(Harper’s POV)
I woke up in Elias’ arms as he was carrying me into the pack house. I was wrapped up in his tuxedo jacket as he snuck in through the back door, through the now darkened kitchen and up the backstairs. The ball was still going strong by the sounds of it, although I had no clue what time it was. We made it to Elias’ room without being spotted, and he smiled at me as he gently put me down on the sofa and kissed the top of my head. I watched as he headed to his large chest of drawers and pulled out a clean t-shirt. He came back over and slipped the jacket off me and helped me with putting the t-shirt on. My whole body ached and felt heavy. Even lifting my arms to concentrated effort.
Once the t-shirt was in place, Elias settled on the sofa next to me and pulled me onto his lap. I curled into him, suddenly feeling exhausted again.&nbs
(Harper’s POV)I looked at Elias and smiled. He smiled back and stroked my cheek.“Harper, I-” he started to say, but I leaned forward and kissed him. Just barely a touch at first, but then as he kissed me back I deepened it. I felt his tongue against my lips and opened my mouth for him. Elias pulled me down onto his knee and I straddled him as he pulled my body tight against his bare chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck and followed his tongue with my own. I was naked apart from the t-shirt and the feel of his increasing hardness beneath his slacks caused heat to stir in me as I rubbed against him. I pulled away from the kiss and began kissing along his neck, nibbling here and there as I went. I moved against his pants, knowing that I was getting aroused.Elias rubbed his nose against my neck and I shivered as the scent of my excitement reached him.“Goddess,” he muttered and grabbed my hair
(Harper’s POV)I woke up still in Elias’ arms. I felt warm and comfortable and smiled as I snuggled further into him and closed my eyes to go back to sleep. I ran my thumb down my ring finger of my left hand by instinct and my heart jolted when I didn’t feel the ring there. Somewhere in the back of me, Maia shifted around. It was common for our wolf's side to disappear for a few hours after the first shift, so I wasn’t worried that I hadn’t heard from her. I could still feel her and knew she was happy. And so was I. I had never felt more content, more complete than I did at this point. It was like Elias filled up an empty space in me that I really didn’t even know existed. I couldn’t understand it. It was never like this with Colton. Urg! Just the thought of that weasel was enough to put a bad taste in my mouth. I was so happy that Elias knew about his plans to attempt to take over. And even more happy that Elia
(Harper’s POV)I woke up to the sound of voices arguing. I kept my eyes closed and tried to assess the situation without alerting anyone to the fact that I was awake. I could tell that I had been put in a chair and both my hands and legs were tied to it. I tried flexing slightly, but the ropes holding me down gave no movement. Fuck, I really didn’t know how I was going to get out of this one. I had a feeling that my usual charm wasn’t going to go very far.I could tell the voices were Elias and Marcus, although they were whispers and even with my hearing barely audible.“Just don’t go crazy,” I heard Marcus “It could all be a misunderstanding, give her a chance to explain her side of the story,”“I think it’s pretty clear whose side she is on, don’t you?” Elias whispered back, “I knew there was something odd about her story, I should have listened,&r
(Elias’ POV)“Fine, we’ll do it the hard way,” I said as I handled the rough handle of the scalpel. This was no ordinary scalpel, though. The blade was coated in silver and soaked in wolfsbane to maximise pain. It was one of the most effective tools I owned and required the least effort. I wanted so desperately to get this over with. The last thing I wanted to do was torture the love of my life. But she betrayed me. Not only had she managed to open my safe, thanks to my stupid sentimentality. But a quick hack into her phone saw that she had sent images of the contents, contents that I didn’t want anyone seeing, to some contact of hers called Nathaniel. I had no idea why, but that name sounded so familiar.It hurt so much that she had betrayed me, but I just needed her to admit that she was The Circle. Then I would finish this once and for all and-“What?” the guttural growl inside my head asked, &l
(Harper’s POV)I couldn’t sleep. My head was so full of questions and scenarios. I couldn’t help going over all that I had heard over and over. I sat on the window seat in my room and just stared out of the window, not really seeing anything other than the thoughts in my head.And those eyes! No matter how much the other things pushed forward in my mind. Those eyes, the deep black vacuum that I saw in them, just kept coming back to me. I had seen a lot as an Elite Warrior, but I don’t think I had ever seen anything like that.“Hey Harps?” I heard a voice and jumped slightly. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I had forgotten that Louise was still here. I looked around to see her sitting up in my bed, her hair ruffled and her eyes still full of sleep.“Did you sleep at all?” she asked.“No, she didn’t,” a muted voice from the other side of
