Vlad Raw agony shot all over my body, making me slouch and my limbs tremble. Everything that was happening seemed like a dream. I couldn't believe that I was locked up in this stupid prison in King Dracula's house. Dracula, my dad's trusted friend, betrayed him and kidnaped me for reasons I was yet to find out. To think my dad helped him countless times made my heart squeeze with raw hate. After Raven fled the car, a dozen henchmen surrounded my car, deflating my tires. They smashed the windows and overpowered me, bringing me here and imprisoning me in a cage with transparent walls and zero privacy. Then they did the worst by filling my body with poisons that weakened me. Outside, several henchmen took turns guarding me, mocking my helplessness. I was tired. My eyes watered with pain while I attempted to calm myself. I told myself that soon enough, my dad would find me. My parents must be so worried, and Raven... my lover. I worried that something had happened to her but rea
Nova "Ivy, I don't know what to do. This is getting serious. I don't even know who to believe anymore." I paraded around my room while Ivy lay on the bed, relaxed with a half-lidded look on her face and an easy smile. "You're not taking this seriously," I scowled at her. "What do you want me to say?" she chuckled, her feet angling out. "I just know you're worrying too much, first of all, and secondly, Vlad looks like he's done with Raven. "And what makes you think he's not going to do the same thing with me? Did you see how loved up he was with her? I'm fucking scared." Ivy hugged my teddy bear, grinning. "I think he realized how better you would be to his cred. I mean, you two are the homecoming king and queen. You're your father's legitimate daughter, and I'm sure Vlad must have heard several complicated stories about Raven." Her statement made sense. Still, I worried about the impending doom. "I don't know what to believe anymore. How can someone who hated me and my presence
Raven Taylor and I sat side by side on the bed, our eyes fixed on the luminous computer screen. I was hesitant to send the email to Clarissa unearthing Nova and Vlad's relationship. I had run short of making excuses, trying to deviate from this matter. Uneasy as hell, I stared blankly at my screen. "Come on, Raven. Don't be a coward," Taylor slurped her banana milkshake, making the freshly blended bananas and dairy fill my nostrils. "You know you want to do this." "I do," I bit my lip, uncertain about all of this. "I just don't want to get into trouble. My dad will find out about me and Vlad and kill me." She raised her hands, annoyed. "Well then, I'm going to bed." "No, no, wait," I grabbed her arm. "Come on, don't be stubborn." "If you don't want to send it, it's fine." I groaned loudly. "Oh, Taylor…" "I'm tired of listening to excuses. Maybe you should watch Nova and Vlad love up in your presence." "I don't want that." "Then send the damn email to your step-mum." My hea
Lucian The moonlight cast shadows on the soft petals of blooming jasmine in the garden. All night, I avoided Dimitri. His presence was choking the hell out of me because I still hadn't gathered the courage to ask King Vladislav for the password. It was strange to call him Dad. I was never going to do so. I had no dad. Because of Vladislav, I endured so much suffering as a child. My brain conjured several scenarios in my head and ways to ask him for the password, but none added up. How could I just ask him for the password without him suspecting foul play? The secret room was a place Vlad was used to all his life. And except I had a serious brain accident or memory loss, I had no excuse to forget the password. The screen door slammed on the porch and I froze, knowing it was Dimitri. He knew wherever I was and was monitoring me with the microchip. My boots hit the crumbling earth, and I sipped some cold water from the hose connected to the tap to quell my turmoil. Dimitri moved c
Nova The chaos in the house turned me speechless with alarm. My dad was so pissed, scowling at me like I was a piece of shit, and my mom was disappointed in me. I couldn't believe that this had happened. When Raven walked in, I knew she was the whistle-blower who sent that mail to my mom. She looked visibly frightened, but deep down, I knew she was satisfied I was in trouble and didn't regret what she did. She was so ridiculous to think she could escape this untouched. If I was going down, she had to go down with me. My dad's yelling intensified. "I need to know who the stupid vampire is and give him and his parents a stern warning to stay the hell away from you!" Hysterical tears flooded down my face, and I wiped them with the back of my hand. My mum paced around the room, angry and ashamed. "This is so awful. I hope you didn't let him kiss you. You're not even eighteen yet, and I'm certain the moon goddess would never give you a vampire as a mate." "Mum, please," I cried. "
Raven My heart panted in terror and my pulse began to beat erratically and tears flowed like a river from my eyes. My dad was so angry he panted like a wounded lion in the private living room. I couldn't dare look him in the face. With both hands on his hips, he turned to face me speaking with a voice colder than the grave. "Now I need you to start talking. I don't have time for all of these stupid jokes." I understood my dad's anger, and he had every reason to be pissed at me. But what pierced my heart more was that the person who caused all of this wasn't even worth all this trouble. Vlad was nothing but a douchebag who broke my heart into shreds, and now he was causing trouble in my family, tearing me apart from my dad. Everything had come crashing down "I'm talking to you, Raven. What was it you wanted to tell me? And I hope it's something good, and not anything that would worsen your situation." My cheeks were flushed and wet, and my eyes still leaked tears. "Stop cry
