Romans de LNCWrites/Nisha T.

6 Months Later~Paul~It’s been six long months, and Nikki still hasn’t woken up. Owlyn has been here and tried to get a response from her. Nothing has worked because she says it has nothing to do with magic. The doctors don’t have an answer, and I’m just lost without her.I knew she shouldn’t have volunteered. I felt in my heart that it wasn’t the right choice, but what could I do? I love her with everything I have, and I couldn’t tell her not to do what her heart said was the right thing.I run my hands through my hair and then over my face. I haven’t left her side in six months, and I’m beyond tired of seeing these walls. My sons have tried to get me to leave, and so has Tia. I refuse them because this is where I’m meant to be. As long as my heart is here, I will be here. Tia has been here often and has brought our grandchild, but besides those visits, it’s just been Nikki and me. I refuse to believe that I finally found my fated mate just to lose her so quickly.I put my head in m

~Devonte~The pain in my heart is all-consuming. I want the pain to stop, but I don’t know how to make that happen. I curl up tighter, hoping that the pressure will help with the pain. It’s all too much, and I don’t know what to do to make it better.Abe has gone silent, and I’m not surprised. He’s been struggling the most, and I have no words to soothe him. I wish I could wake up yesterday when things were what they were. I’d give anything to go back.“BROTHER?! BROTHER WHERE ARE YOU?!” I curl up tighter as if that’s going to keep me from being found. I don’t think I can handle the words and emotions that will surely follow my brother. I can’t take what that would mean.His thudding footsteps get closer and closer. I know I can’t hide myself; there’s no way to become invisible. I can’t keep this from happening. I hold my breath, waiting for the inevitable. “D, I found you. I’ve been looking everywhere. Our mate, she needs us. She needs you.” I’m trying to block out his words, but I’m

~Third Person~Everything seemed to happen all at once. Andricia is thrown against a tree trunk and curls up with a whimper. The pain is too much, causing Andricia to shift back into Tia. The twins witness this, and all restraint is lost. They shift and run at Imogene, who quickly wraps them up in blue light.Nikki hasn’t taken her eyes off Imogene, so she’s ready to interfere. As she shoots her light at Imogene, it strikes her in the stomach. Imogene is taken off guard and loses her grip on the twins. They fall to the ground and falter as they try to get on their feet. Eventually, they gain their footing and try to attack Imogene again.Imogene defends herself, reduced to hand-to-hand combat with the edge of magic. She repeatedly strikes the wolves as they throw themselves at her. They are taking a lot of punishment, but they refuse to stop. Their only goal is to defend their love, though they’d rather take the time to see about her.The group is joined by vampires and rogues alike.

~Jenna~I scramble backward, making sure my back is flush against the tree trunk. I try to quiet my breathing, but it's proving to be a task. I search around me, but there’s only darkness. The night air is still filled with the sounds of a battle, but I can’t see what’s going on.“Ughhhhh.” I slap my hand over my mouth in an attempt to stay quiet. I look down and see the bright red blood. I shut my eyes tight and try to think about anything else. If I freak out right now, I won’t be able to get back to safety.Every inch of my body hurts, but I can’t think about that now. I need to get out of here and make it back to the packhouse. I struggle to my feet, using only my right arm. My left just hangs against my body. Every twist and turn of my body brings a wave of excruciating pain, but I have to ignore it right now.I finally get to my feet and stand against the tree trunk. My breathing is erratic, and my chest is heaving up and down. “Where’d she go? I don’t see her.”“Sniff her out.”

