How much more is there to Crimson? What has the ring enabled him to do? Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are enjoying the story so far. Please leave me a comment and drop a gem if you have one.
MASON The stars in Cambiador were as bright as in MacTire. The humid heat from the day turned into a haze of clouds as the air cooled down once the sun cast its last ray over the horizon. I was running patrol tonight with a few new recruits close to the Northern border. All was quiet, the air and jungle still. Not a sound to be heard. It was peaceful, too peaceful. The quietness that surrounded me gave way for my mind to wander. I had been thinking a lot about Cambiador’s laws and the idea that the werecat people don’t rely on or wait for a fated mate. I was a rogue, so the chance of me ever being gifted with a fated was slim. My train of thought, and not for the first time, led me to think of taking a chosen. A wife - a contracted wife. Tawny was mated and happy. Goddess honest truth, I was happy for her. And Crimson. Every day I watched the way they would steal glances at each other, hidden touches when they thought no one was looking. They were keeping their mating a secret for
CRIMSON The massive migraine was passing. The healer was able to give me something to calm my mind and help me to block all the invading voices. The medicine had knocked me out and I wasn’t aware of how long I had been sleeping. Finally, my head felt clear and quiet. The sudden influx of thoughts from the kingdom's people was too much. It all came at once. Their prayers, their pleas, their silent promises to themselves. This was beyond just simple mind-linking. “Crimson!” Gillian bursts into Tawny’s room. Chest heaving, face flushed eyes blown open wide with pure fear. I stand from the bed quickly, almost too quickly. It's only then I hear the commotion of what sounds like a fight. “What’s going on Gillian?” I demand with a harsh voice, accompanied by a growl. “Maydor and Lightfoot, they brought their troops… They have Tawny! Tristan went-“ I don’t let Gillian finish. Instead, I hurl myself through the window shattering the glass and shifting midair. Landing on four paws. I dash
TAWNY “Come on, open your eyes.” I try to encourage Mason, gently squeezing his hand. The healers have removed as much Nightshade from his bloodstream as they could. Drained his blood then gave him more. Mason should have healed by now, but the dirty fighters had used silver-coated blades dipped in the venomous poison. They had stabbed Mason so deeply and multiple times that his body was having a hard time stitching itself back together. An indication that his feline was not present to help heal him. Not a good sign at all. It was a wonder he was alive at all. It made my blood boil to know they got the best of not Mason and other warriors, but also myself. It never crossed my mind that they would use underhanded tactics as they did. Lightfoot should never have got the drop on me like that. I felt guilty because if it wasn’t for me, Mason would have never been blindsided the way he was. He was coming to me when he was hit from the side by a shifted cat. I don’t remember what happe
TAWNY It had been several days since the coup. Arik and his men left the following day, more than half the prisoners were released after being questioned and the council was set to put the treacherous Lords on trial for their crimes against the kingdom and the crown. Mason, thank the gods that be, made a full recovery. The effects of the Nightshade had lasted a few days, but thankful he opened his eyes and smiled at me. Then made fun of me when I cried tears of relief. When questioned about Lord Maydor’s death, I’m ashamed to say Crimson covered it up. Stating that Maydor died due to his injuries caused on the battlefield. I was even more shocked to find out Gillian was not his biological daughter, but his niece. The daughter of his brother, who died, and Maydor took her mother as his wife - thinking she was going to have a son. Tomislav and Gillian had been getting closer, building a friendship and bond over their loathing of Maydor. Tomislav even offered to take the fall for Gill
CRIMSON I’m insatiable and I can’t get enough of my Kitten. After the glorious blow job, I haul Tawny to her feet and make quick work of shredding her clothes from her. Like a manic beast, my claws tear through her top, pants, and undergarments until she stands before me, beautifully naked. I take a moment to admire my mate. Her beauty, her creamy dark skin, her tear-shaped breasts. I let my hands skate over her smooth flawless skin until I can’t stand it anymore and the need to drive into her perfect pussy overwhelms me. I grab her, maybe a little too harshly in my desperation, and haul her up. Her legs wrap around me and my cock juts against her opening. I slam her against the closest wall, holding her up with one arm braced under her round ass, sliding my hand over her throat with the other. “I want you so badly Kolby,” She pants. I love it when she uses my name in the bedroom. Her hand snakes between us, grabbing my cock and brushing it up against her clit and through her juice
CRIMSON I don’t go back and curl up with my mate. Instead, I open the old leather folder again. Taking my time to study and read each parchment. Concentrating on the ones we didn’t get to observe. I flit through the pages that describe the seven gates to the gods until I find the ones that hold the information I was desperate to know. A few nights ago when Tawny and I were lost in passion, her nails dug into my skin and a bead of my blood fell onto the face of the blue stone she wears around her neck. Papa Armand's ring. Something changed inside me, and I don’t just mean being able to mind-link. The stone’s magic gave way and allowed me to open a part of my mind that was shut off. Enabling me to tap into a higher percentage of my brain capacity. The words don’t tell me much, just that the stone allows the bearer to be the truest version of themselves. I’m disappointed that there is nothing else. I’m disappointed that even though I know what I am, I still have no idea what I’m cap
