Graeme’s POVCaesar had Duke and I taken to a smaller room for more privacy. Duke was asked to take off his shirt and sit on a sofa then Caesar playfully straddled his lap. My beta glared at him, but settled reluctantly, allowing the Vampire tilt his neck and plant his lips at the base of it. He looked sorely uncomfortable and I nearly stopped the entire thing but Duke’s eyes held mine and he shook his head subtly as if telling me to stop. So despite both our discomfort with the situation, Caesar sunk his fangs into my beta’s neck and drank from him. I hated the moan of pleasure that came out the vampire’s throat. I hated the way Duke’s body stiffened and then went limp as the blood seeped out his body. “That’s enough.” I barked after barely a minute. When Caesar didn’t let up, I stormed up to them and grabbed his shoulder, clamping my hand around the bone. He winced and let go of Duke immediately. “That hurtsss.” He hissed, his bloody fangs protruding from his lips. “That’s enoug
Delia’s POVThe revelation that Graeme was my mate brought me an odd kind of peace. Eight days later, I still couldn’t explain exactly why I was calmer, but I was. The strings of need that tugged at my soul now had a name; a reason, an explanation. I wasn’t crazy for the feelings that had consumed me since the moment I’d met him. There was a logic behind it that had nothing to do with me. That, more than anything else, ushered a calm acceptance within me and not just of my feelings for him, but also for my general predicament of being a wolf. Now that I knew that he hadn’t just rejected me, but rejected a bond he undeniably felt, I found it easier to accept. If the Alpha King could turn away from something as primal and sacred as our connection, then there was nothing more I could do. I accepted it. Or, at least, I was trying to.Annalise didn’t seem convinced. She hovered like a mother wolf over a pup she feared might stray too far from the den. Her eyes lingered on me with a mix of
Delia’s POVIt was peaceful in the darkness. So much so that I really didn’t want to leave. I floated for a while, adrift in nothingness as moments passed without sensation or emotion. For the first time in weeks, I felt like I truly had rest. The rest that eluded me in wakefulness and sleep. I had an abundance of it in unconsciousness that I didn’t want to give up. And I held onto it for as long as I could until the light at the end of the tunnel became too hard to ignore. I came to awareness all of a sudden but didn’t move. I didn’t know where I was, but I was hoping if I kept my eyes closed and remained still, I could slip back into nothingness and finally find the type of rest that was permanent. Unfortunately for me, I had no such luck. “Delia?” A familiar feminine voice called out to me. I didn’t answer, still hoping I could go back to wherever I had just been. “I can hear the change in your breathing you know. I know you’re awake.” There was a smile in Annalise’s voice as sh
Graeme’s POVThe office was quiet, save for the steady ticking of the clock on the wall, a stark contrast to my turbulent mind. My desk was buried under a sea of papers, reports, and half-finished correspondence—proof of my avoidance rather than productivity. I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling while my thoughts spiraled as they often did these days. Several days had passed since my encounter with that bloody Vampire. Zachary fucking Ammon. While we'd been evenly matched on our first encounter, he'd wiped the floor with me the second time around and I was ashamed to admit that it terrified me. He must have gotten some sort of power boost this time. One I couldn’t quite name but could testify to its effects. That was very worrisome. I needed to formulate a plan to handle him once and for all, but I couldn’t do that without more information. The logical part of me had considered going to the Vampire Queen herself to demand answers but I was weary. I’d barely been able to
Delia’s POVThe days passed a little more differently than I was used to. Wilburn Pack was nothing like the hostile, resentfully tolerant place I’d found myself in before. All of a sudden, wolves smiled at me when I passed and said hello, their former suspicion replaced with warmth and welcome. It was so very odd and I didn’t know what to do with it. Annalise meanwhile, was ecstatic about the knew development. “I knew you could do it. Once they got to know the real you, they had no choice but to love you like I do.” She’d said excitedly, and while I couldn’t exactly share her excitement, I was grateful for the reprieve their new attitudes towards me brought. Oh, I wouldn’t say I felt at home yet, but they sure as hell tried to make sure I did. People greeted me the moment I walked out the doors of my room. Children ran to hug me whenever they passed by with their parents. Several girls hung around Annalise and I, sharing random pack gossip and including me in all the gisting like
Graeme’s POVI ducked to avoid the incoming blow from my opponent, grabbing his extended arm with one hand and jamming my elbow straight into his solar plexus. I didn’t have time to gloat over him crumbling to the ground. Another one was already swinging behind me and I dodged quickly before using his momentum to throw him overhead. On and on the assault came. I blocked, punched, flung, dodged and maneuvered until all five of my attackers were incapacitated on the floor, panting and groaning as if I’d eviscerated them as opposed to just throwing a few hits. “Is that really all you got guys?” I asked my Squad team A; a group of highly trained Gammas who made up my personal detail. We were having one of our training sessions and usually I was satisfied with their performance and our workout. After my humiliating fight with Zachary Ammon however, I could no longer be pleased or patient with their efforts. They were too slow. Too clunky. Too predictable. Just like I had been while faci
