Tie is going to have some PTSD centralized on playing cards after this.
With the plan in place, everyone got up from the table, ready to leave. My brother took the initiative to rush upstairs. I could have gotten Crista and Papa their change of clothes, but of course, André wanted to look at Crista’s new wardrobe. “We’ll meet you at the hospital,” André called out as he hurried down the stairs with a small bag. I’d gotten the younger Fayte sisters closer to the garage, wanting to give Crista and Papa space. “Bye.” Delilah waved as Persephone tugged her to the garage. At least she’s on the same page as me. Crista is uneasy about shifting in front of Papa. And I’m sure Chesed will not make it any easier on her. They deserve some privacy. “Night, Zio! Night Luna!” Zoe and Regina waved as they went out the front door. My phone buzzed about a minute after I got into the front seat of André’s car. Zoe: Follow up with the Crone. Zoe: Your visions most likely have something to do with this Delta heir. We need to know what they are about. Keep me in the loop.
“Please forgive my sister, Beta heir. My sister isn’t trying to disrespect you, this place, or the laws your Alpha upholds. Emotions are just running high after everything that’s happened.” Delilah apologized while explaining Persephone’s perspective. Alexander’s eyes softened as he looked down at Delilah. Oh, what a development. “I understand, or I’m trying to. I am sure if the roles were reversed, I’d be losing my temper, too.” Alexander nodded. “Then let us in to see him.” Persephone folded her arms. “We can’t do that without approval from our Alpha,” Silvano interjected. My left eye twitched. It was getting hard to contain the urge to knock him out. “Then it is a good thing we have arrived,” Papa’s voice called out, getting the attention of everyone. “About damn time.” Persephone snorted. “If you are looking for my mark, it’s not there. Nothing happened that you seem to have in your mind. I recommend getting it out of the gutter, piccolo melograno.” Papa sighed. I knew they h
This fucking maze! I’m getting lost even using the paint to mark where I’ve been. I keep finding myself doubling back over paths I’ve already taken. It wouldn’t and probably shouldn’t surprise me. This may be my mind, but that damn Shit Witch is pulling the strings. It’s starting to drive me nuts. Or maybe I was already nuts. Both are possible. I can’t tell without August. And we are back to the fact that I NEED to get the FUCK out of here. I need August back. I can’t even think straight without him. “GODDESS FUCKING DAMN IT!” I screamed, throwing the paint can on the ground as I once again found my damn arrow pointing the way I just came from. I slumped to the ground, both hands in my hair, tugging the strands in frustration. This is wasting time, time that I don’t have. Outside this mental prison, my body is dying. I need to get out of here if I want to live. And let’s not forget if I don’t get out of here, I can’t help Crista. She doesn’t even know that the Shit Witch is invo
“Player Two had joined the game!” What the fuck? I frowned, looking around in confusion about what was going on. It looked like I was in some castle, given the stone walls. Which for a dream isn’t too weird. No weird is that there was a gigantic queen of hearts playing card, holding an equally giant flamingo like a croquet mallet hitting a brightly colored hedgehog curled into a ball. I screamed as she bent over to look at me through her legs. “You don’t belong here. Time to get rid of you before you ruin everything.” She declared before striking the hedgehog with all her might, the poor flamingo’s skull smacking into this creature, sending it rolling through her legs at me. I didn’t know what even to do. I tried to run and dodge it, but that damn hedgehog was altering course to follow my every move. Just as I was about to get run over by this damn thing, I felt someone shaking me as I suddenly woke up. I blinked, focusing on my brother sitting on the edge of my bed with a bewildere
I will never play another card game in my life after this. Now how am I going to fight this mega bitch card? While I’m sizing her up, she holds her hand out, and an honest to Goddess pink flamingo pops out of thin air into her hand, and a brightly colored hedgehog bigger than me. Oh shit! I’m getting flashbacks to watching the cartoon Alice in Wonderland with the Fayte girls. I gripped my sword tighter and looked around as a field of playing cards popped up, bending to create the hoops for croquet. Yep, I’m in Alice in Wonderland hell. I barely had time to get my bearings when the hedgehog was lobbed at me. “FUCK!” All I could do was run. Felt kind of like Indiana Jones running from that giant boulder. But of course, there’s no quick way for me to dodge it. The hedgehog is on my ass like I owe him money, and these playing cards block me at every turn. It was starting to piss me off. As I’m working up a sweat trying to stay just far enough ahead of this damn hedgehog set on making m
Another day with no luck finding Tiberius’ mate in the pack. I’m starting to think she’s not in our pack. And I hate myself for having this strange feeling of happiness each time a blue she-wolf walked out of his room. It’s cruel of me to feel that way. His life is in danger, and having his mate could change that, but here I am, happy each time we don’t find her. If not for him or the Fayte sisters, I should want him out of that coma for my sake. So the lesser part, if he wakes up, I don’t have to keep these overeager bitches in line as they wait to see if he is their mate. I could do without that headache. I’d much rather be helping André with war preparation. I hate standing around babysitting these bitches. For the main reason, Tiberius waking up would be more for my sake. If he wakes up, maybe just MAYBE I can stop having these fucked up dreams. Bisnonna still hasn’t called me back, but I know these dreams are connected to Tiberius. I see glimpses of him as I have to face off aga
