KACELA
“Earl! Where are you hit?” I shrieked, grabbing at the man and running my hands over him. He grabbed my hands and gave me a little shake.
“Kacela! I’m not hit. You are!” He forcibly turned me and pushed me down on the seat, pushing my head into Nellie’s lap and frantically pulling my sweater up. I looked down and saw an ugly wound in my side, puffy and purple, oozing blood.
“We got to get her to the clinic!” he shouted at Bob who took a turn too quickly, causing our backend to swing out.
“Can’t, boss! They’re right on our tail!”
I tried to sit up to look out the back window but Earl pushed me down just as another bullet hit the back of our car.
“Head for the interstate,” I shouted. “They won’t shoot at us with so many people around. We can lose them there.”
KACELATo my relief, I was able to find a copy of the file that was too big for me to put on my drive. I quickly downloaded it from the cloud to my hard drive and then I pulled all of the files from the jump drive. I sat back, sighing in relief.“Can we please take care of this now?” Earl asked in exasperation.I nodded, examining it. “Yeah.” I probed at it with my finger. “I’m going to have to pull out the bullet. It’s still in there.”Earl looked distasted. “I figured. I’ve got some basics. I’ll pull it out.”I was relieved. “That would be good,” I said. “It’s hard to do this stuff on yourself.”Earl nodded. “I know,” he said, shortly. I looked at him with interest. There was a story there.I leaned sideway, lifting up my sweater.&n
KACELA“It’s one of our old warehouses. It hasn’t been used in a while. It’s actually on the market to sell but no one wants it. Location isn’t great and it’s been vacant since we quit manufacturing furniture ten years ago.”I looked at Earl. “Are you sure this is safe? They found us at the hotel.”He shrugged. “It’s under the old company name. There’s quite a bit in this town associated with Borderline Timber. It will take them a few days to work through all of that before ending up at an old Circle L Lumber warehouse.”I nodded. This was better than sleeping in the woods or on a beach, that’s for sure. Theo drove up to a door and Bob slid out of the seat beside me, going over to the door and snapping the padlock off. He raised it up so we could drive through, dropping it with a heavy crash. I was onc
KACELAWe were following Earl to the little office he had set up when something occurred to me. “What are you doing here?” I asked Wyatt. It took three hours to get here. I was still up on the roof in the shipping yard three hours ago. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.Wyatt had the good sense to look ashamed. “I couldn’t take it,” he said. “I sent Julie to Spokane on some errands and then I had a helicopter bring me to Seattle.”I stopped and turned to look at him. “A helicopter?”“Yeah,” he blushed. “I panicked, okay? I had visions of all these horrible things happening to you.” He gestured to my side. “And I was right, okay? I needed to be here.”I looped my arms through him. “You need to get over yourself. We were highly effective. And I’ve been shot
WYATTI stood in front of my mate, not wanting to force her to do anything but knowing I would if she didn’t do as I had asked. I felt a surge of protectiveness towards her and my Lycan was warring with me. He wanted me to pick her up and throw her over my shoulder, taking her back to the castle where she was safe. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if anything happened to her.She eyed me up and down before turning and lifting her sweater to pull it off and over her head. I reached forward to help, knowing that she was in pain. I kept my poker face, but my insides were screaming when I saw the wound.It was purple and puffy. I recognized a field stitch and I knew that Earl had probably stitched her up. I leaned down and sniffed it, feeling relieved when I didn’t smell any infection. She giggled.“What’s so funny?” I asked mildly.“You’re sniffing me
KACELAWyatt gently shook me awake a few hours later. I got up and put on jeans, combat boots and a flannel shirt over a tank top. I braided my hair and pinned it to the top of my head, letting one small braid drop down over my eye. I was ready.I joined Wyatt at the railing, looking down at the main level. There were eight SUVs now parked in there and the door opened to allow another one to drive in. Warriors were milling around.Wyatt tapped my arm. “Earl is mind linking me. He wants me to give you a heads up. He’s going to have you talk to the men.”I nodded. I was surprised and a little concerned that the men might take exception to that, but it that’s what Earl wanted, I would definitely rise to the occasion.Someone gave a sharp whistle and the chattering stopped. Earl climbed to the top of the SUV and garnered the attention of everyone.“Warriors
