A bit of insight into Cohen's future and Lily may not be with Aolis, but her presence even over the phone helps me.
After breakfast, Buppig and I return to the library, the room that has become our second home over the past year. “I get the flower of spring is me, that makes sense. Although, in truth, your mate and any of her sisters meet this criteria as well.” I say to Buppig, who shakes his head at me. “But are we sure that Dominic is the pain of night?” “Yes, Princess, we’ve been over this. Not only is Dominic’s fur as dark as midnight, but he is the nighttime protector of the forest. And let's not get started on the pain part. No one in Araphyra was in as much pain as Dominic.” Buppig says, huffing at me. Well, he doesn't have to convince me of that. I remember the pain he felt very well. My body shivers at the memory. “Fine.” I say, before rereading the prophecy. When the flower of spring Eases the pain of night She will begin to heal He who is broken "Okay, that part makes sense. Although, similar to what GoldMoon told us, the word ‘broken’ isn’t exactly accurate. Dominic isn't broke
It’s been months, and I’ve tried with everything I have to heal Dominic. But, as Buppig has said, ‘the time hasn’t come’. It’s so annoying. Each time, Dominic and Tialha gets their hopes up and each time, I disappoint them. Aolis has gone silent again. I hear from Ailduin that more fae are going dark. Aolis is trying to find Lorelai, but she keeps evading him. She is creating an army, or that’s what Ailduin thinks. She’s very smart, and she knows how Aolis and Ailduin plan their strategies. It has given her the upper hand, causing the deaths of many of Ailduin’s soldiers and forcing him and Aolis to change their fighting strategy. But as of now, the new plan hasn’t worked. More and more fae are turning dark. The stories coming from the townships is that Lorelai is imprisoning the families and loved ones that she wants as her soldiers, threatening their families if they don’t agree to become her minions. While I understand their sacrifice, it still makes me angry that she has this le
My frustration with not being able to find Lorelai and being away from Lily for so long has made me nearly unbearable to be around. My men give me a wide berth whenever they are near me and there is a constant storm over our heads. I want this done. I want Lorelai dead. I want to be home with my mate. I want to complete our bond. I want to finally start my life. This endless loop of fighting and killing is not the life I want, not for me and not for my men. We’ve just entered WoodLily when Castien comes running out to greet us. “Lord Aolis. Come quickly.” He says and rushes us inside his castle. Once inside, I see his people all huddled together. “What’s going on?” I ask. “Lorelai has been spotted nearby. We have heard what she is doing to create her army. I called my people to the castle to keep them safe. But some are missing. We’ve heard the rumors. We know how Lorelai is gaining her army. I want to keep my people safe, but…” His voice cuts off as he looks around. I can tell t
I’m so excited to see Emlyn and then to see Cayd too. It’s nice to have my family here with me. Even though neither of them are blood relatives, the Guardians' children have always been like family to each other. When Emlyn tells me about what happened between her and Rich, I’m shocked. I’m so angry at him I want to punch him. Stupid men. Apparently, it’s not just my mate that does stupid things. I’m even more shocked when I hear that she wants to try to break her Guardian bond. I didn’t even know that was possible. I feel terrible that I didn’t know that any of this was going on. First Emerson and his bond with Quinn, now Rich and Emlyn. I feel so disconnected from the packs and what is going on with them. I get Buppig to help us find books that might give us a clue as to where to find anything on how to break the Guardian bond. We’ve been pouring over them for days when I hear the rumblings that the soldiers are back. It’s another couple of hours before Aolis finally comes to fin
After spending the day helping Lily and Emlyn looking for a way to break Emlyn’s Guardian bond, all I wanted to do is finally have some quiet time to reconnect with my mate. From the moment I walked into the library, everything was uncomfortable. I could tell Lily didn’t know what to say to me or how to interact, and I felt just as uncomfortable. I waited for hours for her to join me in our room. It was late into the night when I realized she wasn’t going to come. I have no idea where she slept, but it wasn’t with me. The next morning, I join my father and Anastasia in their private dining room for breakfast. Neither Lily nor Emlyn show up for breakfast. I have to hope that Lily hasn’t changed her mind about our bond and isn’t looking for a way to break her Guardian bond to me while she helps Emlyn search. I’m just about ready to go search for her, to force her to talk to me, when we hear Dominic’s howl of warning. Lorelai is here. I rush back to my room, putting on my armor and gr
When I open my eyes, I’m disoriented. Where am I? There’s a strange beeping sound nearby and the sounds of scurrying, as if people are busy rushing around. Is it morning? Did I oversleep? I reach out, like I always do for Hera. I only get a soft, exhausted response before she’s gone again. My body hurts. A lot. More than it’s ever hurt before. Am I injured? Is Hera injured? I try to clear my hazy brain and then it all comes flooding back. Lorelai, the battle, the lightning, Hera’s heart stopping. ‘Hera!’ I scream. Is she dead? Am I alone? ‘I’m here. Need to heal.’ She says softly before drifting away again. I hear movement near me, someone comes over and a warm hand touches my face. Then I smell the delicious scent of freshly fallen snow. “Aolis.” I say as my eyes drift open. His grey-green eyes are full of concern as he leans over me, looking at me intently. “Lily. Lily, you’re okay.” He says, pulling me into his arms and burying his face in my neck. I feel his body jerking
