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LUCY'S POV:"You want to try that again?" Leon says, fuming.They're standing not even a foot apart. Seth is a few inches shorter than Leon, causing Leon to tilt his head forward just slightly so he can look down at him.He is purposely trying to intimidate Seth. I'm shocked that he hasn't slipped his Alpha aura at this point."I said...Don't yell at Lucy." Seth doesn't raise his voice this time.His voice isn't shakey, and he doesn't back down from Leon one bit.I do not like the way that this is transpiring."What is this all about?" Jason asks, appearing in the kitchen. I'm still sitting in the chair, my body twisted to look back into the kitchen where Leon and Seth are looking at each other. Neither of them budged or broke eye contact."Leon thinks that because he is an Alpha, he can yell and disrespect whoever he wants." Seth doesn't look at Jason when he answers; he continues the stare-off with Leon.My jaw drops.After what happened to me at the hands of many Alphas, his words
LEON'S POV:'I don't feel a connection, Leon. I can't even scent a wolf at all. Are you sure she isn't lying?' Bandit says, making me cringe internally."But what about Bandit?" I ask, hoping to get more clarification.Lucy looks up at me with a pained expression before she grabs my arm and drags me to the front porch.The electricity I feel at her touch makes my dick twitch. It takes everything I have to remain in control of that feeling."Sit," she says, pointing to the porch swing matter-of-factly.I liked it when she was bossy. "I've done my best thinking here," she commented as she sat down. I noticed she sat as far from me as she possibly could.'I don't think she is our mate,' Bandit persists.'Can you give her a chance to explain?' I respond to him, getting irritated.'She is playing you with those electrical tricks,' he continues.I shove him so far in my head that I can barely feel him.I was also questioning it, but if I'm being honest, I was just excited that Lucy was look
LEON'S POV:I'm staring at her, obsessing over everything about her.She is glaring at me. It's so cute. Everything she does is adorable, honestly."You're not mad I used a descenter so my mate couldn't find me?" she asks indirectly accusing me of something I don't really understand, or maybe it's that I don't care at this moment.I also realize she says "my mate" instead of referring to her mate as me. I don't like that.I felt more connected to her after she grabbed me and sent the spark through me.I finally shake myself out of the all-consuming daze."Am I supposed to be mad?" I ask, staring at her lips. I'm not even sure I know what I am saying or asking at this point."LEON!" She finally screams, bringing my full attention back to her yet again.Her brows are furrowed together, creating a small crease between them.I want to kiss her face. It doesn't even have to be the lips. Just anywhere."Stop staring at my lips! I'm talking real words, Leon!" she explains in an all too irrit
LUCY'S POV:Leon suddenly gripped my waist, sending me into an internal spiral. My heart was beating out of my chest a hundred miles an hour as the trauma in me surfaced like a living nightmare."If you listen better this time, I might let you eat tonight," Alpha Zeak's voice rang in my ear.I could still feel his fingers plunging into my bare skin as he gripped my waist, squeezing my bones and sending shooting pains up and down my sides.He didn't need to hold me this tight. He always tied my hands down; there was no way I could escape anyway. He enjoyed the torture, my pain, the way I was powerless to him.'Lucy...' Nia whispers soothingly, bringing me back to reality as Leon's hands on my waist release their hold on me, making me feel like a hundred pounds of weight had been released from my chest. "Will you put your head on my chest and let me tickle your back?" Leon says quietly.When I look up, he is rubbing small circles across his chest, crumpling the plain black t-shirt that
LEON'S POV:'She is so timid,' Bandit comments, his voice laced with concern. 'We will figure it out B, don't worry. She is already loosening up to us,' I respond back to him.Her scent is complex.She smells like a summer night: fresh air from the calm after a rain storm lingering with waves of fresh-bloomed wildflowers, smoke from a blazing fire burning nearby, combined with the taste of ice-cold homemade lemonade.I didn't know taste could have a smell but that's the best way I could describe it.Her cheeks are blushing from my insinuation. There is no way she can't feel how stiff my cock is.My body is reacting instinctively to having her on my lap this way.It's not something that can be helped. This is what she does to me and will always do to me."Sorry," she responds to my playful banter. I don't want her to be sorry; I want her back to her old, playful self, but I can tell this topic makes her uncomfortable."No, don't be sorry for how you affect me." I gently lift her into m
LEON'S POV:I look down at Lucy in my arms. Thank the Goddess for her.I already knew she was going to make me a better man by the way I was reeling my emotions in rather than letting them explode like I always have in the past.My teeth are chewing at the sides of my cheeks. I'm torn between confronting Seth and just letting it go completely.I get Lucy tucked into her bed, kissing her cheek before I reluctantly pull away from her.I push open the back door. I can hear Jason's footsteps behind me before I step outside.He catches the door and jogs up behind me as I'm stripping my clothes off in a hurry."Hear him out first," Jason warns me as the door behind him slams shut from the wind.I cringe at the thought of that sound waking Lucy up.He knows I'm angry Seth didn't tell me.I can't promise I will, so I don't say anything at all before I shift.His scent is easy to find. As I pick up speed, my paws hit the dry earth hard. Echoes of my paws meeting the surface below it flutter th
LUCY'S POV:I wake up feeling more refreshed than I have my entire life.My eyes flutter open. I look in each direction, expecting to see my mate, but I'm left with nothing but the black and white scroll patterns stitched into the comforter resting over my body.There was no light coming from the window. How long had I slept? It can't possibly be nighttime, I thought to myself.A crackle of thunder makes me jump.'Something feels off,' Nia comments as I settle back into bed. The lightning follows soon after, lighting up the room briefly.'What do you mean?' I ask her.'I don't know exactly. Find our mate,' she says firmly.My bare feet hit the cold wooden floor with a thud as I slowly panicked at the emotions that were mixing with Nia's.I stumble my way to the door before I grip the doorknob hard and turn it open.I rush down the hallway and down the stairs to the first floor and into the living room. Jason is nestled on the couch, eyes closed, clearly taking a nap."Where is Leon?!
