I used to think that losing my parents was the worst thing that could have happened to me. But nothing could be worse than being humiliated in front of your mate and your worst enemy. Dean touched me in ways I never wanted him to touch me. He did it to terrorize Axel because he knew that Axel couldn't do anything. Our plan hadn't worked out. They caught us off guard and managed to inject Axel before he could kill them. Kelsey was knocked out even before she could shift. And, I was left defenseless because Axel had already tied me up again. For some reason, I felt like they had everything planned and managed to fool us. Rowan was playing a game and I wasn't sure why. Axel was already hurting. I was humiliated. And I wasn't sure why Kelsey was locked up with us. Shivers raced down my spine when I heard the soft click of the lock on the door turning. Dread instantly flooded me when the door opened and Luther stepped inside. He smirked when his eyes locked with mine. "What a grea
I hovered in the doorway, staring at Cora. It's been three days since we found her. Three days since Xan and Keiran killed Rowan. Cora slept for most of the time. She only woke up to use the bathroom, to eat, or when Keiran or Axel cleaned her still-healing wounds. Some had already healed but they left ugly scars behind. We were still waiting for Dean to show up. It was why we decided that Axel's room was the safest place for Cora to sleep. Not that we left her alone for long. We knew that Dean was going to come for her. We just didn't know when. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"My eyes snapped over to Axel. He had been slumped in the chair next to the bed with his head tilted back and eyes closed. "I thought you were sleeping," I muttered as I stepped further into the room. He said nothing as he stood and quietly left the room. I kinda felt bad for kicking him out of his own room but I didn't stop him from leaving. Hovering next to the bed, I stared down at Cora. She sle
Ryder’s lips moved along my skin, pressing soft kisses here and there. We had moved to the bed, something that he had pointed out was a bit awkward because it was Axel’s bed. I reassured him that the sheets had been changed the night before and that we hadn’t had sex..in the bed. He still hadn’t looked convinced. But at least his mind was not occupied with other things. Like torturing me. I should have told him that I wanted him to fuck me hard and fast. Instead, he took it upon himself to torture me slowly. He was inside me, fucking me slowly while he peppered my skin with kisses. Every time I was close to orgasm, he would stop until I calmed down before moving again. It would be a lie if I said I didn’t love it. Shifting slightly, Ryder kissed a path up my neck. His lips lingered there and then slipped along my jaw to capture my lips in a slow kiss. I lost myself in him until my wolf rose to the surface. As if he could sense the change inside me, he raised his head to look a
“Welcome home, sweetling.”My eyes fluttered open as the words flashed through my mind again. The bed dipped on either side of me, making my smile widen, but it faded the moment his lips brushed along the scars on my lower back. I tensed and clutched the pillow tighter. “Ryder ran you a bath,” he said softly. “We need to leave in ten minutes.”His body brushed along mine as he moved higher until his lips reached my shoulder. There, he paused to press a kiss to my skin and then turned his head to press his face against the back of my neck. “Are they going to punish you?” I asked. Keiran tensed, but he didn’t immediately answer. “I don’t know,” he finally answered. “They know exactly what happened.”“You make it sound like the council can’t be trusted.” “They can’t.” He swallowed loudly. “At least not everyone. Demetrius is always on our side, but I can’t say the same about the other elders. They weren’t happy when I challenged my father and won.” I swallowed. The happiness I felt
“I have her.”I gripped the edge of the table tightly. It was taking everything in me to keep the beast in check. If I could, I would have allowed him out to rip the council to shreds, but I couldn’t take that risk. I couldn’t risk losing my pack. Cora needed them. She needed protection and we wouldn’t be able to provide it alone. If we left pack territory it would paint a target on our back. The last thing I wanted to do was make things worse after all the shit she went through. “You lied to us,” Abigail’s mate growled. “You told us she was human but that’s not the truth. We had to find out from someone else that she’s a shifter.”I held my breath, waiting for him to tell everyone that she was a rare breed. “We should have been informed what she was the moment she stepped foot on this land.”“If I may…” Kelsey stepped forward. “The council was formed to advise our alpha. It wasn’t formed to control his every move. As alpha of our pack, he doesn’t have to report everything to you.
