Unknown
Avery pounded his fist on the table. “The stronger she gets, the stronger HE gets,”
“I find it very interesting,” the woman across the table said mildly. “What an unusual father-daughter bond. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of such a thing before.”
“Yeah, isn’t that just my shitty luck?” Avery drummed his fingers on the polished wood. “We have to eliminate her.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just eliminate the king?”
He scoffed, “Your ignorance is amusing. The people’s loyalty to the king is absolute. Even when he was raving mad. If he dies, there will be chaos and rebellion. And of course, it's becoming common knowledge that the girl is alive. She becomes the rightful heir if he dies.” he shook his head, “No, the girl must go. If the girl goes, the king will lapse again into depression and madness, and I can resume my place.”
“The kind and loving brother, caring for the kingdom while the true king is incapacitated.” the woman filled in dryly. "Your devotion is... very inspiring."
“Exactly.” Avery sat back and ran his hands through his greasy blond hair. “So, we need to get rid of the girl. Send your best men into Valiant Mountain and --”
The woman held up her hand, and effectively silenced him. “None of my men are foolish enough to step into Valiant Mountain to assassinate their Luna. That is suicide.” She examined her nails, as though her manicure were her most pressing concern. "The twins are very powerful. Even more so, now that they have mated."
Avery bristled. “What then? There must be some recourse.”
She pulled a card from her bag and slid it across the table. “Maybe there is, but it will cost you.”
He used his fingernails to pick the card off the table. “The King’s Assassins?”
“No relation to our king, of course. It’s the name of a private agency of hitmen for hire.”
“I’ve heard of them,” Avery said, frowning over the card.
“Then you know that they are the best. Absolute professionals. And they claim to be untraceable.” She leaned forward, lowering her voice, “It will never come back on you.”
“But the cost?”
She shrugged, “You have to negotiate the contract. But ask yourself, what’s it worth to you?”
“Everything. If the king returns to power, it will destroy us.”
The woman stood gracefully and put the strap to her bag on her shoulder. “When you call, ask for Jericho Carrole. He is the best.” She nodded and then let herself out of the office.
Byron
Nothing is quite as sweet and satisfying as waking up with your mate’s head on your shoulder. She looked absolutely beautiful with her cheeks flushed with sleep and her wild red-black hair spilling across the pillows. I reached down and brushed her hair out of her face, and off her shoulder so I could see my mark. It was already fading into a shiny red scar. I reached up and touched the bite on my own body and smiled to myself. Everything they said about finding your mate was true. I felt more alive, more powerful, and more centered than I ever had in my life.
I felt my brother stir on the other side of the bed. He lifted his head and looked down at our mate, his lips curved in a sleepy smile. She was changing him too. I wondered if he realized it yet. He met my eyes over her body. “We need to take the next step,” he said quietly. “We need to do a Luna ceremony, and present her to the pack, officially.”
“Do you think she’s ready?”
His smile widened into a grin as he touched the fresh, tender mark on his shoulder. “Hell yeah. I think she’s a lot stronger than we give her credit for.”
We both stared down at her for a long minute. “Who do you think she is, really?”
“Well, she’s no slave girl, I know that.”
“The Luna at White Pines said she was an orphan. Her parents could have been anyone.” I picked up a piece of her hair and slid it between my fingers.
“I’d wager they were alphas. And powerful ones at that.” Wyatt said, stroking her arm. The need to touch her hadn’t abated just because we’d completed mating.
“We should do some research... see if we can find records of any notable alphas who died around that time. It would have been what, fifteen, sixteen years ago?”
Wyatt nodded, “That's a good idea.”
“I wonder if the council knows?”
Wyatt stiffened. “Leave the council out of it. I think the less they know about our Luna the better.”
“You don’t trust them?”
“I think their motives are questionable.” He eased himself into a sitting position, trying not to disturb the sleeping beauty between us. “We can do our own research. We don’t need them.”
Her eyes opened, and she stretched like a kitten between us. “We don’t need who?” she asked sleepily.
“The council. They are just a bunch of over-the-hill retired alphas trying to hold on to some semblance of control.” Wyatt nuzzled her hair. “You smell so good.”
She swatted at him playfully. “I need a shower.” Her eyes turned dark, “I think we all need a shower.”
“My dear, are you so insatiable?” I asked, nibbling along her earlobe.
“Ugh,” she pushed me away and leaped off the bed. She stood there, naked and glorious, utterly unaware of the picture she was presenting. I was getting hard again, just looking at her. “It's all your fault!” she said, leveling a finger and wagging it back and forth between the two of us. “It's like... you are all I can think about now!”
Wyatt chuckled and untangled himself from the blankets. “Of course, my love. We wouldn’t want it any other way.” He pulled her up into his arms, and she didn’t resist. “Come on,” he said, planting kisses along her collarbone. “I’ll wash your back for you.”
I kicked myself free. “Wait for me,” I growled with a wicked grin. “I’ll wash your front.”