Helen POVI realized it as soon as I said it out loud: I was free the way Justin was now free. There were no chains to bind me. No rope around my ankles or zip ties around my wrists. The door was wide open with no guard to stop me.I could run out the door and keep running until I blended back in with the pack who I had left behind. No one here would likely come looking for me after what I'd done to Justin. His father, Alpha King Juden, had only threatened my life if I didn't seduce him---and I had done it."I'm free."Justin was still breathing. He seemed to just be in a very, very deep sleep. What if I left him here for his father to take care of him? Was there any way he could find me again?I hadn't even told him my real name. He thought I was my sister. Diana. No one would go running their mouth about me to him either because I was overlooked completely in my own pack as a mixed coat Tiger Lily no one wanted.My own fated mate had thrown me over for my sister.I focused on my shi
Justin POVCool air blew over my body and I wondered where the breeze was coming from because there was no window in my room.I was kept away from all possible means of escape. My father, The Alpha King, knew better than to give me a way out; my beast craved freedom almost as much as he craved sex with the virgin offerings sent to him with every full moon.I opened my eyes to see something completely new to me: the outside world.Since I was old enough to shift, I had not been allowed out of my chains or out of the mansion which served as my cage. My father didn't want to risk losing me to either instinct or pure power since my beast was stronger than any wolfen form.My body was clothed only in a pair of shorts I wore for the sake of modesty in my rooms. I didn't remember putting them on so someone else must have dressed me, moved me, freed me.[Mate!] the beast inside me roared.Yes, I had been freed by my mate.I could recall the moment my chains broke with complete clarity -better
Helen POVJustin! I stared at my mate through the veil of my hands, my body stinging all over from the debris thrown on me.How had The Devil found me!?My first instinct seeing the last Lycan before me again---was to run.I dismissed the urge as soon as it came through my head. His legs were significantly longer than my own and I had seen him move faster than me even while chained.The next idea which came to mind was to deny who he thought I was---who he believed he knew I was but did he know? Could he know?Lycans were rumored to have all kinds of gifts, but I knew his vision wasn't perfect in the gloom which we'd met in. The darkness inside his room had been almost complete.My heat had caused many of my own memories to be hazy. It was a fair bet Justin didn't have much more clear memories of me."Thank you for your help, Alpha!""Alpha?" he asked, looking at me in puzzlement as he crouched to join me where I huddled in the walkway, "I'm your mate. Justin. Did they strike your hea
Justin POVI wasn't sure why the female smelled so strongly of my mate if she wasn't my mate.There was none of my own scent remaining on her body which meant she had either bathed very, very thoroughly or she was telling me the truth: she was not my Diana, but, instead, Diana's treacherous sister Helen.I couldn't come up with a reason why she might lie to me; her fear was palpable as she encouraged me to go to the outdoor eatery to wait on her to retrieve my mate and hers. She seemed confused about her instructions until she retrieved her cellular phone.The call she made went to a messaging service. I was annoyed, but she seemed relieved. Again, I had no idea what to think of things. All I knew was this woman smelled so much of my mate yet not at all of me. How would that be possible?I'd bit my mate during the mating. I remembered my teeth sinking deep into her muscles and how I'd lapped at the wound until all the edges were fully sealed by my healing saliva.If I focused, I could
Helen POVThree waiters came out to the table with the bottles of wine -four of them in total, one I knew was meant for me while three were there for Justin- alongside the wine glasses which were stacked into an intricate pyramid.They made sure the glasses touched just so on their edges before pouring the bottles of wine one flight at a time. The bottom layer was a deep red cabernet sauvignon, while a rich merlot was poured into the glasses atop it, and the third flight at the peak was made up of a beautiful Malbec imported from Argentina.I asked for the Malbec for my bottle because I knew it was a fine wine---so I thought it must be lower alcohol content because why would people drink a fine vintage only to become drunken fools?Justin didn't seem to have ever had wine in his life. He asked so many questions the waiters were all offering him suggestions as they finished the challenge set-up.I could tell from the looks he was garnering, he'd captured their affection as easily as br
Helen POVI couldn't bear it if I was rejected a second time. My second chance mate was better than my first fated mate had ever dreamed of being---if he left me, I'd die from a broken heart or I'd throw myself off a mountain one.Death would be the only tolerable option if I couldn't have Justin with me again.My breasts were full, aching. My nipples were stiff peaks against his chest. His hands squeezed my ass as he ground his cock against the wet pulse at my core. I locked my ankles over each other just as he claimed my mouth with his own.Our kiss was hot enough to set the world on fire; I didn't care who was dancing with us around the bonfire because Justin had lit me up inside, holding me together only long enough to bask in the feeling of me burning down in his arms.Every breath was saturated with heady wine; I'd never known wine was something to be savored before.Malbec seemed to be a drink with a subtle hint or rich red fruits, passion, and a smoky essence I associated with
Helen POVJustin kept me speared in place with his strange, golden gaze until I must have completely lost my mind.One moment I was crouched beside my naked lover, enjoying the burn of muscles used to excess the night before; the next moment my body had shifted into that of my wolf, Joy, and I was racing through the forest as fast as my four feet could carry me.I didn't pause to think or look back to see if Justin was going to follow me. I knew I had most likely stolen his beast from him which he couldn't help except hate me for doing.My heat must have come over me a second night. That was the only explanation which made sense to my overheated, overtired brain.I couldn't process a world in which I lost total control of my inhibitions to nearly mate with a Lycan in front of my village then to literally mate my Lycan in the forest on the ground no better than the animals we were on the inside.Why hadn't I been able to control myself? What was wrong with me? Was it the wine? Was it a
Helen POVMy parents were staring with their mouths open while my sister laughed outright, clapping her hands as if I had presented her with a new toy. I knew Diana was going to say something terrible before she even spoke. I only wished I could warn Justin, but all I could do was look at him with pleading in my eyes.[I hope he doesn't decide to hurt her,] Joy thought and I tried to tell Justin to keep himself quiet with my expression."YOU got a second chance mate?! Oh this is rich! I can't believe it! Does he not own any clothes? I think that's the towel we use to rub down after shifting. It smells very strongly of wet wolf."Justin, to his credit, didn't do more than raise a brow at my family. I was balanced on a razor's edge of anxiety waiting to see if he would explode all over them in rage, but he didn't!"We met during the full moon," I explained as simply as possible."How?" my mother demanded.I could tell from the stubborn look on her face she was going to insist on an expl
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