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,
Authors POV Atlas stood up from the bed, hand raking his hair back, face taking the room in. He looked at the wardrobe at the room's far end and stood up.He walked over to it in the silence of his room, with purpose in his gait, reaching the wardrobe He bent down to the lower part of it.He pulled it open, and a stiff material wrapping fell to the ground close to his feet.He picked it up, standing up with it immediately, scrutinizing every inch of it, his eyes hovering.He moved to the window, where the moonlight shone straight at him.The other Alphas would be too busy with the battalion coming and wouldn't notice the one in front of them, living in the same pack house with them.They were right; he was ready to kill both of them to take over Bloodcanine, and he didn't care if they expected him to do so.After all, he was stronger; what werewolf could knock him to the ground, even in their madness?He ripped the purple material open and brought out the silver dagger. On it imprint
IrisI rocked Andrea in my arms, watching her face cry so loudly that I was getting worried. Throughout the day, she had this uncomfortable cry at the tip of her tongue, screaming like she was in pain.We were all worried. My mother had done all she could, from dabbing her with cold water to giving her a series of drugs, none of which seemed to have been working.She had woken up that morning screaming at the tip of her tongue, refusing to eat, and whenever I tried to force her, she would run a temperature.Holding her, I looked up at my mother and Mikaela, whose faces were drawn with the same worry as mine.Not knowing what was going on with Andrea, Mikaela had sent Axl away so, in case anything was to happen, he wouldn't get hurt.I understand perfectly; nobody loved Andrea more than Axl—or so he thought.I looked up at my mother, my face questioningly tight, but she didn't get me."What do we do now?" I asked my mother, "Where is the priestess?" "They should come anytime from now,"