“He tried to trap your mother and you as sex slaves?” Rowan’s voice was dark.I just nodded. “My mother would never have touched another wolf if it was an option. It was the threat of me becoming a slave that pushed her to marry Morgan, and how he kept her under his thumb the entire time.”“She did it to keep you safe,” Wendy whispered and I could see a single tear slip down her cheek.“She is a good mom.” I nodded. “But that isn’t why I brought it up.” I looked at Toya. “I brought this up because I want you to see the men we have to face. The kind of men we will have to fight.”“Fight?” Hanna tugged at her hair. I looked at Rowan, and he cleared his throat. “How many of you know about the attacks from when you were babies? The ones that killed my father?” Everyone around the room nodded. “We all do.” Toya answered. “My father taught me as a part of my training.”Rowan nodded. “There are a few of us, the newer Alpha’s like Amy’s father, that believed that the attacks were a lot less
“War?” Everyone froze. Rowan’s hand tightened at my waist and I wanted to shiver, but I nodded. “War.” “How do you know?” Toya leaned closer. Everyone had finally settled in and forgotten that the king of our kind was sitting next to me. “Has the goddess ever spoke to you?” I looked at her. “The goddess? Like the moon goddess?” Micca nearly fell from her seat, but I just nodded.“Some of us are blessed to communicate with our goddess. Some get feelings, guided by her hand. Shamans get visions.” Rowan looked at me, and I could see the question in his eyes. But I knew it wasn’t time. I shook my head slightly, and he refocused on Toya. “Some others are gifted from the goddess herself. Lycans, when they come of age, are visited by the goddess.”“Visited how?” Wendy was almost enthralled.“When my father died, and I inherited the throne, and when I came of age, the Goddess visited me in my dreams.”“How do you know it wasn’t just a dream?” Hanna asked.I could feel my forehead burn and
“On goddess. What happened?” Wendy covered her mouth. I closed my eyes, remembering the scene. “He dropped to his knees, and howled. It was the most heartbreaking noise I have ever heard. Then in seconds, his eyes changed from the crystal green they were to blood red. His face half shifted, and with the last remaining shred of humanity he had, instead of attacking us, he took off into the forest.”“He went rabid that quickly?” Micca’s mouth dropped open.“It isn’t a slow process.” Rowan clasped his hands and leaned on his knees. “It’s like the human soul is ripped from the wolves. Leaving the beast alone with the pain and having no way to work through it.” I nodded. “There has been only one rabid wolf in history that has come back from it.” I remembered my father told me the story of the wolf after I watched the man go rabid. “It was a she-wolf that had been betrayed by her mate. He killed their pup because it was a girl and he wanted a boy. She went rabid and stayed in the wild for
I was frozen in my spot when he pulled away. My eyes snapped open and I could see his self-assured smile as he turned away with his meal. If I could die right this second, I would. Well, well, well. Nix’s voice was amused. I thought you said you weren’t interested in him?Amy, are you okay? Megan’s soft question caught me off guard.Why wouldn’t she be? Nix was just as confused as I was.Megan came closer and started to rub her side against the wall in my mind. Because… She started. She didn’t want to like Rowan because of us. We are waiting for your mate, Nix. You, yourself, are interested in Erubus. Falling for a man, specifically our king, would be hard. Knowing he will be selecting a queen, or finding his mate, is even worse. Megan paused. No matter what happens, Rowan isn’t for her and she knows it. Nix was quiet. I didn’t think of that. I felt her following Megan, pressing herself against the wall. If Rowan is who you want, I would give his wolf a shot. He is the king, so he
I looked up, surprised when I found everyone’s eyes on me. “Sorry, my mom is heading this way.”Toya stood and collected all the garbage and brought it into the kitchen. “Let’s go ladies.” Toya called as she dumped everything in to the trash.“What?” Wendy called out as she stood.Toya stepped out of the kitchen and looked back at me. “I don’t know how long we have, but Amy is about to have a very hysterical woman who lost her mate in her hands.” Toya gave a soft smile. “She gets to explain to her devastated mother that her dad is still alive and then she is going to have a very livid luna on her hands.” “Oh fuck.” Hanna jumped up. “No offense Amy, I don’t have the ability to deal with a distraught luna that might rampage at any moment.”I just nodded. “Yeah. It won’t be pretty.” I stood and smiled. “Honestly, it’s fine. We can work out all the details tomorrow about training and figure out a time that works for everyone.” I looked around as everyone stood. “Can you all meet me in th
The knock on the door has the two of us jumping apart. I stared up at him with wide eyes. What the fuck was that? Was he toying with me now? I shook my head to clear the muddled thoughts racing through my mind. I needed to take a few steps back, but the counter was behind me. I wanted to push him away, but I knew if I touched him, I would fall apart. I would jump into his arms and I would allow him to walk over my heart like I did with Brandon.He isn’t him. Megan’s soft voice countered my inner thoughts. He is nice, and just, and-And not mine. I stopped her. If I allow myself to think about him in any other way, I think I will shatter this time. He might not be Brandon, but I never really liked him as a person. I loved him as my mate because we were destined to be together. As the moon goddess intended, but I never viewed him as a friend, a partner. Someone I could grow with. I felt the burn of tears. I can see that with Rowan. Then why not? Nix’s voice was softer than I had ever h
