Alexander Petridis: I still have not found my mate in the seven years since my first shift. I nearly gave up, but then I left to build alliances and hopefully find her. Little did I know she'd been under my nose all along. When I see her, though, I'm stunned, not just because she's innocent little Delilah Fayte but because, in my absence, she made a choice I don't know if I can live with. Delilah Fayte: People have always thought I'm this naïve innocent girl. And okay, maybe I am innocent and all that. After my first shift, I didn't actively seek my mate. I had other plans. And sure, my family was against it at first, but mate or not, I wanted to help André and Darren. I didn't think in doing so, I'd alienate my mate and long-time crush, Alexander Petridis. This is the fourth of the Incubi Pack series. You do not need to have read the previous books to enjoy this book, but it is encouraged. The Incubi Pack Series: Book 1 - Alpha of Nightmares Book 2 - The Hybrid Alpha Book 3 - Dream Mate Anthology Short Story - Chosen Mate Anthology Bonus Story - Sicilian Holiday Anthology Short Story - The Quiet Giant's Mate Book 4 - Beta's Innocent Mate
Lihat lebih banyakTwo Years Ago
“I think it’s time you give me a commitment.” Lia pouted as she shut my office door.
“Lia, we’ve been over this. We are casual. This is casual sex. I will only commit to my mate.” I reminded her as I shook my head.
“I know, but it’s different now. I’m not like those other girls. And we may not be mates, but I love you, and sometimes taking a chosen mate makes sense.” Lia smiled softly as she moved around my desk and pushed my chair back.
“What makes you think you are any different? And while I was born at night, it wasn’t last night. You don’t love me. You love sex and that I’m a Beta.” I scoffed.
Lia’s smile faltered for a moment, but she remained undeterred. She hopped onto my desk, tight-ass drinking by paperwork. Not the first time she’s been on my desk. Not the first time she has spread her legs either. Her little black dress rode up to show toned thighs and no panties. She came here with a plan to seduce me as if that would change my mind.
“There isn’t any reason I would take you or anyone as a chosen mate,” I said firmly as I started to push my chair back.
I had somewhere to be. It is my little sister’s birthday. I wanted to arrive on time for the party. My family was expecting me, and Delilah was home for a visit. She has been in Bloodmoon for months. I wanted to catch up and see what she learned in her summer program. It had better be good for her to decide to spend two more years there studying.
“I know one reason that you can’t argue against.” Lia smiled as she snatched my hand.
I went to pull away as she guided my hand under her dress. The moment my fingers brushed her skin, my office door opened. Delilah’s green eyes went wide, a rose-pink blush stained her cheeks, and her cupid’s bow lips parted in a gasp. She stammered an apology and rushed out before I could explain the situation.
“Damn it,” I growled and tried to yank my hand back.
“Alexander, ignore the little bitch and focus.” Lia huffed, tightening her grip on my hand.
“Do. Not. Call. Her. That.” I snarled, feeling Lucius coming forward.
“Focus.” Lia snarled back, forcing my hand against her pelvis.
I was ready to snap when I felt it—a fluttering heartbeat inside her. Lia is pregnant. How… I know how I’m a doctor, but I am always careful. I could say I was careful all I wanted, but it wouldn’t change the heartbeat in her womb. She is eight weeks, based on what my powers could assess. And I know in the window of conception, we had sex.
Fuck my life!
The Present
I rushed from my bed, chasing the sound of a wailing baby. From the cry, it sounded in distress, and I feared for the worse. I felt like I was in a haunted house or horror movie as I opened door after door in this endless hallway, only to find a dead end. There was only one door left. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me and threw the door open. I finally reached the crib, which was empty as I pulled back the blanket.
I sat up suddenly, and as my heart raced, I looked around the unfamiliar room in fear. I pressed my hand to my heart, willing it to stop. I reminded myself that there was no baby. Not here in this guest suite in Massachusetts. Not back home in Madonie. And not in my life. The baby was never mine.
