“Mauve or blush pink?”. Edna asks, holding up two very different dresses from my closet. I don't hesitate to make my choice.“Blush pink”. I say. It's an off the shoulder summer dress with full cap sleeves. I'm not really sure what theme the evening is based on but I really don't think it's going to be a grand affair. This is Trish after all. Today is her birthday. And I had only found out this morning when a strange man had led a full serenade up to our front gates in the wee hours of the morning. Not even Tricia’s unimpressed face had deterred him from his mission, as he had sung his heart out along to an orchestra and into the drastically large bouquet flowers he has been clutching. Upon inquiry, I had found out that he was the heir to the leading brewery company of the pack, I'd have never guessed. Apparently, he has always made his interest in Trish known and took every chance he gets as an excuse to shower her with affection. Apparently, this has been going on for three years to
Finally, Trish lets go of him and he stalks forward towards the table.“You can take the head seat”. Trish says hurriedly and makes forward, taking off the single balloon that had been placed on the seat meant for the starcelebrant. She doesn't seem to mind, she's just very excited that her brother showed up for her birthday. Makes me wonder if Jade will ever be this excited to simply….have me na. I expect him to say a no, thank you but he only nods in acknowledgement and truly approaches the seat. When he gets to the back of my own chair, he reaches out, running his fingers lightly over the bare skin of my shoulder. Goosebumps explode on my skin at the sensation of his touch. I hold his gaze as he pulls out his seat and when he winks at me, I feel my knees actually turn to jelly, thank fucking goodness that I'm seated..The omegas on duty each of us some wine and we raise a toast to the birthdy girl. And all this while, Draaven's eyes don't levve my face. I don't get why he's staring
We begin packing for my trip the next day. I had asked Draaven where we were headed but he had simply told me that it was a surprise and to just carry bikinis. That had gotten me massively excited. The beach life was a staple in the south but since coming here, I've not heard of or seen any beaches around. I hope there's more sunshine where we are going, more warmth. If I see one more place with ice capped mountains, I'm going to lose my mind.I can't even hide my excitement all through the day and that transfers to Edna too by default. We are both in really high spirits as we deliberate on what to pack and how much to pack. It feels damn good to just think about…nice things, no stress, no work…. just me….and Draaven. Trish joins us sometime along the evening and she brings along a bag of snacks.“Woah what's all that?”. I chuckle as she dumps the truckload of junk on my bed. I know none of these snacks. I guess our ways of lives in both packs were really totally different.“What?”. S
I'm shown to my room and I must say, I'm heavily impressed. In the middle of the island is a sprawling glass complex with rooms on every floor. I have been brought to the 8th floor and from what I can see, we are the only ones on it. If a pack leader is occupying every floor, that means there are 11 pack leaders present. That's a lot of power in one place. My gammas take my luggage in and the one who seems to be the leadee informs me that they'll be taking turns of two standing outside my door. I don't think it's necessary in all honesty but that's their job and sole purpose of being here after all. And if Draaven had sent them along with me, he must have had his reasons. The three attendants who had attended to me organized my things into the closet snd inform me that if I needed their services, I just had to pull the bell. When I was finally left alone and the door shut behind me, I turn the lock immediately and sigh in reliefI've been craving a lot of space since I got on that jet
We are led into the dining room and I make a point of choosing a seat from the hosts….Troy in particular. Among the guests, there's a Luna who has actually come alone too. In my desperate situation, I'm a bit tempted to befriend her, just so I can have company while keeping Troy’s eyes off my chest. But she's so not young, and I can't begin to even imagine why she would have come alone. She's also a bit on the reserved side and I can't tell she's not having a good time at all. Sitting beside her during dinner would be a good time to spark up some conversations. The gamma is just about to pull out my seat for me when Troy’s voice travels through the room.“Valeria….”. He calls. I turn sharply, as does everyone in the room. I'm so embarrassed. “There's a seat here for you and Draaven. If you don't occupy it, no one will”. The seat he talks about is directly opposite theirs and right now, I wonder what he's trying to do. Regardless, everyone in the room is looking and if I refuse to sit
There's a collective gasp in the room and I push up from my seat hurriedly, lunging at Draaven. There's a dangerous glow in his eyes and his jaw is set hard as he continues to stalk forward towards Troy, his hands flexing angrily by his side.“Draaven”. I call out. “Draaven!!!!!”. My arms are wrapped tightly around his torso and I'm giving it my physically possible best to stop him from proceeding. A couple of the other alphas are on their feet and thankfully, a few of them are aiding me in holding Draaven back while the other half are making sure Troy is okay and stopping him from advancing for a fight.“Draaven!!! Can you just stoppp????”. I yell, the fiercest emotions choking my throat. He finally looks at me and when he does, the angry glow in his eyes finally die down. He glances down at my arms wrapped desperately around his torso and when he begins to calm down, I also feel it. Coldly, he shrugs off the alphas holding him back before turning to Troy, his mouth turned down in an
