Jessi's P.O.V.
After my impromptu meeting with Selene, I can't go back to sleep. I lie against Wyatt and listen to his steady breathing while I try to process everything that happened. I can't help blaming myself. This would have never happened if I hadn't been adamant about letting our wolves run. I remember feeling like someone was watching us when Wyatt threw me to the ground. He must have felt it, too. Was the arrow meant for me or him? I look at his face, and it looks ashen. I've tried to talk to Scar, but he's not responsive. I'm assuming he's feeling the brunt of the effects from the silver. Was it a rogue or someone else who shot at us? Just as the sun begins to rise, I hear a knock on the door before Zoe and Ryder walk in. "How are you, Jessi?" Zoe asks, giving me a hug after I sit up on the side of the bed. "I don't know, honestly." I quickly tell them about my meeting with SeleneWyatt's P.O.V. I don't understand what's happening. I remember going for a run with Jessi, and then everything went black. Why can't I open my eyes? Where am I? I try to talk to Scar, but there's no answer. Am I dead? That can't be right because I wouldn't be able to feel if I was dead, and I can feel a burning pain in my chest. There seems to be a slight burn in my entire body, but the pain in my chest is the worst. I hear people talking, but I don't know where or who they are. Where's Jessi? Where's my mate? Is she okay? I try to mindlink her, but it's like there's a block that won't let me through. When I feel tingling on my forehead, I relax. I recognize Jessi's touch. She's here. She's with me, but why can't I speak or see her? I want to wrap my arms around her but can't move. I want to feel her silky skin and kiss her soft lips. Why does it feel like my mind is in a prison? I know I'm here, but no
Wyatt's P.O.V.My girl is lying beside me, and I can't be happier. That is until I realize I still can't open my eyes. I can feel Jessi against my side and her head on my chest. I want to wrap my arms around her, but I can't move. What happened to me? Why am I stuck in my head? I keep thinking back to our run, since it's the last thing I can remember. I feel like I'm missing something important. I can hear now, so that's something, at least. There's no noise other than Jessi's light snoring. I won't tell her that she snores; she'd probably deny it. I wonder how long I've been stuck like this. Has it only been a few hours or days? Maybe now that I can hear, I'll be able to figure something out. I feel Jessi moving next to me, and I want to tell her not to leave. Luckily, she's just moving closer. She's my light. I'm in the dark right now, but knowing she's out there waiting for me keeps me from going insane. When I hear her sweet voice, I want to cr
Jessi's P.O.V.I fall onto the mat from exhaustion. Gabe worked us so hard this afternoon I'm sure my body is now made of jelly. I just need to get enough energy to get into a shower, and then I can see Wyatt. "Do you need help getting to your room?" Trevor asks, standing over me. I don't like how his eyes run over my sweaty body when I'm wearing hardly any clothing."Nope. I can manage just fine." I respond, jumping up and ignoring the hand he's holding out to me. I'm still not happy with how he talked to me in Wyatt's room. He wouldn't have done that if Wyatt was awake. "Can I at least walk you to your room?" He asks hopefully as I grab a water and head for the door. I need to nip this in the bud now because he's really starting to make me uncomfortable. He went from being a jackass who was treating me like shit to a jackass who keeps testing my patience. "No. We're going in different directions. Besides, I want to check on my mate, and I
Jessi's P.O.V."What? Are you sure it was Gabe?" I ask Wyatt in disbelief. How could it be him? He's been training me for years. He was always a little gruff, but I figured that was because he had been a warrior for so long. Wyatt takes another drink of water when Zoe brings him a fresh cup."I'm positive. I saw him clearly, and that's not all. He had the arrow pointed at you, Jessi. He would have shot you if I hadn't moved you out of the way." I can't believe it. Why would Gabe want to kill me?"I don't understand. Why would he try to kill me?" I ask. Selene was right. Those I thought had my back don't, and those I thought were against me aren't. I don't know who to trust anymore. How am I going to take these men into battle when I have to look over my shoulder to see if one of them is trying to kill me?"Look at me. I need you to stay strong. If he thinks you're on to him, he'll disappear. He came to see me today, and I'm worried that he may
Wyatt's P.O.V.We approach the door to the dining hall, and I can't wait to see the looks on the men's faces. I look up at Ryder and Zoe. "Can you go in first and watch Jock and Gabe to see their reactions when they see me?" I ask them. "Of course. Give us a few minutes before you come in." Ryder says. Once they disappear inside, I look up at Jessi."Are you okay?" I ask her. She smiles at me, but I can tell she's nervous."I'm still trying to come to terms with Gabe trying to kill me and almost killing you. I don't understand. We can't pretend nothing's going on for long, or he'll try again." Jessi says quietly. "I agree. Let's go inside and shake some things up." I have the others watching Gabe and Jock, but my eyes will be on Trevor. No matter what he said to Jessi, I still don't trust him. I lean forward to open the door, and Jessi pushes me inside. I hear gasps all around, but I'm focused on Trevor. He looks between me an
