*** Zayle’s POV ***‘Son.’My eyes fluttered open as I looked up at the ceiling. The room was dark but it didn’t sound like it was raining outside. Looking down, Riley was curled up into my side. Apparently, my knot had already subsided and he’s slipped next to me. I’d never knotted before and I didn’t expect to when Riley wasn’t in heat. Somehow though, he managed to pull it out of me.It was such an incredible feeling having the bond between us. I could feel his consciousness. He was asleep but there was even a feeling of his dream. It wasn’t good or bad. There was just a light stream of him being content in whatever was happening.Helios was at peace. For the first time, since I was a child, I didn’t feel on edge. Everything felt like it was where it was supposed to be. I don’t know I could feel like this. I’d always assumed that this feeling was just part of being an Alpha. Never that it was because my other half of my soul was missing.His hair was splashed across the bed and I b
My eyes widened and my mouth fell open. “But…how…” “The reason that Jasper has been so against slaves was because his father owned a lot of them. He was my best friend but we didn’t always see eye to eye. This was one of those times. When Jasper found out that his father was sneaking away to be with the slaves he owned, he was jealous. He hated Terran for abandoning his mother and him for their company.” “But wouldn’t Terran have a bunch of pups running around if that were the case? I mean, you would have known about that right?” Dad shook his head. “No on both accounts. Terran knew I didn’t approve of having slaves. So we just never talked about.” He looked into the glass for a moment before he continued. “As for having a pup of the Alpha King, you need to be mated to the Alpha King to successfully survive. As we just talked about, your mate shares in your power and the Alpha King’s mate needs his power in order to have the strength to have a child with him. Otherwise the pup, the
Dad couldn’t take it anymore. He burst out laughing. Riley blushed red as he realized my dad was sitting there.“Sorry, Cesar. I didn’t realize…I should…get a shirt on.”“No. No running away. Get over here. Let me see you.”Riley shuffled towards my dad, putting his hands behind his back. Dad looked him up and down, before having him spin. When Riley turned his back to him, Dad looked at me.“May I touch his hair?”My brow furrowed. “Dad, you don’t need to ask me.”He chortled but reached out to grab Riley’s hair. Suddenly, a protectiveness rushed me and I grabbed the edges of the marble counter. Dad paused, looking at me for confirmation and I nodded. This was my dad. He was my blood. His fated mate was my mother. He wasn’t trying to steal Riley or hurt him. The surge of possession was shocking as I breathed through it.Still, I kept my eyes o
Dad looked at me and let out a long sigh. “Well, by now, the council will already have found out. It might take a day or so, but the amount of power was so big that the Alpha King will be notified.”“So we have to assume he’s going to stop by for a visit. To check on things.”My dad frowned. “To ensure that you bare your neck still. That you won’t challenge him to his title.”I snorted. “I got insomnia from dealing with just the pack. The last thing I want is to be Alpha King. No thank you. He can have that job and the stress that comes with it.”Riley chuckled and shook his head. Dad didn’t smile or even chortle. It made my nerves start to rise.“It’s not you, Zayle. In this case, you would be considered Luna Queen.” I opened my mouth and then shut it. “Riley is the rightful Alpha King. Jasper will be looking to you for you to bare your neck but the problem won’t be you. It’s our little Omega here.”Riley put his hands up. “I mean, I don’t want it. I don’t want to be Alpha King. I don
The back door slammed open and I peeled my eyes open.“No, you get your ass in here too.”Looking out of the window, it was morning by the looks of it.“I don’t care! Tit for tat! He ruined my living room, you can ruin his!”Kirk was loud as he slammed the back door shut.“Alpha FUCKING Zayle, you get your ass down here right the fuck now.”That was the most I’d ever hurt him curse since he got out of High School. Stretching, I was glad Riley talked me into a shower after making a mess of things last night. His side of the bed was cold though and I guessed he was either out on the roof or in the kitchen.Getting out of bed, I stretched and stood up. Vertigo hit me for a moment and I reached out, bracing myself against the door. I blinked and tried to breathe through it. Did I grow more? That couldn’t possibly happen.“Zayle!” Kirk was growling now.“
I snorted but answered Kirk. “Not quite but pretty close. I accidentally made my dad bare his neck and it took three times to open up a can of beer without taking the entire top off. It’s going to take some getting used to for all of us.”“We’ll need to shop. All of us. Cause there is no way we are fitting in our clothes. Any of us.” Riley nodded to Kirk.He currently had a sweater wrapped around his waist and nothing else. He sighed.“Clothes. Renovations. Both Oliver and I need new cars.”Oliver whined and Riley scratched behind his ears. “I’m sorry. Cesar said it was totaled. We will see what we can do. Even if I have to work to help.”“Luna, it’s not your fault. No one knew it was going to be like this. Least of all you. All of us knew there would be a power boost when Alpha was mated, just not how much. We should have known and been ready.” Kirk took a sip of h