~Aida~I’m applying pressure to my sister’s neck, and I feel her body giving in. This is so easy it’s pathetic. I would have thought that she would have trained during my absence. She had to know that I would return, and with my return would come the fight for her life. I guess having a brain doesn’t guarantee that you’ll use it.Portia’s body slumps to the ground, and her breathing gets heavier. I swear she’ll be dead in a minute. While part of me is rejoicing, the other part of me feels that she’d be getting off too easily. She’s the cause of all my problems, even the cause of Adela’s death. I may have administered the final blow, but it wouldn’t have come to that if she hadn’t disrupted our plans.Portia completely falls under, and I let her go with a thud on the ground. I get to my feet and walk around her limp body. Her breathing is shallow, so I know I can still play around with her before I kill her. I just need to figure out what games will be fun to engage in.I walk around h

~Ivan~One of the twins lunges at me, and I step out of the way. The other twin moves toward me, causing me to dodge slightly. This can’t be how they expect to beat me. If things continue this way, I’m going to win without breaking a sweat.I don’t want to spend a lot of time with these two. I need to go find Aida and so help anyone who has tried to put their hands on her. No one will hurt my love and live to tell the tale. I’d scorch the Earth before I let anyone hurt her.These imbeciles are staring at me but have stopped lunging. I guess they realize that it’s useless. It doesn’t matter what they do to me, they won’t win. I’m a vampire, so my natural state is on a different level. On top of that, I’ve been around for a long time. There isn’t much that I haven’t seen before, so they are hard-pressed to find something new to throw at me. “We’re wasting time, boys. I have more pressing matters.” I flip two fingers in the air back and forth. I hear reinforcements moving in. “Let me jus

I throw my pen down on the desk, no longer able to keep pretending that I’m not on edge surrounding this call. I pick up my phone, the one I use for rogue communication, and dial the burner’s number. To my surprise, it doesn’t take long for the call to be connected. There’s rustling, and then my breath hitches as her face comes into the screen. I’m tongue-tied, quite literally tongue-tied. As confused as I’ve felt all night, I truly didn’t think my call would be answered. I thought that I’d have to come up with a new plan, which would require me to go in and grab both her and the child. Seeing her face on the screen right now is muddying my thoughts in a good way. I clear my throat and focus on the screen. “So, what happened yesterday? I heard some things.” There’s a quiet that falls over us for a few beats.“I don’t know what you mean.” I quietly sigh, trying to keep my anger in check. “You know I have someone at that pack being my eyes and ears. I know you went to the cells yeste

~Jamorea~I was surprised when Luna Katarina came to get me out of the cells. I honestly expected that when someone came, it would be with the intention of torturing me. I never considered that I would be let go and taken to the Alpha’s office to talk.Both the Alpha and the Luna have been nothing but gracious. They truly wanted to get to know me and made me feel comfortable enough to talk about myself freely. I’ve been able to get to know them as well, and I have not been disappointed.They are kind and down-to-earth people. I don’t know their entire story, but I can see why they have a pack that’s not only loyal to them but holds them in high regard. I may not have met many pack members, but it isn’t hard to tell how they feel about their leadership just by watching them go about their daily activities.I’m terrified to answer Dominic right now. I’m scared that all of the goodwill I just gained will disappear. It isn’t like you told him anything significant.I know, Mona, but I stil

I let my feet lead me, and it doesn’t take long before I’m back down in the cells. The guards move as soon as they see me. They don’t ask any questions, but that’s to be expected. I’m their Luna, their Alpha’s mate. There are really no questions that they could ask. My feet don’t stop moving until I’m in front of her again. She’s lying on the cot with her front facing the wall. She looks smaller this way, looks much more fragile. I have to admit that I wasn’t being the best version of myself when I sent her down here. This is the first way I can make things right. “I’m sorry.” Her body moves at the sound of my voice, but not by much. “I was thinking as a scared parent and forgot to approach this as a Luna… a gold wolf.”“You don’t owe me that. I… I’m sorry. I came here with ill intentions.”“Did you, though?” I move closer to her cell door, still talking to her back. “Based on what you said to Dominic, you didn’t really decide to do any harm to our child or us. You may have been sent

