[Axel]
I feel a tension around my shoulders, a tightening of my muscles. The energy pull from that room is overwhelming as if all the life is flowing from every living thing in the room, including myself.
“We need to help her,” Conner insists, “we need to help our mate!”
“She doesn’t need us,” I explain silently. “You heard the elf, we’d just get in the way, or possibly even cause her harm if we were in there with her.”
[Axel]She smiles at me and in that moment I can sense her forgiveness through the thin thread of a link that is starting to form between us. The mate link. If she accepts my mark, it will grow into a thick cord, a rope tying us together no matter how far apart we are. After Alexa and I broke things off, and she severed our bond by rejecting me fully, I thought I’d never see anything like it again. As I look at our connection through my wolf’s eyes, I see that from the bluntly cut ends of my previous bond, a new strand has sprouted. It is still thin, but it is there, reaching out to where it is anchored, deep within Rosalynd’s heart.Conner wasn’t lying. We are mates. We are connected. Does that mean she also has a wolf?I try to see her, try to see the wolf within, but I see nothing.Slone begins to thrash, reminding us of the task at hand.Evander steps closer, placing a hand on Gideon’s shoulder. He cl
[Rosalynd] “Let me go you sonofabitch~!” I scream as I scratch the arm of the man who has grabbed me around the throat, his elbow under my jaw. He smells terrible like he’s been wearing the same clothing for a year after rolling around in stale beer while smoking a joint. His breath on my neck reeks of rotting teeth and gum disease. Gagging, I jerk my head backward and hear a satisfying crunch as the back of my head hits his nose. “Sweet Jesus!” The smelly man swears as he drops me, blood dripping down his front. I hit the ground hard. With the wind knocked out of me I can’t move as I gasp for air. “Are you sure she’s the right one?” Another guy
[Rosalynd] “Drop her,” a demanding voice whispers from behind us both, "right now or I will personally ensure that this moment is the last thing you remember for the rest of your life. The man holding onto me loosens his grip, his arms going up to his sides with palms facing forward in surrender. I move out of his grasp, scrambling away to see Evander, holding the now trembling man back with a long blade of glowing, burning blue light. It looks like something out of a Japanese cartoon, part katana, part lightsaber, and completely lethal. It feels strange in this quaint, victorian hamlet and yet it looks completely natural in Evander’s hands. The edge of the blade makes an audible sizzling sound as it burns a fin
[Evander] She looks so charming when she's confused. “Wha...t on earth just happened?" She stares up at me, not taking my arm. "I neutralized a threat," I answered simply as we continued on our way downhill. "It's a good thing too, they almost had you in the back of that van. It would have been much harder to kick their asses if they had started to drive away." "I guess...." she still seems unsure. “I'd love to show you my favorite breakfast spot," I beam at her. "I know you're new to town and..."
[Rosalynd] “Let me take care of you,” he begs. My heart is racing. He takes a step towards me and I forget how to breathe. “I…” I begin blinking uncontrollably as he removes my glasses and sets them down on a table near the door. “I…can take my own bath.” “Are you sure,” he removes his coat. “You might need help.” Our eyes are locked as he guides me, moving forward as I take steps to avoid him. “But I hardly know you and…” &ld
[Gideon] Axel has been pacing the kitchen since Evander went chasing after Rosalynd. It's sweet, but also mildly annoying. The wolf looks ready to bite one of us if we even approach him, and he is making the others anxious as they attempt to eat Marigold's delicious pancakes. "Can we make him leave," Juniper whispers under her breath. "He's kinda creeping me out." "No offense, Coven Leader," Jasper chimes in, "but I agree with my sister on this one." "Friends, we need to give our distraught friend a little grace and...
[Rosalynd] Evander is skilled, very skilled. He has had over a century of practice, but I have a feeling some of this is a natural talent. All he has done so far is touch me with his hands and mouth and I’ve already cum at least five times in the last hour. I think I may be losing my voice from screaming his name so loudly with such frequency. This is not a complaint, it is just an observation. And now he wants to take me to bed. I’m not sure I will survive. Somehow I know he’ll make sure I die hap
[Axel]I’m trying to remain calm as I wait for Rosalynd to descend those stairs. We need to get her out of Arcata, quickly, before a new batch of goons are sent to take her away. But I also need to just get away with her. I’ve missed her and my need to be with her, to kiss her, to roll around in her scent is so overpowering, it takes all of the little bit of willpower I have left to not race into that house and bang on the door.“How long does it take to say goodbye?” I murmur under my breath as I scroll through my phone messages. I’ve been away from home too long. I know my father is holding everything together while I take care of this business, but I hate leaving Rafe for this long. Since his mom left both of us, we are each other’s whole world.I have yet to introd
[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