Tristan"He said he won't be back to the packhouse till tomorrow," Orion disclosed, standing by the door of my workspace, watching me unscrew nuts from the engine to replace the valve.I cleaned my hands on my oil-stained work shirt and wiped the sweat off my brows, turning to give Aidan's Beta my audience. He looked disgusted as he glared around the room, which was filled with spare parts and stank of machine oil. A big engine stood in the middle. The devil refused to come apart."Is there a reason?" I raised a brow.He cleared his throat, standing erect, and said, "There's news that his side of Blood canine is being ambushed."My second brow went up. "And he's there all alone?" Something told me he wasn't accounting for everything, which wasn't something to worry about."He says he can handle it; this is all I am allowed to say."And that was all I would get from him no matter how hard I pushed, which I wouldn't do anyway.I dismissed him with a wave, and he left silently, just as he
I coughed out, turning to my side to spit out blood, yet waiting for the metal to pierce through my midsection, for Atlas' eyes were empty of life—the yearning to shed blood bubbling at his tips."So stupid," I coughed again, immediately hearing him roar, bringing the blade down, when a body jumped on him, sending him sprawling on the ground, the dust in his hair."Sorry, Alpha Atlas, but I can't let you do it." Orion's voice was heard above, forcing me to have a double take on what was happening.Did Orion just save my ass from being stabbed by my brother? And what strength did he have to push Atlas? Atlas?His palms reached out to me, and I grabbed them, holding onto him with every fiber of my being while wincing.Standing up, I put my palm over my stomach and limped toward Orion. Looking at Orion, who had a careful watch on Atlas, who was slowly standing up from the ground but didn't look so furious anymore."Thank you." I nodded at him, regretting every wrong thought I ever held ag
I stared at him, my eyes wide open, knowing I was in another round of trouble and there was nothing I could do about it. Bad news sure does fly around; if not, Alpha Atlas hadn't even been in the pack for more than 15 minutes, but there he was, a cranky smile on his face, promising punishment I wasn't prepared to take.He walked over to me and picked me up like paper, taking me quietly out of the room with Alpha Tristan watching. His gray eyes followed our every move until Alpha Aidan finally left the room, closing the door behind us."Do you have anything to tell?" Aidan asked me, looking forward; I stared at his chin, shaking my head quietly.I was done with talking sharp. I couldn't take on these men, no matter my training. Especially Atlas. To protect my wolf and me, I was going to do as they said. They won.He took me into his fully illuminated room, and it hurt my eyes terribly after being in Alpha Tristan's dark room for almost one full day.He dropped me on the bed and looked d
IRIS POV I woke up to the sound of Alpha Aidan's door opening. Flashing my eyes open, I saw her and relaxed—a maid in a long, groggy gown holding a change of attire for me.She walked close, dropped the cloth on the bed, and left just as quietly as she had come, the door closing behind her.I sighed, sending a long glare to the clothes before crawling on all fours towards it, reaching it, and sinking my hands in the material. It was so apparent that a woman chose this. Its softness and comfort tickled my fingers.It was cream-colored and florally patterned. Suddenly I wanted to try it on.Alpha Aidan was out of bed already. I should give it to him; he was the hardest-working of all the Alphas, except I didn't know them very well.My body still felt weary. I didn't sleep enough last night as it was infested with nightmares that took the form of my visions—terrifying me to my core.I was about to tell Alpha Tristan yesterday before Aidan came in. But he had joked about it, not wanting t
He kissed me hard; he kissed me slow and with a touch of steady; this wasn't planned; his moving against mine in sync, tasting, sucking, and biting—no matter how I tried to bite back a moan, I couldn't help myself from moaning it in his mouth.He took all of me, my breath, and made my heart beat his. His fingers still lingered at the back of my dress, ready to pull down the zip, even without breathing.Then, when I had been swallowed whole, he broke it off. My eyes were closed, but I couldn't stop furrowing my brows and snapping my lashes open.My eyes asked all the questions, confused, aroused, and angry simultaneously."We shouldn't pretend; throw all caution to the wind," he said, leaving my zipper open and raising my chin to his. "But then the bond gets even stronger to break."I swallowed, faced with the tough decision: yes, I'll want everything he had to offer, and these feelings were another thing altogether. Butterflies danced in my belly, and I felt lighter.But also, how coul
Aidan."Damn, they had all the time," I muttered loud enough for Atlas, who stood beside me. He grunted for the umpteenth time. It was the only word he had been saying since we arrived at Pearl's pack.The look on his face was one of disgust as we looked around the destroyed pack. It's ruin, making our stomachs churn.There were whole dead bodies and body parts thrown around the place, so scattered that it was hard not to trip over them. The stench of dead bodies filled the air. The flies were having a damn good time.The survivors were being helped from under heaps of corpses, burning houses, and ditches. "Where's Tristan?" I asked Atlas, whose eyes were on a crying baby being pulled out of the hands of his dead mother."Last I saw him; he was raging; I think he went to put some clothes on."Just immediately, Tristan came out of a small condo in jeans and a shirt that he didn't button, just letting it fly. Something told me the owner of the clothes was dead.He marched, trying to wal
"We should have fucking known. fuck!" He continued to slam against the wall, and I was sure it would make much more significant dents with each blow.He stopped hands on his knees, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down his hair to the floor.He straightened up, looking a little calmer but still scary. "He sent you?" as a spy?"I shook my head in denial at the tip of my tongue. What was he saying? Maybe I should tell him I left the pack years ago because the Luna hunted me."You speak; I hurt you."I pushed my back into the wall, trying to still my breath. "Since you came, Iris, bad things have happened."The tears were threatening to fall. "Well, sorry, you forced me here, remember?""That makes up for you spying on Blood Canine for Silver Mystic? For Reid? How close were you to him, Huhn? He gave you all you need?!""I am not a spy," the tears finally fell, "all I want to say is that Reid can't do that to women and children; it's against everything he believes in.""Both of you are o
Iris. POVThe Alpha Room was rowdy when I was pushed in, and with the countenance, I knew they weren't reaching an argument, and Tristan still believed Reid had something to do with the attack on his side of the bloodhound.I tried to hide my face from Reid by using my hair, turning to the side, or having my face lowered.Soon, Tristan was behind me, pulling my hair back so Reid could see me fully. I saw the shock on his face and shrank back in, hiding my face again."Iris," he called my name for the second time."She's not in a place to reply to you right now." Tristan pushed me behind him, so Orion held me in place. I could see his back when he said, "I don't want to believe you sent her here, Reid.""I did not," his voice was fiery, "she's from Silver Mystic; you don't have the right to hold her against my will."Tristan laughed, "Hold your horses, Reid; you can either sit back down or leave; it's all up to you."Reid looked from me to him, then he sighed, pulled his chair back, an
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."