ArloMy mate is beyond compare. Her scent is intoxicating to me. Deep, sweet and rich, underpinned by honeyed heat. Lush, enchanting and endlessly alluring. One whiff makes me want to throw my head back and howl. Informing the world that she’s mine.Her pupils are blown wide and her thighs are trembling from the effort to hold back her orgasm. Her sweet nectar coats my fingers and I can’t hold back the growl rumbling in my chest. “Mine. I have to taste you.” I rip her pretty underwear with my teeth and immediately bury my head in her sweet, succulent mound. My tongue lapping hungrily at her musky ambrosia, the need to claim her growing out of control.“So fucking good,” I hum, sucking on her clit so more of her juices rush out to meet my tongue. Her walls clench around my fingers and she’s shaking like a leaf. “Arlo. Please. Please, let me orgasm.” Her words help me focus again, reminding me that this is all about her. My desires can wait. I want her to cum on my cock, harder than she
HildaYou’d swear we’d been separated for 2 weeks and not 2 days. Arlo and I can’t get enough of each other and it’s nearly sunrise again by the time we finally manage to stay in a naked, sweaty tangle without lust driving us to lunge at each other again.“I love you, have I told you that recently?” Arlo asks, pushing the tangled hair off my brow and attempting to tuck it behind my ear. “I lost focus for a while there, but I believe so,” I say hoarsely. “Oh babe, you need water,” he says in concern, unwrapping his arms, which were holding me close to his chest, and getting up to head to the kitchen naked.The view is superb. His ass is a work of art, his legs long and muscular, his broad back topping tapered hips. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than Arlo nude. “You’re going to get me all riled up again if you keep looking at me like that,” he warns when he returns with 2 glasses of water.I’m too tired for any more right now. My body aches gloriously and I can barely keep my
Soren Something isn’t right. I certainly never spoke to Maelor about still having feelings for Hilda, how does he know about that? I’m also just about sure that I can feel Cerelia’s presence here. Perhaps the kindly mage who helped me, isn’t quite so done with the dark arts as he’d like me to believe.“Maelor, I’m in a hurry. I need your help to find where your former associates meet. You’ve stuck your neck out this far, please stretch a little more. I will protect your life with my own if it comes down to it, but I have to find Cerelia.”Maelor shakes his head sadly, looking genuinely sympathetic. “I’m sorry Soren, but I don’t know. They use magic to conceal their presence and the spell will be woven to specifically keep me from finding them.”“You also still practice magic, cast a different spell to undo theirs!” I demand more forcefully than I intended to. He looks at me like I’m mad. “They pool their strength, I can’t fight that. There’s nothing I can do to help you. I’ve told yo
Hilda“You did what?” Arlo asks, looking like he’s about to explode. “I didn’t go alone!” I defend myself against the torrent of reprimands that I’m sure is about to follow. His eyes rake over me anxiously, as if he’s afraid there may be some damage he missed before.“There’s no part of me you haven’t inspected minutely in the past 24 hours Arlo, I’m fine. Kestrel was with me and we turned around when I sensed danger.” He doesn’t seem mollified, “I told you to stay here so you could be safe, not so you’d go boldly traipsing into danger without a second thought! And don’t think for a moment that I believe you invited Kestrel to go with you. I’m willing to bet my life on it that you were told by the guards to take an escort!”I’m trying not to pout, or show him how thrilled I am by the fact that he knows me so well. “What else was I supposed to do while you were gone? Stay inside and read a book?” Arlo throws his hands into the air dramatically, “Yes! That’s exactly what you were suppos
CereliaI can’t see him, but I sense his presence immediately. Soren didn’t leave and he knows I’m here. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m angry about the things he said. His outrageous assumption that either Hilda or I would be happy to share him.But. He genuinely seemed concerned about me and frantic to save me from my supposed captors. He also said he loves me and I believed him.I barely slept last night because I feel so guilty about allowing him to leave without showing myself. And my doubts about Maelor’s true nature have resurfaced with a vengeance. Arista showing up was bad enough, but the way he lied to Soren, without a flicker of guilt to be observed, stirred up all of my misgivings again.I still don’t want to talk to Soren, but I’m not a child and running back inside and hiding under the bed isn’t an option. Sadly.“Fine Soren, you’ve found me. Come out and we’ll talk,” I call out, sure he’s close enough to hear me. I’m hoping Maelor will sleep through the noise. H
Arlo She never stops amazing me. I know she has to be frightened of going back to the area where the cabal practices their evil magic. None of us knows what to expect and she told me all about the sense of dread she felt when she and Kestrel stumbled across the place.Yet she never wavers. Her steps are strong and sure, hurrying toward the danger to face it head-on. Not that I’ve had a moment’s doubt, but she keeps proving every day, in every way, what an incredible Luna she’s going to be.“We’re very close now. I really hope we’ll be able to save the women,” Hilda says quietly, so only I can hear her. I share that wish, but I doubt it’ll come to pass. Why would they have needed so many women if the previous ones weren’t dead? Women I brought to them, probably kicking and screaming. I still have no memory of it.“Stop it,” Hilda whispers fiercely. “Even your warriors believe in your innocence. I know I’m biased. I love you and I’m addicted to your incredible body,” she adds with a sl