~Dominic~I pace back and forth, pretty sure that I’m wearing a groove into the floor. I wouldn’t even know how to sit still if they made me. I don’t know what to do right now, and Gideon is no better. “So what is it that you want us to do about this?” My feet stop on their own, and I turn to the couch where my Alpha and Luna are sitting.Katarina is looking at me with a bored expression, and Aston looks like he’s contemplating rearranging how the world has been set up. “Are… are you joking with me right now?! You’re joking, right? You have to be playing with me right now!” Katarina sits back on the couch, looking like she wants to be anywhere but here. Aston places a hand on her leg as he puts his attention on me.“I think what Katarina is trying to say is-”“No, don’t speak for me. We have a very real threat here. What? Did he think that he would bring us this sob story and we wo-” Katarina stops abruptly, and her eyes gloss over. I’m going to take that as a win because the more she

~Brackston~I lean back in my chair, replaying the entire conversation. I’m not embarrassed to admit that my dick was hard the entire time, and it’s still hard now. I’m not sure what it is about that girl, but I want her so badly.It wasn’t the smartest idea to have her on a video call, but I needed to appease Khan. He was making life difficult because he wanted her here with us. Seeing her just made everything harder. It made me want to throw the plan out the window, bring her back here, and bury my dick inside of her. It took everything in me to fight that instinct and let the conversation play out the way it needed to.I’ve asked my wolf about this, and he’s sure that she isn’t our fated mate. That isn’t even the point, though, because he wants her as badly as I do. I’m not sure what the future holds for us, but I am sure that she’s going to be next to me in some capacity.I was never one hung up on the mate bond. I didn’t really care to think about it, and I never thought that it

~Danny~My throat is tight, and my chest feels heavy. I wasn’t going to do this. I wasn’t going to tell this much of anything about myself. I wanted to get in, do this job, and get out. I didn’t want to get attached, and I didn’t want anyone attached to me. It makes leaving a lot easier that way. Just talking about my brother breaks my heart. I have no idea where he is or how he is. I only know who has him, and that makes me sick. I wish I could fix this problem that I’ve found myself in. He’s going to expect a call tomorrow. He’s going to expect me to dial my number and make my face visible on the screen. When he doesn’t hear from me, he will probably send her to me. I don’t want that, I don’t want either of them to know where I am. If he suspects that I’m in the cells, he will assume that I told. If he assumes that I told them everything, what will happen to Khalid? I can’t risk his safety for the sake of feeling sentimental because of some mate bond. I need to keep my brother sa

~Ares~I lean back in the seat with my hand resting on the steering wheel. I look in the rearview mirror and see Akia in the backseat. She’s out, and she’ll be out for a while. I focus back on the road ahead and continue driving.It was pretty easy to get to her, and that kind of pisses me off. Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t want to fight a war to get her. I like that I didn’t have to exert too much energy. I’m mad because if it’s that easy to get to her, my pack is not going to fare well in the future.There should have been guards on her and more eyes on every inch of packlands. If this is how the pack is going to be run, things will fall apart a lot faster than they should. Maybe it was wrong to put Atlas in charge of the pack. Perhaps I need to consider coming back around, after a while, and taking over the pack from him.

~Ares~I step out of the bedroom to find her packing items into her purse. I stand in the doorway and watch her. Her movements are smooth and highly feminine. If it weren’t for my little flower, I could see the interest in her.She turns towards me, and her body jumps. “You scared me.” I push off the wall I was leaning on and walk over to her. I kiss her forehead as I rub her back. “Are you going out?”“I have some things to take care of. I will be here when you get back, okay?” She nods and presses her lips to mine. I swallow the bile threatening to spill out of my mouth. She steps back and smiles at me. I push myself to return her smile and turn to walk out of her place.I’m sick of this! I hate her touching us. I hate-ENOUGH! You know what the deal is. She&rsquo

