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Chapter 52
Last Updated:
2024-10-31 17:48:25
Celice WylderThank you for reading everyone. I know this was a bit of a wild ride, but I was hyper-focused on reaching this point. What happens next is intense, and I wanted to get up to here, the pivotal moment, before I stopped for the day. The next chapters need to be carefully planned out, and I don't want to mess it up, but I promise I won't keep you waiting too long. Anyway. I'll be back soon. Thank you for sticking with me. x
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In 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 : 2024-11-04In Service of the Alpha Chapter 55
JohnathanNow that Mara and I are mated, I am able to feel all her emotions. I can’t mind link with her, but the witch who put up the block wasn’t strong enough, or perhaps not skilled enough, to sever our emotional connection.It’s a one-way street. I can feel her, but she can’t feel me. The only times she’ll ever feel anything from me will be if I cheat or when I die. As I reach the grasslands, the vast open nothingness between me and Red Ridge, I can feel a flicker of frustration and curiosity from Mara. Preston already told me that she left the pack house and that Kahn is watching over her for the night.I don’t like that vampire. At all. In the nine years I’ve known him, he hasn’t spoken ten words to me. He goes out of his way to avoid me. All I know about him is that he’s the only Lycan in creation who was successfully turned. That was all Felicity would tell me about him. Every other question about the mysterious vampire was met with stony silence.The witch used Felicity’s blo
Last Updated : 2024-11-07In Service of the Alpha Chapter 56
JohnathanI lower my pack to the ground and take off my shoes before I step on the rickety wooden path that leads to the witch’s hovel.I’m right on the hunters’ trail, yet they remain blissfully unaware of my presence. But I’m about out of steam. I have minutes.Someone’s working a powerful spell. I can feel it. Like a brewing storm. My belly is rock hard and a low, irritating drone buzzes in my head like a faraway lawnmower.We walk past the small, rotting houses dotting the bog, and into a clearing where the coven are gathered around a little brown-haired witch while they’re chanting. The girl’s eyes are wide open, but rolled all the way back into her skull as if she’s trying to look at her own brain.She slowly sways back and forth while a steady stream of information flows from her mouth. Another witch is seated next to her, writing it all down.The girl in the middle of the circle can’t be older than sixteen, seventeen at a push. She’s brand new - so new that Mara doesn’t know sh
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JohnathanIt’s as if I just dropped a bomb. Pandemonium breaks loose. Wolves and witches scatter, screaming and stumbling, falling over their own feet as they try to get away from the blast.The only one who isn’t shocked or seeking shelter is the brunette. She stands there, swaying in the breeze with a serene smile on her face, short white dress flapping around her legs.I slide out of the tree going to one knee, my hand resting flat on the ground as I land. I slowly raise my head and allow Dante to surface - just enough to put the fear of God in them. I growl softly - my eyes burn and my mouth aches as I actively fight to keep Dante under control. “Stop!” I order and push my aura out at the wolves.All of them come to a complete standstill. Their confusion and fear is palpable. I just commanded wolves that aren’t mine. I commanded Alphas. “Stay where you are,” I say and get to my feet. “Turn around and face me.”As one, the wolves turn. They are too scared, too confused, to do anythi
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MaraI wake under the tree to the smell of a fire, brewing coffee, and the sound of bacon sizzling on a pan.Groaning softly, I sit upright and stretch, looking at the wolf who is kneeling next to the fire, turning the bacon over. “Good morning, Luna,” Chad says in a cheerful voice. "Did you sleep well?"He’s always happy. No one is that happy all the time. It makes me deeply uncomfortable. Rhoda is the same, although I can see sadness in her, hidden under the surface of cheer. Chad has no such sorrow He’s just permanently happy.It’s bizarre.Still half asleep, I slowly blink at the butler. “You came out here to cook me breakfast?”“Of course I did. It’s my job to serve the Alpha, and by extension his Luna.”“Right,” I mutter. “Well, thanks, I guess.”“I have juice here,” he says and gets up to rummage in a cooler box. “It’s nice and cold.”Today, for the first time since I got here, I think I’d prefer the coffee. I was up most of the night, hoping to hear from Johnathan again, but he
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Mara“You can go,” Kahn says to Preston and Chad. “Thank you for your help.”The two wolves nod and take off, disappearing over the horizon in record time.“You command wolves?” I ask.“I can,” Kahn replies. “I choose not to.”I want to argue with the vampire, but I remember what Chad told me about him. “Are you lonely, Kahn?”“Chad shouldn’t have told you anything about me,” he snarls and bares his fangs. “He had no right.”“Okay, grumpy.” I hold my hands up. “Settle down. I just want to help.”“Yeah, I am grumpy. You wanna know why, Mara? Because I’ve been stuck between two worlds for over six-hundred-fucking-years. I’m tired. I want to go home.”“I mean-” I sit down and pick my plate back up -“you don’t have to stay here.”“It’s really not that simple. I have a duty. I was chosen to be here. We all have a path we must walk. You are no exception.”“Who chose you? The gods?”“No.” Kahn sighs and blinks at the sun. “God, I hate the daytime.”“Then go to ground.”“Our time is very limit
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MaraShame burns through me like a hot flame. “Well, I’m sorry I didn't turn out to be the woman you wanted me to be.” I plant my hands in my hips. “Why don’t you go to war with my sister if I’m so useless then?”“That’s not-”“Leave me alone, Kahn,” I say and turn my back on the vampire.He blocks my way again, his light blue eyes flashing red in the bright sun. “I told you-”“Listen, vampire, I know you are eager to see the world burn, but unlike you bloodsuckers, most of us don’t have centuries of living behind us. Forgive me if I’m not eager to jump on your war machine.”I’ve never seen a vampire go red in the face with rage. “Do you know what I gave up for you?”“Do you know that I don’t care?” I ask and push my way past him.It’s like a game of hopscotch, every time I get past him, he flies over my head and blocks my path. I try to dodge him, but he grabs me around the waist, pulling me tightly against him. “Don’t walk away from me.”He won’t kill me. If he wanted me dead, I woul
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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
