Bye Savina ;)
LUCY:My heart skipped a beat the way Liam kept referring to me as the future Luna.I couldn't lie to myself anymore; I liked that he was sticking up for me and, more importantly, sticking up for the Omega rank in general.I wasn't an Omega, but I knew a few of the warriors on the grounds were. Savina was being stuck up for no good reason."Can I hold you?" Leon asks after kissing my forehead."Uh, I can walk. That will be weird," I say, raising my eyebrow at him for his request."It would help me," he whispers.'He's not showing it, but he is nervous about talking with Seth and Liam. Your scent will calm him down. Let him,' Nia comments.I look over at Liam and Seth before looking back at Leon. I shouldn't feel so weird doing this in front of the other two, but I kind of do."Okay," I say, shrugging.He leans down, grabbing my hips. I quickly wrap my legs around his mid and my arms around his neck.Seth and Liam walk ahead of us. He lets me slide down him a bit so my head can rest on
LUCY:"I will need all of you to hold my hands," I explain, moving over to squish their beds closer.They're hesitant but surprisingly curious, so they scootch to the edges of their beds to reach me in the middle."I want to warn you, I'm going to show you something, and there is some nudity," I say, with my cheeks turning pink.I didn't exactly want to show them this; it was a very intimate memory for Leon and me, but I needed them to trust me.I reach out both arms, allowing them to clasp their hands in mine while the middle girl looks at me."You can hold one or both," I tell her. She reaches out and grabs one hand on top of the other girls. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, focusing on the memory that I want to share with them.I've never done this before, so I'm going on instinct and praying that it works.It's the strangest experience, which is saying a lot to me at this point.I can feel them all collectively in my position as Leon starts pulling me out of my rage. The fla
LEON:After parting ways with Lucy, it was clear that both Liam and Seth hated watching me kiss her.I'd be lying if I said it wasn't satisfying.Liam is trying too hard to act like he doesn't want our mate. I may just rub it in his face so much that he finally admits to it.The walk back to the pack house was quiet and awkward."Did you let Dad know you sent Savina to the dungeon?" I ask Liam as we pass Dad's office.None of us have spoken much lately, leaving the atmosphere thick with unspoken tension that lingers between us."Yeah, he asked why and then said he was proud of me for sticking up for our Omegas," Liam says, no trace of emotion showing through his words.'I bet Bo is pissed off,' Bandit says.'Oh, I'm sure he is. Do you think Liam will come around to his senses?' I ask B.'Yeah, he'd be an idiot not to. He just hasn't had enough time to bond with Lucy. He will see,' B says.His reassurance helps move me into Seth's office for a talk that I've been dreading."Why are we
LEON:Liam is having a hard time opening up about everything, but Seth and I are patiently waiting."At first, I was a little upset to have to share, but ultimately, I remembered what Theo had said. He told me that I would be better suited to help her with this quest since you were her mate," he says, taking a deep breath."So you chose to listen to some Theo guy over the Goddess's gift to you?" Seth quirks back.Oh no."Yeah," Liam says, surprising me.I was getting ready for a brawl, but Liam admitted defeat at this point."I don't get it. Why didn't you just talk to her or me or anyone before you made such a dumbass choice? You made Lucy cry," I say, harsher than I meant to.I can feel Seth getting tense beside me as he hears what I say."I guess I had accepted that Lucy and I weren't mates after I had originally thought we were. I was upset she was your mate when I found out, but I got over it and accepted the task that Theo had given me. Now she hates me," Liam says, tugging at h
LUCY:I watched with great anticipation as my mark worked through their system.They were nearly 100% healed.I had to hold back my tears when I recognized they were reconnecting with their wolves.A knock draws all of our attention to the door. All of the girls quickly pull up the blankets from the bed to cover themselves, shrinking under them.I send them encouraging emotions, strength, and safety, and I feel content with their reactions as they relax."It's just my mate—the future Alpha of the pack. You saw in the memory that he is good." I smiled while trying to reassure them they were safe while opening the door.It definitely was my mate, but not the one I was expecting. His marshmallow scent wraps around me quickly."His hair has grown a lot since that memory," Amelia giggles."What memory?" Liam asks, looking at me strangely."It's nothing. Uh. This is Amelia, Sophia, and Acelynn," I smile, pointing at each of them as I say their name.I'm feeling so uncomfortable that I could
LIAM:She's agreed to hear me out but won't even look in my direction. We're sitting, waiting for food, in awkward silence.'She is just ignoring me now,' I link to Leon.He chuckles through the link before responding.'What do you mean? Where are you?' he asks, with a smile in his voice.Lucy glances at me and quickly turns away.'I took her to the burger place by the hospital. I thought if I showed her I paid attention to her, maybe she would open up to me,' I explain to Leon.He starts laughing full-on through the link again.'You took our mate to a public place to have a private conversation? When did you get so bad at this?' Leon says through his chuckles.Shit. Okay, he has a point. I closed our link because I could tell he wanted to start bantering with me, but I needed to focus on Lucy.I get up, startling Lucy for some reason."I'll be right back; please don't leave," I say.She looks at me and nods before looking away again."Do you have anything you could put the burgers in
