Mercy pulls her hand away and grabs Leticia’s wrist, yanking her forward. Her teeth and claws fully extend. Leticia tries to move back, but Mercy has a firm grip, piercing her claws into Leticia’s skin. Mercy is a Beta female. Her features are larger and more pronounced than unranked wolves. She’s also stronger than most females. She can also be cocky. Her attitude sometimes puts her in ‘bite off more than you can chew’ positions. Symphony comes forward in response and snarls at Mercy. The sound reverberates the room with the warning. Symphony isn’t a Beta wolf. She’s a proud, strong-willed wolf of a goddess. Not just any goddess, one who has put her through some of the darkest, most harrowing situations you couldn’t even fathom. She and Leticia have had their differences before. She even stopped talking to Leticia for a while, but the past year and a half has mended their relationship. Now she will do anything to protect Leticia and she certainly won’t let a Beta wolf treat her that
“Bonjour! Cason, it’s Kas. I brought your afternoon appointments!” I call into the depths of the shop.The heavy metal music sounds like scrambled noise to me, but I see a couple of women bobbing their heads and reciting lyrics. Les and Adrienne are pointing to the tattoo samples that adorn the walls. Other Sentinel are showing each other magazines or sheets of paper with sketches to give to Cason for direction. I can feel the excitement of the nine women and it makes me happy. They’re always so serious and prefer a structured lifestyle. It’s good to see them more relaxed.They aren’t even wearing their signature black tactical clothes. Aryelles looks like a supermodel on her day off in baggy tan sweatpants, a baby blue v-neck t-shirt, and baseball cap with her shiny black hair cascading out from underneath. Everyone in jeans, leggings, and even Martina in a maxi dress is a surprising change of pace.“The smell of gunpowder never gets old, does it?” Les stands next to me with a slight
***TRIGGER WARNING***This chapter contains a depiction of ‘blood magic’ which could be compared to self-harm or attempted suicide.Bronx’s POVArrow pulls an arrow from his quiver and blows it after I tell him about Cason having rejected his fated mate. He rolls it with his fingers and it turns into crystal glass. I don’t know how he did it, but it’s the coolest shit I’ve ever seen in my life.“Is he going to shoot Cason with a glass arrow?” Saint watches quizzically.“That isn’t how it worked when he made an arrow for Kas and me.” I shrug. “So, I hope not?”As we get ready to go back inside, James’s truck pulls up to the curb. “I’ll be right there. Let’s see if Lady Camille has any words of wisdom before we do anything drastic.”I open the door of the truck and give Lady Camille my hand to help her to the ground. She’s dressed more casually than I usually see her in silk palazzo pants, a white linen shirt, and sandals. She’s holding a big floppy straw hat and has oversized sunglasse
“They’re safe. It won’t kill them.” Kas looks away from her arm, up at me, and sucks in a sharp breath as her eyes glass over. All emotion leaves her body. She slumps as her body stiffens. Her empty eyes stare at me, unblinking. I can see tears in her eyes, but they’ll never fall. Her mouth is open slightly, but she won’t speak. Even her scent disappears. I take her icy hand and try to listen to her heartbeat. It’s slow and steady, but not strong at all. I look back at her arm, still gushing blood onto the rug. “Kas?” I whisper, watching the change in disbelief. “No, Baby, come back. Please, come back.” I’ve never seen the moment she falls into one of her visions. I’ve only seen what it looks like when she’s an empty shell of Kas. The empty shell I’m looking at now. My mate, the love of my fucking life, the mother of my children, my wife. She is so much more than that. She’s the Luna of Blood River and of the Menae. She runs a charity and a business. She is so many things to so ma
Before I go upstairs, I make a quick stop. “Cason, I know this is a lot. You okay?”“Alpha, this ain’t how I thought today would go when I woke up.” His eyes glance at me, but back to Les. “The Luna stopped her sister from rejecting me.”“Yeah, she told us.” I clap him on the shoulder. “If she’s anything like Leticia, she may have never had a mate before. Leticia told Kas she had never even had a boyfriend before Klay. Maybe Les is the same.”“A woman that beautiful?” He looks at her longingly. “There’s no way she’s been alone in her entire life. The Luna asked me to give her a chance. Back at my shop when I couldn’t move. I-I don’t know if she knew I could hear her.”I look back at Les holding Kas. “Do you want to give her a chance?”“I… I don’t want her to feel like I’m holding her back.” He mutters. “Imagine how big her world must be. I’m like a speck of nothing compared to everything she’s experienced, Alpha. I’m just a tattoo artist.”“You’re not just a tattoo artist, Cason. You’
Every rational thought in my brain disconnects from each other and runs in opposite directions before they collide back together, out of order. It feels like a mosh pit reverberating off the sides of my skull. “I don’t like this guy.” Saint bristles. “Who’s his wolf?” “That’s what’s important to you right now?” I huff at him. “Well, he made the door disappear, so it’s not like we can escape.” Saint growls back at me. “We either find out as much as we can about him before you let me kill him, or we just go in blind. Your choice.” I turn my head to see what Saint is talking about. Sure enough, the door is gone. There’s only a smooth white wall behind me. I can still hear the Sentinel speaking to each other in the hallway, but they seem on guard, but not worried. “Who’s your wolf?” I tense my muscles, trying to prepare for anything. “I don’t have a wolf anymore.” He purses his lips and looks around before he raises his arms to the side. “I have this.” “This?” I squint my eyes. “B
“Of course not.” He rolls his eyes and shakes his head at me. “We were in Lechia… uh… Poland, I think it’s called now. We were trying to cut a deal with a powerful dark witch. She double crossed us. I got hit with a nasty spell that made me ill. We were trying to get away, but human hunters were scared of the giant wolves in the woods and mortally wound me. The only way to save my human spirit was to bring me here. Iokaste and I have more control over time in this place than we do on Earth. It gave her more time to heal me, but when I tried to go back to Earth, the old hag’s spell took effect again. It was magic that even Iokaste couldn’t reverse, so she brought me back.” “Mortally wounded, as in the end of your spirit’s journey?” I pay closer attention to his body posture. He seems at peace with the circumstances. “So if you leave, you die?” “Mmm.” He nods quickly. “It solved the problem of needing to have someone here for the Mavri Magea to come and go, but it took a toll on Róki.
