NadineWhatever was keeping Connor busy lasted a couple more days.He didn't return to the shelter and that prompted Drago to help me with the exercises.The interaction of my she-wolf and the dragon was one to study.Becca was licking the dragon's scales while he burned anything she wanted just to make her laugh. The beasts were having much more fun than I had imagined, so much so that Aris mentioned it that night at dinner.“Your beasts seem happy to meet each other,” the vampire said and Biel laughed.“They're mates,” Drago replied. “It's obvious they're happy to be close, so it's only natural.”Aris and Biel locked eyes and I didn't like that interaction at all.“Good thing you're a millennial being who knows how to use his time,” Biel said teasingly. “The data you gave Lion was used to decode some tales. The high priest thinks they're the key to everything.”I frowned uncomprehendingly.“Can you explain to me what's going on?” I asked and Aris nodded.“I went to the herd to get s
ConnorThe moment I saw how Ophelia saw Nadine, I knew I was in trouble.I was proud to introduce my mate to the world; I could shout it from the rooftops if it was that easy to do; however, Nadine had an important mission so we had to be careful.The reality was that with Ophelia knowing about Nadine, the dynamic changed.She had been avoiding her due to the fact that she had sent three amparos to the council and her father was threatening to break alliances. I still didn't understand why Ophelia was so obsessed with marrying me.She had had a mate, but her mate died just before she found him, which put her in a bad position.That doesn't excuse her from being a bad woman, my wolf Will said.And he was right; it didn't excuse her, least of all when she was such a spoiled, impulsive, domineering woman.“It's a wonder you found your mate,” Ophelia said without taking her eyes off Nadine. “She's not from Lunarius; is she from one of the commons?”Nadine frowned. It was easy to detect th
NadineAs I ate breakfast at Connor's family's home in the pack, I had a vision of how the council meeting would unfold. The situation would not be very favorable for Connor, so I had to help him and for that I needed his grandmother.Rose looked at me with a frown and I nodded.With a simple gesture, I let her know that I would interfere, so I needed her help.I just hoped Connor's grandmother would help me contain the situation.I could tell by how Connor responded to counselor Joel that he had never been forceful with the council. His grandmother smiled and I felt an aura change in the room.“There's no problem,” Joel said. “We never knew you were called by the temple, so to us this information comes as a surprise.”“I'm going to make a couple of things clear,” Connor said with character. “I have followed and respected the opinions of the council because you represent the wishes of the entire pack I lead; however, the council cannot hold me accountable for my private life or contro
NadineSaul was sent to the pack dungeons, while Rose calmed the Eclipse Pack council members. Somehow, it had worked to get Connor to react, because that had served to make the council understand that the demands were over.“You're a seer,” Inna said as Connor gave his warriors instructions and drafted a note to send to the Alpha of the Waning Moon Pack.“Something like that,” I said and she frowned.“Seers aren't common; they usually work for one of the two orders of evil.”I smiled because of her perception of reality.“What do you mean by lar orders of evil?” I asked just to tease her.“That they are both wrong,” Inna said sincerely. “One order wants the world to go to hell, while the other order lets the world go to hell by controlling everyone. They're the same, except one order wants darkness to be the one that's with us always.”“You don't believe in the Equilibrium Order,” I said in surprise.“I don't believe in those who control the order,” Inna admitted honestly. “Connor tr
NadineMy she-wolf had the primal urge to mark Connor.I couldn't hold back; it was too strong a feeling and she had somehow manipulated Connor's beast to react the same way.That's why, as soon as we were skin to skin, I just wanted to make him mine. My she-wolf wanted to have the bond, the beast, and the man at the same time.Connor reacts in response and lifts me up to throw me straight onto the bed as our mouths fight for control and our tongues feast on each other's caresses. I was completely out of my mind, and that's how we ended up tearing our clothes off.There was no sweetness in the moment, just the unbridled desire of our beasts.I grabbed a handful of his hair forcefully and made him look at me earnestly.“You're mine!” I exclaimed furiously and then bit Connor right on the shoulder.My she-wolf was brutal, biting down on his collarbone until our teeth touched Connor's bone and I could taste the blood in my mouth. That made Connor gasp in pain and then I licked the wound
ConnorI was sleeping when Nadine's screams startled me.My beast immediately went on guard, so I woke up and saw Nadine jerking hard beside me. Aris had gotten up and was trying to wake her up, but I could tell he was having difficulty doing so.“I don't know what's going on; she has a wall-like mental block and I can't see her thoughts; I don't know what's going on,” Aris said worriedly.Maybe I can help, said my wolf Will.How?Now that we are bonded, we share the same soul bond and I can call her out of the dream she is having. Do it now!My command took effect and then Nadine got up straight to vomit.Whatever she had dreamed about, it was disastrous enough to make her empty her bowels on the floor. I immediately helped her by grabbing her hair and Aris left the room, then returned with a bucket and rags to clean up.“What's wrong, beautiful?” asked Aris sweetly. “We're here with you; whatever you dreamed, it's not real.”Nadine finished vomiting and then looked at him sadly.“T
