Then sadness crossed Lucia’s face.Solomon struggled to swallow. He lifted his hand and touched where Lucia’s scar should have been. “I’m so sorry.”Lucia shrugged, then dropped her eyes. “We knew it was a possibility your mark wouldn’t take.”Solomon nudged Lucia’s chin up. “It doesn’t matter. Yes, I wish there’d been something there, especially since that’s an important part of your rituals, but it changes nothing. I don’t need a mark upon you to prove to others you’re mine. But still, I am sorry. Know that I’ll wear yours proudly.” Solomon held his arms open.“I know. You don't have to tell me...” Lucia moved into Solomon’s arms. “There’s no point in me getting upset over it.”“If you want to get upset, get upset.”Lucia buried her head in Solomon’s shoulder. “No. I wanted it, true, but like you said… in the end, it doesn’t matter.” Lucia lifted her head, then turned around and picked up the soap. She turned back around to Solomon and waggled her eyebrows. “Now, how about I clean y
IF Lucia could have reached her own ass, she would’ve kicked it already. What had she been thinking when she made that comment about a declaration of love? Then there was that comment Solomon made about loving smartasses.She tried to not to read too much into that, but it was hard not to. Did Solomon love her? Could she love him? Lucia was afraid she was well on her way to loving Solomon. Maybe she was already there. She had a bad case of lust, there was no denying that, but that wasn’t a bad thing either.But Solomon fascinated her. He had a soft heart, at least for those he cared about. And Lucia was pretty sure she fell in that group. They got along well together, but they hadn’t had a full-on argument either.Just because werewolves believed in fated mates didn’t mean the couple was perfect. No one was, paranormals included. Lucia did have faith that Solomon was right for her. Now she needed to convince Solomon of that.If that hadn’t been enough of a shock, Solomon surprised her
“Incredible,” Solomon whispered as he gently traced some of the lines. “But I have no idea how or why this appeared.”“I haven’t either, and it’s impossible to tattoo werewolves,” Lucia said, breathing hard as she watched Solomon trace the lines.“This can’t be a tattoo,” Solomon said, lowering his hand.“I don’t think it is either,” Lucia said, still unable to believe on what she saw on her arm. “I don’t know what it is.”Solomon bent and leaned closer. “Notice it starts right where I bit you last night.”“Yeah, I saw that.” Lucia gulped. Solomon was close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin. As usual, her body reacted. Shock and desire mixed together.“Do you…. Do you think it looks like a—?”“Like an abstract drawing of your kind?” Solomon straightened. “Yes.”“Holy… holy shit.” Little blinking lights danced across Lucia’s vision. She took a deep breath, then another until they disappeared. “You think this could possibly be something like a mating scar?”Solomon scra
AN hour before sunset, Solomon noticed the increased tension in Lucia. During dinner, she fidgeted and didn’t eat much. She was in constant motion, either tapping her foot, scratching aimlessly at her arm, or irritably shoving her hair out of the way. When Solomon asked her what the problem was, she said it was because of the upcoming shift.It was fascinating. Since he wasn’t ruled by the full moon, he’d never experienced what Lucia was going through. Now that he had seen it, he was thankful nothing had the ability to command him to shift.At dusk they walked outside. His staff knew better than to disturb them during this time. He brought a duffel to leave their clothes in while they shifted, since Lucia had been upset when Solomon let his clothes lie on the ground. Together they cut through the courtyard and came to the large field with the woods just beyond.Solomon glanced up at the sky, pleased to see it was a clear night. “Are you ready?”“Past ready. I feel like I’m about to c
The subtle lighting in the office in his house cast long shadows that danced across the room. Burning wood popped and hissed in the fireplace, and the scent from burning firewood brought back memories from yesteryear. Restless, Solomon finally stood up. The warmth of the fire beckoned, and seeing no reason to deny himself, he strode across the floor. As he drew nearer, the heat wrapped around his body, and he sighed, relieved. Bending, he held his hands out toward the crackling fire. Once his fingers warmed, he straightened and turned.With his back to the fire, he carelessly brushed a long strand of hair behind his ear. He’d opened the blinds when he’d entered his office in a hopeless bid for daylight, not that it did much good. Good thing his eyesight was better than a human’s.The day was dreary, rainy, and overcast. He hated this time of the year. No matter how many layers of clothes he wore, the endless chill seeped in. He much preferred heat and humidity, sunny skies and warmt
TEN YEARS LATER....“Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday, happy birthday. Happy birthday to me.” Lucia sighed heavily at her reflection in the mirror.Today, according to pack law, Lucia officially became an adult. Her 18th birthday party was going strong downstairs, and here she was hiding in her bathroom. How pathetic could she get. Unable to stand the unhappiness in her eyes any longer, she turned away.Lucia was a monumental disappointment in every conceivable way. Although none of her family ever said so, she still can feel it. She couldn’t help but know. Her father, Alpha Theodore Salvatore, already had four pups who were daughters. What he desperately needed was a male pup—a male Alpha pup.But what she got was another female, and an Omega to boot.Things might not have been so bad if Lucia’s special talent—a gift all Omegas were born with—had been something useful. But no, what Lucia had ended up with was the ability to identify metals, stones, and mine
Solomon grabbed the reins of his Lycan rampaging inside of him, desperately trying to control the thrashing creature. The fuck! His Lycan wanted the Omega, so badly, which was quite shocking even for him. His kind usually paired up with another Lycan. He never heard of something like this. Sometimes Lycans had sex with other race but just for fun. Their kind tended to get violent that was why they didn’t often mate with other race because they would never be able to handle their temperamental nature.And Solomon himself preferred short-term connections where it was understood there were no commitments. He’d never been interested in mating. But now suddenly his Lycan was interested in that Omega… and wanted to claim her as his own.Solomon was stunned. But the hazel-eyed Omega standing outside almost accomplished what rarely happened with their kind. The wolf hadn’t even been trying—and that was the frightening thing.He jerked his gaze away from the young wolf. The last thing he neede
YOU what?” Lucia shouted.She grabbed the back of the chair in front of her father’s desk, her knees suddenly weak. What a perfect ending to an otherwise miserable birthday party. After their unexpected guest left, everyone else also cleared out and she’d been called to her father’s office. “How many more times do I have to say it?”“A couple more times, apparently, because I still can’t believe what I’m hearing, Father.” Lucia heard the words—they just didn’t make sense. Okay, strike that. They made sense, but she didn’t want to believe them. Mated… to that Lycan who was there last night—Solomon Romano. She couldn’t fathom it.Alpha Salvatore scowled at Lucia. “Careful.”She heard the warning, and those weak knees of her trembled, but why should she be careful when her father so obviously had not been? “So you’re telling me you took a loan ten years ago, right? From a Lycan who is basically a loan shark.” How messed-up was that? “Yes.” Alpha Salvatore paced back and forth behind hi