Faith- Ascension Saga Books 4-6 E-Book

Grace Goodwin

• Herausgeber: Grace Goodwin
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Read the complete adventures of Faith and Thor in Ascension Saga, Volume 2 (Books 4-6)Faith Jones is an Earth girl...and she's not.She's half Aleran. And not just any half - a royal half.Her mother is the queen, her sister is the heir, and her twin is determined to kill every alien on the planet if that's what it takes to find their kidnapped mother. Faiths job? Infiltrate the Jax household and spy on one of the most powerful families on the planet. There is a traitor in that house, and Faith is determined to find him, no matter the cost.Thordis Jax always gets what he wants. He's rich. He's gorgeous. He's the heir to one of the most powerful families on the planet. But when his body comes alive at the sight of Faith Jones, it will take every ounce of seduction and skill he possesses to get into her bedand to earn her trust.Faith thinks she's got it all under control, until she meets Lord Jax's oldest son, Thordis. He's sexy. He's hot as hell. And the first time he sees her, he tells her the one thing she absolutely does not want to hear...Mine!A real Romeo and Juliet scenario. Which just stinks. Because as Faith discovers, its tough to hunt down a traitor when the only thing her heart wants is to give everything to an enemy.Read now!

Leseprobe

Faith: Ascension Saga - Books 4-6

Interstellar Brides® Program: Ascension Saga

Grace Goodwin

Interstellar Brides® Program:

Ascension Saga Book 4, 5 & 6

Copyright © 2018 by Grace Goodwin

Interstellar Brides® is a registered trademark

of KSA Publishing Consultants Inc.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical, digital or mechanical including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning or by any type of data storage and retrieval system without express, written permission from the author.

Published by KSA Publishers

Goodwin, Grace

Interstellar Brides® Program: Ascension Saga Book 4, 5 & 6

Cover design copyright 2020 by Grace Goodwin, Author

Images/Photo Credit: Deposit Photos: Angela_Harburn

Publisher’s Note:

This book was written for an adult audience. The book may contain explicit sexual content. Sexual activities included in this book are strictly fantasies intended for adults and any activities or risks taken by fictional characters within the story are neither endorsed nor encouraged by the author or publisher.

Contents

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Prequel

Book 4

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Book 5

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Book 6

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

The Ascension Saga

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Prequel

Twenty-seven years ago Queen Celene was forced to flee Alera with her unborn child. Read the story of her escape to Earth in The Ascension Saga prequel — for free!

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www.ascensionsaga.com

Book 4

Prologue

Queen Celene of Alera, Transport Room, Location Unknown

The male I’d begun to think of as a hyena shoved me onto the transport platform, all pretense of trying to play nice… gone.

I hid my smile. There were few things in the universe that could put that look on an arrogant male’s face—and being bested by a female—or three—was one of them.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, trying to keep my voice mild and sweet.

“Do not speak, or I will wrap my hands around your neck and squeeze until you can no longer bother me.”

I should have held my tongue. I wasn’t stupid. But I was proud of my daughters. Proud of my people. Proud of the fact that I’d not only survived this monster and his master’s evil plot to eliminate my entire family’s bloodline, but had returned to Alera with not one, but three daughters. Strong young women. Stronger, even, than me. “Four spires light the sky. A new queen is poised to take the throne,” I commented, not remaining silent at all. “Your master has failed. Do you really think he’ll allow you to live to speak of it?”

With a shove, he pushed me down onto the cold, black surface of the transport pad, flinging me so that I fell to my hands and knees before I could catch myself.

It hurt, but I placed my palms on the smooth surface and pushed myself into a sitting position so I could look up at him through the long strands of blonde hair hanging, unkempt, over my face. I’d been healed from their last bout of… evil. I was uninjured, but a bathing tube was a distant memory.

His face was pale, the blood gone from his lips. The hooked scar that ran from the corner of his mouth down, past his jawline, was an old one. Faded and puckered, I doubted the mercenary could smile, even if he wanted to.

“You know nothing, female,” he hissed, spittle flying from his mouth. “Not my name, nor the identity of my master. You have no idea where you are.”

That was true, and not true. I knew I was being transported off this ship. I knew we were orbiting above my home plant of Alera. And I knew that my daughters continued to defy the odds and survive. And keep peace on Alera. Was he truly that surprised by my words?

“Have you not thought this through? What did you think would happen to you in the end?” I asked.

“And what do you think will happen to you if my master does not acquire the royal jewels?”

