Even with all the excitement that has gone on over the past 24 hours, we’ve all been up for a REALLY long time at this point and it’s 2:30 in the morning. So the plane quickly quiets down, the majority of us falling asleep. Though, I did wake up once because of a scream from the bathroom. Damn, those two are going at it! Good for them. When we finally land, it’s around 4:30 in the morning and we all stumble out of the plane. We had called ahead of time to have places set up for Rin, Kesha, and the new CCS trio. Weird how the Mother kept their initials the same, huh? Almost like she likes those initials or something. “Where are Christy and Jerry?” Brandon asks the second we step off of the plane. “They’re with your parents. We should probably wait until later before we go to see them,” I say gently. I know that Brandon wants to see them pretty badly, but we’ve got to let them sleep. We’ll never get them back down if we wake them up now. Especially with seeing Brandon. Chr
Zak pounds into me a few times before putting my knees under me and scooting me back so that I’m basically sitting on his length and have the stability I need to suck Brandon. “Put him in your mouth, Luna. I want to see him disappear down your throat.” Zak’s voice is rough and deep in my ear as he whispers his command. My core clenches around him and I see Brandon’s shaft bob in front of me, precum leaking down his length. I lick up Brandon’s length, causing him to buck into my mouth. I take him further into my mouth. I’m caught between the desire to make him orgasm, knowing that it will pleasure my mate, and rushing to my own release because I want to see what kind of punishment Zak has in store for Brandon. Zak must sense my warring desires through the link, because he grabs my ponytail, manhandling me so that I have to truly suck Brandon’s length instead of letting him off easy. At the same time, he uses the heel of his other hand to push my ass up and down on his shaft as
I feel Charlie move off of the bed, but it’s really hard for me to visually follow her movements in my position tied on the bed. Zak seems to see my predicament because he props a few pillows under my upper back and head. “I want you to see what’s coming for you,” he whispers in the shell of my ear. Both Charlie and I whimper at the edge in his voice.Zak turns to get something before he looks over at Charlie. I see that she’s fingering her clit as the plug in her wet pussy moves inside of her. Zak’s voice comes out hard as steel. “Did I say you could touch yourself?”Charlie’s voice seems apologetic, but there’s a slight smirk on her face. “No, Alpha.”Zak immediately stalks towards her, grabbing some handcuffs from the table on his way past. Without warning, he flips Charlie over on the couch and smacks her ass four times in rapid succession. Her skin flushes bright red with the first smack, glowing brighter and brighter with each successive hit. Each smack of her ass caus
I can’t hold back anymore. I need to feel myself inside of Brandon. And I know that Charlie wants to have him inside of her as well. But me first. They’ve both cum multiple times and I’ve only had one. I get to go next. Using a quickly shifted claw, I quickly cut the rope from Brandon’s wrists and ankles. I press a hard, passionate kiss to Brandon’s lips and roam my hands up his chest to his nipples. “Alpha!” he cries. And just that makes my cock jump. I quickly yank off my shirt, pants, and boxers and climb back on top of Brandon, settling my body between his legs. I kiss and nip down his chest, feeling the hard plane of his abs against my chest and hands. Circling his nipple with my tongue, I reach down and grab his cock in my hands. “Fuck, Alpha! I need you. I need you inside of me,” Brandon moans. “You want me to fuck your tight ass?” I ask before I suck his nipple into my mouth. “Yes. Please!” He pleads. Quickly picking up the lube, I smear it on his asshole and
(This scene starts with Hakeem, Gael, and Meredith’s reunion.) Gael and I had agreed to let Zakand Charlie out of the plane first. They’ve been without their mate longer than we have. Though, when both of them jump out of the plane to reach Brandon faster, it’s all I can do not to follow. But the stairs are almost completely out, so I start running down them instead, Gael hot on my heels. Merry is running towards us, a beatific smile on her face. Without even thinking about it, Gael and I begin running towards her. I get to her a second before him. Picking her up, I immediately push my nose into her neck, scenting her. Gael grabs us both around the waist, his mouth finding Merry’s and kissing her fiercely. When he lets her go, I pull her face to mine, kissing her with just as much ferocity as Gael did. “Te hemos extrañado mucho, mi cielo. No nos vuelvas a hacer eso. No podemos hacer esto sin ti. Te necesitamos (We've missed you so much, my heaven. Don't do that to us agai
The coldness of the table starts to bring me back to myself after the two mind-numbingly amazing orgasms that I just had back to back. Holy hell, I didn’t know that I could cum like that. I finally get it together when I see Hakeem standing in front of me naked. He is a work of art. Selene knew the shit she’d put me through and she definitely made up for it in my mates. I think I’m wet enough to cause a puddle on the floor beneath me. “Come here, Dream,” I say, moving to lift myself on my elbows, but I feel Gael behind me. He takes my hands and places them above my head, holding me down. “No te muevas, mi reina. Tesoro dijo que tenía hambre, (Don't move, my queen. Treasure said that he was hungry.)” Gael growls into my ear. “Hambriento (Starving),” Hakeem whispers as he trails a finger up my thigh. “No podemos hacer nada hasta que se haya comido su saciedad. (We can't do anything until he's eaten his fill.)” The seduction in Gael’s voice and the heat in Hakeem’s eyes are al
