My chest still heaving, I walked over to the side of Nolan’s hospital bed and climbed up into it, trying to catch my breath. His huge frame filled the entire bed. I had to straddle him.
And I could feel, as our bodies came into contact with each other, how very close to death he was. His usually hot skin was cold to the touch. The bandages wrapped all around his chest were red-soaked, wet and tacky and getting darker every second. “Oh, Nolan,” I mumbled over and over. I placed my hands carefully on either side of his face, stroking the scruff on his cheeks. A tube was stuffed into his mouth and down his throat. It connected to one of the machines and was doing his breathing for him. I had to take it out. Nolan needed to drink my blood, and he wasn’t going to do it with that thing in his mouth. I went ahead and just grabbed the tube and wrenched it up and out from his throat before I could overthink what I was doing. A deep, gravelly gaspiYENAThe knocking on the door stopped but then the voices got louder and more frantic. They were panicking, listening to the machine that was telling them their patient had stopped breathing.I gulped in a huge inhale, covered Nolan’s mouth with mine again and blew every bit of breath I had into him. “Come on,” I begged when I came up for air. “Please wake up, Nolan.”And just when I started to seriously doubt that my prince would ever breathe on his own again, he did.His eyes opened first. And then he gasped. The sound was dry and frightening.“Nolan! Oh thank Goddess, you’re alive!”He coughed, gagging, as he tried to exhale. My hands were clasping his face. His next breath was a little better but still stertorous. His eyes flickered around my face, recognizing but not recognizing me, and he whispered hoarsely, “Yena. Is that really you?”The ecstatic relief that was washing over me allowed me to burst
Nolan swooped me back up into his arms and carried me into the shower. The hot water poured down over both of us, sending rivers of blood off our bodies and down into the drain. It felt wonderful, even healing, but it did make me even sleepier too.He set me down on a white marble bench and set about rinsing off his own face and hands first. Then he brought over a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo and carefully knelt on the stone floor in front of me.“Can I wash you?” he asked politely. It seemed like a funny thing to be so courteous about, after the way he’d just thrown me around and broken furniture underneath me, but that was Nolan. A beast sometimes, and a perfect, charming gentleman the rest of the while.I smiled and nodded. Nolan wiped the blood away from my face first, planting sweet kisses on my skin after it was clean. Then he shampooed my hair, his long fingers massaging my scalp in a way that started putting me into a trance. He soaped up my
Nolan found Yena was awake when he went back into the bedroom. She was seated cross-legged in a chair at the dining table and devouring a piece of chocolate cake.“You’re up.” He smiled and made his way over to her, stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re eating. I just heard about how you ran all the way here from the airport.”Yena finished licking frosting off her fork and set it down. Took a sip of water, wiped her mouth, and smiled. “I was just thinking about that too. I can’t really believe I did that. It was just instinct, though. I didn’t even think about it.”Nolan sat beside Yena, absentmindedly stroking her back as she continued eating.“I’ll tell you this,” she continued, “food has never tasted this good in my life. I was so, so tired.”“I’ll bet. I drank a lot of your blood, Yena.” He frowned, looking pensive, and gently swept her hair back over her shoulder, inspecting the bite wound on her neck.&nb
ADANKerr descended the ladder into the bunker, grunting at every rung. “Clarice is on her way,” he said when he got to the bottom. “She has Soren with her. And three humans.”Adan had been using a very sharp knife to slice up some cured meats. He finished his task before he then took the knife and stabbed it hard into the wooden cutting board with a WHACK!“Three humans? That was all they could get between the two of them?”“I asked her about that.” Kerr put the sat phone back in its charger. “She said they had to get rolling before they caught a tail.”“Who was on her?” Adan arched an eyebrow at Kerr. “And is she sure she wasn’t followed?”“Asked that, too. She said yes, she’s sure she lost them. As far as who it was…”“Gamma warriors?”Kerr frowned. “No. She doesn’t know who, though. Said she didn’t see them.”Adan considered this for a moment. “What’s their ETA?”“Ten minutes out.
