Justin’s POV
Sweet relief washed through me when Helen said she hadn’t slept with anyone else. Beowulf growled out that he didn’t believe her, but I ignored him the way he’d ignored me earlier.
“Then are you suffering?” I asked Helen.
“Not that I can tell. I assume that’s normal. I doubt the whole pack went through life either in pain because they were horny and not getting sex or involved in a sexual encounter. If I use my body as a guide, it’s just maintaining itself. I’m not getting any stronger, but I don’t feel any weaker, either. Does that make sense?”
“Yes.” I cupped her chin and rubbed my thumb across her cheek. “Someday, I’ll earn enough of your trust back that we can sleep together again properly. Then we’ll take it slow and see how powerful the two of us can make you.”
“Beowulf is good with this plan?” she asked.
Helen’s POVComing back to Justin’s father’s mansion was like returning to a bad dream. Even the smell of the gardens around the place conjured up horrible images in my mind and feelings in my chest. The closer we got to the property, the harder I prayed that we would find something in Juden’s library that would validate this whole trip and all of these nasty feelings. Otherwise, what a waste it would be not only to spend the time coming all the way out here but to dredge up all the joint horrors of our past.When we arrived, Justin went to the door and tried his key in the lock. Frustration took over his face, and he tried to jam the key in a second time.“My father’s been here,” he growled. “He’s changed the locks.”“Should we break a window to get in?” Randy said, tossing a rock up in the air and catching it, a wicked grin on his face.Justin shook his head. “I don’t think he’s here, or he’d have either come out to meet us himself or sent someone out to greet us, either in a good o
Helen’s POV“So, Lisa,” I said. “Do you live around here?”She nodded. “For the past six months or so. I live across town. Thankfully, my house sits on a street that leads straight here to work. So even though the walk is fairly long, it’s a straight shot.” Hot, fragrant tea dribbled into the cup she worked with.“That’s nice,” I said, fumbling to keep the conversation natural while I fished for information. “Where does your husband work?”She shook her head. “I’m not married or mated.”I bit back my grin and tried to tamp down my swelling hope. After all, even if Lisa was single, she might not like Russo. But at least we were getting somewhere hopeful.“A boyfriend then?” I pressed.“Not recently,” she said, putting a generous dollop of whipped cream on the top of my chai.“That’s too bad,” I said without meaning a word of it.”She shot me a look I couldn’t quite read. “It’s not too bad. He was a jerk.”“Oh, I see.”She snapped a lid on my cup and handed it to me.“Like I said,” I st
Helen’s POVFive minutes before the end of Lisa’s shift, a young werewolf walked in and tied an apron around his waist, taking a place behind the counter. “Is everything going all right today, Lisa?” he asked.She nodded. “This is my friend, Helen. I’m going with her after work.”He smiled at the two of us. “I’m thrilled to see you making friends, Lisa. I’ve always worried that you were going to be a little bit lonely. Are you working the closing shift tomorrow?”She shook her head. “No. I’m off tomorrow. But I’ll see you again the day after.”The bells on the door jangled as another customer opened the door and walked to the counter.“Hi, Brad,” the male werewolf now working the counter greeted him. “The usual for everybody at the store tonight?”Brad nodded his head, and the werewolf got to work fixing cups of coffee which he already seemed to know. Lisa hung her apron up on a hook at the back wall and came around the corner to join me.“Let’s go meet these friends of yours,” she sa
Helen’s POVLisa slouched back in the chair with a sigh. “Well, I guess I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Because if you’re going to perform that sort of magic, you’re definitely going to need a witch or a wizard. And I don’t know any others are hiding right now.”I reached for her hand and then stopped. She didn’t know me well enough for that. But I wanted her to see the sincerity in my eyes.“I didn’t intend for you to have to fight the Huntsman with us,” I said. “When I made your acquaintance and suggested you come back to meet my friend, I was honestly only considering the comfort of you and Russo. If you don’t want to get involved in this mess, I fully understand. All you have to do is say the word, and we’ll find someone else.”Russo nodded in agreement, and Lisa cast a look between him and me and then back again. She rubbed her face, looking tired all of a sudden. “As much as I would like to say ‘go find someone, anyone else,’ I can’t. I don’t know how long it will take you
Helen’s POVI wandered the room, running my fingers across the titles. Some were new and shiny, and some were so old you could barely read the script on the binding anymore. I paused at one of these, where the gold lettering was nearly smudged out, and pulled it towards me so that I could see more clearly what it was.When I took the book, the whole bookshelf slid out and rotated to reveal a back side that had been hidden inside the wall. That side of the bookshelf was also lined with books, but these were titles that were much more interesting. Here, there were books on magic and herb lore and histories.“Guys, check out what I found,” I called.I didn’t really need to say anything, though. Because as soon as the bookcase had moved, all the other four were paying very close attention to what I’d discovered.“What exactly did you find?” Russo said, coming over and peering at the titles.Randy and Justin hurried to join him.“This is amazing,” Randy gasped out. “These are the sorts of
