"Give me another one, Jessa," Lily snarled, slamming her shot glass on the counter. It was one o'clock in the afternoon the next day, and Jessa and her friends' little party was just getting started. Rhye, her gorgeous husband and the alpha of the Moonlight pack, was still at the council meeting, which made Lily wonder about their politics and agenda. Today was meant to be their honeymoon, but the man was nowhere to be found.
To Lily, it wasn't that simple either. She thought supernatural beings were only seen in movies, and she had never considered mating one, especially an alpha of Europe's most powerful pack.
She and Jessa had been having a serious conversation earlier, which had devolved into nothing but more cocktails, laughs, and dancing. She knew it was difficult to comprehend everything, but there was nothing more amusing than questioning
During the last two months, Jason had been her practice partner. He was a werewolf warrior 'royal,' an endearing term for a werewolf fighter with an alpha bloodline. They had all the magic, discipline, and arrogance you'd expect from someone of their illustrious lineage, but Jason wasn't so awful after a few drinks. Real drinks are loaded with luminous mixture droplets. These witchy shots and cocktails had no effect on him. "Of course not!" Jason smirked. "It doesnât matter. I was successful, so you have to drink," she told him. Jason drank his fizzy blue shot, and then set the glass down in front of Lily. "Oh, yes, I can see youâre working real hard, Jess, but I am way better now." "Show off!" Lily grinned at him, knowing full well they had a thing for each other but too foolish to admit it. Jessa murmured back, "Work and play, sweetheart; let Lily decide who wins this time. We are killing two birds with one stone, my friend." "How many stones do you intend to throw in here,
"Well, about that, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you about them, but I can make an exception. After all, you are the Alphaâs mate. The sooner you know, the better." Jessa replied. "OK, so?" "Demons were among the um-the most notorious and evilest of the supernatural. They were our mortal enemies." "Are they really changing their... um-well, like a werewolf? Can they s-shift into something, um-like a new c-creature?" Lily asked her with wide eyes. "Nope, that's just crazy, Hollywood crazy but they are powerful in the evening. They can dwell in the shadows. They can travel with it, and like us, they are bloodthirsty creatures, and they can dwell in human bodies long enough, those with weak and evil minds, souls so unworthy and so dark. They feed off fear. But they are beautiful to human eyes, but to us, they look like ugly fucks, awful, ugly things." Jessa shivered. "Have you killed one before?" "Nope, it's been centuries since a demon came to this realm, but recently I heard
Jessa poured herself another shot and drank it down. The neighbouring alphaâs daughter, Mila, had bodyguards, two big werewolves who looked like theyâd fallen off the pages of a bodybuilding magazine. She glanced at them as she threw back another shot. "Jess, if youâre not scared, then why do you need so many drinks?" Lily asked her. "Just boosting up my magic." Which was kind of the truth. This magical mixture had a hint of magic in it. Certainly nothing akin to it, but one could only get this kind of drop-in supernatural bars. It was, after all, poison, so the fatality rate was pretty shocking. And losing one customer simply wasnât good for business. "She's a powerful and spoiled brat," Jessa added, glancing at the she-wolf tucked safely behind her wall of bodyguards. "Members of the Alpha families are harder to compel. The qualities that make others want to follow them also make them resistant to mental attacks and compulsion." "Really?" "Oh, yes." "You sure, youâll be okay wit
There was a strange, subtle glow to the gigantic manâs body, some kind of spell. A strength-enhancing spell, Lily realized as she watched Jessa fighting with a man way bigger and stronger than her, while Jason just shook his head and continued with whatever he was doing with the naked humans. John Cena sprinkled the glittery gold powder all over himself as Jessa ducked a second flying table. One of Rhyeâs manuals inside Lily's brain now taught her that it was indeed a magic thingy on how to counter Jessa's spell. But Lily was surprised when in a sudden flash both fighters shifted into their gigantic wolves. Jessa had her beautiful silver wolf and John Cena was the ugliest and scariest giant canine Lily had ever seen. His massive mouth was covered in grime and saliva that made Lily shiver. It was like looking at her very own nightmare. The dark wolf bodyguard of the bitch was beyond ugly. Hellish even.One of Milaâs bodyguards reached into Mila's pouches, mixing lotus flower and human
Lily couldn't help but moan. She knew she was playing with fire now, and it was obvious enough to get burned by his wonderful warm touch as Rhye guided her to the nearest couch. She felt warm fingertips start to massage the base of her skull and warm breath on the nape of her neck. "What are you doing?""Iâm massaging you... You have a headache, right?""Hmp!" She nodded her head. "But I want you to kiss me!" She complained. In any circumstance, she would never admit it, but who cares now? Her new world becomes nothing but odd and magical at the same time, just like her husband, magical and hot. She was beyond caring. She was drunk, and yes, her headache was killing her. But again, she doesn't care anymore. Yet, she shuddered in anticipation. She felt her nipples harden against the fabric of his soft cotton shirt and felt a gentle heat sweep through her. She wasn't confident if the heat she was feeling was all from the fire or his breath."I will, sweet, but for now, let me ease your
