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
ALPHA PARTHE."Fuck! Lorita! What's happening?" My voice trembled. Sweat covered my bare body. I was wearing nothing but a doublet as I held onto Luxuria's almost iced-cold hands.I had her. I felt her. Although from a distance but at least she was there.She was scared. I felt her fear so much that I felt desperate and helpless at the same time. I was consumed by the need to pull her out of that maze at once.But what's happening? Why am I loosing her?"You need to stay calm and focus, Alpha. You are too desperate and it's ruining everything," I heard Lorita's voice from a distance in the background. My eyes were tightly shut as I was standing at the very edge of whatever world Luxuria was trapped in. That was the farthest I could go.I took in deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I couldn't let my desperation ruin this.“Luxuria…” I called out again, forcing my voice to steady, but the tremble was still there. I couldn’t help it. Fuck, I couldn’t lose her.I heard her shaky voi
LUXURIA.It was all too sudden. I fell hard, right back into the darkness I was afraid of. It felt like a force had ripped me off the light and pushed me back into the darkness.I was terrified. My eyes were slowly shutting, tempting me to give in to the sweet sleep that threatened to claim me. I'd never felt so sleepy all my life, and this time, it was too difficult to resist. I was so tired. So unbearably tired. Maybe this was it—maybe surrendering to the darkness would be my salvation. What was the point in fighting it any longer?I allowed my heavy eyes to succumb to the pull, but suddenly, I heard it again.His voice."Luxuria..."My eyes slowly open. And this time, his voice held more power and desperation than the first time."Find me," his voice urged, "Come back to me, Luxuria. I know I don't deserve you. I've pushed you away… I've hurt you. But I need you to listen now. You're stronger than this darkness. Stronger than anything that's tried to take you from me."I wanted to
LUXURIA.It was hard to believe that Zendaya was the one who almost had me killed. She was the first friend I made when I arrived here. And despite everything, I wouldn't deny the fact that her death touched me.I wonder how her mother would feel. Nevada loved her so much.As the days passed, I felt stronger. The effect of the trauma I was exposed to in my unconscious state was beginning to wear off.It had been three days since I woke up, and Alpha Parthe had hardly left my side since. I wouldn’t deny the warmth his presence brought, though I didn’t fully understand why it comforted me so much. Perhaps I was beginning to get used to being around him."I can't believe you are back to us, Luxuria," Dashi said for the hundredth time in three days. She has been so overwhelmed with joy.“How many times do I have to hear that?” I teased, rolling my eyes, though a small smile tugged at my lips.“Until the day after forever!” She sat beside me, her laughter filling the room. Then her express
LUXURIA.I waited nervously for his return. My heart drummed in my chest but I occasionally took in deep breaths to calm it down.I wanted to thank him for saving my life. I just didn't know how.The door finally swung open and he walked in, tired and sweaty."Luxuria?" He called when he saw me still awake, "Why are you still up?"I ignored his question, rising to meet him, "Welcome back. How was the meeting?" I asked, helping him undress.I had already prepared a very hot bath for him. As if I knew he'd return stressed, I had added some relaxing herbs and oils into the hot water."It went well. You still haven't..." He was about saying when I interrupted him."I prepared a hot bath for you. Come here," I said, pulling him into the bathroom.I didn't miss the surprise in his eyes. He looked at me as if I had been possessed by someone else.I guided him into the bath tub filled with hot water.He sat, letting out a long, relieving breath."Relieving, right?" I asked, managing a smile.
