~Tia~I have to say, I never thought of the twins as being domesticated, yet here they are, cooking me a meal. I could truly get used to this. There is something about watching men cooking or cleaning that is a real turn-on. I love watching their muscles as they move and how they glide through the kitchen. I hear a small gasp behind me, but I hesitate to turn around. This pack has not been overly friendly to me in my lifetime, and I really don’t want to see what’s behind me. The twin’s backs are facing me, but before they can turn around, a body wraps around Lincoln. “Hi, babe! I missed you so much!” Aida turns to look at me while stroking Lincoln’s front up and down. Andricia starts to growl in my head, and I can feel the anger start to build up. I try to keep my face emotion-free because I won’t give them the satisfaction.Lincoln grabs Aida’s arms and pushes them down as he turns toward me. The look on his face says he’s uncomfortable, but he hasn’t actually pushed her away. Adela
~Landon~I would like nothing more than to run after Tia. I could feel the anger rolling off of her even though she didn’t say anything. I can’t believe they would do this, but then again, I’m not that surprised. Aida is still tugging on Lincoln, trying to get him to let her in. He keeps looking at me for help, but I’m trying to deal with Adela. Mom is going on and on, and it’s all starting to be way too much. “Baby, please. I know you love me just as much as I love you. Let’s go talk, just you and me.” L, I’m trying to keep calm, but she’s pissing me off. I shake my head. I don’t know how I can help him. I’ve been telling him to stop placating her, but he never really listened. He always said that he couldn’t help himself. “Are you listening to me? You two need to stop this foolishness. You need to do what’s best for the pack, and that isn’t Portia.” Goddess, does she ever stop? I have always known that there were a few sides to my mother, but she usually only shows certain ones a
~Lincoln~I walk to the sitting room and plop down on the couch. I lean forward with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. I don’t have the energy for this right now. I really just want to find my mate and snuggle up to her. She has been through an ordeal, and I just want some time with her where she isn’t trying to fight for her life or heal from injuries. The couch dips next to me, and I can feel Aida’s body heat next to me. I feel her hand on my thigh, but I push it away. I sit up and lean my head back on the back of the couch. “You have five minutes, Aida. I suggest you don’t waste it.” I can feel Aida’s upper body closer to mine, and I figure she has leaned back close to me. “I….I miss you, Lincoln. I know you miss me too. We had a good thing and I know you are just appeasing Landon by accepting Portia.” I sigh internally. I knew this would be bad, but experiencing it is something else. “You know I love you, and I know you love me too. Don’t fight it……we are meant to b
~Landon~I hope they don’t get into an argument. Tia made some good points when we were talking. Lincoln and I haven’t been as tough on the twins as we should be. We need to get tough on Mom as well. We can’t expect Tia to get comfortable here with those three charging her up anytime they feel the urge. We also will need to make sure her father is prepared to treat her accordingly or leave her alone completely. I head downstairs in search of my dad. He and I need to talk about this situation and what needs to be done. Lincoln needs to be included as well, but it’s more important that he speaks to Tia and makes things right. I get to the second floor and start to walk down the hallway. We have conference rooms and ranked member offices on the second floor. I’m sure my dad is down here somewhere. As I walk further down the hall, I begin to hear raised voices. I’m getting close to my dad’s office, and I’m pretty sure the voices are coming from there. The door is slightly ajar, and I st
~Tia~Amazing, just amazing! That had to be the best encounter with a man that I have ever had. I realize that the mate bond changes things, but I think it’s even more than that. Every touch and every kiss set my soul on fire. I can hear Lincoln’s heartbeat while I’m lying on his chest. He is running his hand up and down my back. This is a wonderful moment, but something is missing. Landon should be on my other side, and we should all be basking together. I turn to look at Lincoln. His eyes are closed, and there is a small smile on his lips. I guess that’s to be expected since he just experienced his first time. “We should find Landon.” Lincoln nods but keeps his eyes closed. “I hope he won’t be upset that you went first.” Lincoln chuckles.“We discussed this after you said you wanted us each separately the first time. Neither Landon nor I cared about the order, and we agreed to let things happen naturally.” That actually makes me feel better. As great as being with Lincoln was, I wa
