Knox
I sit in my office, leaning back into my leather office chair. I sigh at the memory and run a hand through my hair. It was never supposed to be like this.It’s been three months since Lyra was killed. Three months of trying to get any leads we could on the rogues.What we’d gotten so far, Lyra stepping in to save Sarah fucked with the rogue's plans. They were strictly looking for she-wolves to mate with, as not many unmated females end up staying rogue for long or surviving it.I glance around my office, looking for a distraction from the latest set of commercial contracts I need to draft up. A row of pictures above the fireplace has my chest constricting. I haven’t been able to take them down. Shifting my gaze, my eyes land on the desk that has sat untouched since the last Supermoon festival.Ironic, I had my mate by my side at the last festival, ready to start a family, but now I’m mateless…A ping on my laptop pulls me out of my thoughts. Shifting in the chair, I lean towards the screen and click on the new email notification. I quickly read over the accommodations for my pack members attending the festival in Copper Summit’s Pack tonight. I respond with the file of transportation notes and expected arrival times and pick-up tomorrow. Maybe some pack members will find their mates and get to experience the bond.I wonder if I’d ever get to feel that kind of connection again…In southern territories, where my pack Onyx Ridge resides, we take turns hosting, inviting other packs to increase the chances of our members meeting their mate. Of course, all packs still celebrate regardless of whose hosting.The only pack that doesn’t participate in the exchange is Golden Claw, the royal pack. Alpha King Maksym is a royal prick if you ask me. He’s a purist, set in his old, outdated ways, believing those not of pure alpha blood or pure shifter genes are an abomination. Aside from setting laws or hosting the yearly Alpha Summit, the pack and his family are virtually unknown.I close my laptop and I decide to head down to the gym. I need to work out some stress before tonight.***I suck in one last deep breath, readying myself to step outside to start the festival when I feel a hand clamp down on my shoulder. I turn to see Bennet standing behind me, a tight-lipped smile across his face. He doesn’t say a word, just nods at me and then drops his hand.The large clearing behind the packhouse is filled with members chatting, music playing in the background. The kitchen staff set up a table of sub sandwiches,with a dozen or so different types of chips and an assortment of desserts.Voices quiet as I walk past. When I reach the stairs of the cedar gazebo, I turn to face my pack and clear my throat.“Good Evening, all! I’m glad to see that even with members off at Copper Summit tonight, we still have a good group for our own run and festival. I know that this is our first supermoon without our Luna Lyra and it's my first time leading a lunar lap since. I apologize to you for not being here for the last two runs.” I pause drawing in a deep breath.Clearing my throat, I continue, “I was dealing with my grief but it shouldn’t have taken me away from my duties to you all and your own grief. You may have noticed that we have increased patrol and squad numbers since that night to be proactive against intruders. I’m happy to report that we haven’t had any signs of rogues since, but now for tonight! Tonight we will eat, run and dance, and we will do it all in remembrance of Lyra!”The pack cheers, and some shout, “For Lyra” in between claps. Getting that all out and hearing their support helps to lessen the pain in my chest.– 8 Months Later –I glance at the time on my phone to see that I’ve got fifteen minutes until Bennet wants to meet in my office. I kick back the black duvet on my bed then I swing my legs over the edge and drag a hand down my face.Sleep and I haven’t been the best of friends lately. It’s a hard adjustment sleeping alone after sharing a bed for a year and a half. Blowing out a breath, I crack my neck before standing up and heading to the large master closet.I grab a pair of tapered dark gray slacks from the hanger and one of my many black dress shirts. I leave the closet as quickly as I entered it, and drape the clothes over the back of a chair by the bathroom while I tend to my quick morning routine.As I slip on my black leather loafers, the sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee draws me downstairs to the large open kitchen. I pour myself a mug, and mumble a thank you to Anna, the head cook, before heading down the opposite hall to my office.Not three minutes later, Bennet is standing in the doorway of my office. He takes up most of the door frame at his bulky 6’2” height. This packhouse was built with alpha and beta shifters in mind. Standing at 6’4” myself, the extra clearance on doorways is appreciated.He steps in and closes the door behind him, before sitting down in his usual chair across the desk from me. I see a flicker of something I can’t place in his gray eyes as he sighs and brings an ankle to rest on his knee.“What’s got you calling a meeting at seven am the day after the Supermoon festival,” I ask, leaning forward on the desk.