I always thought something was off that night; I had been surprised to discover that Beatrix had tried to save me; it felt so bizarre, and I was right to suspect her, even after her ‘good deed’.I was not exactly disappointed; I’ve seen and heard more shocking things; at this point, I didn’t think anything could surprise me anymore.There must be a reason why she saw the need to expose herself.“I changed my mind; I swear, I knew it was all wrong and so I tried to make things right." Beatrix stated.“Since when did Beatrix care about what was wrong or right?” Axel asked, “There must have been a discovery, right?, Thane is about to discover the truth, so you choose to make the wise step of confessing before then, just so you could be seen as ‘less’ guilty.”Beatrix shook her head slowly. “I do feel bad; you don’t understand.”“Make me,” I said to her.“I thought you were the problem, but you weren’t; Thane was the problem, I should have seen that a long time ago, but I didn’t, even if
It felt like months since I've been to the room Thane and I shared; Strangely, everything remained exactly where I left them. I could almost believe that Thane hadn't been sleeping here."Welcome back; you know we should celebrate your return," Thane said with a smirk."Oh, we would celebrate; Hope you haven't forgotten our deal?" I said, with empasis on the last word."How could I forget?" He says with a cocky smileI walked towards him."I need to ask you a question.""Well, I am all ears.""You never told me about your mother's little hobby."“She had many hobbies, so which in particular?""Writing? I mean, she is the author of my ‘favorite’ book; how could you not tell me that?" I asked "I think I preferred leaving you in the dark.""Didn't it feel weird to you?" I asked him"Why would it?" he asked, turning the question back to me."I don't know, maybe because she is, uhm, your mother?"Thane chuckled. "You don't need to worry, I'm sure she would be glad she at least made a cont
I scanned the rows of dresses—many I had never even worn. I always find myself wondering why I needed this so many.I picked out an emerald green silk gown and dedided to curl my hair to make a change.I was late; the party had already began in full swing; This would be the first mating ball I was witnessing in this pack, it did makes sense for the ball to take place here as this pack is one of the biggest and would contain more guests and visitors. The mating ball brought back past memories, but I have finally moved on. I had promised myself to enjoy my time at the party. Thane would be here anytime soon and we would go together.Still, I had this unsettling feeling, and that might be because today marked six months since I arrived at the Nightshade Pack, so literally, today was the day my contract with Thane expired—not that we were still bound by the contract, but to think that this could have been the end...My thoughts were cut off by the knock on the door.I was only expecting
I was indeed being unreasonable.I hadn’t been thinking about the pack; I was after my own selfish goals and desires; Bailey’s death would be a loss for us all, because, just as she herself had said, she was of use.“I’m sorry, Thane; I don’t know what got into my mind.”“I shouldn’t have kept you waiting; I apologize,” he says.“What do you think happened to Bailey?”“I actually think she is dead or very close to that." Thane says, “She was spotted by one of my spies a few days ago; she should have been back now; if she is not, then she is most likely dead.”“After what she did to the rest of the elders, they would hate her to death, but they were aware that she betrayed them, right?”“Nyaos knows that.”We sat in silence, overlooking the crowd of people. Finally I was in the ‘party’ mood; just then the music slowed down, partners paired up, staring at each other with affectionate eyes.“Would you like a dance with me?” Thane offered.“Of course, I thought you would never ask. But I
I walked into the room, noticing that their scent still lingered, Thane and Axel had been in here, that I was sure of, but then what were they doing in here?This was none of my business; I should turn around right now; some secrets were just not meant to be discovered, and I was satisfied with the way things were now; I didn’t need to spoil that. I had been about to do just that—I had been about to turn away from this room when I discovered the pictures pinned to the wall.I knew these people.Some of them were at the ball at this moment, but most of them had been present in the meeting; I could spot Alpha Trent, Alpha Cain, Alpha Zack... and others.They were all Alphas, I realized, but what was more disturbing was that all the pictures pinned to the wall were marred by a bold crimson ‘X’. You only see stuff like these in movies, this was how the ‘assassins’ mark their next victim.I backed away, till the table in the middle of the room halted my movement. On the table was a map, an
