EMMA Xander smiled widely and ran the back of his hand down the side of my face. His touch was gentle as if I was his own delicate flower. We all knew that I was very sturdy, but the gentleness tugged at my heart. “We wanted to do something special for you, love. We thought a picnic and some stargazing would be right up your ally.” “Absolutely! You both know me well,” I chirped excitedly. This was true happiness. Fancy restaurants could be romantic, but this gesture right here proved that they truly knew me. Kai poured me some Casteano and handed me the glass before pouring one for each of them. I looked at my boys and was in awe of them. I spent many lifetimes daydreaming about our future together. I never envisioned us here in Aedrul, but I did envision us happy together. “I want to make a toast to us. We’ve been gifted a very unique situation. Doll, because of you, I’ve been given my own body. I was thankful to be Xander’s wolf, but that can’t compare with this. You’ve been a
EMMA One thing that bound us all together was that we all knew the nightmare of loss. Everyone had lost so much from the war, and it pained me to think Xander and Kai had lost their family. I knew that Ethan did as well. Nothing could take that pain away, but it made them all fight for each other that much harder. “Did you ever have any siblings, doll?” I leaned back to be able to look at Kai too. He placed a kiss to my head. “Thankfully, no. I couldn’t imagine anyone else growing up around Brenda. I used to pray every night to whomever was listening that she would be incapable of having any more children.” Both nodded in understanding. They did not know nearly a tenth of what she did or what she was like. True evil for certain. The things that she suggested they tried to break me into submission was enough to hate her with every fiber of my being. “What about if the situation had been different? Would you want them?” he asked. “Absolutely. I wanted to have a big family. I alway
EMMA Last night scared the hell out of everyone, and I felt horrible about that. I did my best to explain things to everyone. I wanted to be transparent with them because it affected our pack if it affected their Luna. Their Luna. Right. Everyone said I was that, but I had not even been able to step into that role. It truly pissed me off, but I had to push those feelings aside because I did not know how to deal with them. That was my coping mechanism. Ignore shit until you became hardened to it. Not exactly healthy but oh well. Everyone was supportive of me, of course. They always were. I should not have expected anything less than that. They really did feel like family instead of simply pack. I did not know what I would do without them. I did not deserve people like them. They were far too good for me. Hell, last night they all proved that they would stand beside me no matter what. It warmed my heart and scared me at the same time. I was afraid they would one day get caught in the
EMMA I felt like I was going to puke. Tonight, was our coronation. All of Aedrul was invited to attend, but I truly hoped that not everyone did. I would be terrified to know how many individuals actually resided in this kingdom. 117 different species probably added up to quite a fucking bit. After tonight, I would begin learning about the kingdom. I just could not bring myself to ask yet because I knew tonight was coming. Ignoring the issue was working so far. Sort of. Nae massaged my shoulders, getting the tension out of them. I groaned as she expertly loosened my knots. Nae knew me better than I knew myself half the time. I supposed it was because of how long we knew one another. I was ecstatic that now she was officially part of the family and had no reason to venture off on her own. She kissed the back of my head and flitted off to get our outfits ready. She insisted that the gals got ready together while the guys got ready together. That way it would be a surprise for everyone
XANDER Emma looked like a slice of heaven in her dress. She was always the most beautiful, sexy, and breathtaking woman I had ever laid eyes on, but tonight deepened that even more. How had I ever found anyone else attractive? Nobody could ever compare to her. ‘Fuck…’ Kai trailed off through the link. ‘Right there with you,’ I chuckled. I was only half listening to Zane while he spoke to his people because I was still zoned into our girl. She had been so upset earlier when she returned from speaking with her father. She showed us a picture of her mother, Lenora, and shared with us what she learned about her. I had not seen any family resemblance between Brenda and her, but I certainly saw it between Lenora and her. Her mother had been very beautiful, but nothing compared to the beauty of her daughter. Selene murdered her mother. That knowledge infuriated her even further. Selene did plenty of damage during her reign. I could not begin to imagine how Emma was handling that knowledg
EMMA The nightmare felt more realistic than any ever had before. The white moon showed that I was still in Aedrul, but I was not sure where I was. Ropes dipped in wolfsbane were wrapped around my chest and torso, tying me to a tree. I tried to move, but I was tied tightly. The wolfsbane burned because I was only in my bra and panties because whoever was responsible wanted me to feel the pain. What they would not get was the reaction they wanted though. I was the wrong target for that. I had been down this road many times before. Wolfsbane was a nuisance more than anything else. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. The moonlight illuminated enough for me to make out that there was a small clearing in front of me. Beyond it was a tree line and what looked like thick woods. To my left there were dilapidated houses. It looked like nobody had lived there for many years. So, it was safe to assume that nobody was over there to help me. To my right was a mountain range. Something Pa
EMMA I woke up with a start. My breath was coming out in pants. Thank fuck. It had not been real. It did not feel like a nightmare though. It felt real. It felt like it actually happened. Was it possible that it was a vision of what was to come? Nae once explained to me what her visions felt like. She said it felt like she was really a participant. Visions always felt real because they were a real possibility of the future. She said the way she could tell it was a vision was because it left a tingling sensation in her mind, just like I felt at that moment. Fuck. I never had visions before. Was it because I was coronated and now tied to Aedrul? I really did not want to have visions, but I would take them as they came if they would help us. I did not know when the vision would come to fruition, but I knew a few key things. First, he needed my magic for something. Second, he needed Lenora as a vessel. Third, I saw where it would take place. Even if I did not know where it was, I was su
XANDER This had been the thing that Emma needed us to trust her on. Even with that foreknowledge, I could not have been prepared for this. The pain she was feeling had been enough to bring Kai and me to our knees. Seeing her suspended in the air, screaming in agony, I felt helpless. I felt useless. It was hard to wrap my head around something like this being necessary to find an enemy. Kai and I had already figured out who it most likely was. We just had to trust that there was more to this than that. Q gently pulled her down and handed her to us. Kai and I carefully laid her on the bed and laid beside her. We were both still terrified from coming into see that. The terror we just faced was unimaginable, and we were useless to help her. She looked pale and tears had streaked down her face. I brushed them away with my thumbs, but it did not make much difference. Seeing her that way would forever be burned into our memory. It was infuriating how she always did whatever was necessary