Lia"I'm doing it," I said firmly. "I'm getting my magical license."Silence. Four pairs of eyes stared at me.I wish they would say something. They staring at me was making me nervous."You’re sure?" Colby asked, arms crossed.My eyes locked with his and I nodded firmly.There was no going back now."Yes," I replied. "My teacher says I’m ready.""You are," a new voice chimed in. I turned to see my teacher standing in the doorway, watching me with approval. "You’ve trained hard. You’ve earned this."Colby let out a low whistle. "Damn. Didn’t think we’d get here this soon.""You doubted me?" I shot him a look.He grinned. "Nah, I just figured you’d take longer to admit how powerful you are.""You do hesitate sometimes," Matt added. "It’s good to see you finally stepping up."Jesse nodded. "It’s the right move.""You think so?" I asked, glancing at Rain.He scoffed. "Of course. You supported me through my vampire trial, remember? I was a wreck, Lia. I doubted myself at every turn, and yo
ColbyThings had been quiet for a while. I think that was when it hit me that something might go wrong. It was two weeks of no attacks on the house or any of us so I started to grow nervous, sometimes staying up until all hours of the night ready to protect the pack if I needed too.Lia encouraged me to go off to bed one night when she found me. It was rich coming from the woman who had to be carried to bed by Jesse after throwing a large fit. I pointed it out, earning a glare from her.“We aren’t talking about me,” Lia snapped. “We are talking about you right now, Colby.”I shrugged. “Yes, but you shouldn’t throw stones when you live in a glass house, Lia.”The scowl deepened, causing me to laugh. I closed the distance between us, brushing my lips over her temple.“You need to sleep,” Lia muttered, wrapping her arms around my tightly. “I don’t want you to pass out or anything. And it’s not like I can heft you over my shoulder, Colby.”A smirk flew to my lips.“That’s true.”“Unless I
Lia"Drive faster, Simone," I muttered, glancing over my shoulder.Simone snorted. "Relax, Lia. You act like they’re gonna chase you down in their cars."I crossed my arms. "You don’t know that. Colby has tracked me down before just because he ‘had a feeling’ I was stressed."Simone laughed. "Okay, that’s kind of cute.""It’s annoying.""It’s protective.""It’s suffocating."She shot me a look. "You love it."I huffed. "Not today. Their nerves will rub off on me. I already feel like I’m going to throw up. If they were in the car, they’d be hovering, asking me a million times if I’m ‘okay’—and then I really would throw up."Simone smirked. "And Matt would dramatically blame himself."I groaned. "Exactly! Rain would try to be calm, but his leg would be bouncing, Colby would make stupid jokes, and Jesse would be the quietest one—but somehow the most intense."Simone hummed. "So, what you’re saying is… they care."I rolled my eyes. "Yes. But today, I need space.""And that’s why you snuck
ColbyWhen I found a message in my inbox from the werewolf association. They accepted our application and gave us a date for our full mating ceremony to take place in about three months.I felt my heart start to beat a bit faster.How could it be so soon?It might sound like my fears were getting the best of me and I was facing cold feet, but it wasn’t that. I just couldn’t believe we had gotten to this point.A part of me always feared that something was going to go wrong or Lia was going to take off running. In the beginning, this was almost guaranteed. She couldn’t stand being around us. The more time she spent around us the more Lia hated us.But we tried to bond with her in our way.It worked and it didn’t work. Fast forward months and months later, we’ve managed to all become a unit or a pack if you will. I had never imagined myself becoming a pack leader, but here we are.I headed downstairs, pausing at the sight. Michael and Gabi were downstairs. They had finally ventured from
LiaIt was a week after my trial, early in the morning, when the number of the Witches Association flashed across my phone.I paled, pulse racing.The phone kept ringing. I was frozen, thumb hovering over the green icon.If I didn’t answer they would be forced to leave a message. A message I would have to return because they certainly wouldn’t give me the results with a phone call.I take a deep breath and swipe up."Hello?""Is this Lia Brown?""Yeah, that’s me.""We’ve been expecting your call. I have your results here.""And?""Congratulations, Lia. You passed. You are now officially recognized as a witch.""Wait, seriously?""Yes, seriously. You demonstrated remarkable skill, control, and endurance during your trials. You met all the requirements, and your potion work was especially impressive.""I can’t believe it. I thought I screwed up the second part.""Your energy output was high, but you recovered well. The council was impressed by your adaptability.""I felt like I was bare
LiaI groaned, throwing my head back against the couch. "I swear, if one more of them tries to fluff my pillows or bring me soup, I’m going to scream."Simone snorted. "Oh no. Not soup. The horror.""I’m serious. They’re driving me nuts. I love them, but they’ve cranked the overprotectiveness to suffocating levels. I can’t even go to the bathroom without one of them hovering outside like I’m going to keel over mid-walk.""To be fair, you did almost die.""Details." I waved a hand. Then, after a beat, I straightened. "You have to get me out of here."Simone blinked. "What?""Smuggle me out. Through the window. Just for an hour. I need space."She burst out laughing. "Not.""Come on! I am being held hostage by my mates!""And you think I want to be an accomplice in your inevitable downfall? Yeah, no. I like living, thanks.""Coward.""Survivor," she corrected. "Besides, let’s be read, you honestly think you’d make it five steps before one of them sensed you were gone and came running?"
