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Twenty-Three
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Zacharias
I was kicking myself for bringing up what would happen once we reached the wolves’ territories, but on the other hand, I was also grateful I’d had the forethought to ask what my true mate was comfortable with.
My dragon was sulking in the back of my head as I held my mate’s small figure tight against my chest, and I couldn’t say I didn’t feel the same as my inner animal. The twin sounds of even breathing told me both of the other members of my triad were out cold.
Although this wasn’t how I was imagining the night would end after Mari had requested for me to join her and Ash, I rejoiced in the chance to pass the night with her in my arms, all the same.
Her intoxicating smell of rainfall lulled me closer to dreamland as the seconds ticked by, dulling the discomfort of my aching dick until blackness consumed my awareness.
The morning came too fast, and we were setting off for our first stop before the sun had peered ov
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Zacharias My dragon and I were in hell each minute we were forced to be away from Mari’s side, but I couldn’t argue with the necessity of the situation, knowing my brethren and I’s actions could very well be responsible for saving an entire species. Not to mention, I trusted Asher to ensure no harm came to Marigold while I was gone, yet another benefit of being in a triad. My surety would only increase after our mating bond fully snapped into place, but until then, I felt confident Ash would keep our other half safe in the meantime. I allowed my brain to roam during the extensive jaunt to the female werebears’ secret hideaway and the return trip afterward. It hadn’t been difficult to keep my mind occupied, using most of the time to ponder the details of what Finn had informed me of after I’d directed any able-bodied dragons to help with the rescue mission, but the decampment of two more males from under my command did leave me
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Marigold I spent the next couple of days avoiding the real world while Rias was gone, living vicariously through the characters in my latest novel, “Rebel Rising: The Lost Alpha’s Mate.” Asher checked in with me frequently, bringing me food and taking the time to put a smile on my face before he left each morning. He’d been in and out during the daytime hours, busy helping Reese out in preparation for the impending clash between species, and I think he even mentioned something about speaking with the bear shifter about the serum he’d created for detecting the wolves or bears who were utilizing the scent blocking technology. It made me concerned about the situation back home, but I knew Asher wouldn’t leave the safety of our pack to chance. Be that as it may, I did feel like shit when it dawned on me that I hadn’t thought about checking in with Nicolai when we’d made the layover in the East. I was certain Ash had looke
Mated to the Alpha of the East Twenty-Six
Asher There was nothing sexual about the way I was curled up to Mari’s back as she rested in the cradle of Rias’s arms, the tiny bed we’d been forced to make do with ensuring we remained almost on top of one another. I wasn’t complaining about the closeness to my other half, but I was missing the luxurious bed back home in the East as we fell asleep, nonetheless. At any rate, what seemed like only minutes later, Reese’s deep baritone was invading my head, forewarning about the arrival of the bear shifters. A few minutes later, I’d barely been able to rouse the others before someone was beating on the door. Knock, knock, knock! Reese’s familiar voice sounded again, but this time, it came from the other side of the bedroom door as it rang out in a tense tone, saying, “Asher.” Groaning, I rolled out of bed, careful not to dump Mari on the ground from where she’d cuddled up to me while we slept. I was even
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Asher The reason for Rias’s reluctance was rapidly becoming clear as Mari began to freak out, halting any forward progress we’d been making as she queried, “When? I need to get to Iris. I can’t lea-” My wolf’s instinctive need to protect our mate was kicking in with the clear picture of alarm she presented as she paced back and forth on the walkway before she brusquely cut off her sentence. Rias was as baffled as I was, but he also didn’t have the added benefit of having more time observing our soulmate in her comfort zone like I had, so he didn’t know as much about her troubled home life as me, either. She’d been secretive, regardless, but the love for her sister had always shone through brilliantly any time she had spoken her name in the past. This moment was the exception, and I intercepted her frenzied marching, tugging her into my embrace before she drove herself mad. Rias followed my lead, closing in on her on the other
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Marigold Altogether, Chase’s presence just pissed me off, but the information he’d shared about my lousy mother incensed me further. He’d been a constant thorn in my side while growing up, but I hadn’t given the male a single thought since I’d left this place behind. Ramming aside any memory of him de novo, I did my best to keep from outright sprinting through the streets in the direction of my sister. While I wasn’t positive that she was in the same place, I was counting on Maya’s promise to keep my sister safe in my absence. We were managing to fly under the radar so far, most people around this part of the town knowing to mind their own business with the shady deals that occurred on the regular, but I was aware our good fortune would only last for so long. It didn’t take long for us to make it to the rundown trailer park I’d called home for years before escaping to the wolves’ territories with my father, but I pulled up sho
