† Maddock †

When my witch had crawled onto my lap, I’d lost every intention of wining and dining her gently for however long it would take. It was brutal strength of willpower that had held my wolf back from instantly claiming

his mate.

The new plan was to keep her here naked in my arms for the rest of my life.

But then she slipped away.

The soft curves of her body I was only beginning to explore were put on display as Sage twirled naked, bathed in the moonlight. And like a lovestruck pup, I couldn’t do anything but sit and watch as my goddess danced around the fire.

“I just don’t understand how I never saw it before.” Sage laughed even with the tears still filling her eyes as she held her hands out in front of her.

“Maybe you weren’t looking.” I leaned back on my elbows to watch as she turned, showing her perfect apple shaped ass to me.

I wanted to sink my teeth into it.

Take her again. He howled.

We’re giving her a minute, I snapped back.

Her emotions were clearer to me now even without completely sealing our bond. The sheer excitement vibrated from her soul. She was like a new pup discovering her tail and it was damn adorable to watch.

“Thank you, Maddock.” She flew toward me, wrapping her slender arms around my neck as she planted a kiss against my lips. “You did this. You opened my eyes.”

“Maybe they’re not open enough.” I nipped her bottom lip playfully. “We can test it again to make sure.”

Sage moaned as she wiggled against my lap. The scent of her heating desire made my nostrils flare, but the rush of all her other emotions came crashing into me.

Tired. Satisfied. Excited. Worried about Coral. Wanting to please me. Wanting me to please her again.

She shivered and I smoothed down the top of her hair as I pulled her against my chest, trying to process the onslaught.

This was going to take some getting used to.

“Maybe later.” I scooped up her fallen clothes.

She leaned back to give me another soft kiss. My wolf purred in content, stopping to growl when I slid the thin underwear back onto her hips.

“Someone’s not happy to call it a night.” Sage laughed against my

lips.

“He’s an insatiable beast.” I growled back, savoring this new intense

part of our connection. “But the next time I get you alone and naked, we won’t be leaving our bed all night.”

“I’ll hold you to that promise.” She giggled, drunk on lust and the magic in the air.

I was still trying to understand how she’d never seen it or the glow that surrounded her before when it was clear as day to me and I wasn’t a witch.

But maybe now that she’d opened up to the true call of her nature, she’d stop shielding herself from her desires.

I like that. My wolf stopped pacing as he agreed to refasten her bra.

For now.

*

Sage sat tucked beside me on the bench seat of the truck, drawing warmth from my body as she rested one hand on my leg. The simple

gesture filled all sorts of spots I didn’t know were missing and quieted my beast.

Her eyes were wide in amazement as she pointed out all the things she could now see, but my favorite part was the quick glances she kept stealing of me.

I stared straight ahead, keeping my smile in check, and took the long way home to spend a few more minutes alone with my mate until she began to nod off with her head resting between the crook of my arm and my chest.

How did I ever live without this?

Begrudgingly, I turned down the right road and pulled the truck up in front of the cabin.

“We’re here already?” Sage yawned, stretching out her body with a sleepy smile. “Thanks for tonight…”

Her voice trailed off and her hand tightened on my thigh at the exact same moment I sensed it.

“Something’s wrong,” she cried as she scrambled out of the truck.

I was right on her heels, sniffing the air, and my wolf’s hackles were raised in preparation for an attack. When Apollo’s distinct smell hit me, I shook my head in confusion.

It was fresh.

Something darted through the trees and I turned with teeth bared as my fangs elongated. The fading scent of the pungent Beta Bruce dashed away. Whatever he was doing here, he wasn’t sticking around to protect the Alpha.

Sage threw open the door to the cabin and stormed inside.

“I was wondering when you’d be back, brother.” Apollo lounged naked on the kitchen chair with one muddy foot propped on the table and a half bottle of my whiskey in front of him.

Sage ignored the Alpha as she raced to Coral.

The pup was sitting on the couch with a pillow pressed against her

chest.

“What happened? Are you okay?” “I’m fine,” Coral whispered.

My gaze darted to Kera who stood tall, watching everything from the

side of the room without speaking.

But something was wrong.

