MayaI smelled the blood before I even saw him. It mixed with sweat and the musk I only associated with him, so I turned calmly and waited for him to catch up to me. “I sent Duke to escort you,” Rhyson said with a frown. “Why are you walking?”“Walking is good for me, and it’s not like I have anywhere to be. Why were you fighting?”“A skirmish outside the border. Nothing that Jax and his people couldn’t handle.”“But you wanted to see how they handled it,” I guessed, then turned and started walking again. He fell into step next to me. “Why do you care? These aren’t your wolves, and it doesn’t look or sound like they’d welcome your interference. It would take an army for you to conquer them.”“I’m not worried about power, and I’m not thinking of conquering this mountain. It’s just idle curiosity.”He was lying, but I brushed it aside. I was still trying to come to terms with the fact that Janelle couldn’t repair my bond. Silly, of course. I’d never had any hope until I came here, and n
When we walked into the infirmary, Tessa and Saul were in the lab, looking at some equipment, and Paisley was in the corner with a tablet, furiously taking notes. I almost smiled when I saw him. Maybe Jax would let him stay. It looked like he might have found something that he enjoyed. When he looked up and saw us, the smile immediately faded from his face. He hopped off the stool and turned to the exit.“Paisley, we’re here to talk to you,” Rhyson said, stopping him in his tracks. His entire face paled. “Let’s take a walk.”I cleared my throat. “If that’s all right with Saul and Tessa. It looks like Paisley might be taking notes for them.”A bewildered look crossed Rhyson’s face, and I sighed. He might not think he should be king, but he’s certainly come to expect everyone to treat him as such. It never even occurred to him that he might be interrupted.Tessa grinned. “I think we can take a break. When can we expect him back?”“Um…” Rhyson looked even more confused. “When we’re done
Rhyson“Is this Gideon?” Jax slid a photo across the table. It was blurry, but there was no mistaking the face of the man who’d saved Maya.Fury had filled me with Paisley’s words and had yet to abate. It was hours later, and Maya and I were in Jax’s office with Anna, who’d promised to explain everything.“You’ve known that he’s a drug dealer, and you didn’t do anything about it?” I snarled.“Gideon is more than just a drug dealer,” Anna said, a note of anxiety in her voice. “It’s not easy for us to investigate things that happen within the rogue community, and we have been looking for him, but we were looking for someone by a different name. When he was part of Indigo Peak’s pack, he went by the name Jefferson.”“Great. Get Indigo Peak’s alpha on the line. I have some questions for them.”Anna and Jax exchanged a look. “Indigo Peak has currently closed off communication with us. It’s been a month, but this is the information Finn sent us before he felt he had to close the doors, so t
MayaAs soon as he touched me, the game was over. I could lie when my back was turned, when I could avoid looking him in the eyes. But once he touched me, I just wanted to fall apart.He pulled me up against his body until my back was plastered against him. “It’s not fine until you’re no longer worried about what your father will do to you. It’s not fine until you can talk to someone about what happened. It’s not fine until I can touch every inch of your body without you flinching. You weren’t fine then. You’re not fine now, but you’ll damn well be more than fine in the future. I’m going to make sure of it.”“I’m not your mate, Rhyson. I’m never going to be your mate. I’m just the whore you knocked up, remember?”“You don’t get to call yourself a whore, and I’ll be removing the tongue of every wolf who has ever called you that.”Pushing away from him, I whirled around. “Will you be removing your own tongue, then?”“If that’s what it takes for your forgiveness, then I’ll let you cut it
RhysonIt took us three days to get to the witch’s den. When I asked why she couldn’t just zap us there with her magic again, everyone glared at me, and it wasn’t until we reached the den that I knew why.Lunessa hadn’t been expecting us.“No. Absolutely not. Did you drive here? What the hell, Anna? You can drive right back out,” she snarled, and tried to slam the door shut, but Jenson stuck his foot in it last minute and opened it up. The witch drew back her arm, as if to fling magic at him, and Irene cleared her throat.“Hello, cousin,” Anna said cheerfully when Lunessa dropped her arm, and she bustled us all inside. The den looked no better than the last time we’d seen it, and I couldn’t figure out where we would be staying. “We’ve got a lead on one of Maeve’s followers, and we thought we’d snuff her out. Plus, we’re having trouble fixing Maya’s little problem, and we thought you could help. And I miss you.”“Fuck off,” the witch growled.“Have you seen London yet?”“I will kill yo
Maya“There is still blood in your hair.”Irene sounded almost impressed as I reached up to where she was indicating. Sure enough, there was a dried speck of blood on me. It wasn’t from the fight with the group of rogue wolves last night. I’d showered. But when I’d stepped out of the shower and Rhyson walked in covered in blood…It was definitely the dirtiest sex I’d ever had.Blushing at the thought, I quickly raked my hair back into a hairband. “Red hair. Hard to see all the blood sometimes.”Smirking, Irene pointed to the circle she’d outlined with chalk. “Sit here.”“Why?”“There is really old magic in this den, and it has a mind of its own. It likes things nice and tidy, so we have to perform our spells in a chalk circle. If we don’t, and the old magic doesn’t like what we’re doing, your bonds won’t be the only thing amputated.”Too late to turn back now, right? I quickly stepped into the circle. “You already have something to try?”“No. I want to run a few tests on you while Jan
MayaIrene summoned Lunessa. We left Anna and Janelle at the den, and despite her mutters earlier about how she wasn’t going to help us, she transported us immediately to Nash. I held back my grief when I saw his prone body in the clearing next to a river. Making as little noise as I could, I raced over to him. There was far too much blood under him, but I did see his chest move. When I touched him, his eyes opened, gleaming gold, and he grabbed my wrist.“It’s okay,” I whispered. “It’s me. We’re going to help you. We’re going to get you back to the den, and…”“They took the king,” Nash whispered. “They knew who he was. They were fucking waiting for us.”How the hell was that possible? I opened my mouth to argue, and quickly clamped it shut.Paisley. Why the fuck would he rat us out?“They shot him up full of drugs. Dante and Juniper too. Don’t know about Jenson. I managed to avoid it, but I couldn’t take them all. Shifted enough to shout for Anna to run. Did she make it?” He wheezed.