Arlo“Find her!” I roar, rushing forward blindly, not even feeling the impact as I bounce off the trees. I can’t smell her, I can’t feel her and the cold, quiet desolation I suffer in the absence of her bright warmth is making me crazy. It’s impossible to stop and think. I have to keep moving. I have to find her.I’m not going back without her. We don’t know what they use the women they take for, but I know none of them have ever come back. Without Hilda I have no life. Nothing has any meaning. I can’t lose her.“Arlo, slow down,” Percy says quietly, his voice heavy with heartache. “We’re not going to make any headway like this. Put your hand on my shoulder and follow me. We’re pushing on, getting past their damn barrier, no matter what they throw at us. I also love her. We all do, in our hearts she’s already our Luna, but you know she’s my friend as well and I’m determined to find her.”Under different circumstances his words would have sent my spirits soaring. To know my most truste
CereliaThere’s so much for me to process. Soren didn’t cheat on me of his own free will. Maelor’s misdirection won’t work on me. The fact that he couldn’t fight off the spell he was under has nothing to do with how much he loves me. It was put directly on him, while passed to Hilda secondhand when she touched the book.“I intend to be the greatest mage that ever lived, Maelor,” I tell him with a confidence I don’t really feel. “But not as your puppet. I will be a force for good, not evil. I will stand against you, not by your side.”Maelor laughs derisively, before sneering at me, “You have potential Cerelia, not power. Without anyone to unlock it, you will remain a stunted little tree. You can perform parlor tricks and basic spells, nothing that could harm me. Join us or die, the choice is yours.”Soren changes in the blink of an eye, leaping for Maelor’s throat with his jaws stretched wide. I don’t waste the opening he gives me, sprinting around Maelor in an effort to get to Soren’
TaraThe tea is barely warm, but I don’t care. It’s quiet in the cottage, and Ash is here, lounging on the couch like he owns the place, one long leg stretched out, the other bent so his arm can rest on his knee. He’s watching me sip my tea like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world.And he keeps leaning closer. I give him a mock glare. “Ash.” He brushes his nose against my cheek, kissing the corner of my mouth. “What?”“You know what.” His grin is wicked. “I’m just admiring you,” he protests, his innocent tone completely at odds with the glint in his eyes. “I swear, if you kiss me again, we won’t make it back to the party-”He kisses me again and I lose myself in him for several minutes before gathering the strength of will to pull back.“Ash,” I laugh, pushing lightly at his shoulder. “I’m serious! Hilda will drag us out of here naked if she has to. And I will never recover.”“Neither will she,” he mutters. “Which is why I’m being very responsible right now.” I snort. “Your d
AshAfter two days in Tara’s bed, I honestly wasn’t sure my legs still worked. They do, but just barely.We’ve both managed to stumble out into the daylight today, blinking and dazed like creatures dragged from some romantic fairy tale.Sore, hungry, and maybe a little too pleased with ourselves. Tara’s gone off to help Cerelia with decorations, and I’ve been assigned the incredibly noble task of carrying boxes of cider to the main clearing where Hilda’s preparing to throw what I’ve been assured will be a “respectably rowdy” victory celebration.The werewolves are happy. Relaxed. They laugh louder. Touch more freely – which is saying a lot. The tension that used to hum just beneath the surface is gone for now.They survived. And they’re still free to live as they choose. The human world blissfully unaware of their existence.I’m halfway through hauling the second crate of bottles when I hear the unmistakable patter of quick little footsteps, followed by an even quicker voice.“There y
TaraI’ve never felt anything like this.Not just the physical sensation of Ash’s hands and mouth on my skin, though even that alone would be enough to steal my breath. It’s the bond. The raw, unfiltered tether between us. Every touch he gives me, I feel twice. My own response and his.His hunger. His awe. His aching, consuming need. It rushes through me like fire laced with starlight.Every pass of his lips over my skin, every brush of his fingers, echoes back into my body in waves, dizzying and electric. I arch beneath him with a soft cry, overwhelmed, and he moans into my throat like he feels it too.Because he does. I glance up at him, his hair falling loose around his face, his pupils blown wide with desire, and my heart stutters.“Ash,” I whisper. “It’s too much. I feel everything you do-”“I know,” he murmurs, voice wrecked. “Gods, Tara, I know. It’s driving me mad and I don’t want it to stop.”He kisses down my stomach, his hands holding my thighs open like I’m something sacre