LIAM:I waste no time going into my unprepared speech."There's not really any excuse I can come up with to justify what I did, so I'm not going to waste too much time trying to sound like I can make it right," I start.'That wasn't the best approach,' Bo says.She lifts an eyebrow at me while finishing her bite but doesn't say anything."What I mean by that is I spoke without thinking clearly. I didn't mean what I said," I say, rubbing my hands together.I'm so nervous that I've lost my appetite and my palms are sweaty."You know, I thought I was going to be the one who had a hard time being a good mate, but I think somehow you and Leon ended up being worse," she starts laughing.Is she seriously making a joke right now?"Lucy, I'm being serious!" I'm irritated as hell by this.She tries to make a serious face before she starts laughing again."Why are you laughing?" I'm genuinely confused by this, but Bo starts to chuckle, too.Now I'm smiling, trying to bite back my laughter as she
LIAM:I swam in place, watching her swim on her back in circles for a while.She was softly singing, something I'd never heard before, but it was beautiful.I had no idea she could sing, but I suppose I didn't know much about her yet."Mom used to sing to me sometimes. Always the same few songs," she comments, now opening her eyes.I swim over to her and grab her, pulling her body into the water.I was struggling to see her presented so openly to me, but she only made matters worse when she wrapped her legs around me.Goddess, she smells so good. "You brought me here to say sorry?" she asks, finally talking about what I've been trying to talk about.She seems almost intoxicated. I'm trying to balance between what I want and the right thing to do."Yes. I also wanted to share this place with you," I say honestly.It was all I thought about the night after I made my mistake. My mom had made the perfect suggestion, but I was too busy in my head to see it.Lucy wouldn't usually be this i
Lucy:"The stronger the magic within a person, the harder it was to control myself," Zeak admits.I watch as he sits down on the cot in the corner of the cell now.I hadn't felt my magic back then but I guess he could.I wanted a better answer but I guess it could be that simple."Rosie would do something. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but for a moment, I would see clarity. I started having her be there all of the time, and I saw clearly the more she was around. Kragen said she was an abomination and needed to be killed. I sold her instead," he admits."You're going to go back to your pack. Tell them you escaped somehow. I don't care what lies you have to come up with; it needs to be believable," I state.I feel Leon's grip around me tighten, and a growl elicits from each of my mates.'We didn't talk about this, Lucy. You can't make that decision without Dad,' Liam links me.He's right. I need to talk with Leander, but my mates will soon be taking over the pack, and we also need to
LEON:'Don't mess this up,' B warns me.Lucy's trust meant everything to me. B and I have been getting restless because she runs off on her own all the time.It had to stop now.I put my arm out, stopping Seth and Liam from proceeding toward Zeak's cell.'Just give her a minute first,' I suggest through our link.It was interesting how being marked with Lucy now gave us the ability to link with Seth, too.Neither of them responds, but they don't try to move forward either.We watch as Lucy approaches the cell and stops to face Zeak's.She stands there for several moments, not saying a word, and Zeak doesn't say anything either. My heart thunders in my chest.Simply knowing that she is in his presence and that he gets to look at her makes me sick to my stomach, but I push my feelings aside for the sake of Lucy's trust in us."When did you notice the change?" These were Lucy's first words, or rather, a question for Zeak.I can now hear sobbing coming from Zeak's cell. It doesn't sound l
Lucy:Leon got the brunt end of the deal when it came to my affection.He had to see the way I flinched at any sudden touch or movement toward me.The way my mind wrapped up in anxiety the moment I started to let myself go, and the way my body revolted at any bit of love he tried to give me at first.While Seth had spent so much time showing me friendship and the slow burn of a connection only that type of relationship could provide, Leon had gone head-first into committing to me and showing me safety in love and intimacy.He never second-guessed me or our bond.He never judged or looked at me differently.He put work into helping me get comfortable enough to approach intimacy.Of course, he was upset.I didn't want it to be this way, either."Leon... please talk to me," I murmur, entering our bedroom alone.He looks over at me, clearly still angry, but looks at me anyway."It's hard for me to explain things when I'm not really sure of them myself," I start.I'm nervous about how he wi