(Harper’s POV)“Wait!” I exclaimed as one of the warriors held Elias with difficulty while another tried to put on silver coated and spellbound handcuffs. I pulled a top on quickly as I tried to get their attention.“There’s been a mistake,” I called, but no one seemed to be listening. I saw one of the warriors that I recognised standing to one side.“Paul,” I urged, “Please, we got it wrong,” I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to face me. He just grinned at me.“Hey Kirby,” he said. “I knew you remembered my name. Good job, by the way. Nathaniel is seriously impressed. Was singing your praises the whole way here.“Nathaniel!” I exclaimed, and I saw Elias stiffen. “He’s here? Where?” I knew Nathaniel would listen to me. He would understand the mistake and that we had the wrong person.“He&
(Harper’s POV)I had my eyes closed and concentrated on building my strength back up from the silver while Louise drove. I had a feeling about where Louise was heading, and when the car stopped, I opened my eyes to confirm I was right. The sign for Howlers was off and the carpark was empty, which was actually unusual for 11am. The car door opened and Alex poked his head in.“Hello beautiful,” he said cheerfully, “need a hand?” I could have refused his outstretched hand, but to be honest, I was still feeling a little weak and despite being a stubborn bitch sometimes, I also knew that I had to accept help sometimes too. I smiled at him and held out my hand, and he grabbed it and gently pulled me out of the car and to my feet. I wobbled a bit and sent a glare to Aaron before Alex picked me up and carried me into the bar.It was dark inside, and empty. Or almost empty. I looked around as Alex put me down in
(Harper’s POV)“I’m sorry, what now?” I stared at Harry, dumbfounded. He flicked through some more pages of the book and then turned it to face me. I apprehensively looked down at the book. The page was titled “Bloodline” and there was a picture of a wicked-looking blade down one side. The writing was a little faded and handwritten, but despite all that, it felt so familiar and I could read it, like it was something I had read a thousand times before.“The Divine Order is made up of four bloodlines. One each governs one of the four base elements, earth, air, fire and water. Each bloodline is made up of guardians, one in each generation. The duty of the guardian is to protect the seal from demon interference, in addition to preparing and training the divine warrior.” I looked up at Aaron. I was starting to feel a headache coming on again. This, on top of everything, was too much. He smiled and turned
Thank you for reading Beyond Beta's Rejection. This project started out so very different to where it ended. But I love the direction it took. As you can see, this part of the story is over, but there is so much more to tell. There will be a second book. I am in the process of mapping out and outlining now and I am hoping to start writing and releasing chapters in the first quarter of 2022. But for now I need to work on another project which you will soon likely see appear. Thank you once again for the time and money that you have spent of this labour of love of mine and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will be talking more abou this and other books in my fan group Aisling's Puzzle Pieces. I can't add links here but I am sure that if you search my name on certain sites then you will soon find it. Lastly I want to thank my e
(Harper’s POV)The next few days seemed filled with so much activity. Elias and I announced that we had completed the mate bond, and for the most part, people seemed happy. But I noticed both Drake and Tommy sharing a look that I tried to question later with Tommy. He continued to be evasive with me the whole time, but insisted that he was happy for us. Elias said that maybe I was imagining it, but I was sure there was something that they weren’t telling me.The Council swept into town for debriefing everyone after the battle. Elias was cleared of any suspicion and we heard that the sovereign had ordered a full sweep of every member of the Council to weed out any more Circle members. In private, Drake confirmed that he was in fact the Divine Warrior for the Immortal line and he, Harry and Aaron spent many hours poured over texts about the two
(Harper’s POV)The battle seemed to dissipate after I killed Nathaniel. I didn’t know if seeing me slaughter their feared leader with the angel blade scared them or if it was just good timing, but there was no more fighting. I looked around to see the courtyard, a mess of dead and wounded.“Harper?” I turned to see Tommy looking at me in disbelief.“Hey,” I said and shrugged. He grinned, tears down his face,“Fucking hell Harper,” he pulled me into a hug and I laughed, “Don’t ever do that to me again,”“I’ll do my best,” I said. He pulled me to arms’ length.“You look differ
