JAXON The blood hunt was a yearly event designed for first-tier elites. Usually, the chosen elites would pick other students of lower class to join the contest. They claimed it was merely a strength training test. But I knew better. It was an opportunity for massacre and brutal oppression. Most students either killed others to survive, or they got killed by the mysterious creatures involved in the hunt."Who chose her?" I said to Nina, barely restraining my growing fury.She gulped, a worried look on her face."It was Stefan," she replied, and Clarissa blinked, an expression of utter disbelief on her face."This must be his way of seeking revenge against me," she stated, and I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck."You don't understand, Clarissa. You can end up dead," I said to her and she looked at Nina who nodded to confirm my statement.My mate brought her hand to her lower belly, a blank look on her face."Can I forfeit the hunt?" She asked and my chest tightened. The las
CLARISSA All of a sudden, the ceiling of the cave lit up, everyone gazed up at it in awe. There were creepers on the ceiling, but they were far from the ordinary. They had golden leaves that glowed brilliantly. My gaze met Stefan's, and he smirked. Then, he instantly took off. The others followed after him. Blowing out a breath, I followed behind. My feet came to a grinding halt when we were all met with a five-way passage. Instantly, I sensed that I'd seen this before. My eyes widened when I realized why. The map of the Golden Leaf Cove.I'd seen this exact same layout in it. This meant we were in the Golden Leaf Cove.According to the map, the moonstone was on a sword located in the third passage. This was an opportunity. Yes, this was good.Feeling my torn flesh mend, I sucked in a sharp breath and walked into the third passage, which was brightly illuminated just like the rest of the cave.Jaxon had told me that it was dangerous to go to the cove alone. Did he already kn
JAXONA While Ago, I had to get to Clarissa. It wasn't just instincts, it was a necessity. I could think of all the things that could go wrong in the hunt, and every single one of them involved her getting hurt.I moved in a blur of movements, making my way towards the Golden Leaf Cove. And soon, it was in my line of vision. I was close now. But then, shadowy figures surrounded me faster than I could blink. There were too many of them. It wasn't supposed to be possible. If they were gathered there like that, they must've been summoned through a blood ritual. I had a feeling this was strongly related to Clarissa's involvement with the hunt. Whoever had summoned the shadow people didn't want me to get to her.Curling my fists, I released a sharp breath, my claws making an appearance.Snarling, I slashed through the nearest figure, its form disintegrating into mist before reforming again. No matter how many I cut down, more took their place, circling me like wolves scenting blood
CLARISSA I felt the change within him before he pulled away. His temperature had spiked up and his body had gone stiff. Something was wrong.I reached for him, and he moved away from me, his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him."Jaxon—" I started to say, and he shook his head."Not now. Don't ask," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His breathing was uneven, his fists clenched so tightly that his blood stained knuckles turned white.My heart sank. The last time I'd seen him like this was in his office, when he had tried to hide whatever was tormenting him. Now, it was happening again.I hated being clueless, and seeing him in this condition made me worry that whatever was affecting someone as powerful as him was much bigger than anything I could think of."Give me your hand," he said, and I swallowed hard, holding out my hand to him.Quietly, he slashed his claws across the inside of his wrist, and blood welled to the surface. Then he allowed his blood to drop on
CLARISSA 'Mate!' Snow, my wolf, echoed in my head as a sweet scent flooded my nostrils. Tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes, and my heart started to pound a lot faster as I quickened my pace and followed the smell of my mate. It had to be Kieran. I was his chosen mate, and tonight, our mating ceremony was about to take place. My excitement went up a notch, and I broke into a sprint, hiking up my ceremonial red dress. All of a sudden, pain slammed into me so hard, I doubled over. With my eyes watering, I dropped to my knees. Whimpers escaped my lips as the pain continued to build, searing through me like a red-hot knife. I was confused and disoriented. I couldn't understand what was happening to me. I parted my lips to call out for my fiancé, but in an instant, I heard the sounds of his moans in my head. 'Fuck, MIA. You feel so good,' I heard him say and my confusion swelled within me. Mia? My bully? That couldn’t be right. My mind had to be playing tricks on me. Maybe I mish
CLARISSA I was thirteen years old when my father was assassinated. His beta took over his position, and my life took a terrible turn. Although my father's beta had promised to investigate his death and bring them to justice, nothing had been done. Kieran, the new Alpha's son, had comforted me during those times, and I'd been fooled into believing that he truly cared about me. And now, it was up to my new mate to save me or toss me to the wolves."Help me," I said to him, and he fixed his gaze on me for a moment before glancing at the street ahead. Silently, he took off his velvet jacket and placed it around my shoulders."You're better off not associating yourself with me," he said, placing a small dagger in my hand."Go left. There's a river close by. If you can make it past the river, they won't get to you," he said, and I swallowed hard, unsure of what this meant for me.Was he rejecting me as well? I wondered.However, there was no time to dwell on this; I took his advic
