EMMA The nightmare felt more realistic than any ever had before. The white moon showed that I was still in Aedrul, but I was not sure where I was. Ropes dipped in wolfsbane were wrapped around my chest and torso, tying me to a tree. I tried to move, but I was tied tightly. The wolfsbane burned because I was only in my bra and panties because whoever was responsible wanted me to feel the pain. What they would not get was the reaction they wanted though. I was the wrong target for that. I had been down this road many times before. Wolfsbane was a nuisance more than anything else. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. The moonlight illuminated enough for me to make out that there was a small clearing in front of me. Beyond it was a tree line and what looked like thick woods. To my left there were dilapidated houses. It looked like nobody had lived there for many years. So, it was safe to assume that nobody was over there to help me. To my right was a mountain range. Something Pa
EMMA I woke up with a start. My breath was coming out in pants. Thank fuck. It had not been real. It did not feel like a nightmare though. It felt real. It felt like it actually happened. Was it possible that it was a vision of what was to come? Nae once explained to me what her visions felt like. She said it felt like she was really a participant. Visions always felt real because they were a real possibility of the future. She said the way she could tell it was a vision was because it left a tingling sensation in her mind, just like I felt at that moment. Fuck. I never had visions before. Was it because I was coronated and now tied to Aedrul? I really did not want to have visions, but I would take them as they came if they would help us. I did not know when the vision would come to fruition, but I knew a few key things. First, he needed my magic for something. Second, he needed Lenora as a vessel. Third, I saw where it would take place. Even if I did not know where it was, I was su
XANDER This had been the thing that Emma needed us to trust her on. Even with that foreknowledge, I could not have been prepared for this. The pain she was feeling had been enough to bring Kai and me to our knees. Seeing her suspended in the air, screaming in agony, I felt helpless. I felt useless. It was hard to wrap my head around something like this being necessary to find an enemy. Kai and I had already figured out who it most likely was. We just had to trust that there was more to this than that. Q gently pulled her down and handed her to us. Kai and I carefully laid her on the bed and laid beside her. We were both still terrified from coming into see that. The terror we just faced was unimaginable, and we were useless to help her. She looked pale and tears had streaked down her face. I brushed them away with my thumbs, but it did not make much difference. Seeing her that way would forever be burned into our memory. It was infuriating how she always did whatever was necessary
EMMA I asked everyone to give us a little bit, and I would call them back because we had something very serious to discuss. Xander was on my right, Kai was on my left, and they were waiting for me to talk. I needed to explain everything to them before the rest. I owed that to my mates. I could still feel the lingering pain and worry that they felt. I just prayed that I would not hurt them more. “I’m truly sorry for what that did to you. I swear that if there had been any other way that I would not have done what I did. When Lenora touched me last night, it felt wrong. It wasn’t cold like the shadows, but it was like a different frequency. I knew something was up with her reappearance because it didn’t make sense as to how I was able to break down the through the prison that Selene herself put up.” Kai began rubbing his thumb in circles on my stomach and Xander was rubbing my arm. My amazing mates were comforting me even after what I put them through. “The nightmare I had was actua
KAI Doll had her arms around us, and I knew that she was not thrilled with the vision that she had. Xander and I would do absolutely anything for her. Hearing that the vision ended with her death nearly destroyed both of us. What hurt even more was the pain she was in when she said she could still feel him and begged us to make her forget. I was thankful that we were able to do that. Zane linked all of our minds together so that we will all view the vision at the same time. It was good that Nae was here since visions were her specialty. We watched as Doll was tied to a tree with wolfsbane ropes. The pain was bad, but she refused to act. Seeing that she was in just her bra and panties infuriated me because nobody had a right to see her body like that except us. This was the Asry douche that had been tormenting and laying a claim to our mate. Now we had a face to the name, and we would carve that face from him as he died. Doll felt so alone without a connection to us. She wondered i
EMMA Kai placed his hands on my hips, and I leaned into him. I took a deep inhale of his scent and let it wash through me. My mates had always been my centering points. “We could tether me to someone, or multiple someone’s, actually. If I’m tethered to multiple people, he would be unable to drag me down further. You would be able to pull me out and back to you.” “I don’t like this, love,” Xander murmured. “I second that, doll,” Kai chimed in. “I third that, sweets,” Ethan continued. Phoenix was the one who disagreed with them. She always had a way about her that commanded people’s attention. “You are underestimating our Warrior. Look at everything she has accomplished so far! She can do this, and she will succeed.” Phoenix came over and wrapped me in a hug. “Babe, you have all of us, and we do believe in you,” she said, kissing my cheek. I always appreciated her confidence in me. Papa, Macario, Leonidas, and Q were mind-linking, and while that annoyed me, I just let them have t
