Panic gripped Belinda, widening her eyes and quickening her breath. Although she was aware she could never escape from the Lycan unless he let her, she struggled against her bonds, because she couldn't help herself. The words he'd said earlier echoed in her head... I would kill you... motivating her to struggle harder. She wasn't thinking straight, she wasn't listening to reason, and all she desired at that point in time was to be free. The rough fibers of rope chafed the delicate skin of her wrist, and only the dull ache it brought could make her stop squirming. "What will you do to me?" It dawned on Belinda then that she was completely at the mercy of the Lycan. He had always done whatever he pleased with her, but this time, she would have absolutely no way of fighting back. "What I do to you does not matter." Draven snapped, his tone harsh and commanding. "What matters is what you will do for me. Firstly, you must not speak unless spoken to, and when you do, you must refer to
“In the name of the moon goddess, are y'all hearing this!? Cecily Knight abducted the Luna of the San Francisco Pack and beat her to a pulp.” “I heard her pack was in full support of it. They planned to kill her, then blame her death on her husband so they could take over his territory.” “Does that even make sense? The lies that are circulating in this forum are just crazy.” “In any case, something fishy definitely went down between the Chicago and San Francisco pack, because they're declaring war! My guess is that the Chicago Pack were the ones in the wrong.” “Do you think the Lycan will intervene? My daddy told me of the time when he was a kid and two large packs in Europe were at war. Their territory was nearly destroyed. I don't want that to happen to us.”Paul stepped onto the VIP floor of the five-star restaurant, handing his coat to a waiting footman. Despite it being only 8 pm on a Saturday night, the flo
"I'll begin, my lord." Gerald hurriedly grabbed the opportunity to speak first. Settling into his seat, he took a deep breath to prepare himself for the speech he'd rehearsed severally in his head. "9 years ago, my youngest daughter, Mary Vaughn, was ambushed by Cecily Knight, sister to the alpha of the Chicago Pack, and poisoned with wolfsbane. This was no child's play, because my daughter had her wolf killed. All because of one pack's inability to control their member, my girl had to live the rest of her life without her important half." "I see." Placing his elbows on the table, Draven intertwined his fingers, leaning forward to rest his jaw on it. "But as you said, that was 9 years ago. Why wait that long to seek justice?"Gerald swallowed, his fist clenching under the table. He could never bring up this matter without encountering that one question. "I hesitated because I once believed burying the matter was the best way to handle it. I no longer share
Biting her nails and tapping her feet, Cecily waited for Paul to return at the front door, because it was unbearable to do so in her room. She checked the window every five minutes for his car, pacing when she saw there was nothing in sight. When she finally heard the pleasant hum of the Maybach truck's engine, she frantically pulled open the door and ran outside. The car came to a halt, and the driver hurriedly got down to open the door to the passenger seats. Paul exited the vehicle, a hand in a pocket of his suit's trousers. Cecily studied his face, attempting to read his thoughts from the look on it. She failed. "Well... How did it go?" Following her brother at his side, she struggled to keep up with his quick steps. "What did the Lycan say? Why aren't you saying anything?" Paul ignored her, focusing more on entering his home. His mother was waiting for him inside, her hands clasped in front of her thighs. Unlike Cecily, she noticed immediately
As Lexie approached the Knight family villa, she wondered why she had been called there this time, and in freaking 3 in the morning. It was a shame she couldn't just ignore the summons, because she was an omega being called by an alpha daughter. Stopping her car a block from the house, like she'd been instructed by Patricia, Lexie completed the remaining distance on foot. Rather than knock on the front door, she rounded the building, heading for the small iron gate that led into the garden. No bulbs were on, but the full moon high in the sky shone enough lights on the grass and trees. In the middle of the garden stood Cecily, in between a row of daises and poppies. She paced back and forth, her arms folded across her chest. When she picked up the distant sound of footsteps, she swerved to the direction it was coming from. Lexie walked through the iron gates, and immediately spotted Cecily. "Good evening, Miss Knight." On reaching her, Lexie respectfully greeted. "—evening—mornin
“After much consideration and plenty of regret, I, Cecily Knight, have decided to step down from the alpha family of the Chicago Pack. While I remain a member of my beloved pack, I am no longer one of its leaders. I relinquish all of my powers, and will no longer participate in any political events or civic duties regarding my pack. This is coming after much meditation and self-examination. I've made a lot of mistakes I'm not proud of, and I've hurt too many people I never intended to. My actions were thoughtless and reckless, but that does not excuse my behavior. I apologize to Mary Vaughn, and anyone else I've ever wronged. From now onwards, I promise to do better, serving my pack and the werewolf community as a whole.”It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly in the sky, but the cool breeze helped reduce the effect of the scorching heat. It was the ideal weather for a sunbath, and Belinda did not let such a rare opportunity pass her by. She could
