It was the day after my birthday. For the second year in a row, I was preparing for a battle. This time, I knew what I was truly up against and the fight ahead of me. It wasn’t a last minute preparation, but one a year in the making.
The feeling in the compound was a mix of excitement and fear. A lot of the omega level and non-dominant shifters elected to stay and protect the families, children, and weaker species that couldn’t join the fight. No one faulted them for it.
We dominant members were made for this. Battle was in our blood. The demons were all chomping at the bit to get out there and do some damage.
I saw Garrett and Celia in the gathering area where people were saying goodbye to their loved ones. Tony and Gail were holding each other tightly. I knew she wasn’t going, even being a full demon, Gail was not a fighter.
Rena was kissing Rao and Indie goodbye. They each put a hand on her slightly bulging belly. Dennis gave her a bi
We soon had everyone set. It was about four in the afternoon, that would give us three hours until the sun started setting, and another hour after until any vampires made their way out. It would work in our favor.There were several advantages to attacking so early in the day. The first was the lack of vampires, the second was that the enemy wouldn’t expect us since they were all on the vampires’ schedule and slept during the day. Our demons were all recently fed and theirs were on rationed energy because of a lack of partners.If everyone was out fighting, the vampires wouldn’t have a chance to feed before joining which would make them weaker. We didn’t need a fair fight. The only advantage we ever gave them was letting them know when the fight would happen. If they chose not to be ready for it, that was their problem.I was dressed in traditional demon garb and standing next to my nude mate as our witches stepped forward. Ford shifted t
“You thought you could distract me? What a waste of an opening to use it on your precious mate, instead of on getting away or attacking me.” Devere snarled.“It’s not a waste if the person I love lives. You were never going to get what you wanted because you’re self-involved and self-interested. How disappointed must your sire have been to have created such a useless vampire. Your ambition is lacking talent and follow through. You don’t take risks.” I snorted as I flipped him over me.I rolled his body and locked his arm behind him. My foot was in the middle of his back.“This is a great position from this side.” I laughed.He started calling me names. In the end, he’d weakened himself. No one was really eager to feed a vampire. The blood he fed on was weak from food rationing, lack of sunlight, and general poor health that comes with living underground for so long.Pulling as hard as I co
[Heather]I was a little surprised when I got an invitation to go to the private tenth anniversary celebration of the end of the Helvegr War. In the end, it had been a three-day fight between the resistance and the False Elites. There had been some coverage on the second and third day, once we found out where the battle was being fought.It had been a shock to the world when Indira and Madison Coto were seen in footage. They’d later explained that a massive spell had brought both sisters back to life, one that was nearly impossible to work. Scientists had asked to meet with them, but both sisters declined citing their history with the camps as why they weren’t comfortable.In the years after the fight, humans had grown more accepting of supernaturals. They lived just like we did, had families like we did, and only wanted the same things we did. All of the distress in the different communities died down after a while.I was the main media conta
[Reggie]I sat in the tree tops and leaned forward, adjusting my braided bun. For three days, I’d been scouting the area. Lots of ex-trackers would come through here, but I would lose their scent. There had to be an entrance nearby and I intended to find it.A few minutes later, a tiger came through. I loved the rich scent of the large cats. There was more power to them than to almost any other shifter I’d seen. Using my tail, I lowered myself to the bottom branch. Quietly, I gripped it and gently dropped to the ground. The tiger paused and sniffed. He wouldn’t smell me, though.I found the urine of female animals in estrus, especially carnivores and omnivores, would completely conceal my s
[Reggie]Lights tried to lead me, but I was sure of myself and didn’t need them. It took an hour to make it through. I was tired as hell when I entered a pretty little clearing with a cherry tree in it.There was a ring of stones alternating between dark and light around the tree. Even though it was obviously a young tree, it was heavy with fruit. Some fruit might be nice while I waited for my king to arrive.The clearing was so familiar. It must mean I was in the right spot. Plucking some of the fruit from the tree, I munched while I waited. I knew someone would be alerted I was there and come to get me. It was just how it worked.-
[Ford]I cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I knew Aria would be up, it was time to feed Yvonna. She would usually talk with me while she fed the baby. It was nice. Our relationship had gotten a lot stronger in the last couple months. I’d even been there when the baby was born a few weeks ago.I headed upstairs to the nursery. Aria was in the rocking chair with Yvonna happily suckling at her breast. Some part of me wished it was Madison. I was already in love with the baby girl as if she were mine.“I’d hoped you’d actually gotten to sleep tonight.” Aria sighed.“I did for a while. B
[Serena]I was getting my things together for training. It was nearly nine and I hadn’t seen Ford all morning. He was usually at breakfast or wandering around the house. As soon as someone was up, he would update them on anything that had happened over night.“Rao, sweetie, have you heard from Ford? He’s not here and Garrett says he’s not at the training field.” I asked.Raoul closed his eyes for a moment. “He’s not answering the mind link. Maybe he fell asleep somewhere. No one will mind him missing one training session. We all know he’s worked harder than anyone else and he hasn’t been getting much rest. Let’s go train. He’ll wake up b
[Conric/Ford]Reggie stirred from her sleep. The movement woke me. Ford was still asleep. He needed it, so I let him alone. This wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.She snuggled deeply into my fur and inhaled. I knew she’d be able to smell who I was and she didn’t seem afraid. I was at least twice the size of a normal wolf. It tended to scare people.“Hello, beautiful puppy.” She murmured.I rolled onto my back and looked at the slightly mussed concubus. For the first time in months, I felt rested. It was a good sleep.She opened her eyes and I let my tongue loll out of my mouth in a wolfy smile. It made her giggle in a