‘Not to sound cruel, but GET OVER IT. That bitch lied to try and trap you.’ Lucius grumbled.
‘I know. Don’t you think I know that? It isn’t like I wanted her… I wanted…’ I sighed as I flopped back to the bed.
‘I know. You wanted the pup. If he had been ours, I would have too. But I would never want her. I won’t let you settle for anyone but our mate.’ Lucius sighed.
I sighed, knowing there was no way I was going back to sleep after that. I don’t even know why I started having these nightmares again. It made sense the first month or two after Cesare was born. I should have listened to my family when they told me to do a DNA test before he was born.
I fooled myself into trusting her because the timeline added up. Because I became attached to him. Months of build-up, of being alienated from friends and family, of everyone judging my decision to stand by Lia through the pregnancy, and possibly worse, of radio silence from Delilah.
The idea that Delilah stopped talking to me hurt more than my family being distant is unbelievable. But it is what it is. Even more than André, I had thought Delilah would be someone who wouldn’t judge me, that wouldn’t cut me out of her life like some cancer. I guess I was wrong. Three years of friendship went down the drain when she walked in on that scene. I could understand how she’d have misinterpreted what was happening, but she never let me explain.
After all those months of feeling like a leper in my family and pack, I thought his birth would change everything. It certainly changed, just not for the good. There was no denying he wasn’t mine. I could have shrugged off him having dark hair. Lia has black hair. I couldn’t find any rational explanation for the green streaks and the golden eyes indicating he was a hybrid.
Lia insisted he was mine repeatedly, saying he couldn’t be anyone else’s. To confirm it and shut her up, we did a test, and of course, there was zero chance I was the father. The fallout from it left me disgusted. She’d known how cautious I was about sex, never wanting to have a pup with anyone but my mate.
She’d sunk so low as to retrieve sperm from a used condom. Her plan failed because the fertility clinic she went to outside the pack ‘mixed up’ the sperm, and she never knew. I cut her out of my life after that night, but I know through other sources that the sketchy clinic she went to couldn’t find viable sperm in the ‘sample’ she provided and decided to use a sample they had on hand.
That wake-up call was a catalyst for me becoming celibate. I haven’t been with anyone since. Honestly, touching a woman makes my skin crawl, which is not helpful as I’m on this trip to build alliances and look for my mate. I’ve been introduced to so many unmated females in three dozen packs. They all bat their eyes and flirt while I’m choking back vomit and suppressing shudders of disgust.
Maybe I keep having these dreams because Regina is pregnant. This trip is causing my family to miss a lot of important moments. We were not there when Regina attended the ball, where she found out Ivan Furlan was her mate. A ball that Delilah attended and, as far as I know, Delilah didn’t find her mate. Though maybe she did, and no one considered telling me. I know she looked gorgeous in her dress, and a part of me hated every faceless male who even looked at her that night.
I groaned, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes. I need to stop thinking about her. She hasn’t talked to me in over two years. I knew she had a crush on me, and other than that one mistletoe kiss over four years ago, I like to think I didn’t encourage it.
I thought we had built a friendship. I was wrong about her. She was just like every other girl. She got close to me, hoping for something more. Then when that conniving bitch told everyone we were dating and that she was pregnant with the future Madonie Beta heir, Delilah dropped out of my life.
I hadn’t realized how much of a fixture Delilah had become in my life till she was gone. I missed our phone calls that sometimes lasted hours. Sure, we mostly talked about plants and medicine. She was always interested in that, and medicine is my profession.
It wasn’t always work we talked about. We talked about our lives. I told Delilah things I hadn’t even told André. She had become a close friend and confidant. I thought it was mutual. She told me her dreams and things she hadn’t told her sisters or mine. We didn’t talk about anything sexual. I always steered our talks away from that, not wanting to cross a line.
