Ethan’s big hand grips ahold of my wrist in an almost painful way. My jaw clenches.
Slowly, my gaze meets Ethan’s pretty eyes. Confusion and hurt shine there and it’s hard for me to admit that I hurt him. I hate that I hurt him above all else.
He’s too sweet to hurt, even if that wasn’t my intention. I never meant to hurt them, I just meant … to survive long enough to find the future I want so badly. I swallow hard and with more force than I knew I was capable of, my magic rips through me and is fuming around them, pinning them in their place.
My lips pursed together as I pull my arm away from Finn and Ethan.
Ethan's eyes shift ev
"I hope you’re prepared to fight for your life." Finn crosses his arms over the hard panes of his chest, pulling Pearl's attention to his body for only a moment. "We need to leave before dusk," he added.This is a mess, bigtime. Pearl thought."It probably would have helped if we had money." I bite the words out before I can stop them.Vergel cocks a brow at me and my smart mouth. "Alec will be checking on me after what happened today." I cocked a brow right back at him. And then we’re both smiling. Why am I such an idiot?"Let’s go to Almera’s for now. I’ll get supplies there."Supplies. Like abnormal witchy supplies for your magic?" Finn’s tone is cold and angry and, when I stand, my shirt skimming against the smooth panes of his chest, he doesn’t flinch away."No, like normal average supplies and averag
Finn was… magnificent.Pale gold, leathery wings arched high above his head, the hooked claws in the middle as black as his fingernails. Patterning the insides of those wings were fur in every shade of gold from the lightest champagne to the darkest bronze.Like Ethan, his skin had become gilded gold, metallic and shimmery. Scattered across his chest and shoulders were more of those beautiful fur, glinting like polished copper in the weak light. She thought they were textured at first before realizing what she was seeing were his tattoos faintly patterning the fur.Letting her admiration travel farther up his body, she went still when she met his eyes.Like molten gold, they almost perfectly matched the color of his wings, and the pupils were no longer round, but slitted. Like a snake’s."Say something," Finn rasped.She wanted to say something eloquent or, at the very least, something r
Movement by his feet caught her eyes. Leaning to the side to see what it was, Pearl gasped when she caught sight of…"Holy shit, is that a tail? I mean of course, I expected a tail from your wolf form but this…this—"The same silver as his skin and long enough to reach well past his ankles, it was undulating back and forth across the floor. It looked dangerous, the tip spade-shaped and very pointy, but that didn’t lessen the sudden urge to touch it in the least.Pearl curled her fingers into her hands so she didn’t make a grab for it, unsure of the etiquette on such a thing.I wonder
What Pearl found was anticipation, warmth, and a predatory kind of hunger. There was no jealousy, nothing detached or aloof to hint that this was only about lust for them. The opposite.There was such tenderness shining down at her from Vergel’s inhumanly purple eyes. Finn’s golden ones shone with adoration and desire he made no effort to hide or downplay. Even Ethan’s fiery gaze was soft on hers, that hypnotic cerulean and orange sunburst stare holding an unexpected amount of affection.Emotion tightened her throat, making her voice come out husky. “Yes.”Before the word had fully left her lips, their hands were on her, Vergel at her front, Finn at her back. She’d half expected Ethan to join them, but he stepped back, his avid gaze never leaving her.
