LUCY'S POV
The last few days were very busy. My new room was incredible. It was the nicest space I had ever been able to call my own.
Even with my father, he never allowed me into the Alpha quarters as he had to hold on to the illusion that I wasn’t his child.
My new room was next to the Alpha and Lunas. Liam and Leon's rooms were across from mine and I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel spoiled.
My bed was massive, covered in a silver bedspread the Alpha said suited me well.
I could only guess it had something to do with my eyes and that weird flash that happened with my mark.
He wasn’t shy about making comments about this and letting me know he was curious about it.
I shrugged it off making it seem like I wasn’t fazed by it.
I had a door in my room that led to a back patio surrounded by the nearby forest, which enclosed the pack.
This was my favorite part.
I had spent the last two nights using this access to let Nia go for a run. I
had never shifted in front of anyone before and preferred to run at night alone anyway.
Nia didn’t care either way, so long as she could now stretch her legs.
I could feel that she was becoming stronger now, and I was at a new level of gratefulness for it.
I hadn’t attended any meetings yet aside from a few that the Alpha had with Seth.
I wouldn’t be allowed in any of the important meetings until I had decided officially if I wanted the position.
Seth was taking the time to train me and show me the ropes of what would be expected of me.
He was nice and helpful, but I could tell he had a sliver of doubt in me and held his cards close.
I couldn’t blame him. He didn’t know me and his job was to protect the Alpha at all costs.
“Liam and Leon will be arriving today. You’ll be expected to greet them when they arrive and bring them to the Alphas office immediately. He will want to speak to them in private directly upon their arrival.” Seth always spoke to me sternly as if he thought I didn’t take him seriously.
“I understand, Seth. Thank you. Is there anything I need to know about this task?” I asked curiously.
I hadn’t met either of the soon-to-be Alphas and I wasn’t sure why Seth seemed so stressed about it.
“They don’t know about the galas the Alpha has planned. Liam is the type to do anything to please his father but Leon likely won’t be as happy about the idea. He is adamant that his mate will find him when the time is right and thinks the mating galas are a ridiculous gesture. Between you and I, Lucy, I think he is just afraid of finding his mate,” Seth said with a chuckle.
I pondered on his words for a moment. It was strange that neither of them had found their mate at 23.
Most wolves found their mate by 20 but some “late bloomers” weren’t necessarily uncommon either.
“I understand. I won’t mention it to them. I’d prefer not to be the bearer of bad news at my first introduction anyways” I said and meant it.
We both laughed briefly before I turned and left his office. I found my way to the front of the pack house. They would be here shortly, and I didn’t want to miss it when they arrived.
As previously mentioned, Leander was a very good-looking man, but I was still not prepared for the sight of these two men.
When they got out of the black SUV my heart nearly dropped to the ground.
There was no doubt that they were identical twins, but many things were different about them.
This would make it easier to tell who was who, I thought to myself.
They were tall and very muscular, common for an Alpha or any warrior.
Both had thick, blonde nearly white hair.
One wore it a little shaggy, showing off his curls while the other was clean-cut.
Both sported facial hair, but Mr. Shaggy had more of a beard, while the other had a clean-cut presence.
Tattoos peeked from their rolled-up sleeves, and I couldn’t help but wonder just how many tattoos their shirts were hiding.
They had hazel eyes with little gold flakes spotted around them.
At this moment, I realized I was slightly gawking, and they were now close enough to me that I knew their eye color.
“Liam, Leon, it’s nice to finally meet you both. My name is Lucy,” I said with a small, nervous smile as I extended my hand outward.
They eyed me suspiciously for a moment.
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Lucy:Mr. Shaggy shook my hand first, letting me know that he was Liam.Leon followed suit but followed up with a question.“You’re the assistant in training my dad was telling us about?” he asks. His question was laced with doubt, but I didn’t let it show that the words kind of hurt me.Both had looked at the pack mark on my wrist to confirm whatever question they obviously had in their mind. “The one and only. I will be sure your things arrive in your respective rooms. Alpha Leander is expecting you in his office. Please follow me,” I stated firmly. “We know where his office is; we don’t need you to escort us,” Leon retorted in an irritated voice. “I have no doubt you know your way around the pack house you grew up in Alpha Leon. I am following my orders. I’m sure you can respect that and would have the same expectations of your assistant once you’re running the pack. Now follow me.” I wasn’t going to let my age or size let anyone intimidate me, not even my future Alpha and pote
LUCY'S POVWe were now at my door. I looked over to see Liam staring at me. “When do you turn 18?” His question felt intruding. I raised my eyebrow slightly at him causing him to chuckle. He was adorable when he laughed. I sighed before responding. “My birthday is tomorrow but please don’t tell your dad. I don’t want anyone to make a fuss over it being my birthday. We have a gala to worry about” I said with a curt smile. He seemed to be thinking hard about my response. He was still staring at me with a blank expression before finally responding. “That doesn’t seem fair for you to spend your birthday hosting and being part of a gala for us to find our mates. Maybe I can at least get my dad to let you sit this one out so you can do something else for your birthday.” This big tough soon-to-be Alpha was being genuinely sweet. It was probably wrong of me, but I took this as an opportunity, the only one I had had so far. “I don’t mind going to the gala tomorrow. My birthday isn’t that bi
