I’m not sure why my mother… ‘Sakina. Call her Sakina. She doesn’t deserve to be called mother.’ Bastet snorted. I sighed. I don’t know why Sakina chose an abandoned mall with vampires nearby to hide her talisman.
I shuddered, just thinking about the kind of tests Sakina has done on living supernatural creatures. Was it to try and lure some in for capture and testing? She would have had to know this area of Portland has vampires.
I felt my stomach churn as I realized I was the product of one of her tests. ‘Sakina was one sick bitch.’ Bastet shook her head. Sadly, she isn’t wrong.
I hurried to get ahead of Nigel as he went to open the doors. “Don’t touch anything.” I warned. “Miss Adio, have you forgotten what my role is here?” Nigel arched his brow at me.
It’s very kind that he wants to protect me. I know he is only watching me because his Alpha has ordered it. Nigel’s job is to guard Sybille, not me.
“No, Mister Boland. I haven’t.” I sighed, s
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‘Alpha? Beta?’ I called out through the pack link. ‘What is it, Kurt?’ John questioned. I got a grunt of acknowledgment from Logan.‘I do not mean to interrupt. I thought you ought to know we have come across a group of Vampires at the… at the place we don’t speak of.’ I reported.Based on the growl that made my headache, Logan knew where I meant. ‘Sakina hid her talisman here. She put up traps, and one of their clan is trapped within. They have admitted to delivering the box from Khalid. But based on the warning, Khalid left to not trust everyone in Bloodmoon should still question my neighbors.’ I sighed.‘Very odd that a hunter is working with Vampires. But I suppose Khalid is an odd one.’ John sighed. ‘He’s not odd. He’s resourceful.’ Sarael’s voice chimed in. ‘What is the status there? Do you need my help with the traps?’ she questio
I’m just glad we could find and save Caleb before the full extent of the trap could take its toll. I would hate for more people to lose their lives because of Sakina. Even from the grave, she is trying to take lives. I can’t let her hurt anyone else. Though in doing so, I’m feeling very lightheaded. I don’t know if I would have had the strength to free Caleb if Kurt and Godric hadn’t lent me power. I was doing my best to stay standing. Once again, I found myself thankful for Kurt’s support. His arm around me helped me maintain an appearance of strength. “My brother has a way of getting under people’s skins. Though most times if it’s a girl, it’s more a way of getting into her pants.” I frowned. “Un-fucking-likely. My sister wouldn’t give a hunter the time of day.” Mariana scoffed, folding her arms. “Fair. Khalid most likely will piss her off. I just can only hope she doesn’t kill him. Other than my aunt, he’s all I have left of my family.” I sig
I’m not sure how I feel about vampires being involved with us. They’ve always kept out of werewolf business, yet Caleb has offered to help if Isis ever needs it.My mate is incredible. Though I guess that’s less willing to get involved in werewolf business and more willing to help Isis. I suppose I can’t be mad about that. We dropped the containment box of the talisman with Silvercloud, and then it was off to the packhouse to speak with Logan. As we walked inside, Nigel got sidelines by Holly. “Hope you two don’t mind me stealing him for a little bit.” she smiled, tugging his arm back to the front door.“Um, yeah, go for it, Holly. We should be fine.” I nodded. “Please excuse me. If I am needed, be sure to contact me, Kurt.” Nigel nodded as he was tugged backward. “Bye.” Isis waved then looked at me, confused.“Is there an emergency or something? Holly seemed
Two months. Logan was giving Kurt two months to decide his whole future. ‘Giving US two months.’ Bastet pointed out. It took me a moment, but I quickly realized what she meant. My mind doesn’t instantly think of things that way. We’re dating and currently living together, but I don’t always believe that he makes life choices for both of us. ‘Stop being so human. Kurt’s our mate. You haven’t completed the bond yet, but you need to get your head on straight, girl. To put it in human terms, you’ll get he’s our husband. Major decisions have to be made as a couple because they affect us all.’ Bastet rolled her eyes. She’s not wrong. I’ve mostly been looking at our relationship the way a human would. But it’s not that simple, not that black and white. I sighed, letting my hand slip into his. “Kurt?” I smiled softly at him as we walked home. He was quiet and has been since we left Logan’s office. And Kurt, my Kurt isn’t often silent. “Kurt?” I called h
I’m dreaming. That’s the only explanation I have. Because only in my dreams do I make love to Isis or hear her ask to be marked. ‘Not dreaming.’ Bastet’s silky voice filled my head as I felt teeth in my neck. I groaned as the surge of power flowed between us. The embodiment of our souls connecting and becoming one on loop as we marked each other in unison. I’ve been told enough about mating and marking work to know what this feeling means. I also know that because I have Alpha blood, sharing power is more intense. And I think because Isis is a hybrid, there’s a difference, but don’t quote me on that. I didn’t really pay as much attention as I should’ve to that book John told me to read. I was never the most studious guy. But I did read and learn enough to better understand what I’m doing in bed than most virgins. ‘Ahem, you also have me here. I have natural instincts.’ Godric scoffed. ‘Oh wow, so this is what you two talk about?’ Bastet snickered.
