*Yolanda's (Selene's stepmother) POV* “That's it Selene has returned!”the reporter exclaimed. I switched the channel. “And in other news.”the blonde began with a bright smile. “The Selene Foxx has just marked this town as her playground with tonight's latest activities–” I switched the channel again.This time it was my favourite show;‘The Analysts’,sitting in a circle discussing the exact same thing the other channels were discussing. I swallow hard and try to give it a chance.Maybe they were seeing it as the catastrophy that it was that she returned.Or perhaps they cared that she had completely stolen the entire point of the Blossom Ball and made it about her. Oh but I was wrong. I was so wrong. “I think Ironclaw should feel particularly blessed that they got to witness this phenomenal women right at their ball.”On of the TV hosts said as he admired the picture of her on the screen.“And they say she is staying for six whole months?” “She is indeed. She
*Selene POV* I reached for a bath bomb and threw it in the tub.I dissolved into bubbles and filled the water with a red tint. I took a sip from the champagne glass and placed cucumber slices on my eyelids. I could barely sleep last night,let's reiterate that : I couldn't sleep last night.My eyes were stuck on my ceiling,face frowned and mind in disarray watching the fan slowly turn the controls in my head. Blue. It was such a beautiful shade too,I had forgotten–or at least tried to forget what his eyes felt like. It slid into my blood,defrosting me from the inside. I had grown into the habit of calculating everything precisely before I went to bed.It helped me concentrate and gain clarity.It used to be just a hobby,but last night,it suddenly felt like a need. I then began to replay his actions from the night before,the arrest,his smirks,his distracting gaze,the disappointment etched in his features…it was like I was watching a movie,scene by scene…each piece more puzzling
*Ares's POV* The moment the door cracked open, her scent hit me like a punch to the gut. A wave of something—memories, anger, desire—crashed over me all at once. She was standing there in nothing but a silk robe, her hair wrapped up in a towel, eyes flashing with the kind of fire that had swore drawn me in and destroyed me all at once. I cleared my throat as I took a step further. Seeing her again felt like reopening an old wound, one that never healed properly, festering beneath the surface. Yet, I’d sought her out, walked straight into this room, knowing it would happen. I’d prepared myself for it—at least, I thought I had. “Well,well… what a pleasant surprise.The Alpha himself in my hotel room.”she said,her voice in a deadly calm,her hands sitting in a fold under her breasts.“Quite a scandal,don't you think?” I didn’t answer immediately. I let my eyes roam in the room she stayed in, taking it in. Every piece of furniture stood in effortless elegance as they blended into ea
*Selene's POV* “Pablo darling.”I said sweetly when he picked up the phone. A raspy smoke infested voice came from The end of the line. In between a croak and something that resembled happiness. “Selene,my favourite girl.” “Pablo, my favourite man.”I giggled back to fuel his ego. He was a mob leader who took care of shady business in my name with dreams and hopes that we will one day be in bed together. Poor hopes never came to fruition. “I missed you darling–you don't call me anymore.”He complained. That's because I don't need you anymore,I said internally but feigned sadness instead. “I'm so busy these days mi amor,if I had the time you would have grown bored of Me” I heard a gunshot in the background and frowned. “Are you occupied?”I asked,frowning. “Never too busy for you…”he replied with a laugh. “So when are you going to visit me–” “Soon.”I smiled,opening a notebook on my lap. “But I wanted a little favour from you.” “Hm.”He groaned unhappily. “I
*Selene's POV* “Here are your favourite flowers.” I raised an eyebrow at the bouquet in Dominic's hands,it was a large bouquet of fresh hibiscus flowers. I ran my hands in it. “Lovely,but still not my favourite.” His face grew confused. “But Greta said–” As if on cue,Greta appeared from inside the house,wiping her wet hands on her apron. She nodded at the bouquet in his hands and took it from him. “I thought you said it was her favourite flower,”Dominic said through gritted teeth. “You must have misheard.”Greta says nonchalantly,even I could tell she was lying.She did this to everyone who attempted to date me,she shamelessly exploited them,and in this case she wanted fresh hibiscus flowers to make hibiscus tea. “What a coincidence though,”she tells him as she heads back into the house. “I have been searching for these since I came.” “She tricked me,didn't she?”he asked as the door closed behind her. “Yes,”I said a sigh. “Get ready for more of those.” Dominic l
*Selene's POV* I discreetly slipped the note into my bra and got myself another drink. This seemed too suspicious to be true.My mind ran on thousands of explanatitions.How did he know I will be here? Why would he–a now wanted man even attend a Blossom Ball in the first place. I turned to face the room, and the group of elites and socialites continued chatting among themselves. Every now and then, the nosiest of the friend group will look my way and then continue talking. Dominic glances were more frequent,he was socialising with a couple of businessmen by the bar across the room.He looked like his conversation was boring him to death, and he was aching to be by my side again. Just as I was about to get myself another drink,a loud trumpet from the door pulled our attention. A herald dressed in deep purple walked deeper into the room and began in a loud authoritative voice. “Attention everyone,make way for our pack leaders,His Majesty Alpha Ares and Her Majesty Luna Noelle.”
