Hope you enjoyed this update. Be sure to leave a comment or gem letting me know what you think of the story so far. Thank you for all your support! Ellie xo
Julia POV Louise had been contained, albeit reluctantly. Elizabeth had returned to her office shortly after escorting Louise from the room. “She is going to stay, and I have convinced her to think of the baby she is carrying. The baby is innocent, and my hope is she will think about that before she leaves,” Elizabeth relayed. “She cannot leave with that baby,” Cami started to say when Elizabeth cut her off. “I will do everything in my power to keep her here, but I will not make her a prisoner. For now, Julia will stay away from the palace, so that we can keep Louise calm. She has some questions for you, Cami. Questions about the baby. I suggested she get some rest, and you would visit her later. I admit I felt a little bitter at the thoughts of being banished from the palace for the time being. But it was a small price to pay for the safety of the baby. I could not imagine Cami becoming a mother, but her passion for this
Julia POV We raced through the night to the location the officer had told Eric they were waiting for us. I felt a sense of nervousness, almost as if foreboding what was to come. Cami glanced my way, “You okay?” she asked me. I nodded, “Something feels off,” I told her. Eric and Jackson both looked at me. “What do you mean?” Eric asked. “I do not know. Just something does not feel right,” I shared with them uncertain what was going on. “Perhaps we should go back?” Jackson suggested. “No! We have to get Fred and Mary out of that situation,” I said to them. I could not leave the elderly couple in the hands of whoever had them any longer. Eric looked at me before replying, “We will go, but we all stay together,” he said. I agreed, “I think that is the best plan.”. “We also have our warriors with us. We will have some strength in our numbers,” Jackson added. Cami and I sat back. I felt Cami take my hand and squeeze it.
Julia POV “My dad? I do not know my dad,” I commented. “He has been watching you for many years. Who do you think sent us to retrieve you?” Fred said. Retrieve me. What was I? A dog? “Well, you cannot retrieve me. I have a mate; I have a life here,” I said to them calmly. Much calmer than I felt. Inside my stomach was churning. “She will not be going anywhere,” Cami said strongly. Mary laughed as Fred scowled at her. “You fucked a lot of things up. The rogue was sent to retrieve Julia the night you were attacked. You surviving the attack was a disappointment. Clearly you have healing powers of your own that prevented your death,” Fred said. Cami shrugged as I looked at her. What else did I not know about my friend? It did not matter now. I was grateful she was alive and with me. I still felt Eric prodding to get into my mind, “How many are in there?” Eric demanded angrily. “There are three that I can see,” I
Julia POV “Not on my watch,” the voice said as the witch was tossed across the room. I saw her try to scramble to stand up, but she had been injured when she had been tossed. As she hit the wall, Cami was freed from her frozen position, and Jackson leapt forward to catch her before she fell. I felt Eric beside me, as I turned to look behind me. I was confused to see Elizabeth standing there with another small, blonde woman beside her. The stranger’s hands were raised, and she was waving her arms in the air similar to Cami when she cast a spell. I heard the witch scream, and my head whipped around to see her being bound by golden cuffs.“You cannot do this,” the witch screamed. “I can and I have,” the stranger said as she stepped towards us. Cami moved forward and hugged the stranger, “I have never been so relieved to see you,” she murmured to the woman as they stepped apart from one another. “What is going on?” I asked.“Julia, meet my cousi
Eric POV I watched as Julia sparred with Carter. He was not going easy on her and she was holding her own. It killed me to watch her have to train this hard, but it was the only way she would be able to learn how to defend herself in her human form. Her wolf would help her but was limited unless they were in wolf form. There was also the looming threat of her father. We had talked late into the night about how she would like to meet her father. I can appreciate her need for familial connection. I am simply concerned this is not the right time. And I am concerned about her father’s intentions. If he went to this much trouble to try and acquire her, it does not bode well for his intentions. And how is he connected to the witch, Henrietta? So many questions. We needed our own seer. Someone who could see the future for us. But they were hard to come by, and we had not had success in finding one for the Kingdom.
