Hades’ POV“You have some fucking nerve, don’t you!” He snarls menacingly as he stomps over to me. I throw my hands in the air, a sign of my submission towards him while I step back slowly.His eyes bleed black as he glares daggers at me.“Get the fuck out of my sight before I have you killed! After that, I’ll have your pack killed as well,”My jaw clenches. No alpha should let anyone threaten his pack before him and let him get away with it, but this situation falls different. My pack literally lives off of his supplies and provision. Our father, before handing the title over to me and Valerian, filed for the pack’s bankruptcy, only we managed to save it thanks to the Alpha King’s tremendous help. Until I can pay him back and get the pack running on its own funds and thriving businesses, I am forever indebted to him.“Please, hear me out. It’s about Dahlia,” He growls ferociously, looking like he was about ready to lunge at me when Cathy jumps out of nowhere. Her small bump is on di
Dahlia’s POV:It felt like just like all those weeks ago, last time we met at our rendezvous and that same nudging feeling pulling me to him, yet I have no idea what. My brows furrow, and I notice Tatum’s eyes darken just before I remove my gaze to look right down at the steps in front of me. Now that I have made an entrance, it would be embarrassing if I make a fool of myself stumbling down the stairs. I have yet to reach the bottom stair when Tatum reaches his hand out to me. I look at it, glancing up at him to see his eyes had turned black in his anger, he was shaking, that I can tell, yet he was trying to mask it under his usual cheerful façade in front of Damien.‘Take it, mate,’ he orders through the bond, and my instincts snap instantly as I grip his hand. I wince, and he shoots me a death glare at the sound I dared to make, apparently I am not allowed to make any sound so long as his father is right in front of him.“Dahlia, it is so good to see you,” Damien smiles, and I sh
Dahlia’s POV:My heart beats faster, sweat trickling down the side of my face when he doesn’t pull away. Instead, he tugs harder. “And what do you think you were trying to do?” he growls menacingly, a warning.“Nothing,” I reply, letting out a whimper when he pulls my hair back further, forcing my neck to crane in an uncomfortable position. His forest green eyes glaze over as he glares daggers into me, his breath hot on my neck, sending shivers down my arched spine.“One thing I hate the most, is liars, Dahlia.” He says through gritted teeth.I gulp. My wolf paces in my head as if having a heart attack, when she tells me the last thing I expected her to say.‘Submit to him, Dahlia,’ she orders me, and if I could see her now I would stare at her like she’d grown two more heads.‘What?!’ I ask, unable to believe she suggested it.‘Submit! You’ll never have the upper hand here if you won’t, Dahlia.’ My brows furrow, listening to my wolf instruct me to submit. She wants me to gain his t
Dahlia’s POV:“It isn’t her fault, I was the one in charge, Tatum.”My head snapped up as Thalia came forward.Tatum narrows his eyes at her, before a smirk tugged on his lips.“Well then, I suppose there’s a lesson to be taught to all of you,”Before I could blink, I was back in my room, being ordered by Tatum I wasn’t really left a choice. So I turn on my heel while glancing every so often over my shoulder. A shiver snaking down my spine each time I see the fear in one of the women’s faces. Their lips quivered and hands shook violently though they tried to hide it.My wolf huffs. She doesn’t like leaving them alone with that monster just as much as I didn’t want to. For a while, the women had been nice to me here, and we have all conjured a plan I triggered earlier, which was also the cause of our downfall. I just wanted out of here as soon as possible. Away from my psycho ass mate, away from everything.Once in the bedroom he wanted me in, I strip down my dress and wandered to the
Dahlia’s POV:It was never-ending. I knew mixing pain with unimaginable pleasure is his largest kink, but after over what felt like hours, I collapsed on the bed. My body limp, and covered with sweat. He did it to me, and no matter how many times he forced my orgasm, all I could think of was Thalia’s head lying on the floor.Once he was done, he grabbed his suit jacket and tossed it over his shoulders. He wandered off to the walk-in closet, kicking Thalia’s head in the process making me gasp in shock.Tatum turned his furrowed brows to me, and glanced at her head before rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he moved to the closet. I knew he haven’t the decency to take it out of the room before he does the most degrading things to me, but I didn’t know he could be this crazy just to laugh off when he accidentally kicks a dead person’s head casually sitting on the floor.No, the man is insane. And his actions confirmed it when he suddenly came out, whistling some tune before shoving
Dahlia’s POV:Scar doesn’t let me say another word as I blink at her, opening my mouth to say something when he grabs my hand, about to force me out of the room.“Wait, where’s Tatum?” I ask, scrunching my brows in confusion.“He’s in the lobby, sleeping. Nothing can wake him up for at least 20 minutes,” she informs me.“You escaped?” I asked.“Thalia helped me with the key,” she explains, while I glance briefly at Thalia positioned beside the bed.She looks in the same direction, and her lips presses into a line before her eyes turn glassy. I watch her in silence, when she shakes her head, and turns her focus on me.“Listen we have to go,” she urges, then stalks into the room and pulls something from her dress, some powder I’m not sure the purpose of as she spreads it across the linen.Turning around, she holds out her hand.Reluctantly, I give in and let her drag me out into the hallway, making sure the door was closed as if leaving it ajar would “What was that powder?”“A replica
