“When I found my parents dead in their bedroom four days ago, I had no idea what to do. I still don’t really.
Like most of you here today, I switch between demanding bloody vengeance or wanting to cry. Alpha Ivan and Luna Cherish were the soul of this pack. In their twenty years our newborn nation defied everyone’s expectations.
A piece of my soul died that night. I know my twin brother feels the same.
They loved, were loved, and will be forever missed."
Inhaling deeply I force myself to continue. The sun is setting before me, casting long, bleak shadows. My handwritten notes blur, the heartbroken markings dancing illegibly before my tear-filled eyes.
“The Moon Goddess has a purpose for us all. We offer our beloved Alpha and Luna back to her gentle comfort. Cillian will now light the funeral pyre and assume his rightful role as Alpha of the Shadowlands. Blessings upon him and his leadership.”
The last sentences flew out of me just before my voice broke. Thankfully I’d memorised it otherwise I’d have stared blankly at the hundreds of people packed into the town square.
As a child I’d watched countless speeches and dances from this rickety wooden podium. I’d never imagined the time for leading my parents’ funeral, installing my twin brother as Alpha would come so soon.
Cillian nodded firmly at me as I returned to my seat. His jaw was clenched, the torch he took from Beta Jackson burning as furiously red as his hair. He marched steadily towards the huge pile of wood in the silent square. In the centre, just visible through the logs, wrapped in white and lilac linens were my murdered parents.
The crowd parted, all nodding softly in respect. The population of Cragstone had watched us both grow up. Some packs are grateful to see the end of a reign and celebrate. Not today.
As Cillian gingerly lit the pyre, its sudden surge of heat and flames made everyone take a step back. The crowd silently studied the fire, hungrily consuming the bodies within. Numbly, I wondered what my parents would think of me.
My composed, honourable speech left out some rather important details. While they were murdered, I was sound asleep, recovering from being exquisitely fucked within an inch of my life and marked by my new mate.
Nikolai Romanov, future Alpha of the White Forest Pack.
He had stormed up to me during his parents' Ball. Radiating danger and a dark, deliciously possessive energy he had secretly kissed me under the full moon, unleashing the mate bond.
Even so, the instant Cillian mind linked me, I woke and sprinted to their suite to be with my twin. I know his distraught eyes judged my appearance. Nikolai’s mark was still freshly seared on my collarbone, ragged strawberry blonde hair, my evening gown ripped and barely covering my chest.
I remember how Nikolai’s warm seed seeped down my aching thighs, reeking of sex and his fiery, spicy scent. I was a mess even before I broke down screaming in grief.
If my parents had seen me, would they have been disappointed?
/Stop combining the two events/ my wolf Priya reprimands curtly.
In the three days since then I've barely eaten. Travelling with their bodies in the carriage back home before crashing out into nightmare laden dreams that leave me sobbing. Priya tries to console me but she is hurting too, for different reasons.
Nikolai hasn’t spoken to me since he marked me. My mate, my second heartbeat has left me to deal with this alone.
Even Cillian only just made it back in time for the funeral. His tired blue eyes brim with anger and our embrace was weighed down by an invisible cloak of grief. He appears to have aged overnight.
We were joking and chilled last week, hanging out with friends and joking about how boring the ball was going to be. Now we are solemn, leaden adults surrounded by ritual.
My so-called mate arrived with his father Alpha Alexander, sister Freya and her mate Phillipe from the Rising Star Pack. Casually stood around like any regular guest! Reluctantly he took the seat next to me on the podium after my speech, awkwardly clearing his throat.
"Hello Genevieve."
"Hello," I barely managed back. I’m usually spirited, ready to spar with anyone but right now, all I can see is the fire.
Despite his cold greeting, my eyes notice the gap in his black shirt, a hint of chest hair and muscle. His spiced scent hits my senses and I look up at his stern face in naive hope.
Brutally, he keeps his eyes straight ahead. Clearly four days away from his mate has done little to him. Bastard.
I return to staring down at my black gloved hands. Why isn't he holding one of them? Why hasn't my cheek had a sympathetic kiss?
So I reached out for him. I place my gloved hand on his, hoping to elicit some response. I get nothing. I'm starving for comfort and he will not yield.
"Where have you been then?"
"Busy." His deep, husky voice had sounded so enticing before.