Delia’s POVI panted heavily, my eyes on the strawman before me. My fists were held up against the sides of my face, my arms aching from countless jabs thrown. I had been doing this for hours now, trying to increase my overall strength and stamina. It was hard gruelling work, but it kept my mind occupied and strengthened my body so I embraced it with all eagerness. Marcus trained beside me with another strawman he’d built to replace the one he’d given up. We worked quietly for hours, my rudimentary form laughable beside the complex, awe-inspiring combos he executed right next to me. He kept saying how eager he was to finally spar fully with me, but with the level he was at, it would take me years to even stand such intensity so I wasn’t as expectant. I just did whatever he told me and tried not to complain. I was here for several hours a day. He would have me run a few laps and then I would face off with my strawman, trying to increase the strength of my blows. “It’s not so much ab
Graeme’s POV“Alpha, are you sure this is a good idea? I still have my guys trying to get us some information on the Vampire boy. We don’t need to see her.” Duke said with a worried glance over at me. We were in the back seat of my lexus, heading steadily to the cottage at the outskirts of my territory. Witches were a solitary lot, with each one fiercely protecting their territory. Ramona was the only with for miles around and it was she my wolves went to with problems that couldn’t be solved by physical means. I shook my head at Duke, a bit touched at his concern. I knew why he was worried, Ramona and I had a rather unpleasant history, but it was nothing I couldn’t ignore for the good of my pack. “Yes, I’m sure. We can’t wait until your spies bring word from the Vampire court. And… we have no other choice.” The option of talking to Delia about Zachary hung in the air, but it wasn’t one I cared to visit. Thinking about them together already made my blood boil. I didn’t need to hear
Graeme’s POV“Alpha, are you sure this is a good idea? I still have my guys trying to get us some information on the Vampire boy. We don’t need to see her.” Duke said with a worried glance over at me. We were in the back seat of my lexus, heading steadily to the cottage at the outskirts of my territory. Witches were a solitary lot, with each one fiercely protecting their territory. Ramona was the only with for miles around and it was she my wolves went to with problems that couldn’t be solved by physical means. I shook my head at Duke, a bit touched at his concern. I knew why he was worried, Ramona and I had a rather unpleasant history, but it was nothing I couldn’t ignore for the good of my pack. “Yes, I’m sure. We can’t wait until your spies bring word from the Vampire court. And… we have no other choice.” The option of talking to Delia about Zachary hung in the air, but it wasn’t one I cared to visit. Thinking about them together already made my blood boil. I didn’t need to hear
Delia’s POVI panted heavily, my eyes on the strawman before me. My fists were held up against the sides of my face, my arms aching from countless jabs thrown. I had been doing this for hours now, trying to increase my overall strength and stamina. It was hard gruelling work, but it kept my mind occupied and strengthened my body so I embraced it with all eagerness. Marcus trained beside me with another strawman he’d built to replace the one he’d given up. We worked quietly for hours, my rudimentary form laughable beside the complex, awe-inspiring combos he executed right next to me. He kept saying how eager he was to finally spar fully with me, but with the level he was at, it would take me years to even stand such intensity so I wasn’t as expectant. I just did whatever he told me and tried not to complain. I was here for several hours a day. He would have me run a few laps and then I would face off with my strawman, trying to increase the strength of my blows. “It’s not so much ab
Graeme’s POVI ducked to avoid the incoming blow from my opponent, grabbing his extended arm with one hand and jamming my elbow straight into his solar plexus. I didn’t have time to gloat over him crumbling to the ground. Another one was already swinging behind me and I dodged quickly before using his momentum to throw him overhead. On and on the assault came. I blocked, punched, flung, dodged and maneuvered until all five of my attackers were incapacitated on the floor, panting and groaning as if I’d eviscerated them as opposed to just throwing a few hits. “Is that really all you got guys?” I asked my Squad team A; a group of highly trained Gammas who made up my personal detail. We were having one of our training sessions and usually I was satisfied with their performance and our workout. After my humiliating fight with Zachary Ammon however, I could no longer be pleased or patient with their efforts. They were too slow. Too clunky. Too predictable. Just like I had been while faci
