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Chapter 103
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2024-12-31 08:15:06Related chapters
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 104
JohnathanUpon seeing my reaction, Mara quickly starts to raise her defences again. I grab her wrist to get her attention. “Don’t.”“I told you-”“I’m fine. It was just very sudden. Give me a little warning next time.”She stops what she’s doing and settles back in her seat. The pack house comes into view as we round the last corner, and I let out a little sigh of relief. I want some time with my mate before I tackle the next crisis.I know I have to go down to the town to figure out this mess with the accommodations, but I’m absolutely not leaving Mara here by herself. The state she’s in scares me - she’s bound to do something to herself - but I have to convince her to come with me.“Quick shower,” I say as Baxter pulls up to the front door. “Then we’ll go into town.”“You want me to go with you?” Mara asks.“Yes,” I say and switch over to our mind link. “More time together, remember?”“You’ll be busy. I’ll just get in the way.”“Fuck’s sake Mara, you are never in the way. Stop beati
Last Updated : 2024-12-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 1
MaraI climb the steps to my father’s mansion with heavy legs. Haley, my best and probably only friend, dropped me off at the gate because Lucas, my mate, won’t allow me to drive.The guard refused to let Haley in, and I was forced to walk up the kilometre long driveway, while my bruised and battered body screamed out in agony.I haven’t been home in two years. Today is my twenty-first birthday, and my father wanted to see me for the first time since I married Lucas Mattfield - the future Alpha of Red Ridge.I am in a sad state. I’m only allowed to eat once a day - Lucas wants a hot wife - and last night I took a particularly brutal beating. It was one of the worst he’d ever given me, and he laughed the whole time. I think it’s one of the reasons my father refuses to see me. I’m always covered in fresh and healing bruises now, and he can’t stand to look at the thing he had done to me.On the night of our wedding, Lucas took me into the bond room - the place where newly wed couples h
Last Updated : 2024-09-23In Service of the Alpha Chapter 2
MaraI wake to the sound of tyres humming softly on the tarmac, the woodsy scent of Beta Preston’s cologne in my nose, and the more flowery lavender scent of a woman. Frowning, I sit upright and look out of the windshield of the moving SUV. Ahead of us is a long, deserted road and the setting sun.I have no idea where we are. Red Ridge must be far behind us. I’ve never seen anything so empty and desolate in all my life. The world here is flat, with nothing but the road and grasslands as far as the eye can see. How long was I out?“Hello lovely,” a chirpy voice says from the front seat. “Did yeh have a good sleep?”I look over at the platinum blonde sitting in the passenger seat. She’s in her mid-twenties. Her make-up is heavy, and she’s dressed in a tight, red dress that leaves little to the imagination. All I manage in way of an answer is a croak.“Give her some water,” Beta Preston says, his voice deep and even.He’s a handsome man, with salt and pepper hair, hazel eyes, and a bea
Last Updated : 2024-09-23In Service of the Alpha Chapter 3
MaraI stare in wonder at the winding road ahead of us. It disappears around several bends, leading all the way to the top of the mountain, and the town of Haven’s Crest.Who the hell builds an entire town on the top of a mountain?We crawl up the road. There’s literally nothing between us and a sheer drop into the canyon below, but it’s idyllic, with the green mountain rising up against the bright blue sky. Cotton candy clouds drift in the azure heavens.As we round one of the many dangerous bends, a waterfall comes into view. Rainbows dance in the misty water that vanishes into the pond below. “Wow,” I gasp.“Pretty, ain’t it?” Rhoda says with a soft laugh.I can’t tear my eyes away from the beautiful scenery. It’s like a postcard sent from some exotic place I never knew existed. Far below and in the distance, a blue lake glimmers in the bright sun. At long last, we reach the top. A massive white and black sign welcomes us to *Haven’s Crest - A home for every soul.*I smile wryly. H
Last Updated : 2024-09-23In Service of the Alpha Chapter 4
Mara“Your father asked me to take you off his hands,” Johnathan says in a straightforward, almost bored voice. “Actually, he put you on the open market. There was a fierce bidding war for you.”My eyes almost bulge out of my skull and fresh tears burn my throat. How could my father do that to me? He did not put me on that market to sell me to an Alpha. It’s a slave market where wolves sell their used up wives or unwanted daughters. Most end up as breeders or prostitutes in the wolf pleasure houses.“Everyone thought you came with an inheritance and that you were worth the investment,” Johnathan goes on.I have no idea how much he paid for me, but my father would not have settled for anything less than the compensation Kysan and Lucas demanded. “My father disowned me,” I whisper. “You won’t get your money back.”“I know. Preston told me.” His eyes slide over my ravaged face. “That is not why I bought you. You do not need to fear me,” he says and leans over to take one of the drinks. “
