Helen’s POV“I’m sorry,” Julianne apologized. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while now. Maybe I should have called the others out on their behavior sooner instead of letting them torture you for a month. But they’ve acted absolutely despicably. I simply couldn’t watch any more neglect.”“You’re such a good friend, Julianne,” I said, smiling around my tears.She huffed and leaned against the sink counter. “I try to be. I mean, it’s not like I don’t get what everyone else’s objections are, but the way they the way they’re handling themselves is beyond childlike. If they were my kids, I would have scolded them. Thank goodness they’re not. What a headache that lot would have been.”This time I actually giggled a little. “I can only imagine how much trouble they would have been if they’d actually all grown up together.”“Now,” she said, digging in the drawers and coming up with a clean washcloth. “I promised I would scrub you. I’ve been saving this. I tucked this in your drawers the last ti
Russo’s POVSomehow, the bow tie on my tuxedo felt like it was choking me. I had no idea that I could be this nervous before my wedding. It wasn’t like I had any family or friends or pressure on me or anything. And Lisa and I were fully acquainted, to the point we were expecting a child, so there wasn’t any mystery waiting for me at the end that I needed to be nervous about.Still, my palms were sweaty, and the collar was entirely too tight.“Stop fidgeting,” Justin ordered, poking at my shoulder. “You’re squirming around like a schoolboy before his first dance.”I made a face at him. “I’m getting married,” I protested. “This is a big deal.”Justin hmphed and crossed his arms. “What are you so nervous about? It’s not like you’re the last one of your kind to ever get married.”This drew out a grudging smile from me. “No, and it’s a good thing we moved our wedding up into June. Because if we waited any longer, Lisa would definitely be obviously pregnant in her wedding dress.”“How do yo
Helen’s POVI glanced around, looking for my mate, but Justin wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I wasn’t sure where he’d gone because I didn’t sense Justin in the same direction that I sensed his father. But I had to find him. Juden was not going to ruin this day for us.I hurried in the direction of his scent, determined not to let him cause any trouble. I would need to get rid of Juden before Justin found out. No sooner had I stepped into the trees that comprised a greenbelt forest at the back of the property than Justin’s father materialized from the shadows.And speaking of shadows, Juden was a mere shadow of his former self. When I first met him, he was imposing, muscular, tall, commanding, clean, and well-cut. At the time, he looked every bit like the king.Juden was now thin and rather gaunt looking, his skin tight around his bones and his hair fully gray and rather lank. This man clearly had troubles. He wore stress nearly as obviously as his clothes which were no longer labeled by
Helen’s POVMy nails had lengthened into my claws, and I tucked my hands behind my back, shaking, holding myself together. Juden was so unbelievably insulting; Joy and I wanted nothing more than to rip him apart.But I was pregnant enough to be showing. The last thing I wanted was to hurt the pups. And the last time I had tried anything against Juden, I was helpless.“That was before . . .” A little voice whispered in my ears. “You’ve mated with a lycan and a demon. You’re stronger now.”I shook my head.Judan snorted. “You disagree with me on your value? Then you think your motley heritage and my son’s own mixed breeding makes you worthy of any kind of throne?”“You’re not,” Juden snarled. “The only thing you are fit for is exactly what happened to you. You’re worth nothing more than being a half demon’s fucking whore.”I lost control, shifting instantaneously into Joy. Where the shift had once taken effort, it now happened without even thinking about it.I turned so fast it even ca
Helen’s POV“Helen?” Randy called into the forest. The sharp bite of worry cut across his tongue.I heard his footsteps pounding toward me, and he skidded to a stop in the clearing just a little bit away from Juden’s mangled body, which had shifted back into a human form on its own.“Oh, my God! What happened here?”Randy had his phone out, ready to dial. I leaped at him and swatted the phone from his hand. It fell to the ground, just missing a puddle of blood.“No! You can’t call anyone,” I ordered him.He gaped at me, mouth open; all color had gone from his face. “Why in God’s name not?” he demanded. “What happened?”I stuffed back a shudder. “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise . . . promise me you won’t tell anyone else.”His gaze raked over me, head to toe, taking in my body soaked in blood. Then he turned his scrutiny to the body on the ground.“I don’t know if I can promise that.”“Then I can’t tell you anything,” I said.He shifted uncomfortably, crossing his arms. “Would y
Russo’s POV Now that my nerves were under control and the ceremony over, I let myself get swept away in the fun of the wedding reception. While I might have chosen more comfortable clothing for a party than the tuxedo, I wasn’t going to complain.For the first time in forever, we could cut loose and enjoy. The threat of the Huntsman was over, the only lingering reminders were pieces that could be dealt with, and some were already on their way to resolution, like the little fae growing in my bride’s belly.I’d never seen a woman sexier than Lisa looked today. It wasn’t simply the wedding dress, though it did make her look enchanted. But she loved me, and I loved her. She was bonding herself to me despite my flaws. And she was pregnant with my child, the continuation of my kind.Several times during the reception, I had the urge to pull her aside for a quickie, but she would have said no. She decided almost a month before the wedding to cut me off in the bedroom. She claimed the weddin
Lisa took my length in her hand, running her fingertips from the base to the tip and around the rim of the head before running back down and cupping my balls. I moaned and kissed her, seeking out her tongue with my own.She still had on the strapless lace bra and matching lace panties that she had worn under her wedding dress, and she looked undeniably sexy. I reached again, slipping my hand under that layer of lace and between the folds of her womanhood, seeking out her entrance with my middle finger. When I found it, I started to work in and out, and she rocked her hips against my hand.I kissed along her jaw and nibbled at her earlobe. Even the smell of her, faint herbs and flowers like the ones she worked with, filled my senses. I felt like my heart might burst with love.Lisa slid down my body, taking my pants the rest of the way down with her. She took a lick of my length, and I shuddered with desire. Using her tongue, she lapped around the curves of my erection, pausing to suck
Justin’s POVSomehow, the months that passed over the course of Helen’s pregnancy seemed to fly by. I spent a good deal of that time getting myself accustomed to the idea that one of the twins was actually going to be the Huntsman’s child.I’d always thought that issues of illegitimate birth were simple. Either the woman cheated, or she didn’t. That was simple. And as the man, you were either willing to raise someone else’s bastard, or you weren’t. It was simple. If you weren’t, you got it divorced. Simple.Yet I found myself in a situation that was anything but simple.Helen had cheated, but not by her own choice. She had been raped, which I suppose isn’t really the same thing as cheating. Especially when the cheating happens when the woman in question is under a spell, I can hardly hold her accountable for that manipulation.Punishing Helen for the fact that a child was conceived while she was raped was anything but fair. Then taking that a step further, she had my child as well. An