Ever After (3 page)

Or at least for the past few years. Things were changing, albeit slowly.

Too slowly for her though because she was alone.

Sure, she’d made some friends and was a little more open, but not enough. She wasn’t nearly independent enough for her own taste, but that was for safety now, rather than her own choices. She had to live with Hunter and his mate—and her friend—Becca because it still wasn’t completely safe for her on her own.

People wanted revenge for what had happened and she was the easy scape goat for those who didn’t look beyond the surface.

Leslie walked past a group of males and lowered her head on instinct. They were all more dominant than her and in the past, she’d have been able to walk past them no problem. No, though, after years of living with Dorian’s abuse, she didn’t trust herself.

The males growled at her and she winced.

“Wait up, Leslie,” one of them said and she turned as quick as she could to follow his call.

If the group had been healthy, they would have assured her stance quickly by offering her a hug or touch to show her how loved she was in the Pack.

This group wasn’t like that.

Hell, she missed Becca and Hunter already and it had only been a few hours since she’d seen them.

“Oh, hello Colin,” she answered keep her gaze on his chin rather than try to meet his eyes.

He reached out and ran a finger along her cheek. Her wolf nudged along her skin, desperate to touch the more dominate wolves around her who treated her with respect. It wasn’t sexual or territorial.

No, this was Pack.

This was something she needed.

She’d already been touch-starved before Dorian had betrayed the Pack openly. After that almost all others had shunned her. If it hadn’t been for Hunter, Becca, Liam, and Alec, she would have died. The latter two, council members in their own right, had taken her under their wing much like they would a baby sister.

There was not mating in their eyes and she didn’t blame them. She didn’t feel anything for them but deep respect and guilt that her brother had threatened their way of life.

That seemed par for the course these days.

“Your wolf needs touch,” Colin growled, causing the other men around him to growl with him.

Her wolf cowered and she cursed herself. She was stronger than this, darn it. Why couldn’t her wolf see this?

“I know,” she answered honestly. “I’m working on it.” It was just really hard to do when most of the Pack wanted nothing to do with her and the rest scared the crap out of her. Alec and Liam could only do so much and she wasn’t about to snuggle up to Hunter daily while Becca nursed their newborn baby girl.

“Your bloodlines are pure, Leslie,” Colin continued. “You’d make someone a good mate.”

She blinked.

Bloodlines.

Seriously?

It always came back to bloodlines. Dorian had been fanatic about it and look what had happened. She knew the blood running through her veins was of the finest families in the Pack’s history, but considering what had happened recently, she hadn’t thought it mattered.

She didn’t care about who her family’s family was. She didn’t care about purity.

Colin, apparently, did.

“You don’t complain and you do as you’re told,” Colin continued.  “A male would be pleased to have you for your child bearing alone. You’re quite fuckable as well. I don’t think it would be a chore to slam my cock into you during full moons. I’m sure that you’ll like the others too. After all, you’re a pureblood with tradition in your veins. You know the full moon hunts require us to either take flesh or fuck. I’m sure you understand with the female shortage in our Pack, that any mate of ours would have to be shared with the lot of us. You’ll enjoy it.”

Leslie blinked again.

Never had such romantic words been spoken, she thought dryly.

Her wolf backed away from his touch and she lifted a lip in a snarl—so unlike her. “Remove your hand.”

Colin’s brows rose but he didn’t move. He pinched her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “What was that?”

She gulped and cursed herself. Fear wafted from her and she wanted to slink into a corner and hide. It wasn’t her fault she was a submissive but dominants weren’t supposed to lord their power over her. They weren’t supposed to make her cower in fear.

They were supposed to love her.

They were supposed to protect her so she could protect herself.

When had everything gone to hell?

“Let me go, Colin.” Her voice shook and she lowered her eyes because of his wolf, but she still spoke. She was stronger than he thought. Or at least she hoped.

He pinched harder and leaned down so his mouth was almost over hers. Those in the Pack kissed in friendly ways to show affection often, but that wasn’t what Colin wanted to do. He wanted to prove his dominance over her in front of his friends.

