Lily POVI hesitated, wondering whether I wanted to go down this path. I knew that more questions would come up once I answered this first one but I didn’t know if I was ready to share that part of my life. I wasn’t sure I had the emotional capacity to do that, yet, this girl had helped a stranger like me. Someone who she barely knows.Finally, I nodded, drinking from the free bottle of water provided. “Yeah, I’m from another pack. My father is an Alpha, but things were… complicated there. I ended up here and I’m still trying to figure out where I fit in,”.The girl seemed to understand. She leaned back in her chair, studying me with a thoughtful expression. “I get that. It’s not easy being the new one, especially when there’s so much history and expectation tied to who you are,”.I sighed fighting the tears that simmered at the corner of my eyes. “It’s much more than that, my friend,” I gave her a weak smile “I was abandoned by my family probably because I was too weak. You see…” I t
Gregory POV (Lily’s father)A storm was already brewing as we drove into the borders of Royal Hunters Pack.Even as an alpha, Alpha Kai was not one of my favourite Alphas to visit. He was always by himself even during meetings and when he speaks, he speaks so softly that we usually have to strain our ears to hear him. Everyone was afraid of him… including me but this was necessary. I need to find out if Lily is alive or still dead.The sky darkened, casting darkness on an afternoon. I didn’t want to take it as an omen but I had a feeling that things would not go the way I wanted. Our car pulled up to the old hunting lodge, it was a neutral ground. Seeing they wanted to meet at a neutral ground, it means they don’t intend for it to be a lasting meeting. At least, I know he’s hot seeking for alliance.As me and Vanessa opened the doors of our car to alight, as if on cue, a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the scene before us. The cottage stood like a sentinel, filled with d
Gregory POV (Lily’s father)The scar that stretched across his face seemed to deepen more as he turned and our gaze met, making him look more threatening.Kai’s gaze flickered from me to my daughter, his gaze lingering more on Vanessa before coming back to my face. There was something unreadable in his expression, a cool detachment that sent a chill down my spine. He said nothing at first, simply observing us as if he were weighing us in his mind.The bastard!Finally, he spoke, his voice low and even. “You’ve come a long way from Golden Moon Pack. That’s impressive!” he said taking my hand that I had stretched towards him since a minute ago.I couldn’t also help but notice that he was the tallest among all the werewolves present including me. He towered over everyone else, his presence dominating the space even when he stood perfectly still.I could also swear that he would be toughest to fight against among all the alphas I knew. I mean; I’ve encountered a lot of really good Alphas
Lily POVMy entire body felt like it was engulfed in flames.The heat pulsed through my veins causing every nerve in my body to scream out in protest. My skin was sensitive and sore. I tossed and turned in my bed, the sheets tangling around my legs, every inch of my body covered with sweat.Earlier, when Celeste’s grandfather had come in to check on me – I barely remembered coming to my bed too. Although I had seen his face hovering over me etched with concern as he placed his cool hand on my forehead. I couldn’t recall all that he said but I remembered him saying words like ‘shift’ and late bloomer’ in his conversation as I drifted in and out of consciousness.In my fever-muddled mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was going to shift. Was it even possible after all this time?For years, I had thought the Moon Goddess had forsaken me – that she hated me so much and didn’t care whether I had my wolf or remained human. I remembered watching all my friend getting their wolves, bonding
Lucas POVThe moon hung low in the sky when I moved swiftly through the shadows, my senses were on high alert as I crossed the border into Alpha Kai’s territory – The Royal Hunters Pack.I lay in the shadows for a bit, my heart pounding from fear and determination. This wasn’t the first time I was sneaking into another Pack’s land but Royal Hunter was no ordinary pack – it would have been impossible given the fact that their borders were always heavily guarded with warriors patrolling day and night.But tonight was different. The air was heavy with tension but the usual patrols were absent and I knew why.All the guards on duty have been summoned to guard the cottage where the meeting of both Alpha Gregory – Lily’s father and Alpha Kai, was taking place. At least, that was what one of the warriors who had escorted both Lily’s father and her sister Vanessa had told me earlier on.With the guards not at their posts, it created an opportunity for me. As I moved saliently through the Pack
