GUNNAR“Damn it!” I cursed in frustration and kicked a pebble flying into the underbrush, watching it disappear into the shadows as I strode through the forest. This mating bond was more torturous than I had imagined, capable of driving my wolf faster into madness if left unchecked. And that had become my greatest fear since I killed my first man. After being abandoned by both my parents, it took me some time to realize that some wolves always had one thing they were obsessed about. As long as they weren't satiated, they would remain subservient towards their other halves, which were their human consciousnesses. When I had killed my first man under my alpha's orders, I still remembered the rush and thrill in my blood that night. I thought it was just the excitement and happiness of finally becoming a man worthy of serving his pack, so I kept killing until I almost became a rogue wolf. It took the combined efforts of the pack healer and her granddaughter, Tia, to rescue me from the
GUNNARBefore I ventured back into the middle of the forest, I decided to leave Edith behind to safeguard the truck and search for Aqua myself. But that left me slightly defenseless, because I had to navigate around my surroundings alone with my lack of vision. Still, it wasn't as hard as I'd thought because all I had to do was track down my mate's scent. Although I was born blind, I had grown somewhat dependent on the wolves I inherited from the former Alpha King at the age of 19. Before then, I had trained my other senses to help me survive in this harsh world. Taking a deep breath, I familiarized myself with the scents of the forest, letting the cold, damp air rush into my lungs. Aqua's scent also mingled along with the aroma of pine and earth surrounding me. Then I began to move with slow, deliberate steps, tracking her down. The sounds of birds chirping from a distance and the earth-shattering sounds of the animals racing through the forest entered my forest. My body stiffened
AQUAThat kiss must have left me senseless because I didn't even remember how we located the red truck. All I do remember is him giving me directions, but my soul had already flown to meet the moon goddess while my body remained to do his bidding. I have never felt this way, even when I was with Leon. Although Leon had taught me how to kiss, I hadn't really felt the warm desire I had heard most women talk about. But Gunnar's kiss had left me floating on clouds, and the last thing I wanted was to return to earth. All my thoughts fled when I heard a low growl coming from the car. The sound frightened me, so I took a step back and stared at the white furry animal sitting on the passenger seat.Gunnar introduced her, “Oh, this is Edith, my lady wolf.”“Hello, Edith.” I waved. Deep down, I secretly hoped that one of his wolves would like me after the cold treatment I received from Odin last night. The wolf released a low whine and slowly moved towards the back seat. I cast a look at Gu
AQUA After his deep words of wisdom, Gunnar and I chatted a bit before I fell asleep. He told me a little about his true mate, Tia, who was a rogue wolf and the pack priestess's granddaughter. She died giving birth to Fawn a long time ago, but the pack priestess still missed her a lot. When I discovered how far the Wind Ridge Pack was from the Storm Fire Pack, I was grateful to Gunnar for getting a vehicle. Otherwise, I would have never been able to reach there for days, even in my wolf form. A few hours later, some gentle taps on my shoulder woke me up. “Wake up, Aqua.”“Huh?” I rubbed my eyes, a bit disoriented. “Have we reached the Storm Fire Pack?”“Yes, we have,” he replied. I leaned into his touch as he ran his hands through my hair. My heartbeat quickened when he closed the distance between us and brushed his lips against mine. A soft moan escaped my lips as I parted my lips, letting his tongue slip into my mouth and chase my sleep away. His manly scent wrapped around my se
AQUAA few minutes later, I entered the meeting hall quietly. As soon as I stepped past the wooden, carved doors, I was a bit awestruck by the grandeur of the place. The room was large and well-furnished, but what really caught my attention was the large table made of dark, polished wood. Each seat had the pack's emblem engraved on the seat, but the alpha's chair was bigger than the rest, adorned with leather padding around the head and arms. A large fireplace was set into the far wall, its flames crackling warmly and casting a golden glow across the room. The heat from the fireplace provided a stark contrast to the chill outside, adding a layer of warmth and comfort to the imposing space.As Gunnar and the rest walked around the table, my legs gave way, causing me to sit. A low growl from someone in the room sent shivers down my spine as soon as I touched the chair. Hannah shot me a scathing glare. Realizing that Gunnar and the rest were still standing, I immediately shot up to m
GUNNARI felt it a bit later than I would have expected. The smile on my face vanished when pain exploded in my chest. I instantly searched for my mate in the room, but she was nowhere to be seen. She said she was going to the restroom, so I wondered what was taking her so long to return. Unless she decided to escape my pack. But that was impossible, right? We were good this morning until we reached the Storm Fire Pack. While I was aware that she low-key hated this place, I was assured of her willingness to cooperate in breaking this bond until now. Something must have happened when I had gone to change my shirt. “Gunnar, are you okay?” Hannah asked, her face filled with concern. “You look kinda pale and angry right now. Did something happen?”I ignored her and focused on the mate bond, trying to use it to track down Aqua's location. It shouldn't have been hard since female wolves were more susceptible to males' mating calls, especially alpha ones. But for some unknown reason, I
