“What gift do you plan on giving her?” I couldn't stop myself from growling. From the moment she told Ruby that she had a gift for her and that it would arrive in seven days, I knew she was up to something, and I needed to find out what it was. It didn't help that she was looking at my mate in that particular way while she said it.Mom faced me and shrugged. “Urgh, you are hurting my feelings. I have a gift for your mate. Isn't that what good mothers-in-law do for their daughters-in-law?”I knew she was lying. But the way she looked at me now somehow made me want to believe her.Could she be telling the truth, that it was only a gift and nothing more?I tugged on my hair and let out a puff through my lips.I didn't bother replying or saying another word to her as I left her room. I went to the sitting room, headed to the bar, and grabbed a bottle of beer.I walked to the window and watched the sky. My thoughts drifted back to last night when I was pleasuring my mate. I could tell she
RUBY.The day crawled by, every minute stretching longer than the last. I spent most of it locked away in the room, my mind tangled in thoughts of what Clinton was planning for me—for us.I could sense he was hiding something, but I wanted to trust him. I wanted to believe that if something was wrong, he'd tell me.I wished I was right.But it wasn’t just the secret Clinton was keeping that weighed on me. I was also hiding out to avoid running into his mother. Since that tense dinner on my first day here, I hadn’t seen her or heard a word about her.And if only things could stay that way.But I knew that was a wild wish.My lycan urged me to lure him into bed, and we both decided that this time, we would finally get laid. I couldn’t understand why he was taking so long to have sex with me.All my life, I had kept my body for the other half of my soul. But meeting Clinton changed my way of thinking, made me want to throw myself at him and forget all about my mate.And I also wanted to
My eyes widened in surprise as I took in where we were. A bubble of excitement raced through me, and I gasped.Cupping my hands over my mouth, I glanced at Clinton. “What?... You brought me here!”Without waiting for his response, I threw open the car door and jumped out, my heels clicking against the ground as I hurried toward the water. The sight of the hydro flying setup sent a rush of adrenaline through me. The sun sparkled off the surface of the water, and in the distance, I could see people soaring above the waves, propelled by powerful jets of water.The platform where we’d be starting was right by the shoreline. As I got closer, I could hear the roar of the jets that powered the flyboards. The scent of the salty sea air mixed with the sound of splashing water and laughter made everything feel surreal.Clinton caught up to me, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched my reaction. “I thought you’d like it,” he said, his voice full of warmth.“Like it? I love it!” I exclaimed, t
He opened the door and led me inside. But as I stepped into the room, my eyes widened in astonishment at the sight before me.Rose petals were sprinkled all over the floor, a delicate path of red leading to the bed. The bed, which I had neatly made before we left, was now transformed into a romantic display. Flowers were arranged in the shape of a heart, their soft fragrance filling the air. Candles flickered gently on the nightstands, casting a warm, golden glow around the room.I turned to Clinton, my heart swelling with emotion. “You did all this?”He smiled softly, his eyes reflecting the candlelight. “I wanted to make tonight special for you, for us.”I took a step closer to him, feeling a lump in my throat. “It’s beautiful, Clinton. I... I don’t know what to say.”He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a gentle embrace. “You don’t have to say anything. Just enjoy it.”I rested my head against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. The warmth of his body, combin
CLINTON. Everything happened so fast after I brought Ruby home. I couldn't wait to see her expression when she saw the surprise I prepared for her. I knew she'd be very happy and grateful and I wasn't disappointed. While my Beta and I were away during the day, I was planning all these for her because I wanted tonight to be special. I had asked the store lady how to go about it and she was very pleased to let me in on things. After she briefed me on things, I had Beta Asher text her to let her know that I wanted her to be ready by 5pm and that she should wear something good. I would have suggested something sexy had it been I was the one sending her the text message. But like expected, my Beta teased me about it. He wanted to know whether he should tell her to wear something else but I glared at him until he laughed and waved me off. But I knew from the smirk on his face that he probably said something to her. I didn't comment on that. While Ruby and I kissed, I wanted to fuck her
RUBY. I was sleeping peacefully when I felt a cold sensation between my thighs. It slowly trailed down to my legs, icy and inviting.I opened my eyes to find my mate hovering over me with a bottle of yogurt in his hand, a playful smirk on his face as he poured more liquid. I gasped when I noticed I was naked before him, and the cool yogurt coated my pussy.He met my gaze, pulling his lower lip into his mouth as his free hand cupped my pussy lips.“Hmmm,” I moaned, my eyes closing on their own as I basked in the pleasure.“Do you love it?” he asked.I nodded without opening my eyes. It was thrilling, and I wanted him to do this all day.“Then open your eyes and look at me. You’ll love my next move,” he ordered hoarsely, his voice filled with promise.I opened my eyes and grinned when I saw that his wolf, Kai, had taken over. His eyes weren't black like before; instead, I could see Kai watching me with equal desire and lust.Oh goddess, is it possible to be in love with Kai as well?“S
