Her heart logged in her throat like a giant lump that wouldn't go down no matter how much she swallowed."What happened, mother? Stop crying and tell me, please." Her own voice sounded hollow in her own ears."Valentina fainted this afternoon, so we took her to the hospi-tal. She has a perforated appendix, the doctor said her life is in grave danger! She was taken in for emergency surgery! The doctor said she could die!" Her mother rambled on, sobbing uncontrollably.Hospital!? Emergency surgery..!? Her sister had a burst appendix!? Tina could die...?"Oh God, please stop crying, mother, please. Try to get yourself together, I'm coming, alright!?" She raised her tone higher, even as she tried her best to keep her panic at bay, "Do you hear me!?""I should have never i-ignored her when she was saying that her stomach problems w-w-were nothing. Oh, my Jesus! What do I do now, Ismena!? What do I do!? I'm so scared, I'm so scared! I hate hospitals so much, I'm going out of my m-mind!" Her
"No, it is not, Alpha." In a rush, she told him everything that was happening and how they came to find him. "Please, help us, Alpha. Please?" She finished.Alpha Alphose felt bad for the Alpha King's mate, but he was already shaking his head before Eline was done telling him everything. "She cannot go to the human world, Eline, you know this."Ismena grabbed hold of his arm to get his attention, "Please, Alpha Alphose, please help me... Please, I cannot stay here while my sister..." Shaking her head, her eyes pleaded with him, "Please, Alpha Alphose, please...!""This is a bad idea from all directions, Ismena. Your life is in danger and the Alpha King does not know about this—he will never approve if he did. What if the Wolfhunters—""We will not stay longer than necessary, please. They will not know if we don't stay long, and even if they find out, we would have already left before they arrive. Please, help me."Alphose tried again, "But, Ismena—" Ismena lowered herself to her kne
NATURIAHLike Alphose planned, he got to the Wild Forest, made a half-shift, and presented his back to Ismena.She swallowed the fear that rose to her throat at seeing him in a half-shift. After staying in Naturiah all this while, Ismena can't quite decide whick one scares her more; the half-shift form or the full-shift form.In half-shift; the changeling grows a foot taller like a giant, his size enlarges, his fingers turn to claws, sharp fangs replace teeth and hair covers almost every part of their body. Their face takes on their animal features too.Alphose turned and fixed her with green eyes that were gentle instead of aggressive. "Do not be scared, Ismena, and get on." His voice is a growl, so much deeper than usual. Almost all animal.She swallowed visibly. An image of her sister formed in her head, lying down in the hospital unconscious, being operated on, and fighting for her life.Eyes closed, she covered the distance between her small form and the giant Alphose in half-shi
"I love you too, my child." Amelia responded, patting her hair soothingly.At forty-five, her mother is a stunning beauty to behold, but fear for Valentine's life seems to have aged her a bit. Ismena was happy that her sister will be alright."Speaking of father, where is he?" She asked curiously.Just then, the door opened and her father walked in, carrying nylon bags. Just like mother, he looked like he hasn't slept a wink all night.His eyes found Ismena and a bright smile widened his mouth, warmth in his eyes. "My child."Ismena pulled away from her mother to hug her father, "Dad." She whispered."I went out to get supplies and food for us. Your mother hasn't eaten a thing since yesterday afternoon. She needs to eat something.""Yeah, she needs to." Ismena spared her mother a stern glance, "Starving yourself will do us no good, mother."Amelia flushed guiltily but placed her head on her husband's thigh. "You are right. With my two children here, I'm suddenly feeling ravenous."***
Simon Blackgun has the hospital surrounded by his men. He was happy and almost giddy with anticipation. By the end of today, the Successful will be back in the lab, with her child. He has not heard from Dr. Beloca but he knows that after the attack they launched early this morning in New York City, they already have Number 6. "I see the target's room." A male voice came through the small chip attached to his ear."Stay in position. Do not attack until I give the word." Simon commanded, looking through the binoculars to the hospital surroundings in calculation. He does not want this mission to go wrong."Copy that, sir." Came the response.The flicker of light from the gold-colored ring in his pocket caught his attention again, and Simon couldn't help a cynical snort. That piece of jewelry is just good for nothing. According to Dr. Beloca, it should have led him straight to The Successful and her child but the Ring barely flickered light all through his search for them. He has no i
"She's awake, she's awake...!" Amelia gasped when she saw her daughter's eyes open slowly.Ismena halted her conversation with her father, jerked out of the chair, and hurried towards her sister, with her father trailing behind her. "Tina? Tina? Can you hear me?" She called softly, hovering over her sister."Ena...?" Valentina's voice was hoarse and drowsy."Oh, God, baby you scared us all!" Ismena was already hugging her sister tight, tears pricking the back of her eyes. "Thank God you're alright, I was so scared...!""I'm s-sorry. I d-did...not mean...to scare you and mom." She replied drowsily, her eyes closed to feel her elder sister's hug."It's okay, it's okay. What matters now is that you are doing great," Ismena separated from her, "The doctor said your surgery was a success. You will be fine.""The surg-ery?" Valentina asked, baffled."You had a perforated appendix, it was terrible!" Amelia responded, her fear clearly unhidden in her eyes, "You won't be the death of me, Tina