“I got a call last night from my sister; she said that her mate had spotted about six rogues while on patrol, and it didn’t sit right with her after what happened here. They never crossed the border and stayed on no man's land, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I started calling all across the southern territories to see what they could report.”Bennet has my full attention now. Rogues traveling in numbers near our pack borders is a concern we haven't had to deal with since Lyra was killed last year. Before that, it’d been years.I lift an eyebrow at him, encouraging him to continue.“It seems there's a group of rogues that have formed like their own pack. The six my sister talked of seem to be only a portion because Eclipse pack had two breach their borders last night. There's no way they could be the same ones. Other packs have reported sightings, breaches, or attacks on she-wolves, and even Lotus pack lost two unmated females during an attack last month,” he finishes.A ripple of anger rises in me. I don’t like the thought of an impending war against an army of who knows how many. Sure, my warriors are strong, but rogues are ruthless. They had literally nothing to lose, and this information confirms all our suspicions.– 2 Month Later – Present Day –The evening sky is clear, the forest is just starting to glow with the moonlight as I lead my pack through the trail on our lunar lap under the full moon.The earth is warm beneath my paws, and dust is kicking up around me as I bound down the straightaway before the final curve. It has been a drier winter, and the weather is a bit weird. The chill from winter still hangs around, not ready to give way to spring yet. Being shifters, we run hot. Like that damn Disney princess that Lyra loved says, ‘the cold never bothered us anyway,’ or some shit like that.Just as the breeze picks up and the cool air begins to dance through my fur, a smell wafts to my nostrils. I stop dead in my tracks. The familiar and sickening smell of decay hangs heavy in the air, taunting me.Rogues.I let out a snarl, I link Bennet to tell him to guide the pack directly off the trail and back to the community center while I follow this scent. I start prowling through the trees, my thirst for revenge is growing with each step when a smell I will never forget hits me.This is the fucker that killed Lyra.I didn’t get him that night. He’d already torn her throat out and moved on by the time we got there. The image of Lyra’s limp body there haunts me and the only thing that made me not lose it completely was knowing what an honorable Luna she was. She died protecting a pack member.It should have been me, though.I’ll get justice tonight. His scent is stronger over here. What a fucking moron to hit the same place twice. I push my wolf to go faster, both of us wanting to tear this guy to shreds. Leaving my territory, the moon’s brightness makes navigating through unknown packs easy.I have no idea how far I’ve actually gone until I see the massive packhouse that resembles a castle poking over a high fence. Golden Claw.I’ll deal with Maksym when I have to, I’m not stopping now. Behind the perimeter fence, the trail stops dead at the water. Fuck!Just when I thought he’d gotten away again, I hear a high-pitched scream ring out. I run toward the scream, following the river deeper into the trees.I couldn’t save Lyra, but I am sure as hell going to save whoever that is.Thea– Present Day –‘And they lived happily ever after.’Of course, they did; Bleh!I sigh and snap the book closed, letting it rest on my stomach. I just lay with my feet dangling over the arm of one of the many leather wing-back chairs in the library. Thousands of books fill the dark mahogany shelves that line the room. I have read them all at least once, some two or three times.Coming to the library to read is one of the few things my father, the alpha king, allows me to do. I’m locked away like a fairytale princess, except I wasn’t kidnapped at birth, just cursed.Ugh! I swing my legs around to a sitting position before I stand up, and run my hands down the soft material of my black t-shirt dress. I wander over to the window that overlooks the training grounds where I can see the warriors all gathered together for the morning session. My father and half-brother, Kenrik, watch from the sides.Kenrik is preparing to take over as Alpha of Golden Claw soon. Father will hand down the
TheaI have a love-hate relationship with family dinners. On the one hand, it’s nice to be around my family, whether they acknowledge me much or not. On the other, it's exhausting to listen to how my father and brother go on about their ill-treatment of people.I glance across the elegant marble table to Ahlana, her head bent down as she slowly picks at the salad in front of her. Becoming an Adler woman was a hard lesson to learn, and by the looks of the faint outline of a handprint still on her face, she is still talking back. Kenrick is seated to her right with father at the head. Elder Advisor Egan sits between father and I. When I saw that he was in the formal dining room tonight, I knew that this dinner will be spent going over my shortcomings and to plan what to do with me as I still have no gift.I finish off the last of the one glass of wine I am allowed at dinner and lean back in the high-back mahogany chair. Usually, I’d try my luck for another glass, but tonight I have a
