IRIS"I wonder if these crazy people don't notice they shouldn't twirl around, all because it's a damn festival!" I scowled beside Zelda, covering her face with her veil as we marched to the temple.She chuckled beside me, the first I had heard since we came out of the house with Orion and another of the pack's guards behind us.My white gown and veil were lent to me by Zelda; no shocker, she had a wardrobe full of them, making me wonder if she lived in the temple. Right now, I was at war with my veil as it kept slipping down and showing off my hair."Artemis' birthday isn't just a festival, Iris. It's more like a cleansing ceremony," she said, pushing me with her full hips.Mistakenly, I crashed against one of the men with colorful attire, rolling around like they were possessed, making it impossible for ordinary people to pass through."Oh my goddess, I'm so sorry, Iris." Zelda had her hand over her mouth as the man helped me up and continued his swirling."Watch out!" I said playful
Orion led me to the Alphas' room, my eyes spotting the three of them seated, waiting for me impatiently and quietly.Their heads rose when I trailed in, eyes on them. Only one thing could happen with me having nothing to say and them expecting me to say something. Whatever that was, I wasn't ready for any of it.I stood before them, white dress touching the floor, hair loose and all over the place."Ok, Iris," Aidan said, his hands on his temples, "we are waiting."I bit my lips. My lids lowered, biting the sides of my mouth, I wanted to speak, but the words wouldn't come out; maybe it was all because there were no words."Iris," Atlas warned, "What did you see?"I only saw them."This is a waste of time," Tristan stood up, pushing his chair back, and was about to leave the room when I yelled"Silver lake,""What's that now?" That was from Aidan.This was a desperate attempt to stay alive for a little more time. "I was asked to go to the silver lake to foresee."There was silence in th
She shuddered, cold even though she had been wrapped in Aidan's jacket. She stared at her hands, wanting the tears to fall from her face so she could understand her grief better, but she wasn't in the right state of mind since Zelda's body was discovered, and it was already evening.She glanced at the empty room, the room she and Zelda had shared the night before, before Zelda, onto her morning routine, sneaked out of bed, and that was the last she saw her alive.She sniffed in grief, finally letting reality settle in: Zelda was dead, strangled without pity, and left on the ground like a piece of trash—all of which happened in this damn pack."I let you down, Zelda. I'm so sorry." She hugged herself on the bed, tears wetting her sheets, staring at the white ceiling and gold-trimmed walls."He's not the person we all think he is," Zeldas repeatedly in her head. What had she been trying to tell her? She knew Atlas wanted the baby removed, but was he willing to go that far?He could do an
IrisIts breath was full against my nose, breathing murder and anger like raging fire. There was no doubt. This was the Lycan—the Lycan who killed my father. My fingers pulled at its hairy wrist as I choked.It didn't even budge. In a moment of strength, using my feet, I kicked against its chest and caught unawares, he staggered back, watching me as I fell out of bed, choking. My hands were on my throat.I crawled slowly towards the light switch, but it caught my legs, pulling me back to him with my belly on the floor. It kicked hard against my ribs, and my eyes widened at the pain as I gasped for breath.It was pacing around the room, looking for something. Using that opportunity, I rolled towards the bedside lamp, hearing his footsteps thudding towards me. I hurried to my feet, hands against my stomach, and turned on the light switch, turning to see him block his face against the light.I let out a bloodcurdling scream, which I didn't know I even had the strength for, and him still c
I watched them stare at each other in distrust, none looking so sure of themselves as Orion and Eric rubbed their hands together in anxiety, ready to search the Alphas.Amongst the rumbling water and swaying leaves, Tristan asked, "And what if nothing happens? What if it's all a bluff? What if the goddess Artemis sent nothing?" Atlas sneered at him: "Are you scared, brother? You have something on you, don't you?"Tristan smirked, "There are more chances that you think with your head for that to happen."Aidan raised his hands, beaconing on Eric, to begin with, him, his face raised to the sky as Eric's hands went down on his body, searching around, digging into his pockets.Finding nothing, he straightened his coat, arranged the black leather collar, and turned to us, saying, "Your turn.""There's nothing on me," Tristan shrugged. "Check out Atlas; considering what Iris said, shouldn't he be the suspect?""Admitting you're too weak-willed to do something as brave as that?" Atlas said s
