He chuckled. “Spoken like a true Alpha Supreme.”The way those words made my heart soar had a smile growing on my face. I’d never pictured this life for myself, but damn if I didn’t want it with a fierceness now.I just wish I could know what, exactly, “this life” included.Was it asking Mark and Amy to stay here with me even after all this was over? Was it keeping this bond with Atlas like my initial thoughts wanted? Or was it rejecting him like I thought my Bear wanted?I hadn’t completely shut down the idea that I was possibly meant to do this on my own. Alone for the time being, showing the world who Elena was.Of course, I wouldn’t truly be alone finally belonging to a pack, but without a mate… Picturing that made my stomach churn, and, for the first time, there was a sense of longing from my Bear.Maybe she was finally seeing things from my perspective.Atlas chose that moment to walk inside the house. His dark eyes landed on me first while he closed the door with a soft click.
“Not really,” he answered. “I’d just like to know where my family originated from. Plus, I’ve yet to go to another realm. Really any of them would be interesting to visit.”I doubted that. I’d heard some hellish stories about the other realms and the conflicts within them. At least according to some of the gossiping witches. I was good staying right where I was.Amy smiled widely. “I’d want to go back in time. To the world pre-supernaturals. Maybe back in the 1800s without technology.”I shuddered at that thought. “You’re insane.”“Tell me something I don’t already know.” Her chuckle had my smile growing, then she nodded at me. “What about you?”“Uhhh.” I paused. “I never thought I’d leave Earth and Emerald, so I don’t really know.”“What’s the first thing that comes to mind, even if it makes absolutely no sense?” Mark asked.“Home.” The word left my lips so quickly that I didn’t even realize I’d said it until Amy frowned at me and Atlas cracked his knuckles under the table.Mark reac
I was supposed to be fighting a group of Bears in preparation for challenging the North faction leader named Ryan, but apparently, he’d disappeared. None of Jack’s Bears could find him, which had disappointed me more than I’d expected it to.I was never too sad about private trainings with Atlas, though.After pushing myself up from the ground that was covered in dying grass, I dusted myself off as well as I could. When I’d taken a deep breath, I held my hands up, ready for him to charge at me again.Except this time, he didn’t.Instead, Atlas snapped his fingers, and a ball of flames came racing toward my head.Every muscle in my body might have been screaming at me, but the idea of getting my face burned off sent a wave of adrenaline pulsing through me.I was on the ground in less than a half second with one leg out straight behind me, the other bent at the knee and my hands keeping me in place while my forehead nearly touched the dirt.Instinct kicked in, and instead of asking him
They were holding hands while they walked across the park, coming toward us. Mark had a folder in his grasp, and his eyes so similar to mine sparked with a happiness I’d never known, but I thought maybe I could with my grumpy demon Bear.“What’s going on?” I asked them when I moved around Atlas.Mark answered first. “I finally got my mom to give up the passwords for my dad’s personal computers.”The house where the last acting Alpha Supreme had been staying had been destroyed, and the only access to House records had been on Mathis’s private devices, but getting into them had been difficult. I wasn’t sure Mark would be able to do it after the first couple of failed attempts, but I couldn’t deny I was eager to know what he’d learned.“Did you find Jacob?” Atlas asked first.Mark handed him the file. “I found a Jacob who meets the profile of someone who would want vengeance on Fire and Fluorite, but I can’t be positive yet that he’s the one you’re looking for. This guy is a mangy, older
She crossed her arms, and a line formed between her eyes as she tried to fight against my innate abilities. “I liked you better before you started embracing your alpha side.” Then she looked up at Mark, who nodded and smiled encouragingly at her. “I’ll change if I need to, so I’m going with you.”I raised a brow and tilted my head. “Are you sure?”Last I’d heard her say, she was trying to stay hidden and since she hadn’t had any visions, I wouldn’t have thought anything would have changed in that regard.“I think denying who I am might be why I haven’t been able to see what I want,” she admitted sheepishly. “Something cracked inside me on our first day here when you were attacked. Instead of shifting to help protect you, I used my magic to put up the shield, which was helpful in the moment, but if Jack hadn’t called his Bears off, I would have soon been useless to you. I would have failed at protecting you all, because I was trying to keep my secret.”There was too much self-loathing
That, I wasn’t a fan of.Sure, I’d had no problems punching Elena and plotting her death when I’d thought she’d been a power-stealing, child-murdering witch, but the thought of truly hurting her or letting anyone else do so now…made every facet of me boil with the darkness I worked to keep tightly bound.“I’m going to get so drunk when we get to Riff-Raff.” Amy giggled, hanging on to Mark.I couldn’t tell whether or not she was putting on an act with the way she draped herself over the Bear shifter, pawing at his chest. Regardless, I looked away.Elena seemed to be ignoring them as well, which made me want her even more.She had no expectations about who I was supposed to be as her mate. She didn’t ask me to fawn over her or be someone I wasn’t. She accepted my gruffness as equally as she accepted my need to touch her when we were together at night.There wasn’t an inch of her body that I hadn’t worshiped with my mouth or fingers yet, but since I’d told her about sex solidifying our b
