ALTHEA. This was now or never. “Blade…” I turned my head to look at him. “Do you trust me?” I saw worry cross his face as he came to me and cupped my cheeks. “Do what you need to do. If this will remove you from danger in the long run, I am with you every step of the way.” “Stay with me. I don’t know if I have enough energy to complete the spell.” We looked into each other’s eyes before a weak smile tugged on his mouth. “I don’t have anything to offer you but my presence.” “It’s more than enough, Blade. It’s from you that I’m drawing energy from.” I mumbled, and he pulled my face closer to his and pressed a soft kiss on my mouth before he let me go. I walked forward with Blade behind me. I stood in the heart of the clearing and tilted my head up to look at the sky. It was the break of dawn. The clouds moved until they fully covered the area where the sun was already showing signs of rising, casting a dark shadow all around us. I whispered softly, and the candles that I
ALTHEA. “Are you upset?” I asked Blade while I was trying to control my heartbeat. I was seated in his office chair while he was standing, looking out the window. After the event at the Parturi Coven had calmed down, I requested to be sent back to our territory as I needed time to speak with Blade. Patrea wanted to hear all that happened, but I told her there were things I had to tell Blade, including about our child. But I would summon them once I was ready to speak with everyone, as I knew they also needed to know about my deal with Alastor. Blade remained quiet, and I was worried he might think I was so stupid for accepting a bargain from a demon — that I should know better. “Say something, please…” “I’m trying to wrap my head around the things you told me. I’m thinking of how we can go on without him affecting us…” I swallowed. He was already looking for a solution. Would that mean he was not angry with me? “Are you not upset I made a deal with him, and it’s your pack I pu
BLADE.I listened as Althea explained to the demon royals everything that happened — from the time she entered the Parturi Coven to the appearance of Alastor, to the ritual where they attempted to take her as part of the coven, until the part where she made the deal with Alastor.At that point, hisses resonated loudly around my office. Lucius’ eyes blazed red, but before he could open his mouth to speak, I raised my hand, pointing a finger at him, and I spoke faster to get his attention. “Lucius,” I began, and his head tilted to look at me. I was seated on a couch, with Althea beside me. My arm was around her body, holding her to my side. “Before you say anything, I want you to know that I am grateful for all the help that you’ve given us. But if you say one thing that would ridicule Althea for her decision, I will throw you out of my territory.”“I thought we all knew better not to make irresponsible deals with a demon?” He snapped at me.“You were not there. You didn’t see what my
KING LUCIUS. I sat on my throne and stared blankly ahead of me. Blade summoned me moments ago, when Althea had fallen asleep. He needed help, and as much as he irritated me most of the time, I didn’t turn my back on him. I could never do that to a family. I listened to his fears, and although his fears were feeding my soul, I didn’t get any satisfaction from them. I knew his fears were valid, and if anything happened to Althea, it would hurt my queen. Blade asked me if it would hurt me to return Athwart to Alastor. I told him it wouldn’t, but it would make me a weak demon if I gave it up as part of a deal. And he shouldn’t forget that demons are demons. Even if I gave up the Kingdom of Athwart, there was no guarantee Alastor would stop with his conquest for revenge. Demons never forgive. So here I was, thinking of ways to protect Althea the moment their child was already out of her body. I knew Alastor was my enemy, but it seemed he had shifted his goal and wanted Althea. Mayb
QUEEN PATREA. I had always wanted to know where Adora’s body was laid to rest. I had seen her twice in the spirit realm, but I was only able to hug her when I was on the brink of my transformation as a demon. After that, on the next visit, when I asked about Althea, I was not able to touch her. And I was so longing to feel her again. No mother should see their child dead before them, but I guess this was my fate. Adora died before me. And I knew Althea and her pups would perish before me. This was the ugly exchange of the immortal life I had — something I wanted because of Lucius but dreaded because of the mortal people I loved. I had been trying to stop my tears while I gathered all the little belongings that Adora had held in her little cottage and transported them to Silver Crest. I would take some of those with me into the underworld, something for which I was grateful that Lucius was not making a big deal. They were the only memories I had of my daughter. The daughter I th
ALTHEA “So where are we heading?” I asked Blade excitedly as I held my sling bag tightly, beaming at him as we walked toward the packhouse’s entrance. Four days ago, we had our union, and my Luna ceremony, and this trip was supposed to be our first getaway. Blade laughed heartily as he squeezed my hand that he was holding. “You’ve been asking me that since I told you we were going away for a short vacation. And you will still get the same response.” I pouted my lips, feigning disappointment, but in reality, I was excited. It didn’t matter where we were headed as long as I would be with Blade, and we could finally relax from all the mess and chaos we went through. It had been three weeks since I ended the Parturi Coven, and so far, everything had been quiet. There were no signs of Alastor, either here or in the underworld. Clandestine and the children we saved were thriving well at the Fortuna Coven. Lucy and I made sure they got everything they needed, from clothes and food to a
ALTHEA. Our bodies were sucked into limbo, and my feet landed on top of a boulder, on the very same place where I first saw Blade while I was swimming in the small waterfalls on this mountain. But I was alone. I started to panic until I noticed movement in the middle of the stream. Blade emerged from it with a smug smirk on his face as he brushed his hands over his head. I could tell from the clear water that he was fully naked. He only had his azurite necklace on him. “Where is Adan?” I asked. “He left. His job was only to get us here.” He answered before coming closer until he was at the bottom of where I stood. He extended his hand. “Swim with me, Althea. Wearing nothing but that amethyst ring on your finger.” I bit my bottom lip and nodded my head. I took off the garland around my neck and slid my sling bag off my body. I then carefully slipped out of my dress without taking my eyes off Blade. His eyes dilated the moment my bra went off, and he watched me with hunger in hi
ALTHEA. “Come with me, Althea.” Guinevere reached out for my hand, and I took it without any hesitation. She addressed me as Althea. Did this mean she accepted that I let go of Anaiah, of who I really was? We walked in silence. It didn’t even register to me where we were because I was solely focusing on her and the way her colorful skirts rustled as she walked. “I don’t usually make my presence known. Unlike Hades or the other gods, I am just content to watch my daughters and sons behind the veil. But I couldn’t help reaching out to you.” “Because of what I did...” She nodded her head, and my heart picked up its pace. “A long time ago, my witches lived in harmony. I have the dark witches and the light witches. They lived without interfering with what the others were doing. And like any mother, I was at peace, knowing they were thriving and nature was in balance. Until I came to the realization that my dark witches were becoming increasingly greedy. They wanted more. And they wa
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