Russo's POV
I trudged back to my house feeling horrible, churnings in my stomach. We lost Helen. She was now in the clutches of a half demon.
Somehow that knowledge made her situation seem worse than the last time the Huntsman had gotten his hands on her. Because then we thought he was just an evil person, but somehow knowing that a demon had his hands on one of my best friends made me physically sick.
Lisa was in the kitchen brewing something on the stove when I walked in. The scent of it burned my nose.
“What are you working on?” I asked her.
She turned around to look at me, and her spoon clattered to the stove top. “What's happened now?” she asked.
“We're pretty sure the Huntsman has taking Helen,” I told her.
She covered her mouth with both hands, gasping. “It's a good thing I'm starting on the potion that we’ll need for the rite,” she said. “This needs to s
Russo’s POVRandy nodded slowly in agreement, though I could see on his face he still found the whole situation utterly distasteful. I fully agreed but Lisa did have a minor point. Helen wasn't hanging from chains or something in the Huntsman's basement, And he wasn't making her watch him pluck the wings off pixies.Helen might be a captive, and he might be using her, but the fallout could be dealt with later. And the focus right now really did need to be on bringing the Huntsman down.I turned to Lisa. “You have the ink boiling. What else do we need to get done? Let's make sure that everything is ready to go. Absolutely nothing should get in our way of making this ritual happen.”She nodded. “We have the ink ready. We have the herbs we need. Those will get burned or sprinkled during the ritual, at least the ones that weren't used in the ink. But we need one other thing to make this happen. We need a sacrifice.”
Russo’s POVLisa delicately slit the aloe, opening the leaves and scraping the gel out onto her hands. I undid my pants and slid them down to the floor. Just the idea of getting to touch in any way like this had me aroused, and I sprang free, ready to be of service in any way that I could.She put her hands on me, gently but firmly stroking. I backed into the wall to give me some support, and tipped my head back, closing my eyes. I reached out with my hands, running my fingers through her hair. I let myself imagine that this wasn't just her hands moving over me. I imagined her taking me in her mouth, and then moving up and taking me between her legs.The visions were so potent that it only took a few minutes before I groaned.“Shit!” she yelped.Lisa fumbled around as I spurted the contents of my ecstasy through her fingers. I could feel her scrape the glass along my shaft, scooping up the last of what she need
Helen’s POVMy Huntsman led me from the room and down the hall. Stopping at a cutout in the ceiling, he pulled this down, and a ladder extended, leading to the attic. Dutifully, I followed him up and found Julianne weeping softly on a bed in the corner of the attic.The Huntsman had been telling the truth. There were no windows, nothing but the raw boards on the floor and the walls and the slanted ceilings. These were all clean, and a rug filled the center of the space. A bed had been pushed against the far straight wall. Next to it sat a little table where a tray of food and water lay untouched.“Julianne.”At the sound of the Huntsman's voice, she scrambled off the bed, rushing for him. “My love, my darling,” she cried out. “You finally came back to me.”She caught sight of me over his shoulder and slapped out at me. “You bitch! What are you doing here?”The Huntsman caugh
Russo’s POVFive minutes later, we were on the road and on our way. I drove while Lisa tapped out another set of texts, probably updating all of our friends to our status.Justin would be taking command of the warriors with Randy at his side. We managed to find the location of where the Huntsman was hiding. It was part of a planned community with walls around the outside and gates with guards, secure if one were just trying to keep out regular predators. More of a fortress when we knew what was lurking inside.And our pixie spy, Freya, had left the night before, trying to get herself situated in a place in the house where she would be able to witness everything going on and give updates. Justin had taken possession of a small magical earpiece that she had made for Helen before Helen got abducted. Using that to communicate, she would verify that we had done our jobs.Then Justin and Randy would lead the rest of the warriors in to clean
Russo's POVNight was falling, and everything inside the church's basement was ready. Our pentagram and all of the symbols were written in the specific ink. Our offering was laid out, one each of the five donations on the five points of the pentagram.Beside me, Lisa's forehead glistened with sweat. We were at zero hour. It was time to start the actual ritual.She chanted the words that would open us to the magic, then connected that magic to the pentagram and the orders with power over demons written therein.On TV, magic always showed up as a flashy light show, but this was different, subtle. Being a fae, I could feel the magic whisper across my skin and through my hair like the slightest breeze, one which would tickle the flame on a candle without blowing it out. Yet carried in that whisper was a measure of power that stunned me.I took a gaping glance at Lisa. I had no idea that my bride-to-be could conjure up that much power. All
Helen’s POVRather than pushing me away like he usually did after our lovemaking, my Huntsman crawled back on his hands and knees, groaning again. But this time, it looked like his face was not contorted in pleasure but in pain.I was torn. I wanted to lay on my back, tipping my hips up so that his seed could find its way as deep within me as possible. I wanted him to have impregnated me. But I also wanted to go to his side and ease his pain.I patted the floor next to my shoulder. “Come here, my love. I'll try to tend to you.”He grunted and started towards me, and then collapsed to the floor, face down on the carpet. I shrieked, scrambling to my hands and knees and shaking his shoulders.“Huntsman! Huntsman! My husband, my darling, my love. What's wrong?”This time he clutched at his throat and let out a scream. Fire shot from his mouth. I shouted and scrambled back from him. Even Martin hurried
Helen’s POVThe end of everything felt like being under a collapsing tower of wooden blocks. Even though it brought relief, it wasn’t easy. All the edges and corners and individual pieces pummeled my heart, brain, and body. Julianne looked as if she felt the same.Julianne nodded at me. “I feel sick to my stomach,” she said.“You and me both,” I agreed.Now I gripped Julianne’s hand. “We need to try and look and see if we can find any of the other pixies. Was there anything upstairs where he kept you caged that would have indicated that there were other prisoners up there?”Julianne shook her head.I bit my lips in frustration. “How about before he put you up there? Were you take it anywhere by Martin? Did Martin say anything about anywhere else that they were keeping people?”Julianne sorted through her thoughts; I could tell. Her face was screwed up in concentration, and if her head felt anything like mine, it wasn’t an easy task trying to find the memories because everything from t
Helen’s POVThe poor man just stared at me with blank eyes. His hair was matted, and his cheeks sunken. He’d clearly been here a long time.“Do you have any idea where the Huntsman kept the key?” I asked.The man continued to stare at me.“You can answer me without being afraid,” I said, soothing the prisoner. “He’s dead.”“Dead?” the poor man on the floor croaked.“Yes. The Huntsman is dead. I saw it with my own eyes. He was killed by his own magic.”That was the best way I could describe the rite which had taken down the Huntsman to somebody whose consciousness was being strained simply by keeping himself awake. If he wanted more details after I’d gotten him help, we could worry about that then.He made another harsh noise trying to speak and gave up, simply pointing me to the back wall.I turned and, to my great relief, found a key hanging on a hook behind the door. I rushed over, grabbing that, praying the whole time that it was really the key that would unlock this poor man’s cel
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