I was able to get back on and post another chapter for you today ;)
LYRIC Not being able to sleep anymore, and now the birds chirping outside had made it impossible. I swing my legs out of bed looking at the other side where Mike had slept the night before. I frowned wondering why he hadn’t wanted to be near me. I thought last night’s events may have changed that. I shake the thoughts away refusing to dwell on the subject. The male confused me. I made my way to the bathroom, switched on the shower, and waited for it to heat up before stepping under the moan-inducing warmth of the spray. I stood for several minutes just letting the water roll down my body. I washed up, washing my long hair. I really should cut it because it took forever to rinse the soap out. Satisfied all the soap was out of my hair I switched the shower off and wrapped a towel around my body. Only lightly towel drying my dark locks before emerging from the bathroom. Once back in my room, I began to pull clothes out to dress. Picking a pair of black pants matching red underwear
PETRA I watched from around the corner as Alpha Travis emerged from the dungeons below the castle. Hidden by the shadows disguised as an eleven-year-old girl. I hated this body. I was a woman now and had been living in this form for over a year. Pretending to be a child again was frustrating. I bite my lips as I watch Alpha Travis wearily climb the stairs to his floor. Almost every night he goes down to the dungeons stays a few hours, or sometimes not even that, and returns looking tired and worn and always with a deep scowl on his face. He’s changed, Alpha Travis has. When I first came here, he was all smiles, strong, intimidating when he needed to be, and not cruel like some Alphas. Though in the past six or so months he had become broody, never smiling, and short tempered. Queen Lamia was here last week with Hunji and it was so good to see them. Even if they thought I was a helpless little girl, they treated me like family. I wanted that. Family. My mother had been killed, I c
RHETT The moment Jonda’s eyes opened all the hope and fear melted away from me. I smiled at her and brushed her chestnut hair back from her face. “Beautiful, welcome back.” I had cooed to her, giving her a genuine smile of my own and sending prayers to the gods for her waking from the coma. Except that happiness was shattered when she scowled at me, finally focusing on my face. “Where’s Mike?” She tries to sit up looking around frantically. Her eyes scanned every crevice of the room with a deep scowl. It was not what I wanted to hear. I felt something for Jonda, a connection, a pull. I wasn’t sure it was love just yet but as I looked at the bite mark on her neck, the one I had given her, I couldn’t understand why her wolf would not recognize me. She was meant to have her wolf now that I had marked her. My bite should have broken her curse. “Baby, take it easy,” I tell her gently, even though my blood is beginning to boil with her dismissal of me. “No.” She shakes her head a litt
MIKE I’m pretty sure I have said it before, and I will say it again. Moon jinxed. Fucking moon jinxed, I was. I stayed away for a few days hoping Jonda would come to her senses. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Instead, I was told she had growingly become more agitated and angrier. Demanding to see me. Tala and Rhett had tried to explain to her what had happened, hoping it would jog her memory, but Jonda wasn’t having any of it. She increasingly became irate throwing things and lashing out. Threatening to hurt herself if she didn’t see me. The hospital corridor was eerily quiet as I slowly threaded my way to Jonda’s room. It’s like the realm knew something I didn’t. I find Rhett sitting outside her room, head in his hands an aura of defeat surrounding him. “Rhett,” He lifts his head slightly and turns it to look at me. His eyes rolled with distaste. “I don’t know what to do. I have marked her, and she still loves you. She doesn’t believe us.” I pinch the bridge of my nose as
MIKE Several Weeks Later So much has happened in the last few weeks. It seemed like a major event for New Moon had taken place each week since Lyric and I had completed our bond. In between trying to track down Senko, and working with the other kingdoms on this continent, Tyron was rightfully promoted and officially made Royal Delta. I couldn’t be happier for our friend. Tyron and Kellen had worked out their kinks, and Kellen recognized that Tyron was the right wolf for the position and not Rogue. Rouge is a great guy, one of the best fighters of our time, but he had made it clear where he fitted into New Moon and that was protecting our Queen, Tala. The thing Kellen treasured most. Tala’s official crowning had been rescheduled. Tala said she didn’t need a crown and would be happy to use his mother’s for the ceremony, but Kellen wasn’t having any of that and had a new crown commissioned for her anyway. The crowning ceremony took place two weeks ago. We kept it on the down low, in
LYRICThings had moved quickly, maybe too quickly in my eyes. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for everything that was happening.Lizzy and Olivia, Mike’s mother had become fast friends. Upon Mike and I completing our bond, Olivia set Lizzy up in one of the single suites at the other end of the hall. Olivia also had given Lizzy a job as her personal assistant so she could help the older beta female with the palace’s day-to-day running but still wouldn’t be too far from Zane and me.Zane had rejoiced, jumping up and down excitedly, and Lizzy had cried when I cm home with the Beta’s mark still fresh on my neck. They were both happy, maybe happier than I was. Zane was the most excited. He and Mike had bonded even more, and Mike asked me if he could have Zane bonded to him officially which meant a small exchange of blood.We decided to ask Zane together and even though we explained how it worked, he didn’t care. I think Zane was more excited that Mike would officially become his father. It wa
