XANDER POVHearing her scream. My name is hypnotic, my canines already extending, my venom dripping with desire. There is no way in hell Ares and I are letting her leave this jeep without our mark on her neck.Her shallow breaths greet my ears like a coveted song, a dreamy smile on her lips as she tries to recover from the orgasm still washing over her body.She is a Goddess, a Queen, and divinity walking among mere mortals. I swear an ethereal glow surrounds her, and like a starving man, I want to enjoy every euphoric mountain she climbs and topples over.Bending down, I nibble on her hipbone, enjoying the way she wiggles underneath me. The windows are fogged with the heat our bodies create together. “Hearing my name once wasn’t enough.”“No?” She asks, but it’s more moan than coherent thought.“Definitely not,” my tongue gliding against her stomach and savoring the taste of her. “I think I need two for each day that you were away from me.”“That’s quite ambitious,” her legs shiverin
THEO POV Relief washes over me like a rainstorm as we cross through Silver Run’s gates. Home. We are home, and I can breathe easy. Thank the Goddess, Andrew and I haven’t marked each other yet. I didn’t need him knowing the anxiety coursing through me, surrounded by strangers. The time in those cells affecting me more than I want to admit. The tingles begin on my knuckles as Drew’s fingers through mine. “You okay, Pickle?” “Yeah, just happy to be home.” The words are lies I hide with a smile. “Me too,” he says. So much lust surrounds him, his aura is red with desire. At what awaits us, I doubt that either of us will make it to nightfall without wearing a mark. “Are we going to make it past the door?” I chuckle. The tension in the air has been palpable since the plane. If it wasn’t filled with humans, I swear he would have dragged me into the bathroom to mark me then and there. “Barely,” He returns, as he turns onto our street. “I almost lost you, Theo. Now that I know definitivel
THEO POV The warmth of Drew’s back is against my chest, my legs tucked behind his, my fingers laced through his. The early morning sun bleeding in through the window. My mate’s steady breathing fills my ears as he sleeps in my arms. The night activities making it easy for him to drift into slumber, however, the second my lids close, I am transported back to those cells. The memory of a baton banging against the metal bars plagues me. “Pickle?” Andrew says, through a yawn and a groggy voice that I love, and I’ll get to hear it for the rest of my life. “Go back to sleep, love,” I whisper, kissing his shoulder blade, enjoying the way he shivers under my touch. “Something is bothering you.” he turns under the covers to face me, his hand touching my face. His touch is so tender, I can’t help but melt underneath him. “Don’t bother lying. I can feel it through the bond.” “It’s just…” How do I explain what I experienced to him? The endless days…”I…” It’s like I know what I want to say, b
NORA POV “Alpha and Luna,” the pilot’s voice blares through the speakers of the brand new private jet. Xander sold Willowa’s old one the first chance he got and replaced it with a newer model. “We are making our final descent and need you to buckle.” Following his instructions, I buckle quickly before Xander’s fingers lace through mine. Electrifying me with his touch. “Are you ready to be home?” It’s been three days since our time in the jeep, and our departure from Willowa couldn’t come soon enough. Not that the people are not nice, but being there, in the same place Cain held me, gave me the heebie jeebies. “Yes.” I look out at the clouds, watching as the plane finds its way closer to the ground. “I feel bad for leaving Fletcher behind though…he looked like a kicked puppy when you told him he couldn’t come back with us.” “I know,” Xander sighs, pinching his nose. “But I need him to be less focused on Charity and more focused on his Beta duties right now.” “And he won’t do that
XANDER POVNora’s breathing has finally slowed, her sniffles dimming into the night. Her emotions from earlier gnawing away at Ares and me. If we had been there and prepared for my brother’s intervening, she wouldn’t have lost Viola.Wiggling my arm out from underneath her head, I slip quietly from the bed. My years of training allow me to keep silent while she remains exactly as I left her. With light feet, I walk to the door and sneak out, glancing behind me to find her resting peacefully.Gently pulling the door closed behind me, I twist the knob until the latch slides into place. Tiptoeing down the hallway, I sneak into the other bathroom. Flicking on the light, I blink, adjusting to the sudden brightness.Staring at myself in the mirror, I tug back the collar of my shirt, curious what the mark looks like. My gaze lads at the blurry, unrecognizable mess. My fist clenching tighter in frustration. A full moon has come and gone since we marked. Why the fuck hasn’t it formed?Ares whi
NORA POV The dark abyss and peaceful silence of sleep suddenly shift. The surrounding space swirling and reshaping into something new. As my subconscious twist and turns, new features reappear. Spinning around, I watch as the space becomes more defined and recognizable. A crib along one wall, and a rocking chair along the other. A beautiful white wolf sits in front of me. “Viola?” Her name tumbles from my mouth, my voice slightly distorted still as the images become clearer. A whimper sounds from behind, calling my attention to it. Laying on the ground, lays a black pup. His body is weak and scrawny, barely surviving as it attempts to cling to life. Rushing to his side, my heart breaking as I hear his screams for mercy, for the pain to end. “Help him?” I ask Viola, “please help him!” My words coming out as a shriek. Panic raising my blood pressure as I look at the wolf sitting on her haunches, her eyes watching in interest, head tilted to the side; questioning. In a battle of will
THEO POVMy skin itches around the bandage covering Andrew’s mark. Following some of Silver Run’s ceremony traditions, we won’t reveal them until our ceremony. Which needs to happen sooner rather than later. Cerberus has become quite the nag about seeing it, even though we all know what it’ll be.Our pack crests staggered, and intertwined with ivy. Only Alpha’s get something unique to them, so I don’t know why we need all the secrecy, but it’s important to my mate, so I’ll deal with the itch.“Stop messing with it, Pickle,” Andrew scolds, walking in from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. “We also don’t have the time to do whatever you’re thinking about.”“Shame,” I pout, but continue getting dressed. “You look good like that.”“I look good always,” he smirks, winking at me and I can feel my cheek heat with his flirtations.“What did Elle say we were meeting about, anyway?” I ask, needing to change the subject or I’ll have him bent over the bed, face shoved into the mattr
NORA POV “Holy shit, they’re glowing,” Andrew says, breaking the silence of the room. “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Xander growls, not in the mood for the nonsense. “What does it mean?” “That I cannot answer,” Elle breaks into the conversation, stepping forward to look me over with her mismatched eyes. “But I think our marks are a clue.” She pulls back her collar, revealing a triple moon with two paws sitting in the full moon, and three stars sitting in the far right corner. “Theirs too,” she points to Andrew and Theo, but her focus doesn’t move from me, her stare fixed. Avoiding the questions, I am sure she has. I wander to Theo, who beams with pride as he reveals the tattoo like mark on his collarbone. “It’s beautiful.” I remark, looking between the pair, but don’t comment on how it’s not the typical mark meant for a Beta. “That’s not the mark a pack Beta gets, ” Xander says, peering down from behind my back. “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Andrew returns, making Damon snort in amusem