I lead my father into my office and offer him a seat. I take mine behind my desk and lean back.
“What can I help you with, Father?”
He sighs loudly.
I know he hates how I speak to him and that I don’t treat him as a son should treat his father. But the fact remains that I feel hurt by him. I remember the things he said when I took over Luther’s body. Not once did he try and understand why I did the things I did.
When Luther and I were young children, I acted like a child, an angry child. I did terrible things, but I was crying out for my parents to listen to me. I felt wronged and that they favoured Luther over me.
As I got older, I knew that wasn’t the case. I understood that they’d exhausted all avenues in their quest to break the curse.
I left the Dalgaard’s alone to welcome the new additions. They were talking about Jenna’s family coming to meet the babies. I felt like a third wheel, so I took myself to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.I was sitting reading a fashion magazine when Josh walked in, telling me that I had a visitor in Lorcan’s office.Now, I’m standing outside the door, wondering who the hell could be here to see me.Lorcan’s family are here, mine are back home, so who else is there?It can’t be Mason; Lorcan would never allow that. He allowed Katy to leave with Mason, but he told me that Mason wouldn’t be welcome to come back here. Well, not to live anyway.I didn’t say anything because even I knew that Katy would choose to live with Mason. That’s just the way thin
The King stands in front of Dad, explaining that he’ll keep Lorcan away from me and have the Moon Goddess break our mate bond as soon as possible.I sob loudly, heartbreakingly, upon hearing this.How could they do this?My father is killing me slowly. Once the mate bond is broken, I’ll no longer be connected to Lorcan. But my heart belongs to him, mate or not, and it’s breaking in my chest.I don’t care about the stupid mate bond; I just want to be with the man I love.“I know it doesn’t seem like it now, Gianna,” I turn my face away from the King; the blood rushing to my head makes me dizzy. “But you’ll come to see that. . .”A-ROOOO-OOO
“What?” My mother gasps and turns her eyes to me. “Lorcan?”I open my mouth to say something, but Gianna slams her fists down on my desk with such force it rattles.“That is not true! Lorcan has never forced himself on me! How dare you call him a rapist?!”Orrin raises an eyebrow at Gianna. She’s disrespecting the King, and that is worthy of the death sentence in his eyes.However, my mate is standing up for me when she shouldn’t. I did not rape Gianna. Yes, I was forceful, and I coerced her, which in the eyes of some equals rape, but had she once told meno, I would have stopped immediately.Gia
“Gianna, are you okay?” Antonio enquires.Gianna snuggles into my chest, and I kiss her head.“It’s okay, baby,” I whisper, and she nods against me.Gianna turns her head to look at her father and nods.“I’m sorry, Dad, I tried to stop her. But you know what Lyra is like when I’m upset.”“Yeah,” He laughs. “I do.”“She just wanted you all to stop attacking my mate.”“I know, sweetheart. It’s okay, I promise.”Gianna apologises to my parents, my siblings, then their partners. Each person smiles and tips their head, letting Gianna know that everything is okay.“Lorc
Mum’s mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water.But I’m not done yet.“When Jenna freed me, when I saw you, standing there in front of me, I hoped you’d be pleased to see me. But you weren’t, were you? You were disgusted and turned away from me.“You cast me out of your house faster than I could blink! Mum may have glamoured Zidiah into believing that I had always been here, along with my siblings. But I wish she’d glamoured you too so that just once I could hear you speak to me the way you do the others.”I’ve waited years to get this stuff off my chest. But I don’t feel any better for it; in fact, I feel worse. Worse because Orrin Dalgaard stands there looking at me as if I were a phantom. He will never regard me as his son; I know that now.
“You have to speak to him, Orrin.”I scrub my hands over my face in frustration.Anja has been on my case all evening, and she’s starting to wear me out. I wanted to leave Silver Paw and go home, but my wife thought otherwise.I argued that I am the Alpha of the Royal Pack, the King of all Alphas. I should be back in Zidiah’s capital, ruling my people.But no, I’m stuck here waiting for Lorcan’s mate’s Luna Ceremony because my wife said so.How old does she think I am?I’m not a child!“Everything he said was right,”I stare out of the bedroom window with my arms folded over my chest.“Orrin, for Goddess sake,
Goddess, the sickening feeling in my stomach, thinking that Lorcan could have gotten Gianna pregnant, wouldn’t go away. It wouldn’t because I knew once the baby was born, I’d see the proof marked on the child’s skull behind their ear.Figure 8 is the mark of rape, no one but a handful of people know how this came to be.Many years ago, my grandfather, a kind man, sought to punish those who would take what did not belong to them. My grandfather had many abilities, even the use of magic, gifted to him by a witch upon his fourteenth birthday.Having found his mate, my grandmother, he realised that she’d been raped mere days before meeting him. She was already pregnant and feared my grandfather wouldn’t want to mate with a pregnant rape victim. She was wrong, and they fell in love quickly.Before the
Rogues!Filthy fucking beasts!Gianna and I had just gotten dressed into the clothes we left at the edge of the forest when the fuckers attacked.I know what they want; they want Gianna because she’s my mate.I am The Bloody Alpha; after all, what better way to get to me than through my mate?Victor, the rogue leader, has been after me since I took over Silver Paw. He hasn’t been seen for a while, and I hoped the fucker was dead. But that was wishful thinking when I knew deep down that he was still out there.I should have been looking for him, and I was, and I still have people out there looking for him. But I also should have known better than to let my guard down.I knew someone out there would come for Gianna should I clai