Jessi's P.O.V. When we hear the mindlink, Wyatt and I jump up and run to the door. I stop him before we go out. "You can't be seen. If they see you're back to normal or even close, it could put you at risk. Stay here. I'll mindlink you what's going on." I can see the frustration on his face, but he nods. "Okay. Be careful; I love you." He leans down to kiss me, and I curse the damn rogues for interrupting my alone time with Wyatt. "I love you too. Hopefully, I won't be long." I tell him before opening the door and running out. I see the other warriors and guards running toward the front door in various stages of dress. The next attack shouldn't have been until tomorrow. Why the change in pattern? I reach downstairs as the door flies open, and the three rogues rush inside. I pull out my long knife as I run toward them. When I'm almost there, I leap in the
Jessi's P.O.V. "What do you mean Trevor is Gabe's son? Are you sure?" I ask Jock in disbelief. How could no one have known this? "Yes. He's his illegitimate son. He got a human woman pregnant before he met his fated mate. Gabe left the woman and his unborn son for his mate. However, they were never able to have pups. Gabe wanted a son, so he forced his fated mate to allow the human woman and his son to move in with them. They lived in a small house outside of the palace. He kept this secret from everyone. From what Selene disclosed, Gabe wanted to become the lead warrior and make his son his second. They planned to take over the palace and become the new royals. Gabe and Trevor are responsible for the large group of rogues outside and how they know when to attack." Jock's wounds are almost healed, and from the look on his face, I believe what he's saying. It's all starting to make sense now. "Why are they
Jessi's P.O.V. I jump out of bed as soon I get the distraught mindlink from Ryder. Wyatt and I throw clothes on and race out of the room, no longer caring who sees him walking. Guards and warriors are frantically looking for the princess everywhere. When we reach the office, I hear Zoe's sobs, breaking my heart. Ryder runs to us as soon as we walk through the door. "What do you mean, Samira is gone?" I ask him in disbelief. Ryder falls to his knees with tears running down his face. "When we get up, we always peek into her room to check on her. When we went in this morning, her bed was empty. At first, we thought she had gotten up already, but we knew something was wrong when we couldn't find her or mindlink her. I found this note on my desk." Ryder hands me a crumpled-up piece of paper before standing up and going to Zoe. Both of them are sobbing. Lucas is there, too, with tears streaming down his cheeks. As I rea
One Year LaterDavina's P.O.V.I look down at my sleeping daughter, Aleigha, in my arms and smile. She's almost six months old. If she only knew what we went through to have her. One day, I'll be sure to tell her. She has red hair just like me and dark brown eyes like Jock. Despite Trevor's constant teasing that our baby could be Karl's, Rmina assured us that the spell would have killed any viable sperm, so there was no way it could cause me to get pregnant. After defeating Surtur, everything calmed down around here. Jill and Karl returned home to have their twins with a promise they would visit and that they could visit us any time. I didn't let them fight with us because they hadn't trained, and Jill was pregnant, but I was so grateful they had come to help when we needed it. All of our other guests remained at the palace. Zoe and Ryder were fine with all the new people. We're truly a family.Everyone has little ones now. We have a baby phoenix,
Davina's P.O.V. Xantha moves to stand with Surtur while the other demons run toward us. It's time for the battle to begin. Izzy and Shadow return to the skies to do what they can. Our side spreads out, with everyone sticking with their mates. A demon runs toward me and Jock. I leap in the air and kick him in the face while blowing my dust on him to blind him. Jock uses his sword, piercing it through his heart and then cutting off his head. We toss him into the crack that Surtur made. It actually helps us so we can send all the demons where they deserve to go, to burn in hell. We move on to the next one, and I see the others are doing the same as we did, sending the demons to hell. Izzy swoops down, chomps two demons in half, and spits them into the hole in the ground. Shadow picks one up with his talons and tears him apart before sending him to hell. Malantha and Maelani are working with Dion to
Davina's P.O.V. "How did they get you and the kids?" I mindlink Zoe, Ryder and everyone who's fighting with us. "We were hiding in the basement with the kids when we were suddenly outside, and the demons had us. I don't understand how it happened." Zoe mindlinks us back. I can hear the desperation in her voice. This sounds like something Cressida would do, but she's dead. It has to be a witch. Just as I'm about to mindlink everyone, a woman walks out from behind the demons. She's beautiful with long reddish blonde hair, but her eyes are completely black. "She's a witch and not just any witch. Her magic is darker than we've ever seen. Everyone be careful." I mindlink them. "Well, hello there, fine palace dwellers. I have been anxious to meet the people who killed Cressida. I'm Xantha." I glare at the witch. I want to squash her with my foot, but I can't do anything until
