13. The Claim“So, what now, wolves?”Nikolai smirked, lifting up the skirts of my dress, his finger sliding up my thigh, finding his bite, caressing it as I sighed, leaning back into him, my legs spreading for his touch.He kissed my ear, then down my neck as my body warmed, my eyes almost closed as the carriage moved toward the city.Derik and Braxton knelt down in front of me then, and I tried to sit up to see what they were doing, but Kai pinned me against him, his fingers still on the bite.“They need to claim you too,” he breathed against me, and I sucked in a breath as Derik and Braxton extended their fangs.My body erupted in flames, not sure I could handle both their bites, but I didn’t have a choice.Brax kissed along my thigh as Derik held up my dress, kissing along the waistband of my black panties.He ran his clawed finger over the material covering my pussy, making me tremble at the delicious threat, before he tore up and ripped them off.I sucked in a breath. The claw h
14. The GuardThe werewolves’ city was very different when the moon wasn’t full and there weren’t red rays everywhere. It was much more silent, still, almost peaceful.The carriage took us through the gray brick buildings, the path lit by lanterns toward the same estate in the middle of the city where the alphas lived.There weren’t half as many wolves out tonight and none of them were in beast form.I looked out the window as rowdy noises and laughter filtered through the carriage.Peering out, I raised a tired brow at the pub that was alive with patrons, music, and laughter.I’m not sure what had made me think they wouldn’t have places to socialize, but I had assumed they stayed in their caves or fucked nonstop.“Werewolves can drink? Can you even get drunk?” I asked, getting closer to the window, my body forgetting how exhausted it was.Derik snickered as Nikolai laughed.“It’s different than human alcohol, and you should ask Brax, he knows better than us,” Derik teased, and Brax s
15. The SuiteI heard Nikolai curse from behind me, then his footsteps chase me down the hall.I only made it down a single corridor before he caught me, wrapping his arms around my waist as I laughed. He swung me back toward my rooms, and I smirked up at him.“That’s cheating. Interference,” I teased, and he grinned, shaking his head.“Get up, big guy, I’ll give you another chance once your boss leaves,” I taunted as Hank coughed, winced, and climbed up the wall, breathing harshly.“Fucking human. Always fighting dirty.” He shook his head, then leaned back against the wall as Nikolai pulled me into my rooms.As soon as we were in, he pushed me against the wall and smothered my mouth with his, my body with his.His hand slid up the side of my face, cupping the back of my neck as I yanked at his shirt, needing it off so I could feel his warm skin beneath my fingers.I gasped as he bit my neck lightly, then lifted my legs against him.“Hank is the only one you play that game with, under
16. The MirrorI know that waking up with three sexy alphas on me should be a dream come true and if I had been dreaming, I’m sure I would have been wet as fuck, waiting impatiently for them to ravage me raw.But the reality? Un-fucking-comfortable.Nikolai’s breathing made me feel like my neck was being tickled nonstop, Derik was so hot it was overwhelming, and Braxton snored like a damn train.I coughed heartily, trying to indicate that I’d woken up, but that made Nikolai snuggle further into my neck.Braxton wrapped his arms tighter around my waist as he lay between my legs, and Derik rubbed his damp body against mine as if checking I was still enclosed in his sauna.I was.Not to mention the intense ache between my thighs that was a delicious reminder of what my alphas had done to me but also made me even more irritated that they were using me as a pillow.I liked my sleeping space, and I liked being able to breathe.“Alphas,” I said loudly, wriggling a little to try and wake them
17. The StoriesI woke up with the worst headache I’d ever had. It pierced my brain so strongly, I winced as I tried to open my eyes.“Here, have this,” Braxton’s voice said through the dark in my mind.I blinked my eyes open to see him handing me a steaming mug of something.“It’s lavender tea, it’ll help with the headache,” he said, and I sat up, grimacing at the grogginess in my mind.I leaned against the headboard and took the mug, sniffing it before taking a sip. The heat was soothing, the smell calming.I sighed and put it on the wooden bedside table before looking up at Braxton in the dimly lit room, the drapes drawn, the lantern next to me the only thing giving any light.“How long have you been talking to those shadows, Lorelai?” Braxton asked, and I blew out a breath.“That was the first time they’ve actually talked to me, or manifested in any way other than red eyes. But I’ve been seeing those since the blood moon, the night of the offerings.” I shivered, and he listened in
18. The WolvesI ate my breakfast, piling more fruit and pancakes onto my plate while scooping oatmeal into my mouth. I was starving and hadn’t eaten so well in, well, forever.Brax dug in as heartily as I did, while Derik ate bit by bit and Nikolai just stared.I ignored them all and concentrated on my food until I couldn’t fit anything more in. Finally finished, I sipped some water and looked up at my alphas.“So. What happens now?” I asked, and that earned me three frowns on three sexy faces. “Okay, specifics. What am I to do now that I am here, and how long am I here?” I asked.“Stay in your room,” Derik stated, and I only just refrained from rolling my eyes at the order.“You belong to us now. Your stay is indefinite,” Nikolai said, and I smiled at the answer.“Indefinite meaning I go back to the village for winter and then come back?” I asked, grinning, but it had Derik glaring at Brax.“You told her about winter?” Derik snapped, pushing his plate away and straightening his spin
