Kade groaned as he rolled onto the prickly forest floor. The chirping of birds in the trees and the flutter of their wings when they got close was like ice picks to his brain. It took far too long for the fog in his brain to lift and when it did the pain wasn't any better. His eyes hurt from the light and the overwhelming smell of burning wood had his stomach turning until he had to roll over and empty the contents of his stomach all over the forest floor. "Well, it's about time." A growl behind Kade made him groan in annoyance. "Please tell me you didn't resurrect me again." Dagmar snorted in amusement and dragged on the remnants of her cigarette before throwing it into the smouldering fire. "That would require you to be dead." She finally replied. "No, I just pulled you out of the wreckage before the police got there and everything turned to shit.""Thalia. Where is she?" "Gone." The old witch replied, upper lip curling in disgust. "The demon has her." Kade frowned, pressing t
"In the beginning there was nothing. Space, time, light, dark, good, evil and everything else didn't exist. There was truly nothing until some bright spark decided to make something. To this day none of the gods can fathom who it was or what they did but suddenly they found themselves the collective parents of an existence that was as new as a day old babe and just as fragile and difficult to handle. None of the gods were suitable parent material but they could just leave this new realm to its own devices."So, they created moons and stars and planets and scattered them across the cosmos like marbles, letting them land as they pleased. The stars created light and the moons created gravitational forces and the planets...well the planets just filled in the gaps. The moon goddess and the sun god were appointed, and mother nature was born in the way only gods can be born (they just suddenly appear) and so existence had guardians and things to fill it.
Despite his long journey, Kade hadn't been able to sleep when they finally retired for the night. Lucien hadn't revealed much else after the kill my brother bombshell but the fallen-angel had promised to divulge all off the information he had gathered on Dante including on the girls he had in his possession and how they had ended up in the human trafficking ring. Kade wasn't sure if he wanted to go down that rabbit hole though. While it was obvious Kade's own kind were involved either as perpetrators or victims, Kade wasn't ready to deal with the scars that would inevitably burst open again. Just thinking about it stoked the guilt within him, squeezing his heart as the broken promises threatened to rear their ugly heads.He was up and dressed before the sun even broke over the horizon. He found himself wandering the ground floor aimlessly until he found the kitchen. The rather angry Hungarian woman currently working on breakfast was quick to shoo
Kade grunted as he hit the ground once more, bones, muscle and skin throbbing in protest at the force of his ungraceful landing. Kade had only just healed from being nearly crushed to death inside a mobile home but now it felt like he was going to be one giant walking bruise by the time Lucien and his men were done with him."Explain to me how is this helping?" Kade snarled as he forced himself to his feet. He glared at the fallen-angel who didn't even look like he had broken a sweat and the four men with him didn't look much worse."Dante and his men are smart and skilled." Lucien replied calmly. "My brother won't make it easy for any of us.""I'm well aware of that but this feels more like fun for you." Kade retorted.Lucien just shrugged and smirked. "Go again."The next round didn't go any better, nor did the three rounds after that. Kade was fast and
It had been a few years since Kade had last spoken to Karim and things hadn't ended on a good note. He had kept in touch with the refugee after that day in Afghanistan when Laila and other girls and young women were forcibly taken from their homes and family. Kade had tried to find the girl but most of the clues were gone by the time he was fit enough to start searching. Despite being a werewolf, being shot and then having half a building collapse on him meant Kade could just sleep it off and fight another day. He was lucky to be alive in all honesty, a human wouldn't have survived being crushed under rubble.But he had promised Karim he would look for his sister so that's what he did. But despite calling on favours and turning over every stone, Kade had never been able to find the girl. Eventually the ghosts of his past began to take over and eventually he just stopped looking.So, this meeting wasn't going to go well.
