sable As soon as we’re seated, a team of shifters arrives carrying snacks. They pile pitchers of iced tea and lemonade on the table, cold bottles of water, and an array of finger foods they likely pilfered straight from their own kitchens on the fly.Once we’re all sufficiently fed and watered, I set my own glass of lemonade aside and fold my hands on the table as I catch Gwen’s gaze. “I won’t beat around the bush. I know you don’t want to get involved in our fight with Cleo, but I’m hoping that once you hear what our plan is, you’ll be willing to help us.”Gwen nods. She keeps her fingers wrapped around her already condensing glass, as if the cool surface on her fingers can chase away the hot, dusty feeling she must have from the journey here. “I’m listening.”“We’re going after her.” I say the words bluntly, doing my best not to color them with any of the dozens of emotions bouncing around inside my chest. “We know where she and her coven hide, and we’re gunning for her.”Gwen rais
SableWith the first hurdle taken care of, a sense of greater urgency falls over the village. From the elders to the warriors to my mates, everyone feels a stronger need to get moving, to attack, to finish this before the witches have a chance to screw it up for us.But we aren’t prepared.Not quite yet.While Gwen gets to know the men and women who will be staying behind with her, the pack continues prepping for battle. The fields outside the edge of the village become training grounds, where everyone who will be fighting practices their moves. Weaponry, wolf combat, anything that they might need to take down the witches.Meanwhile, my men and I continue practicing with the mind link.It takes half a dozen times to really get the hang of pulling them into the astral realm, and then half a dozen more times to practice dragging them all in at the same time. Then we start working on transporting them in wolf form, which turns out to be even more difficult than when they’re human.But ev
sableDare’s hands fall to my thighs, his calloused fingers gripping my legs as he spreads them open. I can’t see all of him with Trystan leaning over me, so the moment when he buries his face between my legs takes me by surprise, even though I’ve been anticipating it.The first swipe of his hot tongue makes me whimper, and Ridge draws the sound out of my mouth with another deep kiss. I reach up, hooking my hands around the backs of Ridge’s and Archer’s necks, anchoring myself to my two mates as Dare eats me out like I truly might be his last meal.His tongue lashes back and forth over my clit before pressing against the sensitive little bud and rolling in slow waves, making my hips buck off the table. He grabs them to hold me steady, never stopping his relentless assault as he makes my eyes roll back in my head. Every time I think I’m almost used to the pattern, he changes it, moving from fast to slow and back again. When he stiffens his tongue and thrusts it inside me like he would
sable When Ridge presses a third finger past the tight ring of muscles, I gasp as pleasure morphs into pain and back again.Trystan bites down on my nipple, drawing my attention back upward. He laps away the sting and meets my gaze. “Relax. Push against him a little. It’ll make it easier.”I do as he says, and Ridge’s fingers slide deeper. They’re all so infinitely patient with me, slowing down every time I tense up and worshiping my body so completely that I feel like I’m balancing on a knife’s-edge of pleasure, ready to slip over into the pure bliss of an orgasm at any moment.Finally, Ridge slips his fingers out of me entirely. With his other hand, he gathers more of my slick arousal, using it to coat his cock, stroking himself as he looks down at me. “Are you ready for me, little wolf?”I nod, biting my lip as I meet his gaze. Without being prompted, I turn over and press up to my hands and knees, craning my neck to look over my shoulder at him. The look on his face nearly takes
DareI’m awake on watch the next morning before the sun has risen, and I swear I can feel an electric current buzzing in the air.Sable and the other guys are still sound asleep, each of them sprawled out around me, breathing deep and even. She’s a tangle of limbs and soft breaths against my side, my gorgeous fucking ray of moonlight. But beyond the silence and comfort of this bed, I can sense that the village is already up and moving. Preparations are underway for what’s about to come.There’s a strange feeling churning inside me. I want to stay here. I want to close my eyes and go to sleep where it’s warm and life is easy. But another part of me is raring to go. I could bound out of this bed in a heartbeat and race wildly into the vast unknown, ready to draw blood.It’s useless to try to fight the inevitable march of time. And our time has come. That low level hum of activity, that sense of anticipation and fear on the air? It speaks to my wolf and tells me to get ready.This is it.
“The road that led us here was not easy,” he says, his gruff voice booming over the silent crowd. “For years, we watched the witches get closer. Get bolder. For years, they prowled our lands and picked off our loved ones like they were hunting for sport. But no more!” He stops for a moment, his expression darkening. “No. More,” he repeats. “We’ve been on the defense for long enough. Now we’re taking the fight to the witches. It’s their turn to pay for their attacks against us!”The pack cheers again, and then it’s Trystan’s turn to speak. He crosses his arms and gazes out over the gathered shifters with a stony face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so stern, and the effect is startling. But then the expression melts away as he flashes a grin and booms, “Pack family. Today, we win!”Then he throws back his head and howls. It’s such a fucking Trystan thing to do that all I can do is laugh. Then I join in, as does the rest of the crowd.A bunch of shifters howling at the sky in th
DareAs we step down from the small platform, anticipation ratchets up until it almost feels like a real, tangible thing. Goodbyes are spoken, and we discuss last minute plans with the elders who will be remaining behind. I see Gwen and Sable exchange words, and I bite back a smile when the witch stiffens a little as Sable hugs her.Everyone who’ll be heading out shifts to wolf form and dons their packs with the help of those still in human form. The packs are loaded with weapons, clothes, first aid, supplies, anything we might need if the battle rages longer than a day. We have no intention of returning to pack lands until the coven is decimated.Then we’re on the move.In such a huge group, we can’t exactly be subtle about our approach. So the decision was to screw subtlety and go for speed. Make it to the coven’s stronghold so quickly that we can surround them before they even realize we’re there.Speed is relative, however. We travel for two days, all of us going full tilt and cra
SableI watch breathlessly as wolves stream across the sloping plain below our position. They move like phantoms in the slanted sunlight, legs pumping, fur billowing, the smaller groups moving in such fluid synchronicity that it almost looks like a dance. Their howls sound more like mournful cries, and it strikes terror through my heart. How many wolves will we mourn when this is over?I’m tired of death. I’m tired of fighting. I just want to be with my mates.This has to end today.Once the wolves have made their presence known, it doesn’t take much more than a minute for the witches to catch on. Forms burst from the stronghold and spill out onto the plain, magic already billowing around them.The two sides crash together like opposing waves until there’s nothing but chaos below.I swallow hard and turn my back on the scene, hoping and praying that the shifters will be able to hold their own against the witches. Every day for the last three days, I’ve done a protection sigil over the