Aella sat in the foyer of the pack house, calmly reading her book. It had been two days since the incident with Louve and she had gotten over the initial embarrassment. She had become fast friends with Louve, who was the kindest person she had become very met.The kindness sometimes scared her, as she wasn't used to someone being so nice and approachable. All her life, she had been used to hostile, sinister people, and Louve proved to be a pleasant surprise to her.She smiled as she turned a page of her book. Perhaps she had made a best friend, who knows? Staying in this pack was definitely changing her in different ways.She looked up as a sound distracted her and saw that it was Louve entering the foyer. She smiled as she saw the other woman and waved happily. When did you start waving happily? Her wolf asked but she ignored it."Hey! I was starting to wonder where you went after breakfast." Louve said, smiling. She closed the glass doors of the foyer behind her and walked towards A
The creek that Logan usually visited to clear his head was running again. The alpha sat by it on the tree stump, with his pants legs rolled up and his feet in the running water. He let the coolness of the creek wash over his anxieties and worries of the last few days. Soon he started to feel better, and he gave a huge sigh of contentment.The grove of trees around the creek was deathly quiet save for the chirping of birds and the whispering of the trees. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander, thinking about anything but the pack or Aella or the rogue killings.It was clear that Logan was a great lover of nature as he soon got himself lost in its tranquillity. This particular creek held much sentimental value for him as he had discovered it when he was a young boy. The stream of water seemed to have some kind of pull or control over him as he had found himself coming here again and again when he needed to clear his head. And he found out he needed to clear his head more and more a
Louve caught up to Logan and they continued to walk in silence. There were a lot of plans in her head as to how she would bring Logan and his mate even closer but she didn't share them. She knew how her cousin would react to them anyway.She was an expert in bringing two lovers together; two people who were destined to be with each other. Although she hadn't been blessed with her own mate by the Goddess, she always tried her best to see to it that others have a blissful relationship with theirs. And now that Logan had confessed to her that he had successfully imprinted on someone, she had taken it upon herself to make him fall in love with her.She also suspected that Logan and whomever his mate was hadn't had sex. Sex was the final stage of mating and after they had sex, they would be absolutely inseparable. But with the way Logan was acting as though he didn't want his mate, she knew that they hadn't consummated the union.Logan glanced at his cousin as they walked towards the pack
Casper walked forward to meet them. He looked between the both of them with an interested expression on his face. "What's going on? Why are you two walking around in the forest?""You should ask her." Logan pointed to his cousin, who was still staring at the beta with unusual attention. "She dragged me into the forest because of a smell."Casper looked at Louve "There are several smells in the forest. Why–" He stopped and the expression on his face melted as he looked into her eyes.They looked at each other with awe, as though they were seeing each other for the first time. Logan could almost feel the current of passion between them. It was almost palpable, like something physical. It was like an invisible rope of synergy was drawing them closer to each other, filling them with an intense desire, until they felt like they couldn't do without each other.Logan looked from one to the other, wondering what was making them act so lovestruck. Something was definitely up."Hey. Hey!" He ca
Aella's POV"Aaargh! I'm so fucking bored!" Aella yelled and sank into the couch by the window. She swung her legs lazily, looking around for something that she could do.If you're bored, then go do something interesting. Her wolf said, rolling her eyes. There are a ton of things to do, girl.What exactly is fun to do around here? Aella replied to her mate. Should I go out and start running around a training ground with teenage wolves?She missed Louve so much. She could not imagine that she would miss someone she had just met, but that was how she felt. She had never missed a person in her entire life, except Logan on some days, but Logan was different. He was her mate and she had no other option but to have those feelings for him. It seemed that her usual characters were changing in ways that she could not explain.She picked up the book she was reading and tried to busy herself with reading but she just couldn't. She couldn't concentrate or do anything meaningful. She was restless
Meanwhile, Logan was still waiting for his mate in the bedroom that they shared, oblivious to whatever was going on. He sat by the bedside after going into the gardens to check up on her. He had wanted to go straight to bed but his broken heart had kept him awake. It was highly frustrating trying to will his heart not to get too worried. He didn't realise how much he would miss her if she left his presence. It was like he was in physical pain. Even his wolf was whimpering with its tail between its legs. He placed his face into his hands and felt wetness. He hadn't even realised he was shedding tears. He stared at his wet hands with disbelief. How could one person get him so vulnerable and emotional? He wanted to cry out and tear his clothes in sadness. He wanted to morph into his wolf form and let out a great howl. His heart was broken, and he didn't know how to fix it. He resolved to keep her by his side always when next he saw her, damn the consequences. He couldn't keep feeling t