I don’t know if we will ever return to that, but I still hope we can be friends again. When this trip ends, I can sit Delilah down and discuss things. I know she is back home, so it’s not like she can use living far away as an excuse to avoid me. Or at least I hope we have both grown and matured enough to have an honest conversation about it and move forward.
I was considering going back to bed if I could fall asleep after that nightmare when my cell phone started to blast ‘It’s Raining Men.’ I sighed, mentally reminding myself I should change André’s ringtone. It’s not like he could get ahold of my phone and change it back till I’m home. I quickly grabbed my phone as my gut said something must be wrong.
“You need to come home immediately,” André said before I even got a word of greeting out.
Well, I was right. Something must be wrong if André called me home with three months left of the trip.
I’ve felt anxious since André told me that he and Darren told their children I was their surrogate. I knew the day would come. We couldn’t keep it from them forever. It was only natural that they’d be curious. Especially now that Amaryllis and Éowyn were starting to look more like me at their age with hints of Darren. It was easier when they were little and looked more like Darren. Caspian and Aragon still look more like André, but there are moments when they say or do something, especially their smiles, and I can see myself in their faces. Alexander didn’t help my anxious feeling when he told me Chris went to see the quads so he’d know, too. How would he handle that? I wished Alexander hadn’t let him go to André’s villa to hear this from the quads. I was napping and needed the rest since Clover had been teething. She’s been extra fussy because of the teething, and beyond lack of sleep, my breasts are tender from her feedings. It’s not like I haven’t been through this before. Our old
I may only be ten, but I know enough about the world and my future role in it. I’m the Madonie Beta heir, and as much as my parents wanted to shield me from knowing it, I am the Petridis of the Blue Moon prophecy. These roles are my fate. It wasn’t my choice, but it is what the Goddess ordained, and who am I or anyone to argue with her will? The prophecy doesn’t affect my day-to-day life. It just means the only witch I trust is Zia Kat, and I don’t trust angels, period. Being the Beta heir does affect my day-to-day life. It has defined my education and friendships. I don’t want to think the only reason I’m friends with Caspian, Aragon, Amaryllis, and Éowyn is simply because one of them will be my Alpha. They are my cousins, so to speak. Our Papas and Monnos have been best friends for years, so we are like family. Though it’s always felt like there’s more to it than that, when my family link snapped into place when I was nine, I realized I had a link to them. Sure, it could be explain
Caspian POVThis wasn’t going the way I thought it would. We’re the ones that are supposed to be guilting Papa into the truth about our Mama. Instead, we are getting a guilt trip about Dad and our guards being worried that we snuck away. Maybe we couldn’t escape them so easily if Filiberto and Dorian were better at their jobs. I know they are good warriors, and given the trauma they went through with Zia Amelia during the war, Papa and Dad are kind to them, but if four twelve-year-olds can escape them, what good are they at protecting us? I do feel bad that we worried Dad and Papa. I won’t feel bad for our guards. They need to be better at their jobs. And maybe we should have more than two guards. There are four of us, after all. This isn’t the first time we’ve duped Filiberto and Dorian. Aragon and I are identical, though we style ourselves differently—the same for our sisters. I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve fooled our guards and the staff at the school into thinking we were
Amaryllis POV I’m not saying we’ve been lied to for our WHOLE lives, but people need to realize we aren’t babies anymore and stop trying to spare our feelings. We are the heirs of Madonie. We shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves. And while nothing would ever change how much I or my siblings love our Papa and Daddy, how could they expect us never to find out? They teach us about the mate bond, females going into heat, and sex at school, for the Goddess’s sake. We were bound to learn that a baby cannot be made without a female. Even if that wasn’t all a factor, Éowyn and I are getting older, and it’s easy to see we don’t look like any of the women in the D’Amore or Delaney women. We have Daddy’s eyes and ears, but that’s like it. If anything, we look more like Nonna Crista and especially Zia Delilah. Maybe if we were naive people, we’d write it off because they are family. But Nonna Crista is Papa’s matrigna, so we aren’t blood-related to the Fayte line. At least not that anyone’s admi
The following chapters are a bonus story called A Mama's Love. I know it's a couple of months early, but the idea came to me and couldn't be helped. So the following short bonus story is a Mother's Day Celebration that takes place the Mother's Day after Clover is born. I hope you enjoy it. Story Blurb:It’s been nearly thirteen years since Delilah Fayte gave birth for the first time. Now that the Madonie Heirs know the truth, they want to join their half-siblings... er cousins... it isn’t very clear to celebrate the woman so full of boundless love she has brought nine lives into this world. Besides, no one throws a party like a D’Amore.