Last Updated : 2024-09-23In Service of the Alpha Chapter 5
JohnathanI take out my phone and pull up the listing for Mara. She has been removed from the site, but I screenshot it right before the auction came to an end.I spent roughly half the money in my bank account on her. It’s way more than I can afford to waste on a she-wolf. I did not need someone like Mara. Technically, I can take any mate and declare her my Luna for my pack to be recognised by the council. But I wanted Mara.Establishing a new pack takes a lot of money. Money I don’t have. The modern world destroyed a lot of packs. Humans are encroaching on our territories, and to keep the unknowns, as we call them, out, we have to buy the land that has been our homes for centuries. The human authorities who are aware of our existence also keep increasing our taxes. They are convinced we’re rich even though most of us don’t even have a pot to piss in.Douglas used the word heiress in Mara’s listing, knowing that a lot of Alphas are struggling to get by now and would jump at the chanc
Last Updated : 2024-09-27In Service of the Alpha Chapter 6
Mara I thought I’d enjoy my excursion into town with Rhoda, but I’ve been isolated for so long that all the people made me nervous. Everyone seemed to know who I am. People stopped me to introduced themselves, welcomed me to the town, and asked me if I’m happy to be here, when the wedding would be, if I like the Alpha, and wanted to know who bruised me up. Who dared to touch a hair on our Luna’s pretty little head? Is your father happy with the new arrangement? All questions I couldn’t answer, or didn’t want to answer Rhoda was no help. She basked in the attention. Or perhaps people here are just like that and she’s so used to it that she didn't even notice. I couldn’t quite figure out which one of the two it was. By the time we made it back to the mansion, I was exhausted and ready to crawl into a hole. There was a time, not so long ago when I think about it, that I enjoyed going out. I was popular in school - no doubt because of my father's money - and I had no shortage of in
Last Updated : 2024-09-27In Service of the Alpha Chapter 7
MaraThe dining room is one of the smallest places I’ve seen so far. It’s big enough to hold a six-seater table, carved by hand like everything else, a sideboard and serving trolley piled high with food and plates.There’s enough room to move around, but no one’s going to throw any lavish parties in here. I get the feeling that it’s Johnathan’s private dining room, but somewhere in this massive mansion there must be some kind of reception hall for parties. Wolves love to throw parties.Preston is sitting at the end of the table with a lovely blonde woman next to him. She’s dressed comfortably in a strappy sundress. I remember when I was able to wear clothes like that. Jealousy tucks at my heart - not because the girl is a hundred times more beautiful than I am, but because she has the kind of freedom I’ve forgotten.“Hello,” she chirps and sits upright. “I’m Ally, Preston’s mate. You are Mara right?”I nod and smile at her. Like everyone else in Haven’s Crest, she’s almost uncomfortab
Last Updated : 2024-09-27
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In Service of the Alpha Chapter 104
JohnathanUpon seeing my reaction, Mara quickly starts to raise her defences again. I grab her wrist to get her attention. “Don’t.”“I told you-”“I’m fine. It was just very sudden. Give me a little warning next time.”She stops what she’s doing and settles back in her seat. The pack house comes into view as we round the last corner, and I let out a little sigh of relief. I want some time with my mate before I tackle the next crisis.I know I have to go down to the town to figure out this mess with the accommodations, but I’m absolutely not leaving Mara here by herself. The state she’s in scares me - she’s bound to do something to herself - but I have to convince her to come with me.“Quick shower,” I say as Baxter pulls up to the front door. “Then we’ll go into town.”“You want me to go with you?” Mara asks.“Yes,” I say and switch over to our mind link. “More time together, remember?”“You’ll be busy. I’ll just get in the way.”“Fuck’s sake Mara, you are never in the way. Stop beati
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 103
JohnathanI did not sense Mara’s approach until she started running towards me. It was sudden. Like a balloon popping. Oberon brought her to me. She’s in a terrible state, but trying her best to put up a brave front. Things haven’t exactly been going her way lately. Or at all really. It's been one clusterfuck after the other since we mated.It’s my natural instinct to protect her. I want to fix everything for her. I want to wrap her in cotton and put her in a glass case. Safe and snug. I’ll burn this whole damn world to the ground if that’s what it takes to see her smile. But intellectually I know how stifling that kind of union can be. I've seen men with the purest intentions crush their mates under the weight of their protection.As far as I’m concerned, It’s just another form of abuse and control. I make sure that she stays well out of the way as we put up the barriers, and when we take a break to drink some water, I stand by her side, telling her about the floods we can expect.
