Mick looked at me for a long time, his eyes penetrating mine like he was searching for something. The concern on his face was evident, and made me feel like an ass for the strong refusal to join the pack. He probably just thought I was angry that he asked. I took a deep breath, making sure the headache of Alpha Ford’s command wouldn’t hurt me, then said, “I’m sorry, but I think I need more time.” Mick smiled tightly and nodded after another couple of seconds. “I understand. No problem. Take all the time you need.” “Thanks.” There was a soft knock on the door, and when I turned to see who it was, Sirius started growling right away. It was her. The redhead that was just plaguing my thoughts. Estel. She was standing beside Chloe, a pensive look on her face. “Hey, cara mia,” Mick said brightly. “Is it time for lunch already?” “Yep,” Chloe same right in, walking around the desk to fall into his lap. She seemed too cheerful, hanging off him like I wasn't even there. “It’s time for yo
Rodger POVMy head was pounding. Cold coffee has been fueling me for the past few days as I sat in that disgusting room in the basement of the hotel, trying to make sense of the writings on the wall.“Here, boss,” Kai sat down a steaming cup of green tea in front of me. He cut off my coffee consumption for the day, but I needed something. Decaf green tea will have to work for now.“Thanks, Kai.”“Yup,” he stretched the back of his head, looking over the texts in the books I was studying. “Have you gotten any further?”“Not much,” I sighed. “These writings are not something I can just look up on Google. Scholars study for decades to even gain a minor understanding of what they could mean.”“So you have no idea what any of the writing on the walls says?”I pointed to a group of pictures that looked like stairs, random oval-like shapes, and then a human-like figure. “This is a symbol for a type of goddess. It appears the most together, so it was easier to find references too, but everyth
I continued scanning through all the hieroglyphics in different languages for all the different goddesses of ancient times, until my eyes landed on one. The symbols beside it were close to the ones written on the walls, but so were many of the others. That wasn’t what stood out to me. It was an ancient statue beside the text of a voluptuous woman holding a staff that was in the shape of a snake. The caption of the picture read, ‘THE GREAT GODDESS AND HER STAFF OF REGENERATION’.“Look at this,” I called Kai over, and his eyes widened as he read the lines under the picture too."Is that what I think it is on her cane?""A snake? I think it is. Look at the top where she is holding it." The handle was definitely a snake's head, with a pair of eyes that seemed haunted even in statue form. The snake's head was a stark contrast to the statue's beauty. It really stood out.“Mr. Smith had a cane shaped like a snake,” he whispered. “Estel even mentioned it. She said something was off about it.”
Laura POV“Hmm,” the tip of Mr. Smith's cane tapped lightly on the floor as he twirled it back and forth in his hands. His eyes were glowing eerily, the dark of his irises taking over all of his whites. “Seems we are running out of time,” he murmured, staring blankly out the dirty window.He called Jasper and I here, the only semblance of a house in the camp we're hiding at in the woods far from the pack. I was already upset at having to sleep in a tent like a rat for the past week. Now, it's like he is showing off that he's in the seat of power in the house, flaunting it to me. I haven't even washed my hair with real shampoo and deep conditioner in days, but he still looks clean and well-groomed."Running out of time for what, sir?" Jasper asked.Mr. Smith smirked. I could see his reflection in the glass of the window. "It's time to hold up to your end of the deal. Use your new mate to bring me the girl. Command him now."That sour taste of irritation burned my throat with the urge
Boyd POV “Do it,” the deep voice commanded me again. “You have until sundown. I’ll be waiting.” Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. I rolled over in my bed, grasping my head between my hands. I was squeezing so tight, I knew I would have bruises, but I didn’t care. I was fighting this command. I won’t follow through. I can’t. But at the same time, I can’t refuse. All morning, since before I even opened my eyes, their voices have been plaguing my every thought. It’s gone from Laura's shrill demanding screeching to Alpha Ford’s hostile commands emanating from inside my mind, driving me to madness with the need to comply. My will was on the cusp of breaking, but the consequences of obeying them would be too great. It is a price I would never willingly pay for anything. Even when I hated Mick and despised coming to this pack, I never would have put Chloe’s life on the line or sacrificed her to anyone. Not to them, and definitely not to that monster they serve. Sirius was snarling inside of m