I gave a bland shrug. “It no longer matters.” That was also the truth. My daughters’ spires were lit above the royal city. The entire planet knew of their existence, and their place in line to the throne. Trinity, Faith and Destiny. They each knew where the royal jewels had been hidden. There was no way I would betray my people and hand over such a powerful symbol to an enemy.

“Perhaps not. But since you won’t cooperate with me, you’re being relocated—to a less hospitable prison.”

I could only imagine. There were ancient dungeons beneath almost every family palace as well as the police and Optimus unit. Also, larger temples run by the Clerical Order. Dozens of possibilities pushed to the front of my mind, all equally likely and impossible to monitor from the outside.

But at least I’d be on the ground on Alera.

Standing on shaky legs, I crossed my arms and remained silent.

He chuckled as he walked off the platform toward the control panel that would send me goddess knew where. All I could do was lift my chin and hope for the best.

I would not give up the jewels. They were a powerful symbol of sovereignty, passed down generation after generation from the original queen of Alera. They were thousands of years old, and had graced the neck of every queen since our history began.

No ruler could appease the people without the black gemstones proudly around her neck. The gems had been fashioned into a necklace, designed for female rulers, and I knew, one day, they would rest against Trinity’s warm skin and would sing to her in welcome, as they had to me, part of the citadel’s life force, or energy, or awareness. I never truly understood exactly what lived in the citadel’s walls, or perhaps, the ultimate term would be spirit. The spirit of the gems would sing to her in welcome.

They would not sing for a stranger, nor for anyone deemed unworthy.

They would be categorically useless to anyone who stole them, or wore them if they did not have royal blood.

But as a symbol to the people? I could think of nothing on Earth that was powerful enough to compare. A queen without these gems was like the mighty comic book heroine, Wonder Woman, without her sword and golden lasso. The people would resist accepting anyone as their ruler without one of the spires at the citadel coming to life.

But, even if my enemies could convince the people that they had no choice, that all true royal females were dead, they would never accept the absence of the royal jewels.

Hard to break thousands of years of tradition and crown a king, especially without the iconic symbol of power around his neck. A male? Wearing the jewels?

Never. I had seen to that. And now my daughters would carry the bloodline, defend our planet. The citadel would help them. They would become powerful beyond what these fools could even imagine. The three of them together? Unstoppable. .

I stood tall as the blinding cold agony of transport enveloped my body.

The last thing I saw and heard over the hum of the machines was the scarred man’s laughter.

But I would laugh last, from this life or the next. Of that, I was certain.

1

Faith, the Jax mansion

I hoped my sisters fared better than I did. A princess, a maid and a nun. What a combination.

Trinity was all over the news on the screens. The dress she had on the day she went public was spectacular. She’d never worn her hair in much other than a braid or ponytail, but as she walked up the stairs of our mother’s palace, she looked like a queen.

She looked so beautiful that I’d cried, and I rarely cried. And if that hadn’t been enough, Zel, the unconscious guard we’d saved that first night turned out to be a really, really bad guy and had kidnapped her at her big welcome-to-the-throne reception. He’d almost gotten away with it, too. Boy, did I cry after that. It was one thing to know there might be some danger, but actual, real threats and bad guys? I freaked. Cried, then cried some more. But I had to stop, to pull up my big girl, princess panties. So now I found it much easier to make a joke and move on.

Move on. That had been my life motto until my sisters and I came to Alera. Now I was a prisoner of my own design. A servant in the Jax household. The place that was under Optimus unit investigation because of Zel. That, too, was all over the news. And it made me a little nervous since I was snooping around where other people were investigating. I was not CIA trained and wasn’t doing all that well at my mission.

“Bring me another drink, would you, dear? I’m about to die of thirst.” Lord Jax, the elder—as I liked to think of him—had his feet up in front of the fireplace in his office, despite the fact that he was fully dressed in riding gear from his late afternoon outing, and he had two creatures that looked like very large cats with zebra stripes lounging in his lap. “And some of those little snacks, too.”

He held his empty cup into the air and I took it from him. “Of course, my lord.” The cat creatures were fascinating and gorgeous, and they didn’t purr—exactly. But the sound reminded me of an idling diesel engine, just not quite as loud, nor smelled as bad.

Carrying the cup to a sideboard, I filled the glass—not with water, which would have actually quenched his thirst—but with wine. The lord did enjoy his wine. And his pets. And bragging about his son, the magnificent, perfect paragon of all male specimens. To hear the older man speak, you’d think his son, Thordis Jax, was on a level with Superman himself.

