Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (64 page)
Read Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) Online
Authors: Lily Thorn
She sighed. Flint and Duke sat together, looking forlorn. Duke picked at his food, and Flint was silent. He had no boisterous tales to tell tonight.
They had brought all the injured into the new fire circle. The pack wanted to be together tonight. Everyone was conscious now, though Briar and Cricket still required stretchers. Clove wasn’t taking any chances. Huck and Dove took turns feeding Cricket small bites, while Violet and Rain held cups of tea to Briar’s lips. Even those not nursing the wounded or their own injuries stared into the fire, faces downcast.
Lia looked around at them. She couldn’t stand to see them like this.
“How about a song?” she asked.
They all laughed at the absurdity of her suggestion.
She grinned. “Really, though. We survived, mostly. All isn’t lost.”
“And soon there’s going to be a new Alpha in the den,” Lark said. “Hope no one minds having their ankles bitten.”
“Don’t worry,” Ronan said. “We’ll train the pup to bite your nose instead.”
Lark and Dove started arguing about whether it would be worse to have a wolf pup bite you on the nose or on the bottom. Huck chimed in that if the pup bit your ass, you weren’t paying attention and needed to be more careful.
Their conversation devolved from there, but the evening’s gloom had been broken. Pleased with herself, Lia leaned into Ronan. Maybe she wasn’t so bad at this whole Alpha thing.
Kane stood abruptly, trotting off toward the den.
She looked at Ronan. “Is he all right? Should we go after him?”
He shook his head. “He won’t be long.”
Ronan was right. After a few moments, Kane returned. Slipping beside Lia, he pulled something around her neck.
“What’s this?” Looking down, she saw a gleam of gold in the firelight. Recognizing it, her eyes welled. “Really? Angela’s locket?”
Kane and Ronan gave her twin smiles.
“We want you to have it,” Ronan said.
Kane took her hand. “She would have liked you.”
Lia bit her lip. She didn’t want to accept this when they didn’t know the truth about everything. “There’s something I have to tell you,” she said quietly, “about Della’s prophecy.”
They looked at each other. She couldn’t read the meaning that passed between them.
“Della made it up, hoping you’d find me,” she said, taking a breath. “But it isn’t true.”
Ronan grinned. “‘The pack will prosper, and a failed witch will lead them.’” He gestured toward the wolves sitting around the fire with a wide sweep of his arm. “Looks like it came true to me.”
Lia’s face heated.
“Only one thing,” Kane said.
“What?” Her stomach dropped.
“You’re pretty much the opposite of a failed witch.”
“Sorry, Lia,” Ronan said. “Besides that tiny detail, you can’t question Della.”
Lia didn’t know what warmed her more—the fire, her Alphas beside her, or the joy that threatened to overrun her heart. She was full to bursting with love for her pack, her unborn babe, the cool night, and the warm den that awaited them. She was so glad to be here with them all, to have found her home at last.
One by one, the pack began to sing.
Nine Months Later
Frost lay on the meadow the day the babe chose to come into the world. Ivy had set a small fire in the room, and Clove had brought her plenty of bed furs. They both coaxed Lia as she pushed the squalling babe into their arms.
Working quickly, the pair cut its cord, cleaned it, and set it against Lia’s breast. Then they left to give their Alphas some privacy, and to carry the news to the rest of the pack.
Ronan bent to kiss her sweaty forehead. “You were wonderful,” he said. “Absolutely magnificent.”
Kane stared at the babe, wonder in his eyes. “Can I hold her?” he whispered, after the babe had fed.
Lia put the babe in his arms, reminding him to hold her the way Ivy had shown them. Nervously, she clutched Angela’s locket.
“What do you think?” she asked. Was part of Kane disappointed she hadn’t given them a boy?
He gazed at the child, his eyes overbright. “She’s perfect.” Kane looked up. “Isn’t she perfect, Ronan?”
“Maybe I’ll find out once you quit hogging her.”
Reluctantly, Kane passed the babe to him. “Do you think she’s Ronan’s? Or mine?”
“She’s all of ours,” Lia said with finality.
Her Alphas both seemed pleased with that, though from the way Kane twitched his fingers, Ronan wouldn’t be holding their daughter for long.
“What should we name her?” Ronan asked.
“Can we name her partly after Della?” Lia’s throat constricted. She wished Della were here. “I don’t want her to be forgotten.”
Kane stroked the tiny tuft of hair on his daughter’s head. “What shall we call her, then?”
“Delilah,” Lia whispered.
The Alphas might not have even heard. They were both too enraptured with the tiny new creature.
Ronan handed her back to Lia, and the babe latched onto her breast. “We’ll go downstairs,” he said. “Just for a moment. The pack will want to hear her name.”
“And congratulate you.” Lia smiled. “Go. You too, Kane. Your daughter and I aren’t going anywhere.”
Ronan had to drag Kane from the room. Lia lay back against the furs, staring into big blue eyes that seemed to hold the world.
“Ugh.” Lilah appeared beside her. “It looks like a mutant potato.”
Lia glared. “Don’t talk about my daughter that way.”
“It’s not my fault I look like that.” Lilah threw up her hands. “Fine, fine. I’ll stop if you’ll tell the twins just once to stay out of my room. There are things in there they aren’t supposed to know about yet.”
She frowned. “The twins? You mean Kane and Ronan?”
“Oh.” Lilah backed out of the room. “Uh, sure…”
“Lilah, come back here!”
But Lilah had disappeared. Now it was just Lia and her babe. She was blissfully content with the little bundle in her arms.
