JAXON I'd been slipping for three days. It was the first time I'd slipped for that long.And when I'd regained consciousness, the fever had struck me hard. Dante and his twin must've been scared shirtless. They'd asked Erin to take care of me. She was the one my father had wanted me to marry when I'd been in his pack. I'd tried to dissolve our engagement, but Erin wasn't going to have it. She claimed that she would kill herself if I ever went after another woman. Therefore, when she'd learnt that I'd met my fated mate, she'd grown irritable, desperate to rip us apart.I should've seen this coming.When she'd suddenly visited my office earlier that morning, claiming that she was worried that I was still not strong enough to return to the academy, she'd been acting strange.It turns out that she'd been waiting for this moment.I stared at Clarissa, a lump forming in my throat. I could see the unmistakable pain and anger in her eyes. She probably believed I'd played her for a foo
CLARISSA "Get back!" Professor Hale yelled at me, a frantic expression on his face. Confused, I turned behind me to see what was making him so worried. My eyes widened when I saw the approaching masked man. His ruby ring caught the morning sunlight and glimmered. Instantly, I recalled where I'd seen that ring. And when I did, my rage consumed me. Seven Years Ago, I was excited. Today was my father's birthday, and I'd baked him a birthday cake for the first time in my life. With the help of Gwen, my assistant, the strawberry cake had been baked perfectly. Now, it was time to present it to him. With a grin on my face, I knocked on the door of his study with my free hand. When I got no response, I pushed the door open and walked in. But the moment I looked up, I was greeted by the sight of my father slumped in his chair with a knife buried in his chest. Horrified, I dropped the cake."No, don't—" my father choked out, and from the corner of my eyes, I sa
CLARISSA I slipped in and out of consciousness so many times. There were times when I felt them dab my head with a towel. I could smell antiseptics and my blood. I could feel them prodding at me. The pain finally dulled, and I fell asleep. When I awoke again, the world was hazy, swimming in soft greys.There was a dull pressure on my hand. Someone was holding me. A lopsided grin curled my lips as I lifted my hand to touch his dark hair. He was sitting by my side, resting his head on the bed. He seemed to be asleep, judging from the way he didn't even stir when I stroked his hair. A strange peace settled over me, so fragile it felt like glass. I was too tired to speak, too fogged to think.So I closed my eyes and fell asleep once more. I stirred a few more times, pulled towards consciousness by soft voices or the gentle squeeze of his hand. He never left. Not once. Even if I couldn't speak, even if my mind was clouded, I felt him."Clarissa? Can you hear me?" A feminine voice
JAXON Ashlyn Torres. She was one of the students I'd once locked in my basement for daring to touch my mate. Clearly, she hadn't learnt her lesson. Students like her were insufferable nuisances who needed more than just one warning to put them in their place. I was sick of having to deal with this. I was too old—and too tired—for this.Even so, it was obvious that she was cooking mischief in her head. Desperate people made the easiest pawns."What do you want?" Clarissa snapped, her voice tight with anger. Her emotions had been volatile lately, and I couldn't risk her powers flaring again. Therefore, I needed to grasp the reins of the situation.So I took her hand and steered her behind me. Ashley's eyes sparkled with amusement."Sure, you must want to protect her since you're her baby daddy. But what would everyone else think when they find out?"Good. She didn't know that Clarissa was my mate. If that was the case, there was no need to get my hands dirty."What are you going to
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
JAXON Ashlyn Torres. She was one of the students I'd once locked in my basement for daring to touch my mate. Clearly, she hadn't learnt her lesson. Students like her were insufferable nuisances who needed more than just one warning to put them in their place. I was sick of having to deal with this. I was too old—and too tired—for this.Even so, it was obvious that she was cooking mischief in her head. Desperate people made the easiest pawns."What do you want?" Clarissa snapped, her voice tight with anger. Her emotions had been volatile lately, and I couldn't risk her powers flaring again. Therefore, I needed to grasp the reins of the situation.So I took her hand and steered her behind me. Ashley's eyes sparkled with amusement."Sure, you must want to protect her since you're her baby daddy. But what would everyone else think when they find out?"Good. She didn't know that Clarissa was my mate. If that was the case, there was no need to get my hands dirty."What are you going to
CLARISSA I slipped in and out of consciousness so many times. There were times when I felt them dab my head with a towel. I could smell antiseptics and my blood. I could feel them prodding at me. The pain finally dulled, and I fell asleep. When I awoke again, the world was hazy, swimming in soft greys.There was a dull pressure on my hand. Someone was holding me. A lopsided grin curled my lips as I lifted my hand to touch his dark hair. He was sitting by my side, resting his head on the bed. He seemed to be asleep, judging from the way he didn't even stir when I stroked his hair. A strange peace settled over me, so fragile it felt like glass. I was too tired to speak, too fogged to think.So I closed my eyes and fell asleep once more. I stirred a few more times, pulled towards consciousness by soft voices or the gentle squeeze of his hand. He never left. Not once. Even if I couldn't speak, even if my mind was clouded, I felt him."Clarissa? Can you hear me?" A feminine voice
CLARISSA "Get back!" Professor Hale yelled at me, a frantic expression on his face. Confused, I turned behind me to see what was making him so worried. My eyes widened when I saw the approaching masked man. His ruby ring caught the morning sunlight and glimmered. Instantly, I recalled where I'd seen that ring. And when I did, my rage consumed me. Seven Years Ago, I was excited. Today was my father's birthday, and I'd baked him a birthday cake for the first time in my life. With the help of Gwen, my assistant, the strawberry cake had been baked perfectly. Now, it was time to present it to him. With a grin on my face, I knocked on the door of his study with my free hand. When I got no response, I pushed the door open and walked in. But the moment I looked up, I was greeted by the sight of my father slumped in his chair with a knife buried in his chest. Horrified, I dropped the cake."No, don't—" my father choked out, and from the corner of my eyes, I sa
JAXON I'd been slipping for three days. It was the first time I'd slipped for that long.And when I'd regained consciousness, the fever had struck me hard. Dante and his twin must've been scared shirtless. They'd asked Erin to take care of me. She was the one my father had wanted me to marry when I'd been in his pack. I'd tried to dissolve our engagement, but Erin wasn't going to have it. She claimed that she would kill herself if I ever went after another woman. Therefore, when she'd learnt that I'd met my fated mate, she'd grown irritable, desperate to rip us apart.I should've seen this coming.When she'd suddenly visited my office earlier that morning, claiming that she was worried that I was still not strong enough to return to the academy, she'd been acting strange.It turns out that she'd been waiting for this moment.I stared at Clarissa, a lump forming in my throat. I could see the unmistakable pain and anger in her eyes. She probably believed I'd played her for a foo
CLARISSA I narrowed my eyes at Stefan, crossing my arms. "What do you mean?"His gaze dropped to the ground, his shoulders hunched."I can't tell you everything right now," he muttered. "But I need you to meet me in the school garden tomorrow night."A dry laugh escaped my lips. "For someone who needs my help, you sure are bossy."His head snapped up, panic flaring in his eyes. "I do need your help. I swear I'm not trying to set you up."I exhaled sharply, already turning away. "Then forget it.""You're wasting my time." I added, already regretting listening to him in the first place."I'm dying!" He blurted out.I froze."You're the only one who can save me. You saw it when we first met, didn't you?" He added, his voice laced with desperation.I halted, balling my hands into fists.The memory clawed its way back—the way he'd seemed lost in a poisonous haze, the way he'd been frozen in place. Something had been terribly wrong with him.A war raged inside me. I didn't trust h
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