The Beginning

LORELAI

I sucked in a breath, gripping Kai’s arm that wound around my waist.

My body swarmed with live bees along my skin. They sparked pleasure on every nerve ending, and I was lost to it.

My breaths were harsh as he pushed his life through me and I felt it fill me up. Ecstasy and euphoria coated my mind and body as he held me against him, and I moaned, the feeling of lightness keeping me on my feet.

And then his fangs were gone from my neck and his mouth was there, licking and nipping at my skin.

Kai growled against me, and I met his lips, turning into him as he held me in strong arms. His warmth seeped through the fabric of my dress, and I met his passion, pulling him with me onto the bed.

He growled against my mouth, tearing through my dress as I sat back on the bed. He came over me, kissing me, his hands caressing over my skin, lighting it on fire as he went.

I arched into him, his body huge over mine. He pressed his cock into me, and I shuddered against him.

“Kai,” I breathed, and he slid his tongue along mine, his hand grasping my tender breast, tugging at the nipple.

“You are worth every angry wolf, Little Human,” he said against my mouth before spreading my legs and nestling between them.

I lifted my hips to meet his thick tip, and he ran the leaking hardness against my pussy. I trembled, moaning at the way it hit my clit.

“Quick, please, before we have to go,” I urged, needing him like my next breath.

We were always getting interrupted, by Cain, by the council, by the wolves, but when I had the bite thrumming in me, making my veins of blood feel like the fizz of ale, I could barely handle the heat and desire that stroked inside of me.

Kai grinned and slipped inside me. I arched and cried out, his entire, impressive length filling me so well.

He pushed his cock inside over and over again, his pace fast as he met the urgency in my own hips.

I loved stealing these moments in between the chaos to feel my alphas, to be connected so intimately together.

With the wolves coming back from the humans covered in blood—sometimes their own—every day, the tension in the city, and even the stress of knowing the baby was going to come soon while we were stuck in this war with the humans, it was all so much to carry every day.

Finding private moments of brief pleasure, where all of the crap fell away, was a haven that made the high even better every time.

Not to mention the amount of toxin that needed to run through me now; that helped too.

Kai fucked me, keeping me on the edge until he was ready to let go with me, bringing my body to the brink of its control.

I cried out as he finally grunted and pushed us both off the edge with a cock that swelled within me, my pussy walls clenching around him as pleasure blinded me, crashing in and sweeping everything else away.

I clutched him, his skin an aphrodisiac on its own, as I cried out again and again. Every time he thrust and emptied more of his seed inside me, my orgasm stretching longer, soaring higher.

“So fucking perfect, Little Human,” he breathed against me, and I came down, my eyes fluttering closed as my body throbbed.

“I miss that. Every minute we’re not together like that, I miss it,” I panted back, and he reared over me, smirking.

“As do I, Little Human. But we will get fewer moments together now that the humans are here.”

He sighed, and I frowned. That had not been discussed.

“Why?” I asked, sitting up and tugging my dress, or what was left of it, around me.

He rolled onto his side and let out another breathy sigh.

“Because there are humans here. They speak to a more savage side of us, which means we cannot afford to lose control.

“Not just that, but with Fractum happening, we are only just holding on as it is,” he said, but I didn’t see that. The wolves seemed the same as they always were.

“The wolves are being affected?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Most of them are struggling to turn, to turn back, to rein in the part of them that wants to just descend on the village like savages,” he admitted.

I crossed my legs in front of me, rubbing my tight stomach that was tender and still mottled with bruises.

I didn’t mind them, and neither did my alphas, but Galen was getting more concerned that maybe delivery was closer than anticipated, which meant winter was most likely closer too.

“I didn’t realize it was getting like that.”

“It is. But we’ll keep the wolves in line. Trust us,” Kai said, then smirked and stood up.

He extended his hand out to me, and I grabbed it. He took me through to the bathroom, bathing me, doting on me like he was so good at, our mating bond filling my body with warmth.

He was so affectionate and obsessed with every expression and feeling I had; it was hard not to feel enamored back.

