[Knight’s POV]By the time I get feeling back in my body, Sebastian has finished his task, and without the silver bullet in my body, I begin to heal. However, my rage and worry remain as Tatiana isn’t with me.“Thanks,” I huff now, getting up from my place on the bed. “But I need to go.”“And do what?” Sebastian asks seriously. “Do you think you’ll stand a chance against an entire syndicate?”“If that is what it takes,” I respond. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to allow them to keep Tatiana.”Since it was clear that Giovani and Massimo were the enemy, there was no fucking way I was going to believe that what they were doing was to help Tatiana.“You’re going to need help,” Sebastian continues. “And you have help here." As he speaks, he motions at the group around him. “All you have to do is ask.”Frowning, I take in the rag-tag group and can’t help but wonder exactly what they were going to be able to do to help me. Maybe they didn’t know, but Onyx River and Obsidian River were huge. I
[Knight’s POV]I turn to move, but stop as a cry sounds out from the other room. Eyes widening, I find myself rushing out and toward where the sound is coming from. When I arrive at my destination, I find her awake and screaming in her crib.Feeling my heart squeeze painfully, I pick her up and cuddle her against me while I thank the goddess that she is in one piece after what happened the day before.“You’re hungry, huh?” I murmur, beginning to look around until I can find some formula and bottles. "Sorry, it isn’t your moms, but this will have to do,” I continue, beginning to read the instructions on the back of the tin.Once I manage to get a bottle together, I begin to feed her while my panic over Tatiana continues to grow. And despite myself, I can’t stop myself from wondering what I would do if something had already happened to her.Sensing my unease, Octavia begins to whine, and when she breaks into a full-out cry, Winley comes rushing in.“What are you doing to her?” She deman
[Tatiana’s POV]Pain radiates through me as I slowly begin to regain consciousness, only to find that I’m truly in this hell and it wasn’t all a bad dream. After beating the shit out of me, Fernando had me sent to a small cell that only had a small cot and pot the piss in where I would stay until the next day when our wedding would be taking place.Groaning, I slowly sit up and peek toward the hall beyond my bars to find that it is empty. What time was it anyway? I didn’t know, but I was sure that it had to be morning given the noise that was erupting from the other cells around me. That meant that guards would be coming to get me at any time, and then I would be forced to be that bastard Fernando’s bride.Feeling my panic beginning to grow, I wait until the sound of footsteps reaches me. Bracing myself, I wait for two guards to appear and open my door before surging forward and attacking.It hurts like hell to move thanks to my being beaten by a silver whip, but I don’t give a shit.
[Knight’s POV] “Is this the place?” Sebastian asks, eyeing the large electric fence in front of us. Since Crystal Fang agreed to help with rescuing Tatiana, we didn’t waste any time getting to the edge of Onyx River, where we now stood staring up at the large gate keeping the pack in and us out. “It is,” I confirm, tentatively reaching out to feel the pulse of energy from the gate. “Tatiana should be somewhere in here.” “And if she isn’t?” Ronda asks, coming to stand beside me. “Then what?” “We find her,” I shrug. From the very beginning, the mission was to find Tatiana, no matter what. Fixing my gaze forward, I begin to extend my senses throughout the territory, searching for Tatiana’s familiar energy, but when I come up empty-handed, I frown. “What is it?” Sebastian asks, eyeing me suspiciously. “Don’t fucking tell me you were wrong.” “No, I…” I begin but stop as an arrow comes flying toward us, followed by a spray of bullets that make us move to hide behind trees to avoid b
[Tatiana’s POV]I freeze and stare on in disbelief as I try to process this change of events, but before I can think too hard about it, pain shoots through my stomach.Gasping, I snap my gaze to Knight, whose paws have blood on them, and then to Fernando, whose stomach is bleeding.‘No,’ I hiss through mindlink as Knight makes to attack again. ‘Don’t!’As the words escape me, Knight snaps his gaze at me before Fernando attacks, sending him flying into a pew.Eyes widening, I make to follow but stop as Fernando’s hand wraps around my throat.“You’ve been naughty,” he growls, ignoring the chaos that is going on behind us. “But that’s fine. You’ve already been bound to me, so if they attempt to kill me, you’ll die too.”At his words, my heart drops because I know that he is right. Swallowing, I turn my gaze to where Knight is straightening up and preparing to attack again.‘Stop!’ I gasp as he surges forward. ‘If you kill him, I’ll die too.’At my words, Knight freezes and looks at me in
[Massimo’s POV]I stare at the area around me, taking in the casualties from that bastard Knight’s rescue mission. Beside me, I can feel Giovani stewing and can't help but feel amusement toward him being one-upped by someone he thought he was better than.“Useless,” he hisses, kicking one of the bodies. "All utterly useless."“Then isn’t it better that they’re dead?” I ask before turning my gaze to Fernando. “Anyway, the one who benefits from losing such shitty guards is that one there.”Remaining silent, Giovani turns his gaze to the man, who is too damn calm considering what just happened. For a moment, I find myself wishing I knew what he was thinking, but then decide that it isn’t any of my business.“What do you plan to do now to save this alliance?” I ask Giovani conversationally.“You’re going to get that girl back,” he responds easily. "Otherwise, you will be held accountable for what happened.”“Me?” I repeat, raising a brow. “And how is this my fault?”“Because you had her i