EMMA I had given Kai free reign to add to my closet, so I knew he would have a selection of lingerie. I underestimated how much he gave me though. Row after row after row of every kind I could think of. I was at a complete loss, but I figured it did not matter too much what it was. I decided on a deep plum corset with black silk lacing up the front and silver embellishments along the sides. I paired it with a black G-string, matching stockings, and garters. To top it all off, I slipped on a pair of four-inch black high heels. There was a vanity in the corner, so I threw on black eyeliner and plum eyeshadow. I topped it all over with a pink shimmer for my lips. I took my hair and quickly braided it in a loose French braid and brought it over my shoulder. I turned around and took in my appearance and absolutely loved it. It cinched my waist which amplified my ass and tits perfectly. I grasped the handle of the closet and took a deep breath to steady my nerves. I had never done anyth
EMMA Well, that surprise turned out far better than I had expected. I truly enjoyed getting them so worked up. It made me feel incredibly sexy, powerful, and desired. It had been explained that Alphas have high libidos, but that was nothing compared to a Krosthani. Yes, I had always been Krosthani, but it was not fully integrated until I beat Selene and especially since I was coronated. That gave me an excuse for my overly excitable desires. Could you blame me though? I had two of the sexiest males on the planet as my mates. I talked to Papa about heat and ovulation of Krosthani females. Thankfully, the heat does not begin until they were marked in wolf form by their mate. Ovulation for them also revolved around the full moon. We would certainly mark one another like that when the timing was right. As of now, we had to focus on winning against Asry instead. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to a pup because of his stupidity. “Would you two like to join m
EMMA I went into labor during the middle of the night, and it scared the living shit out of my mates. It was adorable while also being a little comical. Most soon-to-be fathers were like that. We had everything ready because we knew it was possible to go into labor a little earlier than expected because of having twins. Oddly enough, this pregnancy had no true complications. Most shifters who had multiples typically had complications. However, I was thankful that everything had gone as smoothly as possible. The sigils truly helped with the pain of the delivery because it would have been torture otherwise. I felt horrible that I did not already have these on hand for when Bellamy was born. “You have this, Emma. One more push and your baby boy will be here,” Tilly said. It had been ten very long hours of labor, but it would be worth it in the end. Kai was sitting behind me, lending me strength during this time. He had a hold of one leg while Xander had a hold of the other. The thre
EMMA It was still very surreal to think that I had been in Tylaphina’s realm for six entire months. However, I was able to bring back messages to Papa and Leonidas from our family. They were amazed as I told them about spending time with everyone. Their parents wanted me to tell them how incredibly proud they were of them both. They were proud of Papa for being the King that our people needed. They watched as he transitioned to the ruler of Aedrul and were thankful for how he protected everyone that he could from Selene until she could be taken care of permanently. They were proud of Leonidas for everything he did to help Papa rune Aedrul. His strength and perseverance made the entire Venscothi line puff out their chests in appreciation and admiration. My mates and I wasted no time in completing our bond in wolf form as well as completing the Goddess of Fate ceremony. It was very intimate and quite pleasurable. It was interesting to say the least because we watched as our souls mom
EMMA The pain from Asry’s shards slicing through me disappeared. Had I died? Nae did not say that was a possibility, but even she could not see every outcome. “No, you are not dead,” a melodic voice said. I opened my eyes and was in a beautiful field that was adorned with flowers of every color. My body was bathed in incredible warmth from the sun overhead. It was so peaceful, and my heart felt whole. It was a nice change from it feeling ripped apart, so there was that at least. There were wolves of all sizes sitting around, curiously watching me. It was a little creepy, but they looked happy. A beautiful woman stood between two of the larger wolves who looked as big as Krosthani. She was easily seven feet tall and had an ethereal glow around her. Her light brown hair cascaded in waves all the way to her waist, and her eyes were the most vibrant honey color which complemented her light bronze skin tone. “My name is Tylaphina, and it is because of you that I am free now. I was the