Dahlia’s POV:We ran faster than we ever had before, running being the only option to avoid our fate. A fate thrust upon us the day we met our mate. His feral growls ring through my head even though I was sure he was completely behind and unable to get to us, when I notice Diana pants abnormally. She’s probably exhausted after over an hour run, yet she refuses to stop running. As long as we’re still close to his territory, there is no guarantee we wouldn’t get caught.The sun has already set, the sky turning dark as the clouds fade. I could feel the tension rippling through the air as our paws dig and land on the dirt and grass in this dark forest. We’re now in neutral territory, which also means rogues, and the dangerous kind, could be lurking in any direction. Once it gets dark, I have to get Diana to settle.Even after reaching this far, I could still feel our broken bond. Tugging on it, I could feel him through the bond. His rage, devastation, and desire grows stronger each secon
Chapter 108Hades’ POV:I’ve been told by his beta to wait for another hour right after I have fiddled with my thumbs in my seat for under three whole hours waiting. After I pleaded with him, his beta told me he went to Tatum’s own house situated deep in the forest. He wouldn’t let me come when I asked, and he wouldn’t tell me where either. He leaves me no choice but to sit here idly as I wait, without even the assurance of her coming back with him.Rising to my feet, I start pacing. I swear to god if I spend one more minute waiting on that sofa for him to arrive, I’ll lose it.Eyes of several omegas passing by watch me wearily, treading carefully as the move past me trying to go unnoticed. I know I have been frantic since I pulled up here, but the thought of her possibly being abducted makes the panic even worse. The only thing I could think of, even after feeling the aftereffects of Cathy’s rejection in my mind and body, was finding her. And I can’t be thankful enough to know my wol
Chapter 123 Hades’ POV: Three weeks later. Everything was revealed later that night. The dead bodies piled up in the room, Scarlet’s origin, and the rogues he’d been keeping in that private house Damien apparently gave to him after he’d been crowned prince. King Damien had been furious. Despite what he did, we chose to give him and the others a proper funeral, which will be coming up in the next few days. Hopefully by then, Dahlia will wake up, and accept the mark I’d given to her as my chosen mate. “How long has it been now?” Val asks, leaning against the door frame in my office. I shrug, “A few weeks. Three tops,” I reply and sigh. Val nods, and I look at him. “How’s Cathy?” I ask. “She’s fine, been trying to get her to take her supplements,” “Well, is she?” “Not without a bribe,” he chuckles, and I shake my head. Of course, he can get his woman to make love to him despite being pregnant. But then, it begs the question. “And what about Lola?” “Well, she doesn’t really
Chapter 122Hades’ POV:“Can we really trust her?” I groan. My beta insists a rogue shouldn’t be trusted, but I have a feeling I should.“Right now, she’s the only lead we got. If she is lying, I’ll give you a go signal. Kill her.” I tell him just so he could shut up already. He nods, but I know the reason he’s acting suspicious is because the last thing he trusts would be damn rogues leading us the way. Our pack is no stranger to rogue attacks, and for his account, he lost both his parents in one.We are currently moving in a large group with my warriors in my front, following Scarlet’s lead. She looks over her shoulder at me, when suddenly she skids to a stop.Because we are not connected to pack link, she has no choice but to communicate to us through gestures. She whines and proceeds to point her nuzzle to a wall.She’s shitting me, right?“What am I looking at?” I ask when I realize I have delivered the question directly to the mind-link.“She tricked us!” My beta snarls, and jus
Chapter 121Dahlia’s POVHis eyes widen and he instantly grabs the handle of the knife, only for me to push it in harder. Blood spews from his mouth, letting me know I have a chance. Diana comes forward when he tries to get up, lending me her strength to pin him down while he’s currently caught off guard. He growls, his eyes locked onto me in surprise, confusion, and wrath, but I don’t let go. Instead, I grip the knife tighter, pushing as much as I could before I twist. Suddenly, his mouth opens and more blood trickles from his lips. Then he makes a gurgling sound, and I watch him, my heart racing in my chest as I stare into his wide eyes.One minute turned to two as I held the knife buried deep in his heart while he constantly fights. His breathing becomes weaker and weaker by the second, and his inability to utter a word, I figured, is what prevented him from casting any spell. Then, he surprises me when he grabs my neck, yanking me forward. I shriek, holding onto the knife as he
