SorenArlo’s message infuriates me on every level. I’ve made no headway in my search for Cerelia and I’m terrified of what could be happening to her. My hope was to avoid facing him in battle until I had her back by my side.I also have no intention of facing him one on one. The outcome is too uncertain. This is exactly why I would be a better leader than him, I don’t believe brute force should determine who leads the Alphas. I can’t frame it that way for the others though, werewolves respect physical strength far too much.“So this can all be over really fast and then you can enlist the help of all the packs to find our Luna,” Lewis says excitedly. He’s young and naïve. “I’m not dueling King Arlo,” I tell him flatly, “I have to find Cerelia first.”Lewis looks confused, “But it will be over quickly. If you don’t go through with it, what will our allies think?” Damon smiles at me coldly, running a whetstone across the edge of his dagger, “Yes Soren, what will the other wolves think? T
HildaArlo’s home much sooner than I expected and he’s very upset about the way things played out. I can’t deny that I’m relieved to know that he and Soren are both still alive. “He’s continuing to spread the rumor that I’m involved with dark sorcery and using Cerelia’s disappearance as an excuse to avoid facing me,” Arlo rails, while I drink him in with my eyes.“Hilda, you have to stop looking at me like I’m a snack. It’s very difficult to vent while you undress me with your eyes.” We’re in his office and it’s the middle of the day, but I don’t think I’ll make it until tonight. “You are a snack,” I tell him firmly as I lock his office door and pull the curtains closed, “And I’m intending to undress you with my hands in just a moment.”His pupils flare with need and he has me pinned against the wall in the blink of an eye, one hand trapping my wrists above my head. “Is that so?” he growls quietly, deftly undoing the buttons on my shirt with his free hand, his lips trailing hot, wet k
Cerelia We’re working on my stamina when there’s a loud knock at the door. I have a lot of magic, but my control is still lacking and I tire quickly when I try and use it. “Maelor!” My heart nearly jumps out of my chest when I hear Soren’s voice.I didn’t sense him approaching, how’s that possible? Has our bond been broken? I look for it inside myself and it takes a minute to find it. Battered, bruised and dull, but still there. The sound of his voice makes my insides ache. Part of me still longs to be in his arms more than anything. If only he didn’t long for someone else.Maelor looks at me worriedly, speaking a few words under his breath. I can’t see the barrier he’s put up, but I sense it. “He can’t hear us. You have to make a decision and fast. Do you want to stay here, or go back to your pack with your unfaithful mate? I can hide you from his sight if you decide to stay.”This should be easy, but it’s not. In spite of what Soren’s done, I still love him. The sense of betrayal a
ArloMy mate is beyond compare. Her scent is intoxicating to me. Deep, sweet and rich, underpinned by honeyed heat. Lush, enchanting and endlessly alluring. One whiff makes me want to throw my head back and howl. Informing the world that she’s mine.Her pupils are blown wide and her thighs are trembling from the effort to hold back her orgasm. Her sweet nectar coats my fingers and I can’t hold back the growl rumbling in my chest. “Mine. I have to taste you.” I rip her pretty underwear with my teeth and immediately bury my head in her sweet, succulent mound. My tongue lapping hungrily at her musky ambrosia, the need to claim her growing out of control.“So fucking good,” I hum, sucking on her clit so more of her juices rush out to meet my tongue. Her walls clench around my fingers and she’s shaking like a leaf. “Arlo. Please. Please, let me orgasm.” Her words help me focus again, reminding me that this is all about her. My desires can wait. I want her to cum on my cock, harder than she
HildaYou’d swear we’d been separated for 2 weeks and not 2 days. Arlo and I can’t get enough of each other and it’s nearly sunrise again by the time we finally manage to stay in a naked, sweaty tangle without lust driving us to lunge at each other again.“I love you, have I told you that recently?” Arlo asks, pushing the tangled hair off my brow and attempting to tuck it behind my ear. “I lost focus for a while there, but I believe so,” I say hoarsely. “Oh babe, you need water,” he says in concern, unwrapping his arms, which were holding me close to his chest, and getting up to head to the kitchen naked.The view is superb. His ass is a work of art, his legs long and muscular, his broad back topping tapered hips. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than Arlo nude. “You’re going to get me all riled up again if you keep looking at me like that,” he warns when he returns with 2 glasses of water.I’m too tired for any more right now. My body aches gloriously and I can barely keep my
Soren Something isn’t right. I certainly never spoke to Maelor about still having feelings for Hilda, how does he know about that? I’m also just about sure that I can feel Cerelia’s presence here. Perhaps the kindly mage who helped me, isn’t quite so done with the dark arts as he’d like me to believe.“Maelor, I’m in a hurry. I need your help to find where your former associates meet. You’ve stuck your neck out this far, please stretch a little more. I will protect your life with my own if it comes down to it, but I have to find Cerelia.”Maelor shakes his head sadly, looking genuinely sympathetic. “I’m sorry Soren, but I don’t know. They use magic to conceal their presence and the spell will be woven to specifically keep me from finding them.”“You also still practice magic, cast a different spell to undo theirs!” I demand more forcefully than I intended to. He looks at me like I’m mad. “They pool their strength, I can’t fight that. There’s nothing I can do to help you. I’ve told yo