The tension was strong, wafting bitter in the air.

“What are you doing here?” I turned to Apollo.

A crooked smile spread across his face. “Now, Maddock, using the pack link in a room full of…” his eyes flicked to Coral and Sage briefly

before returning to me, “others isn’t polite. Our mother taught us better than that.”

Sage bristled and moved to stand in front of Coral to block her from Apollo’s line of sight. My heart ripped in half as the joy filled awe that was

on her face slipped away, leaving the protective mask she’d worn when she arrived.

“Fine,” I spit through clenched teeth, seconds from dragging my brother outside to kick his ass for ruining what was almost a perfect night. “What are you doing here?”

“Coming to check on my daughter of course.” Apollo took a swig off the bottle and grimaced, coughing through the burn.

I looked to Kera but she stared straight ahead and gave nothing away. “Word has it that she and her new purist friends made quite the

declaration in the market yesterday.” Apollo laced his fingers behind his head and tapped his foot on my table. “I came to see if the rumors were true. So I’ll ask you again, Kera, would you like to challenge me for

Alpha?”

“No sir,” Kera said. If I didn’t know her then I would have missed the sarcasm in her soft response.

“And what about you?” Apollo’s eyes were blazing as he turned to Sage. “It seems you made a good show of me the other day and we know how the pack loves to talk. Do you dare to challenge me, witch?”

My hand was around his neck as I lifted him from the chair. I flipped over the table and carried him outside by his throat.

“You will not speak to my mate like that.” I growled as his heavy fists tried to connect with my face and tossed him onto the dirt.

Apollo stood, swaying a little, as he brushed off his legs. I saw red, a pure murderous rage that I’d never felt before.

“My apologies, brother.” He stared at me with bloodshot eyes, but matched my intensity with an Alpha’s fury. “They say you become less

animalistic when you actually mark your mate. But then again, I wouldn’t know.”

Pity and disgust rolled through me, but after these past few days I understood more of the tortured man my brother had become. If I’d met Sage and lost her, who would I be?

“Watch your mouth when you speak to her, you paranoid bastard.” “Of course.” Apollo bared his teeth, turning his attention to the three

females who’d gathered on the porch. “Kera, shift and get back to the house. I’m not done speaking with you yet.”

“You don’t have to go anywhere,” Sage whispered. My bold witch stepped forward to put my niece behind her back.

I could sense her inner struggle. She was nervous as hell that the power she should be able to wield would fail her when it really mattered, but she was going to take on the Alpha anyway.

I’d die before that happened.

“Enough,” Apollo barked an Alpha command and the power cracked through the air. “My daughter has been away for too long. It’s time that she comes home.”

“Over my dead body.” Sage held to Kera’s arm, struggling against the magic that bound a wolf to its pack.

“I’ll be okay.” Kera smiled, not letting on that she was fighting tears. “Dad’s right. Besides, you guys must be sick of me by now. I’m sure you need a break and I’ll come back to visit later.”

“Kera, no!” Both Sage and Coral screamed as she shredded her clothes and shifted in the yard before sprinting off into the woods.

I moved closer to Apollo to shake him from this crazy state, but he took a step back and looked to Sage. “I apologize for any distress this has caused you. One day I hope to welcome you to the pack properly and would love to host you at my home. When Maddock marks you, it will be a time for celebration and I’ll spare no expense. But for now, I need to spend some time with my daughter. I hope you of all people would understand.”

His gaze traveled to Coral briefly and he nodded before turning back to me. “Sorry to interrupt your night, brother.”

Apollo sniffed the air with a malicious smirk, making it apparent he smelled our sex on my body. My wolf surged forward, but my brother shifted before I could kick off my boots.

His wolf took off through the trees.

“Kera,” Coral whispered in a breaking voice.

“I’ve got it.” Sage sucked in a steadying breath. She crossed the yard and grabbed my arm, looking up at me with honey brown eyes swimming with worry.

“Something isn’t right with him,” she said. “I couldn’t see it before even though I’d felt it without understanding, but an inky black and broken magic taints his soul. If you don’t bring Kera back to us, then I’m going

there myself.”

