IF Lucia could have reached her own ass, she would’ve kicked it already. What had she been thinking when she made that comment about a declaration of love? Then there was that comment Solomon made about loving smartasses.She tried to not to read too much into that, but it was hard not to. Did Solomon love her? Could she love him? Lucia was afraid she was well on her way to loving Solomon. Maybe she was already there. She had a bad case of lust, there was no denying that, but that wasn’t a bad thing either.But Solomon fascinated her. He had a soft heart, at least for those he cared about. And Lucia was pretty sure she fell in that group. They got along well together, but they hadn’t had a full-on argument either.Just because werewolves believed in fated mates didn’t mean the couple was perfect. No one was, paranormals included. Lucia did have faith that Solomon was right for her. Now she needed to convince Solomon of that.If that hadn’t been enough of a shock, Solomon surprised her
“Incredible,” Solomon whispered as he gently traced some of the lines. “But I have no idea how or why this appeared.”“I haven’t either, and it’s impossible to tattoo werewolves,” Lucia said, breathing hard as she watched Solomon trace the lines.“This can’t be a tattoo,” Solomon said, lowering his hand.“I don’t think it is either,” Lucia said, still unable to believe on what she saw on her arm. “I don’t know what it is.”Solomon bent and leaned closer. “Notice it starts right where I bit you last night.”“Yeah, I saw that.” Lucia gulped. Solomon was close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin. As usual, her body reacted. Shock and desire mixed together.“Do you…. Do you think it looks like a—?”“Like an abstract drawing of your kind?” Solomon straightened. “Yes.”“Holy… holy shit.” Little blinking lights danced across Lucia’s vision. She took a deep breath, then another until they disappeared. “You think this could possibly be something like a mating scar?”Solomon scra
AN hour before sunset, Solomon noticed the increased tension in Lucia. During dinner, she fidgeted and didn’t eat much. She was in constant motion, either tapping her foot, scratching aimlessly at her arm, or irritably shoving her hair out of the way. When Solomon asked her what the problem was, she said it was because of the upcoming shift.It was fascinating. Since he wasn’t ruled by the full moon, he’d never experienced what Lucia was going through. Now that he had seen it, he was thankful nothing had the ability to command him to shift.At dusk they walked outside. His staff knew better than to disturb them during this time. He brought a duffel to leave their clothes in while they shifted, since Lucia had been upset when Solomon let his clothes lie on the ground. Together they cut through the courtyard and came to the large field with the woods just beyond.Solomon glanced up at the sky, pleased to see it was a clear night. “Are you ready?”“Past ready. I feel like I’m about to c
The subtle lighting in the office in his house cast long shadows that danced across the room. Burning wood popped and hissed in the fireplace, and the scent from burning firewood brought back memories from yesteryear. Restless, Solomon finally stood up. The warmth of the fire beckoned, and seeing no reason to deny himself, he strode across the floor. As he drew nearer, the heat wrapped around his body, and he sighed, relieved. Bending, he held his hands out toward the crackling fire. Once his fingers warmed, he straightened and turned.With his back to the fire, he carelessly brushed a long strand of hair behind his ear. He’d opened the blinds when he’d entered his office in a hopeless bid for daylight, not that it did much good. Good thing his eyesight was better than a human’s.The day was dreary, rainy, and overcast. He hated this time of the year. No matter how many layers of clothes he wore, the endless chill seeped in. He much preferred heat and humidity, sunny skies and warmt
TEN YEARS LATER....“Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday, happy birthday. Happy birthday to me.” Lucia sighed heavily at her reflection in the mirror.Today, according to pack law, Lucia officially became an adult. Her 18th birthday party was going strong downstairs, and here she was hiding in her bathroom. How pathetic could she get. Unable to stand the unhappiness in her eyes any longer, she turned away.Lucia was a monumental disappointment in every conceivable way. Although none of her family ever said so, she still can feel it. She couldn’t help but know. Her father, Alpha Theodore Salvatore, already had four pups who were daughters. What he desperately needed was a male pup—a male Alpha pup.But what she got was another female, and an Omega to boot.Things might not have been so bad if Lucia’s special talent—a gift all Omegas were born with—had been something useful. But no, what Lucia had ended up with was the ability to identify metals, stones, and mine
Solomon grabbed the reins of his Lycan rampaging inside of him, desperately trying to control the thrashing creature. The fuck! His Lycan wanted the Omega, so badly, which was quite shocking even for him. His kind usually paired up with another Lycan. He never heard of something like this. Sometimes Lycans had sex with other race but just for fun. Their kind tended to get violent that was why they didn’t often mate with other race because they would never be able to handle their temperamental nature.And Solomon himself preferred short-term connections where it was understood there were no commitments. He’d never been interested in mating. But now suddenly his Lycan was interested in that Omega… and wanted to claim her as his own.Solomon was stunned. But the hazel-eyed Omega standing outside almost accomplished what rarely happened with their kind. The wolf hadn’t even been trying—and that was the frightening thing.He jerked his gaze away from the young wolf. The last thing he neede