I’ll have to extend my thanks to Auntie Sarael, again, for her insistence on me going to the pack OB and getting birth control. I’d been hesitant about it, so sure that we wouldn’t be doing THAT for a while. But I suppose that was my human mind and upbringing coming out. I thought we’d wait longer before getting intimate. That, of course, has gone out the window. All chance of waiting any longer went poof like me teleporting when Bastet marked Kurt. There was no going back from that. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after the fact. After we completed the bond, I was no longer a virgin. I know most girls would talk to their mothers about boys and sex. It’s not like I had someone to talk to about these things growing up. Most girls didn’t have my mother or the type of relationship with her. We didn’t have chats. Everything I know about sex I learned from books and movies. And then when I got here and was given the ‘talk’ from Auntie Sarael and Aurelia. I’d say
I clenched my jaw as I tapped my black nails against the tabletop as I glared at my phone. Why hasn’t Wade given me an update? I swear if he fucked this up. If he got caught by Kurt or worse, Logan. I could feel the tendrils of my magic calling to me, wanting to be used. My magic wanted to be set out to cause some destruction. Wade was supposed to report hours ago on what Kurt and that bitch were up to. He told me they had been moved to the packhouse last night after finding an unknown package at their apartment door. I want to know what is in that package and who the hell sent it. Wade’s last update was that he was following them into Portland. He had to be careful to stay at a minimum of five miles from them. The only reason he was able to track them from that distance was because of a spell I had placed on that hunter half-breed bitch during our fight. But it’s been hours since Wade last reported in. It was pissed me off. He wasn’t dead. I’d know if
“Oh, my poor big sister. To be kept from your mate by an evil hunter hybrid. Is there anything I can do? A way that I can save my big brother? To bring him back home to lead our people and take his rightful mate?” Talia offered herself up. I grinned and stroked her hair, gently returning the hug. “I think there is. Now that you have access to your family link, we can use it. We can know what is happening in his life and find ways to use it to try and undo the brainwashing. But it will take time. And you’ll need to train really hard. Can you do that?” I asked, pulling back to look her in the eyes. I saw the determination of Seigfried in her eyes. “Yes. I will save my big brother from that hunter and those baby-eating wolves.” Talia nodded. “Then we will start in the morning.” I smiled as Wade walked in, looking like he’d been in one hell of a fight
Dacian POV Mother fucking back… rib stabbing Sevastian. I don’t care that he’s my brother by blood. He has betrayed me and the rest of the Death Legion in favor of those go monkeys in The Black Vipers. They dumped me just inside werewolf territory, knowing the sun would be up soon and if I somehow found shelter without help, I’d be dead before the wolves found me. Sev trusted the wolves would find and kill me if I lived that long. With me out of the way, our father and the rest of the legion would never know the truth. He’d either carry on as a double agent for the Vipers or help destroy the Legion. I had to live to stop either of those outcomes. Sev would pay for his betrayal. I would be the one to make him pay. I just needed to survive long enough to do it. I’d managed to get from where Sev had dumped me to a secluded cave before sunrise. I knew that in my state, I didn’t want to be here later when the black bear, based on the smell and massive scat, almost stepped in and came hom
Zoraida POV Do I believe my little cousin that he saw not only Luna Laraine’s ghost but also a little girl, possibly a witch, during the full moon last week? Not really. It’s not a slight against Jamil. It’s just that he’s five, and the night before, he was told a ghost story about his very dead great-grandmother. Of course, it was going to make him jumpy. Tiziano is the only one that fully believes Jamil, but well, he’s a sucker. Owen and Olivia were more skeptical, but they smiled and told Jamil that if he was sure that’s what he saw, that’s what happened. Just what my cousin doesn’t need, a bunch of ‘yes men’ in his ranks. I’m the only one that called bullshit and suggested Jamil had a nightmare. I couldn’t explain the girl, but that doesn’t make it any less bullshit. When Aunt Isis and Dad checked his room and the dungeons, they found nothing suspicious. I’m a hunter, so I believe in what I can prove. Jamil is family, and I love him, but because of that, I have to be honest with
Nyx POV “Go spy on the wolves. You’re too small for them to notice. Your magic isn’t strong enough for the hunters to trace.” I grumbled, repeating my grandmother’s demands. I’m only five. What does Grandmother expect from me? I like to think I’m powerful for my age. Not that I have other witches my age to compare myself to. It’s just me and my grandmother, though there’s a coven not far from us that grandmother is trying to get us into. I hoped to find something on this spying assignment to get us in with the coven. I’m only five and sick of being just me and my grandmother. I wish Mom were still alive. I don’t even remember her. All I have is her picture, which I keep in my locket. I frowned, stopping to pull the gold necklace from under my shirt to look at it. “I wish I could remember you,” I sighed, touching her picture. When the smell of a campfire and the sound of voices reached me, I quickly closed the locket and put my necklace under my shirt. I suppose grandmother was rig