Aella's dreams were as riotous as her life. She dreamt first of the woman in the picture frame: Logan's mother. The woman stood before her in the pack's garden, among the white tulips and with a beautiful smile on her face. "Keep my son safe." She whispered.Then Logan's mother morphed into Aella's parents in wolf form, standing.a distance from her in a deep dark forest. "Run, Little One." They called out "He will soon be here." But before she could do anything, a great black wolf came from behind and attacked her parents, tearing them into shreds.Her screams of terror were shut down by Kylie, whose hands were clamped down on her mouth. The woman's eyes shine amber with rage. "You can never be loved by the alpha." She growled. She thrashed around and screamed inaudibly as Kylie held down her mouth–And woke up in a pool of her own sweat, her mouth panting and her heart racing away. Aella groaned as a splitting headache attacked her head and she grabbed her head convulsively."Fuck, f
"Hold her carefully," Logan said to the maid who was supporting Aella with one hand."It's fine, Logan. I can support myself." She snapped at him. "I told you, I don't need anyone's help.""Well, better safe than sorry." He murmured and she gave him a glare of anger.She had been discharged from the pack's clinic and was being moved back to her room: the room she had slept in when she was a scullery maid for the alpha. They got to the door of her room and she stopped abruptly as her eyes took in the sight.Four burly, heavily armed guards were standing at her door. She could see that more latches and locks had been added to her door too. She turned to Logan with a disbelieving look."Really?" She asked. "Really, Logan? Is this your own form of torture?""Anything to keep you from escaping like the last time." He answered, not meeting her eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you here."Aella rolled her eyes. "Ugh! You're so insufferable.""It doesn't matter what I am. As long as yo
Everything was peaceful again.Logan stood at the border that separated his pack from bare land. He slowly looked around, taking in the scene of the battle that had happened so many months ago now. The sight was still as vivid as though it had happened just yesterday. He could still see the Rogue King and all his numbers standing mere meters from where he stood, the sounds of clashing metal and yelling men, so familiar and neverforgotten, the scent too, of blood and fear and adrenaline. Everything still looked and smelled and sounded the same, yet so much had changed since then.He sighed and looked up into the sky, raking his hand through his ponytail. It was almost springtime already; the whole forest reminded him of the change in season. The tree trunks dappled in the morning light and the shadow of the leaves on his face. Some of the trees were already bringing out leaves and flowers. The air smelled of over-ripe berries, fading blossoms, and a thousand or more flowers dazing hi
Logan screamed, and several things happened at once."Attack!" Casper yelled, and the whole of Logan's warriors roared and raced toward the Rogue King and his army. The rogue army equally chanted in a loud voice and beat their weapons against their shield, then ran at the oncoming warriors.Both armies met in the middle of the grassy land. The sound of their collision was terrible and harsh to the ears: the screeching of iron on iron as shields met, the barking and snarling of the frontline wolves as they tore at each other, the painful yells of dozens of Lycan warriors as they were stabbed or speared or torn apart to death.The bodies of Logan's gamma and the spy from the rogue pack were lost in the commotion. Logan barely had time to access the situation of the battle or go after the Rogue King. He had eyes only for his mate. He spotted her in the middle of the stampede, lying on the floor as her life seeped out of her body.He ran towards her after she slipped to the ground before
Logan dismounted from his stallion and walked forward to the edge of the border in preparation to meet the Rogue King. Every angle of his face was set in determination as he looked forward, the spring air caressing his regal face.Then suddenly, he spotted a speck of black coming forward from about a mile forward. The whole army behind him was so silent that the alpha could hear his beta breathing lightly beside him.Casper looked at his alpha. “Logan—” he said, then broke off, stiffening all over. A moment later Logan heard it too—a heavy, rhythmic pounding, and laid over that, a sound like several bonfires crackling. The speck grew and elongated little by little until it was a line of army, running towards Logan and his pack. It took the alpha several long moments to understand the noise.“The Rogue Army.” Casper whispered. Following his gaze, he saw them, coming closer and closer like a spreading shadow, the Rogue Wolf pack in all their numbers. There must have been hundreds of th