YENAI woke to the smells of breakfast and the distinct sound of TV news reporters talking.Nolan wasn’t in bed. I rubbed my eyes, sat up and looked around. He was over by the TV, standing right in front of it, his body tense and still.“What is it?” I asked, my voice raspy with sleep. “What happened?”He wheeled around and immediately headed over to the bed, meeting me at my side. He sat on the edge and gave me a quick, soft kiss.“I’m sorry to wake you up like this. But some humans went missing overnight. I’ve got to get dressed, meet my team and start dealing with this.”My brain was still waking up. “Missing? How many of them?”Nolan glanced back at the TV. “At least a dozen have been reported so far. I’d bet even more were taken, their absence just hasn’t been noticed yet.”“Taken? By whom? Adan?” I’d answered my own question while stuttering through it. Nolan nodded. “I know it’s him. I just hope
NOLANLuna drummed her fingers on the table as Nolan spoke.“Only the five of us will go up first, on foot.” Nolan stood at the head of a long mahogany table, gripping the back of a chair. His mother was at the other end, and seated along the sides were his top strategists. At the very back of the room, one of his mercenaries stood with his arms folded across his chest, leaning against the wall.They had been planning for hours, poring over maps, deciding positions and double checking that they had thought through all possible outcomes and how to prepare for each.There was no guarantee that Adan was still in this area they had pinpointed using Lucy’s phone. Adan’s phone had stopped updating its location several hours prior, probably having lost service or battery. But this was their only lead, and it seemed like a good one.“Adan will be able to hear vehicles coming from a long way out. We can’t tip him off, give him a chance to flee, or
ADANThe first thing Adan heard was a very faint sound, what could have been the patter of bipedal footfall overhead.That was when he knew they’d been discovered.He warned his comrades immediately but they hardly had any time to react before their fortress was breached.The air pressure changed when the hatch had been opened, letting in the cold night air and the smell of fresh pine. Then a thud told Adan someone had dropped from the surface all the way down the entrance passage. Then another. And another.A tall werewolf with a huge ugly scar down his face rounded the corner into the open center area of the bunker, and suddenly they were engaged in a firefight. Adan was first to fire, pulling the trigger of his pistol twice as he ran backward for the corridor. He aimed for center mass but hit the intruder in the shoulder instead.The man hardly reacted. He growled, jerked his shoulder back and sprayed the room with b
YENAIt had been hours of sitting in silence with no updates, no nothing, and I was edging into panic on the inside.Outwardly, I kept my cool. I reminded myself several times that Nolan was the one doing the truly difficult work right now. All I had to do was play the waiting game.It was just an awful, terribly long time to wait, and I was not in very pleasant company.I was inside a small tank that was idling at the base of the mountain. Six Gamma warriors were in there with me, including the driver.We were waiting for Nolan’s signal. He’d insisted on total radio silence until he called and said it was time for backup.The Gamma warriors sat tall with straight spines, their knees at ninety degree angles, their booted feet flat to the floor. They were still as statues and just as silent. I focused on breathing steadily, telling myself to be patient.The day grew dark as the hours passed. Storm clouds rolled in and cas
YENANolan took one look at me, as I stepped out into the surprisingly bright morning light, and placed a hand flat on his chest. His mouth dropped open, releasing a sigh.I watched as his keen eyes roved the entire length of my body, taking in every detail. From the clear glass peep-toe high heels on my feet, to the dress, the earrings, the hair, and… the finishing touch: my golden laurel leaf crown. The one Nolan gave me the first time we married, which marked me as his Luna.I had to stop in my tracks and catch my breath, myself. This, I realized as I took everything in, was the wedding of my dreams.To my surprise, our friend Cindy was standing under the very center of the vine-laced archway – she was clearly all set up to be the officiant for our ceremony. She grinned and winked at me when our eyes met, as if to say, Surprise! The King and Queen stood to one side of the aisle, eyes on me as I walked down with my parents, each with approving expressions and slight smiles. At Nola
Evan smiled broadly at the sight of me and Lucy in our dresses, our hair and makeup all done up. “Whoa,” he said, going wide-eyed. “You girls look incredible.”“Oh my Goddess, back at you!” I cried, making my brother blush. Evan was all cleaned up, had even gotten a haircut, and he was wearing a gorgeous, expensive tuxedo with a boutonniere in the lapel that matched my bouquet. “What is all this?”“Oh. Didn’t you know? I am the Best Man.” He grinned guiltily, cheesing with his teeth clenched.“Oh, that is so…” I felt tears pinging at my eyes, thinking about Nolan making the gesture of asking Evan to stand beside him at our ceremony. That must have been what they were discussing at Tina’s. “That’s sweet, Evan. I’m sure it means a lot to Nolan. Thank you.”He shrugged, starting to look awkward.“Be right back, guys,” Lucy said, heading for the fancy little half-bathroom that was directly across the hall from my studio.“Yena, I’m really happy for you,” Evan said to me quietly once she w
“Can I see it?” Nolan asked. His green eyes lit up with curious excitement.He and I were just finishing dinner together, and I’d told him all about my day with Lucy and how hard we’d worked to finish my wedding dress for tomorrow. I was absolutely thrilled with the end result, but my eyes were also tired from all the focused work and lack of breaks, and my fingers were stiff from so much sewing. It had been a while since I had done this much detail work in such a short period of time. “Hmm.” I thought over Nolan’s request. “Can you wait? I think it’ll be more fun if you see it on me tomorrow for the first time.”He nodded reluctantly. “I can wait. If I must.”“I’m so excited.” I beamed. I didn’t mean just about the dress. “This is going to be really fun. Thank you for doing this with me.”Nolan offered me one of his own big, beautiful smiles in return. “I’m excited, too. And listen, I had an idea…” He pushed his dinner plate away and turned his full body to face me.“Oh? What’s that