The kind and protective strength she held seemed too big for her

fragile human body, but it vibrated from her with a commanding force that brought me to my knees.

“You two go inside and get warm. I’ll be right back.” “With Kera,” Sage demanded.

I’d never deny my witch anything, even if my brother’s head came with it on a platter. “I promise I will take care of this.”

*

Our lungs and muscles burned as we raced through the woods. I was done with Apollo’s bullshit.

Why he chose tonight of all nights to act like the concerned father, I’d never understand. But it was time for the two of us to have a serious talk about where things stood in our pack order.

I reached Apollo’s house just as the door slammed to Kera’s bedroom upstairs and shifted midair as I leaped up the porch steps.

Apollo was in the sitting room when I kicked open the front door. “What the hell?” Bruce staggered to his feet from the armchair,

surprised at the intrusion.

I grabbed him by his collar and shoved him down the hall. “Leave

us.”

“A…Alpha,” he stuttered, looking to my brother.

“Now.” I growled, sending him scampering out the back door.

“Nice to see you again so soon.” Apollo pulled a shirt over his head

and reached for the bottle of wine Bruce had left on the coffee table, tilting it to his lips as he watched me enter the room.

In two steps, I was in front of him and smacked the bottle from his hands. Glass shattered against the wall as the liquid sprayed over the gold trimmed couches.

“Have you lost your damn mind?”

Apollo’s eyes glowed black as his feral wolf surged forward. “Need I remind you, brother, that this is my pack and my territory. You forget your place.”

“You forget yours.” I moved into his space and shoved him back. “I am Sigma. I have no Alpha. And this pack would cease to exist if it wasn’t

for me. You are the mad overlord of a graveyard, but I am the only one protecting the headstones.”

“You dare to call me mad.” Apollo’s nostrils flared.

“Gods.” I ran a hand over my head. “You really don’t see it, do you?”

He cracked his neck from side to side. “I see things clearly now. You wish to challenge me.”

He lunged forward and I caught him in a headlock as we both crashed into the couch.

“Knock it off you psychotic idiot. If I was going to challenge you for Alpha, I’d have done it years ago and won.”

Apollo struggled against the hold and got a solid hit to my side, cracking a rib in half.

I tightened my arm around his neck and gritted my teeth through the pain. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to put you down.”

He lashed out and went slack with a strangled growl as I cut off all air to his windpipe. I held him a second longer as payback for my ribs and then shoved him back into the armchair right before he passed out.

“Now we’re going to have a conversation like you aren’t some crazy asshole Alpha. Do you understand?”

Apollo wiped drool from his lips and glared.

“Glad we’re on the same page.” I lowered down to the sofa so we

were eye to eye, resting my arms on my thighs and wincing from the pain in my chest. It’d be a few minutes before my rib healed, but it was enough of an annoying reminder to make sure my brother knew exactly how this conversation would end.

“I don’t think I made myself clear the first time so let’s try this again. Sage and Coral are under my protection. You do not enter my den without my permission. You will not speak to my mate or her sister without me present. And if you ever raise your voice to them or make them afraid in any way, I will personally rip your throat out to make sure the mistake doesn’t happen twice.”

Apollo smirked, leaning back in his chair. “Oh, come on. I was being polite.”

Kill him. My wolf growled. “Enough of your bullshit. Are we clear?” “Crystal.” He winked. “But as you can see, I did nothing to the

purists. What are you still doing here?”

I lowered my voice so he could hear the threat in it. “We’re going to talk about Kera now.”

Apollo’s eyes darkened. “What I do with my daughter is none of your concern.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” My patience was wearing thin.

Although we’d had similar conversations before, being near Sage and her unconditional love for the pup made me realize just how depraved this situation had become.

“Kera doesn’t deserve this life and she did nothing to deserve you as a father. She’s taken your abuse, the scraps of your affection, and always held her head high in spite of it all. She will be Alpha one day and it’s time you start treating her with the respect she deserves.”

He growled, shaking his head. “That isn’t her destiny. The Cerberus pack is fated to have…”

I cut him off with a snarl. “Enough of this. You know as well as I do that the time for a fated triplet birth has long since come and passed. It’s over and now we play the card life has given us. Kera will be a good Alpha. She’ll bring us into the future.”

