I was abundantly thankful Natasha chose a different place to finish out yoga. It gave Charli and I the chance to actually talk and get to know each other. She was nice - a career warrior, but came to these sessions every day because she felt it helped keep her up to snuff to actually hold her own with the male wolves. “I guess I’m your new daily yoga buddy,” I grumbled as I stood up to leave. “Oh, trust me,” Charli laughed. “It isn’t always yoga. When Bram gets back, it gets more interesting.” I cocked up an eyebrow. “But where can we go from here?” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Ever done tai chi?” I groaned in frustration. “Moving balls of energy around? Kill me now.” “Oh, you’ll love it!” she insisted. “Who ever thought doing so little, so slowly, could be so exhausting?” It sounded miserable. “So what time were you thinking for tonight?” “Oh.” Charli stopped to gather her things. “Actually, I didn’t have anything planned. I was just trying to help you out of that conversa
Isaac POV I stood in front of the door to the conference room, anxiously flexing the fingers of my free hand. My mind was racing, trying to decide what information was actually imperative to share immediately. All of it was important and would come out eventually, but I was walking a fine line with my mate - if it all came to light too soon or at the wrong time, I’d lose her. She bore my mark, but I didn’t doubt her determination to run if she decided I was one of the bad guys she fought so hard against. She was goodness and light, and I? I was arguably anything but. I didn’t deserve her. Maise reached forward and opened the door, revealing our only truly sound proof room in this building. It was another one of the reasons I had moved out of here the second Kaleb offered up his house when he moved into pack lands with Rudi. The anxiety rolled off Maise in waves as she looked on at the people present. I dropped her hand, moving mine to the small of her back, and pushed her in. I
Isaac sat in silence while I quietly seethed. Distribute my magic, sure. It made sense if we were using it to correct issues and mend relationships. But, Leah having a dose of it was pointless. It gave her a jump start on being a hedge witch, but it was an unreasonable risk. Realistically, I was barely okay with people who needed to atone for something gambling on whether or not my magic would be truly helpful in the long run. Innocents shouldn’t touch it. Isaac had told me my magic was incredibly pure, as it was untainted, virginal magic. I had a theory that maybe it cleansed whoever held it, too. I could only imagine that was how it had maintained its purity over the past eight years that I had been its sole host, given the amount of blood on my hands. A devilish idea snuck into my head, so while Isaac was preoccupied with dissecting the meaning behind a coven with no magic, I slipped off his lap. To save face, I kissed him on the cheek, making Leah swoon, and told him I was g
'Dearest M, The days have been long without you, but I know you will come back. You always do. It’s silly to think simply lacking a mark is enough to dull our need for each other. The news you most recently shared was… riveting. You claim it changes everything, but I promise you, nothing has to change. It has always been us, my dear, and always will be. Minds do not change that radically overnight. You know the stipulations I set. I gave you plenty of options. The only answer I will not accept is the one you are choosing. I will not allow us to fracture the way B and A have, or let you abandon our cause the way the rest of our friends have.We have spent decades apart on more than one occasion by this point in our lives, but that will not be the case anymore. I will see you soon. I truly hope it is because you chose us. Your Mate,T' Once upon a time, I read this as a love letter. Someone coming back for their mate with the intention of never letting them go again. Maybe my lack
Isaac and I had relocated our cuddling session to the couch in anticipation of Rudi and Charli’s arrival. He had spent a long while confirming that I did still trust him, and explaining to me exactly why he hadn’t told me my mother was still alive. His only justification was that my mother had asked him to keep it a secret, claiming I would be safer that way. He came up with several different ways of saying it, though. Given the attacks I had already experienced throughout my short life, I understood. My mother seemed to have more enemies than friends, and I could see how having an affiliation with her when I no longer had the protection of the pack was a risk. It didn’t make me any happier, though. “So what’s the entertainment for tonight?” Isaac chided, pulling my attention back to the impending social event. I smirked up at him. “Your reaction when Natasha comes by for your Friday night rendezvous.” Isaac’s face fell. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” “Nope,” I