“Who’s there?” I called out, quickly wiping away my tears, but the whimpers continued. Whoever this person was, he or she was in pain and not likely a threat, and so I followed the sound.I could have easily missed it.It was a woman sprawled on the ground, her body battered and bruised; she looked so frail – it was like life had been sucked right out of her; and then she turned, her eyes locked into mine and I gasped.It was Bailey.I hadn’t recognized her, but who would? She didn’t look like the woman that left this pack, the intimidating elder with the ancient crafty eyes; now she was completely... different.Her skin had many burn marks, her fingers were missing, and half her face was also burnt to the point it was completely unrecognizable. She shivered, looking so tiny, I couldn’t believe it.“Bailey?” I called, and her whimpers ceased."You,” she called out, her voice barely audible, I almost didn’t hear her. “He was never going to keep to his part of his deal, was he?” She que
“Nyaos was not the only one who escaped; we calculated wrong. Caleb too is out there and free,” Bailey says.“They did this to you?” I questioned, unable to fathom the brutality of the elders.“I betrayed them; I turned them all in, and then I came to take the last one— they let me believe it was only Nyaos left, and just as I had stabbed my brothers and sisters in the back, Caleb did the same to me. In all the centuries I lived, I had never experienced pain so intense that I longed for death. All for what?” Her voice croaked, “All to selfishly gain more power. I should have known you would never do as you said Thane, but maybe my hunger after power blinded my eyes.”“Bailey, I was never going to rule alongside the elders—one way or the other, I would have killed them after I got my crown,” Thane admitted, and I knew that was the truth; we all knew that.Bailey shut her eyes, deciding to ignore us all.“Bailey, if you want them dead, then you have to give us more details.”“I don’t ha
I walked into the healing room with a tray of food. I set it down on the table."How are you feeling?" I asked Bailey.She didn't look any better than she had been a day ago; her face was still scarred; she looked like she had been through crap and that she had been. "They fixed up the bones that had been broken, stitched the wounds, and cleaned them up—that is the best they could do," Bailey responded after a few moments of silence."I'm... I'm so sorry for what happened to you.""Are you truly sorry? I mean, this must be what you have wanted all this time, right?""No, I would never wish this—not even on my enemy.""Bullshit," she says, and I had been about to retort but decided against it. "Those injuries—would they ever heal?" I questioned"The injuries would heal after a few days, albeit they would leave nasty scars, but nothing I can't take; the missing fingers would regrow after a few months, but the burn," she says referring to the burn on her face. "This was inflicted by ma
That was it.I was done.Aric had been waiting for me, and as soon as he saw me, he quickly took off his suit and wrapped it around me. I felt like a fool.The moment we were both in the room and alone, he finally spoke up.“What happened?”"There’s not much to explain; it’s all right here," I say, gesturing to my torn clothes.“If he laid a finger on you, I’ll—”“You will what? He is the Alpha King; he is also very strong, and so there isn’t much any of us could do to him.”“Where are you going?”“Packing my stuff and leaving.” “What are you going to say to your father?” he asked.“I wanted to do this—for him, for the pack, but I can’t. The man is a monster; I cannot imagine sharing the same bed with him and his many… whores.I stuffed my things into the bag. I hadn’t brought a lot of things, and so in a few minutes I was packed.“Kaida, I don’t think you should leave now.” Aric says.“Why shouldn’t I?”“At least wait till the feast is over.”“Well, to hell with the etiquette and mo
Despite all the warning bells ringing in my head, I walked in and took a seat, just as he had requested of me. I didn’t know many things about this man, but one thing I knew for sure was that he was used to having his command being obeyed.“A drink?” he offered. Pouring me a glass of whiskey.“From where I come from, a girl does not drink.”“This is your home now; soon the Dawn pack will be no more, so get used to it.” He says, passing me the glass, I took it, but I didn’t drink.“You know, it is wrong to refuse a drink from the King.”“I do not drink, and if I will, it won’t be because you told me to.” I said, placing the glass down on the table.Those ruthless eyes pinned me down once more; I felt for my dagger once more.“I’ve heard a thing or two about you. The girl who aspired for greatness, you fought your way into that; you’ve gone to battles and never failed a mission. I admire that, but in this pack, you are just another girl; all you’ve built, everything dies with your pack.
