“I don’t see why not.” Cody opened a side door by the bay windows that led to a small patio before blending into the grass. I stepped into the grass, the blades cool and soft against my bare feet. The warmth of the sun felt peaceful and good upon my face. I closed my eyes and smiled as another breeze rush by. And the pain, sorrow, and despair eating at my soul were gone, chased away by the wind. I could do this. I could survive this. I have survived much worse. If Conri wanted to toss me aside, then let him. The only one I could count on was myself. As I bent down to feel the grass between my fingers, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked up to a ridge on the other side of the yard and saw a black form. I instantly recognized that wolf. A more petite grey and black marble wolf stood next to Conri. The King stared at me momentarily before continuing his walk down the ridge back toward the manor. I didn’t care. Let him ignore me. It was me who made a mistake, not him. I made
This was wrong. Cody was right. Treating her like this was wrong. I couldn’t damn her if she didn’t do anything wrong. Hadn’t even shown any signs of it. I laid my head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. I was a fucking idiot. A stupid, ignorant, self-centered mongrel. So, as I stood up, I grasped at the remnants of the mating bond and held on tightly. Grabbing my blanket off the bed, I went to the west wing. RIEKA’S POV I awoke the following day feeling refreshed and rested for the first time in a week. I stretched and breathed deeply, only to inhale a familiar scent. I looked down to see a blanket over the top of me, and I grabbed it, bringing it up to my nose. I sniffed and snarled at the citrus scent of Conri. It was a vicious snarl that was typically heard from a rabid animal. Quickly, I tossed it to the floor. I didn’t want his scent. I had just gotten rid of it. I rose from the bed and stood up to notice that Connor was no longer at the foot of it. I ran my hands u
Did that mean that I was born in the Hunters Pack? Was that another reason they hated me and thought I was a traitor? I raised my head and stared into the trees as if I could see the Hunters border. I abruptly stood to my feet, looking frantically around. I was dead if the Guardians found out I had Hunter's blood. If I returned to the Hunters' pack, would they kill me? Why didn’t I remember that they were my pack? How did I end up here? Eighteen years and nowhere to call home? I ran my hands through my hair as I looked between the trees and my bedroom. Dropping my hands to my sides, I made my decision. I looked back to the manor. This place wasn’t my home, and I was no longer under the Guardians' Protection, according to Conri. The King didn’t want me. The agony in my heart was beginning to return from him leaving me every morning. I barely survived the first time he tossed me to the wolves, and I didn’t think I could make it through it if he did it again. This wasn’t a life. This w
“Do not fight me, Rieka,” Conri growled. “I can assure you that you will not win.” “I’m not going back,” I growled at him. “That place is no longer my home.” He flattened his ears against his head. “And you think being with the Hunters is your home?” “Anywhere will be better than here.” “You can’t leave me, Rieka. As your King, alpha, and mate, I order you to stay here.” “Order denied.” I launched myself forward and barreled into his chest, clamping my teeth around his neck fur. It didn’t phase him when I tore through his skin. He turned his head, grabbed me by the scruff of my neck with his teeth, and pulled me off him. Flipping me over into my back, he slammed me into the ground, and pain radiated through my spine. “I don’t want to hurt you.” Using my back paws, I kicked out as hard as possible, and he stumbled back a step giving me enough room to scramble to my paws. We began to circle each other, Keeping our heads low and calculating each other’s next move. “You call
Did he honestly lock me up? I panted heavily, tears brimming my eyes as my panic grew, clutching all the oxygen in my lungs. My wrist protested as I continued to pull and pull and pull, but it wouldn’t budge. The headboard didn’t even groan under the pull. My growling turned into a pleading whimper. My whimper quickly turned into a snarl as my bedroom door opened, and Conri stepped in, closing the door behind him. I glowered at him as he looked from my wrist to me. “Let. Me. Out.” I snarled lowly through clenched teeth, the panic I felt moments before turning into impotent rage. “No.” He said simply as he moved to the window seat on the other side of the bed, my eyes following his movements like he was my prey. He would be my prey soon if I got out of these handcuffs and clawed out his eyes. “You ran, Rieka. You were going back to the Hunters. I couldn’t have that.” “Let me out.” “No. You’re my mate, Rieka, and you’re also the Malikah. I know I had mixed feelings about that be
“Don’t even think about it,” Conri growled lowly, and my head snapped in his direction as I blinked at him. “You wouldn’t make it two steps out that door before I had you chained back to the bed.” I glowered at him as a snarl rumbled through my chest. He looked back out the window without another word. I pushed my food away, no longer wanting to attempt to eat. Turning my back to him, I laid back down on the pillows, curling into a ball and wrapping my arms around myself. I started sinking back into that darkness I thought I had just escaped, and Conri was forcing me back down. My head was still throbbing, making it nearly impossible to fall asleep. A purring sounded behind me, and as my body began to relax at the noise and ease the pain in my head, I fought against the sound, not wanting to be subdued by him. Acting on instincts, I shifted into my wolf form and rounded on Conri, snarling as anger boiled inside me. The anger fought against the peace and serenity that the purring bro
