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Chapter 44: Back up plan
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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Mate's Gamble Chapter 45: Waiting for rescue
*Anna POV*Three days. Three days of sitting in this dark, dirty hole and receiving nothing but moldy meat that smells worse than it looks. Ian hasn’t shown up once since instructing the men to put me out of sight. I have, however, had one regular visitor several times a day. The woman who I am almost certain is Tilly’s grandma. She hasn’t told me that’s who she is. In fact, she hasn’t said a damn thing. But I can see a small resemblance to my best friend and it’s oddly comforting.The door in the distance creaks on its rusty hinges and I wait for the onslaught of light that they like to drench me in randomly, just to hurt my eyes. I sigh in relief when I hear the distinct hobble of the elderly woman as she comes closer with her little reading light and stool in hand. When she stops in front of me, she huffs out a heavy sigh and sets down her things before approaching the bars and staring at me.“I know your granddaughter.” I say. My voice is hoarse and painful courtesy of the silver
Mate's Gamble Chapter 46: In action
*Tilly POV* Ty looks at me, giving me the signal that it’s time to start our plan. Well, not the actual plan. But the plan to put the back-up plan in place. The one that will at least get us some backup if shit goes sideways. Which, if we are being realistic, it will. It always does. That’s why you never have just one plan. “This is such fucking bullshit.” Ty mutters. “What is?” I ask. As I suck in a breath to ready myself for the onslaught of his words. It’s all a part of the plan. The huge fight, the painful words that even though I know he doesn’t mean them, they will still sting like hell. “All of this.” he stops and groans in frustration. Onyx and Georgie stop to see what is going on, but neither say anything. Onyx’s eyes skirt between Ty and me, waiting to jump in if needed while Georgie looks entertained and excited about something dramatic. “Uh…the trees?” I ask, trying to egg him on. I need to find the perfect balance of bitchy annoyance and genuine curiosity. Which m
Mate's Gamble Chapter 47: Used
Georgie walks ahead of us, Onyx walking as close as possible without touching me. I know I can’t feel the bond, not as a rogue, but my heart still yearns for his touch, my body crying out for the feel of his skin. It’s not a feeling of lust where I need to jump his bones and find that spot of ecstasy, though. It’s the need for comfort, for him to hold my hand and promise he still wants me. Not that he hasn’t been saying that all along, but I think when you love someone and you’ve never really known you were all that lovable, it makes you a little clingy. At least that’s what it is in my case.Onyx hasn’t spoken since I told him I would hear him out. Heavy silence envelopes us, like doom is coming and airing our issues might be the last goodbye. It’s like kissing your spouse before marching off to war, that feeling it may be your last. But I need this closure on our very recent past if we can ever hope to build a future. “Harriet is…”“My new gamma.” Onyx answers, looking down at his
Mate's Gamble Chapter 48: A funeral
Onyx’s hands cup my face, pulling me impossibly close as his lips devour mine. His tongue runs along my bottom lip before he plunges it into my mouth with a needy moan. I cling to him for dear life as I whimper in delight at the onslaught. My wolf and I have craved this since the moment we knew he was supposed to be ours. Mate bond or not, this feels so right. His hands tangle into my loose updo and I drag my nails up and down his back, pulling my body tight to his. I want to stay here forever, lost in his touch, but my alarm bells are ringing in my head, telling me time is up. Onyx must feel it too as he slows his lips, lengthening our kisses to a more controlled sampling of what will come. I whine as he stops, panting, and presses his cheek to mine to calm himself. “If we do not stop now, I won’t be able to control my wolf in marking you.” He whispers hoarsely. My skin goosebumps at the promise and I shudder in his arms. “I know.” I breathe back. Onyx’s hand falls to the nape o
