The slow walk up the stairs was excruciating as I fought the urge to run. I didn’t want to alert my sister or cause suspicion. I didn’t utter a word and neither did she. The conversation with Father hung in the air between us. Would Shane hate me as much as I hate myself for what’s happened to him? I didn’t deserve to, but I wanted nothing more than to see him, feel him, kiss, and hold him. I couldn’t pay any attention to him downstairs and it gutted me. It took everything to resist running to him, checking if he was okay, and wrapping my arms around him. Doing so would have signed his death warrant.
Father wanted to see if I’d have a reaction to any of them. He wanted to see if I would give away any hint of emotion to try and weed out if there was any merit to the rumors. He wanted to know if the man I loved was among the men on their knees. I wouldn’t give it to him. I knew he would have killed them al
The voice on the other side of the door belonged to my father. What was I going to do? What could I do? Goddess. The body on the other side of the door slammed against the door. My bolt was holding strong but I knew it wouldn’t last for long. The sound quickened and I knew two people were taking turns throwing themselves against the door.“You can still get out,” I whispered. “Even if you had to climb down, they wouldn’t be able to get you! You’d be gone by the time they got down.”“They would be able to scent me and for all we know, they may already be set up downstairs,” Shane murmured. He took a step close and as much as I wanted to run, I stayed still. The tears streamed down my cheek, the sound of the door splintered, and Shane reached out to touch me. Sparks spread across my cheek as we made contact. I gasped as my eyes widened. Shane seemed unaffected as his thumb ran over my
Sitting up, I pulled him onto my lap. His eyes were closed and his breathing was haggard. I wiped his bloodied hair from his face. I could feel the flesh of his back. The chunks were raw and fell in different directions.“Shane?” I cried quietly.“Get him out of here,” Father ordered.“No, no, please. Fa—”I was cut off as his boot landed across my cheek. I hunched forward and covered Shane’s face. Protecting what I could, I’d failed him. This was all my fault. The men’s footsteps drew nearer and my grip on Shane tightened. I wasn’t going to let them take him. Hands came at me in different directions and I bit, slapped, and headbutted each one until arms wrapped around my waist. I started screaming.“No! No! Get off of me! Get away from me!”Shane was
ShaneI knew two things; one, Adea was my mate, and two, I might not live to keep my promise. The one where I would free her from her duty. I came in and out of consciousness as I was dragged down the stairs. Every time my head banged against the stone steps the world spun faster around me. Not a good sign. My body hurt everywhere but I was saving my strength, biding my time. I would not go down without a fight. I would play the role of the prisoner until an opportunity presented itself. I’ll give them this false sense of security and strength. Thinking they had me down. The one thing I had going for me was the element of surprise.They knew from my hair that I was descended from an alpha but they had no idea I was descended from the strongest alpha seen in the last 50 years. He was rumored to have been favored by the Moon Goddess. Even as a young child I had heard that my bloodline was connected to the Moon Goddess
Adea There was no word from Shane. I didn’t even know if he was still alive. That thought alone threw me into a great depression. It had been hard to get up from my bed this morning. I’d cried to myself to sleep worrying about him. I hated feeling so helpless, was there a way I could help him? No matter how much I thought about it, I came up empty. There was nothing that I could do to help him right now. Other than… obey my father. No one said anything and there was no one I could ask. Sitting in the sitting hall, I didn’t turn to look as the door opened and two sets of feet walked in. My wolf had awakened but she hadn’t talked to me. I could feel her presence. It was strong, she was strong. I could feel myself retreating. The thought of her not liking me hurt me deeply. My mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Shane. I could still feel him inside of me, his lips on mine, his hands on me. An intense need to see him again had uprooted my day. I yearned for news of him. “Stand,” Ava
“Have you done anything to earn my respect? I give respect where it’s due and you,” Korra shook her head. “You don’t deserve any of it.” My head whipped to the left as his hand came across my cheek. Pain exploded on the right side of my face. Ethan had hit me. “I’ll have to show you how to address your Alpha.” “You’re not my Alpha,” Korra hissed. “I am your mate!” Ethan growled. “You are not! That title belongs to another. You only seek to take what isn’t yours,” Korra spat. Korra was holding her own against him. “I will not bow to you, you disgust me,” she seethed. You can’t let him touch what isn’t his. We aren’t his. “I am your mate and your Alpha. The sooner you come to grips with the truth, the easier it will be for you. If I so much as smell another man on you, I will rip out his heart in front of you,” Ethan promised. “It is not I who needs to come to terms with the truth,” Korra said icily. Goddess. His hands gripped my waist and I was hoisted into the air and thrown on
“I don’t want to go back to my room, I just left,” I said. “I could care less about what you want, Adea. You’ve proven that you can’t be trusted. I can’t have you wandering around alone, you need to be supervised. I can’t have you disappearing the day before the celebration,” Ava said. Her hand slid up her chest and gripped her throat. “Father would have my neck if I lost you again. No, you will go to your room and wait there until I come to you.” “Let’s get you ready. We don’t have all day,” Ava said. The snark in her voice was clear and I was ready to call it a day already. Gabriel turned and pulled dresses from the bag. “These are the ones you chose last time. I’ve had them tailored to the measurements we took. Which would you like to try on first?” Gabriel asked. “They’re beautiful,” I said as my gaze trailed over the dresses. “Thank you. The order doesn’t matter.” Gabriel nodded and picked up the first dress. “You can step in there and undress,” Gabriel said. “I can take you
“Take her upstairs,” Ava demanded. “She has a habit of slipping out, so guard her door. Don’t let her leave.”The two warriors nodded at Ava and turned to me. Before they could grab me I turned from them and headed out. Had I been born a man I would have been their leader, my father’s heir. The throne he sits on would have been mine. I would have been the next Alpha and been the one to govern over this pack but because I was a woman, I was nothing but a pawn, a chess piece. One to be sold off at the highest price. My only use was how my father wanted to move me across the board.The unfairness of it all was enough to cause my eyes to prick with tears. It wouldn’t matter who Ava was or if she was the favorite child. I had been born first, I should have had more say. I was the one who should have had the power. I held my head high as I led the way out. A few men ran in front of me and I was forced to follow them out. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t look at Gabriel as I walked out the d
Loud knocking stirred me from a dreamless sleep. The last thing I remembered was a sky painted with hues of yellow, orange, and purple. I’d cried myself to sleep. When the knocking continued, I opened my eyes and pulled myself up. I could hear my sister calling from the other side of the door. She’s one of the last people I want to see. The moon lit up my room and I wondered how long I had been asleep. I pulled myself from my bed and made my way towards the door. As soon as I unbolted it, Ava pushed her way in.“What took you so long?!” Ava yelled.“What do you want Ava? I’m too tired to deal with your bullshit. I thought you were going to come in the morning. This,” I pointed out the window at the moon, “is not the morning and I don’t appreciate you barging in. In case you forgot, this is my room.”“Where did you go?” Ava asked. She completely disregarded everything I said. Every time I think she can’t get any more annoying she proves me wrong. She’s far from my favorite person but