LUCY'S POVI had let Nia run her heart out the night before, leaving me so exhausted that sleep took me easily that night.I woke up at the crack of dawn and showered quickly.I French braided my long black hair and put on some light makeup.I knew that I would have to wear a dress to the gala, but I took advantage of the tasks I would be doing this morning that required less formal attire.I slid on my black skinny jeans, blue and black flannel button-up, and black combat boots.I changed my nose ring to a blue gem stud and looked in the mirror, to survey the results.I didn’t have any professional clothes yet, so this was as close to that as I could get with my small wardrobe.The Alpha insisted he would purchase work attire for me if I chose to keep the position permanently. “Happy Birthday to us,” I said out loud to Nia while taking one last glance in the mirror.'Happy Birthday, Lucy,' she responded with a small howl.This had been how it had always been.My birthday was never
LUCY'S POVI made my way through the kitchen first, doing everything I could to distract myself and avoid my father. I had faintly smelt my dad in a few different hallways as I was preparing earlier today. Being of Alpha blood allowed me to smell greater distances which came in handy today. The kitchen staff stared at me like I had grown an extra head when I came in. “Wow Lucy, you look... beautiful,” Jason said as he looked over me, making me blush. A few of the kitchen staff whispered to each other after glancing at me. I felt on display and not in a good way. “Thank you, Jason. I just wanted to check in to make sure everything was coming along on schedule before I joined the gala.” This wasn’t entirely a lie, but I wasn’t about to share that I was avoiding the Alpha introductions, so my murderous father didn’t find me. “Everything is going perfectly as planned Lucy. No need to worry. Have you smelt anything delicious in the air today?” Jason's question had everyone's attentio
Lucy:For Goddess's sake, why didn’t I think about the obvious touching factor of the mate bond? Either Leon was in denial or the fact that he couldn’t scent me was really throwing him off. I needed to get out of here. “This will only take a moment Lucy. Go, now!” Leon slipped his Alpha aura out as he spoke to me. Normally this would cause a wolf to submit. Either the fact that I was his mate or that I had Alpha blood caused little to no reaction on my part. He looked at me bewildered before growling at me. Geez, what has gotten into this guy today? He was far grumpier than yesterday. Why would the Goddess mate me with such an asshole? One thing was for certain, I was about to see my father for the first time in four years. Bile rose to my throat as we walked toward the small group of Alphas and Betas. My stomach felt like it was tearing into pieces, and my short-lived freedom was slowly coming to an end as I got closer. Leander smiled at me as I approached, Leon walking ne
LEON'S POVSomething was off about Alpha Kragen. When he said Lucy's name, my insides crawled. I knew Lucy was going to be a pain in my ass when I met her yesterday, but she really knew how to take things to the next level. Dad had told us about her when he bought her from the Red Paw Pack. We knew she must be special since Dad didn’t regularly participate in this type of exchange. When he did, he always freed them right away, but he kept Lucy close by. Liam immediately felt protective over her as well. It wasn’t until our mating gala that those same feelings emerged in me. It was natural for an Alpha to be protective of his pack, but I knew that this was different. When I grabbed her arm at the gala I felt an electricity pulse through my body. She didn’t smell like a mate, at least I didn’t think so. She had the same dull, earthy smell as she had the day before. It was rare, but I had heard of hybrid werewolves who were half witch or fae. This could explain the volts of el
LEON'S POV:Bandit lurched forward in my head, causing a deep growl to erupt from my chest. “Oh, calm down. I knew Lucy when we were kids. My mom was friends with the late Luna. Sometimes Luna would let me and Lucy play when Kragen was out on business,” Tricia explained. One hand rested on her hip, and her eyebrows raised at me.“So, you’re saying that Lucy is the Alpha's daughter?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “Kragen never claimed Lucy as his own. They told the pack they took her in because the Alphas sister had died giving childbirth to Lucy and her mate couldn’t bear the loss of her but if you ask me, she looks just like the late Luna” she explained in a hushed tone. She looked around the room after she spoke as if to make sure no one heard her.“You’re not a shifter” I responded changing the subject while eyeing her down. I still didn’t trust her and had to keep my guard up. “You’re right, I’m not,” she said with a smile offering no explanation. Where are you? Liam's voice rang
LEON'S POVI’m not entirely sure why but the second Tricia warped into her Fae light I trusted her. I took magic history classes very seriously. I’ve always been a believer that those who possessed magic were our real threat. Pack leadership often focused on rogues and hunters but something in me always wondered about the magic societies and why they never tried to interfere with our packs. Was there something truly deviant at work? Werewolves could be disruptive, and too many packs were still living in the old ways. Buying and selling slave rogues that they did unimaginable things to, capturing magical creatures to steal their powers or torture them. On top of that, a lot of the pack leadership members didn’t respect our Goddess’s gift to us. I had heard many wolves had started to reject their true mates. Alphas and Betas were leading an example that cheating on our mate bond was acceptable if you were at a high enough rank. The entire idea made me sick. I was known to enjoy a
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.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
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
Lucy:Was I imagining that? Was I starting to feel things that I wanted to just because I had some feelings or connection with Seth?I couldn't stop thinking about his touch.I could tell that Seth's intentions were not just to help me warm up before tomorrow, but rather, he was worried about me.I hadn't been inside the gym much. It was spacious. At least three hundred warriors could train here comfortably."Stretch," Seth says with a smile. "You're not going to scold me for being petty? I do have another reason, you know? Whether some of my reasoning has bad intentions, I also want to help Gatheo," I explained.I sit down and start stretching my legs, waiting for him to speak up, but he just looks at me thoughtfully instead.Never prying too much, just letting me speak as I do naturally."You know I could never scold you for that, Lucy. I was there that night and the following day. I just needed to know, and I needed you to admit it out loud. Now come on," he says, extending his ha