SophiaPain courses through me as Mikhail’s teeth sink into my neck, but there’s a strange comfort in it. It’s the pain of the bond being sealed, the pain of finally belonging somewhere. The sharp sting turns into a wave of warmth that spreads through my body.As he holds me close, his teeth retracting and his tongue soothing the wound, I feel the bond snap into place. It’s overwhelming, this rush of energy and connection, but there’s also a deep sense of something that is settling somewhere deep inside my heart.His scent envelops me, grounding me in the present moment, and I find myself leaning into his touch, seeking comfort and solace in his strength.All my life, I have hoped that there would be someone in my life who would want me. For them, I wouldn't be a burden, an unwanted relation that has been forced into their life. It seems unreal that the Moon Goddess has finally answered my prayer and brought Mikhail into my life. For now, even if it is his wolf that wants me, I still
MikhailWhether it is a mate bond or whether it is something about her, she is addicting.It was like my wolf couldn't get enough of her.I had to literally drag myself away from Sophia in the morning before my crazy wolf took her again.Even though she submitted to me, it still had some kind of dominance in it. This underlying challenge should have triggered my wolf, but instead, it made him more attracted to her.Surely, this mate bond makes our wolf do crazy things.I have heard that newly mated wolves have difficulty being away from their mates, especially for the first few days. And with my wolf being an Alpha things are even complicated, as he doesn't want to let his mate out of his sight. He just wants his mate and is being possessive about her.After completing the tasks for today, I am about to leave my office to return to my house when Layla storms inside my office."You claimed her!" She sounds furious as she closes the door behind her.Leaning back in my chair, I sigh.Thi
SophiaThe last thing I remember is finishing the preparation for dinner, making sure everything was perfect for Mikhail’s return. The effort had taken its toll on me, but I wanted to surprise him.I don't have much to offer him, so I want to do whatever I can to make him feel special.I hope he likes the dinner.Afterward, I stepped outside to get some fresh air and clear my head.I must have fainted.The lack of food and exhaustion from the last night's events must have caught up with me, causing me to faint.Before I can fully gather my thoughts, I hear a deep voice, and the scent that accompanies it is unmistakable.Mikhail.I can feel he is talking to someone else, but after a moment, I feel his hand lightly touching my body, and a low growl emits from him.Fighting the remains of unconsciousness, I open my eyes. My eyes instantly connect with Mikhail's, and it seems like they are looking through me instead of at me.His face is so close to mine, and his hands run across my body
MikhailMy wolf thrashed in me when we heard the pack doctor tell us how underweight she was. She almost seems starved. Now, when I recall how small and fragile she felt in my arms last night, it makes me wonder how it is possible that I overlooked her condition. I can't stop myself from touching her just to confirm the truth behind the doctor's words. I could literally count her ribs when I ran my fingers across her skin.How was my wolf so blinded in the craze of mating bond that we didn't notice this earlier?I have asked Alexei to make sure she is comfortable here, so what is she trying to prove by not eating?When I inquired about her lack of eating, Her answer stunned me. I hadn't considered that she would wait for permission to do something as basic as eating. This makes me wonder what kind of treatment she has gotten in her pack. From her confusion, it seems like she has also been deprived of basic freedoms, like eating.I should not care about it, but something in me stir
SophiaYou will fulfill all the duties of a mate because that is what you are required to do. You will give my wolf what he wants from you.His words keep echoing in my mind, but my heart refuses to acknowledge them because it still believes there will be more to this mate bond. Maybe if I continue to give him what his wolf want then one day even he will see that what we have is much more than these primal needs.I don't want to deny him anything because I am afraid to lose him. He is my mate; he is all I have. I will do whatever I have to do to keep him happy and safe. And it is not that he is forcing me to do something, he has been very careful of my needs and always make sure that I am fine. He is taking what is rightfully his as my mate.He makes me feel cherished... a feeling I never knew.Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath when his hands grab the length of my skirt and pull it up bunching it around my waist. A cold breeze touches my bare skin, causing goosebumps to rise on
MikhailDeath.No matter how much you see, still, you can never get used to it. Losing one of yours is never easy. Their death haunts you. I have lost my entire pack in the past, and I have seen numerous deaths of my own. Yet each life that I lose takes away a piece of my soul of mine and fills it with darkness.These wolves—these people—are mine. They are my responsibility, and I have failed them by not being able to protect them.If I hadn't been so consumed by this mating bond, these wolves might have been alive. But what was I doing? I was busy playing mates with this girl whom I didn't even know anything about.I know it wasn't her fault, yet I can't shake off the anger that I feel towards her.There was no need behind my actions, just pure anger. I wanted to punish her, and I wanted her to feel that she was not the one in control; I was the one who controlled everything.There was this raging storm inside me, and somewhere, unknowingly, she calmed that storm.A small part of me
