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Chapter 30
Last Updated:
2024-10-20 21:08:31
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In 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’
Last Updated : 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
Last Updated : 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
Last Updated : 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'
Last Updated : 2024-10-24In Service of the Alpha Chapter 35
Johnathan Mara is tense. Her eyes are focused on the darkness beyond the priest, and she refuses to look at me. She clutches the bouquet of orchids so hard that her knuckles have turned white, and she's taking in little gasps of air. I try not to let it bother me, try to convince myself that it’s just the crowd that’s making her uncomfortable, but I instinctively know that I’m the one making her nervous. What happened? This morning she was fine. Relaxed. Even joyful. Now she’s back to being the same skittish girl Preston brought to me almost a week ago. The insanity of what we’re doing hits me right as the priest starts to say the words. We barely know each other, and I’m about to tie myself to her forever. Maybe I'm the weird one. Anyone in their right minds would be scared right now. When it was still just a business transaction it didn't bother me - I had a way out, but I don't anymore. This is a proper mating. I barely pay attention to the priest who, despite my instructions
Last Updated : 2024-10-25In Service of the Alpha Chapter 36
MaraIn all the years we were married, I never managed to form a mind link with Lucas, and my father refused to use them - he always said if you can’t say something aloud, it’s best to leave it unsaid. I always thought that was a sound policy until I married Lucas - only then, did I realise the importance of a mind link.I formed one with Haley, and we used it whenever I couldn’t leave the house to see her. Every so often, she’d risk her safety to go to the black market for me so she could buy the birth control I used. It was the only way I could talk to anyone other than Lucas. And by the end, I didn't have much to say to him anyway.Every time I think about Haley, I want to cry. I try to tell myself that she wasn’t a bad friend, that she was always there for me when I needed her, but I can picture her with Lucas, laughing about me, telling him everything I confided in her.And now I know that every seeming act of kindness was for her own benefit. Even going to the black market to ge
Last Updated : 2024-10-26In Service of the Alpha Chapter 37
Johnathan This is our town. Anyone who comes to our home and disrespects us pays a price. Anyone who doesn’t follow our customs or our rules, pays a price. Anyone who questions me and my decisions, pays a price. And now, Elder Liam will pay the price for openly disrespecting me, my home, and the pack’s new Luna. He did not just disrespect me. While I argued with him about the sealing ritual, Preston reported that the Omegas saw Liam snooping around the mansion, going into rooms he had no business entering, and opening drawers he had no right to open. It doesn’t matter. I keep anything secret or sensitive in my office, behind lock and key and in multiple safes. Liam would not have found anything important, but it means he can't be trusted. Nor can I forgive him for disrespecting me and taunting me in front of my pack. If I simply let him go, the pack will see me as weak, and I'll lose their loyalty. I can be a very petty man when the mood takes me. And tonight, the mood has taken
Last Updated : 2024-10-27In Service of the Alpha Chapter 38
JohnathanWe wake at dawn next to the same lake where I took Mara to wash after she was healed. Dante went to sleep, but Aria is awake, sitting quietly by my side, staring at me with her unsettling green eyes.“Where is Mara?” I ask through the mind link.“You told her to go to sleep and give me control,” Aria answers. "She is still asleep."She sounds reasonable. A few times while we ran through the forest, Dante gave me temporary control. Nothing Aria did seemed out of the ordinary. She’s just a regular she-wolf.I nod at the tiny wolf. Lucas probably took one look at her and deemed her useless. Having such a small wolf as a mate more than likely bruised his fragile little ego. Many wolves make the mistake of underestimating the small wolves. They have hidden talents, deadly ones at times. “Why don’t you trust me, Aria?” I ask.“You are a man,” she says simply. “An Alpha.”“Fair enough,” I reply with a smirk. “But we’re not all the same. Your father strikes me as a good man.”“He so
Last Updated : 2024-10-28
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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
