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ALPHA TRISTAN'S POV~~I got the news of Larisa’s plan from my men a few days ago and I have been trying to reach someone… anyone from Dark Moon Pack so I could warn them but no one answered their damn phone. Not Hazel!Not Aurelia herself!Not even her dumb ex-mate who was a goddamn Alpha! I also haven’t heard from any of them in days.Heck! I wanted to believe they were still in Dark Moon Pack but I’d be a fool to think that, especially after I got the news that Hazel was found unconscious in the middle of the road with a coffin and there was no sign of Aurelia and the twins. “I still don’t understand why we are still here instead of going out there to search for them,” Dolf grumbled impatiently even though the men I sent out were on their way back to the pack with Hazel and Jessica’s body. “Sending men out isn’t enough–” “You do know I have an advantage, right? It’s clear that Larisa’s plan already went through and her people have Aurelia and the kids.” I retorted, hoping to
LARISA’S POV ~~In all my years of relating with Raiden, first as his lover and then as his Luna, I have never been disrespected by him. After living with him for over six years, I can boldly say he was nothing like the savage that Tristan was. That son of a shit slapped me like he was trying to break my face. I didn’t see those jaw-crushing slaps coming even though I had realized that the people who took me were not Raiden’s men before Alpha Tristan removed the blindfold. Raiden men would have still treated me like I was human but these ones didn’t give a fuck about me. I presumed the only reason they didn’t kill me on sight was because Tristan wanted to have the honor to himself.My heart was racing like the continuity of my life depended on how fast it could beat as I thought about what my life had become overnight. I, Larisa Wellington, Dark Moon’s precious Princess who later became their most wanted Luna candidate was now a prisoner to someone who seemed to only care about A
ALPHA RAIDEN~~I stared at the cell phone for the longest time, shaking visibly yet doing my best to contain the rage rushing through my veins, poisoning my mind and contaminating my broken soul yet keeping me alive. That rage was the only thing that had kept me breathing for the past few days and letting it out on Jake who I had tied to a pole in the pack square, was one way to keep myself sane.Mostly, I was mad at Larisa and Jake. However, I was mad at myself as well. Do I always have to be a failure? Why can’t I do one thing right? I had commanded my men to stretch out and search the area where the accident happened. I had been searching with them but there was no sign of Aurelia and the kids. We found no sign of life, except for a few of their belongings scattered around the explosion spot.This brings me to the struggle that I have been dealing with… The struggle of accepting that they were gone–“They can’t be gone.” Lex countered with a ferocious whimper. He somehow
LARISA’S POV ~~Icy cold water hit my body all of a sudden and my eyes flashed open, air rushing into my lungs.“You don’t get to sleep.” Alpha Tristan snarled at me.Was I even sleeping? Hell, I just closed my eyes like what? Ten minutes ago? He wouldn’t leave me alone for crying out loud. If he wasn’t inflicting pain on me, his men were and somehow, they all managed to make me lose my mind without leaving a single mark on my body. I would explain if I could but after being tortured for… I have lost count of days. The pain was just too much–“I can’t sleep. My wolf can’t sleep but you think you can sleep?” Alpha Tristan snarled again, walking into a corner of the torture room while I tried to yank off the restraints holding me to the table but I failed like the other times. I whimpered, “Haven’t you done enough? I can’t take any more–” My voice broke when he stepped into my line of view. His eyes were red, the bags under them were huge and he was wearing a night robe which tell
ALPHA TRISTAN’S POV~~She knew about my mom’s involvement with the dark witches…“Not shocking. Everybody knew about that and it’s the reason dark witches were expelled from the realm.” Dolf seethed within me. But what she knew was more than what everyone else knew. Truly, my mom tried to possess the dark powers so she could use it herself. She went as far as drafting out the steps she’d take and how she would use the power if they were given to her. I still have those drafts in my library. However, the witches believed that my mom was too weak to possess and channel the powers which was why she wasn’t initiated into their coven.“You can’t seriously be considering her gibberish, Tris. This witch killed Aurelia, Katie, Kyle, and Jessica. She took their lives. You know they would have returned to us if they were still alive–” As if Larisa could hear my wolf’s argument, she rasped, her voice low, hiding her pain yet revealing it, “You said Aurelia was the key but she is dead. I can
AURELIA~~My first conscious action was inhaling deeply, which irritated my lungs and I started coughing. The dryness of my throat sparked curiosity and I found myself pushing my eyelids apart. However, the sudden brightness that attacked my eyes forced my lids to go against the command from my brain. I felt like I had been hit by a truck and–The car! I gasped, realizing that I was indeed hit by, in this case, a car. My kids… The thought of my kids flooded my mind and blood pumped rapidly within me, causing my heart to pound despite the pain in my chest.Again, I tried to open my eyes. I needed to see what had happened. Did I black out? How long have I been unconscious? I asked myself questions as my eyes fluttered open, slowly to get accustomed to the brightness around me. My brain immediately registers the state of the roof as I fixate on it. The roof was made with dry palm fronds which allowed sunlight to hit my face. I was in a hut. On a bed. And alone. I couldn’t see
