Appreciate the gem support, ya'll have been great! "Books are a uniquely portable magic." – Stephen King
Seth:'Why is she so stubborn?' Dax asks.'You're supposed to be resting, remember? To answer your question, I don't know. Probably the Alpha in her,' I sigh, knowing he is right.She is incredibly stubborn. If she could get out of the warrior's grip, she could easily run.I could tell that she wasn't nearly as affected by whatever they used to knock us out. It took an entire day for Dax to speak to me again after they took us.'I've started healing you. I'm good now, and you're going to need it,' Dax says, making me feel uneasy.'What do you mean?' I ask.'Lucy is giving us a chance to get out of here alive, Seth. We are going to have to spar,' he responds, making my stomach flip.'I'm not leaving Lucy here, Dax. Wait, how do you know this?' I'm confused.'I can talk with Nia. I don't know how. You're not getting a choice, Seth. You either fight or die. Lucy already agreed to it,' he says, making me groan.'You feel stronger,' I say, observing how quickly he seems to be healing my in
Seth:The warrior is now shifted while I begin to shift as well, while I thank the Goddess for being a quick shifter.I want to laugh at his small snarls, his teeth bared, and saliva dripping from his mouth like he was any threat to me.I'm shifted into our wolf in no time, standing at least two feet taller than the warrior.The warrior backs up in recognition, letting a small whimper escape as he does this.I was significantly bigger and taller than him for two reasons.1. I was a beta by rank and held my position and the strength of the pack from being sworn in already.2. My mom was Alpha born with two Alpha parents. She moved to this pack to be with my Dad. These are things that Lucy didn't know about me.She had set me up for a win far better than she realized."You little brat! You didn't tell me he was ranked!" I can hear Kragen, but I'm focused on my surroundings.Much to my surprise, the warrior lunges at me with all of his strength.As he started to lung, I quickly lowered m
Tricia:We decided to leave the warriors behind so we could speak more freely.Leon was driving, his hands gripping the wheel as if his life depended on it."You should probably take care of Savina before Lucy melts her face off," I say, trying to lighten up the mood.Also, it was the truth. Lucy nearly combusted at the mere thought of Leon being anywhere near Savina.I can't imagine how she would react if she knew Savina was acting possessive over him.Leon laughs, much to my relief."I know. Actually, I'm scared of Lucy's reaction, but um... you seem really confident that we will see her again and get her back okay. Did you, by chance, get a vision?" He glances over at me briefly before looking back at the road.No way in hell am I telling him the vision I saw.This was the first time I saw him somewhat pieced back together."No, I didn't get a vision, but I know we will get her back. She is my Queen Leon. You realize that, yes?" I ask, shifting to the side in my seat so I can look
Lucy:"Try anything funny, and I won't hesitate to kill you both. I can find answers elsewhere if I need to." Those were the last words my Dad said before we were blindfolded.He meant them.They shoved us in the back of a van or SUV. I can't be sure.They didn't tie our hands up, but we were blindfolded. I could feel the body heat of two guards in front of us in the back of the vehicle.'Tell him we will be okay,' I tell Nia.I know that Seth didn't feel great about leaving us. If he could, he would reprimand me for making such a bold decision on his behalf, but I had to do it.I'd never live with myself if I didn't take the chance to save him when I knew I could.I'd prefer to be able to speak directly to Seth, but we have prying ears, and we can't mind link Seth.'We could if we marked him,' Nia says. She is so damn inappropriate, and there's no way I'm telling her that her comment gave me small butterflies.'Seth says we're stronger than we realize, but he will be back to get us..
Liam:"Is he breathing?" I ask, running up behind Tricia."Barely," Leon rasps."Where did you find him?" I ask.Several soldiers are helping to lift Seth's body onto the gurney and take him out of the ballroom."Dr. Solfere said to bring him to the hospital directly but to be careful not to move him too much," Dad said; I'm assuming he had mind-linked him.One of the perks of being the Alpha over the pack was that you could mind-link anyone in the pack.Leon and I were lucky to have the bond we did; we could still link with each other, just not everyone else yet."He was in the woods," Leon says, vaguely explaining where or how he found Seth.He had been gone for hours, so there was no way of knowing with that description."How can I help?" Saul says, suddenly emerging from behind me and Tricia.I watch as Tricia turns and glares at him."Gamma Saul, I think we can take it from here. Please go let your father know we have Seth," my Dad says.Saul stares down at Tricia, but she is now
Lucy:'Wake up!' Nia screams.Her voice rings through my ears like a siren, but my eyes are too heavy.'Just ten more minutes,' I groan back at her.'Someone is coming. You need to wake up,' she hisses, reminding me I'm not home anymore."How much did you dose her with?! Kragen is going to be furious if she doesn't wake up soon!" I hear a voice.Well, I'm still alive, I think to myself, trying to shift or move at any capacity. The ground is cold and hard. I'm back in the cell I was in earlier. It's daylight now, so it must be at least the very next day.I don't remember the drive back here, so they did something to knock me out.Oh, my Goddess Seth.I force my eyes open, standing up to look into his cell. He isn't there. My heart is racing a hundred miles an hour. The last thing I remembered was the painful howl."Where is he? Did he kill him!?" I demand.The two warriors walk up to my cell with the same stupid smirks on their faces."About damn time!" one of them hisses while the ot
Leon:I lied to Tricia and said I would be attending the gala, so she didn't try to convince me not to go after Kragen or follow me.I had run for two hours, maybe more, when I heard the commotion.Seth had killed four other wolves and was losing against the last one until I stepped in. The wolf got a few good nips at me, but I'm mostly fine."You need to shift so I can carry you back on my back," I tell him.He collapses in his wolf form and slowly transitions back.My heart is beating a thousand miles an hour. Relief is also flooding through me that he is alive.We searched these woods for days, so why is he here now?I laid down next to him after shifting back into my wolf form.It pained me to watch him use every bit of energy he had left to roll over onto my back, but I knew he needed medical attention as soon as possible, and this was the only way for me to get him back to the pack grounds quickly.I ran faster than I ever have.After leaving him at the hospital, it took everyth
Lucy:'I'm sorry, Lucy,' Nia says.'No, you're not,' I say.She doesn't respond because it's the truth, but right now, it's not the time to have this conversation.Also, she knew exactly what she was doing, and thankfully, it worked."You need to run," I hear a familiar voice behind me. I turn to see the confused warrior from before. I look behind him at the door to the room I was once inside of.It's open. He moves back to the door, closes it, and locks the outside.He bows his head and smiles at me."Alpha, you need to hurry," he encourages. I tilt my head, surprised."We can go this way," my mate says, motioning towards the hallway he just came from."GET HER!" I hear my Dad yell.I look to my left and down the hallway, where he is standing at the end.The same hallway across from the dungeon.I smirked as I turned to him.'Let's just go, Lucy,' Nia encourages, but fire is burning through my entire soul now.'One last detour, Nia,' I say.It's calling to me now. This time, I won't
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