“My mate, he is here.”“What?” Aric questioned. “How is that even possible?” “I don’t know, but he is here, I can feel it.”Just then, complete silence fell; all chatter ceased as The Alpha King rose to his feet. He was huge, clearly above six feet; he had sea blue eyes and brown hair, which he cut short into a buzz cut. His features were sharp, and maybe my father was right about one thing—the man before me didn’t look twenty-two years of age; he was no child; he was an Alpha in every sense of the word. The scent I had been perceiving, the one that made my heart pound, it was him.Fear was not something I had felt in years; I always liked to think of myself as fearless, but for the first time in a very long while, I was afraid. I was afraid of a man, the very man standing right before me.“He is my mate.” I whispered.“Who?” Aric asked.“The Alpha King.” I whispered back.As if he heard me, the Alpha King's eyes met mine. I wonder if he was feeling the same thing I felt; that was h
The room was just as elegant as everything in the Nightshade pack; it was bigger than my room back in the Dawn Pack. I spotted the dress on the bed. A flimsy thing. If it had been any other day, I would've been attending the Grand Feast in my leather pants and jacket—I hated parties and public gatherings, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t invited to a few back at my pack. I was the Alpha’s daughter; it was required of me. My father tried to force me into dresses more than once, but of course, I never did wear them. It was different now; this was not my pack, and here I was a stranger. Wearing my ‘usual’ clothing would only make me stick out in the crowd.I didn’t want that, but that didn’t mean I would wear the dress he had picked out for me. “It will be amusing to see you in a dress.” Aric said, a smirk playing on his lips.“I’ll be in a dress alright, but just not this one.”“Rebellious as always, let’s hope the Alpha King doesn’t notice.” He said with a smile.“I really don’t give a d
It was time, I would have to pay a visit to the Nightshade pack. Beta Aric was nowhere to be found.I stopped in the courtroom to inform my father that I was leaving, but I noticed he wasn’t alone, Aric was there too. I stopped by the entrance, they hadn’t noticed me and so I hid away from view.“You are marrying her to the Alpha King?” Aric asked, this was indeed the first time I had heard him question the Alpha.“Yes, my daughter will marry the Alpha King.”“You know that’s not where she belongs.”“I will be having no discussion over this matter, it is already settled and done.”“You know who he is…”My father cut Aric off. “He is ruthless, every powerful Alpha is, fear is sometimes power.”“The Blackwood lineage is a powerful one, but it’s cursed – that’s what I think. How else would you explain the mysterious deaths? Slade had been killed by his own son, Thane who wanted the throne – there had been other rumours too, that Freya, his mate, had actually been the one behind his deat
Kaida’s POVWith each passing day, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd made a mistake, if I'd doomed myself with my own words—but it was too late to turn back now. I had never met Alpha Ethan before. Though we were neighboring packs, my father and the beta had always been the one going for the meetings, I didn’t do well with meetings and parties and maybe my father was right. Being an Alpha was about more than just being a warrior.I got dressed in my usual clothing, leather pants matched with a black leather jacket and a glove to cover my missing pinkie finger. Had I forgotten to mention that some little 'accident' had cost me a finger? As if that flaw wasn't enough, my body was also marked with a number of scars, so while I had always despised wearing fancy gowns and pretty little dresses, it did make sense why I had to cover up.The men carried their scars with pride, like it was some kind of proof of how fierce they were; scars on a woman had a completely different representation;
PROLOGUE.Kaida’s POVI was not like the other girls; I knew that even as a little child. My father had found it strange that a girl of my age was more interested in watching the pack warriors train rather than playing with toys like the other kids her age did at the pack.I had one dream, and though it may sound impossible, I held onto it. I believed that I could one day become an… Alpha. The first Female Alpha.My father had no male child to inherit his title and take his place, and so each day, I trained to be the best at everything. I was twenty and five years of age and yet to find my mate. To be honest, I hadn’t even been searching for him—whoever he was; on the contrary, I dreaded finding my mate, because that would only bring an end to my dream of becoming an Alpha. I believed it was all fate pointing me in the right direction; this was my destiny.That had been what I thought until everything changed right before my eyes..My father, Alpha Trent, of the Dawn pack, summoned
Thane and I returned back to the Nightshade pack. I couldn’t stay at the Raven Clan pack even a bit longer. I couldn’t look into Gabriel's face and see how shattered he was. Mother had broken his heart, not just his’ but the whole pack's, and all she left was a letter. No one deserved that treatment, and yet, there was nothing I could do about it.“So she ran away with the warlock?” Thane asked.“Seem so. I had checked his place; he burnt the whole building to the ground, possibly because he hated the house or maybe…”“He wanted to start afresh.” Thane completed.“Yes, I can’t trace him; he is gone and maybe… I don’t want to find him. My mother says she would visit to see Ethan, but that could be in months or even years.”There was a knock on the door. It was Meredith; she had Ethan in her arms.“Your son is well and healthy.” She said before passing him to me. I held him in my hands; he had grown considerably, and he stared at me with big blue eyes, and in that moment I fell in love
I had found my mother an hour later at the farm; she was dressed in a regular gown.“What are you doing? The ceremony had begun, and people were getting very worried.” I said to her, but she gave no response; she had her back to me. “Mom!” I walked to her, and only when I saw her face did I notice something was wrong. Tears streamed down her eyes.“I can’t do it,” she says. “What do you mean you can’t do it? Gabriel is the love of your life; you wanted this. What changed?”“Everything. Everything changed.”“I don’t understand you—what is wrong? Why are you crying?”“You never told me. You knew, and you never told me.” She says, and that silenced me. “You knew that your father, Sebastian Bruce, was alive. You always hide things from me, and I had to go on with it because you are the queen, and you can’t always share things with me like you once would do, but this wasn’t about you—this was my life, and you never uttered a word. You were going to leave me in the dark.”“Bruce had left