~Kian~
Training sucks today.
I didn't sleep a wink after Nyla kicked me out of her room last night. It's not like I expected her to run into my arms or cuddle with me, but a slap?? And the worst thing is, I wasn't mad at her at all.
Rex had to rub some salt into the wound by telling me I deserved it. He was the asshole who provoked me in the first place. The only person who felt bad in that room was Nyla's baby. She came to my rescue by crying and drawing her mom's attention; saved me from that sharp tongue dishing out more harsh words.
Sometimes I wonder if finding a mate for a second time was a curse in disguise. Rex wouldn't agree, of course, and he lost his shit when he heard Nyla say the words, 'Reject me.'
If I think about it hard enough, she has a good point.
"Our mate stays, and we aren't rejecting her," Rex said with a finality in his voice. "Pay attention to the kid in front of you. He's going to land anothe
~Nyla~ I had no idea where Kian went to or how he was doing. I asked Rachel, and all she knew was that he went away for some pack affairs, which he usually let Ryder or Finn handle. He probably wanted to stay away from me. Who told him he could decide these things on his own? I suppose he was sulking at me for the slap because he refused to look at me for more than a second when he got back from training. Walking in with that hot sweat-drenched face and looking out of breath, he thought that was the best time to ignore me, while my body was screaming to go close to him, real close, and make up for pushing him away. Ari kept me busy, but that was not enough to push his thoughts away. I did a lot of things to fill my days with things and people. Car shopping with Rachel, a trip to the grocery store with Olivia, and rearranging the garden beds with Ren. Nothing was enough to make me forget him for more than a few seconds. Rachel broug
~Nyla~ It has been four days that Kian returned from his trip and lay sedated in the bed most of the night. Rex was still not back and the only assurance is from Rachel's words that the pack doctor said he was still alive. As days passed, Kian seemed all right on the surface, but his wolf was in pain. With his dad and Ryder taking charge of things in his absence, I was extremely careful to not wander around in the daytime. I patiently waited for it to be night so I could spend time with him again... for those precious two hours when I could lie next to him until it was time to feed Ari again. He was always sedated at night to heal faster, and his folks left him alone once it was past midnight. Until a few days back, the pack warriors did not guard the buildings because of the enchantments, but now there were guards in every corner to stop intruders since Rex wasn't there to detect them. It's funny how no one ever suspected an insid
~Kian~ It had been raining cats and dogs for the last three days, and Rex and I were restless to go for a run. Even at almost 5 AM, it was still dark and drizzling. I needed this break to forget all the stress we have been carrying around with never-ending meetings and daggers that Nyla threw at me. Rex was always a defiant piece of shit. Now he has become impossible to reason with. He had been giving me grief over the situation with Nyla ever since I planned my trip with Finn. That trip had cost Finn his life. He definitely died because of me and my preoccupation with Nyla's thoughts. Skinwalkers were terrified of the Storm Moon Pack for the last two years and never dared to attack any of us when passing through the White River Forest. They knew how powerful and relentless we were, and a mistake I made changed it all. "Kian, a Rogue!" Finn had pointed to a golden brown wolf cowering in fear and failing to blend in with the surroun
~Kian~ When dad said he could smell a woman on me, I knew for sure it was her and not just a dream. My spitfire of a mate actually kissed me and held onto me when she thought I wouldn't know. My mouth twitched into a grin, thinking about how heavenly those kisses felt. Meanwhile, my dad was grilling me like I was some captive in the dungeons. He was pushing my patience to the farthest limit. To make it worse, my mind was wandering off, and I even thought I caught a whiff of rain and raspberries. It was growing stronger by the minute until Nyla stopped about two feet away from the conference room entrance. What the hell was she thinking? She would have been in so much trouble if someone had caught her sneaking into my room at night. My dad may not be the Alpha of the pack any longer, but he was still Alpha with a stronger sense of smell than Ryder and the others. If not for being swamped with work in my absence, I'm sure he would have traced th
~Nyla~ Someone was knocking on the door nonstop, ruining my beautiful dream about once upon a time when I was with Maya at my home, happy and carefree. I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes and turned to the window to look outside. What time was it? The treetops formed dark silhouettes against the deep blue skies. I suddenly jumped out of my bed with renewed enthusiasm. Two more days to go for the full moon. "Riley... Wake up!" "Oh Rae, just a second." What was there to wake up so early? I have been grounded for about ten days now, and Kian was gone for almost a week on some pack business again. "Is everything okay?" Rachel was falling asleep while waiting for me to open the door. She said she was supposed to be on the night patrolling duty tonight. "Hell yeah! Talked to my brother just now. He said you can train again!! And we can go shopping in my new car after that." "Whoa! What changed?"
