RyleeBang-bang-bang-This man threw serial bombs at me. Blew my head off. And yet he asked me if I like it.Alvar's revelations hit me like a barrage of explosive shells. He lays out plans and secrets with a casualness that makes my head spin.I’m at a loss. Can I even express how overwhelmed I feel? Does he expect me to just accept this madness?Alvar guides me to the couch. “Your reaction is not what I expected. What’s wrong?”I struggle to form words. “Why… Why you would attack Greenvale?”He looks at me, confused. “I’ve explained this before. They’ve abused you since you were a child. Don’t you want this?”I murmur, “That doesn’t mean I want them destroyed.”The thought of revenge has crossed my mind, but never like this. Not at the expense of people like Marta or … Syd.He sighs, "Rylee, I understand you're kind. But there's a reason I'm doing this. Your mom had a significant amount of money in her private bank account when she married Steve. But in all these years, have they ev
RyleeAnother night of nightmares. This time, worse than last night. I dream of Greenvale littered with corpses, rivers of blood flooding every inch of land I know. The familiar voice keeps repeating, "Full moon - wolfsbane -." I see myself standing at an altar in a blood-colored wedding dress, a woman covered in blood reaching out to me, asking me to walk with her.“Ah-”I wake up screaming from the nightmare."Rylee, are you okay?" I hear Meg knocking on the door outside."I'm fine!" I cover my chest, still beating wildly. I take a deep breath and reply loudly, "I just had a bad dream.""Okay. Call me if you need help, I'm downstairs," Meg shouts.I reply, "Okay."I hug my knees and sit in silence on my bed for an hour, fuming. Alvar's words stick in my head, emotions clogging up my body. I can't straighten them out. I can't catch my breath.Another hour passes before Meg texts me to ask if I'm okay. I realize I've been motionless for two hours. The nails on all ten of my fingers ar
AlvarWedding preparations are going well. Carl reports that the Moon Goddess statue is secure in the warehouse on the second floor underground. I ask him to send a few more guards. I plan to move it out on the wedding day and place it on the altar, just like my parents did.The Dark Pack has traditions. Alpha and Luna need to have their wedding in the presence of the Moon Goddess statue on the altar, taking their vows, to strengthen their bond.But my parents were an exception.As far back as I can remember, my parents didn’t have a good relationship. My father had countless women, and my mother had her own male confidant. They always argued and sometimes fought. Their bond was weak, leading to a weakening of the pack, which fell into depression for a while.When I was ten, my mom died. After her death, my father sank visibly and unexpectedly. He dismissed all his mistresses and began spending his days guarding what was left of my mother. I thought it was ridiculous. How could a pack
Rylee"What the hell is this crap?" Alvar's voice cuts through the TV show playing.I keep my eyes closed, feigning sleep. "I'm tired," I mumble, not wanting to deal with him. Every conversation ends with us fleshes tangling with each other, and I'm just not in the mood tonight."Rylee Green, sit up and explain what you're watching." His voice carries a hint of anger as he yanks the covers off me.Reluctantly, I open my eyes and sit up. "It's a popular drama."Alvar is wearing a suit today. His dark hair is neatly combed and his hand is in his pocket. Handsomer than the hero of the TV behind him.Alvar, looking incredibly handsome in his suit, frowns. "What's it called?""Um... Alpha's... Runaway Bride..." I trail off as the TV characters argue.The male lead roars, ["Why did you leave me? Are you still in love with your ex-mate?"]The female lead screams, ["It's my freedom to love whoever I want! At least he doesn't imprison me like you!"]Then the two fight and fight their way to th
RyleeIn the parlor.I have Ruth bring in a nice afternoon tea. When she leaves, I close the parlor door."About the ankle. I'm sorry, Rylee, I..." Kristen says, fidgeting as she sits on the couch. "I can lie to other people. But through Alpha's link, I can't. No wolf in the Dark Moon pack can lie to Blade. He'd notice. So..." She sounds guilty."Hey, it's not your fault at all." I sit next to her and bump her shoulder. "I was the one who lied to you first, remember? And I got you beat up."I’ve explained everything to her."That's nothing. You must have had your own reasons to do so. Besides, I wasn't really hurt." Kristen's bright eyes are sincere. "And you offer me a day off and wonderful tea. It’s fair."Oh man. I'm so in love with her.We look at each other and smile. We grab our teacups and clink them.&nbs
RyleeAlvar paces over. "What were you guys talking about just now?"My breath hitches, and I try to compose myself. "Nothing." Did he hear the conversation?Cecilia snaps to her feet. She rushes to Alvar and quickly grabs his arm. "Alvar, you're here." she says with surprise, her beautiful earrings swaying with her movements.Wow, this scene looks like a newlywed wife running to her husband.Alvar frowns, his hand lifting but not immediately shaking hers off. He looks at me searchingly—is he waiting for my reaction? What reaction could I have?I bow my head. It seems like he didn't hear our conversation, or he would have snapped. He's been very sensitive to words like "run," "escape," and "leave" lately.Alvar shrugs off Cecilia's hand and sits in the chair. He links someone, and immediately, a staff member starts serving the food.He doesn’t say anything about Cecilia eating dinner with us. It seems like a common situation. They are close. I’m sure."I didn't know you guys knew each
RyleeCecilia can’t keep her sweet voice any longer. She screams, "What wedding? Why didn’t you tell me?!""Enough," Alvar says, annoyed. He stands and holds out his hand towards me. "Let's go. We still need to discuss some wedding details."I take a last sip of my pumpkin soup and stand up. "Okay." I wipe my mouth haphazardly with my napkin.“Wait!” Cecilia rushes over and stops him."Why?" Cecilia points her sharp nails at me. "You're marrying such a vulgar and ugly woman? Why, Alvar? On what grounds? Because she's the healer's daughter?""Cecilia, stop it. My patience is limited." Alvar pulls me towards him and puts his arm around my shoulders. "Come on."Cecilia lunges and grabs Alvar's other arm. She pleads, "Why can't it be me, Alvar? She's the healer's daughter, but I'm Gamma's daughter. Why can't it be me? Didn’t you promise my father you’d take care of me? Don’t you forget what I've done for you?"Wow, this is like a tearjerker episode of a TV show!I quietly peek around Alva
AlvarI've never felt this way. No one ever gives me such a headache. In the old days, things were simple. When I had a craving, I found someone to fuck. I never slept with a woman twice because I didn't want any trouble. My energies needed to be focused on more important things—the frontier, keeping my pack safe and flourish.But now Blade and I have a double headache together.‘What the hell is this!’ Blade lies down in my mind, howling at the screen for the hundredth time.I grimace, "Shut up, it's Rylee's favorite TV show. I'm trying to figure out what the hell she's thinking."‘So fucking boring. Might as well go kill some people for fun.’ Blade grinds his claws in boredom.I also find this TV show, "Alpha's Runaway Bride," incredibly boring. It's about a man who can't win his mate's heart, and she runs away from him. "Wimp." That's what I say about the male lead. "And a man like that deserves to be called an Alpha?" I scoff.What does Rylee even like it about? She's so hard to r