Thane rose, and by his signal, I rose too. He took my hands. I knew it was all an act; I should be trying harder; we had the whole pack to convince now, but I couldn't help but think about 'the marking'. The fact that everyone here would watch us. How was this normal? Thane drew me closer to him. "Don't fight me," he whispers, low enough that only I could hear him, and then his lips met mine. The kiss was gentle at first and then demanding; he consumed me, and all I had to do was play along, even if my eyes teared at the knowledge that he would be doing this here, right now. Maybe I could just close my eyes and pretend it was just the both of us. That wouldn't be hard, right? His lips finally left mine, and I was sure my lips were swollen and my cheeks flushed. "My mate would be marked and claimed tonight," he announced, and the whole crowd erupted. I watched the faces of the people waiting to see me naked. "But it would be done in private," he says, and the applause died down. I
Axel was there almost immediately. "Thane" he called out, but the Alpha was far gone and I was a complete wreck, one thing was sure, I wouldn't have stopped him."Listen to me Thane, you don't want her hurt, remember?"Slowly Thane's eyes returned back to their normal colour, he stared at the mark he gave me, it still stung, but my mind was too clouded."I'm sorry" he says and with that he walks away, leaving the room. It took only a few minutes to gather myself and realise that Axel had seen ‘everything’. I couldn’t look him in the eyes, even as he brought a robe for me helping me into it.“Thank you” I said to him, avoiding eye contact.“You didn’t seem to want him to stop though” Axel said and it was of course very much true, I hadn’t wanted him to stop, damn I would have let him fuck me right in front of Axel. I had no response to that.“Thane’s father seemed rather unpleased at the fact that he was breaking the tradition” I said, trying my best to act like ‘this’ was nothing,
I had spent the whole night reading through the pages of the very lengthy diary belonging to the lady named Barbara.Thane hadn’t returned to our room that night. The morning came too soon.I was happy to see Axel though."How was your night?, you don't seem well rested""I... I had been occupied."He gave me a questioning look. "Are you still worrying about Thane's whereabouts? I told you not to.""I wasn't," I said, but that was partly a lie; I had been worried over where he was right before I pulled out the book ‘Barbara's fantasies’-- that had kept me very much awake."Let's go somewhere.""Where?""Anywhere, or maybe a run in the woods," he suggested.I still felt very self-conscious when being stared at like I was a piece on display, but he was right; I had to leave this place."Okay, I'll go change," I said..I splashed some cold water on my face. I put on some black leggings and a matching tank top, knowing full well that Thane wouldn't approve of this. I felt too lazy to do
There was this strange emotion in me. I couldn't let Axel know, so I did my best to think of everything but that Thane had spent the night with Beatrix, leaving me in my room all alone. I hated it. I had admired the girl when I first saw her, but now, I felt the dislike brewing in me."Are you okay?" Axel asked as we headed on our way to the woods."Yes" I lied."You aren't. You are jealous.""You feel like you know everything, but you don't""I don't know everything, but that I know""I should have expected that, it shouldn't surprise me, I hadn't 'satisfied' him, so perhaps he got that elsewhere""Don't blame it on yourself, is not your fault"I nodded, shoving away that memory.~"How far are we going?' I asked when we arrived in the woods."Far enough""Axel""Yes?""You do know I can't transform into my wolf form as often as you can, right?" I questioned. I wondered how I forgot to tell him this earlier- maybe I assumed that he would know. As omegas, we have weaker connections wi
“I make the rules, not you, and who I fuck is not your business. I'll have you if I want you, and if you want me, all you have to do is tell me. But you weren't available.""So you took a quick option?""Riley, you seem to have forgotten you are not my true mate; the only thing binding us is the contract. What I do doesn’t hurt you physically. We can pretend to be so much in love before others, but outside that, nothing.""Well, you aren't good at pretending, seeing how close you are to this Beatrix.""I can be with whoever I want to be with."“Then how would you feel if I fucked Axel? Would you like that?”“I would not hold you back, Riley; you are free to be with whomever you want, and this contract doesn’t tie you to me, just as long as I approve of said person.”“Do you approve of Axel, then?”“Yes, I do, but the only condition is that I will watch you while you fuck him. That would be a turn-on,” he said, a smirk playing on his lips.Was he being serious?, I had only been trying
‘I’ve heard rumors about being intimate with more than one man—I never thought it possible, but I’ve always wanted to try. Would it hurt? Would it be a better addition to my list of fantasies?When the ‘wealthy guy’ called for me, I had met him in his room like every other day, but he was not alone; there was another guy, ‘the younger guy’ with him. We chatted and we laughed, but I didn’t plan to tarry long. So I headed into the bathroom, took off my clothes, and returned naked. Two pairs of eyes were on me, and I wondered what it would be like to be loved by two men. I lay on the couch, knowing they would come to me, and they did, both undressed. I had never felt a desire so strong; I wanted a ...threesome, none of them would be left out. I was going to have them both, and they were going to own me...’.Threesome. Never had I heard of the term; how was it possible?That had been the thought on my mind when I slept off. ~I woke with a start, feeling disoriented; it wasn’t evening ye
