Zac's POV I wasn't really dipping the whole situation until my call with Emily. Shockingly, I realised how interwoven everyone was. I walked into the middle of it all, feeling like an analyst who'd done a very good job of studying how to wreck everything from the inside, but somehow, I've been caught up between it all. As much as I wanted to pay no mind to Emily's questions, I wasn't sure there were things I could put past Zyna. “Got home safely?” I asked Zyna immediately she picked my call. “I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. You know it's too dangerous for you to be calling me at this time.” Her voice was as low as it could be. “Yeah, I know, I'm sorry about that. Uhm, I need to see you soon.” I said. “Oh, my gosh.” She sounded animated, “did I lay it on you that good?” She asked me. “No, no.” It broke a piece of my heart to disappoint her, but that's how life goes. “There's just something I'd love us to discuss.” I tried not to make myself sound as serious as pos
Zac’s POV “I'm honoured you agreed to do this with me.” I said as soon as she picked the video call. We'd decided to make it a video call, because those were harder to tap in to, seeing as we were still really involved with the police. “Yeah, yeah. You're just gonna have to overlook my untidy space and my swollen eyes.” She sighed. “You're still as pretty as ever, Emily.” I said to her, She turned her face away, though she didn't look it, I knew it meant a lot to her. “And your hair too.” I chuckled. I only just realised that she'd worn a wig the last time we saw. Her hair was cut low. “It was annoying me.” She explained, in an undertone. “I respect that. ” I said, clearing my throat. Small talk was over. We needed to start talking about why we were there. “Emily, believe me or not, it only just occurred to me yesterday, that Damon's wife was Zyna, FROM groomers, YOUR own Zyna!” With the same enthusiasm I still felt. “That's slow. You've been working for her hu
Damon's POV Life lately has been a little more like a soap opera. The soap opera where a guy slowly loses his family, his friends and the respect of his workers. I saw it in all their eyes. As a matter of fact, strangle, the only person that tried hard not to rub it in was Zac, strangely. Since Adrian had gone cold turkey on me, he's the closest thing I’ve had to a friend. “Wake up!” I tapped Zyna. She'd just come back from her lover, a few hours ago. I felt so irritated touching her skin. Everyone in the palace knew what was going on, and I knew it was only a matter of time before they start to spread the gossip. For that reason, my team and I had to enforce permanent employment for all the house staff. “What is going on?” She asked as she turned on her side. “We need to talk!” I said, trying to make my voice as low as possible. Low, but audible. “About?” She asked, stirring. “Whatever the hell you have going on.” I said. “Damon, it's 5am in the morning. I n
Emily's POV “Farm!” The Task Giver’s ugly voice rang. It's like the seventh time he'd decided another girl's fate. And Zyna wasn't just some girl. She was my friend, at least we were quite close in the Groomers school. It's just a posh name for a place they schooled orphans. I heard my heart thud in my ears. I kept praying and hoping that mine would turn out differently. I quite enjoyed sciences, I can't be doomed to a life on the Crestview farm. “This one,” He looked up at me from behind his huge mahogany desk. The man opened his teeth to reveal a very scary set with prolonged canines. I shivered, hoping in vain that they would not smell my fear. But the laughter that they burst into confirmed it. I was so scared, I almost pissed my pants. “What's your name?” He asked me. “Emily.” I replied, looking away. “What's your wolf name?” He asked, getting pissed. I adjusted my stance and said the name I'd carefully kept a secret for as long as I discovered it on my neckla
Damon's POV “Told ya!” I gloated at Dathan as we renetered the Wolf's forge, a part of the palace designated for sword fighting. “The poor thing is so very lifeless,” Dathan said, his head bowed low. “You show too much concern. She literally just spoke to you!” I replied to him. “You need to see how she swiveled and crashed after mom hit her.” Dathan added, his voice was rising, which meant he was getting angry. I chuckled and pulled my sword out of its sheath where it hung on a rack. “You should learn to never get too close to these girls.” “Why? Because mom said so?” Dathan asked, glaring at me. “Uhm. Yeah.” I replied, and smiled very exaggeratedly. “That's not reason enough. Half the time, she's wrong bout stuff and so are you.” He replied, looking away. “You'll learn.” I said, concluding our discussion. “And what if I don't?” Dathan asked. “Would you kill me like you killed Maya?” “I'm gonna overlook the fact that you just made the most stupid of acc
Emily's POV “Follow Nala.” The female Alpha, wife to Alpha Damon III said, after addressing me for what seemed like an eternity. I'd read about her so much and studied the history of the Damon palace so badly, I feel I knew it even more than their children. “Thank you, Alpha.” I bowed and turned to take my leave. “I'm Luna.” She corrected me. “Thank you, Luna.” I corrected myself. We were taught back at the orphanage school that she was a nice person, but just an hour in her company, and I felt so less of a human than anyone has ever made me feel. “Take her away, Nala.” She said to the middle aged lady she'd summoned earlier, from what assumed to be the palace kitchen. “One more thing!” She said, and Nala and I stopped in our tracks. “Yes, Luna.” Nala said, turning right back to face her, and then bowed her head. The dexterity is nothing short of wealth and accumulation of experience. I did the exact same and almost sprained my ankle. “You're to serve under Nala.
