“You did better than I thought you would,” Dmitri watched me pull my hair back up after we showered and changed to meet the other Alphas for drink.
I frowned at him over my shoulder, “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to take that.”
“You won Maxim over already,” he smiled, “I expected him to need a lot more than being yanked off his feet.”
“Only a little over half of the Alphas are even here, and there’s still plenty of time for him to change his mind.”
&
I was still annoyed with all three of them the next morning and used Kelly’s check-up as an excuse to think about something else for a while. Blake frowned at me as we walked towards the hospital to meet with Kelly and Dr Martinez. “You seem unusually broody this morning. I thought the time spent with the other Alphas had been successful.” “It was fine,” I shrugged not really wanting to talk about the part that irritated me. “I just don’t like all these political mind games we have to play.” “Alpha Maxim seems to be a strong candidate for an ally,” Blake gave me a hopeful smile.&nb
Nathan split off from me as soon as he was sure that I would keep Blake by my side for the rest of the day. Kelly’s check-up went well; she and the baby were strong and well. But, I was concerned about her mental state as she continued to adjust to her and her wolf’s gifts. “Are you sure that you want to go through with the baby shower? I don’t care what anyone else thinks; if you aren’t feeling up for it, I’ll cancel and everyone else will just have to deal with it.” Kelly smiled at me, “I’m sure that it’ll be fine. It’ll only last a few hours and it’ll be good for the pack, right?” “I’m more concerned about what is good for you,” I argued and looked to Blake to back me up. “If it becomes too much,” she shrugged, “I’ll just pretend to be tired and leave early.” “Pretend?” Blake danced out of her reach with a big grin as she tried to smack his arm. Watching the two of them together always p
Four new Lunas had arrived since the day before, and Jeanette made sure I was introduced to them before getting everyone else settled in at the tables assembled in the greenhouse. “This is Luna Makayla Crestwood of the Red Oasis Pack, Luna Katherine O’Donnell of the Bloodmoon Pride, Luna Sarah Clark of the Silent Silver River Pack, and Luna Lisa Lawrence of the Raging Peaks Pack. Ladies, this is Alpha Selene D’Arcadia Volkov of the Opalescent Moon Pack.” Each one gave me a soft submissive nod as they were introduced, but I was starting to worry that I’d never be able to remember everyone’s names if many more showed up over the next few days. I pushed my worry aside and gave them all a smile, “I hope that you all were able to settle in comfortably. This is my Delta, Blake,” I gestured towards him and then at the four men that no one mentioned that were unfamiliar to me, “And these gentlemen are?” Each woman looked taken aback and confused
“Do you think that Connor is going to stay or leave?” I had waited to voice the question until we were making our way to join the other Alphas for drinks again. I could feel the irritation still radiating off of Dmitri, “Depends on which consequences he can live with.” “What do you mean?” He let out a soft sigh, “If he leaves the other Alphas will consider him a coward. If he stays he’ll be considered inferior to us. Either way his position weakens and could jeopardize any alliances that he has.” His brows knit together like he was trying to decide whether or not to say more. When I frowned at him he added, “If he stays we’ll have to be keep a close eye on him in case he tries to retaliate.” His eyes zeroed in on the twitch of my lips, “You didn’t.” I shrugged, “If, after all of that, he honestly thinks his place is to be in a position to challenge us in anyway, then he deserves whatever ha
She took one look at my face and patted the space on the bed beside her and opened her arms to me. So many times in my life this was the most comforting place I knew. Even though I knew that she wasn’t my mother now, I still felt that maternal love from her when she held me close like this. “I haven’t seen you look like this in years,” Kalliope sighed into my hair, “not since you were a little girl.” I leaned my head on her shoulder, “I’m starting to think I hate men.” She chuckled, “I’m sure whatever the problem is, you and your mate will find a way to work it out.” “Not him,” I shook my head, “at least not this time. It’s all the other Alphas and their politics and rigid views on what a woman should be, and their egotistical macho bull shit!” She squeezed me tighter, “It can be a difficult game to play, but they’ll soon go back to their own packs and life will go back to normal for y
I stood rooted in place and watched Selene leave. I couldn’t follow after her. It would weaken her position and make it look like I thought she needed me to protect her if I did. Not that anyone seemed to be looking at me right now. Caleb slid up beside me and quietly hissed in my ear, “I thought she understood that the goal was to get the other Alphas to support us against her uncle’s claims, not alienate them by demonstrating her unique strengths.” I turned to glare at him; struggling to keep from breaking his jaw, “She didn’t do anything but talk to him.” “We were all witnesses. He challenged her,” Maxim shook his head at Caleb, “If he’d come at any of us that way we’d be scraping him off the floor right now.” His lips curled up in an amused smile, “He might have suffered less of an embarrassment if he’d come at one of us instead. She didn’t even have to touch him to make her point.” Instead of being th
I couldn’t help but feel like Dmitri had found a new crafty way to torment and torture me. After being backed against a wall, literally, his close proximity made my heart skip a beat. But he hadn’t taken the bait when I pushed myself up onto my toes for a kiss. He stepped away from me and reminded me of our obligation to join our guests for dinner. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown in my face. There wasn’t even a hint of playfulness on his face. I hadn’t thought visiting my aunt would upset him quite this much. “Let’s go Princess,” his growl had sent a shiver down my back and made my toes want to curl. Playing it over and over in my head distracted me from the conversations around the table. Now, every time I absently chewed on my lower lip and daydreamed about the promise hidden behind his threat, he scolded me silently with a stern look. If it wasn’t for the gnawing hunger I could feel through the bond