I wanted to bite back, but I knew he was just looking after his kind.I was human, and I could tell my father their secrets, I could go to the vampires, or worse, the shadows. I couldn’t fault him for that, so I placed my hand on his and smiled.“I know I’m just a human and my word probably means nothing, but I care about them, Hank. I’m not going to do anything to put them in danger,” I reassured him, then turned back to the books and piled them high in my arm as Hank stepped back against the wall and guarded.The same as usual, but the air was definitely lighter so I took that as a win.I spent the next half hour taking in the information I could about the wolves I now lived with.They only need to sleep every forty-eight hours.They are always hungry but never starve. They don’t have to eat unless staying in their wolf form for longer than twenty-four hours.They need sex at least once every lunar cycle (twenty-eight days) to keep the wolf and magic at bay.That little fact had me
19. The ThreatThe man let out a maniacal laugh and used his cheating wolf speed to cut me off at the end of the next aisle. I tried to run back— but then he wasn’t the only one there.A tall woman who looked like working out was her thing blocked the other end. She was beautiful, with flawless skin, but her teeth were sharp, her claws out, her eyes red.She had a tattoo that combined all three territories, vines wrapping around a tree and turning into a wave over it on her chest that was only covered by a crop.Her hair was dark and piled on her head, her eyes surrounded in smoky makeup that looked like the same charcoal I drew with back in the village.She was stunning but looked every bit as lethal as the guy who had a scar in his eyebrow and a lightning bolt in his buzz cut.I backed up into the side of the shelf as they cornered me, my heart racing so fast I thought it was going to break right through my ribcage and leave me behind.“Don’t come any closer. I’m here for the alphas
Derik moved in front of me, kissing me, teasing me, building me up again as Kai kept his leverage grip on my hips and kept the pace fast.I rode him just as hard, bounding on him as I gasped, trying to tame the heat in my body, but it was a wildfire. Untamable.It brushed every nerve, every muscle, every bone, leaving them shaking and disoriented with the overwhelming pleasure that he pulsed into me.I moaned against Derik’s mouth, wrapping my arms around him as Kai reached in front of me, playing with my clit.I sucked in a breath, a moan escaping, and then he was sending me off the edge into a battlefield of insane, desperate need.I ground down on him fast and hard, riding out my orgasm on him before he was slapping my ass hard and stilling his last couple of thrusts inside me, releasing himself with a guttural sigh.Kai sat up and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my shoulder before pushing me off his dick and toward Derik.I took deep breaths, my eyes hooded as my body tried to
29. The NeedI went to them.I climbed the stairs two at a time. Kai followed, saying nothing, as I pushed my shadows out of me, finding where Derik and Brax were, smiling when I recognized the room as my own. I wasn’t even sure if they had their own rooms anymore.I burst in and had barely taken a breath when Brax was on me. His mouth covered mine, and I melted into the kiss, sliding my tongue along his, holding his body against me.“How did it go? With the wolves?” I asked, but he shook his head.“Not tonight, Spitfire. Just let me have you,” he breathed, and I nodded, kissing him again.He edged me toward the bed, laying me down on the mattress. He kissed me feverishly, like he couldn’t get enough, like the simple connection of his mouth with mine wasn’t nearly enough, and it wasn’t.He undid the fabric corset front of my villager dress and slipped my shoulders out, his mouth never leaving mine.Derik and Kai stood on either side of the bed, watching, waiting for their turn.Brax k
“I… Well, I don’t know what you mean. I have been commanding the humans’army,” he said, trying to recover, but Kai growled, and even my skin bristled at the lie.I wasn’t sure what Kai had picked up on, but my father was hiding something.“I mean the amount of heartbeats I hear in this village is significantly larger than the numbers I was given in your report. Are you telling little white lies about how large your army is, General?” he threatened, getting closer to my father, edging him back against the wooden table.My father stumbled against it, then moved out of the way, brushing his hair back and composing his fear.“I wonder what you plan to do with an army so large, hmm?” Kai continued.“Maybe I should visit more often, keep an eye on numbers myself. Maybe even do a bit of a culling? Correct those numbers of yours, hmm?” he threatened again in that dark, menacing way that sounded sexy when he was playing but terrifying when he wasn’t.And my father looked terrified.He turned
