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Chapter 89
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Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 90
DeidreIf this night wasn’t already surreal, I wouldn’t have believed it. Here, in the depths of a cave, I would meet him. Finally, after all these years.Jason had shielded me from duty as much as possible–but this trek? Hiking here every night? It was…“Ready?”No. That much was clear. But I nodded.One last steel gate stood before us, and Mistra held a key aloft from her pocket. I eyed her cautiously, pointing a thumb over my shoulder. “Are the three gates not enough?”Her lips pursed before answering. “Yes. Though this one is a… a formality.”I blinked. “Excuse me?”“You understand that he’s nearly twenty-four years old, correct?”I sputtered. Had time really gone that quickly? “Of course I do.”“Then you’ll understand,” she drawled, “that he’s entitled to his privacy.”“Privacy?” I spat, on uneven footing both physically and mentally. “How much more private could it get in here?”“Sienna wished that he live with the dignity he deserves,” Mistra said smoothly, but her eyes flashed
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 91
Deidre “Happy to make yourself at home, are you?” My spine shot straight in surprise, the glass dropping from my trembling hand. I watched it fall to the polished wood floors, a single second before it splintered into a thousand glass pieces, great gobs of water already poised to splash out and over the surface of the– I blinked. The cup was gone. Not on the floor, not shattered, but– A soft *clink* of glass on marble countertop sounded to the side. I blinked, taking in the unbroken cup Sirius set there with apparent ease. “Ah, but I forgot. As Luna, all of this territory is your home, isn’t it? Of course, what’s mine is yours, isn’t it? Well, except for my father. He’s all yours.” I stood in stunned silence, unable to move. His voice was low. Rumbling. I was surprised; I hadn’t expected much, but I had expected disuse. Maybe hoarseness. Sirius folded his arms, eyeing me carefully despite the cool disassociation of his voice. “Not what you expected?” he drawled. I forced myself
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 92
Deidre The next few hours passed in uncomfortable–and dizzying–silence. Sirius and Mistra stayed to themselves, harmlessly reading the same book, side by side, and comparing notes. I tried not to notice how close together they sat on the couch. I guess it was his lack of human contact, but… he was over twenty years her junior. At nearly five in the morning, Sirius excused himself through a door I hadn’t noticed earlier for a round of exercise. Apparently this replica had a few modifications, a gym included. Mistra and I were left alone. “So, what do you think?” It was the first time Mistra had addressed me since Sirius had made his appearance in human form. “You know exactly what I think,” I seethed, finally feeling like I was able to draw breath. “You let me walk into this blind!” “Blind?” She laughed, sweeping her dark hair over one shoulder and standing, making her way over to the fridge and pulling cheese and fruits out of it. “What could I have said that you didn’t already e
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 93
Kira My phone buzzed, jerking me awake. I had barely slept for an hour off patrol and I had to be up for that stupid fucking meeting. PERRIN: Missed you on our run earlier. KIRA: Patrol is kicking my ass, sorry. PERRIN: As long as it’s keeping you out of trouble. KIRA: Who said I’m not up to trouble? PERRIN: Does this have anything to do with you and Ben making out? I shot bolt upright. What the hell? We didn’t make out! We had given me a ride on his bike for crying out loud– I began typing furiously, when bubbles appeared on the screen again, Perrin’s next message coming in. PERRIN: *Sorry, making up, not making out PERRIN: Tho honestly no judgment, I’m just glad you backed off after dinner last week He had a point. To him and Lo I looked like a total bitch. I suppose I had been. I decided to change the subject. KIRA: Want to catch up later? Deidre canceled on me today so I don’t have princess lessons this morning. PERRIN: Can you stop calling them that? KIRA: Why? He
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 94
KiraThe Alpha’s office felt small. Too small. Suffocatingly small.“And what,” Alpha Jason was saying carefully, his jaw clenched, “in this Goddess’ world made you think that was a good idea?”To Perrin’s credit, he wasn’t shying away. He stood firm, tall and erect in the middle of his father’s office, unashamed and unabashed.“I’m in agreement with Jesamine on this,” Perrin said again, arms folded. The tension was so palpable that I swallowed audibly. Fortunately it covered the sound of my growling stomach. Perrin had decided that we were coming straight here and could have lunch afterward. I, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure that we were walking out of this office alive.“Do you have any idea how much we need that information?” Mark seethed through gritted teeth, arms folded. From what I could tell, he was inches from trying to interrogate Perrin in the way he preferred to interrogate, Alpha Select status be damned.“There’s preparation that needs to be done, Perrin,” Alpha Jason
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 95
Kira“You handled yourself well back there,” I said softly after we had settled down at the kitchen island. As usual, Dina worked her quiet magic and fat sandwiches were placed down in front of us. A moment later, fat milkshakes slid their way across the counter in our direction.I tried not to think about the last time I had lunch here, and how Ethan had dropped the bomb on me that I needed, in turn, to drop on Perrin.Well, maybe not drop. Just… detonate. Politely. “You think so?” Perrin huffed, going right for the milkshake. He seemed sour, despite the apparent victory against his father.“Are you kidding?” I said, truly incredulous. “I’ve never seen anything like that. You’ve had your fair share of arguments with him in the past, sure! But like that?” I shook my head, impressed. “No way. That was new. That was fucking awesome, actually.”“He is, isn’t he?”Lo’s blonde hair appeared on the other side of Perrin, pulling up a bar stool. Perrin swiveled between us to kiss her cheek,
