The crowd howled in short, repeated intervals, encouraging the pups as they took their positions several feet away from the designated target boards, Enora’s head swung to find her family, lips breaking into a grin before her sights found Greg, and she gave him a wave.
Greg waved back, a proud smile stretched across his face when he murmured, “Shoot them dead, sweetheart.”
From his side, Sush questioned, “Isn’t it ‘knock them dead’?”
Eyes never taken off Enora while she took her position with the other pups, he responded, “No, this isn’t about impressing anyone. It’s about literally shooting down the competition.”
“It must have taken a lot out of you,” Sush taunted with a smirk when they were in the car after dropping off Enora at the royal residence, promising to pick her up for ice-cream and a trip to the park next time. “It did. I felt like I gave off an arm,” Greg replied, recalling the way he had to lower himself to Little Blackfur’s level, swallow a sigh, hold back his dislike for the pup, and ask whether he could have the photos he wanted. All without scaring the child. And all of this could have been prevented had Sush simply asked on his behalf, which she didn’t. What made it worse was when she said it was unlike him to hide from a challenge. His plan B was to wait for the photos to circulate within the family then get them from the queen, but after what Sush said, it would just seem like he was running away from someone whose height didn’t even reach his stomach. Scoffing in amusement, Sush replied, “I think you’ll find the arm you lost was your pride. I wouldn’t worry about it not
“Oh! Oh!” The moans came in successive streams. Her smooth, straight hair was now sprawled on the quaking bed as the largest shaft she’d ever had filled her in ways that sent her to her climax quick, and the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen pumped into her like a deranged animal, his blue eyes carried the primitive glint - a hunger, a yearning, a desire - one that she hadn’t seen in her own husband’s eyes in decades.The moment her body arched and her walls clenched around him with a scream, his own body stilled as he grunted, cumming inside her, shooting deep.Without a condom.She insisted.And although Patterson’s standard practice was to never fuck without one, La
Sush, Patterson, and Greg paced down the white-tiled floors and passed the sea of green patients dotted only by the white beds and doctors and nurses in white.Valor received word from the hospital that Hazel was lucid for a good two hours a day since three days ago, and sent the two chiefs to ask about the events leading up to the incident the other day, about whether there was a system error and who she saw behind the computers. Several octopuses and chameleons had already interviewed the rest, but since this was Hazel - the Deputy Octopus - Valor insisted the chiefs went.Hazel was in green like the others, back against the bed frame cushioned by a pillow. She looked pale and her eyes were dull, the usual jubilant shine was no longer in sight as she stared out the window. The moment she heard footsteps approaching, her head swung
Valor defended Hazel when Sush and Patterson played the recording then disclosed their suspicions of her. The commander insisted that the Deputy Chief Octopus had only ever remained loyal to the hunters and would be the last person to lie or betray them. Refusing to authorize an immediate freeze over her access to the headquarters files and confiscation of her weapons, Valor “suggested” they look further into the matter and find “more plausible leads”. Not even Patterson, who’d been in the commander’s good books, could say anything to change his mind.After that unsuccessful discussion, Greg brought Sush to the archery range, telling her she deserved some time off which she wholly disagreed with at first, until - with eyes twinkling in mischief - he asked, “Are you sure you’re not in the mood? I checked the range schedule: it’s helium ball
“Six! That’s a new record,” one of them said. “He’s the best of the best, what d’you expect?” another praised. It was easy to see that the group of three men and two women were on a corporate gathering, and the one who was being bombarded praises looked like he had everyone under his thumb as he beamed and began his story - probably not for the first time - of how archery was a skill that had been in his family for generations, his grandfather being one of the best in the country and was once best in the world so “he supposed” he inherited the skill in some way, never needing to put that much effort yet still be good at it, at one point saying that he may even be better than a professional hunter, which prompted more ass-kissing from the over-agreeable people around him. Lilac eyes of mischief locked with Sush’s smiling, dark orbs when Greg asked, “What’s your record?” He was sure she was better. “Twenty,” she replied, a smirk slowly forming along her lips when she was getting an i
