After a long moment, my Wolf agreed to stay. I walked stiffly over to the couch and sat down. The bizarre reality of the situation washed over me. A few months ago, I never would have imagined purposefully walking into a room and hanging out with two vampires, let alone one of them being a vampire King. Maybe I wasn’t just crazy, maybe I had a death wish.“I trust your brother and my daughter made it back safely?” Marku asked. His lips held amusement, but his eyes bore into me.Spine straight, I nodded. “Yes, they informed the pack of the meeting this evening before taking some time for themselves.”Tonight was going to be a hell of a meeting. Everyone in the packhouse was still stunned by the turn of events. I hadn’t stuck around to answer any questions, preferring instead to get dressed and leave as soon as possible.The vampire King shifted forward.Great. As if he wasn’t already intimidating enough.“Tell me about her.”I hadn’t expected his inquiry. Maybe I should have. My hand c

I surrendered to the explosion of pleasure he caused in my body, melting into him. My eyes shut tight, Aatos dominated my senses—all I could hear, taste or smell was him.A minute, or maybe ten, passed by and not even realizing how we got there, I found myself beneath Aatos on the bed.Clever fingers released me from my pants. I gasped when Aatos wrapped his big hand around my shaft...and squeezed.“Wait.” I tried to pull away, which was impossible considering the bulk of the male on top of me.“Shh…easy,” he soothed. “I just want to feel you. As much as I want to, I’m not trying to have sex with you.”I watched in fascination as Aatos took a moment to release himself from his pants. His cock bobbed free, head glistening with his desire.Spitting into his hand, Aatos wrapped it around both of our cocks. He stroked down to the base and back up, running his fingers over our heads. My back arched, a deep groan releasing from my chest.Lips finding mine, again and again, his hand made the

Marku’s intense gaze cut to Coal’s and held. “She’s in no danger from me, Wolf,” he spoke slowly. Purposefully, as if to avoid spooking Coal’s Wolf, Marku knelt down and rested on one knee. Maintaining his eye contact with Coal, Marku waited for Coal’s response before he continued.The room was silent, waiting for Coal’s Wolf’s response. I wasn’t surprised to see Coal’s eyes had shifted to obsidian black. I squeezed his fingers, trying to calm my furry mate down. While it was obscenely clear Marku was a predator of extreme caliber, I didn’t suspect he intended to harm me.As we waited, I also found it interesting that Marku’s hesitation meant he took Coal’s threat seriously. He wanted to avoid a fight if possible.After a long moment, Coal’s significant reluctance never went away, but he finally gave a short nod to Marku.Marku turned to me, his expression softening. He held out the ring. “This belongs to you.”“You don’t want it back now that she’s gone?” I asked.One of his eyebrows

BrinleyI emerged from the small bathroom, having shifted back into my skin. When I was seated, Coal wrapped his arm around me again, keeping me tight to his chest. In the back of my mind, I realized the entire pack was waiting for us, but I didn’t care. I still had a multitude of questions.Marku had also returned to his chair. He was now holding a crystal glass with amber liquid. I noted he kept his upper body bare, not replacing the fur previously covering his shoulders and arms. I suspected he understood my Wolf wanted every other Wolf to recognize just who he belonged to. And it was clear Marku had no problem acknowledging her claim. Marku was our family, and my Wolf wanted everyone to know it. I didn’t disagree. For too long, we’d been alone. There was no more social environment than a Wolfpack. Wolves were driven to live as one big family, but not us. We’d been shunned.No more.Getting back to the task at hand, I asked, “What happened next? After you met my mother.”Marku brou

BrinleyThe facts of his story churned in my mind. My mouth felt dry. My mother had been so close to freedom. She’d had an ally as powerful as a vampire king to protect her...to protect us. The only thing she couldn’t escape was the pack bond.Following my thoughts, Coal confirmed, “The mage couldn’t break the pack bond, could he?”Marku’s expression turned hard. “No. He tried. Even contacted two other mages for assistance. But was not successful.”I nodded silently.After a quiet moment, Marku held my gaze intently and shifted the direction of the conversation. “Given your lineage as my biological child and the fact that I was the vampire who changed you, you are going to be very powerful, do you understand?”On a basic level, his words made sense, but, no, I didn’t feel like I grasped the reason for the intensity of his statement. “Not really.”“First, your bloodlust is stronger.”My eyes snapped wide, heart racing in my chest. I’d forgotten all about that!Feeling my panic through