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EIGHTY-NINE | CLAIMED
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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The Broken Alpha NINETY | DAFFODIL
LilyThe portal loomed ahead. Jared had found his way back to it effortlessly, taking turns that made no sense and going back on himself just as much as he’d walked forward. A part of Lily was glad that he’d found them and taken them captive, even though her shoulder throbbed and blood still seeped into the hastily-made bandage wrapped haphazardly round it. Without him, she doubted they would ever have found their way to Red Ripper’s magical territory.She squinted up at the trees. Half of their branches were bare, gnarled and knobbly as aged fingers. The others were too deep into autumn for the season, painted in dark reds and fading browns. One drifted to the ground in front of her, and she reached for it. It fluttered onto her palm and crumbled into ash. “Hurry up,” snarled Jared, saliva flicking from his distorted snout. It was almost impossible to make out the words, so thick and throaty was his voice. Rather than individual sounds, it was a growl split into syllables that hardl
The Broken Alpha NINETY-ONE | NOCTURNAL
LilyThe scent of death hung heavy in the air. Lily pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, begging the rising vomit to stay down. It was all too familiar: the eerie sense of being a step out of time, the little cabins, the pack house looming over everything at the centre of the realm.Worst of all were the flowers. When she’d been here before, they’d been alive – so alive that they’d looked unreal, the petals too bright, too plump, and the leaves unfurling from their stems glossy green and shimmering with thin silver hairs. Now, they curled in on themselves, wilted and withered, the leaves and petals turned grey and hanging limply upon the brown grass.Something was wrong. “Remind me of the plan again, Lils?” Her dad wrung his hands together, his pulse jumping beneath his jaw, sweat slicking his brow. She sighed. They’d been over it a thousand times – and there wasn’t that much to remember at all, really – but clearly he needed something to focus on, something to distract him
The Broken Alpha NINETY-TWO | PARCHMENT
ElijahThe journey back to Sea Pine passed Elijah by in a daze. Fogged with heartache and physical pain, he dragged himself along behind Caslein in silence. He watched, unable to even help, as he fought off slews of mossmen – more often than not grabbing Elijah and slinging him over his shoulder, running away with his Alpha bouncing against his back like a sack of potatoes. Elijah felt about as useful as one.Everywhere they went, the leaves were wrong. Spring buds dotted the same branches that held crisp orange leaves. Snowdrops and daffodils littered the moss and mulch. Elijah couldn’t bring himself to point them out to Caslein, not after he’d dismissed him the first time. Besides, he told himself, Cas was busy keeping them both alive. Flower spotting wasn’t high on his list of priorities.Their world was breaking. Unnatural magic was splitting into their realm. At night, they saw terrible, distorted creatures – half man, half wolf, stalking through the woods with wet noses, wolven
The Broken Alpha NINETY-THREE | MIDNIGHT AT NOON
LilyApollo dropped the rope clinging to Eryne’s neck. She remained where she was, not even lifting a trembling hand to draw the coarse knots away from the open wound it had rubbed open. Blood seeped into it, staining it dark red.His eyes are evil, Lily thought as he stepped towards her, her heart tying itself in knots and fear sitting heavy on her chest. Blue eyes could be beautiful, but his were alight with the cold fire of lightning and the hard bite of steel. For some reason that was all she could think as she leapt out into the open, her hands curling into half-formed, useless fists. She couldn’t fight him. Then another thought broke through the permeable wall of her mind: I’m going to die.“Lily! Oh, Lily, sweetheart, is that you?” Apollo swung his smug smile around to face her. It made her spine crawl.“It’s me,” she bit out through gritted teeth. Risking a glance at Eryne, Lily caught a glimpse of wide yellow eyes, silent but screaming, before she sidled, as casually as she
The Broken Alpha NINETY-FOUR | RUN