Dear Readers, We have reached the end of another book. It's always bittersweet to publish the final chapter of a book. These last few chapters may have felt like we skipped some things. Yes, we glossed over some moments as they were less significant to the story, and trying to write a chapter of Alexander or Delilah sitting in the therapist's office wasn't exactly compelling, nor was it enough to fill a chapter. Please don't worry- there are always chances to get glimpses of those smaller moments in more detail in future books or possible bonus stories. Now for the question everyone's been asking. WHAT'S NEXT!!?? I am taking the month of November off from my current series to participate in NaNoWriMo. For those who don't know what that is, I'd like to explain. NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writing Month. During November, writers from around the world will challenge themselves to start a new project and write 50,000 words in 30 days! This is the first year I'm going to give this a
I always knew I wanted to be a mama. I dreamed of having a big family with my future mate when I was little. When I discovered that Alexander was my mate twelve years ago and the drama we faced, I started to think a big family might not even happen. I’d been pregnant when we reconnected, though not with children that would be mine. He had PTSD from the emotional damage Liar had put him through two years prior. However, the biggest reason I worried we might not have a large family, let alone children, was the blue moon prophecy. Ersilia did awful things to get her hands on the blue moon child of prophecy. A child she assumed would be conceived on a blue moon from Alexander’s line. She hurt Alexander. She hurt her great-granddaughter. She even got angels involved in it. And she paid the ultimate price for it. Despite our worries about the prophecy ten years ago, Alexander and I started our family. We thought we’d taken all the necessary precautions to avoid the blue moon. While Ersilia
Since we know about the prophecy, Delilah and I have been cautious in our family planning. Delilah wanted and needed time to recover from fully emotionally being a surrogate. I was more than willing to give her that time. Then, we also wanted time to be just a couple before risking starting our family. We decided we would try to start our family late last year. We were trying to be as thorough in our baby planning as possible. We even checked the upcoming year to identify any blue moons. Given that I’m not the blue moon prophecy child, I knew Ersilia was off the mark in thinking the conception needed to be on a blue moon. So Delilah and I wanted to avoid delivery on a blue moon. We knew there would be a blue moon in August, so we were actively targeting to have our baby either before or after August. We even stopped having unprotected sex when her possible due date could have landed anywhere near the blue moon. And our planning paid off. When we learned Delilah was pregnant and calcu
I won’t go into how much I ended up paying Amelia in damages to her little cottage after spending a weekend there. I consider myself lucky that she didn’t keep any family heirlooms there. The furnishings destroyed during mine and Delilah’s mating weren’t antiques or anything she or her brother held dear. All you need to know is it wasn’t cheap. But that was a month ago. A month of being fully mated has been great for us. After Delilah’s heat ended, she finally asked to see the heirs. I don’t know if it’s from her therapy or because we completed our bond, but her emotions about André and Darren’s children leveled out. It was still an emotional visit, especially when she held each of them. That first meeting was a huge step for Delilah. She saw, held, kissed, and whispered sweet words to them. She got to say goodbye to their connection and move forward to the new connection they’ll have. Delilah was already the most selfless person I knew. She became the bravest after seeing her keep h
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