Chapter: chapter 92One Month Later LYNEXIA The first peek of the morning sun through the window hit my face and I stir awake with a yawn. I sigh, extending my hand to the other side of the bed to find it empty. Of course, what am I even expecting? I reluctantly climb out of the bed, while rubbing the remnant sleep away from my eyes with the back of my hand. The soft pad of my legs echoes in the air as I slip out of the room, making my way to Felicity's room. I used to grumble about me and Felicity's morning routine before everything went down but now I very much enjoy it. After almost losing my daughter once, I now bask and cherish every single moment I spend with her. I guess the saying goes you value something that you have used. Felicity's soft snores reach me as I slowly creak the door to her room open. Her beautiful, innocent face brings a smile to my face before I step into the room. I settle on the edge of the bed, tucking the strands of her hair behind her ear. I watch her sleep
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-05-29
Chapter: chapter 91LYNEXIA The words have just left my mouth before Elena lunges at me. "Shut it." She explodes. "I'm about to fucking end your life so stop being pompous." "What?" I scoff. "Were you expecting me to fall on my knees and beg for your mercy?" I say. "Is that it?" She slaps me across the face, the look on her face sinister. I know I shouldn't push her since she can be so unpredictable but I don't stop. "Shut it," She roars at my face. "I hope my death brings you the utmost happiness and joy. You sick, pathetic loser—." I choke on my words as something sharp digs into my stomach. I wince as blind pain throbs through me. I look down to find Elena's claw deep inside of me. Elena smirks. I shock her by matching it with a scornful, tight smile of my own. "Let's get this over with." I grit my teeth, doubling over as she pulls her claws out of my stomach. Blood drips off the corner of my mouth as my stomach starts to leak. "You should have shut it when I asked you to." "Why do you eve
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-05-29
Chapter: chapter 90LYNEXIA An ache starts in the middle of my head as I groan awake. I blink, confused as an unfamiliar room that resembles a barn comes into view. As my head throbs harder and more vicious, I try to reach out my hand to grip it but my hand jerks back against a hold. Then I wiggle my body, including my hands and legs. They jerk against a hold painfully that I have to grit my teeth. The headache is so much I have to squeeze an eye shut as I turn my gaze down to look at the state that I am in. My hands are tied behind the wooden chairs I'm seated on and my legs are tied around the legs of the wooden chair. My back screams with pain as it is arched uncomfortably. Panic sets in as I realize the danger I may likely be in. Seraphina brought me here for what? Why has she kidnapped me? What have I done? What is her aim in any of this? I don't have the luxury to think of an answer as I wiggle my hands, trying to cut the bondage around my wrists. The chair scraps loudly on th
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-05-29
Chapter: chapter 89DIMITRI"What is this about?" I ask, my voice tight with curiosity as Zarek leads me away from the quarantine camp towards a lone building at the edge "I'm afraid you will have to hear it from the person herself." Zarek glances back at me before he focuses front again. "Hear about what? Who?" I press as we slip into the lone building. A woman whose face is obscured by a veil turns towards me. Before I can ask further questions, she pulls the veil down to reveal her face. "Julianne," I say. "What are you doing here?" Her chest rises and falls with deep breaths. "I may have a cure for the black plague." "You have a cure?" I repeat, my mind reeling. This can't be true. Julianne nods. "Yes." This time, she sounds assertive. "How?" I ask, not knowing how to react to this. "I have been thinking hard about why Gavin, I, and Lynexia didn't get infected even though we came in contact with black ink. I have been racking my brain this past—." "Get straight to the point." I cut her of
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-05-28
Chapter: chapter 88LYNEXIA"No." Dimitri cuts me off harshly as if he already knows what I am about to say. My mouth falls open in shock. "But what if I can provide the cure?" Taking up Elena's offer doesn't feel so bad though dying sends a shiver of dread through me. "Let me guess, you have to put your life on the line for it?" Dimitri's eyes flash in disbelief. I grip the hem of my shirt tightly. Deep down, fear gnaws at me, but to save these people, to make this place livable for those I care about, I'm willing to risk everything. "Yes. If that's what it takes.""No, so get over yourself and stop trying to play the savior." Dimitri jolts to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "Dimi—." "Stop it with this your useless hypothetical theory. You are no savior and you don't have the power to be the messiah." His words cut deep but I know it's the panic talking through him. He shoves his fingers into his damp hair. "I didn't let you hate me for five years just to make you be a sacri