YOU what?” Lucia shouted.She grabbed the back of the chair in front of her father’s desk, her knees suddenly weak. What a perfect ending to an otherwise miserable birthday party. After their unexpected guest left, everyone else also cleared out and she’d been called to her father’s office. “How many more times do I have to say it?”“A couple more times, apparently, because I still can’t believe what I’m hearing, Father.” Lucia heard the words—they just didn’t make sense. Okay, strike that. They made sense, but she didn’t want to believe them. Mated… to that Lycan who was there last night—Solomon Romano. She couldn’t fathom it.Alpha Salvatore scowled at Lucia. “Careful.”She heard the warning, and those weak knees of her trembled, but why should she be careful when her father so obviously had not been? “So you’re telling me you took a loan ten years ago, right? From a Lycan who is basically a loan shark.” How messed-up was that? “Yes.” Alpha Salvatore paced back and forth behind hi
SOLOMON dropped Renato off at his home with a quick reminder that the new contract could be drawn up tomorrow. He knew his friend well, though, and wouldn’t be surprised to see him with the newly amended contract in hand first thing in the morning.Taking the long way back, Solomon let his mind wander. Showing up at Alpha Salvatore’s pack house had been a calculated risk, one he knew would cause an uproar. He was fine with that. This could have been handled privately, but the Alpha werewolf had forced his hand by refusing to answer his calls and emails for days now. Like that would make all his problem go away. And the money he loaned would miraculously cleared one day. Ha?! Who does he think he is. Besides, he was a Lycan. Subtle was not his preferred method.What he hadn’t expected though, was finding a mate there. He shook his head. A werewolf and an Omega. He pressed harder on the gas pedal of his newest car. He truly loved the car, especially since only two had been produced. H
AN hour before sunset, Solomon noticed the increased tension in Lucia. During dinner, she fidgeted and didn’t eat much. She was in constant motion, either tapping her foot, scratching aimlessly at her arm, or irritably shoving her hair out of the way. When Solomon asked her what the problem was, she said it was because of the upcoming shift.It was fascinating. Since he wasn’t ruled by the full moon, he’d never experienced what Lucia was going through. Now that he had seen it, he was thankful nothing had the ability to command him to shift.At dusk they walked outside. His staff knew better than to disturb them during this time. He brought a duffel to leave their clothes in while they shifted, since Lucia had been upset when Solomon let his clothes lie on the ground. Together they cut through the courtyard and came to the large field with the woods just beyond.Solomon glanced up at the sky, pleased to see it was a clear night. “Are you ready?”“Past ready. I feel like I’m about to c
“Incredible,” Solomon whispered as he gently traced some of the lines. “But I have no idea how or why this appeared.”“I haven’t either, and it’s impossible to tattoo werewolves,” Lucia said, breathing hard as she watched Solomon trace the lines.“This can’t be a tattoo,” Solomon said, lowering his hand.“I don’t think it is either,” Lucia said, still unable to believe on what she saw on her arm. “I don’t know what it is.”Solomon bent and leaned closer. “Notice it starts right where I bit you last night.”“Yeah, I saw that.” Lucia gulped. Solomon was close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin. As usual, her body reacted. Shock and desire mixed together.“Do you…. Do you think it looks like a—?”“Like an abstract drawing of your kind?” Solomon straightened. “Yes.”“Holy… holy shit.” Little blinking lights danced across Lucia’s vision. She took a deep breath, then another until they disappeared. “You think this could possibly be something like a mating scar?”Solomon scra
IF Lucia could have reached her own ass, she would’ve kicked it already. What had she been thinking when she made that comment about a declaration of love? Then there was that comment Solomon made about loving smartasses.She tried to not to read too much into that, but it was hard not to. Did Solomon love her? Could she love him? Lucia was afraid she was well on her way to loving Solomon. Maybe she was already there. She had a bad case of lust, there was no denying that, but that wasn’t a bad thing either.But Solomon fascinated her. He had a soft heart, at least for those he cared about. And Lucia was pretty sure she fell in that group. They got along well together, but they hadn’t had a full-on argument either.Just because werewolves believed in fated mates didn’t mean the couple was perfect. No one was, paranormals included. Lucia did have faith that Solomon was right for her. Now she needed to convince Solomon of that.If that hadn’t been enough of a shock, Solomon surprised her