Alpha Alphose felt a prickle down his spine. It isn't the first time, or the second time. He came out from the shadow he'd blended to again, and scouted the lobby again. Nurses walked in and out of the hospital rooms. A patient in a wheelchair was being wheeled out of the lobby. A child crying while getting an injection. Doctors running around.Just nothing out of the ordinary. Alphose turned to walk back to the shadows again when a presence entered through the door and his cougar steered awake.A beautiful young woman with hair so black, it's shiny. Her hair had him entranced for a full minute, the way it laid behind her back well past her shoulders to stop in the middle of her back. She wasn't slim, but he would not call her fat either. She just filled out in the right places, with mouth-watering curves in that simple blue gown. And his mouth did water. He swallowed audibly.Their eyes met. The woman's eyes widened dramatically, but that was all he saw before he turned and walke
"Are you sure you don't want to come to the hospital and have that leg checked out?" The human doctor asked worriedly, "This will not be enough to heal that wound—""I am sure," Wolfaraine stated firmly, outstretching his hand towards Alpha Degar. He was lying on his bed, in his bedroom while the doctor hovered over him.The leopard Alpha handed the documents to him, without saying a word. He was worried because he knows the Alpha King is in more pain than he was letting on. He is just too stubborn to admit it.Degar cannot imagine being shot by a bullet that contains rhodium. Twice. In the same leg. He shuddered. "But, I will still advice—""That will be all, doctor." Wolfaraine spared the doctor a blank stare that spoke volumes. He wants the human doctor away from him.His cougar wanted nothing more than to tear him apart. It growled inside him, baring its teeth. Wolfaraine closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to suppress the cougar's instincts, even as he was swallowing
When the full moon eventually came, screams from two women in two different parts of Naturiah were particularly high in the air because two couples were getting mated. One from the Cougar Clan, the other from the Heart of Naturiah.In the Cougar Clan, Alphose held his woman close as he gave her all that was him. She has never taken all his forms before, but tonight she was going to before the mating ritual is performed. Her sweaty body shook under his, and he could smell her fear too. He whispered words of love and encouragement to her ears as he filled her body from behind yet again and began thrusting again.They were in their bedroom, kneeling on the floor with Kassandra's upper body lying on the bed and Alphose's own blanketing hers from behind. They've been at it all night. She has lost count of how many times she has released. At this rate, her soul was going to leave her body. Alphose was the best lover she'd ever been with—hell, even the word 'best' does not do him justice. G
"I love you too, baby." He rose with her in his arms, withdrew a gold ring from his pocket, and slipped it into her ring finger. "It's so beautiful..." She cried, staring reverently at the sparkling jewelry. "It looks so good on you," he whispered to her. That night, they made passionate love together. As always he took his time arousing her body, touching her everywhere until she begged him desperately to join them intimately before he proceeded to do just that. They created the perfect rhythm together, moving sensuously and whispering words of love to each other. Wolfaraine took his time making her go wild in pleasure in his arms, he savored the cries, the litany, the sounds he drew from her as they pleasured each other for hours. Afterward, they lay together, sated and happy. He caressed her belly, cradling their child as Ismena burrowed closer to him. "I'm so glad that it was my father that helped us escape. We were victorious because of him." She played with the soft hairs
The next day, Onaries was publicly executed in the square at the Heart Of Naturiah, before the people. Crowds gathered to watch it and it gave them great satisfaction to see the shame, the humiliation on the psycho's face before he was beheaded. To Onaries, it was the worst punishment. He should have killed himself when the lab was invaded—it was better to die in battle than to be killed by public execution where the people get to laugh at him, spit on his face and call him names. He'd been tortured for days by his own Head Sentinel, Rodarh who took great pleasure from the act. He tortured Onaries until he lost his pride and begged to be killed. But Onaries, that monster, had denied him. Until today when he was publicly executed. As for the human doctor, Beloca; Alphose, and Degar had taken turns beating the man up, they carved his skin out of his own body, his screams like music to their eyes. They tortured Beloca to an extent that he stopped breathing several times, but they did
