[Slone]
I can hear them talking in the other room. The coven. They are talking about Rosalynd. Of course, they are. Why would they even take a moment to care about me? I guess I should be grateful that they finally let me step inside the coven house. After working for them for two years, gathering their supplies, and providing Gideon with energy using my body and my heart, only to find out that I am “not magical enough” to be a full coven member. My ability to see auras confirms that I’m at least part witch, but the blood is “so thin” that I can not even complete the manifestation spell. That’s why I was so excited when I did the spell for Rosalynd and it worked! My first thought was that maybe they were wrong, that maybe after they met Rosie they would see that I was the one who had power after all.
[Rosalynd] “Well then,” I grabbed two big handfuls of Axel’s hair, bringing him closer to me. “What are we waiting for?” It takes him about 3 seconds to process what I just said before he grabs me and slams me into a tree, kissing me with the ferocity of a starving man devouring his first meal. The redwood bark is rough on my back as he presses us both into the trunk, his signature scent, like redwoods, warm honey, and home blending with the surrounding smells of wet earth and pine. Wrapping my legs around him, I hook my feet for stability as I begin to grind my hips into his groin his hand reaches up my t-shirt, grabbing my left breast as he squeezes it roughly, eliciting a yelp of excitement from my already swollen lips
[Rosalynd] “He’s my son too, and I’m taking him back with me!” Alexa insists as she continues to pull on the small boy that I now know is Rafe, Axel’s five-year-old son. “Daddy, who is she? Why won’t she stop pulling?” Rafe starts crying as he tries to pull himself away. “Rafael Javier Addams, you know who I am!” she puffs out her chest, slamming her hand against her breasts. “I’m your Mami!” Rafe refuses to look at her. Instead he holds onto his grandfather tighter. “Alexa, stop it,” Axel commands with every ounce of his al
[Axel] "Who is that girl!" Alexa is screaming at me as if she had a right to. She’s not my Luna anymore. "How DARE she talk to my son. I saw her, I saw what she did. Are you sleeping with her, Axel?” It would be so easy to shut her up if I used my Alpha power on her, but after my display a couple of days ago, I’m afraid to let my anger get out just in case I do something I might regret. "What does it matter to you, Alexa," I snap back, folding my hands over my chest. “You’ve moved on, so can I.” “But Axel…” the whites of her eyes are turning red as she p
[Rosalynd] One moment I was standing next to Axel, ready to hear Michael’s news, and the next thing I know I am on the ground with Alexa looming above me, a claw at my throat. Her stale breath smells like old coffee and mint gum and the irises of her eyes are glowing red. It burns as her nail scrapes across my neck, drawing a thin line of blood. I don’t dare look, not wanting to break our gaze. “Alexa, stop this!” Axel screams. He tries to pull her off, but Alexa turns and growls, spit flying. “She’s challenging us,” Willow b
[Evander] The first part of our plan worked better than I expected. Gideon and I couldn’t tell Axel, because he would have most likely resisted what is good for him, but assuming I understand wolves and women as well as I do, Axel and Rosalynd will be well on their way to finalizing their mating bond by now. I left her so hot and bothered she’ll be eager to jump at that poor unsuspecting wolf. I am happy for them. I know that having Axel at her side is essential for her happiness and that to share her with the rest of us, Axel needs to feel secure in their bond. Now that we have that taken care of, we can focus on what is important. Usually, I am more patient than how I am behaving right now. I wouldn’t rush pieces into place, especially with someone so dear to me.
[Axel] Rosie looks a little shocked by Rafe’s question. “I…um…well..” she stutters, struggling to find a response. “You see I…” My father and I start laughing. “I think you will have to wait for that, Rafe,” I clarify. “Rosie and I aren’t quite ready to get married and have pups.” His little face falls. “Oh. I just thought that’s what happens when you meet your Luna.”
