"The fuck? Alpha commands don't work on your sister?" Luca slammed his hand forward, acting like he was about to chuck his phone out the window, but he didn't let it go, managing to get a hold on his temper in time to save the expensive device from hurling through the windshield of the car."Nope. It's one of the many annoying and special gifts that the Goddess bestowed upon the pain in the ass that is your mate." Vos had turned in the passenger seat to stare at Luca, his eyebrows raised as he waited to hear the fallout from the conversation that the other man had obviously just had."That was her." They had pulled off onto the shoulder of the road again and Luca was gripping the steering wheel so hard that Vos was honestly a bit worried it might crack in his hands."I sort of figured that part out. But go on. And maybe ease up on the car a bit so we still have a way to get around.""She's on her way to New York. She wants to save Stella and-""Kill Harding." Vos interrupted him,
After washing her hair with Fern's help and bathing in the oversized bathtub in the bathroom that was connected to the luxurious room that was now her prison, Stella felt slightly more human than she had when she had first opened her eyes and realized that she was no longer on her pack's lands. Fern had brought her a pair of soft grey sweatpants and a t-shirt, and had helped her to make her way back to the king sized bed as she began to really look around the room for the first time. The room was the furthest thing from a prison in appearance that Stella could imagine, but she knew without a doubt that she was a prisoner there all the same. The bed was huge, with a golden Parisian headboard that arched above the head of the bed, and pale blue silk sheets. The walls were every bit as grand as the bed, which Stella couldn't help but think had been inspired by some European palace like Versaille, with more gold snaking its way up the high walls, and an enormous crystal chandelier domin
Alpha Vos,Attached are the pages of your father's journals that I scanned after you called me last night. It didn't take long to find them once you gave me the months and the years since he was always so meticulous and orderly and since you left his cabinet largely untouched after his death. I had my son help me with the lock because it was giving me a fair bit of trouble, even with the keys that were in your desk. I hope this helps with whatever you and Alpha West are working on. If you need anything else don't hesitate to call. I'll have my cell phone with me day and night.Please be careful.IrisVos hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, half an hour later, when he flipped open the laptop that he had brought with him to check his email. One of the calls he had made, when Luca was calling his mother, was to his personal assistant back home. Iris was an extremely efficient woman who had raised her children and watched her grandchildren grow and begin to find their own mates, and if the
"Look at that, it healed. I'm going to take that as a sign that the Goddess is in your corner today. Welcome to New York, Luna."Dani's eyes flickered open and she tentatively moved her shoulder, flexing it and then rotating it when she didn't immediately feel pain. Maybe it was a sign that the Goddess was blessing their mission. The thought was fleeting, as Dani's lips curved into a frown. It felt more likely that the Moon Goddess had decided to dangle a bit of hope in front of one of her least favored children before she was crushed completely, her life force snuffed out. Or maybe there was no Moon Goddess.Dani nodded towards Michael and Waylon as she pushed herself into a sitting position, brushing the back of her hand across her mouth, and checking for drool. She was surprised that she had managed to fall that deeply asleep with everything that they were about to face looming over them. However the sleep she's stolen on the plane ride seemed to be exactly what her body needed.
"Miss West." Fern ran into the room, out of breath with a light sheen of sweat glistening across her forehead. "Everyone is rushing around getting ready. It's total chaos downstairs. You're brother and another Alpha are on their way at this very moment. Everyone says that he's agreed to marry Miss Harding and he's coming here to finalize the details with our Alpha." "He's what?" Stella felt vaguely nauseous at the news, her fingernails digging into the bedsheets as she stared at the slight girl who had just slipped inside the door and said those horrifying words in such a cheerful voice."He's marrying Lyra. Alpha Harding is happier than I've seen him in all my life. And we need to get you up and dressed for breakfast. We only have fifteen minutes.""My brother has agreed to marry Lyra Harding?" Stella's voice was incredulous. Fern shrugged as she walked to the closet and disappeared inside before emerging with an armful of light and airy dresses that didn't look like anything Ste
Luca stepped off the jet and onto the runway at Newburgh airport, the limo that Harding had sent for them already waiting a few meters away. "I thought we were going to JFK." Vos picked up his bag and rubbed the back of his neck as he stared out at their surroundings, stifling a yawn. "I thought so too." "Your Beta didn't know that Alpha Harding has been staying in the Chateau. What I believe Lyra calls the 'Villa.' He hasn't been to the Penthouse in several months. Not to worry. Your sister is there as well. I'm certain she'll be overjoyed to see you." "Have you seen my sister?" Luca fixed his intimidating gaze on the driver, his question laced with the tone of his command. "No Alpha." The driver replied quickly, dropping his eyes as he opened the door for them before moving towards their luggage. They hadn't brought much with them, so there wasn't much to take. "She has been-" he paused as if searching for the right word- "sedated, for her own good, and so she's been in her bed
