"Welcome home." Leander announced while stepping inside with me. He seemed a lot more happier than the last time I had seen him. Was it me? Was this what he wanted?"This is not my home." I cleared my throat without looking anywhere. It was all too much to take in."It is your home, Hycinth." He took a few steps toward me while I stood stiff on the main hall. "This is where you're going to live. It's yours." He continued, his smile only growing wider."This will never be mine, do you recall the one you destroyed when I was still young?."His lips lined straight, "I just saved you, be thankful." He taunted, reminding me of the hero he had become.I rolled my eyes at him and groaned, "I didn't want to be saved. You know why you came there, don't act as if everything you did was for me." I spat out before talking the three little steps down into the stairs. I headed toward the fireplace, giving myself some warmth while Leander continued to hover around me.He was confused with what I had
WARNING-the content of this book is VERY graphic and VERY dark. Do NOT read if you cannot stomach graphic violence or explicit intimacy.HYACINTH (AGE 15)"Daddy!" I sputtered and coughed in the upstairs hallway, lungs already dangerously full of smoke.The fire crackled all around us-my childhood home going up in flames.My father gripped my shoulders tightly, painfully, giving me a little shake. The eyes of his Wolf glowed with fury and hate. Not at me. But for the Alpha who had come to destroy him. The monster intent on cutting us all down and wreaking havoc...until not a person or a possession remained.My father yelled to be heard over the roar and crackling of wood around us, "Get back, Hycinth! Go to Luca at the safe house! Go now! Run!""No, Daddy!" I wailed again, tears streaming down my face. I didn't want to leave him. He was hurt. I could smell it. Blood from several deep claw and bite wounds wafted into the air. The scent of iron oxide, a byproduct of his leaking life-flu
My father had prepared an evacuation plan for me, my mother and brother, as well as his most trusted Beta and his Beta's mate, in the event our pack was compromised beyond repair. My mind whirled with his instructions, my body on autopilot.Three more steps and I reached the kitchen, located at the back of the house, positioned right over the cement bunker. I threw open the back door to make it appear as if I'd run out that way, and then I flew into the large walk-in pantry, closing the door behind me.Diving to the floor, my fingernails scraped along the wood, feeling for the security latch.It clicked open!Lifting the lid just enough to shimmy my body through, I agilely dropped the remaining eight feet to the floor below. The fall didn't hurt me. Even though I had yet to shift, I had vigorously trained my entire life. My father had insisted on it, making me surprisingly formidable for my small frame.The door settled in place above my head, and I heard the latch reengage. The avenu
LEANDER'S POV"Why?!!!" I roared out my frustration and prowled across the room like a caged animal, then back again, stopping only to hurl a bottle of hundred-year-old Scotch across the room at a bookcase. I watched the glass break, amber liquid saturating the books and yelled at the top of my lungs, "Why her?! Why couldn't it be anybody but her?!" Clearly, the Moon had it out for me, the sly bitch. Because there was no more hilarious mistake than making that female my mate!My father sat reclined in a comfortable chair, utterly unaffected by my foul mood. When he could get a word in edgewise, he asked evenly, "Are you ready to tell me why you're having a temper tantrum like a two-year-old and destroying the study?"I growled and flashed fang.Instantly, he was on his feet and in my face, a sustained growl reverberating in his chest. Even in his fifties, the man was cut with rugged bulk and muscle, hewn and cultivated over thirty years as Alpha of Adamant Moon. He was respected, and
From my father's description, the texture and scent would be different during these three days -sweet, not salty, and silky smooth, not sticky. We'd rub it in like some supernatural magical lotion and let it dry.Outside the cabin, the mated pairs would feast and dance, day and night, excitement building, looking forward to the final night when we would emerge. And when we came out, we'd literally be swarmed, the females to her and the males to me, eager to transfer our combined essence of love-making from our skin to theirs. And the more they gathered, the better chance they had of conceiving, so it usually became quite physical.When we had transferred all we could from our skin to theirs, the mated pairs would break away and copulate. Hell, most of them probably wouldn't even make it home before they coupled together. Sometimes in fur. Sometimes in skin. Or a combination of both.The scent of our sex would be so thick in the air by that point, it would drive their primal natures wi
I motioned toward one of my enforcers. "Get her down and do as I promised. Prepare her body. Find out if she has any family who wants her remains. If not, we'll include her in our mourning ceremony." Not a ceremony I was looking forward to. Many of our wolves also perished in the battle. I hated losing any Wolf, but the events of today needed to happen.I waited until they removed her body from the room. And then focused on the remaining two men. The taller one had dirty blonde hair and glared at me in the same fashion as the female had. But he didn't have that rare special spark of loyalty she had. Still, he would be the more difficult one between the two to break.Getting right in his face, I made sure he paid attention and fully understood my words. "I'll give you one chance-and one chance only-to tell me what I want to know. How can I find her? Where would she go? She couldn't have just disappeared. I have wolves combing through the woods, and there's no trace of her. Surely, a ju
