SHADOW “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard. Given the threat outside this compound, you can’t go wandering outside.” My idea didn’t sound appealing to Lyon. It never would. Of course, why did I have to be surprised? He knew the ins and outs of the territory. He was the lead warrior, after all. “You can’t also lock me up inside, Lyon.” I turned to Califf, who hadn’t said anything but was tapping his fingers on his desk. “And you don’t have a say in this? That’s odd, given what we talked about last night.” “I don’t wanna fight with you, but Lyon is right, baby.” I widened my eyes at him. He just called me baby before his men. My face flushed. “They know. They can smell my scent on you.” “I took a shower and applied a lot of deodorant.” My face was probably beet red right now, making him smile, and he didn't even try to hide it from these men. I squeezed my eyes briefly and breathed deeply before facing Lyon, Zack, Tor, and Kairo. “Really?” They nodded in unison with their
SHADOW I turned around. Zack was not behind me. He was lying on the sidewalk beside the car. He stood up from the fall and rushed in my direction at his super speed. “What happened?” I asked in surprise. “I don’t know.” He looked confused. “It’s fine. You can come.” “No.” He shook his head. “I think I can’t get through whatever is blocking the gate. I was following you. The next thing I knew, I was thrown back to the sidewalk. Something is blocking me from entering, and it fucking hurts, burning my skin.” I saw the panic in his eyes. He sprinted in my direction, only to be tossed back by some force as if an invisible wall existed between us. I ran back to him, but it also happened to me. I couldn’t get through whatever it was. Probably a spell cast over the gate. The only difference was it didn’t have the same effect on me. I raised my hand to test the theory. My hand couldn’t go through it. I was right. The witch put a smell on the entrance where no one got out. “Shadow, come
CALIFF “So you mean to say. It’s not an option?” My hopes just crumbled down. My plan was a complete waste. “Yeah,” Marcus confirmed it. “Unless you abandon this compound because it’s completely contaminated with silver nitrate in the air, water, soil, and trees. Everything. If not, we will all die.” “What do you have in mind then?” “Dart gun with silver nitrate solution, or silver bullets, but you know the effect. I can wire an IED outside the compound and mix it with silver, but like I said, it’s hard to clean up. Or we will stick to plain Semtex. Your choice, Alpha.” “Santi is upgrading the security system. I’m adding cameras and sensors, but it’s only an alert. The rest of that, we have to fight if they’re coming to us as a threat. I may have allies, but it will take minutes to hours before they arrive.” “Just IED then, plain Semtex. Where can we buy it?” “I’ll take care of that, Marcus.” “Let me know when it arrives so that I can start planting it. I may need assistants,
SHADOW What Zarah told me had been bugging me all the way back to the compound. Nothing happened back there that she hadn’t predicted. She was a witch, after all. Either she was trying to manipulate me or telling the truth, but nothing could stop me from saving these people or the one I loved, even if it meant giving up my life. And here I was, giving everything I could offer to Califf because he was the only thing that mattered to me— the half of my soul that completed me. Standing naked before me was the hottest fucking man with a body of a god, a cock so big, long, and rigid, proudly erect between his thighs. How could I take him all in? I knew it would hurt the first time, but it was all worth the pain. I was his to give what he desired, and he was mine to make me feel good. He met me in the eye with his burning gaze. I didn’t know where I got all the confidence in me tonight. I came in the middle as he prowled and crawled into the bed. I wrapped my arms around his neck, stra
SHADOW “Can we do it next week?” I was still negotiating despite the distraction before me. “Uh-uh.” He shook his head. With my thighs spread before him for his feasting, he began swirling his tongue around my entrance. “Cal— Goddess.” My feet pressed against the mattress, toes curling as he sucked my folds into his mouth and flicked his talented tongue on my clit. My muscles strained. My chest rose and fell as I started panting when his hands came to my breasts, cupping them and pinching my nipples until I squirmed. I only had a chance to drink water after we completed the mating, then he fucked me again, made love to me, fingered me, then again spread and exposed me before him. He wasn’t done, and it was already four in the morning. I wasn’t tired, though, just my pussy a little sore, but with the pleasure he promised to give me, I wouldn’t resist even if I could. He continued laving my entrance like his favorite flavor of ice cream, occasionally sucking from my forbidden hole
CALIFF “What’s wrong? I can feel your sudden anxiousness.” Shadow was edgy. I felt it through our bond. When she turned around, she was holding the pendant of her necklace. The last time I saw it, it was blue, and now it changed to a liquid red. “Are you okay?” I asked again when she hadn’t responded to me. Her eyes were wide, somewhat shocked. “Um, yeah. You were calling me?” “Yeah. I want you to meet my dad.” “Oh.” She blushed. Her hand on her heart. “Of course, I can’t wait.” She hadn’t seen my father in a wheelchair behind me. Since Dad had been sick, I’d done everything— met doctors and healers to ask their opinion of his case, but all they could say in the end was he was dying. I talked to a witch I knew, but she couldn’t do anything either. I moved to my side to introduce my father. “Dad, I want you to meet my—” Her gaze ascended to my father, and her eyes grew wider as she stepped back. “Oh, Goddess.” Her face was ashen as she stared at my father in shock. “He’s your f
