ROCCO I knew it was coming. It’s been set in motion for weeks, ever since I left that drunken voicemail on Johnny Deco’s phone. Despite it being a selfish, thoughtless impulsive call that I could have reversed at any point here we were. Men and shifters with guns were now loose in the casino. The launch was over, the Jasmine Quartet’s glittering moment in the sun had been brief to say the least. I had managed to smuggle Selene into that hotel and back again before Jimmy could return from bandaging up his arm. His eyes blazed furiously, ice cold across the packed room as he thundered across to Alpha Wicknace. He was having a merry old time, chatting away to some delegates, schmoozing away with the best of them getting merry on aged scotch. The elegance of the evening light helped add to the places appear, the full moon visible from all angles of the casino with its full height glass windows. Wicknaces hand was firmly clamped to Erica’s thigh, ensuring sure sh
SELENE It was like the thwack of a baseball bat striking a home run. Bang. Before the lift doors were even fully opened my wolf was on high alert, yet I was still stunned by the sensation. There was a small half-second of panic when I thought it was the scrawny bellboy but when that dark head of hair lifted and I saw his eyes through the blood-covered forehead I knew. Rocco. It had been him all along. Of course it was. Something deep within, a little-accessed part of me where I pretended I wasn't a shifter came roaring into life. Desire, lust, hunger flooded through me. The dominant emotion was the ache. The ache for my mates body to be pressed against me. When he stood up and came rocketing towards me at full pace I felt a fear mixed with exhilaration. My human side was still in there, just about and Pen flashed through. To see that powerfully strong, gorgeous man restraining himself was incredible. He was waiting for me to accept him. That ges
ROCCO The lustful savagery in my wolf is something else. In the tiny moments of clarity I manage to feel during the next few hours I can already see the scars of the heat on our bodies. Mated and branded by the looks of it. Not that I'm complaining, I'll never complain ever again if I'm honest. In casino terms, I feel like I've landed on the green zero in roulette a hundred times in a row. The second she said 'mate' and accepted the bond I've been on a supercharged high. My chest and back are clawed red raw, her breasts and neck purple from bruises, kisses and nips. Her back and shoulders are red from the carpet burns. I'm not done yet. The desire is a bottomless well. One orgasm tears through you leaving you satiated for mere seconds. Like turning up the heat on a pan of water it quickly bubbles over once more as her floral scent overwhelms me and our wolves combine again. Being knotted was the most wolf-like I've ever felt, and that's including when I
SELENE There is always the fear, deep in the back of every shifter's mind that once the heat dies down, when you can see clearly around you once more that you might look at your mate and feel regret. Regret that the person your soul and wolf is bound to forever is not the right kind of person for you. People forget that Fate doesn’t plan for everyone to have a happy ever after. Fate is not a fairy godmother granting wishes. Some people have to suffer to make the greater plans of the world move. You can’t make everyone happy. So some people, like my poor sister Pen, must be mated to the sadistic bullies of the world because Fate has a higher plan than her daily life. As I lay in the hotel bed, watching his slow and steady slumber I searched my feelings. There was no regret, even his flaws were like a spicy addition to a beloved meal. I knew my life would never be boring around him. Even with the small slash across his forehead which was already healing, probably
ROCCO As much as I thoroughly, and I mean thoroughly enjoyed my shower with Selene, my mind was sadly drifting towards the matters at hand. A constant question was burning in my mind. Was Wicknace dead? Had my plan worked or was it all for nothing? Well, not all for nothing. It brought me Selene. Even now it's still sending a thrill under my skin to think of her in those terms. The physical attraction has always been there, since day one but she’s so intelligent, sarcastic, teasing, and provoking. I always feared my mate would be a homebird, someone who wanted to stay in the pack and be a run of the mill person. Selene shines like a star wherever she goes. I’m going to be kept on my toes with her. Exactly how I like it. Hpisting her sexy ass into the shower, I can't imagine her beautiful, soft little core is feeling up to full sex, so instead I silently lead her to the tiled wall. Her brown eyes sparkle as my thigh presses her legs apart whilst
ROCCO The only favour Jimmy did give me in those two hours while we waited for Wicknace was to let me get changed. Apart from that it was a standoff where we all tried to pretend, we didn't want to just sit down and have a coffee. That might have just been me. Being held at gunpoint doesn't suddenly remove the aching pain of what Selene put me through last night. I need a massage and a nap seat. Throwing the duffel bag Jacob had fetched at me he ordered, "sort yourself out you look ridiculous. Wicknace will think I've done it to you." Thankful to remove the tuxedo jacket and smart pants I changed into the grey t-shirt and sweatpants Jacob had fetched. Even in our dangerous predicament I couldn't help shooting him a glare and gesture silently at him as I stood there in sweatpants and glossy black dress shoes. I refuse to die dressed like a complete moron. "So, does Selene know all about your past yet?" Jimmy drawled, sat on the barstool twirling the
SELENE Troy was a complete lifesaver today. Not only did he come armed with a huge suitcase of comfortable nice clothes, a spare phone, and a huge box of chocolates but he was just so happy for me. He was also happy he was right. Like the cat that got the cream he knocked on the hotel suite door and with a raised eyebrow surveyed the state of the battered doors hinges. “Kinky,” “I think…and I hardly remember but I think Rocco threw us through the door,” I laughed, covering my face with embarrassment. “Love it, it’s crazy isn’t it. I tried to tell you but there’s no way to describe it.” I nodded as I shrugged a huge cosy hooded sweatshirt and leggings on, my aching body enjoying the soft jersey materials. “It’s insane.” He sat on a chair, declining to sit on the bed with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “So are you happy? I know how scared you were.” “I am…Rocco even waited. When the bond clicked, he came charging at me, honestly, he was so h
ROCCO I wake up from a nightmarish fever dream with a jolt. Selene was crying for me from a cage. Her blonde curls are all over the place and her eyes are shiny with tears. Sweat dripped down my body, the grey t-shirt given to me by Jacob was drenched. The scariest part of it was that it seemed to be the exact same set-up as my mother. Selene had been transplanted into my mother’s final moments, my mind torturing me under the influence of Jimmy’s combination of whatever the hell it was he’d given us. A low groan made me realise I wasn’t alone in the darkness. Clutching my temples with one hand, my other groping around in the dark. I quickly found a shoe, gingerly following that up to a large leg, thigh, then wet. Shit, warm and wet. I jumped away in horror, knocking over a pile of boxes and bottles. As the bottles of alcohol smashed around me, I realised I was in the drinks cellar and my hand was covered in blood. I staggered to my feet and traced the wall until