The promise Marcus made me swam around in my head like unleashed tadpoles as I watched the lycans from across the field. The distance made it hard to see who they were, but I was sure I would recognize them. I remembered all of Jason's henchman's faces.A shiver raced down Marcus' spine, and I watched as he fought off his wolf. We were in broad daylight, in the middle of a publicparking lot. Shifting into supernatural creatures wasn't a good idea."Marcus," I said, but he only gave me a look that said do what I say.Quickly, I raced toward the rental and made it to the passenger side. Marcus stalked toward the field on the side of the apartmentcomplex, meeting the lycans halfway.I was thankful for the distance because I didn't want to see them fight up close. I knew from experience, and growing up aroundlycans, that just because it was one-on-one didn't mean he'd lose. In fact, I had a feeling Marcus could take care of himself. Thosemuscles weren't just for looks, I knew that much
The feeling of being watched followed me well out of town, and toward the dragon's lair. It wouldn't surprise me if the lycans followed us through the wooded area on each side of the highway. They came at us in broad daylight. Relentless on getting Lilly back. The bastard had the audacity to sink his claws into her, knowing she wouldn't heal easily. I curled my fingers around the steering wheel, glancing at Scotty driving behind us with Heather and Blaire. Gab and Emily behind them. Gab had pulled his weight back there, and proved to me he was on our side. Thankfully, or Lilly might have been shoved into that car and be back with Jason right now. The mountain came into view, a dragon circling overhead, signaling to the others we had arrived. I took the small trail, parking the rental as deep into the woods as I could get it. Lilly looked over at me with big blue eyes. "We're here?" she asked, glancing around. I nodded and pinched her chin. "Their lair is inside the mountain. The c
Marcus' eyes danced from shade to shade, his wolf vibrating his skin, and forcing my stomach into somersaults. Maybe he was right. I didn't know what I was asking for, but I knew I wanted Marcus' mark on me. I hated the thought of Jason leaving one. Marcus tightened his palm around my upper thigh. "I want to give you that, but—," I sighed, closing my eyes and trying not to show my disappointment. "Please," I whispered. Days ago, I was too shy to look him in the eyes for too long, and now I was asking—begging—him to mark me. To have sex with me. If Jason did find me, and this didn't go down the way they planned, I didn't want Jason to take his shot. I wanted Marcus to have all of me. I wanted Marcus to be my first. My mate. My ... everything that Jason wanted to be. Marcus groaned, and quickly stood up, running his fingers into his sandy brown hair. He turned away from me, bracing both palms on the wall, and letting his head hang low. His wide shoulders shuttered as he fought
The highest high didn't compare to the ecstasy coursing through my bloodstream. Everything about the last hour replayed in my head like a slideshow kept for safekeeping. The feeling of her smooth skin beneath my fingertips. How tight she felt around me as I shoved past her innocence. It'd been perfect. Until it wasn't. Her reddened cheeks, and heavy breaths, all turned so quickly. They flipped. Lilly's mouth opened in pain. "What's wrong?" I asked, my mouth dry, watching her hand move toward her fresh mark. My mark. "It hurts," she whispered. "It's burning." "What is?" I asked, confused, praying it wasn't what I thought it was. The marks didn't burn. They didn't hurt. "My mark!" she shouted. "Please, make it stop!" I jolted upright, with both of us still naked; I snatched her robe and tied it around her. Carrying my hurt mate down the hallway toward Scotty's room felt like a nightmare. Not only was her thigh bandaged and still healing, but now my mark was hurting her. What di
Marcus carried me up the stairs and back toward our room. He wanted me to be comfortable, and even with the medicine drip trailing behind us, he never seemed bothered by it. I cursed myself for being turned on at such a terrible time. I had some reaction to wolf's bane coursing my body, my thigh healing from a wolf attack, and everything the man did turned me on. Closing my eyes, I envisioned all of this going away. Being able to live on the pack land, taking my G.E.D and going to college like I always wanted Marcus with me. I swung my head from one side to the other and glanced back at Emily. She wore a worried face, one hand curled underneath her growing belly as she climbed the stairs. Gab stayed behind with Heather, helping with the training for killing the lycans. Marcus kicked open our door, sat me on the bed, and positioned the medicine drip beside me. I sighed as my head rested against the pillow. "Thank you," I said. He handed me a bottle of water and sat down beside
I found Heather standing in the courtyard of the kingdom, with all the dragons, lycans, and wolves standing around ready to leave for their attack. Scotty stepped out from the midst of the group. "About time," he said, giving me a once over. "We've been waiting for you." I motioned for Heather to come over. She walked over, armor over her chest, a concerned look on her face. "You're not coming?" she asked. She obviously picked up on more clues than Scotty. Scotty glared at me. "You're backing out?" "I want to come," I said. "More than anyone. But, Lilly thinks Jason is luring us there so he can come here and get her. I think she's right. She's spent her entire life with him, and she knows him better than any of us. I think I need to stay." Heather wrapped her arm around the strap of her armor and nodded. "I understand. I'll leave a few of our most skilled dragons behind. I'll have them stationed in the castle." "Thank you," I said. Scotty sighed. "Jory hasn't replied to any of
