I wore a gown—an elegant, mid-length, midnight blue dress. The neckline dipping just enough to reveal a hint of cleavage.“You should wear dresses more often,” Alexander said.“I wouldn’t have worn one if not for the fear of sticking out.”“You are the Luna of the Nightshade pack; you will always stick out.”We took the black Range Rovers, and the three cars following us carried five of our soldiers. Alexander took the lead, and I sat beside him in the passenger seat while he drove.“I didn’t know you were such a good driver.”“Is that a compliment?” he asked, looking away from the road ahead and at me.“No. I’m just surprised. Most ‘Alphas’ prefer seating behind while their drivers do the driving.”“Well, I’m not like most Alphas.” He said, his eyes still on me instead of on the road.“You will get us killed if you don’t focus on the road, you know.”He laughed. “Have more faith in me, Kaida.”“I would, if you were staring ahead instead of at me.”“You know what I think? I think I ma
“Kaida, I know you are capable of taking care of yourself, but I’ll ask that you stay close to me at all times.” Alexander said to me.The Gray Moon Pack was smaller than both the Nightshade and the Dawn Pack, but it was built a bit differently. There were no sub-houses around the pack to accommodate other members; instead, there were three huge buildings, and I guess that’s where all the pack members stayed. The soldier led us into the one on the left, the biggest of the three buildings, I believed, where the Alpha and other top-ranked members were housed.“Welcome, our King!” The man I assumed to be Alpha Grayson said with a bow. “It had been so long since you last visited.”“Not so much has changed.” Alexander said with his usual smirk, but I noticed the ‘mask’ was back on.“You are right; I don’t plan on making any new notable changes to the pack anytime soon.”“Thank you for having us, Alpha Grayson.”“The pleasure is all mine.” Grayson replied. There was something about this man
The moment I set my eyes on the man named Grayson, I felt an instant dislike for him; something about him was uninviting, and now I could see why. I couldn’t help but watch as he drank and laughed in his loud, unpleasant voice, even attempting to crack jokes. His pack members laughed—not because his jokes were funny, but because they felt they had to.Grayson grabbed one of the naked girls, and she giggled as he pulled her onto his lap. Without hesitation, he cupped her breast. “I think you have pretty tits, but I have to save myself for my wife at least for tonight.” He said, and everyone laughed at that. “I remember telling my father about my intentions to marry as many beautiful women as I could. He called me a fool; he said ‘one would have to do; you don’t need so many wives’… But guess what? He is dead, and I am Alpha now.”People laughed even harder like that was funny; I, on the other hand, was doing my very best to hide my grimace.“It’s time!” The Alpha called with a loud voic
Grayson finally walked out of the room after what felt like hours; the girl's sobs still stung my ears. I sat and I did… nothing.An elderly woman rushed into the room, perhaps to nurse the girl—that’s what I thought until I saw her walk out with the white sheet that was now stained with blood. A lot of blood. She threw the sheet into the air, and many reached for it, cheering for their Alpha.“A screamer she is… but I do like screamers.” He said with a smile.Grayson walked up to us. “Join us; the feast is about to begin.”Alexander rose, stretching his hand for mine; I rose without his help. Grayson led the way to the hall where we were meant to eat, drink, and party like a girl hadn’t been violently taken just a while ago. Our soldiers walked a good distance behind us.“Please, take your seats! Enjoy!” Grayson says, and we took the two chairs at the head of the table; he sat on the single one opposite us. The others joined in, taking their seats. Our soldiers took the first five ch
I rolled over on the bed—wait. Bed? My eyes snapped open. “Alexander?” I called, but there was no one in the room. Just then, the door creaked open, and a familiar scent filled the air. His scent. “Alexander!” I called again, and finally, he appeared before me. “I went to get you some food.” He said a smile—not a smirk, a smile on his face. I stared down at his hands; he held a tray of food. He was in a black t-shirt and jeans—I had never seen him in casual clothes before, and… damn, was he hot. “Are you… are you okay?” he asked. “Yes, I am.” I pulled off the covers and rose to my feet. A sudden dizziness overcame me, and I lost my balance. Before I could fall, Alexander caught me. The tray still remained in his other hand. “You should rest some more and eat too.” He said, leading me back to the bed. I accepted the tray of food. “I am glad you are awake; the past two days were not very exciting. I spent the last forty-eight hours worrying myself to near death." I had been asleep
In a few days, the wolfsbane was completely out of my system, I could finally walk without any support. So I decided to pay Aric a visit. I knocked on the door to his apartment, and as if he had been waiting right there, he opened it immediately and pulled me into a hug. “I wanted to visit you and see how you were doing, but Alexander is a bit more possessive of you now.” “It’s alright; I’m fine now.” Finally, he pulled away and shut the door behind him. “You would have died—I should have gone with you.” “But I didn’t. All thanks to Alexander.” “I might not like the Alpha very much, but I will always be grateful to him for this.” "He saved my life, and that’s why I’m here. I want to know what happened to the Gray Moon Pack and how I was able to make it here alive. "I don’t know all the details, but I heard that every pack member at the Wedding Feast was burned alive—none survived. What’s strange is that the fire didn’t spread. It never went past the hall; it just... quenc
