"What has life in the shadows been like?" I questioned Logan. "What do you think it would be like?" he threw the question back at me. "Perhaps sad, lonely, pitiful." "It was all of those things, but I had to be that, knowing you were the complete opposite." "So, about Isabella, had you been the one who awoke her?" "No, I wasn't — what do you think I am? I don't know how she awoke but strange things happen, brother. She told me she lost her memory, but I recognized her almost instantly, and I knew she was your mate. I believe it's all fate. I mean, she came in the time you needed her the most." "And what about you? Do you have a mate?" "I did; I killed her." "I just might have found a match." I mused with a smile on my face as I took another sip of the whisky. "It had been a mistake; just like you, I had no idea about the Lycan's curse, and then all of a sudden it happened. It had been an accident, but, well, I wouldn't let you go through what I did." "So let me get
"Slade." I called again, but there was no response. Of course, when I needed him the most, he chose to play a disappearing scheme on me. I was not going to have that. "Would you prefer I beg?"This felt stupid; I was alone in my office, calling for my dead father's ghost, but of course anyone stumbling upon this scene would find it very...unsettling."I can tell you need something." The voice called. Slade was finally here. "I thought I had finally lost you.""You don't say that like it is a bad thing.""I mean, I need answers, but if I could stop seeing your ghost, then that is even better.""I should feel sad, but I've gotten accustomed to your manner of caring."I watched my father, once I feared this man; the whole world feared him. He was a walking, breathing terror, and now he was...nothing. I couldn't help but feel a little pity for him, even if he had been the one digging his own grave from the very beginning."Do you by any means know a man called Logan Dimintri?" I question
"Do you know Logan is also a Lycan, like me?" "I had no clue that any of you were lycans; believe me, I am proud of you, but if I had even a single clue that you were a lycan, then I would have killed you, then haunted him down and killed him too, just to remain in power.""What do you know about the Lycan's curse?" I questioned Slade."I thought you would never bring that up. I've been doing my homework, and I heard a thing or two about it.""By doing your homework, you mean 'snooping around?""Yes, that. It had been interesting watching your relationship with the Luna stumble. It's like history repeating itself; maybe this thing called 'love' was never meant for us.""Leave her out of this, will you?""But it is so much more fun talking about her. You know, If I were alive, I would have had a taste of her.""Just as you did to her mother?" I asked, holding back my anger because I couldn't hurt him, not when he was a ghost."Kate was such a sweetheart. You know, there came a time th
RILEYI paced in my room. What if he had something important to tell me?I shouldn't have slammed the door at him as I did earlier, it was wrong of me.He was right; I was pushing him away, and I feared he would go to the only one available and ready to give him a listening ear.You know what? Fuck it.He was right; I couldn't pull through with this; it was simply impossible. I headed back to the Thane room. Nothing has changed since I moved.I headed to the inner room, moving as silently as I could... I stopped short. Bella had her legs wrapped around Thane's waist. I stood there, watching them; it took everything in me to hold in the tears and turn around.It was too late. I had pushed him right into Isabella's waiting hand. If I had any tears left, I would have let them out. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think, and for the first time I wondered if I should have taken Isabella's offer while it was still on the table.I visited Ethan because I needed someone, anyone, to be with.Wa
**DAEMON** "I have every reason to kill you." Bruce said to me as he tended to my wound. I should have kept an eye out for Thane; maybe I did underestimate him."I know.""No, you don't. You are a fool if you think you have a chance with my daughter; you don't. Many have tried; she has eyes for only one man.""I've learned from my mistakes; I won't repeat them.""Of course you won't; I will not let you," he says.We were back in Bruce's home. I hated this place; for some reason it made me feel powerless, totally helpless.Bruce had helped me escape from Jade; together we locked her away, but I always felt like I escaped from one prison only to fall into another. Just like Jade, Bruce wanted to control me, but unlike her, he made me feel like I had an option even if I didn't."You gave them the pendant; why?""Why else do you think? I know about what you did to my daughter, against her will.""You don't really care, so stop the pretense.""Is that what you think? That I don't care?Ju
DAISY'S POVIt wasn't the same.When Daemon made love to me, when he bit me, all I felt was pleasure. Maybe I didn't realize it at the beginning, but he had become like an addictive drug, the more I got, the more I wanted. I thought it had just been the bites, and so I had tried getting that from Riley, but it wasn't the same.The Luna knew where he was. Why wouldn't she tell me?Each day, it got worse. I scrolled through my notebook; he occupied every single page.I had drawn him about a hundred times, and yet, I picked up a pen, ready to make another image. This was the only way I could keep myself from losing my mind thinking about him.Twenty minutes later, I was done with a perfect drawing of him. In this drawing he was shirtless, those locks of shiny black hair fell over his eyes. Damn, was he sexy."Hello, Daisy," the voice called.For a moment, I had thought it was all in my mind. It sounded so real. Slowly I turned, and there he stood, yet I couldn't be sure, this could jus
