I’m laying on the cool desert floor long after the sun has set, splayed out on my back, and breathing heavily. Baron’s anger is a lot to bear, especially when I willingly release it. We have a handle on some of it, but we still have to fight the urge to return to the estate to kill Umiko. Baby steps, I guess. Baron’s conversation with Loki comes to mind as I lay there. My beast had been consumed with years of hurt and guilt because he got captured, and Loki traded his life for Baron. That, coupled with being betrayed by his mate, just added to everything, so I understand more of why he’s always acted this way. People would not have gotten killed if he had been honest about things from the start. Getting to my feet, I decide to call it a day and get back on my motorcycle. I know this won’t take a day, but I can feel this anger bubbling to the surface at every provocation lately. One day I won’t be able to control it anymore, and I would rather not have anyone around me when that happ
Ahmya has her ears down as I get down from Fenriz’s motorcycle, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her. She’s about to face her mate, the one who supposedly betrayed her so many years ago. I don’t know how to feel about this, to be honest. Fenriz says he’s struggling with controlling Baron’s anger, so what will happen now when his rage comes face to face with its cause?“Are you okay? Your heartbeat spiked there,” Fenriz asks me when I put the helmet on the motorcycle seat, and I nod.“Ahmya is nervous,” I say as a shiver shoots up my spine. “I have a feeling that this might come to a fight.”Fenriz breathes out a long sigh. “I have the same feeling,” he says, taking my hand in his and leading me away from the motorcycle. He was here for the entire day yesterday and still didn’t manage to get a hold on Baron’s anger. It worries me more than I’ll admit because what if he snaps entirely at the first sight of Ahmya, then I’m dead.“Hey,” Fenriz says, bringing me back to the present. He
Fenriz fell asleep a few hours ago, but I am still awake and staring at the ceiling. For the first time in years, my mind is a den of solitude as Ahmya rests comfortably with no apprehension in her scent. I should be resting as well, but I cannot seem to shake this bad feeling from my heart.I sigh and move closer to Fenriz, slipping my arm around his waist and kissing his back. He was there for me every step of the way today, and I have a feeling that he had a part to play in keeping Baron’s rage at bay. Tomorrow we’ll discuss a way forward without my father finding out what we’re up to. Ahmya has said that he and Kenji have no way of keeping in touch with her other than coming here, so we would have to invite them here after I’ve had my baby. Speaking of which… I should probably go see a doctor soon.Fenriz groans and turns on his back, so I snuggle into his arms, and he immediately pulls me closer. I love how our relationship has progressed from predator and prey to Alpha and Luna
For the past five months, things have been quiet in the pack, but instead of being relaxed, an uneasy feeling has coiled right in my gut. Peace doesn’t come easy, so I keep waiting for something to happen… something that will take this happiness away.The weather is warmer, so Umiko is currently sitting in the garden with Yui. They’ve become closer again since Umiko fell pregnant, and now her handmaiden is a little more than overprotective of her. Apart from that, Umiko looks absolutely beautiful as her belly grows each day, and she’s come to terms with the fact that she won’t be like her parents.On days like these, I still cannot believe how lucky I am to have someone like her in my life. How she’s ripped open my chaotic world and gave it meaning, and now she’s about to bless us with a child. I pray to every single deity out there for sending Umiko to me, and even more so to the Goddess for blessing me with the perfect mate.“Ah!” My head snaps up when Umiko suddenly cries out and r
Naked, I stand staring at myself in the mirror, and the shocking awareness hits me that I haven’t seen my feet in over a month. As much as I enjoyed my pregnancy thus far, right now, I feel as swollen as my Pilates ball. Fenriz says that I look radiant and glowing, but all I see is a puffy face, exhausted eyes, and pale skin. Gods, can’t I give birth already? I throw on my cotton nightdress and waddle over to my bed with the intention of calling it a day, but just then, Fenriz walks into our bedroom, and the look on his face tells me that I can forget about a peaceful slumber. “Is everything okay?” I ask, sitting up in bed and gesturing for him to join me. He breathes out a long sigh, then falls down on the bed next to me with a grunt. “No, we might have a war heading our way,” he says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Someone has sent a shapeshifter into the estate, and after Andreas and I spent the afternoon searching for more, we discovered at least 20 of them in the pack.” “W
Fenriz is holding my hand as we sense both of the outsiders walking towards the office. They could kill us quickly if they had to band together; there’s no doubt about it. But as Alpha Kai pokes his head in the door, followed by Luna Caterina and a bearded, scary-looking man I assume to be Alpha Ryker, I know this is not the case.These people are our allies.“I didn’t think we’d be seeing each other again so soon,” Alpha Kai comments, and Fenriz stands up to shake his hand before doing the same to Alpha Ryker and Luna Caterina.I was sitting behind the oak desk with Fenriz, so they could not see my belly, but the second I got up to greet them, their eyes grew in surprise. Offering them all a small smile, I walk over to shake their hands as well, then Fenriz wraps a protective arm around me.“I’m sure you two remember my Luna; Ryker, I would like to introduce you to my wife and mate, Umiko,” he says in a voice filled with such pride that I smile brightly. Alpha Ryker visibly blanches
I sink my claws into its flesh and drag them all the way down, watching the black blood slip through my fingers. The last few days after the Alpha meeting has been nothing but a continuous torture session for me; and since these fucks won’t talk, I’ll enjoy their misery. Their groans and screams of pain have been my lullaby, but I don’t let them die easily, not for what they’ve done.Twenty of my best soldiers have been devoured, and these things took their place, twenty lives lost, and I was none the wiser. How many more people will die under my watch? What makes this so much worse is that the one I am currently torturing is the man I trusted with Umiko’s life.“Fenriz, enough,” Andreas pulls my back by my shoulder. “This solves nothing.”I shrug him off and punch through the Marcus shapeshifter’s solar plexus, pulling out his heart and crushing it in my grip. “It helps me get rid of my frustration at being an inept Alpha,” I say, ripping the body in two.Andreas sighs but says nothi
“Yes, they’ve declared war on me and mine, and I will rip each one of them in two for what they’ve done!” Fenriz’s voice breaks through the pain as I notice that he’s on his cell phone. The person on the other end sounds like Alpha Kai, but it might be Alpha Ryker too.I could still smell Frigga’s blood on Fenriz as he rushed to the doctor with me in his arms; I could still feel the thick sadness woven in his scent along with the anxiety of the pending birth of our child.As much as I want to be there for him, to comfort him and tell him we’ll find the ones responsible for killing innocent Frigga; I can’t seem to speak… only scream. My body shudders with pain, and I double over while walking, leaning on the bed in front of me. “I have to go,” he growls, then rushes over to me, caresses my lower back, kisses my forehead, and tells me I’ll be okay.Ahmya paces, her worry not easing me at all. /“You’ll be okay, Umiko, you have me as your strength, and nothing can-”/“Fuck!” Fenriz groa