Who do you place your bet on? Thank you for your continued support of Kade and Elle's journey.
KADE Our pack had a healthy or unhealthy gambling habit depending on how you looked at it. Gambling kept things interesting. Our biggest bets came every year regarding the Alpha games. I pretended that I was upset that Elle had the crowd’s favor, but I could not be upset because I was really fucking proud of her. Us sparring had been on my mind since she I witnessed how easily she got Dulaney to submit to her. It only intensified when I watched her spar against Gabriel. There was no doubt in my mind that this would be a stimulating experience just like it was for Tyre and Faye to face off. Neither of us took the initial shot when Tanya counted down from three. We circled each other, observing and calculating. Elle’s body was loose without an ounce of tension that I could see. Even her eyes were clear as she looked me over from head to toe. Her eyes veered to the side of me, eyebrows pulling together. All it took was a moment’s hesitation as I fought the urge to look for her to sho
ELLE I wanted to puke when we stepped out onto the stage for the pack meeting. A good majority of the pack was in the audience, and we had to break it to them that there was an upcoming battle which would be upon us shortly. Just like earlier, Kade mentioned that we did not want to be forced to use an Alpha command on them, but there was no other way given how many traitors we had in this pack. Most people looked understanding. Faye assured me that the command would work for everyone in here, so we wasted no time. Sadly, there were three people who stood up when commanded to out themselves. The she-wolves were removed and taken to the cells. ‘Why do you feel disgusted, baby?’ I asked Kade as he watched them leave. ‘They were the hookups I told you about. I really wished I had abstained until I met you. Apparently, they were all crazy bitches.’ I chuckled through the link. ‘They were, but they served a purpose. They were stress relief and nothing else. Now, you have me for every s
KADE We were all thankful when there were no further traitors in the pack. The three she-wolves had supplied Elwyn with information. They would spend a week in the cells before being put on trial. Our pack did not grant leniency when it came to traitors. There were four more girls that Elwyn took advantage of, and Abigail compelled. They all spent time with Elle and agreed to join the support group. It sicked me that this all happened under my watch. It did not matter that Abigail used her gift to stop us from knowing. I still felt responsible because I was the Alpha. If anyone could help those who suffered then it would be my amazing mate. Elle suffered too much in life, but it never once broke her. The entire pack pulled together in order to get ready for Bandore. Stella had been thrilled that Elle chose her to help organize the bunkers. One thing that Elle was great with was finding the right ways to encourage people and to embrace their own strengths. Caiathus and his family c
ELLE Bandore ran at me and hit the energy shield that Taylor Pine created. We had him hidden in the shadows so that he was not a target. “Ouch. That had to hurt,” I said, smirking. Bandore stood up and let out a hellish sound that was a mix between a snarl, growl, and the high-pitched squeal of a cat in heat. The energy shield collapsed as multiple people threw their magic at it. Bandore looked smug as his people advanced. My eyes met Valis’ and gave a slight shake of my head. He stopped where he was and simply watched as Bandore’s group advance on us. None of us moved because we were not in danger of them getting too close. The moment that they crossed an invisible line, their bodies shook from the electricity passing through them. Bandore’s people jumped backwards, and we could see the anger in their eyes. They thought this would be simple. I had no idea what he promised them, but they would not succeed here today. They chose their side, and they chose the wrong one. We had no
KADE It was the hardest thing I ever had to do when I forced myself to stay back as Elle approached Bandore because anything could have happened. The only thing that kept me rooted was the fact that I believed in my mate. I wanted to destroy the bastard for ever looking at her, but it needed to be her. He took from her for years, and she needed to be the one to destroy him and reclaim the control that he had held over her even if she had not been aware of it. I had never met vampires or dragons until they showed up with the bastard. However, they were our allies and helped save our pack. There would have been more injuries and possibly even a death toll if they had not been here. Mystra was serious when there were just minor injuries. Seventeen injuries including Elle’s was a number that we were all happy with. It could have been so much worse, and we had been prepared for it to be. However, there had been one of Dante’s pack members who had been injured severely. One of the vampi
ELLE We spent two days cleaning up after the battle with Bandore and ensuring that everyone was okay. Stella and those who were bunker leaders approached me with the idea of making the bunker leader idea permanent for any future time that they were needed. I loved their initiative and told them that the job was theirs if they would like it. They had not been expecting that, but they were thrilled, nonetheless. Two weeks had passed since the battle, and I was falling into the Luna role easier than I thought I would. The support group met twice a week, but it was growing each time. It started out just for those who had been hurt by the traitors. Once word got around that we had a support group for those who suffered like that then even more people joined in. Kade had not been overexaggerating one bit that there were many sanctuary wolves which came in from abusive situations. Gabriel agreed to work with the males who suffered. It helped to have them split because it allowed the fema
KADE There were praises all around the pack about how blessed our pack was with Elle as Luna. Even some of the she-wolves who had been snobbish towards her because she was my mate changed their tunes when they saw how much she cared about Nightshade. It was not just the pack as a whole but each individual member. She was the catalyst this pack needed to heal from everything that had happened. My amazing mate had an innate ability to see people’s strengths and use those to help them find healing within themselves. She did not try to heal them but helped them learn how to heal themselves. Grandma commented that Elle had found her footing a lot easier than she or my mother did. All of this reminded me why she was the one chosen to fulfill the prophecy. I doubted anybody would be better suited for it than her. “Got to discuss something,” Apollo said hesitantly as he joined us at the training field. Today would begin the tryouts for the games. We were excited to narrow down our picks.