She hated that he made her hate herself.

“You think you can talk to me like that? You’re nothing but a useless bitch who needs a good fuck to get over herself,” he spat.

Her wolf growled even as she cowered. “You don’t know me, Colin. None of you do. I won’t be mating with any of you. Our Alpha won’t force me.”

Colin narrowed his eyes. “He can’t watch you always.”

“No, but she has others on her side other than the Alpha,” Hunter growled as he stalked toward her.

Inwardly, she relaxed though she did her best not to show that to Colin. She couldn’t afford to show any more weakness that she already had.

“Stay out of this, Beta,” Colin warned.

“Get your hands off of her before I tear them from your arms,” Liam warned as he came up from behind, Alec, like always, by his side.

Her wolf nudged along her skin, desperate to touch the more dominate wolves around her would treated her with respect.

Colin pulled back but not without shooting her dirty look. “She’s a pureblood. She’s made for mating. You can’t protect her from that.”

Alec shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “Leslie is a person. Stop acting like you own her and all the females in the Pack.”

Colin snorted. “Maybe if I did, we wouldn’t be running out of women.”

Hunter moved so quickly she didn’t even see him. One second she was standing in front of Colin, the next she was behind Alec as Hunter had Colin on the ground, one knee on his chest and his forearm against his neck.

Liam stood, claws out, ready to take on Colin’s friends, though the other wolves looked reluctant to fight three of the strongest wolves in the Pack.

“Our Pack lost what was most precious to us when wolves like you decided to try to take over. The submissives don’t feel safe and others don’t want to mate outside the species.
That
is what’s killing us, not leniency. Speak to Leslie or anyone else like that again and I’ll gut you where you stand.”

“You’ll destroy all of us,” Colin rasped.

“You’ve already tried,” Hunter said simply then punched the other wolf in the face before standing up.

Leslie cocked a brow at that and Hunter shrugged.

“I slipped,” he replied.

She bit her tongue to hold back a snort. The last thing she needed to do was laugh and start a full-out brawl over hurt feelings.

Already she could tell her wolf was happier and more confident with dominant wolves who not only respected her, but treated her as if she were worth something more than breeding. If only everyone treated her this way and maybe she’d get out of her funk.

Maybe she could even find a mate.

Okay, that might be a long shot, but she had to have hope.

Without that, what was the point?

“Go home,” Hunter ordered Colin’s crew. “If I catch you sniffing around any of the submissives who don’t want your attention, I won’t be so nice.”

The other wolves glared, but left, knowing that Hunter, Alec, and Liam were stronger than them by far.

Alec reached out and gripped her hand before smiling—something the wolf rarely did. “Are you all right?”

Leslie nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Liam cursed and pulled her into his arms, inhaling her scent like he needed to know she was okay. “You should not have had to deal with that at all,” he whispered. “You’re family, Leslie. Never forget.”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled at his tone. As if she could ever forget these men thought of her as the little sister they never had.

“I won’t.” She pulled back and cupped his cheek with her palm. “You’re a good man, Liam. You need a mate.”

His eyes darkened before darting to Alec and back to her. Like a good friend, she didn’t mention the slip.

“Do you want a mate, Leslie?” Alec asked behind her.

“Are you asking?” she teased.

Alec and Liam sputtered as Hunter burst out laughing. “You’ve been hanging out with Becca too much I think,” the Beta said.

Leslie grinned, surprised she could so quickly after the confrontation with Colin. “Your mate is awesome and you know it.”

Hunter smiled a smile of a deeply satisfied male. “You don’t have to tell me that. Were you on your way home?” he asked and she held back a wince.

Home.

Not hers, not really. She lived with Hunter, Becca, and their new baby Hazel. She needed a home of her own but she hadn’t been ready before.

Soon though.

Soon.

“Yep, I’m on my way home now.”

Hunter nodded then held out his arm like a gentleman from another time. “Then let me take you there. I’m on my way to check on Hazel.”

