BLADE. “I want Althea to go back to Mystic Pack,” Patrea said calmly, and I felt my chest constricted. “No!” Althea exclaimed, and I growled the word at the same time. Althea’s head snapped in my direction, and her expression mirrored mine. She didn’t want to be far away from me. “I want to stay here with Blade,” Althea told them. “I know you want that, but it might not be safe for you. At least there, Lucy and Adan can protect you.” “And what do you think of me here? I will just let anyone harm Althea?” I couldn’t stop raising my voice. “Blade, we are facing a demon.” “And you’re saying I’m fucking useless!” “No… I didn’t say that.” Patrea said firmly. “Stop with your rubbish! Don’t go say I love Althea, and I will save her because you can’t! What will you do if he unleashes hell here on earth? Can you protect her? You’re going to fucking burn and die with her!” Lucius hissed at me. “This is your fucking fault!” I bellowed back at him. Althea’s hand went up to my chest,
ALTHEA.I felt tingles surge all over my body, centering into my core, and before I knew it, my body was shuddering as my orgasm rippled through me. “Hmmmm…” I moaned as my eyes flipped open, opening my legs wider as I felt movement on top of me.I continued to whimper, still reeling in ecstasy as I watched the blanket covering my body move, taking the form of Blade’s broad back as he slid up until his head popped out of the blanket and ended up parallel to my face.“Good morning…” He greeted me with a sly grin tugging on his mouth before his tongue swiped on his upper lip.A smile crossed my face as my hand grabbed his cheek, wiping the wetness around his lips. As usual, my mate thought waking me up with an oral was the best way to start his day. Who was I to complain?“Thank you for a good morning…” I replied in a throaty voice. “No. Thank YOU for a delicious breakfast in bed.”“Hmmm… so that’s your breakfast? Where is mine?”Blade chuckled as he shook his head, his elbows leanin
ALTHEA. “I left and abandoned my pack. I was hoping that by doing so, I could ease myself of the guilt if I gave up one thing that was important to me.” I could hear the pain in his voice. “I’m sorry…” Blade tilted his head and looked at me. He smiled, one that didn’t reach his eyes before his hand reached my face and wiped my tears with his thumb. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” “I’m sorry for your pain. I’m sorry that you thought it was your fault that she was dead. It’s not you, Blade. It’s the people who planned that and killed her. There are people who are just like that. They merely exist with the purpose of bringing pain and misery to others.” “Something that I’d become after she died.” He chuckled bitterly. “For every father, son, friend, and lover that I killed, I was sure many were cursing me and wishing for my death. They didn’t know me personally, but they still hated me.” “But you’re moving on from that part of your life. Remember what Lucius said last night? Red
ALTHEA. As soon as the teacher said we were dismissed, I grabbed my things, walked out of the classroom, and made my way to my next subject. I was present in my classes, but my mind was drifting away. I kept checking to see if Lucy had sent me a message. I knew no one could get details and information in just an hour or two, but maybe all these supernatural powers Lucy and Patrea had made me think they could do even the impossible. So, there was nothing wrong with hoping I would get information before I went home. I wanted to know more about Soledad, or at least see her family, to make me understand why she could refuse Blade when I couldn’t even think straight whenever my mate was around. Even at the beginning, on the days Blade would push me away, I still couldn’t resist him. And now that his attention was all mine, I was reveling in it, and even if he asked me to go to the pits of hell with him, I would probably jump in without any hesitation. But Soledad seemed not to be
BLADE. “We need to get Althea out of there! Now!” I roared as I threw all the photos, and they scattered on my desk. In the blink of an eye, Lucius was already in front of my table while I grabbed my phone to call Althea. “He’s Alastor,” Lucius said and nodded his head at Adan. “What did you say his name was? Because this man’s name is Alas Quade!” I slammed my palm on my desk. “And no one thought of saying their names to each other, so we could have figured it out earlier?” Lucy blurted out in exasperation, but I didn’t have time to answer her. “Althea is not picking up her damn phone!” “We’ll go there. I just need a visual of the location. Think of the location. I need the full view. Let me inside your head.” “We can’t just pop up in the middle of a fucking university!” I snapped at him as my heart thundered loudly. I was still trying to call Althea again. “Fuck you! I’ve been a demon for more than two centuries, and you think I have no idea how I should show up in the h
ALTHEA. I couldn’t concentrate on my subject because of what Alas showed me in my workbook. Why did we miss it? When Blade was explaining all those to me, it was making sense, and I was sure that one problem Alas explained was how Blade explained it to me — so why did I get it wrong? As much as I didn’t want to spend time with Alas, I had no choice. I had to get this done, and I would move on. When my last class before lunch let us out, I grabbed my phone and dialed Blade’s number. I wanted to tell him Alas would be checking my manual, but my phone lost signal for some reason. I typed a message for him, but it didn’t send either. But I was sure it would send once my signal was on, so I just placed it back inside my bag and hurried out of the building toward the library. I only had an hour and a half before my next class, so I bought a sandwich and drink when I passed by a small kiosk selling pastries. I would just sneak in lunch while working on those. The library was at the
BLADE. Rage was quiet the whole time he was running until we headed toward the end of the university, where I knew the old library stood. He growled loudly as he sped up in that direction. ‘Did you smell her?’ I asked, hoping he would answer me this time. ‘Yes! Her scent was getting stronger.’ He answered at the exact moment an emotion crossed my chest. I was worried since we realized Alas and Alastor were the same person, but I tried to block off any of my feelings so I could freely feel Althea’s emotions if she decided to lower her walls. And she finally did, and it also meant she was nearby. I could sense her fear, and it made me restless. And I had no fucking idea how I would tell the demons floating around me about it. They had been disappearing and appearing from time to time. I was guessing they were looking for her, too, by checking all the other places Rage couldn’t get into. Rage went up the steps of the old library, and I felt the four of them above me. They were al
KING LUCIUS OF KALMERUS. I felt useless at the moment because I couldn’t find Althea. But even the power of the kings of the underworld had limitations in the human realm. It was the reason it took my father, the former king of Kalmerus, two years to find Lucija. So what was my guarantee that I could find Althea in seconds if Alastor took her? I loathed that I couldn’t do anything. “I could feel her witch aura! It means she used a spell. She’s in danger!” Patrea stated the moment we entered the old building, and she was right — Althea was indeed in danger because I could feel a strong demon aura in this place. I kept my mouth shut but kept my senses open. I just needed to hear a heartbeat so I could locate them, but even before I did, I felt a prick from one of my coins. I willed for my body to be sucked into limbo, and I appeared exactly where Althea was. I came on time as Alastor sank his demon fangs into Althea’s neck. A hiss escaped my throat as a loud growl from Blade e
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