"Motherfuckers!" I cursed furiously.My Wolf howled his rage, ears laid back flat, his paws pounding the ground. He itched to get out but I held him back.I hated every moment but let the images play out. I needed to see for myself what happened.Before the second male could finish, Dagger jerked him away.Stumbling back, the Wolf muttered, "Hey man! What the fuck?"Hycinth hung limp and unmoving, her body swaying from the restraints."We're out of time," Dagger hissed. He turned toward the stairs. "Get her down and bring her upstairs. Sydney will be here in a few minutes."I shook my head, clearing my mind. That was enough for now. Hycinth's memories correlated that I had the correct two wolves who had violated my mate in the worst manner possible.And now they were going to pay....Lifting my head, I made eye contact with Ever. My thoughts filtered to him, "Lube."He nodded, leaned down to the bag at his feet and extracted a bottle of lubricant. He tossed it to me.I snatched it fro
Leander"How many?" I snarled.There was a beat of silence. And then Ryan responded, his response colored with confusion, "So far... only three."Three? Hardly a task force of substance. What were they up to now?"Are you sure?" I demanded. And then added, "Can you identify their rank?""Yeah," he replied shortly, his voice constricted with tension."Their Alpha, the Beta and the Delta."Nightshade's three highest ranking wolves?I spun my head around to strategically assess the current situation in the room. We held the upper hand. All of the enemy wolves were restrained in silver zipties. But who knew how long that would last now that new wolves were in play? I needed to thin the herd-remove the potential for these wolves to reengage in the fight against us. "Eliminate the Nightshade wolves now!" I ordered.There was no hesitation. Instantly, razor-sharp claws elongated and every throat was ripped out. Blood poured onto the dingy carpet.I strode toward the door. "Ever. Oliver. Foll
LEANDER'S POVTwo days had passed since we returned to the cottage, the den where Hycinth and I had mated, and conceived the tiny pup in her belly. And during that time, Hycinth had shown physical signs of improvement. Harsh purplish, crimson and black welts all over her body had turned to soft shades of green and yellow. The swelling in both eyes had reduced. And the fractures Grace found in Hycinth's lower spine, no doubt caused by a kick from one of those bastards considering the massive boot shaped bruise on her skin, had knitted back together.But Hycinth remained unconscious. And there was no movement from the vulnerable pup or sign from her Wolf.My heart clenched in my chest as I stared at her sleeping form. She looked so frail and weak. Restless, her little brows wrinkled and pinched tight. Sporadic breaths caused her chest to catch, lost to the torment inside her head. Lifting on my elbow next to her, I pressed my lips to her cheek and caressed her arm with my fingertips. "S
"They won't stay long, son," my father soothed. The irises of his Wolf shown in his eyes, the beast directing communicating comfort to mine. There was also a promise of violent protection behind his fierce stare. No question of loyalty in his rigid stance. At any cost, the beast would stand by his son to protect what was ours.His words helped. My Wolf still didn't like the presence of so many males, but he trusted our father Wolf. His anxiety eased a little."We know you don't want to be gone for long," Ever explained quietly as I crossed to the far side of the deck where they stood, "so we wanted to cover as many topics as possible to avoid multiple absences from your mate."I understood they needed to talk but first I needed an explanation from Grace. I turned to her and spoke through gritted teeth, "Now tell me what is going on. What couldn't you say in front of Hycinth?""Leander, you already know Hycinth should have woken up by now," Grace began, her voice low.She spoke the obv
"Are we done here?" I asked, impatient to get back to Hycinth."Wait. There is another thing.." Ever hesitated."What now?" A muscle in my jaw twitched.Asher came to stand beside him.Ever's voice deepened, "It's the...pack. I get why you didn't tell them the reasons Hycinth left, but she's back now, and they still don't know what's going on. Anxiety...is running high."I turned on them, a growl ripping from my throat, "No, I didn't share all the intimate details of my personal devastation with the pack. I'm their fucking Alpha. I don't owe them sorid details. All they needed to know was that Hycinth was gone and now she's back." It hadn't occurred to me that I might get pushback from the pack. Maybe I should have.But worse, I never anticipated Ever and Asher to stand against me the way they were now. "If either of you have shit to say about the matter of Hycinth returning, don't fucking hide it. Let's get this out right here and now."Pain washed over Ever's expression. His voice w
CareLEANDER'S POVCrossing the wooden deck in long strides, I quickly reached the door with Luca right on my heels."Wait," Grace interjected softly from her position next to the entrance. "Leander, it's important that we start Hycinth's treatment as quickly as possible, and you may not want another male on hand." Her eyes flickered to Luca for a brief second before returning to me.Luca's face fell. He immediately stepped back, his shoulders hunching. "Of course. I can wait to see her another time.""It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes," Grace reassured him.Luca's stricken expression shifted back to hopefulness. He waited for my response."As long as Hycinth remains stable through the process, I see no reason to delay your visit any longer." In my heart, I was hoping Luca's presence might make a difference. As long as my Wolf remained calm, I wanted him to see her as soon as possible. "Wait here. I'll let you know when she's ready.""Yes...of course," Luca agreed, sinking do
"This formula has a high nutrient and electrolyte content." Grace held up a bag of creamy, light-caramel colored substance for me to see. "It will deliver the nourishment Hycinth's body needs to maintain her own health and that of the young pup.""Okay," I murmured."Before and after feeding, we need to flush the line." Grace attached a small vial of clear liquid to the tubing and pressed down on the plunger.My Wolf's and my attention was riveted to Grace's every move as she then unscrewed the empty vial and deftly attached the bag of nutrition. We memorized the procedure so that we could re-create it when the time came.Grace hooked the bag to Hycinth's IV pole. She pointed to a small plastic piece on the tubing. "The nutrition is being fed via gravity but the flow rate is controlled by this clamp. It has six adjustable positions.""How frequently do I feed her?" I asked."We'll go slowly to start. We don't want to overload her currently empty gastric system," Grace responded. "Thin
LeanderGrace gently moved the sheet and light blanket, recovering Hycinth's lower body. With a quick glance at the pump that was pushing much needed nutrition into Hycinth's frail body, her careful brown eyes assessed the steadily dripping feeding tube for a moment. Satisfied with the performance of the medical apparatus, Grace turned back to me. "That's it for now.""Okay." I hadn't forgotten about Luca waiting outside. Once again, I took a minute to focus on my Wolf's emotional stability. The last thing I needed was for him to erupt in a protective violent outburst at the presence of another male this close to our mate.He felt my inquiry into his mind. All was calm, his thoughts somber as he replied, "Bring him in."I exhaled in relief but was also surprised to hear a small amount of hope in his thoughts. Not only was the animal in control of his baser reflexes, but he was ready to try anything, including bringing in a non-blood-related male if it meant there was any chance Hycint
"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