It was not easy to vanquish a werewolf who was as powerful as Rhye. His powers were terrifying, his intelligence formidable, and the sheer force of his will could overcome the most fearsome adversaries. But there was no getting away from the fact that he had been well and truly brought to his knees by a bad-tempered, unpredictable, aggravatingly beautiful witch. Tucking Lily’s head beneath his chin, Rhye wrapped her tightly in his arms, his gaze ruefully taking in the shards of glass and shattered pictures scattered over the rugs. He never lost control. Certainly not during sex. Not that what he’d just shared with Lily was just sex. It was... hell, he didn’t even have a word for the astonishing sensations that continued to quake through his body. A werewolf would sacrifice everything for his pack, clan, sanity, and every soul to claim such joy. Unfortunately, Lily wasn’t anxious to have anyone lay claim to her. Especially not an arrogant, overprotective werewolf who had the social ski
“Come on, dear. I haven’t bothered adorning it at all.” “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” “It didn’t seem necessary.” Coming to a sudden halt, Rhye cupped her face and stole a swift, frustrated kiss. Lifting his head, he met her startled gaze. “Until now.” Her lips parted with a scathing statement, but before she could catch her breath, he was stepping into the Control Room and speaking to the neon-haired werewolf on patrol. “We need transportation, asap.” The warrior with his strange colour combination of hair shaved close to his head, and his large body covered with a variety of weapons, rose to his feet, clearly under orders to offer Rhye whatever he needed. “Follow me, alpha.” Wryly marvelling at what Trevor would demand in compensation for his hospitality, Rhye followed the werewolf across the room. Waiting for the attendant to push open a narrow door, he wasn’t shocked to discover the enormous underground garage that held a half dozen glistening automobiles. Many Rangers poss
Stephen, the little demon kicked a stray rock as he wandered along the edge of the town’s river. He’d caught the foul scent of an elf hours ago and had eagerly been on the hunt since. Elfy, the little elf, would pay. Bloody bastard. He'd been convinced that this was his chance to prove Dimitri, the council's leader. His joy was quickly turned to annoyance as the trail led him on a seemingly endless goose chase through the mud and muck that this town generated in plenty. For the umpteenth time, he pondered dropping out of this werewolf-helping business and retiring to a beautiful peaceful location in the mountains or the south. The humidity did nothing for his skin. After all, it wasn’t like the cold-blooded Alpha Rhye actually appreciated his spectacular skills. The alpha barely acknowledged he was a full-blooded demon, let alone treated him with the respect or dignity that was his due. So why was he tromping through the nasty weeds, following an even nastier demon or elf scent, whe
Lily shivered, absently rubbing her hands over her bare arms. The chill in the air had nothing to do with the rawd spring breeze and everything to do with the very large, very annoyed werewolf stalking silently behind her. Not that she was about to apologize. She hadn’t asked for his interference. And she most certainly didn’t ask to be treated like a helpless bimbo who had to be tucked away in a safe lair while Rhye played superhero. She was the one who Francisco had harmed and tormented her for years, using her blood to regain his power. She was the one who had dreamed night after night of ripping out the demon’s throat. She was the one who’d tracked the bastard to this neighbourhood. This was her fight, and by God, she was going to see it to the bitter end. And her wicked reaction to his protective instincts had nothing at all to do with the fear that the stunning pleasure she’d felt in Rhye’s arms had given him a power over her that was as ruthless and eternal as Rhye himself.Sh
"Didn’t you think that Dimitri might just want to know about Livia’s plan or if he wanted her head?" Alpha Rhye asked. The demon scowled and looked at Lily. "I don't know…the man was creepy but I know, Francisco swore that you were the ones who went to him in the first place." "I did not!" Lily muttered in disgust. "How would you know? If you lost your memory?" Was it possible? But why? "You couldn’t possibly be stupid enough to believe Livia would willingly hand over herself with an ancient pureblood demon lineage to someone with the likes of Francisco," Rhye accused. The demon tried to cringe from Rhye, obviously more afraid of the looming werewolf than the angry witch perched on top of him. Smart Demon. He thought, but now that Dimitri was involved, he was not sure what Dimitri truly wanted. Things might have gone from ordinary to complicated, but he would never hand Lily to him, not unless the council leader told him everything he needed to know in the first place. The demo
"Almera said Elfy failed in his duty to the council and that he needed to be punished." "That’s not all she said, is it?" Rhye unexpectedly asserted. "She might have mentioned using him as bait." "To trick Livia?" Garnald hesitated at the ice edge of the werewolf’s voice. "She didn’t say I’m not specifically her confidant. More like her prey. Besides, I'm not the only one. " "What do you mean?" "Well, my men saw her talking to Jasmine. I guess that she was behind Jasmine's plans. If I'm not mistaken, she was the one telling Jasmine what to do next, to lure Francisco, the bait Elfy, for Livia to come out of hiding. After all, Livia had been missing for many years since Francisco took hold of her. She vanished and just recently came back... " He added and smirked at Alpha Rhye. "I didn't know he was your mate, ironic huh? Being betrayed by your own council.” Rhye ignored his taunt. "Do you know the reason why Almera needed Livia?" "I don't know… Maybe she wanted what Dimitri wan