LilyHis mouth was firm, and his seeping breath smelt strongly of mint, but his lips parted in surprise – a gesture that Lily found strange. Apollo was not one to be surprised by anything, and yet she’d caught him off guard.“Kiss me,” she murmured against his mouth, her heart fracturing more and more with every second they were touching. Half frozen in fear and half in self-hatred, she tried to imagine it was Elijah’s lips she could taste. That only made her betrayal all the more potent, turning her heart black within the hollow cavern of her chest. “Gladly,” he replied, his voice thick and throaty. His arms wound around her like a cage, his fingers digging into the thin curve of her waist. The smell of mint overwhelmed her. Teeth scraped against her tongue, dominating even that small space. Memories of being closed in the cell overwhelmed her, made worse by the lingering smell of decaying flowers sitting heavy in the air. Lily thought she might throw up. There was nowhere to hide
The Broken Alpha NINETY-FIVE | MOTIVATION
ElijahHer words – Lily’s words – sung in his heart. He unfurled the letter again, for the hundredth time that evening, and smiled to himself as he read her hurried script.Dearest Elijah,I hope this letter reaches you. It pains me that I do not know where you are or what has become of you since Alpha Atticus brought me home from Red Ripper. I miss you more with every passing hour.Most of all, I just need to know that you’re okay. I’m at Blood Moon still, with him, and I am safe. She’d underlined safe hard enough that the parchment had torn. He could picture her with ink on her fingers, shaking her head in frustration. His smile grew, even as his heart panged.That was all it said, save for a rushed signature beneath. But he’d heard from her, and she was okay. As days passed in a blur of patrols and planning, Elijah started to worry about the letter. It was short, and scrawled in a hurry, and what if she’d been forced to write it under duress? He took it out from his pocket and la
The Broken Alpha NINETY-SIX | ENSNARED
LilyLily’s days blurred into a haze of monotonous pain. It was better than before; she tried to convince herself of that, at least. She was no longer living in a dingy cell with an eleve, but she was in Red Ripper’s pack house, sharing Apollo’s room with him – where he and his minions could keep an eye on her day and night.She tried to keep up the pretence that she was there for him. Every morning, she woke locked in his embrace. He was muscular and warm and, with her back turned to him, his strong arm slung over her waist, she could almost – almost – pretend that it was Elijah holding her close. Even Atticus would’ve been preferable to Apollo, but she knew she was dead the second she let that truth slip.“Good morning, sweetheart,” he purred, his breath, which smelt of stale mint, wafting hotly over her neck and cheek. “I know you’re awake.”Steeling herself, Lily rolled over. He eyed her closely, his gaze alert enough that she knew he’d been awake for a while. She bit back a sigh.
The Broken Alpha NINETY-SEVEN | CLOVEN EARTH
AtticusHe’d been in the woods when he’d heard.Everything was falling into place for Atticus. He’d found something in the forest that could secure a victory against Red Ripper – or at least offer up an easy out if things started to go south. He’d been building up an army, too, preparing to go to war over his mate if he had to.He’d planned on forming one beneath his parents’ noses, marching on Red Ripper, and destroying them to prove his worth to Lily. Once he’d made her safe again, she’d fall into his arms. She had to. Alpha Idiot would never – could never – match up to him. He was her first mate, and he vowed he would be her last.The girl had come at night. Unable to sleep, Atticus had been out in the forest, smacking his knuckles into tree trunks to wear himself out to the point of exhaustion. When weariness was sinking deep into the belly of his bones, he would sneak over to Lily and Maveln’s old cabin and sit on the doorstep. Most mornings, he watched the sun rise there, remem
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The Broken Alpha 109 | EPILOGUE