Once again, the bed was empty by the time I awoke. I felt a hollow in my chest; once more, I would have to hold onto the memories he had left, until his next visit. I was sore, but I managed to get out of bed. I took my pills."Good morning," the voice called, and there Daemon sat, still looking through my notebook."You stayed." "Yes, I did.""Why? I mean, I am happy—you know what? Don't answer that."He gave me a small smile, and it might just be the most human thing I had ever seen him do."You don't have to be uncomfortable around me; I won't harm you." he assured. I couldn't come up with anything to say. "It occurred to me that I don't know anything about you — except that you are the pack healer. I didn't know you drew. This drawing is really nice.""Thank you. I have been drawing and painting for years now; it’s something I do to keep calm."This was the most he had said since I knew him, and I wanted to keep the conversation going, but I didn't want to say the wrong words."W
RILEY"Finally you show up." I muttered, letting Thane in."Are you mad at me?" he asked; of course he sensed that almost immediately."No, I'm not.""You sound mad, Riley.""How did you think I would feel? I hate the fact that you have to be with her.""You said this was what you wanted. I wanted none of this, but I did it for you, and now you are going to put it all on me?""I didn't know what I was thinking.""So does that mean you'll return back to the room and stop all these?"I shook my head but said nothing."When I brought up the idea of both of you in one room, it didn't occur to me that you will both have to share a bed.""You saw that, didn't you?""Yes, I did.""Nothing went on between the both of us.""I know that, but I couldn't help but see how perfectly matched the both of you were. She had her legs wrapped around you, and you seem to enjoy her company. I don't know what to think anymore.""I love you.""Where is it? I keep hearing those words, but I can't see it; I ca
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.
ALEXANDER’S POVIt was almost unnerving how similar she had looked to Kaida. Her voice sounded so much like hers—I had hesitated, and in that moment of weakness, Cynthia escaped.It all made sense now. I could recall that incident. When Kaida had walked into the room, looking all seductive, I had given in so easily. And then—she ‘d lifted the dagger to my chest. I hadn’t realized it wasn’t her. For a fleeting moment, I had even thought the weapon was just another tease.But then she’d stabbed me, and too late I realized something different about her—something I hadn’t picked up on earlier. Her eyes. They were different, not because they weren’t the same grey I knew, but because it felt like they belonged to a stranger, not the woman I had known and fallen for.Kaida had taken the blame, but of course, she could never have done such a thing. She’d never have gone through with it, and I couldn’t believe I was just realizing that now."It’s not your fault. Cynthia excels at those kinds o
"I know the truth," I said to Julia, finally speaking up.“What truth? Don’t tell me you still fall for his falsehoods—you should have learned your lessons by now.”"He tried to protect me. He kept me safe. That’s more than you’ve ever done?"“Protect you—you really think you are safe here with him?”“Safer than I ever was back in the castle.”“I taught you better than this, Aliya. I taught you about bad people who would want to taint you, but you were always the curious type; I should have known.” She said, I didn’t miss the fact that she addressed me by my name."I remember everything you taught me, Julia. Thanks to you, I know more languages than I’ll ever have the chance to use in my lifetime. You spoke endlessly about good and evil—you painted yourselves as saints, but you all are far from that. I know the truth now. Your plan was to sacrifice me. That encounter—all of it—was a lie. I was nothing but a vessel to you.""And do you think you mean anything to him?" she asked, her g
My thoughts drifted to Ash. Could he have been stupid enough to come back here with Daemon present?Something told me Daemon wouldn’t be pleased about me seeing him behind his back.A small sense of relief washed over me when I realized the footsteps approaching weren’t from a man. There was something feminine, something familiar about them.It was Empress Julia.Of course, I would recognize the sound of her footsteps; I had spent over a decade of my life listening to them.Daemon seemed genuinely surprised. “How did you find this place?” he asked."I can't say. You see, it's a small secret, Trian—I guess that's the name you stole."Daemon’s eyes drifted from her face to the object she held in her hand: the Nexus Amulet. She had somehow gotten it out of the transparent glass container—perhaps that explained the noise that had alerted us we weren’t alone."Give it to me," Daemon all but growled."Tsk, tsk. Not so fast."Daemon looked like he was about to lunge for her."You won’t get t
I shouldn’t be thinking about Ash’s words, but I was. No matter how many times I tried to shove them out of my mind, they always found their way back."Dinner is served. Come eat," Daemon announced. Staring at him, I could almost forget that he was a demon; he just seemed so… human. But when you looked deeper into those dark blue eyes, that’s when you noticed something off—something that screamed predator.“I’m not hungry.”“That’s a lie. Come with me,” he said. I might be hungry, but I was in no mood to eat, yet I followed him. He had already dished out the food for me and, as usual, none for himself.“Thank you.” I muttered, taking a seat. The smoky scent of spiced grilled meat filled the air. On any other day, it would be enough to make my mouth water and my stomach rumble, but this time, I could barely force myself to eat more than a few small pieces.“Aliyah,” Daemon called, and I looked up at him. “I can make something else if you don’t like this.”“It’s not that. I’m just not h