Nolan shook his head and mumbled “no” between soft little kisses. “I don’t want to do that to you too much, Yena. Not if I don’t need it.”I hummed out a reproving, “Hmmm…” and used a single finger to gently guide Nolan’s face up to mine. “You don’t have to hold back with me, you know.”Suddenly, while he held my gaze, I felt Nolan’s big dick starting to swell, tapping against my thigh.“Bite me. Drink my blood. Please.”My voice took on a silky quality.“I want you to. I think you do need it.” I moved my mouth to his strong neck, planted a soft kiss there and then dragged my lips up to his ear. “And you know that it feels good for me too, right?”I teased his ear with my tongue, and Nolan groaned.I angled my hips up toward his, and soon he was easing himself inside me while I breathed deeply and mumbled lot of little begs for him to keep going.He moved one hand to the back of my head and fisted a sloppy bunch of my hair.My eyes flew open—I didn’t realized they’d fallen closed. His
YENAWatching my adoptive mother embracing my giant husband right now was hilarious.Tina did this to everyone she loved – and who knows why? – tried to show them how much she cared by embracing them in tight, smothering bear hugs. If I hadn’t known it before today, I knew now that she loved Nolan like family, because she appeared to be trying her best to strangle him to death.The look on my Alpha’s face was what was killing me. Nolan didn’t know what to do, how to escape Tina politely and with dignity. So I sacrificed myself to save him, squishing between the two and taking the next big hug from Tina for myself.“Oh, I was so very happy to hear from you, sweetheart! To what do we owe this visit?”Tina released my bear hug and started playing with my hair, fluffing it up and pulling loose curls forward over my shoulders. I could tell she was admiring how long it had gotten.“Well, we have something to invite you to,” I said vaguely. “But I’d rather wait to talk about it till we can a
NOLANThick morning fog rolled through the cemetery in a hurry, kissing the edges of headstones that cluttered its path. It dissolved under the slow footsteps of three black-clad mourners crossing the dewy grounds as they picked their way toward the yawning mouth of an open grave.A lone priest in a long black cassock stood waiting near the casket. In one hand he clutched an old book, a fragile artifact bound in soft purple cloth. The other hand rose in greeting as first Nolan, then Yena and Cindy came into his view, stomping out fog in their wake.Nolan let go of Yena’s hand when they reached the old man’s graveside. He exchanged some words with the priest, with whom he’d earlier spoken on the phone, and then made introductions between the holy man and his wife and good friend.“An honor to meet you all.” The priest bowed his head. “I am very sorry it is under these circumstances.”The man was middle-aged, but his voice sounded weathered, perhaps permanently hoarse from decades of ov
YENAI’m not sure how exactly, but I felt Nolan’s presence as he approached from down the hall. I looked up, expecting to see him in the doorway, but he was not there yet.The sound of his footsteps on the marble floors hit my ears next. Then finally my prince appeared, pausing at the threshold of my studio and raising his hand to knock on the open door. He met my eyes instantly, since I’d been watching for him. “Hey.” He lowered his arm and stepped inside.“Hi. How’s your mom?”“She’s good. She seems to like the idea of the vow renewal ceremony.”I stood as Nolan reached my desk. He bent to kiss me, his arms wrapping around my waist. I circled his neck with my forearms and let him lift me up off my feet for a second.He put me down, pulled away and smiled. “You’re in a good mood.”“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”He shrugged. “Maybe I am. Kind of strange.”“Being in a good mood is strange?”Nolan stepped away and started a slow stroll around the room. “Honestl
Nolan teased me with his fingertips till I was writhing, unable to stay still though he had a tight hold on my body and kept me seated in his lap. His mouth was busy on my neck, alternately breathing heavily to take in my scent and giving me hard, sloppy bite-kisses that felt like they’d leave bruises.I ran my fingers through his hair, slid my hands down his neck and all across the broad muscles of his shoulders.And grumbled impatiently, “Oh, fuck me.”“Thought you’d never ask,” he said, then he stood up with one easy step, turned, and threw me down onto the bed.He climbed on top of me. My legs wrapped back around his middle like they belonged there. His mouth went my ear and he licked the edge of it, giving me a chill.Then he whispered, “Any other requests?”“Hmm. Just a question.”He arched one of his dark, thick and lovely eyebrows. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”“Do you want me to be quiet this time?” I asked. “Or do you want everyone on this train to hear what you can do to me?”The
I had not meant to bring up the subject of sexual fidelity. But that’s what I did, by accident.That’s what a wedding ring represents, isn’t it? And here I had gone and asked my husband if he ever took his ring off. Just after we reunited after being separated.“No,” I answered, shaking my head. “I’ve never taken my ring off, not since you gave it to me. When I thought you really wanted to divorce me, I thought about it. But it seemed wrong and sad and I never could do it. And I didn’t mean to imply anything by asking you that…”He arched an eyebrow. Said nothing. And kept watching me, with less and less patient curiosity, as I continued on with my efforts to remove his wedding ring.My little plan was not going super smoothly so far.“Yena. Why are you trying to take that off?”“Hush,” I said, giggling nervously. “I will explain in just a minute. I only want to take it off for a second, okay?”“Okay.” An amused smile tugged at his lips, but his eyebrows still looked stern.“Why didn’