NEO KINCAIDGetting here by sunrise wasn’t an option we could afford.The more minutes Landon O’Connor spent with River, the more minutes we were risking her safety, risking Ria and Brit’s as well.The roads might have been inaccessible but figuring out Landon O’Connor’s way of travel hadn’t been hard once we all let our emotions run down and started to think as one.The slimy bastard used speedboats to get to and from Brackenridge that fast.A little bribe by the Marina had us in Brackenridge earlier than we thought.Blending in with the town folk hadn’t been hard either.Not when everyone was going to the alpha’s mansion to witness Landon O’Connor getting mated to my mate.The rumor mill also helped in feeding us what was going down tonight.Landon O’Connor was as stupid as they came, no surprise there but his stupidity reflected in the way he reasoned, in whatever he was going to do to River tonight.The sleaze ball was going to mark her without giving a second thought that she was
RIVER BROWNHis scent wraps around me like a warm blanket and I bathe in it holding him tight, letting his shirt wipe away the bitter tears.“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry”“I tell you to come, you fucking run to me River. No stalling, no negotiations”, he lashes out at me but his hands hold me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish into thin air and that is enough for me to take his scolding and admit I made a mistake.He sets me down on the base of the last stair, I sniff back tears as he strokes my hair away from my neck checking for any injuries. He hugs me for a minute trying to check out if my back has any slashes of some sort and I hold him tight.“River-““I’m sorry for everything I said. I didn’t—I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean any of it”“I know”“I didn’t think you’d show up…I didn’t think you’d want- “He pulls away from me kneeling in front of me and placing his huge hand on my cheek.Then Neo’s blue eyes twinkle at the sight of me, “You are ours for eternity River nothing is ch
RIVER BROWNI feel it, deep in my bones, deep in my heart I feel his absence and it chokes me so bad I think I fail to breathe for so many seconds as Malia drags me away and into the woods.I can feel the mate bond severed by their rejection, severed by Connor’s…Connor’s…no.“We—have to go back”, my throat bubbles with a sob.I stop, the tears free fall down my cheeks as everything turns hazy.We have to go back.For Connor.I have to hold him. I have to give him warmth, he was so cold, he was…so unmoving.I have to wake him up.Malia’s hand lands on my cheek but I don’t see her.I can’t see her when grief subdues me and holds its ugly claws to my neck.“They rejected you, River! One of them is gone, there’s no going back from that. I’m sorry, okay? Landon wouldn’t have fired his gun if I hadn’t gone to the cursed lands but that’s already done, River. Listen to me, they won’t get over this. I don’t think they consider you anything to them so do as they said, sister and get out of her
RIVER BROWNMy head stings, my face feels swollen and so does the rest of my body as my palms land on the soft sheets beneath me.The light from the window right across me nearly blinds me as I try to piece together my memory and how and where I’m at the moment.With one bed, the one I’m sleeping on, a few posters of people holding drinks on the wall and a few flowers by the night stand, I should be scared that I don’t know where I am but the room doesn’t exactly scream danger.It’s the opposite.The only scary thing where I am is the smell.Everything smells different, including the air itself, the flowers, the atmosphere itself stinks a little and the noise that hurdles from outside sounds like I’m back in the city.Except New Hawk wasn’t this noisy.“Gypsy?”I call my wolf, the headache elevating to a migraine.“We are not in the cursed lands, River. I can’t feel anyone”“Where are we then? There was a light, a woman. Did we shift? Did we attack her?”“We can’t shift. I think we pa
SPECIAL CHAPTER JACKThey said when an alpha died even the Goddess herself felt it, even the realm itself felt it.When I watched Alpha Connor Kincaid take a bullet from Landon O’Connor, the small weapon piercing his back all the way to his chest, my wolf and I felt it too.The day he died thunder itself struck closer to the forests, closer to homes but it affected our other alphas to no end.The Moon shadow pack has not been the same since we arrived in New Hawk carrying a corpse instead of showing our badge of victory for rescuing our Luna.Our alphas rejected our luna in a moment of grief, in a moment of weakness.I tried to look for her, Dice and I did anyway but we found her sister dead in the woods and our Luna, gone.“She’s the one who brought this misfortune on us. An alpha getting killed has never been heard of yet our most vicious alpha is dead, gone like any insignificant omega”“Watch your mouth”, Dice warns the bigger beta called Bane.Bane in return shoves Dice aside an
CONNOR KINCAIDDarkness had never scared me before.My father was worse than darkness and that’s where my fear dwelled.Yet the darkness that I fell into wasn’t scary because there was no light. It wasn’t scary because there was nowhere to move or nowhere to look.It was scary because there was no one there.It was scary because it was so still and void you could hear your own thoughts in it. And those thoughts were in no way comforting.It was scary because there was no out. I was here forever and I knew it and the worse part was?Killian was here with me too going through the same agony, losing his mind along with me.The thing about this darkness was, if you stayed still and tried to breath, the darkness wasn’t that bad.So, I stayed.So, I breathed it in.So, I gave in to the darkness and accepted that this was how death looked like.To be nothing. To feel nothing. To never see the light of day again.But as if my fate wasn’t sealed in the stars, in that darkness something happen