Dmitri refused to budge out of his chair, as he continued to brood over everything Caleb had dumped in our laps. This was not the direction I thought my night was heading in after the loaded promise I earned before dinner. I grabbed a fresh bottle out of the liquor cabinet and exchanged it with the empty one on the desk. “Let’s get on with it,” I hopped up on the edge of the desk and pulled the bottle over to me. “But if we’re going to do this right now, I’m going to need to catch up a little bit first.” I knocked the bottle back and gagged as the liquid burned the back of my throat. I managed to swallow a shot or two down before I had to give up. Dmitri looked up at me with a half cocked grin and an arched brow, “Is that the best you can manage?” “It’s not my fault that it goes down like lit kerosene,” I croaked out, trying to keep the liquid from coming back up while I spoke. I managed another small swig before I held the bottle out
If you've made it all the way to end of this chapter in Selene's journey, then I hope that you've enjoyed the ride thus far. The next and final chapter of her life "Rite of War" should start posting around December of 2023. If you feel like being encouraging, and you have a minute or two to spare, please add a book review/comment. I don't know if it helps boost the story, but I do know that they boost my mood
I didn’t know how long I stood there, just staring at the lump in my hand as the thumping slowed to a stop. But I could still feel its pulse in my fingertips. Not fingers exactly, something more akin to monster hands. I found myself wondering if they’d be as pristinely white as the short velvety fur coving my arm if they weren’t coated in blood. “Selene…” Someone said my name, but they sounded too far away for me to recognize the voice. The dead lump rolled off my fingertips, falling to the ground with a wet thud. I didn’t feel anything now that it wasn’t pulping in my hand. I was numb and hollowed out, just like the lifeless husk at my feet.&nb
The sky was completely free of even the barest wisp of a cloud. It was as if the gods were watching, and had declared that nothing obstruct their view of the fight they’d been promised. There weren’t even any birds singing in the forest around our little meadow in the middle of the woods. Someone was going to die here today. Sophie had done well. A ten foot circle was clearly marked in the center of the grass with a larger circle marked around it another ten feet out. Beyond that, two white tents stood up on opposite sides of each other. I was supposed to do all of this, but the goddess wouldn’t settle for anything less than a full twenty-four hours. I had to kill someone today. I knew that I was physically capable of doing it. I was just a little iffy on if I had the conviction to kill her in such a gruesome way. It would’ve been much easier to just order her to stop breathing. But blood had to be spilt. I’d be rem
I felt a little guilty for leaving Blake to deal with Selene’s possession all night. Now I owed him, Kelly and Sophie big. I just couldn’t risk that she’d find a way to seduce me if we were alone together. She curled up beside Blake on the sofa, under a throw blanket with her head on his lap. At least he’d managed to get her to sleep before she was set to fight to death in a couple hours. Blake looked exhausted himself, like he hadn’t slept a wink and brought his finger to his lips in a shushing motion when he saw me. ‘How much trouble did she give you?’ His shrug
It wasn’t too hard to babysit a goddess once I started approaching the situation like I was taking care of my own little sister when she much younger. Aside from having a filthy vocabulary and an overwhelming sense of entitlement, it was just like taking care of a ten year old girl. She played in the water like she was a nymph, basked in the sun until it got too warm, preferred sweets and junk food over veggies, playing dress up with the plethora of clothes in the closet, and sitting on the floor in front of me while I brushed and braided her long, unruly curly locks for her. “She chose well with you,” she sighed contentedly as she watched me clean up our dinner dishes.
“I don’t understand, what is going on?” Alex stared at me as I watched Dmitri storm down the hall. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her out of the hall, “I don’t know yet either, but I’ll let you know what I can when I find out. Ok love?” She frowned at me, “Meaning you have to leave early this morning.” “You know I don’t want too,” I brushed the hair out of her face, “and in just one more day, almost all of this craziness will be done and over. Then I can ask Dimi and Selene to let us have a few days out at the cabin.&rdq
Nathan ran back to spend his day with Candice, some kind of last day with her mate bullshit. Dmitri had shifted back into his wolf to carry the goddess in Selene’s body out to their hideaway cabin, since she was deadlocked in human form. I was tasked with grabbing a motorbike for Dmitri to ride back on, since I’d be staying out there with Selene. ‘There’s been a change of plans,’ I linked to Kelly as soon as I was close enough. ‘Did you guys find Selene?’ ‘Yes, but she’s not herself today, so we’re spending the day out at the cabin,’ I expl
It wasn’t hard to see that everyone had picked up on Selene’s complete lack of interest in everything around her. But just like everyone else, I said nothing. After the report Nathan gave me of the test run he’d put together for her, she seemed broken in a way that none of us knew how to heal. I couldn’t help but feel that things were only going to get worse. If ‘killing’ a statue had this effect on her, what was going to happen when she actually took a life? I cursed myself for letting her set the terms to all or nothing. Someone had to die, and I was starting to worry that she’d let it be her instead of having to take a life herself. Traditions and laws be d
There was definitely something off about Selene tonight, but no one seemed to want to voice anything about it. I was willing to bet that the only person that would’ve spoken up, was Blake, but she’d ordered him to stay with his mate for the rest of the day and even arranged to have their diner brought up to them so that Kelly wouldn’t have to tax herself any further by dealing with more people. She kept staring off into space throughout the meal. Clearly her mind was somewhere else. But she still managed to fake a smile, and nod at the appropriate times as the conversations prompted. She didn’t even lean into Dmitri’s touch, which struck me as more odd than her lack of banter.&