AURELIA~~With every second that passed, my mind came up with my questions but it all turned into a satisfying groan as my back came in contact with a cold yet warm body of water. It was the perfect temperature yet it couldn’t be described as lukewarm. “Where is this place?” I asked, relaxing into the perfect, comforting embrace of the water while staring at the roof of this bigger hut. The foggy layer over my sight was beginning to slip away with every second I spent in the water. My senses which I couldn’t access before also came to life. I sensed Katie and Kyle in the room with me while other unfamiliar scents tickled my nostrils. Mia Lu’s voice came again, “It’s called the purifying lake, Aurelia.”“You know my name?” I asked. She chuckled, sitting on a stool beside the body of water, “I know more than enough about you, Aurelia. We all do.” My eyes shifted around the room and I noticed the figure of five other people. They all had something in common with Mia Lu– Their gre
AURELIA~~I saw myself on the hospital bed and Tristan sitting beside me. At first, I was confused because while I was seeing myself on the bed, I was also standing in the corner of the room, hand in hand with Susanna. The room was familiar. It was the same room where I saw and met Tristan properly for the first time… The room where he told me that I had two babies instead of the one I was expecting. Susanna muttered to me as if she could read my mind, “This is the past, Aurelia. I brought you here so you can see for yourself. To be honest, you led us to this present moment.” “But how? We were in the hut seconds ago and now I’m here?” I asked her, my voice barely a whisper as I feared that I would be heard by Tristan who stared at me with curiosity while I remained unconscious… well, the past version of me.“You don’t have to whisper. They can’t hear us. This is just a replay of your past.” Susanna said to me, smiling brightly before she answered my question, glancing at our lo
AURELIA~~“Why can’t we spend the night here at home, Mama?” Kyle asked with an attitude that he definitely got from his sister.“Yes, mom. Why do we have to spend the night at grandma’s? I want to stay here with you and Dad.” Katie backed up her brother. Iris who was standing behind the twins placed one hand on her heart, “Ouch. Grandma has feelings, you know?”Together, they muttered an apology to Iris who stared at them with the same love she had in her eyes the first time she saw them. Despite Raiden’s state, Iris had maintained her confident aura. Although we all knew she was struggling, she didn’t let it consume her like I once did. I gazed at my kids, thinking of a better and less 18+-rated explanation– something that doesn’t say “I’ll be having sex with your daddy tonight in hopes of waking him up so we can all live happily ever after.”I eventually settled for telling a white lie to protect my kids' innocence. I told them, “Grandma miss having you guys over for the night
AURELIA~~Today makes it eighty days since the war and eighty days since I failed to wake Raiden up. Today also made it five days since I found a way to stop blaming myself for Raiden’s condition. I had gotten to the stage where I accepted and affirmed that I did all I could to save him and his beating heart was evidence. Heck, I gave him more than half of my own soul and didn’t recover for weeks after the war. Heck, he was the one choosing not to wake up and I was so over blaming myself. “Say something, Lori,” Iris stated, urging Lori who had come into the house to examine Raiden after I cleaned his body and dressed him up.I had given the responsibility of examining Raiden to Lori. After all, at some point, I thought he wasn’t waking up because I was doing something wrong. Lori sighed, her gaze shifting from me to Iris and then to the other people in the room– Andrew, Susanna, Tamia, Seth, Otis, Benji, Jeremy, and Pheobe. She looked at every one of us before she chimed, “This
AURELIA~~“I thought we would take it all out on him?” Inara etched into my mind as I slowly made my way home after seeing Tristan. She was referring to the anger still very much alive within me. “You have so much left. I suggest we visit the witch tonight–” I stunned myself and Inara when I said, “I think I’d rather stay at home with my family tonight.” Usually, or more accurately, most nights, I visit Larisa’s cell and our at my anger on her. But I didn’t have the will to hear her cry tonight, not that she has suddenly become less deserving of torture but my kids deserve to see me before going to bed tonight. They deserve their mama.“They do, don’t they?” Inara affirmed sadly. I knew my wolf was worried I would break down when I saw Raiden just lying in bed again but I was determined to be with Katie and Kyle even if that meant I had to stare at Raiden– evidence of my failure. A part of my consciousness pumped these words into my mind, “Doesn’t Raiden deserve to feel your p