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Marigold Once I gathered my wits, I moved in again, checking my mother’s breathing. Another thorough glance around the small room told me that she had likely been here for a while. I sighed aloud when I zeroed my keen eyes in on the pair of scissors laying nearby, strands of light blonde hair littering the peeling linoleum and making it clear what my parental figure had been up to before she’d succumbed to the effects of the alcohol. Turning towards the sink, I scooped up a semi clean towel, determined to at least make her presentable, but my plans were foiled when I tried the tap and nothing came out. Of course, there wasn’t any water. That would be too easy. Frustrated, I covered my face with my hands, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I did my damnedest to contain the scream bubbling up from within. Wholly intent on my own misery, I didn’t notice the sounds of my mates’ arrival, but their presence was irrefutable as Asher ens
Mated to the Alpha of the East Thirty
Marigold Regardless of what Asher had advised before, I didn’t let Rias deter me from showing Maya and Iris to the last available guest rooms in the pack house after we made it back. Ash set off for the clinic with my mother in tow when we’d arrived a few minutes ago, and Rias and Jace carried in the luggage behind the girls and me. I had one foot poised on the steps, but Rias stopped me with his words, “I was planning to make something easy to eat. I can make enough for everyone if you girls are hungry.” My heart melted a little on the inside at my mate’s offer, adoring the way he was always taking care of others. He pressed a chaste kiss to my lips after Maya and Iris both voiced their need to freshen up after the journey, promising to venture from their rooms after they’d settled in some. As we strode through the hall, Jace shadowing us with the girls’ bags, Maya’s fidgety movements drew my notice, but I didn’t comment on h
Mated to the Alpha of the East Thirty-One
Zacharias I stuck close to Nicolai, not trusting him to remain in place while Maya received the information she needed, but, all the while, I couldn’t help but consider the insane pairings that had been being forged across species’ lines as of late. Ash took over for me, monitoring Nic, but I didn’t want to disturb the girls too soon, so I retreated to our room for now. I’d put off contacting Maverick and Finn earlier, seizing the opportunity to speak with Iris when it had arisen instead. She was much more forthcoming with information than her sister, and it was nice to get acquainted with the younger girl who meant the world to my mate. Iris was a breath of fresh air during all the turmoil, and my heart ached for all that her and Mari had been through. I didn’t want to pry, but I did need to know more about Mari’s past to understand how to help her. I’d seen her mother’s addiction problem firsthand for myself,
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Mated to the Alpha of the East Thank you!!
Hello wonderful readers, This is the end of 'The Luminary Quartet." Thank you so much for reading and for all the incredible comments y'all have left along the way. Please do me a huge favor and leave a review on the book's homepage (for this book and any of the other three if you haven't already!) I need twenty something different reviews for my rating to officially show, and the first is the only one I've managed to accomplish this with so far. My next book is titled 'After the Downfall," and the cover is already up on social media. I'm tweaking the blurb, but it will be up tomorrow, as well. I'm going to start uploading chapters this weekend to the website, but I will be getting it signed ASAP so it shows on the app, too. This book was intended to be a standalone, but I may reevaluate depending on how well it's recieved. It is another werewolf romance with a post-apocalyptic spin, but I do want to stress that this does not mean I will only be limiting myself to these types of
Mated to the Alpha of the East Epilogue Two
Marigold Five Years Later Glancing around the large clearing here to the north of Forest Glen, I let myself revel in how far we’d come over the last five years. Dragons, wolves, bears, and, hell, even a few humans, all coexisted in peace as they had since that final fight, interacting without any drama in the wide-open area before me. Granted, it wasn’t all smooth sailing at first, and there were still the occasional troublemakers to deal with every now and then. It wasn’t a walk in the park to push past the prejudice when it did occur, but we’d found that most of it was due to misinformation that my father and the other former elders had spread throughout the years. For that reason, I’d advocated for the annual gathering that we were all enjoying now, ensuring it was open to everyone. Initially, there was more friction on the human side of things, but Finn and Maverick had handled any issues on that front in the aftermath of all the mayhem my father had caused. I’d felt guilty
Mated to the Alpha of the East Epilogue One
Marigold I was locked in place as turmoil ruled around me, Maverick and his team of males trying their damnedest to pull a miracle out of their asses. Nicolai was unconscious, badly injured from an ambush during his rescue mission with one of my true mates, and now both pieces of my soul were bounding off into danger de novo, my sister still in the clutches of my manipulative father. How much more fucked up could my family get? Letting the terror win as I drowned in my misery, I don’t know how long I stood there before someone broke me out of my stupor, but once the haze cleared, I was searching for some way to contribute, not wanting to be the damsel in distress. Still, I was being yanked out of the street by one of the healers before I could move an inch myself, and one look up told me the reason why. The dragons who were at the root of Nic’s suffering had decided to try their hands at finishing the job. To further complicate the situation, the humans impending arrival couldn’t
Mated to the Alpha of the East Fifty