Once we were clean, Kai got us out and we got dry and dressed, coming into the suite just as Derik came in.

“The humans are waiting in the opposite wing of the mansion,” he said.

I frowned. “Why the opposite wing?”

“Because your birth may mean wolves need to be here, and I don’t want the humans distracting a single one that is here to help you. The humans will not venture over to this side if I can help it,” he said.

I nodded, understanding that but wishing my mother was a little bit closer. She wouldn’t leave the ladies though.

“I want to see my mother,” I said.

“We have them all in the communal hall at the moment. You can speak to them there,” Derik said. “Brax is with them getting a read, but it seems safe. I do have a request though, beautiful.”

He stopped me from leaving the room. I didn’t like it, but I waited to see what condition the wolves were going to give me.

“We don’t want you alone with any of them. They may be human, but last time, they proved they could not be trusted. Until we are certain there is no spy among them sent by our enemies, we have to be safe and guard them from getting too close to you,” Derik said, and I nodded.

“I get it. Can I go now?” I asked, and he kissed me.

“Good girl. Let’s go.”

I followed him, hand in hand with Kai, my arm looped through Derik’s, to the other side of the mansion.

Derik pushed open the doors for us, and I went in. The ladies of the village were huddled in a group with their children, sitting on cushions on the hardwood floors, my mother standing and smiling at me as she came forward.

“Sweetheart,” she said, and pulled me into her arms. “I don’t know how to thank you for this.” She trembled, her voice wavering.

I grinned and held her tighter. “You’re all safe now,” I said, then pulled back.

Brax came over then, his body tense, his eyes cloudy, planting a kiss on my cheek.

“They’re very scared, Spitfire,” he said against my ear, his shadows curling through me, transferring the feeling so I knew what he sensed.

I didn’t need to though; I felt it in my own instincts.

“You don’t have to be scared here,” I addressed them, moving to stand in front of the huddle.

They were still dirty from the initiates’ quarters and still looked a little worse for wear, bruises and fear riddling them.

“The wolves won’t hurt you, and while you are on this estate, you are under my and the alphas’ protection.

“I do have to reiterate that that protection extends only as far as the walls of this estate. Beyond that is not safe for humans,” I said.

They all looked at me wide-eyed, like I was no longer a winter born human worthy of only disgust, but like I might just be the light they needed.

I didn’t want to be a light. I wanted to be strong, and I wanted them to be as well.

“We can help, in exchange for your protection, of course. As the humans have always done,” my mom said, and I smiled.

“We have gardens here that could use tending, cooking, cleaning, but that will be for yourselves and the alphas, that’s all. The wolves have their own means now.

“I want you to be comfortable here. I know that will take time, but I think we can get there, as long as the single rule is followed.

“More than that though, I want us ladies to take back our own fate. I want us to learn to defend and protect ourselves, but all that will come in due time. Until then, welcome,” I said, and my mother beamed.

“See, ladies? I told you that we would be welcome,” Mom said.

I nodded. “Of course. I don’t want this war any more than I want more casualties on either side.”

I looked at my alphas, who looked much more intimidating than they were.

“Neither do they,” I said, and the humans glanced over at them.

The doubt was there, but I knew I could change that. Eventually.

“You wish us to go back to normal? Back to serving?”

One of the ladies spoke up, and I recognized her. She was Portia’s mother.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and my heart broke for her. Portia was a casualty that never should have been allowed to happen.

I wasn’t sure what she knew of her daughter’s death, whether they knew my brother had been possessed by Elias and killed her as a sacrifice, but from what Mom had told me, my father had planted that all on the wolves.

“No, I don’t want it to be like that at all. I want the humans and werewolves to get along, to coexist peacefully without death in between.

“I want the humans to go back to their farms and crops, the wolves to build their city, but most of all, I want the pain on both sides to end.

“That is why we took you in, to prove that it is possible,” I said, and she nodded, sniffling back her tears.

Mom went over and hugged her as they sat down together on the floor, Mom kneeling as Ryleigh came over and handed her a tissue. She had a swollen stomach too.