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 102
MaraThe morning is darker than usual. The clouds are so full of rain that they are almost black. I can feel the electricity in the air, nature holding her breath as she awaits the inevitable release.Usually Kahn is somewhere around the pack house, but today he’s nowhere to be found. Day or night, unless he’s feeding, he’s here. He’ll come inside when the sun is highest, but that’s about as much as he hides from the day.I don’t think he ever sleeps. He tells me he does, but I am sure he’s lying. Vampires go into a dead state during the day - their hearts stop beating and they don’t breathe - but Kahn being half-Lycan never reaches that state.It must be awful to go through life like that. Never sleeping, watching time pass by, the people you love moving on without you. A part of nothing, fitting nowhere. All alone for all eternity.“Kahn?” I ask for the tenth time, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "Where are you?"He doesn’t answer me.I try to mind link with him, but can’t. It’s l
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 101
JohnathanThe morning comes too soon. It feels as if I barely closed my eyes before the morning alarm woke me.I really need to switch those fucking things off. They're not doing their job anymore, and they are more annoying that comforting now.I’m dreading this day. Not only do I have to sit back and watch as my exhausted mate go to Oberon for training, I need to break the bad news about Felicity to Kahn, close the town, and see to the new blow-ins that arrived overnight.We have officially run out of space, and there’s nowhere I can put the newcomers, unless I use the empty school, our one Christian church, and the brothels. No one’s going to like any of that. Not Joseph, the brothel madams, or the human priest who made this place his home after finding out that he was fated to a werewolf. The priest told me his story in vivid detail. How he tried to ignore the pull of the mate bond because human priests aren’t allowed to take wives for some reason. In the end, he couldn’t withst
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 100
JohnathanMara falls asleep on my lap, curled up like a cat, her face buried in my chest, hand fisted around my shirt.It’s not a peaceful sleep. Kahn asked me about my first kill - and it was true that I didn’t feel guilty about that one. It was pure self-defence. If anything, I was proud of myself for overpowering a fully grown werewolf with experience.But there have been others since then. And they do haunt me from time to time. All of them deserved it to some degree, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. Ally visits me often in my dreams. I keep reliving that moment just before she died. That split-second when she was sane and simply asked, “Why?”I didn’t have a chance to answer her question. I hope she knows that I didn’t want to do it, that I regret it almost every day of my life.I get up, holding Mara close to me, and go upstairs. I lay her on the bed and open the windows to let the cool, rainy breeze in.My mate moans softly in her sleep and flops over on her stomach.
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 99
MaraOberon whispers some words I don’t understand in my ear, and I start to feel a little lighter. The crushing fear dissipates and the exhaustion that's keeping me on my knees lifts. “What was that?” I ask the fae king when he’s done.“A little fae magic.” He squeezes my shoulder, gets to his feet and turns to Kahn. “You plan to perform the spell on the next full moon?”“What spell?” I ask and shakily stand up. My legs feel like jelly and my head still buzzes. I glance at the ashes again. The wind is starting to pick it up, carrying the Lunae away on the breeze. It’s almost surreal. I can’t believe that I’m capable of wielding magic that destructive.I can't quite get my head around it, and when I think about it, it feels as if someone else did it, and I just stood back, looking on. Like it was a movie.“I am done being a vampire,” Kahn says, ripping me from my thoughts. “I would like to turn back on the next full moon. That is if you are still willing to do it.”I nod. “Why wouldn
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 98
Mara I run through the woods, my feet slapping hard against the forest floor as I go straight for the town’s border. I’m aware that Kahn is following me, but I pay very little attention to him. There are several places where the wolves cross the border into our expanding territory. Sometimes, we’ll see the ones looking for the entrance, witness the outright fear on their faces when they can’t get in, and every time I want to go help them. Every time, one of the others stops me. And now I know why. No matter how scared those lost wolves are at that moment, they are the ones who’ll eventually turn on us and tear our pack, my family, to shreds. Just look at what Theresa did - and she’s not even in the town. Oberon materialises, as he always does, out of thin air, and right in my path. I can’t stop myself in time and run full-force into him. The fae doesn’t budge, but I stagger back. I trip over my own feet and start to fall, but Kahn catches me just before I hit the ground. I jump ou
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 97
JohnathanThe mood in the dining room is thick and uncomfortable tonight. Everyone keeps stealing glances at Rose, who is sitting quietly and obediently in her place next to Mara's seat.In the harsh light of the glittering chandelier, she looks deathly pale and sick, but her eyes are starting to clear up a bit.Perhaps Kahn was right. All she needs is a little sunshine and proper food. I know the vampires feed their blood bags well, but I’m not so sure that diet extends to a wolf slave.Preston is back at the end of the table, Donovan on his right side, Gregory next to him and to my left.Mara quietly takes her seat on my right and looks around the room. Every place at the table is occupied. “At this rate, we’re going to need a bigger dining table,” she remarks.“We’re going to need a bigger dining room first,” I reply with a chuckle.For a while, no one speaks, and again Mara is the one who breaks the uncomfortable silence. “Tell Daddy what we did,” she says with a smile, trying to b
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 96
JohnathanI would love nothing more than to spend the rest of the afternoon with my mate and son, but I can’t. As I shower and change into my regular clothes, I’m assaulted by images of Rose. I’m pretty sure the Goddess is sending them purely to torment me. “Stop it,” I growl after a while. “Do you not care about Mara at all?”*The matters of your frivolous love lives doesn’t concern me,* the Goddess answers.“Then why did you bother to create fated mates? Make us feel the pain of their death as if it’s our own?”She doesn’t answer me, but I am not surprised. When I ask such questions, she never bothers with an answer - perhaps because I won’t like what she has to say.*The girl is is wasting away in the darkness. She is one of yours. You must protect her.*“Yeah, okay, fine!” I snap. “I’ll go get her. Just leave me the fuck alone.”I swear I hear the Goddess laugh as she retreats. Shaking my head, I pull my loafers out of the closet and go to Gergory’s room. He’s on the floor with
