A healer tended to my wounds in the dungeons; Thane had offered that I stay in the available guests room since we both knew I wouldn't be agreeing on returning back to the room we once shared, but I didn’t need his generosity; if he thought I couldn’t handle the cold floors of the dungeons, then he was indeed mistaken.I didn’t like how the healer kept staring at me. I am sure Thane had informed her not to tell anyone about this, but still her gaze was unnerving.“I think that would be all,” she said after the last stitch. “Is there anything else you need?”“No, you may leave,” I said to her, and she rose to her feet and offered a bow before walking away.A few hours passed, and Thane entered with a tray of food. He set it before me, but my gaze remained fixed on the wall, ignoring him entirely.“You’ve lost a lot of blood; you need to eat Riley, please,” he says softly.My eyes never left the wall, and finally he left, giving me some space to think about my escape. Yes, I needed stre
“You are fucking dying; you need to let go of your pride and eat something.”I had the words in mind to respond, yet my throat was so sore, I couldn’t utter a single word. There was a slight fear in his eyes; he was scared I would go through with this.I didn’t think Thane loved me, but I don’t think he wanted me dead either.He attempted spoon-feeding me; I wouldn’t eat a single thing; I wouldn’t let him win. “You either eat or I will make you." I had been about to ask how exactly would he ‘make me’, “There are these pipes that can be used to pass food directly into your body, and I would do that if I had to.”“You have no right,” I say. My voice sounded so tiny.“I am trying to keep you alive.”“And I don’t care. You either let me go, or I’ll die here. I bet you would love to see that.”“What do you want, Riley? I am ready to do any other thing, and I don’t care what it is; say it and it’s done; all you have to do is eat the damn food.”“Anything?” I asked"Anything,” he repeated, a
**THANE’S POV“She is engaged Thane, she was moving on quite well, you need to let her go” Axel says and he was right, but we both knew I wouldn’t do that. I wasn’t going to screw things up the second time. She couldn’t even bear to look me in th eyes anymore, damn she was starving herself just to get back at me and it was working, I couldn't eat either, not with the knowledge that she is down there, cold and starving. I should let her go, that was the easiest way, but it had taken everything in me to make that decision the last time and now, seeing her after two months, I knew I could never let her go, not ever again.“She is mine, my mate” I say, knowing well how stupid that sounded and already knowing what Axel would say next.“You did send her away, I hate to break it to you, but she doesn’t belong to you anymore, she is betrothed to another” he reminds me and I hated that reminder.If only he understood that I couldn’t imagine Riley with any other person, it took everything in me
Hunger pangs gnawed at my stomach, I could almost see myself giving up.Grudgingly, I picked up the glass of water. I could let myself have this; I emptied the cup immediately, and still it wasn't enough to cure my thirst.I had only managed to place the cup down before the door was once again unlocked. I looked up.It was Axel and Thane; that's what I thought till I saw the third figure.Nick.I staggered to my feet, running into his arms. "You are here," I managed to say. I was indeed surprised."What the hell did you do to her?" Nick asked, his eyes blazing with fury."Nick, I'm fine," I say. Thane hadn't harmed me yet; I had been the one who refused his food and shelter."You don't look fine to me," he says. Finally, he turned to Thane. "I am willing to offer you anything you want, so long as you let her go," Nick said. He was furious and only managed to keep it in."What can you offer me, Alpha? There's nothing I'll need from a pack so tiny." Thane said I threw him a glare; he on
THANE'S POVI didn't like the idea of the Raven Clan Leader in there with her. But Riley had been willing to let go of her pride and make a bargain—the very same bargain I had practically begged her for for days.Let's say it hurt my ego that she had so quickly accepted my terms just to have a few minutes with the man. Was he worth that much to her? If I did kill him, how long would she mourn him?That had been the question on my mind."That's it, Axel; I'm going in."He smirked, "It had only been minutes, but I don't like him in there with her either.""We've given her enough time, right?""Not quite enough; if they were 'getting at it' in there, then they would need a few more minutes." Axel taunted.That's the line.I walked to the door and pulled it open.The metallic smell of blood hit my nose triggering an instant alarm, my eyes scanned Riley frantically to make sure she wasn't hurt.She was fine.Oh. If she was hurt, at least that would be my little excuse for killing the man,
RILEY "How do you like this place?" Axel asked, "I mean, if it's not good enough for you, we could arrange something else." "It is fine" I muttered. "Do you need..." "No," I snapped before he could complete his sentence. What the hell was wrong with me? "Okay then, I'll leave you to get settled," he says, before walking away and leaving me all alone. I walked straight to the bathroom. This would be a very long bath. I set the hot bath. Gosh, I missed this. I sat in the tube; the warmth was so welcoming; I leaned against the marble and easily fell asleep. The footsteps woke me up. There Thane stood, always the pervert, watching me bathe. The bubbles had died down, revealing a little too much cleavage. My first instinct was to wrap my hands around my bare parts, but then that would make him know how his gaze still affected me. Instead, I remained in the bathtub, making no move to cover up. "Why are you here?" "I brought some food; you must be famished, just as