I literally rip my clothes off in my haste to get to Merry and Hakeem. Hakeem pushes Merry further onto the table by the time I get there, but he’s still seated inside of her. There’s something deeply erotic seeing them both so sated, but still connected like that. I stalk towards them, my erect rabo swaying in front of me. Both of their eyes follow the swaying movement as I walk. I stop next to them and take the whipped cream from the table. Looking at them both, I squirt whipped cream onto my finger before rubbing it on mi rabo. Judging from the squeals that mi reina let out, it’s cold and nothing would ruin the mood faster than for me to squeal. Hakeem grins at me. “What are you doing, Caramelo?” “Making a sundae. I thought that mi cielo might be hungry as well.” Putting down the whipped cream, I grab the chocolate syrup from the table. Uncapping it, I drizzle some on mi rabo. Hakeem pulls out of Meredith, both of them moaning at the sensation. Meredith immediately fall
(This scene starts on the plane.) After Charlie confronts us, we settle into an uneasy silence. It isn’t until she and her mates lay back and fall asleep that we begin to relax. Kesha and Corinda talk quietly to one another until they fall asleep. Chloe sits between Case and I, her head on my shoulder and Case’s on hers, his arms wrapped around her waist. I have my arm on the back of the seat, giving me the ability to touch both of them. I absently stroke her hair and rub Case’s cheek. They had both fallen asleep a while ago, but they turn into my hand in their sleep. Even unconscious, the bond calls out to them, wanting to bring the three parts of our soul together. But I can’t sleep. Too much has happened in the last few days for me to settle. Between the fight with the Riding Hoods, fleeing to Slade’s, rejecting Rin and our bond, and now being in a new trio…it’s just a lot to take in. I’m deep in thought when one of Brandon’s and Meredith’s friends whispers to me, “Hey!”
The tunnels twisted and turned in an endless labyrinth beneath the Hoia Baciu Forest. The scent of damp earth mixed with the faint metallic tang of blood and decay. The flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows along the stone walls as I strode through the corridor, my Thane, Sybil, walking briskly beside me.“How is she doing?” I asked without breaking my stride.“She is much more stubborn, much more resilient than we anticipated,” Sybil admitted. “But we believe we may have turned the corner, High Priestess.”“Oh?” I arched a brow, intrigued. Morgana’s torture had been… sluggish. Less satisfying than I had hoped.Torture, after all, is not simply about the body—it is about breaking the mind. True suffering comes when a victim loses their very sense of self, when they beg for death, only to have it denied over and over. And yet, Morgana had proven difficult to crack.Nine months. Nine months of relentless torment. We had shattered her bones and healed them daily, forced her to endure t
The ride from Texas to our packhouse should normally take 21 hours, but we’ve made it a one-week trip, sending our beta, Landry, ahead of us in our plane. He will help our people move in and settle while Brandon, our parents, and all of our pups take a little side trip for some downtime.Carl, Richard, and Lauren elected to move back to Artemis lands with us. It’s where they lived, where Carl and Richard grew up, and where they raised their older children. Now that they had a new set of pups, they wanted to come back. My mom and Charlie’s parents were also moving back with us. It was their way to see their grandpups grow but also to honor the lives of my father and Charlie.Carl, Richard, and Lauren were a little upset that Dev, Arya, Jakey, and the twins were remaining in Texas and that they wouldn’t be able to see them as much, but we’ve already got a couple of trips scheduled back and forth so that all the cousins could get together and we could see our best friends.Our side trip t
The past few months have been some of the most emotionally difficult of my life. Not only am I nearing the end of my pregnancy with our little boy, but we are also leaving Texas— all of us. Except for the old Diana pack and Arya and Dev’s pack, the rest of us will be gone by tomorrow.The last three months have been consumed with finalizing pack laws, succession rules, and building the new packhouses for each territory. We've been moving everything from our old homes, figuring out pack logistics, and ensuring every wolf is accounted for. It’s been exhausting, but necessary.We also had to choose our new betas, gammas, and deltas. In a twist of fate, Donavon asked to be our beta so that Kesha could stay close to Slade and Chloe. Rin made the same request to serve under Case, Chloe, and Sev, so their families could stay together. That means Mike and Seth will also be moving up north. But the tech squad doesn’t need to be in the same room to work together, so at least that transition will
