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Leon:"Why is he here?" Liam grumbles as we get closer to the training grounds.It's clear he wants to hate Lucy being around Seth, but it's starting to feel like he's trying too hard to hate it.I roll my eyes, but I can't help but tune into their conversation. Liam had to have been doing the same thing. We shared a curious glance before calling out what we heard.'I have to admit, I feel bad for Seth,' Liam links me as we watch him helping Lucy with her defensive moves.They really did train fluidly together. They moved with one another like a dance. It's the first time I've seen Seth look that happy.'So stop being an ass. Our mate cares for him, and he's our best friend,' I link back.'What if she never gets over him?' Liam questions through our link.I look over at him with a smile. He knows my answers to this already. What he is really asking is if I still care because she already has two mates.'I already told you how I felt, Liam; nothing has changed because she's mated to yo
Lucy:I knew something wasn't right the moment I finally pinned her down, and she started laughing.'Shift,' Nia encouraged me, but I couldn't; my insides felt frozen.The longer I was frozen, the more I felt Nia shrinking further into me.Savina always had ill intentions toward me. This much I could feel in her presence. I had assumed this had to do with being Leon's mate, but there's something I'm missing.Nia can't reach me nor can I reach her now.'Mate, get up!' I hear Liam scream through the link, breaking me from the trance I had with Savina.'What's wrong?' Leon links immediately after.I feel like my soul was nearly ripped from me, and my lungs were run over by a truck."How did you do that?" I say, barely a whisper, as I continue to catch my breath.I get to my feet shakily, stumbling backward as she laughs at me again.'Nia,' I whisper, searching for any sign of her.I can't feel her anymore. It's like she was never there to begin with."I told you to forfeit. This didn't h
Lucy:The last thing I remember was feeling weak and my eyelids being too heavy to hold up before I collapsed.All that I can hear now is the faint sound of beeping."She needs rest, Alpha. We don't know enough about Fae to treat her properly," I hear a familiar voice.Jonie, I tell myself. I try to call out for her, but my voice is too weak."Why isn't her wolf healing her?" I hear Leander ask.I want to tell him she is gone, but my body isn't cooperating with me.'Nia?' I call out again, desperately hoping she will give me a sign that she is still there.Nothing. The beeping grows faster as the realization that I may have genuinely lost Nia starts hitting me full force."What's happening!?" That's Liam's panicked voice.I can't open my eyes; they're too heavy. Everything feels too heavy."Alpha, you need to get your boys out of here." That's not Jonie but a man.Dr. Solfere, perhaps?"I'm not leaving her!" I hear Leon; his hand grips my arm.I can feel his grip. No sparks. Does he fe
Tricia:The phone held its silence as I grasped what my mom asked."Tricia... I just thought it was better for you not to get your hopes up when I saw what I had," Mom explains."I guess mine and Enya's decision affected more than I had realized," she sighed as I stood there frozen.My heart feels like it is being crushed, knowing that in some version of my life, I may never have met Saul.I look over at Saul, who is doing his best not to intrude on my phone conversation, but I know he has been listening in enough to hear what I did.I hang up. I don't know what to say or how I'm supposed to act. I knew she had kept something from me."Has Liam or Leon ever saved your life?" I ask Saul directly.He looks at me, baffled but clearly deep in thought about my question."Why do you ask?" he questions me, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms now crossed below his chest.It's clear he remembered something, and the connection is making him question further why I'm asking this question myself.He
Lucy:I open my eyes and no longer feel so heavy. In fact, my entire being feels lighter somehow. The damp, soft feeling of grass beneath my body soothes me as I take a deep breath.My eyes adjust to the light of a full moon as I sit up.The moon cascades a glow across unfamiliar territory. A soft neon glow illuminates off of the foreign bushes surrounding me.'Nia?' I ask instinctively, as the clouds in my mind start to dissipate and the memories begin flooding back in.No answer.Smoothing out the pants I'm wearing with the palms of my hands, I look around for anything familiar.I can hear the rush of water and whispering in the distance, pulling me forward.I walk cautiously through the terrain, following the sounds in the distance that are luring me to them.As I turn the corner of the rocky hillside, the brightness of the light that hits my eyes makes me fall back on my butt.I use my arm to shield my eyes, instinctively shifting them to their white phase before opening them back
Tricia:Saul pulls me into his grip as everyone stares at me. He doesn't like everyone's eyes on me.I thought I'd hate the possessiveness of a werewolf, but I find it oddly comforting."Why don't we all get settled in and relax?" Jason suggests, resting his hand on my Mom's shoulder.Should I find this odd? I thought to myself."Right," my Mom says, gently removing his hand."I'll grab some drinks. It seems as though we all may need one," Jason adds, quickly moving from the entryway to the kitchen.I sit on the couch, or rather, on Saul's lap. My Mom sits in one of the chairs, and Theo sits in the other chair."Why would you think she could read minds?" Theo asks before my Mom can even open her mouth."I wasn't sure if she really could. She asked if Aunt Enya could read minds, but all three of her mates admitted that she could hear their thoughts, so I think she can," I explain, biting my lip.'Three?' Saul's voice comes through my mind.You can barely hear the growl coming from his