I raced forward and grabbed my Gamma, hoisting him up. He was definitely bigger but he was far more trim now. His hair had grown out to his shoulders and there was the crest, the same that Riley had on his back, on his right shoulder. Kirk came forward to help me but by the time we got him to the couch, he was a little more lucid.My hand pulled away and there was blood. Did he tear something when he shifted? Belle saw my hands and my shirt. She pushed me aside and sat next to Oliver. Looking him over, she inspected him.“Ollie? You okay?”“I’m fine.” He was breathing heavily. “I’m just sore. Is Rye okay? I kinda exploded on him.”My brow furrowed and I turned back but Riley hadn’t come in the house with him. Fear coursed through me as I walked down the hall and stepped onto the porch. I inhaled sharply.My blood froze as I looked at the carnage on my front porch. There was blood splashed across
“Zayle.”Looking at my Beta, Kirk has come into the bathroom and shut the door quietly behind him. He reached out and held me. I wished this was a first time but Kirk was more like a brother and dealt with more than one of my meltdowns over the years. This was so much worse though.“He’ll be okay. He’s too sassy to let this bother him.”“He was dying, Kirk. He was nearly white. Plus, it’s a huge gash…”Kirk patted my back. “It doesn’t matter. This happened to the wolf who doesn’t give a shit about what should kill a wolf. The first thing he’ll say is that he’s been through worse. I bet you anything.”I chortled. “He tried to crack a joke…”“Let me guess. It’s only a flesh wound?”Nodding, Kirk let out a snort. “Our Luna is something else. I didn’t realized you wanted to spice things up. You
I leaned back in the lounge chair, trying to take the doctor’s advice to rest. It was going to rain soon. Everyone was outside playing, dressed up for the occasion. Their rain coats and rain hats in different colors made it easy to tell them apart.Nero and Fabian were leading their two other siblings through the grass in search of anything interesting. That included an acorn, a snail, some leftover streamers from the twin’s seventh birthday party yesterday, and a peculiarly colorful rock. Each one of them were set out on the deck stairs, though Mr. Snail was trying to make a very slow escape.I smiled as Lily slipped and as she stood, her face was covered in mud. Nero got down on one knee and wiped off her face with the edge of his shirt. The twins were the perfect mix between Zayle and I. Not quite identical though. Nero was just a little larger than his brother, but to the untrained eye, you might easily mistake them for each other. Lily was Zayle’s clone and our youngest for the mo
Leaning forward in my chair, I had my head in my hands. I’d never felt so exhausted. Currently, I was only taking a break for moment before I needed to go back and help. Downstairs, Oliver and Kirk were trying to corral everyone into a more organized way. It wasn’t great, but it was something for now.Cesar was also helping now, since he informed the ministers of what had happened. They would take a few days to get here and for the moment, he could also direct the knights to help where they were needed too. We had to deal with the damaged windows too which Vincent had picked up immediately.We’d put Zayle in my office, since I had a loveseat put in to take naps when I needed it. Oliver basically ordered me to take a break and it wasn’t helping that while Selene, with her last bit of power closed my wounds, they still were fresh and raw. I couldn’t relax but it was nice to have a little peace.There was a knock on my door and Belle opened it up, a mug in her hand. “Luna, I thought some
I couldn’t stop staring at Cesar. He was worried about what just happened but I had no words to describe what I was looking at right now. The fact that I had to then tell Zayle ‘Hey, your dad is like thirty now again because he’s taking over as Alpha King’ had all my words caught in my throat.The only thing that tore my eyes away from him was when Jasper started to whimper. Selene was leaning over him, hands made of ice griping his chin.‘You have kept your fears hidden for a long time, wolf. You have acted as though all wolves are equal in your eyes. Made them love you with your lies. But I see past that, Nightfang. I see past all of the facades you hold so dear.’He openly wept as the goddess’ anger crackled and lightening struck the ground.“Will you take his wolf?” I asked, not sure if I could bear another cry like Yara’s.‘No, my little rain wolf. Despite the poison and ugliness, this one will be useful to you in the future. He has already burned his path and I will ensure when h
Part of me wanted Selene to kill him. I wanted to watch the life leave his eyes with a look of utter regret on his face. That was personal though. A hatred that was my own and something I needed to work through on my own. Especially after Selene passed her judgement. It was final and I would not dare go against it. Whether or not I felt he was worthy of it.There was a few moments of Selene standing in front of Kane before she moved. His face was still completely blank, in the daze like everyone else. Her hand pressed against his chest and when she pulled away, a white ball of light burned brightly in it. Closing her fingers around the light, it disappeared.She continued through the group, doing it to every single person on their knees. Selene did leave Jasper and Yara in the corner as they watched the display of our goddess’ raw power. Turning her back, she walked back to stand next to me.‘I am done passing judgement on these ones.’I nodded and started to order them off the platfo
