Adea
The noise died down as we walked through the doors. My eyes didn’t wander instead they locked in on the first person that came into view. Her eyes were hollow as she stared off into space, her hair was flat, her clothes were wrinkled.
Olivia was seated in between two guards and the room was packed full of pack members. I knew pack members could be present during trials. I wasn’t expecting there to be this many people present. A tinge of shame of knowing I was the cause of her betrayal tried to tint my mind before I squashed it.
I turned my focus from her and automatically scanned the room and let out a breath of relief when I didn’t catch sight of Gabe. Noticing my reaction Ethan leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper, “He’s still injured and can’t be physically present but as her mate, he demanded to be present.” Ethan nodded at a camera in the corner. “H
AdeaI gasp in surprise. I knew she had to be punished but I didn’t know the death penalty was on the table. With Shane, we had demanded he be exiled.Being cast out as a rogue is a terrible fate but for what he had done it would have been normal for him to be executed. Even though his crime was severe he basically got a slap on the wrist.Shane had been royalty and maybe I should have known better than to expect the same leniency but it didn’t stop my heart from dropping into my stomach. I didn’t want her to die.Odis jumped to his feet so fast his chair clatters to the ground, his face distraught. “No!” Odis growled shaking his head.My heart plummeting at the sight of the man who normally has his feelings under wraps lose control. Odis slammed his hand down on the table while his chest rose and fell with panic before turning to Etha
**TRIGGER WARNING This chapter contains sexual assault and/or violence that may be triggering to survivors.** Adea I love him. Ethan wasn’t perfect but neither was I. The decision he made today would haunt us for a while if not forever. I didn’t even want to think about what needed to happen later. The walk back to the room was a blur. When we left the meeting room and got into the car and when we got back to the packhouse he shot into my room in a blur of speed and threw the door closed behind us as my heart thundered with this mournful kind of panic. My mind was a mess of thoughts and all I wanted was to taste Ethan and feel his arms around me. I was surprised as his lips smashed against mine and I welcomed the distraction and the warmth it brought me. I wanted to make his pain easier to bear. I matched his pace and kissed him back with the sa
AdeaJust as I was starting to catch my breath, his arms wrapped around me and he drew me into a kiss, unlike the others we had shared. His tongue pushed into my mouth almost slowly and his hands caressed up my body as I gave in to the tingly sensations.Being here with him feels like we were designed for each other and I know that we were fated but it feels like we’re the only two people in the world.My fingers trailed up his chest and I hummed as I felt him tighten underneath me. I cupped his jaw between my hands as I looked deep into his eyes.“You’re everything I never knew I wanted and needed,” I breathed as I painted the lines of his chest down to his torso.“I wish I could have found you sooner,” he growled. He gazed back at me for a moment and I could see the guilt in his eyes. “I have you now and I don’t pla
AdeaEven though we’d shared happiness for the future just moments before we were now on our way to Odis and Olivia. We were reminded of everything we had a few hours to escape.Our steps were heavy as we walked to the dungeons. My hands trembled and my throat felt like it had dried up. I wasn’t ready for what was about to happen but I held my head high as I clutched onto Ethan’s hand for dear life.When we reached the dungeon doors he squeezed my hand.“Just in case… it’s too much for you. Squeeze my hand 4 times,” he whispered.I shook my head. “I don’t care and I don’t want to hear that. I will NOT leave you. She was my friend too and I will stand by your side through the whole thing.”“Are you sure? Death is hard
AdeaThe pain flashed in her eyes for only a second before the light disappeared. She didn’t seem to see me as she stared at something far away. Her head slumped forward and her body went limp.Odis’s arm reached around and engulfed Olivia’s body before she could hit the ground. Odis fell to his knees and he held her to his body like she’d fall apart if he let go. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he rocked back and forth. He whispered words of comfort into her ear while his hand gently caressed her pale cheek.Peeling my gaze away from him, my eyes roamed to the shoulders before me. Normally broad and strong, they sagged with defeat. I took a step forward, daring to stand by his side. Needing to assess the damage and be near him.Ethan towered over their defeated crumpled forms. He stood frozen in place, shock riddled his features as he focused on what he held in
AdeaAfter a long sleepless night haunted by everything that had happened in the last month, I managed to fall asleep as the sun was creeping into the sky. By the time my alarm screamed enough to shake me awake, I dragged myself upright and crawled out of bed.The bed was cold, I was blinded by the light that shined through the open window. Reaching around for my mate, I realized he wasn’t in bed. Finding my phone, I squinted at the phone screen to find one message from Ethan, which informed me he was personally training the new recruits today and would try to see me for dinner. I threw myself face-first into my pillow and groaned. I felt exhausted even after the 5 hours of sleep I was able to get.“What if…” I said aloud before trailing off. What if I went out to the training grounds myself?Korra purred.“Now THAT’S the way a