Vaughn stayed dutifully at her side, but this time he wore village clothes. I eyed him and stepped closer.

“You have given up your position with my father?” I asked, needing confirmation.

He nodded. “The second I could do so without raising alarm.”

“Good,” I said, then turned to my alphas. “They have rooms already allocated? Dining, access to food and water?” I asked, and Brax nodded, coming forward to stand next to me.

“Follow us downstairs, we’ll show you to your rooms,” he said, then walked ahead, and we all followed.

I hid my smirk the entire time he showed them through the rooms they had been allocated.

They were the virgin ceremony rooms. Excluding the blood bowl in the podium room, of course.

But they were allowed in the dining hall with the fireplaces, the cozy living space with sofas and bookshelves, chess sets, and some easels with paint supplies.

We were shown the bathtubs, which Derik made sure I knew were filled with regular water, not blood moon ritual water, and then taken through to the bunk rooms.

I had seen it all, but the wonder on the ladies’ faces made me smile—obviously their virgin ceremonies had been held differently.

This had stunned me the first time too. It had been so much…softer than the village. And warmer. The fireplaces and wall lanterns were much more effective than the ones we had managed.

“Will this suffice, Spitfire?” Brax asked with a knowing smirk, and I grinned back.

“They seem to think so,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.

We watched the humans choose their beds and sections of the bunk rooms as my mother pottered and helped. She came over after a few minutes, a new glow about her.

“I cannot thank you enough for this. It was a lot to ask to accept us here, so whatever the cost was, I want to help pay it,” she said, more to Brax than to me.

“It has cost us nothing yet. Only a little respect, but that will be earned back,” he said, and I loved him for it.

My mother would do whatever it took to pay back whatever debt she thought she owed, but I didn’t want them to owe the wolves anything. They had been doing that their entire lives.

“Well then, I actually have a favor to ask of you,” she said.

I raised a brow. My mother’s spine had grown straight indeed being away from my father. I loved seeing it.

“Ask then,” Derik said, coming over.

I waited a little nervously for whatever it was she wanted, hoping we could accommodate but not sure because we had already pushed so far by having them here in the first place.

“I would like to see my son. I understand that you have made it possible for Lorelai to communicate with him, and I am asking for the same courtesy next time she is allowed to see him,” she said, and I smiled.

That, I already knew we could make happen.

“We could meet at Tabitha’s,” I said, turning to Derik, but he shook his head.

“I will reach out to Silas. We will have your brother visit here to establish some ground rules. It is too dangerous for you to go into neutral territory in your condition now,” he said, and I rubbed my stomach, knowing he was right.

“Will that be okay?”

“He will only be allowed outside in the gardens for an hour. We’ll have dinner out there tomorrow night if Silas allows.

“He must come alone: those are the only terms I will agree to,” he said.

I hugged him. It was a lot to ask to have a vampire in the city, but he was allowing it. I was beyond grateful and knew the shit he was going to get for it.

“Thank you,” I said, and he smiled.

“I wouldn’t dare say no to a woman who carried my child and the mother of that woman. I might find myself on the receiving end of some very angry hormones,” Derik teased, and I chuckled. My mom did too.

“Smart alpha.” She beamed, then left to attend to the women.

***

An hour later, I was back in my suite, penning a letter to my brother from me and Mother to have delivered.

Cain was going for me, and I couldn’t wait to see what they said. I hadn’t seen my brother since Tabitha’s, and it felt like so long ago.

With Mom here, maybe we could be family again, but then again, I had to remember what had happened.

I knew the wolves weren’t about to forget. This was going to be a test, to see if my brother was genuine or not.

I just hoped he passed.

“Come to bed, Little Human. We would like to worship you.” Kai smirked, and I looked over my shoulder with a smile.

“I am very lucky,” I said softly, and my alphas smiled back at me like the very sight of me was enough for their hearts to soften. It made mine do so in return.

“We are the lucky ones. Mated to the most beautiful of humans.” Derik said, and I smiled, standing up and taking my letter to the door.

