Chapter 1
“Good Morning ladies!” The dorm senior, Jenna, shouts as she makes her way down the corridor of the dorms, banging on each door as she goes. I roll over with a groan and stretch to pick up my phone. I read the time and then rub my eyes before checking the time again because there’s no way I read it right. Glancing around the room I feel confident that my eyes are now working correctly and check the time again. “Mother fluffer!” I curse under my breath. I was right the first time. It’s 5:30 AM! That confirms my suspicions that perfect Jenna with the too-friendly smile is evil. It’s the first day of university and classes start at 9 AM. Why on earth is she waking the whole dorm up at 5:30? I can hear grumbling and cursing from the other girls through the paper-thin walls as Jenna loudly announces that it’s shower time. I grab the pillow and press it over my head to try and block out the noise. I had my alarm set for 8 AM, which would have given me plenty of time to shower and have breakfast before our first class. I manage to block out enough of the noise that I start drifting back to sleep. BANG, BANG, BANG! “Josie Banks, room number 5, I don’t hear any movement in there!” Jenna’s sickly sweet voice calls through the door as she hammers on it, then she begins to rattle the door handle. With a huff I chuck my pillow on the floor, throw back my covers and get up, stomping to the door I yank it open. “It is 5:30 AM!” I hiss at Jenna. She smiles with fake sympathy as she looks me up and down. “I am aware of the time Miss Banks, but this year’s stock is going to need extra time to get ready if we are going to make any of you look presentable,” she grins. “We are not cattle,” I huff and begin to shut the door in her face. She stops it with a foot in the doorway and looks down at her clipboard. “Josie Banks, eighteen years old, here to study criminology. Father is deceased, mother suffers from psychosis and currently resides in a secure hospital. Josie needs support to process her emotions and would benefit greatly from structure and routine. Josie has no other living rel…” I cut her off by snatching the clipboard from her hand and reading the information sheet she had on me. With every word I read of my personal information, my anger grows, like each letter adds fuel to the already growing fire within me. Who gave her this information? She’s just a senior student with a voluntary role as dorm leader, she has no right or need for this information. This is a breach of privacy. “How did you get this?” I seeth. Students gather in the corridor, their attention now focused on the drama unfolding in front of them. “As the dorm leader, I am privy to any information that may help me to support you,” Jenna states, holding her head high like she feels superior. “It was in the enrolment statement, that you signed and agreed to when you accepted your place within this university,” she adds. I tear the page from the clip holding it down and slam the board into her chest. “You had no right to that information, and you certainly had no right to broadcast it to the whole dorm,” I shout as I shove her away from my door. There’s a brief look of shock on her face as her head cracks against the wall before her expression goes blank and she slumps down to the floor with a thud. There's a distinct crack in the plaster on the wall where she hit it. Gasps sound out down the hall as I slam the door. I lean against it in disbelief, looking down at my hands in disgust. “Someone call an ambulance!” I hear one of the girls in the hall shout. How did that just happen? I didn't shove her that hard did I?… no, it's not possible, I'm not that strong and I barely touched her. She must have tripped on something and hit her head. That crack in the wall must have already been there and I'd just not noticed it until now. “Is she breathing?” I hear a panicked voice ask. I don't hear the answer as my ears begin to ring and my heart begins to pound loudly. I feel as if the oxygen has been sucked out of the room as I draw in gasping lungfuls of useless air. My chest tightens with every breath like more and more weight is being added on top of me. My vision goes blurry before turning completely black, then I become light, and the weight lifts from me as I relax into peaceful darkness. “Miss Banks wake up!” a stern voice penetrates the blissful bubble of silence I had fallen into. I blink open my eyes, letting my blurry vision adjust to take in the figure hovering above me. It's a plump lady with a grim-faced expression that I don't recognise. “Who are you?” I murmur, pushing myself up into a sitting position and looking around to take in my surroundings. “ I'm Officer Shelby, I'm with the Mount University Police. We need to take you down to the station,” she gives me a sympathetic smile as she pulls me up to my feet. In the broken doorway of my room stands another police officer. This one is looking curiously between me, the doorway and the crack in the wall where Jenna had been slumped. I suck in a breath as I remember what had happened. Jenna is no longer there, which is good. I must have passed out for a short time and she had reported me to the police for causing her to fall. “I'm sorry officer, this was all a bit of a misunderstanding. I didn't mean for her to fall, I just pushed her out of my doorway so I could close my door and…” I begin to explain until the officer holds up a hand to stop me. “Save it for the interview honey,” she says softly, whilst guiding me out of the building and into the back of a waiting police car. My fellow students watch on, giving looks of pity, smirks and utter disgust