"Lately, He had been acting strange, and I was going to say something, but I had to be sure, and then the way he spoke to you back there, Thane would never do that.""What do you suggest?" I asked."I don't know what might be the cause, but a day ago I overheard his conversation; I believe he plans to attack a neighboring pack; the plan is to take their land and resources; their people would be forced into slavery.""A neighboring pack?""Yes, he said the 'Alpha' trusted him enough, and before he realized where the attack was coming from, it would be too late.""Trent.” I gasped, “He was referring to Alpha Trent. When are they going to attack?""Two days from today.""Arrange me a meeting with Trent; make sure no one finds out about it. I will meet him by the pack borders.""Yes, Luna." Again, Thane would never attack a pack who had done him no wrong; the man I had been living with, he wasn't Thane, and I was sure of it.Despite that knowledge, I would have to pretend; I wouldn't l
Riley’s POV I knew it; I knew this wasn’t Thane. There had been something different about him, and despite the fact that he bore no attributes of a demon, I still had my doubts. Right before my eyes, the man who had taken Thane’s form shifted; of course, it was Daemon. “How is this possible? Your skin — it was warm, you walked under sunlight, and you shapeshifted…” “Earlier you told me you visited Jade; did you find her?” It finally sunk in. If he was here, free, then Jade must be in danger or —worse. “What did you do to her?” I sneered at him. “Me? No, I didn’t do anything; this is not on me but on her. After you gave me over to her to be tortured for her little ritual, a lot did happen. Did you know that the ritual did work, Vox—the Demon Overlord, He is very much alive. More to that, he killed Jade after she resurrected him.” “I don’t believe you. What did you do to Jade?” “And why do you think I would lie? To make you see me as a ‘better person?’ I don’t really ca
Daemon stroded towards the door; he paused only to shift back into an imitation of Thane.“Daemon.” I called, and he turned to me. “The Dawn pack, why did you want to go to war against them?”“No reason; it was Vox orders.”“And you just… obeyed.”“Yes. I just obey.” With that he was gone.…..I walked through the underground chambers; I’ve heard about a secret exit somewhere in here. I spotted a large rectangular metal container; I was sure it hadn’t been here before, so I ignored it.There was indeed an exit, the space so small it could barely fit my body. I managed to go through the space, and I headed to the pack borders where Trent was waiting. He had done just as I had asked, and now he was back. I only hope there was no bad news.“Luna.” He called. “I owe you my sincere gratitude. Whoever had led those armies, they would have caught us unaware; we wouldn’t have survived it. The Dawn pack owes you big time.”“This is good news, and I am glad to hear it.” He didn’t know the att
I returned to the pack as quickly as I could, using the underground entry to avoid getting spotted by Daemon. It felt off-putting that I had to sneak around in my own pack. I really couldn’t wait for the moment I got to kill him.I stopped before the rectangular metal container; I thought a stench was coming from it. I should keep moving, but I got curious. I pulled open the heavy lid, and the stench of the decomposed body filled my nose; I gagged, looking inside; it was a body, a dead body floating in a greenish-looking liquid. The body was unrecognizable, but I thought the clothes looked slightly familiar. I had seen this on someone. I racked my mind to know who, but I came up empty.Who could have done this?Finally I remembered; the outfit looked familiar because I had seen it on someone only a few days ago. Regnux. This was… Regnux.I leaned to the side of the container, puking everything I had eaten. Tears streamed down my eyes.Daemon had said he didn’t trust Regnux anymore, an
Daemon tossed me a blood bag. “What do I do with this?”“What else? Have a drink. It will help you heal faster.”“So now you are going to pretend like you care?”“No, I don’t, but for as long as I need you by my side, I need you alive and… healthy.”“Yet you go ahead and drink my blood.”“You were being stubborn; you left me with no choice.”“I’m not drinking this.” I said to him,“Oh, you are.” He snatched the blood bag from my hand and pulled the cap open; he was going to force me into drinking this.“Okay, you don’t have to feed me; I’ll take the damned blood.”I snatched the bag back and took a huge gulp. It tasted warm. “You will need to empty the bag, Riley.”“Where did you get this from?” I asked him.“From the healers. Where else?”I just needed to be sure.I emptied the bag, just as he said. All the while he watched me like a freak.“Wasn’t so hard now, was it?”“Daemon… I just want to know if Thane is safe—I want to see him; I need to see him…”“Shut up. Thane is gone, it’
I couldn’t believe it. Slade hadn’t died. The same man who had ruined I and my mother's life was still alive, and he was a part of all this.I didn’t agree with Daemon on many things, but there was one quote I did: ‘Justice is not real.’ A man like Slade deserves to die in the worst way possible, yet he still lives.“You seem a bit quiet. Still thinking about Slade?” Daemon asked as we headed to the meeting room.“He deserved to die.”“Yes, he does, but you don’t have to worry; he is useless without a body. The chances of things going as he planned is very low. The warlock Flynn might be powerful, but so is Logan.”...“Thank you all for joining us.” Daemon said to the Alphas gathered, some of them came along with their Beta. Daemon took a seat, and I had to sit beside him. I spotted Trent and immediately looked away; I couldn’t let Daemon have any suspicions. I knew very well how that had ended with Regnux.“There is a matter of importance I want to discuss with you all.” Damon bega