~Adela~Everything is going to shit, and I’m not happy. I can’t believe that bitch is here and walking around as if she belongs. The thought of Portia makes my blood boil. I’ve been out running since the kitchen incident. I wanted to do other things, try to get the twins to change their minds, but I couldn't focus. I couldn’t stand the fact that everything I had worked so hard for was slowly slipping through my fingers. I walk into the house after running for hours. I walk past the living room, heading to the stairs. “Why has my baby been crying for hours?” I jump out of my skin at the voice. I turn and see Dad sitting in his armchair with a drink in his hand. “What do you mean?”“I get home, and your sister is distraught, spending hours crying and whatnot. What happened?” I sigh internally, really not wanting to deal with this right now.“I don’t know, daddy.” My dad stares at me, scrutinizing me. “How don’t you know?” This time I sigh loudly. I recant the events from the kitchen
~Tia~Goddess, it’s so warm right now. I wonder if my furnace is broken again. This happened once before, and I had to call the super to fix it. It was way too warm in my apartment, and I was walking around practically naked. I guess I will have to go through all that again. I sigh and stretch; well, I try to stretch until I realize that I can hardly move. I open my eyes and remember that I’m not at my apartment. I moved out and am now back at Emerald Lake Pack. I can hear the soft hum of my mates breathing around me, and I settle back into the pillow. “Are you okay?” I jump a bit, not thinking anyone else was up with me.“Landon, why are you awake?” Landon nuzzles his nose in my neck and tightens his hold on me. Lincoln is lying on my shoulder, sleeping away. “I’m a pretty light sleeper. I felt you as soon as you woke up.” I start to turn toward Landon, and Lincoln wiggles next to me. He moves his head off of my shoulder, and I fully turn to Landon. We stare into each other’s eyes
~Third Person~Adela looks on, hidden by the branches of a tree. She is pleased with what she is seeing. Portia is going along with everything much easier than she originally thought. She figured it would take a lot of persuading to get her to warm up to Neal. The only thing that would make this better is if Aida was here to enjoy the show. Aida hasn’t been out of her room since she spoke with Lincoln one-on-one. She won’t eat, and she won’t talk to anyone. If she spends any longer in her room, Adela will be forced to drag her out. Adela looks forward toward Neal and her sister. If she can just get Neal to sweep her off of her feet, the Alphas will be free, and they can be hers and Aida’s again. Adela has always felt she was meant for great things, and she will do whatever it takes to get what she feels she deserves.Closer to the two, Landon and Lincoln have had trouble focusing on training when they see Tia spending her time with an unmated male. They know the young man as Neal Wo
6 Months Later~Paul~It’s been six long months, and Nikki still hasn’t woken up. Owlyn has been here and tried to get a response from her. Nothing has worked because she says it has nothing to do with magic. The doctors don’t have an answer, and I’m just lost without her.I knew she shouldn’t have volunteered. I felt in my heart that it wasn’t the right choice, but what could I do? I love her with everything I have, and I couldn’t tell her not to do what her heart said was the right thing.I run my hands through my hair and then over my face. I haven’t left her side in six months, and I’m beyond tired of seeing these walls. My sons have tried to get me to leave, and so has Tia. I refuse them because this is where I’m meant to be. As long as my heart is here, I will be here. Tia has been here often and has brought our grandchild, but besides those visits, it’s just been Nikki and me. I refuse to believe that I finally found my fated mate just to lose her so quickly.I put my head in m
~Devonte~The pain in my heart is all-consuming. I want the pain to stop, but I don’t know how to make that happen. I curl up tighter, hoping that the pressure will help with the pain. It’s all too much, and I don’t know what to do to make it better.Abe has gone silent, and I’m not surprised. He’s been struggling the most, and I have no words to soothe him. I wish I could wake up yesterday when things were what they were. I’d give anything to go back.“BROTHER?! BROTHER WHERE ARE YOU?!” I curl up tighter as if that’s going to keep me from being found. I don’t think I can handle the words and emotions that will surely follow my brother. I can’t take what that would mean.His thudding footsteps get closer and closer. I know I can’t hide myself; there’s no way to become invisible. I can’t keep this from happening. I hold my breath, waiting for the inevitable. “D, I found you. I’ve been looking everywhere. Our mate, she needs us. She needs you.” I’m trying to block out his words, but I’m
~Third Person~Everything seemed to happen all at once. Andricia is thrown against a tree trunk and curls up with a whimper. The pain is too much, causing Andricia to shift back into Tia. The twins witness this, and all restraint is lost. They shift and run at Imogene, who quickly wraps them up in blue light.Nikki hasn’t taken her eyes off Imogene, so she’s ready to interfere. As she shoots her light at Imogene, it strikes her in the stomach. Imogene is taken off guard and loses her grip on the twins. They fall to the ground and falter as they try to get on their feet. Eventually, they gain their footing and try to attack Imogene again.Imogene defends herself, reduced to hand-to-hand combat with the edge of magic. She repeatedly strikes the wolves as they throw themselves at her. They are taking a lot of punishment, but they refuse to stop. Their only goal is to defend their love, though they’d rather take the time to see about her.The group is joined by vampires and rogues alike.