There could only be two reasons. Maybe they thought I could help them take over the packs, or they wanted revenge on me for leaving their group and turning against them. I mean, I still didn’t know what side I was on. Connor told me that the fate of the Malikah was decided after her first shift, but I’ve shifted several times, and I still didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I had so much hatred towards Conri that I would be lying if I said that I didn’t fantasize about his death. He’s trying to force the bond on me, use whatever power he has over me, and cage me like a rabid animal. But on the other hand, something was beginning to form inside my soul as I remembered how happy he used to make me feel, how he made me feel safe and secure—worshipping and protecting me. A part of me still wanted that back. I didn’t voice my thoughts to Conri as he continued to watch me. I moved away from the window, slowly walked to the open door of the study, and stared down the empty hallway. I j
My muscles came to life, pumping with blood and waking up from lying around for days. Joy burst through my chest as the grass brushed against my fur and tickled my pads. My lungs heaved for oxygen, and my mouth opened to pant. Blood roared in my ears as I pushed myself to my potential speed. I hadn’t been this happy in weeks, and I never wanted to give it up. I was breathless and panting when I reached the ridge's top. I stopped and looked back down the hill towards the manor that seemed so far away. To the other side of the hill was a pond with the setting sun glistening on the rippling water. I slowly made my way down to the shore and bent down to lap up some of the water, a cooling sensation coursing through my throat as I swallowed. Licking my chops, I straightened and looked around. It was so peaceful away from the manor and so calm. I didn’t have Conri hovering over me. I didn’t think about the Hunters or being the Malikah. At that current moment, it was just me and the persua
“You’ll never be able to stop us, little queen.” The Hunter snarled quietly. “You can pretend all you want, but the Malikah belongs to the Hunters.” His weight vanished as Conri called out for me once more, and in the next instant, he was a wolf again, racing off into the darkness. I scrambled to my feet and struggled to get a breath. My lungs felt like I couldn’t get enough oxygen in my body. Branches cracked and snapped as my mate barreled through the undergrowth, skidding to a stop beside me, breathing heavily. His blue eyes were wild and crazed as he looked me up and down for any signs of injury. “I’m fine,” I said hoarsely, my throat feeling raw. I grabbed a handful of Conri’s neck fur, and he raised his head to help me stand. After realizing that I was lying and indeed all right, Conri snarled angrily at me, his iced eyes now blazing. “What were you thinking, Rieka?” Conri snapped at me as I leaned against him. “You could have been killed.” I laid my head against his neck, c
“Yes, my queen. The King and Cody should be here soon. Stay put. Don’t wander off.” I nodded my understanding before watching Connor weave through the pack, checking on everyone. I slowly turned my head, looking around at everyone, when I heard a faint noise in the darkness of the woods. My ears perked as I strained to listen more carefully. The slight whine came once more. Cautiously, I stepped towards the sound, curiosity taking over every nerve in my body. I didn’t realize how far I had strayed from the pack when a sudden force barreled into my side, and I was knocked off my paws. A vast, muscular wolf loomed over me, his red eyes bloodthirsty. I scrambled to my paws quickly and launched myself at him. Something clicked inside of me, some ancient instinct. It was like some part of me knew that I had a pack, no, I had packs, wolves to protect. I had wolves that needed a queen to rely on to protect them. And I was going to be that queen. I latched my teeth to his scruff and used my
“You want to pull rank and be the queen. So be the queen. Lead them.” I swallowed hard as I looked back at the pack. My voice shook as I tried to speak as loud as possible for the wolves in the back. “As many of you know, we were giving sanctuary to the Wolfsbane Pack. Before they could cross the border, the Hunters ambushed them. Once again, the Wolfsbane Pack needs our help. The King is not here, but I am. Help me protect what all you have sworn to protect. We are Guardians, and we will not back down from a fight. We will not let anyone take away what we stand for.” As I finished speaking, my heart beat so hard I was sure I couldn’t feel it. One by one, each wolf threw their heads back and let out a unison of harmonious howls. “Very nice, my queen,” Connor whispered, brushing his shoulder against mine. “Let’s go.” Connor took off running towards the trees, and I followed him with the pack behind me. For once, I was running towards something, not away from it. CONRI’S POV Ever
