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
Belinda was dying. She could feel her lungs giving way, the air in them finally exhausted. Her nerves had gone numb from the freezing temperature, and her hand ached from all that struggle to swim to the surface of the water. The cannonball at the end of the chain clamped around her ankle held her at the bottom of the river, however. She'd tried to free herself from the device, but she hadn't been strong enough. Nothing she ever did was enough. Giving up on holding her breath, Belinda let the water flow into her from every opening in her body. How had she gotten here? That was right, she'd had this coming for a while now. It would have eventually ended this way—her life was a tragedy bound to be closed in misery. Could she remember the last time she had been happy? She could, but it was so long ago. Most of her memories were either tainted with misery or anger. Had she ever done anything to deserve it? Nothing she knew of. As her body grew limp and stopped moving altogether, Belinda
"What in the moon goddess' name are you wearing?" Cecily placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh on entering the bedroom. She herself was dressed in a stylish white dress, one which looked suspiciously like a wedding gown, but Belinda decided not to comment on it. She would not give Cecily the satisfaction of knowing she was annoyed. Sashaying to Belinda, Cecily invaded the other's personal space by hooking an arm around Belinda's. She brightened her smile, and Belinda could have sworn that if she smiled any wider, her cheeks would tear. "Don't let it bother you. You look pretty no matter what." Cecily tapped her hand reassuringly over Belinda's. Only an expert would have detected the hidden layer of viciousness in the compliment, and that was exactly what Belinda was. She wasn't fooled, but she felt no anger toward Cecily either. In fact, at this point, the younger woman's silly games had become amusing. "Really, you're so lucky." Cecily let go of Belinda's han
Silence fell over the ballroom like the mist of the morning dew. All watched for Belinda's reaction, but the latter remained calm and unmoving. She gazed steadily at Derek, her eyes revealing none of her thoughts. At a point, Derek grew very uncomfortable. He looked away awkwardly, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck. "Please say something, Belinda." He finally turned back to her, his hazel eyes twinkling with what appeared to be remorse. "Please. I don't want to hurt you... or break your heart. I just—there's no easy way to break off an engagement, is there?" "So... You're rejecting me?" Belinda asked, her voice lacking any emotion. Stunned by her directness, Derek blinked stupidly. "What? No—I mean—yes! I'm really sorry, Belinda."His apology was ignored. Snapping her head to face her brother, Belinda fixed a vicious glare at the alpha of the Chicago Pack. Her countenance remained cold, but the venom in her eyes made up for the hostility her facial expression lacke
"Why are you acting all righteous now? You haven't been very kind to her either. Have you forgotten, you were the one that poisoned and killed her brother, your own son?"Belinda could hardly believe her ears. No, there had to have been a mistake. She must have overheard wrongly. Her family was cruel, but they weren't bloodthirsty. They would never go as far as murdering their own blood. Every muscle, bone, and vein in Belinda's body shook. They wouldn't. They couldn't. Right? That day was still so fresh in her mind—the day her twin brother had died. He'd suffered for weeks, so weak that he couldn't so much as get out of bed. Belinda had had to take care of him because no one else in the family would. She'd fed him, bathed him, and ensured he'd taken his medicine. She'd been 15 years old then—a young girl who was losing the one person who loved her and she loved back. Belinda remembered holding tightly to Baron's hand on his last day on earth. They'd both known he didn't have mu