I startled awake. Sitting up in bed, I quickly realized I wasn't in the same bed as the night before. This room was grand, built for royalty, and when I caught a glimpse at the royal crest on the wall, I figured it was meant for The Dragon King. Blaire tickled my foot, and I glanced over at her eating an apple. She smiled. "Big room, isn’t it? Fancy schmancy stuff. This was The Dragon King's Room." She offered me her half-eaten apple. I shook my head and noticed a bowl of oatmeal on the nightstand. "Is that for me?" "I guess so. It was here when I got here." I reached over and grabbed it, taking a bite of the mushy goodness. "Where is everyone?" "Marcus went downstairs to see the two dragons on duty. He'll be back in a minute." I continued my oatmeal, feeling a slight chilly breeze against my skin. Blaire stalled, staring off into space. She swallowed the food in her mouth. "Is the balcony door open?" I asked. "It's freezing in here." Blaire slowly shook her head. "No, it's clo
I deserved that. By the looks of Luther's bruises and demeanor, I really deserved it. For an alpha to have bruises, and them not heal immediately, meant they'd forced-fed him wolf's bane, or continuously beat him. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were both. Lilly gasped as Luther slugged me, sending me stumbling against the doctor's bed where she sat. I caught myself with one hand on either side of her and chuckled humorlessly for a moment. "Okay. I deserved that," I said, turning to face him, but he hit me again. Lilly shrieked. "Stop it! Please!" The dragon doctor cursed under his breath and stepped back with his palms in the air, bandages hanging from each hand. But Luther was on a rampage. I blocked his second punch, and gripped his wrist, seeing his wolf skimming the surface. His eyes were blazing. "Luther, I deserved the first one. I'm not going to hold back if you hit me again, or sit there and get the crap beat out of me." Luther chuckled, and snatched his hand away from me
Freedom never tasted so sweet. It’d been three weeks since the last fight with the lycans, and not a thought of Jason. I knew he was being detained in the dungeon at the pack house but I didn’t give one damn about it. I was safe in Marcus’ arms, and my parents knew I was alive. We’d drove for two days to get to them after the fight. Marcus looked more nervous that I had walking hand-in-hand up the small driveway toward my parents humble two-bedroom house in Georgia. We hadn’t called first, because I wanted it to be a surprise. At first, I didn’t think they realized who I was. Then my mother reached forward and touched my cheek, drawing me into a hug that lasted longer than any other hug in my life. They both looked older. More older than I expected, but I sensed it was from the stress of their daughter going missing in the woods. Dad didn’t like Marcus. Well, not that I sensed, anyway. He thought Marcus had something to do with my disappearance, which I didn’t bla
All the vampires are here, Luther’s wolf said through their mind link. I’d spent the entire morning regretting not taking Lilly to her parents’ house the night before. I would have missed this if I had, but I wouldn’t have been sad about it. Though they deserved my help. I’d broken the plan and slipped into the kingdom that night. I hadn’t started it, but I’d helped fan the fire. My wolf skimmed the surface, stirring awake, and longing to be set free. The flashes of white zoomed by, a blur of speed that a werewolf didn’t have, and I’d be the first to admit it. My wolf shredded my clothes and landed on all fours in a giant thump. The gnashing of teeth and tearing of flesh fed his desire to join the fight. The dragons landed throughout the courtyard, while several wolves guarded the cells. They were here for Jason. To release him. And I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let them release him. One because he wanted Lilly. And two because he wanted Selene. My wolf p
I scrubbed the filth from my skin and remembered the last time I’d been in the shower with Marcus. His rough hands were on me, doing things I’d only ever wanted to do with him. But as badly as those memories drove me up the wall, I couldn’t get Selene out of my mind. She looked horrified that Jason was her mate, and I felt the same way. Jason’s kingdom didn’t treat their mates with respect, hence his first mate meant nothing to him. But he was stubborn and would go after Selene just to spite Axel and Luther. After finishing my shower, I stepped out and dried myself off. I changed into some sweats and braided my wet hair down my shoulder. I felt sore from the rough flight over with Alaric. He hadn’t given two cents about me. The only reason he took me along with them was because of Blaire. He was the perfect anti-hero. He’d sacrifice the world to save his mate. I opened the bathroom door and yelped. Barbie, Selene, and Jessica all sat around my room, looking worried. “He
