Novels by Annie Whipple

EpilogueBELLETHREE WEEKS LATERThere was nothing better than sitting in a tub of steaming hot water after a long day.Grayson and I had to be up at the butt-ass crack of dawn for training, and then we were busy up until about ten o’clock that night.And, yes, you read that right, Grayson was finally teaching me how to fight, despite my months of begging him.Now that I was getting better at using my powers, Grayson knew he would never be able to keep me away from danger if I had my heart set on participating.Locking me up with Liam would never happen ever again because I could just magically appear wherever I damn well pleased.So Grayson agreed that if I was going to insist on putting myself in harm’s way rather than hiding away like a helpless doll, I might as well know how to defend myself.In addition to all of this, after we finally mated for the first time, we couldn’t get enough of each other.And I wasn’t just talking about sex—although the sex was great. We just wanted to

58. Touch of the LunaGRAYSONI couldn’t see Belle, telling me she was somewhere behind Gulius’s invisible shield, but I could smell her. I could hear her strangled, terrified gasps. And that would be enough to guide me to her location.I was still in wolf form when I started running in the direction of her scent.Azazel’s clones had definitely done a number on me—more so than I’d like to admit—but the pain hadn’t hit me yet.The adrenaline racing through me made my injuries completely tolerable, if not altogether painless. My sole focus was on saving my distressed mate.The moment I passed through Gulius’s shield, I froze, stopping dead in my tracks.That nasty, old warlock had Belle pinned against a tree by her throat, her feet dangling at least a foot above the ground.My goddamn heart lodged beneath my jugular. She was covered in blood. It splattered over her face and drenched her white shirt. It dripped from her shoes.Her wide eyes met mine while she violently struggled against

57. Enemy in ShadowsBELLEMy thoughts were cut short by the sounds of growling and hissing coming from somewhere behind me. It sounded like people were fighting—a lot of people.Vampires and werewolves, if I had to guess.My stomach took a dramatic dive when I realized I recognized the owner of the growls. I would know that sound anywhere. It was Grayson’s wolf.I sprinted in the direction of the noises, my heart racing as the sound of my mate’s distress only seemed to grow louder and more intense.Even in the dark, what I found was worse than I could have ever imagined. There were two men, one with silver-gray hair and the other with pitch-black hair, both looking out into a clearing of trees, their backs to me.The bigger one was standing, dressed in all black to match his hair, arms crossed over his chest in a casual manner. The other man was crouched down low, his long, brown, hooded trench coat skimming the ground.His arms were held out in front of him, and his fingers were spl

56. Unseen BarrierGRAYSONHALF AN HOUR EARLIERAfter hundreds of years, the invisible border protecting the kingdom of Zaweth and preventing just anyone from wandering in was taken down, and we had no idea how or why.I didn’t even know that it was possible. The warlock who put them up all those years ago, Gulius Mallor, was still alive and had been a resident of Zaweth his whole life.While not immortal, warlocks were some of the longest-living creatures in existence. They were often referred to as the sea turtles of the supernatural world, living on average for a thousand years.They were also incredibly rare. Gulius was one of few in existence and also one of the oldest at 912 years old.And he was missing. The only man who could do anything to help was nowhere to be found.The supernatural kingdom had a lot of enemies who wouldn’t think twice about taking advantage of our borders being down. For all we knew, they could already be in Zaweth.Kyle and I scrambled to protect the bor

55. Guarded SecretsBELLE“You’re terrible at Go Fish,” Liam told me. “Seriously, I’ve played toddlers better than you.”Throwing my cards down on the coffee table in front of me, I dropped my head to my knees with a groan.Grayson had left several hours before, leaving me alone with Liam, who wouldn’t let me out of my apartment no matter how many times I threatened to kill him, his family, and his future children.It was absolutely infuriating.“Might as well stop trying, Belle,” Liam had said the fifth time he had pinned me against a wall after trying to sneak past him when he wasn’t looking and make a mad dash for the front door.“Even if you did somehow manage to get past me, there are two more wolves on the other side of this door, tasked with keeping you inside. No one is getting in, and there will definitely be no one getting out.”I couldn’t care less about stupid Go Fish. My eyes kept straying to the front door, my heart squeezing a little tighter with every second that Grays

