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
Mara I can’t sleep. The heat is stifling, even with the windows open, and I’ve grown used to being outside at night, training with Kahn. I'm wide awake and deeply frustrated. After a while, I get out of bed, dress in a tank top and pair of shorts, and go down to the pool. The dark water is inviting tonight, and without thinking much about it, I slide into the luke-warm pool. There’s something peaceful about floating on the water, staring up at the magnificent night sky. I feel like I’m ensconced in the womb. Warm. Safe. In a place where no one can reach me and harm me. There’s no pollution out here. I thought the heavens at Red Ridge were beautiful, but no matter how much my father tried to run a clean facility, it still polluted our air and the stars were never as bright as they are here. I wouldn't mind floating here until the moon sets and the sun rises. “Luna!” Chad calls out. Disturbed and annoyed by the butler's intrusion, I drop my feet and lower them to the bottom of the
MaraPreston stares at the glowing flowers, his mouth slightly agape. “I have never seen this.”“Yeah. If it helps you at all, Johnathan grew up here, and he didn’t see it until he came back.”“Right, right,” the Beta mumbles. “So you want me to do what?”“There’s this hole.” I crouch next to the entrance. “You have to go through it. Grab the pyramid stone on the other side, it will suck you in.”“Suck me in?” he asks, still dumbfounded.The moon is starting to dip below the horizon and the night sky is slowly turning from black to a light bluish-pink. “Yes. Just hurry up and do it.”“What… what will happen to me?”I don’t know. Johnathan spoke about horrible punishments if the unchosen tried to go through. And am I supposed to follow Preston? Does it only work if another Lycan takes him into the temple? Kahn took Johnathan, and Johnathan took me.“Mara!” Preston snaps. “What will happen to me?”“You’ll be turned.”“Into what?” he asks, his voice rising in panic.“A Lycan. Just do it.
Johnathan I didn't have to work too hard to convince Felicity to take Rose off my hands. She gave the girl a quick once over and declared. “You will stay in the night caves with us. We need a good day servant.” I cringed. That was not how I treated children, but I had very little choice left. Rose forced my hand. She hadn’t even been here two days yet, and she already started to wreak havoc. I gave it another week before my town resembled a war zone as the Alphas started to go to war over her. “How will you keep her contained?” I ask. “During the day.” Felicity winked at me. “Our familiars have all the power of vampires and none of our weaknesses. They can walk during the day and don’t crave blood.” “I kill them,” Rose said and jutted out her chin. "My magic strong." I expected Felicity to discipline the girl in some way, but the vampire only smiled indulgently. “You’re not the first of your kind that have crossed my path. Our familiars are under our control. You can't seduce the
JohnathanI wake to the sound of an unearthly howl. One I’ve heard many times in the past.Someone lost their fated mate.Preston.Wide awake, my heart pounding in my skull, I fall out of bed and search around for some trousers. Mara’s already up, pulling one of my t-shirts over her head. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t allow her to leave the room in just a shirt, but mine fits her like a dress, and I don't have the time to stop her anyway.She’s out of the room before I can even find my shorts.Gregory comes running into my room, his eyes wide, bottom lip quivering. “Susawah,” he says. “She’s cwying. I don’t know what to do, Daddy. Help me.”My son looks like the five-year-old he is. Small. Terrified. “It’s okay, buddy,” I say and pick him up. “Don’t be scared.”“Someone died,” he says. “I know, kiddo,” I answer as I run from the room with him in my arms.Susarah comes around the corner, her eyes red and swollen. “Who is it?” I ask, breathless with concern.“Chad.”“What? Ch
MaraI stumble through the mansion, barely seeing anything around me. I have no idea where I'm going or what I'll do when I get there. I just know that I can't stop now. I can't think about what we've done. If I do, I'll never be able to get back up.As soon as the crew cleared out, I killed Finnian. The only ones I would allow to stay were Johnathan and Kahn. I love them. I trust them. It was worse this time because I knew his name. He wasn't just a threat I needed to get rid of. He was a person to me, and he wasn't our enemy. Not really. He didn’t hate us. He had no problem with us. He just wanted to save his child.Shortly afterwards, Oberon showed up and wanted to take my pain away, but I refused. I can’t keep hiding from it. Easing my suffering makes it too easy. Everytime he does that, I feel a little less, and I am sure if he keeps doing it, I will become cold and indifferent. I can’t allow that to happen.At long last, I I turn right into an unkown room, and end up in one of
MaraThey enclosed the brain thing in a glass container that reminds me a lot of an upside down bowl. It’s to contain the toxic gas it’s giving off, but I think it’s harming him. He looks sick. Greyish-white, the pulsating slow and uneven, like he’s gasping for air.He’s well away from the rest of the town, hidden in a vast cave that's not too high up. “We can’t film him like this,” I say and give Johnathan a pleading look. “They will call us cruel.”My mate nods. “Agreed. Everyone stand back. I don't know what that gas will do to you. I’ll release him.”The film crew that came with us disappear from the cave, but Kahn doesn’t budge. The vampire’s eyes are filled with sorrow. “You know… at least we have the decency to treat our blood bags well.”“Yes,” I answer without missing a beat, “but the problem is that you think of them as blood bags, not as humans with feelings.”“We acknowledge their feelings,” Kahn says in a huff, “which is why we don’t lock them up in cages.”“Don’t argue,