Adea“Is that clear?” Alpha Ethan roared across the field.“Yes, Alpha,” the new recruits said in unison.“Is there anyone here who held a position of power under Dante in the Lagoon Pack?” Ethan asked.There was a moment of silence and a few people shuffled their feet before a beautiful long hair that was half blonde on the left and half black on the right. She had brown almond-shaped eyes.“Name and previous position held?” Ethan asked. He didn’t use his Alpha power but I could feel it radiating off of him in waves."Darci Li and I held the position of Gamma under Al-Dante, at my previous pack,” she replied with her head bowed.Ethan stared at her for a few seconds before nodding his head.“From this moment on, you are all a pa
AdeaIt feels like minutes pass in silence. The world stands still and it’s just me and Leo as I listen to the rise and fall of his angry breaths. The groups around us continue on like they don’t see. No one notices the way my breath catches or the way my heart almost pounds out of my chest.I have no idea what I’m doing or who I even am right now. I swallow and force the dry lump down. Wetness fills my throat and Leo’s lips part slightly. He lifts his arms up slowly and I wrap my legs around his body.“You’ve already lost,” I hiss.He’s unbelievably stubborn. If someone threatened to snap my neck in a TRAINING match, I’d admit I lost. A higher tier wasn’t worth risking my life over. His chest rumbled, pulling me from my thoughts.“It’s not over until I say it’s over and we both know the
The first month back at Desert Moon had been hard. Not a day went by without us fighting. Ethan rejected Mavy as his mate before we came home. A part of me knew he was hurt about it, missed her like I missed Shane. I felt like he was only with me because I was his Luna, because of obligation and duty. I didn’t know why he wanted to be with me. He didn’t know why I was with him when I loved Shane. We were at our lowest. We were ugly, we were at our rawest. It wasn’t until month two that we finally talked about everything. We talked bout what happened and we talked about the past. The one that I remembered and by this time, the one that he remembered. It was hard, facing the man I loved in this life and the man I hated in the past. He wasn’t him anymore, he hadn’t been him for a long time. We dug into the past and were completely honest with each other. He fell to his knees and apologized for what he’d done even though I told him it wasn’t him, that wasn’t him anymore. He asked me if I
Mavy fell back as if she’d been physically struck. She collapsed on the couch, her eyes watering. She didn’t look back at me, she kept her gaze focused on Ethan. I watched as her world crashed around her again for the second time in five minutes.“Where does that leave me?” Mavy asked. “I’m… your…” she shook her head and turned to look back at Ethan. “That’s not possible. I’m… I can smell it. I can feel it. Can’t you?” Mavy whispered. I heard the desperation in her voice.“I don’t care what you think or how you feel. I am already mated and my mate, my partner, my love, MY QUEEN sits in this room. Don’t disrespect her again.” The emotion in his voice caused me to choke up. Mavy bit into her lower lip and tears streamed down her cheeks. She dropped her head.“Yes, Alpha,” she said submissively.“I killed your Alpha,” Ethan said. “I’ve killed your brother.”“Yes,” she murmured.“Will you fight me on this?” Ethan asked.“As the next in line, I submit to you,” Mavy whispered.Ethan dismiss
The voices were getting louder, my head was hurting. I wanted to roll up into a ball and disappear from the world. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to drown it all out, trying to ignore everyone. I wasn’t ready to deal with it.“She’s in shock…”“She’s confused…”“Enough!”A door slammed and footsteps paddled quickly towards me. Soft frail arms wrapped around me. Tears soaked my cheeks and my neck as Mavy cried. Did she know? She had to know.“Are you okay?” Mavy sobbed.I wrapped my arms around her and nodded. The tears started up again and streamed down my cheeks. Her t-shirt bunched in my fingers as I held her close. We cried and held each other.She inhaled deeply and froze. Slowly, she lifted her nose into the air and took another deep breath. Turning from me, she tried to follow the scent. She stopped, her gaze locked on someone, I turned and followed her gaze.I should have known, expected it but I’d been so caught up in my feelings that I didn’t think. I don’t know how it w
I didn’t have an answer for him and I don’t think he would have liked what I would have said. Hell, I didn’t know if I liked what I thought or how I felt. Instead of hurting him and cutting myself open for him, I didn’t say anything. I remained quiet. My world was crashing around me and my ears were ringing. I lowered my head and the tears flowed of their own volition.Ethan leaned down and I flinched as his arms wrapped around me. They were strong and broad. His embrace was warm and promised I could lean on him. I attempted to get to my feet only to fall. My face twisted from the pain and I wanted to cry and wallow in my own self-pity. Standing, he pulled me up and held me as my body gave up. I collapsed against him.I wanted to get to Shane, needed to. As if on cue, the weak mate bond snapped, and just like in my dream, it was gone. Only, this time, the pain I was feeling was because of Shane and not because of Ethan. The world was cold, the warmth I’d been able to feel from Shane f
Did what I do to him last night not bother him? I betrayed him. Did he not care that I came here to hurt him? Did he not care that I chose Ethan? I wanted to cry and scream. I wanted to run into his arms. I wanted this to stop. I wanted them to stop fighting. I wanted it all to stop. I screamed, it was painful and gut-wrenching but I screamed. I cursed the Goddess, damn her, she was useless in all of this. She sat up there above the clouds and did nothing to help us. Did she enjoy watching us suffer? When I couldn’t scream anymore, I inhaled deep breaths of air. I looked up and froze as Shane stared back at me. The way he looked at me told me he knew he was going to die. The look in his eye told me he knew he lost but for me, there was a small spark as if he wouldn’t just lay down and take it. I watched Ethan punch him. It was as if he was moving in slow motion. He hit his jaw and Shane’s head snapped back hard against the ground. Shane’s body tensed and he punched Ethan in the gut.