Her sobs were ragged, but it was the screams that broke me. We crumpled to the floor as she screamed her pain, and all I could do was hold her and allow her to release it. She wouldn’t listen to me until she did. It wasn’t until I heard the door shut that I realized Rowan had left.I grabbed her around her shoulders, and under her legs and I picked her up. I carried her to my bedroom and laid her on my bed. And then I did the only thing I could. I pulled the phone out of the lockbox and I dialed my father. It was late, but I could only hope he would answer. I slid in behind my mother and I waited for the ringing to stop. I closed my eyes in defeat when the call went unanswered and his voice played in my ear. “Hi, you have reached Alpha Gavin Maclean. I’m currently busy, but I will get back to you.” My mothers screamed again as she heard my father’s voice. “He’s gone.” Her scream shook the sliding glass door. I hung up the phone and called back. “I told you he was gone, baby.” She g
I woke with a jolt. My mother was standing over me with slightly swollen eyes. “Baby?” I wiped my eyes.“Mom, is everything okay?” I grabbed for my phone on the table. It was six in the morning and I wanted to cry. I finally crawled under the covers at almost midnight, and I loved sleep. “It’s morning. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’m heading out.” I sat up and rubbed my eyes again. “Are you sure?” I grabbed for her and pulled her down by my legs. “How are you doing?”“I’m okay, baby.” She leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I shouldn’t have come here.” She ran her hands down my hair. “Of course you can come here, mom. Any place I am you can come. Anytime.” I reached for her other hand. “I will never be too old to not need my mother.” I smiled at her. But she shook her head. “No, baby.” She closed her eyes and looked over my shoulder. She was thinking about something. “I was selfish.”“What do you mean?” I felt her hands convulse in mine. “If, goddess forbid, your father was ac
I walked out of the office with an exhausted grin on my face.“Did you do it?” Alannah stood at her desk with a grin on her face. “I did. Got it just as the counter was counting down.” Alannah jumped as the door swung open and Vince walked in. “Amy!” He yelled as soon as he walked in. Alannah swung around me as naturally as she could. “Yes Alpha Vibce. What can I do for you?” Alannah stepped into Rick’s office, creating more space between them. Vince looked at her retreating, but I turned away from him and grabbed my purse from my hook, pulling his attention back to me. “You can’t call off the mating ceremony.” His face was smiling, but I saw the glint in his eye. He sounded like he was begging, but he meant it as an order. “Brandon loves you.”I nodded. “And I love him, but I love him enough to respect him and his reputation.”Vince furrowed his brow. “What do you mean by that?”I sighed as I stepped out of my office, pulling my door shut. “Alpha Vince, I know rumors don’t get ba
I covered my face with my hands. He doesn’t want me. My wolves laid down and I knew they were sad. We know how you feel about Rowan. How you feel about Thoth if you are ever going to admit it? We already told you we won’t interfere, but Erubus just snuck up on us. Megan huffed out a breath as she flopped over. Nix nodded. We thought we were just getting past the anger and the hurt that the two of them caused us. So that we could all learn to work together. And we did. Nix sighed as she laid her head down on her paws. Okay. I can understand that. I sat back. But what happened?He was…just himself. No interruption. No human getting in the way with his emotions. Rowan talks himself out of a lot. Nix shook her head. He takes a lot onto himself, more than needed. He thinks that his mate will make or break the realm. Nix sighed. I feel bad for the weight he forces on himself. He must be exhausted all the time. Megan nodded. He never pushed us, never made me feel excluded or uncomfortabl
I started in on the first firewall, which I breeched with no issue. But the second firewall blared the alarm. “Amy!” I sighed. “Got it.” I fixed my breech and tried again. And again. And again. I wanted to bang my head off the screen by mid day. I groaned in frustration when I heard Alannah call out again. “Amy.” “Seriously?” I slammed my keyboard in anger. I had made it halfway to the mainframe undetected, but I was stuck around the ninth firewall. I stood up and started to pace.Alannah came to the door. “Why don’t you take lunch? Take thirty minutes to regroup and then come back and attack. You will still have three hours to get rid of the virus once you settle.” She smiled and handed me the menu. “Maybe your hangry.”I huffed out a breath and then nodded. “You are probably right.” I sighed and dropped back into my chair. I looked over the menu and decided I needed meat. A lot of meat.Is everything okay? I called back to my wolves.Nix looked at me with wide eyes. I think we a