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my lovely mate,” Kael sang with a smirk. “I’ve been waiting so long for you. Come here, love. I’ve come to take you home.”“Oh, shut the fuck off!” Clinton growled. “Come, baby, you don't have to talk to him.”I ignored him and stood there, staring at the man who chose to believe the words of others and rejected me. He was smiling ruefully at me, and if I didn't have Clinton, I might have been smitten by his handsome look.My hands clenched at my sides as I approached him. When I was close enough, I lifted my right hand and swung it at his face.Pak!My hand stung from the impact, but the joy of seeing the shock and pain on his face helped relieve it.“Ruby!” Clinton yelled, but I didn’t react. If he thought he could hide something like this from me, then he didn’t know who I was.“Did you slap me?” Alpha Kael palmed his face.“And I will slap you again if you don't tell me what you are doing here!” I grabbed hold of his shirt, shaking him with all the s
ClintonI was in my office, reading through files of complaints that my people were making. The school needed money for rebuilding and repairing broken water pipes.I sent them the total amount required and was now going through my company affairs before I got a mind link from my Beta.“Alpha, there's a man looking for you. He said to tell you that it's urgent and important.”“What pack is he from, and can you give me a description of him?” I asked as I continued typing on my computer.“No, he didn't. But his aura is that of an Alpha. He's not too lean, has blonde hair, and a handsome face.”I frowned. “Ask him what pack he is from. There are so many blonde and handsome Alphas, so it's impossible to know the one you are describing.”“Yes, Alpha.” He cut the mind link.I sighed and continued with my work. I was hoping I could go to my company and see things for myself. It has been a long time since I visited there.I wondered whether Ruby had gotten up by now. I didn't want to wake her
Ruby's P.O.VFLASHBACK CONTINUED. “What are you going to do with her?” someone asked, though I couldn’t place the voice. I wanted to open my eyes so badly, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right move. Maybe pretending to stay unconscious would buy me time to come up with a plan to escape.“I don’t know. I could have her killed for everything she did to me, but I won’t,” Seraphina’s unmistakable voice rang out, and I barely held back a snort. Everything I did to her? Ridiculous. “You mean you're just going to let her go? Just like that?” The first voice, filled with surprise, questioned.I was just as curious. After all her threats, why was she planning to let me go? Maybe she feared what Clinton would do to her if she killed me.“Yes, I won’t kill her.”“What if she tells the King what you did to her? Do you really think he’ll spare you?”“You’re too scared, Mom. Relax,” Seraphina laughed. “I have a plan. Don’t worry, it’ll work out perfectly.”My stomach knotted at her words. What
Ruby's P.O.VTRIGGER WARNING: Some scenes are abusive, but there's no rage. If you don't like physical torture, please skip this chapter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _FLASHBACK TO TWO DAYS AGO.I regained consciousness to someone pouring cold water on me. I gasped and shivered, cowering away as though that would make whoever it was pouring the water stop.And I was wrong.A half-naked man emptied another bucket of water on me before dropping it to the ground like he did with the last one.Seeing as I was now awake, he approached me and sent a kick to my stomach, making me yelp in pain.Raising my arm, I rubbed my face on it, wanting to clear the water out of my eyes because it was starting to make them tear up. It was the only way I could wipe my face because my hands were tied.“I thought you weren't going to wake up,” a familiar voice taunted, making me wince.It sounded like Seraphina, and I started to panic because I knew I wasn't going to leave here unscathed. And maybe... she wouldn'
Later that day, the doctor announced that I was free to go home and I followed my Dad and Pearl back to our palace. Not many things had changed. My room was still like I left it except that it was neat. When I mentioned this to Pearl, she told me that she always asked the maids to clean it up, with the hope that I would return soon. She said that she didn't want me to return and find my room in despair. I was touched. Who wouldn't? Pearl forced me to eat even though I didn't have an appetite to. I couldn't believe that everything I had known had been a lie. Learning that I'm special and what I could do, and that my mom was something else entirely, it was too much. And the most painful part of the information I learnt was the one that Alpha Rhys wasn't my mate. I rejected my pack and left my family for a man who wasn't even mine and wanted me killed. All I wanted to do since I returned from the hospital was stay cooped in my room, with bottles of beer lined in front of me. But Dad a