It’s a dream, just an awful dream. Except it wasn’t a dream. Pearl was actually hurting them. Her magic knew them. Her mates, and now her magic were hurting them. These men who had shown her such kindness, who’d taken her in when she had nowhere else to go, who’d made her feel safe and accepted for the first time in her life were bleeding and bruised and burned because of her. And they were powerless to stop her. As though from far away, she could feel all of them trying to contain the surge, trying to tame it and urge it back inside her. She could feel that they were failing. Ecstasy, horror, regret, and Vergel coiled inside her like poison. She’d been right. Her power was broken. It was too wild, too strong to be trusted, and she was too weak to control it. Gradually, bit by bit, the chaos erupting from her quieted. Her senses returned in increments as her climax waned. The scent of burned flesh and the copper tang of blood hit her first, making her stomach roll and turn in on
Two weeks later. "When," Finn gritted out. "When will she be ours, Vergel?" "Soon, Finn, but we'll wait, and for the time being, we need to be cautious; now that the king knows we found the princess, we both know we can't risk her life until we find Ethan." It had been two weeks since they discovered who Pearl truly was. It wasn't a proud moment for them because one second they were standing in front of the alchemist and the next everything went dark and Ethan and the princess were gone. They initially thought Ethan had taken Pearl, but they later discovered that Ethan had been kidnapped and the princess had gone missing. It had been a terrible week since Vergel and Finn had wondered why King Edward had not intervened. And now, they watched the woman, they watched Princess Pearl. The woman brought to mind a slender tree as she moved, its long limbs reaching, dappled in sunlight. Slender and graceful, she moved her body to the music like a birch tree in the wind. It was called bal
With the gift in her hands, Pearl watched Cherry drive away from the restaurant, then started down the street toward her apartment. The air was cool on her bare legs as she watched the busy streets—shop lights still on, cars everywhere, and late-night strollers on the sidewalks. A couple blocks down, the shops faded into a residential area. Her shoes clipped on the pavement as she walked. She enjoyed the dappling of the streetlights through the leaves of the gigantic trees lining the street. Her apartment wasn't far from the dance company.Again, she had the strange sensation of being watched. It made all the hair along the back of her neck stand straight up, like she was being haunted. Over dinner, she'd almost told Cherry about these odd episodes she’d been having lately, but she didn't want her sister to worry about her. They'd had more th
Pearl hesitated. Of course she did. Of course, there was a secret part of her that craved attention from someone who regarded her as his moon and stars. She missed hugs, and she really missed kisses. Hell, she missed sex. A vibrator was great, but a man was better, and it had only been herself and her vibrator for years now. "Okay, yes, I will admit that." She grasped Katty’s shoulders. "But I don’t want to be trapped here against my will.""You’re not trapped here, at least not yet.""What do you mean, not yet?""You have two weeks to decide if you want to stay and honor the mating bond. Kind of like a trial period. You’re locked here for that amount of time. At the end of it, a doorway will open. You decide if you want to step through it and return home, which isn't your real home."
Henry approached the captives, who were dangling from a tree. He leaned in close to take in June, Ryan, and then Janet's features. In his murmur, he said something along the lines of "This woman is unusual; she smells like a lycan but also human. It has an odd scent that reminds me of Her Majesty Queen Janet herself. When June and Ryan heard the massive lycans, they looked to each other and toward Janet, who was smirking at them, as if to say, "I told you so." Henry continued, as he went to Janet's side and licked the blood from his forehead and raised his brows. "You are an oddity, little one. And you are not from around here, either. Who are you?" Henry and his band of mercenaries might have been the same ones that June's own people were on the lookout for. It was a long-running blood controversy that began some years ago. Nonetheless, June had been on the verge of passing out when he felt that all the blood flowing to his head from the wound made him conscious of the fact that he
Suddenly, they were knocked senseless by three lycans as they were transported to their secret lair when someone appeared out of nowhere and attacked them, rendering them unconscious. Janet's nose was dripping with blood, and a trickle of it dripped out. It did not drip down her chin, but rather up into her eyes and over her forehead, due to the fact that she, along with her partner Ryan and June, were hanging upside-down in the air. After being taken and strung up, they will be skinned alive and eaten by a gang of feral lycans who have come to take advantage of their situation. Earlier, however, the three had been attacked when they were seen traveling down a trail near the cliff, and their belongings, including their backpack and weapons, had been taken from them. And now Ryan and June were arguing with their backs to the wall. "I told you we shouldn't stop," June snarled at him. "But you dickhead, you weren't even forced to walk in front of us, but for your own bloody sense of im
"We need to check to see if my friend is still in the building.""Why?""Wait a minute, and you'll see."Before they knew it, they were being waved at by someone who said, "Thank goodness, your little train is still running." June uttered the words and walked over to the man, who appeared to be an elderly retired soldier."Nice to see you, young man, and I've received your secret message on my radio, and right now we must move quickly. After ten minutes, the train would depart from the station. I already had a secret compartment set aside for you three, but please don't leave your cabin at any time, okay? I've managed to bring on a dozen lycans. Actually, you're dealing with tourists, so keep your mouth shut and never, ever open your cabin door, okay? Unless, of course, it's me knocking on the door.""Of course, Joe, and thank you for your assistance." June wrapped her arms aroun
