Here's for tonight. Thank you for waiting, lovelies! We ended at #1 in the New Gems Ranking for June with 5.9k Gems! Thank you for all the love you gave this book! 💛
XANDER.My gums were itching, and I knew where this was leading. My wolf and I wanted to mark her, but I shouldn't decide on that alone. I kept my mouth closed and grazed my lips on her neck while my nose nuzzled on her soft spot. And just when I was about to ask her for her permission, her body stiffened, and I felt her aura changing.“Xander!” She exclaimed, and I automatically withdrew my head from her neck, turning her body around abruptly to meet her gaze.“What's going on?” I asked. “Is your mindlink close?” She asked back as her forehead creased. “Yes. I don’t want anyone to disturb us.”“Mindy, mindlinked me...” “Fuck!” I growled. Mindy never mindlinked me unless important or she was in danger, and the fact that Nadine’s expression was too worried meant that it could have something to do with one person: Maddox.“Maddox is banging on her door!” Nadine said in a hurry as she moved away from me and got out of bed. She picked up my shirt while I grabbed my sweatpants that wer
NADINE. My eyes snapped open, and they immediately widened when I saw Xander’s face hovering over mine.I almost screamed. My hand moved and slapped his chest before I gently pushed him away, but he just laughed and slid his arms around me before dropping his weight on my side and taking me along with him. I closed my eyes and hugged him back, resting my head on his firm torso.“I fell asleep,” I mumbled. “I tried to stay awake, but I hadn’t slept well for the last two nights, so I caved in.”“It’s better you fell asleep, as it took me more than two hours to return here.” He answered in a low voice before he pulled me closer to him. I wanted to tell him he hadn’t slept since last night either, but then there were important things to know first.“How was Mindy? Is she okay?” I asked.I felt him nod his head. “Maddox was there outside her door for a long time, as it took me a while to get there, but he didn’t destroy her door. It seemed like he had no plan to do that at all. Mindy said
NADINE. “And the pack? We will just leave them behind? Because we, as well as Mindy, are safe?” I couldn’t stop my mouth.“There are things that we can’t do anything about. Maybe this was one of them.” He said lowly before letting out another sigh.I could see in his eyes that it was difficult for him to say those words. He didn’t want to abandon him. And I wanted to push him more not to. “But we can find a way.”“How?” He moved away from me and got off the bed. He headed toward the window and looked outside as he spoke. “I am nothing, Nadine. Throw me in with humans with nothing on me, and I will still survive. But throw me to the wolves, and I would be eaten alive. I knew nothing about packs. Nothing about shifters. I have no connections and no friends in this world. I can’t go there and kill my brother and expect everything will fall into place after that. Maddox has allies. They will come after me and this pack.”His chest was heaving, and so was mine. I sat up from lying down, r
NADINE. The Omega informed us that the Alpha would join us for breakfast, but I didn’t hear the rest of her words as I was already connecting my head with Xander. The last thing I wanted was for Maddox to put another Alpha command in place and jeopardize everything I had with Xander. And for me to fall prey to his game. I was supposed to be the one playing games here. ‘I’m on my way back. I’ll be there soon. I already assumed he was home, as no one was there at Carlotta’s. Just relax. I got you.’‘Thank you.’ I replied. ‘Be careful.’He thought I was terrified of Maddox. I wasn’t. He could do whatever he wanted. My only concern was Xander. I didn’t want him to doubt me again. My wolf purred in my head because of my thoughts, plus the fact that Xander responded to my mindlink right away after I informed him the Alpha would join me and Kenzo for breakfast.“Good morning, Alpha.” Kenzo’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He stood up and bowed his head toward the person who had ente
ALPHA MADDOX.“I also said I was Xander’s mate,” Nadine stated. Her face showed no emotion, but her words were sharp.“Exactly. I want what Xander has.” I told her as my forehead creased.Xander seemed to have everything I wanted. Everything was given to him while I had to work my way to where I am now. —--------------------FLASHBACK. 7 years agoXander 19 years oldMaddox 18 years old“Get up!” Dad’s voice woke me up before I heard him draw the curtains open, and the sun’s rays touched my face. I growled and turned my body around to cover my head. “I said get up!” He repeated before he pulled the blanket off my body, and I felt the air brushing against my naked skin.My hand reached for the female beside me and pushed her away from me. “Leave,” I said in a hoarse voice.The female scampered on her feet and grabbed her dress. She quickly put it on and was out the door even before I could turn around.“How many times do I…” Dad began, and I just yawned, letting his words enter one ea
NADINE. “Stop hitting me!” Alpha Maddox rolled out an Alpha command, and I felt the hair in my skin rise. There was no way Xander could win over him. Xander’s body was shaking as his fist hung midair, while Maddox was slumped on the ground. He was fighting off the command. My eyes went around the packhouse grounds, and I saw that there were a number of people around, looking and murmuring. Maddox would surely take over and punish Xander.Xander looked at me, his arm still bent and hanging in the air, as Maddox laughed wickedly while wiping the blood off his nose. My jaw tightened before I shoved Kenzo’s hand holding me and rushed to where they were.I ran toward my mate, and the moment I was in front of them, my arms flew and wrapped around Xander’s neck as I pulled him away from Maddox. My hand reached for his arm, then lowered it as I hugged him tightly. “Shhh… It’s okay. I’m okay.” I mumbled to him. His arms wrapped around me as he pulled our bodies closer. He pressed his lips
