LOGINNicholas did not give her time to adjust, did not ease her into it. He just started moving, deep and punishing and relentless, his hips slamming against her ass with enough force to make the desk shake. Lilith's hands scrabbled for purchase against the smooth wood, her whole body arching as he drove into her over and over and over."Fuck," Nicholas growled behind her, his hands bruising on her hips. "You feel so good. So tight. Like you were made for me.""Nicholas....""That's right. Say my name." He pulled almost all the way out and slammed back in, hitting something deep inside her that made her see stars. "Who do you belong to, Lilith?""You," she gasped."Who?""You! I belong to you!""And?""And your brothers!""Good girl." One of his hands left her hip and slid around to her front, his fingers finding her clit and rubbing in tight circles. "Now come for me."The orgasm hit her like a freight train, her whole body locking up as she screamed his name and shattered around him. Nic
Nicholas went very still. "What did she tell you."Lilith's hands were shaking now and she pressed them flat against his chest to steady herself. "She said Derek is Beta at Shadowmere Pack now. That he became Beta six months ago after my father died. That he has full access to all the pack archives. All the information about my father."Nicholas's expression did not change but she felt something shift in him, felt the air in the room go heavier."She thinks the timing is suspicious," Lilith continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "She thinks... she thinks he might be involved.""Derek? Who is Derek" Nicholas said slowly. "He's is....he is my ex-boyfriend""Your ex-boyfriend?""Yes."Silence.Lilith turned slightly on his lap to look at his face and immediately wished she had not. His expression was carefully controlled, too controlled, his jaw tight and his eyes cold in a way that made her stomach drop."Are you angry?" she whispered.Nicholas looked at her for a long moment and
Wren studied her face for a moment and then said quietly, "You're in love with them."Lilith's breath caught. "I didn't say that.""You didn't have to. I can see it in your face." Wren's expression softened. "It's okay, you know. To love them. Even if it's terrifying."Lilith looked down at her hands. "It is terrifying.""I know." Wren reached across the table again and squeezed her hand. "But you're one of the strongest people I know. You'll figure it out."Lilith wanted to believe her. She really did.They talked for another hour about nothing important....Wren's terrible coworker who could not figure out how to use the inventory system, a movie Wren had watched that made her cry, the weather and the city and anything that was not the bond or the brothers or the posts. It felt normal and easy and for a little while Lilith could almost pretend she was just a girl having coffee with her best friend and not a mate caught between three cursed Alphas and a conspiracy she did not understa
Lilith POVThe café was warm and smelled like coffee and cinnamon, and Wren was already sitting at a corner table by the window with two cups in front of her. She looked up the moment Lilith walked in and her face split into a relieved smile that made Lilith's chest ache."There you are," Wren said, standing up to hug her. The hug was tight and lasted longer than normal, and when Wren pulled back her hands stayed on Lilith's shoulders for a moment, her eyes scanning her face carefully. "You look exhausted.""I am exhausted," Lilith admitted, sliding into the chair across from her. She reached for the coffee Wren had ordered for her and wrapped her hands around the cup, letting the warmth seep into her palms. "Thank you for this.""Of course." Wren sat back down and watched her for a moment, her expression softening. "How is your mom?""The same. No change.""I'm sorry."Lilith nodded and took a sip of coffee, letting the silence settle between them for a moment. Wren did not push, did
The drive to St Mercy's Hospital took forty minutes and Callum did not speak the entire way, which Lilith was grateful for. He drove with calm efficiency, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror occasionally to check on her, but he did not ask questions and he did not offer commentary. When they pulled into the hospital parking lot he said simply, "I will wait here. Take your time."Lilith nodded and got out, her legs unsteady as she walked through the automatic doors and into the sterile brightness of the hospital lobby. She knew the way by heart now...second floor, east wing, Room 14. Her mother had been in that room for months, hooked up to machines that beeped steadily and kept her alive even though she could not wake up, could not open her eyes, could not come back.Lilith pushed open the door to Room 14 and stopped.Her mother looked exactly the same as she had the last time Lilith had seen her. Pale and still, her chest rising and falling with mechanical precision, her face pe
His mouth pressed to her throat right over the spot where the mark would go and she felt his teeth scrape her skin, felt the promise of the bite that would change everything. Her hands fisted in his hair and she tilted her head back, baring her throat to him completely, giving him permission without words."Please," she whispered.He growled against her skin, his teeth pressing harder, breaking through the first layer just enough to taste her blood. She gasped and his arms tightened and for one perfect terrible moment she thought he was going to do it, thought he was going to mark her right here in the training yard and damn the consequences.Then he pulled back with a roar that shook the air.He let her go so suddenly she stumbled and he was already moving away, putting distance between them, his hands in his hair and his chest heaving. "No. No. Not like this.""Lucian...""Go back inside," his voice was wrecked, barely human. "Right now. Before I change my mind.""Please do not sen
She cleared her throat.It felt like swallowing glass."Can I go?" she asked.The words came out barely above a whisper, scraped thin by everything her throat had been through. She kept her eyes on the bed in front of her. Kept her face down....small and still, the way prey learns to be still."Can
POV : LILITHThe darkness was different here.Not the cold, suffocating black of the dungeon. Not the crushing nothingness of unconsciousness. This darkness was soft. Warm. It smelled like the inside of her childhood home....woodsmoke and dried lavender and something else she had no name for, somet
Lucian kept walking.The next cell held a woman, her hair matted and dirty, her clothes torn. She pressed herself against the back wall as he approached, her eyes wide with terror. Whatever she'd done to end up here, she remembered what the Blackwood brothers were capable of.More cells. More priso
I woke up to pain, every muscle in my body screamed. Every nerve ending was raw and oversensitive. I was a wreck of bruises and bite marks and things I'd never be able to forget no matter how hard I tried.But I knew it wasn't over yet.The marking still had to happen.So I wasn't surprised when I