"I won't bind your hands this time, but you have to stay still," he says, and I could only manage to respond with a nod.He kissed my lips; this time it was soft, his palm was very low down my abdomen, and a slight movement caused the heat to build up. I let out a small moan, which was silenced by his kiss.Noticing that, he adjusted, his palm no longer having physical contact with my skin.He kissed down my jaw and then my ears, nibbling gently on my ears, and then he kissed me down my collar bones. His lips against my bare skin caused a strange kind of spark, dampening my core.His palm massaged my breasts, and I let out another moan as he sucked at my very sensitive nipple, his canine grazing into it only slightly. He repeated this action to the other, and I had already begun writhing under him, in need of more friction between our lower parts; he wouldn't give that just yet. His kisses trailed lower, between my breasts and my abdomen. I froze."What are you doing?" I questioned, t
I woke up with a smile on my face. I didn’t know how long I had slept, but I hadn’t felt this rested since I came here. I was alone on the bed; it’s not like I expected him to stay.I couldn’t help but remember everything that had happened last night, and my lower part felt kind of numb. I tried standing up.That was a big mistake. I lay back down.“You shouldn’t try that." The voice called. I hadn’t noticed Axel on the cushion.“How long have you been here?”“A couple of hours,” he says, and I didn’t miss the fact that I was naked, with a lot of evidence of what I had just done with Thane. “You look totally fucked,” he commented with a smirk, and I turned red. He did have a hidden ability to embarrass me.I pulled up the covers in an attempt to cover my nudity.“I'm not trying to humiliate you, Riley, but there’s literally no part of you I haven’t seen yet.”“I think you and Thane are freaks,” I say, and I do mean it, but I abandoned the covers. He was right, though. “Where is he?”“
3ALEXANDER POVI watched her sleep. I couldn’t say exactly when the insecurities set in, but lately she kept talking about how she’d gotten “fat.” She wasn’t—she was pregnant, strong and healthy for an expectant mother.I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. I’d spend eternity reminding her of her beauty if that’s what it took.It was time for work, but I didn’t want to leave Kaida alone—not with her due date only weeks away. Before heading out, I went to check on Alexa and found she was already awake.“Daddy, take me to Uncle D, pleeeease,” she begged.She was too adorable to refuse, but it was far too early.“It’s still sleeping time; he’s resting,” I said gently.“But Uncle D don’t sleep. He a vampire,” she whispered, as though sharing a top secret. I could have asked where she’d learned that word, but I already knew the answer.Then Kaida’s cry rang out from the next room: “Alexander! It’s coming—the baby…”My heart jolted. I raced back to our room and found her leaning against t
1.***PHIL POVTwo Years Later…I had never felt so nervous.The day had finally come — Selene had turned twenty-one two days ago, and soon everything between us was about to change."Good luck, friend," Austin said to me."You got this," Ruth, Austin’s mate, added, and I nodded.A year ago, Ruth had finally said goodbye to the Winter Pack and joined her mate, Austin. Their reunion had been beautiful, and the pair had been inseparable ever since.I wanted something like that too — though I hadn’t realized how badly until I met Selene.At many points, I had thought about canceling the plan of waiting, but this time, Selene had been the one against it. I refused to think too deeply about the reason behind that.Now I stood by the door to her house and knocked.I waited a few moments; there was no response, so I knocked again.A woman answered — a complete stranger."I’m looking for Selene. Selene Ashford?" I asked."Oh, the Ashfords don’t live here anymore," she said — and my heart drop
“The others are very angry,” Kyiv said to me. “They think I’m on your side, and that’s why I killed Skale. It’s no secret they don’t like me very much, so they’ve requested something from me—to make clear where my loyalty lies.”“And I’m guessing this thing they requested of you somehow involves me.”“That’s right. Let’s look at the pros of this operation. You’d get to leave the cell for a short while—after days of being locked up, that has to mean something. But then the cons: you’d be paraded naked in front of thousands of rogues, bound, and many would want to… touch.”“I have nothing to be ashamed of, but I’m more worried about your little plan with the plane crash. Aren’t you worried the news that I’m alive will leak out?”“I too believe this is a bad idea. Even if I stand to benefit in many ways — I’d finally prove myself a capable leader to the rogues, and the other rogue leaders would have nothing on me. But I still don’t trust their promises to keep the rogues silent, so the n
