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Chapter 122
Last Updated:
2025-01-24 23:03:20
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In Service of the Alpha Chapter 123
JohnathanMara falls asleep under me. Her hands gradually slowing and eventually stopping completely. Her ragged breathing evens out, becomes deep and peaceful.She will have nightmares for a while. Unlike last time, she wouldn’t go into detail about the things she saw in her vision. I don’t know if she wanted to spare me, or if she was just overwhelmed, but my money's on the former. I can’t imagine that the things she saw were pleasant, and she wants to protect me the same way I try to protect her.I roll off my mate and pull her into my arms, holding her tight and close, hoping that my touch will be enough to keep the monsters away.“Johnathan,” Kahn whispers at the window.I’m surprised I even heard him over the noise of the rain and through the closed window no less. It’s getting wild out there. The wind is picking up, and the waters pour from the heavens non-stop. “What do you want?” I hiss back.“We really need to talk about what Mara saw.”Now is a really bad time. I have no de
Last Updated : 2025-01-25In Service of the Alpha Chapter 124
JohnathanI never liked going to the temple, but tonight I dread it even more than usual. I’ve never gone in there during the normal full moon. I don’t know what effect it will have on me... on Kahn.But most of all, I fear that we’ll get there and the Goddess will be gone. The thought of going through the war without the gods by our side fills me with dread. Even with the gods, we're having a hard time fighting them.What will happen if they're completely gone?They must still hear our prayers. When the humans attacked, I begged for their help, and it came in the form of a deep, impenetrable fog.“What if the fog was the humans’ weapon?” Dante asks.Fuck.Shit on a stick.He’s probably right.“But the rain stopped. I very much doubt the humans have the ability to control the rain.”“You don’t know that,” my wolf offers up his unhelpful opinion.Great. Everything’s fucked. I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know what comes from the humans and what are the gods’ doing. Who
Last Updated : 2025-01-26In Service of the Alpha Chapter 125
MaraI sit quietly next to Rose who is regarding the proceedings with lively eyes. Pia is here, but Johnathan made her sit in the corner like a naughty child. I look at her, searching for the love I used to have, but it's all gone. The warm spot my mother used to occupy is now cold and dead./Kalypso, Oberon, Ilse, two women I’ve never seen before, Kahn, Preston and Donovan are all here, gathered around a round table in the library. It was the only place we could prepare on such short notice.Jonathan goes around the table and introduces everyone. He points to the first stranger sitting next to Kalypso, “Cora, leader of the changelings,” he says, and next to her, “Aurora, high priestess of the witch coven.”Cora shakes her head. Her long, blonde hair rattles and she changes into a little girl no older than five. She giggles and changes back. Changelings give me the heebie-jeebies. It’s said their true appearance is quite terrifying, but apparently their men find them irresistible an
Last Updated : 2025-01-27In Service of the Alpha Chapter 126
MaraThe people file from the library, including the vampires and Johnathan’s two advisors. “Come here, Pia,” Johnathan orders.My mother folds her arms under her breasts and gives Johnathan a defiant look. “I don’t take orders from men.”My mate slams the sturdy table so hard that it cracks down the middle. “You will do as you are told. Get over here. Now.” His tone is hard. Final.It sends a shockwave of pure delight down my spine. A few months ago, this version of Johnathan would have scared me. I would have hidden from him. Only now do I realise that he made himself softer on purpose, all so I’d learn that there’s no need to fear him.He talks about the blessing I am to him all the time, but I don’t think I’ve ever told him how much he means to me. What a blessing he has been for me. He took all my broken pieces, and patiently, lovingly, glued them back together with gold.I have been selfish, hiding in the folds of his love, using that same love as my shield, while he had to carry
Last Updated : 2025-01-27In Service of the Alpha Chapter 127
JohnathanI get up and walk over to the door where I know Preston is waiting for me. One look at him, and I know he heard the entire conversation. His eyes are dark, filled with rage. It's not so much just because Pia is a shit mother, but because all of us suffered a wolf like her at one point or another. The callous disregard for her daughters hits home for all of us. “Please escort Pia back to the hotel. She will be stripped of her rank. She is to receive no special treatment. No Omega will attend to her. She will serve the warrior Lunae instead.”“Yes, King,” Preston says.“Move her to a servant room on the ground floor. I want a guard on her twenty-four-seven, and her windows are to be barred with silver so she can’t escape.”My Beta nods. He doesn’t approve of my light sentence. Just like Oberon, he'd rather see Pia dead. Death is a release, not a punishment, and unless I can help it, I prefer not to give people such an easy out. Despite everything Pia had done, despite the pa
Last Updated : 2025-01-28In Service of the Alpha Chapter 128
JohnathanI’m not even sure where to start. The humans never breached our magical defences, but it’s possible that one managed to sneak by. The one carrying the weapon perhaps.There is no way to communicate with the gods. Not that they’re very talkative on their best days, but at least I knew I could ask for help, and more often than not, they'd answer. Not in words, but they'd show me the way - like Father Patrick's God supposedly shows him the way.Now I have nowhere to turn. The gods can't hear me, can't help us. We are well and truly on our own.I glance at Mara who is snug in her raincoat. She did not gripe or refuse to come outside with me, but she insisted on wearing a raincoat and galoshes. “I prefer snow,” she said as we got ready to head outside. “It’s cold, but at least it’s solid.”“What happens to the snow when it starts to melt?”“Mud.” She held up one of the galoshes. “That’s why we had these.”I laughed and swung her around into a hug. “You have an answer for everythi
Last Updated : 2025-01-28In Service of the Alpha Chapter 129
MaraThe trek to the foot of the mountain is relatively easy, if a bit difficult due to the rain. The neat footpaths have turned into little rivers that stream past our feet, dragging mud, leaves, and other mountain debris with it.The paths are as slippery as snot, and we fall down often, landing face or butt first in a mud pie or a puddle of water. Everytime it happens, we laugh until we can’t breathe. It’s not funny, considering where we’re going, but the laughter helps to ease our growing tension.The closer we get to the mountain though, the more I expect Johnathan to call off our search and retrieve mission, but it looks like he’s actually having fun. And as a result, so am I. It's a stark reminder of how much our respective moods wrap off on one another.I burn with guilt when I remember how I behaved. How hard it must have been for him to pretend nothing was wrong, while he basically had to walk on eggshells around me.Never, ever again, will I do that to him if I can help it.