Isaac was quick to lock the door as soon as all the guests had left. His eyes had been flickering between hazel and golden all night, but now there was no doubt which side of him was running the show. The way I overheard him bragging to his friends about how I spoke to Natasha, it seemed like he truly was turned on by my little power display. I smirked up at my mate and turned away, heading for the stairs. “I think I’m heading to bed. It’s been a long night.” I didn’t make it far. A long, thickly muscled arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me back into a wall of solid muscle. I could feel Isaac’s breath in my hair and the thrum of his heart against my spine. “Not so fast,” he purred. “I’ve hardly gotten a chance to touch you recently.” “Yes, well, there is no magic involved,” I huffed, squirming in his grip. “I wasn’t aware you had any desire to do that when magic isn’t forcing your hand.” Isaac stilled against me, and his hands’ preliminary exploration of my body came to a ha
Isaac POV Maise was, for lack of better terms, being a brat. I knew she had very little interest in visiting the bear pack and only wanted to go so she didn’t get left out, but I had assumed she wouldn’t do her best to sabotage the trip altogether. It started with a mopey attitude and refusing to talk when I spoke to her. When I finally got it out of her what was wrong, she became unreasonably clingy. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with my Princess and want her by my side every waking second, but I had become accustomed to her easy going, actively participating presence. Not her whiney, pushy, demanding side. That could go. At the advice of Benate, we would be presenting ourselves as rogues. He was confident he was the only member of that pack that had met a lycan, so for a short visit, it should be doable. That, however, meant taking Maise’s truck, as rogues rarely had enough money for a six figure vehicle like mine. Maise whined when I set to fixing it on Sunday, compla
I greatly enjoyed road trips with Isaac. In the few weeks I had known him, we seemed to be getting a lot of experience with them, too. I wondered if this was normal for the Lycan King. At some point throughout the weekend, a decent stereo had been put in the truck. I had no idea how Isaac had actually found time for all the fixes and upgrades to my old rust bucket, but it made me feel a little bad for antagonizing him the past few days. But, it also enabled us to play my favorite road trip game. We went back and forth, making a playlist full of songs that reminded us of certain things. ‘Sweet Caroline’ came up on the queau, and I happily began bopping along. “Oh! I love this song. This was one of your picks. What was the question?” Isaac glanced away from the road and flashed me a jovial smile and squeezed the hand that had not left my thigh since about a hundred miles back. “I know. I think you asked, ‘What’s a song that makes you think of a time you forgot the rest of the wor
Annalise blinked slowly, as if she had just been struck across the face. "That... is not the turn I expected. Is that not the exact thing Melany and Karabasan did?"I smiled softly at her. "Name one person in this room Fate has assisted, given a better life. All it has done is harm each and every one of us. Is that retribution for crimes that were out of our control, or are we just being used as pawns to put on a show for our dear Goddess? Either way, it's wrong. If the Moon Goddess can take away immortality when her chosen no longer deserve it, we can take away the dealer when it becomes evident the deck is rigged.""No," Annalise declared, eyes darkening. "I can't stand by that. I won't see you destroy yourself and everyone around you the way our parents did.""You think that lowly of her, really?" Rudi scoffed. "You think Maise has the twisted, sadistic mindset to do what your father - what you - did to me? You forget. Fate doesn't only dictate the good. It a
Annalise's exiting statement resounded in my ears. It took me a moment to process what she said, but when I did, I chased her out of the room, catching up with her just outside the front door. It seemed that no matter the species, pregnant being move slowly. "Wait!" I called. "I have more questions!" Annalise turned to face me. "Well, the story is no fun if you are given all the answers." "And you know me well enough to know I don't take anyone's words at face value." "An aspect all good rulers should possess," she touted. "Maybe your mate could learn something from you, but it wouldn't matter. It's not like his words and demands bear any true meaning." A growl built in my own chest, one that made me seriously question whether or not I truly had no wolf blood. "Royalty may be given, but leadership is earned. He has that, I don't." "But you have the power to take it. Why don't you?" "Because I don't want it," I snapped. "Look at what the desire for power turned our parents into."
