EMMA “Don’t be such a baby, Brian,” a young voice taunted. Multiple voices all laughed with his taunting. “You can’t be a werewolf because of your stupid arm. You’d be picked off in a second.” I picked up my pace and saw a group of kids standing in a circle. A boy on the ground came into view as I got closer. He looked so small with his body curved to protect itself. It was a position I knew all too well. My heart started beating quickly, and it broke for this young boy. The boy standing over him had his foot pulled back to kick the one on the ground. “Oh, there you are, Brian,” I said loudly. My voice startled the group of kids. They all turned around and looked like they got caught doing something they should not be doing. Well, they really did. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” I said, smiling widely even though I was seething inside. How dare those kids bully him. I had to remind myself that they were children, and I could not just rip their heads off their shoulders.
EMMA “His father did what?” I asked, seething yet again. What was up with such fucking dickhead parents? I understood my mother’s actions better than what his father did. How could he do that to his son? Xander looked at me, understanding my anger. He knew how I felt about it. I knew how he felt about it. It was inexcusable. “He was killed during the war. I can’t say that anyone mourned his death, not even Kristi. He was an absolute piece of shit. I think it’s great that you’re going to train him. He’ll be a badass in no time,” he smiled encouragingly. Ah, well that was great to know that he supported it because I needed to drop a small bomb on him now. “I’m glad you think so because she didn’t realize who I was. So, I sort of lied and told her that it was your idea for them to come to supper.” I peered up at him with the most innocent expression I could muster. His arms locked around my torso, holding me to him. His eyes stared down at me with a hard look while a single brow wa
KAI “Doll, you really need to stop fussing,” I told her for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. We were waiting on the wolves from Alpha Carlos’ pack to arrive. Doll, being the nervous and nurturing type that she was, had been cooking up a storm for the past three hours. I told her that we could just order something in, but she shot down that idea because they had been traveling for days and deserved actual food as she put it. I knew that she was also just worried about meeting them for two reasons. First, they were one of the last ties that she had to her father. Even though Phoenix said that he was still alive, Doll would not allow herself to hope until she saw him again. Second, their arrival brought a finality to everything. It meant that there was a true reason to be concerned about Ezekiel and a true reason to be concerned about her destiny. She sighed and wrapped her arms around my waist. Her head buried itself into my chest, so I just held her. She certainly put up
EMMA ‘Waking up without you in bed isn’t my idea of fun, love.’ Even through the mindlink, I could tell he was pouting. The Alpha Xander that I got was just for me. Everyone else got the disciplined, tough, and unyielding Alpha. I was not complaining though because I loved both sides of him, but I coveted the one that was just for me. It was the same way that I got the sweet and gentle side of Alpha Kai. Likewise, they got the unfiltered and vulnerable me. We never had to hide from one another, and we were the only ones who got to truly see each other without barriers. ‘It’s not mine either,’ I replied honestly. I hated to do it, but I woke up with a nagging feeling, so I followed it. ‘I’m in the War Room. Why don’t you bring Ethan in right quick?’ I focused back on my task. I had been at this for an hour and found a lot of shit in that time. Bellamy mentioned that there were traitors in our pack. We found Devon, but he used plural instead of singular form. Phoenix agreed with my
EMMA Now, I sort of regretted that we put off the ceremony. There were bound to be others like Ashley that doubted who I was or if it was my rightful place. I did not owe them anything, but it would have made this a little easier. Or at least I thought it might have. ‘You must keep to the story you told Devon about how you knew you were mates before your birthday. Any of Ezekiel’s spies may be here. Also, you must protect against people saying you are not fated,’ Phoenix said. Well shit. Hopefully, I sounded convincing because this could go badly. I could not believe that I had to lie to my pack. I relayed Phoenix’s comment to my mates and Ethan. That way they would also be aware in case they had to talk about it. Johnson led a pissed off Ashley towards a single chair that was placed on the other side of the squad and far from me. Her wrists were bound by handcuffs. She said something too low for me to catch, causing Johnson to all but shove her into the chair. It had me curious ab
EMMA I was not sure what to expect with the trial, but I felt Marcus was extremely fair with his ruling. I knew that Xander and Kai wanted Ashley to suffer more because she attacked their mate, but Marcus had chosen a just punishment in my opinion. I knew that she would have been done for if there was actual damage. Plus, I was certain that Tyree would keep her quite busy. No doubt he would enact little punishments here or there as well. Both for her bitchiness and for his own amusement. I did not miss the look on her family’s faces as they watched me with guarded eyes. There was no doubt that they blamed me for the entire event. They watched me with the careful eyes of the lion who zeroed in on its prey. Either they were just pissed, or they were a threat. I was unsure which it was yet. We would just have to keep an eye on them. ‘Warrior, you need to trust me. Go with your mates and Shield to your room. Place a blood ward up. Hurry,’ Phoenix said once the trial ended, and everyone
EMMA Papa’s deep laugh filled the room. Goddess, it sounded the exact same. Despite the nature of the conversation, I had to smile hearing his laugh. My memories did not do it justice. It did make me wonder why he was laughing to Ethan’s question though. It was not necessarily a funny comment. “Nobody has ever found their way out of their dreamscape. She believes that it will be the perfect way to play with you, and the Moon will enjoy every moment of breaking you. However, nobody has had these souls that surround you right now, Emmaline. She does not know the full arsenal you have nor that you have me. She does not know the absolute truth of where you come from. You will understand tomorrow.” I wanted to scream in frustration and demand answers, but I refrained and acted like a big girl. As if sensing my train of thought, Papa came to kneel before me, placing his warm hands on mine. “Just remember that you must be convincing since you are to know none of what you do. You will get
EMMA I stood up and shook my fur off. I could not wrap my head around that Kai always felt this way when he was shifted. It was trippy for me, but it made me feel incredibly powerful. Like power-fucking-ful. ‘Do you always feel so powerful in wolf form?’ I asked, rubbing myself over him once more for good measure. He better still smell like me while I was gone. Even though our scents combined, there was still a slight undertone which pinpointed if it was mine or theirs. It was amazing that the sparks ran between us even through our fur. It was remarkable and addictive. He flashed me the wolf equivalent of a cocky grin. ‘Every fucking day, doll. Wolves are extremely powerful creatures. Alpha wolves have that power tenfold. You have a nice ass, by the way. It’s very biteable.’ He nipped my ass before rushing off back towards the packhouse. I growled at him and chased after him. We quickly made our way back, but we did it side-by-side. None of us were ready for what was about to happ
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