Tie is somewhere safe. But how secure is the hospital? And how safe is Tie inside his mind with Melania still out there?
I’ve lost track of time at this point. Even if I count when Katrina comes and goes, it still doesn’t make sense to me. Probably because she leaves at random intervals when Madonie attacks, I know she wishes she could stay in my hospital room with me, but we both know it’s safest if she’s with her family. When she’s with me, she’s at her most vulnerable, only trusting whoever is guarding my room to protect her. And after that bullshit, the chief surgeon and the subordinate having a secret chat in my room while Katrina was there didn’t leave me feeling confident in anyone’s ability to protect her. But however long it’s been, the only highlight is that I’ve spent time with Katrina. Even if it’s in this fucking hellhole. We’ve made what feels like no progress in getting back to the castle. Every time we have tried to venture out into the forest to get back to Shit Witch’s castle, we end up back here at Rapunzel’s tower. “She’s fucking with us. I know it.” I grumbled as we set out again.
I was not thrilled that Alexander chose that moment to wake me up. I don’t care what his reason is. The damn hospital could be under attack, and I would still rather be with Tiberius. I groaned, opening my eyes, turning my head from where it had been on Tiberius’ chest to glare at my cousin. “What is so damn important? You understand I’m trying to get my mate to wake up from a coma, right?” I questioned, sitting up, missing the feel of Tiberius’ body. “Yes, I understand that well, Kat. But Madonie is attacking, and they are coming at us hard this time. There will probably be casualties, and the hospital will be chaotic. Alpha wants you home where you will be safe.” Alexander sighed. “I’m sorry to take you away from him.” Delilah softly spoke up from behind Alexander. Okay, I can’t be mad at her, especially when she looks at me with those big innocent doe eyes. I pray for the males when she gets older; they all start falling at her feet. He doesn’t even realize he does it, but my co
I had every intention of staying in that safe room. I swear to Goddess, even if I’d considered leaving, I remembered what happened last time. My shoulders ache just thinking about that damn rack the Shit Witch had me on. I don’t want to relive that shit. And I don’t want to give Katrina any reason to worry about me. There is more than enough for her to handle in the real world. I don’t need her worrying more about me than she already does. So I decided I would stay put and maybe devise a plan for when we face the next level. We may not know what we’ll come up against, but given how the previous three levels went, it will probably be something related to old games. The first was cards, the second was chess, and the third was shoots and ladders. I was busy racking my brain for old games. I couldn’t come up with a lot of them. I’m in my twenties and didn’t play many old board games. So, of course, my enemy, an old bitch, would know more archaic games. It does make preparing for this nex
Two days! I’ve spent the last two days trying to get to Tiberius in his dream world. But I could only get to August every time I entered his mind. And tried as hard as we could, but we couldn’t get to Tiberius. We made it out of the black pit, into the forest, and to the tower, but we never could reach the castle. It was getting super frustrating. Add that frustration to my growing concern that I was feeling our bond less and less when I would touch him. I know the bond can’t be broken because I can still enter his dream world. But Melania is doing something to keep us apart. It has to be similar to what she did to keep August and Tiberius apart. I thought to call Bisnonna for guidance, but I don’t want to deal with that bitch. She probably wouldn’t tell me even if she did know. She’s proven that she doesn’t give a flying fuck about me or probably anyone. She had known about Tiberius and Thales, yet kept her mouth shut. She knew about so much and kept it from my family, and now look
I’ll probably feel bad for leaving Crista, Persephone, and Isis in the bunker later. Someone will let them out when it’s safe, so they don’t need me to use the access code. Right now, I don’t have time to feel anything but intense worry for Tiberius’ safety and unimaginable anger at Melania for causing him pain. I don’t know what she’s done to him, but I know it’s terrible with how much pain I’m in, and we aren’t even marked. Many people will call my driving skills terrifying. I speed and drive aggressively, and I own that. And right now, it’s working in my favor. I don’t have time to waste, and it’s not like I have a wolf to run to the hospital. Speaking of not having time to waste, I had to slam my breaks as three wolves stalked out of the tree line and stood in my way. I don’t know if they are Incubi, Bloodmoon, or Madonie, but I’m not going to hit someone with my car unless I know they are my enemy. I managed to skid to a stop having to cut the wheel to avoid them. Breathing
I can’t believe my eyes. Maybe this is some fever dream? Yes, that makes more sense. When I tried to touch Tiberius, Melania’s magic killed me because that’s the only explanation I have for seeing my dead mother. Or maybe Melania is in my head, and this is her way of messing with me. I’ll kill that bitch slowly and painfully if that’s the case. Not that I wasn’t going to do that already, but now I’ll have to get Chesed level creative with how I kill her. “Listen, Melania. This joke isn’t funny. You’ve impersonated me to try and trick my mate, and it failed. You’ve run around wearing your de-aged face and could only get Icky Iggy to give you the time of day. And now that you know this war is ending and that you’re going to lose, you pull this shit? How low do you have to sink? Pretending to be my dead mamma? Impersonating your deceased great-niece?” I scoffed, folding my arms. “Oh, mia stellina. You have your papa’s pessimistic attitude.” The trickster witch laughed softly as sh
I have had more than my fill of this bullshit. I want out of this hell hole once and for all. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I was first captured with Thales. But I know that I have been tortured, abused, and terrorized since then. I’ve been dropped down a pit, attacked by demonic playing cards, had chess pieces try to murder me, been in the middle of a power struggle between twin witch cunts, and given half-assed answers from ancient wolf spirits. Then I was attacked by a million small armchairs, forced to attack my mate, and subsequentially gotten my ass kicked by my mate. After that, I was assaulted by stupid monkeys, more torture, learned my mate was supposed to be my best friend’s mate too, wandered in circles, then forced into a game of hide and seek and sucked into a mirror. Fuck, laying it all out like that is a total downer. And I haven’t even gotten to the worse part. I know; how could it be worse? The worse part is that I’ve been separated from my wolf. He’s my
I’ve never been trained in how to use magic. So to wield this much power was nearly impossible. I don’t have the control over it that a seasoned witch like Melania or Bisnonna would. And while I was holding my own, sending out blasts, it wasn’t honed. It was wild and untamed. It was nothing compared to the pinpoint accuracy that Bisnonna used to free Tiberius or as consistent in strength as the blast she sent to counter Melania. I always knew she was a powerful witch. Only the most powerful in the coven can become the Crone. I didn’t think she cared well at all about me. Not to have a pity party but growing up, we weren’t exactly close, and I always felt I was a disappointment for not having shown signs of magic or a wolf. So for her to come here and fight to protect me, it’s unexpected. I know she has reason to interfere as far as this war goes and ensure the prophecy is fulfilled. So her coming to fight Melania wasn’t a surprise. Her coming to protect me that’s a surprise. I covere
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