Hope you're enjoying the ride! I'm so excited to the events that are about to unfold!
LUCY'S POV:"Do you know already?" Leon asks Jason as he settles onto the couch and places me exactly where he wants me: on his lap.I notice how Jason tends to follow; even if it's from a distance, he is always watching out for me. I wondered if this is what having a dad was like, but I had no real experience to compare it to.I look up at Leon, grateful for the man I have been given.The one who didn't give up on me when I acted like a crazy person. It wasn't like me to jump to conclusions or act out of pure emotion. This mate thing was new to me.I wondered what the Moon Goddess knew and how exactly she paired people.Not everyone had a fated mate. Most of us did, but occasionally some didn't.Why was I given two mates, and how did she know that Leon would be so good with my trauma outbursts?I didn't think too much more before I rested my head on his shoulder.He had me straddled on his lap, tickling my back like he did the first time.He was doing what he knew worked. He was smart
LEON'S POV:This woman had no idea the power she had.Why the Goddess blessed me this way is beyond me.My wrist was tingling from her bite. The mark she left was the same as the one on chest but it felt different. I felt connected to so many things I couldn't begin to explain it.'I will be good, I promise,' Bandit says.He is amazed by her. She instantly healed the silver in our blood which was unheard of.He feels calmer now. More at ease. I never thought I could say those words but here we are."Are you sure?" she says in her angelic voice.I nod yes, knowing this time I have the abililty and strength to maintain myself.My dick was hard the instant I helped her up. She was laying in cold, bloody water. It wouldn't do.'I swear I'll be good,' Bandit continues to reassure me but I'm nervous as hell.She is standing now. I lean down to remove the plug from the tub.I swallow before I turn on the water quickly pulling her out of the shower as I realize I haven't adjusted the water te
LUCY'S POV:We felt different. Maybe this is how having a mate was supposed to feel from the start.Even if he is a total shit head."Really Leon?" I say tilting my head acting unamused. He kisses me softly, just one small kiss that spoke volumes.After rinsing out his hair I didn't want him to stop holding me this way.I wrapped my arms around his neck pressing my forehead to his when he pushed my back up against the shower wall.My eyes flash open, reminding myself it's just Leon."Breathe," he whispers dipping his head into my neck.Kissing me so softly it feels like a feather gliding over my skin.I tilt my head giving him more access. I can feel his lips curl into a smile against my skin at this gesture before he bites down softly on my neck, sending goosebumps down my entire body."Mmm," I hum as he presses me harder against the wall. Pinning me with his body. He moves his hands from the grip he has on my ass and slides them up my sides.He makes a trail of kisses up to my ear b
LIAM:I was falling or flying. I couldn't really tell.Finally, my ass hit the hard cold ground, and I concluded that I had been falling.It's dark, and the moon is out, but it's not lighting much of anything up.I pat the ground around me. I can feel dirt and twigs.'Bolten, do you remember falling off of something?' I ask, confused.'No, I.... I'm confused,' he says. I can feel the overwhelming awareness that he feels from that.Odd. It may not have been as strange if it were only my human counterpart not remembering something like that, but both of us not remembering? Not typical.I had an eerie feeling about it.I hoist myself up and look down at my body, noticing that I'm still wearing the same clothes as I had been earlier. But how did I get here?I look around. I'm in the woods. I look around again because what did I fall from? A tree?Chills run through my body, making my hair stand to attention.A breeze slides through the air, curling around my neck before slithering away.'
LUCY'S POV:Leon seems so comfortable with the entire situation.I feel exposed."Leon, go put some clothes on her," Tricia says knowingly, making my cheeks flush.I look up at him, and to my surprise, he doesn't hesitate to listen."Fine," he says, grudgingly, pulling me back down the hallway and up the stairs to my bedroom."I can't wait for your bedroom to be my own," he says in a happy tone that should make me happy, but I can't help but think about my second mate."Right," I say, trying to acknowledge what he is saying. He pauses and looks at me."What does that mean?" He asks as he sets me down on the ground."Oh, nothing. We just have a lot to get through first—my Dad for starters," I say, distracting him with the reminder of what's to come."Eh, I'll just kill him," he says nonchalantly, making me whip around to look at him."I mean, I could challenge him, Lucy. That would solve all of it, right?" he asks in the sweetest voice.'No,' Nia growls at the idea.We both know that m
LEON:"Is there something I should know?" my dad says looking between me and Lucy.She is sinking back into me. Normally, I wouldn't complain but I can tell she is scared.Tricia is focusing on Lucy. Her usual bravado behavior seems to have crumbled for some reason.Lucy looks up at me with her piercing blue eyes, she doesn't know what she should or shouldn't say. I respect her for leaning on me in this situation."I don't know if it's relevant to this but Seth had... developed feelings for Lucy," I say running my fingers through my hair.I lean back in the recliner thinking through the night that led up to this. I can feel Lucy's body tremble so I start tickling her back. This seems to calm her down from my experience.When we talked through the mind link, he seemed fine."Wait, Seth had feellings for your mate?" my dad asks as if I didn't make it clear already. I know what his real question is though.I close my eyes, trying to suppress the rage this makes me feel, knowing that Seth
LUCY:He talked about Savina being in his room like it was an every day occurence.Of course I knew I had no right to be upset but I am. I'm pissed off he brought her up like he hadn't fucked her.I had to hide the smile that creeped on my lips as his dad spit out the water in his mouth. I knew some of it had to hit the back of Leon's shirt.Good. "So that's why she has been lingering around the pack house like a lost puppy." Leander laughs making my insides crawl.This she-wolf was about to piss me right the hell off.I can hear Tricia's chair screech against the floor as I clench my jaw.Leon's eyes go wide again. "Oh no, hunny, it's okay. Leon wouldn't do anything stupid," I hear Jason say as he comes around the island in the kitchen but it's too late."I swear to the Goddess Leon," I start to say before I close my eyes.I can feel the fire erupting on my hands. It's vibrating through me but I'm more in control this time.I lift my hand up, flames flicker from my fingertips."You
LIAM:I'm following this strange man through the hallway when I decide I've lost my mind.That has to be it.'He feels familiar now that we're around him,' Bo says, suddenly not the one panicking."That's because I am. It's interesting how similar our interactions have been each time," he responds as we enter the living room."Sit, sit," he gestures to the couch. I walk over to it and sit down without hesitation. I'm like an obedient child, doing as I'm told."We must make this fast; we don't have much time," he says, sitting in a chair directly in front of me."Uh, okay?" I say, not feeling all too comfortable about this situation."The first time I met you was in a dream state. We met twice, and after the second time, I realized you had forgotten your dream and all the time we spent together. I knew I would have to do this another way," he says firmly.His hands are thin, his fingers nimble and wrinkly. He is playing with a ring on his left-hand finger, twirling it around anxiously.
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 t
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
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 w
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