Last Updated : 2025-01-29In Service of the Alpha Chapter 130
MaraMy heart fills with pity for the poor human who gave his life for the humans' misguided cause. I am not even sure he volunteered. He probably didn’t even know what he came up here to do.I can feel him. All his emotions. He's so very scared.Although, I am still wondering how the fuck he made it up here. Even Johnathan couldn’t do it, and if Oberon and Kahn are to believe, Johnathan can climb up trees and mountains like a cat.I kneel next to the human, and hover my hand over him, trying to find the energy he’s emanating, but it’s something new and foreign. It’s partly supernatural, but it has all been manipulated by human hands. “What do we do with it?” Kalypso asks. “Do we kill it or…” she shrugs, letting her words hang in the air.“I think we should attempt to disable it, and bring it with us. Study it,” Johnathan throws his two cents in the hat. “We do have scientists in town. Maybe we can find out what kind of… thing it is. What makes it tick. We can… dissect it, I suppose.”
Last Updated : 2025-01-29
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In Service of the Alpha Thank you
And that is all she wrote folks.My dearest readers, I'd like to thank you for coming on this ride with me. Thank you for sticking around, for your thoughtful comments, and support. I may not always reply to every comment, but I do my best to read them all and I appreciate every one of you.Johnathan and Mara are two of the most complex characters I've ever written, and I hope I did their story justice. I always say that I'm not an author - I'm just the dumb ass writing up the incident report. The person chosen to tell their story. And that was very much the case here. I'm not in charge of a story, the people in my head are.My next book will be available soon, and I promise it will not be another saga like this one.I love you guys. Thank you for making my twisted heart sing.Until we meet again,Celice.
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 160
MaraI stand on the platform next to Johnathan. For once, I'm wearing a proper dress, fit for the occasion. Before us, is a sea of reporters, cameras flash, microphones are pointed at us like guns, quiet voices ripple through the air.Behind us is the ruin that was once our town. Johnathan insisted that we have the press conference here, and he made sure to invite reporters and podcasters of his own choosing. He really doesn’t trust the humans and their peace deal. The last two weeks had been brutal. We kept finding fresh bodies all over the place. All of them had been recently killed. Children torn apart, mothers with their babies still in their arms. Each dead child hurt me as deeply as if they were my own, and I finally understood the prophecy. It was never my own children who died. I begged the Goddess to spare my child because we had lost so many before the humans came back to take the town.Johnathan sent warriors into the forest to look for the culprits. They found a dozen su
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 159
MaraJohnathan is filthy and smells of death, but I don’t care. I roll into his arms and cuddle tightly against him. It’s all I can do. I can barely move as it is. I feel as if a bulldozer ran over me, and left me on the streets to bleed to death.I can't process it. All that blood, the pain, the suffering, the death. I even feel sorry for the human soldiers who had to endure that brutal battle. I lie against my mate, his arm protectively around me, and I cry. My heart has been torn to pieces. They took almost everything from us - and those who are truly responsible, the ones who sent their soldiers here to die - will never be punished for it. They will never feel the loss. They get to go on with their lives as if nothing happened.“King?” someone asks, her voice coming from far, far away. I hear her, but I can’t place her. My mind is a buzzing mess, unable to hold on to any thoughts.“What is it, Ingrid?” Johnathan asks, his voice muffled.“I, uhm, we found your mother.”“And?”“I-
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 158
JohnathanBefore the dust even settles, someone sticks a camera in my face. Not one of mine - a human. “Mister Banks, can you tell us what sparked this conflict?”Absolute fucking vultures. I’m still on my knees, naked as the day I was born, staring at my trembling, bloody hands, and they want a fucking statement from me?I look up and straight into the camera. “We didn’t start this,” I snarl. “You did. Look at it. Look at the mess you’ve made. We never bothered anyone, all we ever wanted was a chance to live our lives in peace.“They killed the fae king today. Are you aware? Did you see him die?” My voice is cold, bitter.The reporters are quiet, giving me room to speak, to contradict myself, so they can spin this in their favour. I know how they operate by now.“Do you know what the fae did for you? They never killed you, they never bothered you or harmed you. All they ever did was comfort those who were hurt, healed the sick, eased the suffering of the dying. And you killed them. F
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 157