Dahlia’s POV:I look at him watching me with lust and desire as he roams his eyes over my body. It heats and squirms underneath his gaze, yet I was certain it was none other than the bond making me feel such things. What else would make me look past whatever sick thoughts were going through his head, and everything he’d done up to present?Tatum leans forward, letting me know that somehow grabbed his attention. So I try to keep it by licking my lips seductively, placing my palms on the mattress before I begin crawling to him, stopping at the edge to spread my legs wide open.He growls, his eyes going to my center and I take this as a chance to put my arms around his neck as I pull him towards me. Thankfully, he obliges, but then he stands, shoving me back on the bed.Pushing my elbows against the mattress, I move my body further up the bed where the knife is. But Tatum doesn’t follow. He remains standing at the foot of the bed, staring at me with hooded eyes. My eyes move down to his
Chapter 119Dahlia’s POVIt took me a few seconds to realize how many boxes were stacked in this one room. Sixteen. The only thing that gave me a little comfort was that I only recognized one of the scents. Thalia’s, which means recently, he’d only killed one of the women though I have yet to see proof of Scar’s. That woman is tough as gold. I’ve been holding on to small hope that maybe, she escaped. I also noticed how Tatum disclosed so little information about her, that strengthens my resolve to believe he is lying.As long as I have hope, I can hold out a little longer. I have to.It’s taking longer than expected for me to reject the effects of wolfsbane, leaving me still in a paralytic state though my mind is conscious. Tatum turned his back for a second, when I felt the mind-link open up.‘Dahlia!’ A deep voice boomed in my head, and there was no mistaking it.‘Hades,’ Relief would have flooded me right in this instant, if only Tatum haven’t somewhat sensed it as he strode towa
Chapter 118Dahlia’s POV:I wake up groggily and groan, a loud ringing in my head as I try to gather my bearings. My head is pounding, and I try to lift my hand to massage my temple only to find it is useless; I can’t move, not just my hand, but my whole body seems paralyzed. Although I can feel my lips and tongue, meaning I can only speak but not move for the next couple of hours, or more.As I come to, I hear my wolf groaning subtly in the back of my mind. That’s when I remembered, Tatum. I stepped outside my room for a while to check on the shouting when I bumped on him out of nowhere. Then, he pulled out a syringe and injected me with wolfsbane.Wolfsbane! I gasp to myself.Relief floods me to know that the wolfsbane hasn’t gotten to Diana, at least not yet. Wolfsbane, when injected directly to werewolves, could damage us in unimaginable ways, damage our wolf. “You’re awake,” a loud voice rips me out of my thoughts as I try to look in the direction it came from. My blood runs co
Hades' POV:The moment I heard the commotion, felt the shift in the air, I knew something was wrong. My heart thunders in my chest, a nagging instinct I can’t ignore.The warriors are scrambling, trying to form ranks, but I’m beyond reasoning, beyond commands. My blood burns with the need to protect her. The faint rustle of movement catches my ear, and I turn just in time to see one of my warriors running toward me, breathless. His eyes are wide, panic creeping into his voice.“Alpha, there’s been a breach,” he says, his voice shaking. “It’s Tatum. He’s taken her.”A jolt of ice shoots down my spine. The world around me slows, as if time is stretching, elongating, mocking me.Tatum.I don’t know how he managed it, how he could have gotten this far without my knowledge. We were prepared for attacks, for skirmishes, but this... this is different. This feels personal. He’s always been a threat, but now, it’s a war I didn’t anticipate.I don’t think. I just move.The ground beneath my fee
Dahlia’s POVThe room is quiet, save for the soft hum of the heater and the distant murmur of the pack house settling for the night. Hades hasn’t left my side since the confrontation at the border, his presence grounding and reassuring. Still, the weight of Tatum’s rage lingers in the air, heavy and suffocating.Hades stands by the window, his silhouette framed by the silver moonlight. He’s tense, his shoulders stiff and his arms crossed over his chest. I can feel his emotions like a pulse in the air.“Stop blaming yourself,” I say softly, my voice breaking the silence.He turns, his dark eyes meeting mine. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything, and I see the war waging within him. Then he exhales, a sound heavy with frustration.“I should have never let you go with him,” he says, his voice low but sharp. “Tatum shouldn’t even have the chance to get near you.”I push myself up from the bed, my limbs still weak but my resolve strong. “He doesn’t have me, Hades. I’m here with you.”His
Chapter 115Tatum’s POVHades' smugness sends rage spiraling through me. I stand at the border of his precious pack, my fists clenched so tightly I can feel my claws biting into my palms. He thinks he’s won. He thinks he’s the better Alpha.But he doesn’t know what I’ve been through. What Dahlia and I have been through.She’s my mate. My wolf howls in agreement, pacing relentlessly in the cage I’ve forced him into. He wants to tear through Hades’ chest, rip him apart limb by limb for daring to claim what isn’t his.“She’s not his,” I growl, my voice low but laced with venom.Behind me, my warriors shuffle uneasily, their loyalty unwavering but their nerves visible. They know the risk of challenging Hades on his own land, but they also know I won’t back down.“What’s the plan?” asks my wolf, my other half. He’s infiltrated my mind with filthy thoughts these days, and no matter how much I want to shut him up, the thing is forever connected to me. The same way Dahlia is connected with me