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
LiaAfter that startling revelation, I decided I needed to spend some quality time with my mates.It was a lot to take in when you realize that your ancestors double-crossed a bunch of dragon shifters to save the world. Then you go ahead and screw it up. The you is me.I was the one who messed it up but if they had just told me the truth then everything would’ve been fine. Maybe we could’ve come with some way to keep the dragons at bay.Right now, I didn’t want to think about it. We were still at the hotel, trying to figure out what the hell we were doing. Simone was with me in her room with her mates out getting something to eat. It was giving us a chance to talk.I flopped onto the hotel bed with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. “I need to figure out how to spend some quality time with them.”This was what I wanted to focus on right now. I spent some quality time with my mates and tried to distract myself from everything that was going on.She glanced at me, smiling.I stared back
LiaThe dragon shifter showed up, climbing into the back of the truck. I was sitting there with him, wishing he would stop staring at me so strangely. He was looking at me as if he knew me but the two of us didn’t know each other!“You seem familiar,” the dragon shifter said, his golden eyes studying me with unnerving intensity.I stiffened. “We’ve never met.”A small, almost amused smirk played on his lips. “Of course. And yet…” He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over me like he was searching for something. “There’s something about you. Almost as if we have met before. In another life, maybe.”I swallowed, my heart pounding against my ribs. “That’s not possible.”“Isn’t it?” His voice was smooth, but there was something else beneath it—something ancient, knowing. “I’ve lived long enough to believe in more than just what’s in front of me.”I held my ground, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Then maybe it’s just a trick of the mind.”He studied me for a long moment before h
ColbyFor the next two nights, I stayed outside and hoped that I would meet that dragon shifter again. His name didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, so I just kept calling him Dragon Shifter in my head.Their names were so hard and difficult to pronounce. Made sense, given how old they were. Ancient.On the third night, I was starting to wonder if he was ever going to show up again. He had to hurry up because with every day that passed, the worse this crisis became. It was terrible to think more dragons were waking up.If we didn’t talk to the Rosewater Coven soon we were going to be fucked.I leaned against the car, arms crossed, watching as the dragon shifter approached. He didn’t look like much—a tall, lean figure in the shadow of the streetlight. But there was something about him. Something that screamed danger. I wasn’t sure if that was the dragon in him or the fact that I still didn’t trust him.“Colby,” he said, his voice low but steady. “We need to talk.”I pushed off the car,
LiaI exhaled slowly, stretching out my fingers as the energy built inside me. A spark of light flickered between my palms, growing brighter as I focused. The magic thrummed through my veins, warm and alive, bending to my will.I flicked my wrist, sending a controlled pulse of energy toward the target. It hit dead center, leaving a faint scorch mark.Behind me, Simone let out a low whistle. “Damn, Lia. You’re getting pretty good at this.”I grinned, wiping the sweat from my brow. “I have to be.”Simone crossed her arms, watching me closely. “You mean you want to be.”I shrugged, rolling my shoulders. “Both. I need to be strong enough to protect everyone.”She tilted her head. “You know you don’t have to do everything alone, right?”I sighed, flexing my fingers as another surge of power built beneath my skin. “I know.”Simone didn’t look convinced. “Do you, though? Because it kind of seems like you’re trying to carry the whole damn world on your shoulders.”I glanced at her. “I’m not—”
ColbyTalking with Michael did help. It made me even more determined to protect Lia with every bone in my body.When it was later that night, I decided to head outside. I needed some air and was sick of being in the stuffy hotel room.The cool air felt good. I walked over to one of our cars, taking in the night sky and the sound of the crickets.There was one good thing about traveling away from the city; we were getting to see some beautiful sites. I loved it.It was a shame that the pack decided to do this because we were trying to prevent a bunch of ancient, sleeping dragons from waking up.The previous attack was still being talked about. Some of the dragons had been killed while others were apprehended by the various supernatural creature associations.Frankly, I was just grateful there weren’t a lot of casualties from the attack.I leaned against the hood of the car, inhaling the cool night air. My ribs ached, my knuckles were raw, and frustration still simmered under my skin. W
LiaI was so scared when I saw Matt fall down.Then I saw the blood. Anger and worry flooded through me followed by fear.I was so scared for him. He was bleeding and might die from his injuries.It was why I had learned a healing spell during my latest batch of studies.The pack was going to be heading into an unknown situation. I needed to make sure I could at least heal them to an extent.But the healing school came with a downside—it exhausted me.Rain came up beside me, wrapping an arm around me while Jesse and Colby helped Matt.The five of us hobbled out of the town. We weren’t followed by the coven; they wanted to be left alone so they were going to stay as far away from us as possible.After hopping in our car, we met with Simone. All of us regrouped. I stood there with Simone patted my shoulder.Growling in frustration, I started to walk ahead. My body was aching but I didn’t care. I needed to clear my mind.We left with nothing. No answers, no leads—just bruises, torn cloth
LiaI saw the town in the distance, and it made me sick to my stomach.The town was the definition of a ghost town. There wasn’t anyone around, and I swear I saw a tumbleweed drift by.It was like I had stepped into some creepy horror movie with western undertones.My magic was crackling at my fingertips, prepared and ready.A rustling reached my ears. I cried out, sending a blast of energy toward the overgrown grass. A squirrel scurried out, the edge of its tail singed.“Lia, my dude, you almost murdered a squirrel. What did that squirrel ever do to you?”“Nothing!” I shrieked. “And I didn’t know it was a squirrel. I thought it was one of the members of the coven!”Jesse rolled his eyes. “Could you two be any louder?” he asked, rolling his eyes.“Yeah, you're going to alert them to our presence,” Colby pointed out, holding his finger to his lips. “Seriously, we are far too exposed right now. Let’s duck into one of those abandoned buildings and hide out while discussing strategy.”Sim
MattI was angry.Angry that we were forced to go on this wild goose chase to ensure that these dragons wouldn’t keep waking up and destroying the world.It wasn’t like I wanted the world to be destroyed. This was my home—my life.But it still pissed me off.I’d rather be on the field, playing rugby and winning for my team. This was where I felt most alive.Or at home with Lia and the rest of the pack. We were great together, having built a family somehow.Michael and Gabi were lucky to be back at the house, but I know they’d rather be here with us. If not for the twins, they would be.I wouldn’t have let Lia come if she was pregnant.Then again, I don’t think any of us could’ve stopped her. When she puts her mind to something, she becomes very stubborn and determined.Grumbling to myself, I glanced over at Colby, who was staring out the window.The group was back on search. We jumped into our cars and started following the trail, not sure if we were going the right way. Tegan and Lia
LiaThe search wasn’t going very well. We were sitting here at night after a long day of searching, crowded around the flat screen in the room watching some movie. I wasn’t even paying much attention to it. It was some cheesy rom-com that couldn’t keep my interest.All that mattered was being able to sit there with my mates.Then the words Emergency Broadcast Announcement flashed across the screen. A very nervous-looking news announcer sat there, trembling behind the desk."This is an emergency alert from the National Emergency Broadcast System. We interrupt this program for an urgent announcement.""At approximately 8:42 PM, a sudden and unprovoked attack by rogue dragon shifters was reported in multiple locations. Authorities confirm significant structural damage, fires, and civilian casualties. Emergency response teams are being dispatched to affected areas.""All residents are urged to seek immediate shelter. Avoid open areas, remain indoors, and secure all entry points. Do not at