For a moment in time, they stood glaring at each other. The sun was blaring down on us. My gaze darted back and forth between the two. Shane’s eyes wandered away from Ethan and landed on me. “Look at me, mutt. You don’t get to look at her after what you’ve done,” Ethan spat. “I’m not so weak that you can look away from me in the middle of a fight.” “What have I done?” Shane taunted. “You’ve touched what’s mine,” Ethan growled. “I haven’t done anything other than touch what is mine. I haven’t done anything but make love to what is mine. I’ve claimed her. She may not wear my mark, thief but she is mine. Don’t claim her as yours. She was mine, she was always mine. She doesn’t belong to you, she never did.” A look came over Ethan’s face as if he knew as if this was confirmation as if he was reminded of something he’d forgotten. “You’re the one who touched someone who wasn’t yours. You are the one who took what was mine. Don’t try to play the victim. Don’t pretend to be something you’re
No.Not Odis.“Devin,” I gasped.Devin heard me but didn’t stop. He didn’t look up at me, didn’t even hesitate as he continued to stomp Odis into the ground. Blood spurt from Odis’ mouth and I think I heard his ribs crack. I took a step closer to stop it, to stop him. In a flash, someone was on top of Devin. Strong arms held Devin’s prisoner in a headlock and his legs wrapped around Devin’s abdomen.I wanted to scream but it quickly died in my throat as Odis and I realized the man in front of me was Gabe. Gabe. It was Gabe and he was on top of Devin. Well, he was wrapped around him like a python ready to suffocate his prey. Gabe grunted as he continued to squeeze Devin’s head, blocking his airflow.I wanted to cry out happily but I couldn’t. Gabe was here. Why was he here? He wasn’t supposed to be here. Things were going differently since he was alive. He was standing, breathing, his head was still attached to his body. Maybe things were turning out differently.Maybe Gabe was safe, ma
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Odis asked. I couldn’t find the words to speak, so I nodded. “Good,” Odis said as his grip on me loosened. “Why don’t you let her go?” A voice called out to us. Looking up, I searched for the source of the voice. My eyes widened as I found Devin watching up. His gaze locked around Odis’ arms that were still wrapped around me to his hands that gripped my arms. “I promise I’m more fun,” Devin teased. I know what it looked like. It looked like I was being held back from moving. It looked like Odis was stopping me from helping Shane. It looked like I was stuck between two packs, two men. The situation I found myself in was precarious. I was now stuck between two Betas who were supposed to protect me, despite their conflicting thoughts regarding me. I hadn’t had much time with Devin since I’d been back. He hadn’t been the nicest, shit, I don’t think he even liked me. That didn’t change the fact that Devin was Beta of Half Moon pack. Shane was his
I didn’t have an answer and I prayed I didn’t have to make the choice. Not only had everyone stopped moving but it had gone deathly silent. For a moment, everyone and everything froze. There wasn’t a whisper of wind in the air, the trees stood still, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was the calm before the storm. It felt like someone had pushed the pause button and all at once the play button was pressed and all hell broke loose. As if planned, the two of them ran toward each other. I looked past Ethan and my gaze landed on Shane’s chest. The sword had been taken out, a gaping hole was left in its place right next to his heart. Now that it was gone, I could see I had barely missed his heart. If I’d been one inch to the right, he would have died. How had I missed that? I didn’t kill him. Was I not paying attention? Why hadn’t I looked at his heart? I had aimed, hadn’t I? Had I meant to miss it? No, I had meant it, or else I wouldn’t have stabbed him at all. I tried to