I watched his face go through a barrage of emotions and settled on anger. “Neither the pack nor Shannon can tell me who I can or can’t mate with.” He grabbed my face. “I want you, Amy.” He kissed me again and I had to hold myself back from puking. I couldn’t hold in the shudder, which made Brandon smile. He thought it was from need and not utter disgust. “You will be my mate. Promise me you will give me time to fix it.”I looked off to the side. “You have less than two weeks.” I turned back. “If Shannon hasn’t retracted everything…if she hasn’t stepped back, then she can take my place. I won’t be second place in my bond.” I slid out from in front of him and walked to the door. “Until then, I don’t want to be put in a situation where I would be considered the other woman.”Brandon watched me from behind y desk before he finally nodded and then walked back towards me at the door. “I respect that.” He leaned over and kissed me again. “I’ll handle it. Give me some time.”I just nodded and
I sat back, watching the grey curser flashing on the screen. I needed to answer him, but I was still a little lost on how to approach him. It’s still weird knowing that Thoth is a man. When my dad introduced us, it was just vague information. Thoth will help you. No gender. No name other than user name. I asked over and over, but he stayed quiet. We talked about computers at first. But then our conversations grew deeper. He asked about my day, complained about his own. It wasn’t until I joked with him about telling Brandon that he was a human female that he finally cracked and told me he was a man. Another alpha my father was friends with. One he had grown close to from overseas. I shook my head to clear it. Whatever feelings I did or didn’t have for Thoth would have to wait. I wouldn’t approach any relationship until everything had been handled.NixtheGoddess: Hey. I’m alive. Vince had captured me for a few days, but I got out. I’m at work. I have a full day, but I will do a full d
Humans fall in love… The words bounced around in my head. There was no fucking way. I turned to look at my wolves, who were sitting comfortably. There is no gods damn way.Nix snorted as she looked at Megan. She’s really trying to convince us…when we share her fucking soul and already know the truth. Megan shrugged. I wasn’t going to point it out to her. She ran to her computer every night for months, talking to the man. If she wanted to be stupid, that was her prerogative. They both looked at me and I staggered back. YOU KNEW!Both shrugged. Look. Nix stepped closer and ran her side down the barrier. After Brandon. I wasn’t going to agree to any mate. But then you met Rowan.And while we both liked him. Megan pressed against the barrier, sending love. There were too many things holding you both back. Including us. What are you guys even talking about?Nix sighed. She pulled back and looked at her paws. I knew you loved Rowan. We both did. And before we realized Erubus was Rowan,
I sighed before I pulled up our chat screen. The dark screen was full of messages that I had missed.Thoth: Hey. You missed our chat last night. We were going to work on getting into the mainframe. Is everything okay?Thoth: Amy? Hey. It’s been hours. I’m starting to worry.Thoth: Amy? I called your dad. He said he hasn’t been able to get in touch with you, and he’s even starting to worry. Is everything okay? We are starting to panic.Thoth: Okay, listen, I know you are probably busy. Especially with the kids. I know you said that the king was in the past, but maybe you should reach out to Rowan about the kids. Maybe he can help.Thoth: Hey it’s been another day. Are you okay? I fully expect you to message me back today. I called you but you didn’t answer.Thoth: I just realized it might be weird that I called you…I got your number from your dad. I figured since we are friends, you wouldn’t care. Thoth: Okay, don’t be weird about me calling you.Thoth: I’m panicking.I laughed at tha
I walked into the office early the next morning. I was exhausted still, but I had things to do. Alannah stood with a shout. “Amy! You’re back.” She ran over and hugged me. “I was so worried when I hadn’t heard anything from you.”“I just spent some time with my mom on an island off the coast. Cell service was bad.” I sniffed her. “You smell good.” I pulled back, patting her back. “I like the perfume, what is it?”She looked a little confused for a moment. “It’s vanilla.”I smiled. “It smells great, but I can tell it’s wearing off. You might want to add a little, so it lasts all day.” I winked at her as understand entered her eyes. “Good idea. I’ve been running around all morning, so I was really sweaty.” She turned around and went to her desk, pulling the bottle from her purse and spraying herself. She turned to me expectantly. “How’s that?” “Perfect.” I looked around. “Is Rick in?”She shook her head. “He left early yesterday after his meeting with the alpha. I think we weren’t fee
I opened myself up as I sat down and sent out a call. “Sorry it took so long.” I sighed as I sat down next to her. “You were busy.” Carl’s voice was sad, and as I looked over, both he and my grandmother looked worried. “But you are here now.”“I didn’t expect both of you.” I sighed.“Daddy.” Carly called as she jumped up, but I grabbed her. “He’s not really here, baby, remember? You can’t touch him.” She trembled and then she sat back down. They settled across from us with the grave between us. “I forgot.” She looked at him. “I miss you, daddy.”“And I miss you too, baby.” He leaned over, then need to touch his daughter too much. “I heard every time you prayed to me.” His eyes softened. “And I want you to know, baby. That if you want to call Amy mom, or if at any time Amy gets a mate and you want to call him dad, your mother and I won’t mind. We will always be your mommy and daddy.” The tears in his eyes were full of love.Carly looked at me and I smiled down at her. “You don’t hav