[Rosalynd] “Axel, what are you doing?!” I kick and squirm as he picks me up out of his truck, fireman style, leaning me over his back, my bottom raised in the air. “Carrying you inside,” he chortles. “Now stop wiggling or I’ll swat your bottom.” “You wouldn’t dare,” I growl. He smacks me. “Never dare an Alpha,” Willow laughs at me. “You think this is funny?”
[Gideon] Jasper drops his fork, breaking the plate with a loud shattering clank. His eyes stare blindly, milky white, as an otherworldly voice speaks through him. “Evander is hurt. North Campus. Hurry.” Juniper screams as her brother’s head hits the table. Blood trickles from a surface wound on his head from a shard of the plate. Everyone scrambles, rushing forward to assist but Juniper raises her hand to stop them. “Go!” she shouts. “I’ve got him. You need to go find Evander.” “I’ll stay behind,” Marigold declares, standing up and finding her mortar and pestle. “My magic is mostly defensive anyway.” She admits, “I&
[Rosalynd] I’d like to say this is a happily ever after, and I guess in some ways it is. Girl meets boy. The boy turns out to be a wolf. The girl meets another boy, who is a witch, and then another boy who happens to be a leprechaun. They all fall in love and have a lovely life full of magic and love. But fairy tales only seem simple on the outside. And our story is still beginning. Evander has been busier than ever ruling his kingdom. He spends as much time as he can here, but Tara is calling. Soon, he may need to stay there for longer. I’ll miss having him with me every day, but I understand. And It’s not like I can’t be there with him. It’s just a simple flip of a coin. Axel has taken his new duties as Guardian of the Forest very seriously. His new abilities from his time as the void have made him useful when it comes to detecting warlock mischief. Yes, we are still dealing with the warlocks, as before, but with their leader gone, they are a lot less powerful. Gideon has resum
[Evander] I’m not sure what Rosalynd is going to think when she sees this. I hope she takes it well. It’s been two months since our daughters were born and sometimes her emotions overtake her. “My Love,” I call out as I cross the threshold of our home in the woods. Today is Rosalynd’s day with me, and I can’t wait to come back to her from my dealings with the new council, even if I have some difficult news to share. My “surprise” is hidden in the satchel lying across my chest. She’s become such an intuitive witch since the babies were born that it is almost impossible to keep anything from her. She’ll likely sense the contents or see a vision or some other trick of the universe that will reveal everything before I open my mouth to tell her. Sometimes I wonder why any of us boys even bother to try. “Back here!” She responds from the kitchen, her voice strained with effort as if trying to lift something heavy. The kitchen is the last room I’d expect to find her in and prob
[Rosalynd] The chaotic hubbub that my announcement created would be comical if it weren’t happening to me. Thankfully we didn’t have to worry about much, we already had a room set up for the birth. One of the advantages of being married into a family as magical as mine, I have no shortage of highly capable hands to help me in this new adventure. This birth will be a bit more exceptional for a few reasons. Firstly, I am not entirely a wolf or even a simple hybrid. We have no idea how being part chimera is going to change things. Second, I am carrying two children fathered by two men. None of us know how the DNA was passed or what to expect. Will they be witches, leprechauns, wolves, or something else? The only thing we know for certain is that they will NOT be human. Nor will their powers be weak. They are the children born of deities and avatars, crafted from the flesh of some of the most powerfully magical beings on Earth and in Faerie. Thankfully, the Eel River pack already h
[Axel] Things have been different since we returned home. It has been months, and even though everything seems to have settled back to “normal,” there is no denying that things will never be quite the same again. Since the night I agreed to let the Void take over my body, I hear voices in my head. Sometimes I see things that others cannot see, even Rosie, our own personal goddess. I am myself, but I am also something else. Even Connor has been affected. After that night in the bunker, his coat had gone completely black, and his eyes glowed with the hot blue fire of the stars. He insists that he is an unchanged wolf, just better looking, but I would be a fool not to be disturbed by the changes. But today, I promised to put all of that aside for the sake of having one, perfect moment. “Are you ready,” Evander smiles from the doorway. His navy blue tie matches the color of my formal suit. Seeing me struggle with my own tie, he walks into the room and takes over for me. “Cousin