Damon's POV “Are you awake?” Dathan and I shared a room, even though there were hundreds of them in the palace. “Yes.” He replied in the darkness. “I can't imagine mom is making you do this. She likes you too much to send you down there.” “She's also a little too disciplined. Even for her own good.” I replied to him. “That's too true.” Dathan said. “You know, I once told Adrian that I wished she would just remarry, maybe have a life with someone else, other than just the two of us.” “Why would you say such a thing?” I asked him. “Well, Adrian's mom is married. And she's slept with almost every respectable man, father inclusive.” Dathan had no filters, and said things as they came “That's enough!” I said. “Mom would do what is best for herself.” “But she's too busy organising and arranging things sometimes, she forgets she is human and needs love too.” Dathan replied to me, headstrong. “Well, she's half wolf.” I chirped, strapped my sword on, and put out my b
Emily's POV “Leave us!” Luna commanded, as soon as I opened my eyes. “We'll be back in a minute.” A kind nurse said, as she touched my forehead. The white room, with white gleaming ceiling sharply contrasted Luna's black clothes. A sharp pain severed through my head, as I was greeted by the heavy lights. “How are you now?” Luna asked me.I wasn't used to such care. “Better.” I replied to her. “What day is it?” “You lie!” She said, putting a hand on my forehead. “Rest, you don't have to sit up.” She said, discouraging me from getting up like I'd started to do. I heard a sound, not from either of us, so I sat up curious to see where it was coming from. “The nurse says you shouldn't. You have wires connected in and out.” With her long nails, she made a display that showed how messy I looked. “What happened?” I asked her. “That's the same question I was about to ask you.” She said, looking straight into my eyes. “I can't remember much.” I croaked. “Well,
Damon's POV Life lately has been a little more like a soap opera. The soap opera where a guy slowly loses his family, his friends and the respect of his workers. I saw it in all their eyes. As a matter of fact, strangle, the only person that tried hard not to rub it in was Zac, strangely. Since Adrian had gone cold turkey on me, he's the closest thing I’ve had to a friend. “Wake up!” I tapped Zyna. She'd just come back from her lover, a few hours ago. I felt so irritated touching her skin. Everyone in the palace knew what was going on, and I knew it was only a matter of time before they start to spread the gossip. For that reason, my team and I had to enforce permanent employment for all the house staff. “What is going on?” She asked as she turned on her side. “We need to talk!” I said, trying to make my voice as low as possible. Low, but audible. “About?” She asked, stirring. “Whatever the hell you have going on.” I said. “Damon, it's 5am in the morning. I n
Zac’s POV “I'm honoured you agreed to do this with me.” I said as soon as she picked the video call. We'd decided to make it a video call, because those were harder to tap in to, seeing as we were still really involved with the police. “Yeah, yeah. You're just gonna have to overlook my untidy space and my swollen eyes.” She sighed. “You're still as pretty as ever, Emily.” I said to her, She turned her face away, though she didn't look it, I knew it meant a lot to her. “And your hair too.” I chuckled. I only just realised that she'd worn a wig the last time we saw. Her hair was cut low. “It was annoying me.” She explained, in an undertone. “I respect that. ” I said, clearing my throat. Small talk was over. We needed to start talking about why we were there. “Emily, believe me or not, it only just occurred to me yesterday, that Damon's wife was Zyna, FROM groomers, YOUR own Zyna!” With the same enthusiasm I still felt. “That's slow. You've been working for her hu
Zac's POV I wasn't really dipping the whole situation until my call with Emily. Shockingly, I realised how interwoven everyone was. I walked into the middle of it all, feeling like an analyst who'd done a very good job of studying how to wreck everything from the inside, but somehow, I've been caught up between it all. As much as I wanted to pay no mind to Emily's questions, I wasn't sure there were things I could put past Zyna. “Got home safely?” I asked Zyna immediately she picked my call. “I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. You know it's too dangerous for you to be calling me at this time.” Her voice was as low as it could be. “Yeah, I know, I'm sorry about that. Uhm, I need to see you soon.” I said. “Oh, my gosh.” She sounded animated, “did I lay it on you that good?” She asked me. “No, no.” It broke a piece of my heart to disappoint her, but that's how life goes. “There's just something I'd love us to discuss.” I tried not to make myself sound as serious as pos