[Tatiana’s POV]I don’t speak as Knight takes me in with so much damn hope in his eyes that it makes me want to go along with whatever it is that he wants, but I know that making a decision like that could end badly.“Let’s…” I begin, deciding that this would be the best way to do things. “Start over.”I knew that it was ridiculous to be saying something like this when we had so much history, but if we were to move forward, we would have to get past all the pain and suffering.“Start over,” Knight repeats, not looking pleased. “Like from the very beginning.”“That’s right,” I respond. “From the day you found me in that cage, waiting for my fate.”At my words, a grimace crosses Knight’s features, and I’m sure that he is remembering that pathetic girl who stared back at him from behind those bars. Back then, I was sure neither of us could have guessed how our lives would entwine.“Then should I ask someone to purchase you?” He asks, quirking a smile. “That’s what started all of this, wa
[Knight’s POV]I make my way into the meeting room of Crystal Fang, where I am sure their alpha, Desmond, will be waiting for me. As I move, I fight the urge to go back to Tatiana and Octavia. Despite knowing that she was safe here with me now, I couldn’t stop the panic I felt when she wasn’t in my sight.Fuck, I really was already in deep, and now that I was letting all these pesky emotions in, there was no going back.Grumbling to myself, I continue to move until I reach my destination. As I enter, I find the man I’m looking for sitting at his desk with his laptop open, and his expression is grim. Sebastian and Ronda, who sit together on one side of the room, don’t look too great either.Immediately I go on alert as I venture further into the room until all eyes come to rest on me, and by the looks of sympathy I receive, I know whatever is on that screen has to do with me.“What?” I ask, continuing to move until I can take a seat across from Desmond. “What is it?”For a moment, Desm
[Tatiana’s POV]My heart races as I stare at the name that flashes on my phone. Massimo. Was it really him calling me right now, or was it someone else pretending to be him? I didn’t know, but I wanted to find out.“Answer it.” Knight’s voice is firm, and it snaps me out of my daze. “We’ve been looking for that bastard for five years, and here he is calling you like it's nothing.”I don’t miss the hint of distrust in his voice as he speaks, but for the time being, I didn’t want to deal with it. The most important thing was answering this call and figuring out if it truly was Massimo reaching out to communicate with me or not.Sucking in a breath, I swipe to answer and bring the phone to my ear, then wait.“Little fairy.” Massimo rasps as what sounds like bottle clatter in the background. “Is that you?”Eyes widening, I realize that the person on the other end is, in fact, Massimo, and he was actually calling.“Is it him?” Knight asks slowly, clearly trying to keep his temper in check.
Three Years Later[Knight’s POV]“Daddy, look the ocean!”Octavia’s lips turn into a bright smile as she lets her eyes come to rest on the sparkling blue water in front of us. This was the first time she had ever been to the beach, so of course she was excited.“I want to swim!”As the words leave her lips, she attempts to rush forward but stops as Tatiana reaches down and grabs her wrist.“Careful!” I hiss, not missing the way she wobbles forward due to her large belly. “You’re going to fall and hurt yourself!”“I’ll be fine,” she insists, giving me a look of annoyance. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been pregnant.”Wincing, I try not to think about that time when I abandoned her when she truly needed me the most. I was a fucking fool back then, and it cost me a year with the woman I love the most and the first two months of my daughter's life.That was why this time around I was doing everything, from attending every single doctor's appointment to doing everything Tatiana needed me
A Year Later[Knight’s POV]“Daddy!”The tiny voice reaches me before arms are wrapping around my leg. Looking down, I take in Octavia as she grins up at me. She looks adorable in her golden dress, with her hair done up into a tiny ponytail at the top of her head.Since she began to walk, no one could stop her from getting where she wanted. She was a little escape artist, and I was certain her nanny would appear soon with a look of annoyance on her features.“Up!” She insists, holding up her arms.Nodding, I do as she says before turning to Desmond, whom I had been talking to moments prior.“Typical,” he chuckles. “The minute your girls are involved, no one else exists.”“As it should be,” I agree. “Why would I want to pay attention to an old fart like you when such a beauty is in front of me?”This was the first time I had seen Desmond in months, and he was busy telling me about how things were going back at Crystal Fang. I realized that things were going back to normal after what ha
