EMMA “I need to go make supper,” I told my mates softly. I did not want to leave them, but I promised Peyton spaghetti. That little girl would have a hard time adjusting to everything, especially if she ever found out what Freya did, so I was determined to give her a reprieve from everything for as long as I could. “Good. We’ll help, doll,” Kai said before kissing my shoulder and getting out of bed. There were still negative emotions running through them, but there was also a determination stronger than anything I felt before. This was them trying to get out of their grief. I knew that they also felt responsible for Everly and Peyton. Xander got out of bed as well and went to the closet to get us all some clothes to change into. He handed me a pair of shorts and one of his shirts. I took them with a kiss to his lips in appreciation. They both changed out of their suits and pulled on some jeans and tees. My mates were both exquisite creatures. They looked very different in appeara
EMMA Papa stood with his hands behinds his back as he weighed what he wanted to say. It made me nervous because I had no idea what this was pertaining to. So much happened recently that I had not even had the time to properly think through it all. Betrayal, pain, heartbreak, and loss was on an endless loop it seemed. I never anticipated this outcome when we decided to move on Blacktree. It was the first push of the snowball down the side of a snow-covered mountain. Each passing moment seemed to add a little more to the mass of the snowball until it threatened to crush us all. “Do not fret, Emmaline. There is nothing wrong,” he chuckled. Papa always had a knack of reading me like an open book. I was able to hide myself away from most people, but those closest to me could always see the truth behind my masks. He gestured for me to take a seat and sat next to me. He held my hand as he offered me a smile. “I am certain that you have noticed a large number of mates finding one another
EMMA I could not even wrap my head around the bombshell that Papa dropped on me. It was an amazing honor. I could not deny that. My mind replayed the instances where I witnessed mates finding one another. Nae said that I led her to Ethan. That was cool. They deserved it. Then we had the Blacktree wolves who were separated and found mates. Damien found Tank. Kestian, Py, and Barachiel. Then we had Leonidas and Everly. Not even I could deny the truth of it all. I did not believe in coincidences, so this was factual. I could not deny facts. I opened the door carefully because I was sure they would be asleep. I turned out to be wrong. They were playing a video game and had waited up for me. I felt bad for that because they had a horrible day. But I was happy that they were awake because this was something they needed to be aware of. “I thought you two would be sleeping,” I said softly as I kicked my shoes off and sat down between them on the couch. I laid my head on Xander’s shoulde
EMMA My dream started out like any dream did. It was a slow fade as my subconscious became aware of a reality inside of my dream. It was pitch black, but it was warm this time instead of cold. It was not an Asry nightmare at least. Soft whispers caressed along my skin. I tried to focus on them, but it was difficult. They were just out of reach. It took a few minutes until the words became clear. “See Freya. Not what seems. Did not die…” My eyes shot wide open, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a message and not just a random thought within a dream. Luckily, my mates were still asleep, so I untangled myself without waking them up and threw on some clothes before sneaking out of the room. I felt like a damn ninja half the time with all the sneaking that happened so that I would not disturb people. Perhaps we should find me a new title along those lines. ‘Papa, I need you. I’m sorry. I need you,’ I linked him. I hated forcing him to come to me after the night he had
EMMA Papa came and handed me his Toslati and an extralong shirt for her. Luckily, Papa had people bring in clothes for the Blacktree wolves as they split. So, we learned a lesson. We did not want her to be uncomfortable with being nude in her own new body after all. I had Belle stand up and explained the process. She seemed nervous but eager at the same time. I drew the sigil and watched as Belle became a Krosthani. It was a glorious process that I would never tire of witnessing. She was about 5’9 slender but with hips that any woman would kill for. Her ivory skin was blemish-free. Her hair was a beautiful brunette color with undertones of red, and her eyes were a piercing blue with yellow rings around them. She was undeniably gorgeous. “Welcome to your own body, Belle,” I told her and brought her to stand next to me. I commanded Freya to have control again. She looked at Belle, trying to figure out who she was. “This is Belle. She was innocent of everything, so I gave her the cho
EMMA “How?” Xander whispered into my ear, unwilling to let me go. I looked up into his copper eyes that always made me feel like I was drowning. I pushed some of the stray hair out of his face. You could tell that they had all been sleeping, but I doubted they minded being awoken for this. I could see and feel the utter joy and love inside of him. I felt the exact same from Kai. I nodded my head to Freya who was being guarded in the corner. Her head was still bowed. I felt Xander stiffen, but he did not pull away from me. “I had a dream that led me to talk to her. Her wolf Belle asked to be separated. Freya told me that Ezekiel had a Witch help him make it look like your families died but kept them here to use as leverage. I apparently bulldozed his plans once you saved me. She offered to bring us here and return to her cell willingly,” I explained as I nuzzled his neck. He nodded and drew me even closer into his embrace. I basked in my mates’ utmost positive emotions. They comfor
EMMA I had been banished from cleaning up because apparently my guys would have been skinned alive if they let me. Well then, I would happily leave it to them. I basked in their positive emotions that were sweet and wrapped me in their warmth. However, that same question was still nagging at me. Why did Ezekiel keep them alive? I excused myself and wandered down to the War Room. During the questioning of the traitors, Damien showed me how to access Ezekiel’s other private server, so I decided to check there first. There was no end to the horrors that he documented. I would take my time and comb through them all later on. Perhaps Damien would like to join me with it. We both felt the need to cleanse this world of Ezekiel’s stain. This could be a first step to that. After spending fifteen minutes looking around blindly, I found a file marked Blood Alpha. It was damn near a neon sign pointing me in the right direction, so I began reading through the reports. He spent decades research
EMMA I nodded and walked over to take the babe from her arms. She watched every movement I made as if I was going to attack her. There was no telling what she had been through since Ezekiel was involved. I stepped back and peered down at Xander’s baby brother. Oh, he was such a handsome babe. He had copper eyes just like his big brother and a full head of hair. His mouth was sucking hard on a binkie, and his eyes were locked onto mine. “Tell the truth. Were you willingly working with Ezekiel?” Papa asked her as I stepped over towards the crib. “Absolutely not. He killed our pack. Only me and Suzie were kept to watch over the pups. I swear that we tried to fight against his commands so that we could get help, but we were powerless. Please believe me,” she pleaded with Papa. Papa looked to me for my opinion. He wanted to know what I felt we should do with her and Suzie because this directly involved my family. He was also looking to me as a leader. I did believe her because she was
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