Suddenly, June shook his hands, as though he were attempting to dislodge himself from the spell of Ryan's lips. "It was a dirty trick," says June."Oh yeah? According to the person who made me drunk and then attacked me to prove a point. What is it about you that requires everything to be a test? Is it June? Remember when you chose the army over me?" Ryan said with a sigh, "We are done with that nonsense.""Come on, sweetie. Play fair now. Tests enable you to push yourself to new limits, mate," June moved in so quickly that he was standing by the couch one moment and standing right in front of Ryan the next. His punch was deflected by June, who moved more slowly than usual, and Ryan managed to avoid his punch back."It's a bitter past, Ryan! And I already apologized a hundred fucking times, did I?""I don't care! You still hurt me." Ryan added with a bit of a smile on his lips. He knew it drove June
June added, "I think this is going to be good." He murmured to himself as he sat in a nearby chair and rummaged through his backpack."This is the possible trail that we have to follow to reach the peak." "We needed a compass and a certain map to reach the cavern.""What cavern?" Janet asked.June gestured to his own graph and mumbled something under his breath, "There is a cavern at the peak of the mountain, and if I'm not mistaken, then there is a possible entry on the west side." So maybe whatever you've been looking at was inside the cave, right?"Worth a try." Ryan smiles, knowing full well that there was an adventure waiting for them.After two bottles of June's grandmother's wine, Janet was unable to keep her mouth shut. When she told them everything, they laughed at the foolishness of her tale and didn't believe her at first, but after an hour of hearing about the Scroll of Fate, the message behind Ethan's research paper, and her time traveling with Finn, Vergel, and Ethan, th
"No, not at this time." "I believe the trail has been buried beneath the sleet." She sighed as she took up a position beside him."Fuck it. I'm done with it. Does that mean we're stuck here? "I'm not sure whether I should be angry with you or grateful," he said as he turned away from her and back into the chimney fire."What the hell are you talking about?""While you were outside, I needed to go to the bathroom." "I happened to stumble into some sort of attic." Ryan went on to say that, as he stared into the flames, he felt something stab him in the back of the head. There was a ray of hope. Then he went on, "...and then I found this," he mumbled as he handed her a small brown military bag that looked like it had been abandoned."Can you tell me what this is?" "What am I supposed to do with this?" Janet inquired as she purposefully opened the back and began to untangle what was inside."That, Janet, you know. That notebook, of course. Take a look at it right now." He muttered somethi
Human Realm. Present Time With two warm sleeping bags of her own, Janet warmed up beside Ryan. They were lying close enough to the chimney's fire that Ryan could feel the warmth of it lapping at his face as their wet clothing dried on the brick quarters hanging near the vent as Janet added wood to rekindle it. When the storm had passed, Janet had buried the family in the snow a few yards away from the cabin, just in case. By the next day, however, the storm was still raging outside, with the entire bracket of the house trembling under the force of the storm's powerful wind. After his encounter with the father's dead body, which was lying in the living room the day before, Janet's eyes were opened. She couldn't help but wonder. She didn't mean to touch his forehead, but she was not expecting those memories to come crashing down on her like hurricanes. It was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Janet had no idea she possessed the ability to read the memories of someo
He nodded.She stroked his shaft with the curled tip of her hand, rubbing back and forth on his glans. "To bring you down before we even started," she snarled, her tongue slithering across his ear, causing him to moan. "Of course, I'd go further... I'd keep going until I thought you couldn't take it anymore, but I'm a kind woman. After all, I asked to have your soul... but let me have fun!"She giggled again before attacking the other side of his neck, causing Darwin to whimper again as his fangs elongated. He wanted to taste her. She pumped him carefully, tightening her grip and almost wringing his rod out. Her leafy scales moved on his naked skin and garments, wrenching and untwisting as she shifted her coils, all over again as he moaned.His body bucked, turning involuntarily against her shackling grip. He feared this would enrage her, but it didn't. It had the opposite impact: it was terrifying and erotic.She liked it. Her veins shifted to enable his reflexive twists to gain some
Darwin murmured. He was getting eager, clenching his thighs together automatically. Alicia hissed sensuously, her rich fragrance only marginally less sensual. "I can smell your blood boiling, I can smell your aroused soul, little vampire, just like what I smelled from the little sorcerer earlier—wanting it, wanting me." "I... I don't..." he began, unsure of what he was saying. He couldn't quite get what she was saying, but her voice was fascinating and alluring. He was in a trance; he understood, but he couldn't get himself away from her. "But don't you wish to enjoy the pleasure no dark creature can provide? What do you have to lose to get a taste of heaven and a replica of the manuscript? If you only accept, you will discover new passions." She slithered closer, her head brushing his hips, her eyes peering up into his. Her body loop softly nudged his back, her head rising in an arc again. Her movements were slow and deliberate, a lovely performance that soothed the senses. Nothi