LOGIN
Athena
I tugged at my collar, my head dizzy, everything around me tilted sideways, the heat was growing, which was practically speaking impossible within these four words.
“Greetings Your highness” a voice greeted and sauntered off, I could barely make out who it was, my senses were getting duller, I stumbled on something and felt myself next to a wall, my body got stuck to it, relaxing for barely a minute on the coolness before that uncomfortable feeling came back.
I resumed my journey, I had to get to my room, at least while I still had my senses intact.
I dragged my feet across the long halls, different scents wafted through my nose all at once, booze, sweat, lilacs, honey, cheese, what the hell was going on.
The first layer of my cloth fell off, I felt better, I caught a door by the corner of my eyes, enter first, consequences later.
The door clicked immediately I stumbled in, the noise drowned out, gone - an effect of these walls.
I dragged my feet to what looked like an impossibly comfortable bed. I could barely make it out, but the figure looked like one at least. I fell on it, seeking some sort of reprieve.
But that uncomfortable feeling was there, my nipples strained against the thin layers of fabric, the clothes stuck to my body like glue, I drew hard against it, trying to get it off my skin, but it was especially tight, Sara made sure of that.
A whimper slipped past my lips, my head felt like something was clawing at it, my skin got hotter, I rolled on each sides of the bed, hoping for comfort but it felt particularly impossible, my hand made contact with my breast through the corset barely able to cover it, a strained groan left my lips.
My boots had flown off in a different direction, with the possibility of touching myself gone, I settled for rubbing my now tender skin across the pillows, the edge of the bed, anything that could offer friction.
I was beyond gone, tears streamed down my eyes, my hair felt like nails on my scalp.
The door creaked open, then footsteps before it stopped, the hairs on my arm stood, I could feel eyes on me, watching. I could barely make out what was right not to talk of shame at the possibly obscene setting.
“Who are you?” a deep voice that sent shivers to my skin asked,
I shot up from the bed only to bump into a hard skin, the contact sent electricity and sparks down my spine, I couldn't sense it well, but I could feel it. “Mate” the words were barely a whisper, more like a prayer
Hot breath fanned down on my skin, honey, musk, cedar, all clouded my nose. My hands were on him before I thought about it, a grunt slipped past his lips.
“Please,” I whimpered
“What did you do to me?” He remained unmoving, his breath hitched, his heart raced, the closeness only increased the burning sensation I felt. My body was on fire now, if I thought tears were spilling through my eyes, these ones burned.
I pulled on the two piece, tugging with as much strength that I could gather, the body beside me didn’t seem to be in a far better position, his breath was rapid like he was trying hard to restrain himself.
He took a step back, I winced from the loss, following through instantly, he dodged, my body met the cold air, where his scent lingered, a hand caught me just before my nose kissed the tile, I strained against the hand, a lewd sound escaping my lips.
He stiffened, using that opportunity I pounced on him we both fell with me straddling him, that did the trick. Lips smashed into mine, hot and fervent.
I struggled to keep up, sinking deeper into him, the corset was gone in a matter of seconds, flung somewhere like paper, I fumbled through his belt, helping him loosen up
All this we tried to do while our lips were still connected, every rational thought, training about consequences, morals, all of it flew past the window. I was lost in the feeling of getting comfort and healing from the strains of my body.
The rest of the night was a mixture of grunts and groans, bodies joining as one, lewd sounds, loud moans, sweats mixed with cum all night long, I felt him knot me through the fog, “No” I resisted weakly.
Everything else was a blur and by the time I lost myself to the darkness my body hummed with satisfaction.
Morning lights tried to pull me out of the darkness, a groan escaped my lips I turned, seeking comfort, something hard pressed down on me restricting my movement
“What the fuck,” I grunted, its way too early for all thus, something pulled me up, I felt my body fall against something warm and hard.
I moaned from the feeling, when did Mr cuddles get so comfortable? I snuggled deeper into it, wait, my brain did a 360, since when could Mr cuddles breath?
I forced my eyes to blink open, but it squinted shot instantly, a blinding headache hit “What the hell,”
“Stop squirming” a deep voice groaned
My head tinged, my eyes shot open, ignoring the hammering in my head, I was met with the most beautiful pair of silver eyes I had ever seen.
I tumbled backwards putting a considerable distance between us, he leaned backwards, brows raised, lips slightly curled
“Who are you?”
