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Chapter 46
Last Updated:
2024-10-31 04:32:46
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In Service of the Alpha Chapter 47
MaraWe are back at the old pack house. On the way here, we drank the rest of the whiskey, and I’m pretty unsteady on my feet. A few times, Johnathan had to catch me before I face planted into a thornbush, or steadied me when I stumbled over tree roots.“Maybe I should just go home,” I say and hiccup loudly. "Ugh."“No,” Johnathan insists. “I want to do this while I’m drunk.”“Why?”“Because I can’t fucking face this while I'm sober.”“So, okay,” I say, thinking that I’m coming up with a brilliant plan. “What about I sober up, and tomorrow night you get drunk and we come back here.”“I’m leaving at sunrise. And I try not to come here if I can help it.”“Fine,” I say with a sigh. I'd probably get blitzed out of my skull if I was forced to go back to Red Ridge, so I kinda get it. "Let's get it over with." I automatically head for the front door that’s hanging on for dear life by one hinge. “Where are you going?” Johnathan asks.I come to a screeching halt and turn back to look at him. “
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 48
MaraJohnathan switches off the torch and turns to me. He looks like an angel with the ethereal light shining behind him. “Before we do this, I need you to know a few things.”Oh now I need to know things. I feel as if I found out way too many things already tonight. My head is spinning with all the revelations people have crammed into my skull already.“Only certain… oh, well, I guess I we can call them people, can pass through to the other side.”“Okay,” I say uncertainly. “What happens to people who are not allowed to pass… or whatever?”“Bad things. Bad, bad, bad things. It all just really depends on how the Goddess feels that day. If she’s feeling generous, maybe you’ll only get an outbreak of really itchy boils.”“And if she’s in a bad mood?”“Eh well. People have caught on fire, had their skin flayed off, you know… proper smitings.”And he’s being proper flippant about it. What if the Goddess doesn’t want me to pass and she decides to flay me? Or give me a case of itchy boils?“
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 49
** TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER: Domestic violence and rape. Please be kind to yourself and proceed with caution. **JohnathanI dread going through the entrance. Although, a better word for it might be portal. I'll fear what I'll see. As bad as my childhood was, as painful as those memories are, I know that seeing and feeling Mara's pain will hurt a hundred times worse, and I don't want to do it. I don't know if I can stand it.But there is no way around it. While wolves have sex to seal their bond, Lycans pass through the portal and learn their mates' every secret, all their dark parts, to seal their bond.The temple exists outside our space and time. I think it’s part of the star planes. The place wolves go to when they die. It’s like our heaven.I have spent days here, never getting hungry or thirsty, not noticing time passing, and when I returned to my own world, only an hour two had passed.I hate it here, and I think that’s by design. The Goddess doesn’t want us to get too
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 50
JohnathanThe moment we step inside the temple, the whole place lights up. Mara gasps loudly and does a complete three-sixty, looking at the cavernous entrance. “Wow,” she whispers.Her voice reverberates around the room, and disappears down one of the many dark corridors.There’s a blood-stained altar in the middle of the room, and currently it holds about a dozen scrolls, each of them several feet long, all of them filled with scribblings and drawings.Like me when I came here the first time, Mara is automatically drawn to the altar. She unrolls one of the scrolls, and with a small frown between her eyes looks at it. “Can you read it?” I ask.“No, but these drawings are a little… unsettling.”They are, and they look like cave paintings. They have no depth and the perception is all wrong. “It’s not as bad as you think,” I say. “It’s just the Lycans’ creation story.”“It looks like someone’s slaughtering this poor woman.”“I know. She’s just giving birth to the first Lycan though.” W
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 51
MaraThe morning alarm warbles through the house, rudely yanking me from a deep and peaceful sleep. I groan and grab my throbbing head. Johnathan and his fucking bells. I wonder if a hangover counts as being sick, and if I can get away with staying in bed a while longer.He’s not here though, I realise. He said he’ll be leaving before breakfast. I turn on my side and close my eyes to go back to sleep, but Aria is wide awake. “We are the Luna,” she chirps. “We have to set an example when the Alpha is not here.”“I am setting an example,” I answer. “No you’re not. You are breaking the rules.”“Exactly,” I say. “Johnathan’s rules are stupid, that’s the example I’m setting, and I’m going back to sleep.”But I am wide awake now, and Aria is not wrong. When the Alpha is away, the Luna has to lead the way, and make sure the pack follows the Alpha's rules. As much as I hate and disagree with Johnathan’s stupid schedule, those are the rules he made for his pack long before I came along.Whil
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 52
Johnathan My morning was insane. It went by in a blur of activity. I woke long before the morning bell, but so did Gregory. He came flying into my room like a little hurricane. “Wheh you going, Daddy?” I snatched my wild little boy up and let him sit on my forearm like I used to do when he was two. “I’m going away for a little bit.” “Can I come with you?” he asked. “No. It’s boring stuff. Just a bunch of grown-ups talking about business.” Instead of being upset, as I expected him to be, Greg saw an opportunity to get something he wanted. “Can I stay with Zach while you awe gone?” “Oh. I don’t know, buddy. I haven’t asked Zachary’s mom, and we can’t just show up there… Mara will be here to look...” He didn't wait for me to finish. He slipped off my arm, landed nimbly on the floor, and held his two, chubby little hands out in a way that reminded me way too much of myself. “Wait wight hewe, okay?” “Okay,” I agreed with a smile and continued packing, not suspecting a thing. Ten m
Last Updated : 2024-10-31In Service of the Alpha Chapter 53
MaraI go back to our spot. This is where I feel closest to Johnathan. It’s weird, and I can’t explain it, but here it’s almost as if he’s right next to me. I can feel his presence here, and all I have to do is reach out and touch him.I feel less lonely here.It’s dark, and I should be inside, but it was as if the walls of the mansion were closing in on me. It was too quiet, too empty, too lonely, without Johnathan and Gregory.Preston and Ally offered to stay with me, but I stupidly told them I’d be okay. I should have taken them up on their offer. I didn't think I'd notice, since I spent every nigth by myself up on the top floor, but I did. I could feel their absence.How many of these cold, long nights will I have to endure before Johnathan comes home? Days? Weeks? I make myself comfortable under the tree, and look up at the starry sky and the moon that’s slowly swelling. This month, for the first time in two years, I’ll be allowed to shift on the full moon. I won’t have to suffer
Last Updated : 2024-11-03In Service of the Alpha Chapter 54
MaraSomething about Kahn’s story still doesn’t make sense to me. Actually, a lot of it seems way too fantastical and unbelievable. I can poke holes the size of a log in his little story. “Explain Peggy,” I say."Who the hell is Peggy?" the vampire asks.“Peggy! Gregory’s mother.”“Penny,” Kahn says with a laugh.“Whatever. She was just a werewolf and she got pregnant with Johnathan’s baby. She gave birth to him and lived to talk about it.”“What makes you think she was a werewolf?”“Well… that’s what Johnathan told me.”“That’s what he believes she was, yeah. We did it that way on purpose. We were afraid he'd mark her simply because she was the only other Lycan he knew.”“We?” I ask, feeling anger and something akin to panic rising in my chest.“Yes, Gertie and me. She was my witch. She had been since I was a young boy. Back then, every Lycan prince had a witch. It was... a gift, of sorts.”I don't even want to know what that means. I do know that Gertie was extremely powerful. “She t
Last Updated : 2024-11-04
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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
