I don’t have a clue where she is except that Marcus swears she is alive, galloping away on his horse. Which I believe.At the same time, her sister swears she is dead. That first night, Elle wept against my chest. Tears flooded as she wailed. “My big sister, why!” Elder Brent, a constant, lurking presence in the back of the room, nodded, “To think she killed again, Elder Gunner was a gentle soul. He did not deserve such an end.” /Fucking prick had his knee on her neck. I killed him gladly/ Marcus chimed in my head. /Don’t believe a word any of these dusty bastard say./ /Done/ I agree.When my irises flare into green at the thought of anyone hurting my mate Elle grips me tighter. I'm giving her the wrong impression, but this is no time to correct her.The hours rolled on. Arrangements were decided, obituaries presented and approved, her beast of a mother provided with more wine. Sighing, resting her chin on her upturned, manicured hand Elle sighed wistfully. “I know Cassandra had h
That very first night, after allowing my horse to refresh itself, I headed straight to Elder Gunner’s residence. He had a cave in the cliffs, but like all the elites, he had a woody summer residence gifted to him by my father. Years languishing in the library, I had forced myself to memorize so many pointless facts to keep my mind sharp, a fact now paying dividends. It was a chance to admire the curve of my fathers penmanship to see how he managed affairs right down to those he knew he could not trust. Kicking in the wooden door, I raided it under the dim light of the moon. Ruthlessly and quickly, I took anything that could be of use. This would be a one-time visit. As soon as news got out, others would get the same idea anyway and come rooting. As it happened, Gunner had so much gold stashed away under his bed I had to steal a wooden, ramshackle cart to transport it. By the time dawn rose, I had picked a small cave by the sea to store everything, the offending cart broken into
Dressed in huge riding boots, poorly fitting pants, and a heavy man's leather jacket, I hate that my first reaction is how unattractive I look right now. It’s completely pathetic, I’m better than that, but I can’t help my cheeks burning up.I’ve dressed to disguise, not entice. But he doesn’t get to see me crumble again. Planted against the floor, screeching and defenceless with my nightgown failing to cover me is the lowest I’ll let Ayr see me fall.“Cassandra?” he adds with the rustle of grass suggesting he’s stepping forward, edging closer to me. It’s all my wolf wants, pressing and urging me to listen to the way my heart is racing. Instead, I turn to face him, using every bit of pride left to stand tall. He’s stunning. His blonde hair falls about his face in loose waves, his eyes swirling with blue and green. Wearing jet black, it is only his chainmail that glints in the light of the moon. He is every inch the Alpha. I am every inch the criminal. A rat scurrying away into the
I followed her, intending to talk. Realizing she was in the sea, completely naked meant all conversation turned to dust. “Do not forget who you are,” I barked. I sound like a possessive fool, but I can't help myself. There's so many better ways to express that my mind can not rest until we've talked this out, but instead, I bark orders like she's Marcus.Because just like Marcus, she frustrates the hell out of me.Back in Debanne, I was only a yank of her wrist from slamming my lips back against hers. From inhaling those tingling sparks. The ones that make me feel like I’m melting and burning at the same time. Thinking of my mate is the only time I don’t have the blood-soaked images of battle lurking in the back of my mind. Her short brown hair was plastered flat against her scalp, making her cheekbones and amber eyes glint. The inky midnight sea came to just under her collarbone, reminding me of the black silk I last saw her in. “Who I am? Are you kidding!” she scoffed. “You don’
I’m on a wing and fucking prayer here because I never really know what she’s going to do next. Considering I was still fully clothed, pinning her gloriously naked, leaf-strewn body to the floor, it would appear to a passerby I was hurting her. That couldn’t be further from the truth. When our lips brushed, my heart shuddered, to the point I worried I could just collapse on top of her. I urged, in a low mutter. “I mean it, there’s a reason.” Cassandra tilted her face to the side, preventing me from kissing her lips, so I grazed her neck with a series of firm, rough kisses. “Talk to me, or I'm assuming you want me to stop. Now.” I'll release her instantly if she's changed her mind. I’m not out of control. Not yet. “So you could try and break me? Is that the reason?She's so wrong. So I returned to adoring her bare skin."Ah Ayr, oh Goddess, Ayr,” she groaned as I withdrew back down her body, her splayed open legs still kicking at my thighs. “Knew you wanted to be caught,” I tease
If something is too good to be true, you have to test it. There is no point believing in magic, dreams or wishes coming true. Ayr has forcibly blown my world apart. My ability to think rationally is in shreds. My mate is pure desire in every form. Not just that huge blonde figure of his, but his scent has this peculiar way of heating me. Just looking at him, even in that cold seawater, when I caught his scent, my body warmed from head to toe. The way his eyes lit up like beacons when he chased me. The pure strength in his grip, it left me breathless. Possessed and devoured by his powerful grip, but it was all for me. To make me feel like I might rocket straight off the beach. Why did the mere idea of being chased by him leave my legs weak. I dropped into those waves. My legs gave way. There was no crafty tactic behind it.Now, with his white shirt draped over me, I can study his bare, toned body and admire every inch of him. There’s a lot to take in. His huge chest is acting like
I had her. My mate, in my arms, blissfully resting her head against my chest and I ruined it. The more desperately I reached for her, the worse the situation became. What I see as protection, she sees as imprisonment. My natural desire for facts act as confirmation to Cass that she cannot trust me. Our sparks into life when we spar. Chasing her down, I got to experience the purest form of pleasure. Hearing her break down into ragged sobs of ecstasy under my touch. Trusting me with her body, if not her heart. Is a mate meant to leave you completely off balance? What about the matebonds that are just two people living in gentle harmony? Why has the Goddess given me a mate that leaves me practically stammering a foolish offer to put her in a box and smuggle her out? I even offered to abdicate! I meant it though. Standing on that shoreline, alone with nothing but her fading scent I finally have a purpose. I’ve fought to preserve Volare for my father. For everyone who looks up to me.