GUNNAR The next hour...I was pacing back and forth outside the pack healer's house. After I brought Aqua to him, Wilder immediately pushed me out of the place, leaving me with no choice but to leave. Now that she was out of danger, my wolf retreated and remained quiet. I couldn't tell if he was appeased or ridden with guilt concerning Aqua's condition, but I was grateful for his decision to yield my body back to me. “Now's the time for you to tell me the truth, Gunnar,” Wilder said, crossing his arms as he stared at me. “Who the fuck is that girl?”“What are you talking about? I told you she's my daughter's nanny.” I replied. Hannah suddenly laughed. The shrill sound stopped me in my tracks, forcing me to face her. “It didn't look that way a few minutes, Gunnar. You were so protective and worried about her that you nearly bit my head off for suggesting that we ask the driver to take her to the hospital. Tell me the truth, is something going on between you and that girl?”Panic set
AQUAGunnar was such a jerk!I was here with the pack healer receiving treatment, yet he growled at me like I was in the amusement park having fun. Everything that happened in the forest suddenly felt like a dream, one that I wished that I would never wake up from.I missed his tender touches, his warm eyes, and his faint smile when he looked at me. Now I couldn't tell if I had truly done something to piss him off this time or if he had always been this way. Tears prickled at the back of my eyes as I nodded obediently, walking past him after I bade River good-bye. Since we arrived at the Storm Fire Pack, he had become more moody and dictatorial, and I couldn't stand it. When I reached the car, I grabbed the door handle to open the door when a hand suddenly slammed it shut again. The next thing I knew, Gunnar turned me around and trapped me with his body. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Aqua?” Gunnar's handsome face twisted with anger as he faced me. “How dare you mute the mate bo
AQUAWhen we returned to the pack, Wilder took us straight to the Kincaid mansion, where the elders were already waiting. My stomach twisted as I climbed the stairs, flanked by guards, every step heavier than the last.Their eyes followed me like a shadow, and the fact that I sensed it made me even more nauseous. These were the same familiar faces that had stood in my living room just two weeks ago, offering smiles, congratulations on my engagement, and pledging undying loyalty to the Alpha King. Now, they sat cold and silent, the weight of their betrayal hanging in the air like a storm about to break.They’d all chosen Nathaniel.And that meant Gunnar’s throne…was no longer safe."What, are you surprised that we got the elders on our side?" Wilder released a low chuckle after he noticed my glare. "Don't be, darling. You'd be surprised at how dissatisfied they have been with your mate's way of doing things."At that moment, I was barely restraining myself from punching him in the fac
AQUA After Saint's death, Odin led Fawn and me to the pack boundary, the weight of our grief hanging heavily in the air. We journeyed for an entire day under a dense canopy of trees without taking a single break. Sunlight filtered through the tree, casting a path over me and my stepdaughter.I nearly stumbled over a root but managed to catch myself before I hit the ground. However, the sudden impact jolted Fawn awake, so I mumbled a soft apology before adjusting her to my body. Despite everything, the wolf didn't stop and continued to walk ahead of us. With each step, I could sense the exhaustion radiating from the wolf beside us, his powerful frame still trembling from the ferocity of that intense fight. He must have been devastated about the loss of his brother, yet he continued to push himself to complete the mission given to him. As we moved deeper into the woods, the air grew thick and rich with the scent of damp earth and pine, grounding yet unsettling. The guards had stopped
GUNNARI was several miles away from the Storm Fire pack when I felt it.The pain. The sorrow. The fury.All these feelings struck my heart like a tempest, consuming my senses until I couldn't think anymore. My heart felt so constricted that I couldn't stand anymore, causing me to fall on one knee. When my men saw this, they immediately rushed towards me in concern, but I stopped them with my raised hand. They must have been so shocked they couldn't control their emotions because I felt all their fears crash into my heart.Was it possible they were almost scared to death because of my sudden fall?No, that wasn't it. The general sense of unease spread among the soldiers, making them jittery. I pushed myself to stand, my legs trembling as they bore my weight against the unseen burden pressing down on my heart. Then, a piercing howl sliced through the heavy air, sharp and haunting, reverberating off the trees and sending a chill down my spine. Others might not know where it came from, b
