As Anna slowly regained consciousness, she was greeted by the sight of the sun's rays peeking through the tall trees in the forest. She winced as she tried to open her eyes, her head throbbing with pain as she struggled to stand up from the ground. Her mind was blank, and she couldn't recall how she ended up in this place. However, her attention was quickly drawn to the sound of a voice coming from the tree where she was resting."Good morning, Anna," Hunter's face appeared in her view, his lips curling into a grin. He gracefully descended to the ground, dusting off his clothes before walking towards her. "It's time for us to move now that you're awake. We can't afford to stay in this place for too long."As the memories flooded back into Anna's mind, she felt a wave of fear wash over her, causing her to back away from him until her back hit the bark of a tree. Her voice quivered with a mixture of fear and anger, looking up at him with disbelief. “You attacked me yesterday. What kind
Anna froze in her steps, her heart racing as her mate's growl echoed through the forest. His light red eyes glinted with anger as he warned her to stay away. She immediately complied, retreating to the safety of the nearby tree. She knew better than to get too close to a scene where the alpha of a pack was fighting, especially when she knew that Kodiak was not in his right mind.As she leaned against the rough bark of the tree, she wondered if she should climb up to its branches for added safety. But the thought of Kodiak's anger kept her rooted in place, so she stayed hidden behind the trunk and watched the scene unfold.Kodiak's calm expression belied the dark emotions roiling inside him as he confronted his uncle. "You must be raving mad to try and steal my mate away from me," he growled, applying more pressure on the arm under his feet. "I think this is the perfect time for us to settle the scores. What do you think?"Hunter's face twisted in pain as he tried to fight back. But Ko
News of Kodiak's upcoming duel quickly spread across the Great Landmark, and people were eager to witness the alpha of the Dark Edge pack fight for his mate and unborn baby. However, within the pack, things were not good. The elders, who would normally never interfere with Kodiak's affairs, were now willing to risk their own lives to convince him to change his mind. The tension in the room was palpable as Kodiak's eyes carefully scanned his surroundings. It was clear that none of the elders were willing to meet his gaze, but he was slightly amused by their attempt. Despite the opposition he faced, Kodiak remained resolute in his determination to fight for what he believed was right.“So what you are saying is that you want me to stop the duel?” He asked them, “Why?”The room was eerily silent as an elderly man cleared his throat and rose from his seat. No one had spoken for what felt like an eternity, and the tension in the air was palpable. The man, Noah, spoke up hesitantly, his vo
Anna's heart raced in her chest when she looked into her mate's eyes, her mind swelling with unspeakable emotions as she tried to figure out what to say. She wasn't sure if it was because of the pregnant hormones, or the fact that he had saved her at her most dire moment but she suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to run into his arms and kiss him senseless. “Anna?" The Dark Edge alpha became concerned when he noticed how quiet she was at the moment. A wave of disappointment and pain washed through him as he slowly gave up on his fantasy because he knew there was no way she would say such things-“I, Anna Knightley...” The woman in front of him took a deep breath to calm her emotions before she continued with tears slowly leaking down her face. “... claim you, Kodiak Cardinal as my mate in this life and beyond. My heart, body, and loyalty belong to you and I ask the moon goddess to bear witness to my vow. I love you, Kodiak.” This time, it was the Dark Edge alpha's turn to go rigid a
The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension, as the entire pack had gathered to witness Giselle's trial. She stood in the center of the room, her hands bound by silver handcuffs, and her eyes fixed on the man who would decide her fate. Despite her disheveled state, Giselle's eyes were filled with hatred as she glared at Kodiak, the alpha, who stood on an elevated platform with the pack elders by his side. As the trial began, Knox's voice boomed, commanding silence before one of the pack elders started questioning the accused. "Let the trail begin!" A female elder stood up from the alpha's side and asked the accused, "Miss LeWren, you have been charged with the crime of colluding with a dark witch and using sorcery on your ex-fiance, Alpha Kodiak. How do you plead?"Giselle remained silent, refusing to utter a single word about the allegations stated against her because she refused to downgrade herself to the likes of these lowly people in front of her. Only a few days ago, she
“What the hell are you saying, Knox?” Kodiak scowled as he and Mrs. Hoyles turned to face him amid the noisy courtroom and the spectators began to react to his words with shock and disbelief. The Dark Edge alpha gritted his teeth warningly when he spoke to his Beta, “Do you know the punishment that will be given to you if you don't retract your statement?”“I do.” Knox calmly nodded as his steady eyes lowered to gaze at his alpha's own. He gave him a reassuring smile before he stepped forward and admitted his crimes to everyone in the courtroom. “There is also something I would like to confess to everyone in this room.”His grandmother suddenly lost her strength when she heard him speak, collapsing on her seat when he started speaking. ”I am also guilty of deceiving the alpha because I hid the truth that Giselle was my destined mate. I had just been appointed the Beta of the pack when I discovered the mating bond but she begged me not to tell anyone about it because she was in love wi
In the chilly and dimly lit corridor, Kodiak's eyes were fixed on Giselle's face with a harsh expression. His gaze gradually dropped to her stomach, and he remained silent for a few minutes, lost in contemplation. Giselle felt a pang of nervousness, wondering if he believed her or not. Just as she was about to give up hope, Kodiak lifted his hand and questioned her, "Is it true? Are you really pregnant with my child?" "O-Of course, I am!" Giselle's heart swelled with anticipation as she placed her hand on her stomach, attempting to convince him of her words. She silently thanked the moon goddess for allowing her to be with him a few days ago before he left for the Silver Fur pack to meet Anna. Otherwise, he might have never believed her. The room was filled with an eerie silence, broken only by the sound of Kodiak's deep, booming laughter that echoed through the place. When Giselle looked up at him, she was taken aback by the grin at the corner of his lips and the amusement in his ey
Anna sat next to Kodiak in the living room, her body tense and stiff as a rock. They were both watching his grandmother drink her tea with poise, waiting for her to break the silence. Anna cast a pleading look at Kodiak, silently asking for an explanation about his grandmother's sudden return to the house, but he simply squeezed her hand and remained quiet.When the old woman finished her tea, she dropped the teacup on the saucer and turned to face them. “I overheard that you plan on dueling your uncle for your mate, Kodiak. If I hadn't come into town, would you have kept this secret from me?”“Yes,” Anna tensed slightly hearing how harsh and firm his voice sounded to her ears, “It's nothing personal, Grandma. You also hid the fact that you helped my father's murderer escape from pack punishment.”The old woman smiled gently, her eyes moving to Anna to gauge her reaction. However, Anna remained determined to keep a straight face, hiding her surprise at the revelation.“I was just bein
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