Scuffling fills the silence. A soft breeze filters into the bedroom from the broken window down the hallway, and with it comes the scent of wet dog and shifter.“Not just any wolves,” Kian says stiffly. “Our pack.”Eyes wide, I toss him a startled look. “Quinton found us? There’s a foot of snow on the ground! How the hell could he track us?”Malix stalks toward the open bedroom door, where he presses up against the wall and listens for a moment to the scuffling. “I dunno. But he definitely found us. His minions did, at any rate.”The click of toenails on expensive hardwood echo through the house. Dammit. How many are there?I move toward Malix, staying quiet on my tiptoes as I repeat my question in a whisper. “How were they able to track us? You were in your shadow wolf forms.”Kian pauses on the other side of the door, his expression hard and intent. “You were human. It’s possible even our shadow forms couldn’t keep your scent from detection.”Shit. He’s right. And of course, I was i
AmoraThe mountain anglesso steeply downward that it feels like I’m flying. My paws barely touch the forest floor as I dodge trees and run as fast and hard as I can.Kian, Malix, and Frost could easily outrun the pack in their shadow wolf forms, but they stay at my heels like a barrier between me and our pursuers. As much as I wish I could be as fast and powerful as they are, I’m not. Like the rest of their pack, I have my limits.That doesn’t mean I can’t test those limits, however.My muscles burn and my lungs pump frosty air. I’m going so fast that my body seems to be moving quicker than my feet, and I feel like I’m a half second away from falling forward, ass over snout down the mountainside.Up ahead in the dusky darkness beneath the canopy of leaves and pine boughs, I notice a rocky cliff and a steep drop-off. I put on the brakes, my claws scrabbling for purchase, kicking up brush and sticks and snowy leaf debris. I manage to come to a stop before I reach the cliff, and even tho
Shoving against the ground, I sit up on my haunches. They’re so huge in their shadow forms that I could stand up and still not be taller than they are lying down. Irritation ripples through me, and I call up my magic to shift back to human form. Even though they’re still bigger than me as human men, they aren’t as monstrously huge as their shadow wolves. I’ll take what I can get.I stand on tired, wobbly legs and rest a hand on one hip. “We need to talk.”The three wolves exchange glances, but I ignore them and cross to a patch of grass beneath a heavy, low-hanging pine tree. Snow crunches beneath my bare feet, and the wind is frigid on my skin. The space beneath the evergreen’s branches forms a more sheltered area, away from the cold and snow. I drop to the ground once more and lean back against the tree trunk, because I don’t feel like I can fully keep myself upright without a little assistance at the moment.I just want to sleep for days.The three men shift back to human form and
AmoraWe’re toodeep in the wilderness to have a hope of finding any ritzy cabins, which means a night of roughing it in the elements. Luckily, we find a small cave near the base of a steep incline that doesn’t appear to be occupied by anything more deadly than bats.Nobody speaks as we set up camp. Frost and Kian spearhead building a campfire near the mouth of the cave, while Malix and I gather as much dry brush as we can to make nests to keep us warm while we sleep. After we have a raging fire lighting up the night, Frost sticks around to make sure it doesn’t turn into a forest hazard while the rest of us go hunting for dinner. We catch several wild hares, all of us still chillingly silent, then return to the cave to eat.My appetite is low, and my stress is high. I manage a few bites while pointedly ignoring the sight of Kian gnawing on bones. But after a while, I just can't take the quiet anymore. I stand and stretch, then head for the mouth of the cave.Nobody asks me through mind
“Again,” I say, my voice cool, “what do you want?”Malix splashes water up on his neck, his gaze raking the thick black night around us. When he turns back to me, his expression is serious. “Kian doesn’t mean to be a dick.”I laugh, a little more hysterically than I probably should. “Could have fooled me.”“He carries a lot on his shoulders,” Malix goes on, skating right past my sarcastic comment. “He blames himself for us being made into monsters. Hell, he blames himself for Frost and me even existing.”“Yeah, I gathered,” I say with a shrug. “That doesn’t excuse the fact that you’ve all been lying to me.”He arches an eyebrow. “You’re telling me you don’t keep secrets?”“No, I was pretty upfront with all of you about my mission to kill you.”He chuckles. “Fair enough. I just want you to give Kian the benefit of the doubt. He’s more protective than you realize. Not just of us—me and Frost—but of you, too. That’s why we did the…” He trails off. It’s almost too dark to see his facial e
AmoraThe water rushes around us,jostling us slightly as Malix’s arms tighten around me, his tongue delving into my mouth. It reminds me of the last time we were together in a body of water, although it’s colder and a bit more awkward now, since we’re both kneeling on the rough bed of the stream.But that doesn’t make me want to stop.Sliding my tongue against his, I slip a hand between us and wrap it around his cock. Malix groans, thrusting his hips forward a little. He breaks the kiss and presses his forehead against mine, his breath brushing against my lips.“Fuck, kitty. If you didn’t already know how bad I want you, this should give you a pretty big clue. I’ve got a fucking boner for you in ice cold water.”A laugh bursts out of me. I wasn’t expecting him to say that, but I like that he can make me laugh even when desire is rushing through my veins like a drug.I like that he can make me laugh, period. It’s something that’s been painfully absent from my life for the past two and
