ALPHA PARTHE.Fuck.I've never been so scared in a long time. My world had stopped tilting the moment I stepped into my chamber and saw her in that state.A lot of fearful thoughts ran through my mind in that millisecond that got me scared to my bones. So many what-ifs.I'd die if anything ever happened to her. I never knew the depths of whatever I felt for her until I saw her on the verge of death.The healers, along with Shikta, had come to tend to her.Shikta said there was nothing wrong with her and that it could all be due to stress, and I could only scoff."What stress? Physical, emotional, or mental stress?" I had asked before I could stop myself, and Shikta said it was a little of all of them put together.As soon as I heard the report, I immediately decided that I'd do everything within my power to keep her away from stress. No more tasks, no more hurting her emotions. I'd always try to make myself available to stop her from overthinking... Only the gods know how many resolut
LUXURIA'S POVThe room was silent, save for the soft crackle of the fire burning in the hearth. It was late, and the moon cast a pale light through the curtains, and somehow, the view made me feel alive.I lay on the bed, my mind wandering in circles, drifting from one thought to another like a ship caught in a storm.Rorden.My heart clenched. I can never thank him enough. His potions, sneaked to me through Dashi, had been my lifeline. Without them, I wasn't sure how I would have survived these past days.But something else still bothered me. The weakness. My limbs always felt heavy, and my skin looked pale. It was terrifying.Although the healers said they didn't see anything wrong with me, I still felt the fatigue dragging me down every second.My thoughts drifted to Parthe.I should have felt safer by now. He had been... different, almost softer, these past days. More caring. He hadn't let me lift a finger, and while I appreciated the gesture, I couldn't shake off the conflict twi
ALPHA PARTHE.I slowly deepened the kiss, and I could sense her hesitation. I pulled away, brushing a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, "Stay calm, little mate... I don't want you to be scared of me anymore," I whispered, placing my forehead on hers and feeling the warmth of her breath on my lips.She didn't answer, but I didn't need her to. I could feel her heart racing, hear the rapid beat as I gently cupped her face, my thumb brushing her soft cheek. "I know I was wrong, Luxuria. I've been so damn wrong for so long. But give me a chance to make things right. Every part of me wants you. You have no idea how much I crave you. You're like an addiction I'll never be rid of..."There was silence. Only our soft breaths filled the quiet room."What if..." She paused, almost as if the words she was about to say scared her."Speak. Don't be scared. Don't hold back," I gently probed."What if… my heart isn't ready to love again? What if I've waited so long for this that… now it's too
ALPHA PARTHE.Now, I am desperate. I have to admit it.I am a desperate man.It's been three days since I made the decision to treat my mate as she deserved. Three days since, I allowed myself to be vulnerable, to love her openly. And for those three days, I've felt something I haven't felt in years—hope.I was gradually breaking down the walls she had built around her poor heart, and now, she was even more at ease with me. I've seen a different side of her. A side I was starving for.I had intentionally allowed myself to love, and it felt so good. Ravorn wasn't wrong. I was behaving like a teenager in love. She made me feel things I didn't think I could ever feel again.I didn't allow a day to go by without getting her gifts and taking her for walks where we talked and shared stories about our pasts, fears, hopes, and all.We've made steamy, passionate love that I never knew I was capable of. Although I tried to mark her on three occasions, she declined. I didn't push. Perhaps she ne
ALPHA PARTHE.I held onto her body, my senses going numb as I totally lost touch with reality. My eyes were wide open, but I was staring at nothing in particular.What had happened? This looked natural. She wasn't strangled or stabbed. She wasn't hit... Nothing of that sort. It just felt like she was fast asleep and then passed from there.I wish... I wished a lot of things at that point.I wish this was done by someone... I needed someone to suffer for this. I wanted to kill someone so slowly that they'd wish the death would come faster, but it wouldn't.I wish..."Alpha!" My Beta thundered beside me in a powerful tone that pulled me out of whatever hole I was sliding into.I hadn't even realized my chamber was almost crowded with concerned people - my Beta, Gamma, Shikta, Vixen, Lorita... I couldn't take note of them all. They didn't matter."Allow the healers to take a look at her," Tervan said, but I wasn't willing to. I didn't want to leave her side even for a second. I held onto
ALPHA PARTHE.My sense of reasoning screeched to a stop as I wasn't thinking anymore. All I wanted was to kill someone. And unfortunately, Zendaya might be that unlucky person."Where is she? Where is your traitorous daughter!" I sneered at Nevada as soon as I saw her among the concerned crowd gathered outside my chamber.Her eyes held total confusion as she looked at me. "She... Alpha? What has she done to be called a traitor?" Nevada asked with a trembling voice.I could already smell her fear. I knew just how much she loved her daughter, and the look on my face told her that she might be losing her precious daughter at any moment.She fell to her knees with her hands clasped in front of her, "Please, Alpha Parthe, what has Zendaya done? She can never be a traitor. She can't betray you. She practically grew up under you... You know her... There must be a misunderstanding somewhere," She tried to defend something she didn't even know.All she was saying sounded very distant as my rea
TERVAN'S POV."Fuck it, Shikta! What happened? This wasn't meant to happen! How is she not dead?" I asked, pacing the dark, quiet woods."I don't know, Tervan! How am I supposed to know?" She replied, worry also lacing her tone."You're asking how you were supposed to know? You made the damn poison, remember? You said it was potent! You said..." I was still speaking when she rudely interrupted me."I know I did!" She half-yelled. I could feel the frustration radiating off of her. "I am as confused as you are. She wasn't meant to be this way.""Then what do we do now? This changes everything," I asked, rubbing my face with my palm. Everything seemed to be falling apart. Everything!"For now, there is nothing we can do about it. We can't kill her now. Not when we do not even as much as understand where and how she is trapped. We just have to pray she either dies or comes back to life for us to kill her again!" She said in a hurry through clenched jaws.There was silence. I was seething.
