ELLA The sound of snow crunching outside of the shed catches my attention. Quietly I move one of the tables up against the shed doors and I slip back into the darkness. Someone pushes against the doors of the shed with a grunt and the table inches away from the door slightly. Backing up farther, my back hits one of the tables and I instinctively duck under and pull the sheet down over the top. I hear the table scratch against the floor once more and I hold my breath, trying not to make any noise. A sudden gust of wind circles the shed, ripping it apart piece by piece. The witches have found me, and I am defenseless. Gripping onto one of the legs of the table that I am under, I try to keep it anchored to the ground with my weight. The circling wind becomes stronger with each pass that it makes. The table that I am hiding under is rocking above me and my grip is becoming loose. The wind stops circling, and everything comes crashing to the ground around me. Raising m
ELLA The sweet smell of honeysuckle fills my senses and I groan deeply before I open my eyes. “This place smells like my Dark God,” I moan as I try to turn over and burry my head in the pillow beside me, but something pulls against my arm. I snap to reality and my eyes fly open to see a pair of odd eyes filled with amusement looking down at me. I try to cover my head with the dark red comforter that is covering me, but my body is struggling to move. “Dark God huh?” Erebus looks at me in amusement as he leans back against his pillow. Once again I try to sit up, but my body is fighting against me. “What happened?” I whimper, choosing to ignore the fact that he heard my nickname for him. “Where am I?” “You picked a fight with an air witch,” Erebus laughs. Panic rushes through me and I jerk upright in the bed. My head begins pounding in pain but there is no time for pain right now. Looking around the darkened room everything is decorated with dark wood and deep reds. The ro
ELLA The feeling of circles being traced up and down back lures me out of my sleep. My eyes flutter open and I see nothing but smooth skin under my cheeks. My fingers spread across his smooth skin and the tingle of the mate bond create a subtle warmth between us. For just this moment I want to pretend like none of this is complicated. I want to pretend like this is a normal relationship. I am not a disappointment to my family, and he isn’t a King. Erebus’s hand snakes under the back of my oversized t-shirt and his smooth hands caress the small of my back. A little squeal lives my lips as he picks me up and lays me flat across his body. My legs instinctively spread so I am straddling his hips. He holds my hips firmly in his grasp and I can feel his erection brushing up against my core. Even through my panties and his sweats I can still feel how much he wants me. Teasingly, I wiggle my hips playfully back and forth against his hard length. A low, sexy growl leaves his lips
EREBUS Pulling Ella to her feet she tries to cover herself the best she can, and I cannot help but laugh at her attempt at modesty. Suddenly she pulls back on my arm and plops herself back down on the bed. Turning to look at her I see a deep frown etched across her face. I cannot help but roll my eyes at how hot and cold her emotions are. “What?” I groan. “I forgot,” she says as she crosses her arms across her full breasts. “I am angry with you.” “For what now?” I say completely exasperated with her mood swings. Pursing her full lips she glares at me. Her emerald eyes are glowing with anger. “Oh, I don’t know,” she says sarcastically. “Perhaps because you betrayed the mate bond.” I cannot help but cringe at her words. I had thought that the runes tattooed on her arms and back had kept her from feeling my betrayal but when I felt her own betrayal I knew that I was wrong. Wait a minute, I felt her betrayal. “Fine,” I say coolly. “If we are talking about betrayals i
UNKNOWN I am standing in the center of the spell circle with my hands bonded together by a spell. “Lilith, you have been brought back before council of the Sisters of Wisdom because for the second time you have managed to let the child slip through your fingers.” The elderly witch that stands before me stares down at me with an icy cold glare. It is clear that she hates me and is willing to do anything to rid the coven of my return. “The child was within my grasps, but she is now under the protection of the Lycan King. I am not powerful enough to take him on alone. If you would only restore my full powers I am sure that I could procure the child immediately.” I stare straight ahead at the council not looking at one of them individually. I keep my head high and my shoulders back not willing to beg. The high witch scoffs at my request. “Absolutely not. You owe this coven a life debt after we rescued you from the underworld. Your limited abilities will be enough to obtain
ELLA “Who is she and why is she here?” I hear a woman’s voice travel down the hallway and through my door.“Who she is, is none of your concern,” Erebus chastises her in a low voice. “She will be staying indefinitely.” “None of my concern,” the woman gasps and I cannot help but lean my ear up against the door to hear more of the conversation. “I am the Queen.” “She sounds extremely unpleasant,” Lily mutters in my brain and I shush her quickly. “You are the Queen Mother, the former Queen.” Erebus replies grumpily to his mother. “Then you won’t mind if I meet her,” the woman says cheerfully, and I hear footsteps coming closer to my bedroom door. Quickly I scramble away from the door and back myself up against the bed. Without warning the lock on my door clicks and it swings wide open. A woman worthy of the title of a supermodel is standing in the doorway glaring at me. Her honey blonde hair is pulled back into a neat bun and her piercing blue eyes look at me from hea
EREBUS My hand hovers over Ella’s doorknob as I listen to the hushed voices coming from inside her room. The thought of Lucian being alone with her makes my skin crawl and I want to go in there and rip them apart. But the sound of her voice stops me. She is opening up to him in a way that she never has with me. Both jealously and curiosity surge through my body. My inner lycan is trying to reason with me. Telling me to walk away and let her have this moment with my brother. But my mind is telling me that I need to know her secrets. “I am ordinary…” Her voice travels meekly through the door. “Nothing more than a disappointment.” “Ordinary?” I whisper to myself. “What does she mean by ordinary?” Stepping away from the door I am lost in my own thoughts when Lucian steps out of her room and gently closes the door behind him. “What does she mean by ordinary?” I repeat the question to my brother. “Nope,” Lucian says shortly. “Not my story to tell and you shouldn’t be eaves
ELLA I have spent the past two days writhing on the floor in agony. One minute it feels as if my skin is on fire and am willing to sleep with anyone that steps into my bedroom. The next minute I am freezing cold. There is no reprieve from this hell that I am in. I thought nothing could be worse than having runes marked on my body, but I was wrong. The burning sensation of the runes tickles compared to the burning pain of my heat. My mother has called several times to talk me through the pain but it never ends well. In the beginning I tried to hold a conversation, but the pain of the heat is too much, and I can’t finish the call. Now I just let it ring until she eventually hangs up. I know Erebus is pacing back and forth outside of my room because the scent of honeysuckle drifts into my room whenever they drop off meals. By ‘they’ I mean only mated males or females that work in the mansion. Only those that Erebus knows can be trusted around me in my current condition. A