RhysonJuniper was strung up in chains. Dante was bleeding out in the corner. Jenson was in a cage next to mine, but it was empty after they’d dragged his unconscious body out. Electricity ran through the bars of my own cage.Sitting in the middle, I tried to calm my rage. The fact that Nash wasn’t here bothered me, but I could still feel my bond with him. He was alive. Having no connection with Jenson, I had no idea what had happened to him, but I could feel myself losing Dante.We’d been betrayed. That was the only explanation. They were waiting for us by the river. Even as the drugs took me over, I could hear their conversation. They knew exactly how many of us there were, and they were looking for Maya and Anna.I thanked the stars that Anna had left us as soon as we were out of the spell traps and Maya had stayed behind.Gideon approached the cage and smirked. “King of the wolves. I felt your power when you were with us, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It never occurred
HaydenThe scent of tilled earth met Hayden’s nostrils as he drove through the town. The team was spread through a handful of vehicles, each one keeping watch. They had just escorted the cargo van to and from the city for the latest shopping trip. Last time, Spencer had attempted to stop them from leaving.This time, they had barely seen a sign of any other wolf in the town. It seemed as though Monroe was keeping them busy elsewhere. This was why, along with food, Hayden bought a handful of camera drones from the city. Patience was a virtue, but sitting idly by without finding any additional information was a flaw that could easily prove fatal.He pulled to a stop in front of Monroe’s house and got out of the car, leaving the engine idling. The team all hopped out of their vehicles and gathered in formation around him.“Monroe,” Hayden bellowed. “Quit hiding and face me!”The door slammed open, but it wasn’t the possessed Alpha who came out. Instead, it was Spencer. He walked with a s
Mica didn’t want this to end. She never wanted it to end. And if that meant holding her questions inside and refusing to let any of them out? That’s just what it would have to be.She wasn’t going to give Hayden up. Now that she had him, she wanted to keep him. So she held him tighter, fighting against the pressure building through her. Instead, she kissed him, the way he wanted. And their eyes remained locked open on each other as they continued the dance as old as time.***Chirping birds just outside of the window woke Mica in the early morning. She sleepily buried her face into Hayden’s chest, unwilling to get up just yet. Their naked bodies pressed together, soft and warm in the cool morning. Being in Hayden’s arms always made her feel safe and secure. His strength seemed to seep into her, giving her everything she needed to face their situation.The previous night’s activities had kept them up quite late. Mica hoped she wouldn’t be too tired to perform her duties today. Not that
MicaThe pack took the news of Monroe's possession by a demon reasonably well. At least, none of them went running around flailing their hands in the air, proclaiming they were all doomed. What they whispered to each other was another thing altogether, but Mica didn’t spare the worry about that possibility. For the time being, she focused on taking care of injuries.Once she was done, Mica sought Hayden out. He was with his team, plotting out their next course of action. Mica found a spot at the side of the room to sit and wait until they were done.Maverick shot her an uneasy glance but focused back on Hayden. It seemed to Mica he didn’t want her there, but until his Alpha was going to say something, he’d accept it. Hayden hadn’t paid much attention to her entrance into the room except to briefly glance at her. “That’s enough for tonight,” he said finally. “Tomorrow, we’ll start training the pack on how to fight the beast-demons. Until they’re ready to fight, we’ll have to keep the
Ryder nodded, then shifted to his own human form. As he was arranging the wolves into teams, Hayden strode for the house. Mica greeted him at the door, armed with a kitchen knife. She glanced over at him, relief in her eyes, then headed outside to help Ryder. Hayden resisted the urge to grab her and kiss her.He let out a shaky breath, grounding himself, as he headed up the stairs. He stopped in his room for some clothes before heading to Echo’s room. The aura-demon possessing Echo was active in her circle of salt, trying to cross the barrier. When she saw him, a cruel smile twisted over her face.“How’s Mica? I do hope that she didn’t find herself caught up in a wolf fight. Such a weak little human wouldn’t stand much of a chance, after all.”Hayden ignored the obvious taunt. “What’s the name of your leader?”“Monroe.”“And your name?”“Echo.” That cruel smile was still in place.It was expected. No demon that Hayden ever met would admit to their own name. It made him wonder if they