ALPHA PARTHE.I looked down at the blood splattered across the floor. My blood. Its dark red pools glistened in the dim candlelight, snaking along the intricate lines of the symbols etched into the stone beneath my feet.The ritual was at its final stage, and there was no turning back. Not that I'd want to turn back at any point. If this was what it would take to save her, then I was willing to do it without a second thought.The ancient words rolled off my tongue, as I could feel my powers which have been dormant for years stirring beneath the surface.I had almost forgotten what this felt like—this raw, untamed energy. It coiled through my veins like molten iron, heating every fiber of my being.“Are you ready?” Lorita asked but I didn't answer. The look in my eyes said it all.I dipped my fingers into the pool of blood before me, set for the final step of the ritual.With a deep breath, I smeared the blood over the jagged scar across my chest. The scar from the day I had locked my
LUXURIA.My eyes felt heavy and sore. My whole body hurt with a strange kind of ache. I winced, forcing my heavy eyes open."Ah..." A small cry left my lips when a splitting headache tore through my head.I jolted up immediately when I recalled all that had happened that led to the way I was feeling. The entire room spun with the force, and I held my forehead at the impact I felt."Easy, child," I heard a familiar voice from beside me, hands wrapping around me.I turned to see Nevada with a small cloth in her hands and a bowl of something that looked like herbs on the floor beside her. My body felt wet. She must have been cleaning me up with the herbs."What... What are you doing?" I asked, searching around frantically, "Where is Rorden? What about my child? What happened to my child?" My breathing became erratic at once.I looked down at my stomach, shifting and trying to stand up to see if I'd be able to tell whether or not my child was okay, but Nevada held me by my shoulders."Rel
RORDEN.No.The word pulsed in my skull, violent and deafening.No. No. No.It couldn't be.She couldn't be.My breathing turned ragged, my entire body locking up, the truth solidifying in my mind as my magic confirmed what my soul refused to accept. Luxuria was pregnant. And not with my child.A guttural sound ripped from my throat. My magic surged violently, reacting to my fury, to my devastation. The air around us crackled. The walls trembled.Luxuria's eyes widened in terror. "Rorden—! What are you doing?" She shrieked.But I was already moving.My hand clamped around her wrist, yanking her up so fast she cried out; her other hand flew instinctively to her stomach, cradling the life growing inside her.His child.Parthe.That cursed bastard.The realization sliced through me deeper than any blade ever could. It burned.My fingers dug into her skin, my entire body trembling as I stared at her, at this woman who had dared to do this to me."Why?" My voice cracked, something jagged a
LUXURIA."I knew you were going to try something crafty," Rorden seethed as he pulled me, "Didn't you think it was a little too convenient?" His breath was hot against my face. "No guards, No barrier. Did you really think you were that Iucky, Luxuria?"Before I could answer, his hand shot out, fingers wrapping around my throat as he slammed me against the wall. The impact sent a sharp shock of pain rattling down my spine, and I gasped, clawing at his wrist.His eyes, wild and seething, locked onto me, and I Knew. I knew I had pushed him too far.I couldn't look into his eyes, not when they burned with something darker than fury – something that made my stomach twist violently. My silence only seemed to fuel him further. His fingers tightened just slightly, forcing my chin up and me to meet his gaze.We were all alone in the chamber he called mine, and I was scared for my life.I'd always known Rorden to be a man of little temper but experiencing it was on a whole new level. Since he a
SHIKTA.I was done for. The tears refused to stop flowing as I kept begging him to stop. But he didn't care. This felt more intentional than just mere pleasure."Tervan. Please," I cried as he slammed into me with a force that left me dizzy and breathless.He pulled me closer, parting my legs even wider with his strong hands, holding them firmly apart to give him better access. His erection was harder than ever, his monstrous size suddenly seeming a bit too much for me.I was helpless. He had secured my wrists against the headboard of his bed, leaving me completely at his mercy."Didn't I tell you to stay quiet and take what I have to offer? Huh?" He slammed into me, "Can't take what you asked for?" His hand grabbed my throat, stealing the air from my lungs.Since I started cheating on Parthe with Tervan, we never had the opportunity to fuck in such a secluded space without the fear of anyone - his mate - interrupting. Hence, I'd never seen this side of him. We always met in the woods
