Jarvis returned home with the bodies of his family after promising Lucy that he would take the time to visit. It was a heavy burden to bear as the rest of the Marcioni pride met him at the airport, their solemn faces reflecting shared grief as coffin after coffin was slowly lowered onto the tarmac. He made a single phone call to the prison, and Emilio, his wife, and their newborn son waited on the doorstep as he exited the limo awhile later, striding up the path towards them."Your debt is cleared," Jarvis said to his son before entering his home and heading up the stairs. He liked to grieve alone, and as the door to his bedroom closed, that's exactly what the lion shifter did.2.One year later...Quinley Barrett sat at her desk, going over paperwork and assessing student papers, when the call came through. The high priestess was relieved to hear that Valenar and Raeann had finally regained control of their kingdom with help from the Desdeyos dr

The jukebox seemed to stop the moment Aimee entered the bar, several heads turned towards the door, and she could hear some poorly covered gasps. Yes, ladies and gents, the wild child has returned, she thought to herself, proudly raising her head and looking at each member daring to stare at her directly in the eyes.Her presence crackled with violence and confidence as she sauntered up to the bar, raising an eyebrow at the rotter sitting on her barstool; the middle-aged woman quickly vacated her seat, clearly not willing to get into things with a

The roar of a motorcycle rumbled down the quiet street, a bulky figure clad in black leathers sitting astride his iron horse, the helmet visor blacked out so no one could see who was behind the mask. Slowly the bike and its rider gathered stares as they passed, some from children playing in their front yards, others from parents wondering who was in their midst. All wary of the power radiating from the stranger riding his Harley, there was another Alpha in Howling Warrior territory. Up Ghost mountain, the motorcycle went, its

" I will not chase that woman," Lucien vowed as his would-be mate and his niece both disappeared from view. 'This place is crazier than a snake's armpit,' he thought, deciding to go back to the garage. He put the range rover in gear and continued driving, all the while shaking his head at the sheer insanity of his brother's daily life.Eventually, he pulled up in familiar territory, and Braxton met him at the door, "Forget something?" The henchman drawled. "Only my goddamn mind," Lucien retorted, "Got anything you need doing in the shop? I need to get out of my head for a while.""Damn, I know that feeling," Brax said with a grin, "And it's almost always because of the fairer sex, yeah I've got a few bikes that need tuning up, and I'm sure more will come in. Aimee's taking the club on a practice run today-we always get work after that." Lucien followed the giant man into the garage, heading straight for the bikes in the corner. "Hey, pretty girl," he crooned, stroking

Bang! Bang! Bang!The pounding in Lenora's head had taken on a new level of fuckery as she tried to drown out the sounds of the asshat knocking on her front door. The rain that Maria had caused continued to drown out most of the noise, but whoever was knocking was doing so with fists as hard as Thor's hammer. Sighing in irritation, she took the cushions away from her ears and resigned herself to having a guest. The idiot was cursing on the other side by the time Lenora opened her door, and she was completely unprepared for the sight of Lucien Stalker in a wet white t-shirt."You!" They both exclaimed. Lucien took a breath and muttered, "I should've walked up the damned hill." Lenora glared and pointed in the general direction, "It's not going anywhere. Feel free to carry on walking," she retorted before trying to shut the door. A steel-capped boot stopped the lock from engaging, and Lenora was left with two choices. She could force the door shut-she was strong