When I wake up the next morning, there's a permanent smile on my face. I can smell him around me and feel him everywhere. Last night, we professed our love for each other. I still couldn't get the sound of him saying it out of my head. We are yet to make love, but the slickness between my thighs tells me I'm more than ready for him.I feel the empty side of his bed and act as if I'm hugging him. He's not here right now, but I just want to be as close as I can to him. Maybe attached to his hip bone, like my father said. Instantly, I'm reminded of every bad thing that has happened these past few days, and they steal my smile.I trudge into the bathroom, sitting down on the toilet seat without removing the rim. I take a piss and pull my silk nightgown over my head. My shower lasts for half an hour. I also attend to my hair. I need Zeke to want me and take on that offer with the tables. It's silly, but I will do anything to distract myself from my reality. Zeke has always been the best and
She stares at me like she doesn't believe my lie. I panicked and lied, and now there is no way to reverse it. I do not want to jeopardise my relationship with Mare because Ivan was right. She won't forgive me, and neither will she believe me if I say he killed our son.Mare wipes her tears herself. She wants to come down from my thighs, but I grab her waist, stopping her."Hey, where are you going?""I need to think," she says, but I also know it's a terrible idea to leave her on her own now."Stop." I hold her waist tighter, trapping her on my body. She can't free herself because she still hasn't gotten her strength back yet. "I'm here, Mare. You can talk to me about anything. I love you, okay?"She nods after a pause, fighting the tears threatening to spill again. I take her hand in mine and give it a reassuring squeeze."He was flawed as a father, but..." She trails off, sniffling. I can see the pain in her eyes, and it breaks me to know I'm the cause, but how could I have spared Iv
It takes the guy behind the counter fifteen minutes to get my order processed. I'm pissed by the time the hot coffee cups are before me on the slab. I pay with my card and take my order, jogging down the street to get to my car.The clouds darken above me. A storm is coming this early January. The snowfalls lessen as the days pass. I tip the bill of the dat hat down, covering my face as the woman with a stroller stares at me for too long. It never gets old. The attention and reactions when you think you've just seen a popstar on the streets near your home.Inside the car, I hand Alexis the drink. She holds the plastic cup beneath the rim, taking slow sips. I settle in, opening the glove box. I toss my wallet in and close it back. Her eyes are on me."What?" I withdraw."You've not said a word to me since I told you my life is at stake.""What am I supposed to say to you?" I make a face with an arched brow. "Sorry?""Ugh." She rolls her eyes, staring at the boring view of grass outside
The next day, I'm walking down a bored tunnel. It's dark at the entrance, but I use my wolf's eyes to navigate the area. There are no signs of people down here. I cut into the next turn, and I find the water conveyance at the centre of the now cut and covered tunnel. It's rising from the pit below and flowing through the city. I step down the stairs. There are overhead pipes lining the walls as well as florescent bulbs. It stinks. I curse under my breath because I won't be leaving soon. There's also graffiti on the walls of the sewage tunnel. I walk down a path, whiling away my time with the words in spray paint. It's all sorts of nonsense. Someone clears their throat behind me, and I turn. Bessie approaches me on the edge. She's wearing a nosebleed boot, a net panty hose, and a green tee shirt underneath her black short dress. Her choker necklace matches the round shades over her eyes. She takes off her black hat and flaunts her red, flawless hair. "You clean up nice." I flash
It's been three weeks since Alexis left, and I called a truce with the Diamond witches. Three weeks since Marelyn said a word to anyone. She lost a lot of weight. Grief was taking a toll on her. I cancelled my trip to London and gave up the lead role because I had to stay by her side, even from a distance. I'm in my study, scanning through a few files, containing new business ventures I'm planning on expanding into. Jai-Blynn and I usually handle matters like this together. He brings up ideas on the way forward all the time. I blot that thought out as soon as it comes. There's no place for a traitor in anything that concerns me. Drusila knocks on my door and enters. She comes in with a cup of tea. The content of the tray before me smells fresh and earthy. "Have some black tea. It will help," Drusila says, giving me those intrusive eyes. "Thank you." Of course, she seats... "How are you feeling today?" "It's the anniversary of my mother's death. Drusila, I feel like shit."