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-05-28
Chapter: chapter 87LYNEXIA In a span of two days, things do take a turn for the worse. Bodies ply upon bodies. The shadow pack territory becomes a ghost town compared to how vibrant it once was. The number of people tolled into the trainee complex which is now the quarantine camp increases exponentially. The air is thick with despair and the stench of death. The children have been taken away from the town to a safer place leaving behind the healthy werewolves locked up in their houses and the rest of us brave enough to watch over the infected. The drugs that were given to us by Alpha Henry are running out and our healers are hitting the wall about any cure or drug to reduce the symptoms. Reaching out to other packs is useless because word has spread and most of them wouldn't open their gate to us for fear of being infected. I don't blame, I would have done the same if I were in their shoes. As the dreadful moment passes at a slow, tormenting pace, my mind lingers more and more on Elena. The
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-05-28
Chapter: Chapter 72JUNEJune woke with a satisfied smile. The same smile that had rested on her lips when she’d drifted off against Ollie’s chest after he’d fucked her senseless. The soreness between her thighs and the scent of sex still clinging to the sheets were undeniably proof.Burying her face into Ollie’s sheets, she inhaled deeply, a soft hum vibrating in her throat. God, it should be illegal for someone to smell this good.Still half-dazed in the golden afterglow of sleep, she reached out, and her fingers blindly searched for the familiar heat of his body. Instead, they met cool, empty sheets.Her eyes fluttered open. Empty.A knowing sigh left her lips. There was only one place Ollie could be. She’d bet her last dime he was in his study, hunched over his laptop, completely engrossed in work.Jeez, he was a chronic workaholic. Most people worked to survive. Ollie worked because he thrived on it.Shaking her head, June slid out of bed, stretching before padding toward his sanctuary. The moment sh
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2023-12-05
Chapter: Chapter 71OLLIEHe opened his eyes to the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the window, and there on the couch was June. She lay curled, chest rising and falling in every breath.The soft curve of her face was bathed in silver light, and for a moment, he forgot everything else.A smile tugged at his lips as he watched her.He stared at her for a long while, just savoring the sight of her, feeling a rare sense of peace. Finally with a reluctant sigh, he slid off the bed, and moved toward her quietly. When he reached her, he bent down slowly, carefully intending to lift her into his arms and move her to the bed. But just as his fingers brushed her shoulder, she stirred.Her eyelids fluttered, and she blinked in confusion as she met his gaze in the dim light. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I woke you up.”She groggily shifted, a frown pulling at her lips. “What?” Her voice was thick with sleep, and her eyes were still hazy. She quickly reached up, pressing her hands to his forehead. “How’s yo
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2023-12-05
Chapter: Chapter 70JUNEJune knew Ollie to an extent, and she knew that when he was hurting, he would retreat into himself like a hermit. He would never reach out. He was stubborn like that. He would isolate himself until it passed over.Today was the anniversary of his mother’s passing, and that couldn’t actually be easy for him. Not that he would admit it aloud. So, June took it upon herself to invite herself into his house, hoping her presence might help him.It wasn’t exactly an intrusion. Ollie had given her the access card himself, but that didn’t stop her from feeling nervous. Her heart pounded and her hands were clammy. Ollie’s reaction couldn’t be predicted and this could go very wrong. Maybe it was just her overthinking talking, but still. She had been waiting for over an hour now, sitting alone in his living room. Calling him wasn’t an option, she was too anxious to face his reaction over the phone. So she waited as each passing minute amplified the tension in her chest.After what felt like
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2023-12-05