TRAVIS I hung up with Kellen, bringing my thoughts back to now over a year ago. The day one of our patrols found Petra. She was a frightened little girl. So scared that the smell of her fear almost hid her scent. Petra was eleven now, as a bear shifter she should have her first shift at around fourteen. Werebears shifted earlier than wolves or cats, it was a known fact. I had fallen in love with that little girl because of her bravery. And that she had no family left. The scene of where she had come from had never left the minds of any of us that were there to see the aftermath. A whole Clan was decimated. Bodies torn and shredded. Stripped of clothing. Appendages strewn around like trash. That sight was awful, but the most horrifying thing was the children that had been strung up in the trees. I didn’t want to believe that Petra could be someone other than the girl I had come to know and love. She was the closest thing I had to a little sister. To family. I had abandoned my own f
RHETT It felt strange and wrong to be back in MacTire. The whole way here It felt as though I was missing something. I was uneasy leaving Jonda behind. I knew that was the reason for my emotional displacement. But what was I meant to do? I couldn’t take Jonda with me, and I had to return. This was my home. And Jonda; I didn’t know if she didn’t recognize our bond or if Senko had done such a number on her that she didn’t know. I had the unique ability to know when someone was lying. And Jonda wasn’t lying when she told me Mike was her mate and the child that grew inside her was his. She truly believed it was the truth. My child, she gave my child another father. How did things go so wrong? I felt a connection to Jonda, but I couldn’t say I was in love with her. Or at least I didn’t think I could. She wore my mark but thought it was someone else's. The mark I gave her only intensified the pull I felt toward her. I thought leaving would be the best thing and easy. It’s far from easy
Bonus chapter for: Rise of the Hunters – Book 7 RHETT 3 Years Later MacTire held my heart, but I couldn’t help visiting the borough I grew up in when out in the field. Recruiting new Enforcers for the INE. I found myself missing the familiarity of the streets. The people – half human, half shifter. Most without a spirit animal. A town, us half breeds built, grew, and protected. Hunters as Lamia called us but was a hunter? The town wasn’t big, but it was a place where half-breeds gathered – safety in numbers - we had become a close-knit community. Even still, we were constantly heckled and subject to the packs that surrounded us. Always trying to strong-arm our community or take what they thought belonged to them. Hybrids – Where one parent is a shifter the other human or no spirit animal – were born one of three ways. Either they were purely human or gained a counterpart that was weaker in comparison to full-blooded shifters, or there was us. The ones like me. A hybrid. Neither
ASHE I found Aodh, sitting regally at the top of Mint’s mountains. A throne made of stone. Cold and sharp just like the god of the underworld. His face was dark and impassive. The hatred inside him poured out and I could feel his disgust with this realm hanging in the air. “You dare come before me halfling.” He sneers as I make my presence known. I brush off his rude remark. His power has no hold over me. “How long will you keep the Moon Goddess imprisoned?” I watch Aodh's expressions carefully, but he gives nothing away. “Until I get what I want.” He remarks with a flat tone after a moment of silence. “Don’t be coy with me youngling. You are in my realm now.” I snarl back. A little of my beast showing. “You forget your henchmen are dead. My Knights still live.” “I will kill them!” He pounds his large fist against the stone throne, stating a matter of fact, his red eyes holding no lies. “For what? Because Inanna had been promised to you by her father centuries long before? The
Thank you for reading The Beta and the Jewel Thief - Book 6 of the Delta's Daughter series. I would like to kindly ask you all to leave me a review on the about book page. This helps me as an author and my stories get noticed on the app. Just a few words and a great rating would be appreciated. Now I know I left this book with another cliffhanger... You still love me I know it. ;)I also know there are a few questions. Not everything could be explained, the story had well superseded any of the other books in regards to word count. In the beginning, it was always thought that the story was more about Lamia and Kellen's wolves than it was about them. Throughout the series, it has been hinted at that Inanna was always promised to a god of the underworld by her father (Aodh). It seems as though Ashe and Ascena (who is originally Nessie, Inanna's daughter) had this planned from the beginning. To have the next immortal child come into this world. In book three Kellen was given his life b
