Alina tried to ignore the gorgeous man beside her. His authority and caring attitude for his pack were hard to wave away, though, and when the Beta volunteered to go into the caves first, she noticed the concern marring his features. Gazing over at Lucas, Alina wasn't surprised to find him staring back.
"I'd like to remove your gag, darling, but I'm not up for a rejection right now, so if you give me your word, we're all good; if not, well, I guess you remain silent while we get to the bottom of where my pack is."
Alina nodded her head once, indicating that Lucas could trust her, and surprisingly, he removed her gag.
"Thanks." She mumbled, rubbing the side of her jaw, and Lucas smiled, causing those damn dimples to make an appearance.
"Just take some time to get to know me," he implored, "If I'm not your cup of tea after seven days, I promise I'll accept your rejection, and you have my word I won't try and mark you without permission?"
If Lucas was
The sheer size of the beast meandering towards them made Lucas stop and really assess the situation. Alina got ready to launch herself, but he stopped her. This fight was his."Whatever happens, if he gets by me, I need you to run and don't look back. Promise me, darlin', I need to know you'll keep yourself safe?"'Retreat' wasn't a word in Alina's vocabulary, but the look on Lucas's face was enough to make her pause before answering. "He really loves me," She thought with wonder and nodded her assent; Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. With fluid grace, he spun and pivoted right, using the fake step to phase into Kallen, and the monster launched itself, meeting Kallen in midair as a clash of titans began.Alina saw it fully then and gasped in fright as Kallen wrestled with an Olitiau. Cave demons were legends used to scare young children into staying in bed at night; at least, that's what Alina thought. The creature screeching in anger, though, was very much real
Sam saw the moment the giant man exited the caves, carrying Alina over his shoulders. The other three wolves were already inside the dank caverns, but he'd hung back, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop a rampaging bear. It didn't take long for Sam to realize who the shifter was. Axle carried Alina through the central cave opening, looking furtively around, assuring himself that there were no secret ambushes in wait. Satisfied, he quickly loped out of the immediate area, and Sam cautiously followed, unsure of how to reveal himself.The sun was high before Axle stopped for a break, and as he gently lay Alina down, her eyes opened, puzzlement showing clearly."What happened?"Axle was sitting to her left, sharpening a stick with the pocket knife she gave him for Christmas. He looked up with furrowed brow on hearing her voice.Then Alina looked around, her gaze landing on her friend, then searching further, as if she had sought someone else. This w
The heat started four weeks later. In the gilded cage that her father kept her, Alina woke to find her skin on fire. Everywhere the blanket touched, her flesh screamed with agony, and all she could think of was sex. Calliope howled in her mind, firmly in the grip of her own heat, and Alina tried futilely to bend the bars to her cage. Damn silver!! The sizzle of skin connecting with a werewolf's kryptonite had her jumping back in added pain as Alina's breathing grew more labored. When the first howl rang out downstairs, Alina ignored it, too aroused to focus on anything else. The moment paws clambered up the stairs, and her window smashed through, her whole world imploded as she realized why there was so much noise. Guards rushed to surround Alina's cage, taking a defensive stance as unmated wolves poured through every entryway, and she realized they'd all come for her, smelling her heat, wanting to claim a princess. Somewhere in the bowels of the castle, Alin
By the time the man put Alina down, it was halfway through the next day. She was miserable. He delighted in caressing her body as they traveled, teasing her with firm strokes on her thigh and feather-light kisses along her hip until Alina felt sure she was going mad. On the last leg of their journey, as the temperature dropped, Alina finally learned his name. " Cyrus Lincoln." It was a small concession, but she took it gratefully. To know a man's name was a thing of power, and in this game, Alina needed all the advantages she could get. Luckily Cyrus seemed to like the sound of his own voice, readily revealing details of his pack and the outlay of his camp after stopping to rest, a handful of miles left from their destination. They were well outside the royal grounds, and though she couldn't move or walk on her own, Alina tried to leave an object or scent wherever she could, knowing Axle wouldn't be far behind. "I heard about you, even as far as my pa
Lucas ordered the car to stop inside Royal territory, waiting for the border patrol to find them. He didn't need to wait long. Wolves the size of cattle ran as a single unit approaching the vehicle in impressive formation, and the leader transformed at the window, his aggressive stance warning Lucas to stay where he was. Before he could try to explain why four rogues were in their territory, though, an unlikely person came to his aid."Shawn, how's the Mrs?" Sam piped up from his seat in the tray. The giant male did a doubletake, "Sam, is that you?"Sam jumped deftly out of the back, landing on the ground beside the guard with a grin, "It is my friend, these men are with me, guests of the princess. She sent me to retrieve them for a special project three days ago. We got here as soon as we could." He lied, grinning widely, selling his story. Shawn's brow furrowed in confusion, "Ah, that could be problematic."At Sam's questioning look, Shawn hung his head in sha
"I'm sure Dad had his reasons."Alina's jaw dropped when Kane dismissed her kidnapping as if it was a minor misunderstanding. The young man stood, regarding her outraged expression before shrugging his shoulders, "Sorry Luna, but I don't second guess the Alpha's decisions."Let's just wring his neck, Calliope growled, and Alina agreed, if only there weren't so many witnesses. But the townsfolk had become emboldened by the two of them simply standing in the street and started coming up to introduce themselves. Alina was forced to smile and talk to the wolves and their families, all eager for an audience with the "new luna," many knowing already that she was a Deveraux. They were friendly and extracted promises from her to visit their homes or businesses in the oncoming days, something Alina had no intentions of doing, but nevertheless, years of training as a Royal prepared her to give the appropriate responses, and by the end of it even Kane looked at her with
Lucas and his team arrived in Wolf Haven just on dusk. He'd pushed the pack (And Sam) hard once Kellan picked up Alina's scent, and they were all a little worse for wear as they bundled into the tiny motel they'd chosen for the night. It seemed like a nice enough town for a tourist; the usual souvenirs decorated shop windows and plenty of vendors plying their wares under the canopies lining the streets. As they unpacked their supplies, Deacon checked the hotel for any sign of the bear. One thing the King ordered was that Axle not be harmed. As it turned out, the giant man was Alina's bodyguard and best friend, so any thoughts of revenge for leaving Lucas to his fate had to be put firmly out of the Alpha's head; this didn't mean that Axl and Lucas wouldn't have words, lots and lots of words when the timing was right. A knock on the door signaled Deacon's return, and as the Beta closed it after him, a somber scowl plagued his face. "The Wolf Haven pack are well g
Alina was halfway off the balcony ledge when a thud outside her front door gave the princess room for pause. A perfunctory knock saw her swinging her legs back over again with a growl and rushing to open the door."What on earth...?" The sight of the guard lying unconscious at her feet was confusing, and Calliope reared inside her mind, warning Alina to be careful, but she didn't have enough time to react as she was shoved back into her lounge hearing the door shut firmly behind them."You'll have to do much better than that if you want to escape my father," a feminine voice drawled, causing Alina to look up in surprise.Katana stood against the door frame, knives in hand as she regarded the other woman. Pushing off with one foot, she extended a hand, offering Alina help to stand up."You don't have much time," Katana continued, " I've disabled the guard towers on the north and east side of the island and sent all foot soldiers to the farthest tip, lookin