~Akia~The sun has been up, pushing into the room. I woke up before the sun, but then again, I barely slept. There’s too much going on right now, and it’s all hard to put into context.One thing that got me last night was that they are keeping things from me. I don’t like being in the dark when the main point of the topic is me. I’ve been through too much to be kept out of conversations that pertain to me.My phone buzzes on the nightstand. It’s the first time that the outside world has tried to contact me in hours. I half expected either Atlas or Apollo to break down the door last night. It’s the first time that we weren’t with each other for the night, and I felt the loss. I felt it, but I refused to give in, refused to let it consume me.I love my mates, I really do, but this is my life. If I’m being threatened,

~Atlas~I didn’t sleep all night, and I didn’t see Akia again. When I went to check on her, she wasn’t in the room we’ve been sharing. I followed her scent to a closed door not too far away. When I tried the knob, it wouldn’t open, and there was no response when I knocked.I know I could have opened the door no matter what. This is my house, and I have keys to every door. I didn’t want to do that because I respect her as a person and her choices. Roul was distraught over everything, so we went for a run.I’m just now returning to the packhouse as the sun gets ready to rise. My mind is a jumble, and I don’t have the faintest idea of how to make everything clear. I don’t know how to gain peace of mind. We should listen to Apollo.Apollo is telling us that Ares killed Father. Why would he

Her eyes search mine, but I’m at a loss. I have no idea who she could be talking about since I’m still meeting people every day. I’m meant to be Luna of this pack, so I couldn’t even tell her who her mate could be. Also, she’s been on packlands long enough to have scented her mate already, right?Before I can respond to Esme’s claim, my phone rings. I hurry and answer just to get out of this awkward situation. “Hello?”“Little flower…” FUCK! That was the wrong move.“Hh… how did you get my number?”“Is that any way to greet your mate? You should be telling me how much you miss me.” My throat is suddenly dry, and I can’t speak. I don’t know what to say. The bond is pulling me forward, but my mind can’t forget everything that’s happened. “

~Akia~We went from sharing a nice moment to rushing to the cells. I still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened until we got down here. The scene is enough to have everyone in an uproar. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, YOU WERE DISTRACTED?! YOUR ONE FUCKING JOB IS TO WATCH THE FUCKING MONITORS!!!”Apollo’s aura is suffocating the warriors who are down here. The only ones not affected are Atlas and me. I’m not sure how much longer the warriors can deal with it.Where Apollo has exploded after hearing this news, Atlas is quiet. That isn’t any better because his calm is eerie. If I didn’t know him any better… well, it doesn’t matter at this point.We hurried to the cells to find their father on the floor of his cell, lying in a pool of his own blood. It’s crazy because there are always guards inside, watchin

*Six Months Later*~Houston~“Hey, babe?” I walk down the hallway, searching open rooms as I go. “Love?” I continue down the hall, wondering where this woman is. “Daddy?” I turn to look at Zara. She’s coming out of the bathroom, using the wall to guide her. “Yes, Miss Zara, how can I help you?” Zara smiles and giggles at me. She loves it when I call her that. She says it makes her feel important. “Where’s mommy?” I walk over to Zara and pick her up. She settles against me, her arms wrapped around my neck. “That, my dear, is exactly what I’m trying to find out myself. I haven’t seen her.” I hear the door open ahead of me, and a smile grows on my face. I turn us toward the sound, catching her footsteps as they grow closer. “Hello, my two favorite people.” She kisses Zara on the forehead before turning her lips to me. Alayasia aims for my cheek, but I turn at the last minute so her lips land on mine. I use my free hand and bring her in closer, angling my head to deepen the kiss. I

~Shiloh~I step back in horror and conflict. My heart was in my throat when I thought that Houston was gone. I was grieving for the man I had wanted all my life. I knew he was gone, and my heart couldn’t take it. I rejoiced when I saw that he was still alive, but I was confused as to how that could be possible. Watching Geoffroy die is a lot. I’m not sure what I should do with myself now. Geoffroy was my ticket to getting those two removed from this pack. He was going to take both of them, and all I had to do was figure out who marked my man so I could get rid of her. Now, my chance is lost. I turn around and walk away from the crowd, trying to figure out how I can salvage this mess. The sounds behind me are loud, and they’re keeping me from thinking clearly. I continue to move away from the scene, the sounds thinning out. I find myself closer to the packhouse, but not too far from the crowd that I can’t see what’s going on. I stop in my tracks when I see that Gamma bitch outside.