Back in the diplomatic residence, Greg parked in his usual lot and they unbuckled their seatbelts. He had already detected a faint whiff of her arousal on their way back, and smiled to himself knowing that - despite the hours at work and at the range - his octopus still had energy for an eventful night. Placing a quick kiss on Sush’s hand before letting it go, he was about to turn off the ignition - at which time the doors would automatically open - when Sush lunged at him from her seat and crashed her lips onto his before he could take out the key. Shocked and disorientated, it took him a moment before he began properly savoring the feeling of her tongue in his mouth as he brought her onto his lap, letting her legs spread across his waist as he held her by her hips. When he got his vehicle fully-tinted windows, the consideration was one of privacy for himself and safety for his nieces and nephew, not pleasure. In this moment, having her devouring him like a starved animal, he knew h
Monica Upshaw was dead.Her body was found by two lycans patrolling from a distance, who detected her scent but didn’t think much about it at first before realizing - after hours - that the scent had neither faded nor strengthened, and carried the familiar smell of blood. As they followed the trail, they discovered the huntress, hair sprawled on the ground, eyes wide but empty and had a number of slashes at her neck.Word arrived at hunters’ headquarters from the defense ministry and Valor demanded Sush, Patterson, Kenji, and the newly-appointed Chief Archer, Millicent, be at his office two hours before their usual 9:00 a.m.Greg did not appreciate having to skip a love-making
Valor braced himself for the most explosive outburst yet. “In light of recent… developments in Alagumalai’s… relationship with His Grace, the kingdom’s access to anything pertaining to the hunters sh—”“Finish that sentence and you’ll die,” Greg snarled. “The treaty clearly states the kingdom would be given at least seven days in notice before my involvement can cease.”“I was getting there, Your Grace,” Valor hummed. “The kingdom is being notified as we speak.”“By whom? Ferdinand’s secretary?”“By the deputy defense minister. We expect an immediate demand for a meeting to renegotiate the terms
Days after Kenji’s update, Sush was no closer to figuring out the last time she came in touch with Upshaw, and Asahi pointedly told the eastern leader that despite the eastern attacks - which he was still blaming Kenji and his octopuses for - he would never stoop below professionalism and hunter hierarchy. That assertion was entirely believable because Asahi has never broken a single rule in his career - be it something as serious as committing treachery or as trivial as abiding to lunch hour to the dot. That brought them back to the lead itself: what did Upshaw mean? When did she and Sush last meet? It was probably when Upshaw was still in the western headquarters, and the exchange was either in a queue during lunch at the cafeteria or that they brushed past each other on the archer’s floor when their practice sessions coincided. In both scenarios, they wouldn’t have even spared each other a nod or greeting. Did that count as being in touch? “What’s on your mind?” Greg’s drawl bru
After the meal, the families strolled around the greenery of small trees and flower beds, mingling with other families and teachers. Pups either left their parents’ side to play with their friends or were clung onto tightly by their respective parents as their teacher spilled every detail on their grades and behavior in class. Some grinned with pride while others hid behind their parents’ legs, which were as good a hiding spot as having none. Little Ken was well-loved in terms of character and behavior, but could use some help in sports. Reida and Ianne were a lovable pair mostly due to their inquisitive nature, but their chatter during lessons was incredibly hard to stop. The teachers - especially the science teacher - appreciated that their chats were about the scrawls of facts and processes on the board, but he made it a point to note that he’d appreciate it more if their discussion didn’t come when he was still talking and trying to get the pups to pay attention. Lewis was ado
Dear readers,We’ve come to the end of The Indomitable Huntress & the Hardened Duke, and I want to thank everyone who has stuck around. I hope you can spare a few minutes to rate this novel and leave a review here and on *Goodreads*. It'll help a lot in seeking new readers and sharing the love!Thank you for the gems, comments, reviews, follows, and - most of all - patience throughout this journey. When I started Book One, I would have never thought this would be the direction I’d take in Book Three, especially not when I was writing the first few chapters of my debut, but here we are.I named the female lead Sushmita after my closest friend in the sixth form (she doesn’t know yet), coupled with Alagumalai which means “beautiful mountain” and is part of the name of my favorite English teacher (she doesn’t know either). I almost chickened out and was going to use something generic, but the tale didn’t carry the spark I wanted as I began writing, so I swapped it back. If either of them e