“I second that.” Persephone raised a glass. “You may be cool with knowing what your dad does. But I’m not. I don’t ever want to know what my sister is doing with her mate. And I’ll feel the same when Delilah finds her mate.” Persephone nodded. Delilah blushed at the mention of her finding a mate. “That’s years away if I even find him quickly.” Delilah softly spoke into her glass, taking a long sip. Oh, the poor innocent Delilah. “And what about you, Persy? Will we get to know all your dirty exploits? Do tell, are you waiting for your mate, or do you have a set time frame that you’ll take a lover if you haven’t met him? I bet I already know a few boys in our pack that would happily take that role.” André waggled his eyebrows as he fixed his gaze on Persephone. Papa growled low in warning. “That’s enough. Any males in my pack that think they can or will make attempts on my mate’s sisters had better understand if they aren’t their mate, they may find themselves on the wrong side of Che
Isis is an easy guest to please. While she is worried for her mate Kurt, who was helping secure the pack, she just seems happy to have people to talk to and company to enjoy. Honestly, that is very telling about the kind of life she had with her hunter family. Stupid fucking hunters. Treating a hybrid the way they did this girl. As a hybrid myself, I can imagine what she’s endured. I’d been fighting off sleep, afraid of what I would see, and wanted to know what happened with the coven. And somewhere around three in the morning, the answer came as my brother LOUDLY returned to the villa waking everyone. The girls all had bed heads and sleep in their eyes as they peered over the railing at him. Papa and Crista, well, I don’t think they were sleeping. Shower sex is my guess as they have wet hair, and I don’t think it’s from sweat as they joined the rest of us to look down at my twin. “Did you need to wake the whole house?” Papa sighed as he pulled his shirt on. “Oh, I’m sorry, Papa. D
With Dream Mate completed, everyone must wonder, “What’s next!?”Well, I’m going to tell you, this may not be the schedule you were hoping to get, but this is what’s next.The Destroyer will be posted six days a week. Thankfully for my brain, it’s already written, and I’m just editing and making minor changes before posting a chapter. Man’s Best Wingman, the fifth in the Ravenwood series that will focus on Clay Nikolaidis (twin brother of Reese and cousin to Darius, Elijah, and Forrest), will release in November after I get enough chapters written to submit for a contract. Once it’s signed, it will be posted six days a week. I know everyone is anticipating the next of my werewolf series, but at the moment, my brain needs a break from the werewolf universe. Never fear, though; Sicilian Holiday (D'Amore holiday short story), The Genius Delta (Silvercloud/Persephone), The Quiet Giant's Mate (Regina/Ivan), Beta's Innocent Mate (Alexander/Delilah), Beta's Twin Mates (Zoe/Gunnar/Henrik),
Six years! Can you believe it’s been six years since my world was turned upside down in the worst and best ways? I sure the hell can’t. Six years ago today, I was standing in my Delta heir room getting ready for my best friend and Alpha heir Thales’ welcome home bash with my fingers crossed he’d find his mate in our Beta heir Crista Fayte. I was so off base on that line of thinking. We will have our annual memorial to remember the lives of those we lost and celebrate what their sacrifices protected. I hope I’ve made Thales, my parents, and his parents proud as Alpha, even if some days I feel like I’m a hoax, just a stand-in for the real Alpha. There are times, fewer as the years have gone on, that I keep waiting for Thales to walk into the office and tell me to get out of his chair and stop fucking his Luna. Okay, the second part I only felt that first year. Katrina is my mate, so Thales being here or not wouldn’t change that I was meant to be with her. But if he’d lived, she’d be hi
It’s been over a year since the Sicilian pack war started, and my life changed forever. Well, not just my life but everyone’s changed after Icky Iggy and Shit Witch Melania launched their war. Nebrodi took the brunt, losing more than half of the pack in the massacre, including their ranked wolves and one of my mates. There was so much loss in that war that it sometimes was hard to focus on what was gained. I know my family will never forget what we lost or what we gained. I lost Thales before I knew he was meant to be mine, and we all lost Bisnonna Chiara. But I got Tiberius, my magic, and my wolf. Papa gained Crista, and now they have my adorable sisters, Gwen and Christina. André gained Darren and his adopted son Lando from this war. So while what was lost will never be forgotten, I know we should appreciate what we have and are building towards. Papa is experiencing fatherhood at the side of the woman he loves and was always meant to be with. I love getting to visit Papa and see h