LUCY'S POV: 'Something still feels off,' Nia says.'No shit. I think Leon and Seth got into a fight,' I say back.'Of course, they did, but this is something else,' she responds, making me want to crawl into a hole and never come out.After stripping the wet clothes from my body, I moved to the dresser and pulled out the dry ones.'What do you mean "of course they did"?' I ask. She sighs in response.I set my t-shirt down on the bed before slipping on a pair of new sweatpants when a knock comes on my door.Before I can say anything, the knob twists and turns, and the door opens. My foot catches on the waistband of the sweatpants as a result of me whipping my head up to look at the doorway.I fall back, smacking my head on the wall beside the bed. Thankfully, it was not hard enough to knock me out.Leon runs over to the side of the bed where my half-naked, crumpled body is on the ground once again."Get away! Haven't you heard of knocking and waiting for permission to enter before you
SETH:I was originally curious as to why no one could leave or visit Lucy during this process.No one questioned it, of course, but after three days, that felt like twice as much. It was clear why this process required her mates and why visitors weren't allowed.The first night, the master bedroom was wrecked within hours.The only things that were not broken, smashed, or damaged were the bed itself and other large furniture.Lucy switched from her Fae form to her human form on and off for an entire day.There weren't any warning signs when it happened, leaving all of us on edge.I can still hear her screaming bloody murder through the first night she held her human form. The three of us speculated what was causing the screams, whether it be nightmares, visions, or reliving experiences I couldn't imagine.There was no soothing her. Her stare was void of emotion or presence.The way her eyes glazed over haunts me to my core still. Dax was itching to go for a run. He's struggling to w
Lucy:The bag lay on its side in the middle of the table like a centerpiece.Flowers would look nice there, I think to myself as I walk across the kitchen to the dining room table to sit down.Seth grabs me by the waist and pulls me into his lap as I walk by."Sorry about earlier," he says, kissing my cheek.He's wearing a plain black shirt and blue jeans, his hair still wet from a shower."It's been a long day for everyone. It's okay not to be perfect," I remind him."I do appreciate the apology, though. Are you caught up on your work duties?" I ask, running my fingers through his damp, silky hair."No. I brought what's left here, and now that we have phones, it will be easier to do what I need to," he smiles.His smile isn't as bright as usual. I haven't asked who didn't make it. I'm not sure I can handle it if it's someone I know and they aren't offering the information.Liam impatiently slides the leather bag across the dark oak tabletop.The metal from the strap glistens under t
Lucy:Saul and I get to the City Building shortly after Leon's fit."Oh, thank the heavens. My spell lasts another hour, and Leon has been banging at the door for at least ten minutes!" Trish whines before running over to Saul and jumping in his arms.She doesn't ask what happened or if everything is okay. She's just happy to see us and to have her mate.It was simple. I wanted simple.I rush the flames out of my palm, melting the handle and eliciting a hiss and bang before the door bursts open.Leon glares at me for a split second before grabbing me and squeezing me. My feet lift off the ground, dangling in his grip as he holds me.I relax my cheek on his shoulder, inhaling his calming scent."You don't have to do everything alone, little mate," he whispers in my ear.He doesn't understand. Some things I would need to do alone. How do I tell him this?Leon got the worst of me—the wall, the part of me that wanted to refuse a fated mate altogether.Yet, he was the first one to accept my
Lucy:My shoes are hitting the ground with force, and dirt is swirling up into the air with each step I take forward.My skin crawls and shudders as if the very flesh clinging to my bones wants nothing more than to flee from the mere thought of being near that man again."Lucy! Wait!" I hear Saul shouting behind me.My body moves like a machine. Driving forward at a will that only intuition could force.The smell of metal filled my nostrils. Blood.Whirls of color fly past me like an abstract painting portraying the heart of vexation and despair.Nia is still in shock from biting and marking Zeak's wrist. I did what I had to.I can hear Saul's feet hitting the ground behind me. I turn my head to look back at him, and my foot clips a divet in the ground, causing me to crash to my knees and palms."Shhhh," I hear Saul's voice soften behind me as he kneels next to me.He grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him—my lip trembles.My cheeks are still stained from the tears I shed earlier. I'
