Falling asleep last night wasn’t easy. It took me about as long as it did after we made love. It’s still weird to call it that. I’d tried my best to stop the anxiety from taking over when my hand would brush her bump, or she’d roll, and it would brush against me. It didn’t help that I felt the heirs moving around despite how small they were because of my gift. I doubt they had malicious intent. They are fetuses. It’s not like they’ve already developed André’s personality. I had reminded myself, with Lucius echoing the sentiments, that nothing about this should trigger me. I never shared a bed with Lia, even before she was pregnant and certainly never after. Yes, we fucked, but never in a bed. I never could place why, but when it came to screwing her, it was always quick and mostly clothed. I never wanted to get her naked and take my time with Lia. It was about scratching an itch, which wasn’t even that good. And yes, during Lia’s pregnancy, I touched her bump to feel close to what

Dear Readers, For those of you who have been reading my books for a while, you should know me. For those who are new to my books, you'll see that I like to keep you informed. I want to be transparent and set appropriate expectations. I know what it's like to be a reader hooked on a story and getting frustrated when I don't know the schedule for new chapters and more so when it goes off schedule. So, this is me being transparent and ensuring I'm setting expectations for you. I know how much you love Alexander and Delilah's story and are eager to see how they get to that Happily Ever After that all my books get. I've been loving writing their story and I can't wait to see how they get to where I know they end up. So it does pain me to say this; however, due to my current workload, Beta's Innocent Mate is on a TEMPORARY Hiatus. My day job is coming to the end of our fiscal year, so I need to do a lot of work quickly. This is eating up my writing time and frying my brain. I am hoping th

I know that of the three Fayte sisters, I’m probably, on the surface, the least threatening. Crista, as the oldest, was trained harder by our papa as she was to replace him as Beta of Nebrodi, then she also received a rare white wolf, so even before she became Luna of Incubi and the host of Light, she was seen as someone to respect and fear. Persephone’s outer appearance may not have instilled fear or respect, but she earned it once people knew what she could do with a computer. I’ve always been the soft-spoken baby of the family—the sweet and innocent Fayte who wouldn’t harm a fly. Few people initially realized how deadly plants could be, even with my power. Most thought it was so fitting that a girl as delicate as a flower could make flowers. I hate that. I know hate is a strong word, but try having people underestimate you for your whole life and see how it feels. I’ll admit that I prefer to handle situations without violence first. But that doesn’t make me delicate. That does

‘Do not decide to let your conscience a word in. I don’t care that this bitch is certifiably insane. It’s not an excuse. It’s not a loophole or way out of facing punishment.’ Helia insisted. I wanted to deny her implication, but I don’t lie to myself or my wolf. I was having serious doubts about continuing this interrogation. Mostly centered on the measures I may have to take to get the information we need from Lia. It didn’t seem fair to do what was required with her current mental state. Something broke in her. I don’t know when or how. It could have happened for any number of reasons. Maybe it was when she pledged her loyalty to Ersilia. We don’t know the effects of a werewolf forsaking their oath to their Alpha for someone who’s not even an Alpha, let alone another werewolf. I don’t know if that is something Katrina could find out about. Perhaps her Bisnonna documented something on the subject. And if her mental break didn’t happen because of her pledge to Ersilia, many other

When I left Vittore’s fate to Zio Alec and Luna Crista, I considered stopping to see how Delilah was handling Lia. I could hear the pain-filled cries of Lia from the hallway. I hadn’t heard them earlier, but that was probably because hearing anything over Vittore’s pathetic howls of pain was impossible. I didn’t want to interrupt Delilah’s interrogation, so I kept walking. The role of torturer isn’t one of the Beta tasks I like. Well, on most days, I wouldn’t say I like it. I’m a healer, so intentionally causing pain goes against that nature. It’s rather ironic that it’s what makes me and the Petridis men who came before me perfect for the task. Generations of Petridis Betas acted as the trump card for Incubi interrogations. And well, now here in Madonie. I know my Papa has taken some level of enjoyment in acting as torturer for Zio Alec, at least when it came to rogues, hunters, and others that couldn’t or wouldn’t break at an Alpha command. However, I know he’s not proud of that