Careful attention was required today. Both tattoos we were working on today were complex with a lot of intricate shading. Complete focus was required for the quality of work we'd become known for.It was the reason we were able to afford our tattoo shop and the loft we lived in above it. After doing a sleeve and chest work for the President of the Grimm Motorcycle Club a year ago, word had spread quickly, and bikers from several states made appointments for custom artwork.I'd always loved to draw. My first job after we'd fled was with a local tattoo parlor. With an ID in hand that said I was eighteen, I certainly hadn't looked it, not with the fresh face and innocence of my true fifteen-year-old self at the time. The owner had been suspicious, but after some trial sketches, he liked my work enough to hire me anyway. I smiled at the irony-I wasn't legally old enough to get a tattoo, but there I was, madly writing in permanent ink on the flesh of every type of client under the sun.Of

LEANDER'S POV .When the text came in almost fours hours ago, I'd stared down at my phone in disbelief. Three long years of searching had gone by, and I was beginning to think I'd never find her. My little mouse had been clever in hiding herself, indeed.But not clever enough.Now she was mine.My brain spun, anticipation lighting up every cell in my body. She would be there any minute. Finally!I wondered what she looked like now. I'd only had one fleeting glimpse of her as she hid behind her father in the middle of the chaos, fire, and hatred burning in equal measures. Heart shaped face and pert nose, strawberry blonde hair whipping about, caught up in the rushing wind of the flames. And those eyes-deep blue with iridescent flecks like a mountain lake whispering the reflection of the moon.That one glance had been seared into my brain.So innocent.So young.But she wasn't a juvenile anymore. By now, she'd shifted, and was a fully matured shewolf.No longer young. But was she still

HycinthThe feeling of being in his arms overwhelmed me, shocked my senses, rattled my brain and made a funny flicker of excitement run up and down my spine, right into my core.I hated it. I hated what he did to me, what the bond did to me. Because I hated him.And the feeling of his obvious desire, stiff and hard and shockingly bigger than I wanted to consider, pressing against my belly, was enough to make my Wolf wantonly moan. Her thoughts were clear. Want him. Want our mate. She was ready to go belly up or ass-up or whatever position he might want us in. All of them were good to her.She'd been slowly dying, suffocating, without the love and family of a pack. She needed no coaxing. She was happy to let him lead. She flourished and came alive under his dominance.I, on the other hand, hated him.I tried to remind her that it was his fault we had no family and pack. He'd destroyed our mother and father...with his bare hands. And he'd demolished everything else until there was nothi

Damn that bastard! And damn the Moon for this damn bond! Dammit! None of this would be happening if fate hadn't somehow decided this Alpha with violent tendencies and a short fuse, was supposed to be my mate. I wouldn't be feeling so hot under the collar right about now. And images of writhing naked beneath his perfect and sculpted body, while he thrust again and again, wouldn't be saturating my mind. I shivered.Leander licked his lips like he planned to make a meal out of me when we were done chatting, and continued, "However, a Claiming Ceremony between an Alpha and his rightful Luna is different."My sweating increased. How much more graphic was he going to get? To my utter horror, the answer to that question was a shitload more. And he was so lovely and considerate to describe the events in first-person. Of course, he couldn't recount the details as though speaking about any old Alpha and Luna. Oh, no, the Alpha who positively oozed sexuality in front of me, had to keep using wor

You're Fucking Killing MeHycinthI didn't understand him. Not one bit.One minute, he seemed calm, and the next minute he was ready to emasculate Luca! I shivered at the memory-the devastating and cruel look in his eyes that told me he would do it. But then, he turned around and said he hated to see me on my knees? And never wanted to see the strength he loved inside of me diminish? How was I supposed to take that, let alone respond to it?I shook my head. I had no answers, but the thing I did know unequivocally was he'd murdered my family, in cold blood. He'd taken the two most precious people to me and ripped them out of my life. He was insane to think I'd ever want to be with him. Bond or no bond, it didn't matter. But if he wanted to negotiate, I'd negotiate. I said stiffly, "I want you to let me go."All softness disappeared from his expression, but he didn't argue the point. He simply stepped away. Without another word, he turned and walked toward the stairs.The Beta nudged me