MAREI can't flee fast enough. I rush into my room, lock the door, and tear my nightgown off my body before I enter the bathroom. Tears roll down my cheeks as I clog the drain with the stopper and fill the bath with ice cold water. I'm freezing. I bring my knees to my chest inside the bathtub.The scene comes to mind. I pushed him. It's all my fault. I'm not stable enough to be around anyone. What's the point of living anyway if I've lost this much? My child, my best friend, and my father, who raised me. I missed them all. I wish for this grief to be a lie.The tears stop coming after a while. I'm still sitting inside the bathtub with my knees to my chest like a scared puppy. I'm anxious, and I don't even know why. It's been like this for days. First, I won't be able to sleep or eat anything. Then, the constant stages of sadness and pain. I feel like I'm slowly dying inside while I'm still breathing fine.I finish my bath and walk into my room after drying my body and hair. My movement
ZEKE Drusila talked about doing the right thing and paying for my sins. I've set a ticking time bomb, and I'm waiting for it to catch up with me. I check my watch. It's time. I know he's here. Aiden rushes into my study. He stops before my desk and bows with his hands crossed before him. He's dressed in a black wife beater and faded denim jeans. I can see his question before it comes. "Chase Erickson is walking free within Moon Grove's walls, and we are just going to let him?" I toss those files I've been trying to figure out for days inside the bottom left drawer and steeple my fingers on my desk. "Yes." "He's the enemy." "You, of all people, shouldn't question my decisions. I don't have to school Orson and school you as well." He lowers his head, calming himself down before me. It's a lost cause to fight me or disagree with me. He should respect his position as my beta. They all should remember that before anything else, they are beneath me. "My apologies, Alpha Zeke.
I don't know how many times I read the note. I'm making sense of it because it's hard to believe it's finally over. My hand supports me as I lower myself onto her bed. I run the other one over my mouth. She's gone. I read the note again. It's hard this last time because my shaky hands won't let me. Drusila finds me after a few minutes. She sees what I'm staring at and instantly gets alarmed. She checks the bathroom, the terrace, and even my bedroom, but Marelyn's in neither of them. She plops down on the bed, flanking me. "She was just right here." "Chase Erickson must have come for what is his. I made it easy for him again." "Again?" She frowns. I spare a vague smile, staring off at the wall with distant eyes. She's gone. I've pictured this moment since I found out we were pregnant. It's everything I thought it would be. Unbearable. "Drusila, do you think I can still get her back?" "Let her go, Zeke." I roll right on. "I should probably remind her how madly in love with
I'm standing at the window edge of a hallway in the fortress. Everyone that passes greets their Alpha with a bow. Today is the exertion of the verdict I passed over all those involved in my mother's death. I took her skull down from where it was hung and finally gave her a befitting burial. Chantria Van Acker, after being tried for my mother's death and King Nikolai's death, was sentenced to death. Her execution is today, and Zane doesn't try to stop it. I knew he went to see her one last time at the dungeons last night, but she's his mother. Will that ever be enough? Hours later, Aiden hands me a platter. I open it and find Chantrias head. The last thing I can do for my mother is to replace her skull with that of the person who put her there. I tell him where to leave the human head until it decomposes, and only a skull is left. My brother stops by to see me in my chambers that evening. He doesn't seem angry that I had given the order for her death. She had killed Father, too. It
ZEKE Again, fire and water will stand against each other. I don't know what the outcome of this fight will be. In my head, I know what I want, but I can't tell exactly what my brother is thinking. It was his idea to do this. I'm not so sure why I even agreed. Revenge doesn't matter anymore. Once I looked into my daughter's eyes, all the pain I felt melted away. I healed. Mare couldn't let go of me all through the night. She was stuck to me like glue because she feared this moment. She feared losing me. My life is finally coming together. I fear losing it, too. The arena roars wild. The entire wolf lands are watching King Nikolai's sons make history. I'm already a record breaker, and he's their king. This fight will have them all at the edge of their seats. The gong goes off and shirtless as we are, dressed in nothing but shorts we fight to the death. I cast an illusion of a cloud over his head, and constant rain falls on only him in the arena. Zane is furious that I'm drenching
KYRA I'm storming into his chambers in Moon Wood's fortress. I just learnt the news of a battle between legacies. There are only two legacies I know apart from evil Jai-Blynn. All of Carodia believes the king has gone mad for wanting to fight his brother, who took down an entire pack and turned them to dust. Zeke Van Acker has gained a name for himself in the city, but that is still far from my point. How could he do this to me? We talked the second our boat arrived at the harbour. Actually, we did less talking and more physical activities for the first few hours after meeting again. I was so sure Marelyn and I made the right choice after spending time with him again. My wolf couldn't stop pining for him, but it seems I'm the only one who felt that way. How could he do this us? Zane says after I barge in, "I know you are angry. Kyra, calm down—I can't believe they just let you walk through easily." "It's not news to anyone, including your other mates, that we are together, Zane.
