Edric's POV:
It’s almost like someone flipped a switch in Maya’s head, and for the first time since I met her, my mate looks content. She sits with her head against the car window, looking out at the lush greenery that speeds by us, a small smile on her lips. I am less enamoured by what I see.
It’s mostly swampland, with rare glimpses of waterless patches. Creepers and gnarled plants I don’t recognise try to make their way out of the swamp. It’s a wonder they can even keep the roads clear. How can a wolf live out here? Surrounded by alligators and snakes? How do they shift without fear?
Feeling my eyes on her, Maya stops looking out the window. “What?” she asks.
All I can do is shake my head. I have no words to tell her how I feel. How proud I am to call her mine. How happy I am that she’s here with me, and I don’t have to face my grandfather alone.
Cameron tried very hard to co
Edric's POV I listen to Alexander waffling on about the great Blake Lycans, and how they’re coming to their end. It does not escape his keen mind that they created their own downfall. “My first mate, Maxwell’s mother, was my first cousin. I should have known that weak bitch wouldn’t deliver good pups, but my father demanded it.” I say nothing, just stare at poor Maxwell – he’s no older than seventy, young for a Lycan, but he looks double that age. “He didn’t have any pups?” “A few…none of them came to term.” “My second mate was a second cousin. She delivered only female pups. All of them dead now.” He spits in disgust. “I have a new mate, unrelated, but she’s not taking.” It’s astounding that an otherwise intelligent wolf can be so fucking dense. They must have known the effect their inbreeding would have on their offspring. “This one--” he waves a hand in Maxwell’s direction --“was born retarded. We’ve been hiding it
I was already clawing my back from the underworld when the witch let me go. It took me a while to realise what had happened. Where I was. At first, when I came back, the terror wouldn’t let go, and the sheer relief of finding myself back in the real world overwhelmed me, but now that I’ve gotten over it, all I feel is anger. I stare up at Edric’s bloody face. “What happened?” “I don’t know. You were basically catatonic--” “No, I mean the blood--” I circle the air in front of my own face --“why are you bleeding?” “Oh. When you called me, you were a little loud. It ruptured a blood vessel in my nose.” He wipes his face with his t-shirt and gives me a lopsided grin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even know that’s possible.” “Neither did I. I suspect there was a bit of a magical punch in there too…I could feel your fear.” He came, without question and without any reservations. He just came. Because I needed him. Just when I think I can’t lov
I don’t see anyone else for the rest of the night. Not the witch, an Omega, or my mate. The grounds are dark and quiet. I miss the sound of children playing, and mates laughing at their partners' secret jokes. I miss the smell of barbecue fires and the fresh mountain air. On the rare occasion that the world went silent at Mountain Fire, I found it peaceful, here I find it threatening, and nothing can ease my frazzled nerves. Eventually, I take a long, too hot bath and go to bed where I toss and turn half the night away, feeling lost and lonely in the strange big bed without Edric by my side. I fall asleep sometime during the early morning hours, woken at dawn by my mate getting into bed next to me. “What’s wrong?” I ask sleepily. “Nothing,” he whispers and puts his hand on my hip. “Go back to sleep.” “It’s daytime.” “Hm-hm,” he mumbles, half-asleep already. “I told Alexander we’re resting today. We need it.” I want to snuggle into him
Edric's POV For the rest of that day, we pretended that we were just normal wolves, without the weight of the world resting on our shoulders. We spent the whole day in bed, as newly-mated wolves should…just the two of us, finally alone, enjoying each other in every way possible. Body, mind, and soul. Getting to know each other, finding each other’s secret places – the ones you kept so deeply hidden that you sometimes forgot they existed. It ended too soon. I sit on the tiny bed in my cell, staring at the grey wall opposite me. My wolf is restless, pacing up and down, trying to surface. Wolves don’t like being trapped like this – it drives them insane. * Calm yourself. He’s testing us. * ~ We should kill him next time he comes down here. ~ * His warriors will kill us before can get close…and then they’ll kill Maya. * In my pack, I was the biggest wolf, but here I’m not, and the king has surrounded
Edric's POV I make it to the foot of the stairs that leads to my apartment before I run out of adrenaline and strength. After two weeks in the dungeon, surviving on very little food and water, barely resting, on high alert all the time, my mind and body finally give out. I sag to the floor and sit there, holding my head in my hands. The sound of the wolf’s breaking neck still echoes through my head, reverberating around my skull. Goddess, what did I do? I can’t just sit here feeling sorry for myself. I need to get upstairs, need to get to Maya before the king sends his warriors to kill her -– or worse, throw her in the dungeons. Groaning loudly, I get up grab the railing and leaning on it, drag myself up the stairs, one torturous step at a time. Everything hurts, and I keep waiting for my shaky legs to give way under me. My right side hurts the worst – yesterday, one of my tormentors repeatedly hit me in the kidney with a pipe. The deep purpl