NadineThe tension between Biel and me was thick.He and I hadn't spoken a word to each other since I returned from the pack. And that had been two days ago, so I could consider it a new record in our interactions. The guard captain had taken a silly stance on my bonding with Connor and I didn't really understand why.He's jealous, my she-wolf Becca said firmly.Why would he be?Joel analyzes the connections you have with others and feels at a disadvantage. Besides, the connection you have with Connor, in his eyes, is much stronger than the one you might have with him because you and Connor are werewolves, Becca said, and I frowned. That's just plain stupid; I'm also half Warlock, and I don't get along with him, in case he's noticed. Biel knows that, but to him there's more meaning in the connection I have with Connor's wolf than I might have with them. Biel doesn't really understand the fact that we need all four of them to be happy and content, Becca said in a giggly voice.The ve
NadineBiel was a jerk.There was no other way to explain why I had decided to do extreme training just for the sake of tiring myself out. While my beast gave me a lot of strength, I was still trying to configure my new power to my pre-existing abilities, and that in itself was exhausting.Biel knew this but didn't care.“I want to see how bad you are,” the cretin said before explaining my task.The worst part of the situation was that the guards were with him to help him see how bad I was in physical condition and to serve a purpose in the test.They had created a makeshift training circuit that I had to run in a set time following the entire perimeter of the shelter. What I didn't imagine was that Biel would set magical traps and use his men to make it difficult for me to complete the course.He was an idiot, cunning, but an idiot.“You must go through all the tests with ingenuity to see what your weaknesses are and work with them to make your reaction response much faster,” Biel sa
NadineThe day of Ophelia's death had finally arrived.Everyone in the Eclipse Pack was serious and waiting for the retinue that would bring Ophelia to Connor to carry out her final sentence. The pack council was silent at all times, which said a lot about the customs of the place.It was Aris who explained to me what would happen and the protocol that would unfold.“Because of the great damage Ophelia caused to the pack, all pack members are to report to the main square to pay honors to the Alpha's family and remember the memory of the late Alpha, Connor's father,” Aris said patiently. “After that brief symbolic ceremony, they remember what Ophelia's crimes have been and await her arrival. A retinue from the Lunarius council is to bring her to the square and hand her over to the pack honor guard, which is led by Inna. Then the people are going to loathe her; they will do it with force and violence... It's a barbaric tradition, but it's something that has been effective in keeping peo
NadineI went back to bed with the feeling of loss burning my skin.I couldn't help crying, and maybe it was that very thing that made Biel hug me silently, so I went back to sleep inside my dream. What I never imagined was waking up to an icy scream.I opened my eyes in a hurry, and when I focused properly, I saw a woman turning to ashes in front of me. Biel was up with a magic weapon in his hand, serving as a shield before me, but with a puzzled expression in his eyes.My other mates rushed into the room.“What's going on here?” asked Drago, and Aris walked over to the ashes and immediately looked at Biel.“Did you see the thief's face?” asked Aris, and I realized it was someone who had touched the grimoire.That fact gave me chills. “She was a thief, and not only that, she was one of the she-wolves who came to clean up the other night,” Biel said, looking at Connor. “You still have rats within your pack.”That sentence shook me, and I got out of bed in fear.“I dreamed about my mo
NadineConnor made the formal request to the Lunarius council to set a definite date: in three days, Ophelia would die under Rose's hands.After that, we would leave to search for the next divine object.Drago and Aris, due to their knowledge of the language of the gods, were the only ones to help me hold the grimoire while Lion, along with Ale and Rex, pulled clues from the books we had read.“I haven't found anything else,” Rex said with a frown as I carefully turned the pages of the grimoire. “It's hard to do this if we can't touch the book.”Aris and Drago locked eyes for a split second.“Magic is conscious, so we must not tempt it,” Drago said seriously. “We just have to be perceptive with the facts and legends. The key is that.”I looked at my dragon mate with a sad smile and then saw the number in the palm of my hand.I had been so focused on other things that I hadn't realized that time was running mercilessly, and if I got careless, things were going to get out of hand.Aris