I’d seen a portrait in the hall. And yes, he was gorgeous. More like the actor who played Captain America in the movies back home than the dark-haired Adonis from Krypton. But I’d never met the prodigal son. And I had no desire to, especially since I’d learned he’d grown up with Zel, been BFFs as kids. He lived in his own home on the other side of the city which was just fine with me. If he was as intelligent and attentive as his father claimed, I’d never get all my tasks done in this house just ogling him. But he could be a traitor. Anyone in this house could be out to finish off my family.

I stuck to the tasks I’d been hired to do. These tasks included staying under the radar and hunting down a traitor.

No biggie, right? For a princess disguised as a serving wench. Actually, it wasn’t all bad, and no one had ever used the word wench. I didn’t have to wear a rough cotton dress and scrub laundry until my fingers cracked and bled. They took great advantage of their advanced technology. The Spontaneous Matter Generators, or S-Gen units, created new clothing from nothing every day. Perfectly sized. Clean, which meant there was no laundry to do. No food to clean up. The S-Gen recycled on an atomic level, breaking down everything into a basic unit of energy, the building blocks for the next item that might be requested.

I was a servant. A maid. I served. God forbid these nobles had to actually walk over to the S-Gen unit and order something for themselves. But the wine? That was special. Imported from a planet called Atlan, or so I’d been told.

The lady of the house had very clearly informed me that no one of any worth drank wine from an S-Gen unit.

Fuck that. I’d done it almost every night since I got here, and it tasted just fine. Took the edge off when it was time to lock myself in my tiny little room and try to sleep. Most nights, it helped, but not enough. I’d wake in a cold sweat with visions of the assassins who’d tried to kill us, of my hands covered in blood…

Shit. I was shaking now. Where was a good joke when I needed one?

I took the glass and the small plate of food the cook left out for him every afternoon—some kind of chopped fish on crackers he enjoyed eating…and sharing with his cats.

“Here you go, sir. Filled to the rim, just the way you like it.” And he did. So full that one misstep would spill large quantities of wine onto both my hand and the plush, ivory carpeting. “And your favorite snacks.”

“Excellent. You’re a good one, Faith. Very good.” He picked up a cracker with the chunky white topping and popped it in his mouth. “Mmm, have you tried the fish yet? Delicious.” He took another from the plate and fed it to the cat.”

“Thank you, my lord, but no. I don’t eat meat.”

“Oh?” He glanced up at me. “Yes, I can see the animals like you too much for you to eat them.”

He grinned and took another cracker and fish, then washed it down with the wine.

He was a likable man. As far as I could tell, he was nearing sixty, and didn’t do much these days. He told me his son had taken over the business side of their empire several years ago, so he was free to ride and drink and—in a more drunken moment—supposedly fuck his gorgeous mate. ‘The old cock still works, I tell you. Fills her right up and makes her scream just like it did when I was a younger man. Oh yes. My cock never fails her. Never!’

That had been way too much information, but he’d been very pleased with himself. And he was utterly devoted to his wife of more than thirty years. So, I had to smile, take him his drink, and tell him that his cock must be very great indeed.

He’d glared at me, and we’d both burst out laughing, just as the object of his undying affection strode into the room.

One look had passed between them and he’d hauled her off to their bedroom, leaving me alone to clean up the wine he’d spilled in his haste—and search through the drawers and cabinets.

Every chance I got, I went through everything. Read notes. Looked for clues as to who might have kidnapped our mother. I eavesdropped on conversations and asked questions, hoping someone would tell me something I could use. So far, I’d found nothing.

Nothing that connected anyone else in the Jax household to Zel, any information about Mother. Zel, God, he made me so mad, it was a good thing he was dead. I’d actually helped the asshole! Yet my mother was still missing, meaning the jerk wasn’t working alone. Of course, he wouldn’t be, especially since the Optimus unit was supposedly still all over investigating the Jax family like white on rice. It couldn’t be Cassander, the consort who had miraculously survived. He’d been sent to some stupid southern estate where a young lady in the Jax house was entering her Ardor. Why would he want to harm the princess when all he had to do all day was have sex with eager females? God, what a life. No doubt, Cassander would have her naked and beneath him for days. Lucky girl. “Cue the eye roll.”

“What’s that, dear?” Lord Jax rubbed his nose against that of a preening zebra cat creature and watched me from the corner of his eye. He wasn’t completely stupid, he just didn’t pay attention, content to just be happy in the moment and trust his son to take care of everything. I did not want to do anything to change that.