TAWNY I’m powerless as I watch Crimson retreat from my room and shut the door meekly behind him. As soon as the sound of the door latching to close fills the thick silent air, I collapse to the floor. A sob wracks through me. Believing that he actually left. I scramble to my feet a few moments later and rush out the door hoping, praying, that he comes to his senses and I find him waiting. That he has changed his mind and he really isn't leaving. That he really didn’t lie to me. That he didn’t withhold information. We were meant to be a team. He said he loved me - Made me promises. And now he’s broken them along with my heart. I rush down the stairs to the main foyer, flinging the front door open only to see the back of his car disappear down the gravel driveway. “Crimson!” I shout. But I know he doesn’t hear me. I try to establish a mind-link with him but I’m met with a wall. The anger and hurt sear through me, my head pounds, and my feline, Juniper yowls with grief. “You lied,” I
CRIMSON A WEEK LATER I pull up to a large Mansion, the location Abner Brooks gave me to meet at. He had been staying in the Kodiak Kingdom from what I understood, filling in the gaps that King Mathias left when he moved to Riocht with Queen Lamia. Neglecting his duties to the high council. When Alpha Xander made Finnegan Artos his Beta after losing his leg, Abner left, coming back to his home in the far northern part of the bear kingdom. As I open my car door a blast of iciness hits me. I shiver at the stark contrast to Cambiadors muggy heat. O sooner do I make it up the short steps, bag in hand, containing the leather folder we found hidden in the wall of Papa Armand's room. Our room I mentally correct myself. Hoping there would still be an us when I returned home. I had left Tawny, heartbroken with a half-assed and shit explanation. I know she is hurting. It hurt me just as much to walk away from her, knowing I hadn't told her about this, knowing I couldn’t even disclose who or
***Thank you for reading The Crimson Grimalkin, Tawny's story. Thank you to all my readers for your continued support and involvement. Please remember to leave me a review on the book details page. By doing this you help readers find my books and enjoy the stories just as much as you have. For updates and chapter teasers, check my i*st*gr*m >>> authorjwgstout Or my F_B group for readers >>> Author Jwgstout *** The Beta & Jewel Thief Chapter 1 – The Job LYRICI look around, peering down one end of the street and up the other. The last thing I need is for anyone to see me. Us. I grip the tiny hand in mine a little tighter. I raise my other hand and knock on the worn and cracked door, quickly glancing around at our surroundings again. For the millionth time. All the while listening for movement from the other side of the door. I knock again when I hear nothing. Tap, tap, tap. My nerves ramp up as I wait, listening, looking, “Hurry up” I whisper sigh. The bite of cold nipping at u
TAWNY 4 ½ MONTHS LATER Gillian gave birth to a beautiful little girl, her hair as light and blonde as her parents, with eyes the most magnificent blue. I rubbed my enormous belly, growing two boys in there had taken a toll on my body, and on the best of days, I felt like a ginormous balloon full of hot air. I wasn’t due for another two weeks, but I would be ok if they decided they wanted to make an appearance anytime now. The heat of the south and pregnancy was no joke. “Kitten, what are you doing?” I turn to Crimson leaning on the door frame, shirtless with abs glistening with sweat from training. I lick my lips at the mouth-watering sight. That wasn’t the only thing wet. My hormones had gone crazy, and I couldn’t get enough of my mate. My sexual appetite had increased tenfold with the pregnancy. “I want to make sure everything is ready for little Caterina,” I loved the name Gillian and Tristan had picked out for their little girl. Crimson and I still hadn’t agreed on names for
TAWNY In the days that followed arriving back in Cambiador, Gillian went overboard, as I suspected. Her excitement that we were both pregnant together, was too much on most days. She had planned a double announcement and celebration. She went into full planning mode not only for the children but also for mine and Crimson’s upcoming marriage and crowning. We still planned to hold the ceremony at the end of January and hoped we wouldn’t have to push the date back. I had made sure it was planned around Lamia and Mathias's own official ceremony. Dare I say, Gillian had become more overbearing than Crimson any would think it was her cubs I was carrying. Crimson set up talks with Tolba, he and Arik finding a common ground and pushing their differences aside, after all, they were cousins. We were going to help Tolba grow and that started with building a bridge over the ravine. It would take time, but it was a start. Tomislav had moved into the Maydor manor with his mother, he and Gillian