KAI “Why would you do that?” I screamed at her. There was only one explanation of how I was unharmed when she was not. She used Nata’s magic on me when I did not even realize it. She saved me instead of herself. I had never been more furious with her than I was in this moment. Macario and Tilly needed me to move away from her, but I could not do it. I could not let her go. “We have to let them take care of her. She needs them. Come on,” Xander said. I could hear the same anguish in his voice that I felt. I placed a kiss to her lips before setting her back on the ground and standing up. He pulled me a little further away to where Zane was. We watched as they assessed her. They spoke lowly to one another, but none of us could hear it. ‘She used Nata’s magic to protect me,’ I told Xander. I collapsed to the ground under the weight of it all. It was me that should be there and not her. She always took every fucking risk, putting everyone else before herself, when she should have pro
EMMA The success of tonight depended on my ability to play my part perfectly. Thankfully, that was one thing I excelled at no matter in which life or situation it was necessary. I steeled my shoulders and turned around slowly to see Asry’s smug face smirking at me as if he was the one in charge right now. As if he was the one who fooled me. Oh, how the mighty would fall. “Can’t say that I’m surprised that you’re here with mother bitch,” I said dismissively. “Ungrateful brat. Who do you think you are?” she hissed at me. I looked at Asry imploringly who just laughed and waved me on. He did not care about Lenora one damn bit. He probably was not wanting me to kill her, but I still would. This was something that I thought about extensively since we put this plan together. I needed to make him believe that I would consider being on his side. Then I would kill her so that she was out of our hair while also ensuring that his vessel was no more. This would solve one of the issues tonigh
EMMA Couples danced around the room, twirling, and dipping their partners. There was a string quartet playing on the balcony that oversaw the room. Acoustics amplified the music throughout the room as if it was right beside each of us. Despite the mission of the night, it was great to be in my Handsome’s arms once again. I loved sharing moments like this with my amazing mates. They were near and dear to my heart. No matter how much time we spent together in life, it would never be enough. Kai’s copper and silver eyes peered into mine while a handsome smirk pulled at his lip because he was thinking the same thing. We learned how to read one another better than any mindlink ever could. ‘Anything?’ I linked out. One of the sigils ensured that there was no evidence of a mindlink between any of us. That was the only way that we could pull this off. It also kept an open line of communication among everyone while in this room. It was a bit awkward right about now because there were many
EMMA The stress about tonight faded away the moment that my eyes locked onto my mates. I was never able to comprehend what I did right in life to have them willing to stand next to me no matter how crazy or bizarre the situation was. They were beside me every step of the way from that night at Olly’s until this moment as they pulled me between them. “You are absolutely stunning, love,” Xander said. He and Kai stalked around me to get the full view of my look. The matching low rumbles from their chests showed me that they certainly approved. “Doll…” He could not even finish his thought because his eyes flashed with an intense desire. “You get even more gorgeous every time my eyes look at you,” he said, caressing my cheek with his thumb. My body instantly flushed in response to his words. It was not certain that I would ever get used to everything they made me feel. I felt cherished, complete, immensely happy, and I felt loved most of all. All of those emotions flooded through my bo
EMMA We all ate a late breakfast together. It was not a joyous occasion, but we tried to make it as lighthearted as possible. The mission tonight was weighing heavily on everyone’s mind. It was not something that we discussed or alluded to, but it was the gigantic elephant in the room. I was really trying to keep my emotions under control because my mates would feel them and worry. We could not change what would happen tonight because we all knew the truth. Asry was too dangerous to let live. He would never stop coming for me or my family. We had to take him out of the equation to ensure our safety. I had a feeling in my gut that Nae’s vision of me being in a coma-like state was going to happen. This was the one thing I had to keep from my mates because they would call all of this off right here and now. They already felt guilty enough about me being in harms way, but there was nothing that we could do about it. I would just bury that thought as deeply as possible so that it did not
EMMA I woke up between my sleeping mates and smiled at them. They gave me the best ending to our night yesterday. That bath was perfect and incredibly relaxing. Today was going to be difficult on all of us but more so on them because they would be fighting against their instincts to protect me at all costs. Was I terrified to face Asry today? Absolutely. I would be a damned fool to feel giddy about facing an ultimate evil that wanted to enslave me as his Queen. However, that terror would solve absolutely nothing. For the time being, I would just shove that terror down as far as I could. Everyone needed to remain focused for today because our futures could finally begin once he was gone. A mischievous grin tipped my lips up as I looked between the two of them. Eenie…meenie… My gaze landed on Xander, so I carefully maneuvered myself until I was eyelevel with his glorious cock. I remembered the first time I saw it and how excited it made me. It still did to this day. I would never get