[Nivera’s POV]Something was going on in the house, but Lucien wouldn’t tell me what it was. I was really disturbed and although I had tried to believe that Mrs Phil had just said what she said due to her mental illness, I had a feeling that there might be more to it.I tossed and turned in my bed, but was unable to sleep. The lights were off and I had closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep, and even went as far as faking a snore when Lucien had come to bid me goodnight.Perhaps, a glass of milk would help me fall asleep, but he had forbidden me from coming downstairs in the meantime. According to him, there was a kind of renovation going on and since it was a surprise, he didn’t want me to ruin it by seeing it before it was complete. I didn’t fully believe him, but I pretended to.Just as I was about to turn on the lights and keep myself busy by reading a book, I heard footsteps… they were steady, loud and clear. It came from the room on the far end of the floor; Lucien’s room. He
[Lucien’s POV]I had checked on Nivera and she was still sleeping, so I went downstairs and Celeste was there, waiting for me.“You’re the one who asked me to come. Why did you take so long?” she snapped.“Why are you mad? It’s not like you had anything better to do anyway,” I retorted, then beckoned on her to follow after me, which she did without a word surprisingly.“Are you ready?” I asked, once we got to the basement.“You know I am,” she replied.I opened the door, and there he was, chained to an electric chair with his hands and legs bound so that he was unable to move. He had many bruises on his body and they weren’t healing quickly; that’s if they were even healing at all.Previously, his eyes had been closed, but they opened up as soon as I stepped in. He looked at me wearily and forced a smile. “You… you’re here,” he managed to say.“Isn’t that Tyler Jefferson, the Alpha of the Crescent Pack?” Celeste asked, with undeniable shock written on her face as her eyes nearly poppe
[Nivera’s POV]I stirred in my sleep, sweating profusely even though the air conditioner was on as I was busy having a terrible nightmare; one in which Lucien was the devil and I was being taken advantage of by him.“You’ll forget about what happened here tonight. You’ll only remember falling asleep after having dinner,” he said to me, and like that, I woke up with a start.I sat on the bed immediately my eyes flew open and began to gasp for air as the nightmare kept replaying in my head. Why had it all seemed like it was so real when it had only been something I had dreamed about?I muttered a prayer to the Moon Goddess, then stood up and walked over to the window where I stood for several minutes, watching as the moon slowly disappeared into the sky, giving way for the sun to come out as morning was already upon us.I don’t know how long I had slept, but it sure didn’t seem like a long time as my legs were sore and my body ached all over. Perhaps, I hadn’t slept in the right positio
[Lucien’s POV]I gulped down the remaining glass of Martell and proceeded to open the next bottle, when Celeste reached out her hand to stop me from drinking.“Enough already. What’s this? Your fourth bottle?” she inquired, with an element of distaste in her voice.I snapped her hand off mine and proceeded to open the bottle. “Fifth, and no, I am not stopping when I haven’t gotten drunk yet. I need to get drunk till I can barely keep my eyes open, fall asleep and forget about the ache in my heart for a little while,” I said, drinking it directly from the bottle, already feeling too weak in my hands to pour the alcohol into a glass.“Lucien, drinking won’t change anything. You’re going to wake up in the morning and feel the pain all over again, so what’s the use?” she asked.“I should be asking you that question, Celeste. What’s the use of you telling me to stop drinking when it’s not affecting you or me in any way? It’s not like my livers would get all damaged from drinking. We both k
[Tyler’s POV]I kept stealing glances at her, unable to take my eyes off her ever since we had set off on our journey back to the Crescent Pack.“Careful. Don’t make us crash,” she warned, motioning at the abandoned vehicle that was lying in my path.I quickly turned my attention back to the road. A lot of thoughts were going on in my mind, and I had a lot of questions to ask, but I didn’t even know how to begin the conversation. She just sat quietly, staring out the window and not paying me any attention.“Why?” I finally asked.She turned to face me slowly. “What do you mean?” she inquired.“Why did you save my life?” I asked. “Don’t say it’s because you felt obligated to since you’re my mate. I’ve been nothing but horrible to you, so why did you save my life?” I asked.She shrugged. “Perhaps, I would have felt relieved if you had died, but I would never have forgiven myself because I had a chance to save you. Besides, I was only returning the favour you gave me eight years ago,” sh
[Tyler’s POV]Just like that, Nivera had turned into my personal bodyguard as she was always walking behind me and I didn’t let her out of my sight for one second, well, except for at times like these when she needed to use the bathroom.I glanced at my wristwatch. What was taking her so long? I wondered.Suddenly, I heard voices. She was speaking to someone, and I hurriedly tapped on the bathroom door, feeling more apprehensive than I thought I would. It was as though I wasn’t afraid of her leaving the palace, but more afraid that she went back to be with the vampire. How they had met each other, I still didn’t know, but he was the first man to bring me to my knees and I despised him with so much passion. I could only hope for an opportunity in future to get rid of him.Nivera opened the door and stepped out. “I’m sorry I took too long,” she apologised upon seeing me.I looked away from her and opened the bathroom door wider, trying to see if anyone was in there, but no one was.“Who
[Nivera’s POV]My eyes shut close the moment the Alpha stepped inside the bedroom and I pretended to be asleep, when truly, I had waited till he got back before deciding to go to bed.“I know you aren’t asleep,” he said in a husky voice as he stood directly in front of the mattress where I laid.I could tell he was staring at me with that piercing gaze of his and gave in, opening my eyes instantly and sitting up. “Good evening, Alpha Tyler,” I greeted.“Why did you pretend to be asleep?” he fired at me instead of responding to my greeting.“I thought you wouldn’t want to see me awake by this time of the night,” I replied.He said nothing in response and merely sat on the edge of the bed. “You know what tomorrow is, right?” he inquired.I nodded my head in the affirmative. “Yes, your highness. Tomorrow is the full moon, the day I would say yes to your rejection,” I answered, appearing unperturbed.He stared at me for quite some time before speaking again. “You don’t seem sad about it a
[Nivera’s POV]At the mention of my name, I jumped and looked up at the Alpha with fear and worry.He smiled. “There you are,” he said, coming close to me.I looked to my side and discovered that Lucien had disappeared into thin air right on time and I had been worried over nothing, but before I could sigh in relief, I realised I had reached a decision and he couldn’t just go since I hadn’t given him an answer yet.“I… um… I’ll be right back,” I quickly said, unable to think of anything else and was about to dash out when the Alpha pulled me back.“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, looking infuriated.“I have something to take care of. I’ll explain it to you later,” I said in an urgent tone.“Is this about the vampire?” he asked, taking me aback.I stammered, unable to say a word and just looked up at him with a perplexed expression.“He was here, wasn’t he?” he demanded, but I didn’t respond. “Answer me!” he yelled so loudly that the walls shook and the sleeping horses awo