“Nothing. Mumbling to myself.” Shit. I had to control myself. I wasn’t used to watching my mouth. I liked to let things fly as they popped into my mind, and that habit was not serving me well in this house. Hell, on this planet.

“Me, too, my dear. I’ve found that I am the only one who truly enjoys my sense of humor.” He chuckled, as if he found himself funny, and nuzzled the second creature, who had risen onto its hind legs, front legs on the lord’s chest, and was licking his cheek. Both creatures were rumbling loudly, and I wondered if they were a mated pair. The female was larger, but the male was more aggressive with making his desire known to their master, wanting constant attention.

I wanted to pet them. Nuzzle them. Bury my nose in their fur and enjoy their snuggly attentions. And affection. But that wasn’t why I was here, and I’d been informed by Lady Jax that the creatures were exotic, extremely expensive, and no one but the lord himself was allowed to touch them.

Whatever. I had bigger fish to fry. A traitor to find, because while Zel was dead and buried—someone else had our mother, Queen Celene. They’d dragged her out of her bed back on Earth, and there had been no sign of her since. None at all. And as much as I hated to admit it, that made me very, very nervous. If her spire wasn’t still lit—the light somehow linked to her life force by ancient alien technology no one on this planet understood—I would have given up hope of finding her. I was a realist. She’d been gone for almost two weeks now. In the hands of god only knew who. Murderers? Killers? Traitors? Were they torturing her right now?

I had yet to search Lady Jax’s room—if the lord’s mate would ever stay out of it long enough for me to search properly. I had hoped to do it when they were at the royal reception that had served as my sister Trinity’s introduction to the nobles on the planet—and to everyone else. But no such luck.

They’d sent the prodigal son in their place, hoping he would be awakened by the future queen. What good it would do them, I had no idea. Not when it had been made clear on the news that Trinity already had a mate. Leo. And I knew my sister. She wasn’t the cheating kind, especially since the Jax household was supposedly the epicenter of the huge investigation. Leo was hers now. And she was his. I’d met him. Talked to him. He was a regular overly-protective alpha male. I had no idea what the hell my sister was thinking, but she seemed happy. Perhaps she wasn’t thinking… that her lust and love ruled. And, she was alive. Score two points for the princess squad.

But that didn’t stop a power-hungry mother from hoping her son could turn Trinity’s head. The woman probably needed some good news for the family name.

Speaking of the devil herself, Lady Jax chose that moment to walk in. She saw the creatures, the wine spilling over onto the floor as the larger of the two cats pushed at the lord’s arm with her paw, jostling his hand and the drink he held. “My lord, you are making a mess on the floor again.” Her voice was stern, like an angry nun at Catholic school. Her stress level was through the roof since the whole Zel fiasco came to light.

“It’s not me, love. It’s her fault.” Lord Jax rubbed his cheek along the face of the female creature. “Isn’t it, kitten?”

Lady Jax crossed her arms with a tolerant smile. It was clear that she cared for her mate. But then, he was likable. Unlike his cock’s choice of mate. “I think you love those creatures more than you love me, mate.”

He raised a brow and looked up at her. His gaze took in the floor-length pale green dress she wore, the small slippers on her feet, the softly coiled hair. She was clearly in her fifties, but still gorgeous. “Is that so, female?”

“You know it is.”

He was already rising from his chair, pushing the protesting creatures from his lap. She took a step backward, too late. “Come here, mate. It sounds like you’re a little stressed and need some… relief.”

She shook her head, but her eyes were bright with interest. “No.”

“Obey your mate, female.”

“Make me.” With that, she laughed and ran from the room, the older lord hot on her heels.

I grinned. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t much care for the lady of the house, except when she was with him, and she did deserve a little relief. With the servants, visitors, everyone else, including the investigators who’d been through the house often enough, she was cold. Calculating. Vindictive. The word diva didn’t come close to doing her justice. But with her mate?

I took his cup and watched the creatures leave through their own special door with a sigh. They never stayed. Never let me touch them. Too loyal to their one true master, or so I’d been told.

Walking as quietly as possible to the hallway, I followed the lord and lady, eager to discover where they might end up. Most of the time, he carried her to her chambers, leaving me no hope of searching them.

But today?

A door slammed ahead of me, her squeals of laughter clearly heard through the thick panel.

Yes! The library. Her room was empty!

I ran to the side cupboard, put down the partially full glass of wine and made my way to the lady’s room as quickly as possible. She locked herself in here for hours and hours. Now was my chance!

