Iris."Come again?" I told Katherine. She did come, dressed in a white ball gown that suddenly made my red look ordinary. It brought out her hair and blinged. She was the star of the party since most people knew her there.They all passed by nodding at her or greeting her full-heartedly, which she usually shoved aside, but when necessary, she nodded back.She laughed, raising the glass cup to her lips, "You don't think the council will let a hybrid be their Luna and all?"She saw my gaze fall, and she laughed, "Wait, did you think that? I gave you more credit, it seems.""No," I said as a matter of fact, "I never wanted to be Luna." "Enough coincidence being two Alphas, mate; that's just not my thing." "Lie much, Iris?" She shook her head, then in a minute, she was excited, her lips curling into an awful smile, making me curious: "Tristan didn't want me telling you, but..."I waited, holding my breath."He only wanted you by his side to get more of the love of the people."##### "That
How couldn't he have seen that all along? That was the reason she was so interested in all of it, finding her on the cold temple ground with frozen tears on her face.Now he was certain she knew who she was—who would have thought Iris was a goddess?a goddess of destruction.No, he was wrong; that wasn't Iris; Iris was in there somewhere, hidden, pushed aside."Iris," he called out again. "Iris, get a hold of yourself. Don't make them think you're a monster.""I am no monster," she rumbled again, her eyes flaming. "I just had enough of all of you hurting me, millions of years later, and you all are still the same.""What the fuck is she talking about?" Aidan asked beside him, his breath heavy and ready to attack. Tristan held his arm, and Aidan looked at him, "We can't let her kill Katherine.""She won't kill Katherine.""Tristan, I know...""I fucking said she wouldn't kill Katherine, alright!" even though he thought Katherine deserved anything that would come her way right now.He t
Authors POV Iris stared at the book's first page, its handwriting-like designs making it harder for her to decipher.She swallowed the frustration brewing in her throat; no one told her she had also to encounter the difficulty of trying to sort out letters.She held her head in her palms, shutting her eyes tight, and sighed. She was going to try to figure it out and read it out.She stood up and walked to the window, staring at the sky—was that the full moon peeping out of the sky on an evening?She placed the book on the pain, bracing herself, and felt the letters with her fingers tracing.Then it hit her—the more she started, the more it made sense.It was.... she turned the book. The letters were written upside down, inverting the meaning of the words.She hoped she was right in the beginning to read it out. She was; it was beginning to make more sense now.She held it against her and began reading, "Adored, powerful, and holding great responsibility in paradise, she is who you thi
Iris POVMy movements were slow as I weaved my way back to the packhouse, the eeriness of the night having nothing to do with my beating heart and shaky fingers.My head felt like it was exploding from a lot of thoughts. Every escape route I had thought of came to a dead end.So now that I had found Onemaus, I had no idea what to do, for it seemed that whatever my actions were going to be, I was somehow going to be a bad guy.For wasn't I the goddess of darkness, who caused floods and famines and genocides by just stepping into a lake? It hurt me to know the great Artemis was sending her to deliver all of these heartaches, but somehow she would be the only one blamed for them.The one time she had tried to disobey her mother and do the people pleasing, here she was.With Alpha Tristan. Centuries ago... they were cursed together but somehow still found a way to cross paths.I was cursed to destroy his pack, and I would do it unintentionally because it was my destiny. Except I changed th
Tristan's POV. The light seeping through the window disturbed my sleep; it seemed I had forgotten to close the window after she had come in. the first time I had woken up so late in the morning. I smiled in my sleep. She was my drug. It was surprising how I hadn't even blinked during the night—very unlike me. If I had been told in a million years that I would choose one woman over my whole pack, I would have laughed at the person in the face and left, not before clawing the hell out of them anyway. But here she was, and I stretched my hand, feeling the bed for her. My lids flew open. I was alone on the bed. I groaned in frustration. What was she hiding from, especially when I was damn ready to show her off to the world, not giving a damn about their opinions? I sat on the bed, stretching and raking my fingers through my messy hair. I sighed hard, feeling the slight sting on my shoulders and back, where she had clawed at me in ecstasy, eyes rolling at the back of her head yet st
Iris POV"She's been sick for the past two weeks," my mother's said to the royal physician as I lay on the bed, my eyes raised to the ceiling, trying not to roll my eyes at her again. "...fever and she's always pale...""Mum, it's always winter here; are you expecting me to get a tan when it's always snowing?""You're paler than me." Tyra felt my forehead with the back of my hand. "Why are you heating up?""Maybe because I'm not cold-blooded?""Haha, Iris, your sarcasm stinks."Mikaela pushed her friend: "Tyra, you're strangling her with all your hovering around!" "Thank you, aunt," I sighed, relieved, as she pushed my mom away. Not being mean; this was our usual joke.I had never felt so much love before coming to the vampire clan. Contrary to what I thought, the people took me as one of their own, teaching me their customs and directions.In just two months, I had become one of them.I, Tyra, and Mikaela were more than best friends now; we were always with each other to the extent t
AUTHOR'S POVTwo years later.Alpha Reid stood by the side while watching his two daughters train with the younger soldiers of the silver mystic.They needed to be strong and brave to be able to lead the pack; there was no excuse for them, and so far, they understood with time They understood when he was their father and when they were supposed to act like the future alphas of the Silver Mystic.He couldn't ask for more and wouldn't exchange them for anything if given that offer.He watched Ariel hold the mock sword while charging toward her sister and yelling, and he laughed. Her sister effortlessly twirled the rod to her side and smashed hers on it so it landed on the ground.Then in style, she quickly raised the rod to her sister's chest and smiled. Ariel laughed hard, looking into her dad's face, who was now frowning.Her face straightened immediately when she remembered on the training ground that her sister was the enemy.Back lifting in two quick successions, she kicked the r
IRIS POV My mother looked at the letter with worry before looking into my eyes as I cuddled Andrea against me.She swallowed hard, trying not to lose her composure, but I knew something was wrong with what she had just read.I looked into her eyes, then down at my baby's face. Andrea, now a year old with her father's sandy-colored air and gray eyes, sucked on her bottom lips as she slept.I slowly went to her crib, just beside my bed, and laid her on it, rocking it back and forth until she slept fully.I've never been so glad I went against my abortion decision; staring into her beautiful, innocent face felt like a lifetime of happiness. She was my will to live, and holding her close gave me hope.My mother and Mikaela loved her so much that, though Axl always complained about her being snappy to him, he loved adoring her, finding every opportunity to be with her.I caressed her hair, kissing her on her forehead, then I went to my mother, peering into her worried face before asking,
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."