Hardly any sound escapes before Malix slams his lips against mine, kissing me deeply and swallowing up my sounds as he fucks me through my release. He lets out a choked grunt as he follows right behind me, his hot cum filling me up as he keeps his mouth sealed over mine.When the movement of his hips finally slows, he eases my leg off his shoulder. My muscles protest a little, overstretched and a bit sore, but there’s too much pleasure still blazing through my body for me to care.Panting, I look up at him. “What happened to wanting me to scream your name?”“Oh yeah.” He makes a face before dropping his head to kiss me until I can’t breathe again. He pecks my nose and then tilts his head back. “I still want that, but I realized it might not be a great idea at the moment. What with us being on the run from Quinton’s pack and all.” A sinful grin tugs at his lips. “When there are fewer people out there who want to kill us, I’ll make you scream so loud that every single star in the univer
MalixAll the yearsI spent sleepwalking through life didn’t prepare me for this woman.Her strong, lithe body, her curves, the satin of her skin and her curtain of soft dark hair—none of it seems real. She’s like a dream; the kind of woman I fantasized about from the moment I hit puberty but never believed existed.It’s crazy to me that she’s mine.Amora moves against me, pliant and needy. I’m desperate for more of her. I’m already hungry and eager to sink between her legs again, as if I didn’t just come inside her harder than I ever have before. Her leg slides over my hips to cradle my hard cock at her hot core, which is slick with my cum and her arousal. I growl against her lips and palm her thigh, opening her wider so I can grind against her.Fuck, the woman knows how to use her body.Her lips break away from mine after a moment, and she murmurs, “We should get back. We’ll be missed.”“They can miss us a while longer.” I roll her beneath me and catch her lower lip between my teeth,
Fuck. Could Amora even survive what exists in the other realm? Unease prickles up my spine at how close we just came to losing her.We need to take those shadows out, I tell my brothers. As fast as we can.We’re yanked back into combat as several of Quinton’s wolves burst into our little circle, breaking up the party.I pounce on the nearest Blood Moon wolf, taking him down to the ground, while Malix and Frost tag team a shadow shifter. Picking up the wolf with my teeth, I fling him at two more advancing wolves, taking them down like pins in a bowling lane.When I glance back up, Malix and Frost are having trouble with their shadow shifter. The beast is big, and he must’ve been pumped full of more shadow magic than the rest, because he fights almost like a Berserker, wild and brutal. I leap over one of the fallen wolves and head toward them to help, only to stop cold as Amora screams my name.Kian!Whirling around, I find her darting over the uneven terrain in a mad zigzag pattern whi
KianJust like thenight when Quinton nearly executed our mate with a bullet to the head, I don’t hesitate.I’m in the air a split second after my old alpha’s paws have left the dirt. I intercept his leap and slam into him in mid-air, angling so that I hit his head with my chest. He’s so massive that it feels like a rock wall slamming into me, and I huff out a pained breath. If I were any smaller or weaker, I have no doubt his skull would have broken a few bones in my torso.Quinton flies away from me while I fall to the ground, winded. I barely manage to land on all fours as he skids away from me, kicking up dirt and stones and clumps of grass. All around me, chaos breaks loose as the Silver Crest wolves and Blood Moon pack launch into an all-out war.In the very short half second I have before Quinton stands, I glance around and consider our odds. We’re on Felicity’s turf now, and there are more of us physically than there are of them. Both will give us an advantage. Unfortunately, t
AmoraFuck. Not Quinton. Please, don’t let it be Quinton. We’re not fucking ready.I’m not sure who moves first, but within seconds of the piercing howl outside, the four of us are racing across the dark, silent cabin toward the front door.Kian reaches the door first and flings it open, launching himself out into the night with Malix and Frost right behind him. As I come even with the door and prepare to shift, I pause for a fraction of a second, mesmerized by the sight of them leaping from the small front stoop.They trail black smoke as they shift, morphing like shadows. It’s beautiful in a deadly sort of way, as if they’re more than limbs and torsos and heads, but something more metaphysical. More fluid. A macabre dance of shadows.Then they land on the dusty front lawn in full shadow wolf form and take off. I hurry to follow behind, letting my own shift take over my body in the split second after I leap off the porch stoop.Another howl lights up the night, and I put on a burst o