Turns out heartbreak is excellent fuel. I barely slept. Nothing matters now, only the demise of Elle. If I keep riding Pepper across the country, barely stopping for anything other than to drop off traitorous papers, then I won’t think of him. That night, on my way back to my small fishing hut, tears brimming, I ripped his white shirt from my body and shoved it underneath the heavy metal chainmail left by the shore. The next day, they were gone. Ayr didn't follow me. He’d retrieved his shit and left me the hell alone. Fine. Good. He can take his useless offer and go jump in the sea. Or into Elle’s bed. Whatever he wants to do. Playing it tough is hard when everything hurts. Being so close to him, even for just a few hours, had inflamed my wolf beyond anything I’d ever felt before. To switch off and deny that surging excitement left me battling the darkest of thoughts. Proving my innocence had never felt further away. Ayr’s doubt in me inflamed the next few leaflets. The packho
Corbin is the first to arrive, urgency in his steely eyes. He and Ayr now share the dubious honour of matching neck scars. I imagine his lower chest is even more grisly after the attack on him “Is everything okay? It’s so fantastic to see you,” enjoying the sweep of his huge, iron-like hug. The sweet scent of warm baking is the only soft feature about this hardened leader. “When they set up a room for me to recover in, they found this. I thought you should have it,” withdrawing a thick envelope from his jacket. “It’s written by your mother.” I stare at the aged paper and wonder just what I will gain from reading her drunken rantings. “What made you bring this? She must have hundreds of letters, I know she kept a diary too.”“She addressed it to you. It’s the only one with your name on it. No diaries found.” "Go on, I’ll greet everyone else. It will only irritate you if you don’t read it now, " Ayr suggested "Corbin and I need to talk bridges," as the pair grinned. I took the letter
Life is very different in Volare these days. Leo is almost two. Wonderful in every way, his pouty lips and blue eyes making it almost impossible to tell him no. I flit between wondering what my mother would think of my own material efforts. Praying I make better choices than her. I still don’t know what the hell was on her mind when she died. Was it out of love for me or hatred of Elle? Staring at Leo, I will never understand how she stood by all those years in silence. It has taken some serious organising but tonight, finally everyone is going to be reunited. A celebration of friendship. Raphael and Robyn have been sorely missed. Almost eighteen months without any visits between us. Corbin had requested all bridges go up for our own safety for a period. He was attacked in an uprising in the centre of Pemberton. Touring a pack and hit in the chest with a cannonball. Quite how the fuck a group of rebels got hold of a cannon is something Raphael is furiously investigating. The nigh
She’s dreamed of me? Even as my head spins in a frenzy of pure desire, I need to delve into that conversation more. Women are clearly my blind spot. No pun intended. She’s guiding me along the wooden wall, “I‘m staying in the packhouse, come on,” she breathes, and I’m so close to just being swept along. But this is serious. Flashes of Imelda cross my mind. “Jessica, Jessica, come on, what do you mean dreaming? What colour are your eyes?” as she drags me into the packhouse. Where I once snuck in order to shave in Ayr’s fancy bathroom. Her hand feels so tiny in mine. In fact, everything about her is petite. I’m almost stumbling, and I secretly love the way she doesn’t give a shit I can’t see. She’s taking me to her room regardless. “How about you just trust me?” she whispers before placing a kiss on my open chest. Shit that must be how tall she is. When she first kissed me, she must have been on her tiptoes. What the hell is this? “If you know who I am, I don’t…I’m not going to b
Jessica never appeared at dinner. It was a shame, I totally thought her and Marcus might hit it off, but there will be more opportunity. She’s got that daring confidence that I thought might spark his interest. When the lightning flashed and rain descended, everyone jumped in the packhouse. Ayr ran out to find Marcus. Check he hadn’t got caught in the storm and lost his bearings, but he was nowhere to be seen. His blue gauze was trodden into the mud by the packhouse door, though. “He’s not answering his link?” Ayr said, rubbing his chin. “If he wants us, he will,” Matthew answered steadily. “There’s a line of how much he’ll ask for.” Ayr reluctantly agreed, and the evening continued as planned. Drinks consumed, food eaten, I sat in our bed and watched Ayr as he stripped down. I know how long he stays awake at night reading to me. I also know how the instant he thinks I’m asleep he switches from pirate adventures to love sonnets. My dreams are warm, full of summer sun and happiness
