JohnathanDinner passes rather tensely. Mara keeps shooting me dirty looks, as if she’s just waiting for me to say something in Rose's defence. I decide to keep my mouth shut. The vision is still too fresh in her mind, and we have the uncanny way of self-fulfilling prophecies if we’re not careful.The Rose thing is going to come back to bite me in the ass. I should have sent her back home, but my conscience wouldn’t allow it. She’s a child, brainwashed by a cult into believing that she has to start breeding for the good of her tribe.The Lunae must be desperate if they’re sending their children out to have babies. Their pack was decimated - they probably want to repopulate as fast and as soon as possible.Rose came home with me, but I’m not her Alpha. She did not swear loyalty to me. I'm under no obligation to protect her, and she will never accept my authority over her.Yet, I want to protect her - even against herself if need be - just like I want to take care of every lost child. M
MaraBy the time Johnathan comes upstairs to tuck Gregory in, I’m seething with rage. I didn’t expect to form a friendship with Rose right away, but I didn’t think she’d ask me to share my mate with her. I’m eternally grateful that I didn’t grow up with the Lunae, and for the life of me I don’t know why my mother went back to that place when she had other options. My father gave her money. She could have gone anywhere, and she went back to live with monsters.For Gregory’s sake, I pretend nothing’s wrong when my mate finally shows up. While we waited for him, I gave Gregory a bath and read him a story. We’re now sitting on the floor, playing with his dinosaurs.Johnathan doesn’t say a word about Rose when he joins us. “Are you okay, buddy?” he asks when he sits next to me. “You seemed upset when you left the table.”“I don’t like the new giwl. Mawa says it’s hew sistuh, and she's going to stay hewe now.”“Yeah maybe.” Johnathan crosses his legs under him and pats his knee. “Come sit h
Mara The door closes with a soft click that sounds louder than it actually is. I’m a bundle of nerves and excitement, filled with conflicting, swirling emotions I’ve never felt and don’t know what to do with. For a moment, the only sound is my breathing - too shallow, too fast. Johnathan doesn’t speak. He just watches me from his side of the room, his dark eyes steady, waiting. He’s always like that with me, always so patient. I don’t know how he does it, and I expect him to explode at any moment, to go back on his promise and take what’s his anyway. Back at Luna school, they always told us that Alphas have ferocious appetites, and we have to prepare ourselves for it. I don’t know if Johnathan’s just different, broken, or has exceptional self-control. He’s not like any Alpha I’ve ever met, read about, or heard about. His quiet patience and understanding is unnerving. It makes me want to scream and cry, but it almost makes me want to lean into him, give myself over to him in ever
MaraI stare into my mate's onyx eyes. He opened himself to me. Showed me a vulnerable side no one ever gets to see. He trusted me enough to reveal that part of himself, and it had to take a lot of courage for him to let his guard down like that.The least I can do, is give him that same kind of trust.His hands linger on my waist, not pushing, not pulling, just waiting. “Can you tell me what you want?” he asks after a while.I want to do that so badly, but I can’t. I don’t know how. No one ever cared enough to ask me, so I never learned.He cocks his head at me and smiles. It’s like he knows that I can’t say the words. This must be so frustrating for him. Having a sexually anorexic mate who swallows her tongue when he needs her to open her fucking mouth and speak.But he doesn’t seem to mind.“Can I show you then?” he asks, his voice low and soothing. "Tell you what to do?"Numb and mute, I can only nod.His thumbs trace slow circles around my hips, grounding me in the moment, letting
JohnathanI’m actually impressed by my own level of control and patience with Mara. There’s a reason why I never chose to sleep with virgins, or inexperienced women in general, in the past. They require too much patience - a quality I mostly lack when it comes to sex.But Mara is my mate. She’s special. She’s not just another cum receptacle or a temporary body to warm my bed or company to keep my loneliness at bay.She is my mate. And the memory of her previous mate is still too fresh in her mind. I have to keep reminding myself to be gentle. To be patient.I thought it would annoy me, it usually does, but it’s the opposite. Slowing down, forcing me to concentrate on her and what she needs, grounds me, connects me to her.I settle between her legs and look up at her flushed face. Even though I’ve known it for a few weeks now, even though I marked her, her presence, her very existence, still feels fantastical and impossible.Yet here she is. Lying under me. Beautiful and vulnerable, tr
Johnathan I crawl up Mara’s body to kiss her. Her skin is flushed, and her chest is still racing. She looks at me with eyes that are filled with shock and awe. “I never…” she starts. “I didn’t… it has never-” “Shh,” I silence her. "I know. You don't have to explain anything." I press my mouth against hers, and she moans softly when she tastes herself on my lips. She reaches between our bodies for my cock, but I quickly break away from her and grab her hand. “No.” A small frown creases her brow. “Don’t you want me?” “I do,” I say. “That’s the problem.” “But… why?” Her heart is beating way too fast, and even though she’s blushing and shy to ask the questions, she forges ahead. “Why is it a problem that you want your mate?” I chuckle softly and plant a soft kiss right above her eyebrow. “I promised you that tonight is all about you. We are going to keep it that way.” “What if I want more?” “I will give you all the orgasms you want, Mara, but I’m not fucking you. Not tonight.” He
Mara I expected to feel different. Used. Dirty and filled with shame - like I always did after Lucas was done with me. I feel none of those things. Johnathan was rough, but in a different way. He cared about me, and Lucas never did. He’s still caring for me now. He went down to the kitchen to get food and water, then came back to bed, making sure that I ate and drank before he pulled me into his arms and just held me. “How many women have you been with?” I ask. It’s mostly curiosity, but there’s a hint of jealousy in my question that I can’t deny. “Less than you probably think,” he says. “And more than you imagine. It’s lonely, you know… the rogue life. And then you become the Alpha of a pack, and you think it will be better. You have a pack now, and you won't be so lonely anymore. But it’s worse. “You are the leader, not just another member of the pack. People use you. They want things from you. Women throw themselves at you, hoping to become your next Luna. You can’t trust any
JohnathanI head in the general direction of the fae territory, sure that I’ll come across Oberon at any moment, but it’s Hakon and what’s left of his pack that I find first. “Where are you, you bastard,” the Alpha hollers. “Bring her back to me.”I turn to Hakon’s Beta who is staring at his Alpha in disbelief. “What is he doing?” the Beta asks me. “Is it this place? We’re not supposed to be here, so the Goddess cursed us?”“No,” I answer with a sigh.As we watch, Hakon scrambles to his feet and runs full-tilt at the fae forest, but he can't break through the magical barrier the fae put up to protect themselves. I’ve passed through the barrier many times, so I know how strong that magic is. He is going to kill himself.“Our Alpha lost his mind,” one of the wolves says. If I don’t do something right now, Hakon is going to destroy himself. “Alpha!” I snap. “What are you doing?”“The fae captured my mate.” He runs head-first into the invisible barrier and bounces back like a rubber ball
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.
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
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-
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
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
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
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
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
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