LilyLily stared down at the letter, a tiny smile tugging at her lips. There had been something nagging at her, ever since the battle, and at last she understood what it was.Lily,Or I suppose I should refer to you by your proper title. Luna Lily,I always knew you would grow to be a completely insufferable pack leader. We last met at the Great Battle, as it is already being termed – and, really, should we not wait until longer than a few months have passed before we name things with such grandiose titles? – but you did not seem to recognise me. If I were another, I may have been hurt by that. Then again, you never were very good at seeing through my disguises.Therefore, I have decided to be blunt. I have lost everything. My home and my people are gone. I took that Alpha wolf you had a soft spot for, Atticus, to bargain with Blood Moon. To no avail, might I add. He was more irksome than he was useful, so he has been deposited back in his rightful home. The issue is this: I have no
The Broken Alpha 108 | HEARTFELT
ElijahElijah stared up into Lily’s beautiful face. “Elijah?” she breathed. He gazed at her, feeling like he was staring straight into the sun. Her warmth enveloped him, bringing heat into his frozen limbs. Elijah flexed his fingers and toes, waiting for the dark to swallow him once more.But it did not. He waited and waited, his heart in his throat, but nothing happened. He took a breath, then another. And life went on. His life went on.“I’m alive?” he whispered, raising his bloodied hands to the morning sun. “I think so?” Lily laughed; it broke, becoming a sob. Gently, he was lowered to the ground. They fell into each other, their hands clutching desperately, their bodies pressed flush. Elijah dropped his forehead against Lily’s, just breathing for a moment, relishing in the way his chest hollowed and filled with air. “You’re alive,” she whispered, pulling back to stare at him with wonder swimming in her eyes. “How? I saw you. I,” a hiccup cut her off, and more tears filled h
The Broken Alpha 107 | SUNRISE
Lily“Lily?” her dad murmured, his strong hand settling on her trembling shoulder. “Lils, we can’t stay here. We need to go home.”Sunlight fell in slanted beams through the trees, casting everything in a strange, gold-green light. Elijah looked more faelen than he ever had before, his skin pallid, his pointed ears sticking out of his long hair. She swallowed hard. Her face was dry and stiff with tears and her throat ached from screaming. And her heart lay in tatters on the ground beside him.“I won’t leave him,” she rasped, bowing over his too-still body and clutching at his torn clothes. “I can’t.”He sighed, the sound twisted and broken. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s all right. You don’t have to leave him. I won’t either.”She turned to look at her father with fresh tears beading along the dark sweep of her lashes. “You won’t leave me?”“Never again,” he swore. The lump in her throat grew too large for her to speak, but she nodded, her lips quivering. Silent sobs overcame her for
The Broken Alpha 106 | AUBURN
AtticusNeither Ralphin nor Trove spoke to Atticus as they went to face the Blood Moon pack. They kept sharing long glances, only looking away when Atticus tried to catch their eyes.The battle was already diminishing as they joined it. With the magic of Red Ripper gone, the wolves were shifting back into their human forms as the moon set. They had no leaders, no plan, and the Blood Moon pack were fresh and uninjured. Atticus barely had to think as he fell into the easy routine of fighting, punching and scraping and kicking. This part had always come to him with ease. It was other things he struggled with. Other things – like Lily. He slammed his fist into the jaw of a weedy, speckled wolf. Huh, he thought, it was no wonder that one had wanted to join Red Ripper and use their magical hoo-hah to get ahead. It didn’t stand a chance against a real wolf like him. He gripped its throat, squeezed, and something snapped deep within it. He dropped it to the ground, a sneer tugging at his mo
The Broken Alpha 105 | EMPTY
LilyNo.Lily could not think beyond that single word. This couldn’t be happening. She’d waited so long to see Elijah again, and now…No.She shoved out of Atticus’s arms, rage burning through her. “You,” she snarled, slamming her fists into his chest. His unharmed chest, which had been healed by Elijah. “You did this.”He looked at her blankly. “Of course I did. I did it for us, Lily. You would never have been truly happy with me while Alpha – Alpha Elijah lived. He was basically dead already.” He inspected his nails, wrinkling his nose as he picked out a sliver of dried blood.A sob built in her throat. She tore away from him and fell to her knees beside Elijah, gripping his ripped shirt in her fists and bowing her head over his. Her tears fell onto his face, blurring her vision so she couldn’t even see the man she loved. “Come back to me,” she rasped again, her whole body shaking with need.Warm hands pressed in on her. She recognised the touch of Elijah’s Beta, Ithia, and her own
