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 We all had the plan put in place within the hour. The entire squad eagerly agreed to join us. They also agreed that we needed to have a show of power. Thus, they would be gathering our patrols and the seasoned fighters who were typically used for special missions. With the Royal Guard, the Ancient Spirits, and our pack, there was a total force of nine hundred and sixteen souls on our side. Papa said that he would be sending an additional three hundred guards to look over Blood Moon while we were all gone. That helped relieve all our stress since we would be removing the safety net of the patrols while we were dealing with Blacktree. Once we were done with Blacktree, we would be heading straight to Blood Moon to come clean about who we were. Xander and Kai were incredibly proud to show off the strength and power of their Luna. Yes, they convinced me to officially do the Luna ceremony as well. It would be a very packed day indeed. Ethan was ecstatic to show of the new Beta fema
EMMA ‘Papa, how are we going to make sure everyone is gathered?’ I had not thought about that until now. I wanted to slap myself because this had been my idea after all. It was a plan quickly put together, but that was no excuse for not having all the details planned out. ‘All of us with the power to issue an Alpha command will issue it all at once. It will resonate throughout the entire pack, and they will have no choice but to comply.’ Holy hell that would be very effective and efficient. It would also be fairly amusing as well. ‘Did I ever tell you how brilliant you were?’ I asked, smiling over at him. ‘Hmm. I do not believe so. Feel free to write it on a card so that I can have it framed,’ he teased. I just stuck my tongue out at him. I caught some of my pack’s looks of horror when I did that. I was sticking my tongue out at the Alpha King, but they had not fully comprehended that he was my Papa. It was not the same as them doing it. Oh well, they would get used to it or wou
EMMA ‘You guys ready for this?’ I asked my mates. We came across eight other patrols who all sided with us. It was interesting to see that the wolves all hated what their humans did. It was unfair that the wolves had to live with such monsters. I had not been the only one being hurt in the pack, and that was disgusting. I swore to the wolves that we would protect the victims today. ‘Yes, love. We’re more than ready to end their sick reign of terror and destruction.’ ‘Yes, doll, we’re ready.’ I appreciated them not saying that they were ready to hold them accountable for the pain they inflicted on me because this was not my focus of today. The accounts of what they did to other packs, what they did to my pack, would forever be burned into my memory. I demanded justice for all those who suffered. I looked to Ethan and Papa who both gave me a nod. We made it to the edge of town still undetected. That was why it was brilliant to move at this hour of the morning. Many were still sleep
EMMA My eyes scanned the crowd. They were all shaken by my wolf. Rightfully so since my wolf-form was completely badass. Far larger than any wolves I had seen which included Alphas. Words also came from my wolf’s mouth. All new things. The crowd was now beginning to understand how fucked they truly were. My eyes bore into Marsey’s. Her fear was nearly palpable, and I loved how the tables had turned. “I would like every single one of this pack to know this one simple fact. You failed to break me. I allowed these scars to be carved into my flesh, my bones to be broken, and nine years of utter torment to occur to protect you all. Ezekiel was killing people to keep me in line. No matter how low I thought of you, I knew that Papa, the one who helped build such a supporting and loving pack, cared for each of his pack members. He instilled that pride inside of me. I refused to let others die because of Ezekiel’s fucking obsession. So, I took the bruises and breaks, the taunts, the wolfsban
EMMA “Damien, can I talk to you for a moment please?” I asked and nodded for him to join me in the kitchen of the packhouse. Damien joined me and looked at me shyly. I could tell that he was still ashamed of what Ezekiel had done. Ezekiel was a real piece of shit. He held nothing back with his torture techniques of me. I could not even begin to imagine what he did to others. I hoped that within time Damien would be able to learn to let go and place the blame where it truly belonged which was not on him. “How are you doing? I don’t want to hear that you’re fine, because we both know it will take time for you to get to that point.” I raided Xander’s whiskey stash and slid the glass over to him. He knocked it back in one go without flinching. That was impressive given it was the first time drinking in his new body. “I’m pissed off and angry and ashamed of what Ezekiel did. I had to witness every person he tortured and all the lives he took. I also had to witness everything that he d
EMMA “Emma, my lovely,” Diana chirped as she and Sylvie made their way down the hallway. I had Ethan bring them in the backway so that they did not get swept up in the hecticness going on out front before I had a chance to talk to them about all of this. It would be a lot for them to understand, and I wanted to talk with them privately. They were important to all of us. They both looked absolutely gorgeous as always. They had a natural beauty about them that could not compare. I noticed the faint dark circles under Sylvie’s eyes like she had not slept well. I knew it had to do with Devon, so I could only hope that the truth would somehow help her move on and heal. She still had a mate out there somewhere, and I would do everything in my power to help her find him or her. “Girls, it’s great to see you,” I said, smiling widely. I had truly missed them. They wormed their way behind all my defenses within the first ten minutes of meeting them. We embraced one another, and I ushered t
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