Kai POVThe cottage was thick with tension that seemed to weigh down everyone present in the room including me who sat at the head of the long oak table. I leaned back in my chair, my eyes studying, Alpha Gregory who was twitching at every point with unease though his eyes still shone with defiance as he levelled his gaze at me.The question he asked me hung in the air between us, still unanswered. Alpha Gregory-Lily’s father had repeated the question about an intruder being in our territory whose name was Lily and I didn’t know how to respond without losing my cool.Liam must have sensed how much I was trying to control myself because he was the one who finally answered breaking the tense silence.“We deal with intruders properly here at Royal Hunters Alpha Gregory,” Liam said, his voice smooth” You don’t have to worry about such matters. We have full control over our borders.”I barely paid attention to what Liam was saying, my focus was on Alpha Gregory who seemed to relax at Liam’
Kai POVAlpha Gregory must have sensed that his story had a lot of loopholes so he was trying his best to make up for it.“You may not believe this Alpha Kai, but once, Lily tried to poison me,” he started, his tone growing sombre. “I mean you’d never expect that something like that would come from your house but it happened. She put an adequate amount of grounded silver in my food and it was my favourite food, so I was never going to notice, thankfully, it fell from the table somehow and you know what Silver does to wood right?”He leaned in and said with a conspiratory tone “It burned a hole so deep in the wood that I had to change the entire floorboard of the dining room. There was another time when it was arsenic and I survived by a hair’s breadth but back then, I was able to endure it because I was her daughter and every parent loved their children right?” he sighed.“But then she became even worse. She got in between her sister here,” he stopped and pointed at his other daughter
Lily POVIt felt like days had passed since the fever started.Slowly, the fever began to subside. The fire that had coursed through my body began to cool too; my temperature returned to normal. Although I was still in a state of unconsciousness – still trapped in the dream world, I could tell I was feeling better and my wolf’s voice was becoming clearer.“You’re awake!” she said warmly. “I’m glad. How do you feel?” she asked.“I’m feeling better,” I murmured “Thank you.”“That’s a relief,” she sighed. “Do you still remember that I’m your wolf? I think it’s time I introduced myself to you properly. My name is Nala and I’m your wolf. I couldn’t appear to you earlier because someone has been feeding you a dangerous substance – The root of Wolfsbane. It’s a dangerous drug and it prevented you from feeling me and also me from awakening and it kept me locked away all these years.”A chill ran down my spine at the revelation and the first name that came to my mind was ‘My father’. “It was m
Kai POVI’d been awake for hours, just lying here, letting the darkness of my room mirror the darkness in my thoughts. The covers over my head created a cocoon, shutting out the world that I didn't want to face. I had no desire to be Alpha right now, no desire to deal with the responsibilities waiting for me outside these four walls. I was scared that if I took the covers away, thoughts of Lily would fit into my mind and drive me crazy. How I managed to survive four weeks without her warmth puzzled me. In the beginning, I had convinced myself that it was the best thing to do, but I missed Lily terribly. My wolf missed her so much. But the only way to ensure she’ll be safe is to stay far away from her. I didn’t want to keep hurting her. Just as I started drifting back into my thoughts, the covers yanked off me. “Get up!”I sat up, an expletive word on my lips, ready to lash out on whomever was the culprit, only to find my mother standing there. Her face was set in that familiar ex
Lily POVHe didn’t deny it. “You know I have visions? Intuitions that tell me if danger is ahead? I used to have that for a while, but it wasn't like this. There was no vision and..." I trailed off. “Gut instincts. I would sense danger or feel when something was off. But this…” I swallowed hard. “This is different. I saw it happen before it did.”My uncle remained quiet. I wanted to keep speaking when it hit me. my lips parted as I stared at him in horror. If my uncle knew about this, then he must have seen it before. Someone else must have experienced the same thing. “You’ve seen this before,” I whispered His eyes darkened but he didn’t say anything. "You’ve known someone like this before," I continued, my heart pounding faster.He didn’t answer.“My mom?” I started tentatively. “She was like this too?”The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know, and suddenly the tea in front of me seemed like the most important thing in the world. I wrapped my trembling hands arou
Lily POVI couldn't move. Couldn't speak. I sat huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around my knees, staring at the destruction. The vision. Hazel's warning. It had been real. How had it been real?Celeste was the first to recover. She rushed to my side, crouching down. "Lily, are you hurt?"She started checking me for injuries. “Are you okay? What happened?”I shook my head numbly, barely able to process what had just happened.Grandpa Marcus stepped forward; his face grim as he examined the wreckage. "That wasn’t an accident," he murmured.I barely heard him.All I could think about—Was that I had seen it.Seconds before it happened.And Hazel had known.What the hell was happening to me?I sat there frozen as everyone crowded around me, their concerned faces swimming in my vision. Celeste's hand was on my shoulder, and I could feel the tremors of worry running through her fingers. Everyone was asking questions at once, their voices overlapping into concern that made my head spin.
