“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
"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 co
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
"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
I didn’t say another word. I just watched him take gulps straight from the bottle of wine. When it was finally empty and nothing was left to drink, he lit a cigarette."Alexander..." I began, and he exhaled a slow stream of smoke in my direction. He did it again, and I snatched the cigarette from his mouth, tossing it aside. "What is your problem? You're the Alpha and King, and here you are getting drunk and wasting away.""I'll choose this over being the Alpha King any day," he said, pulling out another cigarette. I wrapped my hand around his, stopping him, and for the first time, he really looked at me. I noticed his red, bloodshot eyes; he was in pain; finally, I could tell. “I don’t like hurting women, but touch me again and I might reconsider.” He said, his voice cold, Alex had never spoken to me in that manner before. I should give up; at least I tried my best. I should leave before things got really messy, but the advisors had called for me because I was the only one who could
I walked to the bathroom, the packet of pregnancy pills in my hands. I emptied the contents of the packet into the toilet and then flushed. This was my home now; if the time came to bear children for Alexander, then I would do my duty. The Dawn pack would have to learn to stand strong; they would have to learn to be bold and demand their rights.The dining hall was going through reconstruction; of course, everything would be replaced, and there would be no clue left of what happened there.“So, why did King Alexander tear down the poor hall? It didn't deserve that.” Aric said.“I don’t know, perhaps he grew bored of seeing the same stuff each day and thought… maybe it would be a good idea.”Aric smiled. “You don’t want to tell me, do you?”“I…can’t.”“I am your friend; you know you can tell me anything, and you also know that we can’t keep secrets from each other.”He was right; he was all the family I had left, and yet telling him this without asking Alexander’s permission didn’t fee
Maybe I should have tried to know Haga better. I always thought it would be prying, but perhaps all he needed was someone willing to listen.“That’s why you’d rather not answer the name Haga, isn’t it?”“Yes, names, I believe, have a way of shaping a person’s future. My father knew that when he named me Hagaziel, so I’ll prefer to be called any other thing but that name.”"You are a good person, even if he never cared to see it. The fact that you still attended his burial, despite everything he did to you, proves that."“He might have been a monster, but he was still my father.”“You’ll always have a place here at the Nightshade pack – I hope you know that. I will make sure you are well taken care of.”“I’d love that, but I won’t be staying.”“Where would you go?”“Back to my pack. With my father dead, I am now the Gamma of the Moon Valley pack. I knew my father would have abhorred the idea of it; he probably believed I would die and the title would be passed to my younger brother.”“
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and perhaps it’s best I invite my grandparents to the pack, right my wrongs.” Alexander said.“I agree, but how would you get to them?”“Now that I know for sure they’re both alive and exactly what they look like, the odds are in my favor.” He said and then walked to me. “Thank you, Kaida, for what you did back there, and just so you would know, I’ll never hurt you—that threat, I didn’t mean it.”“I understand, Alex. You were mad and angry, and you should be. It’s alright.”He placed a kiss on my forehead and then on my lips, and our eyes locked in an intense gaze. “You make me feel sane, Kaida.”“You make me feel more…alive.”He was the first to look away. “I need a shower.” He says.“I need one too.”He smiled—a genuine smile. I stripped off my clothes, but before I could step into the bathroom, he picked me up and carried me to the shower enclosure.He finally set me down. Turning on the shower, he took the bottle of shampoo and applied it to my
“You look younger,” I remarked.“I get that a lot.” She responded.I glanced around the house, taking in the pictures. It seemed Selene was an only child—just like I was. In one of the photos, her mother had her arms around a man with curly blonde hair. I assumed he was Selene’s father.Older photographs crowded the walls. Her voice drew my attention away from my inspection.“I’m sorry about… last time.”“What?”“The rings and all black must have scared you off.”While I thought she looked better without all those, that hadn’t been the reason I walked away.“No, it’s not that. I just hadn’t expected you to be so … young.”“Oh.” She said, and at that moment, Rebecca Ashford walked in.“If you need anything else, all you have to do is say,” she said with a smile.“Actually, I’d like to speak to you. Alone,” I replied. I didn’t miss the brief flicker of disappointment that crossed Selene’s face. “It’ll just be a few minutes,” I added.“Of course.” Rebecca said and nodded to Selene, who r
**BETA PHIL’S POV**EARLIER… (MATE BALL)I wasn’t born into any of the ‘noble’ bloodlines. None of my ancestors had ever been part of the Alpha, Beta, or Gamma clans, so I never thought I could ascend to such a position. But if my mother were alive today, she would wear that same warm smile—the one that said, ‘I told you so.’ She had believed in me, even in times when I didn’t share that belief. Pack members stepped forward to congratulate me. I couldn’t recall the last time I had felt this happy.Then, I caught the scent.Many years ago, I would have been overjoyed; many years ago, the thought of finding my mate—my other half—consumed me. But those prime years were gone, and now I saw how people were overly obsessed with the ideology of having mates. We didn’t need mates to be complete; it was all a matter of the mind. I never needed one.So why now?Why now when everything was finally falling into place?Abandoning my half-drunk glass of champagne, I rose and followed the scent. Th
Phil and I joined the pack patrollers.“We’ve got it covered here.” Phil assured them, and they spread out, giving us some privacy. "You’re very observant," he says, and I assumed he was referring to my earlier suspicion."It’s actually written all over your face. You look stressed.""Well, you’re the only one who noticed.""Maybe I do have a knack for picking up on things."I knew he wasn’t the type to share his personal problems, so I couldn’t push him; he’d talk when he felt ready. At least he had admitted to my suspicion that something was indeed wrong.“It all started back at the mate ball. Right after the ‘big announcement.’I had gone to grab some champagne when I caught the scent. That’s when I finally understood what everyone had been going on about. The scent was heavenly. She must have arrived late, I’m sure I would’ve noticed if she’d been at the ball earlier.”I didn’t bother admitting that all this time, I had assumed he was mated. I realized I knew so little about thos
KADIA’S POVMy session with the soldiers had ended for the day. I needed a hot bath and enough food to feed a small village—preferably before I collapsed from starvation.I was heading to the pack house when I spotted Phil. I’d been meaning to see him. For the past few days, he’d been a bit… absent, and that was—well, weird.Ignoring my stomach’s protests, I walked up to him, but he was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice me until I tapped him. He turned, looking a little startled before quickly masking it.“Luna, sorry, I was just… caught up in my thoughts,” he said.I nodded, offering a small smile.“That, I can understand.” I paused, studying him. There were faint bags underneath his eyes, like he hadn’t been sleeping well. His facial hair was a little overgrown. He looked exhausted—he’d been like this since the… announcement. Was it all too much for him?“Phil, are you alright?” I asked.“Yes, of course. Why?”“Nothing. It’s just—you’ve been distant these past few days.”
