Zane’s POVIn the end, I couldn’t do anything. After all, no matter how much I wanted to stop her from her recklessness, I couldn’t push too much as she was no longer under my wings.“It started as a game. You treated her as a toy. Did it become so real now?” my wolf teased, but that question completely caught me off guard.I brushed him off in annoyance and went back to my office with annoyance.To my surprise, as soon as I woke up the following day, I learned that Jess was already starting her training again, as if she wasn’t unconscious in the clinic yesterday.My heart clenched with a mixture of many emotions I couldn’t understand – fear, worry, annoyance, frustration, and so many more. I was leaning against one of the trees and staring at her training with the other White Clans.She’s sparring fiercely with Tyrone, and I must admit that her sharp and precise attacks were admirable.I crossed my arms over my shoulders as I kept my focus on her, watching her every breath of exhaust
Jessica’s POVI momentarily halted from my steps as soon as I heard his words. My entire body became tense as I asked myself if I heard it right.He’s Zane. He’s the King of this entire kingdom and was known for being the Devil Lord. Above all, everyone feared him – so much that some of the packs he attacked gave up their own Luna for their safety as Eric did.“He hasn't done that. Not since he met you…” my wolf pointed out, making my heart beat wildly.“It’s just a coincidence. Maybe he was really done already,” I replied before momentarily closing my eyes and calming myself.“Come on, no time to slack off!”Wendell’s shout unfazed me, and I opened my eyes to see the kingdom’s warriors running in line.Right, it’s time for their training.Shaking off the feelings brought my Zane, which confused my mind and brought emotions I didn’t want to develop. I kept my head held high and decided to brush off his words.“Fall in line, everyone! Today, I want each of you to pick a partner. I’ll o
Jessica’s POVI crouched behind a tree and silently drew out my scimitar, signaling my team with precise hand gestures and telling them to keep hidden.“No one moves until my signal,” I mouthed to Dmitri, who passed the words to Benji, who did the same for others until everyone was informed.My eyes followed their movements until I saw each of them look back at me and nod in understanding. They all remained in their positions, prepared to attack at any second.“What information?” The man had been cozily seated on the giant tree roots earlier, and suddenly, the troop's leader was alerted and stood up.The newly arrived Rogue took a couple of breaths with his bent knees, looking completely exhausted. “The White clan is in here!”“What?”All of them were suddenly on high alert, eyes widening in shock.Interesting. So, they were cautious of us but weren’t as careful in the kingdom? After we perished, Rogue groups after another in every state, the words already got out that no Rogues had e
Jessica’s POV“Secure him. I want no mistakes,” I ordered as soon as we entered the interrogation room where the entire White Clan and Zane were.Following my orders, Dmitri and Benji immediately moved and started chaining the Rogue on the stone wall where silver chains were connected.“You all won’t get away with this!” he shouted as he uselessly tried to struggle and break free.I simply rolled my eyes while the others looked almost dying from boredom.None of those in this ream felt threatened, much less care about his presence other than having him as a potential inside source.The place was dimly lit and naturally cold because it was located under the ground and made of stone walls. The darkness and cold were both crucial to torturing those captive sinners.However, after years of peace, it was rarely used, and less severe punishments or methods were executed instead, which explained why the place was quite dirty and stunk a little.I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling the co
Jessica’s POVI scoffed and shook my head. “You aren’t smart, are you?” I asked tauntingly as I raised his face, forcing him to look at me by lifting his chin with the knife, causing a small cut on his neck, making him gasp in pain.He pursed his lips into a thin line, determined to keep his mouth shut.“That man you won’t let down won’t even butt an eye if you die… why waste your life for someone like him?” I asked before deadly, adding, “Do you really think we won’t dare kill you?”“Kill him? If he doesn’t give us anything useful, killing him will be the least of his worries,” Ana suddenly butted in. Her voice was calm, but her words were like salt in a wound.She was sitting comfortably on the armrest of Wendell's seat, with her arm placed on his shoulder.Hansel followed suit, letting out a small sarcastic laugh. “Think carefully. I wouldn’t be taking Jess so lightly if I were you.”Tyrone then unexpectedly joined in, walking closer and menacingly staring into the Rogue’s eyes as
Jessica’s POVI smirked, putting down the knife I was playing with and returning it to the table. I saw sweat forming on his forehead and a vivid reluctance in his eyes that told me he was so close to giving in.Seeing how the others backed away, I wasn’t the only one who noticed it.The Rogue’s breathing became calmer, and he finally looked up with helplessness.His eyes wandered around for a bit, and he looked very hesitant as he kept opening and closing his mouth, unsure where to start.He took a couple of deep breaths before finally voicing, “He’s gathering forces—rogues, exiles, anyone who’ll fight. He’s not just after you; he wants the White Clan gone. Completely.”My heartbeat stopped upon hearing that. Did he know who my father was? Was that why he wanted to eradicate the White Clan? But he should know by now that my father was already dead.“Where is he?” I demanded asked.“Answer me!” I hardly said as I dashed toward him and strangled his neck with my hand. With blazing eyes
