Ryker“Get on your knees.”There was a fire in her eyes, a breathtaking fire that consumed me and left me utterly raw.Just as she had said, I needed to be worthy of her submission. It wasn’t until now, until that moment on the beach, that I realized I would never be worthy of someone like Ophelia.Someone pure, someone who saw the darkest parts of humanity and somehow found a way to remain kind and compassionate. Someone who, despite everything thrown at her, has remained strong.How could she have been rejected? It didn’t make a lick of sense. One look at this girl and I was crumbling. Whoever her mate had been, I prayed he never realized what he’d given up.Slowly, my mate—Goddess, my fucking mate—dropped to her knees before me.She peered up at me through those stunning eyes, past long lashes the same unique shade as her hair. Heat warmed her face, turning it pretty and pink.I was so hard it hurt.“I’ve never done this before.” She whispered, “Can you teach me?”I swallowed past

Ophelia The days passed quickly after that terrible, wonderful night. I awoke the next morning to find a class schedule, student ID, and stack of textbooks sitting outside my bedroom door. The thought of attending Eclipse University was harrowing, but at least this proved Ryker had planned it ahead of time. I might’ve been his mate—one he couldn’t claim—but that didn’t mean I needed his charity. Much to my horror, I also awoke to a text message from Alpha Hunter. It was short and to the point, which only served to make things worse. Hunt: Play all you want, just don’t forget who you belong to. My first day of evening classes and I was beginning to rethink my stance on not asking for help. I had coasted through an intro to occult studies class and had been floating through the halls on a cloud of naïve hopefulness. That was until I slammed head-first into Diana, who used her coercion magic to force me to dump out my bag of text books onto the floor. It was my luck that the one ti

OpheliaI awoke that morning to an empty bedroom and the chemical tang of the scent-blocker lodged up my nose.Searching deep within my chest, I winced as I felt the mate-bond between Ryker and I squirm. Sitting there beside it was the half-formed bond I held with Jude.I sighed, relief flowing throughout my tense limbs.It hadn’t snapped into place, after all.‘We can’t keep doing this back-and-forth thing with them. It’s getting too risky, and unless you want us to spend the rest of our lives being driven mad by excruciating pain, we need to take Alpha Hunter’s commands more seriously.’ My wolf snarled, spitting the words through her teeth like venom. ‘It’s only a matter of time before he asks about our relationship with Ryker. We’ll have no choice but to tell him the bond snapped into place on both sides.’I could feel her rage and knew the all-consuming force of it wasn’t directed towards me, or even the half-brothers we were mated to. All of it, every last drop, was meant for Alp

Ophelia“I don’t think I’ve heard you laugh once since meeting you.” Ryker murmured, shadows dancing in his eyes.Jude glanced away; his jaw oddly tight. “I was beginning to think she wasn’t capable of it.”“I haven’t exactly had many reasons to.” I said pointedly. “And I’m pretty sure I laughed when I was drunk the other night.”Removing his sopping wet t-shirt, Jude snorted. “This laugh was different.”My mouth went a bit try at the sight of his chiseled stomach. Bold images were inked into his flesh, starting from the top of his pants, spanning all the way up his throat.Feigning indifference, I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure why it matters so much. Anyone would’ve laughed at the two of you flopping around the floor like a couple of fishes.” A giggle threatened to spill past my lips. “The formidable Alpha Ryker and his enforcer, defeated on laundry day.”Using the wall for support, I hauled myself to my feet. My stomach dropped as I took in our surroundings.There was water everywhe

JudeI grinned at Kimberly, “I’ll hold him down, and you tie him up.” When she refused to move, shuffling her weight between her teeth, I chuckled. “Don’t look so worried, Kim-Kim. I’ll make sure he doesn’t bite you.”The rope we used to restrain the demon was soaked in purified water. Humans had crafted legends of their own about demons and angels, and while I didn’t know shit about angels, I did know that demons didn’t give two fucks about “holy water” or priests.It was purified water that weakened them, burning their skin like acid.Exorcisms were all for show. In fact, I’d bet my dick there hasn’t been a single human priest alive that’s actually come into contact with a demon.I grabbed Flint by the ankles, snorting when he tried to sit up and snap at me. I began dragging him towards the back door, pausing when Kimberly moved to follow.“Where do you think you’re going?”“Inside. Where the fuck else?” She snapped.I pointed at the half-decomposed corpse lying in the dirt. “No, yo