Closing the door quietly behind me, I took in the high ceiling, the large bed covered in ivory material even softer than silk. The carpeting was so thick I would have to rough up the floor on my way out to cover the evidence of deep footfalls with each step I took.

I started in the closet, opening and closing everything. Searching pockets. Shoes. Decorative boxes. Nothing.

Moving on to her desk, I pulled at the drawer, found it locked. Damn it.

“Key. Key. Where’s the key?” It looked like an old-fashioned lock. The lock on the lord’s desk had been much more advanced. I’d had to copy a fingerprint from one of his wine glasses and record his voice to gain access. But I’d found nothing there. Business and banking documents. All public and confirmed by hours of research I’d done on their version of the internet.

But Lady Jax? She was much more of a mystery to me, and my instincts told me she knew a lot more than she let on.

Lying on my back on the floor, I slid under the desk and saw the key jammed into a small space between the wooden braces in one corner. “Gotcha.”

I grabbed the key, slid out from beneath the desk and unlocked the drawer. Before I could open it, a woman’s cutting voice stopped me cold.

“What do you think you are doing?”

Frozen in place, I slowly looked over my shoulder to find Lord and Lady Jax staring at me from the now open bedroom door.

“Just tidying up in here.” God, I really needed to work on my lying. Even Lord Jax didn’t believe me. I could see it in the scowl on his face, the way his lips tightened into a thin line.

“Well, my lord, it appears we have found the one leaking information to our enemies.”

Who, me? She couldn’t possibly be talking about me. Right?

Wrong.

Lord Jax’s face turned red with anger. “Guards!”

Whirling to face them, I kept my hands behind me and relocked the drawer. “I was cleaning the room. That is all.”

“I don’t believe you. The way the Jax name is being destroyed in the media? The way we’re losing our integrity, our honor? Because people like you and your evil, wicked ways.” Lady Jax walked to me and yanked me away from her desk. Boy, she could be strong! I took the opportunity to flick the key under the chair behind me. It was the best I could do. At least I wouldn’t have it on me.

“You dare enter my mate’s quarters without permission?” Lord Jax was no longer soft or amiable. Now he was a male defending his mate, and I was screwed.

Two burly, well-armed guards were at the door and he stepped aside. “Lock her up in my office and summon our son and the police.”

Lady Jax went to his side, shaking like a leaf at the great danger I was to her. I didn’t think it was in fear, but fury. His scowl deepened and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. They were both flushed but it hadn’t been long enough for even a quickie in the library. I had to assume they’d decided to take a bit more time here in her bedroom. Lucky me.

“Shouldn’t we summon the palace guard? The Optimus unit? They’re the ones investigating. She is the mole, love. She is the reason so many of our guards are dead. She probably sent that traitor, Zel, to kidnap the princess at the royal reception!” She sounded as if she were on the verge of a complete breakdown. Tears. Trembling. Jeez. The woman deserved a freaking acting award.

But then, maybe she really did believe I was the mole in the Jax household. I was here, looking for him—or her—myself. So was the Optimus unit.

The guards stormed in and grabbed me. Their hands were rough, and I couldn’t blame them. If they believed what Lady Jax was saying—and they had no reason not too—I was, most likely, the reason their men had been killed the night of mine and my sisters’ arrival on Alera.

Double screwed.

“I want Thor to talk to her first, but I want the police as well, just in case she turns violent. Thor can decide what to do with her… and whether or not he wants to hand her over to the police or the palace.”

The palace guard would be easy. I could just ask to see Trinity. She’d rescue me from her own guards. But the police? Assuming I was the mole, would they just torture and kill me? Lock me up? Make me disappear?

I could tell them that I was a princess now, but they’d never believe me. Everyone on the planet was looking for me and my sister, Destiny. Everyone, although no one knew what we looked like, or even that we were princesses. And I’d been cleaning bathrooms and waiting on them hand and foot? Yep. Not exactly royal behavior. And besides, maybe this way the real traitor would show his face, or at least come at me so he could gloat.

I’d have to let this play out.

When the guards led me away, I didn’t fight. And when they stood guard around me in Lord Jax’s office as they awaited Thor and the police, I refused to cry.

I was a fucking princess.

2

Lord Thordis Jax, Mytikas City, Planet Alera

“My Lord, you’ve been summoned to the family mansion.” My head of household, a stern and highly efficient female, spoke from the doorway of my office.