Hilda“You did what?” Arlo asks, looking like he’s about to explode. “I didn’t go alone!” I defend myself against the torrent of reprimands that I’m sure is about to follow. His eyes rake over me anxiously, as if he’s afraid there may be some damage he missed before.“There’s no part of me you haven’t inspected minutely in the past 24 hours Arlo, I’m fine. Kestrel was with me and we turned around when I sensed danger.” He doesn’t seem mollified, “I told you to stay here so you could be safe, not so you’d go boldly traipsing into danger without a second thought! And don’t think for a moment that I believe you invited Kestrel to go with you. I’m willing to bet my life on it that you were told by the guards to take an escort!”I’m trying not to pout, or show him how thrilled I am by the fact that he knows me so well. “What else was I supposed to do while you were gone? Stay inside and read a book?” Arlo throws his hands into the air dramatically, “Yes! That’s exactly what you were suppos
CereliaI can’t see him, but I sense his presence immediately. Soren didn’t leave and he knows I’m here. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m angry about the things he said. His outrageous assumption that either Hilda or I would be happy to share him.But. He genuinely seemed concerned about me and frantic to save me from my supposed captors. He also said he loves me and I believed him.I barely slept last night because I feel so guilty about allowing him to leave without showing myself. And my doubts about Maelor’s true nature have resurfaced with a vengeance. Arista showing up was bad enough, but the way he lied to Soren, without a flicker of guilt to be observed, stirred up all of my misgivings again.I still don’t want to talk to Soren, but I’m not a child and running back inside and hiding under the bed isn’t an option. Sadly.“Fine Soren, you’ve found me. Come out and we’ll talk,” I call out, sure he’s close enough to hear me. I’m hoping Maelor will sleep through the noise. H
AshTara won’t look at me. It must sicken her to see me in such a dishevelled state with Isadora. I tried to convince her we should bathe and get dressed first, but I suspect she wants Tara to know what we’ve been up to.I’ve never had any trouble sexually pleasing my partners. I’m an inventive, attentive and insatiable lover under normal circumstances. Last night was the first time since becoming human that I had to close my eyes and pretend.I imagined Tara was the one in bed with me. The one I kissed. The one who sucked my cock with such exuberance. The one I fucked until she was exhausted and passed out in my arms.I didn’t offer Isadora pleasure with my tongue this time. Exceptionally talented as I am at cunnilingus, I know she was hoping I would. I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting Tara, but I know she would burst on my tongue like some exotic fruit. Intoxicating my senses. I couldn’t suckle Isadora’s clit and keep lying to myself about who I was with.“Tell me how to break th
TaraI feel violated and ill when I wake up the following morning. Ash certainly doesn’t have human stamina, based on the information gleaned from the books I’ve read. Human males apparently require a period of recovery between one bout of mating and the next.“Thank you for the books,” I tell the serving girl when she brings my breakfast. She glances at the bedside table and her eyes briefly meet mine before darting to the floor again. “That one’s good, but the other one is better,” she says quietly.So these aren’t from Redgrave at all. “I’ll make sure to hide them when I have visitors,” I promise her quietly. She lowers her head, “I don’t think she’ll know. She doesn’t pay much attention to the house. You can just say you found them in a drawer.”“My name is Tara,” I tell her gently. She looks at me again with a faint smile, “I know. The mistress cursed your name repeatedly when you took Sir Ash from her before.” Right. I wonder how Redgrave believes I managed that. It’s all to t
TaraAsh seems to have accelerated healing abilities like we do. He told me he’s never been sick and he doesn’t think he ages, but he has no idea if that’s pure luck or if he’s not as human as he seems.The black eye took a bit longer to heal than the lacerations from the whipping, but it was still much faster than a human would have mended.I wish I could see him. Just for a minute. Just to be sure he’s in the same shape physically that I am. Logically I know he has to be, but I need to see with my own eyes that he’s fine. Or at least as fine as it’s possible to be while pretending to be enchanted by a completely delusional woman.If Isadora Redgrave hadn’t shown up when she did, I know exactly what would have happened to me next in that cage and I despise having to feel grateful to her, but I can’t deny that I am. I’d rather be beaten for hours on end than sexually violated by Malcolm.I know the only reason I’m being kept in this beautiful room and fed like royalty is because
