Ninth House Leigh Bardugo Novels & Stories

Rainn She had the reaction I was hoping for when she saw the house that would eventually be her home. I couldn't wait for her to see the rest of it, but first Liam and I had to get Malik settled in the cells until we could question him. I had carried her into the house, taking in her scent every step of the way. I realized now that I was already addicted to her. I put her down when we got inside even though I really didn’t want to. "Adalyn, why don't you explore the house a bit while we get Malik downstairs." "Ok sure", she said. We made our way through the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement.

Damien shifts uncomfortably, not able to look at her in the eye but she is addressing Lavi. “I can get the entire army to Veneer within hours,” Nine claims. Lavi frowns at her. “How?” he quietly demands. “I took over the Black Jacks,” Nine reveals. “And now I have control over thousands of Candles of Phestos which Two has been hiding all these years.”

Mikhail The ninth floor is kept vacant of tenants, but it's always filled with my people. Rows of desks covered in fake wood veneer run the length of the space from window to window. Laptops connected to widescreen monitors on each desk survey accounts and videos of anyone involved with the Bratva. There is a constant hum of voices as information is given and received over burner phones as the darker side of our business is conducted daily. But today, the floor has been transformed into a command center for our operation to take out Zakhar Budanov.

If he showed up now, if he saved Jonah, I'd let everything else go. But his voice turned to ice. "Enough. I'm almost at the airport. I'm hanging up." Then the line went dead. And when I tried again, his phone was off. By the time we made it to the hospital, Jonah had lost too much blood and left this world forever. That same night, Riley posted a picture of three hands stacked together—hers, Sheldon's, and Gigi's. Her caption read, [I'm so lucky to have found someone who gives me the whole world. Thank you for loving my daughter as if she were your own.]

RARE ~~~ LEIGH-ARI POV I stood on the terrace outside my bedroom facing the night sky and enjoying my bottle of whiskey. The glass was way too bothersome, and the liquor hit differently when I gulped it straight from the bottle. I had on my face, the biggest grin which I even thought my face was going to split into two. Me, motherfucking Leigh-Ari Montreal who grew up hell-bent about saving lives, either by nook or crook, a girl who would chomp off a damn head if anything got into my way of saving a life. I was always someone who would rain hell like a hurricane on anyone who told me anything about cartels because of how bloody they are. I used to flinch and shudder from the mere mention of

Without looking back, I vanished into the snow. Andrew stood in the snow, staring in the direction I had gone. His hoarse voice drifted through the wind. "You won't abandon me, Eleanor." A month later, at a bar in Glaciercrest Pack, I sat by the window, sipping coffee as I admired the snowy landscape outside. The murmurs of travelers around me reached my ears. "Did you hear? Darkmoon Pack’s strongest warrior confessed to murdering his ex-father-in-law and was sentenced today." My fingers froze around my coffee cup.

Her fingers hovered over the cover before she finally opened it. The name at the top of the page wasn’t Delilah. It wasn’t anyone she recognized. But Alec’s voice was a low whisper behind her. “She’s part of the Nine.” Zara’s head snapped up. “The Nine? That’s a myth.” “No,” Alec said, leaning close. “It’s not. It’s real. And Juliette’s just the first pawn. The rest of them? They want something far more dangerous than your father.” “What?” “You.”

"Time to come home." **END OF CHAPTER NINE**

Lila's POV “No you know what it feels like to be outnumbered, Darren. This is your only chance at survival. We would all walk into the Grand Hall and you're going to denounce the throne, tell them you killed our parents and I will take my rightful place as queen of the pack.” I said without stuttering. All in one breath. I meant business. The guards stopped moving. They were stunned at my demand. The new IT mattered to them because a change in power would affect them and they would have to turn on the person who was once in charge of them.

Even as my skin burns and itches under all that punishment. Punishment I’m not expecting to stop suddenly, but it does. And that’s because Nora decides to run her hands over her handiwork. Her nails through each hot area. She drags her nails all the way down my back. My body bows, and I present myself to her. The dull pain at her touch chills my skin and raises every hair on my body. At my ass, she dares to scratch. Leave her mark on me. I shiver excitedly under this but say nothing or move. I keep my hands planted to the wall, though they want to wrap around my engorged cock and stroke until I come.