Sophia I have never known my mother, nor do I have any idea how she looked apart from the knowledge that she had beautiful long hair. But when I was around five years old, I had a dream. In that dream, I heard a woman's voice whose face I couldn't see. She told me something... something that has stayed with me since then. "True power lies in being connected to your roots." I don't know who that voice was, but my heart tells me that it was my mother. I always felt a pull towards our rituals, which were performed by our ancestors, the rituals that are vanishing with time. It hurts me to think that soon a day will come when no one will be aware of our roots, our traditions. These are not mere rituals; they are our connection with our past. So when Mikhail ordered me to attend the warriors' burial, I knew I had to give them the respect they deserved. They died while protecting their people, and they deserve the burial of a true warrior. When everyone was at the clearing, I prep
MikhailThe pack members settle into their seats, utensils clinking against plates and low murmurs filling the dining hall. I can't see their faces, but I can feel the change in their feeling as the grief is slightly lessened by the comfort of knowing their brothers are in the company of the Moon Goddess. Also, somewhere, it is due to that knowledge that I have found my mate.It should not be big news because most of them are aware of my arrangement with Layla and how she is an unofficial Luna of the pack. But maybe because, like other packs, they also believe that my finding a true mate will result in a blessing for the pack; that's why they seem content.I can sense Sophia's shock as well, but she should know I haven't denied her of being my wolf's mate, nor am I going to hide this fact from my pack. No matter how I feel about this mate bond, it is true that she is my true mate... more like my wolf's true mate.The scent of Sophia's meal wafts through the air, and I can feel my pack
AnastasiaJake’s hands come up to my face and I lean into them before I even realize I’m moving. His thumbs brush against my cheeks, and then his lips are on mine.It’s soft at first, like a question, but when I kiss him back, something cracks wide open. All of it pours through that kiss... his pain, his love, his need to hold me close enough that nothing can take me from him again. And for a moment, I don’t feel hollow. I don’t feel like something missing is tearing me apart from the inside. For a moment, there’s just his kiss and the way it cradles everything I’ve been too afraid to let myself feel.I know how significant this moment is for him... for us. But even with all that warmth, guilt creeps in. I don’t deserve this. I’m the reason for all of it. His pain. His hurt.The cold emptiness where my babies used to be, is all because of me. I failed them. I failed him. And yet here he is, giving me his love anyway, like I’m still worth it.But I need him more than I’ve ever let mys
JakeI’m already outside the infirmary, pacing. My feet won’t stop moving, like if I stand still too long I’ll lose it. I couldn’t stay away. I need to be near her. I need to see her, feel her, make sure she’s still here with me.The second she left my side, the noise in my head started roaring. It’s loud, it’s messy, and it’s full of rage. My thoughts are all fire and blood, dragging me toward the edge where the beast in me waits. It whispers about revenge. About tearing through every single one of them. About making them pay for hurting my mate, for killing our pups.And God, I want that. I want it so bad I feel like I’m shaking with the force of holding it in.But I can’t let go. Not yet. Not when she needs me. Even if she won’t say it, even if she’s shutting me out, I know. I know she’s holding it together with nothing but willpower, and if I break now, it’ll pull her down with me. So I hold the monster back. For her.The door creaks open and I turn so fast it’s like my body knew
AnastasiaIf what I felt before was numb, then I don’t even know what to call this now.Not just a piece of me, but pieces of my souls. Some thing that was made with love... unintentional but still made with nothing but love.Two of mine... ours.And now there are gone.I want to feel something. Anything. Anger. Sadness. Rage. Just this emptiness that keeps stretching wider every time I try to hold on to myself.This emptness that presses into my skin and settles in my bones. I don’t even know if I’m alive... because if only breathing means that you are alive... then maybe I am. But I don't feel like one.I want to cry, but the tears don’t come. I want to scream, but my throat won’t move.I wish my heart explodes. I wish someone tears me open and leave me bleeding because even that kind of pain will be better than this silence inside me.And when I look at Jake… I don’t understand it.He’s here. Still. His eyes soft when they look at me, full of a love I don’t think I deserve. How? H