CALIFF “I refused to believe that. You have so much compassion in your heart. You know it. You healed Tor, and you stopped me from killing the refugees. You did your task and ignored those bullies because deep in your heart, you are stronger than you give yourself credit. You are stronger in defending our pack, not killing one of our own. Look at these people behind you. They trust and believe in you. Prove those who underestimated you wrong.” She dropped my father. Her chest was heaving. Her eyes were still glowing. “He killed the only family I had. I have been an orphan since I was eight. I don’t have a father to teach me how to shift. I don’t have a mother to teach me to cast a spell. No one. I was rogue for years, hoping to find whoever did that slaughter to my pack. My father gave his life so that an eight-year-old future alpha could run and seek revenge. And now, it was just right under my nose, and I still could not do anything for them. They died unavenged. They lost their l
SHADOW My wolf howled in me, empathizing with the pain I felt. It was excruciating knowing the man I'd been looking for revenge on was the same man who brought Califf to this world. How fucked up is that? Goddess must have been rolling on the floor laughing her ass out loud at me right now. I’d been through a lot, lost my family and my pack, and struggling with the human life. I could have gone crazy if it wasn’t for my adopted father. Right now, I was alone in the middle of nowhere. This time, the pain was different. I felt him, and he felt mine. I was mated and bound to be forever with the man I’d never expected to be so kind and generous, and it turned out to be the son of a pack murderer. This truth was a million times more fucked up. For the first time, I didn’t know what to do. I felt trapped in this bubble—the life in a werewolf world. After I stole the Wrangler, I drove off the compound and didn’t know where to go. Thankfully, I had my phone stuck in my dress. I dialed
CALIFF Three months later I’d never been nervous like this in my entire life— it was a mix of excitement and nervousness, if I was being honest. Standing beside me was my Beta, my best man. Who would be perfect to sand by my side on my wedding day anyway? If not Duke, who would fit for the position? In Moon Goddess’s name, Shadow and I were already bonded forever. In the human world, we became husband and wife, a legally married couple. My heart kept thumping when the music started, and then she appeared with her father and Kent. Her ivory lace wedding gown hugged her body perfectly. Her face was covered with a veil. Shadow was always beautiful in my eyes, and she already looked ethereal, like a true goddess in human form. “Shadow.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Today, this union was special for both of us, for our families, and our pack. Our allies, including the new Alpha of Midnight Storm, Alpha Grady, were also present. Of course, the union wouldn’t be complete without th
CALIFF “Wow.” Shadow’s eyes widened to see half of the pack was on the field where we last had an interrupted picnic date. “When I said a barbecue, I expected something like a backyard barbecue, but this is beyond. Awesome.” A whole cow was already on the fire, patties, sausages, and veggies on the grills, stuck buns on the table, bowls of salad, delis, coolers of beers and other beverages, and tables put together into one long table with flower arrangements. It was like an outdoor cooking show, minus the camera. Families, guys, girls, pups, and even witches were here. It was a picnic party. I didn’t even know what to call it. What I saw was a pack having a picnic because threats were over, and hopefully, it would last for a long, long time. “Welcome to the pack picnic, Shadow.” She chuckled and shook her head. “You didn’t steal a cow from our neighbor, did you, Zack?” “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, Luna.” Zack placed chairs for us. “The owner will skew you
SHADOW “Oh,” they gushed as I showed them the massive stone on my engagement ring. “Oh, my goodness.” Aira’s tiny eyes grew big. “What a huge rock from a huge man with a huge—” “Don’t.” Zarah pressed a finger on Aira’s lips. “Oh, yeah. Their hearing.” “You deserve it, Shadow.” Kindra inspected the ring, and it glittered in the sun. The pool was calling me, but they enjoyed gossip more than getting wet in the pool. “When is the wedding? I want to make sure I have a pretty dress,” Zarah said excitedly. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about the specific date.” “Because last night you two were busy. You ignored Zarah’s call.” I pressed my lips together because I was guilty. After the proposal, we booked a honeymoon suite, got ourselves naked in the tub with rose petals and amazing scented candles, then we fucked in there, on the bed, and when we woke up, he ate me on the table. I didn’t know how I still had strength left or how many orgasms I lost count of. “Shadow.” Aira snap
