It seems the prophecy is coming true.
“Queen Lorelai. Your majesty.” Ugh, being a ruler is so tedious. “Yes, what do you want?” I ask my soldier who comes rushing into the throne room. That’s not what my father called it, but I’ve had them make me a throne fit for a queen, so that’s what it is. “Your majesty. We were out patrolling the lands as you have requested.” “Yes.” I say, already bored with this line of discussion. “She’s there, by the ravine.” “Who’s there?” I ask, still looking out the window at Aolis’s camp. I better not see any more greenery. “Princess Lily.” I whip around to look at my soldiers. “Are you sure it’s her?” “Yes, my Queen. She is with a few others, a wolf, an elf, a leprechaun and a sprite.” I throw my head back and laugh. “Ailduin let her out of Araphyra without a guard? Oh, this is perfect.” I turn back around, looking at Aolis. Yes, now is the time for me to make my move. He will suffer, but I’ll let him live, and he will know what true grief feels like. I turn back to my soldiers. “
To say I was shocked that both Shengis and Haijen said they would fight for me, would be an understatement. “Why?” I ask them. “Like you.” Shengis says. “Nice to us.” Haijen adds. “So, it’s because I’m nice, not because I’m a Princess or the future queen?” “That too.” Haijen says. I sit down on the tree trunk, making myself comfortable. Dominic seems fascinated with the trolls. He sits right beside me, Tailha standing behind him, watching the interaction. “So, where are the rest of your people?” I ask. “Gone.” Shengis says and turns his head to the side, looking forlorn. “Gone where? Did they pass away.” “Pass into earth.” Haijen says. I look at Tailha and Dominic. That sounds like they’ve died. It’s Buppig that comes to stand beside me who asks a different way. “Did they die and go into the earth, or did they just become one with the earth?” “One with earth.” Haijen says and he starts to say something else, when Hera and I smell something off. My head whips in the direct
As the trolls get reacquainted with each other, my group travels across the tree bridge. Interestingly, of all the places where a troll awakened, none were under the bridge. It makes me wonder if Shengis and Haijen knew exactly where their brethren were located. As we get to the other side, I walk to the cliff’s edge. I watch a moment, not wanting to interrupt their happy reunion, when Shengis looks up and sees me. “Princess!” He says coming over to me, dragging two of the trolls with him. He points to the first one he was hugging. “Yishi. Wife.” Then he points to the other one. “Vinjin. Daughter.” “Yishi, Vinjin. It’s an honor to meet you.” I say, not really sure how to address a troll properly. They look at Shengis. “Princess save trolls.” He tells them. “Oh, I….” And before I can do anything more, Yishi reaches out a hand and snatches me off the cliff. I hear Dominic snarl behind me, but I quickly tell him I’m okay. She’s not hurting me, she just startled me. Yishi shouts so
I hadn’t meant what I’d said to Lily. Lorelai’s words had been in my head, calling her a child, and they had spilled out when Lily stood up to me. There was nothing about Lily that was a child in my eyes. There had been, for a long time, but now, all I could see was my mate. My beautiful, mature mate, who I must protect with everything I am, my life, if needed. I’d had a moment of absolute pride in my mate. No one has ever stood up to my anger like that, and she didn’t show an ounce of fear. It had taken everything in me not to pull her in my arms and kiss her with with the passion I feel for her. But that would have encouraged her to stay with me, and I couldn’t have that. Then when she smacked me, she nearly knocked me off my feet. I’ve never felt that kind of strength before either. She’s right, I’m not giving her credit for being as strong as she is. But it’s more than that. My fear that Lorelai had actually killed her, had made me lose control of myself. Worse, I’d lost control
When we arrive back in Araphyra, we leave Dominic and Tialha at their place before returning to the castle. I notice that Alpha Christopher and Fanella have started to build their own home near Dominic and Tialha's. When I get to the castle, Ailduin is waiting for me. “Lily, I expect to be informed if you are planning to leave Araphyra. I cannot keep you safe if you don’t tell me of your plans.” I stop when I get up to him. He, like Aolis, may be more than a foot taller than I am, but I’m not intimidated by his height. "No, I don’t think so, King Ailduin. Both you and your son seem to have forgotten what and who I am. So until the both of you can learn to respect that I am a Guardian, an Alpha female in my own right, I don’t think I need to let you know my whereabouts.” I turn, walking into the castle. “Buppig, we need to begin working on the second prophecy tomorrow.” I say without turning around. I head back to my room and unpack my bag, furious that not only is Aolis treating
The next day, when I get to the library, I'm ready to begin figuring out the second prophecy. I know it says I will die, but, I’m not afraid to die. Especially if I die saving my mate. When Buppig and I walk in, I show him the change in the book cover. “I agree with King Ailduin. I think it’s because you have fulfilled the prophecy. In addition, I have to think that as you fulfill the other prophecies, it will continue to change color until it’s completely iron colored.” “I guess that makes sense.” I say, opening the book. “Did you want to review the fourth prophecy, Princess?” He asks quietly. I look at him. “No, not particularly. There’s no way it’s about me. But I do have one question. Who is the last of her kind?” His eyes go wide with obvious excitement, and he comes to sit down next to me. “Well, of course, we don’t know for sure, not until the prophecy comes to light. But we all think it’s about Lucero.” “Who?” I ask, frowning. “No one has told you about Lucero?” “Buppig
