When I finally see my brother, it feels as if two years have passed since I last saw him, even though it's only been a week and a half. He looks... older, somehow. Tired. "Hey, what the hell is going on with you? Does it have to do with this shit?" I ask Justin, gesturing around us, at the hundreds of men ready to attack. Justin shakes his head and grabs me for a tense hug, "So, what is it? You look like fucking shit." "Thanks, bro. I'll tell you what’s going on once this is over, it's a long conversation," he says with a sigh, and I just nod. I know it has to do with the fact that he has a fated mate now, but I don't think she's the reason he's so tired, right? Unless they’ve been fucking so much, she’s not letting him sleep. Finding your mate is the best thing that can happen, not something bad. Unless... she has another mate already, one who died but not really, so now Justin will have to enter a polyamorous relationship? Nah, I don't think that can happen twice, "Are you ready,
"Come on, buddy, just surrender already. You'll have a new Alpha and a King in fifteen minutes and your whole life will look better because of it," I butt in because I just feel like it. This is an easy solution and I hate when people are dumb. Asheron gives me a warning look, but I ignore it, "Alpha Asheron is nice, but I'm not. If this doesn't go my way, I'll order a massive massacre no one will be able to stop because you’re all here... do you want that?" The leader gives me a look of absolute horrified shock and every single one of the soldiers around us get on guard because of my words, but before Ash or Justin can even scold me, I let out a laugh. "I’m just joking," I say. Justin growls at me and Asheron is just breathing heavily in disapproval, but I think everyone relaxes after that, "I would never do that, I'm a good guy. I'll be an even better King. And once I'm in power, nothing like this will happen again because we'll be protected by the council. We’re all nepotism-bab
{ Georgette }I wake up in the middle of the night, dripping in sweat and with my heart pounding. I had another nightmare, but this time it was a lot more gruesome than usual. Cain and Asheron both died, but with more blood involved. I try to recover and distract myself, but I can’t. It's only midnight, so I’m all alone in the hotel suite while Jos is roaming the streets of her favorite city next to a very handsome man who's protecting her. She invited me, of course, but I was in a shit mood. And this nightmare only made it worse. I really want to know what's going on with my mates, but I don't want to receive bad news. I seriously prefer not knowing at all. I'm not a drinker… but I think today warrants it. So I get up from my bed and walk to the small bar so I can grab the bottle of wine they gave us as a courtesy.I open the glass door to let the cool breeze hit my body. I have a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower, so I start drinking my wine thinking it’s going to calm me down a
{ Asheron }"Ash..." Cain says as soon as I open my eyes in the morning. He always wakes up later than me but I guess he decided to wake up early today just to keep annoying me. "Don't," I spit out. It's been a whole day since we managed to conquer Fox, but I'm still mad at him. I don't think I've ever been this mad at someone, especially someone who sleeps next to me, "Silence.""We've been in silence for hours and hours, man, you can't dump me too," he whines and tries to grab my arm and pull me back to bed, but I push him away and I get up, "Ash, come on.""I need space," I say, walking to my closet to get some clothes. I don't know why I'm naked, I went to sleep fully clothed last night. I probably peeled the clothes off me at some point during my angry sleep. I can feel Cain walking close to my back, "I swear to god, Cain, I'll punch you the fuck out if you don't stop.""You really want to keep stacking points against you? Georgie will never forgive you at this point," he murmur
Before we even walk into the breakfast room in the Kallistar’s palace, I know King Eugene is here. I can hear his voice and laugh coming from inside, so I grab Cain’s arm and pull him back before he barges in.“Eugene is here,” I let him know. Cain stops trying to keep walking and he just blinks for a second. According to what Cain told me, he left things with Eugene in a good place the last time they talked… but that was before Georgie broke up with us. So Eugene could be completely furious again, especially with me. His anger has never had time to die down because I keep messing up one way or another.I spoke briefly with him when he gave me permission to use his manpower, but it was a completely professional conversation… except at the end when he said, “Don’t die again. And not because I give a shit but because my daughter wouldn’t be able to recover this time.”I didn’t need him to make me feel even worse about my decision. “Are you nervous?” Cain asks, and when I just give him
“Congratulations!” I blurt out, trying to save the moment. I squeeze Cain’s leg and give him a pointed look as I get up from my seat and approach them. He follows me, “This is amazing. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nina. My name is Asheron.”“I know, you’re the new Alpha. My dad hates you,” she blurts out as soon as I approach with my arms extended for a hug, so I stop before touching her, unsure. Justin sighs and gives me an apologetic look, but Nina opens her arms to me, so I hug her.In terms of height, I guess she’s only an inch or two shorter than Georgie, but she’s definitely thinner and absolutely weaker. Poor thing, I feel like I’m going to break her if I squeeze too hard.“I’m sorry for thinking you were part of the staff, Nina, but I’ve never seen you before, so…” Cain murmurs. I know he feels uncomfortable because he’s not joking or going up to her for a hug, he just looks her up and down, “I’m Cain.”“Yeah… hi,” she says, giving Justin an uncertain look, “I think your famil