“My mother?” I asked. Mother sent for me often. If she was lonely, or bored, or wanted to discuss the latest female she hoped to parade before me. Always scheming, my dear mother, hoping the right female would come along and awaken my dormant cock, inspire me to be more. She believed a mate would force me to increase my interest in politics and the family finances. I was in no hurry to be dragged around by the balls, crawling after a female. And in no mood to entertain my mother today.

“No, my lord. Your father. The traitor has been caught and detained. He has ordered you to come at once.”

The traitor? Caught? No wonder they called me. The two of them had been stressed and bothered—understandably—by the weight of the investigation on the Jax family. They thought us traitors. Zel, fuck, Zel had been one. I’d grown up with him, his father a guard for my grandfather. We’d gone to school together, been best friends. Until we’d grown apart. So far apart that he’d gone down a dark path, a path that led to his attempt at kidnapping the princess. And it had occurred right after I’d been seen talking with her at the royal reception, which only fueled the Optimus unit’s interest in us.

The traitor had been found. Thank fuck. I set the crystalline drink glass down on my desk and grabbed my coat. The air at this altitude was cold.

Dancing with the princess at the reception had made two things abundantly clear. One, Celene’s daughter was highly intelligent, not the uninformed, spoiled twit I’d been expecting.

And two? She knew a lot more about what was going on in Mytikas than she let on. And she was doing everything in her power to protect the identities of the other two females, both of royal blood if the spire lights were any indication—who had arrived on Alera with her.

Princess Trinity was a step—or ten—ahead of me, and I didn’t like that feeling. Not one bit. For despite what my mother believed, I’d been running the family estate for several years now. My father, not wanting to lose face in front of his beloved, pretended, and fed her bits of information that I provided to him. As I lived in my own apartment closer to the city center, it was easy for us to keep up the charade. My mother always worried overmuch about status, and money, and power. Best if she believed everything was going as it always had. That her mate was taking care of her, was still a competent, ambitious male.

He was old, he said. Tired. He wanted nothing more than to spend time with his expensive and exotic pets, drink a bit of wine, and fuck his mate. The last, I didn’t even want to think about. But he doted on her, and I had to respect at least that. This whole mess was wearing on all of us and I was glad to know it just might be over.

Especially since I’d agreed to accept the responsibility for the family. I had no mate, and my cock, after all these years, countless parties, and what felt like an infinite number of females paraded before me—had yet to be awakened. My mate nowhere to be found.

Things used to be quiet. Simple. At least until three spires randomly lit up the Mytikas sky just a short time ago. All of Alera probably thought the same thing I had, that our lives had changed overnight.

For most, the arrival of Princess Trinity gave hope, curiosity and even eagerness for the future. But for some, the lighting of the spires made decades of scheming and maneuvering for power suddenly irrelevant. The fights between the warring houses interested in taking over Queen Celene’s reign had gone suspiciously quiet. Just a week ago, the royal guard, including Princess Trinity’s mate, Leoron Turaya, had fought off another incursion into the sacred city.

Each time, the attacks on the capital city had been carried out by mercenaries carrying no banner. They were notorious for brutality in battle, and taking their own lives rather than surrender. I had spoken to my father’s own men, those who had fought beside the royal guard in the last battle, and they all said the same thing.

The mercenaries never talked. They fought to the death, or they vanished into the night. No injured men were left behind. Only the dead. And dead warriors told no tales.

I strode out to the street and slid into the seat of the EMV waiting to take me to my parents’ mansion. The Jax household had always been loyal to the crown. For thousands of years, we had served the bloodline of the ancients. So, too, had the other families. But they had yet to realize they had no fight left to win. Not with three new spires lighting the Aleran sky.

But the Jax household had plenty of fight at the moment. Not for the crown, but for a different reason entirely. There was a mole among us and we wanted to know who it was. A traitor willing to destroy the age-old name and the honor associated with the Jax family name. That made me want the EMV to move faster, to find out about this traitor they’d captured first hand.

When the princess first arrived, a group of Jax guards had been trusted to keep her, and her mystery companions, safe. All of the Jax guards had been killed, except Zel, who’d been seriously injured and in need of a ReGen pod for healing. Our most valuable and well-loved consort, Cassander, had been injured as well.

We’d believed the attack had come from someone outside the family, a group of assassins hired to kill our men.

But the night of the princess’s reception, we’d discovered a much more disturbing truth. It had been Zel who had been part of an ambush to kill Princess Trinity and the two females she’d transported with. When he hadn’t succeeded, Zel, the bastard, had kidnapped the royal from her own welcome reception.

Wearing a Jax family crest.

