“You love me?” I asked; I couldn’t believe he had said those words.“Yes, I do. I love you, and I am obsessed over you.“You never did need me... at least not to claim the crown,” “Every single day I wonder why I took you; maybe I always knew what I felt for you, but I hid it, Riley. I hid it from you, from Axel, and from myself. Even if I had managed to convince the pack, my father, and the elders that you were my mate, I knew I could never deceive the moon goddess, and Axel didn’t even know that,” Thane says.“Yet you choose me.”“I fell for you, just the same way you did me.”“I love you too, Thane, for now and forever,” I said, and he smiled, lifting me up so I could kiss his lips.“Maybe you could show me just how much you love me,” he says, and I knew just how to do that.~Waking up in Thane’s arms was completely different. I felt complete; I had never felt this happy my whole life, and staring at this fallen angel before me, I let myself accept it, accept the fact that he wou
My life felt like a dream come true.I couldn’t believe he had admitted that he loved me; a part of me had been ready to live without it. I was ready to punish myself with the one-sided love. Never in my life had I been this happy, not with Ryker, not with anybody, and... Sometimes, good things like this don’t last. But I was determined to fight for what we had and I was glad to know I won’t be fighting alone.We had returned to the Nightshade pack, and it felt different, maybe because I was returning to this place as the Queen Luna, or maybe because I knew that I had found my other part.The Nightshade pack had become one of the biggest packs in the world, and with the workforce doubled, many other packs were wary of this kind of growth. There was a meeting taking place in a few hours, the first ever meeting that I would be attending; this time it won’t be Beatrix taking my place, but unfortunately Bailey was coming with us for whatever reason Thane thought she should. I, on the othe
The aura in the room from every Alpha was almost unbearable.I could only recognize two of the Alphas present, Trent and, of course, Ryker. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about him, and I never did bother to ask Thane if he had been released. It was safe to say that I had moved on from him, and now when I stared at him, I feel nothing. No anger, no pain, no regret. If he hadn’t treated me the way he did, I would never had met Thane..Everyone rose to their feet when Thane and I walked in, and we took out seats at the head of the table. Bailey stood a good distance behind us.Most of the Alphas were present with their Luna and Beta.“I hear you all would like to speak to me,” Thane questions, going straight to the point.“Yes, this is a dire matter." One of the Alpha’s says. “It has to do with the land and territories which once belonged to the New Blood Packs.”“What about it?” Thane asks.“We wonder if those territories could be split to widen the neighbouring packs.”“And why s
~~Riley, meet me in my room now.Mom....That was all the letter said. A maid had dropped by to pass me the written note clearly from my mother. I wondered why she wanted to see me.I quickly got dressed and headed for my mother’s.The door to her apartment had been left wide open, and so I walked in, slamming the door shut after I did."Mom,” I called, walking into the apartment. “Mom, I saw the letter,” I called out again.Finally I saw her; she sat on one of the cushions, tears streaming down her eyes. I rushed towards her.“Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked.“Riley”"Yes, I am here, mom. What happened?”“Seat down with me, would you?” she asked.I stared at her, puzzled. Still I sat.“Riley, I want to talk to you, and all I need you to do is listen to me.”“Okay, I can do that.” I said, hiding the panic I felt. I knew something was wrong."Good,” she says, and it took a minute before she started. “Do you know I once loved Slade?”“What?”That I didn’t expect.“I... maybe the problem w
“You were pregnant with me?” I repeated; it didn’t make sense. Why did she never bother to tell me this?“Do you know what this means?”“It means the monster is my father.” I began; she stared at me as if expecting me to figure something out, and finally it was clicking. If Slade was my father, then...“Alpha Thane is your brother Riley.”“What?”“I’m so sorry, I should have told you a long time ago; this is all on me; it is my fault, and I know it, but please...”“No. I don’t believe you, mother; you are lying, right?”‘No, baby, I am not, and you know that.”“I don’t know that! I don’t know you anymore; the only thing I know is that you never want to see me happy. Why, mother? Why do you want to take away the one good thing in my life, the one thing that finally makes me happy?”“I wanted to tell you Riley, but you told me it was all a contract and you would leave him. I was hoping that would happen; then maybe I could tell you at a later time, but you love him and things are gettin
It felt like good things weren’t destined to happen to me. I hated my mother more than I had ever done my whole life because she had told me a truth that I didn’t want to hear.Why did she have to tell me?That was the question echoing over and over in my mind.I couldn’t think of Thane as a brother, not after all we shared and all that happened between us. I had to be strong; no one was to see me in tears, so I had escaped to a more secluded space, a dressing room of some kind; there was no one in here, so I could cry my heart out.I felt like I had lost something dire to me, even if he was still there. This was what she wanted; she wanted to separate me from the only man I truly wanted.I would never let that happen. I had told myself that I would fight for what Thane and I had, and ‘this’ wouldn’t change it.But then being with him could feel so... wrong.Someone walked in.“I need some quiet time; leave now,” I ordered, backing the door.“It’s me Riley” Axel says and I turn to face
