"We should have bought some water with us."
One thing Alina soon found out was that Sam had no problems voicing his thoughts. Often. And he didn't even need a reply to continue chattering. It was slowly driving her crazy.
An hour into their trek across the desert, Sam had given up trying to run like a wolf, instead settling for a seat on her back in his natural form, and he'd been talking ever since. It was all somewhat demeaning for a Queen elect, so Alina could do nothing but ignore it. As Dorothy would say, she wasn't in Kansas anymore...
"I am so thirsty. Can't you sniff out some water or something?" Sam complained again, and Alina willed herself to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
By her calculations, they were two-thirds of the way into the desert now. The sun was low on the horizon, meaning night was imminent. Sensing Sam was going to be little help, Alina made a decision.
"There is a small cave system about half a mile to our ea
Lucas felt the moment his mate got hurt. Pain arced through the rogue Alpha's body like lightning, bringing him to his knees as they continued toward the Nightstalkers. His wolf tried to push through the human skin, wanting only to go and kill whatever hurt her, but without knowing where she was or even what her name was, Lucas knew he would be wasting his pack's time. If anyone could find answers, it was Deacon, and since he was backtracking on a recon mission anyway, the only option was to wait. Stick to the original task and trust that his beta would deal with whatever was going on.Regaining his feet, Lucas returned to the head of his pack. The whole convoy stopped, waiting for their Alpha to sort his shit out, and knowing this band of rough rogues and exiled wolves needed a strong leader, he shouted aggressively, telling them to get moving. As they broke into a run, eager to get to the Nightstalkers and out of the rough environment, Lucas forced himself to set a punishin
Lucas's eyes glowed red as Deacon tried to explain Alina's injuries, and he felt a frisson of fear dance along his spine seeing the Alpha so close to the killing edge. The fates came to his rescue then, in the form of an injured Queen as Alina coughed, trying to get up. Lucas's eyes swung around to collide with Alina's as Sam appeared out of nowhere, fussing over his friend."Leave her!" The Alpha growled, moving with a speed that belied his size, and Sam hurried back into the safety of darkness."What happened?" Alina groaned as she gingerly felt her forehead. There was an egg the size of Texas there, and the world spun every time she moved. Then she caught sight of the man standing beside her, and the universe collided, combusting into heat as she'd never felt before.Oh no. That could only mean one thing. Against all the odds, in the vast expanse of an unforgiving desert, Alina's mate had found her.The pull to him was incredible, and although she'd be
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