Mate's Gamble Chapter 49: I promise
*Anna POV* I’ve never been afraid of the dark before. In fact, there isn’t much I’ve ever feared aside from losing those I love. Until right now. Right now, as I lay broken and beat for the first time, it seeps in like an early morning fog, threatening everything I know about who I am. The woods are near silent. The tree canopy must be blocking out the moon and it leaves me in a black blanket of that fear. I don’t know how long I’ve laid here. If it’s been days or minutes but I know my body is working in overdrive to heal itself. It thrums in agonizing pain as my bones creak and bend back to their normal positions, leaving in its stead an ache so intense I can’t help but whimper. Every painful pulse is a strike on the battle drums within me, feeding my festering frustration, and with that anger I grow stronger. Because the only thing stronger than fear is an anger. And I’m fucking livid. A hiss startles me and I realize it is my own labored breathing as I try to force myself to a
Mate's Gamble Chapter 50: Love doesn't make monsters
*Tilly POV*“You really should eat something. Consider it your last meal.” Ian says, an amused smile twitching at the corners of his mouth and a glint of cockiness in his eyes. He is unmistakably an asshole. Clearly a trait he got from my mom’s sperm donor. Or rather, a forced sperm donor. “I’m not hungry,” I grit out now for what feels like the tenth time. He sits across from me in a throne chair. The high walnut back twists into an intricate design of wolves howling up at the moon and the tufted fabric behind his big head is blood red. He looks like a fucking nut trying to live out some weird kingly fantasy.“Starving yourself won’t stop the inevitable, Matilda.” “Okay.” I shrug, opting for the path of least resistance, which wonderfully lines up with the path that annoys him the most. If there is any chance of escape or rescue, I need to be out of his eyesight long enough for something to happen. Which means being annoying is the only weapon I have at the moment, and man, is it a
Mate's Gamble Chapter 51: Rot
I twiddle my thumbs, waiting for my grandmother to say something, so something other than stare at me with this weird adoring look on her face. Maybe she had a stroke? It would explain why she hasn’t moved…? Can werewolves even have strokes? “I can see your brain whirring,” she chuckles, finally moving and reaching up to pat at her hair. “I thought you might have died. Or had a stroke.” I mutter.“Strokes are only for humans, my dear.” She chuckles softly, her eyes wrinkling at the corner. She seems so sweet and inviting.“Right.” I mutter. “So do you like…have any questions or….” “I’m just enjoying your company. No questions on my mind at the moment.” She says softly and I gape at her. My nose crinkles in confusion and I just…blink at her like she might be losing her mind. Who the hell just stares at people and enjoys it? Only answer I can come up with is psychopaths. “Enjoying my company?” I ask. She smiles sweetly, a gentle look in her eyes.“Indeed.”“Trying to memorize my fa
Mate's Gamble Chapter 52: Hope
Minutes bleed into hours as I fall in and out of sleep. It must be them trying to use darkness as a mode of torture. Too bad he doesn’t know I lived in it for weeks. Not only that, but I had learned to almost thrive in it. So instead of cowering in the corner like I had been doing earlier, I reminded myself that I can do hard shit, have been all my life, and I made a plan. Or rather, started to. I’ve been strategizing how best to create an opportunity for me to run. It is unlikely that Anna will save me, Onyx, either. For all I know, he is dead. I pull my knees to my chest, forcing my stomach to stop aching and my lungs to cease burning. If he was dead, I’d know it, I’d feel it, right? Mate bond or not, we have a connection that goes beyond fate or soulmates. So there is no way I wouldn’t feel him if he had died. It’s impossible, so I push the thought away and settle in on the truths I know. I know Anna is injured, Onyx was poisoned (fucking Georgie), and Ty went for help before shit
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Mate's Gamble Thank you!
