I couldn’t believe it when I looked at my watch and saw that Nolan and I had been speaking to the crowd for almost three hours.
The adrenaline of standing in front of that huge live audience, with the entire world watching on TV or livestream too, was a new level of exhilaration. Back in the limo after it was all over, Nolan gave me a critical look with a curious little half smile. “So?” he asked. “What did you think? Easier than you expected?” “That was surreal,” I said. “I don’t think easy is the right word. But it was sure exciting. I hope I did okay.” He grinned. I loved to see Nolan smile brightly like that. “You did great.” I scrunched my face up, doubtful. “Really? I wasn’t rambling?” Nolan shook his head. “You were perfect. They appreciate your candor, I can tell. I imagine it’s a refreshing change of pace after listening to boring politicians like me all the time.” I had to laugh. “You, my dear, are the last peThe three of us escaped quietly to my studio.“Oh, my goodness,” Cindy breathed as we walked in. I did a lap around the room, turning all the lights on. “This place is incredible.”“Isn’t it? Oh, Yena, I missed this place! We had a lot of fun times in here.”“Sit down,” I told my guests. “Wherever’s comfortable.”I grabbed a notebook and pen from my desk then met them over at the couches in the fitting area.“So what’s up Yena?” Lucy asked, dying with curiosity. “What’s this thing you wanted to talk to us about?”“Well, I need both of your help with something,” I started. “But I wanted to actually ask Cindy a couple questions first.”“Sure,” Cindy said. “Fire away.”Rafaela’s head appeared, popping through the doorway. I guess she had seen the studio door open. I waved her over.“My apologies for interrupting your party here, Miss Yena, but I wonder if I could bring any refreshments over for you and you
NOLANThe prince’s footsteps echoed down the stone chamber as he descended the stairs of the underground prison where his brother was being held.Nolan made his way down, down, down three flights of stairs, passing through caged security checkpoints at every floor. Each one was attended by at least two prison guards who shuffled Nolan in through one door, locked it behind him, then unlocked the second door to let him out the other side.Down he went, finally, down one more flight of spiral stairs. And there at the bottom landing, Nolan looked down a long corridor and saw Adan for the first time since their fight on the mountain.He was leaning against the back wall of his cell with his arms crossed over his chest.“You come here to gloat?” Adan called out. His deep, familiar voice carried, bouncing off the stone walls and vibrating into the cold, damp air.“Not really my style.” Nolan slipped his hands into his pockets and slowed
YENA Lucy watched her reflection carefully in the trifold mirror while moving around the layers of the skirt I was fitting on her. “I don’t remember how I had it,” she said. “Was it like this?” “Yes. That’s perfect.” I hurried over and knelt beside the pedestal, pinning the fabric into place at the most flattering angle over Lucy’s hip. “So Cindy couldn’t make it today, huh?” “Yeah, she was too busy.” I finished pinning the skirt into place and took a couple steps back to look at it from a distance again. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get her away from the orphanage. She said she’ll try again tomorrow.” “I had fun with her last night. She’s super nice.” “Yeah, I’m glad Nolan invited her to the dinner party. That was a fun surprise.” “He is super sweet, too, Yena.” Lucy met my eyes in the mirror. “It was really nice to finally get to hang out with the two of you together. I can’t believe I thought…” She darted her eyes away as her voice trailed off. “You thought what? I’m don
“I do have some good news to share, though.” I threw a glance in Lucy’s direction.She responded with a big, excited smile.Nolan was intrigued.Suddenly I was nervous. He and I hadn’t yet talked about anything related to my career since I’d come back.“I don’t know if you heard about the little business I started on social media a few weeks ago?” I squinted at Nolan. I wasn’t sure if he’d been following what I was up to while we were apart.He nodded.“I didn’t have any expectations for that little enterprise,” I went on, “but it’s really taken off. I actually already went ahead and filed for a business license. And I made Lucy a job offer.”“Oh. Wow.” Nolan looked back and forth between me and Lucy a few times. I saw the wheels turning in his head. He had a lot of questions. “And Lucy? Did you accept Yena’s job offer?”“I did!” She leaned forward, grinning. “Oh, I’m so excited! We’re going to have so much fun.
“This has been quite the experience already, Yena.” Cindy was looking in the trifold mirror, watching in amazement as Lucy and I adjusted her dress and pinned it into place. “I’m nervous for tomorrow though. I can’t believe I let you talk me into doing this.”Lucy smiled. “Oh, it’s going to be so fun. Just wait.”“Yeah, you’ll be great!” I took a step back to look at our work, and made eye contact with Cindy. “I’ve seen you command a room many times at the orphanage. You’re a total boss.”“Those are kids, though. They only listen to half of what you say. I’ve never stood up in front of a crowd of adults before – ever. And especially not with the focus on my clothes and body.”“Well,” Lucy said, admiring Cindy’s reflection. “You’ve probably never worn something this awesome before. Yena’s clothes are like magic. Zip yourself in and up goes the confidence.”I had to laugh at this. “That would make a good ad slogan.”“You’re joking,
I needed many, many cups of coffee while I got ready in the wee hours of the morning. Nolan had woken me up at two a.m.“Why are we doing this at the crack of dawn?” I asked, slipping into a pair of heels.“Time difference,” he answered. “There will of course be werewolves watching this live as well, but it’s primarily for the humans. Sunrise here is primetime for their evening news programs.”“Okay. Well, as long as you promise I don’t need to say anything this time, I am ready to go.” I was dressed, made up, had my hair done. It was just my brain that was still unprepared.“You do not.” Nolan paused and narrowed his eyes, thinking. “But if you don’t want to do this, you know you don’t have to…”“Of course I do.” I took his hand and led him out of the room. “I’m your princess. That’s what I’m here for.” I smiled, stood on my toes and circled his neck with my arms.Nolan didn’t get nervous about media appearances. But for some re
NOLANLuna had been standing near the bar when she caught her son’s eye. She sauntered over to him with two flutes of champagne in hand, looking smug. She handed one glass to Nolan when she reached him.“I take it you had something to do with this?” he asked.Luna arched an eyebrow and shrugged slightly, as if to say, “Guilty.”She raised her glass and Nolan followed suit. “Your wife is very creative,” she said. “She did most of this on her own. She wanted to surprise you.”Nolan tapped his glass lightly against hers. “Mission accomplished.”“To Yena,” Luna said, and they sipped their drinks in unison.“Where is she, by the way?”“Backstage.” Luna used her glass to point in that direction. “You’ll see her soon.”The prince wiped his mouth with his hand, trying to conceal from his mother the excited smile that was trying to force its way out. His parents had trained him to not express emotions in public.
I pulled my lips free from Nolan’s. “Careful,” I whispered. “You do remember we are not alone, right?”He smirked guiltily and said, “Let’s get out of here.”“Right now?” I looked at all the commotion around us. Cindy and Lucy had somehow slipped right by me and Nolan while I was distracted. They were already halfway across the room, heading for the bar.“Yes. Right now.” Nolan’s eyes went dark, his expression turning hard and serious. The energy of his desire started washing over me. It felt like I was falling under a spell.I slipped my hand into his and let him lead me quickly (and conspicuously – I saw lots of people watching) through a side exit near the stage that led back to the palace lobby. Heads kept turning as we passed, but Nolan paid no attention to the curious stares of all the noble men and women in the lobby and hallways. He just kept hurrying me on until we were far away, rounding the corner into our wing of the palace.“
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’