LOGINShare
Chapter 38 - Into the Woods
Last Updated:
2023-11-05 04:27:38
Related chapters
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 39 - Reaching for Her
“Be cool, Auden,” he murmurs to himself, resisting the urge to sprint for the guard house by the lake and shout for the guards to get the hell out of it.But no. There is no rush – no need to hurry any of this. So he forces himself to take measured steps across the snow and then up the short set of stone stairs to the door. When he opens it, the guards inside turn to him and freeze in surprise.“Out,” Auden says, nodding towards the still-open door.The guards just stare at him.“You have the night off,” Auden continues, making himself wear the mantle of command that he always assumes when commanding his troops. “I’ll take over from here. Go,” he says, jerking his chin towards the door. “Shift, run back to the castle. There’s still plenty of time to enjoy the festivities.”While the Alphas have their own party, Midwinter is for everyone. The Betas, Gammas, and Deltas who aren’t working have their festivities downstairs. A few Betas stand up eagerly, ready to go, but still others move
Last Updated : 2023-11-06The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 40 - A Change of Plan
I flinch away from Auden as he reaches for me, as memories of that night five years ago come suddenly flooding back -It, too, was a night that started on an open-air terrace with Auden offering me wine –And then, a little guard shack in the woods, when we shared a drink by the fire, and Auden reached for me, just as he’s doing now -My breath comes short in my throat as his hand moves for me -But his palm lands soft on my shoulder, not on my waist. He leaves it there a moment before squeezing, his skin warm against mine. “I’m sorry, Everleigh,” he says quietly, his eyes sad. “I was upset –“I gape up at him like a stupid fish for a moment before I force myself to blink, to come back to this moment –Because, of course, of course it’s just me imagining things, flashing back to the memories of a night that Auden doesn’t even know existed -“No,” I say, finding my shaky voice and taking a step closer to him. “I mean – yes – I accept your apology – but I was unfair too. I’m sorry, Aud
Last Updated : 2023-11-07The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 41 - Awkward Breakfast
Auden stares at the floor for a moment, not really knowing how to answer Everleigh’s question. Because he is shaken up by what happened last night – more than he wants to admit. Not so much his father’s violence – that he’s seen before.But her response to it – and…And how right she was, asking that question about whether his violence was part of his nature or just something he’s chosen to believe his whole life because it’s easier.God, he’d been up half the night turning it over in his mind.“Auden?” she asks, and he clenches his jaw, realizing that he’s been staring at the floor for too long.“I’m all right,” he says, raising his eyes and meeting hers, willing her to believe it. Because he is, really – he’s been shaken up before, he’ll be shaken up again. But what matters is that he’s…steady. That he’ll hold it together, for the kingdom, for the children…For her, if she’ll let him.But the way she stares at him now, her hands in fists at her side…He sighs, not knowing…what he wa
Last Updated : 2023-11-08The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 42 - Picking Ponies
I don’t let myself hesitate, though. It won’t be good for Mahl to see me as someone who is trying to work around him, picking the best answer.I want to present to him what he thinks the perfect Luna and queen should be: simple, pure – generous of spirit and always, always supporting her Alpha’s choices, whatever they may be.Complete bullshit, of course – but a role I’m well accustomed to playing. I’ve been doing it most of my life.“I think,” I say, looking down at my plate and picking up a fork, poking around at a few pieces of melon. “That you are sorry for scaring me a little last night. Which you did.”“I am sorry, little wife,” he murmurs, leaning forward, his voice soft. I turn my face back towards him, letting him see a little sadness there. “Tell me,” he urges. “What did you think of it?”“I think it was more violent than I’m used to, but I think the man deserved to die,” I lie softly. “I think the people saw that you take a hard line when it comes to your family, the things
Last Updated : 2023-11-09The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 43 - Toughening Up
My mouth goes a little dry as I panic –Because this is absolutely what I did not want –I do not want, in any way, Mahl drawing lines between Auden and me. Perhaps if enough time passes I can pretend that our friendship and my relationship with the children grew naturally over time –But it looks like that plan has been neatly foiled, doesn’t it?Working hard to not let my panic show, I force a smile onto my face and take a step toward the King without any idea what the hell I’m going to say.But Vivi – thank goodness – saves me.“Grandpapa!” she shouts, dashing away from the gigantic horse and throwing herself at her equally gigantic grandfather, Coco flapping to keep his balance on her shoulder. Vivi wraps her arms around Mahl’s leg and beams up at him while Niall works to hide behind me, still afraid. “Make daddy let me have the horse! He says it’s too big, but it’s not!”Mahl laughs down at Vivi and then bends to scoop her up into his arms. “Really?” Mahl says, considering Vivi c
Last Updated : 2023-11-10The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 44 - What Alphas Get Up To
