Neither of us knew what to expect from the consummation of the mate bond. Fated mates were extremely rare and the ones that we did know about kept their sex lives to themselves. All we did know was that it was going to be intense.After we had given each other our marks, we’d both gotten pretty nervous. The mate bond was thrumming with power, enticing us to complete it. But we had agreed to slow down, to enjoy the night. Once the bond was consummated, nothing would be the same.I traced my fingers over the mark I had given Arthur. I had never given one before, not even with Robert. It had never seemed like the right time. I had always found an excuse not to
Married bliss was completely underrated. I didn’t think that I could ever be this happy. I really felt like I was floating around Arthur’s house on a cloud. Or I guess it was my house now too. That was a weird thought.But I honestly couldn’t see how it could get any better. At least not until Arthur came running into my art studio, a wide grin on his face. I barely had time to stand up to greet him before he pulled me into arms and swung me around.I giggled, wondering what had put him in such a good mood. When we stopped spinning, he dropped to his knees and put his head against my baby bump, listening to the baby’s heartbeat.
DanaThe baby announcement and gender reveal had been nauseating. She swore that the new luna didn’t have a creative bone in her body. Under the Sea? Seriously? It was so freaking basic. There was literally nothing special about her.What’s worse is that she had to put it all together. Dana had fought so hard not to vomit over everything. If she were luna, she would have done something unique, something that had never been done before. Not some high school prom bullshit.And the fact that Arthur had seemed to enjoy all of it was completely unimaginable. So what if they w
However, nothing ever came from the look on Dana’s face. Two more months had passed and things were going rather smoothly. Arthur and I had kept our promise to his grandmother. We had invited her back into the pack and most everyone was happy about it. Dorothea had been loved when she was luna.The only person who threw a little tantrum was Roman, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. I still wasn’t sure what had made him turn his back on his mother, but I was hoping that they could reconcile. Although I didn’t think Roman would break first.At seven months pregnant, I was having a harder time getting around. The baby felt like she wa
Today at Noah’s house had been quite the challenge. He had taught me a very intricate brushstroke and I did not have it perfected by the time I left. He said not to worry about it. That it had taken him years to finally get it right.It hadn’t really made me feel better. I wanted to be an expert in my craft. And Noah had started at a much earlier age. I would be lucky if I mastered it before I died. I said as much and he just laughed.Then he cryptically mentioned that we would be seeing each other a lot more often without any further explanation. I didn’t see how. Arthur had been pretty strict about my working schedule. And now that Noah’s
ArthurArthur's patience was wearing thin. It seemed like every time he turned around, Noah was there, occupying Almara's attention. They had always been close, ever since they had met, but he was tired of him always encroaching on his territory.When they had made the marks permanent, when they had consummated the mate bond, Arthur had foolishly thought that Noah would give up his endless pursuit of Almara, but apparently it had just been wishful thinking.What killed him even more was that Almara couldn’t see through the utter bullshit. She couldn’t see how Noah was ma
NoahThe moon hung low in the night sky, casting an ethereal glow over the ancient council chamber. Tall, ornate pillars stood sentinel, their marble surfaces bearing the weight of centuries-old decisions.Noah thought it was a bit tacky. Just because they were vampires didn’t mean that they had to decorate in the stereotypical vampire way. Less gothic art pieces would be just as good as the ones that they had hung up.He didn’t say any of that though. The critique would not be welcomed. Instead, he focused on what was in front of him.
AlmaraChapter Seven: Balancing ActsThe scent of fresh paint mingled with the subtle aroma of aging wood as I stepped into the gallery. I hadn’t been expecting that. No one was working on new pieces. Not when the exhibit was only days away. We were all solely focused on preparing for that.So imagine my surprise when I entered the workshop to find Noah sitting behind a canvas. He hadn’t mentioned any new pieces, but apparently he had decided something was missing from the exhibit.I watch