The day before new year's eve...Zeke wraps his arms around my midriff. He's whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I'm biting my bottom lip, closing my eyes and feeling the burn take over. It starts from his hot breath on my neck. Tingles shoot down to my toes. I angle my head, giving him more room."Mmm, did you change your shampoo?"I lean into him. "Drusila made the change. Do you like it on me?""I like everything on you. Everything about you. As long as it's you, I love it.""You are being extra sweet, Zeke. What's the catch?""Don't you know me so well?" He drags my earlobe between his teeth, weakening my knees with that purring voice. "I can't get you riding me out of my head. Anytime I close my eyes, you are sitting on my cock and trading my sanity for oxytocin."Zeke locks eyes with me through the bathroom mirror. They tell me what he wants. Dark and intense greens riddled with desire. He wants me, but we have guests waiting for us, and one of us must be responsible. I've gotte
ZEKE Marelyn's terrible convincing skills eventually made headway. She always gives the best advice, so I consider listening to her this time around as well. I'm at the edge of the stairs waiting for her while dressed in a button down shirt, overcoat and jeans. A moment later, she descends the stairs casually dressed for the park. I take her hand in mine, and whisper that she looks beautiful in her ears. She's smiling from ear to ear. I'm glad I've made her day with a plan for everyone to leave and have their best night yet. Aiden comes around. "This has to be the first night I don't have a pending task to worry about. Thanks, Marelyn." "Anytime, cuz." They share a laugh and he jogs out the door, meeting the rest who are already on their way. "What made you think of the park, Zeke?" She asks, hooking her arm around mine as we walk over to the basement. "It's having actual fun than a stuck-up fancy dinner, where we clink glasses and just don't do anything." "I see your point." Sh
MARE "Mare, I tried my best, but he—" I hit him hard in the face, surprising myself, but my anger is the size of the globe. It can't be contained. "I'm your Luna, but I will never forgive you for this, Chase!" His eyes glow red, and he growls. "How dare you?" "You killed my best friend!" "He did. Not me." I spit in his face. "Zeke didn't do that. Her execution was tomorrow and it was important to him because it would serve as a warning to the rest of Moon Grove. He wouldn't kill her now." He grabs my shoulder blades, handling me roughly. Those caring eyes Chase returned with go missing at this point. His true intentions rise to the surface like dough. "Suit yourself, Mare, but that rogue killed the girl. Fuck you for bringing me here." He gestures wildly, keeping up with that red stare. "You didn't even drug their dinner as planned. Almost messed everything up." "Look at your hands." I stare, scoffing at the streak of blood hidden in between his finger nails. Chase plays it
The next morning Frida's buried before everyone. Her body shifts into her full wolf form inside her coffin. She's leaving this world without a heart. I'm standing amid the silent crowd, shedding tears. At some point, it seems I'm the only one crying for this traitor. Keith and Nancy caused a ruckus and Aiden walked them out of the burial. It still doesn't feel right or real. Zeke just stands there with a distant look on his face. They lower her into the ground at the central cemetery and everything ends. I'm still crying when I get into the car that takes me home. Zeke and I ride separately. I'm sick of the silent treatment from everyone. What else can I do to say I'm sorry. It's torture enough to know it's my fault she didn't make it. I killed my best friend. I'm hurting badly. The driver makes a u-turn on my request. He takes me to the Burns family home. I've never been here before, but today is the day I do so. I would have liked to visit on different terms other than condolence
ZEKE The night is still young. I'm at a table with a lot of influential people. They whisked me away before I could carry Marelyn along. I've been searching for her through the crowd since I stood here. I want to know what she's doing. If she's okay on her own. I know she's not, but this isn’t something I can get out of so soom. "Mr. Van Acker, let's talk over a drink sometime. Vanver Studios might just be my newest obsession. Who knows?" He chuckles. The old man in a red bow tie and bald head does the same. In the film industry, he holds power. It has always been my dream to get him on board, and now it is finally happening. I think about all the money that could come from this particular investment. It's huge. "That's a great idea, Mr. Stone. I think it will be." I shake hands with the elderly man, who's way below my height. He leaves, and I focus on getting back to Marelyn, but that doesn't go as planned. I see Kyra racing for me. She looks anxious. There's something wrong. I
MAREI'm weak. I crack my eyes open. There's daylight pouring into the room from the open blinds. The last thing I remember is talking to my father and feeling dizzy at the event. This isn't the event. This is a hospital and nothing like Taz's lair.Panic shoots through my heart like a bullet wrapped in Wolf's Bane. I'm at a hospital; not at home with Zeke. I also can't feel my wolf. It's like she's gone. I don't have any strength in me, and my supernatural capabilities are non-existent. I feel human—There's something wrong happening, and I'm yet to understand.Kyra's head rests in her crossed arms at the edge of my bed. She notices I'm awake when my eyes meet Zeke's in the doorway. He looks devastated and doesn't try to hide it. Tension has me by the neck. Something's very wrong. I feel farther away from him than I was earlier. It's like there's a wide drift between us.But I do glimpse relief in those gloomy green eyes for a second, but it doesn't calm the storm I still see. My hand
ZEKEWhen I see her faint again, I rush to get the attending nurse placed on Marelyn's tab. The woman rushes in, looking scared because now, her superior has suddenly gone missing after coming into this same room. She probably feels like she's walking on thin ice.She turns to me. "Exhaustion. She's too weak to stay awake. After a few hours, your wife will get herself back."I nod once, hawking Marelyn's fragile body only. "Remember. No outside the walls of this room can hear about what happens inside it."The nurse nods, grabbing her chart with shaking hands and exiting the room. I watch Marelyn sleep for a few more minutes. She lied to me about who she kept as company doing the event. It can only mean she's trying to protect whoever it was from me. I know exactly who my target it as I exit the hospital and get my car past the throngs of paparazzi packed at the entrance.I'm crossing the speed limit as I race through the highways. My foot presses the gas, going even faster when I reme
MARE Earlier... I can't count how many times I've cried silently on this spot. Drusila came in at some point to feed me. Everyone has let go of their anger towards me, but it still hangs in the air like an echo. I feel it amid the numb pain. I fainted earlier, but now I'm wide awake and still feeling like I could just die. She brushes my hair away from face. Her eyes hold sadness. I'm certain it is meant for Zeke and not for me. I want to tell Drusila to leave, but I can't find my voice. It's buried with the pain in my chest. She stays for a long while after feeding me and leaves. No one can answer why I'm not healing fast. The odds against me are in epic proportions. I still don't know what happened, except that Chase killed my doctor before he could tell me the truth. He came here because he cared. My mind is a bit all over the place, but I take his presence earlier as that. I cry silently again, hitting my fist against my chest. It takes longer this time, but I'm so weak that
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."