"I want you." Lily smiled seductively as she shook her head, strangely disturbed by his unexpected smile."Not here, sweetheart.""But-""What do you get out of this? Little one?""I wish I knew," Rhye smirked.Rhyeâs hand slid from her nape to the curve of her lower back, urging her against his stirring hardness. Lily sucked in a ragged breath as his thick shaft pressed into the tender flesh of her stomach."I know I want you. Desperately," he said, a fierce hunger flaring through his eyes. "I know that you fascinate me even when youâre behaving like a lunatic.""Hey, I'm your wife, I mean your Luna.""What I donât know is why the thought of watching you with all those stupid werewolves is..." He grimaced."Is what?""Unacceptable.""Unacceptable?""Completely and utterly unacceptable. I want you to be safe all the time.""Hmp! Is that all? simply to be safe? Not naked?" She licked her lips, unnerved by the stark satisfaction that flared through her heart. Surely she couldnât be plea
The next day, Lily began her research in the library when Rhye brought her coffee and sandwich. "What are you reading, sweetheart?" Rhye asked her."Reading about demons and werewolves' politics.""Um-there is nothing more than them being our mortal enemy and our own politics is boring.""I know that, but I'm also looking for something.""Something?""Yes, I mean, something about supernatural scents. What I smell in the campground, I want to know more about it.""No worries, I will ask Dimitri about it and he will find the answer you seek soon. Though there are just so many to get through." Rhye said as he kissed her on the forehead.Her brow arched. "Is that an excuse to disturb my reading?""Nope but a fact," he retorted with a smile, "or are you thinking what I'm thinking?"Seriously, Rhye?" She rolled her eyes and took the coffee from the tea tray."Well, a man got to try, because being a soldier in my world is a constant struggle to improve yourself, to grow every skill, even th
"Yes, and no, I can't tell you about it here in the open. But I will soon be in our bed." He whispered to her, "...but for now, be in the garage in fifteen minutes, OK," Rhye told her, then he headed down the hallway that led to his office. Lily leaned her elbow against the reception counter and let out a sigh. Encounters with non-human creatures were kind of hit or miss. It was like they were twenty different people, and she never knew which one sheâd get. Today sheâd gotten professional Rhye. Not the husband Rhye or the flirty alpha, but the leader of his pack. Lily swiped a doughnut from the box on the counter. Being professional sucked. She much preferred making-out-in-the-library Rhye. "Whatâs it like to kiss the alpha?" the female receptionist asked her. "He tastes like the magical wine in the pub." The woman blinked, obviously confused about how to respond to her statement. The mixture was a poison that either blessed you with new magic or killed you. Lilyâs doughnut in han
Shock at what sheâd done had barely begun to flicker through her mind when she felt something heavy and oppressive build within her. A sudden, sharp pain in her chest had her crying out as something foreign inside her pulled tight, stretching like a rubber band. Oh, god, it hurts. It felt like every atom of her being was being simultaneously crushed and pulled to its breaking point. The foreign sensation grew stronger and heavier until it felt like she was being ripped apart. The agony was unreal. She tried to scream her pain, but her chest was caving in, and she couldnât breathe. It was gathering her power. She could feel it, like a thorned vine, latching onto the tendrils; she could feel it squeezing them, choking them. With a violent, agonising wrench, it yanked her power back into her, the cold, burning pain of it tearing a ragged shriek from her throat. Like a hand swatting a fly, the whiplash of it folded her body in half and sent her hurtling toward the floor. Strong arms
Thighs clenching at the feel of it, so erotically foreign, yet so right, she writhed between kisses and moaned. In response, Rhye coils his tail around her leg, guiding her to widen her stance. He slipped a thigh between her legs at the same moment he cupped her breasts, as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth. Moaning in delight... "Oh, God..." Livia growled.The multitude of sensations had her crying out into Rhyeâs mouth. Pressing her breasts into his hands, she ground down against his thigh, needing the pressure where she was so wet and swollen for him.Like an extra set of arms, she felt him wrap his majestic tail around her, enclosing her in a cocoon of warmth, safety, and need. Even with her eyes closed, she knew he didnât surround her completely. She didnât have to wonder why. The knowledge that heâd left a gap so she could breathe and her inner demon could watch unimpeded had a new rush of wetness slicking her core. It was like she had been transported to a different dimensio
That was enough to snap her out of the trance.Unsure if she was more freaked out about being hypnotized by a fucking tail, or charmed that it seemed to like her, she pet it in return, carefully stroking a fingertip lightly over the spade tip.If it were possible, her eyes would have widened even more at the shiver working through Rhye.Did he like that?Oh, how she wanted to play and find out.Soon, it retreated, and Livia marvelled at all three men as she really, truly realised that they werenât humans. They were predators and, unlike humans, had the features necessary to both lure in prey and kill it. Josephâs eyes, Rhyeâs tailâthey were all mesmerising."Like cuttlefish," she muttered under her breath.Rhye zeroed in on her and cocked his head. "Whatâs that?""Oh, nothing." Peering up at Rhye, she prompted, "You wanted to ask something earlier?"The alpha gave her a look that said he knew she was intentionally redirecting the conversation but that he was going with it. "How did it