"Why is it taking so long?" Ryder tried to grab me when I passed him but I avoided his hands and moved further away from him. I didn't want to stay in that room any longer, but I regretted not staying. Now we had no clue what was happening. "Do you think Keiran attacked Dean?" I asked Ryder. "What if he did and they decided to make his punishment worse?""Cora." Ryder stood and made his way over to me. He gripped my hips, spinning me around to look at him. "As Kelsey pointed out, the council is only there to advise Keiran. They can't punish him for anything."I swallowed, glancing at the door again. "They're fine."Sucking in a shaky breath, I stepped into Ryder and wrapped my arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face against the crook of my neck. Calm washed through me from our bond, but it only lasted a few seconds before my anxiety started rising again. Ryder's lips parted and his tongue flicked out to lick my skin. I shuddered. "I can think of
Guilt flooded me when I approached our house and spotted Lucas slowly straightening from where he had been leaning against the tree. It was almost three am and I was sure that he was dead tired. "Axel hasn't returned yet," Lucas said softly. "There's been no other movement.""Thank you," I said through our packlink. He nodded. "Do you want me to stick around?""Just open the door for me." I followed him to the front door and slipped inside the moment he opened the door. With a nod of thanks, I waited until the door was closed again before I ran up the stairs. The house was silent. Cora was probably asleep already which was good because I wasn't sure if I could look her in the eye and lie about everything that happened. Axel said that he hadn't told Cora about the other videos Dean had made of her. The kid had been stalking her for years. I was going to make him bleed over and over again to make him pay for all the shit he put her through. Entering my bedroom, I headed towards
It looked like he didn't want to answer me. Why were they so secretive about it? Letting out a sigh, Keiran settled more comfortably on his stomach. I turned onto my side and waited. "I needed some time away from the pack," he said softly. "I asked Lucas to keep an eye on things and declined his offer for extra security. I was going to a human town and I thought that it would be safe." "It wasn't?" "I stopped for a drink at a bar, I'm ashamed to admit that I had a little too much." He paused. "Werewolves need to drink a lot of alcohol before we feel the effect of it. I lost count and before I knew it I could barely walk. Decided it was best to get back to the hotel I was staying at before I did something stupid." I waited a little impatiently for him to continue. "I got lost and ended up in an alley." Keiran closed his eyes. "My mind was a mess and I wasn't aware that I was being followed until they jumped on me. I struggled to fight them off and I was pretty smug about it unt
“Sweetling.”I frowned as Axel’s soft voice penetrated my dream. It wasn’t a nightmare like usual, it was a nice peaceful dream, one I didn’t want to wake up from. “Cora.”A groan slipped past my lips when he gently shook my shoulder. Forcing my eyes open, I blinked up at his face hovering close to mine. Axel gave me a gentle smile as he reached out to move the hair from my face. “You’re bleeding.”His words confused me even more. Axel pulled the sheets down and then gripped my arm and gently pulled me up. Frown deepening, I glanced around and then down at my body. Slipping his arm under my knees and the other around my back, he pulled me against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck but risked a glance back at the bed. Horror hit first and then embarrassment. Not only were my pajama bottoms covered in blood, but there was also blood on the bed sheets. I buried my face against Axel’s neck. “I’m a werewolf,” I mumbled. “I’m not supposed to get my period, am I?”“You are s
Ryder moved to my other side and slipped his hand in mine. Nothing was said between the three of us as we headed towards the stage that had been set up. Keiran was already there, making a joke about something. All the focus was on him which meant that nobody had seen Axel’s confrontation with his mother. We had arrived just in time to hear the end of their conversation. I glanced up at Axel. He was still mad, but at least he had managed to mask his expression. Although people were still wary of his crimson eyes. My heartbeat increased the closer we got to the stage. Axel’s hand slipped out of mine when we reached the stairs. He moved behind me as Ryder led the way up the steps. Keiran turned, eyes locking with mine. He smiled as he held his hand out towards me. “I would like to officially introduce Cora Marlin, our mate, and your new Luna.”I turned to smile at the people. “Tonight we’re not only celebrating Cora’s special day, but we will also be welcoming her to our pack.” He
Most of the pack was already gathered at the usual spot. Laughter and conversation filled the air. I sucked in a breath, trying my best to identify as many scents as I could. There was no sign of danger, but that didn’t make me feel any better. I knew how easily things could change. Cora’s hand tightened. My eyes snapped down to hers. She smiled at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her scent had changed the moment we stepped foot out of the house. I tried talking Keiran out of making it a big deal but he insisted. This was an important day for our pack. They needed to see Cora holding her head high and acting at Luna. These pack dynamics still confused me. It was so different than how things were done in the Vampire nests. A shudder raced down my spine as memories flooded my mind. Cora suddenly stumbled. My hands instantly shot out to steady her. Our eyes locked and held. I realized with a start that she had paled. She looked sick. “What happened?” I questioned. “Are you fee