Zacharias I didn’t jump at Asher’s disruption, not surprised in the slightest. Rather, I used the opening he afforded to strike while the iron was hot, so to speak. Launching myself headfirst into the commotion, I maneuvered my arm up into the gap between Magnus’s and Iris’s bodies, using it to block the blade he still wielded as I concurrently swept his feet out from under him. The stinging ache from the knife slicing deep into the muscle of my forearm hardly registered in the heat of the moment, relief being the chief emotion in my head at averting the male’s sinister plans from coming about in his final act of desperation. Both of his fists unclenched as he tumbled to the ground with a growl, releasing Iris’s blonde tresses and the gore-splattered knife in the process. The blade clunked heavily as it dropped to the floor in front of him, and I hurried to kick it out of reach. As much as I wanted to stick around and deliver some of my own vengeance for present and past hurts, Ir
Mated to the Alpha of the East Forty-Nine
Asher One second, I was sprinting for cover as we came closer to saving Iris, my gaze pinned on a nearby building, but then Nicolai was roaring in alarm, his body crashing into me and bringing me down face first into the concrete sidewalk in front of me. The nasty collision set a chorus of bells off in my brain as my senses picked up on several things simultaneously, time seeming to slow to a crawl as anguish exploded from my head down. Heat was rapidly spreading from behind me until it became equally as unbearable as the ringing in my mind, yet I didn’t miss the agonized howl piercing the air above it all before darkness reigned, my body shutting down to protect itself. When I came too, it was by increments with pain radiating out from multiple points, but it was the ache from my face that commanded the bulk of my notice. It took me a minute to comprehend that someone else was moving my body, flipping me over so that I could see the smoke darkening the sky, and it took another on
Mated to the Alpha of the East Forty-Eight
Zacharias Finn had contacted me earlier during our flight into the Western Province. He’d let me know some of our males would be arriving throughout the day, but he’d also mentioned that he was planning to scout ahead in order to get an idea of what we were looking at. I let the others know as much before Asher and I escorted Mari up to the room, the fatigue crashing down on her all at once by the looks of it. When we returned, those that were left for the meeting had moved into the living room. Our location made no difference to me, so I took a seat in a recliner, listening as Nicolai and Asher discussed different tactics for approaching their mission to extract Iris. Mari had given us as much as she could recall of the secret route into the town earlier. It turned out to be an underground tunnel, which wasn’t surprising given all I’d discovered about the former elder of the lupine species. Moreover, I would be able to give t
Mated to the Alpha of the East Forty-Seven
Marigold My mind was a million miles away as I went through the motions of getting ready for our flight the next morning, every waking thought reminding me that I’d failed to keep Iris safe. Rias and Asher had taken care of packing any supplies we might need, so I’d only been responsible for making sure I dressed appropriately for the trek to the Western Province. More than once, my mates tried to pull me out of my own head, their delectable fragrances and compelling personalities enough to give me a fleeting reprieve from the recurring thoughts, but I was left with an abundance of free time while they ran around, tying up loose ends before we set off. Annie and Ruby joined us for breakfast, but no one was in a talkative mood with the daunting next couple of days ahead of us. Hence, it was a quiet affair before we said our goodbyes. Nevertheless, Annie hurried forward before I could follow my mates out the door a while later, stopping me in my tracks as she wrapped a heavy coat ar
Mated to the Alpha of the East Forty-Six
Zacharias Mari was practically falling asleep in her food, but I knew she would resist any attempt I made to take her up to bed, so I didn’t bother wasting the effort. We’d been holding off on strategizing while everyone devoured the food someone had thoughtfully prepared beforehand, but I could see Ruby and my mom were finishing up their meals now, both of them slipping off a few minutes later. Nicolai and Maya had drifted towards the living room, but Asher and I had remained at the kitchen island with our mate sandwiched between us while she picked at her food. There wasn’t much conversation between anyone given the somber mood surrounding us, but I wasn’t idle in the silence. I may have botched rescuing Iris before those bastards stole away with her, but I was doing my damnedest to make up for it now. As it so happened, I had males positioned in the Western Territory still, keeping an eye on what the Western Clan of dragons
Mated to the Alpha of the East Forty-Five
Zacharias My dragon roared to life within me, slashing to be set free with the impending danger heading our way, and I was already ripping my clothes off as I left Mari, racing towards the clearing so that I could take to the air. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind, there was no coincidence about the timing of the stray rogues’ and Keith’s assault, and there was nothing that was going to convince me otherwise. As I flew over the land, scanning my surroundings for any signs of intruders, my sharp eyes picked up on movement towards the north. Utilizing my shrewd senses, I zeroed in on the figures winding their way through the trees, realizing these were the rogues who were trying to infiltrate our territory after another minute of observation. I took note of their activity, making sure I didn’t miss anything. Honestly, there didn’t seem to be many of them, but I shot out a warning with the intel to Asher anyway while keeping the ma