IRIS.I couldn't tell how many hours we ran, but it was a long time. I could feel his pain, his tiredness, and his desperation to keep on moving further away from his pack. His stomach wasn't the only part of his body bleeding; his heart bled too.I tried to give him my strength, but he was too weak to receive any. I wrapped my hands around him, touching his injury, and he winced so hard that I almost fell off his back.Suddenly his legs gave way, and we found ourselves rolling downhill, me trying to grab onto something and him just falling freely. I could feel the injuries on my arms and legs as we rolled down the rocky ground and wet earth.Finally, we slowed down and eventually stopped rolling. I struggled to catch my breath as I sat, examining my arms. I wasn't that wounded, which was a good thing, but my body still ached.Alpha Tristan! I suddenly remembered, "Alpha Tristan!"I called his name, searched around, and panicked when he was not seen. I swallowed hard the fear that rose
It never came, but I heard the brawl and pounce of fists, the groan of pain, and even a wince. The scratch against the ground indicated a struggle.Raising my left eyelash a little, I was awed at the sight before me, my mouth dropping open—what exactly was happening here?Before me, the boar struggled on the floor with Tristan on it, hands tearing the poor animal's mouth open while it screeched in pain.I'd heard its jaw crack and the life in its eyes fade out, and I knew it was dead because only one of its back legs was kicking faintly.Tristan, all bloody, stood on his feet, chest all bare, with his loins covered by a—. "Is that my veil?"He raised a brow at me, then bent to the boar, looking more like a barbarian than an alpha now with the dirt on his face and chest."I borrowed it for the meantime; if you want, I can pull it off right now." His hand went to untie the rope.I shook my head, "You know what? You can keep it." My eyes went down to his stomach, but surprisingly, it was
I felt his hot mouth on my neck and gasped. He pushed me deeper into him, so I felt his hardness on my ass, pressing against the thin material of my panties."I don't know what I'm doing," he whispered in my ears, his hands going way up into my bra to stroke my round globes.My breath was raggedy when he turned me to face him, his hands picking me up so my legs were around his hips.His mouth was back on my neck, teasing me to a pulp with sharp canines, the buttons on my globes hardening against his finger as he twirled them with his thumb."Get away from me!" I rasped, trying to get my scattered thoughts back together; whatever he did to me wasn't all normal.He ignored me. His lips claimed mine, sending electric shocks into me; his tongue owned my mouth; his hands pushed me way up so my legs were now wrapped around his abdomen.To my surprise, my head bent to meet his mouth so he could kiss me senseless like he had done before, with my fingers at the back of his head, feasting in his
Two years later. TRISTAN I stood by the silver lake with a bunch of black roses in my hand. Two years ago, on this day, she went into that water and never returned; her final kiss still tasted on my tongue; it felt like yesterday even though living without her was agony. But I never let it stop my duty to my people. Under my rule, Blood Canine was getting up to its feet. It was no longer a three-Alpha thing; it was just one-Alpha. Me. The people were happy, and though there was still grief over the death of a loved one, the pack's growth kept everyone going. I pulled out a petal and threw it into the water. I felt like I could see her walking into the lake or coming out of it, a big smile on her face, returning to me again. I had a lot to tell, like how I missed Andrea and couldn't wait for the twenty years to elapse so I could get her back and how I broke inside because I didn't know how my baby was faring as a hybrid in a human world. Lycans are banned from the pack; one mig
IRIS POV She was sucking me in; Akasha was beginning to draw me in and suck me into her deep, moldy webs of darkness, holding me in while I struggled within her. We both wanted out, and we weren't prepared for the disaster we were about to cause. "Akasha, let me out, damnit!" I yelled within her. In our heads, the darkness was all—no, it wasn't all in our heads, for the clouds had suddenly become dark, with lightning back and forth like we were in a game. "Akasha, we can't kill them," I cried, "if we do, all of this will be waste, all of our struggles..." "Iris, hold the reins." Hold what, reins? "I don't know what to hold; you're pulling me." We were swirling downwards faster now, aiming to stomp at the center of the vampire soldiers and cause our disaster. I watched them run for their lives, but where could they go that we couldn't reach? My tears were falling in torrents now; they were right; I was a witch, causing nothing but destruction, and now I was aiming for my mother.
