“I know.”“Do you?”“What do you want from me, Virgil? The girl is gone. She’s clearly not coming back. Why are you beating that dead horse?”“You’re the one sending our guards after her.”My teeth cracked. “I didn’t send anyone after anyone,” I corrected her. “I just want to make sure she wasn’t caught.”“And what if she was?” Virgil barked with uncharacteristic anger. “Are you going to swoop into the compound and save her? Throw away the rest of your empire now?”My jaw dropped at her tone. Never had she spoken to me like that.“Nothing else has happened since the fire,” I offered awkwardly.Virgil’s eyes blazed indignantly. “Not yet.”“If something else were going to occur, it would have by now,” I said with too much confidence.I wondered if I wasn’t cursing myself further by saying those words, but I also understood the magic behind it well enough to know I wasn’t speaking from an uneducated place. If I had, in fact, opened the floodgates, one casino down would be the least of my
I lessened the pressure of my foot on the gas as I entered the black, crumpled countryside, half-built over the years on the other end of my empire. The air smelled different here, staler and rank with sewage.Ernest has let this all go to shit,I thought angrily.Like his great-grandfather, he had no business sense, only one of greed. He wanted fortune and lusted for anything that moved, but unlike Gabriel, he had no actual way of maintaining it. Gabriel had had me, at least. Ernest had no one.Or had Gabriel ever had business sense? I had been much younger then, too. Perhaps I had been misled by Gabriel’s charisma as well. It was harder to remember now, with all the years that had passed.The crumbling compound was upon me, and I killed the lights, dropping my feet to the ground to walk the motorcycle toward the low wall of the area. A low din of voices met my ears, but no one was wiser about my arrival. Ernest’s guards were half drunk on whatever crappy moonshine they bootlegged amo
I swallowed, looking around at the destruction I’d created in my own space. I was losing it. Truly. My life was unraveling, and it wasn’t about to get better if I continued to ignore what was really eating at me.“No,” I answered flatly. “I wasn’t attacked.”“You did this?” She didn’t bother to hide her dismay. “Why?”I inhaled deeply.“I… I don’t know. The insurance isn’t going to pay out, and… I…”I pursed my lips.“That girl has you spun into a tornado,” Virgil accused me, her body still curled into a ball. I extended a hand to help her up, and she begrudgingly accepted it now that she saw I was no danger to her or anyone else. “You haven’t been right since she showed up here.”“I know,” I agreed. “And I need to do something about it.”Virgil smoothed out the front of her A-line skirt and primped her dark hair lightly, struggling to regain her own stoic expression, but I could see I had shaken her to the core. She maintained a safe distance from me, and I gave her space, my heart s
Who knew what he was capable of?“I’ve come to take you to a much better environment,” he declared. “With less than a week before our nuptials, it’s high time that you see what awaits you in my palace, don’t you think?”I couldn’t help myself. I snorted loudly.“Your palace?” I repeated. “Is that what you call your shit house?”Ernest’s smile froze, and he pushed his face closer toward me.“You forget yourself, girlie,” he hissed, spit hitting my face. “I am your one true sire, your lord and master. You would do well to remember what I can do to you if I stop liking you and your friend so much. What will happen if my patience with you runs thin?”“I will pay you but let us go?” Agnes interjected, trying to end our face-off.Ernest turned his weasel face toward her, eyes brightening at her quivering question.“I don’t want your payment anymore,I want you both anyways,I want to show you what kind of life waits for you. Gather whatever things you have. You’re moving into the palace.”I n
“They are both pretty,” Ernest chortled. “I’d be tempted to take your advice, Eugene. But this pretty girlie just needs a bit of taming, don’t you, Selina?” He looked at me as if I were going to answer him, and I scoffed, turning my eyes toward my full plate. The smell of food wafted into my nostrils, and I should have been starving enough to devour it whole, but the two disturbing males in my purview were enough to quash my appetite entirely. I pushed the plate away from me and sat back, ignoring the eggs and crisp bacon calling out to me. How long had it been since I’d eaten any protein? It made me think of the mouth-watering sandwich that Virgil had fed me that first night at Jeff’s’ place, and more anger flooded my veins. “I need to use the washroom,” I declared, standing suddenly. I waited for a rush of guards to surround me, but to my mild surprise, Ernest nodded without so much as raising his eyes. “Alanah will show you where to go.” Immediately, the same tired house serv
“What are you doing here, Jeff? The Covale City limits are that way.”I shifted back into my wolf form, and I smirked through my snout, licking my chops as I fell back onto my haunches, exposing the ripple of my underbelly.Agnes winced and withdrew, but Selina’s eyes blazed with interest. Her breath held as she waited for me to make my next move. All around me, the pack circled, biding their time until I offered my next command.“Unlike some, Ernest, I’m not restricted to confines,” I taunted him telepathically. “My empire is far-flung.”“That must be nice!” Ernest whiplashed, baring his teeth.He was fighting the urge to shift himself, and I dared him with my eyes.Do it! Give me a reason to tear you limb from limb!“You’re on my property,” he spat. “You have no business here.”“They are my business,” I said, nodding at the girls and the kid. “both girls are my employee.”Ernest scoffed dubiously and looked toward the old man, but he had mysteriously vanished.“Eugene?” he called ou