Milo’s POV“Now isn’t a good time, Klay.” I pick up the phone not bothering to say hello. “What’s up?”“Beta, sorry to bother you, but Miss Codi just woke up from a nightmare.” Klay says with a strangled voice into the phone. Codi’s shrill scream crying maxes out the speaker on the receiver. My heart breaks into a thousand pieces when I hear her calling for me. “She won’t let me go and keeps crying about a mean lady.”“The mean lady?” I look around at the frozen Sentinel and Cason. I can’t leave. Codi’s bad dream isn’t as much of an emergency as this. “Give me ten minutes. Try giving her a t-shirt from my hamper. Hopefully, there’s enough of my scent to calm her down until I get there.”“See Codi? Daddy will be home as soon as he can.” Klay purrs, trying to soothe her. “We’ll be waiting, sir.”“Go home.” Ghost huffs. “Don’t leave Codi alone.”“She’s not alone, buddy.” I glance at Leticia who’s shuffling her feet on the floor waiting for someone to tell her what to do. “She trusts Klay
TWO YEARS LATER “There’s no way this is it, Lex.” I stare at the ancient temple. “This is what we’ve been looking for, for almost two years, and it’s abandoned. Leticia must have had the wrong coordinates.” “Well, Zeus doesn’t like people looking for them.” She huffs at me. “If you want their help, have faith and believe that you’ll find them. I recommend closing your eyes and fixing your damned mindset, Kas. That’s the only way we are going to get home.” Leticia was released from the Waiting Room about six months after she and Aphrodite were sent there. After a while, she realized she didn’t need to use dark magic against the Goddess of Love. When her thirty days were up, she got to leave, but Aphrodite is still trapped there. The Menae have tried to counsel her on what she needs to do to escape, but she refuses to comply. We used Leticia’s informants and connections to find out where The Fates reside in hopes of helping change Bianca Beryl’s thread. It’s an outside chance, but M
“Hey Little Sister, I got a little somethin’ for ya.” Milo’s hand pushes past the door of my office with a plate containing an omelet, sausage, toast, and a pastry. “Can I come in?” “Of course you can.” I lean back in my seat and smile, secretly grateful for the interruption. “Mrs. Miller is worried that you’re not eating enough.” He sets the plate and silverware rolled in a napkin on my desk followed by a cup of coffee. “Are you doing okay?” “I won’t lie to you, Milo, so…” I press my lips together and look around the office. “No, I’m not okay. It’s been almost three weeks and still no word from Bronx. I have no clue when he’ll be back and there’s literally nothing I can do about it. Maya and Dre keep asking about him. The last time they saw him he was fighting the Minotaur, then he disappeared into a portal wearing his boxers and your tac vest. I can tell Tavi misses him, too. I’ve been letting her sleep with one of his shirts, so at least she has his scent with her, but… do you k
“Kas, pacing a hole in the floor won’t help.” Lex jumps in front of me, blocking my way. “You heard Mother. We need to be patient. Why don’t you sit down and eat something?”“Is food all you think about, Lex?” I drop my shoulders and try to step around her, but she side steps, to stay in front of me. “It’s been hours. What if Zeus put Bronx in Tartarus or something?”“Kas, I love you, but you’re driving me nuts.” She pulls on the edge of my nightgown to the small table. “No news is good news. Now sit. Eat.”The table has a delicious spread of breakfast foods and pastries. None of it looks like it will take the knot out of my stomach. I settle for a cup of tea with a pleasant Jasmine aroma and look out the window. The enormous white horses buck and play in the field with no cares in the world. My mind wanders. I wonder what is happening to our pack right now. Who is watching our children? Does Lady Camille still have Tavi in the coven’s realm, or was she able to bring her home? Are Co
Kas’s POVThe scent of honeysuckle pulls at the edges of my mind. It reminds me of my mother. I open my eyes. Where I could be. It’s an airy room, but there are no defined walls. I see low backed, ornately decorated chairs surrounding a small table with a teapot and fine china cups. There is a wide window on my left. The window is open, letting the honeysuckle scent in on a gentle breeze. Outside, there is a meadow with a few olive trees and large white horses grazing. Coffee and dark chocolate overtake the honeysuckle, making me smile. I roll on my side in the silky white sheets. Bronx is sitting on the floor with his back against the bed. He is pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. A lit cigarette rests between his fingers. I watch a fine stream of smoke rise from the tip. It leaves the burnt tobacco aroma I thought he left behind years ago.“Please don’t be mad, Baby. I just needed this one.” He whispers without looking at me before he takes a long drag from the ci