AshFor a long, breathless moment, I can’t move. Tara’s lips are soft and warm against mine, trembling just slightly, like she’s not sure I’ll kiss her back.But I do. Gods, I do. My arms fold around her instinctively, drawing her closer, and everything else, everything dark and twisted and sharp, fades into nothing.The world narrows to her body pressed against mine. Her mouth, open and trusting. Her hands fisting gently into the front of my shirt.I kiss her slowly, reverently, afraid to shatter the fragile magic threading between us. Her lips taste like honey and forever. Like everything I’ve ever wanted and never dared to ask for. Every time I move to pull away, she tilts her face to follow me, like she can’t bear to stop.And gods, I think I might break.When we finally come up for air, we’re both breathless. She gazes up at me, cheeks flushed, eyes luminous in the low lamplight. “Close the door,” she whispers. “Come to bed with me.”My heart does something strange in my chest. L
TaraCerelia can barely keep her eyes open as Ash and I help her up the path toward her and Soren’s cabin.Her steps are slow and dragging, her head lolling against Ash’s shoulder more than once, but she’s still stubbornly mumbling that she’s fine even as she stumbles.I tighten my grip under her arm. “You're not fine. You're spent. Let us carry you.” Cerelia slow blinks at me, before shaking her head. “I’ll walk.” Clearly Hilda’s rubbed off on her.Ash says nothing, but his jaw is tight, and I can feel the way he braces her against him more firmly, almost carrying her by the time we reach the porch, but leaving her the illusion that her feet are nearly touching the ground.Soren comes sprinting over, “There you are! I ran over to look for you once we were sure the humans left our land, but you were gone!” He’s already scooping her up in his arms like she weighs nothing at all. She doesn’t complain this time, sighing happily as she turns her head into his chest.“You’re amazing,” he m
HildaCerelia is swaying on her feet, pale and drained, but when I step closer, she straightens with visible effort. I hesitate for a heartbeat. She’s already given more than enough today. She shouldn’t have to give more.I can’t ask her to restore Malcolm’s memories just so I can have my revenge. “Thank you for everything. You should go and rest,” I tell her.She looks back at me, exhausted but clear-eyed, a half-smile on her lips as she informs me, “He remembers everything.”I exhale slowly, tension bleeding out of me, hugging her for giving me this gift. I need him to remember. I need him to know why he’s being punished.I double check Malcolm for weapons. I’m not taking any chances with him. Even armed, I know I can take him, but I don’t want any interruptions or unnecessary struggles. He’s taken up too much of our time already.I grab a single leash from the pile the warriors dropped earlier and snap it to the heavy collar locked around his throat. “I’ll see you back at the pack
AshThe moment Cerelia finishes weaving the last of the spell, I feel the tension ease from the air.The humans stand frozen, still blank-faced and motionless, but something subtle has shifted in the atmosphere around them. Like a storm passing just overhead without breaking.Hilda rises from where she’s crouched by a line of confiscated weapons, brushing her hands clean against her pants. She strides toward Tara and me, her expression grim but steady.“It’s your call,” she says, her voice pitched low enough that only we can hear. “You have to decide whether Redgrave goes back to the city or if we deal with her here.”Tara turns to me immediately, her blue eyes fierce and sure. “Ash, it’s only fair that you get to choose,” she says. “I’ll stand by whatever you decide. You’re the one who suffered the most because of her.”For a moment, the world feels very small. Like the two of us are the only ones in existence. And the truth has been laid bare between us.And gods, the relief that po
CereliaI hear them long before I see them. The scuff of heavy boots against the forest floor. The low murmur of voices trying to stay quiet but too weighted with nerves and suspicion to succeed. Labored breathing and faint curses.Clearly the humans haven’t taken a moment to consider how sharp a wolf’s hearing is. Never thought their whispered orders and rattling weapons would be beacons in a forest whose sounds we know like they’re our own breaths.I tighten my focus, steadying the pulse of the spell waiting in my hands. It’s nearly time and I’m so ready for this to be over.All around me, the warriors stay perfectly still, crouched low among the shrubs and trees. No one moves a single muscle. They breathe so quietly that even I can’t hear them. It’s like the entire forest has conspired to hide us, holding its’ breath for what’s about to happen.They’re very close know. Hearing the rattle of Tara’s chains makes my jaw clench. Every soft clink is a reminder of why we’re doing this. W
CereliaI sit cross-legged within the circle of runes, hidden beneath a dense screen of shrubs and low-hanging branches. Around me, warriors melt into the landscape, nearly invisible even to my trained eyes. The humans will never spot us unless we want them to.At least, that’s the hope. They may have gadgets we’re not familiar with. I have to make sure my magic is faster than anything they have to offer.I roll the smooth amber stone between my palms, centering myself. The amplification spell thrums around me, delicate but vast, like a spider web stretched to its limit. It’s ready. I’m ready. Now we just have to wait.Hilda crouches beside me, watching the distant path through the trees where our enemies will appear. Her face is set in that calm, slightly amused expression she wears when she’s holding a dozen different plans in her head at once.Scarlett can be rightfully proud to have this fierce woman as her mother, I think to myself.Hilda’s head cocks to the side before she le