At first, Belinda was too stunned to react. Derek's lips molded against hers, the soft flesh drawing surprising sensations from her. Nerves danced all around her skin, the tingles traveling to the tips of her breasts and the forbidden place between her legs. She felt her nipples harden, poking at the thin silk of her dress, and her eyes grew wide. Damn it all! At long last, Belinda closed her eyes, threw her arms around Derek's neck, and gave herself to the kiss. Her submission pumped confidence into his actions, a hand sliding to her waist as he pressed harder into the kiss. He kissed her firmly, but unsurely, as though he was holding a piece of himself back. The nonaggressive way he handled her was so different from what she had gotten accustomed to this past few months, that it caused her to sigh. The low exhale set flames to his blood, and he pushed his tongue between her parted lips to find her own. She was so sweet, Derek reveled in the taste of her. How had he not noticed ho
Draven heard the footsteps approach long before he heard the knock. He didn't turn as the door swung open, instead focusing on unbuttoning the front of his white cotton shirt. He didn't need to, because even under the thick floral perfume, he could smell the scent of the woman at the doorway. Belinda Knight stood with her arms folded, her hips leaning on the doorpost. She looked ethereal in her seductive royal blue nightwear, her silky hair left to fall about her shoulders, its black shade gleaming in the moonlight. Draven heard her breath hitch as he turned to her, saw her pupils dilate despite the darkness. She gazed hungrily at the patch of bare chest she could see through his parted shirt, her eyes then quickly running down his muscular form. He too, looked her over. The flimsy excuse of a gown she was wearing loosely draped over her curves, leaving little to the imagination. It exposed most of her thighs and dipped at the neckline so her breasts were barely covered. As the dress
What had she done? Belinda's arm remained suspended in the air, as though it was too afraid to come down. The skin of her palm stung, undeniable proof that she had indeed hit the Lycan. She reeled from the thought. She, a low-ranking omega, had hit a man feared by alphas. Belinda could see that he hadn't moved since she'd slapped him, like he too couldn't believe what she'd just done. If only he knew—she was far more shocked than he was. At that moment, a part of her was screaming for her to apologize, to plead that she'd acted rashly and hadn't known what she was doing. The greater part—the part of her that was still possessed by nerve-numbing anger—refused to do that. "I really don't get you." Belinda glared up at Draven with every bit of venom she felt. "You seem to hate me. No," She corrected herself. "you definitely hate me. Yet, you keep me close. Why? You can have any woman on earth, so why choose me? Do you really feel that I deserve to be treated the way you treat me? W
Sparks flew the instant the two lips touched. Draven devoured her hungrily, his tongue pushing her lips apart to dive into her mouth. Fire lit her nerve endings as they kissed, their mutual passion burning everything else away. Belinda straddled him on the chair, each of her legs gripping his thighs. Her arms went up his shoulders, crossing at the back of his neck as she pressed her breast to him. Instinctively, her hips rocked against his erection, creating the friction she desired. Her bare nipple grazed against his chest as she moved, drawing a strangled moan from her. Draven had never been so hard before. It was as though every blood cell in his body had pooled at his groin. His erection strained against his trousers, thick and literally painful. His mind roared with desire for his mistress, the beautiful woman who had fallen upon him by chance. Every fiber of his being wanted to be inside her, to bury himself deep within her. A strong possessiveness gripped him then. He wanted t
Paul was in his office when his secretary came rushing in, his eyes wide and his voice shaky. "Sir, we have a situation." Raising his head from the documents he'd been proofreading, the alpha of the Chicago Pack raised an annoyed eyebrow at the skinny young man. "I have people I pay to handle these ‘situations’." He stated the obvious. "This one is a bit out of hand, sir." The man insisted. The terror in the boy's demeanor and the way his entire body shook was what got Paul's attention. He dropped everything he was doing and exited from behind his desk. As he followed behind his secretary, he wished he hadn't hired someone so young, so inexperienced, and so easily flustered, for such a crucial office as his secretary. However, the boy was the son of an important member of his pack, and employing him had been a favor to his father. The things an alpha did for the sake of his pack. On arriving at the ground floor of the Knights & Co. company building, Paul quickly saw what
Her phone rang, and Belinda dropped her fork and knife to check who was calling. She was at the restaurant at the Lycan's building, enjoying a meal alone because she needed the peace and quiet. Unfortunately, it was being disturbed. Her eyes on the screen, she lifted an eyebrow at the caller ID. "Hello, Derek." Belinda put the device to her ear. After their less-than-amicable parting at the gala, she'd half expected to not get a call from her ex-mate for a while. Turned out she'd underestimated his maturity. But then again, they had important business together, business more important than any petty quarrel they had. "Belinda." Derek's collected voice came from the other end of the line. "What are you doing right now?" He seemed to ask casually. "Nothing." She briefly glanced down at her almost empty plate. "Just having lunch." "With who?" The reason behind his query wasn't missed, and it made Belinda stiffen, her fingers clutching her phone tighter. Derek must hav
"Maddox Hawkmore. Who is he?" Georgina felt the color drain from her cheeks, her complexion dropping several shades. Every muscle in her body went taut, straining as her pupils dilated and her parted lips trembled. Belinda's eyebrows shot up at the intense response her mother had to the mention of a mere name. She looked terrified, and that brought to question why. A second later though, Georgina Knight had re-coordinated herself, but it was too late. Belinda had clearly caught her reaction. "You do know him," Belinda stated what she already knew was true. "Who is he?"Georgina had clearly heard Belinda, but she had questions of her own. Her lips thinning, she stared attentively at her daughter. "How do you know that name?" Belinda crossed her arms over her chest. "I asked first. Shouldn't you answer before interrogating me?"Leaning from her seat, Georgina clamped a fist around Belinda's wrist. "Answer me!" Her loud voice was earnest. "How do you know that name?" The tigh
The news of the arrest of Paul Knight took Chicago by storm. Apparently, their youngest, richest, and most handsome billionaire wasn't a saint. Some didn't mind his crimes. So he hid his money away from the government, who didn't? Then there were those who criticized him mercilessly for it. They were mostly those who were spiteful towards the rich, who felt it was unfair a select few lived in such luxury and extravagance, while they couldn't afford rent. He already had so much, they said, would it kill him to pay his dues to the government? It all should have ended with this simple argument, but then one random reporter from an unknown news outlet published an article reminding people of the Knight Tower scandal. The piece was derogatory, highlighting the rich's habit of trampling on the more unfortunate populace. However, the fire that had lighted the torch was the part where he'd speculated that something terrible had happened to the righteous Fleming couple, especially as they'd m
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
"Miss Belinda!" Belinda wondered what the kid was doing here at this time of the night, while his mates were indoors sound asleep. Dressed in plain pajamas, he looked like a raccoon who'd been caught going through the dumpster by a hound dog... Scared and utterly guilty. Once she'd gotten over her surprise at seeing him, her features squeezed into a stern scowl. "Why aren't you indoors?" Baron winced at her harsh tone. "Uh... Um..." He hesitated to reply, searching for words to put together an excuse. All the while, his eyes sneakily darted from place to place, as though he was looking for something but didn't want anyone to know. However, Belinda understood immediately. A groan escaping her, she twirled around and yelled to no one and nowhere in particular. "Come out, Belinda. I know you're there." The juvenile delinquent heard the call, and shyly slipped out from behind a bush, looking even more guilty than her brother. She appeared to be lacking her usual confidence to