Belinda could remember the night in the picture. It was the night she'd met the blond bombshell named Chloe, and had gotten incredibly jealous of her. Despite taking place months ago, Belinda could still recall the boiling sensation of envy, which had pushed her to take adventures she never thought she would. However, as she'd walked out the club beside Chloe and Draven, she'd felt at peace, because Draven's arm had not been wrapped around the blonde's waist, but hers. The photo on Belinda's phone screen depicted her in a sexy outfit, her body pressed to the Lycan's side. Their body language, their ease in each other's presence—no one who saw it would mistake what it was. It was a very rare photo of the Lycan and his mistress. The caption above the post made by an anonymous account only poured fuel to the flames. “Guess who it is? That's Belinda Knight of the Chicago Pack. Wanna know who she's with? It's the Lycan of the American Wolves. Yes, you read it righ
Belinda watched Cantor leave, closing the door behind him. The creak of the swinging metal echoed through the hall, reminding her who she was being left alone with. Turning back to the room, she took a look around. The space appeared to be some sort of warehouse, with its large size and simple structure. Nothing was in it, except the huge parcels wrapped in cartons and transparent nylons. There were a lot of them, and Belinda found herself wondering what they were. So, she asked. Producing a pack of cigarettes, Draven lit a stick and placed it between his lips. "Cocaine." He answered blandly, leaving Belinda to deal with her surprise alone. Taking a draw from his cigar, he puffed out the smoke. "What is it you needed to talk about?"Immediately, the fact that countless kilograms of the most illegal narcotics in the world were in the Lycan's basement became insignificant to Belinda. This was it. She could no longer chicken out of this one, and neither did she want to. It was necessary
The moment was nothing like Belinda expected. She knew how death worked. She'd fully understood what it meant to kill her own blood. Yet, the experience itself was more... empty than she'd expected. Sitting on one of the chairs at the dining table, she stared across at the lifeless body of her parents. Even in death, her father still managed to appear handsome and proud. Somehow, he still managed to look down on her, with just the right amount of spite to show he never cared about her. As for her mother, she'd died more hideously. It was obvious she'd struggled against what was happening to her. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, her expression was twisted, and in her open eyes was the shock and anger she'd felt while dying. The sight of those two was supposed to stir something deep in Belinda, but all she felt was a large void. No pain, no sadness, no anger. Not even a hint of guilt for the atrocity she'd just committed. Had her parents meant that little to her?Rather than br
Georgina turned at the sound of footsteps approaching, in time to watch Maddox enter the dining room. She searched his face for information, but his mood was unreadable. Her attention shifted one other person followed behind him. "Did it work?" Georgina asked the sorcerer. Before replying, Maddox pulled back the chair at the head of the rectangular table, relaxing into it as he sat down. "Was there any doubt it would?" There was a clear arrogance in his tone.Georgina ignored him, moving to the woman who stood stiffly at a place with a dazed expression. "How are you feeling, Belinda?" She placed a hand on each of her daughter's arms. In the past, Belinda would have flinched at her mother's touch, but now, she did nothing. As though her body was present, but her mind was not. "Just a slight headache." She replied. "And my skin still aches from the silver chain." Tenderly, Georgina rubbed her daughter's upper arm, although that was not nearly the part of her body that ached
The pain woke Belinda up, the intense sensation tormenting every nerve in her body. Her skin felt like it was getting scorched, yet she couldn't feel any heat from the supposed fire. It all made sense when the sharp odor of silver hit her nose a second later. Opening her eyes, Belinda saw that she lay on her side an old and rather disgusting bed. A long and large silver chain wrapped around her body, ensuring she had minimal movement. As her ankles were pressed together and her arms were at her sides, her only option was to roll, and with much difficulty. The action allowed her to view the rest of her surroundings. Short stone stairs led up to a rather small door, making her believe she was in some sort of basement. The brick floor was dewy, and the walls were covered with moss.Where was she? And how had she gotten here? The last thing Belinda remembered was confronting her parents and being knocked out. What had her father done to her? Suppressing the pain she was under, she focuse