I took a single breath before rain poured from the sky like a bucket had been tipped onto us. Lightening flashed bright and screams from the pack sounded as the thunder tore through the center of town. Glass shattered and I felt my breath get stolen away from me for a moment. Opening my eyes, I wanted to cry out in relief.Selene, silhouetted by the rain, stood between Jasper and I. His sword had turned black and was crumbling at his feet. He was holding his hand which turned a fire red.“Selene…” My voice was hoarse but her name came out more as a prayer than anything.‘I’m here, my little rain wolf. I’m here.’My body slumped forward and I let the post hold up my weight. “My pack…”She chortled, the thunder following but were flashes of lightening streaking across the sky. ‘I know, little one. However, I must deal with these strays.’I smiled and nodded. Jasper stumbled back a couple steps, looking at the figure made of the rain before him. Fear consumed his face and even his knight
“Where is the whip? Why aren’t we whipping him? Why aren’t you shutting him up?” Jasper was manic as he ordered his own knights around.I felt bad for them. This must be so jarring for them. No one was comfortable with what was happening right now. Not even the Councilors, their faces marred with conflicting emotions. They weren’t about to stick their neck out against an angry Alpha King though. The only one who looked absolutely pleased was Yara. She had Kian blood running through her so I didn’t doubt how much that poisoned her.“Alpha King…we…we are ready.”Lifting my head off the pole, I braced myself against the wood. It wouldn’t do me any good to jerk and hit my head. I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep my body from tensing up. That also would do more harm than good right now. If I could focus on my back getting hit, it would protect our pups better.‘Zayle?’ I tentatively reached out to him through the mind link.‘My love…my love…my sweet mate…stop this. Please stop this. Tel
My eyes widened as I saw a group of high school students, including Jake, Curtis, Haley, and Franny coming forward. All of them were running together and I felt fear course through me. Not only should they not be here but they should be safe up north out of reach of the council.“No! You guys! Go home! You shouldn’t be here!” I called out to them.Jake smiled at me and shook his head. “We can help.”One of the girls stepped forward, a folder in her hand. “I am Anastasia Hansen. Councilor Constantine is my father, Alpha King.” She bowed her head. “I work part time at the clinic under Dr. June. She is our town’s OBGYN.”The sound of silence felt heavy as all attention moved to her. However, Councilor Constantine looked livid at his daughter. She stepped forward with Curtis and another one of the boys flanking her.“I was working the day Luna Riley and Alpha Zayle came in. This is their chart. I can confirm that Luna Riley is pregnant. The blood tests and even the photos are all here.” S
With how the center of town looked last night, it was almost like we were transported into a completely different place. They set up a huge platform in front of the statues of the wolves and I snorted. Zayle sucked in a breath seeing the post coming out of it. I’d seen one and been tied to something like it plenty of times of times. I wondered if this was the first time he saw one in person.From around the area, I watched as more and more of our pack started to meander into the area. They kept to the edges and I was happy to see none of the younger kids were present. Oliver and Kirk came forward but the knights kept them from reaching us.“It’s okay.” I smiled and nodded to them.Zayle was focused ahead, looking for the one person who was about to decide our fate. He wasn’t there on time, of course. The clock tower tolled one and we continued to wait. The skies were growing darker and I let myself lean against Zayle. He was standing tall like a statue and I closed my eyes.“Rye, don’
*** Riley’s POV ***When I woke up, I was alone. It was quiet but it was different than normal. The air was heavy and it felt harder to breathe. Sitting up, I buried my head in my hands. I’d fucked up yesterday. I’d been so good but I’d snapped. It was one thing to snap at a Councilor or one of their kids, but the Luna Queen?I was so fucking stupid. Oliver was giving me a play by play of what happened after I left. Everything was my fault. I’d ruined our chances of doing actual good. Worse, I may have gotten Zayle removed as Alpha. He didn’t deserve that. Not because of me.My eyes slipped to the window. It was dark, the clouds threatening rain, but I wanted it to be raining. I needed to speak with Selene. She might know something…anything that I could do that would fix this. As it stood, there wasn’t many options that we had left.The bed next to me and Zayle’s scent meant that he had been up for at least an hour. It was still early in the morning though. Getting up, I padded downst