as I pass… perfect, I've made a great first impression.Chapter 2 For the next few hours, I watch the clock in the small room they have me locked in. I’d drank my small paper cup of water hours ago and I've counted every tiny crack I can find in the plastered walls at least ten times. Just when I'm at the point of driving myself completely insane by mentally replaying what happened with Jenna over and over again, the door opens. The male officer that I'd seen in my dorm room earlier walks in and takes the seat opposite me at the table. “Sorry to keep you waiting Miss Banks,” he says, laying a paper folder out on the table. He opens it and begins to read through it in silence. The seconds tick by and I start to get fidgety in my seat at the uncomfortable silence. Just as I open my mouth to break the silence the door opens again and a tall man wearing an expensive-looking suit walks in holding a briefcase. The man looks down at me in an assessing way. He is extremely good-looking and exudes dominance in a way that makes him hard to look at
Chapter 2 “Wake up, Miss Banks,” a smooth voice says, the tone washes over me like a loving caress, and for the first time in a very long time I feel safe and it's not something I want to wake up from just yet. I nuzzle my face into the warmth against my cheek. A sweet, buttery and woodsy kind of scent hits my nose and I give an approving hum at the pleasing smell. A grunt of disapproval ruins my contentment right before I am dropped unceremoniously onto my back. The landing is soft but still unpleasant. “What the hell!” I curse, rushing to sit and take in my surroundings. I'm on a couch in a dimly lit room, bright light suddenly floods the room making me squint against it. I shift my attention to the source of the light, fighting the urge to hiss at it like a feral vampire. A large figure is framed by the beaming sunlight that is flooding the room through a window that spans the entire wall. The figure is fussing with the curtains that he's just opened and I quickly recognise him
Chapter 4“I thought I heard voices in here. Is everything okay Dee?” a very attractive woman who looks to be in her thirties says as she walks into the room with a beaming smile. Her hair is jet black and shines as the sunlight hits it. It's the sort of hair that should be in shampoo ads and just enhances her stunning blue eyes and flawless skin. She wears a skin-tight black dress that shows off her hourglass figure and black stilettos, with her finger and toenails painted bright red. She is the kind of woman that makes you feel insecure as soon as you see her. “Yes. Clarrisa, this is Josie Banks, a new student I've just picked up from the human realm. Could you please assign her one of the single dorm rooms in Ruby,” Mr Collins says, whilst he takes out the file from his briefcase that the police officer had given him earlier and holds it out to Clarrisa.“Are you sure? There's plenty of space for her in Amber or Saphire,” Clarrisa says, giving me an assessing look up and down befo
Chapter 5I stand in the doorway of my new room open-mouthed. This must be a mistake. This is nothing you'd expect of a dorm. This is more like a hotel suite. The bed is huge, king-size at least, and the pillows are like plush clouds that I just want to jump into. There is a dressing table with a mirror and a walk-in wardrobe that's almost as big as my entire dorm room at Mount University. The large window is framed by bookshelves, stacked with books of every genre you could wish for, and there's a cosy window seat with cushions and a blanket. I almost squeal in excitement. There's a small countertop with tea and coffee-making facilities and a mini fridge. In the bathroom, there's not only a shower but a full-size bathtub. The whole place is a luxury that I've only ever seen on TV and I have no idea how I am going to pay for it because I don't think a part-time job around my studies is going to cut it. I catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror and cringe. My hair is a mess, a
Chapter 6My vision returns as fast as it left. Theo is on the floor at my feet groaning.“What was that?” I demand, stepping back from Theo and clutching my hand. “The spark,” Theo groans out, and then he starts laughing. “What does…” I start, but I'm cut off by my door shattering into pieces. Making me shriek and jump back further. A very angry-looking man stands in my doorway, breathing heavily. He takes in the scene in front of him. Dark hair hangs over his eyes but it doesn't hide the fury peeking out behind the dark locks. His hand shoots out towards me and his fingers strain as if he is gripping something, then my oxygen is cut off. I scratch at my neck, trying to remove whatever is wrapped around it that's stopping me from breathing but there's nothing there. “Mason stop, I'm fine,” Theo croaks out and pushes himself to his feet before knocking the dark-haired man's arm down. Precious air fills my lungs and I collapse to my knees in relief. “Josie, are you okay?” Theo asks
Chapter 7We head out of our building and across the courtyard to a more modern brick building where students seem to be filtering from all directions. People stare at me and I see them turning to whisper to each other. “Hey beautiful,” a deep voice says from behind us and I turn just in time to see Dot swept off of her feet by a tall man with a mess of shoulder-length blonde hair. Before she has a chance to respond, another male approaches. This one is shorter and has a military-style shaved head. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her from the blond man and planting a kiss on her lips. I stare open-mouthed at the scene in front of me, waiting for a fight to start or for Dot to protest, but it doesn't happen. “Put me down,” Dot giggles and squirms in the man's arms until he releases her. She straightens her clothes and looks back at me. “Josie, this is Marcus,” she points to the blonde, “and this is Cole,” she pats the arm of the second man. “Nice to meet you,” I smile awkward