RIVER BROWN‘I had the power to access your world and the first time I used that power was the first time I met a real werewolf. Your father, Osiris. I made werewolves and humans learn about each other’s existence and that started the war so to keep peace I came back here to my world.And my power vanished when I became pregnant with you and your sister. Then Levi stole you both from my house, I don’t know how he got here, I didn’t know where he took you until…my power came back to me after so many years because I think you called me. You needed me, River.’FIVE YEARS LATER“Callum! Put. The. Puppy. Down!”The child with the blue eyes and messy dark hair as dark as midnight blinks at me twice then with a cheeky smile, he starts running with the puppy towards the girl.“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” The little girl with the pigtails cries as she runs towards me. She drops her ice cream cone while running and that fuels her tears even more.“Callum Daniel Brown, if you don’t put that puppy dow
CONNOR KINCAID‘You rejected her? Damn you all! You rejected our Luna?’‘You were dead! Do you not realize that? You were dead because of-.’‘Don’t finish that sentence, Shane! Her lunatic of an ex-mate shot me, she didn’t. I died and you banished her without thinking twice. You think you were the only people grieving for me?’‘We would have never been in this situation if we never took her from Brackenridge! We should have killed her that night when Shane suggested it.The Lazarus pit hasn’t worked for years and up until moments ago, you are the only one it brought back from the dead. It didn’t work on Vi, it hasn’t worked on anyone else but you!Have you stopped to think that maybe it brought you back now that she is away?’‘Wash your fucking mouth with soap before you spill that nonsense to me. What happened to you, huh? Shane? Neo?’‘You died! That’s what happened! You left! You--.’‘I made a vow to River. Her little ass was going to be stuck with me forever and I intend to keep i
EPILOGUE: KINCAID BROTHERS’ POVNEO KINCAID“Keep you boys away from my kids”, Kane grumbles, I chuckle looking at said kids.Callum is dressed in a tux, his unruly dark hair carefully gelled back, an action that took Shane more than ten minutes.More than looking like a little gentleman, his little hands are all over Jessica, tickling her.Jessica Grey, Ria and Kane’s daughter, chuckles until a second later, the fit of giggles turn into tears of happiness.Callum removes a handkerchief from his tiny pockets, wiping the tears on her eyes and cheeks.The second he touches Jessica’s lips with the handkerchief, I’m already headed in his direction before Kane even thinks of punching my face to the ground.“Cal, hey. Come here.”My boy kisses Jess’ cheeks before he runs to me and I have no doubts he took over Connor.He’s cheeky like that.I kneel when he stands in front of me and I push lint off his suit.“What did we say about lying low when it comes to Jess? You know her father wants yo
RIVER BROWNThe ripple of his deep voice carries in the air and vibrates against my skin.My nipple puck as my hips buck taking every lash of his tongue like the good girl, he just declared me to be.I drown in his scent, in his taste, taking his tongue, matching the crescendo that’s us kissing like maniacs.Teeth gnashing against teeth, tongues fighting and him winning, his teeth biting my bottom lip before he sucks it like it’s supposed to give him energy.My pussy clenches when Neo goes ahead to play with my nipples.Not soft. Not gentle.But hard.His kiss is punishing.Him pinching my sensitive buds feels like he’ll draw blood and I damn know very well he’ll suck that blood and I will be hornier than ever before.By the time he goes to my neck, my heart beat accelerates like a motor engine. I growl for more knowing very well I’m out of breath and the building pleasure rioting in my body will be enough to bring the roof of the room down.My mates pick up on that.A second later, t
SHANE KINCAID“You ready to rodeo this shit?”Connor yells.I grip the chains harder, my boots sinking into the sand. Then I take one good look at the old man from his high seat looking at us like he thinks a couple of wild boars will be able to get rid of us.I’ll kill these beasts. I’ll pass whatever trials he has for us.And when we are out of here, I will fuck my mate senseless and mark her again if need be just to show the old man his daughter is mine.His daughter will always be ours.“Ready”, I retort over all the noise and the upheaval.Silva latches on to the neck of the boar up ahead in seconds.That’s one boar down.And the other is boar headed to us while we still can’t shift.“One.”I can hear the amusement in his voice.My brother is having quite a little bit of fun in this.I would find the whole situation funny if it wasn’t for the fact that we’ve been dangling in a dark room for days taking beatings from omegas we could have well killed.I’m pissed at everything.I’m
