[Malia’s POV]Tears trickled down my eyes as I puffed out smoke from my nostrils and mouth. Tyler had betrayed me. It wasn’t as though I hadn’t seen it coming, but I had just chosen to be blind and had ignored the warning signs.I poured more whiskey into the glass and gulped it down all at once. I closed my eyes, trying to forget the abominable act I had just seen with my two eyes, but the harder I tried to forget, the more it all replayed in my memory. I couldn’t just forget about it, I couldn’t command my mind to focus on any other thing. It was clear and vivid in my memory… everything; the moaning, the grinding, the screams, and I had just stood there by the window in utter dismay.It wasn’t just sex; he had made love to her, and my heart ached because I knew that we had never shared the same kind of raw passion or intensity despite the number of times we had slept with each other.The sky had darkened and the full moon was slowly emerging from the clouds. I looked up from my bedr
[Lucien’s POV]As I put the bottle of alcohol on my lips, Celeste snatched it away from me and I looked up, throwing her an infuriated glance as if to ask her what her problem was.“Give it back,” I said, stretching forward my hand.She tossed it in the trash can and glared furiously at me, but it was I who should be doing the glaring. I ignored her and just stood up from the stool and went to the refrigerator to take out another bottle of the bitter alcohol.“Is this why you cut short our mission in Manhattan? To stay here and drink yourself to death like a poor pathetic loser?” she inquired, with an underlying tone of disgust.I ignored her and walked back to the stool, belching loudly.She frowned and looked like she wanted to puke. “Lucien, snap out of it. Forget about the alcohol and go and speak to your woman right this minute,” she said in a commanding tone, standing in front of me with her hands akimbo.“I don’t have a woman,” I replied, opening the bottle and taking a sip fro
[Tyler’s POV]I sat in the throne room, trying to read the report the warriors in the West had sent to me, acting like everything was okay and pretending to be calm as I waited for Malia to show up. It had been nearly an hour since a guard had been sent to get her, and I was getting extremely anxious since she hadn’t shown up yet.“Malia, I know this would sound annoying, but…” No! No! No! I shouldn’t start that way, I said to myself, practicing how to break the news to her.“Um… there’s something I need to tell you.” No, that sounded terrible. Perhaps, I should be exact and direct instead of speaking like I lacked confidence.I was still in the process of coming up with a suitable way to speak to her when I caught her scent. I quickly composed myself, rested my back and sat up straight on the throne, acting all engrossed with the report book even though I couldn’t comprehend anything that was written there at the moment.I heard her come in and raised my head, then as she met my eyes
[Nivera’s POV]I brushed my long hair as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked pretty, way more pretty than I did in the past.“You are beautiful,” Lucien’s voice echoed in my ears, and I shuddered, looking around as though I could feel his presence around me… but no, he wasn’t there. He won’t be coming anymore.A week had passed since he had bade me goodbye after I had cruelly told him not to show up in front of me again. I felt bad about what I had said, but I knew it was something that needed to be said. He couldn’t keep wasting his precious time on me as I already belonged to someone else.A faint smile appeared on my face as I thought about that someone else: Alpha Tyler. True to his words, he had stayed by my side, and had announced to the elders and the rest of the Pack members that he had chosen to accept me as his beloved mate; much to the anger of everyone, and by everyone, I meant everyone including his grandmother, Vivian, who was over seventy and rarely involv
[Lucien’s POV] “Eloise!” I screamed from my sleep, and reached my hand out into the air, panting heavily as I sat up. When my eyes opened and I looked around my environment, I expressed relief by exhaling deeply. It had all been just a nightmare. Everything was perfectly fine. I buried my head in my hands, wondering what was wrong with me and why I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Eventually, I climbed out of my bed after getting no meaningful answers and headed downstairs, ignoring the call of Nivera’s blood that pulled at my heartstrings. On getting to the fridge, I took out a bottle of whiskey and on second thoughts, decided to drop it and just took a bottle of chilled water which I gulped down within a few seconds. Again, her blood called to me, but I ignored it and just grabbed a pack of chips and sat on the couch, tuning in just in time to watch an animal documentary series on the television. It was either Nivera had become more clumsy over the past week and had been regular
[Tyler’s POV]It had happened again. Nivera had suddenly disappeared without telling a single soul where she was going to. I felt more annoyed than worried over her whereabouts. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that she had definitely gone to be with the vampire. Had the night we shared not been of importance to her? Did it mean nothing at all? How was it possible that she still had feelings for the vampire when she was my mate?I drummed my fingers on the table, thinking deeply. There was a conspiracy going on, and I needed to get the bottom of it all.“Your highness, your highness,” the Beta called repeatedly, jarring me from my thoughts.I was a bit shaken and looked up, then remembered a meeting with the elders of the Pack was currently going on.“Alpha Tyler, did you hear anything we just said?” Beta Steven asked.“Not really. What exactly did you say? I was preoccupied with more pressing thoughts,” I explained.The Delta cleared his throat and spoke. “We have come to a concl
