Novel-novel oleh CHICHI

Katherine’s povEmily frowned when I said that, but Dahlia placed a hand on her arm and tried to calm her down. Then she turned to me. “Look, it doesn’t have to be like that. It’s just… families have fights sometimes and they break apart, but we need to stick together. We can help each other.”Jordan stepped forward in anger, trying to control himself as I saw how his jaw was clenched together. “You are so fucking unbelievable. You stole from us, you lied, and then you break us apart.”Dahlia’s smile faded. “You don’t know the full story.”“Your father…” she started again as I had heard enough from the lying snake.“Speaking of him,” I said, “where is he?”She looked at me in shock. “He’s… somewhere.”I laughed. “He’s somewhere. Where?” She couldn’t say.I looked at Jordan. “She said she doesn’t know where our father is, but yet she wants family to stick together.” Her eyes turned to me. “Look, your father loved me more than he loved anybody else.”Jordan nodded. “Exactly. And that’

Katherine’s povWith the plans we made, we were able to catch Marcus and the police swooped in to whisk him away which gave us so much joy. Finally I was free to go home.I was in court for his session as I covered myself well with the coat I had on. Marcus Blackwell was sitting with his head held high like this was another business deal he’d walk away from. Even in handcuffs, he looked smug, like he’d already thought of ten ways out.I sat behind the prosecution’s table with Elijah on one side and Dacre on the other. Strange, how life could twist itself into this. My pulse hammered every time the bailiff read out another charge. Fraud. Conspiracy. Kidnapping.Elijah leaned close, whispering, “He’s cornered, Kat. They’ve got everything. Don’t let his face trick you.”I could only nod.The lawyers paraded evidence, the paper trails, shell companies, accounts drained dry. A witness testified about payments that linked straight back to Marcus. Then came the final blow. Emails leaked by

Katherine’s POVThat day, I went to the market to get something for the children. They had forgotten so many things while we were rushing to the safe house so now we had to get a lot of their toys and books afresh.I wasn’t even thinking about danger when it happened. I’d been staring down at the shelf of children’s books, comparing prices, when I felt the shift. That prickling sensation crawling down my neck. The mall was busy but not that busy. Then two men I hadn’t even seen showed up and grabbed my arm.“Let me go!” I yelled as what I held poured into the floor.The second guy moved in from behind, and for a second, I thought, this is it. Not again. Please, not here.But before I could even scream, Dacre was there. His fist hit the first guy's face as the man fell into an aisle while he kicked the second guy down.The second one lunged at me, pulling something shiny from his coat. It was a knife.“Dacre!” I screamed in fear as I froze. What could I even do in a situation like th

Katherine’s povI needed to change the subject. It was getting too personal and I didn't like the territory we were in. So I breathed out, grounding myself. “Mara, my contact, she’s found his shell companies. The money trail. If we leak it right, his partners will back off. He’ll lose leverage. But it has to be clean. If it points back to me, or to you, we’re finished.”“Agreed.” He said in a businesslike manner. “Send me what you have. I’ll get my people on it.”“No.”“What do you mean, no?”“I’m not handing this off to your people. This isn’t your empire swallowing mine, Dacre. This is our move. Equal footing. My terms, or I walk away and handle it myself.”“Oh come on.”“You either listen to me or I walk,” I said in a calm manner. “Can you do that?”There was a long pause between us. Then, slowly, he reluctantly said, “Yes.”I smiled. “Good,” I said. “Because if Marcus thinks he can break me to get to you, he’s about to find out he picked the wrong woman.”Dacre chuckled. “God, Ka

Katherine’s pov“Then we watch him flinch,” Mara said. “If he retaliates, we have the receipts. If he tries to turn it on you, we can show it was already going on. You don’t look like the unstable one. He does.”I thought about the kids again, about safety, about a future that i wasn’t scared of. Part of me wanted to call dacre and tell him everything, to let him storm into Marcus’s house and burn it down. He deserved the chance. Maybe he wanted it. But I shook my head.“Elijah will be your shield,” Mara said. “And I’ll be your eyes.”“And if it blows back?” I asked, then immediately knew the answer.“Then we deal with the blow,” she said. “You protect your kids. You protect your life.”I looked at the two of them. They were scrappy allies, not knights. They were imperfect and bruised. They were mine for this moment.“Okay.” I sighed. I was tired of the thought of what I was about to do anyway. “Let’s do it.”“We end it here,” I said, and the words were calmer than I expected, but th

Katherine's povA knock came on my door as I looked to it. It opened with Mara coming in. Mara was my spy. She stood there for a while as I gestured her in.“You look like you’ve seen a lot of better days,” she said as I shrugged.“I know. Thanks for observing.”She smiled and sat down.“What did you find for me?” I asked.She opened her pockets and got out a file.“I got what you asked for, but it’s worse than we thought.”She dropped the file on my table.I set the coffee down, suddenly wishing it was stronger. “Spit it out.”She took a breath. “Marcus Blackwell’s not just poking around Dacre’s empire. He’s built a net. Shell companies, cutouts, some of his people are fronting as independent investors. He’s been funneling pressure through anyone he can get near Dacre. And… he’s using you.”My chest went cold. “Using me how?”“He’s been pushing contact. Little threats, anonymous calls, deals collapsing when you need them most. He’s not trying to break you directly. He’s trying to mak