"So, you think you have found this guy’s sister?” Mully spoke up once they were on the road again. They had left the motorway services as soon as Kade bought their drinks. However, by that point Mully was in full teasing mode and was currently teasing Karim like a hyena teasing a tired lion. It would only be a matter of time before Karim lost his temper but there was no stopping Mully and frankly, Kade wasn’t going to try. It wasn’t his battle to sort. He’d step in if things got physical but that was unlikely so really, he had nothing to worry about. Now stuck in a car together though, there was no escaping the blatant sexual tension between the pair. Kade had never felt like a third-wheel before but if Mully started to try and mark his territory then Kade would happily throw himself out of the car while it was still moving. “The intel I have seen would suggest that.” Kade replied.“And based on what you’ve told me, are you sure it’s a good idea to bring the kid along?” “What’s that
"Ouch." Thalia grimaced and rubbed the spot on her stomach where she had received a small kick from one of the twins. "What is up with you two today?" It hadn't been Ms Thorton barging in that woke Thalia that morning like usual but instead it had been the twins. It wasn't usual that they moved but this morning it was as if they were in a frenzy. It had started with fluttering like bubbles in her intestines but as the morning went on, the movements became more pronounced and urgent. "Is everything okay?" Laila looked up from her book, eyebrows pinching together in concern. "Yeah." Thalia sighed, still rubbing her side. "Just the twins playing football with my insides." Laila smiled. "It can be quite uncomfortable with just one so I can only imagine How it feels to have two of them doing it." "Yeah." Thalia laughed softly. "Will be glad when they are out, and my kidneys can have a break." Both women were laughing when the door opened, cutting their time together short. Thalia felt
“The Czech Authorities are on board.” Karim walked into the room, his now silent phone still in his hand. “It took some convincing, but I think the evidence Lucien gathered helped sway them to provide us with a team to raid the auction.”Kade looked up from packing a backpack. It had been little over eighteen hours since Lucien had dropped his bombshell and since then everyone had been working flat out to prepare to put an end to Dante’s plan. Admittedly, they still didn’t have an exact location for the auction nor where Dante had the girls kept but the end was in sight and that was all the glimmer of hope Kade needed to keep himself and his wolf sane. But, while Lucien had assured them that they would have everything they needed when they landed in Prague, it hadn’t left Kade comforted. There were simply too many unknowns and Kade still wasn’t totally sure if he should be trusting the fallen-angel.No one had slept either, but Kade and Mully were used to it. Karim however was flagging
Fourteen years laterThe sun had long since set but the air was still sticky and thick with summer heat. The humidity had been building for days and now the low rumble of brontide echoed through the darkness with its promise of cooler temperatures to come. Despite the impending storm, the group of friends were still playing under the glow of the light coming from the giant packhouse. Nearly every window and door were open to let in fresh air in hopes of getting a cool breeze. Two males and two females pranced barefoot over the manicured grass as their laughter echoed and bounced against the fortress of trees that flanked the packhouse estate. In just a few days, the four young wolves would be travelling to the nearby facility to finish their training as warriors. Their excitement was palpable and was what spurred their excitable moods. While three would likely go on to become warriors, the fourth had had her destiny mapped out for her from the moment she was conceived.The future Que
By the time the weather had turned and the first storms off the North Sea began to batter the land, the house was ready to welcome not just Kade and Thalia but two little pups as well. Thalia had been lucky that she hadn’t struggled too much with the pregnancy thus far but, the two weeks leading up to her due date had been hard work. Her stomach and ankles seemed to be in a competition to see which could swell the most while her lower back and hips hurt constantly to the point that she struggled to sleep. In the end she was relegated to bed rest by Simone while Kade insisted on making sure everything else was done. For Thalia it had been torture but being pregnant with one child was never easy. Being pregnant two twins was doubly hard on the body."I thought you were given strict orders to stay in bed." Kade spoke up when he came in that evening to find Thalia pacing the living room, his playful smirk disappearing when he saw his mate’s frantic face. "Thalia?" "My waters broke." Tha
One month laterAdapting to life in a pack again, especially one that Thalia had never been a part of before, was a lot easier than she thought it would be. True to everything Kade, Daniel and Eva told her, the pack had welcomed her with open arms and didn't once cast her a judging look or a pitying glance when they learned of what she had endured. They even seemed okay with the fact her children weren't Kade's offspring or that they had demon blood in them. The pack regarded them as pups and asked her the usual questions a mothers-to-be endured. The Indian summer brought cooler nights but sun drenched days which the pack's pups were keen to enjoy by running through sprinklers or playing in the long grass that filled the meadows around them. The Pack's doctor, a woman by the name of Simone, insisted on regular check ups to make sure Thalia was doing okay and ensure there were no complications. Between that and spending time with Eva, Thalia had very little time to dwell. In the even
