Her heart sank with every passing second, disappointment settling heavily in her chest."Cool? That's all?" she muttered— the words tasting bitter on her tongue. What did his response even mean? She had expected more from him, perhaps some concern or questions about her decision, but the casual acceptance left her feeling hollow and unimportant.Biting down on her lower lip, she fought the urge to ask him to explain himself further. She didn't want to appear desperate or needy especially when he was merely following her words even though her heart screamed for more clarity.Instead, she turned her irritated eyes to her phone and swiftly powered it off, shoving it into her pocket to silence its intrusive presence.A frustrated groan escaped her lips as she hurriedly made her way home. The once-familiar surroundings seemed alien to her now, despite it being only a few days since she had left. Her emotions churned within her, causing her to clench her hand into a tight fist, trying to c
Ashlyn turned to find Elijah standing there.Ashlyn's attention shifted abruptly as she sensed someone's presence behind her. The air crackled with tension. She turned to find Elijah standing there— his smile failing to reach his eyes. A dangerous intensity simmered beneath his gaze, as if storms brewed in the depths of his soul. His narrowed eyes focused on both Ashlyn and James, sending a chill down James's spine.Raising an eyebrow, Ashlyn wondered what had gotten into Elijah. But then her gaze followed his, landing on James's hand. Reacting as if jolted by electricity, Ashlyn instinctively moved away from James.Awkwardly, James tried to diffuse the tension."Well, I've already wasted enough time here. I'll go and lend a hand." His voice betrayed a hint of unease.With his hand on his chest, he rushed off as though he was running away from something vicious. Ashlyn's attention that was on James's back was pulled back to Elijah when he placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her
Leah's eyes met with Samuel's, and her breathing was stuck in her throat. Samuel stared at her with deep intensity, and she couldn't deny the tension between both of them, urging her to pull him closer to her.Leah's desire and rationality was fighting in her head. Although she knew how it was wrong of her to entertain any such ideas and that no matter how she felt, such a relationship between her and Samuel would be impossible, she was tempted to cross the line.But before she had the chance to get herself in check and push him away, the man supported her head up and pressed down his lips on hers. Leah's eyes widened at that.She struggled for a second before being unable to fight back and giving in to the moment.°°°Ashlyn watched over the vaccination site for a while. For the most part, her eyes were on Elijah. She watched him, moving around and taking care of everything. She had to admit that the man looked attractive with his solemn expression as he worked.His sleeves were fold
Ashlyn's paws pounded against the earth as she ran towards the direction of her pack. She was quickly followed by the rest of the warrior wolves. Their worried voices rang through her head.'No wonder it was so easy to handle. Their target wasn't Redfur pack in the first place.''Indeed. They wanted us to be distracted, so that they could take the chance to attack our pack.''This was a miscalculation. Hopefully, we will be able to reach on time. There is barely anyone left to protect the pack.'Ashlyn blocked them off in order to not let the anxiety oozing off of them to affect her. Everyone increased their pace, so that they would be able to reach the pack's vicinity on time.At that time, James contacted her.'How long will it take for you to reach here, Commander? The situation in bad here. We are outnumbered.'Ashlyn responded, 'Keep calm, and concentrate on protecting the pack.'°°°Elijah stared at his Alpha. A deep frown formed on the Alpha's face. He was getting ready to go o
The tension in the air was thickening, and she could feel the murderous aura off of her brother. This genuinely made her wonder about what Elijah could have possibly done.The warrior wolves returned with only negative news. They couldn't find a sign of Elijah or Rose. That caused the Alpha's face to worsen.Ashlyn took it upon herself to search for Elijah next. Going through all the possible places he could be at, something struck her, and she rushed over to his laboratory.Unknown to everyone, there was an underground section constructed. If he couldn't be found, there was a high chance of him hiding there.She turned on the mechanism, revealing a passageway that led to the underground. She closed the door behind her before walking down the stairs.Unbeknownst to her, Ashlyn prioritized protecting her mate over her loyalty to her brother. And within her chest, there was a fear working, hoping that everything will go fine with Elijah.Of course, since Elijah had made his move, that m
Ashlyn's eyes fell on Elijah next, feeling conflicted inside."The Alpha will eventually catch up," Ashlyn said."No one knows of this place except you," he stated.Ashlyn ran her hand through her hair, frustrated. She didn't want to be involved with this any longer and voiced out, "I will pretend I don't know about you, and you better get this done by today."Elijah smiled at her and was about to say something, but she wasn't in the mood to listen to anything. She turned her back on him and was about to leave the place.Ashlyn hated how she was so concerned about him while he acted so casually about it. No matter how leniently her brother treated Elijah, doing this behind his back and dealing with his mate in this manner will end up being positive for Elijah.Just as Ashlyn was about to open the hidden door, she heard the steps and shifting in the room. That made her pause and quieten her movements.She waited for them to leave.At the same time, she heard Elijah question the Luna. E