I rose to my feet. It didn’t make much of a difference. Vox had a very intimidating height. “Now you listen to me.” I said to Vox, “You are in my pack; I didn’t remember inviting you here. You captured my mate too. In his absence, I am the leader here, so you could go be the Lord over your little demons but not here.” “Shut up, Riley.” Damon warned. “You shut up. This is my pack, and I will sabotage every single plan you make.” Vox had a look of irritation on his face; suddenly I felt a burning sensation right in my chest, spreading through my whole body, and I fell down to my knees. “What... what are...” I couldn’t complete the word. I coughed out blood; the pain only got more unbearable. “I still need her alive. The pack needs their Luna for now; with her by my side, there would be fewer suspicions.” “Then put your woman on a leash.” The pain seized, and Vox was gone; he had just… disappeared. “He would have killed you.” Daemon said to me. “Isn’t that why you brou
I couldn’t bring myself to sleep; Thane clouded my thoughts.“Still thinking about him?” Daemon asked. We both knew who he was referring to.“No.” I lied. “I can tell when you are lying.”“What difference does it make? It's not like you will let me go to him.”“And what if I can?”“Vox wouldn’t let you.” I stated."You know, I have never truly been a 'free' creature. Every time I feel as though I’ve achieved it, I realize I am still in servitude."“It had been from Jade to Bruce and then… Vox.” I said to him, and he nodded in agreement.“I want to ask you a question, and I need a genuine answer from you. When I was gone with Jade, you knew what was going to happen to me. Did you at any moment regret your decision? Did you ever think about me?”I was silent for a long while. “Daemon, I…”“Just answer the question.”“You want an answer, then it’s ‘No:. I never regretted my decision; I never thought about you—at least not in the way you think.”“Do you hate me, Riley?”“I sometimes beli
"I've stopped going by the name Ethan a long time ago," I told her.“But that’s the name your mother gave to you.”“I hated it.” Kate looked up at me. “Then my apologies, King Alexander.”“Leave us.” I said to the soldiers, and they walked away. “We are alone now; you said you needed to speak to me.”“Yes. It’s about the Demon Overlord.” Sebastian said.“He had been gone for years; what about him?”“He has risen, and he now lives amongst us.”“I do appreciate your efforts in coming here to tell me about your discovery. If that is all, you may both leave.”They both exchanged glances. "I know you're angry. I never once visited you all these years… it's just that I couldn't..."“Save it. Explaining wouldn’t be necessary.”“She is your grandmother.”"She is also a stranger," I said, turning around and walking away from them.“I'm sure by now you've seen the signs. Don't you want to know why you're able to wield and control flames?” He called out, and I paused. “I can help you; I know we
ALEXANDER’S POV“I still can’t wrap my head around how you managed to kill one of the rogue leaders and make it back here unharmed,” Austin wondered aloud. Ever since I told him about my little adventure, he hadn’t let the topic rest.Austin and Phil sat in my office. Phil was busy reading through some files, barely paying attention, but Austin was rather bothered with the long past incident.“He attacked me.” I clarified. “I didn’t just kill him for the fun of it.”“Of course, he did. That’s what I expected the other leaders to do the moment they set their eyes on you.”I couldn’t help but agree. “They have certain… rules.”“The rogues? That is hard to believe—not that I’m calling you a liar.”“I could have snuck up on them and brought a good number down with me, but I wasn’t there to start a war and I had to make that clear to them. They were willing to give me an audience and we conversed. But there was one—Brad. He never knew when to shut up or keep his thoughts to himself. I’m su
"Empress," I called. But she was not alone—I noticed other empresses and high regents trailing behind her.“You were gone for quite a long time.” She said to me, “Did you really think you could run away?”“I didn’t intend on running away… All I wanted to do was explore the city.”“Explore the city?” she questioned, walking closer to me. “You are the Chosen; out there, all you would find is sinful people, ready to taint you; there is nothing out there.”“Then maybe I don’t want to be the god of light's chosen! Maybe I want to just live my life like any other girl; maybe I think this—everything, it’s all a lie.”She slapped me hard, and the sharp sting was followed by the metallic taste of blood on my tongue.“How dare you say something so blasphemous?”“I don’t take back my words. You lock me in here, day and night, forcing me to read stupid books, forcing me to learn stupid languages. If the god of light was so powerful, she shouldn’t have an issue in speaking with the common tongue.