Delia’s POVThe days passed a little more differently than I was used to. Wilburn Pack was nothing like the hostile, resentfully tolerant place I’d found myself in before. All of a sudden, wolves smiled at me when I passed and said hello, their former suspicion replaced with warmth and welcome. It was so very odd and I didn’t know what to do with it. Annalise meanwhile, was ecstatic about the knew development. “I knew you could do it. Once they got to know the real you, they had no choice but to love you like I do.” She’d said excitedly, and while I couldn’t exactly share her excitement, I was grateful for the reprieve their new attitudes towards me brought. Oh, I wouldn’t say I felt at home yet, but they sure as hell tried to make sure I did. People greeted me the moment I walked out the doors of my room. Children ran to hug me whenever they passed by with their parents. Several girls hung around Annalise and I, sharing random pack gossip and including me in all the gisting like
Graeme’s POVThe office was quiet, save for the steady ticking of the clock on the wall, a stark contrast to my turbulent mind. My desk was buried under a sea of papers, reports, and half-finished correspondence—proof of my avoidance rather than productivity. I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling while my thoughts spiraled as they often did these days. Several days had passed since my encounter with that bloody Vampire. Zachary fucking Ammon. While we'd been evenly matched on our first encounter, he'd wiped the floor with me the second time around and I was ashamed to admit that it terrified me. He must have gotten some sort of power boost this time. One I couldn’t quite name but could testify to its effects. That was very worrisome. I needed to formulate a plan to handle him once and for all, but I couldn’t do that without more information. The logical part of me had considered going to the Vampire Queen herself to demand answers but I was weary. I’d barely been able to
Delia’s POVIt was peaceful in the darkness. So much so that I really didn’t want to leave. I floated for a while, adrift in nothingness as moments passed without sensation or emotion. For the first time in weeks, I felt like I truly had rest. The rest that eluded me in wakefulness and sleep. I had an abundance of it in unconsciousness that I didn’t want to give up. And I held onto it for as long as I could until the light at the end of the tunnel became too hard to ignore. I came to awareness all of a sudden but didn’t move. I didn’t know where I was, but I was hoping if I kept my eyes closed and remained still, I could slip back into nothingness and finally find the type of rest that was permanent. Unfortunately for me, I had no such luck. “Delia?” A familiar feminine voice called out to me. I didn’t answer, still hoping I could go back to wherever I had just been. “I can hear the change in your breathing you know. I know you’re awake.” There was a smile in Annalise’s voice as sh
Delia’s POVThe revelation that Graeme was my mate brought me an odd kind of peace. Eight days later, I still couldn’t explain exactly why I was calmer, but I was. The strings of need that tugged at my soul now had a name; a reason, an explanation. I wasn’t crazy for the feelings that had consumed me since the moment I’d met him. There was a logic behind it that had nothing to do with me. That, more than anything else, ushered a calm acceptance within me and not just of my feelings for him, but also for my general predicament of being a wolf. Now that I knew that he hadn’t just rejected me, but rejected a bond he undeniably felt, I found it easier to accept. If the Alpha King could turn away from something as primal and sacred as our connection, then there was nothing more I could do. I accepted it. Or, at least, I was trying to.Annalise didn’t seem convinced. She hovered like a mother wolf over a pup she feared might stray too far from the den. Her eyes lingered on me with a mix of
Graeme’s POVCaesar had Duke and I taken to a smaller room for more privacy. Duke was asked to take off his shirt and sit on a sofa then Caesar playfully straddled his lap. My beta glared at him, but settled reluctantly, allowing the Vampire tilt his neck and plant his lips at the base of it. He looked sorely uncomfortable and I nearly stopped the entire thing but Duke’s eyes held mine and he shook his head subtly as if telling me to stop. So despite both our discomfort with the situation, Caesar sunk his fangs into my beta’s neck and drank from him. I hated the moan of pleasure that came out the vampire’s throat. I hated the way Duke’s body stiffened and then went limp as the blood seeped out his body. “That’s enough.” I barked after barely a minute. When Caesar didn’t let up, I stormed up to them and grabbed his shoulder, clamping my hand around the bone. He winced and let go of Duke immediately. “That hurtsss.” He hissed, his bloody fangs protruding from his lips. “That’s enoug
Graeme’s POVI found Duke waiting right outside the boardroom. From his grimace, I could tell my already bad day was about to take a turn for the worst. “What is it?” I asked curtly “The Vampire Lord refused to see anyone but you.” He said and I let out a deep sigh. “Then tell him to come see me.” I snapped and kept moving forward. Duke fell into step beside me “I did. He refused. He said you’re the one who wants his aid so you must cross the bridge yourself.” I paused in my steps and sent him a look and Duke shrugged “That was the message that was brought down to me. They didn’t even let us through the doors.” I rubbed my hand over my forehead where a rapidly building heache was bubbling. I’d wanted to touch base with Oswald and have him put some feelers into the sentiments brewing in the other packs. All talks of war needed to be tightly nipped in the bud and any stubborn rebels promptly made examples of. It appeared that my righteous crusade would have to wait. “Fine. Let’s get t