JohnathanMara is sitting in her favourite spot on the windowsill, staring out over the wilderness. The storm clouds are gathering again, and I expect another good downpour as soon as tonight.She is upset. Six of the wolves didn’t make it. Even with her present in the temple, and with Oberon’s shield, they still burst into flames immediately.But she is not upset because they died. It’s the way they died that bothers her the most. “Are you okay?” I ask as I adjust the towel around my waist, and run my hand through my wet hair.“They died terribly.”“Probably for a good reason, Mara,” I say. Not that I disagree with her. Watching someone burn to death is horrendous. “We couldn’t trust those wolves. The Goddess allowed everyone else to turn.”She sighs, a heartbreaking sound that tears me to pieces. “I know. That doesn’t mean I have to like it though.”“No, it doesn’t. There’s something else we need to talk about.” And she’s not going to be happy. Not at all. I’m not happy about it ei
JohnathanI catch Mara and Donovan just as they leave the forest. They are surrounded by dozens of wolves - the ones I’m starting to think of as the originals - who went to visit with their children.“How did it go?” I ask.As soon as I ask the question, my mate’s eyes are filled with tears. “I almost couldn't say goodby to him. I didn't want to let him go.""I'm sorry, baby," I say gently. "I know it's not ideal.""He asked about you.”A heavy weight of guilt settles where my heart is supposed to be. “What did you tell him?”She pulls one shoulder up her ear. “I told him that you are working very hard to keep the pack safe, but that you will go see him soon.”I feel my own tears trying to push their way up my throat. I swear, I hadn’t been this emotional and teary since I was a child. “He was okay with that?”“Yes, because his daddy is his hero. He is very proud of you, Johnathan.”The love that wells up in my chest is overwhelming, but so is the sorrow and longing to see my child. “
JohnathanI sit with Rose and try to follow her disjointed report. She is speaking for all the Lunae and the whole bunch of them are babbling at once.It takes them a while to settle down and allow Rose to translate.As far as I can tell, each of them explored a different part of Red Ridge, and they are not telling me anything I don’t already know. Experiments, pain, suffering, families torn apart, unbelievable, unbeatable soldiers. Everything Mara already saw in her vision.It was an absolute waste of time and resources to send the Lunae to Red Ridge, but at least I now know that Mara’s visions are scary accurate.Which does not bode at all well for our future.“Last I go see Douglas. He feel Lunae presence,” Rose says.My stomach goes a little cold. “What was he doing?”“I no know. He sent me away. Say we need run. Hide. He no help.”I slowly nod. “Where was he?”“In big white room. Lots of glass… what you call those things?”“Test tubes?”Rose shrug. “Machines I no understand. Bloo
MaraFor once, it’s not raining. The sun shines brightly in the clear, blue sky and birds chirp merrily in the trees.Johnathan is still asleep, wrapped around me like a blanket. I slide out from under him, grab his t-shirt and walk over to the window, throwing it wide open and inhaling the clean, crisp air.The sun might be out, the clouds might be gone, but it’s fucking freezing cold. I feel like it should be snowing, not raining.Running on my tiptoes, I head back to bed and crawl under my mates warm arms. It’s just cozy enough so I won’t freeze to death, but not so hot that I’ll dehydrate.“Morning,” Johnathan says without opening his eyes.I jerk at the sudden sound of his voice. There was no indication that he was waking up. His breathing didn’t change, his heartbeat didn’t speed up - nothing. “I think it’s closer to afternoon,” I reply.“It might be,” he says and finally turns his head to look at me.His eyes are clear and wide awake, but he’s deeply troubled. I can tell that
MaraI pull Johnathan into the shower with me. He follows me inside without any complaint, even allowing me to help him wash. It’s awkward and difficult—he’s so tall that I can’t reach everywhere, but he still lets me do it.I don’t know what his plans are anymore. I don’t know if he changed his mind at all, but I saw him fight for us. I saw him stand up to Thrax, brilliantly weaving a strategy I would never even have considered.I am not sure if he was just acting in the moment, and if still wants to abandon the pack, us, and go his own way. And I will not ask him. Not tonight anyway. He’s carrying a veil of sorrow around that’s so thick I can feel it, and I refuse to let it consume him.He needs to know, has to understand, that I am here for him and that he isn’t the one who always has to keep me standing. He has to know that it goes both ways.Johnathan grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look at him as he shields me from the water with his body. Then he a
JohnathanStaring at Thrax’s disembodied head is quite disconcerting. I hold him up by his hair, looking into his slack-jawed face. His mouth is open in a silent scream, and his eyes keep blinking at me. “How do we keep this thing alive without blood?” I ask Kahn.“A vampire as old as him can go several months, if not years, without blood. He will be fine.”Donovan holds a canvas bag out to me, and I drop the head into it, rubbing my bloody hands on my jeans. Not that it helps much, but it makes me feel better.That was absolutely revolting, and probably one of the worst things I have ever done in my life. “Do not beat yourself up, Warlord,” Oberon tries to comfort me. “He deserved it.”Maybe he did. But it still feels so, so wrong. The floor is slick with blood, we’re all covered in it, and my office smells like death. “I need a shower.” And about twenty bottles of rotgut whiskey to forget this night. I'll take the cheap moonshine the rogues used to distill - it's a hundred perce
JohnathanI wish I could say that drinking Kahn’s blood was one of the more disgusting things I’ve ever done in my life, but that would be a lie. I have had far worse things in my mouth than a little vampire blood over the years.And it did work. Not only did it sober me up, I am wide away, and I feel stronger than usual. No wonder the vampires don't share their blood.When Thrax showed up, Kahn whispered four little words in my ear. “Careful. Don't trust him.”While Thrax went on and on and on, I managed to put up a wall, blocking him, and I could contact Preston, who went straight to work - he found Oberon, he rallied the troops.I am still not sure if I changed my mind about our future. But what I have to worry about now is this new threat. There will be no future if Thrax kills us all. Or worse, hands us over to the humans. I knew the vampires, especially Thrax’s younger children, wouldn’t be able to resist the nymphs. Much like Lycan blood, theirs is considered to be a rare deli