~Geoffroy~There’s no way, there’s no fucking way! The gasps around me made me feel like I was in a tunnel. Everyone is looking at what I’m looking at; everyone saw what I did. I’m not crazy; this isn’t all in my mind. I know I cut him deep. I felt my claw slice through a few layers, not just skin. I know we heal fast as wolves, but the damage I inflicted doesn’t heal that fast. I quickly look around me before letting my eyes land back on the pup. He’s slowly standing to his feet, his eyes stuck on me. He stands tall and flexes his upper body. He makes a point of stretching his neck this way and that. It’s almost like he’s making sure I see that there’s no damage there. His expression is growing more and more smug, and I’m getting even more pissed off. The whispers have started, and I hate that. It’s like they are so taken with him because of some lame magic trick. I growl out in frustration, wanting to make everyone pay. “What type of trickery is this?! What pack uses a witch to d

~Third Person~A small crowd has gathered as word spread fast. It isn’t every day that there’s a challenge issued. On top of that, it was issued on packlands, which probably hasn’t happened in anyone’s lifetime. To add more fuel to the fire, the challenge involved the Beta of the pack.They are a bit beyond the training area, with nothing but open land. Those gathered have formed a loose circle around the Alpha and Beta. Alpha Tyrice is standing with Alayasia, Jakob, and Elder Haynes.Houston has stripped down to a pair of athletic shorts with no shirt. He’s pacing a bit, stretching out his arms and legs. Geoffroy stands tall, watching him in amusement. As far as the Alpha is concerned, this will be a quick battle where he will definitely come out on top. He will take Alayasia and her child back with him. He plans to punish Alayasia before handing her over to Leon. She’s done too much and needs to remember what she’s on this Earth for. Alayasia watches the men in the middle of the ri

~Third Person~As soon as those words leave Houston’s lips, everyone stops. Alayasia is horrified that Houston could be so spontaneous. Houston is determined to protect his family, and the Elder is lost. The air becomes still, and silence envelopes the room. It is broken by the sinister laugh that slips from Geoffroy’s lips. Geoffroy steps forward again, making sure to invade Houston’s space. “What did you say, little pup?” Houston makes himself taller and squares his shoulders. He truly isn’t afraid of Geoffroy. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to challenge him in front of Alayasia, but there’s no turning back now. “You and everyone else heard me; I didn’t stutter. I challenge you.” Houston moves in closer. “You walk around, thinking you can do whatever you want, treat people however you like. A breeder, really?! You’re fucking disgusting and pathetic!” Houston spits at his feet, making sure to maintain eye contact. Geoffroy closes the distance between them. They are almost the same

~Alayasia~Come in now. I walk into the office and stand next to my mate. “Hello, I’m Alayasia, the Beta female. I hear you were looking for me.” Geoffroy's body is rigid, and his jaw is ticking. I know he’s pissed, and he wants to grab me, but he can’t show his hand right now. The Elder looks completely confused; his head keeps moving between me and Geoffroy. “Uh, yeah, uh, hello. I’m Elder Haynes. I came here in regards to the young Zara.”“Zara is my daughter. What do you need with her?” He clears his throat and sits up in his seat. “I was under the impression that Zara was being held here when her family was looking for her.” I tilt my head to the side, making sure my eyes never leave his. “I’m not sure what you were told and by who, but my daughter is safe here. This is her family, with me being her mom and Houston being her dad.”“He isn’t her dad! Her DNA came from Maxim!” I lift my eyes to look at Geoffroy, but I say nothing. I want to see how far he plans to go. “You were