this territory. We took a big risk that day because we wanted our people to see her. They deserved to meet their future Alpha, and I was grateful that everything went smoothly. There were also no signs of Alastor or even his aura. Four royal demons su
ALTHEA.After spending a few more minutes together, Blade helped me change into more comfortable clothes, and we finally let our family and friends see Blair.Patrea, Lucius, Lucy, and Adan came in together. My Beta Female Thalia and Gamma Female Sheena also came with the Beta and the Gamma. Lucy was holding her son, Luther, while Thalia had Declan in her arms. Declan was just five weeks old, and I had already fallen in love with him. I was lucky that my girl would have him. Based on how protective his parents were toward me and Blade, I knew the future Alpha would be in good company.With me and Thalia having pups, we had been teasing Sheena that it was her turn this year, so our pups’ ages wouldn’t be too far away.We had no idea if our teasing did it or simply because our Gammas couldn’t get their hands off each other. Sheena was already in her third month of pregnancy, and in less than seven months, our Gamma baby would be born. Sheena had already relocated to our pack and was
ALTHEA“Blade!” I screamed before I gave one last push, and I felt a large mass just swim out of my vagina as my whole body melted. I had been tired from doing rituals and spells and sex marathons with my mate, but I was never this tired. I felt like all of my limbs and even my internal organs needed a whole year to get their energy back.I was still lost in oblivion when a loud cry pierced the air, and Blade’s hold on my body tightened as he hugged me again. I was sure he had been whispering words to me, but I kept spacing out.“We have a girl…” He mumbled excitedly when I finally met his eyes.I couldn’t stop the smile from curling on my lips. I was actually smiling wide because Blade’s enthusiasm was contagious.What was funnier was that we knew all along that we had a girl. Guinevere confirmed it, and the ultrasounds said it as well. But the excitement on his face and his voice told me like this was the first time he found out we were having a girl.“Can you believe we have a girl
ALTHEA.A soft moan escaped my throat before I bit my bottom lip, suppressing any further sound from coming out as I arched my body. I woke up with a tingling sensation coursing through my core, and I was right — Blade was worshiping my pussy, feasting on it as if he were never fed. I just let myself get lost in the sensation, and it took a while before my surroundings sank in.We were in my cottage. In my old childhood bedroom. He probably didn’t feel right fucking me in my mother’s bedroom, so instead, he cramped us in my little bed. The last time I remember, we were inside the cave behind the waterfall. I couldn’t remember coming here. I must have passed out. My pregnancy was making me sleepy all the time, so falling asleep anytime, anywhere, was nothing new. And the way my body felt secure around Blade was most likely the reason I didn’t wake up while he walked us home.Then the memory of my conversation with Guinevere came flashing in my head. But was it real? Or was it all a d