He kept his arms crossed, watching his wolves die, or at least go down, without doing a fucking thing about it.There was no way the asshole would have ever had a chance leading a territory like Fire and Fluorite. Even if Elena hadn’t shown up.One Bear bit my tail and scratched down my side, but it was only a surface hit that hardly made me flinch before I raked my paw across his face, taking out an eye.The whimper and moan that sounded from him grew quieter as he limped away, something I soon noticed the rest of the wolves were doing as well, except for the three who still flanked their leader.“Mark,” Ethan said first. “You’re trespassing in a House that banished you.”Mark shifted back to his human form, and I noticed that Amy had never transformed into her unicorn. So much for her no longer hiding.“I was banished by an Alpha Supreme who no longer lives, not by this House,” Mark replied confidently. “Unless you’re here to tell me you’ve successfully filled the Alpha Supreme posi
The moment Ethan realized what I’d done, he turned even more feral. Saliva dripped from his jowls, and his chest heaved with unnecessary force. He lowered himself, then leapt for me with canines and claws extended.Instead of moving out of the way like I easily could have done, I decided to quit playing with him. This bear couldn’t beat me. I knew that the moment he’d lost control of his emotions.This was my House, and he wasn’t going to take it from me.I let his claws scrape down the length of my spine the worst injury I’d yet to receive and when he landed on the other side of me, giving me his back, I used my larger bear size to jump on top of him.My right front paw tore out one of his eyes while the other cut clean through his throat just before my jaws locked around the back of his neck, keeping him somewhat still.The bubbling gurgle that sounded soon after made my stomach churn, but I didn’t release the hold I had on the stubborn bastard. This was the fate he’d chosen, and I
But the pain was magnified by the look Marigold had given her as Elena washed and dressed her for the last time.It was a look of pure, unadulterated trust.That baby loved you. And you just left her.She still had her keys to her mother’s house, and when Elena walked in, the house was silent and dark.It seemed her mother wasn’t home. She was probably out shopping or with one of her friends.Great, your mother’s got a better social life than you do. Now get it together.Her thoughts had changed.Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she would be strong. She would put herself back together and be happy doing it.Back in her room, Elena unpacked her duffel bag and pulled out her laptop.Then she headed to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee while she updated her resumé.Elena also considered starting a writing blog where she could post fictional stories about men that turned into bears and wolves. But then she remembered the man who had followed her in Costco.She understood what At
Could this man have been one of the council’s goons? Atlas couldn’t picture any shifter he had ever met from Elena’s descriptions.But then, there were bear shifters all over the United States. Who knew what kind of trash Elias or Callum had called in to take care of Atlas?“I don’t want you going out on your own again,” Atlas found himself saying. His voice was harsher, hotter than he had intended.Elena turned from where she stood at the stove and looked at him with raised brows.Her bright eyes were almost cold. He shuddered. Lyra had never looked at him with anything other than warmth in her eyes.“Excuse me?”Her voice was a whisper.Just then, Marigold started fussing, and Lyra came from the kitchen to pick up Atlas’s daughter.“It isn’t safe for you to go out on your own. We don’t know if that guy who followed you was just a creep or if he was connected to something … else.”Atlas ensured that his voice was gentler, but Lyra still looked incredibly angry.“I’m not someone who l
Elena spent about two hours trying to fit Mari’s car seat into the backseat of the truck.Then she went back into the cabin to wash and dress Marigold, who she put in a fluffy, yellow onesie.She put a white cap on Mari’s head and matching white woolen booties on the infant’s tiny feet.Not that Marigold was that tiny any longer. The baby was growing faster and faster every day … faster than most babies.Elena had a feeling it had something to do with her bear-shifter genes.Marigold was even outgrowing the clothes that Elena had purchased two weeks earlier.“I’ll stop by the baby care store in town,” Elena whispered to Marigold. She stroked the baby’s cheek once and then lifted her into her arms. “And we’ll get you some new threads.”Elena grabbed her bag on the way out, as well as the Maya wrap Atlas had purchased.She settled Marigold safely into the car seat, strapping her in tightly. Then Elena got into the driver’s seat and turned on the beast of a truck.The engine roared to li