NADINE.“Mindy is not allowed to cross the border.” The male said. My forehead creased as my heart began to thud louder, but I was able to control it. And then I offered him a confident smile. “Well, the Alpha didn’t say anything when I told them this morning that I would be taking Mindy with me.”“I didn’t receive any information about the lifting of the order.” He said right away. “But if you give me time, I’ll check with the head of security and get back to you.”I wanted to say more, but someone called his attention and asked him to help because another truck came. So, I took the opportunity to speak.“How about I call Beta Xander so you can personally talk to Alpha Maddox? But then, knowing the Alpha, he might get upset about this trivial thing. It’s not really a big deal, but I want to make it home before they do, so just let us go.”“Okay, go ahead. If I get reprimanded…”“I got you, Justin.” I smiled at him and rolled my window up immediately while he stepped back. He motioned
XANDER.“How could you?” I growled. I had no idea where I got the energy to growl so loudly and show anger toward Nadine when all I wanted was to shield her and take her away from Maddox. I had no idea why she took Mindy out of the territory, but a part of me didn't want to believe she wanted to hurt her. But her cries and her pain about Mindy and me sounded so real that instead of snapping at her, I wanted to reassure her that she was the only one I wanted. But I set aside all my emotions and just went with the flow.If she wanted Maddox to believe that she and Mindy were still not on good terms, then I had to get her back on this. I swiftly turned her body around and shook her until she opened her eyes. “I told you just a little time so I could get my head straight!”Her face was wet with tears, and it was taking too much of me not to hug her. I had to play the part that I wanted Mindy as well. “Little time? And then what? I will wait, and in the end, you will choose her.” She s
TEN YEARS AFTER THE BIRTH OF XAVIER.XANDER.“Are you ready, Alpha?” Xavier asked, and once I nodded my head, he turned to his side and nodded at his seven-year-old brother, Nexus. Without any more words, they hurried off into the forest for my wolf, Orion, to track them. I always give them a fifteen-minute head start before I start looking for them.Fifteen minutes—enough time for myself to soak in all the things my eyes could see and think of all that happened in my life over the last ten years.Three years after we gave birth to Xavier, Nadine fell pregnant again. This time, she extended an offer to me for the Alpha position. Like she said, I’d been doing the Alpha work whenever she couldn’t attend to it due to the nature of her pregnancy. She was going through a difficult time with Nexus. There were days she couldn’t get up from our bed and would vomit from time to time. Although our son was healthy, Nadine would always end up drained of energy. I, of course, could continue doing
NADINE.Dad and Mom arrived just a couple of hours after I gave birth. Nadia called them right away when my waterbag broke, so they were already traveling while I was in labor. Xavier’s birth came early, yet we and the whole pack had always been ready for him.With the approval of the midwives who assisted me, we began our journey home at midnight. I couldn’t wait to introduce our son to his pack and welcome Jillian as our Gamma Female. We arrived by dawn, and I expected the packhouse to be quiet as everyone should be asleep, but the sight that welcomed us was indeed overwhelming to a mother’s heart.The house was bright with lights, and the packhouse ground was decorated with lanterns and banners—both for our son and our Gamma Female—as if they had days to prepare for this and not just hours. The whole area was alive, and even without hearing anything from the outside, I was sure there was music playing as there were people dancing.But the moment Kenzo’s door opened, the whole pl
NADINE.I had just finished fixing my hair and was ready to drive to the Midnight Pack for Jillian’s debut. I came out of our room and went downstairs to find Xander. He was ready many minutes ago, and I asked him to leave me alone in our room so I could continue preparing because he kept distracting me with hugs and kisses. I found him at the bar, drinking alone. I wasn’t sure if he noticed my presence as he remained standing by the large window, gazing outside while sipping his drink.He must be thinking about Carlotta and her pup, as this had been the only thing keeping him quiet lately. Xander was determined to find Maddox’s child and give it a good life. But Carlotta had been dodging us for almost a year.But today, we got more information. We finally had a name and gender. Maddox and Carlotta had a daughter, Maxine Charlotte Trevino. Carlotta named her after her father. But we were still clueless about where they were staying. All we knew was that the child had a fever, and C