Ernest guard had a gun pointed at us! Jeff had come busting through like some white knight. But why now? What had changed? Did this mean that he had feelings for me? That we were going to stay with him?I refused to get my hopes up. I’d done that too many times now and been disappointed.“Let’s leave her to rest,” Atlas said,he took my son from me. “He needs some rest” he said and walked out of the room with my son in his hands.He led us into one of the bedroom, he places my son in the bed. I sat beside him,place my palm on his forehead.“ At last we are free “ I whispered and kiss him on his forehead.We walk out and shot the door, we climbed down the stairs and walk into the livingroom.Jeff turned in the opposite direction of the kitchen, and I had little choice but to follow after him. Not that I minded watching his firm ass in the pants that fit perfectly around the snug curve of his hips. I thought about how close I’d come to tasting what was inside there, and a gush of warmth
I waited for that voice of reason to come back and scream warnings, but if it did, I didn’t hear it. I was far too involved in the succulence of Selina’s flesh to notice anything except her growing moans of pleasure, the flimsy garments she had been wearing falling to the wood floor as the fireplace crackled behind us. She lay naked at my fingertips, beads of sweat dotting her perfect form, my tongue lapping out to taste each droplet along her perfect, slender curves. Her flesh lit up my mouth, popping against my lips to ignite me, leading me lower, deeper over the lines of her breasts. My hands worked effortlessly against the thin material of her shirt, peeling it away to reveal pink, hard nipples, ripe for my taking. “Oh, gods,” Selina moaned, her tone a purr, the sound only fueling my desire. I latched onto her, sucking intensely as she yanked me deeper against her, my hardness growing uncomfortable as I ground against her leg. Pulling up, I stared into those massive, bleary eye
“I can’t stop thinking about Selina,” Emilia said wistfully.King turned to face her. “Truthfully, I had also not expected her to do that.”“I was moved by the fact that Selina apologized.”“That’s true,” King agreed. “To be honest, she was the last person I expected to apologize to you.”After Emilia had saved Selina’s life, she had come to apologize to her. It was quite a show of humility as she had gone down on her knees and bowed to the ground before Juniper. Juniper had pleaded with her to get up, but she’d refused to get up until she had said her piece.“I’m sorry for how I treated you growing up,” Selina had said, with teary eyes. “You were right. You never killed Dad. I was always so angry at you for that night, but I never thanked you for saving me that night. And that sucks.“So thank you, Selina. Thank you. Twice you saved my life, and all I ever did was hate you and bully you. I wish I could turn back time and do things differently, but I can’t. Do you think you can forgiv
He let out a sigh of relief, then collapsed on the bed again. His thighs burned something furious and he was afraid of moving too suddenly. He couldn’t deal with a cramp right now.Emilia’s breathing started to level out after five minutes. She had the energy of five people in bed, and no matter how tired King thought she was, she was always ready for another tumble.Her intensity and desire scared KIng, but it was still one of the things that he loved the most about her. She matched his energy in so many different ways and their time together always ended up looking like one of them had a point to prove to the other.She turned to look at him, beaming. “That was….”“Amazing?” King finished for her, chuckling.“I was going to say scary, but amazing works as well.” Emilia smiled. “Really, I thought I was going to burst an artery for a moment there.”“Lucky you,” King teased. “I think I heard a few pop.” Emilia laughed as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead, and then her lips.“Poor
With tears in her eyes, she admitted what she had been holding back from admitting for so long. “I love you too, King.”King smiled wider and put his arms around her waist. He pulled her close, gently, and kissed her softly. Juniper melted into his embrace and forgot all about her pain and fear and frustration. She wrapped her arms around King, happy that she could hold him again.She had been so afraid of losing him. She had been so afraid of dying. And yet…here they were. She gripped him tighter, wanting to make sure he was real, not another sliver of her creative mind, a figment of her imagination. Yes, he was real. This was real.She was startled to hear voices and broke the kiss abruptly. The entire pack approached them, whooping and cheering loudly. She blushed slightly with embarrassment. She had completely forgotten all about them, and with good reason.“Wow!” Articus said. “What you did? We have never seen anything like it before. Where did you learn that from?”Emilia blinke