Jake"I don't know how to mourn losing something I didn't even know I had."Her voice is soft, but it hits like a punch straight to my chest. I can still hear it, playing on a loop in my head, like her words got stitched into my bones. And no matter what I do, I can’t escape them.I thought I was hurting. I thought the ache I’ve been carrying since the moment I shifted, since I felt that thread snap inside me, was the worst thing I'd ever feel. But hearing her say that, hearing the hollow emptiness in her voice… I realize my pain doesn’t even come close to what she’s feeling.When I shifted, I knew something was wrong. It wasn't like anything I’d felt before. It was like something inside me had broken and just... vanished. The moment they started growing inside her, my wolf unintentionally felt them, not clearly, not in full. Way before even I could have sensed them.Those little sparks of life connecting with mine, with my wolf.And then they were just… gone.My wolf wasn’t just tryin
AnastasiaThe world keeps spinning, people moving, voices rising, wind brushing through the trees… but I feel like I’m stuck in this weird kind of stillness. Like I’ve been dropped in the middle of a moment that doesn’t want to pass.Sophia’s lips are moving, and I know she’s talking to me, trying to reach me, but I don’t hear a single word. Nothing. Not her, not the others, not even Jake’s wolf… and I know he’s howling. I can see it in the way his body shakes, the way his mouth stretches open, raw and wild. But it’s all on mute. Like someone hit pause on the sound while everything else keeps playing.There’s this weird, heavy quietness inside me. One that screams louder than anything ever has. It drowns everything out. It presses down on my chest and wraps around my ribs and coils in my throat.I don’t see anything.I don’t hear anything.And the scariest part?I don’t feel anything.No anger.No grief.No heartbreak or rage or sadness.Just this empty, flat nothing.Like I’ve disapp
AnastasiaThe second I hear that howl, I don't even stop to think. My feet are already moving, carrying me outside like I’ve got no control over them. The pull in my chest only gets stronger with every step I take. It’s not pain exactly, but it’s this deep ache, like a part of me is missing and screaming to be whole again.I follow the sound around the side of the house, past the trees, until I reach the outskirts of the pack… and then I freeze.Jake's wolf.He’s massive, all muscle and wild fury, snarling and thrashing like a storm no one can contain. His fur bristles with rage, and his eyes... they’re completely taken over by something feral. And what the hell... chains? Actual metal chains are wrapped around him, digging into his fur as a bunch of people try to hold him down. They’re failing miserably. He yanks and shakes, sending two guys flying like rag dolls. He’s wild. Uncontrolled.I spot Mikhail standing there, tense, and beside him is Alexei, barking orders. “Get more men! H
AnastasiaI blink up at the ceiling, confused as hell for a second. My brain feels like it’s swimming through thick fog, trying to latch onto something that makes sense. The sheets under me are soft, smell faintly like lavender and old memories, and the light slipping through the curtains is warm, too warm for how cold I remember feeling.Where…?I turn my head and it all clicks into place.This room.Same pale blue curtains swaying a little from the breeze sneaking through the window. Same wooden dresser with the chipped paint. Same soft hum of nothingness outside, the kind of quiet you only get out here. It’s like I’ve time-traveled. Like someone hit rewind and dropped me right back into the past.I sit up slowly, my muscles sore but not screaming anymore. That alone messes with my head. I lift my arm, the one where I’d dug for the tracker, and stare at the skin. It’s healed. Like really healed. Smooth, with just the faintest pink mark. No blood. No torn flesh. No proof of how bad th
JakeBefore I can even blink, Anastasia throws the knife across the room and, to my horror, she digs her hand right into the wound she just made. Blood gushes out, running down her arm and dripping onto the floor. She bites her lip so hard trying not to scream that her teeth tear through the skin, blood mixing with the sweat on her face."What the hell are you doing, Anastasia?" I rasp out, my heart slamming against my ribs. I grab her wrists, trying to stop her from tearing herself apart, but she fights me like she doesn’t even hear me.Nothing I say is getting through that crazy haze she’s trapped in. It’s like she’s somewhere else, lost in her own mind, and I have no clue how to pull her out of it. Watching her hurt herself like this is ripping me apart. I’m scared outta my damn mind."I have to find it," she grits out between her teeth, her voice rough and broken. She keeps digging into her own flesh surprisingly it looks like she doesn’t even feel the pain. "He fucking can’t cont
JakeI carry Anastasia toward the cells, not loosening my hold even a little. I can hear Sophia and Mikhail following close behind, their footsteps quick but not rushed. They know something’s up even if they don’t have all the pieces yet.When we get to the old brick building, Mikhail steps around me and tells the guard to open the door. The guy fumbles with the keys for a second before the lock clicks and swings open.The place smells like metal and damp stone, but I hardly notice. All I see is her. All I feel is her heartbeat against my chest.Anastasia stirs a little and tugs at my shirt weakly.She shifts a little in my arms. "Put me down," she whispers, her voice soft but firm.My wolf snarling in protest. Every part of me wants to keep her close, safe, where nothing can get to her. Letting her go feels wrong, like I’m cutting off a piece of myself. But I can't let my own fears and emotions get in her way, undermining the strength and power she carries.So, even though it goes ag