~Nyla~ Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead even after I showered. Pacing back and forth in my room, I waited for Ren to come and tell me what was going on. Unless Adalyn was unconscious, I should be in the dungeons by now. From the look on Kian's face earlier, it didn't seem like she told them what had happened last month. It was so ironic that she returned now, creating many doubts in my mind about tomorrow night. How did she even survive? This was why Maya told me, "Always get their jugular, even when you aren't hungry." I was never a fan of drinking blood, and being in human form and eating delicious meals satiated my hunger thoroughly, leaving no appetite for blood. I should have at least snapped her neck to make sure. All because of Sadie. Walking back to Ari's crib, I wondered how I was going to sneak her out without getting noticed. I knew she got the werewolf gene because I carried her for less than six months
~Third Person's POV~ It was a late spring night, but there was an unusual chill in the air already. Beta Ryder drove around in circles looking for a parking spot near his mistress's beachfront property. He checked his watch and let out an exasperated sigh. His phone screen lit up, showing a notification from Maria. Rolling through a stop sign, he took a quick peek to see if she had sent him any more sexy pictures of her. Candles and bubble bath. His lips curled up in a smile, thinking about the glorious night that lay ahead. After parking his fancy Hellcat a few blocks away from Maria's place, he pranced on the deserted street under the moonlight, humming a cheery tune. A sudden gust of wind had him stop dead in his tracks. He turned back to face the beach. It was almost midnight, and there wasn't a single creature outdoors for miles. At least that's what he thought when he had stepped out of his car a few minutes back. Then why did he hear a wo
ONE YEAR AGO ~Wyatt~ I have lost all hopes of ever meeting my mate. I turned twenty-five last month and have begun to believe that my mate doesn't exist in this world. My parents have been forcing me to take a chosen mate for years now, but I have this feeling that she would show up the moment I accept someone else. Tonight was one of those full moon nights where my dad has organized a huge ball for all unmated werewolves to find their mates. Invitations were sent months before the event to ensure that almost everyone who turned eighteen by today would plan well ahead. I put on my best party jacket and got that perfect five o'clock shadow going for a few days now. Spraying a decent amount of cologne, I left my room with a fantastic feeling. Tonight might be the night when I finally get to see her. I scanned the ballroom from two floors up and decided to get laid if none of these beautifully dressed women turned out to be the one for me.
TWO YEARS LATER ~Nyla~ Déjà vu! It was a beautiful April morning. Maya and I were living the same moment again. We were back in the palace at the Golden Dells. I was pregnant again, and today was the Coronation Ceremony. Dressed in a beautiful purple satin gown, I paced to the bedroom Wyatt and I once occupied. The room was locked and preserved in his memory. Our pictures together hung up on the walls and they tugged at my heart with the same intensity, even after all this time. They say our loved ones never truly leave us. They walk beside us every day, unseen but always near, still missed as much. There are things that death cannot touch. I hoped it was true. I wanted Wyatt to watch my sunny smiles, to know that Ari found the best dad I could ever give her. I wished the new addition to the family to be a boy with Kian's green eyes. Ari was already a daddy's girl. The Moon Goddess gave me a lot more than I deserv
~Kian~ I drove at jet speed to the venue, praying Nyla was unharmed. While most of my wounds from fighting the Skinwalkers were healing already, the deep gash running down my ribcage seemed to need a pack doctor. A thick sense of foreboding lingered in the air as I reached my destination. Driving my car into the dry and deep sand, I slammed on the brakes when I couldn't believe my eyes from afar. All my pack members seemed to be walking into the ocean like mindless zombies. What the hell was happening? I ran towards them in a frenzy and used my alpha command to stop them. It didn't work. A hauntingly sweet melody had seeped through the air, filling my every sense and demanding me to look at the source of the song. Nyla...! Was it really her? Her face was still the same, and so was her upper body, which was now naked. A ripple of anger pulsed through me when I watched her bare herself to everyone. The speci
~Nyla~Rachel wasn't thrilled. She wanted to take a lot of silly pictures with me and her dolled-up friends while we rode in her fancy car. We were instead in a black SUV with boring seats and grumpy guard wolves.The atmosphere was charged. Live music, lots of food, kids running around or taking a dip in the ocean, and adults enjoying their drinks by the beach. It was as if we arrived at some carnival celebration.I tried to push my poison-filled thoughts to the back about how to end their smiles and laughter right away. The power of the full moon coupled with the latent energy of the stone was making me restless."Oh yes! Looks like their boring meeting ended early today!" Rachel said and jumped out of the car when she saw her dad coming out with a few others.Alpha Caine's eyes locked with me as if I was his next task on his to-do list for the day. He was over six feet tall, just like Kian, but with hazel eyes and copper hair. He walked to
