[Heather]
I was a little surprised when I got an invitation to go to the private tenth anniversary celebration of the end of the Helvegr War. In the end, it had been a three-day fight between the resistance and the False Elites. There had been some coverage on the second and third day, once we found out where the battle was being fought.
It had been a shock to the world when Indira and Madison Coto were seen in footage. They’d later explained that a massive spell had brought both sisters back to life, one that was nearly impossible to work. Scientists had asked to meet with them, but both sisters declined citing their history with the camps as why they weren’t comfortable.
In the years after the fight, humans had grown more accepting of supernaturals. They lived just like we did, had families like we did, and only wanted the same things we did. All of the distress in the different communities died down after a while.
I was the main media conta
[Reggie]I sat in the tree tops and leaned forward, adjusting my braided bun. For three days, I’d been scouting the area. Lots of ex-trackers would come through here, but I would lose their scent. There had to be an entrance nearby and I intended to find it.A few minutes later, a tiger came through. I loved the rich scent of the large cats. There was more power to them than to almost any other shifter I’d seen. Using my tail, I lowered myself to the bottom branch. Quietly, I gripped it and gently dropped to the ground. The tiger paused and sniffed. He wouldn’t smell me, though.I found the urine of female animals in estrus, especially carnivores and omnivores, would completely conceal my s
[Reggie]Lights tried to lead me, but I was sure of myself and didn’t need them. It took an hour to make it through. I was tired as hell when I entered a pretty little clearing with a cherry tree in it.There was a ring of stones alternating between dark and light around the tree. Even though it was obviously a young tree, it was heavy with fruit. Some fruit might be nice while I waited for my king to arrive.The clearing was so familiar. It must mean I was in the right spot. Plucking some of the fruit from the tree, I munched while I waited. I knew someone would be alerted I was there and come to get me. It was just how it worked.-
[Ford]I cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I knew Aria would be up, it was time to feed Yvonna. She would usually talk with me while she fed the baby. It was nice. Our relationship had gotten a lot stronger in the last couple months. I’d even been there when the baby was born a few weeks ago.I headed upstairs to the nursery. Aria was in the rocking chair with Yvonna happily suckling at her breast. Some part of me wished it was Madison. I was already in love with the baby girl as if she were mine.“I’d hoped you’d actually gotten to sleep tonight.” Aria sighed.“I did for a while. B
[Serena]I was getting my things together for training. It was nearly nine and I hadn’t seen Ford all morning. He was usually at breakfast or wandering around the house. As soon as someone was up, he would update them on anything that had happened over night.“Rao, sweetie, have you heard from Ford? He’s not here and Garrett says he’s not at the training field.” I asked.Raoul closed his eyes for a moment. “He’s not answering the mind link. Maybe he fell asleep somewhere. No one will mind him missing one training session. We all know he’s worked harder than anyone else and he hasn’t been getting much rest. Let’s go train. He’ll wake up b
[Conric/Ford]Reggie stirred from her sleep. The movement woke me. Ford was still asleep. He needed it, so I let him alone. This wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.She snuggled deeply into my fur and inhaled. I knew she’d be able to smell who I was and she didn’t seem afraid. I was at least twice the size of a normal wolf. It tended to scare people.“Hello, beautiful puppy.” She murmured.I rolled onto my back and looked at the slightly mussed concubus. For the first time in months, I felt rested. It was a good sleep.She opened her eyes and I let my tongue loll out of my mouth in a wolfy smile. It made her giggle in a
[Reggie]When I entered the living room, I saw the Vasili stand and smile at me. He walked over and patted my shoulder in a friendly way. I noticed how he was looking at my body. Maybe I was wrong about the dress being fine.“Did you sleep well?” He asked, distractedly.“Yes, thank you. I can’t remember the last time I got to sleep in a bed. And the soaps in the bathroom were lovely.” I smiled.“Good to hear. It’s nice to see you all cleaned up and smelling better. If Veles hadn’t told me you were a concubus, I wouldn’t have known from the scent.” He laughed. “Did Ford feed you?&rdq
