Kodiak left for the border after his dinner, but the news about the savage wolves quickly spread across the pack, causing fear and panic across the community. Preventive curfews were quickly implemented, and even the guests staying in the pack generously offered their men to increase the safety of the pack. Meanwhile, Giselle eagerly took the role of Luna and gathered all the women to guard the pack children and contribute to the welfare of the pack. Anna wanted to help, but she decided to avoid them since she knew that they were still a bit wary of her presence. Anna attended Ryder's funeral on a rainy day where she met his father drinking under a tree holding his son's photo to his chest. He looked completely devastated by the loss of his son, crying like a baby. Anna noticed that the funeral was a bit empty compared to the other funerals that had been held for the deceased soldiers and asked around. She eventually found out that Ryder was an orphan who got adopted by the old man
Anna drowsily opened her eyes and the first thing she saw at that moment was a pair of bright red eyes staring at her. She instantly jerked back from the danger, breathing harshly as her memories slowly returned to her in a flash. The man in front of her narrowed his eyes as he wielded his weapon in front of her. “Where am I? What is this place?”“You are in my friend's cabin.” Anna slowly stood up and dusted her dirty wet clothes. The place belonged to Ryder, and he had brought her here once back when she was attacked by a stalker. She could see that the rain was still very heavy which meant that she couldn't leave the place but she was also reluctant to stay with this man. The stranger seemed very cautious against her which was a bit funny since she knew he could sense her submissive wolf aura. She was the one who was supposed to be scared, but he didn't let go of his knife even when he pulled the blanket over his naked body. Anna had already decided to call Kodiak and inform him
Anna quickly reached for the phone and declined the call before Hunter could grab it. Her eyes darted away nervously when she noticed that his gaze was stayed on her. She was momentarily relieved that she had protected the identity of her mate, but her happiness was short-lived when her phone rang again. Hunter's eyes crease with amusement as he orders her with a commanding. tone. “Go ahead and answer it. It may be important.”Anna swiped the green button on the screen and hesitantly brought the phone to her ears, “Hello?”Kodiak's baritone voice boomed in her ears. “Hey, Anna. I just wanted to check up on you, Giselle said she hasn't seen you since. What are you doing?”Anna looked at the clock and saw that it was already four o'clock. She had forgotten the possibility of him keeping tabs on her, he must have surely asked around the pack before he came to meet her. “Ah, I decided to take a stroll to look for any empty stores to rent. I will return soon.” She tried to keep her voice
Meanwhile, Anna watched Hilda make some food by herself, the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board echoed through the walls of the kitchen. She was a bit tired and wished to retire for the night but she was sure that this woman had not just asked her to see her cook.Fortunately, the woman gracefully moved to the main point after she poured all the cut ingredients into the chicken soup she was making and covered the pot. The delicious aroma wafted around the place, stirring Anna's hungry stomach as she sat down by the counter. Hilda smiled and asked her, “Those women are really mean people, aren't they? How dare they judge someone so harshly like that?”“Well, I have been through worst situations.” Anna shrugged. Although she had tried to say it casually, her heart still clenched in pain when she remembered the dire maltreatment she had gotten from the Dark Edge pack. She understood they had been venting their rage on behalf of their alpha, but it still hurt nonetheless. “How
Anna waited at the entrance of the cabin for so many minutes but she did not see the savage wolf she was nursing. Her eyes darted around the dense forest around her, scanning even the nearby bushes for traces of his movements but she didn't see anything. She instantly panicked as she thought of all the possible scenarios related to his disappearance. Although she tried to hope that he had decided to leave the pack because he was now strong enough to do so, her mind told her that it was the exact opposite. Anna bit her lower lip in frustration and scowled. He didn't have a cellphone so there was no way she could reach him and she didn't even know where to start looking. Her thoughts were suddenly disrupted when she saw a car drive into the vicinity, parking in a corner at the front of the cabin. She stiffened in fear and shock, chiding herself for being so careless to make someone follow her to this place. She was suddenly relieved that the savage wolf was not around or else, she wo
The days easily passed by for Anna as she spent her time visiting Hilda in the mornings and nursing Hunter back to health in the evening. She realized that she was feeling much better emotionally and mentally with her balanced routine. Although she missed Kodiak very dearly, she kept herself preoccupied with the new fabric store she had opened at the corner of the street. The business had been slow with barely any orders coming in at first, but it was now doing well with the help of her friends, Catherine and Vivian who joined the business. Through her frequent visits to the cabin, a beautiful friendship blossomed between her and a savage wolf she had saved at the border of the pack. As she spent more time with him, she began to realize that Hunter was not nearly as frightening as she had initially thought. Rather, he was simply awkward and unsociable around strangers. As their bond grew, Hunter began to share his story with her. He explained that he had once been a member of a pac
