JohnathanMara 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, is g
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
JohnathanThis 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 me.Ev
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
MaraI’m so angry at Johnathan that I can spit. I have had enough of men telling me what to do, and I’m convinced he’s only making me see the healer so he can assert his dominance over me.I plant my hands on my hips and straighten my back, jutting out my chin as I do. I must look totally absurd, with Johnathan’s long sleeves dangling to my knees, and the undone buttons just about hiding my shameful places.I haven’t felt this sure of myself in a long time though. It feels foreign to speak my mind and to stand my ground, but at the same time it’s familiar. I used to be a recalcitrant, pain in the ass… and my father fostered my defiance, encouraged it even. He always said that Omegas need to learn how to use their words the right way. Mindfuckery he called it. We can’t fight physically, but we can fight back in other ways. “We have mouths and we have brains,” he always said. “And we will use that to outsmart the stronger wolves. They rely on their strength too much. We will rely on t
Johnathan While Mara is with the healer, Gregory is with me, playing on the floor of my office. I haven’t looked at my cell phone since Friday and I take it out of my drawer to check my emails and messages. I promised Greg we’d go into town for lunch at the country club if he behaved, and he's doing his best to be a good boy. It also gives me some time to catch up on my work. I plug my phone into the charger and start to go through the dozens of emails and texts I missed, making notes to phone some people back tomorrow and discarding the rest. It’s the last text that catches my attention, though. It was the text I received on Friday, right when I threw my phone aside so I could spend time with Greg. I should have looked at my phone. *They are here. My attorney’s name is Herbert Klein. He’s a vampire. He will be in contact. D.* My blood runs cold. Douglas is not dead yet - if he were Mara wouldn’t have had her premonition, but he has to be close to death or, at the very least, i
Mara I decide to stay home while Johnathan and Gregory go to the country club for lunch. I’m still sweating non-stop, and no one else needs to see or smell that. I go to my room instead, planning to clean it. I stagger back when I open the door. It smells even worse than it did yesterday. It’s as if the poison fermented, and the place now smells like rotten, pickled herring. I have to do something about the soiled mattress. I don’t know if I can even get it clean, but I have to try or I'll sleep outside tonight. The substance leaking from my pores is like tar. It’s easy enough to wash off, but once it dries, it’s like syrup. I don't even know how Johnathan can stand to look at me, let alone hold me and smell me. As I go around my room, cleaning the place from top to bottom with the strongest antiseptic I could find, I think about that hug we shared. It made me tingle all over, and instead of making me feel unsafe and afraid, Johnathan made me feel secure and at peace. Instead
Mara "I'll call Kelly," Johnathan says and leave the cleaning closet. "Don't leave before she's here." I’m a little hurt that Johnathan doesn’t want to come with me on a run, but I understand his reasoning. If I go into heat while we’re both in wolf form, it could end badly for me. No, I'm wrong. It will definitely end badly for me. In comparison to Aria, Dante is gigantic and if Johnathan loses control of his wolf, Dante will kill us for sure. Besides, I’ve seen what can happen when the heat haze takes a pair of wolves. It never seemed like a particularly pleasant experience for the she-wolf. I’m afraid that the scent of my heat will attract other males, though they will usually respect a mated wolf - especially the Alpha’s mate - but one can never be too careful. Especially in a place like this. Isolated and packed to the rafters with rogues. I don't want to wait for Kelly. I want to go out by myself. Johnathan promised I'd be safe here, and he also told me that I could come and
MaraIt feels like something is crawling under my skin. An itch I can’t scratch. Something is coming. It's not just the heat that's setting my nerves alight tonight.I can taste it in the air.Death.**For such gentle people, the fae sure has one hell of a violent fertility goddess. When Johnathan and I mated, the Goddess descended from the heavens to bless us. Her presence was warm and welcoming. I found comfort in her embrace.Vesta’s presence was like getting hit over the head with an aphrodisiac. If Johnathan wasn’t there, I don’t know what I would have done. Probably humped a tree. But it was much more than that. She made me see something I'd never seen before.It was as if I stood outside of my own body, looking at myself and my behaviour. For just a second, I saw myself as Johnathan must have seen me all these weeks. Cold, detached, distant. Then he took my hand, and I crashed back into my body.And all I could think while we ran through the forest was that I’ve hurt him. I