Xandar’s jet landed next to the Forest of Oderem and everyone trailed out to meet Pelly, Octavia, Rafael and Amber. The forest greeted them with the waft of freshly baked goods and a gentle breeze, growing pink and amber-colored flowers around Enora and bringing the butterflies that she always loved seeing. One landed on her nose and Enora’s hands were about to catch it when it flew away. The breeze brought along dried leaves of different shape, color and texture, raining them on Reida and Ianne who collected them. The girls even brought a small sack to gather them after their first visit, always patting the branch that would magically extend toward them as a way of conveying their thanks. Sush lay her eyes on the forest for the first time, feeling an undeniable
A week after they’d returned from their honeymoon, the pups came over. Christian had been adamant about keeping his family away from Greg in the beginning, but it was difficult to keep his son away from Sush, so trust was built over time. In the first twenty times Sush and Greg brought Lewis to the park when they took Enora, Christian and Annie went along, staying on the benches solely to observe, learning from there that their son had a knack for something other than his camera. Unlike Ken, Lewis wasn’t good with puzzles - wasn’t patient enough, but he picked up catapulting quite quickly, shooting fake nests off high branches, even accidentally catapulting Greg in his ass in his first try when Greg was placing the nests into trees. Lewis gasped and quickly hid the weapon behind his back the moment Greg turned around with a
In the following week after returning from the kingdom, a paternity test was taken, and it confirmed Sush carried Ferdinand’s genes - a fact that didn’t surprise him but disgusted her. Of all the things she imagined her birth father to be, a defense minister that was the epitome of an irresponsible, disloyal, and unreliable hypocrite was not one of them.Upon learning this, Sush sat on the couch and stared into space.Greg came over soon after, placed her on his lap and asked whether she wanted to talk things through; preferred if he just held her and stayed silent; or simply wanted to be left alone so he should leave for now. At the mention of the last option, Sush grabbed onto his shirt - her action conveying that she did not want him to leave before her words did. She asked for the second option, and a very quiet
Back at work, many were pleased to learn that media scrutiny and public pressure were immense enough to force Ferdinand and Valor to take a temporary leave from office pending investigations of the reports made. Therefore, the two defense systems that human territories relied on now fell into the hands of the deputy defense minister, Agu, and for the hunters, the majority decided they wanted Sush, who received the same magnitude of support from the ministry with Agu placing the discussion of lifting her suspension as the first thing on the agenda in the first meeting held without Ferdinand.The second thing on the agenda was to officially remove the defense ministry’s superiority over the hunters, letting them exist as a separate entity with its own independence, working with them as a partner rather than a subordinate. Agu’s proposal was not well-received, and many suggested they
Before her eyes opened the next morning, Sush’s heightened sense of smell detected the distinct scent of musk and sandalwood wafting stronger than before from the creature lying next to her. Her eyelids slowly lifted as her vision adjusted to the darkness, and she was welcomed with a very clear view of the most gorgeous man in existence. She wondered if it was possible to find him more alluring simply from being able to smell him better now. The tip of his lips quirked, lilac eyes gazing into hers.He dozed off seconds after her the night before, and woke up just minutes before she did, using the time alone to watch her sleep, then watch her wake, which was better than watching the sunrise or sunset. He never understood the point in those. It was something that happened everyday. Surely, at some point, anyone would get bored of it.
After a very long day of surrendering the hostages to the police and making reports, submitting a public statement for the media to circulate throughout the kingdom, empire and human territory in case someone did something to cover-up the truth, everyone dragged their exhausted selves back home.In the diplomatic residence, Sush was in sweatpants and one of Greg’s shirts as they lay in bed. She lay on her side facing him, head resting on his arm, hand on his bare torso as Greg’s fingers fiddled with her hair, relishing in the tiny sparks that dotted his fingers when he touched the strands. When he wanted to feel a higher charge, his fingers went to her shoulder, pulling up the sleeve to feel her bare skin, leaving goosebumps that his fingertips continued stroking through.“Hey,” she began in a whisper.