Anna went to work the next day in very high spirits, and her good mood easily attracted her friends' attention who watched her sew the dresses with a radiant aura filling the room. Catherine and Vivian shared a mysterious look before they resumed their jobs respectively. Anna thought that her day would only get better and better but she was wrong when she saw Giselle and her friends walk inside the room. She instinctively tensed up from her chair, glancing at her friends who were also apprehensive about their visit. She summoned the courage to approach them after convincing herself that they were just here as customers. When she met them, she could see them glancing around the shop and whispering in a low tone but she pretended not to notice their actions. “Hello, welcome to Anna's Touch. How can I help you?” Anna faced Giselle, trying to gain her attention since she was the only one she was familiar with. “Oh, I just wanted to visit you and see how you were doing. But my friend h
The situation at the tailor shop grew more intense with each passing minute as Evelyn whipped out her phone from her bag and started dialing a number to call. Vivian appeared by Anna's side and gripped her arm nervously, “Anna...I think you should end this matter quietly. If you want, I can take the blame for the dress and apologize on your behalf. It's no big deal!”“Why? Does she hold a special position in the pack?” Anna was a bit flustered to see her friend this anxious so she couldn't help but question the girl's identity. After all, Vivian was the daughter of a pack elder so she had no reason to be afraid of her. “Not only her, her whole family does. Evelyn's father died saving Kodiak's father during a pack fight so he left a will behind stating that each member of her family will have a special privilege." Vivian enlightened her in a hushed tone.“What's the special privilege?” “One wish. Evelyn could demand anything from the alpha of the pack, anything except his position. D
On a night of a full moon...Anna quietly watched the pack priestess performing a ritual in front of the entire pack. It was an important occasion that had drawn people from all four directions of the Great Landmark to witness. Her eyes followed her mate's every move as he assisted the priestess in her incantations but her iron-clad concentration was finally broken when she heard her friend arrive by her side. “Luna," Catherine placed a tray of fruits by her side and tipped her head towards the direction of the ritual taking place. “Is this really necessary? I thought Ryan had already welcomed your child to the pack already. Why did your mate suddenly summon everyone out of their houses for this impromptu ritual?”Anna shrugged innocently, laughing at the hint of complaint in her friend's voice when she replied, “You know how Kodiak is, Catherine. He wasn't happy about it when I told him last night and decided that he would hold another one.”“This is ridiculous!” Catherine mumbled q
Anna had taken countless fighting lessons from her husband when she had been kidnapped by a savage wolf and she had been honing her skills with Ryan and the other guards in the pack. But she had real-life battles neither had she expected it to be this fast and intense. She could barely keep her life with each punch and kick directed at her so she had been forced into a disadvantage from the start. Giselle swiped a claw near her face, her eyes reflecting the sharp edge which caused the crowd to gasp in fear and anticipation. Anna could sense the vicious determination in Giselle's lightning-fast attacks to end her there but she was not going to let herself be pushed around like that. Anna ducked under another attack and instantly struck out her leg to clear her opponent's own to gain the upper hand. When she succeeded in making Giselle lose her balance, she jumped and planted a punch in her jaw. The dominant female wolf immediately crashed to the ground with a wave of dizziness. When
The news of the duel quickly spread across the Dark Edge pack and beyond, but the mere news was more unbelievable when they heard that a submissive female wolf was going to fight with a dominant wolf. Many bets were already placed on the fight and everyone thought they could foresee the results. After all, Giselle's prowess and strength were well known across the Great Landmark but not many people knew about Anna Knightley. When Catherine and Vivian heard about the news, they immediately demanded to see their friend and came to see her. “Anna, you are not serious about going to fight with Giselle, right?” Vivian gave her a concerned look before adding, “Every woman in the pack knows her character very well, she is the type of person who will do anything to win. What if she tries to kill you there?”Anna shrugged helplessly, “Then I guess I will have to perish there.” She rolled her eyes seeing her friends' appalled looks and spoke, “Oh, don't give me that look, Vivian. Now that me a