54. Newfound TrustBELLEMy body was tingling with warmth and happiness when I woke up late in the morning the next day.I smiled and stretched my stiff arms over my head, giggling when I felt the soreness between my legs.Then I reached over to the other side of the bed for my mate, hoping to crawl on top of him and nuzzle my face into his warm neck.But I didn’t find him next to me. Instead, my hand fell onto cold, empty sheets.I immediately sat up, my heart racing in my chest.“Grayson?” I called out into the dark room. My gaze fell to the windows, noticing that it was nighttime. Had I slept through the entire next day? No wonder I felt so rested.But if this bitch really left me all by myself the morning after our first time together… I was about ready to explode out of the bed and hunt him down to beat his ass.And then I saw him.Grayson was sitting in a chair he had pulled up to the side of the bed, staring at me.He was leaning forward, his arms on the bed and his chin restin

72. Blood and Transformation“You’re not going to shoot us, Elias,” Mitchell said in a measured tone. He wrapped one of his arms around me from behind and settled his hand on my lower back, pressing me closer to him.“Dad?” Elias called out, keeping his gun up. “Dad!”“Robert isn’t here,” Mitchell told him. “Neither is Cormac. They’re still dealing with Waylen. It’s just us.” He inhaled a deep breath. “You can let us go, and this can all be over.”Elias shook his head as he moved down the stairs, keeping his gun raised. “We still need her. My dad has plans for her.”“What plans?” Mitchell forced me to stumble back as Elias came closer. “Dorothy’s made it clear she doesn’t know anything. And no alpha will take an omega who is already mated. You’re out of options.”I could hear Elias’s labored breathing from across the room. He was starting to panic.“It doesn’t matter what his plans are. We still need her.”Mitchell glanced back at me over his shoulder. “Stay behind me,” he whispered.

71. Chains of Deceit“Dorothy,” a voice said in a hushed tone. “Dorothy, wake up.” Someone gently jostled my shoulder.It was a challenge to force my eyes open. My eyelids felt weighed down, swollen shut from so much exhaustion.After all I’d been through, it would be easy to think I’d have fallen asleep at the first opportunity.Well, it turns out that it’s hard to relax when you’re chained to the concrete ground, trapped in a house full of men who wouldn’t mind seeing you dead.After Waylen left, despite my pleas for him to stay, and Robert and Elias followed him upstairs, I found myself alone in the basement for the first time since being kidnapped.The father and son were both in a panic, trying to convince Waylen to stay, worried about what he would do or say after he left.I even heard a few gunshots.For a while after that, I heard little but the faint grumble of them arguing and shouting, although I couldn’t make out any of the words.Waylen’s voice was the loudest. I could te

70. The Omega’s ChoiceRobert and Waylen were gone for almost an hour. During that time, Mr. Callahan took it upon himself to untie Mitchell, throw him over his shoulder, and haul him upstairs.Mitchell struggled the whole time, screaming, saying that he wouldn’t leave me, but he was no match for Mr. Callahan’s strength or the duct tape he put over his mouth.Before leaving, Mr. Callahan explained to Elias that it was best to separate me and Mitchell before Waylen came back.Given my birth father’s tangible fury when he found out Robert was planning on gifting me to the alpha, I supposed they didn’t want him in the room for whatever was going to happen next.But I don’t think that was Mr. Callahan’s only motive. He never came back, despite Robert ordering him not to leave my side. I would have bet money he wasn’t even in the house anymore.He didn’t want to be around for the moment when shit hit the fan.I couldn’t decide if it was cowardly or smart.It was hard not to spiral after th

