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Chapter 14
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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Maddie!" Rhys' voice echoed in the woods. "Dammit Xander, this is your fault. You couldn't just be a proper mate?"
We loped toward the rustling in the brush. Eclipse kept a steady pace, our strides eating up the distance."Madison, where are you?" Xander sounded panicked. That made two of us.All I could see in my head was Dylan's leering face and Vic's glare. If Eclipse hadn't burst from me and into the change, we would be choking down laced food and going into heat.Eclipse chuffed, slowing as we approached. Xander's cinnamon and wood smoke scent and Rhys' chocolate washed over us. Home. We were home. And in one piece.Eclipse was panting, sides heaving as we struggled to pull in breath.'Just a few more feet.' I tried to encourage my wolf, but she stopped. We were done. We couldn't go on any further.'Xander! Rhys!' I called out as loud as I could in my mind. Eclipse collapseRelated chapters
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 15
Someone had dressed me when I changed back, apparently, and the clothes were kind of uncomfortable. I took a few moments to change into my sleeping clothes, a thin cotton shirt and a pair of shorts, before returning to the bed. Part of me didn't want to think about dress shopping. I just wanted to sleep. I settled next to Heather, and dozed off.Heather was an awful bed mate. She curled up around me and snored in my ear all night. Not to mention the knees and elbows. The bed was big enough for twelve, comfortably. Why the hell was she on top of me?! I fought to breathe around the cloud of dark hair that threatened to choke me. This was not okay. Flipping wolves and their need to puppy-pile. I shifted toward the edge of the bed, trying to escape Heather. But she snatched me and wrapped herself tighter around me. It was becoming uncomfortable. My door slammed open again and I jerked upright. Heather groaned, fin
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Claiming me? It brought me up short. Did I really want to be claimed? I throbbed in time with my heartbeat. His mouth set me on fire and I knew I needed more. More than just his mouth on me. Claiming me felt intimate. It felt like the next step in a relationship we hadn't cultivated yet. But the need to experience something more overrode my common sense. He pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss and all my thoughts fled. His heated kisses seared through me. I was on my back again. He hovered over me, still fully dressed. He needed to be as naked as I was. I had a sudden longing to see all that flesh bared before me. I tugged at the hem of his shirt and he huffed out a laugh. "Need some help?" My mouth went dry as he whipped his shirt off. He was ripped. Being a wolf must be a hell of an exercise regime. I didn't have much to compare him to, but the muscles of his clenching stomach mesmerized me.
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"You needy witch!" Heather was entirely too loud and I glared at her over the plate of eggs in front of me. "Shut up!" I glanced around the room. There were a sea of faces I couldn't put names to. But they were all clumped together, and away from me. I had woken up that morning to an empty bed. Nothing like mating and then taking off. Flipping men. "I can smell him all over you. It's a beautiful thing. Did you bond?" She was too excited. My glare intensified. I said nothing, just shoved more eggs in my mouth. I didn't want to talk about it. Even think about it really. The fact that he had bonded me and ran off really pissed me off. "You did!" She crowed loudly and the conversations around us died down. Dammit. "Shut the hell up, Heather." I hissed. She wasn't getting the memo. I kicked her under the table and she grimaced. "Did he suck? Why are you being pissy?!" "
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I tried to fill my head with anything but Rhys and Xander and the shitshow that was my life. I really did. But it was impossible. Especially when I was looking at all these dresses. Snow white and fluffy. Didn't they have anything in black? I felt like I should be in mourning. "What about this one?" Heather held out a taffeta monstrosity that made me shudder. Nope. No thank you. I would look like a demonic cupcake. The bridal shop was in the middle of downtown, ringed by cafes and boutiques. It was also very much not my style. I preferred simple elegance. Comfort."Is there anywhere else?" My voice was dull. I had traipsed this shop for the last hour, and I was no closer to finding anything acceptable. I mean, I could just throw one on. Not like I was overly enthused about marrying Xander, even if we were mate-bonded. But since I was only going to do this once, I wanted to at least feel pretty.