I know she’s not ready to complete our bond, and I’m hoping that she still wants to do that, but seeing my mate naked and gorgeous has my body responding in ways she’s not ready for yet. That is until my focus lands on her chest. The place where my mark should be is covered in burn marks that look like slashes from Lorelai, angry black and red marks. As anger flares, I reach down and gently rub my thumb over the marks. “They will heal, Aolis.” Lily says quietly. I sigh and gently lift her into the tub, letting the warm water relax her while I step away to undress. When I’m naked, I lift her again, sitting behind her in the tub then settling her between my legs, pulling her back to rest on my chest while I grab a washcloth and begin to wash her. “I’d tell you I could wash myself but it’s been so long since I’ve been with you, that I’m just happy to have you touching me.” She says quietly. I watch as I squeeze the warm water over her chest, hearing her hiss of pain as it coats the b
I wake up warm and hungry, my stomach making a loud growling sound. I feel Aolis lean over and kiss the top of my head. “Sounds like I need to get someone some food. How are you feeling?” “Better.” I say, reaching out to Hera. ‘Yes, better and stronger.’ She says. “Hera agrees.” Aolis untangles himself from me and goes to his door. I guess someone is stationed there because I hear him say something before closing the door and returning to my side. “Let’s take a look at that burn. The doctor said that would be the test of when you are getting better. He helps me to pull the shirt over my head and we both look down at it. It looks a lot better than it did in the bathtub. I look up at Aolis. “How long did we sleep?” I ask. He turns to look outside. “You slept the rest of the day yesterday and overnight.” I jump up. “I did?” He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his lap. “Yes, you did and you needed every bit of that time to rest. It obviously was good for both you and Her
Hi Everyone! Thanks for reading Enchanting the Prince. I hope you enjoyed this second book in the Guardian's Next Generation series. I saw several of you ask if Leana and Drake would get their own book. They will, but not before Xander and Maeve get their book. Look for Spellbound in early March. This story will back up in time to show you how Maeve lost her parents and how she came to work for Beta Trevor and Gwen. As with ETP, there will be some crossover with times and events from Shattered Bonds as Spellbound will cover the war from the witch's side. Leana and Drake's as yet untitled book should be out early summer. I also have plans for a novella for Malin and Cohen, Quinn and Emerson and possibly Riley and Clint's stories. Reagan, the youngest of Angel and Liam's children will have her own book late in the year and Hope, mentioned in the last epilogue will also have her own book, The Hybrid's Hope, planned for early next year. For a complete list of my books and scheduled rele
100 years later There is a price to pay when you are mated to an immortal, or near immortal. Eventually, you have to bury every member of your family. My parents and the last generation of Guardians who were gifted with a Guardian spirit have gone to be with the Moon Goddess. They all came to me when they passed away, on their way to their final resting place. My father, in particular, took his time saying goodbye to me, neither of us wanting to say our final goodbye. It was only when my mother came to get him, that he finally said goodbye. My siblings and most of the others in my generation have also gone to the Moon Goddess's realm. Now, there is only me, Leana and a handful of others. I'm thankful that my dear friend is also mated to a supernatural that lives an exceptionally long time. She and I have had each other to help us through our grieving process as we’ve said goodbye to our loved ones. In an interesting turn of events, we realized that all werewolves who are mated to a
Two years later After our coronation ceremony, I had met with Illithor. Since Lorelai had put Phiren into my council seat, I had gone back and reviewed all the decisions that were made while I was away. Illithor had voted exactly as I would have. So, it wasn’t until Phiren had been put into the seat that things had started to turn. In hindsight, it was lucky that Emlyn had come to Araphyra. If she hadn’t, it may have taken too long for me to realize that Lorelai and Phiren were going against all of the Guardians, not just Lily. Cara and Rik decided to stay in Araphyra after our coronation. Since they are no longer needed to run Canyon Ridge, it gave them time to be with Lily during her pregnancy and Alpha Christopher put Rik to work, helping him to move. As the only other permanent werewolf resident in the fae land besides Lily, Alpha Christopher decided to move to WoodLily to be closer to Dominic. We still see him and Fanella frequently, as they have multiple grandchildren here in