CLARISSA "Clarissa, you're pregnant," the healer announced.I felt the world tilt.Pregnant.The word felt foreign, unreal. Yet, deep down, hadn't I already known? The nausea, the exhaustion, the way my body felt different... I'd ignored the signs, unwilling to face what they meant.Six weeks had passed since I last saw my mate. The man who claimed me and then vanished into the night. It's been six weeks since the guards captured me and threw me back into this miserable cell.And now this?"She's pregnant?" Kieran asked, his voice laced with disbelief.The healer nodded, and he stormed towards me, his palm colliding with my cheek."You whore!" He yelled, and I glared at him."That's enough, Kieran," Alpha Garrick hissed, redirecting his gaze on me."Who is the father of your child?"I bit my lower lip, unsure of what to say. I barely knew who my mate was. All I knew was that he had the brightest golden eyes I'd ever seen."Are you going to stay silent?" Kieran demanded, and I
JAXONA few hours before,"Jax?!"Dante's voice cut through the fog in my head, laced with concern. His footsteps were urgent as he stepped into my office, glancing around. He couldn't see me—not at first.I was slipping. Again.My vision flickered between reality and the void, the cursed abyss where my wolf had been torn from me. The air felt thin, like I was being pulled under water. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to hold on."Jax, come on, don't scare me."His voice wavered as he stopped in front of my desk, scanning the room."I'm here," I croaked, anchoring myself back into reality.Dante released a sigh of relief when he finally saw me."Are you okay?" He asked, and I grunted, pinching the bridge of my nose."For how long were you slipping this time?" He said as he poured me a glass of water and handed it over to me."Maybe thirty minutes?" I croaked, bringing the rim of the glass to my lips."It's getting worse. The old woman was right," he muttered.I didn't respond. What
CLARISSA I felt the change within him before he pulled away. His temperature had spiked up and his body had gone stiff. Something was wrong.I reached for him, and he moved away from me, his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him."Jaxon—" I started to say, and he shook his head."Not now. Don't ask," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His breathing was uneven, his fists clenched so tightly that his blood stained knuckles turned white.My heart sank. The last time I'd seen him like this was in his office, when he had tried to hide whatever was tormenting him. Now, it was happening again.I hated being clueless, and seeing him in this condition made me worry that whatever was affecting someone as powerful as him was much bigger than anything I could think of."Give me your hand," he said, and I swallowed hard, holding out my hand to him.Quietly, he slashed his claws across the inside of his wrist, and blood welled to the surface. Then he allowed his blood to drop on
JAXONA While Ago, I had to get to Clarissa. It wasn't just instincts, it was a necessity. I could think of all the things that could go wrong in the hunt, and every single one of them involved her getting hurt.I moved in a blur of movements, making my way towards the Golden Leaf Cove. And soon, it was in my line of vision. I was close now. But then, shadowy figures surrounded me faster than I could blink. There were too many of them. It wasn't supposed to be possible. If they were gathered there like that, they must've been summoned through a blood ritual. I had a feeling this was strongly related to Clarissa's involvement with the hunt. Whoever had summoned the shadow people didn't want me to get to her.Curling my fists, I released a sharp breath, my claws making an appearance.Snarling, I slashed through the nearest figure, its form disintegrating into mist before reforming again. No matter how many I cut down, more took their place, circling me like wolves scenting blood
CLARISSA All of a sudden, the ceiling of the cave lit up, everyone gazed up at it in awe. There were creepers on the ceiling, but they were far from the ordinary. They had golden leaves that glowed brilliantly. My gaze met Stefan's, and he smirked. Then, he instantly took off. The others followed after him. Blowing out a breath, I followed behind. My feet came to a grinding halt when we were all met with a five-way passage. Instantly, I sensed that I'd seen this before. My eyes widened when I realized why. The map of the Golden Leaf Cove.I'd seen this exact same layout in it. This meant we were in the Golden Leaf Cove.According to the map, the moonstone was on a sword located in the third passage. This was an opportunity. Yes, this was good.Feeling my torn flesh mend, I sucked in a sharp breath and walked into the third passage, which was brightly illuminated just like the rest of the cave.Jaxon had told me that it was dangerous to go to the cove alone. Did he already kn