The day I stop opening my eyes and searching for a flicker of dawn will be when my wolf stops trying too. Not once did I stop believing. Now, finally, after almost five years, something has happened. Since Ayr told me their silver wolf has vanished from the heavens, the constant blackness has started to part. There are shadows and hints of grey and white in my peripheral vision. I can’t see shapes, but there is lightness where once only pitch black existed. My first instinct was to call out to Berrybrow. But then I shut my lips and breathe sharply. This is for me to know. My secret. For if it turns out, all I can see are the shadows at the edges. What has been gained? But maybe, just maybe my purgatory is finally ending? I already know my irises have turned to jade. Mrs Berrybrow was sweet to sell it kindly, maybe as proof that my wolf is still trying to heal me. Ayr has since said he doesn’t give a fuck, that I was exactly the same man to him. Except hearing how the others hav
I secretly bought a set of jangling bells, but thankfully, they weren’t necessary. I did once tie them to her and woke up to a barrage of jangling cushions to the face. Then she pinned my wrists to the mattress as best as she could before wrapping her mouth around my semi-hard early morning dick. Confusing, briefly terrifying me and making me want to explode all in the space of five seconds. Perfection. Now, such spontaneity has been briefly retired. Instead, she has to choose from a pile of leatherbound books instead of leaping onto my groin. Holding out a selection of hardbacks, I mock-grumpily bark. “Pick one then,” before helping to place the covers over my hugely pregnant, half-glowing, half-irritated mate. We’re in the final stages of this miracle of a pregnancy, and somehow, my plan worked. “You always know which one I’ll choose,” she smiles back softly, her stunningly soft figure draped in an emerald green silk nightgown before choosing the same one she’s had for the pas
It’s not possible. “It can’t be…I mean…” only to turn and see the look on Ayr’s face. The one I’ve always wanted to see. It’s joyous. The sweetest, kindest expression. A god melted into a beaming man. But it is a look he shouldn’t be giving me. Anyway, it’s just one old lady’s opinion. I said I felt sick, but that surely happens to everyone who’s having the minor trauma of almost killing their mate in their sleep. Accepting the golden-eyed wolf could be hunting Ayr and I down for the rest of our lives out of spite is enough to turn anyone’s stomach. Or, as Mrs Berrybrow suggested, the golden-wolf attaches itself to a newborn. Then what? The instant some child turns eighteen and can connect with their spirit, will their soul be corrupted. Try to harm us? “Cass?” Ayr whispers, before reaching out for my hand. I have no idea how long I’ve been silent for whilst I felt the idyllic protection of my Volare life crumble around me. It's not safe. It will never be safe. I still can’t move
It’s been almost three months, and with Cass at my side, anything feels possible. Apart from conception, obviously, but we’ve both agreed that doesn’t matter in the slightest right now. I don’t know how it works, but even the Volare population seemed brighter. The packhouse has never seen so many bawdy nights, bands playing, people talking late into the night. Annoyingly, now I’m officially not a kidnapping, raping, deviant scumbag, the other packs are scrambling to purchase even more of our goods. Something to be remembered every time I am forced to attend a Council with the two-faced pricks. Apart from Locksley. He had absolutely zero scruples in buying fancy items from a despised Alpha. Or trying to seduce Cass via pastel suits and bouquets of flowers but thank fuck that game is over. At Cass’s request I have even led a couple of Volare full moon runs. Pretty sure she just wanted to get me naked in the Kallio side of the woods though. Unfamiliar territory to her meant I had th
Robyn had arrived in Volare with a few of my favourite gowns and essentials. Like she already knew I would never be coming back if they found me in Volare. “Cass what the hell happened here!” she gasped, taking in the dishevelled room. “Take a guess, Robyn!” I reply, towel wrapped around my body. “AH you're marked. I knew it!” she squealed.Hugging tightly, I quickly dressed, and we headed down to the main packhouse. I couldn’t resist my hunger any longer. Taking a long, empty bench in the far corner, my hair still damp from the shower with Ayr, I told her everything. Yet just last week, when we played with Lucy’s dolls house, I assured her I was fine. Snapped it at her if I recall properly. Now she knows the full extent of the agreement, the silver wolf waiting to be born. How we had decided, after making amends with everyone, that we had a clean slate. No guilt, no blame. Just forwards. “That’s exactly how it should be,” Robyn smiled. “I can not believe how much you’ve changed