Kade let Thalia storm away. Arguing with her right now wasn't going to fix the hurt and the betrayal. He very much doubted that Thalia meant what she said and Kade was going to make sure that when the time came, she would be able to reach out to her family and not regret turning her back on those who had been innocently caught up in their alpha's web of lies. "She's a fiery one." Lucien's voice broke the silence. "The moon goddess chose wisely." "We shall see if Thalia agrees with you in time." Kade replied, turning to face the angel. "I'm not convinced that the local council of Alphas will be much use here. Do you think you could find out who helped Castor kidnap the girls? If any of Thalia's brothers were involved, then I don't want the Alpha title being passed to them.""Agreed." Lucien nodded. "I will also do what I can to find the other females taken the night Thalia was." "Thanks.""No, thank you, Lieutenant." The corner of Lucien's lip tilted in his signature smirk. "If it
“Thalia, are you sure this is a good idea?” Kade asked for what felt like the hundredth time since Thalia had announced she wanted to travel to Greece. The whole thing sounded like an awful idea, but Kade had seen the resolute hardness in his mate’s eyes. She would not be able to move on from these until she saw the truth for herself. It didn’t matter that what she would find would potentially hurt her beyond repair. She had made up her mind and all Kade could do was be there for her. Still, it didn’t hurt to try and get her to stop and think this through a little more. The beta watched from his seat on the edge of their bed as Thalia packed a few essentials for her trip. Night had descended only an hour before, but the air was still heavy with summer heat and the tiny flames hovering over several candles quivered whenever the warm breeze rolled in through the doors that led onto a balcony. Given everything she had been through, Thalia ought to be resting but she wouldn’t listen, n
It had only been a week since Dante had been killed and his plans to destroy the world had come to an end and yet that all seemed like a lifetime ago now that Thalia was sat in the sunroom of Lucien’s north England manor, a warm breeze danced lazily through the large French doors that open out onto the sprawling grounds. Everything was so green and luscious. It was a vast difference from the sun baked earth and salty air Thalia had grown up with.They had left Prague once Priyanka had given birth and before the local authorities caught up with them. Laila’s brother thankfully was able to use his powers as a police officer to distract the Czech police and the group had slipped away quietly. Thalia hadn’t been surprised when Lucien had managed to transport them back to his manor safely, nor was she surprised by the team of doctors and nurses waiting for them to whisk Priyanka and her premature baby away for medical attention.Thalia didn’t want to trust Lucien’s intentions given his rel
"It's too early for the baby to come out!" Jennifer shouted over Priyanka's cries of pain. "We need to get her to a hospital!""Well, that's what I'm trying to do but since I don't know where we are that is proving a little tricky!" Svetlana yelled back from the driver's seat, looking over her shoulder to glare at the blonde. "Please keep your eyes on the road!" Thalia barked, grabbing the wheel to right it when they started to drift into oncoming traffic. "Just keep heading towards the city. We will find signs for the hospital soon." "I don't understand why this is happening." Priyanka whimpered, her eyes wide with fear. "Just breathe," Miriam reassured the distressed woman, brushing her sweat-soaked hair off of her forehead. "We will find a hospital and the doctors will do everything they can for you."They had been trying to find a way into the city for nearly an hour and despite her waters only just breaking, Priyanka's labour was progressing rapidly, and Thalia was worried the
“Holy shit! What the hell happened in here?” Mully’s voice couldn’t have been any less welcomed as it split through the brittle silence and echoed through the rubble. What had once been a rather generic looking waiting room designed in the same way as a corporate hotel lobby now resembled a bombed out building in some worn-torn country. Mully had seen plenty of scenes like this but none with so much blood and caused by supernatural beings battling it out. The first thing that was clear was that this part of the building was ready to collapse. Thick chunks of concrete and plaster had already begun to fall onto the mess of what appeared to be bodies and the steel framework was completely bent back or hanging like the broken bones on a skeleton. Furniture had been completely decimated and was now strewn across the floor as shards of broken wood and split cushions. Amongst it though was the mildly terrifying form of the fallen-angel and Kade’s broken body. Between them was a pitch blac
Kade prepared for the impact. There was nowhere to go so he readied to feel the demon’s talons slice through his skin. He had the dagger in his hand, ready to plunge it into the heart of the demon. If he was going to die, then he was taking the ugly sonofabitch with him. Yet the searing pain of being impaled on the razor-sharp claws never came. Dante had descended on Kade with all his fury but when he was a hair’s breadth from the were-wolf, something sent the giant beast sailing backwards. Kade watched in confusion as the demon crashed into a wall but not before he took out one of the supporting columns sending chunks of concrete flying like shrapnel. The whole building shuddered violently when the beast hit the wall, cracks spreading across the plaster like fork-lightning from where Dante impacted with the wall. “Kade!”The beta snapped out of his daze, silver eyes snapping to the owner of the voice only to widen. Where Lucien had once stood was a creature similar in size to Dante