ALPHA TRISTAN~~“You should take your leave.” The he-wolf who smelled like a strong gamma seethed at me. “She doesn’t want to see you.”Although I had been standing by the border of Dark Moon Pack for hours, I intended to remain there until I got to see Aurelia. “C’mon, Gamma Seth. You know we mean no harm.” Louis, who had officially resumed his duties as my Beta after I was reinstalled as Alpha, said to the strong Gamma. “This is a peaceful visit.”I simply listened as my Beta negotiated with the Gamma, feeling more like Louis was the Alpha. I would be lying if I said I haven’t felt useless these past few days. After regaining consciousness, I found out that Louis had become more influential, not only in my pack. Obviously. “Your ego is bruised?” Dolf mocked me. But his assumptions weren’t exactly the case. I just couldn’t wait to get back my strength and become myself again. “This isn’t about your intention, Beta Louis. It’s about my Alpha and Luna's wishes.” The Gamma answere
AURELIA~~Perhaps it was anger or hate, I couldn’t tell. Or maybe it was both. I was angry that Tristan was back to his feet even though I permitted Lori to send some Mender to Black Fur Pack to help him after Beta Louis took the oath, signed the peace treaty, and pleaded for help. I was so angry that my mate had to fall and Tristan got to rise again even though he didn’t deserve it.And for the hate, it was simple– I hated Tristan.Although my hate for Larisa was greater, Tristan wasn’t far from being another Larisa to me–“Talking about that bitch. She has had enough peace, don’t you think? It’s time we pay her another visit.” Inara snarled into my mind, fueling the hatred in my heart. My wolf had taken a hobby in tearing Larisa apart since she had become our prisoner– one that I wasn’t ready to kill just yet. Each time we pay her a visit in her cell, we torture her until death flashes before her eyes, leave her to healers to heal her, and return to start the process all over
AURELIA~~Life was different now. Before the war, I simply trained to get better and increase our chances of winning, but now, I am the leader of two packs and have more duties than I could have imagined. Life was different but one thing remained constant– my life was difficult.“Are you with me, Luna?” Andrew’s voice called me out of my self-pitying thoughts. I blinked rapidly, composing myself despite my desire to just go home, be with my kids, and–“Do you want to take the day off? I can handle the pack affairs while you recuperate.” Andrew offered and Seth who was sitting on the chair beside him nodded in agreement.But to be honest, I have rested enough. It’s been two months after the war and while a lot still needed to be fixed, the pack was recovering better than I thought it would, thanks to the help I have gotten from both sides– White Shade and Dark Moon.Andrew and Seth have been helping with Dark Moon’s affair and the elders of the White Wolves have been very helpful
ALPHA TRISTAN’S POV~~As my eyes fluttered open, I could have sworn that my body had forgotten what it meant to be alive. Opening my eyes was harder than it should ever be for anyone but adjusting my eyes to the brightness around me was way harder than opening them. I let out a groan when I tried to lift a finger and pain consumed me. My entire body ached. I felt so heavy.“Alpha. You are awake.” Louis. That was his voice but it sounded more like noise to me as his voice sent a sharp ring through my aching head, making me groan again. At the moment, I didn’t feel like an Alpha. It took forever before I could see clearly and Louis's face was the first thing I saw. He was hovering above me, looking at me like he was scanning me for damages. “Thank the Goddess. I was beginning to worry that you might never wake up–” Louis stated, smiling. But seeing him so close to me sent flashes of what I knew was the past through my mind. I recalled everything. How he joined forces with Larisa
AURELIA~~“We can’t give up like this, Relia. You shouldn’t give up like this. Mend him. Do something.” Inara uttered, urging me even though Raiden was gone. Do something… I couldn’t count the number of times I had heard those two words today and I hated the sound of it, mostly because I couldn’t do anything. “Yes you can, Alpha.” Tamia’s voice echoed in my mind. I didn’t know how she managed to reach me despite the turmoil my mind had become but she did and her voice would have given me some sort of peace if I wasn’t mourning my mate… My teary eyes found Tamia and Lori beside me, making me wonder how long I had sat in the dirt with Raiden’s body. For how long has his heart been crushed right there in my presence? For how much longer can I keep this devastating news from my kids–“Oh, my kids.” I cried out, undiluted misery settling within my being, making itself at home. They just got their father. How do I tell them it would be just us from now on? How do I manage this rea
AURELIA~~I knew I screamed. I felt my lips parting and my lungs pushing out air as my mouth widened. I knew I screamed but I heard nothing. The world went still while Raiden kept falling. Faster than my brain could register. Faster than my body could react. Although I was still standing, I fell with him. Although my eyes were still open, they closed the second his eyes did. I saw the same darkness he saw when he closed his eyes. I felt the same pain he felt when his heart was engulfed by a strong force and maybe I screamed because I knew there would be no going back as that force crushed his heart before I could even blink. “No!” Inara’s cry burst through my crushed soul as she exclaimed, “Do something, Relia.” But what could I have done? After draining Larisa as my wolf suggested, I didn’t expect any sudden movement from her. Heck, she was as good as dead and when Louis screamed those warning words, I was too tired to react quickly. Converting Larisa’s dark energy to pure