TheaI am a curse. White wolf or not, there is no way I could be blessed and be the cause of so many deaths—my mother, Calliope, and now Apollo. I was robbed of time to love him, and now, I don’t even have time to mourn him.A harsh growl pulls my eyes away from the hole in Apollo’s chest to the feral man that is towering above me, discarding Apollo’s heart into the river. I feel like my own heart is sinking along with it. Tears fall freely from my eyes as I scoot myself backward. I turn over, my body shaking as I attempt to get to my feet.A rough hand grabs my braid, yanking me up and back. Even if I knew the slightest bit of self-defense, I have no false hope that my attempts would do anything to this beast twice my size. He has a tight hold on me as his cold eyes rake across my body. “Mmm, no mark, perfect for breeding,” his voice is gravelly, like it hasn’t been used much.Breeding? Oh no, no, to breed me, he has to mark me. With the full moon, he can do that.Sheer panic wa
KnoxMy legs burn from running across multiple territories for the last few hours. The adrenaline pumping through me is enough to keep me going. I’m not stopping till that rogue is in shreds. I follow the river path, and as I came to a line of bushes, I catch that scent again. Thank the goddess! The sickening sweet, coppery smell of blood mixes in the air as I navigate through the brush. I hope he is wounded and not another wolf.As I come into a clearing near the bank, I am not prepared for what I see.The naked body is littered with teeth and claw marks, but the gaping hole in his chest ignites my anger. Just like Lyra, this man- hell a boy, he looked to be only 18- lays lifeless on the ground. Even if there was a doubt in my mind about the scent, this right here proves it is the very same rogue.Small whimpers make my head snap up as I creep slowly through the trees.The whimpers slowly fade and are replaced by gargled gasps as I come around from behind the large, oak tree. The
KnoxPrincess?Maksym has that obnoxious son, Kenrik, but never once has a daughter been mentioned. After the warrior leaves, the doctor turns to me, “Thank you for bringing her in. We’ve got it from here. You can use the phone in the waiting area to call someone if you need to.”I say nothing. Instead, I silently take in the man in front of me. He’s shorter than me, but as an Alpha, that’s to be expected. His forehead is etched with wrinkles, and he seems slightly out of shape for being a shifter. I’ve found that silence makes people uncomfortable, and when you pair that with a position of authority, you’ve got the perfect recipe for someone to ramble out things without prompting.I meet his gaze and raise a single eyebrow. I can see his nerves starting to surface as he fidgets with the buttons on his coat then clears his throat.“Alpha Maksym is, er, well protective of his only daughter. Being in the state that she is in, and the fact she was outside of the packhouse…well, he’s goi
TheaTheaMy eyes shoot open at the burning pain that is spreading across my face. The harsh fluorescent lights make me squint at the person that I assume hit me.“Do you have the slightest idea of how much trouble you’ve caused?”Father.I blink quickly to clear my eyes. Shadows make his harsh features more ominous as he glares down at me.I try to talk, but my throat burns, and a strangled gasp is all I can manage. “It is your fault my best guard no longer has a son. You know better than to leave the packhouse, you are not to be seen or heard, yet here we are tonight with you causing chaos among the pack, so much so that now another pack alpha knows of your existence.” He paces back and forth across the room as anger radiates from him. “You were to be blessed by the moon goddess; that was the only value you had, and then that fucking oracle lied about that too. I’ve kept you alive for all these years, waiting for you to be of use to this pack and nothing! Do you know how fucking e
TheaSoft, steady beeps call to me, but I’m so comfortable that I’m not ready to get up yet. I stretch my arms above my head lazily and blink my eyes open slowly. I feel a pinch and pull on the back of my hand, and my eyes shoot open at the sensation.I’m in what looks to be a hospital, but it’s not Golden Claw. I sit up, looking around at the beige walls and white tiled floor that glows in the bright sunlight pouring in from the window. I scan the room for a clue as to where I am when an unfamiliar but very handsome man catches my gaze.“Mornin’, Sleeping Beauty,” his deep voice calls out.I scramble backward, wrapping my arms around myself and end up smacking my head against a monitor parked near the bed.“Ouch, easy princess, no one is going to hurt you,” the man says, his face softening. His hands are up in surrender as he steps forward. He pulls a chair up behind him and sits at the edge of the bed.“I’m Bennet, and you are at the Onyx Ridge pack. My alpha, Alpha Knox, found you
TheaThe next morning the doctors say that I can be discharged in the afternoon, but only if I am sure to stay hydrated and take it easy for another day or two. I guess the rogue ended up tearing some tissue in my windpipe, but with shifter healing, there will be no permanent damage.Knox was with the doctor when I woke up, he said that I’d be staying at the packhouse and we’d discuss my future later.Future…How funny is it that I’ve never thought about my own future? I’d been living each day as they came, so settled into my routine, but what do I do with my time now?As I sit here in my hospital room, the shock has worn away, leaving me with an alphabet soup of emotions. Sure, I was used to being alone for long stretches of time, but I saw Apollo almost daily. He was someone to talk to, laugh with…and now, I had no one. My chest constricts as more tears blur my vision. I couldn’t possibly have any more to cry after last night. This isn’t fair! I won’t even get to go to his funeral!
