The roar of a motorcycle rumbled down the quiet street, a bulky figure clad in black leathers sitting astride his iron horse, the helmet visor blacked out so no one could see who was behind the mask. Slowly the bike and its rider gathered stares as they passed, some from children playing in their front yards, others from parents wondering who was in their midst. All wary of the power radiating from the stranger riding his Harley, there was another Alpha in Howling Warrior territory.
Her cabin was small but pleasant enough. And situated in the beautiful forests just below the Alpha couples home. Lenora made sure she was hardly ever seen, which seemed to work well for Shadow and Isabella's pack. She had friends, which was odd. She even had family, though things were still awkward between Morgana and herself, even after five years. But the reason for her smile and why she continued to get up every morning was currently talking her ear off as they licked their ice creams and walked along Main Street.Maria Romano Stalker.Somehow this pint-sized ball of energy had worn down the Vampyre Queens strongest barriers and ensconced herself firmly in Lenora's black heart. Every afternoon, she would stop by the cabin on her way home to tell Lenora about Ravenclaw's latest scandal or show the Vampyre her latest magical accomplishment. However, this afternoon Maria talked about something else entirely.Uncle Lucien.According to the f
" I will not chase that woman," Lucien vowed as his would-be mate and his niece both disappeared from view. 'This place is crazier than a snake's armpit,' he thought, deciding to go back to the garage. He put the range rover in gear and continued driving, all the while shaking his head at the sheer insanity of his brother's daily life.Eventually, he pulled up in familiar territory, and Braxton met him at the door, "Forget something?" The henchman drawled. "Only my goddamn mind," Lucien retorted, "Got anything you need doing in the shop? I need to get out of my head for a while.""Damn, I know that feeling," Brax said with a grin, "And it's almost always because of the fairer sex, yeah I've got a few bikes that need tuning up, and I'm sure more will come in. Aimee's taking the club on a practice run today-we always get work after that." Lucien followed the giant man into the garage, heading straight for the bikes in the corner. "Hey, pretty girl," he crooned, stroking
Valenar was away at another meeting. Raeann sat on the bay seat in their bedroom window and looked out on Merde sadly. She'd tried to adjust to this way of life. Valenar was born into it, so he assimilated easily on their return, but Raeann struggled. The young witch was so lonely. Today the wizards and their acolytes were outside in the vast courtyard of the palace. Raeann watched as one mage stood out from the rest. Thorn Lightwing was beautiful to watch. His strong arms twisted and turned, performing patterns in the air for the students to practice. She could see by the sequence that it was an advanced air spell, and sure enough, when he drew the last hieroglyph, the sound of howling wind shook the palace windows as a tornado enveloped Thorn, lifting him high in the air. He vanished from sight to the gasps of his students, and Raeann opened her window to see where he'd gone."Good evening, my Queen.""AAH!"Raeann's heart almost stopped as Thorn sat on the ledge outs
Bang! Bang! Bang!The pounding in Lenora's head had taken on a new level of fuckery as she tried to drown out the sounds of the asshat knocking on her front door. The rain that Maria had caused continued to drown out most of the noise, but whoever was knocking was doing so with fists as hard as Thor's hammer. Sighing in irritation, she took the cushions away from her ears and resigned herself to having a guest. The idiot was cursing on the other side by the time Lenora opened her door, and she was completely unprepared for the sight of Lucien Stalker in a wet white t-shirt."You!" They both exclaimed. Lucien took a breath and muttered, "I should've walked up the damned hill." Lenora glared and pointed in the general direction, "It's not going anywhere. Feel free to carry on walking," she retorted before trying to shut the door. A steel-capped boot stopped the lock from engaging, and Lenora was left with two choices. She could force the door shut-she was strong
Pack politics had always bored Shadow. But after waiting for over an hour, he realized Isabella must be having trouble with one of the pups. They'd worked out early on that once TK sang his sister to sleep, he would also go into a deep slumber, which meant it was either Serena, Abigail, or Jasmine that were hogging her time. He tried to get work done, but the Quins had been major cockblockers, and he was hoping to seduce his sweet mate this evening. That plan looked like it was going down the gurgler now, though.A light knocking on the door had the Alpha sighing. He marked the page in his book, wondering which one of them it was. He opened his door to a sight that would take pride of place in his memory banks for the rest of his life.Isabella looked breathtaking. She had a saucy smile on her pouty lips, and all Shadow could hear was the roar of blood in his ears as it hurtled south towards his groin. Before he could form any sort of response, Bella placed her stilett
Time slowed and then came to a complete standstill. Selene looked on from her garden as Onyx sacrificed himself for his wolf's happiness, "You have proven your love," The Moon Goddess whispered with pride. With her sister's help, she slowly began to unravel the web and turn back time. When it was done, she transported herself to the cave, where Lucy, Onyx, and Maeve lay healing in a deep sleep.The wound on Onyx's neck was slowly healing, and she decided to leave the scar-let it be a constant reminder to Lucy of his undying commitment and love. Moving over to Lucy, the Moon Goddess healed the broken limbs, whispering to her softly, "Your mate loves you, little wolf, don't forsake your own happiness because you're afraid to give him your heart." And finally, she stopped before Maeve.Brushing the curls off the teenager's forehead, Selene kissed her most innocent child, "My darling Maeve, you amaze me every day with your big heart and kind ways, remember this when you fi