Sometime in the night, I jerk awake as I feel an arm snake around me. I can tell it's him by his scent. Yet, I don't make a move to turn around as I stare off at the far wall, my heart racing in my chest steadily.“Darling”. He whispers into my ear. He knows I'm awake. He can hear the erratic thuds of my heart. But I still make no moves to give him any attention. He pulls me against his body tighter, his arms wrapping around my waist. “Kitten…..”. He whispers. I say nothing.“You know….you are right”. He says, his lips against my hair. “I've not exactly been straightforward with you. I'm sorry about that”. That's his first time ever apologizing to me. My heart is beating so fast it might as well jump out of my chest. “The truth is….I tried very hard not to fall for you, Valeria. I was sure I wouldn't. I'm a very self confident person, so when I found my heart going against what I wanted it to do….I didn't handle that well. And I took it out on you all the time. I'm sorry”. He leans in
I wake up to the feel of Draaven's arms around me. With my hair in my face, I shuffle away softly to avoid waking him up. A small smile settles on my lips as I rest my hand on my elbows to take in the serene sight of him sleeping. This is the first time ever that he's sleeping in beside me. Usually, he holds me to sleep but is never by my side when I wake up the next day. But today is different. Today is the first day that he's actually sleeping all night beside me. His hair is a mess and he has his mouth slightly open. I can't help noticing that this is one of the few moments that he actually looks peaceful, no stoic mask in place to shield his emotions. He looks so peaceful that I don't resist the urge to reach forward and run my fingers over his beard slightly. That's all it takes to wake him up.His eyes are the most vivid hue as they snap open and for a good moment, we stay like that. Me resting against my arm and him lying down by my side, his gaze holding mine. My smile widens
The war had been going on outside. Explosions were shaking the grounds of Shadowflame and I was in the armory issuing out more weapons when i had seen my mum rushing towards me. “Mumm!!!!”. I had screamed running towards her. “What are you doing here? You should be at the tower!!!!”. Her eyes had looked frenzied. “Come come”. She had grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a corner of the room. “Mum what's wrong?”. “You have to go to Silver Glow right now”. I had stared at her like she was crazy. Silver Glow? Why the hell would I ever go to Silver Glow, the territory of our long term enemies. “What are you talking about?”. “Valeria, listen to me”. She gripped my hands shakily, her eyes wide and panicked. “You need to listen to me. Go to Silver Glow and ask of the alpha, Draaven Ventura. Tell him I sent him to you”. “Mum those are the enemies. Why would they do anything to help you?”. “Just listen to me!!!!!”. She had yelled. “Just tell him I sent him to you, that the long time p
“Because you were my perfect revenge against your father”.I feel cold hearing the words from his mouth like this. “My father? What did my father do?”.“Valeria can we sit….”. “I'm not going to sit. I'm perfectly fine where I am”. He sighs again and runs his fingers through his thick hair.“I told you about Lilly….”. Adrian was right after all. It was about Lilly, it always has been. “....I didn't tell you the full truth. She left me…but she was taken first”. My knees really feel like jelly right now and I realize that maybe I do need to sit down after all. I hobble towards the nearest seat and settle into it. He reaches forward to aid me but I more or less swat his hand away. I don't need anything but the truth from his right now.“Tell me everything I need to know. From the beginning to the end”. He comes to settle down in the seat Adrian had been sitting on just earlier. And then he begins talking.“A couple of decades ago, Silver Glow was still ruled by the Fulstein clan”. Fulste
The first thing I think to myself as his words sink in me is ‘what the fuck is he talking about’. What pawn? What revenge game? I feel the dots are staring me right in the face and I can't just seem to connect them. The confusion must be evident on my face because right now, it's Adrian that's laughing and not me anymore.“She doesn't get it. She doesn't get it”. He doubles over and laughs like it's the funniest thing he has ever seen or heard. And I just look down at him, still unsure of what he's talking about. “You mentioned how I was a low dirt bag for using Edna, what you don't know if you were being used all along too. Not just by me. Ever wondered why Silver Glow and Shadowflame have never been friends despite not even being in the same territory? Ever wondered why Draaven didn't hesitate to marry you even though you were both of different worlds? I've heard tales of the time your father came here, ever wondered why he wasn't treated warmly by him? There have been so many clues
