ALPHA VAN’S POV I was glad my brother had finally settled down with someone he loved. Though Sharon might not be his fated mate, I had never seen him care for anyone as much. He truly loved her. Speaking of love, Narah’s gaze sparkled in the afternoon light, drawing my attention like a magnet. Each time I stole a glance at her, I found her gaze was not on me and my heart sank a little more; the entire time, her eyes were fixed on Sharon and Liam, laughter dancing between them. A fleeting thought crossed my mind—what if she longed for a mate of her own? If that was the case, I’d lay my heart bare for her, ready to be whatever she needed and let her do whatever she pleased with me; I was all hers. I imagined her touch, her smile brightening my world. Once I dealt with Anakiyus and the witch’s problem today, I’d take the divorce papers to Gina and finally reveal my feelings for Narah. My eyes swept through the garden, taking in the beautiful, vibrant colours of flowers and the
LIORA'S POV “What do you mean he's not here?” “He's out of the house, he's not inside. That's what I mean,” I explained sarcastically to Grandma Bessie, the owner of the building where we lived. Anakiyus, Keenan and Nas had left for their usual meetings and Grandma Bessie had come today to collect her balance for the rent. Sometimes, I thought that Anakiyus was avoiding her on purpose. “Two weeks, he has two weeks to pay up,” she said, raising the index and middle finger of her right hand like a warning. “Two weeks. That's all.” Before Grandma Bessie brought up the rent, she had talked about how she started from the bottom to the top in the days of her youth. Now I was already tired of standing on the porch, listening to her prattle on about her two grandsons and how she hoped I’d date one of them. The minute she left, I skidded happily back into the house, and as I walked down the corridor, I halted. I was all alone. Whenever Anakiyus and the others left for the evening, I usu
ALPHA VAN’S POV I turned to look at Bryan, the gun trembling in his hand as it pointed at the witch's forehead. Jeremiah stood tall beside him, arms crossed, a smirk on his face. Rachael’s eyes were wide, her dagger still pressed tightly against the witch's throat. Liora. That was her name. Fear radiated from her, and I could see her breath quicken. Bryan hesitated. What was going on in his head? I thought he didn't want her dead. The room smelled of fear and sweat. “A gun?” Jeremiah asked, raising an eyebrow, not completely surprised. “I didn't know you had that.” “Well, there are a lot of things I have that you don’t know about, big brother.” Bryan’s voice was low, a new edge to it. That was the first time he’d ever addressed Jeremiah that way. I could sense the tension rolling off him; he was on the brink, but I was sure he wouldn’t pull that trigger. “He's going to pull the trigger,” Jeremiah said, turning to Anakiyus. Anakiyus’s expression shifted from concern to panic
NARAH'S POV “I'm sorry that I couldn't get here earlier,” I said to Liora, glancing at the blood smeared across the living room floor and feeling remorseful that I was unable to contact her before the hunt. She stared at the blood, allowing herself a moment to think. I wondered what went through her mind. If only I had managed to contact her before the hunt… Could I have prevented this? Alpha Van and the others had already left, and it took us several agonising minutes to return here. We had been hiding in the woods, away from Bryan and Axton, my heart pounding in my chest with every rustle of leaves. Back in the mansion, I had squeezed into the boot of the SUV when Alpha Van and Jeremiah entered the Pack house, praying I wouldn’t be discovered. I made sure I was not seen by anyone. Earlier, I’d asked Cindy to cover for me, claiming I had gone to the store. The darkness enveloped me as I held my breath, listening to the muffled sounds above. What would I say if I was caugh
NARAH'S POV I stood before the door, my heart racing. Liora had her head covered with her hood, and her dark hair covering her face. She glanced back at the corridor. “Are you sure we should be here?” This right here was a risk, but I had no other option, or so I thought. “I don't know any other person in this town,” I said, “or do you?” Liora shook her head. And I kept my knuckles rapped against the iron surface, the sound echoing in the stillness. “We could leave,” Liora suggested. Suddenly, a solid thud echoed as the metallic door swung open. Chris froze. His eyes widened in surprise, moving from Liora to me. “Narah? What are you doing here?” His gaze shifted to Liora, who stood nervously beside me in her black hoodie. “Can we come in?” I asked urgently. Without waiting for an answer, I stepped inside, dragging Liora with me. The sweet scent of vanilla filled the air-conditioned room. Chris stretched his head outside the door, glancing around to see if we had come alone
NARAH'S POV Traitor? Did he find out that I had helped Liora escape? Alpha Van's grip tightened, wrapped around my waist like a serpent. His left hand slowly moved up to my chest before grabbing my neck.His hot breath kissed the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine and making my honeypot wet for no reason. Goodness! I realised I wasn't thinking at that moment; it felt as if my brain was on a vacation.“Alp–Alpha Van,” I stammered in a hushed tone, finding it difficult to breathe.I loved the feel of his hand on me, but his grip around my neck was becoming too tight and it felt like he was strangling me on purpose.“Please, stop,” I begged, my voice raspy.“Why did you help the witch?” He asked, inhaling my scent like a drug.Suddenly, he pushed me, slamming my body against the wall. His jaw and fist clenched. His eyes were otherworldly and dark, and I wondered, was this really Alpha Van?“Answer me, Narah, why did you help the witch?”I began hitting his hand with both of
