Ashe/Odeia makes an appearance again! And Duke's name isn't really duke? What do you make of this? and what do you make of the beasts that tore everyone apart
LYRIC “What in goddesses name was that?” I rush to my mate's side, unbothered by the cold and my naked body on display. I was more concerned with what I had just witnessed. I could hear the screams through the coms and one by one they went offline. On the monitor I was watching a dense fog rolled in, coming from the direction of the convoy, spreading faster than a disease in humans and engulfing the border of the Golden Circle pack. I wasn’t afraid of a fight. I was a trained warrior and I feared for my mate. ‘Mate needs us. Go help mate.’ Note kept repeating over and over until I finally gave in to her demands and rushed from the control room, shifting as I sprinted from the pack house and headed to where the fight was happening. When I came upon the scene, I was just in time to see Twenty-Nine drag Jonda away and I assume the Shadow Witch, use his magic to render warriors motionless and set his beasts upon them. With horror I watched my Beta fight a beast, tearing the thing's th
MIKEI find some clothes on the chair in the room and shoot off a quick mind link to Rhett letting him know I saw Jonda. It’s the right thing to do.The short conversation wasn’t easy, but he was a day and a half out from us and was packing up his gear by the time I cut off our mental connection.I didn’t have to contact Kellen or Lamia; I was sure Tobias had already done that.I would be having words with my wolf later on but now I needed to go find Lyric. I wasn’t happy at the way she walked out of here. And wasn’t happy that she led me on. I could smell her fear, and I wasn't angry that she feared intimacy. I was angry at myself for trying to push her, for being me, and for attempting to take advantage.But waking up to her, I just couldn’t help myself. That kiss was everything I never thought I would feel, could feel. It was the wake-up call I needed.The revelation that she was my fated mate and I wanted to claim her. No if’s no buts. Any doubt had been erased from my mind with t
MIKE Back in the room Alpha Brett had assigned for me, I find Tobias behind the tiny desk that sits in the corner. Due to the Golden Circle pack not being as big as the palace, obviously. Tobias and I were sharing a room. He looks up from the papers he was reading and gives me a look, raising an eyebrow. “Shut it, Toby.” I bark as his mouth opens like he was about to say something. I don’t need to hear his condescending advice or listen to him joke about my situation. I was mad as shit at myself as it was. She may have initiated that second kiss, but it was me who jumped all over her and was ready to lay her flat out on the table and take what I wanted. With or without consent and no remorse. I was wound up tighter than a top hat. That wasn’t like me. I wasn’t that guy; Duke wasn’t that wolf. I acted like a desperate manwhore, which only part of that would be true. I was a manwhore. Until I met Jonda. But even now, I only wanted Lyric. My wolf was adamant he was going to mate wi
LYRIC I didn’t think I would be able to sleep. Not with the impending doom that hovered over the Golden Circle Pack. Over me and mine. I thought calling and talking to my boy would help. It did but only for a few moments until he passed the phone to Lizzy. Who told me that Queen Tala had come to sit with them as well as Olivia, the former beta’s mate. My mate's mother. They had brought the little prince with them. She also told me security had been ramped up in the wake of what happened here and the Shadow witch's threat. They now had four guards posted outside the suite at all times. It made me and my wolf feel just that little better that they were safe and being taken care of in my absence. I closed my eyes willing for sleep to take me, yet also anticipating that when I did the nightmares would come. I was on edge as it was, and Note was on full guard. I wasn’t sure when I had fallen asleep, so over-exhausted that my body naturally let me fall into darkness. At first, the vis
RHETT My men and I moved fast. Navigating the terrain. We dumped the vehicles some miles away. Mike hadn’t even cut the mind link before I was up stuffing my gear in my pack and less than an hour later, we rolled out. Heading to Golden Circle. The Blood Alchemist, AKA Senko or the Shadow Witch, had my Jonda. He had given them twenty-four hours to trade her life for the kids and his breeder. Who I could assume was Lyric. Mistaking her for her sister. I knew there would be no trade. It wouldn’t even be thought of. I was in the same mind. Despite Jonda being my mate, I honestly felt a deep attraction to her, but I didn’t feel the full pull of the bond like full shifters would. I was without a spirit animal. I was a hybrid. A hunter. Not a shifter. Still, I could never in a billion years think of trading the life of a child into the hands of a monster. I hadn’t slept and I wouldn’t let my men or the trackers and warriors that were with me rest either. Time was of crucial essence. It
MIKE Senko had a male who, oddly I recognized from the camera footage - the murderer - brought Jonda front, and next to him, center. I was in full Beta mode. Duke riding my skin form along with me. He was fully present. He knew I wouldn’t give him Lyric or little Zane. I knew he wasn’t going to trade Jonda. I also knew, he knew, Zane was at New Moon. There was no way we could have brought him here on time. Especially as he maneuvered his army of… whatever the fuck the creatures and things were – earlier than declared. Not a man of his word. “Wow Senko, all this for us? I’m honored.” I taunted him by cockily saying. Ensuring he saw the smirk I aimed his way. I knew I was goading him. It was inevitable. There would be a battle. Blood would shed. I was determined to rescue Jonda. I would die trying. I wanted my mate. Yes. The shift between us the past few days had settled the idea in my mind. At the same time, I couldn’t just turn my feeling for Jonda off. I loved – Love – her.
LYRICMike lay in the room next to us sleeping peacefully. Whatever he made happen, and however he made it happen, had wiped him out. His body and wolf had slipped into a deep slumber fully exhausted from exerting that amount of energy.Other than needing rest, thankfully, he was unscathed.Tobias had taken Twenty-Nine to the Golden Circles cells. Rhett was hovering outside the room Jonda was currently laying in, while doctors fussed around her taking her vitals and hooking her up to antibiotics and saline.She was in a severe state. Dehydrated from loss of blood. Her skin was pale and the dark veins that covered her body were slowly receding. The energy or light Mike had produced was what brought her back to life. Rhett's bite is what stabilized her.There was a theory surrounding Jonda’s curse, why she didn’t have her wolf. She was told her wolf would only emerge when she met her fated mate – a wolfless shifter. That was Rhett, so I was hoping that since he marked her, her wolf woul
SHADOW “I’m sorry it didn’t go as planned father.” Petra wraps herself in a robe descending from the back of a van after flying in there in her raven form. I shoot her a disappointed look. The silly girl is a fool. “On the contrary, dear daughter,” A smirk tugs at my lips, a rare emotion for me but one that’s warranted today. “Today went well.” She frowns with confusion, and I sigh as she hasn’t quite got the big picture yet. “I got what I needed. Saw what I needed to know.” “But they didn’t bring the child, and you didn’t get your breeder.” If I didn’t know how loyal she was, I would swear saying I didn’t get what she thought I came for, made her happy. Just the slightest hint of light danced in her yellow eyes. “That was just a distraction. I don’t need the boy. Not yet anyway. Not until he gets his spirit animal. There's time for that.” I watch Petra’s reaction closely, but this time she gives nothing away, keeping her face impassive. It was true. I knew there was no way they