Leslie bit back another laugh. She loved that this very alpha wolf had no qualms about showing how much he loved his mate and newborn baby daughter. He showed them both off every chance he had and didn’t care who snickered.

She had a feeling though that when Hazel got a little older he wouldn’t be showing her off as much considering how boys reacted in their Pack to girls.

“Are you going to ever let me hold that little girl?” Liam asked as the four of them made it toward the Beta’s home.

Hunter growled. “You did when she was first born and joked about squeezing her because she was so cute. You won’t be holding her again.”

Alec snorted then grinned. “I’m allowed to hold her, right?”

Liam punched Alec in the arm and Leslie leaned into Hunter as they walked. This was the family she had, not the one that she was born with, but the one that had been made around her.

She didn’t have a mate nor did she have blood relations, but she’d take what she could.

She’d find her mate one day. She just had to believe.

Chapter Three

“Blow out your candles, Fawkes,” Jamie ordered as she clapped like a teenager, rather than the new mom she was.

Fawkes grinned and did as he was told, blowing out all twenty-one candles from his birthday cake. Thankfully Lily, Jamie’s friend, had made the cake and brought it to the bar Dante’s Circle. He wasn’t sure he’d been able to stomach Jamie’s try at baking.

Not that he’d tell her or her two very protective mates that.

He had more self-preservation than that.

When he pulled back he forced a bigger smile at the crew in front of him. All of Jamie’s friends, their mates’ and Dante, the bar owner stood or sat around the table, some with their babies in their arms. All of them had that same look of tension, fear, and uncertainty.

He might have thought he’d made his choice six months ago when he’d stayed in the human realm to find his mate, but in reality, it would be much harder from here on out.

He wouldn’t be able to just stand back and let the choice be made for him. He’d have to stand and fight against his own instincts. The year long wait from twenty-one to twenty-two would bring out his demon in truth.

His body would war against itself, begging for human souls and taking out almost all his energy before he found his equilibrium and the choice was made permanent.

Fawkes would have to be on alert the entire time and make sure he didn’t give into the temptation of being a true demon. As soon as the year was up, he’d be able to consciously breathe again and know that he’d taken the harder route. He’d then have until his three hundredth birthday to find his true half and mate before he died.

He’d already searched for her within the human realm and had come up short. Though he’d known it wouldn’t have been that easy, some part of him had wished it so.

He might have been younger than everyone in the room, but he still wanted to have that special person and start his future. Watching Balin fall for not only Jamie, but Ambrose too had changed something in him.

Now he just had to find his true half while fighting his inner demon’s right for control.

A walk in the park.

“What did you wish for?” Becca asked as she kissed her baby’s forehead. Hunter had Becca in his lap so he could hold the both of them with ease.

“If he told you that, he’d lose his wish,” Jamie said as she leaned into Ambrose. She too sat in his lap while Balin held their baby.

It was getting really domestic, really fast. Even Lily was holding her child as Shade made funny faces to get them both to laugh.

“So, have you decided what realm you’re visiting next?” Nadie, the quiet blonde in the corner asked.

Fawkes nodded and looked down at his fisted hands. He’d spend the next year going from realm to realm, exploring and looking for his mate. After that year was over, he’d probably continue to do the same though he’d find a place to live permanently.

“I wish I could take you to the angel realm,” Ambrose added.

The demon and angelic realms were the only ones with true blockades. Demons couldn’t step foot in the heavens and angels could walk through hell.

That didn’t mean they didn’t try. Ambrose, after all, had made his way through hell with the help of Dante, a dragon, to find Jamie. That’s how Fawkes had met the angel.

“It’s okay, Ambrose,” Fawkes replied. “It’s not as if angels and demons mate daily. You and Balin seem to be the exception.”

Balin grinned. “I like being the exception. Now stop stalling, were you going next?”

Fawkes let out a breath and shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel like I’m on an endless path with no hope in sight. I don’t like not knowing what will happen. I don’t want to be on anyone’s charity. I want to be my own man, but I don’t know how to do that either.”