The atmosphere in the pack was solemn and tense after the guests had departed, leaving behind only the pack residents in a state of anxiety and trepidation. The hostile takeover had left some people unconcerned since they believed that whoever would replace Kodiak wouldn't harm them, but others couldn't help but worry about the alpha's well-being and whereabouts, having witnessed his triumph in the duel arena.“How dare he do this to me? That bloody bastard!” Mrs. Hoyles, who had been locked up in her house like a caged animal, snarled in rage as she paced back and forth furiously. Conan LeWren, who had been sparing no efforts in suppressing his opponents and searching for the alpha, still couldn't locate him.Mrs. Hoyles felt relieved that she had contacted her grandson in time, urging him not to return to the pack in the meantime. She knew Knox's temper very well, and the last thing she wanted was to hold his dead body at the moment he discovered that something bad had happened to h
Anna lay on the crisp white sheets, her body contorting in pain as she released guttural sounds of pain that echoed throughout the brightly lit room. Sweat glistened on her forehead, the intensity of her pain etched on her face as she gripped the sheets tightly. The pack physician stood in front of her, whispering encouraging words to her with a calm expression that he had learned to master, “Please push, Anna. You're almost there.”“I can't.” Anna cried out in pain, tears blurring her vision. Her breath came out in ragged bursts as she asked him. “Where is Kodiak? Why isn't he here yet?”“He will come soon,” The nurse beside the physician reassured her but her eyes widened when she noticed that the lady was slowly slipping into an unconscious state. “Hey, ma'am! Please don't fall asleep, we need your strength to deliver this baby!”“I-I...need my mate...”Anna mumbled under her breath as her eyes dripped low. The only thing that had been stopping her from falling unconscious all this
After staying in the Frost Fang pack for two days, Alpha Kodiak stood in the room watching the Frost Fang pack physician examine his brother once more after he had transferred some of his wolf's energy to Zayn who weakly laid on the bed. The doctor checked him once more before he put away his stethoscope and informed them, "His condition has been stabilized now, but he will need lots of bed rest for his fractured bones to heal, and he shouldn't overexert himself working from home." "What about his scars?" Kodiak pointed at the long, jagged slash across his twin's face, frowning at the blemish that had now ruined his brother's handsome face. He couldn't help but blame himself for not being there when his brother needed him the most. Maybe it was because he had witnessed Zayn beating people up rather than getting beat up so he thought he would naturally pull through. The pack physician cast one more glance at the unconscious alpha on the bed and sighed. "I'm afraid it's going to take
Zayn's voice trailed off at the other end of the line, leaving a few seconds of silence before he asked his brother again with a hint of surprise in his tone. "You can still feel the bond between us?"Kodiak confirmed this, running his hand through his tousled hair with exhaustion. "Yes, the connection is faint, but it's still there."The Great Landmark was full of mysteries that could not be explained, one of which was the twin bond between their wolves. Kodiak and Zayn had grown up with a bond that was as strong as a mating bond, ever since they were young children. This bond had allowed Zayn to protect and heal his younger brother after their father died, but it had weakened over time when Zayn formed a mating bond with his former mate for the first time.“I didn't think you would be able to,” Zayn chuckled drily. “But if you visit me now, what will happen to your duel?”“I will return to the pack on time. Stay there and don't even think about running away.” Kodiak ended the call a
Anna couldn't believe how fast time had flown by. It was early dawn, and she was already pacing back and forth in her room, feeling anxious and restless. The sleepless nights had been getting worse ever since her mate left her alone in the house. As she started her morning exercise routine, she happened to glance at the calendar on the wall and realized that the duel was only three days away. Although the maids and guards had told her that he frequently asked about her well-being, she was still unsatisfied that he hadn't called her personally. She stopped in her tracks and looked at the wall clock, wondering if he was awake at this hour. She couldn't help but worry about him since no one knew Hunter's whereabouts which was why she had taken safety measures to protect herself and her baby by in the house despite her yearning to go outside. Anna couldn't hold back her anxious feelings any longer. She rushed to her bedside table and picked up her phone to dial her husband's number. Aft
Vivian sat on the bare floor of her room, amidst a pile of cardboard boxes. Her once beautiful face was now stained with tears that streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't let her emotions get in the way of her efficiency. With determined movements, she packed away her belongings, almost clearing the entire room in a short time.Ever since the day she broke up with Knox, the only man she had ever truly loved with all her heart, Vivian had secluded herself in her house, unable to face the outside world. She tried to bury her pain and suffering by cleaning the house and engaging in other activities, but nothing could ease the heartbreak she was going through right now.As she was about to stack the boxes she had gathered on top of one another, a sudden sound jolted her from her thoughts. The doorbell rang loudly, echoing throughout the living room. She wiped her tears and composed herself before coming out of the room to go and check who was at the door.Vivian was taken aback when she