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Chapter 24
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2024-10-29 19:42:56No one told me that the shift back to human was nearly as painful as the shift to wolf. Condensing back into my human flesh set my nerve endings on fire. My senses blunted, still sharper than a typical human's but not nearly as sharp in my canine form.
I lay in the back of the van, the gentle rock of the moving vehicle calming me as I gasped in pain. Well in the echo of pain. The actual agony was only a flash."You'll eventually get used to it." Heather's voice was soft. Rhys had joined Xander in the front of the van and they were discussing the logistics of visiting a Vampyr colony."I hope so." I rolled to my side, groaning. I had been naked more in the past few days with some form of audience than I had in my entire life.Well that's not entirely accurate. Doctor Smith had been more acquainted with my intimate anatomy than any one person really had a right to be. Over something that didn't even last to my wedding night.Related chapters
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 25
I woke up a few hours later, my room bright with sunlight. I was warm. Almost too warm. I blinked away the sleep from my eyes. Why was I so warm? I registered the band across my stomach moments before I realized it was an arm. An arm connected to a very sleep-tousled Rhys who was watching me with hooded eyes. I felt the blush spread across my cheeks. I had slept with Xander, but hadn't woken up the next morning with him in the bed. This was a new kind of intimacy. "I don't expect–" Rhys started, but my lips on his cut him off. Kissing him was so different to kissing Xander. His kisses were more demanding. Rhys took from me. Drank me in. Ignited my blood. And I was so here for it. He rolled on top of me, hovering above me, his weight resting on his forearms. I wound my arms around his neck, pulling him to me. I wanted to feel him press me into the mattress. We broke apart, breathing heavy. "This
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 26
I stood in the shower, my forehead pressed against the slick wall. I always did my best thinking surrounded by hot steam. I love you. Those three words should have sent a thrill through me. He loved me. He wanted me. But here I was, where I had fled so I didn't have to look him in the eye. It's not that I didn't care for Rhys and Xander, and they both proved that I could rely on them. I needed them. But I wasn't at the declaration stage. It was too soon. Two weeks was not enough time to fall in love. In lust? Most definitely. Starting to build a base to form a true, lasting relationship from? Check. But love? Not yet. I didn't want to break his heart by not returning the sentiment immediately. But I could feel the shift in the atmosphere when the words didn't fall from my lips in return. I could see myself loving Rhys and Xander. I couldn't imagine a future where they weren't my guys. But love was such a stro
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 27
I curled up against the car door, starting out into the passing landscape. Before the fall, humans would have traveled using airplanes. But with the world being divided up into different race territories, it was impossible to get permits for airspace. So instead, the common mode of travel was car and boat. Thankfully we wouldn't need to cross an ocean. The Dragul colony held territory in the northwest. So just a couple days of travel through the Fae and Daemon territory. Once upon a time, where we were was called the United States. After the fall, the supernatural races split the world. It was different for every major land mass. Weres chose the east coast and southern areas. While wolves were furry, they still withstood the wicked humidity better than other species. Apparently the Appalachias were close to the wolves hearts, a lot of them descendants of the marginalized indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 28
The Sidhe palace was an imposing structure of trees blended into stone with glittering quartz crystal on the spires that reached into the late afternoon sky. It stole my breath, as I stared up. How many people lived within its walls? My ass and legs hurt. I was so ready to get out of the vehicle and stretch my legs. It had been a while since our last pit stop, and my bladder was crying desperately. The atmosphere in the car was tense. I could see it in the line of Xander's shoulders and the way Rhys' jaw twitched as he ground his teeth. Even Heather was sullen, and she was just about the sunniest person I'd ever met. I missed having Eclipse in my mind. Xander told me that around the full moon I would be able to talk to her again, as the wolf would be in control. I couldn't wait to hear her snarky observations. I understood the reason for the mood shift. Aside from the fae dress maker, I didn't have much dealing with their k
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 29
"You did what?!" Rhys thundered as he loomed over his sister. "That's enough!" I snatched Rhys' arm, turning him to me. "She's okay as long as we keep an eye on her." "Right, because the fae will just forget a deal he's made." "The deal was for my virginity! He was paid!" Heather threw herself on the bed, groaning. "I was stupid. And I thought he would be at the Unseelie Court. He splits his time between the Seelie and Unseelie.""How do you know this?" Rhys whirled to his sister."I thought it best to learn more about the fae prick who said he would steal my heart." She crossed her arms defensively. "If I had known, I wouldn't have come.""Not only do we need to keep an eye on Maddie because she tends to be a little outspoken and the fae are master wordsmiths. Now, I have to make sure my kid sister doesn't get her heart stolen either physically or metaphorically. Where did our parents go wrong?!"
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 30
I stared down at Heather, my heart pounding in my throat. I couldn't move. I didn't know what to do. I was frozen, my limbs refusing to work as chaos erupted around me. Rhys was yelling for a healer, Ella had her hand over her mouth, features painted with horror. Prince Aeryck was screaming for his guards. And Xander was on the floor, cradling Heather to his chest. "She's breathing." Relief flooded me. Not a literal stolen heart then. "Her pulse is thready though." Several guards burst through the door, followed closely by a small brown man with gigantic eyes. He hustled to Heather."What happened? We all felt the burst of magic." "Mabon stole her heart." Prince Aeryck's voice was deadly. "I need a messenger. Queen Maeve has declared war on the Seelie Kingdom." "Unseelie witch!" Rhys joined Xander on the floor, his hand grasping Heather's tightly. "Who isn't he Queen of Air and Da
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 31
The air in the car was tense, as Rhys stewed in the back seat. We were headed to Daemon territory next. It had been nearly impossible to tear Rhys from Heather, but we couldn't do anything for her at the moment. There was a larger game afoot, and I knew it would work out. It didn't make it any harder for an older brother to leave his baby sister in a magically-induced sleep with the hope that Mabon would be found. "We will fix this." Xander gripped the wheel tight. "We will consult Lilith in Daemon territory. She will be able to give us some insight.""The daemons do not give information freely." Rhys snarled, and I turned to look at him. His honey eyes were hollow, dark circles ringing them. My heart broke a little more. "Lilith owes me a favor." Xander merged onto the highway. "One I plan on calling in." The trip to Daemon territory was only a few hours, since we were crossing the thinnest part of the Fae te
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 32
"Why are you like this?!" Rhys grabbed my shoulders and shook me the moment the four to our room shut. Xander looked equally pissy. "Why can't you back down from a challenge? Why can't you accept that there are some fights you just won't win?" I shrugged him off. "I've yet to lose." Yeah, I was being a brat, but still. "It's my choice. If Lilith can tell me anything about my parents, then it's a fight worth having." "Lilith isn't normal. She will pit you against her strongest fighter. And laugh when you're littering the arena floor in pieces." "I'm so glad you have so much faith in my capabilities." These men knew nothing of how I was raised. My father taught me how to fight. Everyday. For years. I had always been better at hand-to-hand combat, but I could work a sword with the best of them. It wasn't their fault that they underestimated me. I didn't exactly show off the skills I'd spent my life working on. I preferred to b
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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
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 54
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
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 53
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
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 49
"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
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 48
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
Moon Bride: A Reluctant Wife for the Alpha Chapter 47
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
