For whatever reason, Isaac’s words didn’t sit well with me. Nothing that would happen over the next few days seemed remarkable. I wasn’t putting myself at any risk - the man I was with would go to the ends of the earth to protect me. That, I trusted beyond a shadow of a doubt. We had a half hour or so before dinner. In that time, Isaac didn’t take his hands off me once. Soft hands rememorized every inch of me and lips traced along my skin. I still had to stay quiet - the cabins were not soundproofed - but Isaac left that cabin with a few more scratches along his back and arms to add to his collection. It seemed that dinner was held in the town square. Isaac told me that earlier in the day vendor carts had been brought out and it was an open air market. Now, it had been set up as an outdoor dining hall. Before we joined the crowd, he caught me by the wrist and turned me to face him. “Please, just follow along tonight,” he pleaded. I gave him a devious smirk. “Yes, sir.” I alway
It took me a moment to realize I heard vibrating, too. I yelped when a device I knew quite well came in contact with my thigh. I looked down frantically, but Isaac’s hand caught my jaw and forced me to look at him.“Eyes on me, Princess.”I nodded. Slowly, the vibrations traveled up my thigh and closer to my core. “Wh-wha-whaa-”Isaac's pace was slow and steady. It came in direct contact with my clit, sending my body arching upwards in search of more. I sucked in a sharp breath. This didn’t seem like much of a punishment.I found my release too quickly. To be perfectly honest, toys simply got me to orgasms. They didn’t make orgasms fun. Isaac was in control, which was erotic, but I’d much prefer touch.
I felt their eyes on me almost as prominently as I felt Isaac’s hands. He lowered me to the bed and brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes. He must have seen something he didn’t like because he quickly turned to them and asked them to leave.Anaka shifted her weight from foot to foot. “We can stay and help. Really, we… we have other ways here.”“She doesn’t need more magic,” he rumbled ominously, causing them to both balk, but they still didn’t leave.I must have been in worse shape than I thought. Isaac pressed the stone into my hands, not caring that we had an audience. Almost immediately, it began glowing. Isaac nearly didn’t have the vial ready when it fractured, and a few tendrils of the frenzied energy found its way into the open air. The temper
Just as I had predicted, we were awoken to the scathing creak of rusty hinges in desperate need of attention. And just as I had assumed, I was flung off the bed, to the corner of the cabin farthest from the door. Isaac was on the verge of shifting, growling ominously at the intruder. “It’s me,” a familiar voice whispered softly. “Brandi.” I picked myself up off the floor and stumbled over to my mate. Sparks flew to life when I placed a hand on his arm, and he subconsciously relaxed under my touch. Not enough to guarantee Brandi’s safety from a lycan protecting his mate, but enough that I could jump in and mitigate the situation. “I figured you’d come by,” I snickered. “What’s the emergency?” Isaac still seemed uneasy. Whether it was because he had been dragged out of sleep, or he was still trying to convince his primal side there was no threat, I did not know. But, when Brandi held out her hands and offered several quartz stones, he stiffened again. I figured the peace offeri
Isaac POV Maise was following me. That was not at all to say she was conspicuous. No, I had no doubt no one else would know she was there. She was a smart girl, keeping her distance and sticking to the shadows. A couple months ago, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed her presence, mistaking her for just a benign passerby. But, things were different now. Once becoming a lycan and losing the bond, my mate’s scent no longer called to me. I could still remember it, though - full bodied and feminine. It spoke of hopes and dreams. A promise of a brighter future. Early on in tracking the rogue vigilante, it had angered me how similar their scents were, but it seemed impossible that they were one and the same. Now, I knew it was just another way the blood oath concealed her from me. The more time I spent with Maise, the more her scent seemed to imprint on my soul once more. I could sense and scent her proximity from farther away by the day, and I was beginning to pick up on unique no
I woke up to Isaac asleep on the chair. I grumbled a bit, annoyed that he hadn’t bothered to join me in bed, but I assumed that was because he had not intended to sleep. His overprotective primal instinct probably kicked in last night, but sleep won out. I got out of bed and approached him quietly, not wanting to awaken the beast. Sure enough, he jerked awake when I had barely touched him. He looked absolutely beside himself when he realized he fell asleep. I smiled softly. “Good morning, sunshine.” “Princess,” he breathed out. “Are you feeling alright?” I nodded. I felt fine, but I didn’t think that would last for long. I anticipated at least two more crashes before we left this town. Isaac must have felt the same, because he grabbed one of the quartz crystals Brandi had left for me and demanded I draw out more magic. I sighed in frustration. I’d be out of magic soon enough if we kept doing this, wouldn’t I? He was acting like it was a never ending supply that I contained
Brandi's loud and proud declaration of our real identity made my blood run cold. It hadn't been intentional - I knew that - but it jeopardized all the headway we had made. To my knowledge, no one even know our names here. Isaac had called himself Zac and no one had asked for mine. Isaac's grip on my hand tightened as he walked faster and dragged me along behind. I threw a glance over my shoulder, just in time to see Alpha Dolion jump to his feet and point an accusing finger at me. I resented the fact that Isaac had made me throw out all my colored contacts. A few purple streaks and a half shaved head were not enough to hide if people knew what they were looking for. Changing my eyes had always been my saving grace. "You," he growled. "The lycan and the runt." We had almost made it out the door. We would be home free if we could get outside. But, guards stepped forward and blocked our path. We froze. Everything seemed to freeze. No one even breathed. The slow, methodical steps of Al
Isaac and I shifted back to run to my truck. We were faster in this form, and we had very limited time. To be perfectly honest, I was surprised we did not have any bears hot on our trail, as is.As made evident by the wannabe battle scene, werebears were a disorganized bunch. They were designed to live as sleuths - very small groups - but as their numbers grew, so did the sizes of sleuths, until they were too large to even be called that. They didn't seem to function well as packs. Individually, they were much larger and packed a bigger punch than a werewolf, but were slow and lacked agility. I wasn't sure how they stacked up against a lycan, but I had to think a lycan bear would be unstoppable. The improved size, strength, senses, and reflexes on what was already the largest and strongest shifter would be deadly. It was their inability to function as a cohesive unit that gave other shifters the advantage over them.Our short run was silent. Isaac and I had nothing but unkind words to
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