*Dominic's POV* I don't remember when the habit grew in me,but whenever I felt uneasy,my hands subconsciously went on my neck and readjusted my tie a little loose. Selene had disappeared a while ago and was yet to come. There was a dance performance going on at the moment,and even with that as distraction.I couldn't concentrate. “You are yet to begin construction of the new hotel.”a business partner said,bringing me back in the moment. “Sadly.”I began clearing my throat. “But the materials have arrived already.I intend to start soon.”I replied,only now remembering that I still had a hotel to build. Selene was the type of person to make you forget all your responsibilities. “If I didn't know you for your work ethics, I would say you were lagging behind.” “It's not the case, comrade,I've just been busy.” The man chuckled mirthlessly. “Of course. You've been very busy with the lady in black.” Lady in Black,Serpent of Seduction,Queen of the Night,everyone had a nickname
*Selene POV* “And today we have with us in the studio,the single hottest topic in the papers,previously known as the woman every man wants and every woman wants to be,” This made me cock my head a little-Previously? “What happened now?”I blurted. The radio host looked at me,confused. “Excuse Me?” “When you were listing my credentials,you said previously,as though for some reason I had lost my status.” “Oh,”he chuckled,bringing his mouth closer to the microphone. “You see with all the mafia allegations flying around,it would be safe to say that you are known for…”he paused a while,desperately searching for a safe word in his head. “Crime?”I asked. “Is that the word that you're stuck on?” His face reddened. “Well,you are such a prestigious guest.I didn't want to offend you.” “The only offensive thing here is that you implied that I had lost my charm because of a few speculations. These things shouldn't be treated as plagues,if anything,it adds to my allure.I will g
*Selene's POV*Detachment. It has always been my strong suit, or at least I thought it was before I began loosing my prorities. Either way,what matters now are the important things, like the reason I fought so hard for that house in the first place. I carefully installed a pair of hoop earrings and adjusted my hair off my face. Staring at myself in the mirror, I decided to give my lips another coat of lipstick.Greta came into the room with freshly washed towels, humming a carefree song as she waddled into the closet.“Has anything arrived in the mail?” I asked absently.“No,” she yelled from the closet. “Nothing yet.”I was expecting the invitations by now—Yolanda's birthday was tonight, and I couldn’t miss it. I began to consider getting the tickets myself.“Are you expecting anything?” Greta asked, attempting to make conversation. But I wasn’t really in the mood to talk; it had been hard to get in the mood for anything since the ‘incident.’I adorned my fingers with golden snake r
*Ares’s POV* I've been measuring how strong I am or in better words how deep this obsession was rooted…and I have come to a pretty confusing conclusion. I can bring myself to resist the urge to see her and confront her and yet at the same time,I can't get her damn face,voice,smell out of my brain. I have spent most of my time in my office since my little delightful “discovery”,What was I expecting anyway? I was chasing after a woman who glady branded herself as a man killer and I had somehow expected not to be killed. Maybe–just maybe she is too far gone. Besides,all the time I had spent with her had done nothing but weigh upon the thread that she might be my Luna. If she was,she would say it by now and her hair seemed completely jet black…it makes absolutely no sense to have someone so hell bent on destroying me so close to me. Anyway,I have come to realise that whenever I'm under stress,I become a workaholic…which by the way is just perfect for the situation. So far,I
*Selene's POV* “Are sure he is going to come?”Cassie asked for the third time in an hour. I glanced at the clock and the wall and nodded. “Of course he would.”I say,trying to keep my mind positive,but even my own voice sounded doubtful. “Why wouldn't he?” Cassie did a wide eyed blink and I knew right then and there that I was going to regret asking that question for at least two days. “Well,lets start with the basics.”she began,proudly laying the foundation to crush my heart and ego. “He is ignoring your calls,spending more time with his supposed wife on live TV and he might already know that you are the spy that–” I tapped my fingers on the chair anxiously and Cassie stopped talking when she noticed she was the cause of the tapping. “He's only two hours late and I am definitely sure he will have no problem coming to the most controversial brothel in town even though it might ruin him.”she added,her sarcasm hitting me like a slap in the face. “I think that's enough external p