Rhye despised both elf and demon magic. He'd grown accustomed to being at the top of the food chain as an alpha werewolf. He was the jolt in the darkness that frightened the other creatures. Yet, for all his power, he had no resistance against Garnald's plunge through the portal, and he was enveloped by the persistent sting of the odd mist that seemed to cut into his skin with cruel pleasure. He had a brief opportunity to bask in the fact that he'd kept the demons' dirty hands off Lily before being propelled out of the portal with enough force to bash his skull into a cement wall. He was temporarily disoriented and didn't comprehend that magic wasn't the only risk. Not until he heard the bang of a thick door and turned to find himself in a jail designed specifically for demons. Anything supernatural. Werewolves are included. He gently turned, allowing his senses to flow forth while furiously wiping the blood from his brow. The fact that they were deep underground, which meant no e
Jasmine grumbled and smirked at the foolish demon, "Saved by the bell, jackass." Ignoring the useless demon cowering on the ground, Jasmine pulled out the mobile phone and lifted her brows as she read the name flashing across the screen. She snapped the phone open and pressed it to her ear. "Garnarld, tell me you have good news." He didn’t. Her already strained temper threatened to combust as she listened to his stumbling, bumbling confession of capturing Rhye by mistake."God, I’m surrounded by morons," she gritted, her mind already sifting through the implications of this latest mess. "Where are you?"He offered hesitant directions, clearly not overly anxious about their impending meeting. Which proved he wasn’t entirely stupid. "You'd better hope I can use this to my advantage, fool, or I'll eat your heart for breakfast," she warned before disconnecting the call and shoving the phone back into her pocket. Reaching down, she grasped the cringing demon by the hair and yanked him to
Shock at what she’d 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 couldn’t 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 Rhye’s 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 didn’t surround her completely. She didn’t have to wonder why. The knowledge that he’d 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 weren’t humans. They were predators and, unlike humans, had the features necessary to both lure in prey and kill it. Joseph’s eyes, Rhye’s tail—they were all mesmerising."Like cuttlefish," she muttered under her breath.Rhye zeroed in on her and cocked his head. "What’s 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 didn’t have the mental capacity to regret them, even when the room was suddenly full of low, masculine laughter."Does that mean you think I’m pretty, too?" Leon rumbled, his eyes, now a vivid purple, sparkling—literally sparkling—as 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 she’d 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 didn’t care about their lack of purity.Deciding to fix the problem she’d inadvertently caused, Livia smiled softly at them. "I don’t care if you’re pure or as mixed as milk and coffee, but I’ve 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.Joseph’s eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. "Well! Now that you don’t want to see, I want to show you. What is this witchery?"Leon made a low sound and nodded, mimicking Joseph’s 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 she’d 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 shouldn’t 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 she’d 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. She’d 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. “I can force your power out of you. If you’ll allow me to try,” he tacked on at the end. Livia appreciated the effort he was making to be more polite, now he knew she wasn’t a spy sent to surveil them. She just wasn’t sure how to react to this new Rhye. He’d 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 don’t 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. They’d been top dogs for most of what"—he glanced at Leon—"like the last thousand years?""Mm, thereabouts, yes.""Wait. Did I hear you say ‘top dogs’?" she asked, ignoring the twilight thing in favor of something more important."Yes, but now anymore," Leon nodded.“Spiteful little fuckers, really. And always hungry!” Joseph pointed to a few thin white scars crisscrossing the back of his hand, scars she’d somehow never noticed before. “They like people meat, and they are
"As Joseph said, it’s not exclusively a torture chamber, and it’s not used as such all that often. Only when we’re 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 didn’t always take the time to recycle.That wasn’t 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 don’t hurt the innocent?"Rhye was very still at her back, she noticed. He hadn’t 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, who’d strolled farther into the room, snorted. "Of course she knows that!" He stopped walking when she didn’t immedia