He wanted to growl, his bear trying to break out, but he held his anger down and frowned at them. "I have a human nanny. Elena is my daughter's nanny."They didn't seem to believe him, and he sighed, waving a hand."Serenity died if you have forgotten, and I have a newborn baby that needs attention. Much more attention than I can give her, mind you. So, I hired a nanny.""You're saying that this nanny that is living in your house hasn't joined you in bed? That's what you're saying? You haven't slept with her?" Devlen asked, narrowing his eyes. He wanted him to admit that he'd mated with Elena, but he wasn't going to."No," he lied, shaking his head. "She is just my nanny. She's what Marigold needs right now. I need an extra set of hands around the house."Devlen scoffed and shook his head. He placed his hand on the table, his words coming out harshly. "I don't believe you. You're lying. She isn't just your nanny, and we are all watching. I'd be careful, Atlas, because all eyes are on
Atlas reached for her hand, shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about that.”He pulled her toward him, sealing their lips together. A spark ran down her body. She leaned into it.His hands skated over her back and down, cupping her ass. He pulled her onto his lap, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss deepened, and she moaned softly against him.He broke the kiss, inhaling against her neck. “You smell so good,” he muttered into her ear.She smiled, feeling his hands sliding up her back. He reached for her bra straps.She leaned back, looking into his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk?” she asked, seeing frustration in his eyes.He shook his head. “Maybe later. Right now, I just want you.”She felt the love so deep in his words. She kissed him, allowing him to pull her shirt open and undo her bra.The air bit at her bare skin, but he pulled them onto the bed and under the covers. She pressed into the sheets as his fingers scraped at her pants.His lips kissed
Her heart dropped into her stomach, and her breathing, she realized, was shallow, unsteady.Atlasr’s eyes darkened then, and his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth.“We need to be very careful, Elena.” The warning in his voice was clear. “We need to continue pretending that you’re my nanny and not my mate.”“You really cannot expect me to do that.” The distress in Elena’s voice surprised her. But a dent had been put in her pride.“Yes, you have to,” Atlas said, his voice more serious than Atlas had ever heard it before. “You cannot tell anyone about us. Not even your mother. And I’m not doing this because I want to keep you a secret … far from it. I’m doing this because I want to protect you.”“Maybe we should move?” The idea flashed across Atlas’s mind so suddenly that she hurried to grasp it before it vanished. “Move to another state where we can live freely. Like Alaska.”Atlas shook his head as Marigold started crying.Elena took the baby automatically, cradling the little gir
Devlen, Case, Elias, and Jameson represented the bears of Montana.“Atlas,” Devlen spoke in his growling voice.Atlas inclined his head in a small bow to each of them.The four shifters all wore bear skins.“Thank you for seeing me,” he said. “I am here to plead before the council. I would like to find a human mate. Clearly, Serenity and I were not a match, and this resulted in her death.”“I believe, Atlas, that you’ve mated with a human before coming here to get our approval.”Fear raced through Atlas, crashing into him in great waves and almost knocking him over.But he remained steady, his face impassive.“Not at all, sir,” he said as respectfully as he could. Anger had blended with his fear. “I simply want us to change the old ways of living to save the bear shifters of Hendrick Klaus.”“The reason we do not mate with humans, Atlas,” Elias spoke in a gentler voice, though his face was stern, “is because we are keeping our species pure. Mating and procreating with humans only weak
Atlas took a hesitant step toward her.Outside, the wind had picked up. Leaves and thick, rich patches of soil blew around in gusts and spurts.The air had smelled wet and ripe, as though it was about to rain.“I want you. Only you,” Atlas said. His eyes were sincere … sincere enough that Atlas believed him. “More than anything. But I have to ensure that the council approves of our relationship first.”“Why?”Elena settled into the rocking chair next to the baby’s bed.Marigold was still awake but allowed Elena to cradle her. It was as if the baby knew Elena needed to hold her.“Because,” Atlas leaned against the changing table, “the council rarely approves of bears and humans mixing. Socially and … romantically.”“Is it really that big of a deal?” Elena found the strength to ask Timber, who crossed his arms over his chest.“It isn’t to me. But the bear council wants us to keep our bloodlines pure. They believe that mating with humans is physically impossible, and even if it were poss
She gripped her hands into tight fists. Her lips pulled into a straight line, and she inhaled sharply.“If you're not going to be honest with me, then I'm not staying. I told you I wasn't going to watch after your kid day in and day out. I'm the nanny, not the mother."She turned on her heel and marched toward the door. He quickly pulled himself out of bed and reached for her hand, stopping her."Stop!" Elena yelled, but he didn't."Just give me a second to explain," he whispered, making her pause.He knew she wouldn't believe him unless she saw with her own eyes, so he turned them toward the door and walked her out to the backyard.The grass was wet, and it smelled like it had recently rained. He turned toward her on the deck and took a few steps back."Now, you can't say I didn't warn you," he said, watching her look at him confused.He relaxed his muscles and allowed himself to shift into his bear form. His bones moved, and his muscles contracted. And then she screamed.Elena's eye