Long gone were the days of being surprised by anything. I prayed to the moon my days really were numbered, because I couldn't handle this anymore. With weary eyes, I looked up to Isaac, and saw he was able to feel the shock I refused to process. His eyes weren't even for me, transfixed on the names of my mother and supposed uncle. That made me thankful.Yin and Yang. That's what we were. You couldn't have one without the other, and each side held a small piece of its opposite, giving us the power to understand the balance.I looked around the room, and everything became abundantly more clear. Rudi and Kaleb denied the truth of their own destiny as mates because they didn't trust Fate. My cousin, I guess, was Team Fate, and her mate didn't know which side to choose. A human was here, but only because she so easily succumbed to the fleeting desires of that red string. My own mate, even, had no power to work against it. If he did, I wouldn't have been sitting on his lap.Fate controlled
Isaac POV Sitting in the basement, waiting for my mate, I realized something. All the control I always thought I lacked, had always been mine. I had a firm grasp on it, running my world like it was my puppet. My hands were in everything, and my knowledge spanned farther than even I knew. Fate had been a raucous dealer, but I knew how to play my cards. Control had always been my friend.I understood that now, because I felt the loss of it.In this room, Bram held confessions from Alpha King Faolan, and Kaleb knew the secrets of Karabasan. Only Maise had the information to tie them all together. I was at the mercy of whatever they had to share. Never had I sat in a room with no idea what would happen, and I didn't like it.Simply a month ago, I would have infiltrated every single one of these endeavors, but I had given it all up. Willingly, even. All because I needed to remain with a little girl. I adored her dearly and would not change the choices I had made, but the itch to regain th
Several times, everyone asked me if I wanted to stop and see my mother on our drive back to the lycan pack. Several times, I refused. I knew it didn't make the two lycans happy, but I was thankful they didn't press and allowed me the autonomy. I knew it would have to happen eventually, but I wasn't ready to open that door yet. Too many emotions I had worked so hard to eliminate from my life would resurface, and I couldn't handle that. Not with everything else going on.Bram, Isaac, and I had stayed in his Audi, and Blair and Leah had driven my truck up to the pack. I wanted to join my friends, but Isaac wouldn't let me out of his sight. I was a little surprised the witch had been trusted with someone who was essentially a prisoner, but I was happy trust between the two species was beginning to grow. I was also fairly certain Leah would endure the most lenient prison stay. If Benate went against Isaac's orders in the bear pack, Benate would pay for it, not his mate.We got back to th
When I resurfaced from sleep, I was still in fur with Isaac's monstrous wolf form wrapped around me. This was common for us werewolves, to simply say in our furs when a threat was sensed. Our wolves had more acute senses, and stood a better chance if there was a surprise attack. But, I didn't exactly know what the current threat was. It was only a mental battle that was waging. There was a quiet knock at the door before I heard it swing open. Isaac stiffened and growled at the intruder, followed by Leah's yelp and the door quickly slamming shut. When the door opened again, not even Isaac's posturing sent the unwanted guest away. "Stop it," Bram barked. "It's afternoon. She was checking on her friend." Wolves were exceptionally possessive and protective. You only get one mate, after all. They were worth laying down your life for. Add in that he was a lycan, tasked with the life of a runt, and Isaac was even more unreasonable. So, I wasn't surprised when Isaac picked me up by the scru
Isaac ran his fingers delicately up my arm, his eyes once again transfixed on the inky sky. "Something else is bothering you. Mind telling me?""Don't you already know?" I huffed. "You've been in my head since you found me on Church Street."I glanced up just enough to see Isaac purse his lips. "You think very little of me if you truly believe I'd negate your right to the privacy of your own mind."And there it was. Even though he so easily could, Isaac never dug for answers, always waiting for me to provide them. He knew the exact things to say to steer a conversation in the direction it needed to go, but the information I shared with him was always new. Unless he had heard it from a different source, of course. Not only did he want to know my thoughts, but he wanted to understand them, help me dissect them.It was one of the qualities that made him so trustworthy, but I didn't understand why. If my father had that ability, he would use it to control me. From my very limited interact
The sun was rising when I made it to the outskirts of Burlington, but all I saw was King Midas's touch. The city was just beginning to wake up right as I was starting to shut down. My paws felt like lead weights. It was exhaustion that begged me to stop, but not the physical kind. No, I was overwrought with emotion. Emotions I had successfully shut out for eight years - longer if I was being honest. The closer they got to the surface, the more the dam threatened to break.I wanted to lay down and drown in the flood that would ensue. Let it wash away all the trauma and my life along with it. The currents could carry me to the sweet release of oblivion, and the only people that would care would be the ones who abandoned me every step of the way. I certainly wouldn't mind. Not anymore.My entire existence, I had fought so hard for life. As a royal, assassination was a constant threat. Being an undeserving runt only compounded that. As a rogue, everyone and everything had been out to get
I had crammed myself against the passenger side door of Bram's car. I was staring at the man driving in absolute shock, quite certain he was nothing more than a figure of my imagination. He was supposed to be dead. "Call your mate," he said. I blinked dumbly at him. "What?" He never took his eyes off the road, simply repeating his request. I fumbled for my phone, struggling to find the power button to turn it back on. Out of my pocket also came the key to the car that was currently rolling down the twisting state roads of Vermont. "How did you get a key to this car?" He glanced over to me briefly, flashing his cocky grin - one of the few things I vividly remembered about him. "Bram gave it to me when I met up with him this morning. Now, call your mate." I just nodded, not wanting to argue with another one of the dead come back to life. The line had barely started to ring before it was connected. "Maise," Isaac growled in a tone that made it abundantly clear that I was in trouble