“You can’t hide in there forever,” Blue called from the other side of the door. “Come out and let me see.”I ignored her as I studied myself in the mirror. Blue had chosen one of the new dresses Keiran brought me without my knowledge. I smiled as I remembered our day at the mall. It was scary at first, but the longer we walked from shop to shop, the more I relaxed. He didn’t give my fears a chance to get the better of me. And he certainly spoiled me. I now had a lot of clothes, more than I owned before. Keiran even offered to pay if I wanted to get my hair and nails done. I agreed to have my hair cut but declined the offer to do my nails. There was no use wasting money on something I didn’t need. The bathroom door opened, startling me. Blue peeked around the door and then pushed it open wider. Her eyes widened as they trailed over me. “Wow,” she breathed. “You look beautiful.”“T-thank you.” I brushed my hands over my middle. “I’m not sure about wearing it though.”“Why not?”“
Maybe we should have talked to Cora first. I glanced over at her. It was supposed to be a surprise trip. Something to get Cora away from the pack so everything could be set up for her party. Not only were we celebrating her birthday, we were going to officially welcome her into the pack. She was already ours and the pack knew about her so the introductions weren’t necessary. But Demetrius suggested that we keep doing things traditionally. So here I was driving Cora to the human town under the pretense that we needed a few things for the party. Cora was tense. I could sense her wolf hovering close to the surface and I understood why. This was a big step for both of them. It was also considered a test. “We need more of those plastic plates,” I said. “I was thinking of getting a few extra cups and cutlery just in case.”“Is the whole pack going to be there?” “Yeah. Some will probably only stop by for the introductions.”She looked at me then, but her attention was pulled away when
As expected, the moment I fell asleep, my dreams turned into nightmares. I found myself jerking awake only to be lulled back to sleep by Keiran’s purring and Axel’s reassurance that I was safe. My dreams were a mess. It was a mix of being locked in that room and being tortured to waking up in my old pack with Dean as my mate. Somewhere during the third nightmare, I woke up to Keiran gone. Before I could question it, Axel and Ryder took control, distracting me by undressing me and giving me multiple orgasms. The last time I fell asleep it was sandwiched between Ryder and Axel with the blissful waves of my orgasms slowly fading. There was no nightmare after that. I woke up near noon feeling exhausted. There was a faint pounding behind my temples and my body ached but I pushed the pain aside as I slipped out of bed and headed into the bathroom for a shower. With my hair wrapped in a towel, I pulled on one of Keiran’s shirts and then left the room to search for my mates. The smell of
It looked like he didn't want to answer me. Why were they so secretive about it? Letting out a sigh, Keiran settled more comfortably on his stomach. I turned onto my side and waited. "I needed some time away from the pack," he said softly. "I asked Lucas to keep an eye on things and declined his offer for extra security. I was going to a human town and I thought that it would be safe." "It wasn't?" "I stopped for a drink at a bar, I'm ashamed to admit that I had a little too much." He paused. "Werewolves need to drink a lot of alcohol before we feel the effect of it. I lost count and before I knew it I could barely walk. Decided it was best to get back to the hotel I was staying at before I did something stupid." I waited a little impatiently for him to continue. "I got lost and ended up in an alley." Keiran closed his eyes. "My mind was a mess and I wasn't aware that I was being followed until they jumped on me. I struggled to fight them off and I was pretty smug about it unt
Guilt flooded me when I approached our house and spotted Lucas slowly straightening from where he had been leaning against the tree. It was almost three am and I was sure that he was dead tired. "Axel hasn't returned yet," Lucas said softly. "There's been no other movement.""Thank you," I said through our packlink. He nodded. "Do you want me to stick around?""Just open the door for me." I followed him to the front door and slipped inside the moment he opened the door. With a nod of thanks, I waited until the door was closed again before I ran up the stairs. The house was silent. Cora was probably asleep already which was good because I wasn't sure if I could look her in the eye and lie about everything that happened. Axel said that he hadn't told Cora about the other videos Dean had made of her. The kid had been stalking her for years. I was going to make him bleed over and over again to make him pay for all the shit he put her through. Entering my bedroom, I headed towards
"Why is it taking so long?" Ryder tried to grab me when I passed him but I avoided his hands and moved further away from him. I didn't want to stay in that room any longer, but I regretted not staying. Now we had no clue what was happening. "Do you think Keiran attacked Dean?" I asked Ryder. "What if he did and they decided to make his punishment worse?""Cora." Ryder stood and made his way over to me. He gripped my hips, spinning me around to look at him. "As Kelsey pointed out, the council is only there to advise Keiran. They can't punish him for anything."I swallowed, glancing at the door again. "They're fine."Sucking in a shaky breath, I stepped into Ryder and wrapped my arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face against the crook of my neck. Calm washed through me from our bond, but it only lasted a few seconds before my anxiety started rising again. Ryder's lips parted and his tongue flicked out to lick my skin. I shuddered. "I can think of