His eyes widen at my words and it's literally the funniest thing I've seen for a very long time. My laughter rings through the garden and I can tell that it's only pissing him off more. He lunges up from his seat and towards me, wrapping his fingers around my neck as he drags me up and slams me against the wall. I'm knocked out of air for just the slightest moment before I resume laughing. His face contours in anger as his grip tightens around my neck."The faster your....heart beats....". I choke out. ".....the faster the poison....works". His breath is still coming out fast but grudgingly, he releases my neck and focus on the task of regulating his breathing. I cough as the burning sensation fills my throat. "That wasn't a nice thing to do". I say breathlessly as I run my fingers over the sensitive skin on my neck he had been gripping. He doesn't say anything as he focuses on his breathing exercises. "Especially to someone who has your antidote". I stumble to my seat and reach for m
When I wake up the next morning, I meet Draaven already dressing up for work. With a small serene smile on my face, I stay back on the bed and watch him as he obliviously goes around dressing up, totally unaware that I'm now awake. When he goes back into his closet to retrieve a piece of clothing, I get up fully naked and go to stand by the door for him. On his way back out, he's quite surprised to see me but I immediately see the reaction I have on him. His eyes rake over my entire body frame and I see the sly, naughty smile begin to settle on his face, indicating that he already has thoughts going through his head.“You are awake”. He says, his eyes lingering on my boobs. I do what I do intentionally and take several steps towards him till I'm standing directly in front of him. I lean in on my tiptoes and plants the most delicate kiss on his earlobe and just like an engine, he seems to have been turned on.“You can't drive me crazy like this when you are just waking up, my love”. A
I sit on the floor like that and cry my eyes out for the next thirty minutes at least. I only push up to my feet when my stomach growls noisily. I've not had anything to eat since morning. Washing the tear tracks on my face, I reach for my purse and make my way upstairs. I don't feel truly safe till the door to my room closes behind me. With a big sigh, I throw my bag onto the nearest furniture and make my way straight towards the bathroom, shedding off my clothes on the way. By the time I get there, I'm totally naked and I don't even wait for the bath to fill up before I lower myself into it. I run the tap onto my body and into the tub simultaneously, the sound of the water zoning me out.I take the coldest bath I can manage and throw on a comfortable pair of pants and a tank top. And then I settle down on my dining table and eat the meal that must have been brought into my room earlier. As I sit there alone, and as I eat, I realize that I feel even more alone than usual. I ignore th
The days go by in various shades of grey. Nothing seems to please me anymore and I'm not interested in doing a lot of things. In the days, I just try to occupy my time by immersing myself in work and in the nights, I go to bed early and cry myself to sleep. Draaven has come around a few times but if there's anywhere below a zero, that's exactly where my energy was. He seems to be worried about me but I just want to be left alone.It's only now that she's gone that I realize that there isn't much that I do without her. She's always present in my days and my activities, from the simplest tasks like getting my bath water ready to more complex things like sorting out my schedules and planning my days. I had thought I'd be able to do it on my own at first but each time I did it, I only realized how hard it was actually organizing a schedule. And I had gotten so frustrated that I had cried my eyes out again and damned Edna for leaving me all alone in this place. On most days, my dinners are
Suddenly, it feels like a huge picture has been painted in front of me. And right now, everything seems to make sense a thousand times more.The deaths.Edna.Adrian.Me.It was all a big web woven by Adrian to trap all of us in. He manipulated and used Edna's feelings so he could in turn get to me. Everything is an interconnected web of plans….and right there at the end of it, supposedly the prize of the day is me. But to what end? During our few interactions, I personally don't think Adrian has ever shown more than the usual interest in me. This is all coming as one big surprise. How long has he been weaving this web? How long ago did all of this even start?“Oh….oh..my God…..”. That's all I can say as everything dawns on me. Edna looks at me with a small smile on her face. “You understand everything now, don't you?”. I do, I've never seen a clearer picture. I remember my mind going to Edna as Adrian had professed his so-called feelings. I had wondered to myself what exactly was ha
My breath hitches in my chest at her words but I make sure not to show too many emotions or express how deeply her words have surprised me. She takes another swig of her wine and sighs heavily.“I loved that bastard”. She says with a chuckle but I hear the pain in her voice. “And he damn well took advantage of that”. She goes back to being quiet and I wait for her to continue. When she doesn't, I realize I can't wait forever. I need answers now. So I begin some questioning of my own.“What happened? Tell me everything that happened between the both of you….and how exactly we landed here”. She lets out another sigh before talking.“We met shortly after he arrived. He was an asshole but….”. She chuckles and turns to me. “... y'know….back in the guild, they always told me something. Based off my dating history, they told me that I was always attracted to the scums of the earth”. She chuckles deeper. “I've proven them right once again”. I don't share in the laugh and when it dies down, sh