[Knight’s POV]I stare into Tatiana’s eyes, trying to determine whether or not I heard her correctly. How was it possible that someone could be given this much fucking happiness at once? Especially a sinner like me?“Well?” She asks, looking shy. “Will you?”Would I? Of course I fucking would! But would she regret asking me to do it in the future? We still had such a long way to go in our relationship, but right now we never felt closer. However, anything could happen in the blink of an eye, and everything would come crumbling down.“Knight,” she continues when I don’t speak. “Look at me.”Reaching up, Tatiana grabs my cheeks and makes me look into her beautiful golden eyes, which can’t be outdone by the sun itself. They were perfect, she was perfect, and somehow she was all mine.“I want you to mark me,” she continues. “I want the world to know that I’m yours and you are mine. If I’ve learned anything from the past year, it is that tomorrow isn’t promised. Many were lost so that we c
[Tatiana’s POV]I wrap a robe around my still-dripping body and then pull my hair over my shoulder. After my day, I felt disgusting, and a hot shower was exactly what I needed, but despite knowing that things were going in the direction that they were supposed to, something was still nagging at me.Massimo.What exactly happened to him, and why couldn’t anyone find any sort of sign of him? It was almost as if he had disappeared or never existed at all.Letting out a sigh, I try to shake off my thoughts and head out of the bathroom to find Knight laying in bed waiting for me.“About time,” he says as his eyes begin to take me in and grow darker. “I was about to go in and check on you.”“Sorry for making you wait,” I say, taking a seat beside him and reaching for my hairbrush. “I was just…”“Needing some privacy?” He offers, making me flinch. Fuck, had he read my thoughts? “I told you that I have all my best men looking for him.”I knew that it probably hurt Knight to know that I was th
[Knight’s POV]I remain silent as Tatiana takes the lead with our ceremony, and when it’s over, I truly feel as though I’ve fallen in love with her all over again. How was it possible that my little caged princess became such a fucking queen in the short span of a year? I was both excited to see what the future brought and disappointed that I would never get to see her shy expressions again.Back then, she was so fucking lovely that it damn near killed me to stay away from her. However, now she was just as lovely but not as innocent. At least, that was what I thought, but the minute we are allowed to leave and we are alone, there it is, that shy and embarrassed expression.“You did well,” I beam, pulling her against me. “Better than well. You were amazing.”“Was I?” She asks, clearly upset over her kill.“Remember that it was to make a point.”We already agreed that the first show of rebellion would be dealt with, and she did fucking amazing in keeping to that. After all the betrayals
[Tatiana’s POV]A week passed since the battle with Onyx River, and since then, both my uncle and Fernando have been placed in the dungeon to await their trials. Of course, my uncle would be tried for the deaths of not only my parents but many others, and while Fernando had done his fair share of horrible deeds since I was still blood-bound to him, there was no way he could be killed.“Are you ready?” Knight asks me as I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I’m dressed in a long black button-down with a leather vest and black pants, and my long red hair is pulled into a ponytail at the nape of my neck. This is the typical look for a leader who is in mourning. “If you’re nervous, I can…”“No,” I say, giving him a smile. “I can do this. I need to do this.”Now that my uncle was where he belonged and Massimo was nowhere to be found, Onyx River, Obsidian River, and even Hunters Moon were without alphas, and now was the time for Knight and I to come together to lead all three packs.This
[Tatiana’s POV]I watch as my uncle’s body shifts from human to a large black wolf with a powerful aura that presses against my skin, trying to urge me to bow. Fighting it, I prepare to attack again but feel my energy fading due to the collar around my throat.Dammit, I needed to get this damned thing off of me, but I didn’t know how. Feeling my annoyance flare, I watch as Knight attacks again, slamming his body into my uncle so that they both go crashing to the side.As they begin to straighten themselves out, my uncle bites the nape of Knight’s neck and then jerks his head, throwing him in my direction.With wide eyes, I watch as he flies toward me and then slams into my body.‘Why didn’t you move?’ He demands when we hit the ground. ‘Get it together.’Right. I needed to get out of my head and get moving. I couldn’t let the fact I couldn’t tap into my abilities stop me. There had to be something I could do.‘That collar,’ Knight says. ‘It’s blocking your shifting, right?’‘Right,’ I
[Knight’s POV]I stare ahead, watching Tatiana get attacked by multiple wolves while my vision fades in and out. Fuck, I need to move, but I can’t seem to get control of my body.‘Our mate,’ Bane whines, urging me to go. ‘Help her.’‘I’m trying…’ I huff, finding it drains me to even respond to my wolf. ‘I just…’The rest of my words fade as the world fades, and the last thing I see before the darkness consumes me is Tatiana shifting back to her human form while her uncle stares down at her with a look of satisfaction on his face.“I’m sorry. I failed you.”I don’t know how long I’m out for after that, but the sound of glass shattering and then hands touching me rouse me again, and I find Desmond and Geraldo pulling me out of the remains of my car."Fuck!" Desmond hisses as he takes me in. “They did a number to you, kid.”“Are you surprised?” Geraldo counters.Ignoring their hit, I shift my gaze in the direction I last saw Tatiana and find that no one is there.“Tatiana,” I gasp, attem