The babe fussed. Lia wrapped the furs around them, calling on a small bit of magic to catch warmth in the air. Her daughter quieted, taking steady breaths. Lia watched the furs rise and fall, fascinated. She felt like she would never tire of watching her daughter, a little spark of life in her hands.
“No jumping through time, now,” Lia whispered. “Not until you’re older.”
The babe squirmed, as if in protest.
“Lia!” Kane flung himself through the doorway. “What’d we miss?”
“Nothing much,” Lia said. “Just her first words.”
She and Ronan both laughed at Kane’s panic-stricken expression.
Slowly, carefully, making sure not to jostle Lia or the now-sleeping babe, Kane and Ronan slid into the furs beside her. The room was very warm now.
Lia stroked her daughter’s back. There would be hard work ahead, and sleepless nights, but also many adventures. She couldn’t wait to watch Delilah flourish.
Beside her, Kane and Ronan were watching their babe twitch in her sleep.
Lia smiled. “Get ready,” she murmured. “It’s time to grow our pack.”
∞
When two Alphas fall for a monster hunter, who will end up hunting whom?
Lily’s next series,
Hunted by the Alphas
, is finally here.
Read
Part One
now!
Turn the page for a sneak peek!
Sneak Peek of
Hunted by the Alphas: Part One
Val crouched behind a pillar, trying to hold still. It was dark, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t see her. Slowly, silently, she drew her silver dagger. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She had never killed one of them before, but she would if she had to. They were monsters.
Something crashed. The sound echoed in the gloom. Val gasped, peeking around the pillar. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he was there.
And getting closer.
She clutched her dagger, knuckles white. The song they’d all learned as children wove through her mind.
Sunlight burns them, but it’s only a start. Finish them with a blade of silver through the heart.
Her palm was sweaty. The task had sounded easy as a child, but it was hard to stab something three times faster and stronger than you at all, let alone through the heart.
A footstep fell on the flagstone. It was almost silent, but Val had been straining to hear any hint of sound. Cautiously, she crouched, easing her way around the pillar. Her heart thudded against her ribs. Surely he could hear it.
There was the metallic sound of a drawn sword, the scuff of soft shoes planting. It came from behind her, where she had just been. He had tried to ambush her.
Val held her breath. She heard a soft curse, the muffled noise of a weapon sliding reluctantly into its sheath. Footsteps retreated. Her heartbeat slowed.
She couldn’t stay here. That had been too close a call. She peered over the walkway’s railing, looking toward the double doors below. They glowed with afternoon light that filtered in from outside. If she made it out, he wouldn’t be able to follow. She’d be safe.
All she had to do was get to the doors.
Carefully, Val stood. She held her dagger ready for a long moment, in case he was waiting to attack. Nothing. Val looked over the railing, swallowing hard. She’d landed higher jumps, but never outside the training room.
The light outside the doors beckoned. She had thrown him off for now, but that wouldn’t last. The longer she lingered, the more time she’d have to make a mistake. It was now or never.
She sheathed her dagger, took a breath, and vaulted off the walkway. The ground came up very fast. She bent her knees, landing on the balls of her feet like she’d done thousands of times in the training room. But this was no padded floor. Her feet throbbed as she stumbled toward the exit.
A snarl echoed off the walls. Val turned. He was right there, at the bottom of the stairs. Turning toward the exit, she ran, fumbling for her dagger.
She was too slow. He rammed into her, knocking her off her feet. She sprawled across the floor, winded.
He pawed at her belt as she tried to suck in air. Val automatically covered her neck with her hands, though the motion made her ribs ache.
Roll away
, she commanded her body.
Get to your feet, and sprint for the doors. You’ve felt worse. And unless you want to know what a vampire bite feels like, you’ll get your ass out of here
.
She rolled to her feet, ignoring her screaming ribs. It was too late. The hooded figure had already found the grimy book she’d come to fetch. He’d slipped it from her belt. His hood couldn’t hide his triumphant smile.
Val felt her face heat. This was her first time, and she wasn’t going to fail. “That’s mine!” she shouted. “Give that back!”
With a swish of his cloak, he turned and ran.
Val pounded after him, ignoring the fire in her lungs. That book was everything. She couldn’t let him take it. Why did he have to be so infernally fast?
His robe whipped around a corner, his footsteps loud as he ran up the stairs. Val charged after him, drawing her dagger.
“Drop it!” she roared. “Drop it or I’ll slice you apart!”
She ran back onto the walkway, then stopped. Where had he gone? Val gritted her teeth. She couldn’t let him escape.
His boot struck her ear as he dropped from the ceiling. Val jumped back, swinging her dagger. Her panicked swipes missed every time. He advanced on her, mouth grim.
Val chanced a quick look at the doors, her heart sinking. She should have run for them when she had the chance.
He took the opening, gripping her by the dagger hand. She yelled, struggling for control. But he was strong, and relentless. Why had she been so stupid? She was going to die here. Or worse.
Val tried not to let terror overtake her as they grappled. She wouldn’t drop her weapon. That had been drilled into her too many times to count. As long as she held on to her dagger, she still had a chance.
Stepping on the hem of his robe, she pushed him with all her strength. He grunted with surprise, and was thrown off balance. His hood came off as he stumbled, and even in the darkness Val could see his face.
He recovered, springing at her. But those eyes… Val hesitated. It was all the opening he needed. He knocked her dagger away. Val fell to her knees, twisting to reach for it, but his teeth were already at her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut. It was over.
Read
Part One
now!
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