The End! And what a sweet ending. A son named for Cillian's dads and a daughter named for his moms. Even a HEA for Anka and Reed.
I am not the nine-to-five, five-day, forty-hour-work-week kind of guy. I don’t have the attention span for something, so mind-numbing. I prefer the Netherlands’ thirty-hour work week at best. This is why my company runs on a four-day work week with varied hours; no one is expected to work more than thirty hours. People are a lot happier with it. They also like that we have a hybrid work situation for some positions. Any position where they would be building or using chemicals has to be done at the office, but for many departments, they can telecommute. I telecommute as often as possible. While my office is excellent, and we have many labs for various research, I still prefer to stay in my bunker lab and fiddle with tech at my leisure between tasks for the pack. Another reason I don’t go to the office often, I like to keep my identity a secret. Since the Kinsley brothers helped me launch Silvercloud Industrial under their company umbrella, we’ve kept my given name and face out of
At long last, I am getting to leave Sicily! Even better, my wildest dream is coming true. I am going to America to work for Silvercloud Industries, and I don’t think I can contain my excitement. I felt terrible that I missed Isis and Kurt’s wedding, but they understood I needed to finish my finals and get everything packed to come for my summer internship. I’ll see plenty of them while I’m there, or as much as possible, given they are Luna and Alpha of Silverclaw, and I’ll be super busy with my internship. Oh, I hope I’ll be super busy. I will be so bummed if Tie’s jokes about interns being brought in as goffers to fetch coffee and things for the actual employees are valid. I would be so bitter and disappointed if I worked so damn hard, getting rejected two summers before this, only to be a coffee fetcher. I’ll probably dump the first cup of hot coffee I’m told to fetch on the person issuing the order. I am Persephone Adelaide Fayte, and I am a fucking genius inventor. I’d stay home
I groaned, rolling my shoulders as I sat up. Great, I fell asleep at my work table again. I yawned and rubbed my face, bits of wires and scrap metal falling out of my beard. Not the first time I’ve done this, and it won’t be the last. I looked around the table to see if I had made anything in my sleep. And sure enough, there was something that wasn’t there last night. I cocked my head as I raised the metal dove. The exterior was platinum with etchings, making it look like a metal totem. I squinted and tried to look inside some of the etchings that went straight through to figure out the function of the Dove and could see computer parts. I frowned and turned the bird in my hands as I tried to understand what I had built. “What are you?” I questioned, holding it so I could look into its eyes. “Tell me your purpose, turtle dove.” At the word ‘turtle dove,’ the eyes glowed green, and the wings of the metallic Dove tried to open in my hands. I had to let it go and watched as it flew
“Are you excited to start your internship?” Isis asked, turning in her seat to look back at me. “Does energy equal mass times the speed of light squared?” I scoffed. Kurt and Isis shared a look and broke out into laughter. I don’t know what’s so funny. I made a science joke, but it wasn’t even that funny. Maybe they are just humoring me and want me to feel at ease as I enter my dream job and be around a thirty-story office full of people I don’t know. “Thanks for laughing, but it wasn’t that funny.” I shook my head at their weirdness. “We know, but Kurt’s best friend Jonathan uses that line too,” Isis explained. “Oh. Well, at least that explains your laughter. Will I be meeting this infamous Jonathan? He’s supposed to be the Bloodmoon Delta, but while my arrival meet-and-greet is a jet-lagged blur, I don’t remember him.” I asked, leaning forward. “Um, yeah. Jonathan wasn’t at the pack house last night. He works at Silvercloud, so you’ll meet him. He’s supposed to be your Blood
I’d just managed to get into my lab before I got a text from Shikoba telling me the interns were being sent to the mentors. I was getting a workstation prepped for Persephone to use when my lab door slammed open. I turned in surprise at the aggressive way the door was opened, ready to tell off whomever it was. I didn’t get that chance because hot coffee was thrown at me, and I was called something in Italian, and I bet it wasn’t pleasant. I’m a werewolf, so I’ll heal from the minor burn from the hot liquid, but it hurt, and I shouted at the offending individual. I was so damn flustered with my annoyance and the pain that I ignored the person that threw coffee at me. Hell, I didn’t even think about taking my shirt off in front of this belligerent stranger. I paid closer attention as I tried to dry the coffee off my chest. Jaci had been inching closer, trying to get me to focus on the person in the room with me. And when I smelled that new car scent from near my bunker, it hit me.
