~Devonte~I may sound confident, but my fear and anxiety levels are pretty damn high. What she’s threatening actually shakes me to my core. This isn’t something that I want to get out. I know Lynn said there’s nothing wrong with my preference and that it doesn’t diminish who I am, but that’s hard to hold on to when you are always taught one thing growing up.The lesson for young boys is that you’re strong. You’re the strongest and have to protect everyone else, especially women. Some lessons tell us that crying makes us weak, and being vulnerable in any way has the same results. Take all of that and add the pressure of being a royal and of ranked blood. I’ve never felt comfortable with my sexual preferences because I’ve been taught that those don’t fit with what/who a man should be.I lost the made-up version of myself last night. I let go and was able to be the real me and…..I loved it. I loved giving in to the desires that I always kept hidden. It felt so freeing, and the idea that I
~Vonte~I make it to the room in record time, and I’m tempted to strip down to wait for my mate. Being without her for the night was torture, and I want nothing more than to reacquaint myself with her body. She said she needed to talk, though, so I guess I need to stay dressed for that. Last night, let me know that being apart from her is not an option for me.I sit on the bed in anticipation. It’s not that I think anything is wrong; I just wonder what she will say. I’m surprised that she was out all night with my brother, of all people. I figured it would be a quick dinner, and the dumbass would reject her. I mean, he’s practically rejected her already; he just hasn’t said the words to make it official. I was ready to comfort her for the night because that rejection would be worse than when he was in the hospital.As wonderful as it’s been to have her all to myself, I have to admit that it’s felt off. In my heart, something is missing; our bond is weak. I would never tell her that be
~Devonte~SHIT! I feel like I’m fumbling this entire conversation. I feel like I’m making this worse than it needs to be. I continue to pace, figuring out the right way to say what I’m trying to say. My brother and I are twins, and we share a mate. We have to figure out how to make this work, or things will be difficult. I want us to be close again….I’ve missed my brother.“ ‘Te…..” my brother growls. “There’s something you’re not telling me, and I want to know what it is.” I stop and throw my head back, shutting my eyes. I sigh loudly and open my eyes. I find the couch and plop on it, not looking at my brother.“I……” Vonte sits in a chair next to the couch. He leans forward, elbows on his knees. His eyes are burning a hole in me, and I’m starting to feel uncomfortable. I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Do you remember me switching schools?”“Of course I do. I never knew why it happened; Mom and Dad wouldn’t even tell me. That was the beginning of our separation if you ask
~Sonya~Once Devonte left me, my anger soared. Just who the fuck does he think he is? He knows I can destroy him, but he goes anyway?! I know it’s all because of that bitch, but it won’t last. I’m going to make sure an example is made out of her.I pulled my phone out and dialed the number I’d been saving for a while. It was a quick conversation, but all the necessary information was shared. I hung up, knowing things would go in my favor sooner than anyone thought.I decided to wait downstairs for that bitch. Although I have plans for everyone, she still needs to understand that I’m not one to fuck with. I’ve been training for years and know she’s no match for me.I scent her coming down the stairs and see she’s alone. I push her into the wall the minute she steps off the bottom steps. Her body connects heavily, and her head knocks against the wall. It wasn’t hard enough to knock her out, but I know it made a mark.I take advantage and start to punch her in the side and back. “Just th
~Devonte~“So let me get this straight…..” We’ve been in the Alpha’s office since the warriors hauled Sonya away. I told everyone about the discussion with Sonya; I included her threats against Lynn but skipped the threats against me. I don’t know how I feel about everyone knowing about my proclivities. Now, Landon is trying to come to terms with everything. “Sonya not only attacked the sitting Beta, but she also threatened the same Beta. She issued a challenge, yet she’s not in the cells and isn’t dead. As a matter of fact, she was sent to stay with Adela. Have I gotten that right?” The room is quiet, with everyone looking around. I get the confusion. The fact that Sonya threatened Lynn is enough for her to be sentenced to death. At the very least, she should be locked in the cells. She shouldn’t have even been able to challenge Lynn after everything she’s done.“Uh, Lynn….care to fill in the blanks?” I look at Lincoln, who looks a bit more stressed than his brother. Lynn is pacing t
~Aida~I’ve been over this and over this, but there isn’t a clear answer. My body is screaming out for my mate, my fated mate. He’s right here, right in front of me. I just….I can’t come to terms with the fact that he’s who he is.Ivan is a vampire! How is it that I’m fated to a vampire of all people? It isn’t like it never happens; I’ve heard of this here and there. I just never thought I’d get a second chance mate, and it would be a vampire. How am I supposed to deal with that?To accept Ivan as my mate, I’d eventually mark him. I mark Ivan, and I will lose my wolf, so essentially, I will lose a part of me. How can I go into this knowing that a part of who I am will be gone? I feel like none of this is fair. This must be a punishment for everything I’ve done.There’s too much flooding in my head, and I needed to get it out. I push back the covers and put my feet on the floor. I need to speak to him, but I’m not even sure what we need to speak about. I don’t even know what to say to
~Lynn~We are enjoying breakfast with Tia, Landon, Lincoln, and the baby. Nikki and Paul actually made an appearance, too. Usually, they eat at home, but they stopped by today. Kian has been laughing and cooing, being passed around and doted on. That is one loved kid, but who can help it? He’s such a cutie.Surprisingly, Stuart isn’t around this morning. He’s hardly ever away from his grandpup or Tia these days. I asked him why he didn’t just move back onto packlands, but he said he isn’t worthy of that yet. He said he did more than enough damage and needs to right things before being welcomed back. I have to say, I’ve known him my entire life, but I’ve never known him to be a good man until recently. If Stuart had been here, though, most of us wouldn’t have gotten a crack at Kian. He loves that child so much; Paul does, too. Those two with Kian are a sight to see.I know I’m making heart eyes right now. Somehow, Kian ended up in Vonte’s arms, and I swear my ovaries are screaming at m
~Devonte~We are all seated in the Alpha office, and it’s awkward as fuck. The twins are at their desks with Tia between them. My parents are sitting in front of one desk, Sonya’s Dad is in front of another, and my brother, me, and Lynn are sitting on the couch.I anxiously look around the room, not quite knowing what to say or do at this point. Everyone else looks pretty lost, so I feel a bit better knowing it isn’t just me. “Where’s my daughter?!” I gulp a bit, trying to ready myself to answer that question. Lynn squeezes my leg, and I feel her pushing calm vibes through our bond. One of the twins clears their throat.“She’s currently being housed in a cottage a bit away from the packhouse.”“Why is she there? Why isn’t she staying in the packhouse?” Peter stands up, and a growl rips from him. I feel him push out his Gamma aura, though, in this room, it carries no weight. I hear Vonte snicker, and I slightly shake my head. The thing is for him to increase his anger and jump on peopl
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