I stared at the water in the wooden bowl. I was so thirsty.Could anything be worse than this?At least I would have one less thing to worry about—thirst.I reached for it. It was far enough to cause some strain on my already bruised wrist as I stretched for it, and then I took hold of it.Just before I could lift it up, the bowl slipped from my bloody grasp and fell to the floor, the contents splashing across the ground.Fuck.Well,I guess I really have no option now.Something captured my attention — a blackish smoke swirling in the air, growing thicker with every second.Then, through the smoke, Daemon stepped out.“There you are, about damn time. I was starting to wonder if I was at the wrong place,” he muttered.“How did you find me?”“I made a very wild guess.” “Kaida — how is she?”He tapped on the transparent glass, as if testing its strength.“She’s perfectly fine, and she knows you’re not dead. But she might not be too happy about the fact that I didn’t let her come with m
“There’s a slight chance we aren’t dealing with a pack,” Daemon said. “Thank you for this information.”“Wait, you’re leaving me here? I just proved how important I could be.”“Yes, indeed. If you get any other information, just reach out,” he said, then turned around. He was really leaving.“Fuck you.” I muttered beneath my breath.“I heard that,” he called out. “I intended for you to hear that!” I said, but of course he was already gone.My gaze fell on Sebastian, still standing on the other side of the wall. He raised both hands in surrender before backing away. Frustrated, I stomped off..Kate arrived at the pack a few hours later. This time, she brought along her luggage.“You won’t really need all those for a few days.”“No, I won’t. But I’m not planning to stay for just a few days,” she said, walking into her room. I followed with two more of her luggage. “I’m moving into this pack,” she said finally, and I couldn’t deny how surprised I was at that.“Really?”“Yes,” she said,
I walked past the patrolling soldier and Phil, who followed after me.“I thought you said you were leaving? I was worried you’d do something rash, so I came after you.”Good thing he and the other patrollers hadn’t witnessed what happened earlier.“Plans changed. Guess I was about to make a rash decision — but I changed my mind.”“Are you okay?” Phil asked, inspecting me.I knew I didn’t exactly look my best — I’d spent god-knows-how-long in the healing room, then ran straight to pack my bags, dressed in nothing but the white gown the healing wardens had supplied. My eyes must have been red from crying. But every other person in the pack looked the same, if not worse.They were all mourning Alexander—I realized.Many cast pitiful glances at me.“Why did he have to go?”, “He was too young to die,” “He ‘was’ the best Alpha the pack had ever had.”Everyone had something to say about Alexander.I could hardly believe I’d run past all these people without noticing a single thing. On the wa
KADIA’S POVI woke up in the healing room.A pair of blue eyes watched me — Daemon. He looked… different, and it wasn’t just the new haircut. There was something about him that made him seem more human."Daemon," I called; my throat felt so dry.He seemed to have already prepared for that. He passed me a glass of water, which I quickly emptied.Everything came flooding back — the news about the plane crash. It became harder to breathe.“Kaida. Calm down.”"He's gone — he was in the plane when it crashed."I yanked out the tubes attached to my arm and rose to my feet. The movement had been too abrupt; the room seemed to spin.I felt hands guiding me back to the bed. I couldn’t hold in the tears.“He shouldn’t have been there. I made him go, and now…”“Stop.” Daemon said, cutting me off. “He is not dead. I visited the site; I didn’t find anything that indicated he was among the ones that died.”“You were at the site?” I asked, my heart speeding up with renewed hope.“Yes. The moment I h
ALEXANDER’S POVMy blurred vision slowly cleared, and I realized I was in what looked like a small, empty room.The wall facing me was made of thick, transparent glass.I couldn’t tell how they managed to get me in here—there was no window or door, only a narrow slot likely meant for passing food and letting in just enough air to keep the ‘prisoner’ alive.I could only assume there was some kind of hidden entrance.My hands and ankles were bound with thick silver chains.The chains felt excessive—I could barely move a muscle.More wolfsbane than I’d ever consumed in my entire life had been pumped into my system, completely immobilizing me and filling me with this nauseating, sickly feeling. I hadn’t realized I was shivering until I noticed the tremble in my fingers.The room was chillingly cold, and with the wolfsbane suppressing my werewolf abilities, I was no exception to the cold. I tried to summon flames. Nothing.Maybe I was just too weak to summon the flames. The crushing feeli
1KADIA’S POVWhen I discovered the news of my pregnancy, I had been so happy. But I knew a lot would have to change.I had to be more cautious—for the baby. That meant I wouldn’t be able to keep training the pack soldiers for much longer. Of course, I’d have to give up that duty eventually and it had become a part of my life. I would have to watch my diet, too. And then there were other things. Like the fact that I would grow big, and I might not look the same. My toned stomach which I had spent years working on would be no more.This had been the type of life I once abhorred, but everything was different now—I wanted this. I could see a future with Alexander, filled with laughter and little kids running around, and the thought made me smile.Lara was the first person to find out I was pregnant.After I discovered the pregnancy test was unmistakably positive, I was as scared as I was excited.Lara happened to be visiting the pack, and we kind of bumped into each other. She was all s