“You know why you’re all here, don’t you?”“Yes, Daddy.” Eight out of nine of my children answer.“Why are you here?”Sienna is the one to reply. As always, the rest have appointed their older sister spokesperson.“Because Angel went crying to Mummy.”“I beg your pardon?!” I yell loud enough for all eight to whimper. “How dare you, Sienna?”“I’m sorry, Daddy.” She sighs.“Angel did not go crying to anyone. Your mother figured out what was wrong! I must say that I am very disappointed in all of you.”Each child hangs their head in shame.“Angel is three years
“It’s Daddy and me. I wanted to give it Daddy for his wall like the others.”I smile while trying not to cry.Each one of our older children has at some point drawn a picture of themselves with Lorcan. For each drawing, Lorcan framed and hung it on the wall in his office. Angel wanted to do the same, and I have to wonder why she didn’t give it to him.“Why didn’t you give this to Daddy?”“Dean said Daddy don’t want drawing from stupid Omega like me. I just want my picture on the wall.” She sniffs back her emotions. “Why Daddy don’t love me?”Holy fuck, I can’t breathe!“Oh, baby girl, your daddy loves you so much.” My heart shatters.I lift my
Eight Years Later“Hey, baby girl.” I smile while taking a seat next to my three-year-old daughter.Angelica, or Angel as we call her, is the seventh of my nine children. Lorcan and I are expecting our tenth in three weeks.After Sienna was born, we were blessed with twins, Dean and Damon, born ten months after Sienna. Then came Trystan, Aaron, and Allen, all born within three years of each other. Angelica, and lastly, our second set of twins, Corey and Caden, are now eighteen months of age.Baby Alessia will be with us real soon, and she is our last. When I said this to my mate, he laughed, but he finally realised that I was serious. Ten children in eight years are enough for anyone.Lorcan and I have the most children in the family. Lilly and Leande
I cup Lorcan’s cheek, drawing his eyes from a burning Nancy and to me. He blinks, clearly shocked by what he just witnessed me do.The thing is, I don’t even feel slightly guilty for setting that bitch on fire. Sure, she was alive when I did it, but it was no more than she deserved.I meant what I said to the pack; no one will ever get away with hurting my mate again. It drove me crazy the past couple of days, thinking about that cunt and what she almost did to Lorcan. I couldn’t bear it one more second; that’s why I had this whole thing set up. I wanted to make an example of Nancy in front of the pack. I hadn’t a clue at first that Anja had taken it upon herself to draw Victor out.When Anja came to me an hour ago and told me that she’d found Victor, I was shocked. Of course, I asked Anja how in the hell she managed to do what
“Are you sure? Like, one hundred per cent? No mistakes?”Luther chuckles while clasping my shoulder.“I’m positive, Lorcan. Though I’m not happy that Mum did what she did, no one is, to be honest. But Mum would do anything for us, and for you, she brought Victor in. It’s the truth, I promise you.”I nod my head, thoughts rushing through my brain at high speed.My mother took it upon herself to find Victor, incapacitate him, and kill his followers.How the fuck did she manage that in the two days I took off to be with Gianna and Sienna?I sent warriors to search for Victor, told them not to return until they found him. Once they had, they were to bring him to me, dead or alive. Of course, I would rather have him alive, but I knew
I knock on Harper's door with the back of my hand and wait for an answer. Yet none comes, making me wonder if Harper is really in there.This can't go on. Whatever Harper is thinking, she's wrong because none of what happened was her fault. I know Harper well enough to know that she's in some way blaming herself for my abduction.I sigh when I still get no answer, but I won’t give up. If Harper is in there, I’ll find out; that’s why I twist the doorknob. Luckily, the door isn’t locked, so I walk inside and close the door behind me.Harper is sitting in a white rocking chair next to her window. She’s holding her baby son, who is wide awake, looking right at his mummy. Harper hums to Cyro while stroking the back of his head. Cyro is beautiful with soulful brown eyes and fixated on his mother.“You a
I blow out a nervous breath as I stand outside Harper's room. I shouldn't be anxious to see my best friend, but I am. I haven't seen Harper since I returned two days ago.Okay, it's partially my fault; after falling asleep with Lorcan that first night, we decided to spend the following day as a family.Lorcan, Sienna and I spent the day getting to know one another. There were no interruptions on Lorcan's orders, and everyone listened.The three of us spent the whole day together, and I love watching Lorcan with Sienna. The way my mate interacted with our daughter was something to behold.After we got ready for dinner last night, there was a moment that stopped my heart. I walked out of the bathroom after fixing myself in there. I only did so as not to choke Sienna with deodorant and perfume. I
“Where is this, Wendy now?” Lorcan asks once my story comes to an end.I rush to sit up in front of my mate.“Lorcan, please. I know that Wendy helped Victor take me, but she didn’t have a choice; her son’s life was on the line. Just imagine what you would do if someone had Sienna. You and I both know you would have done the same in Wendy’s position.“Wendy never hurt me, Lorcan, and she helped bring out little miracle into the world. Not only that, but she brought Sienna and me home just in time for Sienna to save you. If Wendy hadn’t, we wouldn’t be together like this. Please don’t hurt Wendy. Please, Lorcan.”Lorcan tips his head to the side, regarding me closely. My eyes are darting all over the place!Lorcan lifts his head with a s
After Lorcan and I stopped crying, we returned to our room and got dressed in PJ’s. Now we’re on the bed, side by side with our backs against the headboard.Lorcan checked on Sienna, and I thought he’d be bringing her back to our room. But he returned without our little girl, saying she was fast asleep.I’m not sure I want to be without Sienna so soon; I don’t think I could settle. Lorcan said that he’d collect her as soon as we’ve talked things through. I could do nothing but agree.“I don’t know how it happened,” I entwine my fingers with Lorcan’s and pull his hand to my chest, kissing his knuckles. “I was feeling a bit out of sorts, missing my parents.” I shrug my shoulders.“I went to our garden for some fresh air. I let the guards know to tell y