Lily POVPain. That was the first sensation that greeted me as consciousness slowly crept back. A dull, throbbing ache that seemed to wrap around my entire body like a vice. My limbs were stiff, heavy, like they weren’t mine. I tried to move, but a sharp ache lanced through my wrists and ankles.I groaned softly, my head pounding. Darkness surrounded me, thick and suffocating, making it impossible to tell where I was.Where was I? What happened? My eyelids fluttered, struggling against their own weight as I fought to open them. Darkness enveloped me, so complete that for a terrifying moment, I wondered if I'd gone blind. The air was musty and stale, with an underlying scent of damp earth and decay.Had I met Kai yet? Was I at the eastern outskirts of the pack territory? My mind felt foggy, thoughts slipping through my grasp like water through fingers.I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't cooperate. That's when I realized—my hands wouldn't move independently. They were bound togeth
Lily POV"There would have been!" he snapped, his composure cracking for a moment. "We were perfect together. The strongest she-wolf in Golden Moon and its Alpha. It was meant to be."I stared at him, truly seeing the madness that lurked behind those blue eyes. "Lucas, listen to yourself. This isn't you. The Lucas I knew would never do something like this.”His expression softened slightly, and for a moment, I thought I might be getting through to him. Then he smiled, and that glimmer of hope vanished."The Lucas you knew was weak," he said. "He thought he could win you back through, respect and patience." He shook his head. "But you've shown me that doesn't work with you. You need a stronger hand.""This is insane," I said, trying a different approach. "People know where I am. Kai is expecting me at the eastern border. When I don't show up—"Lucas laughed again, the sound making my skin crawl. "Oh, I don't think he'll be looking for you anytime soon."The way he said it sent a fresh
Lily POVI don’t know how long it took. I’d lost track of time completely. I didn’t know how long I had stayed and there was practically nothing I could do. At least he was kind enough not to seal my mouth before leaving, but there was no light. I had to rely on my senses. I was thirsty and hungry but I couldn’t trust the food he had placed in the room. I didn’t want to die yet. Just when I thought he would not show up, the door cracked open and he peered in. “Hello…hello…” he sounded happy."You're insane! A complete psychopath! When I get out of here—and I will get out—you're going to regret ever laying a finger on me!" I hurled every insult I could think of at him, my voice growing hoarse from the effort. "My pack will hunt you down like the rabid dog you are!"Lucas just stood there – he didn’t even flinch - watching me, that infuriating grin never leaving his face. His arms were crossed over his chest, his eyes with amusement as if my outrage was nothing more than a child's t
Lily POVA few hours later, he returned. I had showered and rested at least. As soon as I heard the key rattle in its lock, I sprang into a sitting position, I couldn’t give him the notion that I was enjoying my stay. When he finally entered the bedroom, he paused at the doorway as his eyes roamed the room before finally landing on my face. “You’re dressed?” he asked stepping inside but still leaving the door open. “As you can see,” I muttered, rising to my feet and smoothening the yellow dress I had seen in the wardrobe. “What now?”“C’mon, Lily,” he tried to reach for me but I took a step backwards. “You don’t have to be mean to me. I’ve tried to give you everything you want and need. The least you could do is appreciate me. Is it too much to ask for?”“You’ve done nothing that needs my appreciation, Lucas,” I said squarely. “What next? Please tell me.”He wanted to say something but decided against it. “Dinner. I guess you’re hungry. You didn’t touch the meal I placed in the bas
Lily POVAfter I heard the definitive click of the door’s lock, I immediately got to work. I tore at the tape covering my mouth, wincing as it pulled at my skin. Finally, I managed to peel it off, gasping for air.My mind raced as I tried to make sense of everything. Lucas hadn't taken me to Golden Moon as he'd said. We were somewhere isolated, somewhere no one would think to look. The packs were territorial—they rarely ventured far from their lands. If we were truly in neutral territory, as Lucas suggested, my chances of being found decreased dramatically.I got up from the bed and rushed to the window, pulling back the thin curtain. Nothing but darkness greeted me, along with the occasional headlights of a passing car. The house appeared to be on some highway, surrounded by nothing but trees. No landmarks I recognized, no signs indicating where we might be.Letting the curtain fall back into place, I sank down onto the edge of the bed. I needed to be smart about this. Lucas had mad