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My room at the pack house was blessedly cool and quiet. Heather had chattered all the way back to Wild Hearth lands, and while I was grateful for her, I also needed time to process my thoughts. Like, how was I supposed to forget that stolen kiss? Or look Xander in the eye knowing his Beta stole a kiss from me? Or get married when my heart was torn between two men? I was screwed. So screwed. And it wasn't fair. I hadn't asked to be the true mate to my Husband, or asked to be so drawn to Rhys. And it didn't make sense. Why was I still drawn to Rhys? The mate-bond, from what I understood, should have cut off that need. For both of us. I groaned, burying my face in my pillow. I needed to forget, Heather was right. Agonizing over this was doing no one any good. I needed to close that door with Rhys and concentrate on Xander. Xander, who had mate-bonded me, and then left. While I was asleep in his bed. Who did that
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"You can't keep avoiding this." Rhys followed me as I tried to escape him. I continued through the front door. "And you can't keep doing this, Rhys!" I hopped down the steps into the yard. "I'm so flipping tired of all this!" I turned, flinging a hand out. "All what?" Xander's silky voice slid over my already raw nerves. Not him too! My mate-bond thrummed in my chest, but I ignored the pull. I was angry. At him. At Rhys. At the entire flipping world. Sure, I had problems. I didn't want to be a Bride. I didn't want a mate, and then to feel pulled to his Beta. I wanted…hell I didn't even know what I wanted. The freedom to love who I chose? To choose who I loved? I stood there, a cool breeze tickling across my skin, and I had a moment of clarity. I didn't love Xander. Not in a little over a week. I didn't love Rhys, but I was closer to it. But, I wanted to. I wanted to love Xander,
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"You did what?!" Rhys' face was comical as he stared at me with one really wide eye and one swollen shut. The bruising to his face was extensive, and the red around his nostrils led me to believe his nose had been busted, possibly broken. Xander didn't look much better, and he winced every time he moved. Apparently their 'little talk' had involved much more body language than words. They had beat the hell out of each other. But they seemed lighter as they crowded the furniture in my room. Good. I needed them to work out their own bullshit. "I bought a dress." I kept my words slow. A muscle in his jaw twitched. "From a Fae woman with a lock of my hair." "And Heather let you?" "I'm a grown woman. It was my hair. What was your sister supposed to do?" "Stop you! The Fae aren't very trustworthy." "Did she happen to mention what she would be doing with it?" Xander leaned forward, winci
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 22
"So what is it we are supposed to be doing?" I glanced at Heather as she paced alongside a van. Apparently collecting my parents was a matter of immediate importance. Heather smiled grimly. "We are supposed to wait right here for Xander and Rhys." She glanced at me curiously. "So, someone spilled some tea earlier." "Oh. That's too bad?" I wasn't sure why someone having to clean up their spilled tea was much of my concern, but if she wanted to talk about it–"There's some hot gossip. Don't you know slang?" "Well yeah, but spilling tea sounds weird." "Anyway, I may have overheard a bet being placed." It was official, I was going to murder that she-wolf from the dining room. "About how long a polyamorous relationship might last within a wolf pack." "Polyamorous?" Seriously, was she just making up words now?"Maddie! Are you and Xander and Rhys all together?!" She huffed out,
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Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 55
"What?!" I gripped my coffee cup tighter in my fingers. Etna swatted the back of my head. "Quit moving or I'll never get this mass of hair done in time." "Mabon escaped. No one has been able to find Heather. Robin and that Beta of his took off after him before the trail went cold." Lilith leaned back in her chair. My mother sat next to her, her eyes shining suspiciously. "I can't believe my baby is getting married." I blushed. I couldn't believe it either. For nearly four years, I had been a Moon Bride. So much had happened. I got my parents back from an evil Vampyr queen. I lost my new best friend to a stolen heart. I became a werewolf, found not one but two mates, had a daughter, and killed an evil fae queen. Apparently my parents had been at the Battle of Godmother's Justice as the Unseelie were calling it. They had been using my father's little scraps of magic to transport the legions of imps from Daemon territory directly into the Unseelie Palace. Apparently Maeve had atta
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I floated on a sea of blackness. If this was death, sign me up! It was the most relaxed I'd been in, well, years I suppose. The world around me shifted. It was a subtle shift. I slowly became more aware of my surroundings. Silver topped sand dunes glowed in the distance. I was sitting on a rug in the middle of a desert. The moon hung low in the sky, big and bright and shining. I wasn't sure how I had gotten here, but I wasn't panicked. A sense of peace and rightness washed over me. "Welcome back to Zolon, Madison Timms." I glanced up lazily. The woman in front of me was silver layered on even more silver. Her silvery white hair hung in waves, mingling with her silver gossamer dress. Her skin was so pale that it was a translucent porcelain, and her eyes a silvery gray rimmed in darkness. She was beauty and grace personified. I'm sure if the lethargy that weighted my limbs was gone, I might've jumped to my feet to show my respect. But I couldn't really pull myself together enough t
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The howl was loud enough to echo off the high ceilings. It came directly from the wolf pacing angrily in the back of my mind. Had I lost track of time? Was it so close to the full moon? 'We should rip them apart, human. They have our pup!' Eclipse growled angrily in the dark corner of my mind she typically went to. After she had faded away, only the three days of the full moon allowed her to talk to me. This needed to be dealt with immediately. I couldn't wolf out as a prisoner! I might hurt someone that didn't deserve it.I jerked back to myself, trying to ignore the slavering wolf in my head. Eclipse was ready to spill blood. The howl seemed to echo on, which should have been impossible, when I realized that it wasn't my howl. The echo from that had faded. I blinked, glancing at Robin sharply. He shook his head and spread his hands. I turned, my jaw dropping as I glimpsed Linnea. My daughter was stiff in the arms of her guard, back bowed, mouth opened wide as her howl split what