"Reports have been consistent from all of our sources. Other than one of the fae discovering what was left of Locasta’s body in the bayou, there hasn’t been a single sighting of any Riding Hoods on American soil,” Hawk says.We’re in one of our combined council meetings, with all the alphas from every pack in the U.S., as well as the heads and representatives of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone covens for Hecate. There’s also a representative from the Seelie Fairy Court and an ambassador from the Unseelie Fairy Court. The sooner we can get all of us on the same side, the better we’ll be protected from groups like the Riding Hoods. We’re hoping to expand this into a global alliance—a kind of supernatural U.N.For now, the fae are willing to let the U.S. be the test subject. Convincing the other shifter groups, however, has been difficult. Many remain elusive or outright resistant to the idea. Zak’s presence would have helped—his Goddess gifts have a way of swaying even the most stubborn mi
After the ceremony, Gregory and I help Jamal back to our cabin. Every time I see him in that damn wheelchair, I get livid all over again. Those witches. I can’t believe Locasta and Morgana got the drop on him.He freely admits he was distracted—he had taken a call from Seth and Mike about incoming witches. It turned out to be nothing, just the Crone coven sweeping through like they promised. Apparently, no one had thought to inform our tech team of that part of the plan. And no one but Jamal had their phone turned on.Morgana had woken up just before the call. While Jamal was preoccupied, she directed Locasta to retrieve a knife from her boot—silver and coated in wolfsbane. They cut themselves free, then stabbed Jamal in the back of the neck, severing part of his spinal cord. He collapsed immediately. The wolfsbane knocked him out, and the silver cauterized the damage. For a time, he couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t even breathe on his own.Arya and Dev managed to purge the wolfsb
Zak and I have been in a fog since Charlie’s death yesterday. The one and only thing that has brought us any solace is our pups. It seems like, overnight, they began looking more and more like their mother. Though both of them have always had Charlie’s gray, raincloud eyes, their faces and bodies seem to have gotten leaner, their chins more pointed, their cheeks hollowing slightly to reveal high, sculpted cheekbones. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but others in the pack have noticed it, too.Our families are around us. Friends come in and out of our cabin. All of our mothers—Lauren, Danielle, and Clara—busy themselves with the pups, cooking, keeping things moving as if that will help. The house bustles with people, but I barely register them.The only things that ground me are Zak’s hand in mine, the weight of Christy’s sloppy kisses on my cheek, the warmth of Jerry’s small body as he curls into my chest.I know I eat. I shower. I dress. I might even respond to people. But it’s all
So many emotions. Thank the Goddess on High that I’ve been training on how to empty myself of other people’s feelings. If not, I’d be drowning in them, rocking in a corner with my thumb in my mouth. Despair. Pain. Rage. Dread. Determination. They flood over me like a tidal wave, crashing against my mental defenses. But using the techniques Meredith taught me, I let them wash over me and drain away, like waves receding from the shore.I have to keep my head on straight. My job is twofold. First, I need to help my friends process their grief without letting it consume them. Zak and Brandon’s pain is like a living thing, a force that threatens to unravel everything if I don’t keep it contained. I push their suffering to the back of their minds, tempering their anger to something useful. They don’t want this—but they need it.Then there’s Dev. His grief is just as raw, just as deep, but there’s a difference. Beneath his devastation, there’s acceptance. A flicker of hope. He knows that he’l
Zak and Brandon push through the door, Brandon almost immediately shoving Zak to the floor as a ball of lightning rushes through the air toward them. It slams into the door just above their heads before Gregory vaults over them, a shield of the same crackling energy covering us as we begin to move through the doorway.Gregory’s ability to mimic Morgana’s powers surprises her, giving Jamal the time to step into the room after his mate. His power fills the space, nullifying all the goddess gifts of those within a 100-foot radius (we checked). That includes all the witches’ powers. The only ones that won’t be affected by Jamal’s power are Arya and me. Our gifts aren’t Goddess-given but Goddess-like. He can’t take away what is part of the Goddess.The look on Morgana’s face as she drops like a fucking stone is almost enough to make me smile. Her scream echoes through the stairwell, the resounding thud as she lands and the breath whooshes out of her is immensely satisfying. Unfortunately, o
I don’t know what gave me the idea of the salt trail. Honestly, I haven’t been able to think of much since I’ve been here. The thought of us being so close to freedom seems unreal. I never thought that I would escape the Riding Hoods alive. It makes the frustration that Charlie is feeling about us going around in circles barely register to me. I’m still finding it hard to believe that we’re going to get out of here.But the salt sparks a memory of my favorite childhood fairytale. My mother hated it, the way that the witch was portrayed, but I loved the thought of children being able to outsmart an adult like that. I read every version I could find and acted it out with my toys all the time. I even made Mom, Dad, and Bella call me Gretel for about a year.So, I really shouldn’t be surprised that my old favorite story came to me in a time of need. The whole scenario was made better by the fact that Charlie called me Gretel. I feel like I’m getting some of me back. Like I’m starting to wa