As always, he felt the moment she joined the rest of the warriors. His mate.Only by sheer force of will could he look at his Queen without dragging her off to the nearest cave and claiming Raeann for his own. But in a cruel twist of fate, Valenar found her first. In Thorn's eyes, Raeann was the most enchanting creature he had ever seen, and the moment she'd walked into the hall had changed his life forever. Today she walked towards him with fire in her eyes, and he could feel the heat already pooling low in his belly-Thorn wanted her that badly. He forced himself to rein it in, giving Raeann a sarcastic smile instead. "Well, well well, look, who rolled out of bed and decided to join us today?"Raeann glared at him in reproach, "Is that my way to greet your Queen?" She sassed, taking her place with the other students. Everyone tried to talk to her at once, now that she'd finally come out of her ivory tower, and Thorn had to stifle a laugh at how u
Bella stomped around her office, cursing as she looked for an excuse to put off going home. She couldn't believe Shadow didn't want more children. Any attempt by Mazlyn to advocate for her mate fell on deaf ears as she cursed like a sailor, wondering how something so important was never talked about.The phone on her desk started ringing, and Bella gratefully picked up the receiver, happy to have a break from her turbulent thoughts, "Howling Warriors HQ, Luna Bella speaker.""Bella, are you free to talk?" Raeann whispered down the line, earning a grin from her older sister, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice, Rae." Bella replied.Over the next hour, Bella listened as Raeann confessed her feelings for Thorn, the tri-mate bond, and her fear of betraying Valenar. Through it all, Bella listened without judgment."I don't know what to do," Raeann finished, "Is there any way you could come visit for a while?"Bella thought about her comm
Shadow felt his breathing begin to slow as he looked up at his mate. He tried to manage a smile, but the pain was too real, and all he could do was grimace as it arced through his torn-up body. Bella was telling him to hold on, that Valenar was reasoning with the threat, but he knew that there wasn't enough time for him, so using the last of his strength, he lifted his hand and gently placed it against her lips. "I waited a lifetime for you, my Bella," he struggled to get out the words, knowing that this was the last time he would feel her touch, "I will search through a thousand lifetimes to find you mate. You have my heart, you have my soul and no matter where you go after I'm gone, know that in your heart I'll always be here." Bella's lips trembled, and her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head at him, "You promised me forever, Shadow, please don't leave me!" As Shadow closed his eyes against the pain, he was vaguely aware of Bella's screams,
Down in the cellar, the children were quiet. Some trembled while others bristled, eager to get out amidst the fray and earn their place as pack warriors. When the ground above started trembling, and the hatch heaved as though the earth itself was trying to break in, that's when hysteria hit. Onyx struggled to hold back the retired warriors and mothers whose children were valiantly fighting to keep them safe. The tension grew higher as Onyx barked for them all to calm down. Reason was rapidly going out the window, and Lucifer awakened, shining wrathfully through Onyx's eyes as his leadership was challenged. Then, out of the darkness, a clear voice rose, weaving its way through the pack bunched up in close quarters, and Onyx looked gratefully over at his nephew.Tarakona sang of times gone by, the history of the Howling warriors, and his parents' courtship. He spread calm throughout the cellar as they were all transported back to the time of Shadow and Isabella, the magic of th
Like the plague, Hael's anger washed through Howling, killing dozens in its wake. Pyro's magic was depleting itself quickly under the onslaught of his friend's fury, and sensing his master's struggle, Barghest's howl signaled his hellhound's arrival in Howling. Unfortunately, the boy had only lasted seconds as Hael tore his intestines out, half-crazed by the thoughts of his mate being with another man. For the first time in their lifelong friendship, Pyro doubted his ability to reign Hael in."Marie is going to make me eat my own balls," He thought grimly as his legs gave way, blood dripping from his ears as Pyro faced his death. He was lucky in the sense that while he would die in this space, as an overlord in Hade's realm, Pyro would end up back where he belonged anyway, and Marie would be waiting to tear him a new one, as she did every time he went on a jaunt with Hael. Barghest came at a run, bowling through half a dozen wolves as Pyro's magic finally deserted him. His fa
Ratchet left Sal's with a full belly and a grin on his face. Maeve was like the ray of sunshine in his life that made everything okay, and whatever it was that she was dealing with, he was sure she would slay it like she did everything else in her life.Lost in his thoughts, Ian reached his bike in no time, grabbing his helmet and pulling his bandana up to keep the bugs out of his teeth. He didn't see the freight train until it hit him full force in his side. Like a spring flinging loose from a trampoline, he sailed through the air landing heavily on his side. "What the fuck?!" He roared, reaching for his handpiece. When Ratchet found who had rammed him, his mouth dropped open, and the gun fell from his boneless fingers. It was the two giants he caught sniffing around Maeve's shop earlier on. Only now, the one called Hael looked like some avenging angel. His eyes glowed with fury, and his muscles quivered with the urge to smash someone's head in. That someone being Ian.