“Are you so eager to get rid of me, brother?” Apollo laughed bitterly. “To a teenage girl nonetheless.”

“Kera will be eighteen on the next full moon in case you have forgotten and we were younger than her when we took control of the pack. Even so, she doesn’t have to do this alone. We can be there to guide her as she learns the ropes.”

“I took control!” Spit flew from his mouth as he thrust his finger into his chest. “In case it is you that’s forgotten our history, I was sixteen when our father died and I was the Alpha that shouldered his legacy well before my time.”

“I remember,” I said coldly. “And as I recall, you had Gabriel and me to help.”

At the mention of our dead brother’s name, we both grew somber. “You know I didn’t want to do it. He’d still be alive if he hadn’t

challenged me. We could have worked it out.” Apollo looked around the room, searching for something to drink.

I was suddenly tired and long past caring about the emotions this conversation invoked.

Funny how a beautiful witch in a silly little car could roll into town and change everything about what I thought mattered in this life.

“What’s done is done. It’s time to think about the future.”

“The future of Cerberus with Kera as Alpha.” Apollo gripped the arms of the chair with his fists. “I hear them talking. The whispers of the

graveyard pack as you call them. Half of the shifters will revolt if Kera is announced as successor. You may think that I don’t love my daughter, but giving her a pack of wolves that want to challenge her isn’t something I’m prepared to do.”

I hesitated, processing his words. In all our conversations, he’d never mentioned this. But it was my role as Sigma to be the voice of reason and I couldn’t let this moment of clarity pass.

“If that’s your concern, then make a declaration of legitimacy for the next in line as Alpha and we’ll influence the pack’s decision to erase any shred of doubt. We can build support for her to take over long before it’s

time.”

Apollo sighed as he leaned back in the chair. “You don’t understand the burden I carry as Alpha. They’ll use this declaration as a weakness and seek to undermine me.”

“I’ll handle the troublemakers.” I shrugged, not understanding the issue here.

Apollo’s laugh was humorless. “Then Cerberus territory will really become a graveyard.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” I met his stare with a challenge. “The wolves need you to guide the pack. If you make a declaration that unites them, then we can begin to rebuild. They’ll follow our decision and support the new Alpha.”

“New Alpha.” Bitterness rolled off his tongue. “That’s what this all boils down to. Everyone is tired of my rule and you all want to be rid of me.”

“Well, you are an asshole.” I smiled as my ribs finished mending and the pain eased. “But I’m not telling you to relinquish your hold on the pack just yet. I’m asking that you leave Kera alone to walk her own path and when you’re ready, we’ll stand as a unified front to support her succession.”

Apollo worked his jaw, looking around the room to anywhere but my face. His eyes lit up as he spotted an unopened wine bottle on the bookshelf

and he rose slowly as if stalking his prey.

I knew I was losing him. “And Kera is coming home with me.”

“Tomorrow.” He nodded, popping the cork off with the brute strength of his thumb. “Drink with me tonight?”

I shook my head as I stood. Another time, I might have stayed longer.

This was the most he’d heard in years without raging and I would have stuck around to make sure my points were cemented in his mind, but I’d made a promise.

There was a witch I needed to kiss goodnight and a niece I needed to bring back to people who made her laugh and smile.

“Maddock, please.” Apollo lowered the bottle and wiped the purple stain from his lips.

I’d never seen him so vulnerable before. He was my triplet, but he looked years older than me. And my brother–the Alpha–never begged.

I hesitated with one foot in the hall, torn between desire and duty. “What else do you have to say?”

He tipped the bottle up again and guzzled the wine. When he pulled it from his mouth, his eyes were red rimmed with tears. “I’m trying. I swear to the Gods I’m trying.”

“I know.” Emotions clogged my throat and I swallowed down the

lump.

“It’s hard even though you warned me it would be.” Apollo rubbed

his fist over his face and then pressed it against the side of his head as if he could somehow beat out the memories.

The raw pain as he looked up called to my beast and made him whimper. “Why are the Gods tormenting me?”