LUCY'S POVThe realization that I would be turning 18 soon spread internal dread throughout my body. Turning 18 was typically magical for us werewolves. We could finally scent out our mate—our soul mate, our “Goddess-given” true love.If we are being honest, the thought made me gag.That last thing I needed or wanted was a mate.Thankfully, I was able to get my hands on a descenter.When used, my scent went neutral, giving a slight, earthy aroma that would allow me to go undetected without any alarm bells ringing. When I was 14, my Alpha father killed my mom in cold blood. She was his true fated mate.She was the most selfless, loving she-wolf, giving to others without considering what she would gain in return.My father, on the other hand, was greedy and controlling. He hid me from our pack my entire life. I wasn’t allowed to leave the pack house, and he never claimed me in front of any pack member. When my mom was pregnant with me, he relocated her until my birth so that no one wou
LUCY'S POVWas he trying to humiliate me? He was normally very kind to me and treated me far better than any previous Alpha. My previous pack was the Red Paw Pack, and I swore they were named from all the unnecessary blood they had on their paws. They were ruthless. They often beat me; the Alpha raped me the first night and several times afterward until he found his mate and sold me to Alpha Leander. “I’m grateful to serve you, Alpha.” This wasn’t a lie; I was grateful to no longer be a part of the Red Paw Pack. There was no deceit in my eyes as I spoke these words, and he nodded at me curiously. Nia, my wolf, was stirring in the back of my mind from the odd interaction. 'He knows something, Lucy,' Nia whispered to me.I feared she was right. When I looked back toward him after finishing refilling everyone's glasses, he was looking at me again. His eyes flickered yellow briefly before he turned back to his guest and resumed his conversation. I stood a few feet back from the t
Tricia:Saul pulls me into his grip as everyone stares at me. He doesn't like everyone's eyes on me.I thought I'd hate the possessiveness of a werewolf, but I find it oddly comforting."Why don't we all get settled in and relax?" Jason suggests, resting his hand on my Mom's shoulder.Should I find this odd? I thought to myself."Right," my Mom says, gently removing his hand."I'll grab some drinks. It seems as though we all may need one," Jason adds, quickly moving from the entryway to the kitchen.I sit on the couch, or rather, on Saul's lap. My Mom sits in one of the chairs, and Theo sits in the other chair."Why would you think she could read minds?" Theo asks before my Mom can even open her mouth."I wasn't sure if she really could. She asked if Aunt Enya could read minds, but all three of her mates admitted that she could hear their thoughts, so I think she can," I explain, biting my lip.'Three?' Saul's voice comes through my mind.You can barely hear the growl coming from his
Lucy:I open my eyes and no longer feel so heavy. In fact, my entire being feels lighter somehow. The damp, soft feeling of grass beneath my body soothes me as I take a deep breath.My eyes adjust to the light of a full moon as I sit up.The moon cascades a glow across unfamiliar territory. A soft neon glow illuminates off of the foreign bushes surrounding me.'Nia?' I ask instinctively, as the clouds in my mind start to dissipate and the memories begin flooding back in.No answer.Smoothing out the pants I'm wearing with the palms of my hands, I look around for anything familiar.I can hear the rush of water and whispering in the distance, pulling me forward.I walk cautiously through the terrain, following the sounds in the distance that are luring me to them.As I turn the corner of the rocky hillside, the brightness of the light that hits my eyes makes me fall back on my butt.I use my arm to shield my eyes, instinctively shifting them to their white phase before opening them back
Tricia:The phone held its silence as I grasped what my mom asked."Tricia... I just thought it was better for you not to get your hopes up when I saw what I had," Mom explains."I guess mine and Enya's decision affected more than I had realized," she sighed as I stood there frozen.My heart feels like it is being crushed, knowing that in some version of my life, I may never have met Saul.I look over at Saul, who is doing his best not to intrude on my phone conversation, but I know he has been listening in enough to hear what I did.I hang up. I don't know what to say or how I'm supposed to act. I knew she had kept something from me."Has Liam or Leon ever saved your life?" I ask Saul directly.He looks at me, baffled but clearly deep in thought about my question."Why do you ask?" he questions me, his eyebrows furrowed and his arms now crossed below his chest.It's clear he remembered something, and the connection is making him question further why I'm asking this question myself.He