Thirteen Months Later Thea I slide down the bathroom door, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my head on them as I wait for the longest three minutes of my life. The sound of the shower running beside me helps hide the racing of my heart. What if I’m still not? I don’t know if I can take another negative result. We’ve been trying every single Supermoon to get pregnant and it hasn’t happened yet. It has really made those feelings of not being enough resurface. Knox has been great though, beside me each time, promising me we’d keep trying. He’s held me when I cried and always knew what to say when I felt like I was failing him. He’s taken me to pack doctors and to Sybil for any and all things to try to help. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sick and tired of yoga, herbal teas, vitamins and the lean and green diet I’ve been on. I didn’t want to get Knox’s hopes up with this test, I told him I’d just wanted to shower alone after training today and he begrudgingly agreed. I lea
Thea Three months later “Sophia, can you zip me up?” “Of course!” Sophia says, pushing off the bed in my old room. I bundle the soft waves of my hair and move them to the side as Sophia pulls the back of the black and nude sparkling gown tight. I suck in a deep, deep breath as she starts to move the zipper up. It’s a little tighter than when I picked it out and had it tailored, but it made my ass look great and gave me killer cleavage. You’re welcome, Knox. The zipper stills and I hear a mumbled “shit” and my heart stutters in my chest. No, no, no, please let it fit! “Soph?” “Sorry,” she groans out. “Little guy doesn’t like when I have dairy but still craves ice cream at all hours.” I turn, Sophia is rubbing her adorable little baby bump while she apologizes for the bowl of rocky road she had for lunch. “Can I?” I ask, my hand stretching towards her. A soft smile graces her face, and she pulls my hand to rest on the side of her stomach. “Here. This is where he’s been prot
Knox Hearing the need in her voice, feeling her desire through our bond, is everything I need to know that she wants this. I push the soft material of her panties to the side and run two fingers up the sides of her pussy. She’s soaking. I bite my bottom lip, my dick punching at the zipper underneath her hand, begging to be inside of her. “You’re so fucking wet, baby. All this just from a few sentences? Wait til I show you how much I fucking love you.” Her heart rate increases, and her chest rises and falls rapidly as her eyes sparkle with lust. I know she’s a virgin, but I also know having her pussy played with like this isn’t new. I’m not going to be rough, but I don’t have to hold back, either. My fingers part her lips, slipping easily through the wet heat, as I find her clit. Her eyes flutter shut as her head tilts back against the headrest. I trace small circles over her clit, alternating the amount of pressure I apply, making her mouth fall agape. A soft moan slips out her
Thea “Paula- what a perfect name.” I whisper, passing the little pink bundle back to Whitney. Anders smiles proudly as he tucks Whitney under his arm and presses his lips to her temple. His face is etched with pride as he leans them back in her bed in the maternity wing of Golden Claws hospital. I get it now. Why Anders had to be careful of how he helped me. Even with the personal risks, he still did it and my heart swells in my chest that he survived and gets the chance to be a dad again. That little girl is so lucky to have a father like him. “You and your mate go on ahead kiddo, I’ll be right behind you,” Anders says, his eyes never looking up from Paula’s sleeping face. With a curt nod, Knox and I slip out of their room and head towards the packhouse for the meeting we called. It’s been three days since I woke up, and what a long, three days it's been. I told Knox about my weird encounter with the moon goddess. I guess he’s already met her, so he understood how surreal it f