The knock on the door cut our moment short.Normally, when a door’s locked, it’s a clear sign that the person inside doesn’t want visitors. But I guess the heads outside couldn’t take the hint.Kaida got back in her dress, and I helped adjust her hair.“How do I look?”“Beautiful.”“Thanks, but not that. Do I look like someone who just had sex?” She asked, and I shook my head.“No, you look fine.”Well, sometimes a little lie was necessary. Her hair, smudged lipstick, and rumpled clothes would surely give her out, but she didn’t need to know that.I pulled the door open to find two teenage girls with wide smiles—smiles that dropped the moment they saw us.Their eyes quickly raked over both of us, immediately figuring out what we'd been up to, and their cheeks flushed deep red."Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt. We came to pick up our rented dresses, but we can — just come back… later," one of them stammered, and they both hurried off without waiting for a reply."Hey?" Kaida called,
I found her jealousy amusing.“You’re jealous, aren’t you?”“Why wouldn’t I be? Sure, she might be a good person, but let’s not forget that you two used to have sex. I have every right to feel insecure, especially with the way she kept looking at you…” Kaida trailed off.I watched her, feeling unworthy. She had been faithful to me, even when we had broken things up, but I was stupid enough to think being with other women could take my mind off her.“I was apologizing for what I did to her earlier, and then she found her mate—she hesitated to go to him at first, but changed her mind in the end. That’s about it.”Kaida ran her hands through her thick black hair. “I feel like an insecure fool. I’m really sorry.”“You have nothing to apologize for.”She was staring at something, and I followed her gaze to Lara, who was kissing a dark-skinned guy. I figured that had to be her mate.“Wow. This mate ball turned out to be far more fun than I anticipated.” She said, I lingered on her expressi
I couldn’t take my eyes off her."Care for a dance?” I asked her and she nodded. It didn't seem like she enjoyed parties much.I took her hand and led her to the dance floor, aware of how people kept their distance. Seriously, what did they think? That I’d take their heads off just for bumping into me on the dance floor?This was getting ridiculous. But I couldn’t dwell on that thought any longer—Kaida was staring.“We match,” she said, motioning to my black tuxedo with its dark blue vest and tie. Maybe that wasn’t entirely a coincidence. “And you look really hot in that tuxedo, but then again, when do you not?” Her cheeks reddened. Kaida could be a badass fighter, but she wasn’t always as confident when it came to... well, other things.I stepped closer, letting her feel the subtle shift of my arousal. “Giving me compliments like that in public is dangerous.”She let out a breathy laugh, her cheeks still flushed. I saw the need flash in her eyes. I had been contemplating leaving wit
The dark blue dress would look beautiful on Kaida. That was the first thought on my mind when I saw it in the store. I knew I had to get it for her..Kaida was on the training field, she’d taken up Aric’s position. I believed it was another way to honor his memory. She trained the soldiers just as he had done… before everything went downhill. I had to admit, she was very good at it. Even the soldiers seemed to be enjoying the session with her."Your weight on this leg," she instructed, adjusting the soldier’s stance. I didn’t miss the way his gaze flickered to her ass for a split second before he quickly looked away, likely fearing he’d be caught staring. The possessive part of me wanted to pry out his eyes for even looking, then drag her into our room and fuck her all day long for looking so damn sexy.The longer I watched, the more something dark stirred inside me. She was too damn close to that guy, and those leathers—hell, they were so tight, her ass was practically on display. I
The Rogue leaders had waited. When the two days were over, I invited them into the meeting room.A maid brought over bottles of beer, and Edna was the first to take a deep gulp, the others following soon after. The maid excused herself.“Edna, Skale, Kev, Gal, and of course, Timothy. Welcome to the Nightshade Pack.”“I didn’t remember keeping you waiting this long when you paid us a visit.” Edna said to me."I’d hoped you’d get impatient enough to leave."Edna chuckled; it was silent and humorless. “Unfortunately, we’ve come to speak on an important matter.”“I assumed as much.”"We allowed a peace treaty with you once, and now we’ve come to discuss the terms.""I made you a promise, Edna. I told you that if you couldn’t keep the rogues under control, there would be war. This time, something tells me you were the brains behind the earlier attack.""Yes. I was. Like the rest, we believed you were gone, and we did what anyone would do—we attacked.""But I guess you were wrong.""Sorely.