LiaI had finally healed and all I could think of was getting hell out of this house."We should go away for the weekend," I had said, leaning forward with excitement. "Get a suite, spend the night together, just the five of us."Rain immediately furrowed his brows. "Why can't we just stay home?"Before I could answer, Jesse smirked and threw an arm over the back of the couch. "Because Lia’s brother is here and doesn’t want to hear his sister’s cries of passion."My face burned instantly. "Jesse!" I hissed, swatting at him, but that only made him chuckle."Calm down," Colby interjected, always the peacemaker, though there was amusement dancing in his eyes.Matt, however, wasn't having it. "Shut up," he muttered, clearly irritated by the whole discussion."You shut up," Jesse shot back. "Just because you don’t want to admit it’s a good idea doesn’t mean—"Matt cut him a glare. "It’s not about that. It’s about you being incapable of having a normal conversation without making it weird."
JesseThe sounds escaping Lia right now were driving me mad. She was on the bed, bouncing on top of Colby’s cock. I was stroking my own slowly, not wanting the moment to be over.Her breasts were bouncing, moans spilling from her lips. Colby held onto her hips tight enough to bruise. I remember the one time I left bruises in the shape of fingerprints on her hips.It was beyond enticing to leave my mark on her. All of us probably felt that way at some point.When Lia did come, she collapsed on top of Colby’s chest. He lifted her off, finishing outside of her. She whimpered, rolling over and spreading her legs.“Jesse, please.”I groaned, surprised I didn’t come at once.Colby climbed off the bed and I sat down where he had once been. I pulled Lia into my lap, allowing her arms to drape over my shoulders. She could do little but cling to me in desperation.It was as if she were nothing more than a rag doll. I knew I wasn’t going to last long with her whimpers of pleasure and the way she
JesseOut of all the mates in our group, I was most aware. It wasn’t like I wanted to mock the others, but the fact of the matter was, I was the type of person to be aware of what was going on with everyone.If something was off, I was going to notice it.Now, with Rain, this didn’t count because he wore his heart on his sleeve. He always made it so obvious when something was wrong, and couldn’t hide his emotions even if he tried. If he did try, then he ended up being more obvious than usual!The others depended. Colby and Matt could hide their emotions, but not from me. Lia also depended, while Michael did a pretty good job of hiding it unless it had to do with Gabi and the kids. If it had to do with one of them, then he showed how upset he was because they were his family.Not that we weren’t, but they were his mate as well as children. It was a little different.Today I was out with Lia. The two of us were going for a walk, trying to enjoy some of the fresh air. I did offer the oth
MattThe past few days have been pretty crazy. I have been trying to deal with healing and then working as a coach while also spending time with my mate and pack. Everything was much better than it had been, especially with my former pack behind bars.I couldn’t stand them. Anytime I thought of them, I got upset, but right now, they were the last thing I wanted to talk about. What I wanted to focus on was the fact that Lia and I had made our way to her room, kissing passionately after going out to see a movie together.Honestly, I couldn’t even remember what the movie was. I remember the people being all romantic on screen and acting like idiots. This meant it had to be a romantic comedy. Was it obvious I wasn’t a big fan of romantic comedies? Because I wasn’t. They were stupid and a waste of time b but Lia seemed to like them.My favorite type of movie to see with Lia was a horror movie because then she got scared and cuddled up close to me. Who wouldn’t want to cuddle up with Lia wh
LiaI’m in the backyard, ready to start practicing. I have to always be ready. This is why I try to carve time for myself to practice magic. Everyone around here is always practicing their skills because you never know when something is going to happen.After the crazy time we had, I wanted to be ready for anything. How was I to know when a coven seeking revenge or some dragon shifters who had been sleeping“Okay… let’s not get rusty,” I murmured, staring down at the candle placed in the center of a circle I’d drawn with chalk. “Just a little warm-up. Easy.”“Talking to yourself again?” Rain’s voice floated over from the porch, teasing as ever.I didn’t look up. “It’s called focus. You should try it sometime.”“I’m very focused,” he said, strolling over with that infuriating grin. “I’m focusing on how intensely you’re trying to intimidate a candle.”“It’s not intimidation. It’s discipline.” I took a slow breath, letting the magic rise like a tide inside me. “Now hush.”“Shutting up,”