I had prepared exactly what I would say to Thane, but the moment he walked in, all I had rehearsed for hours was completely forgotten.His brown hair fell over his amber eyes and that’s all I could think about, how beautiful his eyes were. I couldn’t lose him, not just because he was the most beautiful man I had ever seen my whole life, but because I had fallen so in love with this man that I didn’t think I could live without him."Riley,” he calls.“Welcome back, Thane.”“You seemed to be a bit lost checking me out,” he mused with a smile before walking to me. “I got you something.”“Oh” I said in response; he took out the box and pulled it open, and it was a golden bracelet with emerald and blue flowery designs.“I could only think about you when I saw this,” he says, taking my hands and securing the bracelet around my wrist. No doubt it was pure gold; it looked so beautiful and very costly too. “Thane, I can’t take this.” I said even if I would very much love to.“Riley, don’t tur
If he loved me, then he should fight for what we had.Yet since I told him the truth that I was his sister, he hardly ever touched me; it had only been five days, but that was unusual for a man like Thane. He did kiss me, but it was never as passionate as it had once been. That would have to change because I was going to make a move... on him, tonight.I was in the sexiest pair of underwear. He would be back any moment. I laid on the bed waiting, and just as I had expected, he walked in.The moment he spotted me, he paused. I could see the need in his eyes, so strong, this was it; he was going to claim me.“Riley, put on your clothes.” He says and his words contradict the look in his eyes.The cold feeling of rejection washed through me, and I rose from the bed, walking toward him. “Thane look at me,” I pleaded, and he did. “Nothing had changed. Has it?”“No, you are still as sexy as ever,” he says, his eyes trailing down my body. Yet he held back.“You don’t need to restrain yourself
ALEXANDER’S POVI should have guessed what my little mate was up to when I saw her in nothing but the sexy lingerie. The image lived rent-free in my mind even as I worked.I had seen another part of Kaida, one that drove me insane. I closed my eyes, remembering how she rode me, gods those hips... I was willing to do anything, just so she wouldn’t stop. She’d discovered my weakness and she exploited it to her advantage. I shouldn’t be turned on by that, but damn was I hard.“The rogue is dead.” Keith—one of the council members—said to me.“Well, toss his body into the sea.” I said to him dismissively.“The rogues had already turned against the Gray Pack; the least we could do is return the body to the rogues.”I chuckled. “Did you get a glimpse of the body?”“No. A guard informed me that he was starting to rot.”“If you did get a glimpse, you would know that sending the mauled corpse to the rogues would be considered more an act of war than throwing it into the sea.”His eyes widened.
**Anonymous Narrator POV**Trent Dawn had always believed he would live a long, fulfilling life—one where he’d watch his daughter grow, fall in love, and have children of her own. But life rarely goes as planned. Now, here he was, lying on his deathbed, awaiting the inevitable.His pack was gone, so was his daughter. Everything he had spent his years building was no more, he had given it all away, but he had no other option, he only wished his daughter could understand one day that he did all these for her.A female healer was the only one left to tend to him for the little time he had left.He heard footsteps approaching. It wasn’t yet time for the healer’s daily medications. He looked up, staring at the blurry figure. His eyes were weak, but he knew exactly who it was. It was the very person he was trying to save his daughter from. His ex-mate, Cynthia.“You are a very strong man, Alpha Trent –or perhaps I’ll call you Trent, since you are no longer an Alpha.” She said mockingly, but
How had he found me?I had never felt so afraid before; if he told the Empress about this… I rushed to him, falling on my knees. “Please, she can’t know…”“Are you referring to me?” the familiar voice belonging to Julia called from behind him. I rose to my feet quickly. “How did you find this place?” she asked, staring around.“I—I…”“Don’t lie to me, child.”“I found it a few years ago, Empress.”Her eyes landed on the wolf.“What is this?” she asked. I could see the pure disappointment on her face.“Please, he’s my friend…”The slap came so fast and hard that, for a moment, everything went black, and my ear rang. When my vision cleared, I realized I was on the floor.Ash snarled and lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Its claws swiped at her face, narrowly missing.“Ash, no!”Trian walked to the Empress and picked the wolf up like it weighed nothing. Ash immediately went silent.The Empress rose to her feet, a cut on her neck—I hadn’t even noticed when that had happened. Tr
“I’m sorry for not inviting you to join me.” I apologize.“I am not hungry, but you are.”I wiped my mouth with the paper towel before placing it back on the tray.“You must be disgusted…”“No. I’m not.” He said, walking to me and taking the tray, I gripped his sleeve. “She cannot know, please… She would punish me for this.”He nods, but the slight confusion is clearly written across his face.He took the tray away and returned to his position; he didn’t say another word. I waited and waited for Julia to walk in and tell me how she had tried testing me and I failed, but she never did come in.Even as the night came.In the ninth hour, I turned off my lamp, shut my book, and headed to the bathroom. I took a quick wash before changing into my nightgown.I returned to the room.“You are not from here, are you?” I asked.“No. He answered. I’m from the North.”“I don’t hear much about the North.”“It’s far from here and surrounded by humans.”“Are you a werewolf?”“No. I’m not.”“Why did y
Aliya’s POVTrian stood dutifully at his post by the door. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, careful not to let him know I was looking. The man was indeed handsome. I wanted to say something to him—anything—but I didn’t know what to say. Since the incident, we hadn’t exchanged a single word. He went on breaks and returned as quickly as he could; he was always present, and suddenly my room didn’t feel like a cage anymore.If only I could talk to him. What would I say?Ask him about the weather?... maybe complement his… clothes. His uniform was different from the soldiers here. He wore a thick, black, high-collared jacket paired with fitted pants. From the texture, it looked like it was either made of crocodile skin or something that closely resembled it.I found my eyes trailing lower.“Aren’t you hungry?” He asked, and I quickly looked away from him, my gaze returning to the book in my hands, the one I held up-side-down.I was indeed hungry, but I was used to being starved.