GAMMA KENZO.I unclasped her bra and tossed it aside before pulling away from kissing her, letting my eyes savor the perfect breasts that were made for me. Jillian had a petite frame, but her breasts were bigger than her size, and burying my head in between them was a fantasy I wanted to fulfill. She bit her bottom lip before her hands cupped the sides of her breasts and gently kneaded them; all the while, her eyes were swirling with lust. “Do you like them?”My eyes were surely twinkling as I nodded my head, like a boy on Christmas Day. “I fucking love them!”I didn’t need an invite as I bent over and captured one of her breasts, and a grunt filled my throat as I savored her bosom, one after the other, letting my tongue and hand play with them and her nipples while my sultry mate was fumbling with my shirt and my pants, helping in taking them off my body. After I had my fill, my lips pressed against her firm stomach. I trailed my mouth down to her inner thigh where my hand was, par
FUTURE GAMMA FEMALE JILLIAN.“Have you played hide-and-seek?” I asked him in a soft voice after he sent a message to Beta Xander. First, he asked them if Alpha Nadine had given birth and told them to call him anytime. He also informed him that “he got the girl and that he was blessed tenfold tonight.” Even though it was just a text message, I could see the pride in him as he puffed his chest while he was typing those words. Kenzo, even without him knowing, really knew how to melt my heart.“Hmmm... what are you planning to do?” He asked, his forehead creasing. We were already in the hotel lobby where I was staying. The party was already over, but my family was still there to make sure all the guests were sent off nicely and out of the border, but they let us leave ahead. I stood in front of Kenzo, walking backward as he walked forward at my pace. I placed my hand on his chest, a playful grin etched on my face. “Catch me if you can, lover boy.”I pushed him playfully before running
FUTURE GAMMA FEMALE JILLIAN.I watched in awe as my father, Alpha Lucas, took the center stage together with my mother, Luna Katarina. Unlike other parents, Dad and Mom were actually happy that I found out who my mate was as soon as I turned eighteen. Dad was glad he turned out to be the same man I was in love with. He didn’t want me to have any doubts about the man I would be in a relationship with, knowing that my mate was just out there somewhere. Although he was sad I had to leave them sooner, he knew I would be in good hands.“We would like to thank everyone for gracing us with your presence for our daughter’s coming-of-age celebration.” My father began, and the crowd gave him a round of applause. I couldn’t help but smile and playfully roll my eyes upon seeing my mother looking at him as if he held the whole universe in his hands. But then I realized it must be the same way I looked at Kenzo whenever he wasn’t looking at me, and I got to study his features. Dad looked at Mom
GAMMA KENZO.I had never driven so fast as I did tonight. Good thing that I only needed to drive along the forest road, so there were no cameras and traffic police lurking around. If I had my way, I would have run on my paws so I’d be faster, but I needed to look presentable, and I couldn’t just rip my clothes off. I was stopped at their border, and it seemed the one in there had no idea who I was. He denied me entry because I didn’t have the invitation with me. In my rush to get help for the Alpha, I might have dropped it somewhere in the packhouse. Only when I instructed him to reach out to Alpha Ledger and we conversed over the phone did I receive permission to enter.The drive to the hotel where her party was ongoing was plain torture. I was happy that I was here, but the thought of missing her dance and her not being my fated mate kept seeping into my mind. “Judgment time.” I reminded myself of this as I picked up the bouquet of red roses from the backseat of my car and made m
LADY JILLIAN.“Mine!!” The growl was so loud it vibrated through my whole body. I shoved Wes’ hand off me and abruptly turned my body around to face the direction of the voice.And my heart stopped as I stared at the man at the far end of the corridor. My eyes locked with Alonso, Alpha Aeon’s son, the next Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack. My mouth parted as a shriek passed my lips, something I was not able to control. “No!”Until I realized something.I was older than Alonso. Even with him having a wolf, it was impossible that I scented him. He was not eighteen yet. —----------------------GAMMA KENZO.I ran my comb through my hair one more time, perfecting my hairstyle before pointing at myself through my reflection in the mirror. To say that I was excited was an understatement. I was beyond ecstatic.Tonight, whatever fate had in store for me and Jillian, we would finally take our relationship to the next level. I could officially claim her as my girlfriend, and we would take it fro
A YEAR AFTER MADDOX’S DEATH. LADY JILLIAN of the Midnight Pack. I couldn’t erase the smile off my face as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My hair was tied up tightly in a bun, and I was dressed in a swan-like ballerina dress. The only jewelry I had was one pair of crescent moon earrings that I had never taken off. Finally eighteen. My family was throwing a grand ball for me, and I would start the night with a ballet dance that I’d been practicing for many months. The dance was about a female coming of age and spreading her wings. I was excited, not only because I would be turning eighteen and would finally be able to do many things, but because I could officially say YES to Kenzo as my boyfriend. We could make it official. Kenzo and I started dating after he was re-inducted as the Gamma of the Dark Forest Pack. He asked me if he could court me, and I said he could, or he could come back once I turned eighteen, as I was not allowed to have a boyfriend until then. Not that