Lucy:The air around us was thick with tension. No, it wasn't tension. It was a simmer of rage and pervasive darkness.And yet, somewhere in all the haze of emotion was a faint glimmer of compassion. It lingered like a distant lighthouse, reaching toward me, begging to guide me to shore.Somewhere deep down inside of me, I felt it. I didn't want to, but it was there. Clutching my heart like a vice that wouldn't budge.An understanding of something I didn't fully recognize yet, but parts of me sensed it a long time ago.Is this why he wants me so badly? He could feel my unrecognized understanding."Your father lied to me," Zeak says, taking short, slow strides toward me."Make them stop. You wanted me, and I'm right here. There doesn't need to be any more bloodshed!" I say calmly.I don't step back or flinch as he makes his way toward me.'What did you do, Lucy? Where are you?' I hear Leander push through my closed link with his Alpha command.He must have sensed his sons not being able
Lucy:The moment the sirens go off, a flood of emotions and thoughts start swirling within the room. I can hear everything at once.Leander pushes forward, and Liam is trying to pull me to safety, but something surges within me.I won't let this moment pass. This wasn't the need for revenge.The strength surges within me again. Stronger this time.'Use it wisely,' her voice whispers in my soul. I now understand why she gave me this gift and what it really means."Lucy, we need to get you to the shelter!" I hear Seth behind me before his hand grabs my arm. I push him off, taking in the look of bewilderment spread across his face."Sorry!" I squeak before turning and brushing my hand across Liam's forehead before he drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes."Lucy! What was that about?" Leon says, running up to Liam.I don't give him a chance to react before knocking him out as well in the same smooth fashion.I look back at Seth, who puts his hands out in front of his body with his p
Liam:She knows I need her attention. Of course, she does; she was made for me.'Just don't be too overbearing,' Bo chuckles even though he's feeling it too.I had forced myself to get over her connection with Seth. It helped knowing he was her mate, too, for some reason, but I needed my mark on her to feel the security of our bond."Oh, Mom, can you plan our mating ceremony? How long will it take for all of Lucy's magic to settle so we can mark each other, too?" I ask, grabbing Lucy's hand and pulling her back into my chest.We had all gotten up to leave, but I needed to make sure we could set a date to look forward to."That won't be necessary. Lucy won't leave your quarters without your mark or, rather, without marking the two of you," Nadia speaks up.I raise an eyebrow, my interest piqued as everyone now focuses on Nadia as well."It's tradition," Mom says, her tone flashes with irritation."I can wait. I really wanted a ceremony. I even have a dress and everything," Lucy pouts.I
Lucy:We finally sit down around the table. It's clear that Jason is fond of Nadia.I expected Trish to react more to this, but she doesn't. She seems content in her bubble with Saul.Nadia set down several things on the table, but I felt my magic the moment that she walked into the room."That's mine," I say, pointing at the leather bag."Yes Lucy, it's yours, but you cannot have it yet," she responds."But it's mine?" I say, yet it comes out as a question instead.Nadia laughs and grabs the bag. She reaches her arms out, extending the bag to me before pulling it back slightly."You cannot open the bag yet. You can hold the bag, but you can't take what's inside. It's important that you listen to me. Lucy, having all of your magic, now that your mother is gone, is going to be very overwhelming," she explains.Finally, she sets the bag down, and I grab it quickly. Fear grips my heart at the thought of having it taken away. I rip it from its spot and hold it securely in my arms.My heart
Lucy:I expected more anger. Yelling. Maybe even a fight. Nothing."Of course they did, idiot," Leon says, pulling Liam off of me entirely now."You didn't....?" Liam asks his unfinished question, looking at Seth."No. No, knot, which was really hard to hold back, by the way," Seth sighs and looks at my now bright red face."I thought that was an Alpha thing? Plus, I have a birth control implant," I say, sitting back up on the bed."Seth's mom is an Alpha, and what did you just say?" Leon says, pulling me by my ankles to sit me on the edge of the bed in front of him.Was he mad about this?All three of them walk to the bed, where I sit on the edge, looking up at them. My eyes dart back and forth, feeling like a child who's done something terrible."I'm not ready for a baby. We don't even know what this whole thing is that's going about. We're supposed to save the world or something or another," I ramble out. My hands flail this way and that as I talk because I always feel the need to