MattI tried to go to sleep when Tony left, but it was hard. Knowing he was up and not cuddling up to our mate made me feel antsy. What was he looking up? Was it something about Lucy? Was he actually just on a call? Go to sleep, Tony said through our link. You’re making me nervous.I frowned. You’re the one out of bed. How important could it be?It’s about Lucy.I licked my lips and opened my eyes again. Tony still wasn’t back. When are you coming back?I didn’t get an answer. I didn’t know if that meant that he was on the way back now or he was just too focused to answer. “Is he on a call?”I looked down at Lucy, and my lips twitched. “Did he wake you?”She shook her head. “I just… wake up sometimes.”I kissed her deeply, rolling her onto her back. “Well, if he is, then he can’t blame me for taking advantage of the situation. We haven’t been doing it right if you’re still just waking up sometimes.”I kissed down her neck, enjoying the way she arched against me. I sucked on the mar
LucyWe stopped going out at night after that night. Instead, we had a lot more sex. It seemed like every day Matt and Tony wanted more. I passed out every night. When they were gone all day, I started to leave our rooms and wander around a little. No one seemed very mean, but they kept away from me, except for their beta’s daughter. She was very nice. I was nervous about being around her at first, but she was very nice, and she didn’t seem to mind that I didn’t know how to do anything. She walked with me, and we didn’t say much to each other, but it was nice. One day, she took me on a tour of the pack house’s grounds in a small golf cart. When we got back, we ran into the ladies that helped me get ready for the ceremony. “They must be gone!” The older woman said. “Those two don’t know how to keep their hands to themselves.”She nudged me to the table and fussed about me not eating enough to deal with them. “It’s Matt, isn’t it?” She asked as she put a plate in front of me. “Tony
LucyI had shifted. I looked up at Matt and Tony, but before I could see the expressions on their faces, hy shifted into their wolf forms. Tony, I think, came towards me and nuzzled me.You did well.I shuddered, hearing his voice in my mind. I moved my feet, looking down at my white paws. The whole forest seemed closer and bigger at the same time. Matt nudged me. Let’s go for a run.I wasn’t too sure about that, but Tony took the lead, walking slowly. I followed him, trying to get used to having four legs instead of two. Matt laughed. Relax, he said and nuzzled me. He let out a low rumbling sound. You’re thinking too hard.I tried to relax, but it was awkward. I wasn’t sure if I would ever fully get used to having four legs, but Tony was patient with me, walking slowly until it seemed I was getting used to it. Then, he picked up the pace, careful to trot just fast enough that Matt was just behind me, and I never lost sight of him. I smelled something. My stomach rumbled. I turned
TonyI woke up and looked over at Lucy with a grin. Matt was still asleep as usual as was Lucy, but when I thought about last night, it was hard to be upset. We’d pushed her a lot last night and she’d only passed out at the end. You’re thinking too loud, Matt groused in his sleep. I’m not getting up yet.I shook my head. I’m not giving you a choice. We have to get moving.Think about Lucy. She’s tired. He frowned in his sleep. We asked a lot of her last night.She’s not coming. I nudged him. Get up.He cracked one eye and glared at me. What do you mean she’s not coming?You want to take our mate to an unofficial Pack Conference where Peter and David will be? I cocked an eyebrow at him. On Black Moon Territory?Matt opened his other eye and stared at me then dropped his gaze to Lucy. He set his jaw and I waited for him to reach the same conclusion I had when the announcement came. There’s… no way. He pouted. Why do I have to go?I snorted. Every other alpha will be there. It’s about
MattI got into the car with my luggage, unable to shake the look on Lucy’s face. Tony climbed in next to me and with pensive look on his face. “You too?”Tony nodded. “I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something wrong.”Matt huffed. “This would be so much easier if we could just… link with her.”Tony bobbed his head before glancing into the front seat where the driver was seated. “We’ll deal with it when we get back.” Tony sat back in his seat with a sigh. “For now, we just need to get through this conference.”“Do we really have to talk about this?” Matt asked. “It’s like they think that the more often they talk about it, the more likely it is for us to agree.”“That is likely their hope, but it’s more than that,” Tony said. “Holding a conference like this so soon after we’ve been mated is a political move to make us lose our shit, so watch yourself.”I scoffed. “I’ll be too bored to get angry. Watch.”“Or too busy daydreaming,” Tony sighed. “Do you think we pushed her too hard
TonyThe further away from the Estate we drove, the more uneasy I felt, thinking about Lucy and what I’d found about half breeds and the Moon Goddess. The pictures from the book kept scrolling through my mind, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something.You never told me the rest, Matt said as he swiped across his phone’s screen. About what you found in the attic.That’s because there wasn’t much else to tell. The necklace is lost as far as the books say, so she’ll only be able to shift during the full moon. What about all the other stuff? Matt asked. We’re supposed to be able to—I know, I said, trying not to let the thought bother me. I didn’t find anything about it because I hadn’t been looking.Do you think we were wrong?I swallowed. I thought back to when I’d seen Lucy on stage. I remember feeling drawn, but that draw wasn’t what I had ever imagined when I thought of a mate. Only time will tell on that. I sighed again as we grew closer and closer to