Poor Little Andraste." Dani cowered on her knees, her hair falling in dark waves around her shoulders,her long hair the only protection her bent, naked body had left from his penetrating eyes. At the Alpha's harsh tone, her eyes closed and her head bent further forward. The collar around her neck was excruciating. It had been custom made to fit snugly against her skin so there weren't any gaps that offered the delicate burnt area where it rubbed even a moment's relief. The outside of this collar was studded with diamonds, with one large silver hoop dangling from the front. Today the hoop had a chain through it that was locked into a piece of hardware that was bolted on the floor, which prevented her from moving more than a foot from where she had been placed, or from rising above the half kneel that she was now allowed."I heard you spoke to one of my assistants. A boy.""No. Master." She wouldn't lie to save herself. She knew that that was useless. No matter what she did she was
Luca was pacing back and forth across the floor of the enormous room that he was supposed to be spending the night in. Someone would be there to get him in a few minutes to escort him to the dining hall along with Vos and, he hoped, Stella. But all he could think about was the email from Vos with the attachment of those journals that his father had kept all those years ago. If he wasn't certain that he was being watched he would have put his fist through the wall.He had had a bit of time now to come to terms with what had happened to Dani. He'd had less time to accept that it was Harding who had hurt her. But to find out that she had been taken and abused because his father and Harding had recognized their mate connection long before she or he had felt it was almost more than he could bear. He wanted to destroy the world, or at least, to destroy Harding's world.A knock at the door caused him to stop his pacing, turning to face whoever had come to get him. "Enter." He called, tak
This is the last chapter. Thank you all for supporting me! Wish you all the best in life. Lots of love!"Come on Dani, you can't be late to your own baby shower!" Stella was dragging her down the hall as Dani rolled her eyes. "I can't move that fast anymore Stella. I know that you've never been pregnant yet but ask Emery. It slows you down. Especially twins." "She just can't wait to see her Bestie. Fern. They haven't gotten to see each other in a month since the last council meeting of Alpha's when Kent was officially sworn in. Do you know how moppy my husband has been since he lost his third in command?" She turned her eyes accusingly on Dani who ignored the question, instead turning towards Stella. "I thought I was your Bestie!" She said in a teasing tone. "We're all best friends you guys." Stella linked arms with the other two women as she walked between the two Lunas, slowing her pace. "And when is the next time we're all going to be together?" "Probaby when she pops?" Emery
"Now lets see if this fits." He helped her slide the ring onto the fourth finger on her left hand and she finally got a good look at it. The ring was a simple, gorgeous, round cut diamond and it fit perfectly when he slipped it onto her finger."I love it." She said, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face against his chest. "It's perfect." As she pulled away her eyes drifted back outside to the valley below. "You still haven't told me where we are. Where did you buy a home?""Kittilä." He replied, staring out the window at the beautiful white landscape below.She shook her head. "I have no idea where that is.""Lapland. We're in Finland in the Artic Circle. I promised you Northern Lights. I know it's early in the year still but so help me I'm giving us our best chance at Northern Lights on our week long trip. At least we're pretty far north this time." "We could just wait a bit until it's later in the year.""I don't want my mate to have to wait for anything after
"Where are we?" she asked as he began to lead her, blindfolded, towards the door of their personal jet. It wasn't tropical or humid. In fact, it was rather cold and she hadn't even stepped outside yet.Dani had slept for so long on the plane that she had no idea how long they'd been flying. They could be anywhere at all in the world. And she was impatient to know where Luca had taken them and what exactly his plans were. She had never been good at waiting for surprises."Kitten, you told me that you were going to let me make this a surprise for you. Don't try to peak now." One of his hands was on her side, as he tucked a long puffy jacket over her shoulders."Is this new?" she asked as he helped slide her arms into the sleeves."Here, step. How do these boots feel?" he ignored her question as he helped her into a pair of comfortable new boots that she couldn't see."They feel perfect. How long have you been planning this? And where are we?" Her hands, which were now being warmed
