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 Papa led us into the ballroom, and my breath was taken away. There were silk drapes and orbs floating high above the floor. The moonlight shone through the ceiling and illuminated everything in a white glow. I loved how white the moon was here. Music filtered throughout the room, but I had no idea where it was coming from. “May I have a dance, Emmaline?” Papa asked with a smile and an outstretched hand. I grasped his hand and let him lead me to the middle of the floor. He was taller than me, but the heels I wore helped even us out some. One hand was on my waist while the other clasped my hand. He moved me around effortlessly, and it was like we were floating. He spun me around and smiled when he dipped me. It was just like when I was little, and that brought a smile to my face. “My precious daughter, you are the most amazing gift I have ever been given,” he said, twirling me in a circle. “This is where you belong, but never think that you have no choice in anything. You are ou
EMMA The time came for us to put our plan into action, and we were all feeling the stress and worry of it. My magic was back, but I did not fear it as much this time. The necklace really helped to dampen it, and I spent all day practicing control. It was not very long, but it was the best I could do. Macario and Q had both been great helps when it came to a very brief lesson on control. It made me realize something as well that I should have known all along. It was not just me anymore. I had others to rely on, to lean on, and to walk through all of this with. “Remember, you are tethered to all of us. We will not let anything happen. You need to activate the sigil on your hand with your blood, and that will allow you to take the sample. Then pull on the mate-bond, and we will pull you back. Very simple,” Macario reminded me. Yeah, super simple. Nothing could go wrong. At least, that was what I was telling myself. In reality, everything could go wrong. I knew so much more about Asry
EMMA My body looked like it clawed its way up from hell. There were burns, cuts, bruises, and those veins looked even angrier than ever before. The bastard slapped my face, which was not healing as fast as it should. I looked at my boys and could tell that they were thinking the same things. I knew they were both trying to keep their anger in check for my sake. “How is this blood thing going to work?” I asked, looking up at Kai through my eyelashes, and biting and lip. “Damnit you’re so fucking tempting. Don’t bite that lip,” Kai said as he kissed the tip of my nose and took a breath to steady himself. “Macario and I were discussing it, and we figured we could just try directly applying my blood to the veins. We’ll see an immediate change if it helps at all. We’ll come up with an alternative if it does nothing.” Xander brought some wet wash cloths and dry towels over to the couch we were sitting on. I pulled my shirt off and put my hair up in a ponytail. The veins were worse than
EMMA “Should I call you Carrie now, sweets?” Ethan chuckled, but Nae elbowed him in the side. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her temple. “I was only kidding,” he whispered in her ear. I knew she would not let him get away with his crap. I just smirked at him. There would be nobody better suited to keeping him in line than her. Hell, they marked and mated the day they official met as mates. I had never seen those two as happy as they were when they proudly showed off their matching marks. Macario came over and looked over the front and back of my body. “I see that the blood helped with the veins,” he said. He ran his finger over some of the cuts and pulled his hand back when I hissed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hiss,” I said apologetically. “These are actually quite a bit better than they were before he applied the blood. I think it’s helping heal them as well. Ethan, do you have your files backed up that has our blood results in them?” I asked, heading to the console. I did
EMMA Kai had a fair point about me hiding my pain, so I decided that I would do my best to try and fix that issue. First of all, I would start with my Dipshit. That was why I stood outside their suite before breakfast. Opening up had never really been my strong suit, but even I could evolve. I hoped at least. Nae opened the door right before I brought my fist to it. She winked at me and waved me in. She knew that I always hated never getting the jump on her. Oracles did not see everything, but they were more likely to pick up things regarding those they spent enough time around. We spent centuries together, so she picked my shit up easily. “So, I’m going to go wake Brian up,” Nae snickered before leaving Ethan and I to talk. His eyebrows drew together and stared at the door. Yeah, he would love being mated to an Oracle once he got used to it. He loved always surprising people, but he would not have an easy time surprising her. “Do I need to worry that you will murder me?” Ethan j
EMMA We ate breakfast, and I knew it was time to talk to Papa. What could I say? Kai was right. Papa led me to the third floor which had such incredible works of art. I recognized some famous ones from different points all throughout history. Many were ones that were said to have been lost. It was interesting that they ended up here. I pointed that out to Papa who just chuckled and told me that he had been friends with the artists, so he was given a duplicate of the same ones. History only ever just assumed there was only one created. Papa sat down on a bench that overlooked our beautiful kingdom. I could not believe that I was now their Princess. That was something that I could not wrap my head around. However, I already felt the innate need to protect them and provide for them. Xander had been right before that an Alpha had that need. It would only make sense for me too. “What is on your mind, Emmaline?” he asked, offering me a soft smile and a pat on my hand. I was about to hur
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