AQUAThe first time I heard about hunter wolves was when I was in the Wind Ridge Pack. They were used to hunt a notorious thief who had broken into Julie's house one summer. The news spread across the pack in less than four hours, mostly because they didn't give us a choice to accept it or not. But if there was one thing I learned back then, it was that those people were ruthless. The kind of people capable of doing anything as long as they captured their prey. Some said they did it because they didn't have any other choice, considering the tight competition in the business. But others said they were psychos, people who enjoyed seeing the pain they inflicted on others. That's why I knew we were in deep shit now. The hunter wolf inhaled, breathing in the cool night air that was faint with our scents. It's the very reason why I had chosen to stay up in the trees, holding that the harsh wind current would mask our scents. But he still catches it nonetheless. “Their scents are still
AQUAOnce I heard the noise from the living room, I pushed Fawn into the kitchen and locked the door. The air was thick with tension, and our ragged breaths broke the eerie silence that enveloped the room. My heart raced as we waited, straining to hear the sounds from the other side of the door. But then, a sharp scream pierced through the air, followed by a series of female cries that sent a fresh wave of panic through me."Shut the fuck up!" Nathaniel barked. When the women's cries were finally reduced to frightened sobs, he muttered some words to the guards before turning to them. "I have no intention to hurt you, but if you don't tell me where Aqua and that little devil spawn are right now, then all of you are going to pay dearly for your silence."Ella remained unfazed by his threat. "But we are telling the truth! No one saw where Her Highness went after she gave us orders to search for her daughter."Nathaniel ignored her and continued to speak to the other ladies, but none of t
AQUAHogan froze midstep when he heard my words. The six-foot, muscular blonde man who had been cooking for Gunnar for over ten years gave me the most sinister look I have ever received. I couldn't help but retreat when I saw him take a menacing step towards me."You're not supposed to be here, Your Highness," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Does anyone know you're here?""I don't need to report to anyone about whereabouts because this is my house," I asserted, my voice sharp and clear. I noticed he had already retracted his claws so I did the same. "What were you doing in the kitchen storage room?"It was the only place we hadn't checked in the house, mostly because Hogan had always been sensitive about letting people in. He would spend the entire day talking about food contamination so I guess all of us were just subconsciously afraid of getting on his bad side.But now, it turned out that he was the traitor we had been looking for."Move aside, Hogan," I ordered. The air in the ro
AQUANow it was 8 pm.The angry mob and the elders were still outside the house, looking for a way to get in. They tried everything they could, but the house's defenses were top-notch, designed with the latest technology, so I knew we were going to be safe.For now."Has anyone heard from Bodhi? Anything?" I asked, my desperate eyes scanning the staff in the house. Due to the chaos happening outside, no one had gone home yet, so they were forced to stay with us.Ella, who had been quiet since she entered the house, finally spoke when she heard me. "I just received a message that he was deployed to fight the rogue wolves trying to evade our borders. He left with most of the sentinels, so there were no reinforcements when our guards were attacked," she explained.My head started pounding as I tried to think of a solution to solve the situation. I knew it was only a matter of time before these people came up with a plan to infiltrate the house that actually worked this time, and then we
AQUAMy heart dropped when I heard her words. It felt like I was torn between disbelief and the panic that had risen in my chest. But of course, it all made sense now. If that old woman were alive and healthy, she would have never let this angry mob assemble to harm her only great-granddaughter. “She's dead?” I repeated dumbly. The pack priestess was supposed to be my reserve plan to suppress these people, but her unexpected death was something that I also intended to take advantage of. “Why haven't we held a funeral yet? Why hasn't an announcement been made?”At that moment, someone from the crowd suddenly spoke. “Who the hell would mourn that old witch?! She deserves what she got!”A flash of red passed my eyes when I heard his words. I wasn't her biggest fan, but she was still Fawn's family. I couldn't imagine how devastated she would be when she found out she was gone. I closed my eyes to control my emotions before facing the crowd again."According to the laws of the pack, there
AQUAA week later. I was lying on the couch discussing bridal gowns with my maids when I heard a strange noise. The air felt different as we all turned to look toward the sound. I exchanged an alarmed glance with them before getting up from the couch and walking down the hallway. I figured it wasn’t anything serious. Maybe it was just Fawn taking out her frustrations on some poor toy. However, as I made my way down the hallway, I realized the noise wasn’t coming from the upper floor as I had initially thought. I continued toward the back door, following the source of the sounds. What I saw almost made my heart stop. A mob was gathered outside, throwing stones at our house.Afraid, I rushed upstairs to check on Fawn who I'd sworn to protect with my life. My heart pounded loudly in my ears with each step I took, praying that she hadn't left the house or wandered somewhere in the forest. Fawn was her father's life, and I knew he would have no future without her.I kicked open the door