All the ruckus that was happening outside reached Leah's ear, and she opened the window to see the vicious sight. Leah grabbed on to the window sill, unable to make a decision.Leah knew that she was a weak wolf and wouldn't be of any help if she got down there. At most, she will only be slowing everyone down. She also felt scared by the sight.At the same time, she was worried about Ashlyn. It had been quite a period of time since she had last seen her best friend, and she wondered how Ashlyn was handling everything. She wanted to see if Ashlyn was doing well and nothing happened to her.Leah decided to mentally contact Samuel, knowing that he would have a better solution to this. These days, she started to subconsciously rely on that man a lot. The thought of him brought a soft smile on her face.Just then, the door to her room opened, and she turned her head to find James standing over there. His disheveled state reflected well about the state of the pack."Commander ordered me to
Ashlyn searched through the pack house and the room she was locked in. Next, she tried to locate Leah's smell, but it was too faint for her to properly focus on it.Samuel and her went through nearby areas, but there was no sign of the redhead. At the same time, although great damages had been inflicted on the pack, the condition was stabilizing.Most of those who had gone feral were now tranquilized, and their body was tied up before being moved to a safe place. The tranquilizer had a long lasting effect, and Ashlyn knew that a ruckus would break out once the effect diminished.Also, the dead bodies of the pack members were being collected and properly handled. Their family members grieved on the sidelines. There was too much to take care of, and they lacked when it came to helping hands.Therefore, everyone was out working, trying to fix up the mess the pack was in. However, everyone knew that after this tragedy, it would take the pack months to restore back to its previous state.E
Although the state of the pack was devastating, they were holding off better than what they had originally anticipated. The casualties suffered on their side were much less.After Ashlyn killed another one of the pack's leader, she tried to mind-link Samuel, deeply hoping that nothing had happened to him. However, she wasn't able to get connected to him.There were no signs of him around here according to the pack warriors.Also she hadn't heard anything from her brother as well.Elijah had dealt with a fair share of werewolves as well. He looked exhausted as he took the moment to catch his breath."Matthew should be where the Alpha went," Elijah expressed.Ashlyn nodded."There isn't nothing much to do here other than the cleaning up. That's why, I will go and look for the Alpha," Elijah expressed."Do that then."Elijah patted on her head before disappearing.°°°Sebastian held his mate in his hand protectively. Her breathing was weak, and she was unconscious. She was covered in wou
When Samuel learned that they were going to attack the pack tomorrow, he was beyond shocked and sent into panic. He thought that at least they would take a week or so more.They explained the plan to them, and all the pack members were under their mind control. All of them were stimulated enough with drugs to stay awake for at least a week straight, and the dosage will be increased during the fight in order to unlock their full potential.In order to not seem entirely suspicious, Samuel took the drug a couple of times, and he could feel how powerful it was. It took all of his will to not let himself be controlled by the drug. There were times he felt he was out of his senses, but his willpower was strong enough to allow him to maintain his consciousness. The way it provided him energy, he could understand how draining the drug will be on his body, and once he is totally hollowed out, there is nothing else other than death for him.Everyone was administered the drug for today, and Sam
Ashlyn and Elijah imprisoned Daniel and the other important members of the pack and questioned them about the information. At first, they had tight lips, but the threats from both Ashlyn and Elijah got them to open their mouths.Although their words were filled with lies, it was easy for Ashlyn and Elijah to recognize them. That infuriated Ashlyn further, and she took out her anger at them in the most brutal ways.Most of them were half dead and senseless by the time they extracted the information, and it could be seen that Matthew was conservative on how much information he shared with them.According to what Daniel knew, Matthew approached them and offered this cooperation. They had no choice but to agree because not only did Matthew threaten them, but also promised them glory and protection. They were helpless and had to agree.Half the time, Daniel called them tyrants for acting in this manner while on the other hand, he begged for forgiveness and wanted to be spared. Ashlyn had