ELLE Today was the day. The excitement in the air was electric. The Alpha Games were upon us. Everyone that would be going huddled together before dawn. The drive would take five hours. Then tonight there would be a huge bonfire for everyone to relax and get a view at the competition. There were one hundred participants and twelve alternates for our pack. Caiathus was also coming as my guard as was allowed for Alphas and Lunas. “Our pack has always been a powerhouse when it came to these games. This year will be no different, and Nightshade will come home with a victory for the ninth year in a row! We have never such innate and raw talent as we have in this group right here. Let’s send up an early victory howl before we leave out,” Kade called out. He let out a howl which was answered by this entire group. This was the momentum that we needed to latch onto and not let go until that victory cup was in our hands. Kade, I, Caiathus, and Bronx were driving together while the others w
SNEAK PEEK FROM FATED SOUL – FATED LIGHT – DANTE “How did you do it?” I asked Kade as I ran my fingers through my hair for the hundredth time today. He pushed a glass of Bourbon to me. It was gone in one swallow. I was a little on fucking edge. Sue me. “I’m not going to lie to you. It’s fucking difficult. I have no idea how I did it because I wanted nothing more than to rip the last breath from each person that hurt my mate. I wanted to watch as their lifeforce left their bodies. Fucking hell. I wished that I could murder every single bastard that even thought something negative about her. However, I realized that destroying them was also about me. It wasn’t just about what happened to Elle. It was about me feeling like a failure for not protecting my mate even though I didn’t know who she was yet.” Kade placed his hands on my shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. I came to Kade because he had been in a similar position to what I was in right now. His mate, my sister, ha
ELLE “You can sit the presents over there,” I said, pointing to the table. Today was the twins’ first birthday. Everyone decided to throw a huge party in celebration. Nightshade, Shadow Falls, Dark Moon, our vamps, our Fae friends, and our fiery dragons all came to spend this special day together. Our boys were little heartbreakers already. They were Alpha pups on steroids when it came to their strength and size. They looked more like they were two instead of one. Then they had the intelligence of years beyond themselves. They were their own species so to speak. It was exciting and scary at the same time. We just wanted them to be carefree pups, but they were destined to be so much more. “Oi,” Denny grunted as Gabriel Reece plowed into him. Our boys began walking at about six months. They were little hellions with how fast they were. Not to mention that they were already befriending the shadows. Oddly, the boys never did anything harmful. It was like they were self-aware. Caiathus
KADE Time had passed by quickly, and life moved on with it. Those bastards involved in Ada’s murder and Anya’s attempted murder, had been tortured until every single detail was spilled. There really had not been much left in them, but we enjoyed exacting justice for what they did. Apparently, Ada had no idea who the bastard was when he got her pregnant. He essentially had roofied her at the library one day when she was studying. It made sense why she had dropped out of school and moved back to the pack after that. She had been drugged, raped, and gotten pregnant from it. It was not until they were torturing her that she learned the truth all along. The bastard took great pleasure in detailing exactly what happened, including using illegal herbs to force becoming pregnant. Elle made sure that I sliced his dick off for that bit. Only my mate could sit in the corner of a torture chamber and eat mint chocolate chip ice cream while giving us suggestions here and there without being aff
ELLE Kade insisted that we get a checkup when we got back to the pack. I could not deny him the reassurance that the twins and I were okay because I knew how terrified he had been about me being on that battlefield in the first place. I had asked Dante if he wanted to come as well since he had not really been present since he was at Dark Moon during everything. It was where he needed to be, but he was back here now. “We’ll be doing your scan. Is there anything new that you’ve experienced, Luna?” Dr. Silva asked as she prepared the machine. I bit my lip, trying to think of how to explain the odd occurrence on the battlefield. I had not even mentioned it to anyone, so I hoped that Kade remembered how much he loved me. “There was an unavoidable situation –” I was cut off by my mate. “She means a battle,” Kade interrupted, giving me a pointed look. Dr. Silva looked at me with widened eyes as if that was the last thing she had expected to hear. I understood how this looked from an ou