Lily POVFor a second, I couldn’t breathe. The room felt like it spun beneath me.He said it so casually, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Like he wasn’t talking about changing my life forever, about chaining me to him in a way I couldn’t undo.A mating mark was permanent, sacred—it would bind me to Lucas forever. Not even Kai and I have gotten around to marking each other and now Lucas wanted to mark me... No other wolf would touch me once I carried his mark. I would be his ultimate claim.I struggled to keep the horror from showing on my face. "You… you want to mark me?" I echoed, hoping the tremor in my voice would be interpreted as excitement rather than revulsion."Yes," he said, his fingers trailing down my neck to the spot where shoulder meets collarbone—the traditional place for a mating bite. "You'd be mine, Lily. Completely and totally mine."“I wanted to do it back then but you haven’t gotten your wolf then and the whole thing that followed afterwards. But now
Lily POV"I want to feel something," I corrected him. "I want to know if there's any... chemistry between us before we commit to something so permanent.""You never had a problem wanting me before," he murmured."That was before," I replied softly. "Before everything fell apart."Lucas seemed to consider this, his eyes never leaving mine. "And if I can't arouse you?""Then you give me more time," I said simply. "Time to develop those feelings naturally."He was silent for a long moment, and I feared I'd overplayed my hand. But then he smiled, and there was something almost boyish in his expression—as if I'd presented him with a challenge he couldn't resist."I accept," he said finally. "But no games, Lily. You have to be honest about what you feel.""No games," I agreed, ignoring the bitter irony of the promise. This entire situation was a game, one with my freedom—possibly my life—as the prize.Lucas stood and extended his hand to me. "Shall we begin now?"My heart hammered against m
Kai POVI paced my study room, a caged animal trapped in my own anxiety. Five days. Lily had been missing for five days, and every moment without her felt like an eternity. The weight of guilt pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe.The door opened and Celeste entered, her expression telling me everything before she spoke a word."The birds couldn't locate her again," she said, shaking her head. "They've searched every clearing, every road within fifty miles."I slammed my fist against the wall, leaving a dent in the plaster. "They must have missed something.""Kai..." Celeste began, but was interrupted as Liam walked in.My beta's face was grim, exhaustion evident in the dark circles under his eyes. "We've combed all the packs within our region. There's no sign of Lily.""That's impossible," I growled, "She couldn't have just vanished."Five days ago, Lily and I were supposed to meet at the border of our pack territory. We'd planned to find Meredith, the old pack healer who ha
Kai POVDarkness covered me like a heavy blanket, thick and suffocating. I tried to open my eyes, to move, to breathe, but my body wouldn't respond. Was I dead? Did I fail to protect Lily? Did that bastard take her again? I tried to listen again for Lily’s voice, wishing I could just open my eyes. But all I could hear was something—distant beeping, muffled voices, and beneath it all, a familiar heartbeat. Lily. My wolf stirred at the sound, but we remained trapped in this void between consciousness and oblivion.Then, like a projector flickering to life, images began to form in the darkness. A forest, bathed in afternoon sunlight. The scent of pine and earth filled my nose, so vivid I could have sworn I was really there. My men flanked me in formation as we tracked rogue scents through the forest.Three years ago. Before I had met Lily. Before my memories shattered.The dream swept me into the scene completely, and suddenly I was there, living it again as if for the first time.I was
Lily POVEverything hurtBrightness. That was the first thing I became aware of—a harsh, glaring light that seemed to pierce straight through my eyelids. Pain followed, radiating from what felt like every inch of my body, a dull, persistent throb that intensified with each shallow breath.I tried to open my eyes, but they felt sealed shut, heavy and uncooperative. My mouth was dry,
Kai POVI had no time to dwell on it. The silver wound on my flank burned like fire, joining the chorus of injuries from my fight with Lucas. But Lily needed me, and nothing would stop me from reaching her."Kai!"I turned at the sound of my name, surprised to see my cousin Kevin rushing through the trees toward me. He came to an abrupt halt as he took in the scene—two dead assassin
Chapter 151Kai POVI stood in front of the French window of my office, my breathing ragged, blood was still seeping from the wounds Lucas had inflicted. Vanessa had sent me pack to my pack earlier after reluctantly agreeing to help search for her sister after seeing the evidence of Lucas's betrayal, but we had no solid leads on where he might have taken Lily.