*Yolanda's POV* I was at my last wine tasting for my party before he informed me that Victor had gone to the main castle,and not only that,he stood before the ex luna and told her he was my friend and was looking for me. Suddenly the fruity taste that lingered on my tongue turned citrus sour. “What?”I asked the maid standing before me. “A friend of yours,Victor, is sitting in the living room with Lady Silvia.” I felt air vanish from my lungs and the maid,seeing my reaction,offered the little comfort she could manage to provide. More information. “We wanted to send him away,but he was adamant and the ex luna wanted to talk to him…oh and Noelle came too.” That was way too much for me to bear,what if that rascal says something about my past,or about Noelle or straight up magically gained a conscience and wanted to confess. I rushed into the parlour,trying my best to reach there soon enough and also somehow not appear like a crazy woman in front of the maids on duty. I barged
*Selene's POV* I was fuming. He was not picking my calls. And I feel like I'm about to choke my own neck out. I saw him and Noelle on tv this morning again,I think he is way too dedicated to this damn lie. When I told him to pretend,I didn't actually expect him to go on an interview and actually say that I was just a story used against his marriage and he literally doesn't understand why these rumours were being spread. It almost felt like he was disassociating,I do this often but never been at the receiving end of the treatment. Dominic came up to me with a small glass of water. “Are you okay?”he asked,handing me the glass. “You seem shaken.” Then,suddenly it hit me. The thing that has been clouding my mind all day,messing up my lines,screwing with My senses,might be…no way. Was I—jealous? Obviously not,that would be stupid,I asked him to get back with her,I couldn't be jealous if it was my own plan right?But yet and still,a sharp sting hit my chest like small
*Ares POV* It was almost nine pm. I had missed dinner,and I didn't even care. Noelle wasn't exactly the most jovial person these days and everything about her was beginning to annoy me again. I was going to the old Italian restaurant at the end of town to meet somebody and though my eyes were on the road,my mind was far away. Mostly on the results of my meeting tonight. While my mother was taking care of the situation with the Council,I had to keep things running smoothly with the pack,to settle them and their very valid fears by the way. There is a murderer in town and despite how crooked the victims were,they were a part of my clan and I couldn't protect them. It almost seemed like I couldn't do anything recently,if you wanted to really keep track of the dates I would say when Selene showed up,but I don't want to focus on that so I try to blame it on something else instead–like Dominic. But even if I did that,I didn't have evidence to back me up. I sigh loudly The onl
*Noelle's POV* I stretched my body and looked at the curtain In a fierce battle with the sun to protect me from light. The curtains were thick and black and pulled to conceal any sunlight,the only indication that it was morning was that the floors were small. I don't know why Ares would want to have a dark room when he could have the view from the garden instead but it's not in my place to complain. Besides,I have better things to think about,like the fact that I was in Ares’ bed,basking in his sheets,his pillow and oh,his loud scent all around me. The only thing that could have stopped this is if we actually slept together,but like the workaholic he is,he insisted on doing work in his office and coming to bed later. And although I tried to stay up and wait,I ended up falling asleep. But that won't happen again. I yawned and rolled over to greet him good morning only to find the other end of the bed empty. My shoulders dropped and my mother's horrid face filled up in m
*Yolanda's POV* Noelle is using own look again. If we want to sell this pitiful story,We must,by all means, secure the press’ attention and pity. Noelle's discovery of the bodies was not a coincidence,if the gods have blessed us,It's within our duty to ensure that we make the most out of it. “This is your chance,”I began gingerly,creasing a shade of baby pink lipstick over Noelle's lips.“Remember as I told you?” “Yeah,yeah.”she said softly,her eyes staring at herself in the mirror. “Throw him under the bus,gain the public's sympathy, if he was with her last night, he will have no choice but to run to me for an alibi.” “Exactly.”I smirked. She drew in a heavy breath and lowered her eyes. I lift her chin to face up. “And chin up.”I ordered. She pushes my hand from under her chin. “Then what?” My eyebrow raises at her. “What do you mean then what?” “What will be my request for the alibi?” Money,my brain says,but I know that I won't hear the end of it if I say it out lou
(*Dominic's POV*"She arrived at one a.m. last night," Greta whispered at the other end of the line.My heart sank. Whatever I was feeling wasn’t good. Why did she stay out that late?"One a.m.?" I echoed, tension creeping into my voice. "Do you know where they had this date?""No.""What they talked about?""No."Ares must have heard about the journalists last night, right? He has connections—he’s not the kind of man who does things legally. They had to have a solid alibi to counter the time frame of the murders, and if their alibis were each other, it would be a great scandal. They should’ve rushed home... right?My mind spiraled. What if they were having sex? Oh, fuck—what if they were rekindling their old flame? If they were fucking, I swear to God, I will destroy them both."And she left by eight," Greta continued, either not noticing my silence or choosing to ignore it. She wasn’t exactly the most concerned partner, nor did she seem inclined to be loyal."Those are just times,"