"Have you considered the possibility that Bailey masterminded all this?" The moment I said it, everything seemed to click; it does make sense. Bailey had brought the plan up, and when they wouldn't go with it, she decided to take the lead. "Bailey hasn't left the pack since the incident; I don't think she is behind this," Thane disagreed. "Hear me out. Bailey has every reason to hate you. Do you remember the deal you never kept your part to?, or the fact that after I left she might have hoped you would finally make a move, but you didn't." "She seems to have moved on Riley." "That might be what she wants you to think. Do you really think she could move on after 'everything'? She did sacrifice a lot, but of course that's just a speculation." I noticed how close I've drawn to him, and I immediately pulled back, instantly missing his warmth. "I'll keep a close eye on her," he promised. "We can't keep you hidden here forever, I wonder if you are ready to officially meet the p
I lay nude on the bed. I wasn't alone; Thane and Axel were both present. I had been cuffed to the bed post. A rush of excitement filled me when I spotted the silver Kengel balls; Axel rolled one slowly around his fingers. He walked to my naked form, and Thane took his position, watching. I stared at him, even as I felt the cold silver ball against my already wet entry. I moaned out Thane's name as Axel touched me. He went in and out with the balls, and just when I thought I couldn't take more, he pulled the balls out, going down on me and devouring me. I moaned again as his finger dove into me next, pumping in and out. I could feel my muscles grow tight as I reached my climate, and I shattered into a million pieces, crying out his name. I awoke with a start. I could feel the moisture between my leg and I wasn't alone now either. Axel paused at the door, his amused gaze on me. I knew he could smell my arousal even from there, I turned red. I've heard similar dreams before, but ne
My mind flashed back to the woman I had met in the woods all those years ago. If I could turn back time, I would have asked her exactly how her mate had broken her heart. Had he cheated on her? Had he beaten her? Or had he said the very same words Alexander Blackwoods had just said to me?“How dare you.” I growled at him. He was my first, the only man I had ever been with. “How dare you ask such a question, Alexander?” My voice sounded so cold; I couldn’t even recognize it.Alexander sat beside me as I shook with fury. “The healer had warned me when I began taking the doses of wolf’s bane. I didn’t listen; I was so obsessed with the idea of growing some kind of immunity to it. She was right in the end; it rendered me infertile—at least until I stopped my daily doses. And even then, we aren’t sure things will return to normal. With the amount of wolfsbane in my system, I am incapable of impregnating you, Kaida.”“I’ve only been with you.”“No. Just stop the act. I felt it… I felt it th
Nothing in the world could have prepared me for that news. Sarah's eyes held nothing but sympathy. I should have taken the pills. Now it was too late. I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t ready to train a child. Damn, I couldn’t even control myself; how am I expected to raise a child?I began panicking. “I can’t—it can’t be; there’s too much on the line; I can’t be pregnant.” The words came out in a panicked whisper."We haven't run any tests yet; I'm only speaking based on the visible signs; we are not yet sure of anything till we run a test.” She explained to me, and I nodded, but I could barely understand any word she was saying..I paced around my room, waiting for Sarah to bring the results. She had asked me to pee in a cup for the test; I didn’t even mind how awkward it was—I didn’t care. Please let her be wrong. If she is wrong, I would ask her for those pills and stay regular with them. Anytime I closed my eyes, I imagined myself getting big and round. I couldn’t fight with a child in
I lay on the bed, wide awake.I couldn’t sleep, even with Alexander so close to me. This time, his presence offered no comfort; we were on the same bed but might as well have been worlds apart, the gap between us growing wider and wider with each passing day.After he had fucked me against the table, I managed to make my way back to the bed and attempt to sleep. Clearly, it wasn’t working. I hadn’t said another word to him, and he seemed to prefer the silence.My memories pulled me back to an incident from a few years ago, back in the Dawn Pack. I remembered finding a woman in the woods—she was in so much pain. I tried to calm her down, but without being able to speak, she couldn't tell me what was wrong. I finally convinced her to shift back, and the moment she did, she broke down in tears. I had thought something terrible had happened to her, but I was… disappointed to realize that all that agony was simply because she was having issues with her mate.I had tried consoling her the b