I can honestly say I have the best readers! Thank you for always giving my books and characters a chance! Tilly was one of a kind and writing her story was one of the best times I’ve had writing. Her sass and emotional growth journey were so special to me! I hope you will hit the follow button in the app so you can get a notice when I get my next book up an going! Currently I have the sequel to Rebel Rising: The Lost Alph’s mate in the works but I won’t be posting it until I have at least 5-10 chapters. So read up on book one! If you are all caught up on my books I have a few authors I will always recommend: Alle, J Tarr, Allie Carstens and Emma Taylor! All four of these authors have fun and original ideas that always blow me away. Join my group online called Miri’s Shifter Cafe for updates on my work, more about me and characters! (I can’t name where the group is but it starts with “Face” and ends with “book”)Until the next journey, all my love
Mate's Gamble Epilogue
*Onyx POV** SIX YEARS LATER*Tilly’s leg bounces nervously in the seat next to me as I chuckle to myself, shaking my head. She instantly shoots me an annoyed glare. In six years, I still can’t get enough of her, annoyed or not. Hell, sometimes I prefer her annoyed. It makes for a very fun game of groveling at the end of the day. Her glare slowly morphs into a hidden smile as my emotions transfer to her. “Stop it.” She hisses and I shake my head, looking at the road before us.“I didn’t do anything,” I laugh.“I can feel you being amused and…stuff. It’s like you don’t even care about me and my feelings.” She fakes a whine, her lips turning into a big pout, and I growl in my chest. “Oooh, Oh I promise you, I care VERY much about feeling you. Uh, I mean your feelings.”She groans and presses her head on the back of the headrest. “You know how…” She pauses and looks behind her at the perfect five-year-old little boy we created who watches us intently. Then she looks back at me, her ch
Mate's Gamble *BONUS CHAPTER*
***Bonus Chapter****Anna POV*Tilly looks perfect in her usual oversized top and scuffed up jeans. If I would have had it my way, that girl would be in the most expensive lace dress Onyx could muster up, but that wouldn’t be her. That would be me dressing her and honestly…She looks just as good right now as she would in any dress. It’s not the clothing she is wearing that makes it, but the smile on her lips that I am certain will remain there until the end of our days. It wasn’t easy keeping this secret from her, but damn, was it worth it. Onyx looks at her like our wolves look at the moon. She is more than his mate but his everything, and damn it, she deserves it. I think when the Goddess made their union; she knew Tilly would need a little extra from her mate. She and Onyx dance as the rest of the party guests leave, heading home just as the sun rises. It was one long ass party, that is for sure, and I am exhausted. Ty’s hand slides into mine, lifting it to his lip and pressing a
Mate's Gamble Chapter 65: No where else
*Two weeks later**Tilly POV*One week in my new pack and I can, with absolute certainty, say that I have found my home. The pack is full of genuinely kind pack members. I have not had a single day without at least three cookies for breakfast and that is NOT a complaint. Onyx made the joke that they love me more than him, but I think they are just happy he is happy. It makes sense now why he felt he had to make a promise to them to take Harriet as his mate. She emulates what his pack is, and she is truly beloved by them all. But she is more cherished as a Gamma, more loved by her true mate than she would have been by a chosen one. And she deserves to be with the man meant to complete her. Just like I deserve the love I have with Onyx. It took some acceptance and I’ve got a long way to go, but I deserve it. Just like everyone else. I am meant to be here. With them. With him. My whole life, I have craved this fairy tale of someone being able to love me. I gave up the notion I could e
Mate's Gamble Chapter 65: problem solving
“Are you sore?” Onyx teases me as I limp to the bathroom, looking back to shoot him a glare. “No.” I lie and bite back a smile. “Mmm, good.” He murmurs, making the bed. “Means I can go harder tonight.” I gulp as a pang of needy pleasure shoots right for my sore bits, and I curse Onyx under my breath. He knows what his words do to me, and he is taking great pleasure in my struggle for more of him while my body simultaneously begs for reprieve. I’m a glutton for sweet, delicious punishment at his hands, apparently. He surprises me as he wraps his hands around my tummy from behind his chin finding the crook of my neck and he presses his cheek flush to mine. Then he walks me to the window, showing me the stunning view of snow-capped mountains as the sun cascades down on them. The world has been awake for hours while we had snuggled in the comfort of our bubble. “That’s home,” he mutters, nuzzling my jawline and dropping two kisses there. “Our home. Just beyond the mountains.” “Hm