Helen’s POV Randy frowned and stared at Lisa. “Do you live with anyone?” he asked. She shook her head. “Do you have family or close friends around who can keep tabs on you?” She shook her head again. “Why? she asked. “I think you’d better stay with us,” Randy suggested. “I can’t see to your security if you go home alone. And you’ve been seen with us. The people who get close to us have a tendency to end up being used for bad purposes. I would hate to see you hurt in any way just for trying to help us out.” She looked frightened for a moment. Randy smiled at her. “Don’t worry. If you’re here, you’re under our protection. You’re safe. It’s only if you leave for home that it’s a problem.” “But what about my job?” she asked with a tremble in her voice. “I have tomorrow off, but if I have to stay with you for protection, it might take longer than one more day. I mean, clearly, it’s going to take longer than a day.” S
Helen’s POVJustin nibbled at my earlobe, running his hands up and down the length of my back. “Tonight will be amazing. I have an idea. It’s still early enough that we have some time to settle in with one another. We’ll take turns taking off as much clothing as we’re comfortable with seeing the other person in. Then we’ll climb in bed, and I want to snuggle my wife.”I blushed at the thought, drawing a warm chuckle from him.“I want to play with you,” he continued softly, “and when we hit your limit, or if I’ve hit mine, all we have to do is say the word, and we’ll stop.”“What if I need to stop part way?” I asked. “You know how rough our sex can get. What if you get all the way inside me, and we’re doing something, and it’s too much, and I can’t handle it?”He let out a purring growl next to my cheek, kissing along my neck. &ldq
Helen’s POVWith that, he crouched over me, giving the full attention of his mouth to my nipples. He used his tongue to circle the hardened tip of my nipple, and my back arched, pressing my breast into his face.At the same time, the ache between my legs grew until I had to put something there. I slipped my own fingers down and began to stroke in time with his licking.“That’s okay with me,” he purred, moving from one breast to the other. He sucked my nipple between his lips, using his teeth to graze the tip, and then let go. “Get yourself off. I can watch that. And then, if you’ll let me, I’ll do the same.”The tightness between my legs built, and my hand sped up, trying to find a release for all of the pressure. Justin kept coaxing me with his mouth, tickling me with his warm breath and teasing me with his tongue and lips until finally, a moan tore from my throat, and my whole body arched against his. I pa
Luke’s POV I knew my sister had run off to hide again after I heard her arguing with Dad. I wanted to find her and make sure she wasn’t sulking. Aurora liked to do that when things didn’t go exactly her way.But it seemed I wasn’t the only one who had that idea because halfway to her so-called “secret” place in the garden, I caught sight of her current boyfriend, Jay, sneaking out there, too. Jealousy prickled at my stomach.Aurora was my twin. I was the closest one to her. If she needed cheering up, it should be me doing it, not some random guy. What could he ever offer her that her twin couldn’t?Besides, Jay wasn’t worthy of her. He was a single-color coated wolf, the son of some gamma in my father’s ranks. If she was going to date and seriously consider finding a mate, I didn’t think Jay was anywhere near worthy of her.Jay was a consolation prize, at best. Some poor lady wolf could end up with him, but not my sister. Still, if she was just killing time by fooling around with him
Aurora’s POVAs the oldest of my mother’s twelve children, everyone expects me to be responsible. And as the first lycan born to my father, everyone looks to me to continue the lycan race.That’s a lot of pressure to put on an eighteen-year-old. Don’t get me wrong, as the future luna and heir to my father’s throne. I get where the pressure is coming from. Not that I particularly enjoy it.At the moment, I was hiding in the garden. I had many happy memories of this space, and on many days when I needed to think for myself or to get away from my many siblings, particularly my twin brother, I snuck out here and hid. Luke was way too over-protective of me, and it got annoying.When I was small, I used to make forts in the hedges surrounding the rose garden. I’d carved my hiding spot out into a hidden alcove that nestled inside the hedge behind a veil of ivy. Sunlight could dapple through the vines and illuminate the inside.And as long as I kept it free of cobwebs, it was a nice space to
Helen’s POVEach of the twins had gotten to choose party clothes for the event, and they were quite excited about it, probably because I let Luke have a tie that had a dinosaur print all over it. And because his little suit wasn’t anywhere near as fancy as Aurora’s poofy dress, or I guess it was just as fancy but less to his taste, I let him pick out a little undershirt and underwear with dinosaurs on them, too. That way, he felt he had a satisfactory number of dino garments on and was much easier to coax into his little gray suit.Aurora had chosen a dress perfect for a budding princess, all tulle and lace and sparkles in a vivid teal that complimented her dark hair, each accentuating the color of the other. I had just finished pulling on her tights and buckling her sparkly little shoes when Celine joined us.“Why don’t you come and help me greet the guests, Luke?” she suggested. “While your Mama finishes doing Aurora ‘s hair.”“Okay.”He took his nanny’s hand and left, and I fussed