Chapter 8“Looks like you've made quite the impression,” Dot teases, snapping me out of death's trance as I break eye contact with Mason. I follow Dot's gaze to a friendly smile. Theo waves excitedly when my eyes meet his. I smile back at him before my eyes flick back to Mason’s nervously. He scowls at me before turning to say something to Theo. “Earlier, you referred to Mason as Theo’s boyfriend. Is that true?” I ask, trying not to sound too interested.“I've heard rumours about it,” she shrugs. “Theo is a huge flirt and definitely isn't opposed to men. Mason doesn't tolerate many people, but he has a soft spot for Theo. In fact, I don't think anyone has ever made Mason crack a smile apart from Theo,” “Well one thing is for sure, and that's that Mason hates me already,” I huff. I've been here a few hours and I've already made an enemy… great! “Mason hates everyone, don't take it personally,” she reassures. “He tried to kill me,” I snort, rubbing my throat at the memory.“He was j
Chapter 9Theo sits beside me on the couch in Mr Collins’ office. There's a tense silence as Mr Collins removes his suit jacket and rolls up his shirt sleeves. This must be a routine of his, and it's certainly one I like. In fact, I might get myself sent to his office regularly just to witness this arm porn. How can a man have such attractive arms? I seriously hope neither of the men in the room has the gift of telepathy because I think they'd kick me out of the realm if they could hear even half of the filthy scenarios my brain is playing out right now. “Are you okay?” Theo asks, snapping me back to reality. “Yes,” I respond a little too quickly.“You looked like you zoned out a bit there,” he says softly, reaching up and brushing some hair from my face and tucking it behind my ear. My guess is he's not telepathic, otherwise he'd probably not be acting so sweet to me right now. “Just a little overwhelmed,” I smile before shifting my attention back to Mr Collins, who has his back t
Chapter 171**Mason’s POV**As the hours pass I feel calmer. Soft music plays in the room and Josie is so relaxed. Even through her pain, she smiles and there's excitement in the room. This beautiful, amazing and strong woman is bringing our daughter into the world and as I rub her back I am filled with pride that she is mine. Then with a groan and a sudden call for help, the room shifts into chaos. Dot and Art had been waiting outside in the hall to let us have this moment alone but now they are bursting in with urgency.“Get her on the bed,” Dot says. I pick Josie up without much thought and place her on the bed, stepping back to let Dot and Art get to her. Dot is pressing something to Josie's stomach before saying something about the heart rate. I can barely make sense of what is happening as my ears begin to ring. Josie is fighting for breath and I stand there, utterly frozen in fear, because I knew something was going to go wrong and this is my fault. I did this to her. Cash ha
Chapter 170** Josie’s POV **I sit forward in the bath, ready to get out and curl up in bed with my guys, but as I move I feel an odd pop in my lower back. It takes me a second to realise what it is as a sudden gush of warm water moves between my legs. “I think my waters just broke,” I tell the guys.The room falls deadly still and silent for a second before everyone moves at once. Mason lifts me from the water and carries me into the bedroom with Theo running ahead of us to pull back the bed sheets.“Everyone stay calm, no one panic,” Theo calls, sounding anything but calm. “Someone call Dot and Art,” Mason says as he lays me on the bed with such tenderness that I want to cry again. Axel rushes in with a towel, getting to work on drying me off whilst I hear Deacon on the phone talking. I’m a little dazed and shocked that this is happening, and the guys are all in a frenzied state of panic. Luke comes in with a towel wrapped around his waist and puts on the calming labour playlist
**Axel’s POV**The gender reveal had been a huge success. Seeing everyone that my bond group cares about all come together to celebrate our baby was something that will stay with me forever. I hadn't even felt my family's absence because with my bond group and their loved ones, I've found a better, even more supportive family. I don’t need anyone else to feel complete, well, apart from more children. Josie is coming to the end of her pregnancy, and I'm going to miss seeing her like this. Even with her swollen ankles and sickness, she is still the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on. She seems to glow with an otherworldly beauty that grows brighter every day and keeping my hand off of her is becoming more and more difficult. If I could, I'd pick her up and carry her with me everywhere. As I watch her now my fingers twitch with a need to touch her, to scoop her up and hear the contented little hum she always lets out when I wrap her in my arms. I’m addicted to that sound. I
Chapter 168** Josie’s POV **“Babe, calm down, it's going to be perfect,” Theo says as I attempt to rearrange the tables by the pool again.“What if everyone hates it and never wants to go to a gender reveal party ever again?” I ask, covering my face with my hands in an attempt to calm myself. “Why would they hate it? Everyone will be here because they love us and our baby and they're excited to find out the gender. I don’t think they care if the table layout is up to standard,” Luke says.“You're right,” I nod. “I just feel this pressure to make it perfect, I need to prove to your families I'm capable of doing this, I want to prove I'm worthy of being in this bond group and that I'll be a good mother to their grandchildren,” I admit. “They already know that, and more importantly, we know that. You have nothing to prove, Babe. This is supposed to be a fun day for us all to be together with everyone we care about, so relax and enjoy it,” Theo pulls me to him and Luke steps up to my b
