~Sonya~I couldn’t silence my smirk if I tried and didn’t want to try. I warned Devonte that I would blow the cover off his little secret, but he wanted to test me. Now he’ll have no choice but to leave the hag alone and come back to me. When he does, I will make him pay for the drama and squash that deviant streak he’s trying to let loose.I look around the room, waiting for the blowup, the anger. The twins are sitting quietly with that bitch between them. The Lawsons haven’t said anything, but I notice their eyes clouding over, so they’re definitely speaking. My father looks shocked.“Is that it?” I look at Mrs Lawson, and my mouth immediately becomes dry. She says this as if that isn’t everything.“Uh…ye…yes.” Mrs. Lawson looks at her mate and then back at me.“So you called us out here, told me that my son’s mate was practically dangerous, all because he has a kink in the bedroom. Is that right?” I gulp and swallow. I nod my head slightly. The feeling I’m getting is telling me thi
~Vonte~SHIT! How did this happen? I should have known we’d use Serena at some point, but the thought hadn’t really crossed my mind.*Flashback*I tighten my arms around her, pulling her in close. I place a soft kiss on her shoulder, causing her to stir in my arms. I can’t believe that after such a busy night, I’m ready all over again this morning. My hardness is pressed between her crack, and I feel her clenching. I growl softly, and she chuckles. I kiss her over and over along her shoulder and her neck. “What are we doing, Vonte?” “Hmmm. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting ready to visit paradise again.” She giggles and lightly slaps my arm. “I’m serious, Vonte. We aren’t fated mates. You know mine died some time ago, and you haven’t found yours. I don’t want to stand in your way when you do.”“I hate that you had to go through that.” She shrugs her shoulders. “It happens sometimes, but I survived.” She turns to her other side to face me. “Last night was amazing, but I don’t
~Devonte~I return to the office to find my brother cuddling with our mate on the couch. I wonder what happened between him and Serena. It seemed like they had a past of some sort, but I’m not sure what it consisted of.I plop down next to Lynn and pull her onto my lap, away from ‘Te. We look into each other’s eyes, and I’m overwhelmed. I can’t believe that I almost let her get away. I was a complete idiot, but I’m beyond grateful that I was able to get another chance. I let my hand trail down her cheek, her body shivering at the contact.We need to talk about Serena, Brother. What was all that about?Later. We need to hear from Lynn right now. I know he’s right, but my curiosity is trying to get the best of me. I kiss the tip of Lynn’s nose and move her to sit next to me.“What’s up, beautiful?”“I listened to the recording that we have from the cottage.” ‘Te moves in closer and takes Lynn’s hand.“And?”“Well, they definitely bonded over the injustices they are experiencing.” I had
~Lynn~I swear, I’ve trained all my life, but that was some next-level shit. I’ll give it to my mates, though. They never went easy on me. They showed me a few moves they have specialized in and some techniques the royals use. I’m grateful for all of the special attention. Sonya will get her ass thoroughly beat, and I can’t wait.After showering.....alone, I might add, I make my way downstairs to eat. We spent the entire afternoon training, and I’m starving. We are having dinner with Tia, the twins, the Lawsons, and Sonya’s dad. It may be awkward, but we couldn’t exclude him. Vonte invited Serena, but she’s been tight-lipped since the meeting earlier.I’m the last to make it to dinner, and I sit between my mates. Everyone gets their food and starts eating. The conversation is light and seems to be going in a positive direction. “So, Lynn, how did you come to be Beta of the pack? I hear that you have an older brother.” I turn to Mr Lawson.“I do have an older brother, but we trained to
~Aida~No matter how I approached this issue, no matter what I thought, there was no solution. I either accept my mate or I don’t. I either lose my wolf, or I keep her. I either give up another fated mate, or I see where fate takes me. There’s no one to ask for advice; my sister is lost to me. I need to make a choice and live with it.I have no idea how much time has passed. There is no natural light in here and no way to get out. I know Ivan has been keeping his distance since we last spoke. I appreciate him being so caring, but I know it can’t last forever.With determination, I swing my legs over the side of the bed and place my feet on the floor. I haven’t seen that creepy servant of Ivan’s, and I’m happy about that. I slowly make my way out of the room and move down the hall. The sitting room is just in front of me, but I don’t sense anyone in there. I notice that the couch and the chair are empty. I see the dark hallway laid out in front of me. I’m scared; I have no idea what aw
I part my legs wider, allowing him to settle between them. Ivan pulls back and looks me in the eyes. He licks his fingers and moves them between us. Without warning, he’s pushing into me, causing my back to arch. When Ivan drives completely inside of me, he stops, and I let my body adjust to the intrusion. I slightly nod my head, and Ivan starts to move his lower body. Every push into me makes me moan out in pleasure. It’s been a long time, but I know I’ve never felt pleasure on this level.I look down at where our bodies are joined in an attempt to see him pull out and push into me. His hand grips my neck, forcing my face back upward. Ivan’s hands tighten as his pace quickens, and his body slams into mine with more force. I place my hand on his, caressing his skin. He’s choking me, but not to a degree that I can’t breathe. I never thought much about things like this, if I would like it. So far, my body responds by my core getting wetter and wetter. I slide my hand up his arm and grab
~Adela~The night went by quickly and was actually a lot of fun. That new chick, Serena....she had a similar story to mine. I guess it’s common practice for men to string us women along and then dump us as soon as they find their mates.I know some may argue that being hurt that way is on us. We know how the mate bond works, and these men shouldn’t be held to such an outlandish promise. I argue that that’s crap. It isn’t impossible to throw out the mate bond. I rejected my own fated mate, and I did it to remain available for Landon. If he truly wanted to, he could have rejected Portia for me.Serena and Sonya were treated the same way, and it’s disgusting. At some point, we need to make these men accountable. They need to pay for the pain they caused and the hearts they broke. It makes no sense that they are able to treat us this way, and we are supposed to just take it in stride. I refuse to let this pass.The challenge is today, and I think Sonya is ready. Once her challenge conclud
~Lynn~“Are you ready, baby?” I secure the headband on my head and smile at Vonte.“I’ve been ready for this the moment I found out about her existence.” Vonte chuckles and kisses me on my temple. He holds his hand out to me, and I take it, following him out of the room. “Where’s Devonte?” His scent hits my nostrils before my eyes land on him.“I’m right here.” His hot breath caresses the top of my ear, causing a shiver to go down my spine. I can’t help the smile that grows and the arousal that scents the air. Both of my mates growl a little, making me giggle.“Not right now, boys. I have work to do. Maybe, if you are good, we can revisit this later.” Devonte starts to walk on my left side while Vonte slaps my cheek, walking on my right. I’m excited to get this over with so we can get to living our lives. I have no interest in keeping our bond in limbo.We walk down the stairs and out the back of the packhouse. The challenge will happen in the training area, so that’s where we’re head
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