“I was surprised to find you here,” Mahl says softly, his heavy arm still wrapped around my shoulder as we walk back to the palace. “I had heard Auden ordered horses to be brought and assumed he was selecting for the Betas. I hadn’t expected the children, but your presence was the true surprise.” “I met them in the hall in the children’s wing,” I say casually, which was not a lie. I don’t bother to mention that I went to the children’s wing looking for them. “Vivianna mentioned they were choosing horses; Auden invited me along.” “You know,” Mahl says, pitching his voice low and raising a hand to hook a finger beneath my chin. “If you like children that much, we can give you one of your own.” I blush then, genuinely. Because the last thing I want, honestly, is to give Vivi and Niall a new sibling that’s both brother and uncle. And I do not want, at all, to participate in any activities that would allow me to get pregnant with that child. Mahl laughs at what he perceives to be my co
Last Updated : 2023-11-11The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 45 - After Dinner
Mahl laughs a little. “Now you know all our secrets,” he murmurs to me. “Though we’d appreciate it if you kept this one discreet.”I tear my eyes from the fascinating women who have entered the room, not bothering to point out to Mahl the irony of what he just said – because, of course, I am a Luna, or am about to be. What sort of secrets will he be keeping from me?But, well. I guess I’m not one to talk.The women who enter the room now are people who have no rank at all, or are Deltas at best, and I find myself utterly fascinated by them. These women who mingle with the most powerful men in the kingdom - what on earth are their lives really like?The courtesans quickly make themselves at home, many moving to the sides of their favorite Alphas who greet them warmly and wrap arms around their waists. Some courtesans, I note, decline to make the first move, instead settling themselves mysteriously by the fire or on couches, waiting to be approached.My eyes brighten in particular when
Last Updated : 2023-11-12The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 46 - Time with My New Friend
Twenty minutes later, I’m anxiously pacing back and forth in my room when a knock comes at the main door. I laugh a little, darting over to it, glad it’s this door and not the private one leading to the Royal passages.I whip the door open and give a little squeal of joy to see Margot standing there, a bunch of papers under her arm, a bottle of red wine dangling from her hand.“Readyyy?” Margot asks, lifting the bottle with a wink.“Margot!” I say, laughing and reaching for her, pulling her into the room. “You didn’t have to bring anything – obviously, I have wine here.”“Oh god, Ev,” she says, laughing a little. “Not nearly enough for what I’ve got to show you.”“Really?” I gasp, reaching for the papers. “What is there –““Ah ah!” she says, turning half away with a smirk so I can’t reach the papers and holding the bottle of wine out towards me. “Drinks first. Pornography second.”I laugh, grinning at her and taking the bottle over to my little cart of liquor and wine, quickly un-cork
Last Updated : 2024-06-16
Latest chapter
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 94 - Obey
I look at him wide-eyed and then down at my leg, which is perfectly smooth.“How did you do that?” I whisper.He shrugs. “It’s just a dream. Things are…the way I want them to be here.”I smile at him, liking that, even though it’s the opposite – things are as I want them to be. But I suppose that it’s not much of a surprise that the Auden in my dream world fixes things for me. “Come here,” I whisper, opening my arms to him, wanting him close.Auden complies, crawling over me again until our faces are even, his body above mine. To my delight, he moves a hand behind my back, lifting me slightly and dragging me down on the bed until I’m fully beneath him, lying flat. Then he lays his long body out against mine, every inch of him against me warm and delicious.I hum, slinging my arms around his neck, terribly pleased as he brushes his stubbled cheek along the length of my shoulder, nuzzling me softly, tingles starting where he touches and spreading out all over my skin.“You have no idea
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 93 - Peaceful Sleep
I sigh and take a tiny cake off the edge of the plate – a pale green one – and pop it in my mouth. I smile when I discover that it’s pistachio, the flavors rich and complicated on my tongue.“There’s cake?” Vivi gasps, leaping up onto the bed. “Nobody told me there was cake!”Niall gasps and jumps to his feet.“No no,” Auden says, laughing and putting the cake back in its drawer. “This is adult cake. It helps mom sleep.”“Mom, you have a secret cake drawer!?” Niall asks, looking between me and the bedside table, appalled.“I want one,” Vivi whispers, eyes wide.“You’ve created monsters,” I say, laughing and looking up at Auden.“You’re the one with a secret cake drawer,” he murmurs, shrugging and licking the last remnant of frosting from his finger. I laugh a little harder.“All right, come on, pups,” he says, turning to the kids. “Let your mother sleep – I’ll pack you into your beds tonight.”“Night, mommy!” Vivi says, crawling across the bed and throwing herself into my arms. Niall
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 92 - Strawberry
“I win!” Niall shouts, smacking his hand down hard on a big pile of cards between him and Vivi. Coco squawks, rustled out of his nap by the sharp sound.“No!” Vivi shouts, appalled. “Niall! You cheat!”“I’m not a cheat I’m just fast –““I’m way faster!”Niall just laughs, victorious, leaning towards his sister and picking up all the cards, pressing them tight to his chest in a messy, triumphant bundle. Vivi groans and falls snarling to the carpet, anguished.“Rematch!” she shouts. “We have to play again! You can’t win!”“I can and I did and I will win again – I’ll win six hundred times!”“Deal!” Vivi shouts, whipping herself up again and pointing vehemently at the floor. “Deal again, Niall! I hate you! This was a mistak
