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Came Up Short
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
The Alpha King's Breeder Ghost
EvanderThe nondescript warehouse in the Crescent City commercial center smells like cleaning solution and sweat. I rerack my weights, panting, catching my reflection in the dirty mirrors overlooking the makeshift gym in one corner of the massive building. Above me, light pours from several half-broken windows at the juncture of the galvanized roof. A single pigeon flies from one rafter to the other. I take off my headphones, the thrumming music giving way to the sounds of my colleagues, my brothers in the Ghost forces, continuing their workouts. Flynn walks into view, his reflection in the mirror coming to rest beside mine. His dark hair is brushed away from his face, his dark eyes locking on mine as he nods and asks, “You still using those fifties?”“No.” I shake my head, motioning for him to take the dumbbells I just reracked. He pulls them off the shelf and sits on a weight bench, rolling his shoulders. “Fuck, man. How are you doing curls with these?”“Ev’s gonna need to buy s
The Alpha King's Breeder Meathead
KennaA sharp scraping sound pulls my attention from the book in my lap. I blink then whirl in the chair I’ve been lounging in for the better part of three hours to find my cousin Ryan dragging a massive grill across his back patio. “What the hell are you doing?” I ask. “Dinner.” He grins then picks up the grill like it weighs nothing and walks to the far side of the patio where the concrete gives way to a stretch of emerald green grass before it meets the woods. I huff out a breath as Ryan continues his show of strength. “You’re such a show off, Ryan.”It’s true, and he knows it. He simply winks at me and walks back into his house–a large log home with several bedrooms, sparse furnishing, and an assortment of manly decorations like the mounted buffalo head over the fireplace… with a glittery blue thong hanging from one of the horns. This place is a party house, plain and simple, and I’m not surprised in the slightest. Ryan has always been the wild one of the twins, and the pack h
The Alpha King's Breeder Is He My Mate?
KennaThe main temple of the Moon Goddess sits beside a lake which is currently illuminated by lanterns that make the water glow. Large tents cover the wide, grassy plain between the lake and the temple, and music rises to the star filled sky. I’ve never seen so many people in one place at one time. Eastonia is big, sure, but my people are more secluded than the packs that hug that territory surrounding the Alpha King of Crescent Fall’s lands. Over two dozen packs bleed into Crescent City, their territories separated by walls, or woods, or even just a single street. On the far side of the lake, I can just see the castle where my aunt and uncle live. I smile, my cheeks straining. I’m glad I came here, even if I don’t find my mate. The city is intoxicating. Ryan and I lost Sydney some time ago as we moved from tent to tent, checking out the different music and entertainment. The main mating ball is taking place in the temple tonight, but we haven’t made our way there yet. I’m too b
The Alpha King's Breeder Intervention
EvanderThe column at my back is smooth and cool to the touch, which is a welcome relief. In front of me, the crowded ballroom in the temple writhes with color and noise as the ball takes on a new vibe. There’s a darker edge to the music now compared to the soft, classical music that was playing before. The dancing has changed as well, and couples are glued to each other as they sway and grind to the music. I exhale deeply, crossing my arms over my chest, my feet firmly planted in place. A tall, dark haired man dressed similarly to me–all black, wearing a finely made dress shirt and matching trousers–makes his way through the crowd clutching a bottle of what might be beer, his face shadowed and distorted by the strobing light now suffocating the dance floor.But then I realize who’s walking in my direction.Flynn huffs out a breath as his back meets the wall behind us. “Fuck, man. This place is getting rowdy. I had to wait twenty minutes to get this warm beer.” He inspects the bottl
The Alpha King's Breeder Aunt Maddy
KennaMidday sunlight drifts through the open windows in my Aunt Maddy’s personal sitting room. The pale pink wallpaper glistens with delicate floral patterns that glow a soft gold in the sunlight, and all of the furnishings are pale wood and soft, creamy colored fabrics. The scent of Grandma Isla’s rose garden just outside the windows is thick and rich, and I find myself closing my eyes for a moment to breathe it all in. Ryan and I drove from his pack territory to the castle, where his parents live, after a quick breakfast. Ryan got a call from his dad, my uncle Isaac, that he needed to speak to him immediately, and I decided to tag along in hopes of seeing some of my family members. Unlike our yearly family gatherings in Maatua, this visit has been a little boring and lonely. My aunt, uncle, and cousins work, and I just… sit around, smelling the roses, apparently. But I also need to borrow one of Maddy’s gowns for tonight. Just as my eyelids flutter closed, a sharp female voice c
The Alpha King's Breeder Suspicions
