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ALTHEA. “Mine!” Aldrin growled at an intensity I had never heard from him. My eyes widened at the feral expression on his face. This man had always been calm, and even when we were in danger, I had never seen this fierce expression from him. If I ever doubted he was capable of handling and making his men follow his order, it went out of the window. Aldrin was more than what met the eye. Because I was sure, despite seeing an Alpha and two Betas before him, he looked like he was ready to rip someone’s heart out. Thalia had told me stories about shifters’ mates and how men could be territorial, especially if it was the first time they were meeting their mates, and they had no idea if a female was taken or already mated. I was sure I was seeing that today. Blade moved me, and in an instant, I was already behind him, his arm blocking me from going anywhere. “Calm the fuck down!” Beta Dalton must have seen the same thing I saw, as he was facing the direction where Aldrin stood,
GAMMA ALDRIN. I was not supposed to stop by the packhouse, as I was scheduled to eat lunch with my Shadow Warriors. But for some unknown reason, my wolf became restless the moment my car passed by the packhouse. He was agitated but showed no signs of danger. The last time he was like this was almost a year ago. I was a regular warrior, and my demise brother was then the Beta. I was one of the men guarding the perimeter that the witches and Alpha Stone used to prepare for their underworld adventure. That time, me and my wolf thought my mate was there, so when I was finally able to, I sneaked where they were but found no one special. But I did see Luna Althea, who was with Alpha Blade, Patrea, Lucius, and Alpha Stone. It was where it started that I thought Luna Althea might be my mate, only to find out she was mated to Alpha Blade. Not that I smelled anything, but I was so into the idea that my mate was there. But when I got there, there was no scent, and my wolf didn’t feel rest
BLADE. The pack was in celebratory mode the moment Aldrin announced he had found his fated mate. The people didn’t care if she was not moving into our territory yet, but they were just happy that their ranked wolves were already complete. Everything happened so fast that, by the end of the day, it was Collin who went home with a broken heart. The fucker couldn’t believe his sister found her mate in my pack, and even if he was glad that it was Aldrin, the way he hugged Sheena before he left was telling me he was having a hard time letting his sister go. Meanwhile, my future Gamma Female decided to stay for the night, and Aldrin would drive her back to her university tomorrow. I had no idea how my Gamma did it — that he was able to change her mind in less than thirty minutes. If I had known Aldrin had the capability to melt a female’s heart in an instant, I should have taken lessons from him and avoided the many slaps and insults that I received from Althea. But that was all in
ALTHEA. Everything in the territory was so calm that I was not even sure if this was reality or just a dream. For almost a year since Blade took me down from the Red Mountains, my life has been in chaos. A week of peace would equate to a week or more of danger. So, for the last one and a half months that nothing bad had been happening, worries were brewing in my chest. And I was right to think that way. Alastor was still nowhere to be found, but the Parturi Coven decided to make themselves known. So I could no longer delay it. Whether I was ready or not, I had to meet them. Because they already knew where I was. We were alerted that in the last three days, the security team had seen females clad in black dresses in the middle of the forest, where some of the security cameras were positioned. They were doing nothing, just standing and staring at the camera. They knew where those were located. Some of them would raise their hands to show off their crow marks. But there were
ALTHEA. My heart thundered the moment I saw the landmark that was telling us the Parturi Coven was just half a kilometer away. I knew I wanted to be here so we could end it all, but at this point, I was worried for Patrea. I wanted a guarantee she would not be harmed. “Mama, if you find yourself in a situation where they will harm you, just leave. Don’t think about me.” I told her again. “First, I am not leaving you alone there. How could I face Blade if he found out I left you? Secondly, I doubt that my demon power would work inside the coven. Most Dark Covens spend decades, maybe even centuries, strengthening their shield against other species. It’s one of the reasons Lucius could not break the barrier that fast. So, I am more likely to use my witch’s energy and not my demon power inside there. So there’s no way I could leave even if you pushed me to.” “But if you can, will you promise you will?” She reached for my hand and squeezed it gently, but her eyes remained focused on
ALTHEA. “Welcome to the Parturi Coven, Althea.” A voice came out of nowhere. His breath fanned against my neck and the side of my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I knew this voice. No wonder we couldn’t find him. He was seeking refuge with an enemy.“What are you doing here?” I asked, keeping my voice from cracking and from tilting my head to look at him. He walked around me, going in the direction where Agatha was standing, which was directly in front of me. I saw the lust flitting in Agatha’s eyes as he stared at the demon, and it made me want to vomit. However, I maintained my face in a poker stance and concentrated my attention on Alastor.“Of course, I will go to a place where my service is needed.” He said, flashing me a devilish grin as he stood beside Agatha. I wanted to glare at him. He was obviously the person who gave them information about my whereabouts and who Patrea was. Why did I ever think this man wanted to save me. He wanted me alive, as prey, to get more fro
QUEEN PATREA. No matter how many times I tried to maneuver the car to make a U-turn, I was not able to. This forest had such an enchantment that a car could only go one way. We had this in my old coven, so no one could go around and keep looking for us. And this fact was adding more to my frustration. “Come on!” I hissed as I tried to connect to Lucius again. I had no idea where they were, so I couldn’t just transport myself. It didn’t take long before my king appeared in the car seat beside me, and it was only then that I was able to let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. My tears fell as everything came crashing down inside me. “Vacca Stulta!” Lucius cursed in the demon tongue before he made the car stop. The next thing I knew, I was moved onto his lap before our bodies were sucked into limbo, and we ended up in a room where Blade was. Blade immediately stood up when he saw us. I was still in Lucius’ arms, carrying me in bridal style, and I was grateful for that, as I
ALTHEA. I spent the next few hours thinking of all the ways the ritual could go wrong. My spirits were not even bothered at all, and they just let me be on my own. Of course, why would they bother? The ritual meant I would finally belong to this coven and to the dark magic. It had always been something they wanted for me. I consumed the food I was given and asked for a new serving. I told them the first one they gave me didn’t suit my appetite, and I threw it on the toilet, but the truth was, I wanted to have more food so their spells would somehow weaken. I had never tried attending a ritual on a full stomach, so I had no idea if this tactic would help. But I believe it will. An hour ago, I was given a sheer, long white dress that I would wear tonight. I was expecting a black cloth, so a white one came as a surprise. Plus, I was given a flower crown, and they were not dead flowers but fresh and beautiful. Strange. But I didn’t say anything. The only sad thing was that my room w
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