Chapter: Chapter 69OLLIEThe longer Ollie stared at his late mother’s memorial picture, the more he realized that he shared zero resemblance with her—except for his eyes.Every defining feature he possessed came from his father, man he despised with every fiber of his being. It wasn’t just unfortunate. It was a curse. A colossal, cruel curse.To be the living reflection of the man who had haunted his life? It was enough to drive anyone insane.He should’ve felt something standing here—grief, sadness, anything. But instead, all he could do was compare. His mother’s face, captured forever in a frame, and his own. No sorrow. No anger. Just an aching numbness, lodged so deep in his bones it felt like it had always been there.There was a time when he would’ve been furious. When moments like this would’ve filled him with rage. But the older he got, the more that fire cooled, replaced by grim understanding. His father had hollowed his mother out. Shattered her at the height of her success, then dragged her dow
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2023-12-05
Chapter: Chapter 68JUNEJune didn’t protest, didn’t question him. The only thing she knew was how badly she wanted to feel him between her legs.He moved between her legs, fitting his broad frame in the space she made for him. Slowly, he bent down, and slid her legs over his shoulders.She sucked in a breath in anticipation as he traced the soft curves of her thighs. When his fingers hooked around her thong and pulled it aside, she felt a flush spread over her skin, her body tingling with raw desire.A low, throaty groan that Ollie let out vibrated through her, his breath caressed her pussy. Ollie didn’t rush as he alternated between teasing her clit and sliding deep inside of her. He dragged out her pleasure until she was a mess of frustration and needs.“Ollie, please,” she whispered “I need…” She bit her lip, unable to finish her sentence as another nibble of his teeth on her clit cut off her thoughts completely.“What do you need?” he murmured against her.He knew exactly what he was doing, and it
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2023-12-05
Chapter: Chapter 67JUNE“Are you even listening?”June heard Lola’s voice vaguely“Of course,” she said on autopilot as her lips curved into a small smile at the text Ollie had sent her. It had been a long day filled with back-to-back shifts, and she could finally reply to his message.“What was I saying?”Lola said, and June blinked, raising her gaze to meet Lola’s. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and a frown was etched on her face.“Uhm…” June’s voice trailed off as her eyes darted away as though the answer might magically appear in the air between them.“See? You weren’t listening.” Lola’s frown deepened as she gestured toward her with a pointed look. “Ever since you got yourself a boyfriend, you’ve become insufferable.”“I haven’t,” June gasped dramatically.Lola shook her head as her eyes narrowed. “Knew there was a reason I didn’t like him,” she muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough for June to hear. “He’s here to steal my girlfriend.”June rolled her eyes at her friend’s dramatic
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2023-12-05
Chapter: Chapter 65NIKOLAIThe phone trembles in my hand, and I clench it so hard my knuckles ache as I fight the urge to hurl it across the room. My pulse drums loud and fast in my ears, each beat stoking the frustration, the doubt, and the guilt.Yes, I’m going to tell Lia I’m quitting. But not tonight. Not after everything that has happened. And not because I care about her more than Hannah.Screw Xander for even saying that. Screw him for daring to throw that accusation in my face. As if everything I’ve done, and every decision I’ve made haven’t been for my sister. Every damn sacrifice, how I live my life has been for my sister’s sake. Every time I think of doing something, the first thing that crosses my mind is how it’ll impact her.Everything has been heavily influenced by my sister—.Right. That isn’t entirely true. I have made a decision solely for me before. Just once I made a decision, and I didn’t think about my sister, but my selfish self. Accepting the job from Lia was the only time I wasn
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-11-13
Chapter: Chapter 64NIKOLAISigning the contract with Lia was a selfish decision. I knew from the start that the pay wouldn’t cover my sister’s hospital bills, but I still went for the job. Now I’m paying the price for that decision.For the past one week, I’ve taken on some of the most dangerous jobs I’ve ever accepted. The kind of jobs that put me inches away from death. Jobs that used to give me a thrill and make me feel alive in some twisted way. But now, I can’t say the same anymore. Because the thrill no longer fuels me, rather it unsettles me. Every time I’m on the edge of life and death, I find myself hesitating. The adrenaline I used to love now feels more like a sick twist in my gut and it makes me want to turn and run, to protect myself.My sister makes me feel fearless. For her I’m ready to face anything, come hell, or high water. But it’s different when it comes to Lia. She makes me want to back down and avoid risks. Because every time I think about facing something that could end me, there’s