This wasn’t happening. As if we didn’t have enough problems, now we had a mate issue. And I didn’t mean the dirty threesome, Alaric, Blaire, and Luther. This was the bastard fighting over my mate that was now mated to my sister. For a brief second, I thought I’d fallen and hurt my head while fighting with Jason. But that would have been too good to be true. Alaric’s deep chuckle broke the brief silence between the group of us until Axel jumped forward and lashed his claws across Jason’s face. Lilly jumped, and I nudged her to stand behind me. I noticed a sword hanging on her side, and I was pretty sure she didn’t have it before. I’d ask later. Now I needed to come up with a plan on how to get us all out of there before the vampires woke up. It wasn’t as if we couldn’t fight them, but our wolves were tired enough, and adding blood-suckers to the agenda would only cause more problems. We could lose more warriors. It wasn’t worth it. Jason flipped Axel off him, and they squa
The flight over had been a close second to a night in Hell. Probably not, but it put the fear of dying in me. Alaric seemed unfazed by his tight turns and uncanny speed, while I prayed he didn’t let me go. The wind sucked the breath from me, and I became still, praying that we made it over in one piece. When Alaric dropped me in front of Marcus, and I scurried over, I’d been hopeful that Jason finding his mate—and it affecting him the way it did—would deter him from everything. Wishful thinking. Mindless dreaming. Standing to the side of Marcus, I held him closely as Jason convulsed and fought to stay in control. “Jason found his mate when we were younger, I thought, he said it was his mate,” I whispered. “Some wolves have more than one. Seeing he’s a Lycan King, and not around his first one, it's not uncommon that he has another one.” My gaze shifted around the yard, wondering who had drawn such an unlucky card. Jason screamed, looking up with red eyes, his wolf began to cra
The wind blew into my wolf’s fur, making his journey to the kingdom the calm before the storm. It’d been many moons since we’d went on a run, and I hated the reason behind it. Leaving Lilly, my brother, and the others behind with the potential ghost of the castle, didn’t sit right with me, but I had no other choice. I knew Alaric would protect Blaire, and Blaire would make sure he protected everyone else, as well. But it stung to do it either way. My wolf’s paws slid into the dirt as we neared the kingdom and came to a stop. The other wolves following, slid in around me, and then the dragons landed with a giant thump. Heather’s wings shook the drizzle of rain from her, and she stopped in front of me. “We’re all here. Where to first?” I glanced around the giant brick wall guarding the grounds, and the tall front gates. The woods gave us enough coverage to hide from the lycans, but it wouldn’t be long before the wind from the thunderstorm carried our scent to them. All eyes o
Marcus let the bedroom door shut behind him once the guards made it into the hallway. My gut felt like rocks lined the insides. My heartbeat was still out of control from my dream—nightmare—with Jason. He'd pulled me through the courtyard by my hair, and I found little relief in massaging my scalp. The bastard had kicked me, taunted me, laughed at me, and when he shoved me down onto the ground, I knew he planned to rape me. The look of outrage on his face caused panic to knot in my throat. I'd never felt so helpless pressed against his body and the ground before. It was worse than the wolf's bane. It was worse than my leg. It hurt my pride, and my dignity to think he would take that from me. There was gravel beneath me, but no rocks big enough to do any damage. Jason's fingers tightened around my throat, and I gasped for breath. Kicking my legs wildly, I heard the sound of wings above me. I'd never prayed for another man to show up and save me as I did Alaric. But I couldn't see h
Lilly's warm body stirred beside me, but my wolf was too exhausted from alpha duty to pay it much attention. Moments dragged by when her leg jerked again, this time, shoving the covers away from her. Turning on my side, I glanced into the darkness to see someone standing over Lilly's body. I'd never moved so quickly in my life. I jolted upward, coming in contact with a cool gust of wind. Spinning, I watched Lilly begin to thrash around in her sleep, obviously in a dream with Jason. I turned on the lights, brightening the room to see Alaric's shadow dancing in the corner. "What do what?" I barked, desperately shaking Lilly's shoulders to wake her. His chuckle hit the back of my neck. I swirled around to see his silhouette perked in the corner of the room. "Stupid wolves think they can defeat anyone—," "What do you want?" I screamed, my insides melting into a batch of hatred. Alaric's gaze turned to Lilly. "Are you interested in saving Lilly, Marcus?" My jaw clenched into a jaw kn
The dragon in front of me was huge, his wings tucked tightly against his back, and his long black hair tied at the nape of his neck. If I hadn't known him, I would be intimidated. But his kind smile always pushed any fear I had about him away."This was my daughter's sword when she was a child," he chuckled, a playful look in his eye. "Believe it or not, dragons are small when they are children."I smiled and eyed the shiny blade. "It's beautiful. Did you carve the handle?"He nodded. "I do woodwork in my spare time.""Have you always been in this coven?" I asked, taking the blade from his strong grip, and admiring it up close."No. My mate was from this coven. When her parents grew old, we moved here to join this coven. When she passed, I stayed because my daughter grew up here. Now she's mated and found a new coven.""Do you miss her?" I asked."Very much so, but she comes to visit a few times a year. She would love that I'm teaching you a few moves with her sword."I ran my finger