EvanderI normally don’t go on runs on bright, sunny days like this, but the swatch of forest beyond the city center is a shaded, welcome relief from the glaring heat as I sprint back into the neutral zone in my fox form. It’s been ages since I was able to shift into my fox. I can’t do this often in Eastonia. Only me and my mom are foxes. There’s none of us left, from what I understand. My three brothers and two sisters don’t carry the ability, which would have shown up in their early childhood. Foxes can shift from birth. At least, that’s what Mom assumes. I could shift from the age of two. My wolf abilities came later, in my late teens, like most wolf shifters. I guess having the ability to shift into either form is even rarer than being a fox. I dart through the trees and across the first paved road I’ve come across for miles. The city rises just down the road, the first gates leading into neighboring pack territories coming into view. While it’s common to see wolves running he
The Alpha King's Breeder Panic on the Dance Floor
KennaThe ballroom at the temple has been totally transformed since the last time I came here just a few days ago. Dim, blue-hued lighting highlights the silver streamers falling from the ceiling, shimmering like starlight. Fresh flowers cover every surface, and string music whispers through the air over the rising voices all around us as I stand with my cousins toward the back of the room. The dress I borrowed from my aunt Maddy hugs every curve like a glove. It’s a little long for me, but a pair of heels keep the hem from dragging on the floor. The sage green silk makes my sun-tanned skin glow. Again, I feel very pretty tonight. I pinned my hair away from my face and let it fall loose in thick, bouncing curls down my back. A mask of sage and gold covers the top half of my face as I look around the ballroom. A few formal dances take place. Young men and women twirl in tight circles, smiling and laughing. Others congregate near punch bowls or over flutes of champagne. But no one s
The Alpha King's Breeder Shielding the Princess
EvanderI’m going to regret this. I shouldn’t be dancing with Kenna, her body glued to mine. She’s a perfect fit as she lays her head against my shoulder and wraps her arms around my waist. She’s zoned out right now, completely overcome by the music. She’s always been like this. As a kid, we’d get stuck in the square in Moonrise for hours because someone would be playing a fiddle or singing a song that would have Kenna locked in place, unable to look away. She has no idea who I am. It’s been long enough now that she wouldn’t recognize my voice. It’s much deeper than the last time I saw her. I’m taller, stronger, leaner…. Right now, I’m just a stranger to her, and it will never be more than this. But her arms around me make me want to take her somewhere else, somewhere private, so I can keep touching her. So I can strip her of the gown she’s wearing and feel her skin, so I can smell past the floral perfume she’s wearing and find that scent that makes me feral. That can never happe
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The Alpha King's Breeder Arcana Umbra
MistyI flip a page in my journal, squinting at the terrible handwriting I’d scribbled down last night when I’d woken from my latest dream. I can’t comprehend what I’d been trying to say. Dark? Hurt? Silver? Those words look somewhat clear. I can’t even remember writing them down. I close the journal with a sigh and slip it back in my purse, hanging the bag over the back of my chair in the common room of my dormitory. It’s a massive building with a pitched roof, several towers, and spooky, darkened alcoves, but it’s home, and right now, I’m sure I’d be able to hear Georgia singing her heart out in the shower if the nagging, incessant voice in my head would shut up for a single, blissful second. I’ve come to the conclusion after two years of hearing what I can only describe as white noise and the occasional static screech, like I have a radio fixed inside my skull, that the voice isn’t my internal dialogue. No, that’s a separate entity in itself, and I’m constantly at odds with the u
The Alpha King's Breeder Bonus
MistyTwo white wolves in a clearing.Their bodies made of mist and aether, standing side by side.Mates. A marvel of second chances and extraordinary fate.Two white wolves turn toward the sunrise knowing what they must leave behind; what he sacrificed for those he loved and her refusal to let him go into death alone.Two white wolves stand over their earthly bodies. He, battered and still.She, going into death with eyes open, cupping her mate's face between her graceful hands, her eyes locked on his at the moment of her dying breath.Their last words had been simple. I love you.They always had.They’d promised this instance in stolen moments, in private corners, when there was nothing but the stars to light their way.I will not stay here without you.I will not leave you behind.And so, it was.Two
The Alpha King's Breeder Epilogue
AvivaThe first flakes of snow fall from the sky as I watch Ryan trying to herd everyone in position. Bundled against the cold in a wool coat Freya and I worked tirelessly on for the last three weeks, I step to the side, finding myself in the center of the crowd standing in the middle of the village of Silverhide. I watch my mate and his Beta, James, nudge families together and run back and forth toward a tripod where Ryan’s camera rests, facing us, to gauge whether all one-hundred and fifty people are in view of the lens.Ryan stands behind the camera with his hands up, his hair dusted with snow. “Okay. Nobody move!”A few excited giggles whisper through the front of the crowd where the numerous children are arranged. I glance around, watching as James joins Dahlia’s side, their baby on her hip. The baby girl finally has a name. Cosette, named after a friend of Dahlia, but they call her Cossie for short. Other babies
The Alpha King's Breeder Tattooed
