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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
BielNadine was devastated.The news that people she loved but couldn't get involved with out of fear were dead was devastating. She felt completely guilty about what had happened, and the worst part was that it hurt her not to have shared in the people at the club. They all seemed like good people, but Nadine was forced to push them away until she couldn't do it with Elle.That was what hurt Nadine the most, and she wondered how it was that Aria had poked around so much to find out everything. She was afraid for the good people who had once helped her. Connor and Aris had to calm Nadine down to explain that there was no one to blame but Aria.The woman's name made me sick and very angry.She was a legendary figure in the Temple.Her wit had been part of great attacks, but she had never shown herself or been directly involved in committing an anarchist attack until that day. Aria had left the note for Nadine and had intentionally watched the surveillance cameras in order to have the
NadineDrago returned with two trays of food.There was everything on the trays, so I didn't hold back and ate with great eagerness because I was famished. My mates were silent as they watched me eat so enthusiastically, so I put the cutlery aside and folded my arms.“Is something wrong?” I asked with a frown, and they denied.“No, nothing's wrong,” Connor said before giving me a kiss on the head.“Then I don't understand why you guys are so quiet,” I said calmly.“The four of us just had the same thought, Nadine,” Biel said mischievously. “We think you look beautiful eating, and that sex suits you wonderfully.”My cheeks immediately turned red, and Aris burst out laughing.“For a tough woman, you have trouble with compliments,” Aris said, and I threw a piece of bread in his face.“It's not funny,” I said before I sighed and lifted my shoulders. “I'm not used to compliments or cuddles, but I can tolerate cuddles pretty easily.”They laughed because the reality was that I could easily
NadineDrago's dragon was overwhelming.There was no other way to perfectly translate what was happening.His kisses felt like boiling lava, and my body was receiving them with pleasure.My mouth molded to the movement of Drago's mouth with nothing but desire and devotion for him and his dragon; however, that moment was interrupted by Biel.“Drink some brew,” Biel said, and Drago proceeded to ignore him to kiss my neck and make me moan loudly. “Drink the brew, Drago, or I'll draw a rune to freeze your fucking ass. Drink the brew; we have to take care of Nadine.”I turned to look at Biel in surprise; the dragon raised his face in anger but took the potion Biel was offering in a second. That gesture made the others relax.The captain of the guardians smiled, and after that, along with Connor and Aris, took the brew he had made earlier. I finished turning and looked at my mates heatedly, but with a frown on my face due to confusion.“Why didn't you give me contraceptive brew?” I asked be
NadineThe Temple had opened an official investigation in Lunarius.The level of corruption in the case of the Vanir family, Ophelia's family, was too strong to be ignored, and so they were going to start the investigation in the Eclipse Pack and then make sure that the other packs were not affected. The Temple was going to follow the protocols of the federal laws of the continent respecting the primitive laws of Lunarius.That was what gave the wolves peace of mind.They did not like people meddling in their affairs; however, seeing the level of out-of-control created by Ophelia and her father, they found themselves having to accept the Temple's meddling. They had no choice.Connor felt responsible and guilty for what had happened.He, being an Alpha, should have been careful about the workings of the council, but inexperience made him trust the people he had grown up with over the years. He never suspected that the older people he respected so much would stab him in the back.The sa
NadineI was itching to have my shadows kill the pack council, and Becca was bloodthirsty; she herself wanted to go out and rip their throats out.Just let me come out for a moment to show them who I am, my she-wolf Becca said angrily.I ignored her for everyone's sake, especially Connor's.And it was Connor's expression of disappointment that made us want to attack the jerks who had the audacity to make our mate feel so bad. He was not a weak man; on the contrary, he was very strong mentally, and that was one of his best attributes; however, we hated to see him sad.When we left the council room, Connor wanted to get away, so I let him have some space to go into the woods.“Is he going to be okay?” asked Biel to Aris.“Connor is resilient; he's been through a lot since his family died, so he's going to be fine. He just has to adjust to his new reality,” Aris said with sadness in his voice.That truth was a harsh reality check.After that we went to the shelter.Since the legal proces
ConnorThe tension in the pack council room was intense.Many of the people who had one day reached out to me and urged me to become Alpha were there, but unlike that time when they smiled at me because I was just a scared young man, now they all looked at me with annoyance.“Only you can go in, Connor,” said Counselor Pier.It was hard to know what he had fallen for in the foolishness of playing along with Ms. Susy; it was depressing, not to mention disappointing, but I had to be blunt and direct.“My family can come in,” I said temperately.The mark on my wrist, which I shared with Nadine, Aris, Biel, and Drago, glowed again. In that instant, no one could ignore the divine sign. One of my grandmother's friends got up from her chair and approached us in bewilderment.“Is that a blessing from the gods?” the older woman asked, and I nodded. “It can't be.”At that moment a general murmur began in the room, and Nadine reached over to squeeze my hand. I really liked the fact that my mate
Part IV. Dichotomy of loveNadineWhere is the sacred cloak?That was the thought that haunted my mind for the next three days of intense research we had on the cursed divine object. We had our noses stuck in the books.It was tiring.The worst part was that my mother hadn't shown up as she had warned, and the damn god who had created me hadn't given me a valuable clue. It was depressing, so I just hoped I'd have some great insight into it like I'd had with the Enchanted Forest, but it seemed like fate was kicking me in the ass.I sighed as I closed the last children's storybook.I was fed up with the situation.“Go get some rest, Nadine,” Lion said. “You're doing nothing but upsetting our nerves here.”I raised my eyebrows in surprise and then wearily shook my head.Whether I liked to admit it or not, Lion was right.“Well, I'm off,” I said before getting up. “If anything happens, please tell me.”The priests nodded, and I walked bound for my room, but then I sensed a deep concern co
NadineAlister tried to get out of the prison, but I had my shadows catch him.“Why do you want to run away quickly?” I asked mockingly.“I have the power to finish you off,” Alister said.“And why don't you do it right now?” I questioned defiantly. “You don't kill me because you can't do it, and just now you feel afraid because I have the power. You are terrified to think what power it is that I hide, and truth be told, you should be terrified of me right now.”Alister stood up straight and looked at me haughtily.“You think you can kill me, but the truth is you can't because you know the Anarkhia Order would retaliate in a violent way, and I can swear to you that my killing you will make you suffer in spades,” the vampire said earnestly.It could be true; however, I would have to deal with that later; just at that moment, my thirst for revenge was much greater.“I don't care what the Sons of Anarchy do after they kill you; right now I just want to make you pay for slitting my mother
NadineOutside the Enchanted Forest, the gloom was the prelude to disaster.There was no other appropriate description for what my eyes saw once we all got off Drago's back. My dragon mate, seeing the chaos, decided to remain in his primal form, and I didn't blame him. The guards and priests guarding the gate that protected the Enchanted Forest were fighting with all their might against the children of anarchy. There were hundreds of anarchist men and women of all kinds invoking dark magic and attacking all the caretakers of the forest.The worst thing about that scene was that there was one person who was enjoying that event very much. He was so much enjoying it that he couldn't help but smile, showing all his teeth.Alister was observing everything from the top of a tree, as if he were the king of the world.“This is bad,” Lion said anxiously, and I identified with his words. “I don't understand how the priests didn't set off the displacement alarm so they could flee, and the templ