This book is pretty much over! Ezra's backstory is mentioned briefly in another book The Rejected Luna's Prince, so if you've read that you've heard some of this before. A few last chapters to wrap it up.
Nolan stood on the other side of the door, looking apologetic. “The remaining Alpha and Lunas are set to take off soon,” he told me. “Thank you. Give me a minute?” I asked, and he nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Nolan,” I explained to Ezra, propped on an arm, his muscles tense. "I need to get ready; the others are leaving.”Ezra nodded and followed me into the bathroom.We took a bit longer than I originally planned. He joined me in the shower, and although we did not touch each other with our fingers, we took turns helping each other bathe. It felt strange at first, in a way that was unfamiliar but not unwelcome. Then, it turned into something more accepting and loving.Naked, but it was not sexual, although I never stopped desiring him. It was more intimate, cherishing each other, and my emotions were raw by the end of something as simple as a shower.When we returned, Nolan was still waiting in the hallway, and we followed him in a tense sort of way.He felt very… formal.
His hand came to the nape of neck, fisting my hair as he pulled me to him. I gasped into his mouth, our lips tangled with each other as I was led to the bed, until I fell back onto it. He did not remove his lips from mine as his hands untucked my shirt and roamed up my body. There was a rip and a rush of air against my heated skin, alerting me that I was bare under him, my shirt and bra torn. That thought was ripped away as his palm caressed my breasts, his callused thumb running over my nipples.He groaned into my mouth and settled himself between my legs; heat radiated through both our pants.“Is this okay?” he asked, his breath short.“I am yours,” I told him. “Touch me,” I demanded.And he did. His touches were claiming yet soft, searching yet hungry. There was a carnal need wrapped in innate affection. I was addicted to it. I thrust my hips against him, grinding against his hardness as warmth and desire pooled between my legs. His lips were ripped from mine. My mouth opened i
That attraction, that pull, snapped together and became a tangible thing tying us together—binding and unyielding.I looked down as if I could see it, and Ezra did the same. He reached for my hand, and sparks jolted through me. His scent was consuming, powerful, a drug. I blinked at him, the sensations overwhelming. “Mates?” I asked both him and Aksala.Did you know? - I asked only my wolf.No - she responded - I felt connected to his wolf, I felt as if I could trust them, I knew I could immediately. But I did not know they were our mates. Ezra held a hand up, and I placed my palm against his. Those sparks and tingles danced around them and through me. “You are my undoing, Simone," Ezra Rumbled, his mismatched eyes looking at our hands. "Tied forever together.”Forever suddenly felt like not long enough.He pulled me against his warm chest and encircled me in his arms. I hovered between sleep and wake in a state made of pure buttery golden contentedness, a state I wish I could stay
Nova and I were working on rebuilding both of our respective packs, which ended up being a lot of paperwork. So much paperwork. She was fine keeping this packhouse standing and allowing us to use it temporarily, as she had no personal interest in it.But as the days went on, I could sense her anxiety.“It is time,” she stated, standing in the Alpha’s office across from me; her disdain and agitation from being here was palpable. “I cannot wait any longer.”I nodded. She glanced at Ezra, sitting next to me, who only replied, “I will be here if you need me.” He dipped his head.I followed Nova out of the packhouse through the back lawn. Barely into the treeline stood a semi-circle of werecats.They eyed me, most with wariness, some with curiosity, and a few with possible gratefulness. Nova told me to expect as much, they did not know me or understand why I was standing at her side, the first wolf, well, the first wolf they knew of entering their sacred land before them. I knew they appr
Ezra helped me meld the scattered pieces of myself. He gave me some new ones from himself that he would never ask back, and I forged some from who we were together.I had the hardest trouble sorting the pieces of what I used to be, what I was now, and what I could have been. I spent so much time trying to mold a persona, so much time perfecting it; when it was gone, it was both freeing and terrifying.Because I did not expect to have to learn who I was underneath it, the raw, confused, jumbled bits that were left of me.And I could not mesh them together.Was there a part of me that wanted to kill? It was an instinct now to start plotting the deaths of all the Alphas who said no to me during the challenge. I couldn’t understand if that was an instinct part of me or something I learned, that I created, or maybe someone else created in me.It was a jarring and difficult thing to try to piece yourself together from fragments, and I would only wish it on my enemies. Because it left me h
*Trigger warning for this book. Murder and talk of sexual assault*I stood in blackness, darker than anything I have seen or felt before, it pulsed through me. It was me.My parent's bodies under my feet were twisted and bloodied, indicating a death that was anything but painless; I knew they fought back until the very end.Blood was the only thing that I could smell; its thick tang coated the air, coated my hands. I knew they were there, but my head was clouded, my vision blurry from the moment I stumbled upon them.Looking for them for solace, to help me, but it was too late, and I could do nothing to help them.I fell to my knees, accepting my fate. I reached for their hands, still warm from the life that was just taken from them.I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t feel.I sat there waiting to die with them, wanting to die with them.I had nothing to live for, no one else to live for. Everyone was gone.I couldn’t feel anything, but the hollowness, the complete emptiness that shook me to m
I stopped by the kitchen, where it was a bustle of activity.“Miss Simone, can I help you with something?” The head omega, Amelia, wiped her hands on her apron and offered me a genuine smile.The omega’s here always treated me kindly and respected the station I once held, now reduced to nothing besides my powerful bloodline.I shook my head, “I don’t want to be any trouble, I just came for a snack.” She nodded and let me pass. I knew where everything was here; this place has become my refuge since I was allowed out of my room.This kitchen was the only place that I felt remotely comfortable in since I lost my home. I craved the warmth of the place and the constant activity that helped to distract me from those thoughts and memories that replayed themselves in my mind whenever I had a moment of solitude.I went right toward what I was looking for. I knew this kitchen and the rest of the castle well from hours spent wandering alone. I made to pick up an apple slice covered in cinnamon a
“He will reject me, please; there will be so many omegas that would want to sleep with you.” The words were clearer as I inched closer, I could smell her fear; she knew that no one was coming for her. I knew that feeling all too well.“But I want you,” That boy crooned, “And I always get what I want," He growled.I took a few more steps until I was around the corner facing the alcove where he had her.“Now,” He carried on, his voice made me shudder, “Turn around and pull up your dress for a future Alpha, or will I have to do it for you.”I took a few loud steps, and they both stared at me, the omega with tears streaming down her face. Young, I didn’t know her name actually, and the visiting Alpha’s son, whose name I never wanted to know, stared back at me.The Alpha's son gave me a lazy grin but didn’t loosen his grip on the terrified girl.“Oh, I was just going to my room. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I looked away from them, ashamed of what I walked in on.I took a risk and made to