Sneaking out of the Lycan's residence had not been an easy task, especially when there were at least fifty wolves who had their nose locked in on your scent. Basically, Belinda had had to distract her watchdogs—mostly by setting a fire to a storage closet. The tiny room had been nearly empty and barely used. No one would miss it. No one got hurt. The closet did serve its purpose, however. In those next few minutes, the fire alarm blared through the skyscraper, creating a booth of panic. Everyone had been momentarily occupied with the not-so-small fire, allowing Belinda to fade into the background. She made her escape, running through a rarely used service exit while everybody else was fully occupied. Once free, stopping a cab had been easy, and soon, she'd been zooming off to infinity. Actually, infinity was a cemetery behind a small cathedral at the opposite end of town. The place was old and in dire need of tending to, with weeds overgrowing on most headstones and dead leaves and
"No." Draven sighed, not because he was annoyed, but because he knew the task before him was not going to be an easy task. Calming an angry woman, especially one like his spitfire mate, was something he was beginning to dread. And he never dreaded anything. "No. You can't be serious!" Belinda cried, not very nicely. "I go out of my to find out what my brother is scheming, and your plan is to let him... scheme?" "You are intentionally excluding the most crucial part of what I told you. I said I would allow him to make the first strike. First off, you didn't exactly bring me the location of our culprit. Even if you did, going to them first would mean fighting them in their own territory. The Sorcerer Clan can not be underestimated. On the other hand, letting them come to me ensures I retain the advantage of location, and gives me enough time to arrange a defense. The fact that the sorcerers were bold enough to make such a move means that they intend to end this once and for
Paul was feeling nervous, and that was something new. Ever since losing everything nearly two weeks ago, his confidence had been practically nonexistent. And now, a meeting with a bunch of old magicians was making him anxious. Ridiculous! He was standing in an empty hallway in front of wooden double doors, waiting for the people inside to decide it was time to let him in. When he was alpha, no one would have dared keep him waiting, but there was nothing he could do about it now. It pained him to admit it, but he needed their damn help. At last, the door opened and a woman in a plain black suit stepped out. "The High Council will see you now." She nodded curtly at him. The door was widened more, making space for him to enter. Paul was ushered into a very dimly lit room, dominated by a crescent-shaped table and chairs arranged around it. There were 11 in total, and a man or woman sat in those seats, all who turned to him once he walked in. Their gazes were eerie and unsettling, but h
Just as the phone call from one of Draven's men had specified, a woman who wished to see the Lycan's Luna, waited at the base floor. Usually, this kind of visitors were turned away—random people who thought they could reach the higher-ups just by asking. However, this particular woman had been damn persuasive, even going as far as to say that she possessed exclusive info that could determine the fate of the world. So, they'd let the Luna decide whether she wanted to see this wacko herself or not. Belinda spotted Lila the instant she stepped into the restaurant, and so did the latter, who couldn't stop waving. Her features icing over, Belinda walked over to the table, making sure to keep her pace slow. Lila waited patiently, the widest smile on her face as she watched the other woman approach. "Phew!" She blew out a dramatic breath as Belinda took the seat opposite her, wiping off imaginary sweat from her forehead. "I was almost afraid I wouldn't get to see you. Do you know how
Two days later, Belinda stood at the door of Lexie's apartment. As the latter had told her to just enter on arriving, she bunched the entry code on the keypad and went in. She caught Lexie bent over a table in the kitchen, sticking two candles in the shape of “2” and “5” into a cake covered by pink icing and colorful sprinkles. On noticing the presence behind her, Lexie turned. Her lips spreading into a broad smile, she carried the cake and presented it to her friend. "I know you aren't a huge fan of cakes, but I thought you should have one this year. Happy 25th birthday, bestie." Despite its small scale, the gesture warmed Belinda's heart. It was true that she wasn't particularly fond of birthday cakes, or cakes in general. As children, no one had ever bothered to mark her and Baron's birth. After he'd died, it had simply felt wrong to celebrate a day they had once shared. She no longer felt that way. Now, she understood that loss did not mean she couldn't accept happiness. "
The next morning, Belinda waited till the twins were done eating before approaching them. Nearly a day later, they were still the center of attraction at Mrs. Sutar's Home. The other children marveled at the fairy-like pair with the pale eyes, and the dark hair that contrasted drastically with their light skin. Lin Lin basked in the glory, completely comfortable with being in the spotlight. Baron on the other hand—the poor boy—looked like he didn't know what to do with all that attention. Lin Lin was the first to notice Belinda standing at a corner of the dining room, and she skipped over, a bright smile on her face. "Good morning, Miss Belinda!" She greeted as her brother joined at her side. Their joy was contagious, and Belinda couldn't help smiling back. "Good morning to you too. How was breakfast?" "It was delicious." Baron nodded his approval. Lin Lin had more enthusiastic opinions about their meal that morning. "Peanut butter sandwich has never tasted better!" She s