Kane's POV Adare lies with his head on my shoulder, quietly sobbing, soaking my shirt in his tears. Itโs a heartbreaking sound. I cradle him close to my chest while I rock him back and forth, making soft, hushing sounds. โShh, big boy. Itโs okay. Daddy will make it better.โ As I watch Willow undress, I heal Adare, allowing the warm white light of my love for my son to wash over him and heal his injuries. He immediately stops crying and sighs softly, going limp in my arm a second later. He goes straight back to sleep as if nothing had happened. He's exhausted, poor guy. โGlenn,โ I mind link with my chancellor. โCome get Adare.โ I donโt plan to leave Willow alone with The Templar. I have no doubt that she can handle him, but I want to sit here and watch her rip him apart. โWhatโs going on here?โ Glenn asks a few seconds later. โThey collared him,โ I say and get up to hand the pup over to my chancellor. โIs Tully here?โ He nods. โSheโs maintaining your spell.โ โGood. Weโll be out ju
I find Nicholas kneeling next to Justineโs body, his forehead in the palm of his hand, crying softly โ the sound of someone whose heart is genuinely broken. โWhat am I going to do now?โ he asks me through his tears. โYou are going to bury her,โ I say and crouch next to the boy. โThen you are going to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go on with life.โ โI want to die,โ he says. My insides go cold. I loved Justine, but I barely see Nicholas. Heโs quiet, a bit of a loner who prefers to keep to himself, but I donโt want to see more of our wolves die. Thereโs nothing I can do about it though. If he decides heโd rather die, no one can save him, but I have to try. โDo you want to go to the doctor? He can help.โ โNo. Thereโs no life for me without her.โ โYou donโt know that. There may be someone else for you.โ He shakes his head. โI donโt think so.โ โWillow?โ Kane asks in my head. โAre you about ready?โ โIn a minute,โ I reply. I squeeze Nicholasโs shoulder. I have a feeling when
Kane's POV I wake with a violent jerk, the sun relentlessly stabbing my eyes. Groaning, I swallow against my sandpaper tongue and struggle upright. I have the mother of all hangovers, and I regret my decision to go on a bender last night. Somehow, we ended up spending the night in my motherโs apartment. Minutes after we left, she came storming up to us, livid that I didnโt summon her the moment Narcissa broke into our flat. Even if I lived to become as old as Zael, I would never have expected my mother to change this much. I am not quite sure if it is because of Willow, Adareโs birth, or because my father is dead and she is finally free to be herself, but I donโt want to question it too much. As soon as we walked into her apartment, my mother gave Willow something to help her sleep, and shooed her off to bed, sitting next to my mate and son while they slept, keeping vigil over them. I found a bottle of whiskey in my mother's liquor cabinet, took two glasses and walked out to the p
Kane's POV I leave my motherโs apartment with about two litres of water and my mate who is cackling at me like an amused hyena. โWhat's funny?โ I ask. โYou look like youโre getting ready to go on a trek through the Sahara.โ I smirk and shrug. โIโm afraid I wonโt make it otherwise.โ She puts her arm through mine and rests her head on my shoulder. โWas it worth it?โ โNo,โ I burp and pull a face as acid pushes its way up my gullet, burning my throat. โMaybe I should just take my motherโs herbs next time I feel like checking out for the night.โ She laughs again and lightly slaps my shoulder. โWhat fun is life if we donโt lose a little control every once in a while?โ โI didnโt lose control,โ I say. โI never lose control.โ โYeah you do,โ she teases lightly and touches the mark on her shoulder. โOr do you so easily forget the night you gave me this.โ โDo you wish I could take it back?โ โNo,โ she says quickly. โNo. Never. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.โ Sheโs in a muc
I quietly watch while Innocent tears into the food Tessa brought him. Kane is right outside the dining room, I can hear him pace up and down, feel the tension that rattles through him like bolts of electricity.A lot hinges on this scheme of his, which I have to admit might work if we can pull it off. โSo, Miss Jones,โ The Pope says and wipes his mouth with a napkin. โYou surely had me fooled, didnโt you?โโYes, I guess I did.โSlowly, he nods. โI have to take some of the blameโฆI wanted to believe you turned over a new leaf.โโSorry to disappoint.โโOh, on the contrary, you are quite the worthy adversary. Itโs been a while since anyone challenged me as much as you have. Itโs beenโฆfun, for lack of a better word.โInnocent still has the power to make me feel nervous and slightly hopeless. Now that he has washed, is dressed in clean clothes, and has eaten, heโs almost back to normal. Back to the man I met. He has that same, arrogant air of authority he had back at the stronghold. Itโs as
Kane's POVI take a seat next to Willow opposite Innocent. I give him a moment to compose himself. Iโd accomplish nothing if I showed any kind of acknowledgment of his tears. Instead, I mind link with my mate to tell her, โYou did well. Iโm so proud of you.โShe gives me an uncertain, wavering smile, and I briefly squeeze her hand. Iโm the only one who knows how nervous she is, how close she is to running from this room and never looking back.โI donโt think we officially met,โ I finally say to Innocent.โNo, but I know everything about you.โโDo you think so?โThe Pope sits up straighter and squares his shoulders. A clear display of dominance if I ever saw one. โYouโre all the same.โโHm,โ I grunt. โDoes that help?โโDoes what help?โโDehumanising us, pretending weโre all heartless monsters that go around killing children. Does that make it easier to slaughter us?โInnocent doesnโt answer me. Thatโs all right. I donโt really need one. I just want to see his reaction to my question. H