"That child and I can't exist at the same time on this earth, Mare." "Why, Jai?" I frown, calculating the distance with my eyes. I make a jump for it and shield Kinna from his attack with my body. Summoning my powers, I struggle to get a hold of his mind, but the calibre of power coming out of him is not to be underestimated. Now I realise he wasn't kidding back then in that warehouse. "Your little bloodline powers won't work on me. But Mare, you are no longer my concern. Give me your champion, and you can walk away from this alive." I'm shocked that he's willing to bargain. There's something he knows that none of us do. Something that makes this moment more important to him than ever. I scream hard. "Never!" The force of my voice hits him, but he only staggers back by a step, and I had really mustered up strength with that move. How powerful is he really? "Angering me will only make the terms worse, Marelyn!" "You can kill me, but not my child, Jai. I will never let you touc
ZEKE A Day Earlier... I'm standing in front of the mirror, feeling for my now thick beards. It's a new look I've been sporting. Just yesterday, the action series I starred in aired, and the viewing ratings were through the roof. It's a hit. I've always had blockbusters where I starred as the villain, but never have I been portrayed from a protagonist's point of view in one of them. It's unreal. What's also unreal is what tomorrow is. I know Marelyn is due tomorrow. My chest tightens like every other time I've stared at the date or thought about it. I've been distant. I never showed up for our daughter, but it all got to a point where I considered myself unworthy of being in their lives. She may be happy in Carodia with her date from before. Maybe it fleshed into something more. I can't tell, but it's been bugging me at the back of my mind for months. Scarlett helped me understand what those random slip-ups meant over time. Everything is clear to me now. I stare at my reflection
I don't realise that the doorknob has come off. I stare at the piece in my hand. It broke off, but my mind is fixed on their conversation. She's dating now. It's been just two weeks, and she promised that wasn't goodbye. My jaw clenches impossibly in anger. Finding a new path. Bullshit! I block out their voices and lock myself in my study. I throw my head back over the headrest of the desk chair, blowing out my cheeks. So far, the day has been terrible. I'm nervous. I want to storm into Carodia the next second and restructure the idiot fling's face. She's mine. She's fucking mine! The broken doorknob sits on my desk because I don't know what to do with it yet. Suddenly, my mind is made up. I stand on my feet and head to my bedroom. I open my suitcase on my bed, swiping clothes off the rack in the walk-in closet and dropping them inside it. It's easy not to overthink it. But soon, there's a knock on the open door, calling my attention. Scarlett is holding the broken doorknob, eyein
I've been showing up for appointments with the pack doctor at Blue Silver for the past two weeks since I arrived. He's not who I used to know, and his name is Xavier Scythe. When Ava refused to take me in because of our last encounter, Xavier showed Kyra and I a roof over our head. He is also the next catch as Kyra put it. She wants me to take on his advances and use him to forget all about Zeke. I try. I actually put in effort. He knocks at my door and I open it with a bright smile on my face. "Xavier, how are you?" His hands are locked behind him as he says, "I'm good. How are you?" Xavier runs a nervous hand over his sleeked back long black hair. It's tied up because of how impressively long his hair is. Xavier is a real catch. He's tall and looks hard all over, like a man should, but I don't get that spark from looking at him or anyone else that's not Zeke. Maybe Kyra is right. My world does revolve around only him. "The Blue Silver carnival is coming up. Would you like a p
MARE I see how worried he is. I'm not saying he shouldn't be, but it's another cold truth. She's his forever. I'm the intruder, and I have no place here. We are at the hospital. Scarlett lost her wolf. She's like a human, so I guess that's why we are all concerned because she can't heal. Kyra says, "How can she do this? Overdosing because she wants attention. Jeez." "We don't know that." Drusila chips in from across the waiting room. We are the only ones here at the moment, but it's a hospital people can arrive at any time. Unfortunately, Kyra seems pissed about spending her night here. Zeke is with the doctor. "I'm going to grab a snack." I stand on my feet without glancing at any of them. They still remember how I just cried my eyes out because Zeke made his choice. Now I'm sitting here watching him care for someone else like I wish was only just for me. It's still pure torture. Kyra joins me at the vending machine. I get a chocolate bar while she gets a bag of cheetos. At
************************** My eyes crack open. Daylight shines into my room, but I'm still stuck in last night's pack gathering. Zeke wanted a son who would challenge Zane's throne. A female Alpha will never be accepted to lead Carodia. I'm sad for other reasons than Scarlett. My happy ending keeps drifting far and far away. I wonder if he's angry with me. If this will change everything. Maybe he will finally realise that he won't gain anything from me because I can't even give him a proper heir. I will love our daughter with everything in me because she's a product of our great love. I take a shower, anxious about joining the rest downstairs. Will they see me as a failure? I couldn't protect the first heir, and now I've given them a child they can't accept. A while later, I cross Kyra and Aiden in the hallway, just above the stairs. She spares a broad smile, looking over her shoulder at me. "Hey, Mare! I can't wait to meet our princess."