Author’s povThe police quickly surrounded Daniel, cuffing him as he groaned on the floor. Blood trickled from his nose, and his face was twisted in anger and humiliation.“You’ll regret this, Xander!” Daniel spat, glaring up at his brother.Xander leaned down, his expression calm but firm. “Regret? That’s something you should feel for all the lives you’ve ruined. It’s over, Daniel.”As Daniel struggled against his restraints, the head of police stepped forward. He pulled out a list of charges and began reading them aloud.“Daniel Clarkson, you are being charged with the following: the kidnapping of Mrs. Wright, the attempted murder of Xander Clarkson, embezzlement from your family’s company, obstruction of justice, and numerous other crimes. You’ll be facing a long time in prison.”Daniel’s face contorted with rage. “None of it is true!” he shouted. “This is a setup! You’re all working against me!”“Your corrupt cop was also seen running off and right now he’s willing to testify agai

Author’s povMrs. Wright sat in the dark room, straining her ears for the movements of her captors. It had been a few hours since they taken her from her old place and brought her to this new place, hours marked by terror and solitude and confusion. But something inside had changed that night. Something told her she couldn’t be captive anymore. With newfound resolve, Mrs. Wright steeled herself and tiptoed to the door.The house was still; her captors didn’t suspect a thing when they had gone to bed earlier. Mrs. Wright cautiously unlocked the door, afraid of its creaking as she turned the knob to let herself out into the night air that was cool and freeing.She was done hiding. This time, she was going to save herself.The road stretched before her was infinite in the dark. She knew that with each step she took away from her prison it was another opportunity to get to her son and get out a solution. Her heart was beating both in fear and anticipation of the worst. She ran through t

Daniel’s povI stormed out of his office, hot blood rushed through my veins. How dare he? Who the hell does this man think he is? Some kind of a superhero coming to ‘save’ the company. He was going too far and asking too much. I got out of the company and headed for my car as I sat down there and leaned back in it. I was so angry I couldn’t hold myself back.My hands gripped tightly around my steering wheel; those knuckles were all white as if they were screaming ‘help!’ in some invisible way. In anger, I punched my steering wheel a couple of times before leaning back in my seat.I then turned the ignition and drove directly to the warehouse where I had everything under control—my men, my operations, and my future. It was a sanctuary of sorts for me, a place where I could reorganize my thoughts and plans without any distractions or disturbances. A couple of my men were already there when I arrived.They all stood up as soon as they saw me enter, feeling the unrest radiating off me. “

Audrey’s povI clearly remembered the drive to the cabin that morning. I’d driven so slowly, looking in the rearview mirror every few seconds to make sure I wasn’t being followed. The streets had been practically empty, but everything had felt still and foreboding because of it. When I had gotten to the place, I had parked a few hundred meters from the cabin itself, hiding my car behind some trees before continuing on foot.The closer I got to the cabin, the more uneasy I felt. Something was very wrong. The place looked abandoned—deserted—but it wasn’t just that. It was something else; something I couldn't explain.“Mrs wright?” I asked while staying at the door and knocking. I hoped no one would bash my head in as I opened it inwards as it groaned under my hand as I gave it a push so I could step inside.The sight that met my eyes made my stomach plummet. The entire cabin was in shambles. Furniture was flipped over, papers were strewn across the floor, and a faint acrid smell wafted

Xander’s povI sat in my office, the door closed behind me as I went through the financial reports once more. My anger simmered beneath the surface. It was bad enough that the company was in such a state, but the audacity of the board to act like nothing was wrong infuriated me. My father had worked too hard to build this company, and I wasn’t about to let it crumble under their watch—or Daniel’s.Just as I was contemplating my next move, there was a sharp knock on the door. Before I could answer, one of the board members stepped in, closing the door behind him. He was an older man, someone who had been with the company for decades, yet his face now looked pale and nervous.“Mr. Xander,” he started, his voice shaking, “I need to talk to you.”I reclined back in my chair, signaling for him to continue. “What is it?” I questioned, but I already knew he didn’t come here to help me with anything but to stress me.The man hesitated, and then he leaned forward a little. “I think you should

Xander’s povI was in my company office gazing at the files lying on my table. My secretary had compiled every possible document pertaining to the financial record of the company and I was growing more angry after going through it. How was it not tallying? Who drew this large amount of money, the supporting bills and receipts were in no record?I could see lots of money being removed from the company but there was no mention of them being used for the company again. Why was this a thing?I called for my assistance as she appeared before me.“Is this all?” I asked as she nodded.“Yes, Mr. Xander. I think this is all there is available in the system…”“You think?” I interrupted her as she gulped.“It is all I could find in the system.”I leaned back in my chair and drummed my fingers on my desk. “This doesn’t make any sense… Someone has been withdrawing money at absurd rates recently, and with no record of what it’s being used for? How the hell does that work?”She didn’t answer, but sh