CALIFF“Your dad knew that you were not his, but he loved you like his own till his last breath,” Alexander, her grandfather, said.“How did you know?”“He came to me, blaming Sebastien. They fought on that ground. He almost killed your father. Maybe at that time, Sebastien surrendered and admitted his mistake. I never saw your father again, but his body was brought to me.”“Why Sebastien doesn’t have a family or children?”“He believes his mate was your mother, considering she was mated to his twin. He has this belief that the goddess gave them one mate to share, but your dad didn’t think that way. His rage had taken him to do what he did. And here you are.”“How did they meet?” Shadow was so engrossed with the story of her parents from his grandfather that she forgot she had a date today.“They met here in Italy. Sebastien saw her first, but Samuel had the courage to approach her. Sebastien has been like this— focused, workaholic, uptight, but your dad was the opposite because he kn
SHADOW I was surprised to find out that the modern house of the High Priestess was in London. I was expecting a stone house exterior, but what surprised me more was that she was the same age as Zarah. “Welcome to my humble home, Shadow.” “High Priestess.” “Oh, please.” She swatted her well-manicured fingernails, and the white high-neck dress looked perfect on her. “Just Margaret.” “My mate, Alpha Califf.” “Of course, the werewolf. I could smell the skepticism in you, Califf.” “Forgive me, Margaret. I haven’t been in a witch house before.” “It’s not the real reason, but because you haven’t seen what I am capable of. And your future father-in-law just arrived.” "A future father-in-law?” How did she know? Califf and I shared a look. Just like that, my father walked into the living room in a white suit and tie. “High Priestess.” “Alpha King Sebastien.” They kissed each other cheek, but the way my father put his hand on her back said something else. Califf and I shared a look a
CALIFF “Is this really happening?” The perks of the pack link. Our parents didn’t have to hear what we were saying. Most of us were lucky enough to have shared this dinner, but some who were not didn’t make it tonight. Watching my parents at the same table with Sebastien was still pinch-worthy. He would have almost ripped my father’s throat if Shadow didn’t intervene. Seeing them in a light conversation over dinner was still like a dream. “Excuse me. I hope you all don’t mind if I go ahead and check those in the infirmary, still healing.” Shadow rose from her seat. She barely touched her food. I wasn’t worried about her because we all had been through a lot. We lost a few but still lost members, no matter the number. And it still hurt. “Of course, Luna,” my mother said. Dad nodded. “Please, father. May I excuse?” “Go ahead.” His gaze shifted to me when I also stood up. “I’m joining Shadow.” “I know how you feel. Losing a pack member is like losing a part of you. I’ll stay he
SHADOW My hands shook as I tried to clean off the blood. The crimson water dropped, draining into the sink— it was Zack’s blood. I almost lost a good man today. Zack was my best friend. Despite how we got off the wrong foot, he helped me through tough shits. He was among a few who believed in me and that there was something good in me, even if I was a rogue. I put another soap on my hands to get rid of the blood stain. It wouldn’t just go. I wanted to forget he was hurt even if the witches said he would make it, but it still hurt. If only the witches weren’t there, I would have lost him. I felt Califf came into the room. A moment later, he appeared at the bathroom door but said nothing, gazing at what I was doing. I washed my face if even he already saw my tears. He could feel and get into my thoughts but chose to give me space. “Where’s everyone?” I asked, diverting my thoughts. He lost men today. I knew how it felt, but he was stronger than most Alphas. Instead of killing those
CALIFF I was surrounded by growling, snarling, whimpering, but that asshole just waited there like a coward to finish off what his men started. That was not what a character of an Alpha. Clearly, he wasn’t one. Prowling in his direction, I bared my teeth and zeroed my attention only to him. I wanted to put an end to this. If he thought he would win in this attack, he was mistaken. He didn’t move, he just stood there watching my movement, making his point of dominance and intimidation. When I was close enough, he rushed toward me, ending us slamming on the ground. His anger filled his eyes, but he also underestimated my strength since I had already fought and killed a few of his wolves. Our claws and teeth lashed. I snarled as his claws raked through my shoulder, and damn, it fucking hurt. Overpowered by his little victory, I bit his leg, yanking it hard, finding himself slammed on the ground. Keane’s wolf rose to his paws, circling me, growling in anger, following my movements, a
SHADOWJust after those explosions, I instantly felt everyone’s fear thickened in the air, probably mine too. I wasn’t used to fighting with other wolves to death, but those explosions and the packs of werewolves walking into the compound left me no choice but to defend ourselves.“They’re here.” Just as I announced, the enforcers shifted to their wolves, leaving me and Califf, Duke, and Lyon still standing in human form.As we marched, the two guards opened the gate for us, taking the fight outside. Our remaining six enforcers followed behind us while Lyon and Duke were on our sides.Close to the trees, I caught sight of at least four vehicles parked with large numbers of members standing tall beside Keane, crossing his arms over his chest and showing us what he got.“He’s trying to intimidate us.” I couldn’t help but snort at the ridiculousness of the number of shifters he brought with him against us.“Ten against thirty or forty? I like the odds,” Califf said. His body vibrated wit