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 96
Deidre “Who was that?” “Kira,” Benjamin replied, rifling his hand through his hair for what must have been the twentieth time. He had descended the stairs behind me a moment later, lost in thought. I wasn’t sure if it was Marge coming back for something and didn’t want to be spotted, so I had hid upstairs behind one of the first rows of stacks as he answered the door. I couldn’t see who it was, and the whole thing had felt rather foolish, but I was exhausted and didn’t care. These days weren’t going to get any easier and if I didn’t start being more careful, it wouldn’t end well. “What did she want?” I asked. “Oh, nothing,” he said dismissively, taking his seat once more. I noted that he looked slightly agitated, as though something had gone wrong between them. But he hadn’t raised his voice, nor had I heard hers raised. I accepted that he wanted to drop the subject and moved on. “Well, I thank you again for your discretion.” “No need, Luna.” He had agreed to close the archives
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 97
Perrin “You’re sure you’re ok with it?” I asked for probably the tenth time. Lo squeezed my hand as we ascended the elevator. “Of course I am. We knew there was a fifty percent chance that’s what she would decide.” “I know.” “You say you know, but it seems like you’re still unsettled.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I mean, I’m glad she decided, I just…” “Had hopes for the opposite?” She prompted, eyeing me carefully. “No, I guess… it’s just more real now, you know?” “I get where she’s coming from, though. Not wanting to tell people. I think it’s smart.” “That was her term, not mine,” I muttered. Lo smiled. “Maybe we’re more like sisters than she wants to believe. I would have asked for the same thing.” “You would?” I asked, slightly startled.” “Of course,” she said. “And it was right of you to accept her term of privacy as she finished out the pregnancy. It’s so much pressure, so much change–and while I was expecting our little blessing, it was never unwelcome. For her? Sh
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Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 160
Deidre“How about this?”Mistra shakes her head, the pink dress I’m holding not doing it for her. Of course it wouldn’t. Mistra only wears dark and… darker. Except for the day she came back from vacation. From ‘visiting her son.’ Here. In Texas.“How about this?” This dress is darker, with a slit up to the thigh that should make any she-wolf her age think twice.“Too revealing,” she dismisses it. The hangers clank loudly on the rack as she disapproves of yet another rack of options.“Mistra?” The clacking plastic stills in response. “You wore pink when you came back from Texas. You think I didn’t notice?”A considering pause follows, then, “I was in a different mood, then.”“Oh?”“Yes. It was… the fresh air.”“So logic would dictate the color would suit you now as well, wouldn’t it?”Another pause. “I suppose.”I thrust my arms around the corner of the clothing rack, holding the original pink once again. She grabs it reluctantly and holds it up to her chin in front of a full-length mi
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 159
Perrin The sound of my camera phone clicks and I don’t bother checking it before sending it to Lo. Then I switch shirts, and send another. PERRIN: Blue or green? LO: Either. They each bring out one of your eyes. LO: Goddess you look good. Before I can type a response, a video call from Lo pops up on the screen. I can tell based on the angle of the camera that she’s propped me up against a glass on Dina’s counter in the kitchen. “Hey there, beautiful.” Beautiful doesn’t do her justice, even mid-meal. Her eyes are bright and full of laughter, as if she’d just been joking with Dina. She munches on a carrot stick, grinning. “You know it’s not fair for you to just send me pictures like that.” She lowers her voice. “When you know I really want the other kind of picture.” I laugh, angling the camera so she can see my bare chest. “Gross,” I hear a mutter somewhere off-camera. “I’m not going to be attacked while I’m having lunch, Jack. You can be excused for ten.” “Thank Goddess.” Ja
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 158
Deidre “Fontaine?” I flick through my mental list of scholars. Nothing registers. “Well, if he’s not a medical scientist or researcher, I probably wouldn’t have heard of him.” Mark grunts, throwing his phone down next to his lunch plate. “I’ve got nothing. The internet is supposed to be helpful. All I have are a bunch of university papers and a bunch of research I can’t make heads or tales of.” “Ah yes. My husband’s Beta, ever the academic,” I smile over the brim of my cup. “Quit it,” Jason growls, absorbed in his own phone screen. “Janas is keeping tabs on him, but other than going back to the infirmary, he hasn’t done much apart from call a taxi to take him to a restaurant.” Mark blinks. “A restaurant?” “Yes,” I quip. “The social environment in which people elect to eat and enjoy one another’s company–not that you’ve been to one in the last ten years.” “Seriously?” Jason snaps, head swiveling between Mark and I. “This is the last thing we need.” “A restaurant is not a securit
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 157