Logan had been waiting for a long time.He was standing in the part of the woods that faced the border, with a hundred and fifty well-armed warriors. The whole forest was silent and tense, almost as though all the animals were joining in the wait for the arrival of the Rogue King.He had sent Casper ahead with a couple of other warriors to scan the land ahead and send word when they noticed the arrival of the Rogue King. He had told his beta to wave a red flag when coming to indicate that battle was near. So far it had been four hours since he sent Casper out, and he was feeling as harried and on edge as a father expecting his newborn child.He was seated on a white stallion, bred specially for the use of alphas in the pack. His hair was packed up in a man bun and he was dressed in black fighting gear. He had smeared black paint across both of his cheeks, as well as all the other warriors that stood behind him. He raised a hand and pulled at the tight material on his neck uncomfortabl
Aella's dreams made no senseFirst, she was in the foyer of the pack house in Logan's pack, walking down the makeshift aisle that was meant for Louve. She looked sideways at the crowd of well-wishers and instead of the faces of Logan's pack members, she saw grins and sneers from the members of the Rogue Pack. She looked down and instead of a white dress, she was putting on a black one: lacy and tattered, like a Bride of Death. Someone was leading her by the arm, and when she looked up, she saw that it was her dad.Impossible, she had time to think before they got to the makeshift altar, where the Wolf Priest was waiting for the both of them. She heard low chants from the members of the Rogue Pack behind her but she paid little heed. All her attention was focused on her groom who was standing with his back to her, looking very much like Logan. Maybe this dream isn't so bad after all, she thought. But when the groom turned to her, she was staring not at Logan but at the face of the Rogu
Logan and his gamma walked back to the pack house in relative silence. Several thoughts kept running through the alpha's mind. At least now, Aella's name would be cleared, albeit not completely. She would still be seen as a rogue wolf that was sent to spy on them, and the only reason Jesse was assigned the position of a spy in the pack was that Aella had failed at it by getting herself mated to him.Jesse was the last person he had expected to be the spy though. He stole a sideways look at the man as he dragged him forward by the collar. He was one of those silent, sidelines people, those you'd never know they were there until they spoke. Logan had seen a lot of himself in the man and had admired his knack for staying level-headed even in very tough situations. That was the very reason why he had made Jesse his Gamma.Logan's mind flashed back to when they had been younger. While Casper had been his best friend, Jesse had been that boy that sort of tagged along anytime they went on th
Staring at Logan was the familiar face of Jesse, his Gamma."What the hell are you doing here? And hooded too?" Logan asked. There was a nagging, almost uncomfortable feeling about this situation, but he tried to push it off. Jesse's deep blue, almost black eyes that stared up into his were wide and full of everything suspicious. His eyes kept looking behind Logan's back as though he was expecting someone else to show up."Can you get off me, alpha?" Jesse said, squirming uncomfortably. Logan stood up with a grunt and even stretched out a hand to the man, who took it and stood up from the forest floor, dusting his clothes.Everything about this screamed suspicion, but Logan paid no heed to it. He wanted to trust his gamma beyond any reasonable doubt, but the man kept giving him every reason to doubt him. The hands that dusted his clothes were shaky; only someone who felt guilty about something would fidget so much. And the clothes—Logan hadn't noticed them before—he had a black turtle
The flashlight in Logan's hand illuminated several meters of the cave stone, upon which hundreds of intricate drawings had been scrawled. Logan quickly closed his mouth as it had been hanging open in shock, and moved further inside the cave.The sight that met his eyes was unbelievable. He truly had never seen them before. It wasn't really the fact that they were unique that intrigued Logan so much, but the fact that this cavehad stood right in the middle of his pack's borders and he hadn't noticed it, not once.Granted, the cave was hidden in the side of the mountain, but not once had a wolf from his pack ever stumbled upon the cave entrance. It was baffling and confusing to Logan.Wow. This was so not what I was expecting, his inner wolf said in amazement.He raised the flashlight high and looked around. The wall to his immediate right had more inscriptions than drawings. Logan moved closer to the smooth cave wall, trying to decipher the writings. The writings had been made with a p
After their short meeting, the three of them walked out of the study. Logan's spirit was much lifted after talking to his two best friends. His mind was still full of worry about Aella and how she was doing, but he was also happy that he seemed to be making progress on one thing at least.He remembered something that his father had once told him, that the fastest way to forget about something painful was to drown that pain in work. He had been extremely sad about Aella's kidnapping and had worried for her safety, but at least he had been able to do some work with his beta and cousin and make headway in the process. It had drowned his worries about his mate for a few precious minutes.But now thoughts of Aella had returned and had started haunting him again. He felt as though he would lose it if he didn't find a way to clear his head.Logan escorted Casper and Louve to the door of the dining room, where they were to have dinner. Louve turned to her cousin. "Come and eat dinner with us.