I had doubts... I hadn't believed my mother was capable; this had been the same woman I lived with all my life, but here I was in her apartment... And now I think maybe I was very wrong; maybe I just never knew who my mother truly was; she might have hidden that part so well from me.“You were away for a few days. Where did you go?” I asked, my gaze burning into her.“I do not have to report to you; I am your mother, and I have the right to be wherever I want to be.”“A messenger was sent from the New Blood Pack, Thane had assembled soldiers to search for the offender. I can only help you if you talk to me,” I said to her.I could see the fight in her eyes die away.“I had been so close,” she says, and I shouldn't be surprised, yet I was because I hoped she wasn't involved; I hope it was just a mere coincidence, and maybe that had always been my problem... I hoped a lot.“I don't believe you; how did you do all that?” I asked staring at her, she was strong for a woman in her late thir
Thane was already there by the time I returned back to our room.That could only mean one thing.“Where did you go?” He asked“I needed to take some air... why?”He turned to me. He was only in a black bottom-down shirt; the sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up, and he had a glass of whiskey in his hands.“You are back early.” I noted aloud.“Yes” was his only response, his gaze on the glass in his hands.“Any luck tracking down the rebel?” I asked“Let's not talk about that right now,” he says, and I let out a sigh of relief.I walked towards him, and he took my hands.“You are very special to me,” he says, and my heart fluttered. This was the second time he had told me that. “I want you to tell me now, is there anything I need to know, Riley?”There it was. He knew something; I was almost sure about it, but never would I give my mother up.“I am not hiding anything from you, Thane,” I lied, and he nodded. He brought my hands to his lips, placing a kiss on it.“I'll miss this a lo
Thane had never gone back on his words; I knew that, yet I could only hope; I had no other option.“Thane, please don't do this; I can't live without her. Don't take her away from me; please do something,” I begged, going on my knees before him.I was willing to degrade myself—anything it took—just for her life to be spared.“I will do anything; I will be anything you want me to be, and I will not complain once, if only you will spare her life,” I said. I was practically begging to become his toy, begging him to take me as whatever he sees fit, just to save my mother.“Get up. There is no such thing as mercy, not in this pack. She did wrong, and she had already accepted her fate; you should too,” he says, his tone cold and unyielding.“No, you can’t do this... please for me.”Thane eyes were on me, no smirk on his lips this time. “I have to do this for the pack; no one goes against me or the Alpha King and stay alive.”“Alpha Slade deserved what he got.”“And I am not the one to judge
I lay at the very edge of the bed, and if Thane noticed that I had still been awake, he said nothing. I didn't know how I was going to help my mother, and it was killing me; my brain was completely blank and it was frustrating. I rolled over, feeling very restless; it didn't even help that I shared the same bed with Thane. I rose from the bed, taking my pillow along. As silently as I could, I tiptoed to the cushion and laid on it. I needed space; I needed to be away from ‘him’ even for a while.“Riley, please don’t punish yourself; return back to the bed.” Thane’s voice startled me.“No, I am fine here.”“You are not; I’ll sleep elsewhere if that is what you want.”“My mother is being held captive; the place I’m going to sleep is the least of my worries right now,” I snapped before settling on the couch.I wouldn’t let myself have even a glimpse of sleep; I didn’t deserve it..Morning came too fast, and I had come up with nothing but more desperate ideas. I was going to do every si
The woman standing before me had the same colour of hair my mother did, but slightly different eye color. She did look very much like my mother, but slightly younger; she was sobbing silently, and I noticed her swollen eye and her mouth... her tongue was missing, preventing her from speaking.Slade walked forward. He stared the woman up and down and scowled in irritation—this wasn’t what he was expecting, and it was a wound to his ego. He kicked the woman hard, and she fell to the ground. I am sure he broke a bone. Thane stared down at the woman, and I saw something flash in his eyes as he picked her up; she could hardly stand.“She is from my pack, and I had promised you she would be dead,” Thane said to his father.Slade didn’t seem satisfied by that; leaving it up to him, he would have lengthened the woman’s torture. Thane whispered something in the woman’s ears before slitting her throat. She choked on her own blood, clutching on to her throat as she dropped to the ground.He had