LYRIC The aftermath of war was something to behold. The atmosphere was thick with melancholy. A pensive sadness gripped each and every one of us. Were we happy that the fighting had stopped? Of course. But no one would cheer or rejoice. There would be no celebration. Because we didn’t win. We were lucky. Those of us that survived. We had lost many. On all fronts. Including the Changelings and rogues who ended up joining forces against this other realm god with us. Under the command of the rogue, they called Oliver. Mike begins to take control of New Moon's army. Shouting out commands. Note retreats to the back of my mind, not far, but far enough to rest. The aches in my bones set in, and the sting of wounds where they had already begun to heal, linger. The dark-skinned werecat comes to stand next to me, She points the short sword in her hand across the jungle plane to where King Mathias stands with a woman whose skin is as dark as night, her hair a flowing white, shining like th
TALA Winds whipped through the trees as night fell across New Moon. My wolf, Mora, had been roused all day, feeling uneasy about her mate being so far from us. It had been snowing for hours, mixed with lashing rain. Connor slept soundly whereas Jonda’s child was restless much like myself as I kept checking in on her every hour. Jonda was only down the hall, Olivia and Lizzy stayed with the child. *Tala!* Olivia pushed through a mental connection. Her voice was rushed and distraught making my wolf’s ears perk and fur hackle. Without thinking I scrambled to my feet from where I sat by the window in Connor’s nursery. My gut was twisting with dread and a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. Olivia’s voice worried me. I raced out of our suite and down the hall. Greeting Olivia at the door to Jonda’s room. “What’s wrong? Is Jonda, okay? The baby…” “She won’t come down. She’s gone mad! Her marks!” Oliva pants in a panic. “The guards they tried…” Without waiting I brush past her
SHADOW My beasts begin to growl and shake. Their snarls and attention concentrated on the young females that cross the field we currently march across. The darkness curls around my veins and I hush the beasts to settle. “Patience my wild ones,” I say as the females draw near to the front of my army's line. Just over the crest of the hill, where the jungle meets the dense forest, the warriors of Cambiador lay in wait for me. I can feel my son's blood, his magic lingers in the air, it calls to me. And so do these three young females who approach. It would be favorable for the Grimalkin to side with me, but that ship has sailed. And unfortunately, he will die alongside his brethren. “Master,” The young girls reach me and kneel down. From the pocket, of one she pulls out an object and instantaneously the darkness unravels and travels down my arms to my fingers. The inky black shadows strained from my body reaching towards the object in her hand. Her palm opens and the shadows grasp wi
TALA Meanwhile at New Moon Shrill screams sound from down the hall. With Connor in my arms, I raced towards my sister’s anguished shrieking. I barely notice Olivia and Lizzy behind me as I rush to Jonda’s aid. I fling the door open and Connor begins to wail. My eyes land on my sister and I almost drop my son at the sight. She’s doubled over clutching her large stomach, blood trickling from between her legs, soaking the purple gown she wears. “Jonda!” I cry out with alarm and concern. Immediately I link the pack doctor to come quickly. “Oh my!” Olivia exclaims behind me with shock. Followed by a sharp gasp from Lizzy. I hand Connor to Olivia, “I already linked the doctor.” I say with a rushed breath, quickly crossing the room to my sister's aide. Lightening flashes in the evening sky, illuminating the room and Jonda. That’s when I see the marks on her body begin to move and swirl, crawling across her skin. Becoming darker by the moment. “Jonda. Come lay down please.” I tell her
LYRIC Some drive and others run in their wolf form alongside our convoy as we rush towards Cambiador. The trip takes two days from where we were in Lewe to reach their borders. Kellen and Mike keep in constant communication with Rhett and Alpha Travis who are already at the border of the werecat kingdom. The tension in the car is palpable. All of us wondering if this is it. If this is when we face Senko and his army. The warriors are in good spirits, for some, it is not their first battle. For others, it would be a first. Their lack of worry is what has Note and I on edge. After what I witnessed at the Golden Circle Pack - I want to scream at them. I want to pound it into their heads that they should be afraid of this Shadow Witch. Of the creatures and not quiet humans he has under his command. I’m looking out the window from the back seat of the car I share with Kellen and Mike. I tune out their conversation and think of Zane. It was him I was fighting for and our future. Maybe M
MIKE I ran in my wolf's form, letting Duke take charge and lead the way through the kingdom's forest. We knew these woods like the back of our hands or paws. Could probably navigate the terrain with our eyes closed because we had run through them so much. Duke speeds up when catches Lyric‘s scent. We were spending as much time together as we could. Kellen and I were leaving in a couple of days with three teams of elite warriors heading to the border of Lewe to look for the compound. Rogue would join us, and Tyron would stay back to protect the kingdom with my father. Usually, it Would be the Delta going but for unknown reasons he wanted Tyron to stay back and man the palace. Lyric was also staying behind. On one hand, I was happy for Lyric to not be in the thick of a fight, on the other I didn’t like the idea of being away from her. It was making me apprehensive just the thought of leaving her. Duke catches up with Note and nips at her hind legs playfully. We had been out here for