To say that Aolis was a proud, soon-to-be papa is an understatement. Suddenly, the floor where our bedroom is, was under construction. A nursery was being custom built. He commissioned all kinds of baby furniture from the sprites, who were more than happy to build furniture for ‘Lady Baby Princess’. Buppig grumbled because they were supposed to be making furniture for him and Hyacinth, but they put it off for our baby. In general, a leprechaun’s gestation period wouldn’t be much longer than a wolves. However, after researching the history of elf/wolf mating gestations, it appears that mine may be a bit longer than normal, six months instead of five. That puts me in the same timeframe of a birth as Hyacinth. After realizing that she and Buppig were due to deliver their child before Aolis and I, I insisted that they have their furniture made first. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen the sprites move so fast. Hyacinth’s baby furniture was made in less than a month and then everyone was bac
It was good for Lily to be with her family. They were able to see the difference in her immediately, but even I could see that she became her daddy’s girl again while she was home. Having known Lily all my life, I know that the relationship that she shares with Rik has always been special. She’s his first child and his only daughter. I hope that one day, I’ll have the same relationship with my daughter. When she’s ready, we return home. I can tell there is something going on with her, but she’s somehow managed to tuck a piece of her mind away from me. I’m not pushing to have her share. I know she will when she’s ready. What I find most interesting is that both Hera and Lucero seem to be helping her keep the secret from me. I feel Hera rub up against me in our mind. “We love you, mate. Never doubt that.” She says. “I don’t.” I say, running my hand through her fur in our shared consciousness. It’s nice having time with her when she’s not in her form. I had asked my father about it an
It was several days before we made it back to Araphyra. As we went around to the townships, healing the land and its people, we also found others that had been imprisoned by Lorelai. While my new found power couldn’t bring back the dead, I was able to ensure that no more families lost their mates, parents or children. When we arrive in Araphyra, the atmosphere was one of celebration and happiness. Everyone surrounds us, wanting to congratulate us on Lorelai’s defeat, thanking me for eliminating the darkness in the land, and for bringing families back together. When I get to the castle steps, Ailduin is there waiting for us. Unlike everyone else, his eyes are not happy and I know something is wrong. “Lily, your father has been trying to reach you. Please call him.” I know my heart rate speeds up. Aolis wraps his arm around me, not taking his eyes off his father. “What happened?” Ailduin looks at him. “It would be best if Lily heard it from her father.” I race inside, going straigh
The next morning, I wake, wrapped up around my mate. Last night was the most incredible night of my life. I’m not sure if it was all four of us participating mentally, or if it is that Lily has finally, fully accepted her place as the future queen of Araphyra, but I’ve never had that intense of an orgasm. I had thought it couldn’t get better than our first night, but every time I’m with Lily, it gets better and better. However, this morning, we are going to war. I know that Lily is right, that it is time, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not concerned that I’m putting my mate in danger. It goes against everything in me to allow her to be on the front lines of a battle such as this one. “I will be fine, Aolis.” Lily says in my mind. I look down at her as I hear Hera echo her sentiments. “Trust us, mate.” “We are stronger than you know.” Lucero’s ancient, melodic voice floats into the conversation. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” I say, leaning down to kiss her. “It’s time. Time for a lea
The moment Aolis told me it was time to pull the sword, I felt it. It was time. And when I pulled the sword, feeling the power flow through it, through Lucero, through Hera, I felt the connection to every fae creature in the land. Every sprite, every fairy, every leprechaun, every troll, all of them are now connected to me, in my mind and in my heart. Hera, Lucero and I all agreed that the time had come for Alpha Dominic to stand again. I wasn’t sure what I needed to do, until I felt the power begin to flow from the spot on my forehead where Lucero had touched me. From there, it flowed down my body, connecting with Hera’s power, pooling them together before combining with mine and flowing into the sword and into Dominic’s body. Like before, I could feel his pain, feel his suffering, but unlike before, my strength and power pushed it aside. Instead of commanding Dominic to shift, like I had before, I quietly suggested that it was time. His body responded instantly and the power flowi
My warriors and I finally decide to trudge home after searching several dead ends to find Lorelai. While we were, at least, able to find another group of hostages that Lorelai had taken, we were not able to find her and what is left of her army. It’s been a week and I’m ready to see my mate. I miss her and while I understand her need to remain in Araphyra, I don’t want to be away from her for too long. We did that before, and now, I think we both understand that we’re stronger together. When I arrive at the castle, I’m disappointed that she isn’t there waiting for me. I know that I shouldn’t expect that she’s sitting around, pining for me, waiting for me to come home, but I did think that she would be here when I returned. My father is here and I greet him, giving him the news that we still have been unable to find Lorelai. “Lily has been wonderful this week, Aolis. You’d be proud of her. She has been in the hospital every day, all day, helping to heal our people.” My father tells