NadineDrago's kiss was gentle.It was exquisite and delicious.Drago was everything I needed at that moment.His lips were touching me as if he was afraid, as if testing the ground to know it properly and not overstep my boundaries, which was the best stimulant of all. That, somehow, seemed very tender to me, and so I indulged myself in extending the exploration.There was nothing to interrupt us, and I simply gave myself over to passion.Drago's mouth was a treasure for me; his lips were the chest, and his feelings were the crown jewel I wanted to touch. I had a compelling need to know everything Drago felt because of all that he was transmitting to me in each slow movement of our intertwined tongues.I knew he adored me, but with the bond, that love would settle in forever.I moved closer to Drago, promising to take this to another point, and that's how I ended up sitting on his legs as we extended a kiss that meant everything to both of us.He was giving every ounce of love he fel
NadineI looked at Aris without understanding what was going on and watched as he raised his eyebrows, surprised by the decision Connor had made. I didn't understand exactly if he was telling me to show my power in front of all these people or what exactly was going to happen.It's nothing like that, Aris said.I squeezed Connor's hand, and his response was to put his arm around my shoulders protectively, as if to get his point across.The worst part was seeing Ophelia's terrified expression.She was a beautiful and stunning woman, a woman who could have had a steady partner very well despite not having a mate. However, I could understand her frustration and suffering. The reality was that I would not know what I would be capable of if one of my mates died; however, harming others at the cost of that was well within my limits.I hoped not to challenge my limits in that way.“Condemnation granted,” said the council leader. “It will be enforced on such terms as the affected family sees
ConnorThe evidence against Ophelia was heartbreaking.The bears sent to the herd everything they collected from her hideout, which turned out to date back years, many more years than I would have guessed. It was amazing what this woman was hiding. It felt like Pandora's box had been opened and a storm was about to break.And that was a minimal description, from a human story, to simplify the shit that had to be studied from that evidence. Every bit of power used in each of the objects she hid had to be analyzed, but the confirming evidence of my family's death was videos of the failed spells she tried to cast.That left me bad, so bad that my grandmother went to see what was wrong with me, and it was Nadine, as beautiful as she could be, who helped me confront the situation.I had no choice but to sit my grandmother down gently to break the news to her.“What's wrong, Connor?” My grandmother asked with a frown, as if she knew what was going to happen.Nadine at that point squeezed my
Nadine“Nadine, wake up!” exclaimed Biel in a hurry.I awoke to find my shadows filling the room like a cocoon of protection to the point of completely isolating us from the rest of the world. I frowned and then saw Biel standing beside me, looking in the direction of the door.His worried expression set me on edge.“What's going on?” I asked him.“There are strangers who have tried to enter the house,” Biel said and I looked at him sleepily, not quite understanding the situation. “More people have come to Raptart, and these ones are indeed well trained, unlike the rogues you caught. I guess your shadows sensed the danger and that's why they have isolated us, but we must help the wolves in the pack and Drago. It smells of dark magic.”Biel's words set me on edge.Please, shadows, show me what's going on outside, I whispered patiently.Biel watched as the shadows retreated, leaving only a small, almost transparent gray layer that let everything into the hallway. Inna was fighting like
ConnorI didn't like to get away from Nadine.I would take a trip south of Lunarius, right on the border with the Chozora Forest, original home of the bear shifters. They weren't our best friends, but they were decent neighbors who didn't get involved in anyone else's business.That's why I was surprised that Ophelia had enough connections to take refuge in that forest.“We have the meeting in a few minutes,” Drago said. “I've known the lead generation of family bears for millennia. They all deal directly with me when they go to Dragis.”“Do you think they will cooperate?” I asked, and Drago nodded.“They will,” said the high priest.Lion had decided to come with us as the authority of the Equilibrium Order, along with Jackson, who was the highest-ranking guardian after Biel.While the order did not act directly in the cooperation policies of the autonomous territories, it could intervene if it created conflict in the region or suspected alliances of anarchists.Soon the bears arrived
NadineWe let more than five hours go by until the fucker in the interrogation room started screaming. That was like music to my ears, and then I got up from the waiting room we were sitting in and Aris grabbed my hand.“Let him scream for another hour; its desperation will make him talk from the door,” the vampire said and I smiled at him. “If he really has people kidnapped as he says, he will scream very loudly.”I nodded, and to my surprise, Biel entered the room where I was waiting with my other mates. He walked with difficulty, as if the magical blow still really hurt him.“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked him annoyed.Biel's relief at seeing me jolted me, but I kept my stance fixed and unwavering.Seconds later, Samir ran up to where we were standing swearing.“I told him he shouldn't come here; he has to lie down right away; he's not fit to walk yet,” Samir said and I crossed my arms.Biel looked at him with annoyance, as if hearing him say those words was a damn prob