Helen’s POVI bustled around the kitchen with our nanny Celine helping me. On her back, my two-year-old son, Wilson, kicked his legs happily, asking nonsense questions about what we were doing.Inside me, our new baby, another daughter, kicked and squirmed, looking for more room inside my womb. Celine and I were busy frosting cupcakes for the twins’ birthday. They were turning five today, and it was a big birthday party because we were doing their official reveal.Today, they would reveal their wolves and begin to learn about them and grow together. Justin and I had spent the last five years working furiously to repair all of the damage his family had done to the reputation of the multi-colored coated werewolves in anticipation of this very day.The last thing I wanted to do was have my children reveal the color of their wolves only to find out that they were multi-colored, or at least that’s the way it would have been if we hadn’t put in the effort. By now, everyone in the True Mates
Justin’s POVIf anyone said “honeymoon” to me, I would assume plenty of sex on the first night. But that was not at all what our first night in Tahiti was like.We arrived at the airport late and got shuttled straight to a hotel. We were exhausted and then had to get up early again to catch our inter-island flight to Bora Bora.Neither one of us was in the mood to do anything that night. So, thank goodness we had gotten a chance to fool around on the airplane. And I have to admit, fooling around on the airplane was so fucking hot.Ever since I found out that she was carrying one of the Huntsman’s twins, well, actually, that’s a lie. Ever since I found out that she was the Huntsman sex slave, and then when I found out that she was carrying his child, my feelings of desire for Helen wavered up and down.Sometimes I felt like everything was normal between the two of us, and I wanted her just the same as I always had, or at least the same as I had since I’d gotten my lycan and she’d gotte
Helen’s POVMy stomach buzzed in anticipation. Even the rumbling of the jet engines through the seat in my rear end didn’t dispel the feeling. Next to me, Justin adjusted his seat belt, putting his books and such within arms reach for the flight to Bora Bora.I’d finally gone with that as the location for our honeymoon. The twins were safe with Randy and Emily, and our nanny. Outside, snow swirled around the plane, but in about fifteen hours, we would be out in warm sunlight. Well, we were arriving at night, but we’d be out in warm weather anyway in Tahiti. And from there, first thing the next morning, we were catching a small flight over to Bora BoBora.“Are you excited?” I asked, poking Justin in the shoulder.“For the hundredth time, I am. And I can tell you are, too, annoyingly excited. You’re going to drive me crazy.”I poked at him again. “I don’t wanna drive you crazy, but I have an idea.”“What?”I tugged on his shirt, so he had to lean close so I could whisper in his ear. “I
Russo’s POVWhen we arrived at the hospital, the nurses thought it would be amusing to put us in the exact same room that Helen had been in while she was waiting for her C-section. Being a witch, Lisa shooed the nurses away as much as she could because she brought her own herbs to help with the delivery.In fact, after she’d taken some at the start of the contractions, she didn’t seem to be in much pain at all. Her body was going about its business without really disrupting her. It confirmed my suspicion when one of the nurses walked out, grumbling about how it must be nice to be a witch.“How come you didn’t offer the same herbs to Helen?” I asked, sitting at the bedside by Lisa’s head.She glanced over at me. “Because the mixture that I took includes wolfsbane, which is hard enough on adult werewolves, poisonous in large portions, and deadly to a newborn or an almost newborn. I would have essentially poisoned her and the baby.”“Not babies?”She shrugged. “I don’t know what would h
Helen’s POVWhen I got to the door, sure enough, Randy stood outside. I opened the door, and I held her finger to my lips.“The babies are napping?” he whispered.I nodded. “Like angels.”“Sweet,” he said, stepping inside. “Now, what did you need to see me for that was so urgent?”“I need your help with something,” I explained. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Justin hasn’t been as affectionate with me as he was before all of this went down. He’s done a pretty good job of coping with the fact that one of the twins isn’t his, worse, that he’s a part demon. But it’s kind of left a quiet wedge between us, and I wanna get over that.”Randy nodded. “I did notice. He hasn’t said anything to me. Though, I know he’s trying.”“I realize he’s trying,” I agreed, “but that doesn’t mean that he needs to try all on his own. So . . . I have an idea.”A wide grin spread across my face just thinking about it. “Before we found out that one of the twins belonged to the Huntsman, Justin was planning
Helens POVI thought, when I fell in love with Justin, that I knew what true love really felt like. That was until I met my babies. The love in my heart for my twins surpassed anything I’d ever felt before.I wanted to protect them, and at the same time, I wanted to take them out and show them to everyone I met. I wanted to have them seen, for the world to know that I had created perfection.And they were perfect. From their tiny little lips to their little button noses, they were utterly adorable. They each had ten teeny fingers and ten petite toes. Their downy heads of hair were so soft that I could help but smooth my hands across them, reassuring them that their mother loved them.Everything about them was indescribably perfect.We knew from the moment that they were born that my daughter was the lycan and my son was the child of the Huntsman. If Justin was disappointed in not having a son of his own, he didn’t say anything. And I wasn’t worried about having a male lycan pup just y