Chapter 167** Josie’s POV **Once both my men are gloriously naked I watch them for a while as they explore each other's mouths. It’s clear Mason is letting Theo take the lead here, which confirms what I thought Mason needed from us. “Take charge of him, Theo, he needs it,” I say into the mind link. Theo breaks the kiss and looks over at me with a subtle nod.“Our girl is looking lonely on that bed, don't you think?” he asks. Mason turns his head and his eyes land on me before he nods.“Get on the bed and crawl to her, Mace,” Theo whispers.Mason steps up to the bottom of the bed and casts a glance at Theo behind him before getting on the bed and crawling up to kneel between my legs. I sit up to meet him and pull his head towards mine kissing him briefly before I lie back. Theo comes to kneel on the bed beside us and his hand moves straight to my sex. “Look how wet she is for you,” Theo hums, spreading me for Mason to see just how much I want him, before plunging two fingers insi
Chapter 166** Josie’s POV **It had taken almost a week to fully recover from the psychic attack from Cornelius. I had spent most of that time in bed with Mason. We watched movies and slept a lot for the first few days. On day three Mason felt back to normal, but due to my pregnancy and that I had depleted my energy to fuel the rest of my bonds I'd needed longer. The rest of my bonds have been navigating the aftermath and keeping me and Mason informed. We recently learned that Cornelius was confirmed as spark bonded, which adds another layer of betrayal to his entire scheme. When Cornelius died, one of the females captured by Raff’s team became distraught, screaming in anguish over her loss. Three other males tried to console her in the holding cell, revealing their identities in the process. I chose not to find out what happened to them afterwards. I can’t imagine the depth of her pain in losing one of her bonds, even if he had committed terrible acts. The thought of her dealing wit
Chapter 165** Theo’s POV **I move to intercept a wolf running towards Josie. I step in its path just in time for the little shit to launch up and latch painfully onto my arm, dragging me down with it. The wolf suddenly disappears from on top of me, seconds before it was about to chomp down on my face. I sit up and look around in confusion. Josie lets out a pained cry from behind me and I jump to my feet, turning just in time to see her drop to her knees. I rush forward with a burst of energy, catching her before she falls forward and she goes limp in my arms. I look at Mason in a panic, which only increases when I see he is on the floor, twitching and groaning. Luke is nowhere to be seen.“What the fuck is going on? I need help here!” I scream into the mind link. I lay Josie down next to Mason, ready to protect them both when Luke appears.“I’ll get them out of here. Go help Deacon and Axel,” Luke says before leaning down and touching Josie and Mason before porting out with them.
Chapter 164** Josie’s POV **Cornelius stands in the centre, dressed in black and wearing a bulletproof vest. He looks as arrogant as hell whilst he laps up the attention of his worshipers. People cheer and clap, drowning out the booing from outside the park fence. I look around at all the people, there are a full range from babies to elderly and I hate that they have no idea who this guy is and that they are just unwitting pawns in a game they never chose. We have to free them, we are their last line of defence. We swore we would save this realm and we are about to prove it, no matter the cost.I spot Mason and Theo moving into position and I glance over to where I know Axel and Luke should be. Once we see them we begin to move too, weaving our way through the crowd. I recognise a few of the faces along the way and feel a little more at ease when I see them shadowing the more vulnerable members of the audience, ready to protect them. When I am happy with my position I stop, letting m
Chapter 163** Josie’s POV **Deacon and I port into an empty apartment in a building that overlooks the park, whilst Luke, Axe, Mason and Theo port to a disused train line in the underground station across the street. Some of Raff’s team are already here and some have even managed to compel themselves onto the security team. We know Cornelius will have informed his team to be on the lookout for bonded groups so it’s important that as a female I am only seen with one male, otherwise we may draw suspicion. This theory is confirmed when a single female with a group of three males is stopped at the gate and pulled to one side. We can't see what is done to them from here as they are led into a large white tent. I hold my breath as we wait, only releasing it when they exit the tent unharmed.“Probably using compulsion to question them. If we get pulled in, remember to draw on Axel’s blocking gift and make your gaze look vacant. Imagine you are in a daydream and answer their questions quic