[Serena]I got out of my chair and put my hand to Reggie’s forehead. She didn’t feel warm anymore. I smiled and guided her to the empty chair beside Ford.Reggie sat down gingerly. It would appear Drayce hadn’t held back much when he fed her. She smiled a little and I saw Drayce blush out of the corner of my eye. I was going to have to get him to dish. Rao said I could feed her too, as long as he was there, and I wanted to know what I was in for.“Your fever is down. Now, you need to tell someone if you start feeling flush. We’ll make sure someone can feed you every time it rises. Don’t be shy about it. Rao is even up for helping, since succubae aren’t as possessive as shifters.” I told her, patting Reggie on the shoulder
[Winston]We listened until she was down the stairs. Anders called Landry out of Aria’s room and Drayce called in a couple of Glimmer Dragons from one of the other rooms. He’d had them on standby.Glimmer Dragons were an all-female species. They had healing magic and all of the ones in the movement had been through training on the different species. The ones with us, Audrey and Marnie, were specifically trained in demon physiology.Dragons didn’t have alphas since they were all strong and dominant. Audrey had volunteered to feed Reggie. It would help a lot toward getting her better.When all the women arrived, Anders turned to Ford. We
[Heather]I was a little surprised when I got an invitation to go to the private tenth anniversary celebration of the end of the Helvegr War. In the end, it had been a three-day fight between the resistance and the False Elites. There had been some coverage on the second and third day, once we found out where the battle was being fought.It had been a shock to the world when Indira and Madison Coto were seen in footage. They’d later explained that a massive spell had brought both sisters back to life, one that was nearly impossible to work. Scientists had asked to meet with them, but both sisters declined citing their history with the camps as why they weren’t comfortable.In the years after the fight, humans had grown more accepting of supernaturals. They lived just like we did, had families like we did, and only wanted the same things we did. All of the distress in the different communities died down after a while.I was the main media conta
“You thought you could distract me? What a waste of an opening to use it on your precious mate, instead of on getting away or attacking me.” Devere snarled.“It’s not a waste if the person I love lives. You were never going to get what you wanted because you’re self-involved and self-interested. How disappointed must your sire have been to have created such a useless vampire. Your ambition is lacking talent and follow through. You don’t take risks.” I snorted as I flipped him over me.I rolled his body and locked his arm behind him. My foot was in the middle of his back.“This is a great position from this side.” I laughed.He started calling me names. In the end, he’d weakened himself. No one was really eager to feed a vampire. The blood he fed on was weak from food rationing, lack of sunlight, and general poor health that comes with living underground for so long.Pulling as hard as I co
We soon had everyone set. It was about four in the afternoon, that would give us three hours until the sun started setting, and another hour after until any vampires made their way out. It would work in our favor.There were several advantages to attacking so early in the day. The first was the lack of vampires, the second was that the enemy wouldn’t expect us since they were all on the vampires’ schedule and slept during the day. Our demons were all recently fed and theirs were on rationed energy because of a lack of partners.If everyone was out fighting, the vampires wouldn’t have a chance to feed before joining which would make them weaker. We didn’t need a fair fight. The only advantage we ever gave them was letting them know when the fight would happen. If they chose not to be ready for it, that was their problem.I was dressed in traditional demon garb and standing next to my nude mate as our witches stepped forward. Ford shifted t
It was the day after my birthday. For the second year in a row, I was preparing for a battle. This time, I knew what I was truly up against and the fight ahead of me. It wasn’t a last minute preparation, but one a year in the making.The feeling in the compound was a mix of excitement and fear. A lot of the omega level and non-dominant shifters elected to stay and protect the families, children, and weaker species that couldn’t join the fight. No one faulted them for it.We dominant members were made for this. Battle was in our blood. The demons were all chomping at the bit to get out there and do some damage.I saw Garrett and Celia in the gathering area where people were saying goodbye to their loved ones. Tony and Gail were holding each other tightly. I knew she wasn’t going, even being a full demon, Gail was not a fighter.Rena was kissing Rao and Indie goodbye. They each put a hand on her slightly bulging belly. Dennis gave her a bi