JohnathanI indulge Mara for a moment, kissing her like my life depends on it. I pull her in closer, holding her as tight as I can, relishing in the way her hot body washes the cold of the rain away. I curl my fingers around her ass and grind my erection into her belly.I barely noticed it at first. The sheer amount of rain diluted Mara's scent, but Vesta’s appearance triggered my mate's heat. There is a part of me that wants to give in to it. I want to throw her on the ground and take her as violently as I can, knowing that she won't resist at all. Dante is trying his best to push me out of the way. He’s all hormones and instinct right now. He can scent his mate, and he wants to breed.In the same way, Aria is starting to overtake Mara's senses. And my mate is doing nothing to stop her. It’s a sure sign that she is happy to continue down this path. When I feel like I’ll explode, I gently push her away, but hold on to her shoulders, unwilling to break out physical connection. “Do y
JohnathanA fae festival of any kind is a spectacular event. The food isn’t to my taste, but it’s worth it just to sit back and watch them bask in the glory of their earth goddess - Vesta.She talks to me from time to time, but mostly to tell me what a monumental fuck up I am. Oberon told me that it’s just her manner, but I’m sure he’s lying. She doesn't strike me as the benevolent, kind goddess, the fae make her out to be.Her presense always feels dark and ominous.Vesta made it clear to me that she is not fond of wolves. If the fae lore is to be believed, she protested against the creation of werewolves and vampires because she thought we’d only upset the natural balance. She wasn’t completely wrong, but I think the humans did a much better job of it than wolves ever could. Lycans were created to restore the balance, but then vampires came along and disturbed it again. It’s a never ending cycle of destruction and creation. We never seem to learn our lesson, making the same mistak
MaraOberon does that thing where he makes food disappear out of thin air and sits back while I eat. He helps himself to some of the food, but not as much as I do. He nibbles on little bits here and there, but he's mostly focused on me, making sure that I eat.The honeyed wine is exquisite, and while I drink way too much of it, I don’t feel drunk. Just very, very relaxed. “How long will Johnathan be?” I ask Oberon.I enjoy this place, but I know the fae doesn’t like it when people intrude in their forests for too long. They prefer the solitude and comfort of their own kind. I'm a trespasser on their sacred lands.“A while longer,” Oberon answers. “I thought you and I might talk about some things while we wait. Johnathan made a mistake, sending you to the Lunae. They have no interest in helping you.”“I know. They want to use me. My power.”Oberon nods. “Indeed. You have to understand… Johnathan did not act maliciously. He truly wants to help you.”“He can’t.”“He can. If you would onl
MaraUnlike the church, the hotel is absolutely chaotic. The energy in here is stifling, oppressive, and I want to turn right back around and leave this place.Johnathan was wrong. They are not my people. They never were, and they never will be.The hotel has more than fifty rooms, and space for several hundred guests, but Johnathan gave the hotel to the Lunae to use exclusively. My mate is paying for the use of this place, so the owner of the hotel doesn’t have to shoulder the financial burden.As far as I can tell, The Lunae picked out their own suites - the best rooms the hotel has to offer - and they’re still not happy. They want free run of the town.More came in during the night, and I counted twenty Lunae as I made my way through the hotel, looking for Rose. Johnathan posted six Alpha males in the hotel to guard over the women. All of them look miserable. They are wearing their charms, but the Lunae, especially the younger ones, relentlessly hit on them.I stop next to an Alpha
MaraWe step into the cool, dark church. I’ve been in human churches before, and always found them comforting and peaceful. There’s something about the candles and quiet that soothes me."Patrick!" Johnathan calls out."I don't think he's here," I say, smiling as my voice echoes in the empty church."He's here. He's always here. He lives here with his wife.""He has a wife?" I ask, surprised."Yes, he-"My mate stops talking when the priests steps through a door in the back of the church, and comes straight for us. “Johnathan,” he says when he reaches us, and gives my mate a big smile. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure? Did you come to give your life to the Lord?”I’ve never heard anyone call my mate by his first name. It’s strange. But Johnathan is completely unperturbed. He just chuckles at the priest’s remark. “Patrick,” he says. “I need to use your church to shelter some of the incoming wolves.”The priest’s eyes flick over to me. His bright grey eyes are lively and pier
JohnathanThe town is crawling with people. There are a lot more people than I expected to find, and I have no idea how the hell we’re supposed to sort them all out. There are so many that their auras blend together, and I can’t tell who is Omega and who is Alpha.It is absolute pandemonium.My Lycans and Alphas try their best to control the crowd, but the sheer number of wolves makes it impossible.I walk up to a Gamma, Jeremy, the one I met in the woods of Red Ridge. “Could you do a headcount?” I ask.The Gamma shakes his head. He’s covered in sweat, and exhausted. The poor man is seconds away from losing his shit completely. “Rhoda is trying to take down names.”Mara’s hand slips from mine and she disappears into the crowd. I stop myself before I can call out to her. The wolves need to respect her as their queen, as much as they respect me. It ultimately doesn't matter. She's not far, and I can feel her anyway - her quiet resignation - as she heads in Rhoda’s direction.I put my th
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 beatin
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.