“Estel,” I whispered, being the first to break the tense silence. Mick put his hand over mine, and I could feel his hesitation. Not one outside of us three knew of Estel’s bond to Boyd. I couldn’t leave her in the dark though. She looked at me, her eyes pleading for some answer to why everyone was acting off. I can’t tell her here. Not without raising suspicions. If Beau, Alexi and Jamie knew Estel was Boyd’s mate, that would put more pressure on her to accept the bond, even if there came a time when she might need to let him go. She was stressed enough as it was, and this news surely wouldn't make things any better. I threw a glance at Lenny, who wasn’t told directly about Estel and Boyd, but I knew he had his suspicions. I then looked back at Estel. “Can you come with Lenny and me back to the pack house? The others have something they need to handle.” She blinked in surprise, looking around the room at the stressed faces. Beta Desmond had already gotten up and quietly called a
She growled, stomping her foot, but grabbed my hand and practically ran with me all the way to the top floor where the Alpha suite was. "You mind lin the second we're there. We're not hiding away. We're looking for him." “Jeez. Where’s the fire?” Cortina grumbled. “She’s scared for her mate. You would be the same way,” I reminded her. Cortina was about to spit out some smartass retort, but all of a sudden, my entire body went hot and at the same time, a chill traveled down my spine. As we stepped through the doors to our bedroom, it got so much worse. Lenny moved to lock down the room, but I stopped him, putting my hand over his. “Wait,” I said cautiously, my eyes traveling around the dark room in search of the threat I was feeling. Estel and Lenny caught on to my change in alertness. “What is it?” Estel asked. Lenny started to examine the room too, his eyes glowing as his beast pushed forward. “I don’t know,” I whispered to Estel. “Something feels off.” “Probably because it
Frozen. Everything around me was completely still, like it was frozen with a glimmering sheen coating everything and everyone but me. “What the hell?” My hands were still stretched out, and my muscles were still flexed with the cool energy that exploded from my fingertips. “Did you freeze them? What was that?” My hands dropped to my sides, and I hesitantly took steps towards Estel and Boyd. Boyd’s body still looked bound, but the violet cords of power were no longer surrounding him. Not visibly. His body was contorted in place, like they were still there. Fur was lining every inch of his skin, and his snout was fully formed. “They aren’t frozen,” I said to Cortina as I felt the heat of their bodies. “Not like that.” Estel and Boyd remained unmoving, not even breathing as I walked cautiously around them, skirting between them, squeezing my body through the slender space between them, their body warmth pushed back at me. I could feel the dark energy buzzing on the surface of Boyd
This is now complete! Thanks for sticking around through it all. Lenny and Jamie will be getting their own book in the near future. If you felt unsatisfied with the way Jamie left, I did it for a reason! I’m excited to start his story soon. I have many other books, and the two others I have available on here are LOSING MY SIREN LUNA and BUILD YOU UP. If you enjoyed this, check those out. Thanks for reading!
Six years later….“Mama!” Emanuele came running up the hill with a small purple flame in his hands. “Look what Pop-pop taught me!”“Very pretty,” I grinned, tucking Sage’s hands under my arm so she wouldn’t reach out to touch her brother’s flame.“Me! Me!” Emilio came running with a sphere of water in his violet-glowing hands. “Pop-pop said mine was better!”“Did not!”Emanuele threw his little ball of fire at his brother, and Emilio deflected it with his water. The water burst from the impact, soaking Emilio’s shirt. He let out the cutest little growl before pouncing on Emanuele.“No fight!” my two-year-old daughter yelled, then turned her face up to me. “Mama, no fight!”“I know, baby,” I smiled, smoothing back one of her thick curls. “You two heard her. Stop fighting.”“He started it!” both boys yelled at the same time.“What’s going on here? Two seconds ago, you were both all smiles.”My dad came up the hill from the pond with a big basket of different herbs and magical instrument
“Look at them,” Gail gushed, running her finger down Emilio’s cheek. “They’re perfect.”Labor was fast, or at least that was what I was told. It felt like fucking forever to me.When my baby boys were placed on my chest, all the bad just faded away. All I felt was pride and unending love for the two little lives me and my mates created.“Emanuele is hungry,” Miles brought our other son over to me.Gail lifted Emilio from my chest before Miles placed Emanuele in my arms.“I have a question,” Jamie raised his hand. “How do you feed them with your tits pierced?”Dad backhanded him across the chest at the same time that Mick and Miles snarled at him.“I know, I know,” Jamie raised his hands. “Get out. I know.” He headed for the door.Dario was glaring after him too. Jamie was really pushing it today with all the Alpha men.“Poor Jamie,” I smirked, putting a blanket over my shoulder, so I could feed my hungry baby. “He needs my other babysitter to help keep him in line.”“I miss your other
Four Months Later….“Try this, nipote,” Nonna gingerly set a plate filled with pasta in front of me.I eyed it skeptically, second-guessing my craving for peanut butter and jelly spaghetti. Mushing a glob of jelly between the prongs of my fork, I gagged instantly.Running to the bathroom with my hand over my mouth, I heard Jamie mutter under his breath, “Not again.”“Poor bambino. The little ones don’t want this either, it seems.”This fucking sucks. Two days of only eating peanut butter and jelly with everything, and now these little parasites are taking that from me too.After emptying the contents of my stomach, I glared down at my belly while wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.“You two have outstayed your welcome.”I sat on the cold tile floor, shooting daggers at my monstrous-sized gut with thoughts of eviction in my mind when deep chuckling from the doorway sent my anger flaring again.“What are you doing, Cara Mia?”“None of your business,” I snapped.Mick laughed, then gr