TonyI stared Peter in the face, waiting for him to push or say something more out of line. This was the usual course of events, but usually Peter was a little more subtle about it. I tried to reign in the irritation that was rippling through me. The glow of his eyes was a challenge. He had most of the room eating out of the palm of his hand as one of the oldest people in the room, but Matt and I had never bowed our heads. “Is that because your new mate is from the human world?”A ripple of murmuring filled the air and I realized what this was really about. “Our mate has no family in the human world,” he said. “She was lost and now we’ve brought her back to where she belongs. Our lack of interest in war has more to do with being sensible humans rather than deranged wolves.”Peter’s eyes glinted. I smiled, feeling a little smug. “We’ve already seen exactly what the kind of trouble you cause has brought us: witch hunts. Or do we all need a history lesson?”More people cleared their t
David When I saw Matt and Tony walk in earlier, I had hoped to see Lucy again, but she wasn’t with them. I couldn’t say if I was angry or just disappointed. Whatever I was feeling, it made me more determined. The moment I could take over the packs, I would kill them both and take Lucy for my own. If it weren’t for them, I would have had more time to talk to her the last time we met. At the same time, there was a good chance that I would have never met her again if it weren’t for those two. I turned and drifted through the small gathering. As usual, Peter only had a few alphas of his pack present. The Black Moon Pack organized themselves differently than other packs. Well, at least different that the Blood Moon Pack, but that was because the Black Moon and Blue Moon Packs were much smaller than the Blood Moon Pack. They didn’t need a chain of command to command under a hundred people. Peter hadn’t reappeared yet, and I didn’t see Matt and Tony either, but soon, I heard someone anno
LucyThe morning sun, a mischievous wink through the blinds, painted golden stripes across our bed. I snuggled deeper into the warmth of David's embrace, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest a soothing lullaby. He slipped his hand across my lower back. The warmth of his bare skin against mine set a spark of pleasure through me. He rumbled low and content into my hair. “Wake up,” David rumbled. He kissed my head and twined a curl around his finger. “We have things to do.”“You shouldn’t have kept me up all night.”He chuckled. “You didn’t say that last night.”I nudged him. He dipped his head to nip my lips. “You know, if it’s too much, you can always tell me to slow down.”He’d been saying that for five years now, and I never found a reason to tell him to. He knew that. His eyes flickered between colors. I nipped his lower lip. “Give me a reason.”He smirked and rolled me onto my back. “To slow down or…”“To get up,” I said as he kissed
LucyI sat on the cold stone, watching her, but she didn’t move another muscle. I didn’t know how long it had been, but it didn’t matter. The spectral glow around her was starting to dim, and my mind was just too stressed to do too much thinking. The light of the ritual, the spell I’d used, the blood on my hands all flashed through my mind, and part of me wondered if it was all just a dream. I looked down at the stained and ruined gown. The armor was as pristine as ever, but most of the embroidered roses were torn or stained. This dress would never be white again, let alone whole. I flicked a piece of the long, gossamer fabric and shook my head. I really liked this dress.“Lucy!”I turned my head toward the sound of David’s voice, wrung out and relieved to hear him. He was rushing through the air towards me. He dropped down a few feet from me, looking so worried I could cry.I smiled at him as he dropped to his knees beside me and threw his arms around me,
LucyI sailed through the air, landing with a jarring thud within the ritual circle. With a trembling hand, I pushed myself up, my senses on high alert. A figure, cloaked in darkness, appeared in front of me. My blood ran cold. Selene."Well, well, Lucy," her voice, honeyed yet laced with venom, slithered into the darkness. "Thank you ever so much for making this easy at last.”I grit my teeth. I wouldn't go down without a fight. Straightening my shoulders, I met her gaze, my voice shaking but resolute. "You underestimate me.” “No, Lucy,” her voice dropped, and a cruel smile twisted her lips. "You underestimate me.” The chanting grew louder around me. I lunged for the necklace, my fingers grazing its cold surface before Selene snatched it away, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. But that touch, fleeting as it was, ignited something. I felt her pushing at my mind. I felt her shoving me back until I could see the forest from before, and we were fighting in a ci