Lily POVWhen we settled inside again, my uncle pulled me int for another hug as if he still couldn’t believe I was here in person. When he finally pulled back from the hug, tears were streaming down his face. His hands trembled as they clasped mine, and the raw emotion in his eyes made my throat tight. I could feel and see the sincerity in his eyes. This was all so alien to me. The fact that someone could cry just from finding it was so difficult to believe. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I'm so—so sorry, Lily."I bit the insides of my mouth to stop myself from crying. “So sorry it took me this long to find you. Harriet would never have forgiven me. I've failed you. I've failed my sister. I—" He let out a sharp breath, his fingers tightening around mine. "She entrusted me with everything, and I—" He let out a bitter chuckle, shaking his head. "I’ve betrayed her memory.”“M-Mom is dead?” I felt the hope I had held onto until this moment – hope that my mom could s
Lily POVMy heart pounded furiously as I made my way to the front door. Hazel, my wolf, was unusually alert, giving off the same strange, familiar sensation I'd felt that day in the school cafeteria when I stopped to buy a drink. It was like she was trying to tell me something, but the message was just out of reach.To make matters worse, there was something unsettling about everything – it was as if I’ve relieved this moment before. A familiar sensation coursed through my chest – it was too familiar to ignore. As I neared the door, Hazel stirred again in the back of my mind, not in distress but something else. Recognition? Longing? She had reacted the same way with that man at the school cafeteria. The man who called me Harriet. I swallowed hard, pushing down my nerves.As I stepped outside, the first thing I noticed was that the man wasn’t facing me. He stood with his back turned he looked relaxed as if he had all the time in the world. Even from behind, something about his postu
Lily POVSomehow, I made it through week four. But despite my best efforts to avoid any form of socializing, Celeste had finally managed to pull me away from my house and bring me to hers. I hadn’t wanted to come, but she’d used her trump card – her grandparents. “They miss you,” she’d said, and I couldn’t refuse them. The moment I stepped into Celeste’s house, Grandma Elena – Celeste grandmother enveloped me in a warm hug that smelled of vanilla and freshly- baked cookies. “Look how thin you’ ve gotten,” she tutted, leading me to her favorite couch in the living room. Grandpa Marcus was in his favorite armchair reading a book. His eyes lit up when he saw me. Immediately, he closed the book and rose up to come meet me. “Leave the girl, alone, Elena,” he chuckled, but his eyes were concerned as they studied my face. “Though a few of your sugar cookies wouldn’t hurt.”I bit my lips hard until I could taste blood. I felt so guilty and relieved at the same time. Guilty that I’ve been
Lily POVThe afternoon sun cast long shadows across the sidewalks as I trudged home from college. It’s been several days since I and Kai decided to take a break from our relationship and it’s been nothing but pure hell for me. In the beginning, I was keeping track of the time, hoping he would get tired and try to reach out, but days turned into a week and a week, three weeks. A part of me still didn’t know if he had ever truly loved me or if I had just been some fleeting attachment. After all, he had been so quick to let me go.So, these days, I just live my life on a clean slate and take whatever life throws at me. Walking was my new therapy nowadays. Instead of covering the five minute car drive every day, I decided walking was soothing. My feet ached, but I loved and welcomed the pain – it was better than the numbness that has lodged in my chest since I got discharged from the hospital. I hadn’t gone back to the packhouse – not even once. Not even to take my things. Just the th
Lily POVAfter the pack doctors and nurses filed out, the room fell into a heavy silence. Kai remained at the doorway like a statue carved from tension and unspoken words. He hadn’t said anything to me since entering. He just stood thee with his eyes fixed somewhere above my head. Celeste was the one who finally broke the suffocating silence. Celeste exhaled loudly, crossing her arms as she turned to him. “Are you just going to stand there, or aren’t you leaving too?” Her voice had a protective edge to it that I had never heard before, as if she expected Kai to turn into the monster I had barely escaped from.Kai’s gaze flickered to her, but he didn’t rise to the bait. “I want to see Lily,” he said quietly.Celeste let out a humorless laugh. “You can see her just fine from there.” She gestured at me with an exaggerated wave. “Mission accomplished. Now, go.”“Alone. I want to see her alone, Celeste. Is it that hard for you to understand?”“Maybe,” Celeste bristled. “I don’t care if y
Lily POVI came alive slowly to a soft, rhythmic beeping pulling me from the depths of unconsciousness.My eyelids felt like lead, my body heavy and sore as I slowly blinked against the harsh white light filtering into the unfamiliar room. It took a moment for my vision to adjust, but as the blurriness faded, I took in my surroundings.Machines. Wires. An IV drip connected to my arm. The slow, steady hum of medical equipment filled the room. The scent of antiseptic clung to everything.A hospital. I was in a hospital. What was I doing here?I turned my head slightly, my neck stiff from being in the same position for too long. That was when I saw Celeste curled up on the couch in the corner of the room, her dark hair was a tangled mess, her chest rising and falling steadily as she slept.The sight of her brought and immediate sense of comfort to me. I needed to sit up. My back was burning with pain probably from lying in one position for too long. The first attempt was embarrassing –