KAIDA’S POVA whole week, and he barely spoke to me.I knew he was mad at me for leaving without informing him—he had every right to be—but I never thought it would drag on this long. I had believed that after my explanation, things would return to how they used to be. I was very wrongNothing was the same.I had just been informed that Aric had returned. I had been worried about him, but maybe it was smart of him to stay away for a few more days. Now he was back, he too kept his distance, and I didn’t think I was ready to see him either—maybe because a part of me blamed him. He had advised me to keep it all a secret from Alexander, and now I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing.The Empress still lived, but everything I had built with Aric crumbled to pieces right before my very eyes.I spent my day exercising; that was the only way to let out stress, but this time it wasn’t enough. I missed him—I missed Alexander; I miss his touch… it was all driving me crazy.Most times, I had
The sun had begun to set as I approached Aric in the field; thankfully, the place was completely empty of people.“I knew I would be seeing you soon.” Aric said with a smile.“I had been waiting for you; I almost thought you chickened out.”“I had sex with her,” he said abruptly, and despite the fact that I already knew that, hearing it from the man who she had fucked only made it all worse."I should have known you'd take your chance the moment you were left alone with her.""For all you know, she might have been the one begging for it. Maybe you weren’t enough to satisfy her, or perhaps… she was craving something different."I’ve always excelled at keeping my emotions in check, but this time it took everything in me to keep calm. I was one step away from cracking his skull.“You know you can’t kill me.” He says, “She wouldn’t like that one bit, and you don’t want to make her mad.”“On the contrary, I do.”He hadn’t expected it; I grabbed his arm, snapping it. He let out a growl. “Yo
ALEXANDER’S POVI couldn’t bear to look at her. I came home late and left early—we hadn’t had a real conversation since we returned a week ago. She had tried starting one a few times, but after noticing my lack of interest, she stopped trying.I should get over this and move on. After all, I had been with other women too—but that was before Kaida and I became more than just unwilling companions. What hurt me the most wasn’t the act itself, but the fact that she hadn’t said a word about it. I had waited for her to finally gather the courage to speak up, only to realize she was going to pretend nothing had happened—like she hadn’t broken my trust. And that was what annoyed me the most.I would have forgiven her, damn, I still would— if she spoke about it.I drowned myself with work, and of course it paid off; the pack earnings had increased significantly this past week. When I wasn’t working, I was drinking myself to death. Usually, women, liquor, and violence were my only ways to let o
I felt so stupid—foolish enough to believe I was the queen in this game, with everyone else as mere pawns in my scheme. Little did I know there was a master plan, one far greater than my petty game. And in His plan, I was nothing more than a pawn.“You released those flesh eaters that attacked me; I could have died!” “That wasn’t exactly part of my plan, but again, I didn’t think you would go running off.”“You want me to believe that everything you said to me was a lie, but I don’t believe that. I know there was some truth to it all; you took the blame for me, risking your life. More than once you’ve risked your very position to make sure I am fed; you saved me from them. The kiss we shared in the lake, the memories we’ve made—they aren’t fake; they are all real.”I sounded so sure of myself, but in reality, I wasn’t. Perhaps it was all real to me, but never real to him.Trian—no, Daemon—gripped my chin, his eyes flashing from their usual blue to pure black before returning to their
A smirk curved on his lips; his eyes, once full of emotion, were empty, cold, and… distant.Suddenly he looked like a stranger.In a blink, he was no longer in front of me. I felt his presence right behind me; my heart pounded as I slowly turned around, and there he stood only a few inches away from me.“You wanted to know how I got out of The Pit? Well now you do.”“What are you?” I asked, backing away once again.“Fortune tellers might be liars, but she didn’t lie. I do have darkness living and breeding inside of me. Your empresses, they were all fools; they couldn’t see that the very thing they fought against was living with them, under their very noses.”“You are scaring me, Trian.”“No, not Trian. Daemon.”That name was also familiar; it took only a few seconds for my brain to place it. Julia had told me about the demon that had been born into the world by the Luna Queen. The demon that was supposed to be dead, he went by the very same name Daemon.“No!” I gasped.“Now you're sca
I woke up to Trian by my side.After the bath last night, he brought me back to bed; I didn’t miss the fact that he had replaced the sheets with fresh ones. Despite the throbbing pain between my legs, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied.It was better than I had ever expected, and I was glad Trian had been my first.Now I lay there, staring at him like some creep while he slept, noticing how tense he seemed—even in sleep. Maybe that was something all soldiers had in common. The thought of tracing my fingers down his perfectly sculpted face was enticing, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, afraid I might wake him—and then things would get very… awkward.I managed to rise to my feet, certain I’d be feeling him down there for days. I limped out of the room, planning to take a small tour of the house, and made my way to the kitchen. That was when I realized something I had completely overlooked—I didn’t know how to cook. For most of my life, the maids brought me food, and I ate whatever