FrostMy heart is beating toohard. It should be painful, but somehow, it’s not.I feel like it’s trying to crack my ribs open so that it can get closer to Amora, but I already know that even if it could, it still wouldn’t be close enough.My eyes fall shut, and I breathe in the scent of her skin and her arousal. It hovers in the air, infusing the steam from the shower with her unique smell. In my mind, I can still picture her on her knees in front of me, her lips stretched around my cock. I can see myself thrusting in and out of that perfect mouth, see the way her cheeks hollow as she tries to drag me back in every time I draw back.I want to do that all over again. I want to come down her throat and then smear the last few drops on her beautiful lips. I want to lay her out on the bed and stroke myself until I spill my release all over her, then rub it into her skin until she’s marked so thoroughly by me that she’ll never be able to doubt that she’s mine.“I wasn’t sure if you’d be in
I need it, more than I need air.My fingers dig into her ass cheeks, dragging them wider so that I can see more of her, and Amora gasps, gripping the countertop more tightly. When I bury my face between her legs and thrust my tongue inside her, she goes up on her tiptoes, making a strangled sound in her throat.She tastes so good. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced before—something that’s only Amora.It’s addictive, and I slide my tongue all over her pussy, trying to get as much of it as I can. With my hands still holding her ass cheeks apart, I can see her other hole too, and I grunt softly as I remember what it felt like when she put her finger up my ass.I don’t know why it felt good, but it did. It pushed me over the edge of my climax, heightening everything else I was feeling until I couldn’t hold back anymore.Would it feel good for her too?Probably. She knows more about pleasure than I do.Rather than exploring with my finger, I drag my tongue away from her core, running it ov
AmoraThe countertop is cuttinginto my thighs, but rather than being uncomfortable, it only heightens the aftermath of my orgasm.I cling to the edges of the sink, breathing hard, my legs shaking. Frost releases the spot on my neck where he’s probably left a hickey, leaving a trail of kisses across the line of my shoulder, and I press my hips back against him, a little moan escaping me. He nuzzles my shoulder with a soft growl that sends warmth flooding through me.It’s a rare glimpse into the not so stoic side of this man.And I fucking love it.Frost kisses the place where he bit me one more time, then he pulls out and grabs a towel off the rack. He gently cleans up the mess between my legs, taking entirely too long and having entirely too much fun with the friction of the fabric on my uber-sensitive clit. I’m nearly panting again by the time he tosses the towel aside and sweeps me into his arms.I’m so startled when my feet suddenly leave the ground that I laugh. He cradles me agai
Kian closes his eyes, and his thumb rubs a lazy circle on my hip. “Half past two.”Not as late as I thought when I woke up. I must have been sleeping like the dead. Not exactly the height of proper security, since someone could have come into the cabin and ax murdered me in that deep of a catatonic state.That thought leads me to another. “Do you think we should have set our own guard? We all just crashed out. Maybe someone should be awake at all times to make sure none of Felicity’s wolves try anything.”A low rumble rises from Kian’s chest, and he opens his eyes, narrowing his gaze on me. “I dare them to try. They’ll regret it if they do.”I recognize the hard glint in his eyes and the hard set of his jaw. It’s the feral side of him surfacing—that stoic, angry edge to him I’ve come to know.More than know, really. Understand.Then Kian’s face softens, almost as if he’s recognized my thoughts without me having to say a word.Shit. I didn't think I projected my emotions that much.His
AmoraCormac knockson our door early. When Kian goes to answer, the other man greets us with a good-natured smile that seems at odds with the fact he spent at least half the night watching our cabin like a damn creeper.“Alpha Felicity is waiting for you,” he informs us, jerking his chin. “All set?”Kian answers in the affirmative, and I look down at my giant t-shirt and ill-fitting shorts, wishing I had something a little more presentable to wear. Unfortunately, the cabin’s clothes closet is stocked with nothing but random hand-me-downs and cast-offs, which is why my collar hangs down nearly to my tits.As we leave the cabin for the already hot morning, Kian, Malix, and Frost crowd in around me possessively, as if one of Felicity’s wolves might try to steal me away and make off with me. I roll my eyes as we fall in behind Cormac, but their attention still warms my chest a little.Kian hasn’t mentioned the moment we shared last night, acting as if nothing happened the whole time we at
It’s fucking heartbreaking.In a way, I know what it’s like to feel what she felt. I too had a rift form between me and my mates.Of course, we started off at war and slowly mended the bad blood between us until we were no longer enemies, but allies and lovers. Felicity’s rift has moved in the opposite direction, going from good to bad to worse. She loved Quinton once, and then gave up on him when it became clear what kind of person he is.I can’t even imagine how lonely she must feel. They always say it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all, but anyone who says shit like that clearly never had to leave their fated mate.“Our separation was ugly,” Felicity continues. “Particularly when I tried to steal his precious stone. The tensions between us have been high ever since. I feel an… obligation to stop him. He’s my mate, after all. Even now, after all these years apart. I’ve always felt like perhaps I’m the only one who could even try to stop him from achievin
MalixI stareat Amora as she glares at the crowd like a righteous goddess, feeling impressed, shocked, and a little fucking turned on.“You don’t know anything about these men,” she snaps, her voice as hard as diamond and everything about her just as gorgeous. “Most of you haven’t even seen them in years. You don’t know where they’ve been or what Quinton has done to them. You don’t get to sit there on your fucking pedestals and act like you’re better than them because of something a madman did to them against their will.”I didn’t realize the silence could get even quieter than it was during Felicity’s speech, but clearly, I was wrong. Even the wind seems to die down and shut up in the face of Amora’s fury, like she’s some kind of earth spirit screaming at the wolves to fuck around and find out.“If you’re going to further the divide forced on them by Quinton, then you’re no better than that asshole,” Amora finishes, pointing a finger menacingly at the gaping crowd. “So either get you
AmoraOver the next few days,I keep thinking about what Malix said.His observation was definitely on point. I’m just as much an outsider among these wolves as the three shadow shifters are. Which is strange, considering I’m not full of shadows, nor am I one of Quinton’s pack, so in all actuality, I should fit in with these shifters just fine.But I’ve been on my own so long that I might as well be a different breed.Each day on the move is a blur of running, resting, then running again. We stop for short periods, never staying in one place too long before we set out again. Each night, we hunt, sometimes with Felicity but mostly on our own.I stick close to my men for most of the journey, despite the fact I have mixed feelings about thinking of them as “my men.” That’s probably another hold-over from my time alone, blowing like a leaf in the wind with very little to my name—not to mention, I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that our bond didn’t fully break when they slipp
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