HaydenAt the first howl, Hayden rushed to meet the attackers. He leaped from an upper window, exploding into his wolf form as he did so. Spencer howled again and charged over the fence at him. Hayden let out a howl of his own, rushing to meet him. They clashed head-on, fur and snarls flying through the air.Spencer lunged, his teeth white against his black fur. He feinted to the left, but Hayden anticipated his motion. He lightly leaped to the side and ducked, coming up at Spencer’s throat. Spencer clawed at his flank while the wolves of the pack clashed on every side.Pain burst through Hayden’s side as his teeth snapped just shy of Spencer’s jugular. Blood soaked through his fur. Spencer grabbed at his ruff, but Hayden twisted himself, rolling. He kicked all four feet into Spencer’s stomach, his claws ripping through fur. He flung Spencer through the air.Hayden jumped to his feet and took half a second to take stock of the others around him. His team was at the forefront of the fi
Mica smiled up at him, squeezing his arm. “And if they refuse to swear allegiance, they can’t stay. For now, though, I’m accepting them under my protection. Unless you wish for me to send them away, Alpha?”Hayden gave her a dirty look but jerked his chin toward the hastily built lean-to on the south side of the house. There were three such structures now. The south was for the unmated women, the north was for unmated men, and the west was for family groups. The special ops team all shared rooms inside the house now, too, with the other rooms holding any injured wolves.“You can keep them, for now,” Hayden said. “But see that you put them to work. I don’t want them causing us any trouble.”“Of course.” Mica bowed her head toward him, fighting back a smile.Unlike Monroe and his people, Hayden cared about the pack. He might say that he only returned because Ryder and the others from Bluebell Valley wanted to save the pack, but he did genuinely care. It reminded Mica so much of the Hayd
MicaMonroe sent someone to the house every day for the next few days, demanding Elin back. He even went so far as to send Elin’s father. Hayden refused every time, but only allowed one of them onto the property. Or, as Mica learned later, only one of them could come onto the property.Spencer, it seemed, had no demon influence on him, but many of Monroe’s people were possessed.Mica tried not to think about that. She tried not to think about her own mother under a demon's influence. The few times when she and Ryder ended up working together, Echo was a topic neither of them brought up. Mica couldn’t bring herself to ask. If Ryder said there was no way to save her, then the last bit of hope she clung to would shrivel up and disappear.“Mica, we’ve received three more women,” Tess told her one morning. “Clarissa, Monique, and Rachel.”“Really?” Mica reluctantly closed the laptop she’d been working at. “Spencer’s daughters?”Hayden had been up at the crack of dawn, and Mica had gotten u
Hayden chuckled, enjoying her demanding side. He pushed in until he was fully seated, groaning as her greedy heat sucked him in. Mica whimpered and Hayden rested his forehead against hers. He waited there, letting her adjust. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. She was the one that started moving first, rocking her hips back and forth to move him inside of her. Her eyes were at half-mast, her mouth slightly open. He swelled, his skin feeling too tight to contain him.She kissed him, panting into his mouth. Hayden started to move, slowly at first but with increasing momentum. Mica matched his rhythm, her hips thrusting upward. Soon, she was crying out every time they came together. Hayden gritted his teeth, fighting back on the pressure building inside of him. Hewould see her finish first. He was getting dangerously close, so he reached between them and stroked her clit again.“Hayden,” she cried out. A flush rose up her neck and face. Her back arched, and her mouth fell open.“That’s
Mica shivered. “But I’m fat.”“You are beautiful, Mica.” He ran his hand down her hip. “Your skin is soft and smooth. Your breasts are perfect. I want to get to know the rest of you.”He slid his hand between her legs and cupped her. She felt even better without the clothes between them. The heat of her sex radiated into his hand, already growing damp. He massaged her slightly, watching her reaction. The tension melted from her shoulders. Her head fell slightly back and she let out a soft moan.“You’re beautiful,” he repeated. “And I want you.”Mica turned back to him, letting her legs open for him. Her sea-green eyes didn’t leave his face.“I think that’s the first time someone didn’t say ‘You’re not fat, you’re beautiful’ even though I am… without a doubt—” She cut off, biting her lip.“Do you want to continue?” he asked.Mica nodded. “Yes.”Hayden waited a moment before adjusting his hold on her. He slid two fingers deeper, exploring her. They brushed over her entrance, already wet