The words escaped without thought, but she didnât have the mental capacity to regret them, even when the room was suddenly full of low, masculine laughter."Does that mean you think Iâm pretty, too?" Leon rumbled, his eyes, now a vivid purple, sparklingâliterally sparklingâas though they were dotted with a thousand tiny stars.His voice had already been deep, but now it was even more so. The gravelly, bass sound vibrated through her like distant thunder but was also creepy at the same time, but Livia didn't show how scared she was of the two-headed wolf. There was something about Leon's wolf that made her shiver with fear. He was something else. There was darkness in him, and she could see it. Livia paused, seeing a vision of Leon killing Joseph in the subway, while Rhye was unconscious on his side. Livia gasped; anger settled over her, and rage throbbed in her like a heartbeat. Leon creeped into Joseph... He would kill him. Livia could feel it... She didn't have a choice but to use h
Livia frowned. She picked up on that apparently being a bad thing easily enough, but why he thought she would care was beyond her. When she voiced as much, he just blinked at her like sheâd stunned him speechless; at first, she was sure.Peering between the two of them, she took in the tense set of their shoulders and the tightness in their expressions that lingered, despite her assurance that she didnât care about their lack of purity.Deciding to fix the problem sheâd inadvertently caused, Livia smiled softly at them. "I donât care if youâre pure or as mixed as milk and coffee, but Iâve obviously stepped on a sore point, so I rescind my invitation." Hoping to lighten the mood, she ended with a haughty sniff and an imperious wave of her hand.Josephâs eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. "Well! Now that you donât want to see, I want to show you. What is this witchery?"Leon made a low sound and nodded, mimicking Josephâs suspicious expression, though his grey eyes were dancing with amu
Speechless, Livia gaped at the beautiful monster before her. Drawn like a moth to a flame, she took a step closer, wanting, needing to see him, to touch him. She managed a single step before Rhye cursed, eyes wide and dark brows furrowed, as he stared down at himself."How the fuck did you do that?" he demanded, pinning her with a stunned look.God, but his eyes were unreal. Vibrant, ocean deep blue with a sunburst of bright green around the pupils. They were the eyes of a predator. Eyes of a pureblood alpha. She wanted to get lost in them, wanted to stare into them until sheâd mapped every facet."I have no idea," she admitted with a slow shake of her head. At the disbelieving expression he gave her, she tried to think past the shock of seeing him and explained, "The heat of your power was starting to get painful, and then, all of a sudden, it felt like mine got pissed off and threw yours back at you.""You shouldnât be capable of that," Rhye muttered, but it was said almost absently
The memory of the creepy, child-looking demon and the sensation of it sucking the power out of her, remembering how weak sheâd felt afterward, sent a shiver down her spine and hardened her resolve. All her martial arts and self-defense training had been useless against the thrall it had used on her. Sheâd spent too long and worked too hard to not be a victim to give up on this now. Rhye smirked at her for the second time that day, setting a new record. His eyes shone with approval at the resolve in hers. âI can force your power out of you. If youâll allow me to try,â he tacked on at the end. Livia appreciated the effort he was making to be more polite, now he knew she wasnât a spy sent to surveil them. She just wasnât sure how to react to this new Rhye. Heâd gone from cold and dangerous to interested and almost nice. Almost. It was a jarring change. Seductive, dangerously enticing, and intriguing as hell, but still jarring. Livia glanced at them, gauging their reactions to his of
Cocking her head, Livia frowned at him. "I donât understand." Her eyes went wide as it hit her. "Oh my god, I get it. So, if they make vampires popular in movies and books, demons will become stronger because more humans are glorifying them. Same for witches and werewolves and everything else, yes?""Exactly.""Holy shit. I wonder how much I affected them in my Twilight phase as a kid."Joseph growled, "Those fucking movies! The "vampire" and "werewolf" demons were out of control. The "underworld demons" were pissed. Theyâd been top dogs for most of what"âhe glanced at Leonâ"like the last thousand years?""Mm, thereabouts, yes.""Wait. Did I hear you say âtop dogsâ?" she asked, ignoring the twilight thing in favor of something more important."Yes, but now anymore," Leon nodded.âSpiteful little fuckers, really. And always hungry!â Joseph pointed to a few thin white scars crisscrossing the back of his hand, scars sheâd somehow never noticed before. âThey like people meat, and they are
"As Joseph said, itâs not exclusively a torture chamber, and itâs not used as such all that often. Only when weâre left with no other recourse," Rhye soothed with a small smile.Her gentle giant, the man who touched her with such tenderness and care, was talking about torturing people with about the same amount of contrition as confessing he didnât always take the time to recycle.That wasnât actually what shocked her, though. She knew they were on the dark grey side of the morality scale.When she continued to frown at him, he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, looking suddenly unsure. "Does that bother you, Livia? Would it help to know we donât hurt the innocent?"Rhye was very still at her back, she noticed. He hadnât pulled away from her physically, but she could sense him closing off, could almost feel him pulling the cold, unfeeling mask back into place.Joseph, whoâd strolled farther into the room, snorted. "Of course she knows that!" He stopped walking when she didnât immedia