If he weren’t dead, I would kill him myself. Slowly.

Thankfully, Princess Trinity had been saved. Zel had been killed. While I wasn’t sorry to see him dead, I did wish I could interrogate him. Even though we’d grown up together, known each other almost like brothers, I didn’t know him now. I’d wanted to find out who he’d worked for. It was obvious now he’d just been a pawn. Not too intelligent. Highly disposable.

Without knowing who was leading the evil faction against Queen Celene’s daughter, the princess was not safe. The tension within the walls of the family mansion was incredible. Were all of the Jax family foes of the royal family? Did we wish them harm? Death? Those were the questions tossed about in the Aleran press.

No fucking way, but words weren’t enough to prove our innocence. With our honor tarnished, nothing less than the traitor’s head on a platter would prove our innocence. I was eager to see it done and had spent more time than usual with my parents. I had my own responsibilities, handling the financial fallout of our family’s newly tarnished name. I could not afford to hide in my apartment. There was too much at stake for my anxiety ridden mother, or my doting but irresponsible father to handle this fiasco alone.

There was another reason for my frequent presence in the Jax mansion these past few days. Someone within the household stirred something in me. A scent lingered in the air, something I could only describe as hypnotic in nature, tantalized my senses in almost every room. My cock stirred. Not fully awakened, but… no longer fully dormant either. I was in an agony of inertia.

It happened for the first time several days ago when I stood in the empty dining room. I’d eaten meals there my entire life and my cock never thickened, never swelled in my pants. Arousal became an instant hunger in me, as if I were hungry, but not for the food I knew would be served later in the day, but instead, for a female’s wet, willing pussy.

What the fuck had been wrong with me? A female was meant to awaken me, and only one at that. My mate.

I’d had to excuse myself, seek the privacy of my old bedroom to open up my pants to alleviate the growing ache in my balls, to see for the first time how my cock was now like a club, thickly-veined and broad-headed. Eager. I’d stroked it, felt the powerful pulse of desire that coursed through me at the contact, but it had been unfulfilled.

The arousal had faded. I had begun to wonder if, after reaching nearly thirty years with no mate, my body had simply gone mad. For there was no mate to be found, only that scent. Elusive. I caught the barest whisper of it here and there.

I felt as if I were hunting a ghost. Or, worse, losing my mind.

And so I’d been curious to know the answer. Eager to find the one who had awakened me. Every time I searched my childhood home, I could only hope to breathe in that elusive, addictive scent.

And in the days since, I’d grown frustrated—my cock only grew harder each time I caught the scent—my body more and more eager to fuck. To mate. To satisfy the female who’d been mysteriously taunting me.

The EMV came to a stop at the mansion’s entrance and I stepped from the vehicle into the cold air, my cock once again as it had always been, asleep. But there was a newfound eagerness in my steps as I made my way to the front door.

The servants greeted me and I handed my coat to a familiar face. Sometimes, it was good to be home.

Home. Perhaps, if I found a mate, I would return to the mansion and raise my children here, where my father could spoil them and my mother dote on them, lavishing them with a bit too much attention.

The idea of finding my mate consumed me, even now, as I went to face a traitor, I thought of her. Wondered what she looked like. What noble family she had been born to. For I had come to believe it was, indeed, a female who eluded me, for the scent of her mocked me from everywhere in this home. The library, my old bedchamber, even the coat closet. I was constantly aroused at my parents’ home and that made me crazy. I should be worried about this mole who had been caught, not eager to breathe in that mysterious sweet scent and have my cock rise once again.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to fuck. The desire had been dormant because… well, because. An Aleran male didn’t have his cock awaken until he found his mate. Before that moment, he felt arousal, but never got hard. I could stroke my cock and never find satisfaction or completion because my body was waiting for The One. But who the fuck was she?

I ran my hand over the back of my neck as I walked down the ornate hallway. My parents didn’t go for simple when they could show off their fortune.

I followed the sound of voices to my father’s office, strode in ready to beat the shit out of the traitor with my own fists. My pent-up energy needed an outlet and I was pleased a male without honor would provide one. Zel was dead, but this other… he would answer for his sins, or else.

I took in my father, my mother and three guards with their backs to me, all facing the long sofa positioned in front of the now-cold fireplace. If he wasn’t working at his desk—situated before the tall window that looked out over the property’s back lawn—he often sat there to read. This was his sanctuary and it was strange to see so many people within.