I sit on the balcony watching the moon rise over the lake. The water is quiet, mirror-smooth. Nothing moves or stirs. It’s a dead silent, dead unnatural night. I’ve barely slept since they took Edric to the dungeons. The only reason I knew anything at all was because Stephen told me when he came home that night. Every night, I asked him how Edric was doing, and every night he said the same thing. “He’s alive.” And no matter how many times I asked, he wouldn’t tell me what they were doing to my mate down there. I threw myself into learning how to control my magic, because it helped me to pass the days, and I had a feeling I’d need it soon. In the late afternoons, Cedric and I met in one of the many quiet gardens, where he taught me how to fight like a proper wolf. I hear Edric groan from the bedroom, and my heart lurches painfully. I wish I knew how to cast healing spells, but only the most accomplished and talented witches can do them, and I’m nowhere near re
Edric moans and falls against the wall. “You need to get back to bed,” I say. “Yes.” He slides down the wall, hitting the floor with a loud thump. “In a minute.” He keels over on his side. The front door bangs open and Stephen comes stumbling in, still pulling on his shorts. Like all wolves, he’s unconcerned by his own nudity. I’m so relieved to have someone else here, someone that can help, that I don’t even mind. He kneels next to Edric, a panicked look on his face. “How long as your wolf been asleep?” “Since this morning…when the kid--” “Gus.” Edric looks up at me, breathing heavily, his face pulled in a grimace of pain. “Thanks. Since just before they started beating Gus. I told him to go to sleep.” “Oh Edric, that’s bad. You shouldn’t have done that.” “I know, but he couldn’t handle it.” “Why can’t you wake him?” “I don’t know.” Edric grimaces and rolls over on his back. Several things happen at onc
Edric's POV: ** I sit on my cot, staring at the grey wall. There’s nothing in the cell but a pot to piss in and the creaky bed with its thin mattress. The walls, the bars, everything except the floor, are coated in silver. My wolf is restless, angry, and wants to break out, but he can’t. The vast quantities of silver make it impossible to shift. “Stand back!” a guard barks. I get up and move to the back of the cell. I wonder what fresh new hell waits for me today. Alexander follows his two favourite torturers into the cell. They drag me to the middle of the room, shackling my hands to the cuffs that hang from the ceiling before they spread my legs and tie each ankle to the shackles bolted to the floor. I guess I should be grateful that the cuffs aren’t made of silver, but the chains are, making it impossible for me to break them. My grandfather smiles and sits on the bed. I’m surprised that he has the strength to walk down here every
Abbadon's POV For ten years, I managed to stay away from Maya, and then I couldn’t stand it anymore. I left my home in Greece and went back. I watched her from afar, my heart screaming out to her, but knowing I couldn’t interfere. She needed her peace, and she found it. She was happy, living a life of domestic bliss with her mate and their mini-pack of eight pups. Deimos grew into an admirable young Alpha, and I felt her sadness on the day he left to take his place as Silver Springs’ leader. He was loved and respected. He visited his parents every chance he got until he stepped down as Alpha and was never seen again. Warwick took the throne on his twenty-fifth birthday. Edric was happy to retire. He was a good king and dragged his tribe into the twenty-first century whether they liked it or not, but he never wanted the job. He was at his happiest when his children and grandchildren surrounded him. Their third child, a boy named Joshua, returned to Mountain Fire when he was twenty.
With Warwick resting on my hip, and my other hand in Deimos’s I look around our apartment one last time. It was our home for more than a year, and I’ve grown oddly attached to it. “Where going, mama?” Deimos asks.I look down at my one-year-old who isn’t behaving like other one-year-olds and smile at him. “We’re going home.”“This home.”“No kid,” Edric says from the doorway. “This isn’t our home anymore. I build us a better home.”“Hellooo,” Cedric calls from the living room, his voice echoing in the empty apartment. “One last time for good luck.”I start laughing and let Edric take Deimos before we leave our bedroom for the last time.Cedric and Stephen waits for us in the living room surrounded by their three pups. They took to parenthood like ducks take to water, and soon after the pups arrived, Cedric resigned as Edric’s Gamma. “Are you sure?” Edric asked.“Yes,” Cedric replied, beaming at Edric. “It’s all I want now.”“You don’t just want paternity leave?” Edric joked. “Reconsid
Edric's POV Our date night turned into a bit of a flop. We had to take it in turns to stop each other. When Maya lost control, I’d remind her to stop, and when it was my turn to lose control, she’d remind me to stop, but somehow we made it work. Together, we found new and interesting ways to satisfy each other, rediscovering each other’s bodies. I yawn and flop backward on the bed. The moment we were home, Maya rushed off to find the boys, and I take the time to enjoy the silence. Goddess knows, I love my sons, but I do enjoy these quiet moments. It gives me a chance to think. The one good thing that came out of last night was that Maya finally opened up to me and shared her fears. Now that we’re talking openly and frankly again, I’m hoping that she’ll slow down and spend more time with me. I miss her. My phone starts vibrating and I pull it out of my pocket. With a frown I stare at the caller ID. “Adrian?” I answer. “Hello,” he says. It’s strange to hear his voice. We haven’t sp