[Evander] I can feel the moment that Rosie gives into the Void. It feels like a cold chisel cracking into my heart, seeking to break the ties that bind me to her, that bind all three of us to her, leaving only the darkness within. Axel thinks that by welcoming the void in, he is getting his opportunity to be with her forever. But he isn't. The void does not need his soul once the darkness completes its work. As she kisses Axel, sealing their union, I know that even with the Universe’s blessing shining within me, I understand that If I do not act swiftly, we may all be tied to the void forever. Or worse, we could lose her to it. “We claimed her first and that bond cannot be broken so easily,” the Universe speaks to me, through me, filling me with the knowledge of what it sees as it fills my body, taking command. Reaching deep within myself, I can feel the truth of those words. The void tried to break us, but it failed. All three of us are still tied to her with shining cords o
[Gideon] His voice is like a cancer, rotting my soul from the inside out. Vincent. I thought I was free of him when he took Esther south when he left our coven behind. “You can never be free of me,” he laughs in my head. “We were never truly apart. Once you merge a soul with another, you are always connected. I was your coven leader. I will always be your coven leader.” “Not if I kill you,” I promise aloud, my body struggling against the magical restraints that Evander placed on me. His cackling laughter fades into the background. He is done with me for now. I can rest and regain my strength so that I can fight him off again next time. Unlike Slone, there is nothing that he can offer me that I want, so there is no way for him to find entry into the deepest parts of my soul. With Rosie and Evander in my life, I have more than I deserve. I wake up in darkness. The room is cold, colder than I expected it to be. It is like all the warmth vacated the room through every little cr
[Rosalynd] I lie there frozen as I watch the black of his eyes expand to overcome the sclera. Wide and unblinking, they stare into my own and I find myself falling into them, losing all sense of where I am. My body is present in the here and now, but my mind and soul have moved on to someplace so vast that galaxies are formed and die around me as I watch. And I remember. I remember being pulled to a place like this once before, at the moment of my almost death, when I had to make a decision. And I stand in that darkness now, the room gone, only darkness remaining. A man steps forward. Whereas before the void had no shape, now that it has a form to inhabit, he takes the shape that has become familiar and comfortable and wears my fiancé's face as he waits for me to come to him. He is still dressed for a wedding, but the clothing doesn't seem out of place here. In his natural element, the void incarnate looks regal, his body radiating power in dark waves of energy. "Do you remember me
[Evander] By the time I reached his location, it was already too late. Axel fell through the opening in the sky, hungry arms grabbing him and drawing him in. It was as if the void itself took him. I have been flitting through the shadows, looking for a trace of him. Wherever he was taken does not lie within the shadow roads. My best guess is that he is somewhere inside one of these buildings. My worst guess is that he is somewhere I cannot follow, deep in the void itself, unable to reach any of us or call out for help. “If you are listening, Universe, we could use your help.” The universe never answers, at least not with words, but my instincts are telling me to head toward the smaller of the two buildings. I cannot blink beyond the walls without knowing what is on the other side. Which means I need to get close enough, undetected, to see where I might land. And then I need to search and keep going until I find him. Until I can find both of them. Because I am not leav
[Rosalynd] The creature wearing the face of my mate walks towards me. He is dressed for a wedding. Top hat, tailcoat, white gloves, and a silk cravat and dress shirt all in varying shades of black and gray, like fog at midnight. His chestnut-colored hair has been slicked back and put into a ponytail, a ribbon of black silk tying it back. None of this feels right. It isn’t Axel’s style. Even at our true wedding, I would more likely expect him to wear designer cowboy boots and a pair of dark denim. But that isn’t the part of him that bothers me the most. It was his eyes. Black as slate, cold and dark, they are the opposite of those warm, honey-brown orbs that stole my heart all those months ago. “What are you?” I hiss, struggling against my bonds. "And where is Axel? Where is my mate?" He places a gentle hand on my cheek, making a shushing sound as he tries to soothe me. “He's still here, watching you, protecting you. Even now, he fights to be by your side," his fingers re