Julia POV I looked to Eric in surprise. He put his phone on speaker phone and nodded to me to speak. “Hello?” I replied. I heard a swift intake of breath from the other end of the line. “Julia?” I heard come out in a somewhat strangled voice. “Yes. Who is this?” I demanded. “I am your father, Julia,” the man responded. “How do I know this is even real?” I asked. I had no connection to this voice. No immediate sense of recognition. No feeling like I was talking to a parent. “I understand you have questions,” he started to say when I interrupted him. “Questions? I have more than questions. I have years of wondering where the hell you were. Years of wondering if you even knew I existed. My mother never mentioned my father, so how do I know this is not some sick game for you?” I asked, as my voice cracked. A small part of me wanted to believe there was someone out there who I was related to. But not like this. Not rel
Eric POV My body tensed and I stepped in front of Julia to protect her from whoever was in front of us. I watched the woman move forward towards Julia, but I held my hand out stopping her in her tracks. “Do not come any closer,” I cautioned her. I had no qualms about killing this threat. “Julia,” the woman said softly. I glanced at Julia to see tears streaming down her cheeks. What the hell. Who was this woman? “It is not possible,” Julia mumbled as Cami moved forward. “What kind of joke is this?” Cami demanded angrily. “Who is she?” I asked tersely, needing to know what we were dealing with. “My mother,” Julia responded in a strangled voice. I looked between the woman and Julia and could see the family resemblance. But how was it possible? She died? Didn’t she? “You are an imposter,” I said angrily, moving towards the woman. I would not have Julia hurt more than she already had been. “Do not come an
Julia POV “Why is that any different than what we already knew?” I asked, confused and angry at the situation we were in. I was in shock, I knew that. My mother was alive and standing in front of me. And all I could feel was bitterness and resentment. I should be rejoicing in her being alive, but I felt nothing but betrayal and hurt. “Guardian wolves are rare; a healing Guardian wolf is even more rare. We can heal other wolves as well as humans,” the man claiming to be my father stated. “That is a good thing. We could help many people,” I stated, unclear what the problem was. “Julia, sweetheart, you do not understand,” Eric started to say when I cut him off. “So, dumb it down for me, Eric. What is the problem?” I demanded angrily. Eric sighed, “If you heal too many people, you will die yourself. Once people realize you can heal wolves as well as humans, there are corrupt wolves who would sell you to the highest bidders;
Julia POV We came downstairs the next morning to find Laura sobbing in the sitting room. I looked around to see if anyone had brought her anything for breakfast. Walking towards her, I asked, “Have you eaten?”. She looked up at me with her wet cheeks and bloodshot eyes and spit out, “It is because of you he left!”. “He tried to have Eric killed last night. If he had not left on his own, I was going to kick him out. The only unfortunate part is he did not take you with him,” I replied calmly. “Julia,” Eric started to say but I held my hand up. “I do not know who you are, but my mother never pined away for a man in her life. It is like by saving you, you lost a piece of yourself,” I told her. She looked at me and wiped her cheeks, “I need to leave. I need to find him,” she murmured. “Do you know how to find him?” I asked, as we still wanted to get him back. “I think I could find my way,” she mumbled, as she stood and moved
Julia POV As we shifted and raced back home, I considered how I was going to handle Lincoln. He needed to go; I simply did not know if he would go peacefully. Did it matter, I thought to myself. Eric stuck close to me, offering me his warmth to help deal with the anger I felt. I was furious that so many lives had been risked tonight and for what? As we arrived at the clearing, we both shifted and put our clothes on. Eric turned to me, “Whatever happens, you have my support,” he stated. “I appreciate that; there is only one solution,” I replied as we walked towards the house. “Make the right decision for you. You have much to learn, still,” he reminded me. “There must be other ways to learn,” I replied as we walked into the open door of the house. As we walked in, it was eerily silent. Eric nudged me behind him. I rolled my eyes but allowed my man to take the lead as I listened intently for any movement. There was nothi
Eric POV Lincoln was up to something. What I did not know, but it was something. As I lay there considering everything, with Julia snuggled in my arms, I hear an alarm through the palace mind-link. “Rogues! Rogue attack happening at the main border!!!” came through in a panic. We never had rogue attacks. In fact, we often raided rogue hideouts to ensure we did not have any situations to take care of. I jumped up, with Julia looking at me startled. “What is happening?” she asked sleepily. “Rogues; I want you to stay with your guards until we are certain you are safe,” I said to her as I threw on a pair of basketball shorts. Julia moved out of the bed, “No,” she replied as she grabbed a t-shirt of mine and threw it over her naked body. “Julia,” I started to say when she cut me off. “You will be too distracted worrying about me, if you leave me behind. I am going with you” she said with finality. “This cou