We were both naked. My eyes never left him; he stalked towards me, and picked me up, he placed me on the bed.“You don’t have the slightest idea what you’ve just awoken.”I leaned closer so my lips were against his ears.“Oh, I know.” I whispered.Like a starved man, he ripped off my lingerie, tossing it to the floor.Heat pooled between my legs; I had never been so ready.“Wait.”“I have no patience, Kaida… I’m one second away from taking you like the animal I am.”“You will have that and more if you let me.”He stared at me, the look of amusement in his eyes as he rolled over so I was on top.“I’m not a very curious man, but today I am curious… what are you up to?”“I can’t tell you, Alpha, but I can show you.”I took my position; he was hard, firm, and very huge. Slowly I took him in, and then I began moving. I rode him, just as Lara had done. He let out a guttural sound. My hands trailed down his chest.“Alex.” I moaned, increasing my pace.I could see it in his eyes; he was losin
I knocked on the door. I suppose this was Lara’s apartment.Of course, I still didn’t fully trust the woman; she could swear on all her gods as much as she wanted; that didn’t mean I’ll let my guard down.The door was pulled open, and there Lara stood, completely naked save for the beads hanging on her waist.“I almost thought you wouldn’t make it,” she said, letting me in. I felt for my dagger; of course, I carried it everywhere I went. It was my favorite weapon: light and easy to hide. “I have a few guests.” She said, and I spotted the men who sat naked on the couch, panting.“You may all leave now; The Luna would like to talk to me.”They stood quickly, bowing—yes, it was awkward watching naked men curtsy.They grabbed their clothes and walked away.“I’m glad you came. Have a seat.”“That won’t be necessary.”“Would you prefer the bed then?”“I’m here to learn how to…” I couldn’t say the word.“I know. Engaging in practicals is a better way of learning.”I took a seat on the couch.
I was stunned into silence; Lara spoke on."Meet me at noon. I stay on the fifth floor, in the last apartment to your right. I’ll be waiting.”She rose and walked to the door. “One last thing.” She called. “I swear to the gods, I have no ulterior motives. And I am excited for this.” She said with a smile on her face.She was good-looking; I could understand why Alexander picked her.…I watched as Aric gave instructions to the Trainees, teaching them how to deliver an unexpected strike against their opponent. They listened intently. He spotted me and waved; I waved back. The moment he was done with them, he walked to me.“Want to spar?”“Come on, aren’t you tired of losing?”“I’ve only lost to you twice while sparring. Most of the time, it ends in a tie—or you cheat your way to victory.” I do cheat sometimes, but you don’t expect your enemies to be honorable fighters; I was just training him to be a better warrior.“I wanted to ask you a question.” I said, remembering why I came here
Kaida’s POV I paused at the door when I noticed the brunette whore—the same one I had helped get to the healers—sitting on one of the couches with her legs crossed and a bright smile on her face. She was dressed in a very revealing black gown. I might have thought that saving her life would bring about a change, but I was wrong. “Did Alexander ask you to come here?” I questioned. “No.” “So why are you here?” “I wanted to see you… alone. He cannot know about my visit.” I chuckled. “You don’t want the Alpha King to know you’ve been here, and yet you come to the very room he spent his nights in.” “I’m not stupid, I know I shouldn't be here; but this is the only place I could meet you without having prying eyes on us.” “So, why do you need to see me?” She rose to her feet. “I want to thank you for what you did for me. I would have died if not for you.” She said, I was tempted to ask how she had gotten poisoned with wolfbane, but perhaps it was better I didn’t know. I didn’t like