69. Price of BetrayalMr. Callahan nodded. “Yes.” His gaze traveled down my body in a way that made me squirm and hug my legs tighter. “She is most definitely an omega.”“Then it doesn’t matter what she knows. There are still ways she can be of use to us.” Robert stood and casually wiped his hands against his pants.“It isn’t ideal, of course. If she really is innocent, I’d hate to put her through any trauma.” His eyes landed on me. “Anything to further the cause, though.”Dread blanketed my skin.“What does that mean?” Mitchell demanded, asking the same question I was thinking. “You said I could take her home after you talked to her! You gave me your word!”Robert turned to face him. His jaw was clenched tight. “You should have never trusted my word, Cooper.”Mitchell’s face drained of color. He opened his mouth to respond, but the basement door suddenly slammed open. Elias appeared at the top of the stairs, breathing heavily.“Waylen Marshall is here,” Elias rushed out.“Waylen Mars

68. Pain of Secrets“I don’t know! I swear I don’t know!” I sobbed.Mr. Callahan pressed the tip of the knife deeper into my neck, making me scream in agony. I didn’t even know this level of pain existed.He was cutting into the bump near my throat—the one he referred to as my“mating gland”—pushing in deeper and deeper, drawing blood, each jab causing a horrible, burning fire to race down my body.Getting cut by a knife was supposed to hurt, but there was something about being cut in this specific spot that felt more like he was pressing a hot branding iron into my skin.After nodding off earlier that day, I was awoken a few hours later by Robert and Mr. Callahan descending the stairs of the basement with unnerving expressions on their faces.They told me it was my last opportunity to tell them the truth and started firing questions at me, each one more confusing than the last.So far, I had learned that they were looking for a place called “Zaweth” which, according to them, was some

67. Whispered PromisesI’m not going to leave this basement alive, I realized. ~They would be idiots to keep me alive.~Ace would find me eventually. No matter where I was or how far they took me, Ace would track me down and make anyone who hurt me pay.They couldn’t let me go for the same reason. I would go running to Ace, Ace would see what they did to me, and he would make it his personal mission to make them suffer.The only way to avoid facing Ace’s wrath was to wash their hands of me completely and make sure my disappearance could never be traced back to them.I might never see Ace again. I might never see my family again.“Where are you?”“Dorothy.” Elias’s voice was muffled and far away. “Dorothy, look at me.” His hands fell on my shoulders and squeezed, forcing my eyes up. “You need to breathe.You’re panicking.”Am I? Huh. I hadn’t even noticed. All at once, I became aware of my burning lungs. I was full-on hyperventilating. “Breathe,” Elias said again. “If Waylen hears y

1. Unexpected KingGRAYSON I wracked my brain, trying to come up with a command to give Kyle. I needed to test, to see if I had the power of the Mortars. But how exactly was I supposed to go about doing that? I couldn’t keep from asking myself what the hell I was doing. No way could I be the person from this prophecy. They thought I was meant to become the next king of all mythical creatures, the most powerful ruler out there. They thought I could restore peace between werewolves and vampires and stop a war that had been going on for centuries. Was that possible? My wolf loved the idea; in my mind he was puffing out his chest in pride, communicating to me that he thought we were more than capable of ruling. He also thought that Belle would make an amazing queen. He liked the idea of her ruling by our side for the rest of eternity, having power, never dying. A part of me, which one? Couldn’t help but agree, not only with the fact that Belle would make an amazing queen but t

1. Prophecy UnveiledGRAYSON I was positive that I had not processed Zagan’s words accurately. “What the hell do you mean?” “Perhaps it’s better if you sit, Alpha Grayson,” the girl vampire said. “Your intensity is going to scare your pack members. You need to calm down.” I snapped my teeth. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do.” “Easy, everyone,” chided Zagan. “Minnie, come over here.” The girl joined Zagan and Casimir. Seeing them all together, it occurred to me that they were all part of the royal family. All Mortars. I was standing in front of Zagan Mortar, king of the vampires; Casimir Mortar, the secondborn and head warrior of the clan; and Amelia Mortar, the fourth-born and royal healer. I remembered what Azazel had said about Kyle snooping around in his things before attacking him. Kyle had known Azazel was planning to wage war on the pack, but thought it was me who was in cahoots with the Clan of Azazel. Even then, he’d been brave enough to get in touch with Kin