[Nivera’s POV]My eyes opened slowly to the illumination of the morning sunlight and the chirping of birds. I closed my eyes, then opened it again, trying to remember what had happened to me and why I felt so weak. I looked around as I still laid in the soft bed, and that was when I realised I was in a familiar bedroom. Then, I remembered. It was the bedroom that had been decorated specially just for me in Lucien’s mansion.I blinked my eyes again and again to ensure I wasn’t dreaming or imagining things. If I was waking up, it shouldn’t be here. The last thing I could remember was that I had gotten a note from the Alpha and had left the Palace to meet with him. I racked my brain, and soon, all the memories came running to me.I shivered and sat up, filled with fear and anxiety. I remembered it all, and my skin still felt all the attacks I had suffered in just one night. It seemed again like eight wolves were pouncing at me at once and tearing at my skin. I checked my arms and legs, b
[Tyler’s POV]The words written in the letter seemed to dance before me. I read it again and again, but the more I read, the more shocked I was. Nivera had been kidnapped? Who would dare do such a thing? The worst part was that I couldn’t point a finger at the perpetrator because she had a long line of enemies.I folded the paper and kept it on the table, thinking of how to bring the criminal to book. Just a few minutes ago, the guard I had sent to find her had sent a letter to me, stating that he had found Nivera locked up in a cave by the riverside. Apparently, she had been deceived that I wanted to meet with her outside the palace and once she was outside, she had been attacked and kidnapped by some unknown people. They had left her to die alone in the cave, but thankfully, he had found her and she was presently recuperating at a stated inn, but he promised to bring her back before twenty-four hours was up.“So, that’s how little these people think of me. They had the guts to attem
[Nivera’s POV]Six months had passed since Tyler had died and our lives had taken a turn for the best. I no longer had nightmares because I knew he was never coming back, and I got to spend the rest of eternity with the only man that had ever shown me love, even when I didn’t deserve it.“You’re deserving of much more than my love,” Lucien said, planting a kiss on my lips as he rested his head on my thighs, as though he could read my thoughts.I smiled, running my fingers through his hair, as my eyes scanned the beach, wondering where the kids were.“Mum, dad, look what we found!” Luca and Lucille chorused, running towards us with their hands full of shells.Lucien sat up, and we both stared at Lucille in disbelief.“Mum? Dad?” Lucien asked, surprised, even though I nudged him not to say anything.She fiddled with her fingers nervously. “Is… is it okay if I call you guys that?” she asked, wide-eyed.“Of course, we’re your parents after all. We’re just… we’re just shocked becauseit’s
[Lucien’s POV]There was fury evident in my eyes, and even the ever-so courageous Tyler knew he was about to taste my wrath, as I charged towards him with my claws out and fangs bared, ready to tear him limb from limb before my rage could reignite.“Stay away from me,” Tyler barked, and nodded at his people who had been staring the whole time to come to his rescue.“For Alpha Tyler,” his most trusted warrior yelled, but the people looked away.“How many have died? How many more will die? We just managed to start getting our lives back together, but for some reason, our very own dear Alpha wants us to risk our lives for him. Hell no! I have children and I must stay alive to protect them,” the Gamma stated.The crowd murmured in agreement with her statement.“Once I get out of this, each one of you would die in the most painful manner, I promise you that!” Tyler raged.Elder Gaius laughed. “That won’t be possible. Thanks to the witch, Jocelyn, we now have our separate lives and identiti
[Lucien’s POV]It had always bothered me… how people asked who my son bore resemblance to even when Nivera and I walked down the streets together, but the fact that Luca wasn’t biologically my son hadn’t hurt me like the way it did today. It hurt worse to see the smirk on Tyler’s face and he seemed extremely excited. Why wouldn’t he? No matter what I do, he’ll always be Luca’s father.“Careful now, do you think Luca here would forgive you for getting rid of his true father?” I heard Jocelyn’s voice ask, and I looked up to see her holding Luca tightly by his hand.Instantly, I became numb and stopped dealing Tyler with blows, as I staggered towards where he was and ran my hands all over him to make sure he was okay.“What are you doing here, big guy? Are you fine?” I asked him.“Yeah. Mummy followed after you when you left and some ladies came to forcefully take Uncle Ryle and myself,” he explained.Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me, and before I could turn around, I was injected w