I had visited Nelly’s parents, Thane, by my side; his face was blank of emotions, but I knew it was all a facade.What exactly did he feel? Did he regret his actions?. I couldn’t tell, yet this had been the same man who killed many with a single care.Axel had sat beside Nelly’s mother, who sobbed silently, her mate trying her best to comfort her.I wiped off the tears trailing down my cheeks.Thane had told me he was going to make sure they never lacked; he did feel guilty for this. Nelly was only twenty-seven, living with her brother, who was one of the pack soldiers, and her mate, who had been sick for years now; that was all I knew about her. I killed her; I caused this.Lost in thoughts I hadn’t realized Nelly’s mother was walking towards me; I noticed she avoided Thane. I had expected her accusing eyes directed at me, but her eyes were warm, though filled with pain and anger but not directed at me.“I’ll like to talk to Luna,” she informed the room.What did she want to talk abo
Thane was right; I didn’t need any external help to connect with my wolf’s side.I got accustomized to running on all fours; my senses weren’t as overwhelming as they had been the first time I transformed.I felt... free and finally complete..My clothes waited for me, just where I had left them before I transformed and I put them back on.I heard the footsteps approaching, even before I saw him."Hey,” the stranger called. Maybe not exactly a stranger; I had seen him before, but I couldn’t quite place where I had seen him.“You startled me." I lied“I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t know it was you.”“What are you doing here?”I face-palmed myself ‘internally’ the moment I asked that question. This was no private space; anyone could come here at their free will.“I just needed to clear my head,” he said, a small sad smile on his face. He was good-looking—the type you really wouldn’t notice till you looked closer. I should walk away, but then I remembered my duty as the Luna, and he did look
I woke up feeling dizzy. My head hurt, and my throat felt so sore.And there stood Jake.“She’s awake,” he says to himself; the sadness I had once seen in his eyes was gone, and all that was left was rage.“Yeah, I am awake." I manage to say, “What next?, kill me?. He would find me and then kill you.” I threatened.“Just like he killed my sister?” Jake questioned, the single tear slipping down his eyes; he wiped it away, angry at himself for letting me see that. The guilt I’d carried along since Nelly’s death felt more oppressive than ever.Coming to think of it this must have been what he had been referring to earlier when he spoke about taking the ‘little things’ for granted, he was referring to the times he had spent with his sister.“You know why she was killed” I tried explaining, “I wish it never happened, and it still haunts me... but she...” I trailed off, I couldn’t lie to his face, so I remained silent.“What is it you wanted to say?” Jake inquired, those sorrowful eyes on
"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
ALEXANDER’S POVReturning from my ‘trip,’ all I wanted was to see my mate. I’d missed her, missed kissing her, but then I discovered she had been kept in the dungeons for over three nights. My own advisors had seen fit to humiliate her. It took all my will to remain calm.There were going to be changes to the Council; perhaps I never needed so many advisors after all.“The woman’s name is Helen; she does have a five-year-old child. She worked for Eamon as a sales representative.” Austin read from the file.“She was paid pennies; that’s very low for a full-time worker.” I said.“Yes, it is very far below the minimum wage.” Austin agreed.“Get in touch with this woman; make sure she’s well taken care of and established.” I said to him, and he nodded, taking the file along before walking away.I turned to the rest of my advisors; tension hung in the air. They weren’t just unsettled; they were afraid, and they were right to be.“Alpha, if I may speak…” Ronan began, but I cut him off.“No,
I climbed up the stairs and stood right in front of my mate, Alexander."The man was not innocent..." I began, but my words were cut off as he pulled me onto his lap and kissed me. The kiss was passionate, raw, and full of need."Hush. You need not say a word."There was complete silence in the hall.Alexander rose, gently setting me down before walking over to Seth."You placed your Queen Luna and my mate in the dungeons. Who gave you that authority?"Seth fell to his knees. "I apologize. I meant her no harm...""It seems I need to set more examples, and you'll be the unlucky one I use to make them.""But I am your advisor; I have been by your side ever since you were only a boy.""I haven't forgotten that," Alex said, his claws tearing through his skin. "But you forgot your place."I watched in complete astonishment as Alex ripped Seth's head off his body and tossed it aside, the lifeless body crumpled to the floor, blood pooling around it."The soldiers who had been stupid enough