YENA I knew the purpose of our visit to the hospital was all about appearances. And that was a very important thing for Nolan and me right now. But I was being pushed too far.I paced around the waiting room until I couldn’t stand it any longer. It might have only been about a minute, but it felt like forever.I didn’t like thinking about Nolan and Gina being alone in a room together. Even if it was a hospital room.And then I realized I didn’t actually have to allow it. Whatever Gina wanted to talk to my husband about, she could tell him in front of me. But when I rounded the corner near Gina’s hospital room and heard their voices carrying out the open door, I paused. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop at first.But then I heard what they were saying, and at that point, there was no way I was walking into that room. Gina was telling Nolan that she loved him.That she always loved him, and that she only broke up with him because she was sick. “The bi
Nolan went to bed early with Yena. She was exhausted and fell asleep in his arms within a minute of lying her head down on the pillow. But the prince stayed awake all night. Holding her. And thinking. He promised Yena he would do whatever it took to make her happy. And he could try to protect her from Gina. From Adan. But Yena was not a woman who just needed someone to protect her. She was a woman with a dream, and more than anything, she needed someone to support her.Yena’s dream was so important to her. It was part of who she was. It was part of what Nolan loved about her. Her talent, vision, and drive. Maybe Nolan had been hoping that encouraging her to start a clothing line, start a business with him, would be a way to support her dream, while keeping her here with him. And yet… Yena still wanted something more. Something else. Nolan could not imagine that it was really just a semester abroad that she felt she needed.
NOLAN “You’re sure about this?” Nolan’s attorney sounded worried. “I’m sure,” the prince answered into the phone. “Just have the paperwork drawn up and messengered to my office. Today.” “Of course, Your Highness. It’ll be there in a couple hours.” Nolan hung up and froze in place, staring into the fire burning in his fireplace. His mind was swirling. He was going to present divorce papers to Yena. Tell her it was her only option if she wanted to move away to follow her dream in the human world. Actually divorcing her was the last thing he wanted. But this was his best move right now, and he had to do something. If Yena stayed with Nolan and had to wonder later if it was worth it, she could not be happy here with him for the rest of their lives. He loved her too much to let her live with regrets. And though this was a risky move, it was a calculated risk. Yena loved him. Nolan knew that to be true. She would n
YENA Something was off with Nolan. After everything that happened the disastrous night before, what I wanted most was just to feel close to my husband again. To be reminded that he wanted me. The spark was still there the moment he kissed me. That force that ignited any time we were together, that pulled our bodies together like magnets. But it was like he kept thinking about something else. It happened first in the studio. We were kissing, and he started to tremble. And the look on his face became so… worried. I asked him what was wrong, and he lied. He said it was nothing. I was too tired to fight, so I shook it off. I just wanted to be with him.In bed, he gave me a long, heavy kiss that felt… strange. Intense, but not in the right way. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling.And I didn’t like that. Finally he was inside me, and I wanted to let go. Get lost in the pleasure of his touch. Let my mind go blank as he took over
“It was his ex-girlfriend, actually,” I told Evan.“What the fuck?” he snapped. “Why was she even there? And why the hell would he be dancing with his ex?”I smiled. It felt good that Evan was angry for me. And it made me realize I was angry, too. I had been so forgiving with Nolan about all this, trying to be patient. But there was a big part of it that was his fault. He should have told me about the texts from Gina. He should have warned me about her.“I don’t really want to go through the whole thing again,” I told Evan. “I was just telling Tina about it. It was a weird situation, and I think Nolan was trying to get her to leave, when she did the whole fainting thing.” I realized that the doctor at the hospital did say Gina had a heart attack. But there was something fishy about the timing and how it happened. And when I looked at her, supposedly unconscious in Nolan’s arms, and saw that little smile twitch across her face… “Yena,” Evan said very serious
YENA Nolan’s energy was hot and frantic. Nothing like this morning. It felt so good to know he wanted me. His darkness was moving behind his eyes, turning them dark with primal lust. And the bit of anger Evan had aroused in me… somehow it only made me want Nolan even more. Lily wanted me to claim Nolan as ours. He started tearing my clothes off furiously and pressing his lips into every inch of me. Running his sharp teeth along my neck, just barely holding back. I was dripping wet. I wanted to beg him to fuck me harder than he’d ever done before. But I felt Lily taking over, purring and whimpering, and making my heart race like crazy. And suddenly I wasn’t even able to form words. Then, all at once, Nolan shoved his big, hard dick inside of me, and clamped his teeth down into my neck with a deep growl that I felt vibrating from his chest down into mine. I can’t even remember if I screamed. The feeling was just pure
NOLAN Yena was asleep when Nolan got up in the morning, and he managed not to wake her as he showered and dressed. He kissed her on the forehead lightly before leaving. In this office, the divorce forms were waiting for him on his desk. The stack of papers was nearly an inch thick. Nolan would be spending his morning reading through it, making sure everything was in order… just in case Yena would actually go through with it. He sighed repeatedly as he leafed through the paperwork. And thought seriously about abandoning this plan. It was so dangerous. The closer he got to giving her this choice, the more afraid he was becoming. She might actually take this opportunity he has giving her. And Nolan would lose the only person in the world who had ever really known him. And who he loved more than anything. More than he ever thought was possible. But he had to do something. So he was moving forward with the plan, and just holding out hope in
YENA I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It felt like a knife to the heart. And not just a single stab wound. It was like Nolan, my beloved husband, who I cherished more than anything in the world… had driven a knife into my heart and twisted it. How could he do this? How could he even think of such a horrible thing? Let alone go through with drawing up all this paperwork? Just days ago, he finally told me he loved me. It felt so true at the time. But… The knife went deeper and twisted harder when he brought up Gina’s name. He said that it wasn’t about her. That he didn’t love her. But how could it not be? Why would he divorce me, if he didn’t have a plan for who he would marry next? Nolan could not be a bachelor. If we separated, he would remarry immediately. He claimed that this was for me.That apparently serving me with divorce paperwork was somehow something he was doing for my own sake. For my own go
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’