[Madison]I was curled in Ford’s arms when I heard shouting from the living room. Aria and Jeremiah were having a disagreement. They had been for a few days.Though both tried to get me involved, I refused. He wanted her to stay here with Val and Serena instead of fighting. Aria wanted to be in the battle with us, supporting as much as she could, even though she wasn’t much of a fighter.That was his main argument. She never excelled in the fighting strategies that were being taught to demons. In the special classes that Indie was running, she was falling behind.My Aria may be a strong woman and a fighter of sorts, just not the kind that you look to in battle. I knew she would be a lot of help with her abilities as a Eulalia and a siren. I wasn’t going with one side or the other.If I did that, Ford would start trying to get me to stay behind as well. He would site the fact that the vampire already killed me once. T
[Serena]Rao, Indie, and Dennis came with me to see the glimmer dragons for a check up on the baby. Everyone was excited. They wanted to hear the heartbeat.Because I was mixed siren and demon, it was assumed that my pregnancy would be as long as Aria’s had been. We wouldn’t be able to tell until it was safe for us to leave and see a doctor with an ultrasound machine. I knew it was soon.The clinic was set up in the old pack clinic, but we had a field clinic that was used for training. Neither one was fully equipped, but this was better for taking care of people in a set up that they were familiar with.We all waited in the exam room for Marnie to be free. She was taking care of my prenatal stuff. One of the other dragons came and drew a vial of blood for testing.I was nervous. I hadn’t planned on a baby so soon and I had no idea how this even happened. We were being safe. I was going to fight alongside my mate. Now
I was laying out in the sun chairs on the deck with Indie, Aria, and Serena. After having my picnic with Ford a week and a half ago, I’d instituted mate bonding times for me and Indie. She wanted to be planning things with Rao, but I got her to understand.When I pointed out that our mates were feeling like they were only important when we fed, she stopped fighting against it. We set aside an hour a day to just sit with our mates or play with them and talk. It was the best idea.Serena stopped wearing a fake smile and was practically glowing. It added more to my relationship with Aria and Ford. There was time the three of us spent together, time we spent with Jeremiah and Yvonna, and time that was just one on one.Other demons saw this and followed suit. Soon the whole camp would probably be having time with their mates where they would just bond. I thought it would increase morale exponentially.Rao and Indie impressed me. They grew closer and real
[Madison]I cleaned up after training and started heading out to the main dining room to have lunch. Ford was standing in the entry with a large basket. I raised an eyebrow and wandered toward him.“What’s going on, honey?” I asked.“I’m takin’ you on a picnic, baby.” He replied with a slight smile.“A sexy picnic?”Ford laughed. “Not this time, baby. There are too many kids around here and I don’t want to go to the in-between. We’ve been spendin’ so much time workin’ on battle plans, trainin’, and keepin’ you full of energy after all the extra trainin’ you’re puttin’ yourself through. I just wanna be with you without all that junk. And without… Aria. I miss the time we were alone.”There was a strain in my eyes like I was going to cry. I’d been so obsessed with getting everything over with in the
We went downstairs and I said goodbye to Jeremiah as Madison approached. She was smiling so brightly. I knew she was happy that we were finally going to mark each other. I was too.“Take care of our girl.” Jeremiah said to her.She hugged him. It didn’t seem forced. I was glad that they were friends. It would make our relationship easier. I knew it was what Madison wanted from me and Ford.The time he and I had to bond over the last few months really helped. I don’t know that I would have gotten over my jealousy as quickly if Madison had been around. Seeing them together since she’d come back had brought some of those tinges back, but I’d been able to fight back.“Of course I will. Just like you did.” She replied. “Well, not exactly.”They let each other go and she reached out for my hand. I grasped her hand and she pulled me to her. She placed a gentle kiss on my lips.“Are y