Emily's POV “Hey Zac.” I called him. I spent the whole day thinking about what to do. I'd been fed full of lies and half truths by the police and other ‘witnesses’, I was tired, they were tired. I felt it was high time I took the matter into my hands, “Is this the wrong time?” I asked, knowing that two hours to midnight would always be the wrong time. “No, Emily.” He sighed, “Don't be a stranger.” He said. “Thank you.” I cleared my throat and sat up. “What are you up to?” He asked, trying to ease the tension. “Nothing practical, I've just been thinking.” I bit my lower lip. “That's all I do these days. I'm just trying to make sense of it all.” I was surprised at how freely I was pouring my heart out to this man. “That's fair. So what did you arrive at? Do you still have questions, or have you got the answers now?” He asked me. “I have questions. A lot of them but only a few make any sense.” I said truthfully. “That's fair. And it doesn't have to make sense
Zacs POV “Your timing is somewhat uncanny.” I said to Zyna as her call came in immediately I stepped out of Damon's vehicle. We had an argument in the car about me not signing the deal on his behalf, and he said I should consider myself unemployed, Well, jokes on him, as usual, because he's the same person who handed his office keys to me and asked me to sort out some things in his office because he was going away for the day. “How so?” Zyna asked. Unfortunately for me, I'd begun to see her as something more than a sex toy since Freda passed. That day was undeniably one of the saddest days of my adult life. Especially since we didn't end on good terms and she was so bitter with me. She came one night when Zyna and I were at it, we were drunk and high, and I'm sure I made one or two cutting remarks.. Although I do not have a clear memory of what happened that night. I remember her storming off and never picking my calls. “Well, I just got out of the car.” I said, and I'
Adrian's POV “How do you feel now, baby?” I asked when we got back home. I didn't say a word in the car. I let her do all the talking, which wasn't much, but I knew she needed a listening ear more than anything. “I'm tired.” She answered, but her voice had more strength to it. “You don't sound so tired though.” I smiled and threw her a glance. She looked more pensive and moody, than tired. “Is that a bad thing?” She asked me. “No, no it isn't.” I answered, taking her hand, “Damon left early.” I changed the topic. “Yeah.” She agreed, “He'd had enough of us.” She added. “That's just bullshit, from miles away, I could tell how hard everyone was trying to manage him. It's you guys doing the favour, not the other way round.” “Yeah, it was a bummer, really.” Emily was trying to engage me, but her mind really wasn't in it. “Were you able to make any compromises? Did he settle for something?” I asked her. I couldn't really tell why she wasn't in the mood for quest
Emily's POV “Hello everyone.” I greeted. Even though it was Zac, and Damon at the table, with me of course, and my lawyer, I wanted it to be as formal as possible. “Can we start what we're here for?” Damon asked. He didn't sound rude or condescending, his eyes looked tired and worn out. “Yeah, sure.” I said, “That's why we're here anyway.” “Okay.” He adjusted his wrist watch. “When are operations at Nevada starting sir?” My lawyer asked Damon and his team. “Next week.” Damon answered. “I'll take that down…” My lawyer said as she wrote it down. I took every opportunity I could to look Damon and Zac right in their eyes. I had mad distrust, and while I didn't have the answers that I needed concerning Freda’s death, after such a long while, it didn't mean I'd give up on the search or write any one off. I also feel like she was onto something with Zac. Which made him very high on my suspect list. But he did look remorseful, too remorseful in fact. He'
Adrian's POV “Baby, don't you think you should open up your company again? You don't have to be there for the first few weeks.” I begged Emily. Like I've been begging her to do many things of late. Eat, take water, stop thinking, stop crying, stop looking so bereaved, well she was. “I don't think I feel like doing it again.” She said, Her voice was almost permanently parched. Since Freda died at their lunch in the restaurant two months ago, she'd been through a lot, cut her hair even. “I know you can. It's okay to feel this way in the beginning, but I know that you can do it. You have to, Emily. She will want it.” I'd run out of every encouraging line I could use. For the first month, I had to move in with her, and received so many queries at the palace, but it was all nothing compared to watching her slowly grow out of the most intense part of her grief. “Is it not crazy that this thing is getting swept under the carpet?” She asked, the tears that never actually left
Emily's POV (brunch with Freda) “Hello, Freda.” I chimed as she entered my car. She looked weather beaten, like someone who was forcefully humbled. “Good afternoon, Ms Emily.” She said, “I noticed, still notice that you've been off today. Mind telling me what the hell is going on?” I asked. “I can tell you over the food.” She said quickly. “So I'm just supposed to sit here in silence and wait till then?” I asked lightly. “I'm sorry.” She chuckled. “Oh, I'll be alright.” I said, humming a soft tune as we wove in and out of the city traffic.I decided to do a different restaurant, maybe the change in ambience would make her mood lighter. “We just drove past…” She started to protest lightly, thinking I'd forgotten our stop. “Something different” I said, winking playfully. .She giggled and folded her arms, looking down on her thighs, and out of the window. Something was clearly bothering her. We soon arrived at a new restaurant I'd be eyeing since they launch