At the White Forest Ball, he had sought me out, looming over me and making me feel dizzy. His spicy scent singed my senses, his shaggy black hair and dark eyes fiercely brooding. The so-called bad boy of the ball had left me like a rabbit in headlights.
To my shock he had gruffly suggested he had no desire to ever be Alpha.
So far that interaction has been our only real conversation. Yet when he kissed me, the snap of the mate bond fired through me like a gunshot. When he roughly stripped me and explored every bit of me, I drowned in sensations of pleasure I didn’t even know existed. I forgot my own name as he overwhelmed my world.
Thinking of that night makes a blush rise to my face. I knew he was dangerous, tempting, and different.
I had never imagined he could be cold. If someone told me he had an identical, miserable twin I would have believed them right now.
The rosy blush on my cheek swiftly pales into one of mortification when Nikolai curtly removes my small hand from his before the crowd. The fire continues to crackle, eradicating my parents from this world as tears trickle down my cheeks.
Disappointment and grief swirl together, my shoulders shake, and my hands rise to cover my face. So I lean left this time. Jackson, my father’s most trusted Beta, is there. Old and battle-scarred it is his strong arm that pulls me close, softly whispering comforting words.
Jacksons huge embrace gave me compassion where my mate failed. His huge black and grey beard is oddly ticklish. I collapse into sobs as the orange glow of the sunset briefly merges with that of the tallest flames.
It almost gives the impression they are one and the same, my parents transferring from earth to sky. Leaving me alone in the White Forest Pack, Cillian alone to rule the Shadowlands.
We aren’t ready for this, we’re only nineteen.
/You’re not alone at White Forest, we have Nikolai…it’s just complicated right now/ Priya chides again.
I beg to differ. I know I woke up completely alone in the bedroom when Cillian mind-linked me.
So where the hell was Nikolai when my parents were murdered?
Funeral complete, we solemnly return to the packhouse. It is a huge wooden structure that dominates the centre of Cragstone. The wood panelled dining room is full of angry men, plans and talks of vengeance against an enemy they have yet to identify.The atmosphere is so tense it leaves me breathless.I look for Nikolai, but again he has vanished. Instead it is Freya, his older sister who sweeps me into her arms with a sympathetic, “you did so well out there”. Her huge brown curls bounced around to her shoulders. My long blonde hair hangs straight down my back whilst my green eyes are tinged with red from crying. “Nikolai is with my father, are you happy to travel back to White Forest with me and Phillipe?”“He’s…Nikolai isn’t waiting for me?” I stammer. How is this man going against everything I have heard about the bond? From across the room I spotted him. Stood close to his father, the equally dark and brooding Alpha Alexander, the two form a severe, aloof pair. “No sorry, he aske
Back at White Forest I want to groan at the sight of the huge grey castle with its flags fluttering under a dusky sky. /Nikolai might be here soon so cheer the hell up/ Priya quickly snapped back at me. I followed Freya through a huge square courtyard, into a vaulted hall of tapestries, armour and paintings. I had been a guest at their ball when they were killed. I don’t have a room here. Do I head towards the room Nikolai dragged me into four nights ago? I was that blinded with lust that it could have been anyone’s room. Confusion overwhelms me, all I can think is that I don’t fit in here.“Father!” Freya cried. Alexander Romanov, still looking like a man in his prime at forty-eight was heading down a grand stone staircase. /If he is back, Nikolai might be!/ Priya cried excitedly, sensing the air for our mate's presence.“Genevieve, we have moved your possessions into a royal suite with Nikolai. The staff at the Shadowlands packhouse were kind enough to pack your clothes.”His dee
I am definitely not wanted here. Freya and Phillipe are polite enough but clearly, having the grief-stricken mate of her brother around is cramping her ceremony planning. It has been almost a week since the funeral pyre. Ten days since I last saw Nikolai. Ten days since my brother suggested there is something sinister about him. Questions I cannot possibly ask of his family, I am still a stranger to them. His lack of presence defines me. Every servant, courtier and member of the public sees me on my own. I imagine I am the Lonely Luna or some other cruel nickname. Does he regret marking me? My fingers frequently run over the small, raised bumps under my collarbone. I remember how he did it. I was on top of him, naked, riding his dick and moaning my way through a third, maybe fourth earth-shattering orgasm when he just did it. No asking, no checking it was what I wanted, he just bared his teeth and sunk them in. I’m not complaining. It gave me a blindingly intense orgasm. My bo