"I had to stay and run the pack!" Lucien barked defensively, crossing his arms and glaring at the pint-sized woman in front of him. Bella's eyes widened, and he swore he could see steam pouring from her ears. "I call bullshit!" She retorted, getting right in his face; her eyes crackled, and the fury held barely in check started to leak out, giving the Luna a frightening look."You haven't been running the pack," Bella brutally pointed out, "You've been curled up in your bed like a teenage girl listening to sad songs and eating ice cream. Why do you think I'm back so early?"Lucien couldn't find an answer for that. But it didn't matter because Bella wasn't finished, "You have thirty minutes to get dressed and pack a bag, I've already organized a replacement bike for you, and my strongest tracker picked up traces of her scent on the Eastern borders. Got and get your woman Lucien, before someone else claims her." She tossed him the keys to his bike and looked at her watch
The ground felt strange beneath his feet. Grass tickled his toes as he wandered along, breathing deeply of the mountainous air. Beside him strode his friend; he was aware of the appreciative stares from females as they passed by and wondered if maybe it was unusual to see humans in Howling, but then again, they weren't really human-now were they?"Of all the places Hael? I'm allowed one free pass from Hell each millennium, and you bring me to Hicksville?" Pyro Diego glanced at his friend, who didn't bother to answer, and hoped for the sixth time that venturing into a wolf pack disguised as humans was a wise choice. Shaetan only knows what Marie will think when he returns home in a few weeks, and he rather liked his balls."She's here, man, I can sense her," Hael muttered as he began to look in the shop windows, and as the demi-gods came to the one on the corner, Hael stopped and took a deep breath, a guttural growl sounding deep in his chest."This is it."
The vortex appeared directly in front of them, and Jarvis shoved Lucy behind him as he prepared to shift. The sound was deafening, and when the light pulsed, expelling a figure from the portal, Jarvis shielded his eyes from the glare."Well, damn, this is a sorry excuse for a welcome, but I'll take it."Bella stood there, cradling the pup gently in her arms. She knew that their luggage was already at home. Lucy and Jarvis looked at her with their eyes popping and jaws dropping as she smiled back at them. Lucy was the first to recover. "You weren't gone for that long, Luna? What is this? Immaculate conception or something?" She drawled, and Bella laughed. It was good to be home."It's a long story, my friend, and will need to wait until Caspian is settled in. Now, where is my foolish mate?" Bella easily took control, and as they continued walking down the street, it was a relief for Lucy to hand over the reins. As she revealed what had transpired in Bella's absen
Something was wrong in Howling. As Jarvis pulled up to the local herbal shop, it was obvious that something significant had happened here. Many stores were closed, and the usual hustle and bustle of a small town were missing. It made the lion shifter nervous. He was still in his car, wondering at the best course of action, when a familiar figure jogged straight past him."Lucy!"Lucy turned around, and a huge smile greeted him as she jogged back. Jarvis opened the door and stepped out in time for her to pull him in for a hug. "It's so good to see you," She gushed as they pulled away from each other, and Jarvis noticed her eyes sparkled and her mouth curved easily into a grin. If he were ten years younger, Onyx might have had a fight on his hands for Lucy's affections.As he looked at his friend Jarvis, saw the dark circles under her eyes and the weight she had lost, instinctively knowing that something was really, really wrong. When he quizzed her on it, L
"I know it's late, but do you think you would like to take a stroll with me?"Thorn felt like he was drowning as he waited for Raeann's answer. He couldn't even turn around to see what her expression was like; he was that nervous. There were several seconds of silence where Thorn thought he might actually throw up. Then with the tiniest of voices, she replied, "I think I'd like that." Expelling a breath he didn't know he was holding, Thorn turned and let his eyes drink in her beauty. Raeann smiled softly, "April tells me that the thermal baths on the other side of the mountain are nice at this time of the morning?" And Thorn almost stumbled over his own tongue as he hastened to agree. Raeann held out her hand for him to grasp, and he did, almost shyly, shivering as the ever-present tingles made their way up his arms.For a time, they walked in silence, taking in the beautiful view of the sun coming up, as they slowly traversed fire mountain. Eventually, it flattened out near t