When I walk out of the castle, Ailduin and Anastasia are standing at the top of the stairs. They gesture for me to join them and when Buppig, Hyacinth, Dominic and Tialha arrive, Ailduin gestures for them to join as well. When everyone has convened, Ailduin raises his hand for silence. “My people. Today is a momentous day. The first prophecy has been fulfilled.” His voice rings out over the courtyard, and everyone begins cheering. “Our Princess, your future Queen, has been the catalyst that has put the prophecies into motion. You have all seen how she healed Dominic." He says, gesturing to Dominic standing regally on his other side. "You have all probably heard that GoldMoon has blessed our Princess. But you may not know that through her kindness, she befriended the trolls and when she was attacked by Lorelai’s soldiers, she called on the trolls and they answered her call.” The cheering gets even louder and I’m getting more and more embarrassed. I didn’t know this announcement was
Buppig, Hyacinth and I split off from Dominic and Tialha after that, but the conversation lingered in my mind. There is a unicorn, and she is the last of her kind. She has to be the one mentioned in the fourth prophecy. When the last of her kind Shares her light and life That’s what the prophecy says. And based on what Dominic and Tialha said, Lucero has a bright white light surrounding her. So, it definitely makes sense that it’s about her. It’s the rest that I still struggle with. We’ve been walking for a while when GoldMoon steps out of the forest. Buppig and Hyacinth both bow to her. I look at them and back at GoldMoon, inclining my head, not wanting to be rude. “Princess Guardian, I understand you wish to speak to me.” Her gentle, yet strong voice floats into my mind. “Hello, GoldMoon.” I say out loud. “Yes, I wanted to speak with you.” She inclines her head at me. “You have questions about the second prophecy, the one the elves named after me.” “Is it about you?” I ask.
Nineteen Years Later“Mom, why do we have to go to this Beta ceremony?” Genevieve, my daughter, one of the twins, asks.“It’s not a Beta ceremony, Gen. The vampires don’t have Betas, you know that,” I tell her.“They’re second in command, mother, that makes them Betas,” she argues.“And besides going to see your cousins take their place as the mates of Urien’s second in command, it will be a good opportunity for you to look for your mates.”Malin’s daughters, Kayleigh and Sasha, found their mate, Lorenzo, the son of Ennata and Demetrius. Demetrius had been Drake’s second in command until he decided to retire with Ennata and move to the city to help Xander and Maeve with the witches. Now Lorenzo is taking over as Drake’s second in command.“Mate or mates?” Marcella, the other twin asks.Unlike me and Malin, both of our twin daughters are identical twins. It caused a lot of worry for me and Malin while they were growing up, wondering what would happen if our daughters were mated to one p
Watching my mate on her birthday had been one of the best feelings in the world. I know every man in all three packs had hoped that she would be their mate. But she isn’t. She’s mine. All mine, forever. And tonight, I get to claim her in the last possible way, officially making her my Luna.Last night, we’d watched as Malin had taken her official place as Luna of the Canyon Ridge pack. It was special for Quinn, but I’ll admit to feeling jealousy when Cohen announced to everyone that Malin was carrying his pup. After finding out at Quinn’s birthday party that my sister, Emlyn, Quinn’s sister, Leana, and her sister-in-law Maeve were all pregnant, and now hearing that her twin is pregnant, I suddenly realize that I want a pup too.I’ve never given much thought to how many pups I want. I need an heir, and of course, I’d like to have a little girl that has Quinn’s sweet personality, but otherwise, I hadn’t thought much about it. Until now. Now I know that I want pups with Quinn. I don’t eve
I’m exhausted and pleasantly sore between my thighs, but I don’t care. I’m wearing my mate’s mark, wearing my new necklace, and it’s my birthday. Emerson skipped warrior training this morning to spend extra time with me. We’d finally fallen asleep and I’d slept soundly for a couple of hours laying on top of his body.I feel his fingers softly rubbing over my back.I grumble, knowing he’s trying to gently wake me up.“I don’t want to get up either, birthday girl, but we have a party to get to,” he says.I snuggle against him, not budging. He chuckles. “If you don’t get up, I’m going to take you again.”“Is that supposed to be a deterrent?” I ask him.“You must be sore, Quinn.”“Not that sore,” I say, looking up at him.His eyes darken. “Damn, you are one sexy woman, Quinn. And you look fucking incredible wearing my mark. You know what?” he asks, sitting up and lifting me as he gets off the bed and walks into the bathroom carrying me.“What?” I ask.“I want to take my mate while I look a