"Nothing, Miss Kassandra; I only forced your dormant hormones to come alive. My 'attempted claim' on you forced your body to wake and take on your mate's scent." He smiled a little, "Now, you practically stink of him." Sandra doesn't understand. "Him?" She asked, confused. "The Steele trying to break down that door, ma'am. You are his mate. There was a time you were very sick, right? To the extent you thought you might die, right?" Sandra doesn't need to think hard about that. "Yes, when I was very young, I suffered pneumonia." He nodded knowingly, "Whatever drugs humans used to cure you suppressed your hormones that made you a potential mate. So deeply suppressed that they wouldn't have stirred if you hadn't met your lifemate, my twin brother, and I wouldn't have been able to awake them if I didn't push as hard as I did. I'm sorry for hurting you, lass." The man wasn't as bad as she thought he was, Sandra thought, and some of her fears dissolved. Instead, joy began spreading thr
When Ismena heard the news about Alphose and Kassandra, she left the Tower and went back to Eline's house to be with her best friend. Sandra cried on her shoulders, dreading every hour that passed, every ticking of the clock because it was a reminder that Josiah was already on his way to Naturiah to claim her. She told Ismena that she didn't wanna do it. She just wants to go back to the human world. It's better to go home to live the rest of her life alone than to be with a man who isn't her Alphose. Although it killed Ismena to do it, she talked her out of it. How will she live the rest of her life knowing that she could have met her soulmate? She could have been with him, but she gave up on it? She talked her into giving Josiah a chance. After all, who knows? It might be the best decision she has ever made in her life, right? The Alpha King, on the other hand, could only pat his best friend's shoulder, commending him for doing the right thing even when the 'right thing' hurts. B
He smiled, "She is. Do you remember all your time together with her?""Oh yes. She is my best friend.""She will be so happy to hear that. It'll probably make her cry. She thinks of you that way too. Maybe even more.""I want her to stay with us forever. You're going to mate her, right?" "Yes, I will. If she will have me." Wolfaraine stated matter-of-factly. He has no doubt anymore. He wants to spend the rest of his life with Ismena. In fact, he cannot imagine his future without her in it."I'm glad. I hope she will have you, too. We will be one big family. She is so brave. She's everything you need in a mate. She always came by my room, all the time, no matter how scared she was. She came every day. I knew you two fought when she didn't come by for a few days. I was mad at you because you let her go.""Is that way you growled whenever I came close? I thought perhaps you hated me.""I never. I was just mad at you, madder, because I couldn't tell you how I felt. I'm happy you two sort
He walked into the room, quietly closing the door behind him, and took a few minutes to just stand there and watch them. The two most important women in his life. He felt lighter and refreshed, his heart filled with happiness like he'd never known before. How his life has changed in the past few months. He'd resigned himself to a bland life filled with guilt, sadness, and loneliness, never taking a mate, never having a child of his own, and living day by day with the fear of not knowing when he would lose his sister forever. But Ismena came into his life and changed it forever.He'd felt more in the past six months than he has in almost twenty years. The past no longer fills him with rage and sadness, his cougar wasn't as rough and out-of-control as before. He has a mate who is so highly compatible with him, his child is growing in her belly, and his sister, who he thought was lost forever was back to him again.Complete. He feels complete."What are you thinking so hard about?" Ism
Gasps of disbelief filled the air. The people were shocked and excited. They found it hard to believe that their King's sister—someone who they'd all given up on—would take her mortal form again after all these years. Murmurs rose in the crowd, bits and pieces of them could be heard audibly."Did you see that—" A voice said."What just happened!?" Another added."She took her mortal form again...!" "Bless the Lord!""May the deities be praised...!""Did you see that too?""...thought it'll never happen for her.""It's been eighteen years."Wolfaraine Daminor Throne stood frozen. He glanced down at the small, pale, feminine hand in his larger one. His eyes trailed from her hand to her arm, up to her shoulder, her neck, and her teary face. His throat constricted at the sight in front of him.She was more beautiful than the distorted image his mind had desperately held onto all these years. His sister was ten the last time he saw her face. His eyes watered as he gazed into eyes as blue
All the leading Alphas of Naturiah were there, the sentinels, the Betas, the Omegas, the houseworkers. He could see Eline, Mirian, and Kassandra too, even the Alphas that fought with him in the human world earlier in the day. They were all gathered there. They rose and greeted him respectfully when he walked through the door with his mate in his arm.Then they were crowding him. The joy and relief on their faces, filled his heart with love for his people. The females had tears in their eyes as they came really close to him. Some were hugging him, while the others were kneeling at his feet—a gesture of welcome and respect. They were all careful not to press tightly against him because of the woman in his arms. Ismena wiggled a bit, a sign that she wanted to be on her own feet, but Wolfaraine glanced at her and shook his head slightly."Please, I'll be careful, and I'll be right here by your side." she pleaded, a hint of her smile on her face. She knows how badly his people wanted to g