The last thing I remembered was feeling too tired to keep my eyes open as Tiberius passed me to Papa. How long was I asleep? Where am I? I shouldn’t be too worried, I’d last been with Papa, and nothing bad could ever happen to me when I was with him. And I didn’t feel panicked about where I was because while the bed under me wasn’t familiar, the scent around me was. That all-so-consuming smell of basking in the summer sun, the intense orange and golden amber scent that I have known since my first shift as Tiberius’ scent. It only made sense that he would smell of sunshine with his bright and warm personality. And summer is one of my favorite seasons. Ironically winter is my other. So the presence of his scent meant I was near him or at least in a room where he spent much time. If I’m not at our villa, where am I? And why does it smell like Tiberius? These questions and more faded from my mind as the bond ignited my soul as I felt Tiberius’ lips against mine. My lips moved in tandem w
I have a minimal worldview about magic. And I’m sorry to say most of that is negative. I don’t deny that there are good witches out there. I’m mated to the best one. But my time dealing with Shit Witch, yes, I refuse to use her name - monsters don’t deserve words, has left a bad taste in my mouth and a negative view of witch stuff. But despite all that, I was intrigued to witness this ascension ritual Katrina would perform. She’s studied harder than anyone else in the ranked hierarchy for tonight, and most of it was for this ritual. This was much memorization of incantations and what order everything was supposed to happen. Our oath ceremony was about knowing how to respond to a question. Okay, so I flipped through her binder the other night. I wanted to know what she would have to do and why she was spending so much time with her nose in the binder and the Crone grimoire. And I gotta say it looked like a lot. I didn’t understand most of what was going on, but as long as she did, it
Getting through the pack ceremony was a cakewalk. Weird but easy. Strange because till Nina woke up, I never had a link, and even when she did wake up, I only unlocked my family link. But as everyone after me sipped from that cup, I felt a Nebrodi link open. I could hear the voices of everyone in the pack, well, everyone old enough to have a wolf. It was an incredible feeling to be connected to them. It was overwhelming. For those too young, I know the link will open to them when they come of age, and I look forward to it. How does Papa do this? How can he be tied to everyone in Incubi and not lose his mind? All their thoughts and feelings quickly outnumbered my own as the others took their seats. ‘Crazy, I’m the one saying this, but focus, Katrina.’ Tiberius’ voice pushed past all the other voices, and his feelings of serenity overshadowed everyone else’s swirling emotions. ‘A pack link is overwhelming, especially for anyone of rank. But you need to focus. Focus on your thoughts an
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it for the rest of my life; I am one lucky son of a bitch to have Katrina as my mate. There is no doubt she was born to lead. Her organizational skills are out of this world, just like her imagination. I know the outfits she had Imma create were from André’s mind, but everything else about this ceremony is all her. Nebrodi is not as stuck on tradition as other packs. But the practices we do have Katrina followed to a T. We don’t have a set location for our ceremony, usually hosting it at the pack house. I’d snuck a peak at Katrina’s ceremony grounds, which looked amazing. Since our ceremony merged with her Coven ritual, she wanted it performed outside. And something about the ritual will mark the space as a sacred space within the pack for the Coven. The whole scene is witchy and exciting with all the candles and symbols. Like in the center of the clearing, a stone altar had been placed at the center of an elaborately created image created fr
Preparing for the ceremony took up a lot of my time. While there may not be defined guidelines for Incubi, certain traditions must be followed. And some of the practices have to be modified to suit our ranked wolves. The rules were written for males to be the ranked wolves, and fewer restrictions were given to their mates. As Luna, I’m the only one held to a set standard. And this wasn’t just a Nebrodi ceremony I had to deal with as The Coven would be there. I am expected to perform a new moon ritual to assume my position in the Coven as Crone officially. Historically the successor ritual is performed on a new moon. It is a time to plant the seeds of the future, which means my promises as their leader. Which is probably why my binder is twice as big as everyone else’s. There is so much I have to remember. The Luna stuff, I’m good with that. I was the daughter of an Alpha. I saw how a pack was run and understood the duties of a Luna, even if our pack lacked one. It’s the Crone stuff I
I need to think more before sending gifts to the Fayte sisters. I didn’t think sending her Gwen’s dress would cause a fashion emergency worthy of André skipping an Alpha meeting. I knew how much that dress meant to Crista and how she’d dreamed of wearing it for her Beta ceremony. I hadn’t considered the Incubi traditions she’d have to follow or just how fired up Katrina would get about abiding by them. The Incubi ceremony went off without a hitch, and so did the after-party. And thanks to André’s quick thinking, Incubi tradition was upheld, and Crista got to feel a connection to her mother on such a special day. A wardrobe change was an ideal solution. It made her entrance at the reception a more significant wow factor. So overall, I give the day two thumbs up. When the Faytes joined Incubi, I was sad when I lost the pack connection to Crista and felt it when Persephone and Delilah took their oaths even though they didn’t have their wolves yet. But on the bright side, since I’m mate