What the hell is wrong with me? I am not the jealous type. If I were ever going to be jealous, I would’ve been jealous of Crista growing up. She was the firstborn and, therefore, the Beta heir. She was the one with a white wolf making her special before we knew just how special. But I never was, so there is no reason I should suddenly be the jealous type just because I met my mate. ‘That fucking bitch was flirting with him and touching him on purpose. She’s a werewolf too. She knows he’s not her mate but still flirted with him.’ Sara growled. ‘She must have sensed the chemistry and tension between you and Jonny. She’s a fucking bitch, and we should claw her damn eyes out.’ Sara snorted. ‘We can’t do that, and you know it. We are at work.’ I reminded my wolf. Something tells me getting into a fight wouldn’t just risk my potential future working for Silvercloud, but it would put Jonathan in the middle. I’d feel terrible if my being possessive cost him his job. Sure, he has his positi
I used to tease Logan that he and Aurelia couldn’t be left alone in his office, or they’d get no work done because of all their fucking. He would flip me off and tell me to wait. I fully understand why none of my friends share an office space with their mates, and I don’t think I can do this. My lab at the office is spacious when it’s just me, but with Persephone in here, I feel like I’m in a closet. She’s both too far and too close. It wouldn’t be a big deal if this were my bunker lab. I could touch Persephone as much as she’d let me without worrying about someone watching and what it could do to her future in this industry. But we are in the Silvercloud HQ, and I don’t want to do anything that risks the reason she’s here. She didn’t come here to find her mate. She came here for this opportunity with my company. So despite what Jaci and I want, I’ve tried to ignore her scent and the pull of the bond. I’m both grateful and annoyed that Shikoba sent that text that interrupted our kis
It was rather endearing that Jonathan kept forgetting Mila’s name. I don’t even care if he does so intentionally or not. She can eat her heart out. I may mean that literally because he’s mine. She’s a werewolf, so she better start respecting that. If she doesn’t, we are going to have serious problems. ‘You know what would put her in her place.’ Sara commented as we entered a little bistro a couple of blocks from the office. ‘Kicking her ass?’ I offered. ‘Well, that could help. But the best way to get any she-wolf to leave our mate alone is to mark him.’ Sara licked her lips. I couldn’t help it. I looked at Jonathan’s neck and tried to picture a mark there. I’m Beta by blood, but he is a Delta. So, whose mark would it be? Would his neck bear the Fayte dove, or would it be his family’s mark? That made me ponder his family’s mark, and more than that, I wanted to know more about him. I only know a little from what others have told me. “What’s your family like?” I found myself b
I can’t believe it’s been over three years since I met Mila. Who knew being assigned to spy on someone could change one’s life so completely? Okay, yes, Sadria Kearney and Alison Blaire know just how much such an assignment can alter the course of your life. It was on a similar assignment that they met Azriel and Colby Delaney. And their brother Darren can certainly attest to how a war and crazy power-hungry assholes can bring someone to where they always belonged. I spent a lifetime feeling like I would never find my place in this world. It took being sent to spy on a spy to find it, but my place was always meant to be at Mila’s side, and years of performing odd jobs around a pack prepared me to be an Aleph. I should have had more faith in the Goddess when I always felt like I was struggling to tread water in the various roles. Each gave me insight and the knowledge to be a good Aleph in Demonclaw. The first year was a struggle. Harley and Trace didn’t have mates, so I worked with t
“Ah need ta see if ya taste as good as ya smell.” His husky voice was muffled against my abdomen as he lowered the thong. I’m lucky I’m still standing, and he wants to eat me out? While I’m in heels? I can’t see this going well, but I’m also too worked up to argue. My legs moved on their own, stepping out of the white thong. When my knees felt like they would buckle, I was suddenly scooped off the ground. I blinked and realized I was in Cillian’s arms, held against his bare chest. “Dinna want ya to fall.” He smiled as he carried me to the bed and set me on the edge. “Yes, that would have put a damper on the evening.” I agreed, licking my lips as I was at eye level with his abs, my eyes focused on the growing bulge in his dress pants. “Ya can finish stripping me later. Ah told ya Ah need ta taste ya.” Cillian waved a finger at me when I reached for his belt. “Have it your way, but if I finish stripping you, we could both get a taste,” I suggested with a smirk because he’s no
The law about heirs needing to complete their oath before mating needs to be revised and updated. I can change that later, but till I took that oath, I had to play my part and not rock the boat. And honestly, rocking a boat was not what was on my mind as Cillian and I ducked away from the festivities. Laws, restructuring, rebuilding, and generally all things Alpha-related are the last thing on my mind. We hadn’t mated in the week since Lucian died for many reasons. The law was low on that list. I needed to run the pack. There was a lot of damage caused, and many were injured, and some even killed. We had to plan funerals, including one for Lucian, and I had to speak as the next Alpha. I had to budget and prioritize the rebuilding efforts. Thankfully out of guilt, Incubi and Bloodmoon offered restitution for the damage caused. And then there is my mother and the cure, but Reed and Jonny both seemed uninterested in me helping, always telling me I had other things I should handle. No