ELLE The battle with Bandore really had not been a battle at all. The closest thing that I had experienced were feeding rooms. However, even that did not compare to this right here and now. Adrenaline pulsed throughout my body, reminding me to stay alert at all times. There was no room for our failure here because that would mean the death of all involved as well as the pack behind us. There was no greater honor than to be given the opportunity to save those who needed us. Brynn had an important destiny, one that I was not privy to know the details of other than she was a prophesized and chosen Vessel. My cryptic ass wolf just loved annoying the shit out of me like that. ‘You know me so well,’ she cooed. ‘I couldn’t ask for a better wolfy than you.’ ‘And I couldn’t ask for a better human than you. I’m blessed that Selene chose me to be your wolfy.’ I smiled despite the carnage everywhere. Faye just proved that there was beauty that could be found even in the midst of damaging ch
ELLE Kade and I grabbed a few hours of sleep before making our way down to the Command Center as Apollo so conveniently named it. We had all of our leadership, a conglomeration of our vamp friends, Caiathus’ brothers, the Council, Mystra, Fyst, and Celeste as well. Gabriel and Ansley pushed in coffee carts, and my entire day finally felt right. I eagerly grabbed my specialty drink that was always perfectly made. I sighed as the first sip hit my taste buds. “You still really suck, sis. It’s not fair that you can drink caffeine,” Ansley huffed. “You could always take it up with Selene,” I said coyly, taking another sip. Gabriel vehemently shook his head back and forth behind her. He apparently did not like that idea whatsoever. “Why would you be against your amazing mate asking for such a simple thing? Do you not want her to have caffeine? Perhaps you shouldn’t be having caffeine either then if you’re going to be unfair to my amazing sister,” I told him with mock shame. Her head
KADE I was waiting for our people to finish putting the trash in the cells and join me in the office. Honestly, I needed a bit of time to cool down before I dealt with them unless we wanted to just snap their necks and be done with it all. That seemed too lenient a punishment for them though. The memory of finding Ada’s body would forever haunt me until I drew my last breath. Nobody deserved that type of treatment or death. I sighed, rubbing my eyes, and scrubbing a hand over my face. It was seriously throwing me for a loop that we had traitors in our pack and in our ranks yet again. Would there ever come a day when traitors would no longer exist within Nightshade? It was like an endless cycle that we could never break from. Ada and Anya deserved justice. What would that be though? How much would be enough? Honestly, nothing would ever be enough because they suffered far too much. I grabbed the framed scan of our pups from my desk and smiled at it. They were such a blessing alrea
ELLE His daughter. Anya was his daughter. I tried, and failed, to understand what that claim meant because he willingly murdered his own pup. He did not know she was alive, and he never would. He was a threat that we would eliminate before he could even think about sending any harm her way. “You knew who Ada was to you,” Kade said, coming to the same conclusion that I did. “Of course, I did,” he said nonchalantly. “Ada was a full-blooded witch. I was only half-blooded. However, I knew that a child between the two of us would yield even stronger magic than if I sought someone else out. It was for the greater good.” Kade did not like that at all, so a shadow slid across the bastard’s throat, strangling him. My mate held it for a count of five before the shadow relaxed but did not move from his throat. “You mean it was for your greater good,” I spat coldly. He smirked at me and looked very pleased with himself. I returned the smirk with one of my own because he was about to see a s
KADE I woke up with a start, heart pounding, and not understanding what was going on. It felt like my emotions were drowning me. Elle’s side of the bed was cold, causing me to jump out of bed and find her. We still had no idea who the hell killed Ada, so we had no idea who we could trust outside of our own leadership. We had been down the road of traitors before, but I did not expect us to be back there once again. Was this a cycle we would always face? I threw on some shorts and went to find my mate. It was not hard to find her, but my heart broke when I did. She was in the living room, rocking back and forth on the floor, sobbing her heart out. “I’m here, darling. I’ve got you,” I murmured as sat down and pulled her onto my lap. She buried her face in my chest and continued to cry for Ada and Anya. I was right there with her as tears welled up in my eyes as well for them and for her as well. My mate was the strongest person that I knew. She survived years of being tortured in e