Julian found me early in the morning with a book curled in my hand. The library had become my place of solace in the last few hours before dawn. Words were always more appealing to me than people. Worlds could rise and fall within days when a good book was your company. Looking at my life now, I wondered if anyone would write about us. Tell our story to the masses. Would they glorify or villainize me? Lillian had left me not long after our talk. She made a point of it to tell me she knew Julian had mated us. Marked us as his brides. There wouldn't be a wedding, as all of this had happened so suddenly. I had never cared for weddings, either way. She also casually informed me that all the vampire diplomats and aristocrats would be arriving for Mikaela and I's claiming. Julian was just to send out an invitation today. We had already broken several customs according to the old woman. I wasn't pleased but hadn't felt it my place to argue. Vampire customs were strange and after all, we we
Mikaela smiled again, her hand coming to stop on my arm. Her warmth seeped into me, heating my blood. I didn't know I wanted her until she showed up in that door. Julian stiffened beneath me when Mikaela traced my arm until she reached his back. Nails dragged down his back and Julian gritted his teeth, his eyes never leaving her. Reaching around his middle, Mikaela cupped Julian in her hands. Fingers gently grazed my behind as well. Unyielding need flushed my body. I wanted them."I told you not to stop." Mikaela barked and gripped Julian firmly over his pants. Growling, Julian flung his lips to my neck again. Fangs dragged along the sensitive skin as I arched my back into the wall, offering up more of myself. Mikaela fondled Julian's balls through is pants, setting his pace even faster. Weaving my fingers through his hair, I tugged his head back and kissed down his throat and over his collarbone. Below us, Mikaela unfastened Julian's pants, button for button. I could feel he
Two days had passed since our little session. Days filled with nothing but sex and love. This morning, Mikaela woke up with the biggest smile on her face. I knew then that we had done things right. Not just with the sex, but also announcing our mating to everyone. Mikaela and I had adopted new titles, along with various mundane duties. Everyone was to refer to us as our titles, showing that we were now as important as Julian. Our coronation will take a while to plan, but for now the staff knew who we were. Julian also assured us that we would receive proper training in etiquette and such. Royal training, how strange and somewhat intimidating.Maids and estate workers dashed up and down the hallways, preparing every single room in the mansion. Products of varying types tumbled from their arms, faces drawn and barely noticing our presence. Everyone was to be on their best behaviour. According to Sebastian, a mating was a rather grand affair. More so now, seeing as Julian had ta
As requested, Amber had only given us exactly ten minutes to ourselves. The girl had grown impatient and came looking for us when she deemeed the ten minutes to be taking longer than was stipulated. Mikaela was irriated, to say the least. Once again she had interupted a very intimate moment between us, caught in each other's embrace, lips trembling with desire. We had barely noticed her pressence until she used that shrill voice of hers to break us from our trance. I restrainted the growl when I saw her, but she could see the murder in my eyes. Shortly after, we were being escorted down the halls, Amber rambling on about appropriate behaviour and how to act around these people. VIpers, everyone of them. Mikaela wouldn't be able to handle people like them, but I could step in at any moment. I was never one to keep quiet. "The first guests will be here within an hour. This will be t
The three of us stood at the top of the grand staircase, patiently waiting the arrival of our first guests. The prince of Asia would be arriving first. The hierarchy of this whole situation was nuts, but it was custom. Upon leaving the pack, I thought stupid customs wouldn't follow, but look at us now. Julian had shown us the proper way to stand and how to hold ourselves. Shoulders back, faint smile. Look them straight in the eyes andneverlook nervous.From the way he spoke about all of these encounters, I wondered if we had entered a new den of wolves. One wrong move and all of this could come tumbling down before it had even started.Although the style was uncomfortable, fake, I knew Mikaela needed reassurance. I couldn't touch them, not when it involved actual emotions. There would be moments where touch and affection were necessary, beside those moments, we were restricted. Soon our physical contact sessions would be limited to cheek kis
The North American Prince and his family was the next to arrive. After Arjun, they would be up for the throne. Whilst the royals lived in Canada, they held sway over the entire North American continent. Their children were fairly pleasant. Well mannered and soft spoken. Four boys along with one girl. Three more had remained home. Such a large family, but you could see the happiness dwelling within their eyes. Byron was a good fifty years older than Suzanne, but their necklaces bled white when they had found each other. No drama. No treason. So much different than my own experience. We kept the encounter as brief as possible. As promised, I had done most of the talking. Julian had pulled into himself, face a mask of brooding. Whatever had him riled so badly was the least of my worries. Maids had started whispering of how foul it would be to have all of the royals present for this function. Even Amber wasn't up to her usual standards. How much tension could possibly grow betwe