Kira The tour was incredibly boring. Ben was professional and polite, wandering at a pace that Lo could keep up with, without getting breathless and being able to contribute to the conversation. It annoyed me how courteous he was. Jack spent most of the tour looking around inconspicuously for all of the cameras, finding their hidden reflective lenses in the niches of wood and leather around the Archives. From what I could tell, he’d found twenty-six of thirty. A flashing, toothy smile catches on another camera. Fine. Twenty-seven. They were just making the far side of the stacks, near the stairway that led down to the pack Archives, when Sirius became incredibly more interested. “And what are these?” He asked pointedly, looking at the stairs and the ropes that separated them off from prying visitors. “Ah. The Royal Archives of the Aperture Pack,” Ben said admiringly. “Home of our pack lineage, royal birth and marriage documents, copies of temple ceremony proceedings, and histori
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 156
Kira I watched through the screen as Lo’s baby bump proceeded the rest of her into the frame, extending her hand to greet Ben’s. It was more formal than I’d ever seen either of them interact; but I recognized the show. It was all about appearances. Impressing this scholar. A moment later Sirius eased into the frame, his height nearly blocking out all of Lo except her belly, his own graceful hand extending to capture Ben’s as they exchanged greetings. “Good morning, Professor–?” Ben opened warmly. Smooth. And good. Since I still had no idea what this guy’s last name has to do a thorough background check. I looked at my legal pad, tapping my pen on the blank page. Mark was clear with his instructions, and so far I wasn’t doing very well. “Oh! Just Sirius, please. No need for formalities.” Lo stepped out from behind Sirius, her face beaming with that pregnant glow of hers, despite the gray-scale of the monitor. “Sirius, this is Benjamin, the scholar and historian I was telling you
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 155
Kira Janas walked me through my controls. Eight screens, two keyboards, something that looked like an old-school joystick, and enough cords and plugs to cover the majority of the Luna’s office. I wondered what she’d think of it now; it’s usually pristine surfaces now covered in a jungle of electrical equipment. “Got that?” Janas said for nearly the seventh time. “Yes,” I muttered, sitting down in the seat behind the Luna’s desk. It was the last place I ever thought I’d sit, and shifted uneasily as I put down my crutches. The ruse was still necessary in case anyone came in here with Cynthia while I was working. I had felt the glances as Janas wheeled me in this afternoon, crutches across my lap as we passed the busy lobby of the pack house. Many offered greetings and wishes for a speedy recovery, all genuine. It made my back stiffen at the deception. I made a mental note to talk to Perrin about just how different his legacy was going to be from his father’s… and despite my own sel
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 154
BenMy alarm goes off, and I don’t even want to reach for my phone.It’d be great to stop the two-day hangover that plagues me. But something else entirely when I’ll look at my screen and realize Kira hasn’t called me back. Or texted.Not like she would.I roll over, swatting blindly at my bedside table until my phone drops onto the floor, vibrating and jittering across the cheap carpet like some strange bug.I test my eyes, flickering them open against my ceiling.Well. At least my hangover is gone today. I exhale. I’d rather have the pain of that hangover instead of the anger I feel at myself. Not just anger.Shame. Annoyance.And the worst part? The self-pity.I’ve drowned in the feelings of the last few days, addicted to the self-sabotage of not eating, not consuming anything and not trusting myself. I’ve been sober for years. And doing this now? Giving into temptation? I want to blame my thesis. My stupid failed research. I want to just burn all of it to Hell and back. But gnawi
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 153
Perrin“Holy shit.”Mark softly whistles behind me, unnerved at the site of it as we drive in. The Chiyad training facilities is enormous. No. gigantic. Whichever one is bigger.“This is where Ethan’s been training,” I say unnecessarily, awed at the outside of it. I wondered if Ethan could escape being the favorite for the Beta championship by just having access to state-of-the-art facilities. Mark doesn’t answer, but drives to a series of parking spots on the side of the building. “I know Ethan’s been working hard,” I go on as we get out of the car. “And Justin had only mentioned they were working on getting their facility renovation underway. Is this the before or after? They couldn’t have done all of this in just a few months.”Mark’s neck cranes to look up the side of the building. “I don’t know.”We walk into the large side entrance, automatic doors whooshing in around us with crisp, air-conditioned coolness. I blink twice as a discreet whirring sounds, a scanning of our bodies
Chosen Mates, Stolen Fates Chapter 152
KiraI set the phone down on the bedside table, pulling my blankets over me at the chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of my room.What the hell?But I couldn’t help but smirk. My gut instinct about the visiting wolf hadn’t been totally off. Something hadn’t been right about Sirius. Not wrong, per se… but definitely not normal. Were all European wolves that way? And how Mark had discovered our pack had a visitor less than twelve hours after they’d left? I didn’t know. Some type of Beta secret perhaps. He’d tell me in time. I was beginning to realize just how much I had to learn.I frowned, knowing Royhill would likely come pick me up in the morning. I stared at the clock. It was way past my bedtime. Not that I cared. I scratched at the stupid fake brace on my leg.On the positive side, apparently hiding away in the Luna’s office was going to be exactly what I was up to, the joke made earlier to Jesamine in jest or not. And sooner than I had anticipated; Naineeve was her