KACELA The car I was in parked at the back of the lot that was in front of the building. The other vehicle circled around back to find a way in that way. We got out, pairing up, and I grabbed a warrior named Jack. “I’m going to lean in to you so they can’t see my eye and my scar,” I told him. “Don’t freak out. I’m not hitting on you.” We all enjoyed a chuckle at the joke, even though Jack seemed a little uncomfortable having the King’s mate hanging off his arm. We split up, another couple behind us a few people and then, down the line, two more warriors hanging off from each other. The line moved a little faster than some clubs that I’ve been to, but it was still slow. When my turn came I showed one of the many fake IDs I carry, this one identifying myself as Devon Jackson. I giggled and rubbed up against Jack who fist bumped the bouncer and called him “Bro.” We were admitted and I pushed away from Jack,
KACELA“Gina says the girls have been drugged,” one of the warriors explained to me. That would explain their zombie looks. “All but one came with us easily. One fought us so Gina gave her a sedative. The rest of the girls are in the other car.”One of the warriors silently passed me a napkin and gestured to my chin. I used the napkin to wipe myself, seeing blood on the white cloth. I sighed. I must have banged my chin when I popped through the window. Wyatt was going to have a fit. Hopefully Dali would have me healed before he notices.“How did the others do?” I asked, fingers crossed.“We don’t know, my queen,” a warrior answered. “We agreed to meet after we drop off the girls. It’s better to go dark so that we don’t call at an inopportune time.” I nodded, understanding. It would not have ended
KACELAI grabbed a portable tracker out of my bag and stuffed it into my cleavage. It wasn’t a great hiding spot but it was the best I could do with my time limit. I left my phone with the tracking app open, grabbed the laptop and bolted from the room, taking off for the southeast corner of the building. I could hear Jarrett yelling my name behind me, but I didn’t stop.I ran out the door and a white van pulled up and the sliding door opened. I could see Lia inside, bound, looking scared. I skidded to a stop.“Here’s the laptop. Give me Lia.”The man waved his gun at me. “Get in. Someone wants to talk to you.”I shook my head. “No. Let Lia go and I’ll go with you.”The man sitting next to Lia took a knife and ran it down her arm, opening up a huge cut that instantly began bubbling blood. Her Lycan wasn’t healing the wound and I realized that Lia was wearing a thick, silver collar. Lycans react to silver even worse than wolves do. She was weak and, if the silver stayed on
KACELA Later that night I was undressing in front of the full-length mirror. I frowned at my body. The scars were fading but I still had a few bad ones. The one that wrapped from my hip over the top of my abdomen was still ropey, even more so than the C-section scar. The scar on my face was also fading and I could now see light from that eye after years of seeing nothing but blackness. The doctors tell me that the mate bond is slowing healing me. I didn’t say anything to Wyatt. I was pretty sure he would use it as an excuse to mate even more, and I wasn’t sure I could keep up. That man was insatiable. As if he heard my thoughts, Wyatt came up behind me and nuzzled my neck, running his hands down the length of my side. I shivered. He was always able to make my body respond. “What’s on your mind?” Wyatt asked, nibbling my ear. I leaned my head back towards him. “I was just thinking about how fast the kids are growing up,” I said, a little sadly. Wyatt smiled. “Aella is o
WYATTFIVE YEARS LATERAfter having Aella, Kacela came home after two days. Dali had worked so hard to keep Aella alive that she was unable to warn us. When Dali didn’t show up after the first day, I insisted that the doctors give Kacela some of my blood to help the healing process along. They kept her for another day to be sure, but Dali came back and Kacela began healing quickly.The complications that Aella had didn’t keep Kacela from becoming pregnant again and we soon added twins to our little family. We spent most of our time trying to keep up with Axel and Luca. Even with the help of two full time nannies, we were exhausted most evenings when we went to bed.Our kingdom thrived. Kacela had a knack with the people and her office door was always open, literally. Sometimes she would come down in the morning to someone already waiting for her, needing her council or wisdom. I
KACELA I curled up next to Wyatt, happy. I dozed off but woke up a few times, uncomfortable. I finally decided to take a shower. I got up quietly so that I didn’t wake Wyatt. I slipped into the bathroom and turned the shower on, scalding hot. I stepped in and let the water rain down over my swollen body. This felt better. I was just sore everywhere, carrying all my extra weight. The doctors said that Aella was going to be a big baby. I wondered what sort of shifter she would be. When the species mix, like Wyatt and myself, you don’t know what the baby will be until they come of age. You can suspect; perhaps she will have wolf tendencies or Lycan strength at an early age, but you won’t know for sure until they shift. I hoped she was Lycan. I felt a breeze behind me and turned to see Wyatt framed in the doorway, looking concerned. “Are you okay?” he asked, quietly. I nodded.