**Three Years Later**Hycinth (age 18)"Lucky..." I groaned, sounding a bit too close to a whine for my preference. I cleared my throat and began again, edging my voice with firmness, "Luca Diamonte, you need to pull yourself together. We have clients in less than an hour." A muffled voice came from behind the bathroom door, "Patience, Cinn."Growling under my breath, I turned on my heel and paced into our small kitchen. Coffee was clearly necessary today. I placed the single-use pod inside the Keurig and settled my favorite mug-white with black polka dots and a startling orange and red chrysanthemum flower- on the little stand. I set the machine to brew. Two minutes later, my coffee was ready, and Lucky wandered into the kitchen. I gathered the mug and climbed onto a tall stool next to the granite island.Dressed in his usual attire of dark jeans and a T-shirt, he smelled fresh and clean. The scent of his shower gel hit my nose, spicy and aromatic. I breathed in the familiar smell, m
Careful attention was required today. Both tattoos we were working on today were complex with a lot of intricate shading. Complete focus was required for the quality of work we'd become known for.It was the reason we were able to afford our tattoo shop and the loft we lived in above it. After doing a sleeve and chest work for the President of the Grimm Motorcycle Club a year ago, word had spread quickly, and bikers from several states made appointments for custom artwork.I'd always loved to draw. My first job after we'd fled was with a local tattoo parlor. With an ID in hand that said I was eighteen, I certainly hadn't looked it, not with the fresh face and innocence of my true fifteen-year-old self at the time. The owner had been suspicious, but after some trial sketches, he liked my work enough to hire me anyway. I smiled at the irony-I wasn't legally old enough to get a tattoo, but there I was, madly writing in permanent ink on the flesh of every type of client under the sun.Of
"Welcome home." Leander announced while stepping inside with me. He seemed a lot more happier than the last time I had seen him. Was it me? Was this what he wanted?"This is not my home." I cleared my throat without looking anywhere. It was all too much to take in."It is your home, Hycinth." He took a few steps toward me while I stood stiff on the main hall. "This is where you're going to live. It's yours." He continued, his smile only growing wider."This will never be mine, do you recall the one you destroyed when I was still young?."His lips lined straight, "I just saved you, be thankful." He taunted, reminding me of the hero he had become.I rolled my eyes at him and groaned, "I didn't want to be saved. You know why you came there, don't act as if everything you did was for me." I spat out before talking the three little steps down into the stairs. I headed toward the fireplace, giving myself some warmth while Leander continued to hover around me.He was confused with what I had
"It's called infatuation-" | swallowed hard and forbade myself from flinching as his finger reached underneath, into my throbbing opening. My senses reeled, driving me away from all of the reality. I was entirely in a different world. My body grew warm and my mind blurred at his single touch.One touch.Only one and I was gone."Meh. I think you're still fucking craving me or your pussy wouldn't have been gushing with the conversation we had." He strained my head back, forbidding me not to move an inch while his large, experienced fingers played with me. "Does it make you horny when I get possessive about you? Is that what this all was about?"As much as I tried to control myself, I couldn't. I was a mess-a dripping mess. "No." I choked out before slamming my lips shut and forcing any sounds of pleasure back down my throat.I couldn't let this happen, I couldn't let Leander feel that I still wanted him. Neither of us were ever going to move on."I'm just wet with thinking about the ot
"It's been over an year. You should've moved on by now rather than waiting for something that's not meant to happen, to happen." I said, mocking him while my voice was full of taunt. I wasn't holding, I didn't intend onto.Not after he had forced me on the jet.My teeth grazed against each other and I took a quick, deep inhale while turning my face away from Leander who was unbothered with any of my comments.His eyes were glued on the phone, his thumb running across the screen while he tried to kill time.It was going to be hours before we would land.I wasn't here alone. There were a couple of cabin attendant's and the pilot's sitting up at front while the cabin I remained in was locked from the inside, it's keycard hanging inside Leander's pants.I couldn't run.Not at all."I still have no idea what you're talking about." Leander murmured, his eyes never leaving the screen of his phone. It was intended, he didn't want to face me but at the same time, he didn't want to drive me cra
