[Ford]
After lunch Rao wanted to do an announcement. I put my foot down. That wasn’t happening until tomorrow. Madison was mine. She could belong to everyone else tomorrow.
He tried to challenge me, but he was just an alpha and, in the end, a king will beat an alpha every time in a challenge of wills. There was too much I wanted to do. I couldn’t let her go yet. Plus, she needed to mark Aria.
Anders had told me how much marking mates helped demons. I’d seen it when Poppy took some of Anders’ pain while he was fighting last year. I knew that I wanted Madison to have that strength, too. She was never gonna leave me again.
I couldn’t stop her from going after the vampire, but I could ensure she was as strong as possible. Like me, Aria was happy to have Madison back. She would want to be marked. I wanted that for her.
Watching her over the last year, broke my heart. When I’d had the marking dream, I&rsq
[Madison]I slid my hand into Ford’s pants. I was aching for him. The way his energy grew stronger as I told him about having a crush on him was delicious. He was always my perfect love and I wanted him so badly.Ford groaned as I stroked him while kissing him. I was barely conscious before when I was with him and Aria, it was like a dream. This would be another true memory.Kissing down his chin, neck, and chest, I slid lower, off his lap. I was on my knees between his legs. I pulled him free of his jeans and kissed from his tip to his base, then licked my way back to the top.As I took him into my mouth, I felt a wave of desire energy coming from him. I looked up and he was watching me stroke and suck him. He caressed my cheek and stroked my hair as I maintained the eye contact while tasting him.He groaned as I swirled my tongue over his tip. I loved all the sounds he made. Ford was so much of my heart. I could feel him in th
[Aria]I watched Madison take Ford from the room. Jeremiah wrapped his arms around me. I leaned against him. I couldn’t ignore him now that Maddie was back.She had to give Ford more attention too. I knew that, because I felt the same urge with Jeremiah. I was his only mate and needed to give him more attention, so he wouldn’t feel ignored.It was easy to fall into the habit of giving my other mate more attention. She was only just back after almost a year. I knew that she would get to me.Ford had her for longer than I did. He missed her for longer and more deeply than I had. If he hadn’t let her stay with Anders, I wouldn’t have had a chance to find Madison, too.We would find our groove. I was still a little upset about her being Reggie, but I wouldn’t let anyone know. It was my own secret feeling. I couldn’t get over it as easily as I could get over other things, but I would eventually.W
[Madison]I woke up the next morning in a cocoon of blankets and bodies. Aria and Moran had joined us in bed overnight. We’d brought in a bassinette for Yvonna, so she wouldn’t miss any feedings.The room was full of love and comfort. I’d hoped for something like this. Ford hadn’t even growled when Moran’s hand touched me as he cuddled with Aria.My mates were on either side of me. Ford was sleeping so deeply he didn’t even wake when the baby started crying. I was happy that he was getting some rest.Since I was awake, I decided to get out of bed and see what was going on. Someone had to be up cooking breakfast for the household. Maybe it would be someone fun to talk to.Carefully, I climbed over Ford and out of bed. I checked on the baby, but she was sleeping as deeply as everyone else. I quickly grabbed a dress to pull on and headed out to the main kitchen in the house.Rafe and Landry were
Indie let my hand go and let her demon form out, showing off that she was a concubus. There were some scattered applause. I let my demon form out too. All of it.“I am Morrigan, Vasilia of the demons.” I stated while my human form shifted.The crowd gasped as I changed and, when my wings came out, there was some excited chatter. My wings were feathered, raven-like, black wings. Avian demons had been wiped out long ago. It wasn’t just that they were believed to be gone, they no longer existed.If I ever had demon children, they would have avian wings. It was almost enough to make me want to try for children after Ford was gone, but I thought of the children. They would need their parents and I didn’t want them losing me before they were old enough to learn everything.When the chatter died down, I pulled my demon form back and let fae form Reggie out. My hair turned gold and metallic. It shined in the early morning’s sunlight.
I followed Adam to the area the fae trained in. It was a clearing in the forest. The trees rose to meet the clear blue sky and the songs of birds echoed through them.There were only about twenty fae, aside from me and Adam. Not nearly as many as I’d thought, but fae held magics that were different from those of any of the other races in the camp. They were also fierce fighters.As we entered the clearing, I let Reggie out. This was her training and I would know whatever she did. I pulled the hairtie off my wrist.“No. It’s better to let your hair go. Sometimes the magic needs you to be in things that aren’t created by humans.” Adam said.I nodded.We stopped in the center of the clearing and everyone bowed to me. I thanked them and an older looking woman came to the front of the group. She eyed me carefully.“This is Teela. She will help figure out your abilities. Magic speaks to her. She can feel the ebb
When I got to the main sitting room in the lower half of the Alpha house, I found Aria sitting on the couch, reading. Without a second thought, I crawled onto the couch and laid my head in her lap. She chuckled and set her book aside.“How was fae training?” Aria asked.“Exhausting. I need to learn so much.” I groaned.“It was a wise choice, then. If you have a lot to learn there, think of how much easier all of the other training will be for you.” She said.“You have a point, but I don’t like it.” I laughed.“You don’t have to like it, Madison, you have to get stronger and better. We don’t want to lose you again.” Aria chided.I nodded and closed my eyes for a moment. I was so tired. It felt like I had used more energy in that training than I’d ever used in all my years of hunting as the Phantom. It was amazing and I couldn’t wait to get to the point w
Over the next few days, I trained hard and Ford or Aria were available for feedings after lunch every day. I was so grateful to have them. We’d all slept in Ford’s bed every night because no one wanted to be without me.I figured they would feel more secure about our relationship as time went on. Once I was recharged, I was working on more glamour practice. Smaller things instead of something as big as that tree trunk. It took less work for me.Ford was starting to get a little more comfortable. He stopped panicking if I wasn’t there when he woke up or if I disappeared while we were visiting with other people. I was so happy to see him coming into himself more.More than anything, I was thrilled at how my family was coming together. I looked forward to the time when we would start building our home and growing our family even more. Everything in me was urging toward getting ready for the final fight so I could finally have the life I’d al
[Ford]Mixed training is when we take all the groups who normally train privately and mix them together. It would teach our people how to deal with the other species. This would be important in our final fight.Even though Reggie’s report didn’t have any fae siding with the enemy, but we needed to train them on fighting everyone else. I was excited because the group we had fighting the werewolves today was the fae group along with the superhumans, small cats, and humans. The other large animal shifters were fighting the demons.I couldn’t wait to see Madison on the training field. She’d been coming home exhausted every afternoon. We’d ended up feeding her twice a day because of how hard she was working.After breakfast, I headed to the field. It was a nice day and I enjoyed the sunshine. It seemed warmer and friendlier since Madison came back. Not harsh and unyielding.We would be stepping up mixed traini
[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