Two months later…RyanThe Harvest Festival has been held at the festival grounds between Endova, Teshka, and Navvan for centuries. When we arrived two days ago, leaving only a few people behind in Silverhide to make sure the animals are tended to in our absence, the wide, open space had been nothing but rolling plains.Now, it’s a city of canvas tents and twinkling lights, the air spiced with smoke and the smells of meals being cooked at each fire. Songs mingle as I walk through the festival with Aviva on my arm. I’m wearing a normal outfit. Well, not normal, actually. Mom forced me into a suit and tie with the Crescent Falls royal banner and all of my metals from my years as a warrior draped over my shoulders. Aviva is wearing that white, fur-lined dress again and a pair of new sheep-skin boots Freya and Mercy made for her, but instead of freshwater clam shells and pearls decorating her hair, her curls are w
The Alpha King's Breeder The Gilded Bow
RyanAn hour earlier…I can’t scrub the image of Aviva dead in my arms out of my head. It’s been several days since the battle, since the moment I put her in my uncle's arms and turned back to the ravaged scene, not knowing whether or not she survived the journey all the way to Maatua.Three days. It was three entire days before Sydney arrived in Silverhide with news about my mate. I’d just arrived back at my territory, exhausted and in tatters, when he clapped a hand on my shoulder and used his powers to spirit us to Moonrise, then to Veiled Valley, then to Maatua. He’s not as strong as Ryatt. Jumping took a toll on us both, and when we finally arrived at my grandparents’ beach house, I collapsed before I even made it up their driveway.Everything since the battle is a blur. Navvan is just… gone. The few survivors were mostly women and children who’d left the villag
The Alpha King's Breeder Tides of Change
AvivaI wake with a start to bright, warm sunshine and the smell of salty air. I grope white sheets, blinking several times to clear my vision as an unfamiliar bedroom fades to life around me. Warm white walls. Pale wood finishes and sleek furniture in soft browns and creams. White curtains drift in a salty breeze coming through several open windows, and a glass door opens to a deck with a view of… a view of the ocean.I’ve never seen the ocean before. From where I lie, I can hear the waves crashing on a white sand beach. Music I don’t recognize drifts toward me, carrying two voices with it, one male, and one female.“Your parents worry about you endlessly, Misty.”“They have nothing to worry about. It’s not like I’m ten anymore, Grandpa. I can make my own way in the world now. Plus, where was their worry when they shipped me here four years ago, huh?”“You
The Alpha King's Breeder Angels of the Goddess
RyanI’ve been dreaming about tying Aviva to my bed, but I’m going to make it a reality for entirely different reasons. Now, I’ll be tying her to keep her there, forever. No more hunting. No more fighting. No more killing rogues barefoot in the woods.No more putting herself in situations like this. I will do her dirty work. I will gladly do it. I roll with Hardan in his… hellhound form? Whatever the fuck he is now. I wish, Goddess, I wish I could have faced him man to man instead of beast to beast. I would have loved to see the look on his face when I ripped out his heart for even thinking for a second he had some kind of claim to my mate, even before I found her. We roll down a decline. I sink my talons into his belly, ripping hard, but I already know hellhounds aren’t that easy to kill. We crash into an oak tree. Leaves shower over us as he tries to claw free of my grasp. He’s calling out, bellowing strange, high-pitched howls. The forest floor rumbles as I sink my claws into hi
The Alpha King's Breeder Rounding Up Rogues
AvivaI’m having the time of my life.I zigzag through the woods in my wolf form after three rogues who’ve decided they want nothing to do with me. In fact, the rogues have stopped hunting me over the past several hours and instead are trying to get as far away from me as possible. Their prey has become their biggest predator.I did my best to lead the horde away from Endova. That was my goal–the reason I made the snap decision to leave my mate behind and race into the jaws of death itself. Now, I have the horde moving away from the tribal packlands all together, herding them back into the open plains like a shepherd, and they’re my sheep–if a shepherd killed their sheep, that is.I’ve lost count of how many there are. My red fur is completely black with their blood. I catch my reflection in another small, burbling creek as I leap, seeing only my eyes shining like polished amber against a
The Alpha King's Breeder The Book of Whispers
Ryan“She’s not here, Ryan,” Mercy hisses as I run through the village. She’s hot on my heels, grabbing my fur to try to pull me to a stop but I’m not in my right mind.It’s been five hours since I last saw Aviva. Andrew and I have been scouring the forest and plains for any sign of her, but I lost her scent, and my desperate attempts to mind-link with her have come up empty and silent.I shift into my human form the second I cross into the pack house and immediately crash into one of the tables, tripping over the bench and landing on my side with a crunch. I’ve been in my wolf form since last night. Exhaustion sings through my bones as my vision spins. I hear Andrew similarly falling to the ground with a choked groan before hurried footsteps reach the pack house. Someone throws a blanket over me with a scoff, followed by Mercy’s sharp, soprano voice ripping through the air as she starts s