“He had some business to take care of with the Nightshade pack,” Connor answered. “Threats were being made against them. Cody and the king went to ensure their safety.” I sighed heavily. This was getting worse by the day. “May I go outside?” Connor blinked at me as if I had just asked a stupid question. “Of course. You’re going to be queen. You may do whatever you wish.” I rolled my eyes. “Of course, I have to go with you to do whatever you wish to do.” He gave me a coy smile, and I huffed a laugh as I rolled my eyes again. “Well, then, I’m going outside. Feel free to join me.” I walked back into my room to the side door that led to the yard. It was a little hot, with the sun blazing across the sky, but there was a gentle cool breeze to balance the heat. “I want to walk to the pond.” Connor fell into step beside me. “You don’t want to run?” I shrugged my shoulders and frowned as I looked up at the sun and squinted my eyes. “Nah. I don’t think I need to run. I just want to wal
My stomach grumbled with hunger, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything without Conri here. It was late into the night when the door swished open, and Conri stepped back into the room. My heart immediately started to flutter at the sight of him, and I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face as I sat up in bed to greet him. My core instantly heated and throbbed as my want for him grew more assertive. I could tell he could smell my arousal by how his hazel eyes darkened with lust when he inhaled deeply. I wanted to pull him in and kiss every inch of his hard, muscular body, but my motherly instincts also kicked in. “What did Devil want?” I asked, concerned for the packs flooding through me and almost drowning out my arousal. “Asked for sanctuary. There’s a section of my territory just southwest of here. I offered it to Devil and his pack.” “Will they be safe there?” Conri sighed and ran a hair through his dark thick hair. “I hope so.” “And if the Hunters att
CONRI’S POV I stared at my mate in disbelief, her words echoing through me. She never once showed interest in being Queen, and now suddenly, she was throwing it up in my face. I was the Alpha King, and she was challenging me. Her steel grey eyes were hard and dark, like a thunderstorm was brewing in them. I could feel her uncertainty down the bond as she tried her best not to cower under pressure, but a part of me admired her sense of bravery for standing up to me. I inhaled deeply to try to stop my temper from boiling over. No matter how much I admired her courage, I did not appreciate her defying me. “Go back to the bedroom, Rieka,” I told her as calmly as possible. “I will discuss this with you later.” I didn’t think her eyes could harden anymore, but they did as she narrowed them at me like she was trying to decide whether to push the matter or not. When I thought she would argue some more, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the study with Cody following her. Once she
“You look so beautiful when you cum.” Conri whispered to me, which caused my abdomen to tighten once more. He rolled off the bed and headed to the bathroom as I lay there on my back with limp limbs trying to come back down to earth. I must have fallen asleep because it was early evening when I opened my eyes again, and Conri was nowhere in the room—stretching my sleepy muscles and feeling utterly satisfied. I crawled out of bed and brushed my hair before going to the closet to grab some clothes. A sinking hollow feeling began to form in my gut, and something told me that it was because Conri wasn’t near me. Opening the bedroom door, I looked to the right to see Cody standing guard. I was mortified as I prayed to the Luna Goddess that he hadn’t been out here while I screamed Conri’s name. “Please tell me that you weren’t—” I started to say, but Cody’s chuckle cut me off. “No, my queen, but from the smell of you—” He sniffed loudly. “I can tell what you and the king have been do
I must have fallen asleep by the fire because hours later, a warm hand was slowly caressing my bare back, coaxing me to wake up. The purring from Conri’s chest reverberated through me, and I sighed in contentment at the sound. I moved my cheek to rub my eyes to feel something firm and solid under my face. I opened my eyes to find I was lying on Conri’s bare chest in the bed. He must have carried me over when I had fallen asleep by the fireplace. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t want to move away from him. I rubbed my cheek deeper into his chest and growled affectionately. I gingerly ran my claws down his chest, inhaling his natural scent deeper. His purring became louder as he gently pushed me onto my back and pressed himself between my legs. He supported his weight on his elbows as his forearms lay on either side of my head, caging me in. Conri lowered his head and dragged the tip of his tongue along the seat of my lips. I involuntarily shuddered at the sensual jolt the
“If she is the Divine Queen, then she wouldn’t need to be a guardian. Her power will come from the Luna Goddess.” Cody said. “Are you headed out? I can take the first shift.” Connor offered. “No. I’m headed back to her.” I turned and walked back down the hallway. “Don’t forget to check her eyes,” Cody called after me. When I opened the door to the bedroom, I saw Rieka standing by the window and staring out across the yard at the trees. I could feel that she wanted to go running down the bond. “You like running, don’t you?” I asked her quietly, and she started at the sound of my voice, spinning around to look at me. She relaxed slightly as I approached her, closing the door behind me. “There’s just something about the wind running through me that makes me feel so…” her voice trailed off in thought. “Alive.” I finished for her, and she nodded, looking back outside as a small smile appeared. I stood behind her and slowly wrapped my arms around her waist. She melted back into