~Jenna~I scramble backward, making sure my back is flush against the tree trunk. I try to quiet my breathing, but it's proving to be a task. I search around me, but there’s only darkness. The night air is still filled with the sounds of a battle, but I can’t see what’s going on.“Ughhhhh.” I slap my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stay quiet. I look down and see the bright red blood. I shut my eyes tight and try to think about anything else. If I freak out right now, I won’t be able to get back to safety.Every inch of my body hurts, but I can’t think about that now. I need to get out of here and make it back to the packhouse. I struggle to my feet, using only my right arm. My left just hangs against my body. Every twist and turn of my body brings a wave of excruciating pain, but I have to ignore it right now.I finally get to my feet and stand against the tree trunk. My breathing is erratic, and my chest is heaving up and down. “Where’d she go? I don’t see her.”“Sniff her out.”
~Aida~I’m applying pressure to my sister’s neck, and I feel her body giving in. This is so easy it’s pathetic. I would have thought that she would have trained during my absence. She had to know that I would return, and with my return would come the fight for her life. I guess having a brain doesn’t guarantee that you’ll use it.Portia’s body slumps to the ground, and her breathing gets heavier. I swear she’ll be dead in a minute. While part of me is rejoicing, the other part of me feels that she’d be getting off too easily. She’s the cause of all my problems, even the cause of Adela’s death. I may have administered the final blow, but it wouldn’t have come to that if she hadn’t disrupted our plans.Portia completely falls under, and I let her go with a thud on the ground. I get to my feet and walk around her limp body. Her breathing is shallow, so I know I can still play around with her before I kill her. I just need to figure out what games will be fun to engage in.I walk around h
~Ivan~One of the twins lunges at me, and I step out of the way. The other twin moves toward me, causing me to dodge slightly. This can’t be how they expect to beat me. If things continue this way, I’m going to win without breaking a sweat.I don’t want to spend a lot of time with these two. I need to go find Aida and so help anyone who has tried to put their hands on her. No one will hurt my love and live to tell the tale. I’d scorch the Earth before I let anyone hurt her.These imbeciles are staring at me but have stopped lunging. I guess they realize that it’s useless. It doesn’t matter what they do to me, they won’t win. I’m a vampire, so my natural state is on a different level. On top of that, I’ve been around for a long time. There isn’t much that I haven’t seen before, so they are hard-pressed to find something new to throw at me. “We’re wasting time, boys. I have more pressing matters.” I flip two fingers in the air back and forth. I hear reinforcements moving in. “Let me jus
~Lynn~I reach into the vampire’s chest and pull out its heart. My hand is covered in blood, but it’s as black as tar. There’s a stench to it; it smells like it’s rotting. I guess that makes sense because vampires aren't like the rest of us. They are the undead.I look to my left and can make out Abe in the distance. He’s ripping the head off of a vampire. Another vampire has climbed on his back, but he shakes him off. I look to my right, and Mace has the leg of a vampire in his mouth, and he shakes him like a rag doll. I duck quickly, missing the clothesline that was intended for me. I look behind myself and kick out, catching the perpetrator in the stomach. I wind the rope around my fist and throw a punch. The rope, mixed with the strength of my punch, causes my hand to literally push a chunk of her arm onto the ground. I follow up with a round kick and straddle her body as soon as it hits the ground. I rain a combination of punches on her body before ripping her throat out.I’m tir
~Jenna~I’m herding those who can’t fight into the safe rooms. We have entry points on both ends of the pack, but I’m only worried about those on this end where the packhouse is. Elderly pack members, as well as children, have been running here in droves. The sooner we get them to safety, the better off we will all be.I take one last look around and turn to the opening that will lead to the underground tunnels. It isn’t a long walk from the tunnels to the rooms; we wanted to make sure everyone would have a chance to get to safety. Once I get inside, the doors will be locked, and we will wait for word that everything is over.Crying sounds behind me, causing me to whip around. A pregnant woman with a toddler is running toward where I’m standing. A few warriors rushed out to her, working overtime to keep the vampires back.I watch the woman run forward with her baby’s hand in hers. She trips, and her knees hit the ground, causing her to lose her grip on her child. She cries out and cra
~Mark~I’ve been on alert all evening. I know tonight is the night, but I have no idea when. It’s just a guess, but we expect an attack on this pack. It isn’t that I’ve done anything to Aida, but her enemy is my best friend, and my mate has gone after her obsession. It seems they are trying to hurt Tia in any way they can, and that would include attacking this pack.I haven’t been Alpha that long, and I’ve only had my fated mate a bit longer than that. I have a baby coming and I like my life right now. I don’t want to lose anything right now, but this battle could have me lose it all.I clean off my desk and put files in the filing cabinet. I think the best thing right now is to have time with my mate. I want her to know how much she’s loved, just in case. I close the office door behind me and turn to head up the stairs. Alpha, we have a breach! My heart begins to thump in my chest as the seriousness of the situation grabs me. I take a deep breath and let it out. Hey, beautiful. Wher