Kaneโs POV โWhat is it with that man and his obsession with you?โ I ask Willow when weโre alone in a random hallway. โI donโt know,โ she answers in a teary voice and pulls at the neck of the thick dress. She's just about to reach breaking point. โI want to take this fucking thing off.โ I nod. โCome. We have some time.โ โThe Alphas--โ โIt will take time for them to gather. We have an hour or two. Jackson will let me know when everyoneโs ready. Letโs go upstairs.โ She doesnโt ask any questions, just follows me back to our apartment. Sheโs tired. Tired of the drama, of being in control, of the fear and the pain. She's just done, and while she doesn't say it aloud, I know that she needs me to take care of her for a little while. โGet out,โ I say to the construction crew when we enter our apartment. The wolves immediately drop their tools and leave. Willow stands rooted to the spot, clearly unwilling to go to our bedroom. โAnything in particular youโd like to wear?โ I ask. โYou pick
Holding two glasses of ice tea, I watch Kane from the backdoor. Heโs sitting on the porch, holding his head in his hands. The oaths were brutal and took a lot more out of him than the rest of us. As he did with the messengers, he took most of it on himself, but there were a lot more this time, and he could barely move.Adare toddles up to his father and pats his thigh. โPapa,โ he says.Kane lets go of his head and looks down at his son who is holding on to his leg for support. Groaning softly, he leans over and picks the baby up to sit on his lap. โAnd what did you do with yourself all day?โ my mate asks.Adare frowns at Kane. โPapa,โ he says again. โPapa sah?โI almost fall on my back. Itโs not so much the fact that heโs putting words together that surprises me, itโs that he can tell his father isnโt feel well. My mate, though, is unperturbed. โYes, Daddyโs a little sad.โ He taps the tip of Adareโs nose with his finger. โBut less sad now that youโre here.โI walk out onto the porch a
Dear readers, I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read Willow and Kane's story. This has been one of the longest books I've ever written, and when I started out I did not expect it to turn into this epic saga, but I regret nothing. Nothing I tell you :). I fell in love with Willow and Kane, and I am genuinely sad to say goodbye to these two, but unfortunately all stories must come to an end. Thank you for your support througout this wild ride. It means the world to me. I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until we meet again. All my love, Celice
Kane Madden, Lycan King of Felan, wakes up to an unearthly racket right outside his bedroom door. Slightly concerned, he glances at his heavily pregnant wife and smiles despite his annoyance at his oldest sonโs shenanigans in the hallway. Willow Madden, his mate of fifteen years is heavily pregnant with their second set of twins, two boys this time, and Kane sincerely hopes this is the last time. Goddess knows he loves his children, all eight of them, and heโs sure heโll love numbers nine and ten just as much, but itโs getting difficult to keep up with all the pups. They are exhausting. For a time, he was sure that theyโd never have more children, but after one wild afternoon in the forest, Willow did get pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl, as their remarkable son predicted. She named the twins Josiah and Jocelyn, after the previous occupants of their home. Kane thought it was macabre, but Willow insisted, saying they had to honour their ancestors. That would be the same twins wh
Itโs a beautiful summerโs day, and the drive up to the cabin is pleasant enough. Kane and I have found a peaceful kind of comfort in each otherโs silence, and we rarely need to fill the quiet with inane background chatter. We are content, just being together. I inhale the lovely fresh air, remembering the first time I came here. The night Suri was born, the sheer exhilaration of feeling my wolf come to life...and that was all thanks to Agatha. Dear, sweet Agatha who never found a final resting place because we went to war and in the chaos, we forgot all about her. Our funeral home has since been bombed off the planet, and we just take care of our dead our own way as we'd done during the war. There arenโt that many of us left anyway. The few surviving wolves live here now, and those that refuse to come to safety are dying off โ Templars bearing a lingering grudge either murder them, or the wolves yield to their unrelenting urge to join a good war. Kane once told me that wolves had be
