AVAWe knew it was very possible that the fourth and final marking could be rough. I even expected that I’d need to shift after.I was definitely right on that count. After Theo and I mated and marked, Artemis started freaking out. She was stressed and anxious because something wasn't right… but she also felt like she was a little power drunk. It was a strange, unpleasant combination.“I need to get outside.” I stumbled to stand, sprinting for the door. Once again, not even slightly caring that everyone in the packhouse would be seeing me naked.“Ava, wait!” Theo shouted from behind me. “You don’t have to do this alone.”He sprinted behind me, also not having gotten dressed. I heard another door slam as I ran, followed by the sounds of another three sets of footsteps.As soon as I was outside, I shifted, letting Artemis take the lead. As soon as she did, it was like my entire body just calmed down. It was the strangest and yet the best feeling.I could feel power coursing through my
UNKNOWNIt was a cold, cloudy night. The lands in between the pack territories were quiet as ever, there was hardly any movement, no animals moving through the trees, no wind tickling the leaves.The moon just peaked out as the clouds moved, but it wasn’t really enough to light up the forest. Without a wolf’s eyesight, it would be pitch black and incredibly eerie. It was so dark that even the slightest noise was amplified. A bird in a tree sounded like someone crashing through the undergrowth.A woman stood in the middle of no man’s land on the phone. She was silhouetted against the subtle light of the moon when the clouds shifted. She was standing tall, attempting to appear confident, but her posture and small movements said whatever the person on the phone was saying was cutting through her like butter.Whoever she was talking to was not happy, not happy at all.“I’m sorry, alpha… They… she marked them.” she whimpered.“THEY WHAT?!” The man’s voice was angry, absolutely fuming. “Wha
AVAWe’d just sat down for lunch the next day when Alpha Michael linked me.“My Queen, how are you and our Kings?”“We’re very good now, Michael, thank you for asking.”“Of course, my Queen. I need to speak to you about your pack, we’re having a problem with rogues again.”“Let me just invite the Kings into our link, Michael. Saves us both repeating it.”“Of course, my Queen.”As soon as the four of them joined, he greeted them all by name, his voice full of respect. It was actually kind of heart warming.“Okay, Michael. What’s been happening?”“We had multiple border breaches in the night, my Queen. I had already increased security following what happened on the full moon, so they were not successful. We have two of them ready to be interrogated, and the remainder were either run off or killed.”“Did we lose any wolves or Lycans, Michael?”“No, my Queen. We have seven in hospital with minor injuries, but they will all make a full recovery by the end of the day. They are simply in hos
AVAThe next two days were a blur of border concerns and all manner of other crap. On the third morning, I made a point of doing something normal. I got up at 5am to run with Alex and Kieran. Of course now I had a security escort, but they stayed far enough back that I could attempt to pretend they weren’t there. Not that it’s really possible to ignore the presence of Lycans. Alex beat us to the training ground; I hadn’t actually told him that I was planning to join him for this run.Kieran was standing in the middle of the training grounds when we got there, clearly having just shifted. He jumped and spun around at the sound of paws approaching him, his unease pouring off him at the sight of the Lycans behind me.Then he saw Artemis… and yipped happily.“Ava!” Alex shouted excitedly through the mind link. “I’ve missed running with you.” He suddenly stopped, before correcting himself. “My Queen.”I laughed. “Alex, you’re like a second adoptive father to me. In informal situations, a
CALLUMThe four of us were waiting outside the packhouse when Ava came back. Part of me wanted to insist that if she did this again, she had to take me with her. But since she took the Queen’s guard with her… I didn’t exactly have a leg to stand on, it would have just caused a pointless argument.What I did have though, is a parcel Alpha Michael had sent. I’d already checked it for anything potentially dangerous, and it was brought down by another two members of Ava’s guard. And I could tell straight away… she wasn’t going to be best impressed with what he’d sent. So unimpressed that I’d stashed it in our bedroom and I’d give it to her after breakfast or she’d never eat.I wrapped her in a hug once she shifted back and threw on the clothes I’d found her, with Noah, Theo and Oscar jumping in as soon as I moved. We walked into the dining room together, Ava in between us. Everyone bowed when we walked in, and that was still something I had to get used to… it wasn’t as uncomfortable as
AVAWhen we arrived, Jeremiah opened the door for the Kings to get out first. I could feel the discomfort pouring off them, especially off Theo as the crowd all dropped to one knee.Once they were out, Michael took my hand, helping me step out of the car, before bowing and kissing the back of my hand.“My Queen, my Kings,” his voice was strong, confident, and loud enough that the crowds would have heard him. “I’m delighted you could all join us. I’m sure you could all use a little break following the drive, if you all follow me to the drawing room, where I’ve had afternoon tea arranged for you all.”“Thank you, Michael,” I smiled, taking his offered arm.My four Kings all felt unbelievably nervous, but Theo was easily the worst of the lot.“Theo, you’ve got this,” I attempted to reassure him through our mate link. “I love you and the Kingdom will love you too.”“Thank you, Ava,” he replied, and the uncertainty in his voice broke my heart.We all took our seats in the drawing room, wit
AVATheo and Noah were insatiable to the point that I ended up having to rush to get ready for the dinner in less than half an hour. But… It was still an event I would rather not attend.The butt-hurt looks on some of the faces of the ministers when my Kings and I entered the dining room reinforced those reasons through and through, and those faces only got worse when they all had to stand to bow for us and couldn’t sit until I did. Just out of spite, I made a point of insisting on each of my Kings sitting down first, before I really took my time about the matter.The smirks my Kings were trying (and failing) to hide said they had worked out exactly what I was doing.As soon as I sat, the ministers and ranked pack members followed suit, and staff immediately started moving through the room filling wine glasses.Michael looked in my direction, a question showing on his face. I nodded to him, knowing fully well what he was about to announce.“My Queen, My Kings, Lords, Ladies and estee
AVAThe last thing I wanted to do the morning after an incredibly uncomfortable dinner was to delve into my history and that of my predecessors’ history with Michael, but apparently I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.After a breakfast of croissants, fruit, salmon and cheeses, the five of us made our way to Michael’s office. I stopped in the doorway having noticed the mountain of books on Michael’s desk. They really had been busy…“Please, sit, my Queen, my Kings,” Michael gave a small smile as he motioned for us all to sit around the table. “What do you have for us, Michael?” I jumped straight into it. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this forthcoming history lesson… gut feeling said it would be uncomfortable, to put it politely.“I’ll start from the beginning, my Queen, with the prophecy. We’ve discovered that the prophecy we all know today isn’t the original version, it changed a few centuries ago. The original prophecy is very vague about the number of mates that the Alph