1. Unnatural TransformationGRAYSON In under a second, I had Kyle pushed up against the wall with my arm to his throat. He yelped in surprise, looking up at me with blood-red eyes. I sucked in a breath as I looked into those eyes, immediately put off by their unnatural color. It was one thing to see a Mortar like this—but my own beta? It made my wolf whimper. We didn’t want to hurt him but knew we wouldn’t have a choice if it came down to it. Red eyes could only mean two things. Either you were a vampire yourself, or a Mortar was taking control of your body. Neither explanation was good. “Get talking,” I growled, pressing him further into the wall. Kyle whimpered slightly; his wolf was probably upset over the fact that his alpha was showing his distrust. It hurt me, too, but he had to know that I had no other option. If he was being controlled by a vampire, possibly even Azazel, then I would have to kill him. And if he was now somehow a vampire himself, no longer a w

1. Red-Eyed RevelationGRAYSON I was about a second away from burning the entire world down. The mate bond was clouding my ability to think clearly; my thoughts revolved around finding Belle and never letting her out of my sight. In the back of my mind, common sense was telling me none of these people here deserved my anger—especially not Kyle and Elijah, who had cared for my mate when I couldn’t. But that didn’t stop me from nearly grabbing Elijah and throwing him across the room when he didn’t immediately tell me what I wanted to know. “It's my fault, Alpha,” he repeated, stepping in. “I left her.” “Elijah,” Kyle growled, blocking him from my view. He said something over mind-link before turning back to me. “I ordered Elijah to leave. You can’t blame him.” “I don’t give a flying fuck about blame! Tell me where she is,” I spat. They exchanged worried glances before Kyle opened his mouth. “When we found you and that girl yesterday, I knew we needed to get her away fr

1. Uncontrolled WolfGRAYSON My wolf was practically screaming, waking me up from a sleep full of nightmares. My head was pounding as he howled his displeasure, pushing me to wake up. I groaned, shifting my weight on the mattress. What the fuck is going on? Where am I? “Alpha,” I heard a voice say in the distance, “Alpha, wake up.” I groaned again, wanting to push away the too-loud voice until I figured out what was happening. Why’s he yelling, anyway? Something was off. Everything around me felt softer, harder, sharper, more textured than ever before. I gripped the sheets beneath me, tightening my hands into fists around them. It was as if I could feel every thread in the fabric woven in the intricate design that made the sheet. There were strange scents in the air, too; new people that I had never met before were in the room, leaving traces of blood and woodsy cologne. Their potency overwhelmed me, in fact made me want to cover my nose. A small hand touched my sho

1. Desperate RescueKYLE “Alpha!” I screamed in horror. Grayson’s lifeless body slumped over the tree branch twenty feet in the air. He wasn’t dead yet—I would have felt it if he were—but he was close. Very, very close. I could feel the life leaving his body as if it were my own. Minnie, who was holding onto my shoulder, nodded. “Go.” My body was released from the restraints, and I wasted no time sprinting to Grayson. “We need to get him down!” I yelled. He was too high up for me to reach. A vampire could have easily jumped and gotten him, but werewolves couldn’t climb trees. I looked at the vampire king. “Help him!” I didn’t care that I was trying to give orders to a man much more powerful than me. If he killed my alpha over some family dispute, I would not hesitate to let my wolf out. Zagan nodded once. “Casimir.” Another vampire, one I hadn’t noticed until that moment, stepped forward. He looked just like Minnie and Zagan—same black hair, dark features, and red