My duties resume immediately I'm back. In the coming days I attend at least three meetings and I go through different proposals for the territory. From the little Draaven told me, there's been some disturbance on the West and plans for extra security are fervently being made. I see him every now and then, focused and intent on being the good leader that he is, but instead of feeling intimidated by his demeanor like I used to, I just feel so much pride and joy watching him go about his day. We've also been spending more time together.No matter how busy he is, he always makes room for some time for me. We spend most of our evenings together now, having dinner together and then proceeding to either his room or mine later. Some of his clothes are even in my room and mine are in his too. We are closer than we have ever been and I'm happy than I've ever been too. Today is the day I meet with the women of the alpha's court, the wives of the men of the council. It was never my intention to, b
I'm confused at the sight of Rosa. She's dressed in a white tulle dress with a dramatic train and on her head is a fascinator the size of tray. Her hands are clad in lacy gloves and her neck and wristd are adorned with huge strings of pearls. She like like she might have tried just a little too hard to impress and I don't even say that from a place of jealousy. These ladies are all dressed extravagantly but she just looks downright ridiculous. That aside, what's she even doing here? I thought this was the association of Council Men's Wives. “Oh sweet Rosa. You are so late”. Erin croons and rushes forward and they wrap each other in a light embrace and blow kisses on either sides of their faces. Erin ushers her in and they come to a stop in front of me. “I told you the Luna would be joining us today. You shouldn't have come so late”. She berates her lightly. “My bad, I totally forgot”. Rosa says, her cold stare on my face. The more I stare back, the more I realize that she actually d
My body goes rigid with shock as I take in the scene in front of me. It's only after a few seconds that the realizations of the horror before me sinks and my throat finally opens up. And so I scream. My feet take me back instinctively as the blood curling sound emits from me. With another step, my knees give out under me and I collapse onto the floor in a helpless heap. That's when I hear the footsteps behind me as the ladies rush in. I can't tear my eyes off the body but I hear the very audible gasp behind me as they take in the sight. And simultaneously, a couple of them let out shrill, traumatized screeches while I hear retching sounds from another group. Everyone is just as shocked as I am. Lying down there in a heap of the red fabric of her dress is Regina, and her neck is bent at an awkward angle. Her skin and lips are tinged blue, a clear indication that she was poisoned. But that's not all. Her neck has also been broken and I'm pretty sure that I see a piece of white something
I lay my head on his chest and his arms wrap tighter around me in comfort. This is all I've wanted all day. For him to hold me and let me show the most vulnerable, affection seeking side of me. I'm tired of putting up the strong facade, I really am. “How do you feel now?”. He whispers. I think about how I feel first before I reply. “I'm restless. Calm….but restless”. He plants a kiss on my forehead lovingly. I continue. “I just feel like…. something isn't right. This whole situation really seems off….and eerily familiar”. “Hey….”. He holds me at arm's length and looks me in the eye. “....we are going to get to the bottom of this, I promise you, baby”. I let a small smile spread on my lips. Of course he makes everything better, I trust him. “The detective will want to talk to you. Are you fine with that?”. “Totally”. I say with a little sigh. “I'll help in any way I can to ensure that we get to the bottom of this”. “He should be here soon. We should meet him outside”. I hesitate
At the end of the interrogation, I'm shaking. I head towards my room, wrapping my robe tighter around my body as I make my way through the halls. My ears roar, the omegas greet me when I pass them by but I'm not even capable of replying. When I get to my room, I slam the door shut and collapse onto the nearest settee. My hands shake on my thighs and I have to physically restrain them to stop. The detective didn't even have to say much, I figured exactly where he was headed. He thinks I have something to do with the murders. As much as I think about it, it does seem peculiar? Why does this kind of stuff only happen around me, the first and second time. Could that just be a mere coincidence? I think back to when I was poisoned and I realize that nothing is really a mistake or a coincidence in this place. This is the eerie feeling I've been having all along that I couldn't put a finger on, the fact that these things keep happening around me. The detective merely did his job and if I'm be
I head towards Draaven's room, the blood roaring in my veins. Adrian's words echo in my head, her name was Lilly. She was his first mate and his first love, I look very much like her and he's only like this with me because I remind him of her. I try to tell myself that he's lying, that's what Adrian does best after all. But the more I repeat the words in my head, the more they make sense. Being called a cheap replacement so many times….it all makes sense now. Perhaps I should let it go. He has been nothing short of loving to me, the past doesn't matter. But even as I say those words, I don't believe myself. I need to know, I need to hear from him if all of this is true. I burst into his quarters without knocking and I see that he's in a meeting with Luca. They are seated around his center table and there's a map of the territory between them. He looks up as I enter and I see it on his face when he immediately notices that something is wrong. “We'll continue this tomorrow”. He says a
I kiss him back desperately, clawing at his tie to get to his skin faster. I need him, I need his touch. He's not going easy either as his arms snakes around my waist to pulls me up. With one hand, he carries me to the bedroom, not once breaking the kiss. I do the honours of undoing his buttons one by one and when his shirt finally comes off, my palms splay on the scarred skin of his chest, loving the rough feel of him. He throws me down on the bed and I scramble back to make space for him while he in turn, undoes the zipper of his pants. The hem of my nightdress has hiked all the way up my legs, baring the flimsy thong I'm wearing underneath. He lowers his body onto the bed and begins to trail the most feather light kisses on my body. He starts with my neck and progressively makes his way down, darting his tongue across all the sensitive parts of my body that he's aware of. I rest both of my legs on his shoulders, giving him the perfect view of every inch of my thigh and legs. He con
I walk into the executive meeting the next day in high spirits. The last time something like this happened, I definitely didn't feel this way and that's because I didn't have Draaven on my side then. Knowing that he's with me now, I genuinely feel like he might be my anchor after all. I could walk into a den of enemies if I have him by my side. When I enter, the council of elders get up to their feet and bow, grudgingly if I may add. A lot of people in this pack seem to have accepted my presence by now but this council might just be toughest. Without saying a word, I can tell that they are still not open to me in any way. I settle into the seat by right of the head chair and wait for Draaven. When he steps in with Luca, we all get up to our feet and bow accordingly too. He has his game face on but that doesn't intimidate me one bit anymore. Instead, it warms my heart to know that the sweet soft part of him is reserved for only me. As he walks past my seat, it comes as a surprise when
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