Jamil POV “I’m going first!” Owen Kearney shouted. “All right, fine. Wow us, Kearney.” Zory waved her hand around the circle of heirs seated around the campfire. I giggled. My cousin is unintentionally funny. She’s like Tio Khalid and Tia Dani, so serious she’s funny. I know she’s our oldest, but she should lighten up. Maybe she doesn’t think she can lighten up as the only human among us heirs. It would explain why Tio Khalid is always so serious. “Talia told me this one when I was Jamil’s age,” Owen began. “Ooo, I know which one,” Olivia, his twin, interrupted. “And I’m the one telling it. So quiet.” Owen rolled his eyes, pressing his finger to his mouth to shush her. The Kearney twins are always fun to be around. They had a fun dynamic, always teasing each other. Sometimes, it made me wish I had a brother or sister. Being an only child can get lonely. Tiziano knows how I feel. Zory, too, but she had a big brother who stopped to visit, so it’s different. I know my Aunt Talia, b
The following chapters are a Halloween treat, featuring the heirs of Silverclaw and some new faces we may meet again someday. It’s been over a decade since Alpha Kurt and Luna Isis overthrew the crazed werewolf-witch Noya, freeing those forced to follow her and restoring the Silverclaw pack to the glory of old. Now, to the children of Silverclaw, all the danger and death of their parents’ time are merely scary stories to tell around a campfire. Tales even the heirs tell to scare each other. What happens when those scary stories start to become real? As an added note, The Reluctant Alpha, including these bonus chapters, is now available in paperback.
Time flies when you’re having fun. Or at least that’s how the saying goes. And given Isis and I are going on a second honeymoon vacation to celebrate our third wedding anniversary, it rings true. It still feels like just yesterday that Isis popped into my hotel room in London, and we learned we were mates. So to realize that it’s been five years since then is crazy. And now we are off to Athens to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. We planned to be away for a week, though our fellow ranked members assured us we could take an extended trip. It mainly was Collin and Tanner teasing me that this wasn’t a second honeymoon but a baby-making trip. And I guess, in a way, it is. Isis and I have discussed starting our family, and she didn’t get a new birth control implant so we could start trying. But I also know this trip is more than just a chance to be alone with Isis and perhaps conceive an heir. I choose Athens over all the places in the world to travel to for a particular reason.
In the last two years, my life has changed so much. It had its high and its low points. But for every low point, I had infinitely higher points. I found out I was a werewolf hybrid and that my online crush Kurt was my soulmate. I lost my mother, and the only man I knew as a father disowned me. But I didn’t lose all my family. I kept my brother and gained a sister-in-law. I also reclaimed an estranged Aunt acquiring an Uncle and his family by extension. So losing my mother and the man I called father was far outshined by the new larger family I gained. Then there was the whole mess with Noya wanting me dead to take Kurt for herself. But she failed, and it cost her both her mate and her own life in the end. And I gained a little sister and a pack. That has been the most significant and beautiful change, only seconded by Kurt proposing to me. It’s been a challenge to learn how to be a Luna while finishing my studies. But I made it through knowing I could depend on Kurt as well as my f
It’s only been a few days since the pack ceremony, and it’s still weird to hear the voices and feel the emotions of hundreds. Sure I was in the Bloodmoon pack link, so I was connected to thousands then, but as Alpha, it’s different. I can’t believe Logan manages to deal with this on a larger scale. Isis, Khalid, and Dani experienced difficulty adjusting to the pack link. None of them are used to being linked to multiple people like this, Isis more so as Luna. Khalid and Dani got it easier as they just had to tune out their thoughts. As Alpha and Luna, we have also to keep emotions out. But I think we’ve been doing well, and we’ll keep getting better at it. Today, however, the thoughts and emotions of the pack are strong. Today is the winter solstice, and Isis had her mind set on a pack-wide holiday festival. Everyone in the city is buzzing with excitement and joy to celebrate. Isis has no real experience celebrating Christmas, so I was more involved in this event. I’m of course ver
I don’t think I’ve been more nervous about something in my life. I was so jittery while getting ready that I nearly let my hair stay in the curling iron too long. Thankfully Zelma took the iron from me before my hair singed. Thankfully I had the others to help me. And I tried to distract myself from how nervous I was about the ceremony. I don’t know what all goes into a pack ceremony like this. I witnessed Aunt Sarael’s Beta ceremony, but that’s very different. All too soon, it was time to go. Everyone had gathered downstairs, waiting on Kurt and Khalid. And oh boy, when Kurt came down the stairs. Don’t get me wrong, Kurt is handsome no matter what he’s wearing. ‘Especially when he’s wearing nothing.’ Bastet snickered. I opted to ignore her, which was easy enough given I was distracted by how good Kurt looked in his tux. I had picked it out and knew he’d look good, but I hadn’t realized how good. Given how we both seemed to be in a lustful daze looking at each other, I at least kn