~Nyla~I took a long bath after Kian left. This past week had been the hardest to get through, and I needed to mull everything over.I wasn't aware it was possible to be this torn between the feelings of love and revenge. While I believe at times that Kian was one of the best things that happened to me, guilt was eating me away. Moving on so quickly seemed unnatural enough, and moving on with the bringer of my misfortunes felt unacceptable.I thought no one was silently judging me except for my subconscious, which was constantly spewing Wyatt's memories to the front, reminding me what a horrible person I was. Then I found another silent judge when Kian said Maya was watching us.It must be Maya. She was probably waiting for Kian to move his pack to Golden Dells so she could get her revenge. She didn't know he had no plans to relocate or if I was even alive. Neither did she know he lived in the Western Cascades, which was quite far from home.If she
~Kian~Didn't she want me to mark her and make her the Luna? I thought that's what she asked me when we fought on the night of Rachel's First Kill.I expected anything but a weak 'Oh' from her. She was wide awake when she heard me, and now she was pretending to have fallen asleep already. I could think of a lot of ways to wake her up and keep her screaming for the rest of the night. But she looked tired. I held onto her tightly, scared that she would disappear.This was a big step: introducing her to my dad as someone important rather than what he called 'a hole to fill'. He was absolutely going to throw a fit and would want me to pick an alpha female from either the White Claw Pack or the Moon Valley Pack. Both these pack Alphas had daughters who were above eighteen. The day Alpha Garrett went missing, my dad already decided Adalyn was of no use.I was unaware until recently that Nyla wanted more from whatever our relationship was. I would have refused i
~Nyla~I thought I had a sexy dream. I was tossing and turning in my bed, unable to catch a wink. The pendant was lying on the nightstand. I hadn't dared to wear it yet. Kian's blood would sustain me for a few days before the withdrawal symptoms kick in again.Walking to the window, I slightly cracked it open to let the night breeze in. Even at almost midnight, there was still some activity down below.Kian was supposed to be back around dinner, but I didn't see him return. As I was drifting off to sleep thinking about him, I heard someone jump into my room by opening the window wider.The whiff of his earthy scent caught in my nostrils as he laid next to me. Wrapping his strong, muscular arms around me, he crushed my body into his broad frame, claiming my lips and nuzzling his head into the crook of my neck.All I could manage was a moan, asking him to keep kissing me and not stop hugging me."You are back to smelling like rain and raspberr
~Nyla~ My groggy eyes widened the minute I opened them. What happened earlier today felt like a dream. All my life I had hated that my kind needed blood. It was more of a necessity to survive for me rather than a delicacy. But feeding from my mate was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was amazing! With the hum of pleasure that raced through my body and, given how good it tasted, I had to fight back the urge to suck him out dry. I couldn't help but blush when I saw he was hard. That sexy look on his face once I finished the best meal ever... it had aroused some deep-seated hunger within me. His heavenly masculine scent that still lingered on my body and the bedsheets made my lower regions clench in longing. I wanted him in my bed again. I kept telling myself I shouldn't want to like anything about him, yet I found everything so darn irresistible about him. All my wonderful thoughts about the awesome sex flew out the window when I heard a knock
~Kian~Fuck!My brain went numb when her sharp teeth pierced through my skin and she started sucking on my neck. I closed my eyes and gripped her hair as her body rubbed against mine.Rex wasn't worried that my mate was feeding off of me. He was giving me the "Told you... she's not human!" crap.I was too lost in the pain mixed with pleasure to think more about what she was. Within seconds, there was no more pain, just a strange rippling gratification in my chest. I could feel myself grow hard, burning with desire in response to her soft moans.Her flaky skin seemed to heal already, and she was fully recovered within a few minutes. Her hands pressed down on my chest and moved up to my nape. It felt so good I didn't want her to stop, even if it meant she would suck me dry. I was highly aroused by the time she licked my neck to stop the blood flow and stared into my eyes with a look of contentment.Those eyes were glowing golden, glazed over w
~Nyla~I couldn't erase the sight of him with Zoey, how perfect they looked next to each other. They were both strong and beautiful creatures, probably really horny for each other. There was a weird fullness in my throat that wouldn't dissolve despite the gushing tears.He snubbed me on purpose! Tears burned in my eyes while dry leaves crushed under my shoes as I walked back the way we drove by. An icy wind stung my face and whipped my hair, providing some respite to my burning skin.He's an arrogant, insensitive world-class jerk! Just because women are drawn to him like moths to a flame, he thinks it's okay to---His phone call interrupted my thoughts. As if I was ever going to answer him again. I hated myself for catching so many feelings. He called me a couple of times and then asked Rachel to call me. I switched my phone to silent mode and continued walking.The loud ocean waves were inviting me to just forget him and go home. I would hav