WYATTUnlike Lia and Jarrett, we wanted to find out the sex of our baby. I was thrilled to find out that we were having a little girl.“What about Abigail?” she asked me, out of the blue one night. I had almost been asleep.“For what?” I asked, confused. We were in the process of hiring her assistant and I couldn’t remember an Abigail that had applied for the job.“For our baby’s name.” She paused a minute. “She needs a strong name.”“Like Kacela,” I murmured, snuggling into her and putting my nose in her neck and nuzzling. She groaned and I got hard, moving over the top of her. She opened her legs and I thrust in, hard and fast, satisfying both of us. I waited until her writhing stopped under me and then I let my seed coat her insides. I dropped beside her, both of us panting from the quick intensity of that coupling.
KACELAI could hear the commotion in the yard. I was waiting where Mrs. Woltkamp told me to wait, in the castle near the back patio doors. She said she would come for me when I needed to go out.There was a lot of pomp and circumstance with the whole celebration. The guests were fed, buffet style, and the kids were now playing in the yard while the servers cleared away dishes. After the coronation there would be dessert, drinks and dancing. I was looking forward to the dancing part.Little Emily tugged on my dress. I looked down and smiled at her, a cute little pixie in pink ruffles. She put her arms up to me, wordlessly. Her older sister was assimilating into the pack well and had picked up enough English to get her needs met. Emily rarely spoke, clinging to a few select people. I was honored to be one.I picked her up and held her, cuddling her to my chest while she sucked on her fingers
WYATT The morning of the coronation began rainy. Mrs. Woltkamp was running around, wringing her hands. She had checked the forecast numerous times and it wasn’t supposed to rain. I had reassured her that it was just a cloudburst, over in an hour. I was right. Kacela was incredibly nervous for the day. We had invited people from other pack. She was concerned that they would recognize her as the feared werewolf hunter. “Can’t we just do the coronation privately?” she had asked. I shook my head. “No. First, I’ve been waiting a century for this. I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. Second, it’s custom. I don’t think you want to insult other packs as your first political act.” She had quieted down, until she saw her gown. It was a sleeveless, low cut piece that showcased her muscular body incredibly well, but also showed her scars. “I’m embarrassed,” she said, qui
KACELA I helped Lia back to the blanket. I had no idea what to do and so I tried to mind link again, putting everything I had into it. I finally broke through. Hello, gorgeous, Wyatt purred in my mind. Wyatt. Lia’s having her baby. We’re down by the lake. You need to send help right now! I broke it off, needing to focus. Lia lay back. “I’m going to take a peek, okay, Lia?” I asked, praying I wouldn’t see what I was expecting to see. When I looked, I saw the baby crowning. Yep. She was right. The baby was coming. And I definitely didn’t want to see that. “I thought you said this little one wasn’t in position,” I joked, helping her lean back and lifting her dress. I looked around and found the bottle of wine that Lia had brought for me to enjoy with lunch. I had only drank about a quarter of it so I poured the rest on my hands and arms,
KACELA I’ve been married for three weeks, now. When we got back to the pack there were a few things we needed to take care of. Lia had named the girls Emily and Rachel and she had spent some time trying to find any relatives that they may have alive. When the extensive search pulled up nothing, she and Jarrett adopted them. There was a quiet ceremony for the girls to be adopted. We knew that they were shifters. My wolf could sense it and Dex was a little unsettled about the whole thing. We would find out when they aged what sort of creature they were. Lia was not worried. Neither was Dali. I worried enough for the both of us. My coronation ceremony was set for two weeks. The castle was in a bustle, planning for it, and I had relinquished most of the duties to the house mother. I didn’t particularly care about the color of my napkins, much to Lia’s mirth, so I left the finer details to Mrs. Wolt
WYATT After the surprise wedding, we went back to the hotel to celebrate. I had planned on celebrating in bed, but our guests had other ideas. We ended up at a restaurant in a private room, dancing, drinking and laughing well into the early morning hours. When we finally dragged ourselves back to the hotel, the front desk clerk nicely reminded us that checkout was at 10:00am. “Did you like the surprise?” I asked Kacela, somewhat worriedly. We hadn’t had a chance to be alone since the wedding and I began to have doubts. She responded by flinging herself into my arms. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around me, grinding herself into my rod that was becoming awake. I put my lips on her, kissing her hard. “What is it that you want, Mrs. King?” I asked. “I want you to fuck me hard, Mr. King,” she whispered back, nibbling on my earlobe. That was all the encouragement I needed. I reached u