Rhiannon turned on her side, sighing uncomfortably due to the light that kept her awake. She reached for Aidan's arm, who startled a little, and tugged him to lie down beside her.“Are you still thinking about General Gallagher's letter?” she asked with her eyes closed, as his wolf put an arm beneath her head and hugged her.“Yes, I got what he wanted to tell me. We managed to defeat the last packs...” The Alpha's breathing grew deeper. “But this was just a distraction, I'm sure. Nader used these people as bait, either to escape or to attack us.”“But love... how could he? Without Alec and Adrien, who's left to back him up?”“No one, and that's the problem, so this is probably the time he'll do something stupid,” Aidan said. “Don't underestimate him. Nader has a cold, calculated temper. He was banished by my father, and yet he came back to lead the Alphas.”“Gallagher is better and he's after him. I know he's dangerous, but we can't stop moving for him.”“I know. Are you excited about
Aidan frowned the minute he saw Hiro’s name on his cell phone’s screen as it rang. As soon as he put it to his ear he was up and running for the exit door, motioning for Maddox to follow him.“I'll be there in ten minutes! Rhia?”“She left me in charge of the twins in the security room. Wait...” Hiro's nervous, choppy breathing could be heard. “Briccia, Briccia's coming with Nanny!”“Dammit!” Maddox exclaimed as he climbed into the driver's seat and pulled the car out of the parking lot as if he were on a Formula 1 track.“Who else is in the apartment?” Aidan inquired.“General Gallagher. It smelled a lot of his blood; he must be hurt pretty bad. I think Alanna's holding him back so Rhia can escape... wait...”Aidan put the cell phone on speaker and they only heard the gasps, movements, and halting words.“It's really bad...” Alanna's voice was saying. “Help me, Hiro...”“Where’s Rhia?”“She stayed behind to cover me so I could get him out.”“I'm going with her—”“No, just open the do
Three months laterBriccia carried Malia and saw her grimace slightly.“Maaaaaaaadddd!” she shouted towards the house and saw her wolf jump over the railing of the terrace and run across the garden to the shore of the small lake in less than twenty seconds.“What happened? Are you all right? What's wrong with Mala?” He blurted out the questions in rapid succession.“It's not Mala, it's Malia,” Briccia corrected him, sticking her tongue out at him.“She's Mala*, very bad, just like her daddy. Aren’t you, my love?” said Maddox taking the little girl from Briccia's arms, but leaving her with Laila.Bhremi was lending her her eyes so she could play with the babies. The she-wolf had had a long conversation with Milo and then apologized to him and Maddox. Briccia had agreed to take her back and the two were more than happy because despite their differences, they adored each other.“Look at this. Who is Mommy's beautiful little she-wolf? Who, who?” Briccia asked brushing her nose against the
“What were you thinking, Aidan Casthiel?!” Rhiannon shouted, throwing the wooden horses from the second story window.Brennan's eyes widened, aghast at the scene that was unfolding while Akela and Aidan were out the terrace door, laughing their heads off and dodging the toys and things Rhiannon was throwing.“Pink? Pink?! How could you paint the horses pink!” Rhiannos yelled. “Your children are the future kings! The alpha males of the pack! How could you paint the horses pink!”Brennan held back his laughter as he slapped Aidan in the chest.“Are you crazy or do you really want to die?” he scolded him. “You don't mess with a pregnant she-wolf, especially one about to give birth to her pups.”“She's been so serious these days! I just wanted her to have fun...” Aidan said, explaining himself, and pushed Brennan aside so that another of the toys wouldn't hit him in the head.“What kind of respect will the other puppies have for them if they show up riding around on little pink horses?!”
The news had spread like wildfire. The birth of the heirs had come early and the news had spread like wildfire. By the time Brennan made it back from the airport with Maddox and his family, the community had already gotten down to business and organized the celebration.In a way it was kind of funny, Rhia was screaming on the second floor as the doctor made her walk around the room, and on the second floor, everyone was raising their glasses and drinking. It was also curiously common that some aggression was expected from the queen, such as throwing things out of the window, some people even carried umbrellas.The Alphas who lived the closest were the first to arrive, but the others didn't miss too much because perhaps due to the fact that she was a first timer, Rhiannon had a really long labor. Sometimes she would wander around the room, fighting with Briccia, with Nanny, with the doctor, and with the Goddess herself; and when the pain was too much, she would hit Maddox, because she
The ceremony to present the pups in the temple of the Goddess was simply perfect. Briccia presided over it and just as Rhiannon wanted, the heirs to the lycan throne were named Max and Luka.In the back garden of the house all the food tables were then set up, music was brought in, and the celebration spread out around the queen and her babies.“I claim the first year!” Dimitri exclaimed after making his toast and everyone knew what he meant.When the pups turned fifteen, they would have to begin an educational journey through the packs. Each Alpha would keep them for a full year to train them in the ways of their packs and give them a tour of their territories. That was essential if they wanted to raise good kings.“Dimitri, they're two days old and you're thinking about what's going to happen in fifteen years?” Rhia scolded him, condescendingly.“They are the future kings! Nothing like a strong Russian education to start their lives as Alphas! Someone has to teach them how to kill b
Thirty Years Later“Eight children!” Aidan exclaimed, pacing the room as if it were a cage, while Rhiannon doubled over with laughter. “We have eight children and none of them want the throne!” he said loudly and turned to his she-wolf. “How can you laugh in a situation like this?”“Honey, in case you haven't noticed, it's three in the morning and you're giving a sublime speech... in your underwear! I can't take you seriously that way!” she smiled, and Aidan crawled in bed to reach her.He gave her a quick kiss that grew with the heat of the moment.“Wait, wait... I'm really worried about this!” the king said pulling away. “I want to retire already, like the humans! And I can't until one of these fools puts on the crown!”Rhiannon covered her face with her hands to conceal her laughter.“Look, we've raised excellent children. They're all responsible and good, that's what matters. They practically handle all the affairs of the crown by themselves. We didn't even have to hand out respon
1368 A.D.The girl opened her eyes slowly, trying to understand where she was and what had happened, and the first thing she saw were the pure silver shackles locked around her wrists and ankles. Then all the memories came to her at once: she had been captured.After more than a year of fierce pursuit, it had finally been impossible for her to evade her enemies, and now the die was cast. As soon as they reached the palace they would kill her.She looked around and saw the entire detachment of royal guards sitting by the fire, a little more than fifteen feet away. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give her she-wolf a chance to escape.She closed her eyes again, calling to her, and felt her awaken inside her.“Raksha, you have to go now,” her thoughts whispered to her.“Never! I'm not leaving you!” her she-wolf whispered back in kind.“You have to! The general is going to murder me as soon as he sees me, just like he did with the rest of my family!” the girl insisted.“Then I will di