“Eugene is right, this is a fated situation and your opinions won’t change that,” Justin speaks in a stern voice. Everyone falls silent, “This went just as badly as I expected. You’re all immature and rude. If you have complaints, take them up with the Moon Goddess. I’m taking a break from all of you.”“Justin, I’m sorry…” my mom tries to say, worry in her eyes. Justin raises a hand to stop her, “You caught us by surprise! You could have said something earlier.”“Yes, I should have said something earlier and not put my mate in an uncomfortable situation where my family insulted her repeatedly-”“Actually, this is exactly what I expected from a royal family,” Nina says, shrugging. Throughout this entire conversation, she’s seemed chill, like she doesn’t care one bit about what we’re saying.Honestly… I like her. I really like her.“I promised Nina she was wrong and you’d be kind. Annoying, but kind. Now you made me break the first promise I made to her,” Justin snaps, his eyes falling
“That’s Gerard, my best guard. He is looking after her,” Eugene replies. Fuck this Gerard guy, “Guys… back up, you’re suffocating me with your jealousy and I’m not even joking.” He’s right, Asheron and I are throwing off crazy jealous scent. “Let me see more then,” I demand, snatching the phone from his hand. As soon as I have it, Asheron takes it from me to be the one in control, of course. Asheron quickly swipes through the photos of Georgie in Paris with her assistant and friend, Jos. And that Gerard fuck. Then… Georgie in a bikini on the beach. It’s a modest bikini, but still, most of her body is exposed and she’s way too close to Gerard. And far too far from us. On a beach, without me.That’s a low blow. I always begged and begged her to get away from Asheron for at least a week so she could travel with me and she always said: no. But now she can travel. With that guy. “Where is this?” I ask Eugene, my shoulders are so tense I feel them up in my ears. He’s watching us as
"I don't like you, what are you doing in my palace? I thought I told you, your family is banned from my territory," she says that directly to me. "He showed up unannounced, babe." "I come here in peace," Cain says and takes something out of his pocket. It's a card. Nina frowns, but she can't fight her curiosity so she walks closer to grab it, "It's a 'shut the fuck up' coupon to use on my mom. You can give it to me at any point if you ever need to tell my mom to shut the fuck up. I will do it for you and I will be aggressive about it. She deserves worse for being such a bitch that day. I'll take the fallout for you." "To be honest, I'm not that scared to do it myself," Nina murmurs, but a smile starts to grow on her face, "However, this is appreciated." "Can we start over?" He asks, taking a step closer, "I am actually very, very cool. I swear." "Mhm, I’ll be the judge of that," Nina says, punching his arm like she usually does when she's play-fighting with her brothers. Cain tu
"I can't fucking believe I said that," he says, covering his face in shame, "It was extremely disrespectful, I'm truly sorry. And I guess you're right, this isn't new, I just haven't fully gotten over it. Of course I will one day, this is still new. But you're my girl, I do desire you a lot, you are very pretty in my eyes. I just can't wait for you to grow up some more." I nod with a sigh. "I'm not angry, not like last time," I assure him, Justin takes a deep breath in relief, "But I don't love to know I make you feel guilty or bad. It's good that we haven't had real sex yet, I don't want it to be a bad experience for either one of us. I want to feel wanted and loved. So, I think what we should do is... put a pause in the sexual aspect of our relationship." "What?" He gets tense and looks at me like I'm crazy, "That's not what I want." "Yeah, but it's what I want," I say, clenching a fist. It's not what I want at all, but fuck him for making me feel like wanting me is wrong, "Not
"I'm sorry you had to hear all that, I really am sorry," the King says, looking down in embarrassment, "My wife..." "Don't worry, I get it. Justin shouldn't have surprised any of us with this news, it's not something easy," I say, eyes set on my mate's. He's totally freaking out, "I think I've caused enough damage, can we just go now?" "Yes," he almost whispers and just gives one last look to his dad before grabbing a suitcase so we can leave, but he stays silent as we walk out, all the way to the car. And even when he starts driving, "I'm sorry, Nina." "You should be. This was 'that bad' and then some," I mutter, looking out the window, "About everything else you said… don't even say sorry. It's simply what you feel and I understand, let's leave it at that." "No, no, I don't want us to be at odds again," he says, his hands tightening on the steering wheel, "I want to clarify, I didn't mean I'm not attracted to your or that I don't like you, that's the opposite of the truth." "I
"Let's go," Justin wraps an arm around my waist and he leads me outside. "Wait, son, I'm sorry I haven't said anything. I was just processing and..." the King finally speaks and I try to stop and hear him out, but Justin keeps me moving. He doesn't even give his dad a look, he takes me all the way to the foyer. "Wait for me here, I'll go pick some stuff, then we're going back to Fox," he says and leaves, almost as fast as he brought me here. I sigh and look for a chair so I can get comfortable, but when a couple minutes pass and I realize Justin is probably going to take a long time, I start wandering a bit. It's so weird that this place has so many corridors and different living rooms. Like this one. It's exactly the same as the last one I entered. I don't know what specific purpose it serves but... I stand very still when I hear footsteps coming closer and then two different voices. I gasp and look around for a place to hide. I find a little closet and run to hide in there.