SHIKTA."Aren't you even ashamed? What manner of a man are you?" I asked the fool sitting before me, totally unmoved by what I had just told him.He sat at his desk, his broad back to me, head bent over a scroll that seemed far more deserving of his attention than I ever was. My heart twisted at the indifference he displayed and the casual way he dismissed my very existence without a glance."Tervan," I called, my voice laced with frustration as I approached him. He didn't flinch, didn't even lift his head."Tervan!" I repeated, slamming a hand down on the table. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, the wooden frame creaking under his weight. He tilted his head to look at me, his expression unreadable, his eyes lazily dragging over my face."What is it now, Shikta?" he drawled, the faintest trace of a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Come to cry about something again?"My nails bit into my palms as I clenched my fists. "The Alpha tried to pry into my memories today," I snapp
LUXURIA.I barged into the chamber where I stay - I forbid to ever call it my chamber because I don't belong here.The door slammed shut behind me, and I leaned heavily against it, my chest rising and falling with frantic, uneven breaths. The air in the room was thick, suffocating, as if the walls themselves had conspired to close in on me.How could he? Why would he go to such lengths?My hands trembled as I pushed myself off the door and moved toward the window. My gaze drifted to the familiar stretch of thick, green foliage outside, the trees swaying ever so slightly in the breeze. It was the same lifeless view I had grown sick of.Nobody walked there. Nobody dared to. Rorden had made sure of that.It was almost sundown. I had to prepare for my escape tonight. I couldn't stay here anymore.On my way out of Nevada's chamber, I took note of the escape route I had seen, just to be sure I etched it in my memory.It was worth the risk, even though I didn't know where that door led. The
LUXURIA."Nevada?" I called, wishing someone would wake me up from this dream."Surprised, Luxuria? I thought you'd help to see a familiar face," Rorden said with smug satisfaction, lacing his tone.My fists clenched at my side as I fought to ignore him.What was she doing here? Did this mean she was working with Rorden? Even while at the pack? My thoughts raced like wildfire, desperate to piece together an explanation.Her face softened as her teary eyes found mine. "Luxuria," she whispered, her voice trembling with an emotion I couldn't quite place. "My child."Her words hit me like a thunderclap. My child? I froze as she reached for me, her arms outstretched. My muscles tensed, every fiber of my being telling me to step back, but I stayed rooted. When her arms wrapped around me in a warm embrace, I felt a foreign comfort, like stepping into sunlight after years of shadow.It was jarring. Disorienting.I didn't know exactly how to respond to this. Nevada had never been nice to me si
RORDEN.Her palm cracked against my cheek in a stinging slap."I never chose you, and I never will! Parthe is my mate—the only man I will ever love! There is no room in my heart for a monster like you!"Her words cut deeper than they should have."You never should have done that, Luxuria," I growled, my eyes shining a bright shade of red. My wolf, Ryker, was partly in charge. My wolf, as unforgiving as I was, detested defiance with everything in him. And so did I.I let myself loose as I seized her arm, dragging her roughly back onto the bed. Her soft cries filled my ears as I pressed her down."No! Rorden!" she gasped, struggling against me, but her strength was no match for mine.Before she could process what I was trying to do, I was already on top of her, my fingers wrapping around her delicate neck as I squeezed.Her wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto mine, a blend of fear and fury swirling within them."Listen carefully, Luxuria," I hissed through clenched teeth. "The next time y
RORDEN.It was almost time.The moment I had been waiting for—the culmination of every plan, every move, every drop of blood spilled—was finally upon me. The end was here.For all my power, for all I had achieved as an AshBlood wizard, nothing compared to this. Nothing compared to the thought of Parthe kneeling before me, stripped of his pride, his strength, his so-called invincibility, begging for mercy he would never receive.I could almost taste it.He always fancied himself untouchable—powerful, fearless, the unbeatable Alpha of the North. But he had yet to meet me. Truly meet me. I was everything he was not and could never hope to be.Growing up alone in the wilds, surrounded by predators—both human and beast—had forged me into the man I am.In the brutal law of survival, I thrived. Kill or be killed, dominate or be destroyed. There was no middle ground. Everyone who had ever crossed paths with Alpha Rorden, the Blood Alpha, had come to understand this truth. They feared me, and r