Thea Even in the darkest of corners, you can still find shadows. People try to cast them away, hide them from the world, and pretend they don’t exist, but they still weigh heavily on their souls, keeping them from being whole. I should know. I’ve come face to face with all my fears, my secrets, and darkest wishes in a matter of one day. There is blood on my hands, and unlike the first time I witnessed death, I happily take credit for it this time. I have no idea how bad the damage to my throat from Kenrik was. The stinging pain was sealed off with the pleasure of Knox’s mark, but it was too much raw power for me to handle. I welcomed the sleep that tugged at my eyes as my savior- my mate- carried me away. A flicker of light catches my mind’s eye, glowing brighter, beckoning me to come closer. This is all in my head, nothing can hurt me here. Right? The light burns brighter the closer I get. I close in on a single, white, pillar candle burning in a sea of obsidian, and as I
Knox “Under the light, a marking will take place. One the Goddess doesn’t approve of. Only the other half can undo what goes against nature.” Sybil’s message from her vision repeats in my head as I nuzzle into Thea’s hair. Her delicate, light and sweet smell of fresh peaches floods my nostrils. “I love you Thea,” I breathe. Her body stills, her eyes fluttering softly as her plush lips settle into a small smile. I don’t like the thought of marking her without her permission. She asked me to make her mine, but our marking should have been something beautiful. Something we did in our bed after I’d brought her to the precipice of pleasure multiple times. Not lying in the grass after her neck was torn open. Rage rips through me. I let my guard down before all the threats were gone. This is my fucking fault just as much as it is Kenriks. I can’t believe that the unhinged fuck actually tried marking her. I can’t think of a marking that the Goddess would disapprove of more than that. I
Thea I push myself back to sit on my knees, Maksym’s heart slick and warm in my palm. I should feel sad or at the very least, remorseful. I should feel some level of sorrow for killing my father, right? I’m oblivious to my surroundings as my eyes stay locked on my hand. The loud thumps of my heart reverberate in my ears as I try to feel something. The adrenaline is still buzzing through my body as I stand and try to quickly sort through my emotions. The only thing I’m certain I feel in this moment is relief. But it’s short-lived. The hollow echoes of my heart fade away as I swivel my head to see that everything around me is chaos. Sophia is crying as she presses her hands into the wound on Anders stomach. Blood trickles through her fingers as she pleads with him to hold on. His rich, dark skin dulls as the warmth in his eyes slowly dims. Kenrik releases a desperate howl as he crashes down to his knees from what I’m guessing is the pack link breaking. His fingers thread into
Thea The spot on the bed where Anders sat is still warm when the door to my cell creaks open again. Man, I sure am popular today. “Hello sweetheart,” Elder Egan coo’s as he steps in with a blush pink dress draped over his arm. A wave of unease washes over me as I sit and watch with bated breath as the skeevy, bald-headed man steps further into the room, pressing the door shut behind him. His long strides quickly eat up the distance between us. The scent of old books and stale smoke invades my senses as he leans close to my face, and his warm breath sends a shiver running down my spine as it unwelcomingly skims the shell of my ear. “Dinners just haven’t quite been the same without you there beside me.” I fight to swallow back the bile that creeps up my throat as he strokes my cheek with the back of his knuckles. I don’t offer him a reaction, even as his deep blue eyes dip to where the towel is tucked securely around my chest. His eyes trail lower as he tosses the dress to the
Knox “We’ll divide into six teams. Each team will have two leads, one from Silvercrest and one from Onyx Ridge. Communication is key to keeping everyone safe. We’ll start with team leads, then section everyone off. Gather up with your team, and then we’ll move on to the details of tonight's assignments.” A unified, “Yes, Alpha,” rings out from the group gathered in the community building. I nod to Bennet and Carter, and they start calling names out of their clipboards. I watch for the slightest bit of defiance from anyone as the warriors start shuffling around the room to form their teams. Things seem to be running smoothly again after the incident at training this morning. I only hope it stays that way. Originally, Bria, Bennet, Carter, Griffin, Travis, and I planned to each lead a team, but with Bria on her way back to Silvercrest, we had to find someone else to fill that spot. Tracey didn’t feel like she deserved to be one of the leads and was hesitant to take it. I know she