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-11-13
Chapter: Chapter 63LIAPanic kicks in, pressing me forward until I burst into the kitchen. Relief washes over me as I see him, right there.Nikolai’s changed out of his soaked clothes, though his hair still glistens with drops of water, the dark strands occasionally sending a bead sliding down his neck. He's wearing those low-rise pants that hug his hips, and a fitted tee stretched over his frame, showing just enough… no. I shake my head and dart my eyes away. This isn’t the time to be ogling him; I’m here to confront him.When I shift my gaze back towards him, he’s looking at me over his shoulder, and the tiniest smile pulls at his lips before he looks away, or not… I’m just imagining things. Nikolai isn’t smiling at me.“Feel better?” His voice pulls me back to the moment as he turns fully, his eyes skimming over me with that subtle, unreadable appraisal.“Yes,” I answer and sneezes immediately, disproving my answer.“Clearly not.” He stops right in front of me, holding out a steaming cup. The space
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-11-06
Chapter: Chapter 62LIAThe words I’ve kept buried seem to boil up inside of me. Words of hurt, longing, heartache that has twisted itself deep, when even I can barely reach it. I want to scream at him. I want to demand answers, force him to tell me why he disappeared, why he left me here to be mad with worry, clawing through days that stretched endlessly without him.But as he stands there, with softened face and eyes weighed with something unsaid, looking at me like he hasn’t shattered my world, like he hasn’t been gone for a week without a trace, like I wasn’t shell of myself because of his absence, like I haven’t been teetering on the edge, the words slip away. Every line I rehearsed in the mirror all vanish. My voice fades under the weight of his gaze and his silence.Tears spill over before I can stop them, mingling with the rain that lashes down, soaking me to the bone. The chill seeps into my skin, but the burn of his stare holds me still, locked in place.The world feels muffled, just the sound
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-11-06
Chapter: Chapter 61LIAGetting ready for work doesn’t take long, and in no time, I’m pulling into the parking lot of ROQ.Kate is already at the entrance with her attention laser-focused on the tablet in her hand until she spots me. She and I have met in the middle ground and have agreed that she won’t jump in step beside and scare the living daylights out of me, she stays in my line of sight.As I approach, her eyes shift past me, darting through the lot. She doesn’t have to tell me who she’s looking for. I feel the same, though I doubt it runs deep for herFinally, her gaze snaps back to me, and with a quiet nod, she says, “Good morning, ma’am.”I nod in acknowledgment, too weighed down to respond.“Have you been able to reach him?” she asks. I shake my head, trying to hide how much I’m affected by Nikolai’s absence. But Kate’s eyes narrow, noticing more than I wish she would.“I wonder where Grumpy is.”I halt abruptly in my steps, making Kate tilt her head slightly toward me. “Is something wrong?”
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-11-03
Chapter: Chapter 60LIAI haven’t heard from Nikolai in a week, and it feels like my world’s been stuck on pause. Scratch that—life hasn’t just paused. It’s slowed to a dull, gray crawl.The day he disappeared, I sensed something was wrong. I tried to get through to him every way I knew how. I called him more times than I can count, sent message after message. Eventually, his line stopped going through, so I left voicemails, each one more desperate than the last. But I got nothing. Not a single reply.Even though my project has been moving faster, and my week has been busier than ever, Nikolai is still there, at the back of my mind. He’s everywhere I look, his presence in every corner of my apartment.I water his flowers religiously, telling myself he’ll be back. After all, our contract still has four months left. Nikolai is responsible—he’d never just leave without finishing what he started. Yet, with each day that passes, I’ve been forced to make up new excuses for why he hasn’t called, why he hasn’t c
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-11-03