Edric's POV Maya’s heat comes on as suddenly as it did the last time, only this time I’m here to experience it, and she’s not locked behind several layers of wood and steel. One moment, everything’s fine, the next I almost drive off the road as her scent fills the car and attacks my senses. I wipe my wet palms on my jeans and try to pay attention to the road so I don’t kill us. “What’s wrong?” she asks. “You don’t know?” I ask in return, hearing my voice rise several octaves. “You’re in heat.” “Is that what it is? I just thought I’m horny for…well, no good reason at all.” She laughs uncomfortably and shifts around in her seat. “Shouldn’t I get some kind of warning or something?” “Normally, yes…but we forget sometimes that you’re not normal.” We are almost to the hotel and the road is clear with no other cars in sight, but I’m not sure I’m going to make it. Blood rushes through me so fast that I can barely hear, let alone see. Just like last time her heat overwhelms me and I can’t
I crash through the misty woods, my wolf pushing our body harder than I thought was possible, oblivious to our surroundings as we keep trying to get away from whatever it is that’s chasing us. I never saw what it was. I just felt it. Danger. It’s right on top of us. ~ Go faster! ~ I scream at my wolf. She increases her pace, but we won’t be able to do this for much longer. We’ve been running for hours, and our legs are about to give out. At first, I’m relieved to see him. Abbadon lands in front of me, and I dash past him, placing myself between him and the thing chasing us. Finally, we can stop. I collapse to the ground, and my exhausted wolf lets go, forcing me to shift back to human. I curl up in a little ball on the cold, wet, forest floor and try to catch my breath, trusting that Abbadon will take care of the dangerous thing I’m trying to escape. I look up at Abbadon. My mate. No matter what he is or what he does, he’ll never harm me. “Is that what you think?” he asks in his
Edric's POV The weeks slip by without anyone taking much notice. New Year’s day comes and goes without much fanfare, but a week into the new year, Maya insists on speaking to Alpha Neil about Deimos, and after days of pestering me about it, I give in. The Alpha doesn’t tell us anything I haven’t already told her. “I don’t know what else I can say, Queen,” Neil says. “We grow up fast, and we shift young--” he shrugs --“but that’s just how it is with our kind. We are big, we’re strong, and we’re violent.” Maya shudders lightly and looks over at Deimos who is trying to pull himself upright against a couch. “He’s not even five months old yet,” she whispers. “Yes,” Neil replied. “And by the time he’s twelve, he’ll look like a fully grown man. But you have to remember, he’s still just a child.” The Alpha bites into his nails, his face pensive, then he sighs and goes on. “This is important. The first shift is the worst. It lasts for hours, and it is brutal. Make sure you lock him up.” “W
I haven’t seen Edric in such a good mood since the day he introduced me to the pack back at Mountain Fire. At first, the higher-ranking wolves wouldn’t join us, refusing to eat with the ‘lower filth’ as one of the warriors called the True Omega that walked past him. Just when I thought my grand plan would come apart at the seams, Stephen and Cedric jumped in and arranged everyone according to their rank, which placated some of the grumpier wolves. Less than an hour later, everyone is happily chatting and enjoying the day. Even Maxwell and Alexander’s widow, Esther, came out of their hiding place to join us, but they are sitting by themselves, away from the rest of the tribe. “He looks much better,” I say while staring at Edric’s uncle. Edric looks up and follows my gaze. “Yes, now that he’s not getting poisoned every day. He’s actually improving, but he’s still not speaking. Winston says the damage to his brain is catastrophic. He’ll heal some, but he’ll never be quite…right.” I’ve
Edric's POV I lie on my side, watching Maya sleep, trying to get rid of the unnecessary guilt that’s trying to eat me alive. She kept trying to reassure me that it’s okay, but I’ve been so conditioned by my time with Mountain Fire, that I can’t let go and believe it. I lost control. "Alphas don't lose control," I can practically hear my father's voice. It's as if he's standing right next to me. "It's a thin line between losing control and going feral." Sighing, I pull on a pair of loose boxers and go back to the balcony for a glass of wine. I won't be able to sleep while I feel like this anyway. “Evening,” Stephen says from their balcony. “Hey,” I answer and pour some wine into my glass before I walk over to the low wall separating the two balconies. “Where’s Cedric?” “Inside, feeding Warwick. How’s your date going?” “Well, it’s not…I think it’s over. Maya’s asleep.” Stephen laughs softly. “Yeah, I’m sure she’s tuckered out. You two were a bit…loud.” I blush, grateful for the d
It’s like I’m standing outside myself. Watching, hearing, feeling and seeing everything my wolf does. I have no control over myself and my body anymore. It was already too late when Edric brought me inside -- by then she had taken control because she sensed my hesitation. Edric tries to pull away from me, but she growls a low warning and grips his hair, roughly pulling him back to her, folding her lips around his mouth. The kiss steals the breath from my body and drives me insane with dark, needy lust. I want to stop fighting it, want to stop overthinking every little thing, I want to stop fighting my wolf and just let it happen. I want to find my mate again and be with him like we used to be when we found each other. Edric picks me up, and I wrap my legs around him. He carries me across the room, slamming me against the wall so hard that my head connects to it with a jarring thud. It doesn’t even slow my wolf down. Her claws surface and she rips his shirt to ribbons. I’m terrified