NARAH'S POVHow could Liora come to the mansion? She should know she'd be in danger if she dared to show her face here. I didn’t think she’d be reckless enough to leave Chris’s place.The guards began to roam the room, scanning for anyone suspicious. I was certain Liora had masked her witch’s aura whenever she came to town just like Chris had been doing, but anxiety gnawed at me. What if she hadn’t?The compass in Jeremiah's hand must be guiding him to where Liora should be in the hall. My heart pounded as I navigated through the nervous crowd, inspecting their anxious faces for a glimpse of her.Jeremiah moved through the gathering, his gaze sharp as a hawk hunting for a doomed prey. “Remain silent!” a guard barked, striking a pack member on the back.“Be still. No one moves. Stay where you are,” Jeremiah commanded, his voice resonating in the tensed hall.A hush fell over the room, amplifying the sound of my heartbeat. I edged closer to the front row, hiding behind a few pack membe
NARAH'S POV As Chris and I stepped outside the estate, my heart pounded in my chest. Did Bryan actually know something, or was he just being suspicious of me? The weight of his probing questions lingered in my mind, gnawing at my nerves.“I’m glad you’re okay,” Chris said, glancing at me with that familiar intensity that made my heart race. “I was worried.”“Thanks, Chris. I appreciate it,” I replied, trying to steady my voice. Yet, the tension from the council meeting felt suffocating, tightening around me like a noose.We reached his car, and Chris leaned against it, his expression shifting to something more serious. “Narah, I found Liora.”My breath hitched. “What? Where is she?”“She’s at my place. She told me she went out to get some fresh air in the woods.”Relief washed over me, quickly followed by a wave of concern. “Is she safe? Does she know about the council meeting today?”What was I thinking? How would she know? Even I didn't know about the meeting until Cindy told me ab
GINA'S POV “Reina is back, she's back.” The words stumbled out of my lips, as tears filled my eyes.“This is bad, really, really bad,” Ria cowered.As I lay helplessly on the narrow metal-framed bed, staring blankly at the cold, cream-coloured walls of my prison cell, all I could think of was how I had been such a weakling and a fool.I couldn't even control my own mind and all this time, I thought I had been in control of a situation, whereas I had been a mere puppet. My father and mother had been the ones controlling my life, pulling the strings however they liked. I had my fair share of evil in my blood, but looking back, I wasn't always like this.I admitted that the first mistake I ever made was sabotaging Reina’s relationship with Arthur by setting him up with her cousin, Dahlia.I did it out of pure jealousy. I hated Reina. That was what I thought. The truth was I never hated her. No, I didn't. She was the best part of my life until she wasn't. I had the most fun with her whi
LIORA'S POV Clearly, I was overthinking it. It was a door that led to the kitchen, and maybe the maids had to use it often. Okay, maybe it was a trap. As we entered the hallway, the darkness enveloping us, panic surged through me. The air was thick with the scent of savoury dishes that clung to me like a fish on a hook. At the end of the hallway, a door stood in the center, slightly ajar. Lights flickered above, and sent shadows dancing across the walls. The distant sound of faint voices, talking over one another, escaped from behind the door, filling the creepy hallway like haunted ghosts. As we marched onward, a few feet from the door ahead, we saw another wooden door by the side of the wall, old and rugged. It felt out of place compared to the others. Though wooden, the door we had just walked through and the one ahead were made of strong oak and had fine engravings of different patterns on them. Whereas this particular door was thin and as plain as day. Nas proposed we shoul
LIORA'S POV “So this is the Moonlight territory? Not bad,” I said, impressed. “Hey, keep your eyes on the guards,” Anakiyus ordered. I wrinkled my nose in disapproval and mimicked him in a quiet, disturbing mockery of a voice, which sent Nas chuckling. “What is it?” Anakiyus asked, oblivious to the shenanigans going on behind him as we walked through the bustling street which led to the Alpha's house. “Nothing.” Nas croaked immediately. Anakiyus looked between Nas and me, his expression grim, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. As his gaze landed on me again, my shoulders rose and fell in a lazy shrug, my hands drifting up to accompany the notion, as if to say, “I swear it, I have no idea what's going on.” I flashed an innocent smile to convince him, and he still didn't buy it. He shook his head and slowly turned away, his eyes scanning the street ahead. Nas and I exchanged a quick amused glance. I let out a sigh, thanking the heavens I wasn't caught imitating the humourle