Lucy:The last thing I remember was feeling weak and my eyelids being too heavy to hold up before I collapsed.All that I can hear now is the faint sound of beeping."She needs rest, Alpha. We don't know enough about Fae to treat her properly," I hear a familiar voice.Jonie, I tell myself. I try to call out for her, but my voice is too weak."Why isn't her wolf healing her?" I hear Leander ask.I want to tell him she is gone, but my body isn't cooperating with me.'Nia?' I call out again, desperately hoping she will give me a sign that she is still there.Nothing. The beeping grows faster as the realization that I may have genuinely lost Nia starts hitting me full force."What's happening!?" That's Liam's panicked voice.I can't open my eyes; they're too heavy. Everything feels too heavy."Alpha, you need to get your boys out of here." That's not Jonie but a man.Dr. Solfere, perhaps?"I'm not leaving her!" I hear Leon; his hand grips my arm.I can feel his grip. No sparks. Does he fe
Lucy:I knew something wasn't right the moment I finally pinned her down, and she started laughing.'Shift,' Nia encouraged me, but I couldn't; my insides felt frozen.The longer I was frozen, the more I felt Nia shrinking further into me.Savina always had ill intentions toward me. This much I could feel in her presence. I had assumed this had to do with being Leon's mate, but there's something I'm missing.Nia can't reach me nor can I reach her now.'Mate, get up!' I hear Liam scream through the link, breaking me from the trance I had with Savina.'What's wrong?' Leon links immediately after.I feel like my soul was nearly ripped from me, and my lungs were run over by a truck."How did you do that?" I say, barely a whisper, as I continue to catch my breath.I get to my feet shakily, stumbling backward as she laughs at me again.'Nia,' I whisper, searching for any sign of her.I can't feel her anymore. It's like she was never there to begin with."I told you to forfeit. This didn't h
Leon:"Why is he here?" Liam grumbles as we get closer to the training grounds.It's clear he wants to hate Lucy being around Seth, but it's starting to feel like he's trying too hard to hate it.I roll my eyes, but I can't help but tune into their conversation. Liam had to have been doing the same thing. We shared a curious glance before calling out what we heard.'I have to admit, I feel bad for Seth,' Liam links me as we watch him helping Lucy with her defensive moves.They really did train fluidly together. They moved with one another like a dance. It's the first time I've seen Seth look that happy.'So stop being an ass. Our mate cares for him, and he's our best friend,' I link back.'What if she never gets over him?' Liam questions through our link.I look over at him with a smile. He knows my answers to this already. What he is really asking is if I still care because she already has two mates.'I already told you how I felt, Liam; nothing has changed because she's mated to yo
Lucy:Under the spell that was the lands of the Silver Throne Fae, my mates and I were consumed with unbridled lust and desire.Maybe this was our truth, the raw need for each other. Yet, something was always standing in the way. I was probably the most guilty person in this department, but tonight, I wasn't going to be.I could feel Leon's canines pierce the outer layer of my skin. A small drop of blood runs down my neck.Liam has me on the brink of ecstasy when we hear a twig snap.Liam and Leon immediately push me behind them. I was unprepared, dipping into the water without their support to hold me up.Coming back up for air, I grab Liam's shoulder as I gasp for breath after taking water into my lungs."What are you doing here?" Leon hisses.I can't see over their big frames."Let me up!" I whine in Liam's ear.I grab his shoulders and lift myself. He catches my legs, looping them in his arms like a piggyback ride.My face drops as I see Savina standing next to the spring with her
"Let's go for a swim!" Liam says, ripping off his clothes like he's burning up, yet it's not warm at all.I look around to see everyone doing just about the same thing.'This is my kind of festival,' Nia giggles.'Could you hear Seth? Am I going crazy?' I ask her, taking off my sweater now."Wait up!" I hear Trish from behind us.Liam and Leon pause, standing in their briefs leisurely like it's the middle of the summer."What about my vision?" Trish says, catching her breath as Saul strides up behind her."The Mood Goddess protects us. We give offerings and truth in exchange for this night of celebrations and the blessings within the pack," Leon shrugs casually like it's part of his personality, but I know that's not true.No one is themselves, and yet I don't feel any different at all."Don't you think we should be strategizing nonetheless? What if Zeak takes the opportunity to strike first thing in the morning when he thinks we will be weak from everyone staying out late at the festi
Lucy:As I suspected, they wanted me to light the bonfire with my magic.The magic Sybil spoke of was now starting to take some effect, and it felt like it already had for both of my mates for most of this day."I don't think this is a good idea," Seth finally voiced his opinion.Liam led us to the City Hall, where Leon was with Leander, Sybil, Trish, Saul, and a man whom I'm guessing is Theo.The moment my eyes met Theo's, he tilted his head and smiled widely."You must be Lucy," he bows after grabbing my hand and kissing the top of it.'What the hell?' I ask Nia.I can feel her lurch forward, but she doesn't say a word.I pulled my hand back and smiled politely, even though I felt very weird about his actions."You must be Theo! It's so nice to meet you. I have so many questions for you!" I say, remembering he was a real wizard.The child in me was fangirling."It's better the pack knows now than to have them find out later. Lucy is just as much a Fae as she is a werewolf. The pack m