10

I walked over to Adrenna, who was still lashing out, the beast waiting for his chance, waiting for the okay from me.

“What were you going to do with him?” I demanded. Adrenna scowled at me.

“Keep him. I deserve him. I have nothing left thanks to those fucking witches, and I’m not an idiot, I know Silas will kill me the second I hand him over. He proved that when he had me kill your brother,” she shook her head.

“He doesn’t care who he uses to own the world, he only wants power,” she murmured.

“Then you chose the wrong side. You could’ve been with us, survived, had us at your back, but you chose to do the one thing that would guarantee your death.”

“I chose my side! I was stuck there in the shadow realm, Silas got me out. I’m just trying to survive, to find happiness. But what would you know? You have everything. Your alphas. Your heirs. Your family. You don’t know what it’s like.”

I scoffed at that. “You are not the only one who has had to fight for everything they have. I lost my father and brother to a war that they were brainwashed into. I fought to survive shadows that could have killed me,” I screamed at her.

“I fought to birth these children who were never meant to be born from a human body, but I did that! You do not get to take that!” I bit, getting angrier, my magic whipping out of me.

It snapped around her neck and shoved her against a tree as the wolves hovered.

The beast salivated, and Derik turned to take Enzi so Brax could hold our son.

“And what would you have done if the witches had forbidden your love with the alphas? Told you they would not let you be together? Took every ounce of happiness you had and turned it into something that only knew violence? Only had one goal—to kill you?” She snapped.

I hated that it made me sympathize with her plight.

She was an evil bitch who had done so many bad things, but what if she was only jaded because of the hand she had been dealt? What if, while we were distracted with the witch, Silas was making his moves?

He was the real evil, he was the one who had pulled her strings. He needed our anger, the death I owed him was not about to be wasted on Adrenna.

“I’ll give you a head start. You have three seconds to run, then I send the beast after you. I suggest you use it and don’t come near my wolves again. It’ll be the last mistake you ever make,” I snapped and pulled my magic back.

Adrenna gasped then took off, taking my warning. I counted to three then looked to the beast.

“Go. She’s yours now. Don’t let her near us,” I said. The beast bellowed out another roar before taking off after his soul mate because fate was a fickle sadist bitch. I shook my head and turned to the wolves.

“Let’s get back to the city before Silas finds out we have Zale back and Adrenna dealt with,” I murmured, my heart heavy with relief but also with pain. I couldn’t imagine one of my alphas being burdened with what the beast is.

He is still in there, and that meant he knew who he was hunting, who he was killing, and couldn’t do anything about it.

It was an impossible situation, and maybe I could talk to Tabby or Cain about getting him back to human, but until then, I was going to enjoy my family being whole again and enjoy being home again.

The Ache

LORELAI

I spent the entire next two days with Zale and Enzi. I kept them with me at all times, refusing to leave even to eat. I couldn’t. Every time I thought I could handle it, my anxiety crept back in; the panic set in, and now even just using the bathroom was becoming an issue.

I wanted to be okay; I wanted to believe we were safe, but we weren’t. The vampires were silent—not attacking, not doing anything. That was worse than attacking because it meant we were in this strange limbo where we were almost happy but too scared to enjoy it.

I didn’t let anyone but the alphas be alone with the baby. The close inner circle, like my mom and Galen, Cain, and Beenie, were allowed supervised visits, but that was it. I had no idea what minds the vampires could twist, and I wasn’t risking it again.

I hadn’t seen Ryleigh or Vaughn. I knew they were close to birthing, and that I should visit, but I couldn’t yet. It wasn’t their fault that Adrenna got in, but it was their faces that I put to the incident, and that was hard to get past.

It was unreasonable and unfair, but my head wasn’t in the right space for logic.

Only my alphas eased some of the fear; however, nothing but seeing their little faces together took it away.

“You need to come down to the dining hall, Little Luna. The wolves miss you,” Kai said, coming up behind me as I stared over the cribs. His arms wrapped around me, running over me, caressing me.

I leaned back into him as his lips pressed against my throat, his hand cupping the side of my face. His teeth grazed my flesh, and I shivered. They hadn’t bitten me since I’d turned. Not because they didn’t want to, but because Tabby said it could trigger the heat.

My body would overwhelm me and throw us all into that fire, one we can’t afford yet. It was already intense when they were inside me now, more so than when I was human, but I couldn’t risk us being vulnerable because I gave into the craving of their teeth claiming me.

They knew that too and respected it, but I felt the ache that kept them on the edge as well.

“Just say the word, Little Luna, and we can take care of that ache,” Kai whispered against my skin, kissing and licking over it as I sighed and sagged against him.

He held me tighter, and my eyes fluttered closed, the sensations of his touch begging me to give in, to let him take care of me. The mating bond was weak at the moment; without it, our connection was less because we hadn’t shared the bite or done any kind of aftercare.

We’d fucked, quick and hard; that was it. We hadn’t indulged in the kind of play that fed the link, and we were suffering for it, but I couldn’t let go.

“No one wants you to let go. We just want to look after you,” he said, his voice deep and gravelly as it vibrated against my skin. It prickled in response, and my canines dropped without meaning to.

The idea that they could be inside him was filling my mind, and when my thoughts drifted to him being inside me, my core ached in response. Hot desire swept through me until my will broke.

“I can’t leave them,” I said as I turned to him, finding his mouth. I kissed him feverishly with impatient strokes of my tongue against his. He took my lead, his mouth responding just as desperately.

His huge hand went to my head, holding me there as if he were scared I would run if he let go. Maybe I would, but not because I didn’t want him to keep going.

“I’m struggling here, Little Luna. The wolves may have missed you because your magic feeds them, but I miss you because you are the heart I now have in my chest.

If you aren’t with me, then it doesn’t beat. We need this,” he said quietly, his voice revealing how broken he was.

I had been so selfish, only caring about what I needed, what I wanted, taking it and leaving, but he was in pain. Because the vamps were free, and he had a past that was probably making him as uptight as me, but if I was a good mate, I would know that already.

The shitty thing was that I wouldn’t take it back because I had gotten Zale back; we all had. So I had to be grateful for whatever cost came with it. We were alive; that was our starting point, and now, we could fix things.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed against his lips as he claimed them again. “I’ll try to be better for you.”

He growled against my mouth before pulling back, holding my jaw, and lifting me to his height so I had to meet his eyes with mine.

“You are already everything I need, Little Luna. I just want to spend some time with you, enjoying that fact, worshipping you for it.”

I swallowed at the emotion that clogged him, and I nodded, kissing him back.

“But I can’t leave them,” I said, looking down at my babies. They were silently sleeping, so peaceful and beautiful. Could I take the moments for myself when they could be in danger?

“I’ll stay with them, Spitfire. Go,” Brax said, walking into the room with his pants hung low, his top half naked. His abs glistened with sweat, his hair tied in a half-up-half-down, his blonde waves brushing his shoulders. I licked my lips at him, and he smirked.

“I’ll have my turn next; we’ll test out that new werewolf stamina.” He winked, and I grinned, then went to Kai who was so much bigger than me, curling into his naked chest. He tugged me through the door.

“Don’t leave the room. For anything,” I warned, and I heard Brax chuckle in response before Kai was pressing me against the hall wall, kissing me harshly. I moaned, relaxing into his hold, wrapping my arms around his shoulders as he lifted me by my thighs, pinning each one against his waist.