"Cain!" Justin roars and a couple of seconds later I feel some relief and I can breath again as the huge man gets lifted and my fated mate comes to my rescue. He grabs my arms and picks me up, "Are you okay, Nina?" "No," I complain, my whole body hurts, especially my ass and my chest. The guy crashed against me like he had a personal vendetta against me, "What the hell? Who is that hippopotamus?" "Nina," Justin sighs, still not happy with me. He moves away to let me see the guy and points at him. I know who he is as soon as I look at his face, "This is my brother, Cain." He looks like a younger, less manly version of Justin. "I'm so sorry, kid, I totally didn't see you," he says with a grimace, he's still trying to recover too. He looks at me deeply and frowns, "Since when do we hire minors, dad? Isn't child labor illegal here?" Great. Amazing. So, Cain is an asshole. I sigh and look at Justin, he looks even angrier now. I don't know how this is going to play out if my ma
During the drive to his pack, Justin tries his best to make me feel less nervous. I'm sure he can smell my stress, fear and nerves all mixed up in my scent. Thankfully, he assures me over and over everything is going to be fine and he asks me so many questions to get me rambling that I actually start to get distracted. Until we get to Kallistar and I enter the pack for the first time in all my life. I swear it's like a new filter is unlocked to my eyes. So much color, everywhere. There's even a big welcoming mural, as if a lot of people travel from Fox to Kallistar. The grass is really greener over here, the sky is bluer, the roads are so perfect and clean. This is a whole different world for me. I'm almost scared. Because I know this is basically my pack now. But I kind of like my ugly, old, messed up pack. It has character. It's full of working people who are always willing to help one another. No one thinks they're better than other people in Fox but I'm sure over here everyon
"So, that means... I have to be the one to do something about it?" I ask, swallowing in nerves. Justin lies down next to me. "Not necessarily if you don't want to. All I'm saying is... I need to relieve some pressure," he says, "I've been so stressed about the conquest and scared about my brother possibly being in danger. And you being mad at me. I was so fucking tired and stressed." Oops. I guess that's my fault. Or his, for pissing me off to begin with. "Well... if you tell me what you like, I could help you," I offer, excited again. To touch him, make him feel good. It's my right, after all. But again, Boring Justin gives me a look that says he's not that sure, "Do I really have to beg a man to let me make him come? That's not fun, Fated Mate." "No, no, it's not like that. It's not like I don't want you," he rushes to say. I squint at him. He keeps saying that but not showing me, "I just... don't feel... okay. Tell you what. If you really want to touch me, you can do it."
I wish we could do it again (and again, and again) but I have a feeling Justin will get in his own head again. He just can't accept me for some reason. This past few days I've been doing research in fated mates. It's always what I thought it should be... instant love. Instant passion. Instant love-making. Obviously, because what else is it going to be when you find the literal love of your life? People never fight it... except for him. And why? Because apparently he doesn't like the way I look. Or, he does, but then he feels guilty about it. I sigh and roll in bed. My nose catches his scent in the sheets and I moan, feeling all tingly again. I gulp and my hand moves down south to relieve the pressure, but then I gasp when I remember why I woke up so early today. I jump up and run to put on my clothes on go to work. ➿➿➿➿ Justin and his brother were successful. When I get his text in my new super fancy phone, I almost pass out with relief. He told me a few times that it wasn'
That makes her look up at me again, confused. "We're going to get the territory today. I could technically die out there," I say, even though I know the chances are slim to none. I guess I just want a little kiss. For me, but for her, too. { Nina } One little kiss. This man who has been practically ignoring me even though he invaded MY home is asking me for a little kiss? After grinding his dick against me last night? He has some nerve. "Okay," I say, because... what am I to do? I've been waiting for this opportunity the whole fucking time. I’m not the one who hates this bond. I know I shouldn’t be so easy, but I am. I want that kiss so bad. Justin licks his lips and ends the distance between us, but not too fast. He takes his time, looking into my eyes for a few seconds. "I'm really sorry I made you mad," he whispers, melting my insides, "We've only been mates a few days and I already fucked up, I can't even begin to explain how shitty I feel. I'm just trying to do t