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
“Sleep, my queen,” I whisper, caressing Umiko’s hair and watching as she falls asleep in record time. She’s exhausted and has been through a lot these past few hours, so she can do with the rest.When I open the door, I see Yui waiting with an anxious expression on her face, and I walk over to her. “She’s sleeping, but you can go in so long and wait until she wakes up. I’m sure she wants you there.” I say, catching the smile and tears in the eyes of Umiko’s closest friend.She nods, then slips in behind me. I station four men outside our room, four men I had thoroughly checked for any sign of them being a traitor or the like, then I walk to my office where Andreas and Freyja are stationed. After the death of the little hellion, I haven’t been able to grieve or make sense of what happened because Umiko’s water broke. But I am ready for vengeance, even more so now that Arkyn has been born.As soon as I open the office door, a blonde bullet is at my side and crushes my ribs in an embrac
The cry of a baby immediately wakes me from a deep sleep, and I sit up straight in bed. It takes me a few seconds to register that I am in the main bedroom and that the baby crying is my own.“Oh!” I exclaim and jump out of bed, only to realize that the crying has stopped and that Fenriz is standing next to the bassinet with our baby in his arms.“I think the little man is hungry again,” he says, and I groan loudly. It’s been three days, and it feels as if someone has taken sandpaper to my nipples. “I know, but unfortunately, he’s the boss right now.”I hold out my arms and beckon my husband over. “You Vega men are needy,” I mumble, to which he only chuckles and kisses the side of my head. The irritability in me is simply for show, though; I love this time with Arkyn, and I love how Fenriz looks at me when I’m breastfeeding.Everything has been relatively quiet over the last few days after Frigga died. We held a funeral pyre for her a day ago, but I had to leave as soon as possible be
A knock on the bedroom door gets my attention while I’m burping Arkyn, and when I look up, it’s straight into Freyja’s green eyes. She hasn’t left her bedroom for over two weeks and refused to see anyone, even Andreas, so the fact that she’s here leaves me surprised.“Freyja, love,” I murmur and beckon her over to sit next to me on the bed after I’ve put Arkyn back in his crib. She sighs, then walks over and sits in the space I’ve gestured, but when she eventually looks into my eyes, I see a broken woman.One I can relate to.“I was born today twenty-six years ago,” she whispers, then looks down again, and tears fall into her open palms. “Frigga and I always said that one day when we escape out of the hole, we would shift and run for every birthday that follows to signify our freedom, but now… now I’m alone and without the person I loved more than myself.”Her shoulders don’t even shake as she silently cries, but I can tell from her racing heart and melancholic scent that no matter ho