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 91 - Leave it to Me
My eyes move over Auden as I frown, taking in the muscled length of his body, all steady and strong stretched across my bed. “Why?” I ask, words tense. “Should I not be worried about the Night of the Stag? Did you do something?”He frowns. “No, Everleigh, I didn’t do anything –“I huff a sigh, turning my face back towards the children, who ignore us.“Seriously, Everleigh!” Auden says, stuck somewhere between frustration and humor. “Why do you care so much – it doesn’t have anything to do with you!”I gape at him and he laughs lightly like it’s no big deal.“It’s just going to be Mahl, and his buddies –““And you!”“Because I am obliged to be there,” he says, leaning towards me, his humor dropping a little. “And like, a bunch
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 90 - Routed
To my surprise, no summons to dinner and festivities comes from Mahl that evening. Instead, I’m brought a sensible little supper in my rooms alongside a note from the King saying that his war council is running late. I gleefully pack up the little dinner, taking it with me across the rooftop to the children’s suite where I cuddle Niall and Vivi in my lap and hear all about their trials and victories on their first day at school.The same happens the next night, and the night after – to the point where I’m starting to wonder if Mahl has gotten sick of me. I mean, a pleasant turn but…One which I’m not sure I fully believe. Margot has been coming to breakfast, after all, filling me in on her activities. Apparently, Mahl has been calling for her at midnight and beyond after long days in meetings – wanting someone willing in his bed, I suppose, instead of a reluctant bride whom he has to coax and seduce.She told me that their meetings have been consis
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 89 - Anxious Nights
I stare up at Auden, because he can’t possibly mean that he wants me to come to him tonight -But he frowns a me, confused, and my wolf slumps to the ground of my soul with a wolfish little moan of mortification. Because yeah! He can’t possibly mean that! It’s just me, with my filthy dream-addled little mind that was thinking that he could have wanted that.I clench my teeth against a groan.“Are you all right?” Auden asks, stepping forward, reaching out a hand to support me.“I’m fine,” I sigh, stepping away and turning towards the center of the children’s room, walking unsteadily over to Vivianna’s little bookshelf and placing the tiara on top. I take the opportunity of my turned back to pull myself together, my wolf regaining her feet and shaking out her fur, newly determined not to be such a mess.“So…” Auden says. I turn to see him watching me, still leaning against the wall, expression bemused. “Are you com
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 88 - Tonight?
“Mom won’t let me wear my tiara!” Viv shouts, stepping towards her papa, knowing he’s the easier mark. She lifts a hand to her head as she goes, holding the too-large diamond-encrusted headpiece on her blonde hair. I sigh as I watch, thinking that such an incredible piece of jewelry is far too fine for a little girl who is definitely going to drop it on the floor at any moment.Honestly, she should just give it to me. You know. For safekeeping.“Why on earth do you want to wear a tiara, Viv,” Auden murmurs, looking behind him and tossing the hand towel onto the table by his own room. “You’ll be playing and learning –““Because it is pretty!” she snaps. “And mine!”Auden grimaces, looking first at the clock and then at me, opening his mouth. I step forward, my jaw dropping, because I can see the concession on his lips.“Don’t you dare, Auden!” I snap, pointing a finger at him and glaring hard. “She ca
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 87 - Just a Dream
I blink awake, staring at the ceiling of my castle room in the dark, grief rushing through me alongside awe.Because that dream…it was so vivid. Like I was…there, feeling everything in the moment like it had been real. The feel of his skin against mine, god damn it, I felt it. It was like…a memory relived, more than a dream.I sigh, turning my face to the side, looking over at Margot’s good-dream cakes, wondering if the name is a lie. Because while the events of that dream were fairly fantastic and I have woken all limp and languid as if I really did just have the best sex of my life…God, but that’s cruel. To give me an experience that was so real, to which my actual life will never, ever live up. My wolf howls, wanting me to close my eyes so I can go back to that dream – but I shake my head, knowing that I can’t.How had the little cake
The Alpha Queen's Deadly Secret Chapter 86 - Peace
He snarls, pleased, a predator now as he thrusts himself hard into me, claiming me with every stroke. My entire body shakes as I gasp again and again, what’s left of my mind ringing with the truth of it – with how fucking good and right it feels to make myself his, to give myself completely to him, to his pleasure –I feel it, somehow, building in him as it builds in me. My breath is nothing but fervid little gasps as he pounds me harder, his hand wrapped in my hair, pain mingling with pleasure as I dig my nails into the flesh of his back, begging him for more. I curl against him, my entire body tensing with every stroke, and I feel him watching me – taking pleasure in my helpless gasps as he strokes again and again –He growls, a command as I come to the end of it and I moan – heavy and true, my eyes pressed shut, my teeth finding his shoulder as that tension winds so tight –His fingers press