Johnathan“I’m sorry,” I say to Kahn after our hurried meeting.Mara and Talitha already left with Oberon to bring the town’s children to the fae forest. The Omegas and humans who can’t, or won’t, fight are heading off into the woods to hide in the caves.“I’ve waited hundreds of years,” the vampire comments dryly. “Another month won’t kill me.”“You might die tonight.”He just shrugs. “Unlikely, but if I do… I hope Frans dies with me so we can be together in the afterlife.”That is such a cold way of looking at it, but I guess it’s pragmatic under the circumstances. I don’t mind dying tonight, but I don’t want Mara to die. The only reason I’m still fighting is for her and Gregory. It’s as good a reason as any other. A man who doesn’t have a reason to fight is a useless soldier. He’ll give up as soon as things get too difficult.“Why are you even fighting?” I ask Kahn. “If you’d rather be dead?”“I don’t want to die,” he answers calmly. “I just wouldn’t mind if I do. I’m really fuckin
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 156
JohnathanWhile the rest of the town is becoming complacent, going on with their lives as if nothing is wrong, I’ve been working, never relaxing, never letting my guard down.It's not over, not even by a long shot. I keep my soldiers fit, healthy and battle ready. We have accumulated a staggering amount of weapons and heavy artillery, all of it hidden from view. Oberon assures me that the humans’ satellites can’t penetrate our magical veil, but I’m sceptical. No magic is infallible, just as the humans aren’t infallible, and those fuckers are industrious. I wouldn’t be surprised if they develop some kind of technology that can ‘see’ through our protections.It only took us two years, but we finally found a crack in the human allies’ armour. The brilliant people I appointed over that time managed to find backdoors into the humans’ computer system and started intercepting their encrypted communications.I have no idea how they’re doing it, and I decided not to ask. There are some things
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 155
MaraJohnathan makes a plate of food for my father and hands it to him. To my surprise, my dad sits as far away from us as possible. "I know how much I stink," he announces. "I don't want to spoil anyone's appetite."With my father seettled for now, I can finally ask Kahn the question I've been burning utter since the trio showed up here, “How did you kill Thrax?”“They were hiding in a cave. He was in the death sleep. So old, and he still couldn't resist it. I just dragged him out into the sun, and poof. Dead in seconds. It was kind of disappointing really. I wanted fireworks. Anyway... we stuck around just to make sure he didn’t come back after sunrise.”“Good,” my mate says. “So it’s all sorted?”“Yeah, looks like it,” Kahn says.I look at Eli who is still chowing down. It's as if he can't stuff the food into his mouth quickly enough. "What happened at Red Ridge?"The vampire looks at Eli who doesn't utter a word, he just grunts and moans as he keeps chewing. It's my father who answ
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 154
Mara“What if we’re wrong? I ask. “What if he’s been playing us all this time?”It’s the first time since the incident with his mother that I feel I can talk to Johnathan about my concerns. He had so much to deal with, his heart was so heavy, that I did not really want to pile on. But if Eli has my father then I can’t postpone it anymore.“You saw him in your vision. Rick was torturing him. They don't usually torture people who cooperate.”“Yes, but there’s… a ripple effect, isn’t there? When we change the future, we don’t just change the outcome, we change other things too. It’s almost as if- the whole world bends around the new future we’ve created.”“The butterfly effect,” my mate says with a little smile. “One small action can affect the larger system.”A puff of air explodes from my lips. I’m relieved that he understands. “Exactly.”“Okay.” He smiles at me. “If he is on his way here, then it means we’ve altered the course of our destiny, correct?”I nod.“Then we’ll just have to
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 153
JohnathanThe inside of my skull explodes with hot rage so intense that I see the world through a thick haze of red. I am aware that I am on my feet, snarling and growling at the vampire. Dante surges, ready to rip Kahn’s throat out. I’m only vaguely aware of the others’ presence. “You had no right,” I grit past my teeth. “You took my vengeance from me. It was over!”“Can you excuse us?” Kahn asks the others.“No, they can not. Who the hell do you think you are?” I curl my hands into fist, aware that I won’t be able to hang on to Dante much longer.Kahn would probably survive if I tear him to shreds, but I wonder if he’ll survive being eaten.I blink, and the vampire is on top of me, his hands curled around my neck. I fall backward, missing the edge of the chair by an inch.“You have no clarity anymore,” Kahn says, and lets me go.Enraged I get to my feet, ready to pull him apart like a fly. I look around at the empty dining room, and my anger simply fizzles. “When did everyone leave