Then sadness crossed Lucia’s face.Solomon struggled to swallow. He lifted his hand and touched where Lucia’s scar should have been. “I’m so sorry.”Lucia shrugged, then dropped her eyes. “We knew it was a possibility your mark wouldn’t take.”Solomon nudged Lucia’s chin up. “It doesn’t matter. Yes, I wish there’d been something there, especially since that’s an important part of your rituals, but it changes nothing. I don’t need a mark upon you to prove to others you’re mine. But still, I am sorry. Know that I’ll wear yours proudly.” Solomon held his arms open.“I know. You don't have to tell me...” Lucia moved into Solomon’s arms. “There’s no point in me getting upset over it.”“If you want to get upset, get upset.”Lucia buried her head in Solomon’s shoulder. “No. I wanted it, true, but like you said… in the end, it doesn’t matter.” Lucia lifted her head, then turned around and picked up the soap. She turned back around to Solomon and waggled her eyebrows. “Now, how about I clean y
SOLOMON swore hard as Lucia pulled him in. He was going to lose his mind. She was so hot and tight. She fit him like a glove. Lucia hands flew up and grabbed his arms.Solomon kept doing it slow, but when Lucia growled at him, he picked up speed. Little pricks of pain at his arms caught his attention, and he glanced over. Lucia’s claws had come out. He glanced back at her face. Her eyes were closed, but her mouth was open, and she was panting. He could see Lucia’s fangs had lengthened.“So good, so good. Harder,” she whispered.Still worried about hurting her since this was her first Lucia, Solomon kept the pace easy. Then Lucia opened her eyes. They were amber, and the look was more than a little annoyed.Surprised to see Lucia's wolf that close to the surface, he hesitated. Then her words replayed in his head about being a werewolf and not easily hurt. Lucia knew her body better than Solomon⁷. If she said he could handle more, who was to say she couldn’t? Taking Lucia at her word,
Delighted, Lucia laughed as Solomon swiftly led her away. The surroundings passed in a blur, not that Lucia cared this time. The sooner Solomon got them there, the better. Lucia’s heart pounded as Solomon pulled her through the open door and into the bedroom. Warmth swirled around her, and when she glanced over at the fireplace, she saw that it has been lit. Someone must have lit the fire. How utterly romantic!The covers had been turned down, and the lamps on the end tables were turned on low. Flames popped and hissed in the fireplace. As if drawn by an invisible line, Lucia walked toward the bed. She ran her hand across the finely made comforter. She would be waking up there from now on. She turned back at Solomon, who stood by the now-closed door, Lucia’s overnight bag by his feet.Lucia stood still, undecided what to do. Why was Solomon just standing there? Shyly she looked at Solomon, who stared back at her his purple eyes glowing slightly.Lucia’s eyes burned, but she blinked t
Lucia blinked, then blinked again. A million thoughts running through her mind, but she couldn’t grab a single one of them. What Solomon was talking about was… was…. Lucia wasn’t sure she could say the right words out loud.“Lucia?”“I-I-I, ah… I, ah….”“Does this mean you don’t want to be with me for as long as possible?”Lucia practically jumped out of her seat as she lurched closer and grabbed a fistful of Solomon’s heavy sweatshirt. “What? What? Holy shit, Solomon, you have got to stop making assumptions like that. Jeez, you dropped an atomic-sized bomb in my lap. Give me a second to get my head wrapped around it.”“So, you’re only shocked, that’s all?”Lucia was tempted to beat her head against the nearest hard surface. This man. Did he even have to asked. Of course she's shock! “Um, that would be a yes. A yes in big, capital neon letters with exclamation marks after it.”“Oh. Okay. You need a moment. I can understand that.” Solomon glanced away from Lucia.Lucia didn’t think Sol
IT seemed to take forever, but eventually they left the woods. Lucia’s pack milled around, waiting for them. As they drew closer, people began clapping. Someone had built a bonfire, and the scent of roasted meat lingered in the air.Lucia pranced in front of him, tail up and wagging, as she made a beeline straight for her father.“Well done, Lucia. A most excellent hunt.” Alpha Salvatore bent and hugged Lucia. He straightened as Solomon approached. “I see now why you asked if my pack could be trusted with your secret. It most assuredly will be kept quiet.”Solomon nodded, pleased. He held out his hand in a gesture of goodwill. After all, by tomorrow morning he’d be related to the Alpha.Laughing heartily, Alpha Salvatore pushed Solomon’s hand out of the way and embraced him. Shock caught Solomon off guard. Werewolves, as a rule, didn’t touch outsiders. This more than anything told Solomon he’d been accepted into the pack.As they hugged, Alpha Salvatore whispered, “Thank you for honor
Solomon leisurely walked through the woods, following his mate's scent on the air. He’d dressed in warm black clothes to help fight the chill, but the coldness that lay heavily upon the land didn’t bother him for once. Because right now, excitement thrummed through his body, heating his blood and keeping him burning with need.He chuckled softly to himself when he remembered the look on the werewolves’ faces earlier. Maybe he’d been showing off, but he wanted to make an impression. Once the hour delay was over, Alpha Salvatore nodded at Solomon, telling him it was time. He couldn’t shift into his beast form, but that didn’t mean he was incapable of making a statement. Instead of immediately walking into the woods, Solomon had stripped off his heavy, fleece-lined sweatshirt and tied it around his waist. Under the sweatshirt he wore a black sleeveless T-shirt with extreme dropped armholes.He cleared his mind, closed his eyes, and reached toward his other form. There was a slight tingl