Emerson and I have been together every night for the past month. He’s tried every possible position, explored every inch of my body and found places that even I didn’t know I liked being touched. But tonight feels different. I can feel it in the air around us, feel it in him, and feel it in our wolves.“What does my sweet mate want for her birthday?” Emerson asks me.“You. Just you,” I say and he leans down, kissing me slowly and deeply, as I wrap my legs around his body.“Just me, not my mark?” he asks, his warm breath blowing against my ear and moving to my neck, making me shiver.“Having you means I get to wear your mark and I ge to put mine on you as well.”He growls as I lift my chin, exposing my throat to him. I feel his canines graze over my mate mark, the feeling of it so much more intense now that it’s my birthday.“Not yet,” he says, before flipping us over. “I thought my little Guardian might want to be in control on her birthday, to ride me any way she wants before sinking
The day has finally arrived, the day when I can leave my mark on my mate and it will finally, finally stay. I’ve been looking forward to this day for years, literally years, since the first moment that I recognized Quinn as my mate.Even though I know I can’t leave my mark until midnight tonight, I still wake my mate by sliding inside her. I look forward to my evenings with Quinn and waking up with Quinn. I make a point to see my mate throughout the day. Then nights and mornings are when it’s just us and I can be me and she seems to thrive on me being me. I was so terrified for so long that I would hurt her, that I’d scare her off, that it never really occurred to me to trust that the Moon Goddess would give me the exact mate that I needed to fulfill every dream and fantasy that I’ve ever had. But here she is, in my arms, screaming my name. Fuck, I love waking up to her body contracting around mine and my name coming from her mouth.Even though I’m behind her and we’re both laying on o
I love being in Emerson’s room. Well, it’s ours now. Going to bed at night is so much more enjoyable. And everything about Emerson has begun to fall into place. During the day, he still shows me affection, more than he used to, but it’s at night that he strips away his reserved side and gives me everything that he is. And what a man he is.Our first night, he was careful with me, in the sense that we didn’t have sex. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t have one of the most intense nights of my life, at least up until that point. I know my mate wants control, and I’m happy to give it, as long as he gives me what I want. Just to be sure, I ordered some sexy lingerie, wearing it every night, just so Emerson can rip it off me. It seems to be all he needs to let go. And oh wow, I’m not even sure I realized how many ways my mate could take me, but Emerson wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to know all the ways he could make me come by my birthday. It’s like he’s on a mission and every nigh
I let her sleep about an hour before I wake her. We need to get ready to have breakfast with her sister and Cohen before we head back to our pack. I pull her into the shower with me, laughing at her sleepy grumpiness.“None of that or I won’t wake you up like that again,” I say to her.“I need coffee,” she pouts as I push her under the shower. “And how come you’re not exhausted?”“I didn’t have as many orgasms as you did,” I say smiling, exceedingly pleased with myself. I counted ten. I made my mate come ten times. Now, I need to see how I can increase that number.“You know, you called me greedy, but you’re awfully greedy when it comes to giving me orgasms,” she says as I wash her hair.“Are you complaining?” I ask, smiling at her.“Nope. I like that greedy side of you,” she says and I laugh, truly laugh.“And, I love seeing this happy side of you,” she says softly and I look down at her.“You did this. You make me this happy,” I say, kissing her nose.That seems to make HER happy and
I wake for the first time with my mate in my arms. I’m not sure I’ve ever slept through the night. It’s not that I don’t sleep, but I tend to toss and turn. I can tell that I didn’t move all night, my body, mind, and soul all at peace having this fascinating and incredible woman beside me.I look down at her, her white, blond hair spread out across my chest, a stark contrast to my dark skin tone. I’m not sure I expected her to give herself to me so completely. I kept Clint’s words of advice in my head, and he wasn’t wrong. Quinn giving me control over her perfect body, letting me taste her and fill her had been beyond anything I’d ever experienced, well, at least until I’d had my first orgasm inside her. I thought I’d died and gone to the Moon Goddess’ realm. Yeah, I know I’m going to want to taste and fill this woman every damn day. I can already tell that I’ll never, ever be able to get enough of her. And now, I’m excited to find all the ways I can dominate this body and to see what
There is something extremely attractive about Emerson being so dominant. I can tell he’s on the verge of losing control and the only thing keeping him in check is dominating my body. And oh, holy mother Moon Goddess, is he dominating my body.I’ve touched myself, found my own release many times in my life, but this…this is way beyond anything that I’ve ever made myself feel. And he hasn’t even moved past my breasts. I didn’t know it was possible to come just from your mate sucking your nipples, but I’m here to tell you, it is possible. At least if you have Emerson licking and sucking on them like they are the most incredible thing he’s ever put in his mouth.His hands are everywhere, his mouth is everywhere, and while I want to be a participant in this, our first of what I hope is many matings, he’s overwhelming my senses. On top of that, he seems to want and need control and I’m willingly giving it to him.When he commands me to say his name when I orgasm again, I feel heat flooding m