Fragmented bond

250 years later…

I sat on the top step leading down from my back porch, watching as my great-granddaughters ran around and played in the yard. The second youngest, at just five years old, had shifted into leopard form, having taken after my sister; only her coat was a light blue.

I had offered to watch the girls since their father—my grandson—had to take care of a disturbance in the upper region of our pack. Nearly twenty years ago, I had passed on the mantle of Alpha to him since his mother wasn’t a summoner and neither were my other two children.

A couple of months after Atlas and I got together we had our mating ritual, not wanting to wait. I knew in my heart that he was the only man for me, and I wanted him tied to me in every way possible. To no one’s surprise—although we hoped it wouldn’t happen—Lukas crashed the ceremony since none of us invited him. Liana got to him first, kicking his ass before Atlas dragged him out of there. Honestly, Lukas was lucky my whole family didn’t have a go at him and take turns.

A few short years later, I became pregnant and I was utterly terrified to do anything. I had finally taken on the mantle of Alpha and I refused to train or even go outside, afraid the same fate would befall my child as the last time.

It took me a long time and a lot of patience from Atlas, but I eventually was able to relax and trust that things were different this time around. By the time my second pregnancy came around over a decade later, those worries were no longer on my mind. I was able to enjoy the process—as much as one could enjoy pregnancy—and no longer unnecessarily stressed myself out.

Something nudged against my arm, pulling my attention to the cat head-butting me, begging for attention. Gabby’s familiar was a needy bastard, and when she wasn’t paying attention to him since she was playing with her sisters, he sought out attention elsewhere.

Letting out a short chuckle, I pet his head as he crawled into my lap, his purrs audible. His spotted silver fur was similar to Missy’s, only his spots were smaller and he was nowhere near as big as her. Regular animals and familiars were never as big as their summoner counterparts.

Footsteps behind me had me tilting my head back and finding my mate standing behind me. My entire body locked up as I smelled blood on him, not his but a stranger’s. He was wiping the remnants of blood from his hands, the previously white rag was now red. My focus quickly scanned over his body. It wasn’t until I realized he wasn’t injured that I allowed myself to relax and started petting Royal again.

“What happened?” I mentally asked through the bond, even though I doubted the little ones would hear. The oldest among them was eleven-year-old Bri, and she was too busy trying to tackle Missy, using one of the moves I taught her to use against a summoner in animal form.

“Another attempt on them, this time was a death mage.” Atlas’ anger was barely leashed. His movements showed his agitation as he balled up the rag and clenched his jaw as he stared at the surrounding forest.

After all these years, I now knew why I had gone through all that pain and suffering. It had been so I would fall in love with Atlas, and with our union, we had our oldest daughter Cora, whose youngest son Ambrose sired these five special children before me.

With how they represented all of our races between the five of them and how each of them were exactly two years apart, we all knew they had a destiny that couldn’t be avoided. And because of that, many feared what they’d one day become, and decided to take out the possible threats when they were young.

It was a constant worry of mine, but I knew there was nothing I could do to halt whatever future the fates had planned for them. All I could do was keep them safe while they were young and help prepare them to be able to handle whatever shit was thrown their way.

Atlas sat behind me, spreading his legs so he could pull me between them and have my back pressed against his chest. Royal meowed in protest as he jumped off my lap, earning another chuckle from me, and distracting me from my worries.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to them,” he whispered aloud, before pressing a long kiss to my neck. Even though we’d been together for over two hundred and fifty years, my want and need for him had never dimmed. Tilting my head to the side to give him better access, I stifled a moan as he licked my neck.

I could feel his smile as his chuckle brushed over my skin. “Is this your way of asking for another kid?”

I was halfway through my fertility period, something he could easily smell as he brushed his nose along my neck, deeply inhaling my scent. “I do miss how tiny they used to be,” I murmured as he dragged his teeth over my neck.

“No fair Ivy,” the youngest—Emmy—yelled, still unable to pronounce the “L” in her sister’s name.

“Livy, what did I tell you about using blood magic against your sisters?” Atlas called out, pinning his no-nonsense stare on her. These girls were a serious handful but in the best and most rewarding ways possible.

Atlas had been right when he brought up my wanting to have another. Seeing the girls play, and watching my grandson with them, had me wanting to experience the joys all over again. I had a feeling my granddaughters would love to have a new friend to play with.

I felt a wash of magic tingle over my skin as Atlas’ trail of kisses down my neck ceased. Prodding the mating bond we had formed during our ritual, I could tell he was currently in the in-between talking to someone.

Atlas’ fingers flexed against my stomach as the magic subsided and I tipped my head back to see his face.

“You know, Maximus can be here soon to watch the girls for a few hours,” Atlas murmured in my ear, inciting warmth and tingles racing through my body as it came alive for him. It was like my body had been trained to respond to him, and only him. Not that I cared since there was no one else I’d ever want.

“I think it would be a good idea for the little ones to spend some time with their uncle,” I whispered breathlessly.

As soon as my brother’s pale blue hair came into view, Atlas tossed me over his shoulder and carried me into the house, where he worshiped my body and made sure I knew how much he loved me.