Alexander wasn’t in his office; neither was he in the meeting room.I walked into Phil’s—one of the council members and the eldest among them all."Luna," he called, bowing.“Phil. I wonder if you have an idea where the Alpha is now.”“He is in the bar, Luna— I don’t advise you go to him now.“Why?” I asked.“He is a bit… occupied.”“Point me in the direction to the bar and I’ll be on my way.”.If he was having sex with a whore, I would feel it.I stopped before the 'bar.' The only thing blocking my view of the room was a curtain made of beads. I took a deep breath and walked in.The place reeked of alcohol as expected. I spotted Alexander; he had a bottle in his hand, and sitting beside him was Austin, another council member.Three naked women danced on poles; the one in the middle had her eyes trained on Alexander. The strange feeling I had felt earlier in the Gray Moon Pack resurfaced. Jealousy. I didn’t like the fact that Alexander watched them, though he made no move towards her
Alexander was in a fresh pair of pants, though I didn’t think he minded being naked.“You should join me for a drink, Kaida.” he offered.I did need a drink. I walked to him, trying to hide the discomfort I felt between my legs. I had asked for it, and I was given just that. It was fun; it was exciting, but now, all I could feel was pain. I had no regrets, though; I would do it all over again if time was taken back.Alexander helped me to the stool beside him.I accepted the glass filled with a light brown liquid. I didn’t mind asking what it was; I drank it all. He stared at me. “I’m a very bad influence on you.” He said.“You are.” I agreed, adjusting on the seat.“You are sore and in pain.”“I’m not.”“You don’t have to lie; I can see that. Perhaps I went too hard.”“I asked for it.”“You weren’t ready. I shouldn’t have listened to you.”“I was. I was ready.” I said and his eyes fixed on me. “I… I wanted to give you everything ‘they’ would give, so you won’t have a reason to want t
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
ALIYAH’S POVI stared at the empty room, once occupied by the human girls. Now, the chains that had been used to bind them were the only sign that they had ever been here.After the incident with Tasha, Daemon wasn’t willing to take any chances. He had let the two cousins return to their homes.When Daemon wasn’t home, I had the whole house to myself.I returned to my room to take a quick shower before his return. I peeled off my clothes and walked into the shower. I was done in less than twenty minutes. I was about to step out of the bathroom when my reflection caught my eye. I paused, staring at the figure in the mirror that was mine.My eyes were the only thing alive; every other part of my body seemed to be fading away. My silver hair didn’t look as healthy, and my pale skin was even paler. I spotted the bite marks marring my skin. I didn’t mind them at all; maybe I was getting just as crazy as Tasha, but I liked seeing those marks on my skin; they reminded me of him, and so I ha
I watched as Aric’s casket was lowered into the ground.All the memories were buried along with him. Guilt ate at me, knowing he shouldn’t be down there.Many who knew Aric were also present. He had once been a beta to the Dawn pack, then a commander to the Nightshade Pack. He was loved by many, but the strangest thing about life was how fast people tend to move on.Two hours later, everyone was gone, back to their lives. A few months from now, some would forget him. In a few years, others wouldn’t even remember that a man named Aric had once lived among us. He’d be just another tombstone like the rest. No one was ever truly too important—life always moved on.I stood before Aric's grave, eyes puffy and red, tears rolling down my cheeks, and Alexander stood beside me. His eyes were on me.“You know, he had a sister. I had no clue about her; she was the reason he betrayed me; he wanted to save her.” I paused when I realized who I was talking to. “Sorry, I know you’d always hated him.”
Derek had been taken away from the pack after our fight. A small part of me felt bad for him. In his pack, he had been worshipped, but now… everything was about to change—especially the fact that he would have to rule as an Alpha with only one arm.If his story taught me anything, it was that we often fail to appreciate what we have. He had a pack, people who loved him, but like every other Alpha, he wanted more. He was an honorable man, and for that reason, I had let him go his way—even after his demeaning words about making me his ‘whore’ when he took over the pack.“I have to admit. You did very well with the pack.” Alexander praised, and I couldn’t help the swell of pride I had felt in that instant.We were currently in the bed, none of us wanting to leave the room or each other’s company.“Most of the time, I didn’t even know what I was doing.”“Well, that makes the two of us. You were born a leader, Kaida.”"No, I wasn’t. I might be the daughter of an Alpha, and I might have ha