My mother heard my entrance and turned. “Thordis, I’m so glad you’re here.” She came over to me with her usual grace, put her hand on my upper arm. Her gray hair was pulled up into the customary bun, the lines in her face deeper than usual. Her lips were pinched. Her normally stoic face showed a mixture of worry and anger. “She was found searching through my bedchamber.”

I heard the word she and scented the dark forest at the same time. But this time there was much more than a hint of the erotic scent. My cock stirred, swelled. My body hardened into aching stone and my mind went blank. No longer just a male, I felt an instinct rise in me I’d never felt before. Powerful. Dominant. Ready to hunt…

Fuck it. Inwardly, I growled. I had to regain control. This wasn’t the time for my cock to—

“She?” I asked, confused, pulling myself together enough to pick up on that one word.

My mother turned and pointed. At her.

Long brown hair was coiled around her shoulders like the finest silk. Her eyes were large, a deep color that looked like sun-dried honey. Her lips were pink, and full. Ripe for kissing. And her gaze, when it locked on mine, was defiant. Rebellious.

My body, my mind, everything became consumed with one word. Mine. All I could think, all my brain, my body could consider was mine. Mine. MINE.

My mother stood between us, blocking my path to the female I was meant to claim, to fuck. And she was talking. Why was she still talking? “Yes, son, it was one of the maids. It was obvious she wasn’t cleaning beneath my desk in my bedroom, and when I asked her what she was doing, she said she was tidying.”

As my mother spoke, I stared at the maid. Her long hair was tucked behind her ears as if she weren’t vain, if style wasn’t a requirement. She was garbed in the simple household uniform, but it didn’t hide the swells of her breasts, the narrow waist. With her sitting, I couldn’t gauge her height, but she looked slight, as if I might be able to pick her up and carry her off to my bed without any strain.

It was her eyes though, the color of nature, that hooked me.

I didn’t see fear in their depths, as if she’d been caught and was afraid for her life. No, I saw defiance and a hint of… peace. But after a few seconds of staring, they widened, as if she hadn’t been surprised to be caught, but to see me. Something passed between us, some… current I didn’t understand, but my cock liked.

Her full lips parted and a pink flush crept into her cheeks. Goddess, she was lovely. My cock agreed. There was no question, no doubt, that she was my mate. The one I would keep safe and whole… mine. Forever.

And fuck! She was the mole, the traitor who’d been trying to have the princess killed. Her. She was responsible for the deaths of several Jax family guards. The one to drag our name through the mud with the media. It seemed impossible by looking at her. She was a maid, for goddess’ sake. Or was she?

My cock didn’t care who she was. What she was. My mind though, needed answers. And since the police had supposedly been called for, I needed them now before she was taken away.

I strode over to her, the Jax guards stepping back to clear my way. Taking hold of her arm, I tugged her to her feet and then across the room.

“I want to speak to her myself. Alone,” I called, but not turning to look at either of my parents. I didn’t give them time to argue, for we were through a side door and into the library before they could say a word. I shut the door behind me, spun her about and pressed her against it. Capturing her wrists, I lifted them up so they were by her head, my body keeping her pinned.

Fuck, she felt good. Soft in all the right places. Warm. And her scent. Yes, wild gardens, damp forests. She was what had been taunting me, awakening me.

My cock pulsed as it pressed against her belly. Lengthened. My balls drew up, ready to empty my cum into her. She’d awakened me. She was my mate, but I knew nothing about her.

“Who are you?”

Her eyes were wide and I watched her pupils dilate. I felt her warm breath on my face, felt the way she was all but panting. Her little pink tongue flicked out and licked her lower lip and I growled.

She whimpered in response.

“Tell me your name.”

I couldn’t help but roll my hips, my cock rubbing against her. Pre-cum seeped from the tip for the first time. I ached to be balls deep in her. To feel her pussy clamp down on my cock, to watch her face as she milked the cum from me. Fuck.

“You’re going to jail, you little snoop. Or should I call you murderer? If you don’t answer my questions, you’ll answer theirs. Their tactics will be much less pleasant than mine.”

I couldn’t help it. Couldn’t resist a second longer, so I kissed her.

Sweet, lush, her lips were perfect. She responded instantly, as if a fire had been smoldering, but now had the oxygen it needed to rage. Her lips parted and I took, my tongue finding hers, tangling.

She writhed against me, which only had my cock hardening impossibly further. The friction she created almost my undoing.

What was I doing? Kissing a traitor? I pulled my head back, never feeling so aroused in my entire life. “I want my cock so far inside you we won’t know where I end and you begin.”