I'm sorry for the delay in posting. I've been dealing with being sick and trying to push through that. There will be more posted today. Thank you for your patience.
ELLEKellis and I had both been caught completely off-guard when Ziyah collapsed and started screaming in pain. Her visions had never done this to her before. There had never been this type ofIt killed me to watch it happen and not know how to help her. That was why I reached out to Celeste and Desiree. If anyone could help her then it would be them. Imeela would have been my first thought, but she took off with Jackson after she identified what was going on with Kellis.“Let’s take this back to Kade’s office where it’s soundproof,” I suggested after Ziyah told us what the vision regarded.Dante swept her up into his arms despite her protests. He simply told her to suck it up and enjoy the ride. That had us all snickering and us being stuck with glares.Everyone filed in and took a seat. However, she suggested that alcohol might be a good idea for this conversation. It was a damn good thing that shifters and Fae had high alcohol tolerances then because we had already had drinks.Caiat
ZIYAH His words kept repeating in an endless loop, battering against both my mind and my heart. “How many fucking suicide missions do you need to go on? How many times do I have to watch you on death’s door? You’re always the first to volunteer for any fucking reaping. What do I do if something happens this time? What do I tell our pups?” I understood where he was coming from, but that did not stop his words from ripping through me. They left me feeling like I was submerged in water and could not break the surface. I felt like I was sinking deeper with each passing second, unable to breathe. There were two sides to this problem that were hitting me at the same time. On one side, I felt like I was putting others before my family, and I felt so fucking guilty about that. On the other side, I felt really fucking selfish for even wondering if I was doing the right thing. Something that I had never really expressed to my mates before was that this guilt always crushed me when things li
KADE Elle had been quieter since Dante left the office. Guilt was circling around inside of her, leaving me to connect the dots. Ziyah would be taking Elle’s place. I had no idea what Dante had said to his mate, but I could imagine a handful of different possibilities that would have passed from me to Elle if it was us in their place. From an outside perspective, it would have seemed like Ziyah was just being cavalier about it, but that was the furthest thing from the truth. That woman proved time and again that she would do whatever it took to protect others. She would give every ounce of herself to protect those she loved. Knowing that there was only one way for this to work out, well, she did not even need to consider her options. “Aldan, I think it’s time that you finally give in,” Elle said out of nowhere. That caught all of our attention. Goddess only knew where she would be going with this. Her mind was a beautiful yet terrifying place at the same time. He crossed his leg
ELLE There was something about Kellis that had me feeling extremely protective of her. Perhaps it was because she did not have anyone before Aldan found her. Perhaps it was because she had been hurt by others, and I could understand what that did to someone both physically and emotionally. Either way, I would do everything in my power to protect her from here on out. “You are free to share his crimes against you if you’d like. It’ll be on official record so that he’s held accountable for it all. I want you to know that you’ll never have to worry about him being free another day of his life. The choice is yours though,” Imeela told her. The moment that she looked at Aldan, I knew what she was worried about. She was afraid of what he would think. It was the same thing that I had feared at one point regarding Kade. It was the same thing that Ziyah had feared regarding Dante. Aldan simply placed a kiss on the back of her hand, silently encouraging her that he was right here beside her.
ALDAN Prior to coming here, I had not been told much of Kellis’ past except for the fact that there had been other instances of people forcing themselves upon her. However, I never pried because I could see how much pain it caused her to think about it. It took every ounce of control inside of me to keep my composure when she was recounting what that fucking asshole had done to her. I wanted his blood and his head. The only thing that kept me in check was the fact that he would be going to the most feared prison. The one that you did not walk out of. The other thing that killed me was what had been shared about her father and previous Alpha. It was beyond fucked up. I would not rest until they were dealt with. Knowing Elle, that pack would be dealt with swiftly and each skeleton of theirs would come to light. My mate was the most beautiful creature that I had ever seen in my life. It did not matter about siren, Celestial, or anything else. She reigned supreme over them all. She ca
ELLE I must have dosed off because I found myself in Selene’s realm. Like always, I smiled as I basked in the peace and serenity that I always felt here. There was a gorgeous brown wolf watching me. Its fur looked just like dark chocolate and had the most mesmerizing bronze-colored eyes. I was not certain if it was male or female, but it looked to be a little smaller than Faye. I watched it approach me without fear and sat down on its haunches in front of me, waiting patiently. Its head cocked to the side. My fingers ran through its fur, making me chuckle as it began to purr. “I knew that Athena was the right choice,” Selene said as she approached us. “All wolf spirits are special to me, but Athena is very special indeed. She is one of my most trusted warrior wolves. She is named after the Goddess of Wisdom and War. A battle is not won by those who cannot strategize properly. That is where wisdom comes into play. Both the Goddess and this wolf are master strategists, and that will
ZIYAH I spent last night trying to reassure my mates that today would be okay. That was easier said than done, but they knew that it was necessary. Only I could do this, and I would do anything to protect my family. That was what I was doing for Elle today. The navy pantsuit that I was wearing today was reinforced so that it would not tear easily as well as having a layer that was spell resistant since I had no idea what I was walking into. Caiathus, Kade, and Dante came into the Council today. Elle was on standby at the pack since she could not be here today. We had no idea where the trap was or how closely they were watching us. Fuck. We did not even know who it was that would be involved. There were far too many unknowns on the board. Luckily, I knew Elle’s schedule and mannerisms down to every last detail. The day dragged on in some parts simply because it was a day filled with paperwork. Elle was always happy to take on paperwork so that I could focus on creating safety measur
ZIYAH He stared me down as if I would cower to him or something. He might have done basic research on Elle, but he obviously had no idea the type of woman that she was because Elle cowered to no one. His hand reached into his pocket and pulled a small remote out of it. He made a show of observing it, running his thumb over the controls. All I could wonder about was how many action movies he watched for research into how a bad guy acted. As of right now, I would give him a solid quarter of a star in his performance. He was breathing. That was pretty much all that he had going for him. I did not have long to ponder what the remote did because I figured it out the moment that he pushed a button. My entire body seized as electricity was pumped into my body. It took everything in me not to scream out in pain. Fuck. I was out of practice with not being subjected to torture all of these years. I could honestly say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I did not miss it. “Phew. I’ve been needi