TAWNY Crimson spoke. I listened. I listened to everything he had to say. His explanation - not an excuse. Hearing it from him, why he couldn’t say anything, why he couldn’t tell me, I understood. I had already forgiven him, but I wasn’t going to tell him. When I woke this morning, it was with a clarification that, I would be going back to Cambiador. That I would hear Crimson out and pray to the gods we could find our way back to each other. As soon as I scented him walking into the holding facility, All I wanted was to be in his arms, for him to hold me and tell me everything was going to work out. And he did. We walked in on what could have become an even worse scenario, but thankfully my presence calmed him and Morgan’s calmed Hunji. My heart melts and my resolve breaks. Each wall I had built from such a young age to keep myself, my heart, protected crumbled listening to him. I watch the tears form in his eyes, eyes that told me everything that mattered. They held so much lov
CRIMSON Hunji crosses his arms over his wide chest and stares me down “You can wait your ass here. You’re not going anywhere until I say you can.” A menacing growl rips from my throat and jump up from the chair. My fists clench and re-clench, my nostrils flare - I feel my beast bursting to come out. I try to reign him in, as I know if I let go and let my temper take control, I was going to kill Hunji. He was standing in between me and getting to Tawny. Through my haze of aggravation, a delectable and sweet smell tickles my nose when I breathe in trying to calm myself. The scent, one of the gods. Nectarine. A scent I wanted to rub myself all over one that had my manhood twitching as he too recognized the peachy honey scent of his mate. “Let me out Hunji,” I say slowly and pointedly. A warning behind my words. “No.” He states flatly. This time my growl is louder, longer and I pounce at him. Determined to plow through him if I have to. He wasn't going to stand between Tawny and me
TAWNY By the time morning rolled around, I still hadn't heard from anyone. Not about the murders, nor about Kellen and Tala and if their pup had been born. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, because that really isn’t like me, and couldn’t understand why I was so dang emotional. Usually, I could shake shit off. Hold my head up and smile, because we never did mind about the little things. At least that’s the phrase Lamia would always say and her outlook on life, in general, had imprinted on me in more ways than I know. I decided to buck up and go find what I hope were still my friends. I knew there was a valid reason that I hadn’t seen Mike or Kellen. Or I at least hoped their reasoning for reaching out to me was not because they didn’t value our friendship. “Good morning!” I sang when Mason and my father appeared. I brushed off Mason’s worrisome scowl and turned back around to flip the crepes I was making. I had already prepared bacon, sausage, and some eggs. Chairs scuffled in th
TAWNY Snow began to fall from the black sky, hiding all the stars and blocking out the moon. A blanket of white covered all our human side sins. Giving the streets a fresh and untainted look. I gazed out the sitting room window watching each fat flake fall and blend with its sisters. A sliver of light from mother moon broke through the haze of white, illuminating the street just outside. The snow made everything look innocent, fresh, clean - virgin. But I knew better. Underneath that cover of purity were the sins of men. The dirty truth of who we are. The white winter months could only cover our true nature for so long before the cover fell and melted away. Revealing our true nature. What were the chances that a murder would take place on the eve of Tala’s coronation? Wolves are unforgiving by nature; their pack is only as strong as their leader and their leader is only as strong as their resolve. They hunt together. Fight together. Play together. They are family, the Alpha being
TAWNY “Yes, yes, I’m ready!” I shout to Mason through the bathroom door. Checking myself out one more time and running my hands down the deep red dress. I brought it with Crimson in mind, the color of the sheer fabric was close to his eyes when they turned that deep shade of blood red. The dress was full-length, perfect for a coronation ball. Its haltered strap left my back bare, the neckline dipped with a deep V. And small clear jewels encrusted the bodice of the dress. My had grown out and was now shoulder length. I had it dyed black last night, with a few dark red highlights, to cover its natural bright orange. Satisfied with my appearance and finally emerged from the bathroom. “Whoa!” Mason gave a low whistle, and his eyes greedily ate me up. I smiled, scrunching my nose at his obvious ogling. “I take it I will do then?” “You will more than do, Princess.” I palmed the back of his neck and a blush crept over his cheeks. “You look beautiful.” “Thank you,” I replied, needing to
CRIMSON I groggily open my eyes; my body is stiff and frozen. I feel worse than when I woke up in the cold and dark cell of Tolba. I wasn’t sure what I would wake up to or where when my eyes finally focused. Frozen like an ice cube or not, I was relieved to find I was still out in the open. I shake my head a little, the wet snow falling from my face and head. As I focus, the bright, blinding winter sky has me squinting as big fat flakes fall around me. “Shit,” I groaned trying to muster the strength to move my frozen limbs. How long had I been laying here? What the fuck happened? The memories come flooding back all at once, the dirt bikes, the crash, the blood. I hastily check myself out, already knowing my wounds had healed. But what in the goddess’s name did those people hit me with? I thought they were coming to help, but all I remember is the agonizing sting of electricity shooting throughout my body. I felt weak. Drained. But I couldn’t lay here any longer. My clothes were