Jessica’s POVSeeing that I was about to reach my bottom line and would explode any second in anger, Ana stepped in and lightly pushed away Zane.Though she got a glare from him, she wasn’t fazed by his dominance. Surprisingly, Zane wasn’t triggered either and moved away despite giving Ana a sneer.Ana stood on my back and put her hands on my shoulder, squeezing it a little to relieve some of my stress. “No one’s saying that we’ll wait forever, Jess. We just need to be smart about this. We’ll send trackers to map the area. Once we know what we’re dealing with, we strike.”“And don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on our new friend. He’s not going anywhere.” Hansel arrogantly remarked as he crossed his arm over his chest and grinned at me.“I got this!” he announced before he struck his chest with his fist as if that would prove it.I stared at all of them and saw the evident worry in their eyes. Even Lyndon and Tyrone, quiet on the sides, looked at me worriedly.Closing my eyes, I took a br
Jessica’s POVJust when I thought I wouldn't falter further, he went on and proved me wrong.I swallowed with difficulty as I processed his words, completely dumbfounded at his straightforwardness.After I forcefully pulled my hand from his grasp, I kicked the floor to push the swivel chair away from him. Laughing him off guard by my action, his hold on the chair loosened, successfully setting me free.With me still on the chair and rolled close to the door, I stood up with dominance as if nothing had happened and replied with as much indifference as possible, “Well, don’t. I don’t need distractions right now.”“Maybe. But sometimes, distractions are what keep us sane.” Not seeing my answer as a sign to back off, he kept his teasing grin and strolled toward me like a predator trapping his prey.Like a fool without control of my body, I started backing off, completely falling into his trap as I felt my back touch the door.I closed my eyes and looked away when he leaned closer, and his
Ralph’s POVI sat down in the wooden chair inside my cabin in the middle of the Sahdowpine Wood, a huge smirk on my face. My fingers tap the armrest of my chair, and I lean back cosily. I imagined the grimace on Zane and Tessa's faces right now.“Alpha, we managed to cause significant fatalities on those patrolling around our borders,” one of the Rogues said, which brightened my mood even better.Joyful laughter immediately escaped my lips as I waved my hand to dismiss him.Standing up, I stood beside the window and looked far to the forest as I watched the Rogues training hard and completely wrapped around my fingers.When Zane came to ambush my pack and bring it to ruin, I was rage-filled, especially when Tessa escaped from me.Remembering those moments was enough to make my blood boil once again. Without control, I slammed my fist on the window sill, causing the wooden frame of my window to crack, but I couldn’t care less.“Alpha, is everything alright?” Some of the Rogues immediat
Jessica’s POVMy heart raced in an incredible beat as I watched him struggle to breathe properly from shock.Bending down a bit, I grabbed his arm and guided him to stand up properly. Looking at him in the eyes, I remained calm and guided him to breathe. “Take a deep breath and exhale.”He nodded his head and momentarily closed his eyes to calm his nerves.“Yes, just like that,” I added when I saw him taking deep breaths.As he started calming down, I let go of him and let him take his time.Opening his eyes, he sighed, swallowed the lump in his throat, and pantingly said, “They hit us hard…”My eyes narrowed. They? Did he mean the Rogues and Ralph?He shook his head in disbelief before continuing, “They are too organised for Rogues. They moved strategically. We were with some warriors who were doing patrols while we rechecked our tracking, but they ambushed us on the northern border.”“What?” I asked in shock before worry crept into me. “What’s the casualty? Did we lose a lot of warr
Jessica’s POVMy breathing hitched, and my heart went into shock. His scent drowned me, and his touches made me freeze.“I… I…” I closed my eyes and silently cursed myself. I couldn’t even form a reply without stuttering and feeling blank.Pulling away a little bit from me, which gave me room to breathe from all the tension between us, he kept his eagle-like eyes on me while his hands remained on my neck with his thumb on my cheek.“What?” he asked in a deep and demanding voice. Before, I would have easily pushed him away, but I was too tense to respond properly with how close he was.Hence, from the pressure he was giving me, my mind completely shut off, and before I knew it, I was blurting out the words I shouldn’t have ever said, “He’s gay.”As soon as I said that, my eyes widened, and I pursed my lips close in shock. Though it wasn’t secret that Hansel was gay, it wasn’t my business to spread it out either.“What?” Zane asked, almost as shocked as I was from what he heard.Taking