FLASH FORWARDLUXURIA'S POVThe chill wind whipped through the stone archways of the Ash Mountain pack, filtering into the large chamber where I sat.The chilling wind was nothing compared to the icy dread in my heart.Outside, in the courtyard, the ceremony was prepared. Not a marriage ceremony, as my lineage demanded, but a mating ceremony.I would be the first in my lineage to be mated without a proper marriage ceremony.Tonight was the night of the full moon.Tonight, I am to be joined, not to a man of my choosing. Not to the man I have always loved. Not even to the man close to my dream man. But to the beast who ruled the neighboring lands with an iron paw. The Alpha Of The North.I clutched the silver locket at my throat. A gift that had been given to me by the man I would do anything to spend the rest of my life with, the Beta of my father's pack, Beta Kahel. He was my secret lover. But fate was so cruel to have torn us apart.Kahel had vowed to challenge the Alpha of the North,
LUXURIA.I waited nervously for his return. My heart drummed in my chest but I occasionally took in deep breaths to calm it down.I wanted to thank him for saving my life. I just didn't know how.The door finally swung open and he walked in, tired and sweaty."Luxuria?" He called when he saw me still awake, "Why are you still up?"I ignored his question, rising to meet him, "Welcome back. How was the meeting?" I asked, helping him undress.I had already prepared a very hot bath for him. As if I knew he'd return stressed, I had added some relaxing herbs and oils into the hot water."It went well. You still haven't..." He was about saying when I interrupted him."I prepared a hot bath for you. Come here," I said, pulling him into the bathroom.I didn't miss the surprise in his eyes. He looked at me as if I had been possessed by someone else.I guided him into the bath tub filled with hot water.He sat, letting out a long, relieving breath."Relieving, right?" I asked, managing a smile.
LUXURIA.It was hard to believe that Zendaya was the one who almost had me killed. She was the first friend I made when I arrived here. And despite everything, I wouldn't deny the fact that her death touched me.I wonder how her mother would feel. Nevada loved her so much.As the days passed, I felt stronger. The effect of the trauma I was exposed to in my unconscious state was beginning to wear off.It had been three days since I woke up, and Alpha Parthe had hardly left my side since. I wouldn’t deny the warmth his presence brought, though I didn’t fully understand why it comforted me so much. Perhaps I was beginning to get used to being around him."I can't believe you are back to us, Luxuria," Dashi said for the hundredth time in three days. She has been so overwhelmed with joy.“How many times do I have to hear that?” I teased, rolling my eyes, though a small smile tugged at my lips.“Until the day after forever!” She sat beside me, her laughter filling the room. Then her express
LUXURIA.It was all too sudden. I fell hard, right back into the darkness I was afraid of. It felt like a force had ripped me off the light and pushed me back into the darkness.I was terrified. My eyes were slowly shutting, tempting me to give in to the sweet sleep that threatened to claim me. I'd never felt so sleepy all my life, and this time, it was too difficult to resist. I was so tired. So unbearably tired. Maybe this was it—maybe surrendering to the darkness would be my salvation. What was the point in fighting it any longer?I allowed my heavy eyes to succumb to the pull, but suddenly, I heard it again.His voice."Luxuria..."My eyes slowly open. And this time, his voice held more power and desperation than the first time."Find me," his voice urged, "Come back to me, Luxuria. I know I don't deserve you. I've pushed you away… I've hurt you. But I need you to listen now. You're stronger than this darkness. Stronger than anything that's tried to take you from me."I wanted to
ALPHA PARTHE."Fuck! Lorita! What's happening?" My voice trembled. Sweat covered my bare body. I was wearing nothing but a doublet as I held onto Luxuria's almost iced-cold hands.I had her. I felt her. Although from a distance but at least she was there.She was scared. I felt her fear so much that I felt desperate and helpless at the same time. I was consumed by the need to pull her out of that maze at once.But what's happening? Why am I loosing her?"You need to stay calm and focus, Alpha. You are too desperate and it's ruining everything," I heard Lorita's voice from a distance in the background. My eyes were tightly shut as I was standing at the very edge of whatever world Luxuria was trapped in. That was the farthest I could go.I took in deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I couldn't let my desperation ruin this.“Luxuria…” I called out again, forcing my voice to steady, but the tremble was still there. I couldn’t help it. Fuck, I couldn’t lose her.I heard her shaky voi
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
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.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
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.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