Lucy:Leon snapped his bond shut, but I felt the anger seep through before he could."You don't understand. I had to," I rush out, trying to defend myself for some reason.Liam's grip on me tightens. "Why the hell would you do that?" Leon growls."Woah, Leon, chill. Let her explain," Seth remarks, looking from me to Leon.A knock comes at the front door, just in time. Saved by the bell, so to speak."We're not done having this conversation!" Leon hisses, pointing his finger at me.'He'll get over it,' Liam links me, likely to avoid pissing Leon off any further, but it doesn't make me feel any better."What crawled up your butt?" I hear Trish before she pushes past Leon and trots into the kitchen.She stops and looks around the room for a second."This doesn't look like the best time for bad news, but I've been waiting almost a week to tell you guys," she says, squinting one eye.Great.Leon's large presence comes from behind Trish. He's refusing to open his bond up with me."Well, spi
Lucy:Seth looks at me thoughtfully for a moment.The idea of how and why the pack is blessed seemed to have suddenly confused him as well."I never thought about that. I assumed it had to do with our strength and wealth. This pack has had minimal rogue attacks, has always done well financially, and hasn't suffered in many different ways that other packs have," Seth suggests.He's right, though. They have seemed to have good luck OR make the right choices."Hecate wiped the history for a good reason. She doesn't want anyone to know she's been looking over this pack. She gave the line of Alphas the ability to find their mates and their families' mates. You understand better than I do how much strength that gives a pack alone," I say, tapping my toes on the ground excitedly as we piece together the mystery that's been driving me mad."Wait. Hecate gave them that gift? The Moon Goddess grants the Alpha lineage their special strength," Seth argues, his voice slightly irritated at me for gi
Lucy:The next several days were spent doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and exploring our connection and dynamic.The more intimate I was with my mates, the more the magic settled and relieved the pain of what I had experienced.We knew that once this time came to an end, things wouldn't be the same. So many variables were hanging in the balance, weighing heavily on our shoulders.My mates were still sleeping, but the stress of it all made me restless.I zip into my Fae form and zoom into the study down the hall, ensuring that my mates stay resting in bed.This would likely be the last time for a while that they get to rest that peacefully.'You're getting good at that. It makes me dizzy when you do it, though,' Nia whines.'It makes me dizzy still, too,' I sigh.Sitting at the desk, Liam had picked out for me, I rummaged through the drawers, finding a paper and pen to jot down my list of things to do.1. Visit Savina and ZeakThere was nothing similar between their situations. I kn
Lucy:Liam and I didn't get nearly the rest that the other two had, but I don't think either of us minded.We lost track of time and count after I decided to put Seth and Leon to sleep for the night.There was no sense in all of us being awake and marking Liam had turned something on in me I couldn't deny and needed to explore.He didn't complain.I had to mark Liam twice to get the rest of my magic from him. Yet another thing neither of us was bothered by.That time was more than pleasant. Liam had awakened my soul in a way I didn't know was possible.It created a hunger for the remainder of my magic, and for the last mark, I needed to bear.Just like Nadia had said, it just took a little push from Liam to get me started.Liam and I had maybe a few hours of sleep before getting up, showering, and sharing another tub of ice cream while watching a movie and waiting for my other mates to wake up from their forced slumber.I was excited to be this way with Leon. He was my patient mate—the
Leon:The moment Lucy relaxed, I left the bathroom. I didn't feel uncomfortable being there; I just knew they needed to seal their bond.It was the one connection Lucy had that she hadn't gained confidence in.I found Seth eating some of the leftovers from Jason's buffet."She ate?" he asks, not looking back to even see who had entered the room.We have all become very intuned with each other over the last several days."We're on the up," I say, piling food onto my plate."What research were you doing in the library with Lucy?" Seth asks, not looking up from his plate.I hadn't realized he had noticed. He was always far more observant than anyone gave him credit for."Other supernatural beings. Lucy thinks Rosie is a siren." I knew Lucy wouldn't mind me sharing the information.She only wanted to do it privately with me because she knew I took those studies seriously, and it would go by faster and smoother without too many people asking questions.I hear Seth's fork clinking against th
Lucy:Leon helped me get into the bath.My body feels like it's been run over, put back together, and run over again. Every muscle aches with the burning of a thousand suns.For now, I'm okay. For now, the mental pain has stopped.I wanted to rest, but my mind and soul were racing on a track that felt endless.I need it to end."Lucy, how can we help you?" Leon asks.He grabs the edge of the bathtub, lowering himself down to sit by the side of the tub.I relived every death of every Silver Throne Fae Queen before me. My neck still felt the remnants of my throat being crushed.'It hurts. Especially after eating,' I mind link Leon.He perks up in his position. He's satisfied by the way that I'm finally speaking to him.Even if it's through a mind link.It's been difficult to find any words to say in the past few days. I don't want to answer questions. I don't want to explain what I know. Bits and pieces are still sorting themselves in my brain.I know half-truths. One side to each story