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
Justin’s POVI planned for the future when designing the green belt, hoping someday, these trails might be connected to playgrounds. And there was room at the backside of the green belt, in property that had once been held by my father and was now in my name, to build an additional school.I wanted all of the members of the True Mates pack, regardless of their species, to understand that this community was for them. I wanted them to want to live here. I wanted it to be a good place for them to have pups or babies or whatever the Pixies called their offspring, where we could all live in peace.Not to mention the fact that the Community Center for the multi-colored wolves was drawing in additional members by the week, every time I turned around, it seemed like they had new wolves coming in to join.I had been trying to think of a way to repair the damage that had been done by my family by slandering those wolves. And that was the problem that I was pondering today as I took off for my w
Justin’s POVTaking another deep breath, I tried to relax my white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel. “Is there anything I need to do?” I asked her.“Yes,” she replied calmly. “You need to drive and focus only on doing that correctly and calmly.”Her giggle accompanying this statement was followed by a wince and a huff of air.“What? What’s wrong?” I demanded.“Nothing’s wrong,” she soothed. “It’s just a contraction.”Contractions? The doctor had mentioned these would be a marker of how close to delivery Helen was. We had to time them so we knew where in labor Helen was. Now, how far apart were they before we needed to worry? What if she delivered in the car?“How far apart are they?” I insisted. “You were timing them like Dr. Peterson suggested, right? How much time do we have?” All this came out in a rush.This time Helen made a face at me. “I don’t know how much time we have, but we have enough time that you don’t need to be like this. You’re stressing me out, and I have enough wo
Justin’s POVNever in my life had a day passed so excruciatingly slowly. Helen and I watch TV. We played card games. We discussed nothing at length. We spoke to the anesthesiologist. We talked to the doctor. We worked with the witch practitioner.In between all these visits, Helen took little cat naps. And the hours ticked by, feeling like a day had passed for each one. It was at Dr. Peterson’s lunchtime visit that the first signs of something wrong began to materialize. Dr. Peterson looked at the readouts on the machines attached to Helen, a frown pulling her brows together.“What is it?” I demanded.She gave her head a shake. “Nothing too serious, yet. But it looks like Baby B isn’t thriving with the contractions. The baby’s under some stress. So we’re going to keep an eye on it. If this gets any worse, we’ll go in for a C-section.”She did a quick physical exam of Helen and gave Helen’s hand a pat. “Right now, it’s nothing to be alarmed about, just a little bit of concern. I’ll be