Mikaela's Point of ViewJulian seeing Luciana's back brought down the final blow. Feeling his anger bleed from him. Every fibre of my body wanted to comfort her. Help her. Show her that all of those gruesome things that had been done to her was in the past. We were her future. No one would ever touch her again. I knew from looking at Julian in that moment that he would gladly go to war, if only to right the wrong that happened to Luciana. Happened to the love of our life.So many years had gone by where she was marred, not just physically, but mentally as well. After a while he had become more careful in what he did to her. Had gotten healers to fix her up before people truly started noticing. Luciana never broke, instead her spirit grew stronger, more rebellious. She never ran to anyone else. Never tried to get her father to stop. At some point, I knew she had started believing that she deserved every hit. Every drop of blood she had lost. Her father
After last night's run, the three of us had tangled within the sheets again. The release was more blissful than any before it. Being bonded and playing in the woods had brought us more close than any conversation could have. Julian had seen us in our true forms. Most primal bodies and he had loved us even more for it. I was so much smaller than Mikaela in wolf form, yet he treated us the same. Loved me all the same. It reminded me of that time he had come searching for me at the pack. How I had shifted in front of him. Back then, he also had a look of awe within his eyes. Somehow he loved me even when we weren't mated. Didn't treat me any less than because of my Omega status. I loved him all the more for it. For the first time in what felt like ages, I had slept soundly by Julian and Mikaela's side. Neither stirred during the night, either. Our little session was filled with energy and emotion. No wonder we had slept so soundly. Being in love was exhausting. The first run wi
Amber had brought our tiaras shortly after I had finished getting dressed. The golden snake at my back was cool against my skin, but was welcomed all the same. It was a reminder of our first little spat as a couple. A truly mated couple, that is. We would need small reminders, like such, to keep us intact with where it all began. Three people with a shared vision for the future. As well as a prophecy who lead us all together. Sure, the waters were more turbulent than we had first anticipated, but that didn't mean we wouldn't try and ease the journey. Hell, Andrew was still locked in a cell beneath our very feet. War was knocking on our doors. And a clan of blood thirsty vampires now sat at our table. All of it was enough to set my nerves aflame. Embers crackling beneath my too calm surface. I could feel my anger rear and crash, but tried to steady it. This wasn't the time. We would figure everything out as it happened. First came those bloody royals awaiting our entrance.
Caspian's Point of View People spoke in hushed whispers before me, waiting with bated breath for the new queen to arrive. They were our new court. Noble houses we had formed in order to keep the peace and prosperity. Wolves, humans and vampires alike. Julian had insisted we make houses for the humans as well, equality being his main concern. Luciana had insisted that if those houses were to be made, they had to come from war heroes, instead of old and greedy politicians. I chosen her side. Everyone was dressed to the maximum, with jewels flashing in the well lit hall. They all anticipated the arrival of their new queen, finally made public in an orderly fashion. Yet the queen wasn't here yet. Mikaela stood to my right. Julian sat in his throne beside her. The throne beside me stood empty and waiting. This was where history would be made. We were on the cusp of a new age and everyone knew it. Finally, the monsters from their dreams had come to light,
Three years laterRoyals from all across the world had started settling into the palace. Flowers dripped from every surface around me as we welcomed the stuffy nobles. Staff members had prepared over a hundred rooms for this occasion. A hundred rooms all occupied by several members of our court. Several villas were also prepared deeper into the property for larger families.The war had finally come to and end. Brought about by my own hands and the hands of the ones closest to me. No one was more overjoyed than Sophie at the prospect of finally being able to settle down. We had finally gotten the incredible news last year that Ezekiel was indeed Sophie's mate, but they couldn't complete the ritual, as we were constantly away on missions. So we were finally granted a repieve from all the blood shed.A new treaty was signed a few months ago, declaring peace amongst all who had lost so much in this war. Peace. A powerful word that felt so fragile at
One Year Later Rain pelted the sides of the palace. December rain had come in full swing this year, leaving no stone dry. South African weather was unpredictable in that way. One moment there would be sweltering heat, the next, a flood could be washing away your trampoline in the back yard. We wouldn't have it any other way. To be back in our home was a blissful experience, but to know the next Valentine was on his way was even better. Mikaela was at the end of her pregnancy and we expected her to give birth any day now. Her belly stretched far out in front of her. Julian and Caspian couldn't keep their hands off of the growing bump the entire pregnancy long. Mikaela had resorted to swatting their hands away in an effort to maintain her personal space. Alas, that still wasn't enough. The Valkyrie had gone back to the battlefield only a few weeks ago, their vacations cut short by the growing threat of the humans. Sonja endured persistent peste