She walked slowly to the side, keeping herself on his blind side as she approached. She tried to levitate off the ground but couldn’t. All her powers had manifested physically into the spear in her hand.The only mana left in her was what powered her to move and function. She had to strike, and quickly, or she would be dead before she realized it.King had seen her get up, had seen the spear form in her hand. By some miracle, he had managed to keep his expression neutral and his eyes on the vampire.The vampire landed softly in front of him and pulled his blood spear out of the air. “So, this is how it ends.” He grinned wildly. “You fought well.”King held his gaze. “Don’t patronize me. Do what you have to do. Do you remember your promise? My life for theirs. No harm comes to my pack or my mate.”“Why the rush to die?” The vampire shook his head in mock sympathy. “Such a naive little boy. I made you no promises, fool. But I will promise you this. When I kill everyone you love and dest
The vampire threw his head back and laughed maniacally. He held the whole town hostage. He was judge, jury, and executioner, and he had all the power. Worst of all, he wasraving mad.He formed another spear in the air and it hovered beside his head. He shoved Emilia casually, ever so absentmindedly, to the ground. She crashed into the ground and bumped her knees as she fell.Pain lanced through her. Her palms felt like she wielded two balls of fire, and she couldn’t feel her legs. She stretched out on the ground, taking stock of her injuries. She never suffered any real damage from injuries, thanks to her powers, but she still felt pain.She watched the vampire as he floated toward King. Her chest squeezed with fear when she looked at the long, thin spear that moved before him. He had a look of pure evil on his face.King, on the other hand, looked resigned to his fate. He looked like someone who was waiting to die. He looked ready for it, like he had been waiting his entire life to d
He saw the vampire hovering high in the sky, watching the people. King had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched the still vampire.The vampire spread his arms to the side. At first, nothing happened. And then, the air around him shimmered. Thin, red objects appeared in the sky. Thousands of them, pointed like needles.King let out a wordless cry when he recognized the pointed objects floating in the sky. Blood spears. This was why the vampire had spent his time killing and discarding of so many animals.This was blood magic on an unprecedented scale. Cold realization washed over him. The vampire was going to wipe out the entire pack in one attack, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.King clambered up to his feet, feeling defeated. How many of those could he block? How many people could he have saved today? He arrived at one inevitable answer. Not enough.As he had feared, the spears were turned toward the pack. His mouth ran dry and he watched wordlessly, awai
His body trembled from pain and he could feel a few broken ribs. He got up shakily and the pain lacerated through him, even as his body started to slowly knit itself back together.Still disoriented, he looked up just in time to see a fist flashing toward his face. The vampire’s bony knuckle connected solidly with King’s jaw and sent his head reeling backward.The force of the blow caused a shock wave to spread out around King and the vampire. He went flying backward, crashing into the ground several times before he came to a stop several yards away.He got up slowly and felt a hot, white pain in his jaw and knew that it had been shattered. He limped, his front legs faltering as his shoulder had not fully healed. The vampire floated toward him slowly as he felt his jaw. The vampire grinned at him and licked his lips with a pale tongue. “My turn.”King had no idea how to escape the blows that rained down on him. He ducked as furiously as he could, but half the strikes connected, and he
Fannar drilled Selina about what she had seen, and asked for details about her fight with the vampire.Selina cackled drily. “Fight? That wasn’t a fight. That was a beating. I barely managed to get my hands up before it ripped into me with the force of a bear and the speed of a fox. I have never seen anything like that in my life before. I think we are in big trouble.”The room fell silent and the alphas exchanged glances with each other. Asher spoke up first. “Did he give any indications why he took your sister?”Selina gave him an incredulous look. “If he did, I didn’t notice. I was too busy picking pieces off my ass off the curb.” She sighed and slumped into her seat. “What do we do?”The question hung over the room like a thick cloud of black smoke. No one had an answer to Selina’s question. No one knew how to find the vampire in the woods with powers like she had just described.Worse, they had no idea if Juniper was still alive. King didn’t want to think about what could have ha
He frowned and narrowed his eyes at her. She shriveled under the scrutiny. He looked down at her stomach and she covered herself reflexively in horror. Knowing how he felt about the wolves, she was afraid of what he would do to her unborn child.A look of realization settled on his face. “You’re carrying a wolf child in your womb…” His voice sounded as soft as the wind rustling through leaves, barely a whisper.He let go of her wrist and took two steps back. He looked hurt and upset. “How could you? How could you allow your womb to be tainted by wolves?” And then, his eyes turned as cold as ice and his voice hardened. “I will wipe them all out. I will start with Moonwood, and then I will wipe every last one from the Starlight Valley and wider.”Emilia started to plead but he just walked backward, with a look of cold resolution on his face. Without another word, he turned around and sped off into the woods, heading toward the town.Without thinking, Emilia started running. From the den