When I don’t go for an immediate attack, Ares gives me a stupid smile and rolls his shoulders. “Ready to submit, Child of Perses?” “Yeah, I don’t go down that easily, you stupid fuck.” I give him a dry laugh and swing the sword around, letting its weight settle into my hand. I don’t care how desperate things may seem. He won’t get the reaction he wants out of me. I’ll go down fighting.This time Ares half runs, half hobbles at me. I roll to the side to protect my injured shoulder, but he lunges and grabs me by the armpit, digging his thumb deep into the open wound and squeezes hard.I use a jiu jitsu throw Kas has successfully used on me by planting my foot and throwing him over my hip. His ass hits the ground, shaking the throne room. Glass shards shower us from the ceiling, slicing into my skin.Ignore the pain. Ignore the pain.I let my body weight drop into a roll, giving us enough momentum for me to land on top of him. It’s a short-lived achievement. He throws his elbow out and
Ares is standing between me and Kas. I listen long enough to make sure her heart is still beating while I assess the room. Not that it matters. I’m going to destroy him, whether she’s breathing or not. His mouth is full of blood, and the inside of his knee is deeply bruised. I don’t know what Kas did to his mouth or how she could reach that high, but she was trying to take his leg out. He doesn’t seem in a hurry to come to me, so he must be in pain. That’s my girl.“Bingo.” Saint hisses at the realization that our target is already injured. He pushes forward, heightening all my senses. “Are you ready to break a kneecap?”“Give me a second.” I continue looking around. “He’s got at least seventy pounds on us. He’s definitely injured or he would have already attacked first, but I still need to check the room.”The Menae’s barrier is still in place - Ares can’t escape. Broken marble - potential weapons. A section of Aphrodite’s whip - another potential weapon. Puddles of dark blood - sli
The beast’s roar pierces my ears. My muscles strain to keep the door closed while it pushes from the outside. Saint extends his claws from my toes to dig into the floor still slippery with Sondi’s blood. “Saint, I need all your strength.” I grit my teeth and brace myself as the Minotaur slams its body weight against the door.“YOU ALREADY HAVE IT!” He growls. “You think I want that thing getting in here?!”The growling and howls from the other two cells remind me I’m not just fighting for my life and the lives of our packs pups. I’m fighting for our whole pack. “HOLD THE LINE!” I scream out loud. No one answers, but I don’t need them to. I just need them to know that I’m still with them.“Bronx, we’re through the portal.” Milo finally comes through. “We’re on the way.”“We’re under attack!” I pull my head back as the Minotaur tries to push his horns through the cell door. “The entire pack is here. MOVE!”“Get some kids to pull their trackers off.” Reggie sounds out of breath. “It wi
“Aphrodite, let them go.” I growl at the screen. “This is your last warning.”Aphrodite throws her head back and laughs. The sound pierces my ears like nails on a chalkboard. “You’re in no position to give me warnings, Demigod.” She snarls at the screen.There is a flicker and glitch in the feed that makes her pause. Her face darkens at the interruption. She looks beyond the screen then back into the camera, making hand motions I have seen Delilah, Leticia, and Kas use in the past. She’s using magic. Just like Kas said, she must be bad at it.“She’s using magic.” I mutter under my breath. My mind tries to connect with why it’s important, but the screaming coming from Ashley’s cell is distracting me.The feed stabilizes, and Aphrodite regains her composure. “I have control here. Iokaste and I had a deal, and she broke her promise. Now, I will destroy ALL aspects of her life and you will be participants. I’ve already sent a fun surprise to one cell. Don’t worry. There are two more surp
“Marco, I need your help.” I send him a mindlink. “Once we have the kids settled, you can get back to your pups.”“What’s up, Alpha?” He comes over and squats next to me.“We need to get the kids organized and as quiet as possible.” I lower my eyes and concentrate. “Uh, let’s see. Kids wearing a shirt under their uniform sweaters need to take the sweaters off. Figure out how many babies are here. Get them all wrapped in sweaters to keep them warm. Assign the oldest kids to take care of babies. Oldest gets the youngest until you pair everyone up. If there is an odd number, Andy is with you.”“Okay. We can do that.” He stands up to complete the assignment.“Marco, we need them to be quiet. The door opens inward. If anything in that hallway hears them, we’re sitting ducks. Tell them there’s a damn reward for the quietest or some shit.”“Got it, Alpha.” He claps my shoulder. “You help Sondi.”I watch him walk away, clapping quietly to get the children’s attention, then turn back to Sondi.