The Broken Alpha 104 | IN DEATH
ElijahElijah fought through the darkness, every step excruciating. His burns seared his flesh, but he was alive. For now.His heart thrashed. The sounds of battle raged ahead, howls and choked off screams and the dull thumps of bodies smacking the ground. It was messy, undignified, and Elijah had never longed to be a part of something so badly.Because Lily had to be there. Everything in him was screaming that she was, even though the thick, pulsating magic cloying the air was throwing off the power of their mate bond. He could not pin her down – but still he knew.At last he reached the clearing. The remnants of magic hung heavy in the cool night air, sparking at his touch as he stepped through the boundary they’d made and through the ring of trees. He paused, sucking in heavy breaths, leaning heavily on a trunk as he tried to pick out Lily amongst the mass of wolves.Bile rose in his throat. Bodies were piled up everywhere, ringing the clearing, bloody and mutilated. He realised wi
The Broken Alpha 103 | KING
AtticusAtticus relished every racing beat of his heart. He was alive, more alive than he had ever felt, and each solid pound of it meant that he was still there. Still fighting.Still fighting for her.When he’d seen that arrogant, too-pretty-for-his-own-good, so-called Alpha kiss Lily, he’d seen red. He’d let that bright, burning red edging his vision become a prediction of the future: Apollo would bleed for all that he’d done. But this fight was no normal fight. Atticus was strong, brutally so, but Apollo never seemed to tire or lag. He had no weaknesses that Atticus could take advantage of, no faltering glances or too-slow reactions. He was on top form, all of the time, and Atticus’s energy was starting to wane.He whipped his head around, searching through the crowd for his Beta or Gamma. They were lost to the writhing sea of bodies, part of the blur of dark fur and bloody teeth surrounding him, packed tight in all directions. His pride kept him from asking them for help. Apoll
The Broken Alpha 102 | CEREMONIAL
LilyA howl shattered the clearing. It tore apart the chants, reverberating through each of the elements swirling through the darkness.The blade froze a hair’s breadth above Lily’s chest. She let out a ragged breath, though her eyes remained fixed on the glint of the blade. It shimmered in the moonlight, trembling in Peverton’s shaky grip.“Potentia grym,” he muttered, shaking his head. Then, again, louder, he said: “Potentia grym!” and raised the blade anew. Before he could slam it down into her chest, though, a huge black wolf smashed into him. Lily gasped, twitching away from the blade as it fell. It caught her foreleg, slicing down towards her paw, her blood dripping down onto the earth before she could tear away.The wolf towered over her on her altar, its fur alight with all four elements. The ends of its black fur were tinged red by the flames; air made its hair sway; ivy coiled up its legs; water slicked down its back. A loud sizzling noise drew her attention away. Her bloo
The Broken Alpha 101 | WARDS
ElijahThe brush of the magic skittering over the veil was cool to the touch. Elijah dipped his fingertips into it, a shiver running down his spine and raising the tiny hairs prickling down his forearms. A sense of foreboding washed over him as he stepped through, his foot landing solidly in Red Ripper’s territory.The entry point of this veil was different to the last one he’d come through. Darkness ebbed and flowed like a river in the far wood, but Elijah turned away from it. He had one goal to focus on: find the cells. Once he’d managed that unnoticed, he could worry about the incessant scratching at the back of his mind and the oppressive weight of magic hanging thick in the night air.Ducking low, Elijah picked his way towards a flickering light in the distance. He’d drawn out a scribbled map of the territory, as it was in his memory, but whether that was accurate to the reality he’d witnessed or if the Red Ripper wolves had changed the pack’s layout since then, he had no idea. I