“Are you scared, Aliya?“No.” I lied.“I can tell when you are lying.”“I’m not.”“Another lie.”“Yes. I am scared.”“Good. You should be.”“Are you going to hurt me?”“No. I won’t. But I have another question. Have you ever touched yourself?”“No.” I answered, avoiding his gaze.“Then I’ll be the first person to make you cum.”He slowly circled a finger around my clit, and my breaths grew shallow. “Trian…”“Don’t speak. If this is to be the last night I spend with you, then it must be worth it.”The last night? What did he mean?I had no time to think about it as the pleasure consumed me. He went lower, a place no one but the Empress had ever gone. I didn't like it then, but now… I wanted it so bad. “Don’t look away, Aliya; watch as I fuck you with my fingers.”He thrust two fingers into me hard, and I cried out; he went even harder, his thrusts unrelenting. I built up quickly, hard and fast. “Train.” I warned, but he wouldn’t stop; he placed a kiss on my clit and then nibbled on it
Ash gave me one last look—hesitant, uncertain—before he ran.“We need to leave now.” Trian said, helping me up to my feet.“Where are we going to go?”“My place,” He answered. I could tell he was angry.He pulled me along, and after twenty minutes of walking, we came to a stop before a house. I had no time to study the place before he led me inside. It looked even nicer; only the wealthy here could afford such houses.“I never knew you had a house.”“I only just got it,” he said, passing me a bottle of water. I twisted off the cap and took a drink.“I’m sorry…” I began.“Don’t. Don’t even say that. What the hell were you thinking running out of the castle all on your own? Did you even know where you were going?”“I was bored.”“Being bored is better than getting killed. There are bad people out here, Aliya; do you know what would have happened if the wrong set of people had found you? Some would have sold you for gold; others wouldn’t mind tainting you just to anger those empresses. Y
I ran as fast as my feet could carry me away from the castle. I could only hope that while I was gone, Julia wouldn’t have a reason to check on me—because if she discovered I was missing, Then I was doomed.The city was alive as always.I headed straight to the fortune teller’s hut. Ever since my last visit, all I could think about was coming back here to ask her more questions—normal questions any girl would want to know. Questions that had nothing to do with me being a ‘chosen.’Trian believed that fortune tellers were all liars, maybe they were, maybe they weren’t.I stopped before the small, odd-looking hut with bones hanging from its door. I walked in and immediately spotted the old woman. She sat on a wooden stool directly in front of the fireplace, her eyes fixed on the fire. She muttered some foreign words before blowing a whitish powder into the flames, causing them to burn brighter.“How can I help you, girl?” She asked, without looking at me.“I came here to ask some more q
ALIYA’S POVI heard footsteps approaching and quickly hid the book I had been reading. Empress Julia never liked seeing me with leisure novels; I doubted I was even allowed to read anything that didn’t concern my studies or my future as the god of light’s chosen.“Empress,” I addressed.“You look well,” She said, “How have your lessons with Cynthia been going?”“Very well, she is a good teacher.” I lied.Empress Cynthia’s lessons were the worst; I hated every minute and second of it. I was currently learning an ancient, ‘forgotten’ language called Sumerian. Most times, all I imagined was shoving the textbook down her throat. I couldn’t deny that there was something off-putting about her—but then again, so was every Empress in this damned city.“I don’t expect less.” Julia said. I could tell that wasn’t exactly the reason she was here, and she was getting to that part soon. “Have you seen Trian by any chance? I’ve sent a few soldiers to find him, but he seems to be out of reach.”‘How
I didn’t exactly call for Sarah just so she could help me draw a bath.“Luna.” Sarah addressed, bowing. “The Alpha informed me that you requested my presence.”“Yes. I wanted to ask about the girl… the little one Alexander brought from the Gray Moon Pack."I caught the slight hesitation on her face before she answered. “Her name is Amanda.”“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl. How has she been recovering?”“She’s doing very well, better than I ever expected, actually. She’s blending in with the other kids, which is nice—she should be around people her age and…" Sarah kept talking. I couldn’t help but smile.“You seem to have grown a fondness for this girl.”“I… I just feel sorry for her; I want to protect her in any way I can.”“Sarah, you know you can tell me anything.” I reminded her, and she nodded.“Of course. It’s just that I don’t know if you’ll approve.”“Approve of what?”“I had taken her back to my apartment; she has been living with me—I didn’t ask for your permission; it’s
KAIDAI should have won. I had been so close, and then he appeared out of nowhere.Alexander switched to his human form and then he…. bursted into laughter, of course he found my failure funny. “I guess it was your pride that got bruised.” he said.I transformed back to my human form too. “You are a guy, and I’m a girl—you shouldn’t be competing against me.” I said to him, and that only made him laugh harder.“I wasn’t. I wasn’t trying, and I still beat you.”“It was just luck; it won’t happen again.” I promised him; what I meant to say was I would never be foolish enough to challenge him to a race. He was not only stronger than me; he was also faster. He was better than me in everything, and that bruised my pride. “We should get back.” I turned to walk away, but in a flash he was right in front of me.“Forgotten our little bet?” he asked.Yes, that had slipped my mind; now that I think of it, I was indeed a proud fool for agreeing to it.“What would you have me do, Alpha King?”“If y