Jessica’s POVThe room instantly fell into a deafening silence from my outburst, increasing the tension around us as I was seemingly the only one who would dare to snap at the kingdom’s king.The others were looking at each other, weighing the room’s atmosphere, but couldn’t find a way to break the silence.Seeing as he was probably the only one in the same position who could break the tension, Wendell cleared his throat to grab our attention and spoke with authority, “We’ll increase the warriors patrolling near the Shadowpine Woods for now. If Ralph tries anything, I’m sure we’ll know.”Ralph…Hearing his name suddenly brought back a memory within me, and that chilling feeling I had when I was on the border of the Red Wood Pack earlier suddenly rushed back to me.I was lost in my own thoughts and was looking into oblivion until I felt a heavy tap on my shoulder that almost felt like a push tap, bringing me back to reality.“What?” I snapped at Hansel, but he didn’t feel the same unfa
Jessica’s POV“Yeah, right.” I merely rolled my eyes as a reply to Eric and walked past him to hide the redness that crept to my cheeks in disguise of hurrying to the meeting room to discuss my encounter with Eric.However, just after a few steps, I heard his heavy footsteps and long strides that followed me in a hurry, managing to grab my wrist to a halt. “You’re not harm, right?”I kept my back facing him, still not confident that my flashed face wouldn’t fail me and show how hard my heart was pounding right now with how much worry and care was vividly plastered on his face.“I came back as how I left, King Zane. Don’t underestimate me,” I replied in a faint voice as I pulled my arms away from him.“I never did…” I heard him reply in a low voice as I retreated, bringing a smile to my face.However, as soon as I turned the knob of the meeting room and entered, all my emotions were swept away to the back of my mind, and seriousness filled me while I walked in and slammed myself down o
Jessica’s POV“I’ll give you until dawn. I'm coming for you if you’re not back by then.”I dumbfoundedly stood by my room’s doorway, watching Zane storm out with conviction. Staring at his retreating, I involuntarily raised my hand and touched my pounding heart.Later, a smile formed on my lips, and I closed my door completely before turning to change my clothes.Since I wanted Eric to think I was still the same weakling he knew me as before, I rampaged through my wardrobe and found the most.A smile formed on my lips as I found the perfect piece. I changed into a white, innocent-looking box collar dress and paired it with black rubber shoes while tying my hair in a simple, messy bun.When I came out of my room, I heard the door next to mine open and involuntarily swallowed Zane’s dimmed expression as he closed his door and stared at me blankly.He’s wearing combat clothes – camouflage pants, a black shirt with a leather jacket, and tactical boots. With that menacing look on his face
Jessica’s POVI turned so fast and glared at Morgan, “How do you know about it? How did you know that it's right next to the Red Wood Pack?”My mind was in turmoil out of shock from what I discovered and annoyance that Morgan knew about it and didn’t state it properly earlier.She shrugged and mockingly replied, “Well, you didn’t seem to appreciate my contribution, so I just kept silent.”I wanted to punch the life out of her because she and I both knew that she just did it to spite me.“Wait, so it’s on their border. Why? Is that something we should take into account?” Wendell asked, stepping between Morgan and I.Closing my eyes, I took a couple of deep breaths and heaved a sigh.“Because that’s Eric’s pack. My… fated mate’s pack. The one who rejected me and sold me to Zane.”My fist automatically clenched in anger as I was reminded of those days – the days I was treated as a maid and a mistress. The day I was sold like an item.I could still remember running into that forest every t
Jessica’s POVAfter the heated meeting earlier, I decided to blow off some steam and go around the kingdom’s perimeter to run a random patrol check.Since none had yet to be decided, I didn’t find any great reason why I should stay there longer.However, I was just about to finally calm down and let all my anger subside when I smelled that familiar scent and felt that familiar demeanor approaching me.I didn’t say anything, and he didn’t either. We just walked together in silence until, after a few minutes, I finally broke it and asked what had been bothering me since earlier.“If she’s your ex, why is she still around?” I almost slapped my own forehead after that. Though it sounded casual, I couldn’t help but worry that he might think I was jealous. Which I wasn’t.Or was I?I was still in conflict with myself when Zane suddenly stopped and looked at me hesitantly. He explained, “Morgan has… some trouble, so she has to stay.”His eyes widened as he immediately added, “She’s not a thr
Jessica’s POVI woke up feeling alive early in the morning as I rushed to the meeting room. I was the first to arrive, vividly waiting for the tracker’s reports with my back on my seat and my fingers expectantly tapping on the table to pass the time.“You’re early.” Zane arrived with two coffees in hand.I narrowed my eyes as he approached me and handed me the other one, which was my favorite. Reluctantly, I accepted it and took a sip while keeping my eyes on him as he sat beside me.“So are you,” I replied, putting my cup down and nodding toward the clock.The meeting wouldn’t start until half an hour, and he usually arrived either on the dot or five minutes later. His impatience caused him to want everyone to be here already and not waste any of his time.“I thought you’d be early and bring your coffee. But if I knew you would be this early, I would have come earlier,” he uttered without batting an eye.I blinked a couple of times, feeling my heart pumping incredibly fast in my ches