Lila's POV Should I go to Dominic and ask him if what I heard from Julian is true or should I just sleep in my room and ponder on it by myself? There was warfare happening in my soul. Of course, I ended up pondering about it all night. And I finally concluded it was best I stayed away from Dominic. But I still gave myself the benefit of the doubt—I decided to ask Judith about it. Even if it meant guilt-tripping her until she talked, I planned to do it. Judith stopped working the moment she moved into the pack. She said it wasn’t her dream to be a nurse, but she had to deal with it because she had been protecting me. So, she started taking a course on fashion—it was her dream to become a fashion designer. Good for her, now she has a dream. I, on the other hand, still didn’t have a dream. I chose to become a nurse because it was well-paying, and it was the only stable job that could pay my mother’s debt and also grant me access to legalized loans. I chose nursing to survive. It
Dominic's POVMy wolf had been restless ever since I kissed Lila. I didn't expect to act on impulse like that—neither did he.All I knew was that I wanted to remind Juliana of where she stood, but what surprised me most was Lila retracting her kiss. Who does that? She continues to astonish me.Jonathan and I have finally narrowed down our hunt for the witches to three individuals, but records indicated that they were all deceased.Jonathan and I brainstormed, and it became clear that one of them must have faked her own death.We decided to trace their origins and see if they left any clues that could lead us to the truth behind their disappearances.As I checked my wristwatch, I realized Jonathan should have returned by now.Just then, he walked in with a strange expression on his face. It was evident he had some grim news.I leaned back in my seat, prepared for the confirmation of my worst fears.“They're all dead. I have a full report on their births, lives, and deaths.” I crossed m
Lila's POV Dominic didn’t try to persuade or make me stay. He stared keenly at me for a long while, as if pondering over what I said.“Fine.” My heart skipped when he agreed.I didn't think he would let me have my way so easily.“I can leave?” I asked in surprise, just to be sure.“I didn't say you could leave.” He responded and I was taken aback.“You said fine, what did you mean?” I questioned further, a frown forming on my face.“You're not leaving; I'm leaving," he stated. Jonathan turned swiftly to look at him, his brow raised.“Alpha!” He called out as if trying to bring Dominic back to his senses.“Huh?” My eyes widened in the utmost confusion.Dominic turned to Jonathan and said, “I know what I'm doing.” Then he turned back to me.“I can't let you go out there, knowing fully well that people are waiting to get a hold of you.” He explained calmly, his eyes not leaving mine. I swallowed hard; he was right. The people who kidnapped my mom just to get to me, we still don't know
Victor's POV I couldn't help but wonder why Dominic didn’t suspect me at all, he must have really underestimated me. And that only made me furious. Call it an inferiority complex, but I do not like being looked down on. Luther informed me that Lila and Dominic kissed at the diner. How could they be in love when I was still struggling to deal with stigmatization? I had concluded that as long as I was still breathing, I wouldn’t watch them fall in love and get mated. I decided to instill a little bit of fear in Dominic, so I sent him a text. “What if he traces the number back to you?” Morgana asked, peeling the orange in her hands with all seriousness. Her fingers were long and painted in black with only the index fingers painted in red. What a weird way to show her personality.“He can’t. The phone belongs to a dead man.” I said, trying not to remember how I killed an innocent farmer, whose body is rotting below a strange tree in his farm. I bet he didn’t have a family that c
Victor's POV With her eyes widened in shock, she placed her hands over her mouth to prevent gasps from escaping. She couldn’t believe the sight before her—her husband was making out with the woman he introduced to her as his cousin. I had been committing adultery with Morgana for almost three years now, it was not surprising my wife didn’t feel the pleasure I was getting from it through our mate bond—Morgana prevented it.“Stella….” I called slowly, pulling up my trousers that were now down my thighs. I walked slowly towards her, stretching out my hand to calm her down. She kept shaking her head in disbelief as tears streamed down her face. “I can explain.” I tried to come up with excuses for my infidelity.“I bet you can.” She said, her voice dripping with rage as her chest fell and rose rapidly. “I just want to know who the hell she is, that you had to lie she was your cousin.” She took careful steps towards Morgana, brushing my shoulder as she walked past me. I was afraid sh
Lila's POV Ever since Dominic left the pack I’ve had all kinds of dreams, both good and bad. My heart aches with longing for him. There are moments when I yearn to ask about his well-being, but I've had to restrain myself, hiding my true emotions to avoid revealing the regret that lingers within me for letting him go.And did I mention that Jonathan checking up on me every day wasn’t helping the issue at all? I felt like he was doing so under Dominic’s orders. I looked over my shoulder to see Luis going over the procedure of a surgery he had, with the patient’s family. I must admit that he was a good doctor, his empathy and professional level are on point. But his commitment and loyalty level to his partner is zero. I returned to the hospital after Dominic left, it was boring reading books alone with Judith. We have discovered nothing so far and it was getting tiring. Maybe I should just give up on neutralizing my powers, I thought to myself severely. “Lila, will you be availa