Julia POV I spent the afternoon training once again with Lincoln. We were introduced to our security details. Lincoln was as ungracious as ever, already starting to alienate himself from those around him. I ignored his attitude and simply focused on learning. Eric was there once again, watching over me and assuring himself Lincoln was only focused on training. It was an intense fight, and I was loving it. A few times Lincoln almost got the better of me, but I managed to deflect his hits and prevent him from kicking my stomach. I felt angry when he tried and went at him like a mama bear protecting her pups. Good lord, now I was thinking like the rest of them, I thought with a chuckle. I would die for these babies. They were the best of Eric and me. I loved them already so intensely it hurt. Distracted I got a kick in the face, when Eric yelled, “Enough!”. He raced over to me, as my dislocated jaw quickly mended. I was good
Julia POV It was time. We were almost to the palace, and I could not wait to get back to Eric’s place. He kept reminding me it was our place, but it was still surreal to think I lived in a palace. I was home. With Eric, he was home for me and that was all that mattered. I could see the front of his house, and my breath caught. Cami was waiting for us, with Jackson by her side. She was beaming, and I was bouncing in my seat to get out of the vehicle. As soon as it stopped, I flew the door open and ran into my best friend’s waiting arms. “I cannot believe you are here; I have been so worried about you,” Cami murmured as we stood there holding one another, tears of joy rolling down our cheeks. “I know; I was not sure when I would see you again,” I blubbered on. Cami stepped back and looked at me. She placed her hand on my small baby bump and smiled, “Two happy babies in there,” she commented before remov
Julia POV I felt nauseous at the conditions Eric had just accepted. He was putting our entire relationship on the line for something we may not be able to control. “I disagree,” I stated angrily. Eric looked to me, realizing that he should have spoken with me first before agreeing to such a ridiculous condition. “Too late, the deal has been struck. Or do you not trust your mate to protect you?” Lincoln taunted, softly. “Aren’t I the strongest wolf? If I am, then the question should be, do you not trust me?” I asked. Lincoln looked at me for a moment before he looked away. “I do not want to lose you so quickly after I just found you,” he murmured. “Taking me from my mate is not the way to accomplish that,” I replied. I did not add that I did not look to him as a father figure. Lincoln looked back to me, “Well, I hope your mate can prove his ability to protect us, or the three of us will be leaving together,” he said as he t
Julia POV The food was delicious, and our night together, reconnecting, was amazing. I had gotten up early, out of habit, as I needed to be ready for my training session with Lincoln. Eric sat up groggily in the bed, “Where are you going, so early?” he asked. “I have a training session that I need to get to,” I replied. Eric was instantly alert, “I am going with you. I do not trust that bastard, and I am not letting you deal with him alone,” he stated. I was going to tell him it was alright; I could handle this on my own, but I knew it would not stop him. He had a strong desire to be with me and protect me. And I had an equally strong desire to let him, I thought with a smile. Eric quickly threw on some gym pants, and a t-shirt and he was ready to roll. I smiled at him, and he paused, “What?” he asked as he moved closer, pulling me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his lips to mine, “Good morning,”
Eric POV “Will you stay with Lincoln, or will you come home with me?” I asked Julia. I waited, nervously, for her to reply. What was likely seconds seemed like forever, “Wherever you are is home for me,” she replied moving into my arms. “I love you so much, sweetheart,” I said to her. She looked up at me with her beautiful eyes, “I love you more,” she replied with a smile. I held her in my arms, happy that we had found a way forward. A plan to start with. “Let’s go and discuss our plans with Lincoln,” I suggested to Julia. She nodded, standing up and walking towards the washroom. She glanced back at me, “Shower first?” she teased as she raced to the washroom with me in hot pursuit. Later … much later … we were walking towards the dining area where Julia usually joined Lincoln and Laura. As we rounded the corner, we saw Lincoln and Laura in what seemed to be a tense conversation. As Laura saw us, she had a tentative smile.
Julia POV I laid in bed, feeling warm and cozy. I had the best rest and could only breathe in the scent of my mate. I must have been having a good dream to have his scent so strong surrounding me. I stretched out and then paused feeling an arm holding me close to their body. I screamed, and bounced off the bed, startling whoever had been holding me. I cleared my eyes and looked in shock as Eric looked back at me, confused with my reaction. “Eric?” I whispered, before I recognized he was in front of me, “Eric!” I squealed as I jumped back into bed and into his waiting arms. I kissed him all over his face, before landing on his smiling mouth. He had been laughing, but immediately captured my attention as his tongue slid into my mouth. I moved closer so I was straddling his body, his hardness awakening and pushing against my core. “When did you get here?” I asked, moving my head back slightly. “A while ago, I