Lily POV"I—I don't know what you mean," I stammered, trying to pull away, but his grip was like iron.In one fluid motion, Lucas shoved me backward, sending me sprawling onto the bed. The key slipped from my grasp, still attached to the chain around his neck."You think I'm stupid?" he snarled, looming over me. "You think I can't tell when you're playing me?"
Lily POVThe mirror in the bathroom of my bedroom was the only thing keeping me sane. Lucas had showed up two days ago, bruised and thoroughly injured. He had tried to force himself on me. He had tied me up and tore my clothes, while screaming that Kai would never have me. I had cried and begged and promised, but all my pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Just when I thought he would finally
Kai POVMy body slammed into Lucas with the force of a freight train, sending us both crashing through his office door. Wood splintered around us as we tumbled into the room, locked together in a tangle of limbs and fury. The desk caught my hip as we fell, pain flaring up my side, but I barely felt it through the red haze of rage.Lucas twisted beneath me, using the momentum to throw me off. I rolled and sprang back to my feet just as he did the same, both of us circling each other in the confined space."You've lost your mind," Lucas spat, a thin line of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Breaking into my territory, attacking me in my own home—"I lunged forward, cutting off his words with a right hook that connected with his jaw. The impact sent a shock up my arm, but the satisfying crunch told me I'd landed it perfectly. Lucas staggered back, his eyes widening with genuine surprise."Where is she?" I demanded again, following up with a left jab that he barely dodged.Lu
Kai POVThe night air was cold against my face as I raced through the forest, my wolf form allowing me to move silently between the shadows. Liam's warnings, my sister, even my own voice of reason – told me this was reckless. Dangerous, possibly stupid but I didn’t care. Lily was gone and Lucas was the only one I could think of who’d be cowardly – and obsessed – enough to pull something like this. Seven days without Lily. Seven days of torture, imagining the worst. I would no longer wait for diplomacy or protocol.I slowed as I approached the border of Golden Moon territory, my nose detecting the subtle shift in scent markers. Crossing another pack's boundary uninvited was a violation of every treaty between our kinds, but I no longer cared about politics. Only Lily mattered.Shifting back to human form, I pulled on the dark clothes I'd carried in a waterproof bag strapped to my wolf's body. The Golden Moon pack house stood in the distance, grand and imposing against the night sky. L
Kai POVI was losing my mind. Every second Lily was gone gnawed at my sanity like a slow, merciless poison. 24 hours turned into days – empty, quiet, suffocation. Hud – my wolf paced inside me, restless and growling, demanding I do something. But what could I do when we had no trail, no scent, no damn clue?I hadn’t marked her either, so there was no bond to feel her.Even now, sitting in this damn meeting, I couldn’t focus. The voices of y advisors droned on like a bee buzz. They were all talking about the welfare of the pack, patrol routes, finances, rogue sightings, a minor land dispute. None of it mattered. Not when Lily was out there – alone, scared or worse. Liam nudged me. This should be the thousandth times. I gave him a glare and tried to return my attention to the meeting. The finance director was talking about an investment. I tried to follow but got lost along the way.Suddenly, the pen I was holding snapped between my fingers, black ink splattering across the contract