RowanShe was nineteen weeks when I felt it.I'd been warned. Lake had read four books on the subject and delivered a summary nobody asked for, the medical woman had described it as a flutter, a bubble, a tiny fish turning over. None of it prepared me for lying in the dark with my hand on Athena's stomach and something knocking back.I stopped breathing."Did you," I said."Yes." Her voice was soft and kind of wondering. "That's the third one tonight. She's showing off.""She?""I don't know. Amara says she." Athena shifted onto her side so my palm stayed where it was. "Amara also said the baby told her.""The baby told her.""Through the wall of my stomach. Apparently she's very chatty."I laughed, and the knock came again, right under my fingers, as if it had heard. Something in my chest went loose and strange. Six years ago I wasn't there for any of it. I didn't feel Amara turn over for the first time, I didn't know there was a Amara. I'd lain awake in a palace three days' drive aw
AthenaThe sickness hit at eleven weeks and it hit like a door.I'd forgotten. That's the stupid part. Five years of telling myself I remembered every detail of Amara, and I'd somehow filed away the nausea as a minor inconvenience instead of what it actually was, which was a personal vendetta carried out by my own body.I threw up in the shop sink on a Wednesday morning with a client waiting. Marco from the old human quarter, of all people, who had come to Valeria for a visit and decided I owed him a touch up. He stood there holding a paper towel, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else."You okay?" he said."Great," I said into the basin. "Wonderful. Give me a minute.""Should I get someone?""Please don't."He got someone. Of course he did. Within four minutes Rowan was in the shop doorway, slightly out of breath, pretending he'd just happened to be passing by on the other side of the palace."I'm fine," I said."You're green.""It's my natural glow."He crossed the room, took th
RowanThe first assessment day was a Tuesday, and Bren was early.I found him at the training yard gate at seven with a boy beside him, eleven, thin, all elbows and knees, wearing clothes that were clearly his best. The kid held himself like someone who'd been told to behave and was trying so hard it made his shoulders shake."Alpha," Bren said, stiff."Bren." I looked at the boy. "Who's this?""Tobi." The boy said it before Bren could. His voice cracked on it. "I'm Tobi.""Good name." I held out my hand and he shook it like a very small, very serious diplomat. "Luna's inside. She's been here since five.""Since five?" Bren said."She doesn't sleep much lately."That was true, though I left out why. We hadn't made the pregnancy public beyond the council and the palace, and I wasn't about to give Bren more to chew on than his nephew.Inside, Athena had turned the east training hall into something that didn't look like a pack hall at all. No ranks painted on the floor, no shift-line mar
AthenaI told my father on a Sunday, over the phone, with Amara sitting on my feet.I'd rehearsed it. Three different openings, one funny, one careful, one that was basically just the word pregnant said very fast. In the end I said "Father, I need you to sit down" and heard him go still on the other end."Is it Amara?""No. No, she's fine, she's right here eating my sock.""I'm not eating it," Amara said. "I'm chewing it a little.""Athena.""I'm pregnant." It came out smaller than I meant it to.Nothing. Not a breath. For maybe five seconds I thought the line had dropped, and then I heard a sound I'd never heard from my father in twenty eight years. It was wet and cracked in the middle, like something he'd kept shut for a very long time had finally been pried open."Father?""I'm here." His voice was thick. "I'm here, angel. Give me a moment."I gave him several. Amara looked up at me with her whole face scrunched, mouthing is grandfather sad, and I shook my head and mouthed no, and
RowanI stood behind her chair and kept my hands to myself.That was the whole job. She had asked for it exactly that way, behind, not beside, and I understood why. If I stood next to her, the council would see a Luna with an Alpha holding her up. If I stood behind, they would see a Luna with a kingdom at her back. Small difference. Wolves read small differences for a living.The chamber was full. Cain at the head of the long table, Marsh with his hands folded, Bren three seats down looking like he'd already decided to dislike whatever came out of her mouth. Lake by the door pretending to be furniture.Athena had the good notebook open in front of her. She hadn't looked at it once."I'm going to tell you something first," she said. "Then I'll tell you what I want."Nobody moved."I grew up in Silverthorne being called a curse. Not by everyone. By enough." Her voice was flat, steady. "I had no wolf. I couldn't shift. I couldn't run with the pack, and I was told so, often, by people who
AthenaI found the notebook under the bed.Not the drawing one, the other one, the good one, which I'd been keeping in the studio drawer since the ceremony. Somebody had moved it. I knew exactly who, because the corner of a page was folded down, and I only know one person who folds corners to mark where she stopped reading.I sat on the floor with it in my lap and wasn't even angry.It was open to the page where I'd written the ceremony words, the crossed out parts and the rewritten parts, all of it messy, nothing neat. Underneath, in huge uneven pencil that went off the edge of the line, Amara had written: I LIKE THIS ONE BEST.I read it three times.She was in the garden with Peri and I could hear her through the window, bossing something around, probably a wolf. I should have gone down and told her not to touch my things. I didn't. I sat there with the notebook and my back against the bed frame and thought about how many nights she'd watched me write in it and said nothing, and wha
Athena“At least, the moon goddess could have mated me to someone easier to keep around, maybe as a mistress. But with her no way” he said distastefully. I staggered back, everything from the previous night flashing through my thoughts, years of pain and humiliation came crashing down.He was like
Six years.I had turned every stone in three kingdoms, burned through favors I’d spent a decade accumulating, and she had been here. Here. In the human quarter, behind a glass door with her name stenciled in gold ink like she hadn’t dismantled two kingdoms with her disappearing act.I stood across
Athena“Useless”“She's a disgrace to the royal family,”“A wolf less hybrid” “She caused the death of her mother.”“A curse.”“A fat one.”Nameless faces whispered around me, drowning me in their curses.“No, No, I didn't, I'm not” I protested weakly against the sea of voices drowning out mine.
Athena “I should be the one asking that.” His eyes narrowed,I racked my brains for answers, my brain felt foggy, but bits and pieces of last night's encounter came back. I shot up from the bed instantly, a whimper escaped my lips, I hadn't felt it cause the bed supported me but now I did. My ba