Lucian We had been double-crossed. The shock of our failed mission made our success look bleak. We didn't know what to do, and the blackness of confusion covered us. "Are you sure he doesn't have it in his bedroom?" I asked my uncle. He shook his head. "Elvira is sure. She checked everywhere. I'm sure your stupid brother must be behind it. He takes it out sometimes." "But if it has been missing for so long, how come the king hasn't found out?" Dimitri scoffed. "Because he doesn't use it all the time. He only uses it when there is an emergency or for ceremonial purposes. The vampire meeting comes up on Saturday. I'm sure that if it's missing, he will raise the alarm before then." "So what's going to happen if it's truly missing? Do we get to release my brother?" Dimitri hit my head hard, causing me to wince. "Enough with the questions, boy. I don't have time for this. We have to find the staff. And if you love your life, you better start thinking of what to do. If you think yo
Raven The weekend was so weird, especially because everyone expected my dad to be so mad. But the opposite was the case. He was grinning from ear to ear, giving me subtle winks. Clarissa was very discerning and knew that something was up. She confronted my dad when she saw us whispering. "Jalen, are you going to tell me what's going on? "It's nothing, baby," my dad laughed, hugging her from behind and twirling her around. "I get that this wasn't the reaction you expected seeing that I didn't flare up. But my daughters are suffering from a teenage crisis. I mean, didn't we all? Well, minus my bouts of madness that stopped until I found you, the love of my life. You dated that pork face, Alan before Genevieve stole him from you. " I didn't know that. It was strange, considering Genevieve and Clarissa were best friends. "Jalen, this isn't funny," Clarissa scowled before glancing at me and back to my dad. "Alan wasn't a vampire. Why aren't you taking this case seriously? Is there
JalenThe overpowering smell of old, musty leather filled my dad's beat-up sedan, and the sound of his angry voice rose above the roar of the engine as he scolded me for shifting into my beast form. Tension filled the car, and my anger radiated off me in waves."Is it such a difficult task to control yourself in public? Have you never seen a girl before that you had to shift into your beast form? Now everyone in the pack will yap about how my son was aroused by a stupid werewolf.""I wasn't aroused by her," I lied, trying to defend myself, but he was too far gone in his rage to listen."Griffin, please hear him out. There may be other reasons why he shifted, and besides, Jalen can't be attracted to that spoiled brat.""Oh, shut up," my dad barked at my mom, who had stepped in to try and calm the situation. "That's all you do, make fat and silly excuses for him. He never does anything right. I'll be retiring in a year, and I don't even know the future of our pack."She sat in silence,
Clarissa I fell to the stage, surrounded by flashing cameras and concerned faces, I couldn't believe what had just happened. My heart was racing and I was hyperventilating, trying to process the fact that a Lycan was my mate.All around me, my family rushed to my side, trying to help me up and calm me down. My mother's caked-on makeup was smudged with sweat, a proof to her concern and worry. And all around, people were talking and trying to make sense of what was happening. 'Breathe, Rissa,' I encouraged myself, breathing out of my nostrils.Why was the moon goddess doing this to me? My brain couldn't process this at all. I'd been mateless for twenty-three years only to become a forbidden Lycan's mate?Fucking great!My mum squeezed my hand to comfort me. She was going to keep blaming me for months for disgracing her. "Here, sip some water," she said. My brother, Bryon, held my head while my dad checked my temperature. I felt lightheaded and was breathing quickly, inhaling and exh
Dearest gentle readers, *wink. This book is a sequel to Bound By The Lycan's Curse, which is Raven's dad amd Stepmom's love story. Kindly support by reading and enjoying the rollercoaster of emotions and unwavering love between a werewolf and a Lycan after fifty years of rivalry between both factions. Below is an expert.Chapter 1 I gazed out at the bright sun through the tinted windows of my dad's limousine, and rhe diamonds on my dress seemed to mock me, reminding me of my failure.Growing up, I thought all the males would fall at my feet because I was the Alpha's daughter, and my dad was a billionaire. But now, at twenty-three, with a first-class degree from Harvard and all the money in the world, I had no mate.To crown it all, my longtime boyfriend had been cheating on me with my best friend for months before I found out, thanks to the moon goddess, who paired them as mates.Thinking about it now made my chest tight. The two people whom I loved and trusted betrayed me in the mo