(Harper’s POV)My eyes flew open as I woke up in the cells. I sat up and looked around, allowing my eyes to adjust to the low light after the brightness of the Neverplain. I looked down to see the angel blade still in my stomach. I inclined my head at it curiously. Was I meant to pull it out myself? Everything was beginning to blur for me. The Neverplain and my angel and the visit from Drake. Did Drake really visit? Or was that just my perverted imagination putting him there? And was he really also a Divine Warrior? There were a million questions running through my mind, some repeated, some serious, some stupid. It was like my mind was in overdrive and I couldn’t focus on one thing.I heard a chuckle to one side of me and looked towards the source.“Hello darling,” Marcus said from his perch
(Drake’s POV)I looked down at the werewolf in front of me in sympathy. I had heard many things about Elias Owens. I knew his family were allies of the order and also knew they had been ripped apart by the destructive Circle twenty or so years back. I even remembered Owen’s brief time at the Council. He had disappeared one night and then a couple of days later, I heard about the attack on his pack. I had no idea that he had a demon bloodline in him. He had hidden it well.And now here he was, cradling his dead lover. The sweet Harper. The beautiful woman who had risen in the ranks of the warriors with ease over the years. I was unsurprised by her progress as I watched her. I could tell at first sight who she was, or what she was. Her ethereal glow was unmistakable and would be recognised by others of our kind. I was almost surprised that she didn&rs
(Elias’ POV)My head was pounding as I woke up to the buzz of activity. I sat up, looking around to see that I was laid in one of the booths at Howlers. The room was filled with council warriors, as well as some of my own. I looked around for the centre of the activity and saw the vampire that had tried to take Harper from me.Then it hit me again. Harper. My beautiful mate was dead. I felt like I couldn’t breathe all over again as a single tear slipped down my cheek. The rage followed and with it the stirring of the demon inside me.“Kill,” it said. The guttural voice felt raw with hatred. I agreed with what he said. I had to find Nathaniel and rip him apart limb from limb. I would scatter his remains across the town and the ground would be soaked with his blood. I would make him
(Colton’s POV)I was dragged from the cells by two or three warriors, still hearing the painful screams of the woman I loved. I tried to fight, but I heard Nathaniel instruct them to drag me back to the pack house. I was thrown into the Alpha’s office as Nathaniel strode in, instructing various warriors to surround the house and be on guard. Louise was in the corner crying, her makeup streaming down her face. I glanced over and she looked up at me. Despite all the hatred, all that I had done to her, I knew that in this moment we were both mourning someone we loved. I saw that acknowledgement in her eyes.Nathaniel sat at the desk and began to speak but he was interrupted by the sound of a mournful howl, one so powerful it could be heard all the way from the cells to where we were now. One so painful that it meant only one thing. Immediately, t
(Elias’ POV)***Earlier in the Day***The last few days had been terrible. I had been in constant battle with whatever this thing was inside of me. The rage inside me at seeing the man responsible for my sister’s death had been like a drug to the monster, and I had spent much of the time in the back of my own mind. All I was able to do was to go over the events that had just happened. Finding out that Harper was a member of the Council was a shock. But then she mentioned that name, Nathaniel. There was no way that the man she thought could help me was the same man I had spent so many years hunting for. I stopped struggling against the warriors then. Either Harpers Nathaniel was going to help sort this epic misunderstanding out or…Seeing his face was enough to unleash the monster. The man I had be
(Harper’s POV) I looked over to see Colton standing there in a black suit and black tie. Despite everything that had happened between us, I couldn’t deny that he looked good in the suit. He moved into the room and kissed his mother on the cheek before holding his hand out to me. I looked at the hand, not wanting to take it. Colton sighed and then nodded to two warriors dressed in all black. They both advanced on Louise, and she backed away. “My uncle was clear, you are both to be escorted this evening,” Colton said, his face blank, “It can be done the civil way, or the not so civil way and I saw one of the warriors handling what looked like a collar and lead. “Fine,” I Snapped and took Colton’s hand, “But if he tries to put that on my friend, I will use it to strangle him with.” the warrior stopped an