[Tyler’s POV]It was an open arena, just within the estate. I paced around in full-blown panic. I didn’t mean to, but somehow, I was afraid. The vampire had been the first person to ever win me in a fight, and till date, I could never forget about how he had mercilessly tortured me and had only let me go because of Nivera.A whiff of her scent caught my nose, and I turned around. Malia was standing right behind me, wearing a flowing red dress, with a worried look written on her face.“Greetings, Alpha Tyler,” she said, with a small bow.“What do you want?” I retorted in a low growl.“I just… I just wanted to wish you good luck,” she said.“You’ve done that now. You may go,” I told her.She didn’t leave, but just kept staring at me. “Must you engage in this fight? It’s been several years and we just started having peace. Can’t you just not fight the vampire?” she asked.I knew it came from a place of concern, but I was infuriated by her words. “Why? Do you also think that I won’t be ab
[Lucien’s POV]I just got off the phone with one of the surgeons and was informed that the date of Celeste’s surgery had been fixed and all the preparations to ensure the surgery was successful had been put in place.A smile spread across my lips as I skipped up the stairs and knocked on her door gently, waiting for her to usher me in. I could perceive that she and Ryle were inside, and unless they were making out or something, they should have answered and opened the door already.“Hello, I know you’re in there. Can I come in?” I asked.What seemed like ages passed, and there was still no response, so I simply just opened the door and walked in.To my surprise, Celeste laid on the bed, looking like a completely different person. No, it wasn’t just the ugly third degree burn scars that still looked hideous despite all the treatments she had undergone, including steadily taking her potions. She looked older, and wrinkles were slowly starting to show on her face, particularly on her for
[Tyler’s POV]“How is my precious Carl Washington doing today?” Jocelyn asked as she stepped into the study room. I had been expecting her presence after seeing the terrestrial ball she called a portal dancing next to the door.I shrugged. “I’ll never get used to that name,” I said.“It’s okay. I can just call you Tyler if you’re more comfortable with that. It’s not like the authorities are always present to monitor everything we have to say,” she explained, then sat down on a stool beside me and eyed the map I had been working on.A month ago, all the documents had been processed and finalised, and I had been able to move to New Orleans with my family, as well as the other members of the Crescent Pack who had also acquired new identities.The estate I had been able to acquire was more than enough to house the remaining members of our Pack, and slowly, we had been adapting to the human way of life and maintaining our territory.In the near future, we were going to transform more human
[Nivera’s POV]“Let me fucking go. Do you even know who I am and what I can do? I’m a fucking hybrid, you psychopath,” I said, as the stranger with the familiar hand grabbed my arms and forced me to go with him.“Oh, shut up. You’re nothing without that useless vampire, and guess what? He’s no more. I’ve gotten rid of him, and you’re mine now,” he said.“Bold of you to assume that you can easily get rid of Lucien O’Hara. And I don’t belong to you. I am no one’s property,” I said to him.He pushed me to the ground, making me fall to my knees, so that I now knelt before him, after which he began to drag me by the hair and kick me for no reason. I didn’t know why, but at that point, I was unable to make use of any of my hybrid abilities despite how hard I tried to.“What did you do to me? Why am I so weak? Why can’t I use my abilities?” I asked, trying to break free from whatever was holding me back.Even in the dim light, I could see a smirk appear on his face. “You should stop trying s
[Tyler’s POV]Meeting with the witch, Celeste, had made me understand how I could save the lives of the people I had left. If the other werewolf communities could find a way to go through my Palace gates, it meant that we were not safe even in the Palace that was expected to be a safe haven.When she spoke about Lucien, the vampire whose face still haunted me in my dreams from time-to-time, I remembered the world I had gone to when I was in search of Nivera. It was a whole different world, beyond the knowledge of any of my werewolf counterparts, and it got me thinking. If I could get my people to that world, they would be safe.Since it appeared that they were mostly humans, nothing was stopping us from migrating there and pretending to be one of them, while we were werewolves in secret. I had no idea on how to go about it, but it seemed to be the only way out for all of us.I couldn’t just let the Crescent Pack go extinct like that. I needed to do something, anything at all, to save
[Lucien’s POV]I was stroking Luca’s hair as we watched an episode of his favourite cartoon while Nivera made Mac and cheese in the kitchen. All of a sudden, I began to perceive smoke; like something was burning.“Babe, are you on the phone? Check on the food. I think it’s getting burnt,” I yelled from the living room.“The food is all right, but I can also perceive…”“Lucien! Nivera! Help!” It was Ryle’s voice and it came up from his bedroom upstairs. Luca and I exchanged glances and Nivera dashed out of the kitchen, looking as confused as I was.“What’s wrong?” she asked.“I don’t know, but let’s find out,” I said, then told Luca to keep on watching the cartoon while his mum and I went upstairs to see what was going on.The door to Ryle’s room was wide open and the smell of smoke grew even stronger. Words cannot explain the horrid sight I met once we both stepped in, which registered a kind of shock in my brain, and I knew instantly that I would never get over the painful look on Ce