EpilogueSix years later "Raven, my love, ever since I met you, I've fantasized about this moment," Vlad's voice trembled with emotion. "I can't imagine a world without you. We have everything we need – money, a loving family, and a future ahead. Please, baby, will you marry me?"Caught off guard by Vlad's proposal, I burst into tears, turning to mush and ruining my perfectly done makeup."You naughty boy! Why didn't you tell me about this," I blubbered, hitting his shoulder? His perfect dentition broke into a killer smile, as my head bobbed in a yes. "Of course, I'll marry you," my heart sang with delight. "you own me after all.""I owe you my life," he said and I threw myself at his arms. He wrapped them tight around me, the smell of his cologne and our mating bond engulfing me and sending shivers down my spine. Gently, he slipped a Tiffany style round cut engagement ring onto my third finger, and the diamondsglinted brightly against my skin. "So this is why that silly girl, Ta
Raven The Doctor and King Vladislav walked in slowly, with the king standing beside me.I sobbed uncontrollably to the point that I began seeing spots and my vision became blurred, and I could hardly see the people in front of me anymore. The king's eyes were clouded with sadness and regret. I could feel the pressure building in my throat, making my breathing feel constricted. "Raven, please don't cry. You have done enough. Let's just say goodbye to Vlad.""Goodbye?" I spat, and he took a step back. "How will I do that? How do you expect me to say goodbye to my mate? My partner for life!""Raven, Vlad is my son," King Vladislav said with a resigned tone. "I feel so hopeless right now. But we have to face reality. Hybrids are different from humans and werewolves. The earlier we accept the reality that Vlad can never regain consciousness, the better for everyone. False hopes and delusions will get us nowhere."The king's voice cracked. "Please understand, Raven." I stumbled forward,
Raven On the night of day six, I couldn't sleep. My mind was restless like a rolling stone and I kneeled by Vlad's bedside, begging him with everything in me.King Vladislav had begun preparing for Vlad's funeral. According to him, Vlad deserved a befitting burial. How could anyone be comfortable burying their child?My tongue felt swollen. I was helpless and needed a miracle for Vlad. He was the only thing that brought joy and light to my life.The king was broken. All he did was mope and answer questions with monosyllables. Reality had begun to hit him but matter how much I begged him to extend the date, he didn't budge."Raven, there's nothing we can do. This is pure torture," his voice choked. "Let him rest.""Vlad, my love," I gripped his hand. "Did you hear your father? Is this what you want, to be buried? Talk to me. Wake up before they turn off the life support. Come back to me. Don't leave me, please. Just come back!"The answer I got was the beep of the machine and Vlad's s
RavenI couldn't sleep all night, and all I kept thinking about was Vlad. It was so bad that when I finally managed to drift off to sleep, it was filled with nightmares of them burying Vlad and all our classmates placing flowers at his gravesite. I felt even worse when I woke up, rolling over to face the wall and pulling my knees tight against my chest. The darkness of the night wasn’t comforting enough for the pain in my heart. The silence didn’t help either. What if Vlad never makes it? What if he doesn't come back to life? And then the memories from my dreams replayed over and over again in vivid detail. Taylor never left my side and even shared my bed with me. She sat up, staring at me with sympathy in her green eyesMy head rested on her shoulder as she whispered soothing things into my ear while rubbing my arms and whispering ‘It's okay’ every few minutes.At one point, she had to go out and make me some hot chocolate because I had started shivering so badly. Early the nex
Raven On day three of my stay in the specialist hospital, I had to return to school to write an important test that couldn't be written online. It was the last screening part to get admitted to college."You need to go," King Vladislav pleaded with me. "You're young and have a full life ahead of you. Vlad wouldn't want you to waste your time here and spend a year doing nothing just because you missed your college entrance exam." He paused to let his words sink and sadly, he was right. It was a good thing that I had been accepted into the best college program on campus on a full scholarship. My dad was wealthy enough to train me but that didn't mean I should waste his money on tuition. I sighed and the King begged me to stop making excuses. "you've got to graduate, Raven. I'm here with Vlad and you can always come back whenever you wish.""I don't trust you enough," I muttered. I don't know what you'll end up doing the second I step my foot out the door. You have been looking for h
LucianI'd seen too much, witnessed too many painful scenes. I returned home, terrible regrets and guilt assailing me. Vlad's condition was my fault. I let out a choked, desperate laugh. The king was so mad at me that he couldn't stand my presence. He hated me so much. Blood pounded in my temples as I felt humiliated and deflated remembering the disgraceful way he sent me away from the hospital. Not that I blamed him anyway. I deserved to be ridiculed. Everything was all my fault. If I hadn't fallen for Dimitri's stupid antics, I would have exposed him instead and saved my brother.Now Vlad's blood was forever spilled on my hands. It made me want to cry like a baby.How could I have been so stupid? How was I so careless as not to recognize how evil Dimitri really was? When I returned home, that wicked bitch, Elvira, was nowhere to be found. She could run, but she was definitely not going to hide forever. She was the mastermind of all this calamity and the reason why my mother d