JAXON The blood hunt was a yearly event designed for first-tier elites. Usually, the chosen elites would pick other students of lower class to join the contest. They claimed it was merely a strength training test. But I knew better. It was an opportunity for massacre and brutal oppression. Most students either killed others to survive, or they got killed by the mysterious creatures involved in the hunt."Who chose her?" I said to Nina, barely restraining my growing fury.She gulped, a worried look on her face."It was Stefan," she replied, and Clarissa blinked, an expression of utter disbelief on her face."This must be his way of seeking revenge against me," she stated, and I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck."You don't understand, Clarissa. You can end up dead," I said to her and she looked at Nina who nodded to confirm my statement.My mate brought her hand to her lower belly, a blank look on her face."Can I forfeit the hunt?" She asked and my chest tightened. The las
CLARISSA I had the upper hand in this situation. So, I decided to take advantage of it."Why should I help you?" I asked, steeling my gaze. “You stole from me."Stefan's lips curled in a sneer."Have you forgotten? I know everything about you and Professor Hale," he said through gritted teeth.I stared at him in silence for a while. He must've been watching us. But there was no way he knew everything. He was bluffing. If it boiled down to exposing us, I would simply come clean and confess that Jaxon was my fated mate."Everything?" I rasped, feigning bewilderment.His smirk deepened. He thought he had me cornered, that I was crumbling under pressure. Idiot."Everything." He confirmed, and I let out a humourless laugh."Fine. I'll tell you what I can see," I finally told him."Come closer," I gestured at him with my head.His frown deepened as he leaned closer to me to hear what I had to say.The corner of my lips curved upwards, and I knocked my forehead into his. A sickening cr
CLARISSA It made perfect sense now. Callum was Elias, Kieran's elder brother whom I hadn't seen in a long time. He was the only one who ever called me Evie.All the same, why did he change his name? Why didn't he make it clear from the very beginning that he was Elias?There had to be more to him that I still wasn't aware of."Do you remember? I always doted on you," he said, and I scoffed."My father was wary of you each time you said you would marry me," I replied, chuckling.A grin tugged at his lips, a tender look in his eyes. His expression spoke volumes about his affection for me, but things were different now. I had a mate now, even though he was yet to accept me."I really don't want you to get hurt, Evie. Please be careful," he said, and I flashed him a small smile.Just as he turned away from me, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent.Professor Hale—No, Jaxon.He must be close by.Was he here to see me?I wanted to see him too, to make sure he was okay. Holding back th
JAXON I was seething. Clarissa's message had reached me crystal clear, and I was barely restraining my wolf, who was desperate to get to our mate. Even now, my body rebelled against me—weak, burning up, my muscles trembling from the aftershocks of the void's pull. I was still vulnerable from slipping in and out of existence, but none of that mattered.She was pregnant. Yet she was out there playing hero.Damnit, did she really not care about her own life?The reserve was off-limits for a reason, and I sure as hell hoped she wouldn't have to find out why. I doubled over at the gate of the reserve, panting hard as my exhaustion made itself known. I really wasn't supposed to be moving about in my state, but this was an emergency. My head pounded, a dull ache radiating behind my eyes, but I shoved past the pain.I needed to pull myself together. Only a couple of minutes earlier, Clarissa had almost walked in on me in my most vulnerable state, slipping into the void.If she'd walked
CLARISSA I paced back and forth in my room, frustrated. I still didn't know what the scroll had contained. Ruby—no—Gwen had suddenly disappeared into thin air, and I couldn't find her. Professor Hale had gone in search of Stefan, but he'd returned to me a while later, telling me that Stefan had sneaked out of the academy. My head was aching. I was so close to losing my mind. Even though my mate had assured me that he would figure everything out, I was restless."Come on, Clarissa. Go to bed. I'm trying to sleep here," May, one of my roommates, groaned, peering at me through bloodshot, half-closed eyes.Muttering an apology, I moved over to my bed and lay down on it, staring at the ceiling with a heavy heart.Sleep eventually whisked me away. But then the nightmares came....Three days passed, and the break was over. Stefan and Gwen were still missing, and my nights were constantly tormented by nightmares. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something big was coming.I was h
CLARISSA Everyone was on edge. The burnt corpse had been identified as a first-year, bottom-tier student. No one knew who had done it, but the fear was spreading like wildfire.I couldn't shake off the look on my mate’s face when he'd made eye contact with me on the scene. He had asked me to meet up with him later at night. I'd sneaked out of my dorm while my roommates were asleep. I was nervous because it felt like the danger was finally unfolding.A hand touched my shoulder, and I turned around with a start, grabbing the person's shoulder and pinning them against the wall, their face pressed to the concrete."It's me! Ruby!" my stalker squeaked as I yanked at her arm.My eyes widened, and I released her right away. Groaning, she turned around to look at me while rubbing at her shoulder."You startled me!" I whispered harshly, scanning the hallway to make sure no one had seen us."I'm sorry. I was just wondering where you were going," she said.I tensed, unsure of what she t