Axel’s povWe were in for it, Alaric and I, the moment we stepped through the palace gates.Father was pacing back and forth like a beast in a cage, his hands curled tight as if they were already strangling someone. The guards around him were all but frozen, afraid if they so much as dared draw breath in his presence. His voice rattled the stillness of the courtyard. “Find them! I want my sons found!” “Sir… they are behind you,” a guard said as he turned to us.The second his eyes landed on us, the world stopped.His anger became something else entirely. A rage so dark and consuming that I think for the first time in my life I was actually afraid of my own father.“Inside. Now.”Alaric and I didn’t even think to argue. “On a scale of one to ten, how mad do you think he is?” I asked Alaric who shrugged.“I would say an eight.”“Now!” Father growled as we jumped in our boots and followed him.We both followed him wordlessly, the three of us making our way back inside as his fury loome

Alaric’s povI woke up to the sound of growls and snarls as I looked around to find out that I was in a cave.I could feel my insides burning with rage as I tried to get up but found that I had been chained to the ground with chains. But the chains didn’t feel so ordinary to me. They felt like they were laced with wolfsbane.I saw the guard passing as I called to him. “Hey you!” I said as he stopped and turned to me. “Where am I?”“You’re awake,” he smiled as he got a bucket of water and tossed it on me. Except it wasn’t water. It was poop.I grimaced and spat out as he laughed and leaned forward. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so I can do that. You, Axel, you did a great disservice to my alpha and I’ll make sure you regret it.”Now this was a mistake as I shook my head. “Oh, no, no, no, you see I’m not Axel. I’m Alaric.”He laughed. “Axel, Alaric, same thing. You can call yourself whatever you like. But you made a deal with my alpha and if you do not…”I shook my head. “You’r

Alaric’s povI stormed out of the hospital, my fists balled up in anger. My brothers were breaking apart, and I was letting them. I should have stopped the fight between Axel and Kai when it had started ten minutes ago, but I guess I didn’t have the balls to do it. Thanks to my mate, I was out here in the middle of the night trying to get Axel and talk to him. Now here I was outside searching for Axel in the empty parking lot.Where the hell did he go?I sighed, running a hand roughly through my hair. The tension in my body wouldn’t melt away and fury had remained just below the surface of my skin. I sighed and walked around to see nothing. “Axel!” I yelled but there was no one here. Where did he go?I suddenly felt something rush through my spine like a feeling. Was it fear?I calmed myself as I didn’t want to be overwhelmed by the feelings I was having.I looked around and found movement in the trees.Dark shapes hiding just within the darkness. Rogues.But that wasn’t what had m

Karla’s povI sat up slowly, my body aching from the therapy session earlier, but I wasn’t alone. My eyes were locked on Alaric who was just standing against the wall, legs crossed at the ankle and his arms loosely folded over his chest. He had been silent for so long now but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking about since he’d been staring blankly at the floor.The atmosphere of everything felt like it was closing in around me.“Why didn’t you go back down and stop the fight?” I eventually spoke out to break through against my own tormenting thoughts.He sighed and shrugged. “I don’t care what they’re doing.”I scoffed. “They are your brothers. You can’t say that about them. You need to do something or they’ll kill each other.”“Look, I just didn’t want to get incomes in thier madness. That’s all.”“You can’t stand aside and watch them tear each other apart. Can you?”“Let them fix their problems themselves. I’m not interested in being involved, I said this before and I won’t say it

Axel’s povI felt my insides burning when I heard that as I tried to keep myself calm. I knew he sounded bitter and furious but why was he on my case. I had done what I had done to save the pack and I regretted it. He didn’t need to make me feel like shit.I turned to see Kai by the door.Not that I blamed him. I’d known this would happen, after everything that had gone down, I hadn’t expected my brothers to forgive me so easily.I clenched my fists but said nothing. I knew he wasn’t done.“I thought you were banned from leaving the palace.” He stepped closer. “Or did father just decide that you weren’t threat enough? Maybe you sneaked off as usual the the coward you are.”“That is enough Kai,” I sighed. “I came to see Karla.”Kai laughed in a mocking way. “Oh, so you went to do your good deed for the year? Is that it? How did you manage it this time? You almost get our whole pack killed and yet still think you should be here?”“She is my mate,” I said in anger. I was losing grip on m

Axel’s povI sat by Karla’s hospital bed biting the edge of my lip. She turned to me and her eyes were dull and it was impossible for me to interpret her expression. The light fell on her face in soft shadows, but she did not look any paler.“I heard the commotion outside,” she said with a soft voice. “The rogues… the attack. People are saying it was really bad.”I sighed and ran a hand over my face. “Yeah. It was.” “I don’t know what to make of it. Isn’t it kind of your job to make sure something like that doesn’t happen?”I nodded. If only I could tell her that it was actually my fault that it happened, but I kept quiet. I didn’t want to say anything to her and ruin the relationship we both had.“Look, I know but something’s happened and it’s not all my fault.”She laughed and sighed, “tell me what happened. I want to know.”I sighed again then and, as I did so, answered her in a low whisper. “Karla... surely you must know.”She shook her head. “No. I only heard that rogues got int