The soft click of the door clicking shut is the only sound for several seconds. When a second clunk rings out, I realise he has locked it too. That simple fact makes my pulse rocket up another notch. /He’s staying/ Priya murmurs excitedly. My eyes drink him in, as he unclasps his black cloak and casually throws it onto the dark blue sofa. He’s wearing thick black leather riding boots, tight around his huge calves. Black pants wrapping his solid thighs before skimming inwards to his toned waist. The waist that I knew contained a perfect, sculpted torso. The memory of me licking in and out of the dips and rises last time we were in a room together bounced into my vision like a camera flash. Every step of his boots clumped heavily on the wooden floor as he headed towards me.“So…you’re back then?”“For now.” His voice was deep and gravelly, all the authority of an Alpha. Priya was pushing to the forefront, I knew my green eyes would have pink flecks in, unable to hide the fact I was ab
I felt him smile against my shoulder, the grizzle of his chin like electric static. /His wolf likes us enjoying this. He wants to please us/ Priya purred in delirium. He kept his hand in place, but I got a much rougher nip, making me jump in surprise. As I flinched, he pinched my clit between his finger and thumb. My legs went weak.Suddenly I was rocketing out of my own mind. His thick fingers were twisting, turning inside me whilst my clit and nipples were pinched and teased into submission. All my weight was now resting on him. My free arm wrapped around his neck, my fingers buried in his hair. My other hand remained planted against his, shadowing the rough thrusts of his thick digits inside my soaked pussy.“Nikolai, Nikolai,” I gasped as I felt myself slipping over the edge and everything spasmed. His fingers were clamped inside me as I unravelled under his touch.Holding on I kept his hand pressed inside me. I didn’t care what he thought, what anyone would think of me. All I k
It was meant to be an in and out job. Scratch the itch and get the hell out. Stomping back to my bike I am dazzled by the dawn rays. I feel like ripping something apart, getting up some speed on the bike will have to do.Every one of my senses had been burning to feel her touch. Each day apart, increasing the agonising pull. Almost without realising my route headed further from the northern territories, inexorably back to the castle of Silver City.I know what you're doing, I scolded my wolf as I pulled up the loud, powerful bike. Leaving away from the square castle courtyard of prying eyes and servants I looked up at my home and sighed.I knew what room she was in without trying, treading softly under the cover of darkness. My wolf followed her scent so damn easily. As though she had laid out a teasing trail of string for me to follow through the maze of stone corridors. Surely every shifter for miles could pick up on her honeyed scent?/It is just for us Niko. You already know she
Every day I remain in White Forest I laugh at myself. What the hell am I doing?Two weeks, two whole weeks have passed since Nikolai came to my room. There is no sex so good that it is worth the humiliation of being abandoned.It was so good though. My toes curled just thinking about how he prowled around commanding me.It was like peering behind the curtain of a show. I had seen behind the pleasant platitudes and witnessed the raw passion that can come of such a connection. Priya and Nikolai’s wolf were swirling, heady messes of adoration.I know I love Nikolai. He would probably vanish like a ghost if I told him such a thing. But I do.Every line and shape comprising his face is etched into my memory. I know I can make him smile, maybe even make him laugh and it kills me to not have any chance to build on the small moments of connection he has dangled before me.So now it is a compromise of my dignity. I crave him yet I must pretend to accept his baseless claim that his feelings are
The figure turned around and was unmistakably Luna Helena recognising her huge brunette curls. At the ball she had been sleek and polished. Chocolate ringlets crowning a silken gown, draped in jewels and poise. In her ragged nightgown and grey hollowed eyes sockets she appeared almost monstrous.Except there was no anger in her presence, it was all sadness. Every expression and step her weary body took was exhausted sadness.“Cherish?”She tottered towards me, mistaking me for my poor mother. We both had long blonde hair, I suppose in the night it was an easy mistake to make even if my eyes were green, not blue like hers and Cillian. “No, Luna Helena I am Genevieve, Luna Cherish’s daughter.”“Of course, of course,” looking up and down the walls.“Have you seen anything? Any clues? Nobody will tell me anything, but someone must know!”Unable to stop her she wandered into my open room, looking around like an inquisitive dog. “Luna Helena, you cannot blame yourself for what happened to m