Here's for tonight. The face-off of the two witches is about to happen, plus we will hear another POV from the demon king soon. Thank you for waiting!
ALTHEA. “No. Her house was quiet. But she left her home before three in the morning and came home after an hour.” Aldrin explained, and my brows hiked up. “Did you follow her? Where did she go?” “I was not the one watching her then. My man did follow her, but he lost her. He rounded the area but couldn’t find her, so he went back to where he was and saw her come back after an hour or so.” “Did she come here, Dalton?” “No. I have people stationed all around the packhouse, as you ordered. No one woke me up, and I checked with them earlier. There was no one here.” “Was she walking straight or in pain? Or?” I continued asking. “The warrior watching her didn’t say anything strange except that she went out in the middle of the night. He would have told me if she was having a hard time walking, but he didn’t. All he said was that she had a large cloak covering her body, and she looked around before proceeding to the nearest forest line.” “She went to the forest? And did she have any
LUCIUS. In a span of milliseconds, my emotions shifted from upset to wrath. If I stayed longer, I would be putting this whole territory in jeopardy. I was ready to set the entire place on fire, but I knew my queen would never forgive me. So instead, I flew and accelerated toward Patrea, who was floating inside a fucking bubble Althea created. The moment I reached her, I transported us back into my kingdom. The bubble disappeared, and I caught her in my arms at the exact moment my feet landed in my personal cave. “No! No! Let’s go back there!” Patrea shrieked, shaking her head as she tried to catch my gaze. “No!” I hissed before I let her down on her feet. “Lucius, please, we can’t just leave Althea alone.” “I said no!” “She’s my granddaughter!” “She threatened to hurt you! If it were me, Lucy, or Stone, or even Luther, I would reconsider, but not you…” “Lucius... She did nothing. I’m okay.” “I’m a demon, Patrea. Forgiveness was never in my book.” “She’s ours, remember?”
LUCIUS. “Have you even moved since I left?” Patrea asked as she appeared in front of me. I saw her vanish from the hologram in Lucija’s office, so I was already expecting her. “I have people to do my bidding for me,” I answered her as I sipped the metal glass that contained demon’s brew. My eyes squinted as I scanned her from head to toe. “Aren’t you tired?” “Lucius… Have you changed your mind?” She ignored my question and asked me another. “No.” “Are you checking them in your hologram?” “No.” “We tried going in there, and we were blocked.” “I was expecting that... She did say we were no longer welcome there.” “And you’re just going to let it stay that way?” Lucija asked, who appeared just seconds ago. I let out a sigh as I eased myself into a more relaxed position. It was already hard to deal with Patrea when our ideas were opposing each other, and if I threw Lucija into the mix, I would be in a bad place. They both knew they were my weak spot. “Where’s Stone?” I asked.
BLADE. “Show me your wrists.” I almost growled as I said this. I knew the female in front of me was already lying. If she were my mate, she would have the marks Althea had when she kissed me. And she would have more because I was sure I wasn’t hallucinating when I fucked Althea almost the whole night. I held her at arm’s length as my eyes darted to her arms. She, of course, was wearing a long-sleeve top, so no skin was visible. “Blade, look at me.” Instead of showing me her wrist, her hand held my chin. ‘Alpha, do not look her in the eyes.’ Dalton’s voice came into my head, and I wanted to ask him why when the memory of Althea hypnotizing me came to mind. “One look and I can make you do whatever I want, Blade…” Her sweet voice rang in my head, followed by her soft giggles. Was this the case? Did the female in front of me use charm on me to make me feel something for her? Why did Beta know this? Was I the only one who didn’t see this coming? I kept my head down while she
ALASTOR. “Can you search the nearby city for the morgue where Soledad was taken more than five years ago? And who her family is and if they are still alive. Her full name is Soledad Fawkes. She was twenty-three when she died.” I hated stalking, but I had no choice. I had things to do. So, I stuck this information in my head while plotting ways to lure Althea into the library because I needed a backup plan. The Alpha that had been driving her back and forth at the university was guarding her like a dog, and my only chance to get her alone was during school hours. But it was still not a guarantee, as he would sometimes show up during her lunchtime. But I couldn’t delay this anymore. I wanted Athwart back, and I would do whatever it would take to get it. I was the rightful heir. I should be king already, but Lucius stealing what was mine was something I never saw coming. If I had known things would end that way, I would have assisted my father on his mission instead of letting hi
BLADE.“Alastor…” My voice faltered as I told them who had taken Althea. I was about to crouch on the ground because I felt my knees weakening, but I saw Soledad running away.It didn’t take me seconds before I decided to shift and let Rage out. I was able to corner her, and even if I could hear my Beta telling me not to hurt her, I couldn’t help it. I wanted someone to blame for letting Althea slip from my grasp, and although I knew a part of this was my fault, I still wanted to blame her. If she hadn’t shown up, this could have all been avoided. Rage growled before his fangs sank into her legs, causing her to fall to the ground as she screamed from the pain. If it were up to me, I would shred her to pieces. If I ever felt anything for her before, it was all gone, replaced by loathing. I wasted years of my life for nothing, and I was already on the brink of losing the female I loved the most.“Enough…” I heard Stone behind me before he patted Rage’s back. Blood was already oozing
SOLEDAD.I knew Anaiah was my only way out of here. So, no matter how much my blood boiled when I realized she was still alive, I had to pretend otherwise.They seemed to care about her, so I had to change my tactic because, obviously, Alastor didn’t care about me. But who was the female I killed in the Red Mountains?I wasted all these months waiting for my mother to appear. I was eager to tell her that I finally killed Anaiah and trapped her powers the way she told me to once I found her.When Anaiah was six, my mother realized she could never make her obey to use dark magic or at least embrace it. So, she told me that she would weaken Anaiah so that she could transfer Anaiah’s energy and power to me. I realized she was just softening the blow by saying she would weaken her because later on, she confided that powers could only be fully transferred upon the death of the witch.It was a secret we both kept. She was not sure if the Coven would support her because they never seemed t
KING LUCIUS. I held my head in my hands as I stared at the unconscious female passing out on the cold floor of this dungeon. She was smart enough to decide that it was best to tell the truth. But the moment she began talking, she couldn’t stop herself anymore and gave me more than what I was expecting. I still needed to figure out what to do with the truth I forced her to spit out. I was used to seeing horrendous acts, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but hearing firsthand what happened to Adora and Fabian affected me. I knew it would hurt Patrea. And although I still hadn’t totally forgiven Blade, I knew how he felt about his brother’s death. If he found out Soledad had a part in the attack that killed Fabian, and she knew where his body was, it might break him. I needed the truth hidden from him — at least until we found Althea. But I had to go there and check if his remains were still there. But, my queen, I could never lie to her. “What happened?” Patrea’s voice snapped
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