Rodger POV“Deal with it, but that mother fucker’s life here ends.”Alpha Miles was firm on one thing. Cindy had to go. After what happened with my daughter, I needed to take responsibility for this one thing more than all my other mistakes I had made throughout her life.Cindy betrayed us all because of me. Because of some warped sense of possessiveness he had over me. I was the cause, the reason for his betrayal. I needed to be the one that dealt with this.No matter how much it would hurt me.Cindy was tied to the floor with a coarse fiber rope. Usually a rope wouldn’t be enough to hold one of them down, but Cindy had been given wolfsbane to cut him off from his wolf. He didn’t even fight the dose. He sat with his head down, looking completely defeated once I woke up in that clearing.He was never much of a fighter, even with his wolf, and never aggressive. Never had I seen any side of him showing any hint of malice. I still can not believe that the broken young man that showed up
Chloe POVThe pressure. The endless amounts of pressure pushing in from all around me, like something was about to explode. Like I was about to explode. That was the first thing that I noticed as I was drifting in the abyss.Then it hit me. The scents of spicy musk, bourbon and vanilla.“You’re going to crush her, you giant mutt,” an aged, nagging voice reached my ears.Driana.“They’ve gotten a lot clingier since they found out,” Jamie laughed.Even with my eyes closed as I came into consciousness, I could feel the energy in the room. There were many people here, but the suffocating feeling pressing in on me was undeniable. The fur tickling my face and the heavy, deep breaths I would recognize anywhere.“Are they ever going to shift back?” Driana said in exasperation. “She’s buried alive in fur. And those overgrown pups won’t let anyone get close.”“Their father was the same way when I was with child,” Luna Gail said in a far more upbeat tone. “Remember honey? Your wolf would come ou
Mick POV“He’s getting away!” I bellowed inside Rome.“Not this time,” Rome tossed a Fire Moon warrior off our back, then bolted for the retreating monster our mate’s ex had become.Rome was hurting, seeing the nightmare his former counterpart had become. I could feel the turmoil tearing him up, the compassion he felt for the bastard. I understood it. His love for our mate overshadowed everything, but there was a time that Rome loved his first human.His first human wasn’t even human anymore. The Cameron he once held such high hopes for was replaced by the creature we were hunting now.Miles started to follow, but Rodger, still clinging to my back, yelled at him to stop.“Tell your brother to keep searching for my daughter!” Rodger yelled into Rome’s ear.“Keep looking for Chloe. I can handle her ex.”Miles’s bloodthirsty wolf snarled, but turned to do as we said. “You better fucking put him down. This ends today.”“This ends today.” Rome chased the monster of his former human, not w
Chloe POVCortina and the vision around us swirled into a dizzying blur, and then disappeared as the tacky bedroom reappeared. Cortina groaned as her consciousness joined with mine again.Time was still stopped, Mr. Smith, or Asmodeus, whatever the fuck his name was, was kneeling in front of me, just like he was before Cortina broke free.I blinked, shaking my head slightly to clear the fog from the magic-induced dream-like state. As my powers settled inside of me, the world turned on its axis again and time resumed.“Breed with me, my goddess, and fulfill my destiny.”“What?” I leaned back, confused and disgusted by Mr. Smith’s request. Then I remembered the bullshit he was spewing before Cortina showed me the truth.“You saw it yourself,” Mr. Smith continued on, unaware of all I knew. “You saw how we were meant to be.”He leaned closer, brushing his fingers over my nape, dark eyes tightening at my mate marks. Cortina snarled loudly in my head at his close proximity. My skin felt col
Cindy POVI needed to get out of here. I’ve tried to stay out of sight since leaving that room, so I could think about what to do next, but time was getting more urgent.The scent masker was beginning to fade. This was the last place I wanted to be when the rogue stench started to pour out of me. Most of this pack already looked at me like I was a bug, but I was a useful bug before.Now, I was worthless. That snake bastard made it abundantly clear.My wolf was snarling, already feeling lost and alone. We were rogue before at Broom StiXXX, but not like this. There, we had a community. A family.Now I have nothing.I wanted to blame Chloe. Goddess knows I do, but I know I have no one to blame but myself right now. Why did I think I could trust these people? I can’t trust anyone.Not anymore.With a twisting gut, I covertly moved through the halls, trying to avoid the crowded room of the bunker as I moved towards the entrance. I was almost there when a deep, raspy voice startled at me fr