RIVER BROWNA few days of being here and Brit and I have searched for them to no avail.It doesn’t help talking to Osiris—my father because he has relentlessly refused to let me see my mates no matter how I ask my mother to knock some sense into him.“I chose them. I’m old enough to make my own decisions. I have made my own decisions for a long time long before you even showed up in the picture.”“Osiris- “, my mother pleads.My father’s face softens but that mask of overprotectiveness is back as soon as he holds my eyes tenderly.“I’m here now and you do not have to do anything you don’t want to.”“You think I don’t want my mates? I love them, they are my mates!”“Do you know if they are? Or did they tell you they are your mates and you went along with it.”Britney scoffs next to me.I fight the urge for an eyeroll because deep inside, his question boggles me.I admit at first, I didn’t feel anything towards them that classified them as my mates.Sure, they called me their mate first
CONNOR KINCAIDMotherfucker.The silver digs into my wrist, at this point it might as well be filtering into my bloodstream, weakening Killian and I.Shane’s the one who’s taking this harder than ever.Pissed as ever, exerting energy he doesn’t have trying to free himself, I know the silver stings him harder than all of us.“I’m calling it now”, Shane grunts, the chains rattle from the damp ceiling, “this is the last time we let any of River’s family members close to us. There was the delinquent sister and now there’s the psychotic father.”I cough.Blood taints my lips, almost choking me.Feeling the blood tainting my teeth, I smile and then I erupt into a full-blown pained chuckle.Curse our fucking luck.After all we’ve been through, to get River, to get the kids and the only thing stopping us now is a pissed off father-in-law who thinks we’ll corrupt his daughter.Our mate for Goddess’ sake.We’ve corrupted her so much, not even another man can breathe down her neck.We filled her
SPECIAL CHAPTER: ALPHA OSIRISWhen life has taken a lot from you, quite literally and figuratively, nothing surprises you anymore.I’ve seen everything the realm and the worlds have to offer and nothing in my entire lifetime has boggled my mind since.They call me a traitor, a traitor I have lived.My people were fickle and if I was a man who cared about the rumors and the backlashing, I would have slaughtered them. Had some peace, enforced the power I craved so much in my youth.Yet one thing changed in the equation and life was as meaningless as the walls I erected to keep the outside world out.My lotus flower died.My human mate left me to rot in this wretched world.Not a single day has gone by not wishing I could join her wherever she went.Humans believed they went to heaven when they died.Werewolves believed there was only two paths in the afterlife. To the Goddess or to hell.I hadn’t done a lot in my life that made the Goddess like me but I would have done anything to join
NEO KINCAID“Iridian? Lotus flower, is that you?”Osiris asks like he’s floundering in a vast pit of his own self-loathing and guilt.I can’t imagine what it’ll feel like knowing he has twenty-six-year-old twin girls, one of whom he just threatened to kill for the punk standing pale next to him.My little boy grins, turning around to look at us.“Meemaw, he knows your name”, Niko says.Iridian slowly steps forward, lips quivering, her hands covering her mouth to stop the sobs.A few of the shit betas and omegas in the room with us murmur.Some of them might know her.Some of them think she’s a fraud.But most of them smell it in the air.River and my kids smell like Iridian, only different.And Iridian smells like what she is. A human.Maybe that’s why Osiris picks Niko from the floor and in his hardened scarred arms taking painful steps to meet us.A minute ago, I thought we’d take out Osiris and get to the displeased omega who’s only gotten paler.Right now, we all watch as two love
CONNOR KINCAIDFor a myth guy and for a guy who’s been a traitor to his species, Osiris didn’t earn the title for the most powerful alpha in the realm for nothing.We thought we were rogues.Osiris makes us look like a bunch of fools from Brackenridge.You can tell by the infrastructure in Gozam, the gravel-built houses surrounding the castle for protection.There are the omegas guarding the gate and as we move inside the city, there’s the betas guarding the inside of the city, guarding the outside of the grotesque gothic mansion up ahead.Each tumble of the jeep we are currently occupying raises our guards up.River’s father might be some bigshot but bigshot or not, we don’t give a shit about his power or his city or his shit guards that stare at my kids like vermin.As soon as we get Levi, we are out of here. Back to normal. Back to making up to our kids for missing in action in all five years of their lives.River and the kids are up ahead in the jeep halting in front of the castle
RIVER BROWNI have been biting my nails since they disappeared into the woods.At some time in the night, Gypsy alerted me she heard screams. I wanted nothing more than to let my curiosity take over but the thought of leaving my kids stopped me.They left us with a couple of omegas to protect us.And then there’s Gio who’s protecting the premises with a bat in case of trouble. We all know that bat won’t stop anyone but I let the old guy think he’s doing something.Mom hasn’t stopped looking out in the woods yet and I get her.Brit is out there too and by the look on her face when she left, she’s determined to see this through to the end.I’m determined to put this behind our backs and start a life without wars and hunting and constant danger.The Moon Goddess might have heard my prayer because the trees by the west ruffle and the moon’s light reveals the triplets’ faces.Brit follows behind them but that’s not the only one tagging along.Some guy is being yanked and forced to walk beh