ログインAllissaGetting the royal children to bed required the skills of a diplomat, the patience of a saint, and at least one parent willing to sing about porridge. Tonight that parent was Darren, perched on the edge of our daughter’s bed with all the dignity of a king, performing the third verse of a song he had invented about breakfast.“Again,” Lyra commanded from her nest of blankets.“That was already the third again.” He tucked the blanket beneath her chin, and she immediately kicked it loose, a nightly ritual neither of them ever acknowledged. “Little pups who refuse to sleep never grow big enough to boss their fathers around.”“I boss you now.”“She has a point,” I said from the doorway.He shot me a look over his shoulder that promised retribution, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to Lyra’s forehead. She caught his face in both small hands and held him there, studying him in the lamplight with those green eyes ringed in gold, so much his and so entirely her own.“Night, Papa.”“G
AllissaThe garden had become Lyra’s kingdom, and we were all merely permitted to live in it.She stood in the middle of the lawn in a yellow dress already stained with grass, armed with the bubble wand Eira had enchanted for her last birthday. Each bubble drifted out shimmering in colors that didn’t entirely belong to this world, and Lyra chased them with the single-minded ferocity she brought to everything, which was to say she hunted them like prey.Squall lounged on the garden bench with the careless ease only a dragon could manage, watching her with open amusement. Eira sat beside him, her hand resting in his, sunlight catching the silver and blue ribbons braided through her hair. Three years of mated life had softened nothing about either of them and gentled everything.“Your daughter,” Squall announced as we approached, “has declared war on the laws of nature.”“Has she won?” I asked.“Watch.”Lyra wound up and blew an enormous bubble, big as her own head, gleaming with impossi
AllissaWe’ve had a few years of peace. If you had told me, back when I stood in chains waiting for the Lycan King to decide my fate, that one day I would be sitting on a sun-warmed couch with his daughter shrieking with laughter at my feet and his twins drooling on our laps, I would have asked what you were drinking and where I could get some.But here we were.Lyra had discovered that if she spun in circles fast enough, the entire world became hilarious. She toppled onto the rug for the fourth time, dark hair everywhere, and let out an hysterical giggle. Mira squealed from my lap in response, kicking her chubby legs like she wanted in on the action. Her brother gave no such reaction. Soren sat regally on Darren’s knee, six months of solemn judgment in a tiny body, observing his big sister’s performance.Then Lyra popped her head up, blew her brother a sloppy kiss, and Soren’s whole face split into a gummy smile.That was the thing about my son. He smiled for exactly one person in th
The grand ballroom of the Lycan Kingdom was wall-to-wall with every noble, dignitary, and hanger-on that the new alliance could scrape from the edges of the world.I stood at the center of it all, holding my six-month-old daughter in my arms. Lyra was heavier than she looked, which was saying something, because she was already the size of a small badger and nearly as feral when she wanted to be. She slept now, jaw slack, a little bubble of drool catching the light on her lower lip.Darren’s hand was glued to my waist, fingers splayed like he was afraid I’d be snatched away. Not that I minded. Honestly, it was better he was close, so I could keep the ogling eyes from staring at him. He looked better than he had any right to. Unlike me, who had these milk jugs attached to my chest where my perky breasts used to be.I let my gaze drift over the crowd, picking out faces I recognized and cataloging their reactions to the baby. Most were polite, some envious, a few openly terrified. Lyra did
AllissaI didn’t want to do this without Darren, but I didn’t have a choice. I looked around the room at the mess left over from the fight. The windows were gone, glass scattered across the stone floor like confetti. One of the tapestries had caught fire and was now a smoldering heap in the corner, probably from where Fury’s lightning had ricocheted during the last round of magical chaos. Honestly, it was perfect for the way things have been going lately. I had to laugh about it.Eira had a damp cloth and was pressing it to my forehead. A doctor and healer were in the room with me, and the time to deliver was now.“It’s almost time to push. Ready to meet your child?”I nodded. I was, but I wished Darren was here. Was he safe? Was he in trouble? There was literally nothing I could do. I was completely vulnerable.And then, like a shockwave through my bones, I felt Darren’s mindlink smash through the agony.Ally, I’m coming. I’m racing to the room now.I sobbed out a laugh, which turned
DarrenI took my best squad and left. Time was of the essence, and I didn’t know how much I had. I wanted to be back for Ally, but we couldn’t let my half uncle escape. I sent a message to my father and told him I was going after his half-brother. There was no saving him. Even if he had been brainwashed later, he had acted out of revenge before that. I ended my message with clear instructions. ‘Don’t come after me. Don’t send anyone else. If I’m not back by nightfall, burn the woods until you find my body or theirs.’We headed to the mountainous region of our territory. Sharp jagged rocks and mountainous terrain made it difficult to navigate. We shifted, since our beasts were more agile. We moved in formation, silent and perfect, each step measured to keep the noise down to a whisper.We didn’t talk. Didn’t need to. Every man here could sense what was coming, like a migraine building behind the eyes. At the front, Tim and Rodney sniffed the air, every muscle coiled. My gamma and delta
Dayanara moved closer to me, and Lyle came with her, still keeping a steady hand on her. Dayanara was on high alert as she held her hand in a defensive position.Look at those eyes. There is no fear. Nothing. They know what we are and look how they stand there confidently. Dayanara’s voice entered
“Mom …” What could I say? I didn’t need to state the obvious, that I was pregnant, but this was the first time she had met Darren. She had left me with Alfred, thinking I would be taken care of there. I walked up to her, and Darren kept his arm around me as he accompanied me. After the trauma he had
Holding my baby in my arms was surreal. In a moment, everything changed. Yet, here I was, holding my newborn son who had been swaddled in fire silk—a type of material that self warms.“What will you name him?” Ciera asked, as she adjusted the pillows around me.Name? Darren said he didn’t care what
AllissaWhen I saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Descending majestically before me was an enormous dragon, its sheer size casting an imposing shadow across the ground. Its scales shimmered like polished obsidian, reflecting the moonlight with an otherworldly gleam. Two vast black wings unfurled fr