When Daniel offered them to stay the night in the pack, Elijah and Ashlyn didn't refuse, believing that would allow them to inspect the pack more.Once the dinner was done, they were led to their rooms. Ashlyn and Elijah shared a room whereas Rose had hers. Both of them didn't care much about Rose being alone although the Alpha ordered them specifically to make sure that their Luna is fine.Ashlyn was too disgusted to face her and wasn't sure if she would be able to control her emotions. And it's not like anything would happen to her in this pack.In the dead of the night, Elijah and Ashlyn sneaked out and searched around the pack's vicinity, trying to find anything important. There was nothing much found.But they noticed the strict security system, which was odd given how the members in the pack lacked training and resources. And most of the pack members remained in their houses. There was a sort of gloominess present.Other than that, there wasn't much important clues, and they did
Three of them set off for the Dream Pack with Daniel the next day. The Dream Pack was situated pretty far from their pack, so it took them quite a while to reach.Once they reached the pack, they could see how the pack was noticeably smaller than other packs, and there wasn't much population as well. It seemed like a pretty inconspicuous pack, and it made sense why Matthew would choose this pack to hide at.They were warmly greeted inside. And as they were being led towards the pack house, Ashlyn looked around, trying to find any suspicious signs. However, everything appeared pretty normal.Most of the children showed fear towards Ashlyn, and they stayed away from her presence. It can be seen that her reputation had spread here.Once they were in the pack house, they were given meals, and after they rested for about half an hour, Elijah and Ashlyn asked the Alpha for a tour of the pack. They wanted to discuss some matters as well.At the same time, Elijah warned Rose: "Be here. Don't
"No matter how much I think about it, it doesn't make sense for the Alpha and you to agree along with cooperating with Dream Pack. There has to definitely be a reason behind it," Ashlyn commented, waiting outside of the Alpha's office with Elijah.Her brother, Sebastian, was having a talk inside with Daniel Waters. Seeing how long the conversation between them was going on, it genuinely made her wonder whether there was anything this worthy to chat about. Of course, Elijah was instructed to keep an eye on Ashlyn and keep her out in case she ran her mouth randomly and acted a little too disrespectfully. And no matter how curious Ashlyn was, she wasn't able to able to have a peek into their conversation.Elijah stared at her with amusement in his eyes."What makes you think that?" he questioned.She slapped on his arm and ordered, "Be honest or else I am going to be really upset.""When was I not being honest? You can't keep on falsely blaming me and ruining my reputation. I need a com
Ashlyn and Elijah stepped out of the room, leaving the rest of the troubles for Sebastian to deal with. Sebastian was calmer and more collected than them. He will be able to ease the situation well without being taken advantage of.Elijah bought two ice creams and handed over the chocolate flavored one to Ashlyn. Ripping open the cover of the ice-cream, she took a bite out of the cream, making Elijah almost cringe at the scene."How are you feeling? Have you calmed down?" Elijah asked."I don't know. I should have felt better if I managed to get a few lives on my hand. It's a pity," she commented.Elijah nodded, agreeing along with her statement."It's not too late to go back and end their lives if you feel like it. I can help you," Elijah offered.A slight smile appeared on Ashlyn's face."It's weird to have you on my side. It's the first time you didn't get mad at me for acting violently. Usually, wouldn't you call me short-tempered and rash?" Ashlyn said."Wasn't that because I was
Although the Alpha of the White Flame pack was frightened at Elijah's threat and could see that he very much meant to do it, he knew that he had to maintain his momentum. Knowing that almost everyone in this room was on his side gave him a boost of courage.No matter how powerful Elijah was, it's not like he could actually go against him here in front of everyone.He had to give him some face.Slapping his hand off the table, the Alpha tried to maintain his bearing and stood up straight, shouting, "How audacious! You are just a Beta! How dare you try to disrespect an Alpha? You should be punished for your actions."Elijah gave him a mocking chuckle."What a joke. Do you think there is any meaning to leading such a weak pack?" This caused the Alpha to be at a loss of words.Sebastian stepped in to rectify the situation and vocalized, "Elijah, that's it. Don't go too far."The other Alphas were about to gloat how even Sebastian had to put them into consideration when he added, "Ashlyn
The next day, emails were sent to the couple of the pack alphas. At first, they were all skeptical of the sudden message sent, and knowing how their email was only shared within a certain circle, they thought that the email should be of great importance and opened it.The title of the email attracted them as well.'If you want to save your pack.'Currently, all of their packs have been going through great turmoil, and they were desperate to keep both the pack and the pack members safe. Even if this could potentially turn out to be a prank, they didn't hesitate before clicking the email.What's the worst that can happen?The content of the email was well written.It started with how this was written on the behalf of the northern packs and stated how they were apologetic for the recent massacre that happened. Apparently, it wasn't in their intentions to bring them such troubles, and this was the result of their failure and helplessness.Although the mail was trying to express humbleness