Mate's Gamble Chapter 64: True love
Onyx eats the last of the pesto chicken and stands from the bed, taking our plates and setting them on the desk near the door. When he spins around, he has a glint in his eyes and I blush as his emotions flood my mind. It seems he is hungry again. Instead of coming to me, he moves to the bathroom to clean himself up and I chuckle to myself as my body is ravaged by the barrage of emotions he still has hammering into me. When he walks back out, he is clean shaven, his perfectly angled jawline on full display and it does to me exactly what the v shape at his waist does. Which is going to be great when we are in public. Nothing wrong with being hot and bothered ALL the time, right? His smile morphs into a sheepish grin as he stalks over to me, his eyes dark and his hands dropping to the waistband of his shorts. Before he shimmies them off and leaps onto the bed. I howl in laughter, giggling as he reaches out and takes hold of my ankles, yanking me down onto my back. Onyx then crawls u
Mate's Gamble Chapter 63: 24 hours
*Tilly POV*“I hate meetings,” I whisper to Anna, who elbows me in my side. I stick my tongue out at her and she rolls her eyes before biting back a smile. Onyx reaches out and takes my hand, entwining our fingers as he pulls me back to the conversation that’s about to start.“Behave,” he whispers in my ear, but I hear the smile there. He prefers it when I misbehave and we both know it. It was my lack of decorum that drew him to me in the first place, right? My grandmother sits to the right of my grandfather and to his left another middle-aged man with a peppering of gray in his black hair. I tilt my head, trying to figure out who he is when my grandfather clears his throat, calling everyone’s attention. Only respective alphas and their mates are here. Anna being the exception to the rule since she will take the role once she gets home since she has found her mate.“I would like to first start by apologizing profusely.” My grandpa mutters, his eyes much clearer than they had been whe
Mate's Gamble Chapter 62: Groveling
I stand, and in one singular motion, I lift her and spin so she is on my lap. She rises on her knees, hovering just above me as I look up at her. The light shines from behind her, illuminating her hair and outlining the curves of her body as water splashes off her skin.The look in her eyes, that shy hunger, has my heart stuttering in my chest. I reach up, gingerly stroking her cheek before wrapping my hand around the nape of her neck and yank her lips to mine in a needy kiss. Her body presses to mine and the shock of how strong the sparks are makes us both gasp. She giggles into my mouth and it sends a thrill through me and down to the place where I need our bodies to meet.There is nothing I need more than to feel her in every way. But we are on her time right now. Meeting or not, nothing will make me rush this, rush her. Why the hell would I want to? I want to lap up every damn second like the thirsty wolf I am. I nibble on her bottom lip, then press my tongue along her lips, sea
Mate's Gamble Chapter 61: Yes, my Luna.
*Onyx POV*We are all on edge, as we should be, considering where we are, but if what Tilly and Anna have told me is true, I think they are trustworthy. Not to mention Tilly is now this pack’s only hope of survival. To attack her or anyone she wishes to protect is death to the pack with no redemption. And it’s their own dumb rules that tied their hands like this.The boy leading us to our room stops for a minute and then turns toward Tilly. She clings to me, her pain seeping through the mate bond, notifying me she has once again done too much too soon. She should have just let me carry her the entire way. “If you need anything, just stick your head out and holler. I’ve already put clean towels and linens out. Audra, the she-wolf attending to you will be by with some clothing that fits.” He then gives a curt bow and walks off. “Well, that was interesting…” Tilly says, then her tired gray eyes look up at me. “Do we have servants like this in our pack?”My heart swells at her words. Ou
