ELEAAs much as I enjoyed spending time with Liam, his questions provoked some deep questions within me. Where will this end, I wondered. Now that Landon knew about Liam, will I ever be allowed to leave this place?And even if I manage to do that, maybe in years, Landon Knox would scorch Earth to find me. And his forgiveness would only be so much after all that had happened between us. Every moment in this place made me anxious and paranoid.After my time with Liam, I was delivered back to Landon’s room and was listed with detailed chores in his absence. Not wanting to go into another tussle, I began to clean and arrange the things in his bedroom as part of my duty. The man was fairly simple when it came to his things. He’d left most of the things uncovered, as if a man like him could hold no skeleton in his closet. But something caught my eye as I came near the chest of drawers. There was a decorative keyhole in the first drawer, far different than anything in the room, and out of
LANDONI shut the door and turned to face him. “Maximus. You are back early.”He has not changed in months in his absence from the pack. Almost as tall and muscular as me, my half-brother, Maximus, shared a few genes with our father. But all his charming looks were inherited from his mother, a woman my father met in a chance encounter. It took my mother years to forgive him, but she has always treated Maximus as her own. Bastard children were never welcomed in any pack and often destined to be rogues, but my mother, being the strongest Luna I knew of, made sure that the identity of Maximus remained hidden. It was not to protect my father from scandal but to protect him as a boy. Growing up, I had always known that he was a loyal friend and family. It was not until I found my wolf and shifted that I learnt of his identity. Even then, it did not make a difference to me. He was my brother, and he would always be. “Did I cause a little inconvenience for you?” he smirked, throwing hims
ELEAI knew everything that was to know about the Crimson Pack and Landon Knox from five years ago. My father’s obsession with them, the hungry desire to defeat them and my fascination with getting my father’s validation in order to score made me well-versed in their history. Among the werewolf packs in the nearby territories, they were the largest, strongest pack, led by a powerful Alpha at the helm. The Knox generation was always known to be ruthless and relentless in their pursuit of power, and their ability to keep the rogues at bay and also stand tall amongst the other packs made them singularly formidable in the community. No pack, no alpha, has ever dared to challenge them. Even the High Council of shifters, the groups who regulated the werewolf packs, did not interfere in their affairs, a stark reminder of their unchallenged supremacy. And nowhere did I ever come across the fact that Landon Knox had a brother. In fact, the man looked nothing like Landon either. It only rais
MAXIMUSThe guard at the door of Landon’s bedroom immediately sprang straighter and bowed. I had rarely been ever respected for being my father’s son, bastard son to be specific, but when Landon assumed his role as the Alpha of the pack, the entire pack fell silent when he declared me as his Beta. Honestly, I was not expecting that either. We have always been brothers, despite my father's greatest reluctance. But the tag of being born outside of a legitimate marriage has always lingered. People whispered behind my backs, bullied me in school but it was always Landon who had beaten the shit out of the boy twice his age for such indiscretion. I remembered how the entire pack stunned into silence when he declared me as his Beta, legitimising any fucking ties that I had with Crimson Pack. I pushed the door open and entered. The woman was sitting crossed on the floor by the fireplace. As soon as she saw me entering, her heckles were up. “Landon’s not here,” she said, eyeing me.“I know
ELEALandon kept his word, to my surprise.I was allowed a generous length of time with Liam when it came to his meals and playtime, and despite my utter fear, Liam was happy. Even though my heart broke a little that my baby boy was not missing me, a part of me was relieved that he was getting the exposure he always needed.Liam was no rogue. He was the alpha’s son and heir, much to my predicament, but I could not change the truth. He was supposed to grow in a pack, where he belonged and thrive in his rightful place. No matter how much I fight with Landon, I could never give Liam the life he was living at present. “Mama, do you know I have learnt how to swim?” he said with excitement gleaming in his eyes. “It is so much fun. You must come to the pool next week and watch me swim.” Every pup in a pack was trained how to swim, climb, and jump and was involved in various activities before they’d have their first shift. It made things a lot easier because some pups were faster and strong
LANDONIt was not one of the brightest and easiest of days I’d say. I knew the Council could not override my decision to attack the Sherwood Forest in search of the particular band of rogues, but they had caused us enough problems already. I had to deal with limitations beyond my power and overcome those. On top of that, five of my shipments were already intercepted by the rogues and while losing a few million did not pinch as much as the knowledge that they had dared to tamper with my business ventures. So, you see, I was not in a great mood. But Maximus has been more than helpful in protecting the patience I lacked sometimes. Some business dealings demanded more diplomacy than boldness, and keeping peace with the Council would mint us more money than to be at odds with them.So, back home, I needed a break. A distraction, and what else could be the perfect one except for Liam? Every time I watched him lost in his world I was overwhelmed. His innocence and wonder reminded me of lif
ELEAWithin a flash, Landon stepped back. Before I could fully understand his intent, he scooped me up and threw me over his shoulders. He strode through the silent mansion through the grand hallway with his footsteps echoing against the marble floor while I pounded against his back. But my strength was truly nothing against his. He was entirely unaffected by the blows and continued to make his way out of the pack house in great strides.“What are you doing? Where are you taking me?” I panicked. My instinct went to my son, and I could help but thrash against his hold. No matter how much I struggled, his iron-clad grip was unyielding as he carried me outside when the cool night air greeted us with goosebumps. He finally set me down at the end of the cobblestone path, leading to the sparse forest, which was sufficiently illuminated by the radiance of the full moon night despite the lack of lights. “What—why are we…” I mumbled, looking around a bit dazedly. But when my gaze met his,
ELEAI ran.I sprinted so fast out of his sight, that I swear it took him some time to realize what had happened. But Landon’s reflexes were equally good as mine. By the time I had put a healthy distance between us, hiding myself behind a tree until I let Hera take over, he had already wolfed out. The murderous growl rippled through the silent night and vibrated, and I could feel the roar of his beast down to my bones. But Hera did not stop. My wolf darted through the maze of trees, the soft moonlight guiding the way until we reached our destination. My wolf knew better than to look back but somehow, we were acutely aware of the giant beast following us. It was not until we were halfway there that I could not sniff him out. Where the fuck did he go?I knew Hera was not supposed to stop but something eerie came over us. The forest became exceptionally silent, save for the owl hooting at a distance. Landon was smart enough to mask his scent, a trait accomplished by the strongest of a