We walked back from the forest to the warehouse where I was being kept. Cade's body was discarded in the side, near a hundred-year-old tree where he could be found by his men. It would be chaotic for the pack to deal with their Alpha's death but something good would come out from it all."So," I stopped Leander just near his jet that was going to take him back to his town. The silent ten-minute walk allowed me to think about what I wanted. "I don't want to go back. I'm doing fine here and with Cade dead, I don't see any problem anymore with staying here. This is now my chance to fully look for Sydney." I began, breaking my silence and speaking with Leander.We stood in front of each other, our eyes levelled. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He snapped as soon as I finished talking.My mouth dropped in surprise. "What?""You're going to get inside and you're coming with me, regardless of everything. You can get all confident and courageous once we land but if you don't get on the plane, I
Rage flashed in his eyes before he began unbuttoning the buttons of his shirt one by one. I stood near to him, startled. What was he doing? Why was he removing his clothes? Once the shirt came off, I turned my eyes to the corner, fixating them over a tree and hoped for the rushing feelings collecting my stomach to disappear. It couldn't happen now. My wolf was jumping in joy within me, preparing herself for a midnight sex while my mind was jumbled up.Leander's hand reached lower to his pants where he unzipped them and removed it. He left nothing on his body, not even his underwear. I swallowed the lump in my throat while continuing to keep my eyes up and away from his naked, bare body standing in front of me."Wh-what are you doing?" I asked, confused.The shadows of the night danced over his bare flesh, uncovering, and flaunting all the muscles he had built up over the years.He picked up the clothes from the ground, folded them and stretched his arm toward me. I hesitated for a sec
Leander didn't probably hear me when I spoke that I wanted to finish Cade because he went on with walking while speaking on his phone. I did walk with him too but I couldn't tear my thoughts away from Cade and his words from earlier where he had wished to assault me if Leander wasn't my mate. I felt disgusted to my core. He was with Dagger but Leander let him free and didn't kill him. He survived that time but now I had my eyes on him.The moon hung heavy in the night sky, casting its light all over the city. Utter, complete silence surrounded us. There was no one around us, not any cars passing by or strangers. The warehouse was miles away from the main city which I supposed would be the reason to why Cade had bought me here.So, I couldn't scream or run..."What did you tell me earlier?", As soon as he stopped speaking on his phone, he turned to me.I stared at him for some good time with out replying.I wanted to tell him again about finishing Cade. I wanted to tell him what my int
HYCINTH’S "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was doing perfectly fine until Cade set his eyes on me. I'm really sorry for the trouble." I said, walking alongside with Leander and taking steps farther away from the warehouse. My wrists continued to ache along with the rest of my body. There was a stiffness that I needed to get rid of."It's completely fine." Leander replied. The silence and the quietness gloomed in his voice. We barely uttered any words to each other ever since he untied me from the warehouse.I glanced over at him once more, remembering the face before my eyes diverted back to the ground.I didn't know what to feel. I was certainly shocked and consumed by the idea of Leander, my mate, being present beside me after a long year of nothing. We made no contact, not a single word or a call to one and other.When I stepped out of the warehouse, I quickly recognized the location-the outskirts of the city where no one ever came. There was a dock nearby. The smell of ship
HYCINTH'S MEMORIES"Oh!" I sucked in a startled breath as I found myself straddling his lap on the wide seat, my hands pressed flat against his bare chest for support.Skin against skin.Tingles ran from my fingertips straight to my core, making me squirm.He groaned in appreciation and tightened his hold, one large hand gripping my hip, the other wrapped around the nape of my neck. Swirling violet and cerulean orbs stared up at me. Deep. Darkening.Under his intense stare and scrutiny, I felt incredibly alive.I was entranced, caught in the raw intensity of his gaze. The invisible force that drew us together tugged at my defenses, threatening to break down my walls and demolish my resistance. It was kinetic. Glorious and warm. It flexed, pulling us closer, refusing to be denied. A pulse of truth rippled through our connection -this beautiful male belonged to me. He was mine.For this moment, I was okay with that. I welcomed it. I embraced it. I didn't want to think about tomorrow-whe
HYCINTH’S POV Leander My mate.It wasn't hard to forget your mate, especially when there were cruel memories attached with them. I had seen it all with him, the good times, and the terrible times. There was nothing else I needed to see.He was a man, of my past.I let my head fall back on the ground as the men began leaving the shady warehouse. Cade simply grinned at me before departing. My pleads became useless, inaudible as soon as he recalled that he can't kill me because Leander will come for him.Shuffling with the restraints, I groaned and kicked my feet out of frustration. I still had enough time to run away before anyone could get here and find me but the only problem I had was setting myself free.Memories of Leander snapped into me like a whip, forcing me to face my past once more and open my eyes wide to see the reality. His face flashed through my head, I closed my eyes and breathed. It had been a long time since I had seen him, since I had spoken to him and since I had