Kane's POV I wasnโt sure what would happen in the months and years that followed after we signed the peace treaty, so we went with the tried and tested 'go with the flow' method. For a time, everything went back to normal. Drake and Patrick ran the business, and more and more my little brother took over my duties in the company. Proof, Willow liked to remind me, that Omegas are just as competent as any other wolf. The overseas wolves went home, and as soon as they were sure the threat had really passed, the European wolves followed suit. The only ones that stayed were the humans. I claimed the human town as part of my territory during the peace talks, and the residents now affectionately call it Wolftonia. Leif left, taking his strange sister with him. Only later did we learn that Silkeโs time on earth was limited and that she had foreseen her own death long before she ever came here. Unbeknownst to all of us, including Willow, a vรถlvaโs dying energy projects outwards, and what we m
Adare runs around the garden with Roland. The two boys growl and stalk each other like prey. My motherly instinct is to jump up and stop them before one of them gets seriously hurt, but Rosie quickly grabs me and pulls me back to my chair. โNo Queen,โ she says. โThatโs how they learn. They wonโt hurt each other.โ โAre you sure?โ โIโve seen them play this game a hundred times. Iโm sure.โ Dammit. My throat burns and I have to fight against the tears. Iโm so happy that my son is home, but Iโve missed so much. He is the size of an average three-year-old and when I talk to him, I sometimes forget that heโs not even two yet. I choose not the think about it. I choose to focus on the here and now. My family is whole and complete and that's what matters โMama! Look!โ Adare squeals and tackles Roland to the ground. โGood job, buddy,โ Kane says behind me. I look over my shoulder at my mate. โYouโre back early.โ โYes. Peace talks broke down.โ โWhy?โ โClement wants my humans.โ โI thought
Kane rolls over to my side and pulls me into his embrace. I donโt even bother to open my eyes. Itโs been a wild few days. โOh Goddess, no,โ I complain. โHavenโt you had enough?โ He laughs breezily in my ear. โNeverโฆbut for now, yes.โ He flutters kisses over my jaw and neck. โHow do you feel?โ โLike I got run over by a penis-shaped bulldozer.โ โHey, you wanted it.โ I finally manage to drag my eyelids apart. โI did.โ I smile at my impressive mate. โThe first two days were great.โ โI know.โ He rolls away and swings his legs off the bed. โThe last day always feels more like a punishment than pleasure.โ I turn over onto my side and stare at his broad back, the strong muscles flexing under his skin. โNo regrets though, right?โ He looks over his shoulder at me. โNone.โ He gets up and stretches, scratching his ass as he walks to the bathroom. A minute later, I hear him open the tap. We donโt have electricity yet, but Iโm not so sure I miss it. Life is kind of peaceful without the cons
Kaneโs POV I sit on the couch in the dark living room, watching the glowing embers in the fireplace, trying to ignore the call of Willowโs heat and the fever that's trying to consume me. I'd go to her, but she's still asleep. tโs not time, she canโt feel it yet, but she will in another few hours. I should be sleeping, prepare myself properly this time, but I canโt switch my milling thoughts tumbling through my head off long enough so I can go to sleep. Iโve already sent orders out to bring the power stations back online and ordered our army to stand its ground. Thereโs nothing else to do now but wait for Clement to come back so we can finish up the peace agreement. In the absence of entertainment or imminent danger, the only thing I have to keep myself occupied is my own thoughts, and all I can think about is the possibility that Willow will get pregnant. Here, in the quiet of the night, all by myself, I have to admit the truth. I never want her to get pregnant again โ not becaus
Kaneโs POV For the next few hours, we talk about the meeting with Clement, the future, and a whole lot of nothing. Thereโs something comforting in it, just friends having a chat about life, love, and everything in between. I glance at my watch, surprised to see that it was well past midday. โThatโs it,โ I say and get up, stretching my too-tight muscles. โWeโre taking the week off. I don't know about you, but I've had enough of war to last me a lifetime.โ โShall I collect Adare?โ Zael asks on our way out. โNot yet. I donโtโฆWillow thinks heโll be safe here, but I want to make sure.โ โIf what she said about The Goddess is true, sheโs probably right. She hasnโt been wrong so far, has she?โ I scrunch up my face and rub my forehead. โI donโt know. I canโt think straight anymore.โ Zael nods. โI know the feeling.โ โDid you get any retaliation over the Raymond thing?โ โOf course I did.โ โAnd?โ โAnd nothing. I handled it...it won't come back to you.โ โDo you think this war is over?โ
Kane's POVIt had been weeks since we slept comfortably, and even though we both sort of hinted at passing the night making love, neither of us could actually gather the energy to do more than snuggle down in each otherโs arms.For the first time in weeks, perhaps months, I wake with a smile on my face, completely relaxed and almost happy. The only thing I need to complete my joy is my son, and he'll be here soon enough.I stretch languidly, and slip out from under Willow and go to the bathroom to get ready for my meeting with Clement. I hope against all hope that Willow misunderstood The Goddess and that there would be no human war. I hope, and I pray, that Clement would listen to my advice and stop it before it even starts.The castle is freezing, and Iโm shivering so much that I cut myself several times while I shave. Rattling like an excited dog, I run back to the bedroom, pull an extra blanket over Willow, then rush to the closet so I can dress in one of my suits and my long, thi