Dominic's POV I turned to face her. She stood fixed in her position for a minute before turning—her face had a mixed expression, as if she was afraid but I thought it was just the normal fear the people had for me. I took careful steps toward her, my eyes fixed on her face. “Who are you?” I asked, my voice booming with authority. I found it strange that she looked somewhat familiar and had those icy blue eyes. But what was more unnerving was the way she was dressed. “I’m a guest in the Pack like you, Alpha Dominic.” She said, finding it difficult to make eye contact with me. Only people who had something to hide would do that, but it was hard to conclude in my case since I’ve had that experience even with little kids. “It’s a funeral, why are you dressed this way?” I asked, scanning her from head to toe. It was a known custom that you dress in black to a funeral. And it was Luna's funeral; why would she dress extravagantly like that, and in red, for that matter?“Morgana alwa
Lila's POV The surgery went well even though the relapsed hours were beyond expectation, but I was glad we could save the patient. I decided to stretch a bit before I left the theatre—I was planning to crash on my bed right away. “Thank you for your hard work,” Luis said from behind. I turned to face him. I removed the nose mask I was wearing so he could see my smile. I was with the anesthesia and monitoring the patient’s vitality so I could see how he was operating, but his leadership spirit was worth emulating. I could tell he knew what he was doing from the way he spoke to the fellows and residents in the room with us. “It’s fine. You already thanked me earlier. Besides, I didn’t do much. Thanks to you, the patient could live.” I thanked him back sincerely with a warm smile. “Do you wanna grab coffee with me?” He asked politely. I hesitated for a bit. “It’s not about anything, I know you belong to the alpha.” He said, and somehow his words made my chest tighten a bit. I b
Judith's POV “Where is Lauren?” I went straight to the point, definitely not in the mood to put up with her behavior. She can wait for Lila to get better then they continue their feud.“And how am I supposed to know that?” She folded her arms over her breasts with her gaze matching mine.“Don’t mess with me, I don't have the patience for that,” I warned, my voice instantly turning cold.She scoffed, stepping closer. “I don't know where Lauren is, if I were you I'd be worried about much bigger things than trying to get an innocent lady upset.” The way the words rolled out of her mouth felt so wrong. Like she knew something we all didn't. Something is wrong. Her confidence, everything.I arched an eyebrow, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”She shrugged nonchalantly, “I don't know, we'll see.”Her eyes sparkled with something deadly, something darker. Something beyond my understanding. I watched as she walked away, swaying her hips, my self-control slipping by the second. The s
Judith's POV I watched her struggling to hold them off, her arms vibrating as they stretched forth holding the already breached barrier in place. A stray tear rolled down the corner of my eye at the sight of her fighting to keep her eyes open.“Lila,” I called softly, a little whimper involuntarily escaping my mouth.I didn't think she could hear me, but she did; her eyes searched everywhere until they found me, her formerly lively face now paler by the second.“Lila,” I called again, feeling a little helpless at her current state. She's all alone out there, scared, drained. Fighting for the people who once treated her as an outcast because she was birthed by a witch. For the people who had wanted nothing more than to throw her out of the Packhouse.“Judith,” She whispered weakly, “You shouldn't be here.”I shook my head, tears spilling from my eyes. Tears I didn't want to shed for the fear of making her weaker. Tears I fought to hold back just so I could give her some kind of motiva
Brian's POV Saying I expected those words from Judith would be a blatant lie. I was taken aback myself. Didn't she break down a while ago when they got separated? Now she's throwing it all under the bus for some heroic move? Is this how quickly it is with women? The mood swing thing?“Excuse us,” I pulled her to the side, maybe I could talk some sense into her, just maybe. “What are you doing?” “Staying here to help. Isn't it obvious?” She asked back, feigning confidence even though I could see through her eyes that she wanted to be with him more than anything else.I sighed, shaking my head slightly.“There's nothing left for you to do here. Go to your mate.” “No.” She replied bluntly, making no attempt to comply, her eyes holding mine as if this was a staring competition.My hands moved until they settled on my waist, maintaining that posture for a while, just peering intently into her face. “You know, you and Lila, I'm starting to wonder who is more stubborn.”She shrugged casua