RedgraveAs much as I despise Tara, seeing her spread-eagled, bloody and whimpering in pain doesn’t bring me any pleasure. I’m not a cat, who needs to play with my food before I deal the final blow.“Do you no longer need her to get you across the border?” I ask with a raised brow. Malcolm frowns as though the question makes no sense. “I do. She’s not dead,” he responds sullenly.“I gather she attacked you?” His jaw clenches, “What are you getting at, Isadora?” he asks irritably. “I’m trying to understand why you’re torturing her. What’s the point?”“She came here to spy on us before. My men only caught her this time because she was chasing down your precious Ash. She may have important information that could impact the mission,” he informs me dryly. Like I’m a silly child asking stupid questions. I wonder whether he knows that the thin layer of ice that he’s standing on has already started to crack.“Have you asked her?” I enquire. I can hear his teeth grinding together before he
MalcolmEither I was incredibly unlucky with the first werewolf I captured, or this one is very weak for some reason. Maybe because she’s linked to the human.I need to know whether most of them are more like Arlo, or like her. It’s going to make a huge difference in the size of the force I need. Arlo bent steel bars and wouldn’t go down until he was peppered with tranquillizer darts.I wouldn’t have stepped into Arlo’s cage for all the money in the world. Not even when he’d just been knocked out. This little female is completely different. One shot puts her down and she hasn’t attempted to shift once.Maybe I don’t even need to keep putting up with Redgrave. I’ve acquired an arsenal of weapons because Arlo refused to bloody die. Something tells me if I shoot this one in the head, she’ll expire immediately.As tempted as I am to test out my theory, I need her to get me into the werewolves’ territory. Her screams are like the most beautiful symphony. Ringing out loudly with each e
TaraArlo’s advice definitely helped. I’ve been drifting in and out of consciousness from the one dart that hit me, but I never fully went under. I’m abruptly pulled from my dreamy state when pain explodes in my head and my left eye starts throbbing.Ash. What are they doing to him? I want to hurl myself at the bars of the cage surrounding me and demand that they set him free, but we have to maintain our cover.“What the hell are you yipping about?” one of the guards stationed around my prison asks. I hadn’t realized I was making small sounds of distress.Based on the sheer volume of armed guards surrounding me, it’s clear King Arlo gave them a lot of trouble. Pride swells in my chest. He truly is a worthy leader for our pack.“Did she just hit herself?” one of the others asked, gaping at what must be significant bruising around my eye.“Crazy bitch,” the first guy mutters. “I’ve been watching her, she didn’t do it to herself. Her head rocked back and then the bruise was there.
AshFuck. This is not supposed to be happening. What the hell do I do now? I’ve never met Malcolm, but by all accounts he’s the scum of the earth and has no conscience. And he knows I’m not a mythical hero. He planted the bullshit that made Redgrave believe I was some kind of Messiah.He may just decide to kill us for the hell of it. No. I can’t think like that. He needs Tara to get across the border. That doesn’t mean he won’t hurt her though. Or kill me, if he doesn’t believe we’re linked. The problem is, we actually are.Cerelia cast a spell before we left, binding our life forces together. I’ll suffer any harm done to Tara, and she’ll die if they kill me.It was meant to keep Tara safe from Redgrave, and provide further proof that she controls me. I would happily offer my own life if it would save Tara, but it’s currently impossible.The men who grabbed me pulled a thick burlap sack over my head. I can’t see anything and even hearing is problematic. I know they put Tara in
TaraAsh is being extremely huffy as we walk toward the border. “I could have done this on my own. There’s absolutely no reason for you to be putting yourself in danger.”“Aside from the multitude of reasons already discussed in the war council?” I ask, matching his level of peevishness without any trouble. “And don’t suggest again that you could have steered them towards a specific area to cross the border, because it would have been too suspicious and risky.”He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, like I’m the one giving him a headache, instead of the other way around.“Look, I know you want to leave the forest and get back to Raventon as soon as possible. This is the best way for us to speed up the timeline of Malcolm’s attack and control the outcome. I’m sure this is why Scarlett called you here and you can leave as soon as the threat is neutralized.”“Dammit, Tara! This isn’t about me getting back to my life in the city, it’s about your safety. I don’t want you to be hurt. I
Arlo“I don’t like it,” I say, shaking my head.“For once we agree on something,” Ash huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re not going out there like some lamb to the slaughter,” he tells Tara with finality.“I don’t remember asking for your permission,” Tara tells him softly and Ash’s head jerks back like she just slapped him.“Nobody likes it, but we have to act first,” she continues in her quiet, but determined tone. “We have no idea what Malcolm is up to. If we can control when they cross the border, Cerelia can do her thing. Humans don’t know about our ability to mind link.”“We weren’t able to use the mind link while you were in the city,” I point out grimly. Tara nods, “I know. I’ve spoken to Cerelia and she agrees that it’s probably because of the magical barrier at the border. The moment we come across, I can warn you, so you’ll have at least a 30 minute headstart.”“I could communicate with Arlo when Malcolm had him,” Hilda says, a shiver of distaste running down