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Ella finished her tidying and bustled out. It was a power move. A flex, really. Letting me see that my friend, while tired and underfed, was alive. Would we get a chance to see Heather?My hair was in my face, the dark strands sticking to my wet cheeks. I lifted my hand, my fingertips pressing into the flesh under my eyes. I was crying. I didn't even realize it. I must be hormonal. Thankfully, when a wolf was mated, the heat was only in the vicinity of her mates. Not saying I didn't feel the press of it, but it wasn't overwhelming. I needed to get my hair out of my face. Having it cling to me itched at me, it was overwhelming. Thankfully, I had slid my special chopsticks into my sleeve rather than leave them in my case. I tugged them out, swirling my hair on top of my head and jabbing the sticks in savagely. "What are those?" I smirked at Robin. He wouldn't have been aware, but I had Little John assist me with a side project at his pack house. "My game plan." "What do you mean
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Robin whistled under his breath as he unfolded himself from his tiny sports car. Little John looked like he was crawling out of a clown car as he slid from the passenger side. It was enough to make me giggle. "If I had known we would be rubbing elbows with real royalty, I would've dressed up.""I guess the Prince part of Aeryck's name escaped you." I crossed my arms and leaned back into Rhys' heat. I expected our morning after repairing our mate bond to be awkward. But it wasn't. My guys had woken me with gentle kisses and lovemaking. Promises of autonomy and professions of love. I was so here for it. A day and a half later, we were now standing outside Aeryck's palace. "It didn't escape me, Godmother, I just didn't care to remember." Boy, Heather was going to have to take this prick to task. Too self-assured. He needed to be knocked down a peg. "Thank the Goddess you've arrived." I glanced as Aeryck shuffled down the stairs, nonplussed. Usually, Royals greeted their guests in t
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My body burned as two sets of eyes drank me in. They had given me their oaths. They swore to allow me my own choices. To let me live my life as I chose. My thighs clenched as heat flooded through me. I wanted–no, needed—them. Both of them.My shoulder twinged as I reached up for Xander. The pain cleared my head enough to make me aware of the pressing need that flooded my body. Heat. I was in heat. Dammit. I sure as hell wasn't about to stop this. I wasn't sure I could even if I truly wanted to. But I had been so long without the touch of my mates. I needed to heal our bond. To undo the rejection. Xander groaned, leaning into me. His lips whispered across mine, leaving a trail of fire. The kisses turned insistent, and Rhys let out a soft sigh at my feet. I reached out a hand to him, and he clasped my fingers. I needed them both. "I can smell you." Rhys ground out, before heat washed across my lower belly. I peered around Xander to see Rhys' face buried against my pelvis, breathing
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"So, if I'm a true mate to someone this Mabon has enchanted, then why would he send someone after you, and not me? Kill me, and there's no more threat to his enchantment." Robin leaned back in his chair, turning his mismatched eyes on us. We were called in for an audience with the Sure Wood Alpha when I had been patched up. My shoulder throbbed in time with my heartbeat, and I was exhausted. I had lost a good amount of blood, and silver wounds took time to heal up properly. "Because I made an enemy of him three years ago, when I alerted the Seelie King to the betrayal happening right under his nose, and to his then fiancee." I shrugged, wincing as the wound tugged. That was going to be different. I hadn't healed human slow in so long I forgot what it was like. "And you are one of these Fae Godmothers?" Robin gave me a sardonic smile. I understood the sarcastic confusion. Having the Accords thrust on you, finding out the law that governed our world was living, wild magic…that could
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There are very few things in my world that are deadly to Supes, aside from other Supes. Mostly they just keep on living their best lives while the human population dies of a great many things. But for Weres, it was silver. Apparently the DNA structure included a very real, very deadly allergy to silver. Which is why the knife currently protruding out of my shoulder was a touch worrisome. 'Don't pull it out, Maddie.' I heard my father's voice as I slumped against the doorframe. It was from one of the many lessons we had in the yard of the farm. Honestly, I was so naive. How had I not known they were soldiers? Pulling out a blade or any object that has embedded itself in the body would apparently damage you even more. Not like I was going to get a chance to really find out. Pretty sure the silver intolerance would take me out first. Blood seeped down my shoulder and dripped from my fingertips onto the clean floor. Whoever mopped was going to be a tad upset. My mind skipped around an
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I heard the growls before I smelled them. Shitballs. We didn't need an incident right this second. My eyes were locked on Little John's, and he seemed just as loath to look away. The growls grew louder, and then I heard my mates burst through the clearing at my back. Well, half-rejected mates. Jeez, this was too complicated. A head rested on my shoulder, and I sighed. "Friends of yours, lass?" "Unfortunately." I shook off the furry head, turning to glare at Xander and Rhys. They were in their wolf form, shaggy and magnificent. Which kept complicating things because my heart ached for them, so I could be complete. But they really pissed me off sometimes. But we needed to find Heather and break the curse on her, so Robin was our best bet. Which meant playing nice with the Sure Wood pack. My belly fluttered. John was a tall drink of water, that was for sure. I was doomed if we hung out here any longer. "We are here to see your Alpha. On official Godmother business." "Ooh, fancy