LiaNow that I’ve spent all this time with my mates, I wanted to spend time as a whole with everyone in the pack. This was why I let myself into the house my brother now lived in. See I had a key and he had a key to the place I had with my own mates. We were part of a pack so if we didn’t want to let the other in we would say something ahead of time.I found Michael in the kitchen, his head buried in the fridge like he was on a mission. “Hey,” I said, leaning against the doorframe.He grunted in acknowledgment, pulling out a container of leftover pasta and giving it a suspicious sniff. “Who made this? You?”“Gabi,” I said.He immediately popped the lid and started digging in cold with a fork. “Then I trust it.”I made a face. “Cold pasta?”“Don’t judge me. I’m a man of simple pleasures.” He took another bite, then finally looked at me properly. “What’s up?”“I was wondering…” I hesitated, then sighed. Why was this suddenly awkward?Michael raised an eyebrow. “You okay? You look like y
MattI found her on the porch, curled under a blanket like a cozy little woodland creature, mug in hand, book in lap. Honestly? Not fair how good she looked doing absolutely nothing.“Hey,” I said, leaning on the railing and trying to sound casual. Which meant I sounded like I was overthinking breathing.She glanced up, smiling. “Hey. Why do you look like you’re about to give a presentation in front of the school board?”“Because I’m brave,” I muttered. “And because I came to ask if you wanted to go for a walk. In the forest.”Her smile widened. “A walk?”“Yeah. Just us. Trees. Quiet. No one is trying to set the microwave on fire.”She sat up, already pulling off the blanket. “Of course I’ll go. I love when you get all woodsy and mysterious.”“I am always woodsy and mysterious.”“You spilled coffee on your shirt this morning and said, ‘The mug betrayed me.’”“It did.”She stood, and I thought that was that—until we heard it.Crunch.A very loud, very obvious crunch from behind the scr
ColbyEveryone was doing their own thing to bond with Lia. I decided that I was just going to cook dinner for the whole group, and then I would sneak her some dessert. Great for us to have a private dessert. Something chocolatey, maybe. She always smiled more with chocolate.“I’m making dinner tonight,” I announced, tossing my keys into the dish by the door and heading straight for the kitchen.Rain popped his head around the corner, eyes lighting up. “Ooh! Need a sous chef?”I didn’t even hesitate. “Not.”“What?!”Rain gasped like I’d just insulted his entire bloodline. “Banned?! That’s so harsh!”I had to stifle a chuckle even though he was just being his usual self. That was Rain for you. But he would be fine after a while. He just had to get over his little pouting session.Lia appeared behind him, crossing her arms. “Rain, last time you helped, the smoke alarm had to be reset twice.”“That was an accident!” Rain argued. “The stove was faulty!”“No,” Matt said from the couch witho
JesseAfter learning that Rain had a successful date, I decided that it was my turn to take Lia out. I had something in mind. It was a bit of an odd date—the two of us were going to play chess. Or I was going to invite her out to play chess.Chess was an awesome game that I loved. I tried to teach some of my friends the game, but only Michael was interested and now he had kids. Colby just didn’t want to waste time on it, Matt had no patience and Rain was well… Rain.If Rain ever came to me and said that he wanted to learn chess, I think I might die from shock.“I’m taking you out,” I said.She blinked. “Okay… where?”“The park,” I replied, dropping my hands into my pockets.Her head tilted slightly. “Just the park?”I nodded. “Yeah. We’re going to learn how to play chess.”Lia stared at me. “Chess?”“Chess.”“Like… with the little horses and castles and tiny guys in helmets?”“They’re knights and rooks and pawns,” I corrected, lips twitching at the corners. “But yes. That chess.”Ther
RainI had a plan and the plan was to do something romantic with Lia. It didn’t matter if it led to something more, but I wanted the two of us to spend some quality time together. The two of us hadn’t spent any time together with it just being us.None of the guys had been able to spend any quality time with her either because of all the shit going on in our lives.This wasn’t going to happen any longer.I had racked my brain, trying to think of something to do, and then I realized that I was going to surprise Lia with a private picnic in a meadow that was nearby.So I decided to go to her door to talk with her, letting her know that I was taking her out on a date.Well, if she wanted to go out on a date. She was perfectly capable of saying no. and could say no. I didn’t care if she did or not.No, that was a lie. I wanted her to say yes, but if she didn’t want to go, then this was fine too. Lia was her person and could decide what she wanted to do.“I’m taking you out tomorrow,” I sa
LiaAfter everything we dealt with regarding Matt’s old pack and Colby fighting them, we needed a break. I was planning something with my pack, or more specifically, my mates. We were just going to have a quiet evening at home and enjoy our time together.Simone was helping me plan. She was a great friend, doing what she could to help me plan this thing.Now the sun was starting to set. We had managed to get the guys out of the house so they wouldn’t bother either of us while we planned. Rain would blurt everything to the entire household if he caught wind of anything.Rain was incapable of keeping a secret. This was why everyone kept secrets from him and also kept him out of the kitchen, but that was a completely different story.But then they did come home, and I was forced to tell everyone what was going on. They started to do some things to help me prepare for the night, wanting to do their part.The sun was just beginning to dip behind the trees, painting the sky in streaks of or