TRISTAN'S POV I felt a hand tug at my arm and turned to see Queen Tyra shaking me, a genuine fear on her face."We need to get the soldiers to the other side of the lake, now!"But I couldn't move a muscle; the sight was something I couldn't place my hands on, and though dark and hazy, it was glorious.Darkness covered the sky, shielding the rising sun. Her aura filled every space."Tristan!" The queen yelled my name again. The fact that she didn't add Alpha told me this wasn't something to be joked with."Everyone to the other side of the lake," I shouted, turning to my soldiers, but to my surprise, they were already on the other side of the lake, even moving further back.The rest that stayed picked to their heels, including Queen Tyra. Even the betrayers knew where they were safe; for now, they were among my army, who brought them to their knees immediately.I looked up, and I wished I hadn't, for she came roaring down from the clouds, leaving the smoky darkness in the sky.I pulle
TristanIt was D-Day, and since we had started early, numerous trucks were taking us down the route of Bloody Canine. Even with the knowledge that most of us wouldn't come back alive, I heard the soldiers sing, and that alone brought a smile to my face.I wanted to go in, but the lyrics were strange, so I sat back and nodded my head to the tune of it while watching the road twist.I knew Aidan was ready for us; I was sure he knew we were coming from the soldiers who had fled to Bloodcanine.We drove at full speed to reach Bloodcanine in time and still save enough of the night so the sun didn't meet us right there, and there was still enough time to fight.We passed Silver Mystic, and the view had me taking deep breaths and blinking my eyes in sadness—or was it anger? Reid didn't deserve any of these, but wasn't that all we were all getting? Reid didn't even have an opportunity to fight before he was struck to the ground by his brother.But we were going to do just that. We were going
Tristan.Just a day to go to war against Aidan, the soldiers were ready, and so were the weapons, mostly silver than steel. Handed to every soldier, even though we knew it might be turned on us.The soldiers were beginning to make their stand before the gate of the Vampire clan, ready to fight but not knowing what to fight.The only time I prayed better than this was when Iris was kidnapped. This fight was going to determine everything. If the Vampire clan were to overcome this one, it would take a miracle.One by one, we noticed our soldiers beating the gatekeepers and running away from Bloodcanine. No one knew if it was because of fear or if they worked for Aidan, but when news like that came out, soldiers tended to lose hope more."We have to hurry up with the process and go to war before we don't have any soldiers left," Queen Tyra told me.I was her adviser when she needed one, and now I didn't just bring my unneeded advice to the table; she had to ask for it first.We were in Iri
IRIS POV.I watched him walk up to me, now with all seriousness, with no more smiles on those sensual lips. Does anyone wonder why nobody suspected him? with looks like that? Combined with the fact that he had always been there for Tristan when he asked?But all of our requests had fallen into his game, and he had stood by, patiently waiting for them to fall into place.Now he had everything at his beck and call. And we had nothing to do but wait and see where it would hit us next."You look even more beautiful, Iris," he said, touching my face softly and looking into my eyes. "Even with those pupils, you could make a man's pants drop."I glanced at Gael. "Well, some want yours dropping, sooooo."He laughed. He thought I was being funny.His fingers were under my chin, raising it so I could face him. "Is it Iris or Akasha?"I wasn't shocked, but... "How did you know? Are more of your pawns getting back to you?" He shrugged: "Well, I can't lie; I didn't do it all myself. I had men of v
IRIS POV Waking felt like stages; at first, I wasn't sure if my eyes were open or closed since it was all dark, the darkness so thick and murky that I felt I could reach forth and grab a handful of it. Then next, my head felt heavy and round and couldn't stay still, for my neck suddenly couldn't hold it any longer. Then letting thoughts fill my head; whatever content they held, I just thought about it. Trying to place my hand on if I was awake or not. Then I began to hear sounds like a lighter, and when the first ray of warm firelight hit, I knew I was awake. Then the memories of my last encounter flowed into my head, and the betrayal stabbed me again. "Good evening, princess." I turned to see him; at the end of the room, he was playing with a lighter, striking it and tapping it so the fire went out. His face, that gentle shyness, wasn't there anymore; in its place was a wicked glare at the firelight, a dark countenance of what would soon happen. And instead of fear, I felt a
IRIS POV Two days passed, and still, there was no contact between Tristan and me, but it was easy to see him, for he was always in training, most times with his upper body bare, sweat dripping from his chin, and eyes on alert. Sometimes I held Andrea so she could watch him train, and he'll always stop for a second to wave at her. Every time that happens, his opponents win. He didn't care because that always happened. Like now, he was punching against a bag, muscles sweaty and glistening, when he looked up, seeing Andrea and me, he waved at her, and she waved back. I turned my back to him, returning to the Royal House to maybe find my aunt Mikaela. I had decided to tell her what I was about to do, and hopefully, she would keep it. My mother would cause an uproar if she heard of it. Then Tristan. Well, Tristan was going to be Tristan, and he was going to be the last person I'd ever tell. I had begun packing my precious possessions into a box for Andrea to inherit when she grew
TRISTAN'S POV Watching her disappear through the door, I turned to see the captain also watching her, and I walked closer to him with my hands in my pockets. "What's in it for you, huh? Why are you following her around, always ready to run her errands, even at night?" I raised a brow at him now that I was calmer. "I am just doing my job, sir," he replied, massaging his chin with his hands and trying not to sneer pointedly at me. "I don't know if I can believe you're doing all that without a hidden motive." Goddamn it, I didn't trust this guy one bit. Under all of this gentleness, there was something he wasn't showing: "What's the deal here? "There's no deal, Alpha Tristan." "How about a hidden motive?" He smiled this time and said, "Don't we all have hidden motives?" I looked into his dark red pupils and nodded as if agreeing with him, "I'll be watching you." I smiled back, then leaning close, I tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, "That's my woman. Find yourself yours."