Adrian was in the middle of the clearing, scowl deeply imbedded on his face. Everyone else was coated in blood by now, their weapons flying through the air, but he just watched in amazement. I caught the look of madness within his eyes when our eyes met. Trust him to be vain, even in battle. Too self-righteous to even fight his own battles. As if he was a god. The insanity of it all finally settled into my bones. We had sent thousands to their death. Thousands more would follow if I let him walk away from this. This needed to end here. End now. We couldn't call this a battlefield, it was more a massacre. His last resting place. "I wondered how long it would take you to kill Jasper." My father murmured and turned to face me. No remorse was evident. He couldn't see how mad he was. How insane all of this was. This had started off as a simple act of defiance on my part and had ended with both sides losing more than was necessary. Prophecy or not, I knew this was how it was all s
The trodding of feet soon turned to an echo as I sped up. Since the transition, my powers throbbed beneath my skin. Pulsing like a live wire. They couldn't keep up, even if they wanted to. Nothing would stand in the way of what I had to do, not even my mates. All was fair in love and war. Claiming my father's life was something only I was able to do. Something that needed to be done since the first day he had splayed me open. The direction was clear within my mind. A field filled with ant nests slowly came to view. Just within the opposite tree line, an army of men stood. No more than fifty people in total, but still more than I could handle all at once. A few had guns. The other held knives and bows in hand. They wouldn't know what hit them if I caught them off guard. Upon my approach, a scout yelled out to my father, standing at the lead of his group. Lines littered his face that weren't once there. Mother stood a ways back, her eyes never finding mine. The woman w
Caspian's Point of ViewLuciana had stormed off, leaving a bitter taste in the air. You could cut the tension with a sword and still struggle to push the blade through. Sophie hadn't taken well to the outburst, cusses flying from her lips. Claire had wanted nothing more than to chase Luciana as she went, but I had stopped her, my hand clamping down around her arm.Luciana needed to be alone at the moment. Too many demons flew about within her mind and someone trying to pry them from her now would do more damage than just leaving her be. Facing her father had always been her end goal. The one monster she had to overcome before she was able to truly be free."What the fuck is her problem all of a sudden?" Reverie growled from next to Emory. All eyes had turned to face me. Some pierced my soul and I found myself unable to look them all head on. Only Sonja looked somewhat remorseful. She, too, understood what was eating at Luciana. From what I had g
The day before I faced my father felt like any day other day. Julian had asked for all the staff back. Even the Valkyrie had obeyed his orders and returned without a silent complaint. No questions were asked about my sudden reappearance from the staff. But the Valkyrie was another question entirely. Julian had given them a run down of the situation as best he could, without revealing our daughter. We hadn't yet told them of Katharine. Didn't intend to until it was absolutely necessary. No one liked witches and I would do anything to protect my daughter. Her state of mind was extremely important to me, and witches deteriorated much faster, mentally, than any other species on the planet. Staff members dove through the house, cleaning away the last remnants of my second birth. One as a hybrid. Buckets of red were being thrown down drains, the last time I had noticed them cleaning. The Valkyrie had decided to train for the day and I had decided that I was desperately out
I didn't know where I was going, only that I had to get out of the house as fast as possible. The air inside had suffocated me for far too long. Katharine's hopeful face kept popping into my mind's eye and I couldn't ignore it for much longer. The burning in my chest. The fear of losing everything and everyone around me. Walls of iron wrapped around my heart and squeezed. Knees buckled as I saw the smile on my daughter's face. I had never feared death before. never needed to, until I had died. Until I had left behind everyone I had ever loved. Katharine had brought me back, but would she be able to when my entrails were outside of my body. Or my head was metres away from my body? Death had never felt as close as it had only a few hours ago. But I was to face it again in two days. Two days I could be spending with my family, happy and safely. The only thing was, part of my family was missing until I faced death again. Mikaela would be a stranger to me once we reunited, but sh
"Mommy!" Katharine squealed as she dashed towards me. Chestnut hair trailed behind her in waves. The girl had dressed herself and it was evident. Sneakers closed around her feet whilst she donned a bright green dress. Yet the smile on her face was contagious, leaking onto my own lips as she drew closer. Somehow she had grown tremendously since I had last seen her. Even her eyes held a certain intelligence within them. As if she was more aware of the world than even I was. That was what it meant to be a witch. Intune with the world, whether she wanted to be or not. "Baby girl!" I squealed and bent down a little to grab her in my arms. Her tiny body was fragile beneath my new found strength. Every muscle beneath her dress tensed within my arms, then melted into nothingness. The feeling of having her in my arms kicked in, sending tears rolling down my face. Thick and hot. When was the last time I had held her like this? When was the last time I had bathed in her presence? My li