"Do you know that you are approximately eight weeks pregnant?" The doctor's eyes were glued to her face when she asked the question, as Dani sat on the bed frozen, feeling her own eyes grow wide."I- I-" whatever it was she had thought to say was trapped inside her head so she let out the breath she only just realized she'd been holding and tried again. "I guess I had begun to suspect it in the last few days. I'd just started to feel sick. And the healing thing.""The healing thing?""I don't know if you noticed my old injuries? Dani began."Yes. Your wolf actually was able to heal most of your injuries before you got here. There wasn't all that much to do. You didn't even need stitches. It was impressive. But we checked you over carefully for other injuries and we could tell that there were old injuries that hadn't healed the way they should have if you'd had your healing abilities intact, and that those were both bone breaks and the ones that included your old scars.""Just bef
It was morning when Dani woke up in a hospital bed in New York City. She blinked, gazing around at the brightly lit room. In a moment Luca was by her side. "This room is insane." she whispered, her throat feeling scratchy and dry.Somehow Luca had managed to get her a corner room with glass windows that made up a huge portion of the walls with incredible views of the city. Before she'd spoken and woke him up, she realized, he had been sleeping in a comfortable looking recliner. And her bed was much more comfortable than a typical looking hospital bed. The sheets and blankets looked like they should have been in a fancy hotel."The doctor will want to know that you're awake. They wouldn't tell me anything until you woke up. But it looks like your healing is accelerated again for some reason. As soon as they removed the knife I could tell that it wasn't like before. Your wolf started to help with your healing. I should have noticed it earlier in the cuts and bruises from your fight wi
Dani knew that Luca had won his fight, somewhere behind her, when she smelled the blood of Beta Reed spill across the cold tile of the floor. She knew Beta Reed well. He'd taken his turn torturing her when she lived here. He was every bit as cruel as his Alpha and she felt her snout curl in an approximation of a smile before she focused back on the battle before her. She had an idea of how she might take down this Alpha, but it was risky.Could she get Alpha Harding to let down his guard because he believed her so weak she wasn't worth guarding against? It would be ridiculous for him to do it, but he was an Alpha, and nothing if not arrogant beyond measure.Dani charged at him again, doing the exact same thing she had done the previous time. This time he sent her sprawling with another powerful blow of his paw. She noticed that his claws weren't even extended. He'd never once hurt her in his wolf form. He preferred to torture her as a human.He'd hit her hard and she'd slid all the
Dani shoved down the wave of nausea that tried the push its way up her throat. She didn't have time for any of that. If she survived the attack she would worry about what the way she had been feeling these past few days might mean.She hadn't gone into heat. What were the odds of getting pregnant if she hadn't gone into heat when she was with Luca? Hell, she'd never gone into heat once in her entire life. Privately, she'd believed it was because Harding had done something to break her body, between the hard physical abuse and the injections. She'd intended to talk with Luca about it, but the time never seemed right. And she hadn't really known if her body didn't work the way the Goddess had intended it to, which had made it even harder to bring the subject up. After all, what exactly would she say.When she'd tried to bring it up with Dr. Evans, back at Harvest Moon, the doctor had ordered an ultrasound and some blood work and had then assured Dani that everything looked to be in wo
"Thank you for joining us Fern." Alpha Harding hadn't looked up, and Stella, with her now human hearing abilities, hadn't heard the frail looking girl arrive, but when he said her name, every head in the room immediately turned in her direction.The little maid looked nothing like she had when she had first knocked on the door to Stella's room. Stella remembered that Alpha Harding had mentioned earlier that "they" had picked out a dress together. Stella was certain that Fern had had no part in picking out this dress. Like so much of Lyra's clothing it was crimson red, just like the lipstick that was now smeared across Fern's full lips.The dress itself was simple. It was cut low on top, with Fern's small, full, round breasts, which fit her frame nicely, nearly spilling out of it. On the bottom it was so short that Stella could tell that the little maid's fingers were itching to tug it down so that it would cover more.As a child who had been forced to wear many dresses that she was
"It smells like summertime. Like rainbows. Like everything that's good and pure in the world." Waylon was following close behind Dani, as he had been since she first left Alaska, but she had never felt so tempted to give him a good hard smack upside the head. "Head in the game, Parker. What are you drunk?" she hissed the words under her breath as she moved forward through the dark tunnel, her steps slow and silent, her mind vaguely registering her own surprise at knowing his last name. "If I didn't know any better I would think that you just found-" she let her whispered words trail off in the middle of her sentence.No. That was impossible. The odds of what she had almost suggested were a thousand to one and it would be cruel to give Waylon that sort of hope, especially when they were on this sort of a mission and she had no particular reason to believe that it was true. It was more likely that the poor man hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in the last week, since he was so worri