AmoraI surfacefrom a dreamless sleep to the deep, dark of night, cocooned by the warmth of the three men sleeping around me.I’m on my back, completely pinned in by them—something that, once upon a time, would have sent alarm bells clanging through my head. Instead, it’s peaceful and comforting, if a little too warm.The ceiling is barely visible in the blackness, small cracks in the paint standing out like spider webs made of ink. I take a couple of deep breaths, staring up at them as I try to figure out where I stand. How I feel.The past few weeks still weigh on my shoulders, although I imagine that’s not something that’s just going to go away. Things still aren’t good here. We lost against Quinton, and I’m not naïve enough to think he won’t retaliate. Felicity is dead, and that’s a pretty permanent problem that’s going to throw her whole pack into a state of flux for a while.On the other hand, for the first time in a while, I’m okay. Even if the external world is chaos, my inter
In this moment, it’s just me and my men.Finally, Malix lifts his head and drops a kiss to the tip of my nose. “God, I love fucking you,” he murmurs.“Good.” I chuckle. “Because I’ve got lots of plans for more of this.”He waggles his eyebrows. “Dirty girl. You really are my fated mate.”I breathe out another laugh at the idea that my dirty mind is the true proof that we’re a fated match, shaking my head and grinning at him as he draws back, his cock sliding out of me.Frost, Malix, and I all look toward Kian next.The final piece of the puzzle. My third mate.He’s kneeling on the bed beside me, and when I reach for him, he comes willingly. He settles between my legs, his cock hard and thick. But he doesn’t slide into me right away. Instead, he trails one hand down my stomach, and all four of us watch the path of his fingers as they move lower and lower. When he reaches my pussy, he dips two fingers inside. I moan at the feeling, and heat flashes in his eyes.“You look so stunning lik
His gold-rimmed eyes gleam darkly, as if he knows exactly what I’m doing—trying to get a rise out of him. But the heated possessiveness never wavers in his expression as he gives me an answer.“Because I want to look at you. I want my brothers to see what’s theirs. What’s ours.”Oh.Oh fuck.I didn’t expect his answer to turn me on so much, but after everything that just happened between us in the bathroom, every word he just spoke is loaded with meaning.So I don’t push back against his order, staying still just like he told me to and allowing the three men to stare down at me. Frost reaches down to grip his cock, and I wonder if he’s squeezing himself to get a little relief or to try to get his arousal under control. Maybe a bit of both.That thought makes me whimper softly, and although I make no move to reach for the feral shifters, I can’t resist reaching down to slide one hand between my legs.“Shit, kitty,” Malix chokes out as I use my fingertips to spread my pussy lips, giving
“Fuck prophecies,” I repeat as I swipe at the tears threatening to crest over my eyelashes. “I make my own fate. We’ll make our own fate. Together. And it won’t end in murder. Got it?” I jam my finger into Kian’s chest and cut a glare toward Frost. “We aren’t going to go down like that. Not like them. I couldn’t stand it. I can’t even stand the thought of… of hurting you or killing you. Jesus. I can’t believe I ever tried—”Suddenly, Frost’s arm snakes out and hooks around my waist. He yanks me to him, my arms crushed between us as my fingers still cling to my towel, and his lips cover mine, cutting off my rant.There’s a salty, spicy taste to his skin, and when his lips part in that tentative way of his, I’m surrounded by the familiar scent of his body. Warmth unfurls in my belly, heating my skin, and I tilt my face up to his, opening to his kiss.It’s soft at first, but then he catches my face in his hands and deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine with deliberate possess
AmoraHeat risesin my eyes as I flip the water on in the shower and climb inside. I don’t even wait for the water to warm, and the shock of cold zings through me, giving me a rush of adrenaline to chase away the sheer exhaustion that’s settled over my bones. The cold quickly fades, replaced by lukewarm water. Another twist of the pipes gives me the scalding temperature I need to ease the emotional turmoil I feel.Weeks of grime slosh off my body beneath the shower head while my tears disappear into the water on my face. I dump shampoo on my hair and scrub vigorously with my fingernails, scratching harder than necessary. If I focus on the little pinpricks of pain, maybe I can get the sight of Quinton standing over Felicity’s body out of my head.If only for a moment.His mate.His mate.How could he do that?I turn, ducking my head under the water to rinse out the suds. I grab the bar of soap off the ledge beside me and lather my hands, then use my nails again to scrub at my face.How
So we travel quickly, digging deep into our energy reserves to race headlong across state lines. Micro-naps and brief pauses to eat or drink are the only breaks we allow, and surprisingly, nobody falls behind. I assume the weaker shifters are still running on pure adrenaline.Most of the adrenaline has faded by the time we cross the state line into Wyoming, but it doesn’t matter. We keep pushing anyway.When we finally reach the Silver Crest pack’s boundaries two days later, a heavy feeling falls over the group. Felicity’s shifters slow, as if dreading to bring the news of her death to those left back home.Many of the wolves limp or nurse wounds that have yet to fully heal, and it doesn’t take more than a glance to understand every one of them is completely demoralized by what happened. It’s late in the day, and although the last rays of the sun paint the buildings with a warm, glowing light, despair hangs around us like a weight in the air.When pack members begin to emerge from the