MattMy vision pulsed and flickered, a strobe light of pain blurring the edges of reality. Tony rained blows down on me, slashing with claws. Each hit chipped away at my resolve and my control, leaving behind a raw desperation to end this quickly. My armor protected me from most of the damage, but still. He was always the stronger of the two of us. I thought it was just because he was the older of the two of us, but this was different. I thought for sure he was going to bite off my head. Then, a flash of golden light arced through the air, and a spear lanced past my shoulder, catching Tony square in the chest. I turned back to see Ginevra hovering in the air. Her golden dress glowed as she passed me with a glowing winge spreading from her back. What the absolute fuck?Tony staggered, falling to the ground, and Dad darted forward, encasing Tony in a shimmering web of light. The wave turned to chains. He thrashed and howled, straining against the magical bonds, but t
LucyPeter's breath hitched, rasping, and shallow, then deepened into a cough that wracked his battered body. His eyelids fluttered, eyelids so pale they were almost luminous in the dim torchlight. He struggled to get up, leaning on his Spear and on Michelle. The light pulsing through the Spear rippled over his skin. He let out a soft sigh and stumbled a little. “Peter?”“I... It’s gone.”“What?” Michelle gasped as his hair started to change, losing the gray color and growing dark. His face turned younger until I was sure that he was all of twenty-something. He grew a bit taller, too, bigger until his shirt strained against his chest and his buttons popped. He flushed. “Well… that’s not…” He cleared his throat as Michelle smiled up at him. “So this is what you looked like in your youth?”He scoffed. “I’m much younger than you think.”He grunted, pressing a hand to his side. “Wish the Spear would heal the wound, though.”I winced. “Sorry… it’s a
PeterMy feet pounded a frantic rhythm against the uneven earth, branches whipping at my face, thorns tearing at my clothes. How long had I been running? How much further did I have to go? I didn’t know, and it didn’t matter so long as I got there. My lungs burned, legs screaming in protest, but still I ran. The trail of blood behind me and the patchwork of wounds across my body, chunks of missing and regrowing flesh, weren’t my concern right now. The creature—the wolf was after me, and unlike before, it didn’t seem willing to back off or slow down. It was going to kill me, and what happened after that was anyone’s guess. Behind me, the guttural snarl of the wolf echoed through the trees. Too close to be comfortable. Too close to make sense. This was too much like that dream, but worse. So much worse. The sky was a kaleidoscope of images I could barely make out. They flashed in the sky and in my vision, making it hard to see. I saw Lucy. I saw Michelle. The long
LucyAdrenaline surging, I grabbed Michelle and pulled her after me deeper into the inky depths of the tunnel.“Quick!”She panted. “What’s going on? Peter—”“He’s possessed,” I said. “Just keep running for now!”I saw my Allison up ahead, leading me down another tunnel. Behind us, I heard Peter's guttural snarls, the rhythmic thud of his feet echoed eerily in the confined space. We had to lose him and the other one quickly, but we didn’t seem to be putting enough distance between us. Panic coiled in my gut, urging me to run faster and push my body beyond its limits. Michelle kept up relatively well. We twisted and turned, navigating the treacherous path by torchlight and the spectral murmurs of White Moon's fallen. But the passage seemed to twist back on itself. When we were back at the forked path, the faint light that had been illuminating the tunnel went out, plunging us into darkness.Michelle shuddered. She drew closer to me and tightened her grip on m
LucyI was back in that house with that couple that adopted me. I felt the floorboards creaking as I went downstairs. I saw the men in suits. I shrieked, turning. Not again. I couldn’t be back here. Where was David? How had I gotten back here? I looked down. I wasn’t… wearing the dress or the armor. I had no daggers. My hair was just as uncombed and dry as it had been then. When I looked in the mirror, the skinny young woman who had barely had anything more than ramen and school lunch stared back at me. My stomach lurched. The door opened, and I turned to run, knowing what was about to happen. I dug my heels in as dark shadows pulled me towards the door. I felt myself being lifted onto someone’s shoulders. I fought and kicked, but all my training and all my strength were gone. I saw the calendar on the wall, but the date was different. It wasn’t my birthday. It was the day of the Crescent Moon Festival. I screamed, grabbing anything I could manage. Then, Sele
DavidOren's head arced through the firelit air, landed, and rolled. His body dropped to the ground, still spurting blood. Then, all hell broke loose.The shimmering barrier around the Ball faltered, rippling like a pond, before collapsing entirely. Hunters poured into the arena, their snarls blending with everyone's shocked gasps. “Defensive measures, now!” I yelled, my voice carrying over the sound of the attack. A group of dragon shifters took to the sky as my blade clashed with the first hunter. How had they gotten through the barrier? I saw a flicker of a ghost and growled. “Selene!” I shoved the hunter back, slicing through him before sending out a shockwave of air. She’d been behind this, and maybe she’d been planning this for years, using the werewolf virus to spy on the preparations. It would make sense to try and get rid of me. I was the direct descendant of Fenris. More than that, it was their movements. Each and every one of them moved e