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Chapter 26
Huling Na-update:
2024-10-18 23:59:08
Kaugnay na kabanata
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 27
MaraAs I shower and get ready for supper, I realise that this will be my first weekend at Haven’s Crest. I’ve been here since Monday afternoon, and the week flew by in a blink and blur of activity.It amazes me how quickly I settled in and how comfortable I am. So much so that I plan to ask Johnathan if I can go into town tomorrow. I want to treat Rhoda to lunch. I haven’t seen her since they brought me here, and I want to thank her for all her help.There’s still a little money left on the card Johnathan gave me, and while I'm in town, I want to buy a swimsuit. The Alpha was right, I regretted not having one. I watched the father and son sliding down the smooth rocks, splashing into the deep, cold pools below, and I wished I could join them. Johnathan already saw my scars, and I think Gregory will just accept them the same way he accepted my bruises.I think I'll be okay if it's just the three of us.I saw a different side of Johnathan today. A playful, fun side. I saw a man who kn
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-19In Service of the Alpha Chapter 28
MaraI sit on the edge of the pool, dangling my legs in the cool water. It's another warm night, and the urge to simply slide into the water is powerful.The wind is blowing from the direction of the town, carrying with it the sound of laughing humans and a cacophony of different kinds of music. The air smells like barbeque fires, alcohol, and suntan lotion.The town is alive tonight.It sounds, smells, and feels like the summers at Red Ridge when I was a little girl. Before life came around with a series of blows that almost robbed me of the will to live.“Oh God, what a day,” Johnathan says from the patio doors and walks out onto the deck. “Did you tell Preston he had to beat Ally?”I nearly dislocate my neck when I whip my head around to look at Johnathan. “What?” I ask, alarmed by his question. “No! I would never do something like that.”“According to Ally, you did.”“I told her that I was spoiled too, until Lucas beat it out of me.” I pull my legs out of the pool and shake the wa
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-20In Service of the Alpha Chapter 29
JohnathanThe panic that rises up in Mara is palpable. Not that I blame the girl. I don’t feel much better about the whole mate issue and rushed mating ritual. We have another two weeks until the next full moon, and I did plan to ease Mara into it. If it weren’t for Douglas’s plea to mark his daughter still ringing loudly in my ears, I would have told the whole lot of them to go to hell.This is not the right way to do it. Mara is still terrified of me. There are moments, glimpses, when she lets her guard down and shows me her true strength. And then there are nights like tonight, when I snap at her and instead of fighting back, she pulls back into herself, shutting me out."Answer the girl," Felicity urges me. "Does she have to be marked tonight?"“Yes,” I finally say, wondering how much of my conversation with Mara's father I have to relay to her. “Your, uh, your father also requested that we do it as soon as possible.”“My- my dad?”“Yes.”“Why?”I look at Felicity who is regarding
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-20In Service of the Alpha Chapter 30
JohnathanFelicity returns just as the curfew alarm jangles in the town.Tourists are told that the curfew is for their own safety. We put notices up in all the bars, pleasure houses, clubs, hotels, and the mountain resort. The official excuse is that the town attracts wild animals, and we don’t have enough rangers to patrol the town.No one ever questions why said wild animals don’t enter the town during the day. The promise of stiff fines and the possibility of being eviscerated by wolves and bears is enough to keep them in check.Sometimes, fear, or the threat of danger alone, is enough to keep humans compliant. “So?” I ask the vampire.“She’s still alive,” Felicity says. “I couldn’t get close enough…the witch put up some kind of barrier.”“What?” I snap and jump to my feet. “How is the spell-”“It is a powerful spell. A dangerous one. You knew that. Sit down and relax.”As if it’s that easy. My mate is out there. Alone and in peril. The desire to protect her is all-consuming, and
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-20In Service of the Alpha Chapter 31
JohnathanDante catches Mara’s scent and starts to follow it. For a while, I try to wrestle back control, but our wolves have no sense when it comes to their mates. He’s not giving in, singularly driven to get to his mate, and my halfhearted attempts to take back control goes unnoticed by my wolves. Not that I'm trying all that hard. I want to get to my mate, and blaming whatever happens next on my wolf will be a convenient and accepted excuse.Felicity lands in front of me, her fangs bared, hands curled in claws with wickedly sharp fingernails glinting like blades in the moonlight. “What are you doing, Wolf?”Dante snarls at the vampire. In vampire to wolf combat, we have the upperhand. Our bite is venomous, our blood poisonous. Felicity’s bites and scratches won’t harm me. They’ll hurt, and they’ll take forever to heal, but she can’t kill me.Unless she manages to rip my throat open. My coat is thick and difficult to penetrate, so I’m not too worried. “If you interfere now, you’
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-21In Service of the Alpha Chapter 32
MaraJohnathan walks into the lake with me still in his arms. The water here isn’t freezing cold as it should be, but it's still cool and refreshing on my feverish body.The Alpha doesn’t ask any questions, he simply sits down on a rock in the middle of the lake and starts to wash me.I don’t know what the sticky substance on my skin is. It wasn’t there when Aria surged and the witch forced us to shift.Gradually, the warmth of Johnathan’s body seeps into mine and I stop trembling. My chattering jaw stills and I relax in his arms. Healing my wolf was easy. Gertie did it within minutes. Shifting again for the first time in two years was a different matter. Aria didn't want to do it. She was still weak and frightened. "If you do not shift now," the witch said. "You will for certain die on the next full moon. You have to shift or the spell won't take."I forced Aria to shift. Like a butterfly breaking out of her cocoon. It was painful and difficult, but I refused to give up.I felt eve
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-22In Service of the Alpha Chapter 33
MaraThe mansion is eerily quiet when we return. It’s well past the six a.m. waking hour, yet no one is about. “Where is everyone?” I ask.“It’s Saturday. The staff gets the day off,” Johnathan says. “I’m not a complete fucking monster.”I smile. I haven’t stopped smiling since I shifted again. Aria is quiet, but I can feel her. She’s here with me, tired and weak, but alive and well. I've missed her so much, and I periodically feel as if I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.“Are you still planning to go out today?” Johnathan asks and folds his hand over his genitals.“No. I don’t think so.” I’m suddenly very aware that I’m completely naked. It did not bother me when it was dark and no one but Johnathan was around to see me. Now I want to run and hide. What if Gregory wakes up and sees me?“Go upstairs and get some sleep,” Johnathan says. “I have a few phone calls I need to make.”“What about the marking ceremony? You promised Gertie you'd mark me right away.”"Yes. T
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-23In Service of the Alpha Chapter 34
Johnathan“Hey Johnny,” the council elder, Liam, says and shakes my hand. “So you really made it happen, hey? Found yourself a worthy Luna before the deadline. I have to say, I’m a little disappointed.”“Don’t call me Johnny,” I say automatically. Eli used to call me that, and I hate it when others use the name. “It’s Johnathan. Why are you disappointed?”My first guess would be that he doesn’t want to incorporate a rogue pack led by a rogue Alpha, but it's not unusual. “I lost a bet because of you. A pretty hefty sum,” Elder Liam says with a guffaw that makes me want to tear his eyes out. “I can be petty and not register your union in time. Win my bet. Or you can give me my money back, and I can register your union right away.”I hang on to the red-hot rage that tries to consume me. “Are you trying to extort me?”“Oh.” Liam gives me the fakes laugh I've ever heard. “Of course not. Think of it as a business deal.”"No," I say firmly."Oh, relax," he says with that same fake laugh. "I'
Huling Na-update : 2024-10-24
Pinakabagong kabanata
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