Flashes of memories flooded my mind, each so vivid they played on an endless loop, over and over again.Dad gave Alpha Rhys—my mate—two choices: reject me or choose me. He rejected me without hesitation.Yet, Dad killed him.He cut off his head.No!!I shook my head, desperate to erase the memory. Sobs wracked my body, trembling violently as the images refused to fade.Pearl embraced me, and I let her. I cried into her chest, and when the sobs finally subsided, I looked up to see Dad standing before me. Tears shimmered in his eyes, and it only fueled my anger. Moving out of Pearl's arms, I lunged. “You killed him! Stop playing like the victim here because you are not!” I panted in between kicking him and raining blows on his chest. “Don't you dare cry as if you regret what you did!” I sent another kick to his knee, propelling myself to stop before I went animalistic. “I hate you!” I held his gaze for a while, letting him see the hate in my eyes before I eventually looked away and
Ruby's p. o. vI woke up with a start.The incessant beeping of a machine and the constant drumming nearby made my head spin. I wish they could move it away. I wish they could—Oh, shit.Where was I? I gazed around the unfamiliar room. I wasn't home. This wasn’t mine and Clinton's room. This was somewhere else. Did we sleep somewhere else…?Something clicked—a memory, sharp and raw. The library. I was abducted and warned never to return to my mate, or I'd be killed.I tried sitting up, but pain lanced through my body, pulling a cry from my throat as I collapsed back down. My mind raced as I took in my surroundings, trying to piece together how I got here. The last thing I remembered was running like my life depended on it—because it did.A drip hung on the wall, and panic surged through me as I noticed it was attached to my left hand, the IV's beeping in sync with my racing heart.Thud. Thud. Thud. My heart pounded faster. I needed to leave before someone came in and started hurting m
Clinton's p.o.vIt has been a few hours since we started searching for her. Our search came up empty. She was nowhere to be found. I was getting tired but I knew I could not go in without her. I needed to see her before I went crazy. Kai had been going berserk in my head, he needed to see his mate before he could calm down but there was nothing I could do. I was yet to hear from the warriors if they had seen her and I knew because of my threat, none of them would dare return without her. In as much as I wanted to beat my Gamma up for his foolishness, I knew it wouldn't bring her back. There was something strange going on. When I went back to her work place to look for her, she wasn't there and Kai and I couldn't sniff her. It was as if her scent had been wiped off completely, and it was making me more worried. I was pacing around when I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't turn around before I knew who it was. I could recognize my Beta's scent anywhere. Musk and coffee. “Any news
Clinton's p.o.v I had a really hectic day. I noticed something wrong with my company report, so I spent the day at the office, searching for the problem. Eventually, I found it—a mistake with one of our products had caused a huge shortage. We lost a lot of money, but I didn’t fire the man responsible, even though that would have been the easy, fair choice. After interrogating him thoroughly, I knew it was an honest mistake. And mistakes are meant to be forgiven. Afterwards, I got in my car and drove to a flower shop and bought a bouquet for Ruby. A lot had happened between us, and I wanted to make sure she was happy. I already fucked up twice, and this was time for me to make things right. Seraphina nearly tore us apart, and I was thankful we managed to deal with her before more damage could be done. The Elders had been surprisingly understanding, accepting my mate without hesitation. It didn’t matter if Ruby held the Queen title or not—she was known and treated as my mate. An
ONE MONTH LATER. Everything had been going well between my mate and me. He had taken me on several dates, where we had a lot of fun because we were in our pack, and I was with him as my mate. We hadn't heard from Seraphina since, and I was grateful for that.The Queen hasn’t paid much attention to us either, though in my encounters with her, she would mostly glare at me, making sure I knew she didn’t like me. Even though I had proven that I wasn’t the prim and proper type of Luna—by taking care of the sick and helping with the house chores—she still doesn’t like me. And right now? I’ve given up. I’m lucky to have Clinton; he’s been a very good mate. I’ve also gotten along with both the Beta and the Gamma.Although I hadn’t had a Luna ceremony yet, the pack treated me as one. I held meetings with the women, and most came to me for counseling. I never knew I could give them the advice they sought, but after seeing the smiles on their faces, I knew I had helped in the small ways I could
The ride to the meeting hall was silent. Clinton had told me about meeting with the Elders because he thought it was finally time. He also wanted to plead our case and discuss what Seraphina had been up to. We kept what she could do to us a secret, except from the Beta and Gamma.Not only that, he also shared his fears about losing his position as King, since it wasn't his birthright. Any misstep from him could cost him the throne.Even the man I encountered yesterday, Carlos was it? Clinton told me everything I needed to know about him. He was his greatest rival and he wouldn't hesitate taking him down from the throne if the opportunity arose. That wasn't all. I learnt that he couldn't just kill the man if he wanted to, even though Carlos was nothing but a thorn in his flesh. He was only tolerating him because it was against the wolf law in killing an Alpha. It came as a shock to me because back in the Lycan Kingdom, Alpha could do as they liked. Because that was because my father—A