Judith's POV I staggered backward until I crashed to the ground, my legs suddenly finding it difficult to carry my body.Fear gripped me, my eyes taking in the gruesome scene before me.My ears suddenly became alert, realizing that the killer might still be lurking around waiting for the next victim.My heart throbbed vigorously against my rib cage, fear clouding my senses at the thought that there was a murderer in our midst and on the loose. And we had no idea who it was.I sprang up to my feet with determination, sprinting out of the room as fast as I could. I had to warn the others. Whoever it was that had managed to penetrate the Packhouse and eliminate Morinda was dangerous. They had to be alert.My legs descended the stairs rapidly, my steps were as light as a feather. It felt as if I was flying over them. “There's a killer in the building!” I announced breathlessly. My intention wasn't to scare anyone, just to keep them alert, but my approach was wrong. They stared at me wit
Judith's POV The ache in my body threatened to rip me apart. It was too much, too intense. This is probably the end of it for us. How did we not know it was the full moon tonight? Now we're all a wrecking mess, praying for some kind of miracle to happen.“Urgh!” My throat cracked along with the bones of my body. Why did this have to happen now? Has the moon goddess forsaken us? Is this how we perish?I would never have thought that the witch could harness the full moon’s energy to resurrect the dead. I've heard that it was possible. Only heard, not really believed it. And this was said to have happened over two hundred years ago. When witches were still allowed to coexist with werewolves. It all seemed like a nightmare I wanted to make up so badly from.“We have to leave now.” Jonathan’s voice interrupted my train of thought as he wrapped his arm around me, nudging me to move. His eyes burned with contained pain. He was trying his best to be strong for me. For us.Shaking my head in
Lila's POV I found it difficult to sleep after my encounter with the witch in that memory lane. For some reason, it scared me; I feared that she would reappear in my dream and trap me there. I've been trapped before, it's not a funny experience. Not something I wish to experience again.Her presence felt oddly familiar and I feared what that could mean. In the library, I searched for a book on ancient spells; I was bent on finding out how she was about to touch me in a trance. Despite looking for a while, I couldn't find anything tangible, but I kept looking, keeping my mind open for possibilities.Then the lights went out and I found myself stuck at the library. It was just me there, nobody else. A feeling of fear washed over me as my heart thumped rapidly against my chest as if it could explode at any minute.Luckily I was with my phone, so I was able to keep my corner illuminated until the saved energy was restored. I was going to return to my room when I met Judith and the rest.
Brian's POV “Where's your phone?” I demanded, my voice calm and measured despite the crawl I felt under my skin. I needed to find mine but I couldn't see a thing. The darkness thickened, increasing the tension in the air.“Wh– why should I give you my phone?” I could hear her shallow breathing through the silent night.“I need to find my phone!” A frustrated groan left my throat. What did she think I was going to do with her phone? Couldn't she see that I need even a flicker of light to help my vision? Moreover, I was losing patience. I needed to be with Lila. I needed to make sure she was safe.The feeling of uneasiness clung to me like a second skin, triggering my senses.Her phone's screen shone softly on her face, making her the only glowing spot in the dark. Slowly, the flashlight came on and I immediately spotted my phone. Without hesitation, I reached for it.The screen was cracked but it was manageable. At least the flashlight was working.I dashed for the staircase, determin
Juliana's POV It's been one week since I got disowned by my only surviving parent. This increased my hatred for Lila; since her arrival to the pack, things have gone the direct opposite in my favor. She has taken everything from me.This was the height of it all. I couldn't take it anymore. I could kill her if I got the chance. She's a bad omen and doesn't deserve to live among people.She carried trouble with her everywhere she went, effortlessly emitting bad luck like a transmitter, inflicting everyone within reach.‘Just wait until I'm done with you.’ I said in my mind as I glared at Lila from across my table as she ate with Brian and a little girl. Today is the night of the full moon. I can't wait to finally put her in her place.As it stands, I don't care about the details. I only cared about eliminating Lila. She's the biggest threat to the existence of wolves and the supernatural world. I sat patiently, waiting for Lauren's signal or role designation.Over the past few days, w
Juliana's POV There's something strange about the determination in Lauren's voice that piqued my interest. There was a hint of disgust in her voice if I'm not mistaken.“Are you already giving up on Dominic? Deep down you know he belongs to you. You know she hasn't done anything to deserve him.” She spoke steadily, peering intensely into my eyes. I fought the urge to scoff. “What should I do when he already chose someone else instead of me?”He made his choice. Despite the pain that comes with admitting to this fact, I've come to accept it.“Their union is a disaster, I'm sure you've heard that. Would you rather intervene now or stay apartheid and watch the worst come to Blackwood? Even if Dominic might die in the process?” Her eyes never left mine as she spoke.If she was aiming to scare me, then she was definitely doing a great job at it because a dreadful shiver overtook my body for a split second after the words left her mouth.Luther had mentioned the same, now Lauren. There ha