I knocked once and Cain opened it, grabbing the letter before saluting and leaving to hopefully peacefully deliver it and get a response for me.

I shut the door again and turned to my alphas.

“So. Now that the humans are here and the wolves are complacent, whatever shall we do with ourselves?” I teased, walking forward, slowly undoing my robes and dress.

Kai stared hungrily as Derik narrowed his eyes on my movements. Brax had his shadows already inside me, caressing me, building up the tension in my body with a delicious amount of heat.

I climbed onto the bed and lay down between them, letting them take my body to its limit before falling asleep, naked and sated.

***

I was woken by vicious growling and a loud crash hours later and gasped, sitting up.

A wolf with reddish-brown fur plowed through the wreckage of the French doors he had destroyed, baring his teeth as he circled the bed.

My alphas woke, alert and tense as they saw him too.

Brax slowly pulled me back farther behind him on the bed, handing me a throw to cover myself with as my harsh breath came through my tight chest.

I swallowed hard as the wolf growled and snarled again, his paws crunching on the broken glass.

“Tobias. Stand down,” Derik growled, his voice full of alpha authority.

The wolf gnashed its teeth, drool spitting out as he did.

“You got her, Brax?” Kai asked, and Brax shuffled me closer to the edge of the bed, slowly and stiffly.

I followed his lead and tried to connect the link, but there was nothing there. Kind of. I could feel the tension and everything my mates felt, but I couldn’t hear their thoughts.

“The pack link isn’t working either. It’s Fractum,” Derik answered my unasked question, his voice soft and quiet as the wolf stared us down.

“Tobias, I’m warning you now, if those teeth, claws, fur, get anywhere near her, I’ll rip you to shreds. Happily. Stand down,” Kai threatened, and the wolf’s hackles raised, his teeth baring as a feral growl ripped through the tension.

“I’ve got her,” Brax said as he inched me closer to the bathroom, his shadows around me, brushing over my skin, ready to protect me from whatever was going to happen, but I could feel my own magic, and it was just as ready.

Magic burned beneath my skin, and I paused in the doorway to the bathroom as Derik and Kai slowly stood from the bed.

“Get in,” Brax urged, but I shook my head.

“I’m okay, I will be okay. I know this is Fractum, not him,” I said, fear draining from me, leaving only sadness at what my father had caused.

“He is about to attack, and I need you out of harm’s way, Spitfire,” Brax said, and I smiled.

“I have the border magic to protect me, Brax. And maybe Tobias will respond to that. It is the same magic that Fractum broke, is it not?” I asked.

He seemed to contemplate what I had said before nodding and letting me stand at the doorway, even though his big body stood in front of me and made it almost impossible to see what was happening anyway.

“Fractum or not, if he attacks, I’m putting him down,” Kai snarled.

“How did he even get in? Where are the guards? This estate should be protected,” Derik bit, and Brax bristled in front of me.

“I believe he was on as one of the guards tonight, D. He was on the edge of the estate last I checked, but the wolves have been struggling to keep their shit together.

“Having extra human scent here might have tipped him over the edge,” Brax explained, his eyes going slightly cloudy as he read the situation.

Derik nodded once, taking a step toward Tobias, but the wolf growled angrily.

“I need to make sure the others are okay. If he got in, I need to make sure nothing else did,” I said, but Brax stopped me from moving.

“One problem at a time, Spitfire,” he said, and I let out a breath before nodding. I couldn’t get past the big-ass wolf anyway.

Tobias started shaking then, growling and raking his paw through broken glass before the whining started. He shook his head, like he was trying to clear his thoughts.

“He’s fighting it,” I realized, and Brax nodded.

“The alphas’ order to stand down is warring with the savage in him that wants to attack the foreign scent you carry. We’re waiting to see if he can manage it before we step in.”

“And if he can’t?”

“Then we bury one of our own tonight,” Derik whispered, and I shivered.

“And this will keep happening?” I asked softly.

Brax nodded. “This is only the beginning.”