Davina's P.O.V.When we see the hounds and lower demons, I look at Jessi. We all know this is only Surtur's first attack. He'll save the best for last, so we need to reserve our energy. "Everyone stay back. Let me take care of these rats." I make myself tiny and fly over those running through the gates. I sprinkle my dust as I go. They all turn into giant rats. Hmmmm, what dance shall we have them do? I know this isn't the time for fun and games, but we need a little laughter before we face the fire demon. I've got the perfect song. I return to the others, and they all look at me."Come on, fellas, show us what you got." I clap my hands, and the rats all line up in rows, standing on their hind legs. When they begin singing and dancing, everyone howls with laughter. "You have them singing Y.M.C.A.?" Jessi asks while wiping the tears from her eyes."Yep, why was there something else you'd rather hear?" Jessi shakes her head while pulling out
Davina's P.O.V. After Karl gave his sample to Rmina. We got him, and Jill settled into a guest room. Rmina kicked me out of her bedroom when I kept asking her how much longer it would be, so now I'm pacing in the hallway. I could make myself tiny and get back in, but I don't want to make her mess up the potion. Jock is leaning against the wall, watching me. This is our chance to have a baby, and we both feel anxious. When the door to Rmina and Trevor's bedroom opens, I stop. Rmina walks out with a smile, holding up a small glass bottle. "I made it into an oil. You need to rub it all over your body and let it soak in for an hour, and then you can take a shower. After that, you should be able to get pregnant." She hands me the small bottle and I wrap my arms around her. "Thank you. I love you, Rmina." She chuckles and hugs me back. "I love you too, you crazy fai
Davina's P.O.V. "So, can I have some of your semen?" I look at Jill and Karl, and they both look like they're ready to run away. Jessi, Wyatt, and Trevor are laughing so hard I think they might fall over. This is no laughing matter."Why do you need Karl's semen?" Jill asks. I guess I should have explained it a little better."I need it so I can have a baby. So can I have some?" The others are laughing even harder while Jock's hold on me gets stronger. What is wrong with everyone? I'm telling the truth. Jill stands in front of Karl like she's going to attack me if I get near him."You want to have sex with my mate?" She asks through clenched teeth. I shake my head."Let me explain." Rmina steps forward. I wish her luck because I told them what I needed it for. What else is there to say? "I'm Rmina, and I'm a witch. The demon Asmodeus had a spell placed on Davina so she couldn't get pregnant with anyone except him. She is now mated to Jock, the man w
Rmina's P.O.V.While the others are going through the palace looking for any more spies, Trevor and I are working on a special project. Even though Asmodeus is dead, the spell on Davina is still in place. I need to find a way to remove it. I feel bad now that she's explained why she always picks on me. It has to be hard on her knowing she can't get pregnant when she wants a child so badly. "Any luck?" Trevor asks, putting his arms around me from behind. "Not yet, but I think I'm getting closer," I answer as he kisses my cheek. Most people see him as nothing more than a warrior, but I know the truth. Trevor has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know. He doesn't always know how to show it because, let's face it, Gabe and Cressida weren't exactly good role models. His hands slide down to my belly to cover my small bump where our son is growing. "I can't wait until he's here," Trevor says against my ear. "Me neither. I know he's a pup, but
Gabriel's P.O.V. No one ever asks for my help. Most people don't even know I exist. They think of other shifters like wolves or bears, but there aren't many like me. I'm an alicorn. My alicorn's name is Thunder. He's dark gray with blue eyes like mine. We're running to the palace rather than flying because we'd be noticed by humans. Selene reached out to me and asked for my assistance. I was honored that she considered me. I spend all my time alone. After my parents left me when I was a foal, I've been alone ever since. They said I could take care of myself because I was a shifter. That was over twenty years ago, and I'm now thirty. Thunder reaches the palace gates and shifts. An advantage of being an alicorn is that we have a little magic and can shift without removing our clothes. I run my fingers through my golden brown hair while the guards look at me with their mouths open. Well, at least someone is impresse
Surtur's P.O.V. I can't believe that idiot thought he could go after Davina and the others with guns blazing but with no plan. Well, that's one nuisance out of the way. Asmodeus wasn't even worthy to be down here, in my opinion. He was too caught up in all his women. I understand he was the demon of lust, but there is more to life than sex. One of my hounds was spying on him, and he saw the entire fight. Even I almost laughed when he said Davina made Asmodeus and his hounds do the Macarena. That fool was probably madder than hell. He didn't have a firm grip on anything, it seems. Two of his daughters and his head hound turned their backs on him and chose another life. That would never happen to me. The people around me know if there was any type of insubordination, they would be dead. I look at the demons in front of me who have agreed to go against Satan and take over the Earth. It is time that w