28. The GeneralI didn’t want to die. I wanted more time with my alphas, and I wanted to protect my mom from whatever shitstorm Lucas was bringing on his hunt for revenge.I had no choice. I had to survive.Lucas spun away, disappearing into shadow as I fell. It was the last I saw of him, but I wasn’t going to let it be the last time he saw me.I closed my eyes, the idea terrifying since my stomach had dropped the second I had fallen off the cliff, but I forced myself to focus, using my memories to help coerce my shadows to help me.I remembered Derik’s smile when we were alone, just the two of us, the connection in Brax’s eyes when our shadows played, the devotion in Kai’s every action toward me.It was everything I had ever craved, and I had it. I didn’t want to lose it. I didn’t want to say yes, no matter the future I missed out on because of it.I don’t know what part of my thoughts convinced my shadows to trust me again, but it worked, and then I wasn’t falling anymore.They burs
“I think I can use my shadows from here,” I said, ready to try.He nodded.“If he was here then they’ll be able to connect to him easier. You tell me where and I’ll send the wolves in that direction,” Brax said, and I nodded as Cain stepped forward.“You need to go too. I’ll communicate,” he offered, but Brax growled.“Fuck off,” he bit, and Cain sighed.“Brax,” Derik warned, and Brax pursed his lips, backing away from me.“Remember the game, Spitfire,” he said, then turned into his wolf.Derik eyed me and I nodded. The others waited, changing into their wolves, ready to run.I took a deep breath and reached inside me for my shadows. It was easy; they were ready, and I knew what I had to do.I pushed them from me, sending them to hunt down my brother. The shadows knew what I wanted and did as I asked, going down the path, through the trees, latching on to a scent that was barely my brother anymore.I gulped and pointed down the path. “That way. Start that way,” I murmured, and the wol
27. The Brother“What do you mean, ‘missing’?” I demanded.“He was doing a border check around the Forest village and the wolves lost him.His scent and everything vanished.”“The vampires?” I panicked, but Derik shook his head.“No, Lorelai. There was no vamp scent. He attacked them with shadows before vanishing into thin air,” he said somberly, and just like that, I knew my brother had no chance left.I couldn’t save him. Link or no link, he had fucked everything up.“He’s the one taking the villagers, isn’t he?” I swallowed, my voice quiet, my eyes filling with tears as I came to the only conclusion that was left.They were going to kill him.“We have to go out there,” Kai growled, his claws and fangs growing as I wiped my tears away, pulling on a cloak.“I’m coming.”“No!” Derik yelled, but I refused to shrink back despite the terror that filled me at his outburst.He took a calming breath before speaking again.“Stay here. The wolves are not going to take kindly to another winter
26. The LinkI woke up back in my bed with the worst headache of my life.I was still cold, and when I opened my eyes, my alphas were huddled together, standing at the foot of my bed, whispering in angry tones, holding frowns on all of their beautiful faces.I sat up slowly, my head heavy. I leaned against the headboard and waited for them to notice me, taking in the three of them.None of them had shirts on, all were only in their pants, which usually meant they had been running. And that they were stressed out.“What happened with the vampires?” I asked, and all three turned to me.Their faces softened. Kai walked around beside the bed, then climbed on it, pulling me against him. Brax sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbing my hand as Derik pressed a kiss to the top of my head.“The vampires are not the ones taking the humans,” Brax said, and I frowned.“Then why are they disappearing?” I asked.“That’s what we have to go find out,” Derik replied.“How?”“We’re going out to the For
And then the poisonous taste coated my tongue, the sterile smell filling my nostrils.I grimaced at the way it sank in my stomach like acid, made my skin crawl.More footsteps entered Tabitha’s home, and I turned to her.How the hell were they even getting in? I thought she had an alligator, and as a witch, I expected her to have a little more protection. Where were her traps and magic? Her disappearing cabin thing she had done before?I eyed her, and she gave me a knowing smirk, holding her finger to her lips again.I stowed the question in the back of my mind with the ever-growing list that was already there for once the vampires were gone. And there were more of them now, at least five.Kai chuckled and cracked his knuckles. “Cute. I’ll pick their flesh from my teeth with your bones,” he warned, a malicious grin spreading on my alpha’s face.I should be disgusted or turned off, but it had
25. The VampireBrax pushed me toward Tabitha, who grabbed my hand and yanked me back from the dining table. She bashed her cane on the floorboards and the table slid against the wall, making me gasp.Derik, Kai, and Brax went to the windows, peering out of them with their red eyes as Cain hauled back the rug. Underneath was a trapdoor. Cain opened it and nodded into the darkness.“Get in,” he ordered, his voice firm, his eyes flashing red.I had no idea what was down there, but I did know that there were vampires on their way and that was more terrifying than the unknown in that moment, so I ran down the wooden steps into a basement that was surrounded in concrete.I looked back up from the bottom and Tabitha came hobbling down. Cain slammed the door shut before I could ask what the hell was about to happen.I wrapped my arms around myself as Tabitha grabbed my han