I did NOT think this through. No matter the situation or cost, I wanted Mila when I scented her. But now, as I’m sitting on a bed in the Demonclaw Packhouse dressed in a black suit and gold tie, the cost is readily apparent. To be with Mila, I need to do something I never thought I would do. I need to leave my pack. Sheila was the first FireWolf to join another pack since the attack. Mary went to Silverclaw, but she left because her Bloodmoon mate was offered the role of Beta. Maureen went to Silverclaw when she found her mate Devon Green there. And now I’m going to leave to be Aleph of Demonclaw. Yes, I’m borrowing the title Darren took. There is no way I’m letting anyone call me ‘Luna Cillian.’ I was ready to knock out the other Demonclaw heirs, Harley, Trace, and Kanti, when they laughed and called me Luna. I didn’t hit them. I should have. But I did growl and tell them that the proper term for the male mate of an Alpha is Aleph. I told them if they have a problem with that title
I was so thankful we got to the packhouse in time to save my mom. All that goodwill faded when I felt the pain of my father’s demise. The whole pack felt the loss, and I could hear their howls in my head as they mourned their Alpha, unaware he was a monster. I should be crying, sobbing, or something. Right? Yet even though I choked out the news to Cillian, I couldn’t muster a tear. Of course, it hurts. He was my father and Alpha. But I can’t bring myself to express that pain. He was willing to kill my mother, his mate, and for what? Power. He never cared about the cure. He only wanted Weaver… er, Silvercloud’s talent. I only agreed to any of this nonsense because he said it was for her. Cillian may have told me it was alright to cry, but I didn’t want to. Lucian Đurić does NOT deserve my tears. He doesn’t deserve anyone’s tears. I might feel different later, but I can only muster indifference at his death right now. I have more important matters to attend to. With his death, I am Al
I was left dumbfounded with her taste still on my lips. It wasn’t enough. Not even by a long shot. I’d come here looking to be near her. I wasn’t planning to interact with her. Only to watch from afar. But then she pulled me into the stairwell, and having her touch me, even in a situation that shouldn’t be erotic, was. And that kiss… fuck me. Literally, I wanted her to fuck me. I don’t know which is worse: she ran off when she heard other people on the stairs or tried to use an Alpha command to make me leave. If you ask my blue balls, it’s the former. Conchobar isn’t happy about the latter. He feels slighted that our mate would try to use her rank to command us to do anything. As her mate, her command wouldn’t have worked anyways, so it’s more that she’d try to use it. Personally, both hurt. It hurt that Mila would flee so quickly, even if her parting words were trying to protect me. It hurt that she’d give up so easily. Am I not worth fighting to be with? I’d willingly fight at her
I am seriously over this game. I may be a good actress, but I LOATHE it. I loathe making a total fool of myself, especially over someone like Jonny Weaver. My stomach churns every time I have to force myself to smile and flirt with him. All I want to do is puke on or punch him since his father isn’t around to take the brunt of my repressed anger. I shouldn’t transfer my anger from the father to the son. Weaver had nothing to do with what his father did. It would be like someone putting my father’s sins on me. It isn’t fair. I at least don’t look like my father. Thank the Goddess for that. However, I have reason enough to be at least annoyed with Weaver. And Persephone, for that matter. I’d thought I’d been clear enough, given enough hints without outright telling them to mark so I could stop this charade. Yet instead of a mark, they show up to work with hickeys. What the fuck is wrong with them?! Anyone else would have taken my overly forward advances as a reason to complete the bond
Coming out to the camp and putting even more distance between me and Mila was supposed to be a good idea. I’d driven here and even unpacked in my counselor’s cabin. Yet I can’t shake this feeling that I’m not where I belong or should be. ‘Because our place is where our mate is.’ Conchobar unhelpfully commented. I rolled my eyes and hurried to catch up with the kids from my assigned cabin at their canoe activity. I’d already missed a day of activities. Thankfully there are always two counselors assigned to a cabin. When I arrived today, Fion at least wasn’t surprised. I assumed our parents told him I would be coming. He pointed me to my cabin and told me where my campers would be. I hurried down the hill to the lake and spotted the campers in the red shirts with the other counselor. They were easy to spot amongst the different groups by the lake for activities. My fellow counselor, Elyse Moore, a brunette who was all legs in her khaki shorts despite being short, was helping campers
I managed to mostly shake the feeling that someone was in that apartment after we left. I at least didn’t feel like I was being watched. Well, I still have the paranoid feeling that someone is watching me. My father doesn’t trust me to do this, so someone reports my movements to him. I’ve been going through all the possibilities of who could easily track my movements in the office, and my only conclusion is someone in security. When I entered the building with my fellow interns, I narrowed my gaze at the security guards, pondering which could be working for my father. None of them were werewolves… wait, I’m wrong. There is a werewolf among the guards. I don’t remember seeing him yesterday. Maybe he arrived later than me or while I was doing that boring intern orientation. I glared at the objectively handsome male as I passed him. He wasn’t from Demonclaw. His scent was that of Bloodmoon. Could my father have paid off someone from within Bloodmoon? Either way, he’s now the most lik