NARAH'S POV The air seemed to vibrate with tension, and I could feel the weight of Gina's gaze on me like a physical touch that made my skin crawl.“Hope you've been well?”“You're the last person I thought I'd see,” she said, her voice soft as wool.“And yet, here I am.”“Isn't it a coincidence?” I've been doing a lot of thinking. Earlier, I was just thinking about you, and guess what? I found something weird.”I cocked a brow. “Really? What did you find?”“You're not just a stinky maid. When we first met, my intuition about you was right,” she breathed slowly, savouring every word. She seemed to find it interesting, basking in her own words, like a puzzle she had just solved. “And what intuition is that?” I asked dryly.She smiled in a knowing manner. “You're wolf-less, like someone I used to know, someone who you remind me of… someone DEAD,” she said. “You see, when I was a cub, about ten years old, there was something I read in a book once that fascinated me. I dreamt about it
NARAH'S POV “The Alpha has fallen into a coma, but there's nothing wrong with him scientifically. There’s absolutely nothing I can determine,” I heard Doctor June confirm. “That's because it's a witch's enchantment,” I said, stepping into Alpha Van's room, my footsteps echoing in the stillness. They all turned back to look at me. Miss Kiara's eyes narrowed. “An enchantment?” she asked. She was sitting beside Alpha Van, her hands clasped around his. Tears had dried on her face, and her eyes had turned red as velvet. She had been away for a long time, so she definitely didn't know anything about her children or the things they were going through. “Yes, an enchantment. Alpha Van had complained about this to Doctor Rowan, and it's not new that he's been having seizures and needed medications to stay well.” The words escaped my lips freely, and I didnt even care to stop there until Kacy interrupted. “Narah's right,” she declared. “Van talks about a woman in his dreams and voices in h
GINA’S POVAs Jeremiah carried Van on his back, Beta Solomon, Kacy, Kiara, and some of the Pack guards went along with them. Jeremiah was taking him into the house, while Kacy was outside on a phone call with Doctor June.The heat of the tension pulsed through my veins. I thought Van suddenly passing out was an excellent distraction from the bone of contention—Liam and me.“What's going on?” my wolf, Ria, asked, afraid. “Gina, did you feel that? Van has broken free from the enchantment. How's that even possible?”Nothing was impossible. I was scared he would have broken free sooner, and that was why I had Chris as a backup plan, giving him those stupid magic pills to keep him in check. Although, since Van had stopped the medication, he was bound to break free from the spell sooner or later. He was tremendously strong, after all. I hated to admit that I was impressed.He whispered something to Narah while struggling to breathe. What did he say to her? At that instant, her eyes met mi
NARAH'S POV “He didn't tell you the truth?” “No, he didn't,” Sharon said, wiping her tears. I didn't expect Liam to actually tell her, but when Sharon had a slight change of mind about proceeding with the plan, I asked her to speak with Liam. If he told her the truth about him and Gina, then she could leave peacefully, as she wanted. However, since he didn't tell her, the plan was still on. The entire wedding party would have to see who the Luna had been having an affair with, and for Liam… well, he'd have to deal with his brother afterward, just as Gina would have to deal with him too. I held Sharon's hand, squeezing it gently, I said to her, “Let's go. You've tried your best to give him a chance. Whatever happens now is not your fault.” She blinked several times, fighting back tears that stung her eyes. It was time to go downstairs. The guests were already waiting, and so was the groom. The weather was nice today. The cool wind carried on peacefully, and the birds sang their
GINA'S POV Today was the day I finally gave my love away. The thought of it alone sent a shiver down my spine, and I slammed my fist on the headrest of the bed, making the frame creak in protest. “I hate my life,” I groaned sluggishly, sitting up right. Last night was f**king hell, and today was… was there anything worse than hell? If there was, you could f**king bet I was living in it. I squeezed my face at the strong stench of booze that danced particularly around me. My mouth felt parched. My tongue was sticky, tasting the lingering flavour of last night's cigarettes and alcohol, a failed attempt to drown and set my sorrows ablaze. All that alcohol doused with wolfsbane and I still couldn't get drunk. The sun filtered through the curtains, and as my eyes drifted across my room, squinting, all I could think of was how miserable my present situation was. Rufus was lying next to me. I gently stroked his fur, and he opened his eyes before shutting them again. I lazily got
NARAH’S POVMy heart was still pounding in my chest when I pulled away from Van.“I'm sorry to interrupt, but I found the gloves,” Corolla said with a knowing smirk, though her expression was vaguely flustered.I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease settle deep within me. She was putting on a bra top, tights, and sneakers. Her red hair was tied up in a ponytail. She must have been working out with Alpha Van before I arrived.“You're not interrupting anything, Corolla,” I whispered, my breath catching in my throat.She took a step forward, her gaze never leaving mine. “I heard about your wedding. I'm sorry it went south.”I blinked, trying to steady my breath as I shook my head. “Thank you. I guess... It was for the best—”“Was it?” she interjected, her voice gentle yet firm as he stepped closer, closing the distance between us.Her scent—fruity, with a hint of something more primal—wrapped around me like a blanket, but her appearance darkened—something between concern and somethin