"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
I wasn't fine. I knew that. It never did stop. The nausea and puking became an everyday routine. I leaned over the sink, spraying more water on my face. I thought I looked pale. I stared down at my stomach. Was it just me, or did it look a little bigger? Maybe it was just me. I walked out of the bathroom; the knock on the door gave me a pause. Before I could give a response, the door was pulled open. "I didn't remember asking you to come in, Bailey," I say to the Elder. I might have to put it in mind to keep those doors locked at all times, but locks can’t restrict werewolves, so it gets a bit useless. "So, the rumors are true; you are back." "Much to your disappointment, I see." "I should feel hurt that you didn't come visit me; I thought we were such good friends and all." "Is that what you thought? I'm so sorry, I have been busy doing nothing. I couldn't make out the time, but you are here now, and I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore," I say to her wi
"You want to practice, then do it with me," Axel insisted."It's fine, Axel"He didn't seem to like the idea of Bailey ‘practicing’ with me one bit, he stood, close enough to end it if things went too far. Bailey picked out two swords, tossing one to me. I caught it mid air."I'll try not to hurt you," she said to me, and with the speed of a bullet, she came at me. I blocked at the last minute.Her sword sliced through the air in a semi arc, and this time I dodged. I switched from defensive to offensive, and I went at her. Our swords clashed, and the force of her strikes caused my arm to ache, but I wasn't giving up anytime soon. We went faster and harder; it didn't feel like practice anymore. I kicked at her abdomen, and she took a few steps back. She retaliated with a kick to my knee, almost causing me to lose balance, but not quite yet. I switched to her position, giving her only time to defend my hits. She growled.Now she was angry.She managed to knock the sword off my hands. I
I suddenly felt very hot."I need to take some air," I say, heading for the door, but Axel was right in front of me before. "No, you need to go to the healers; things would only get worse if you left this unattended to and it's severe as it is." Axel says, trying to make me see reasons, but I couldn't go to the healers; they might discover what I was."I can't... I just need some air; get out of my way." I growled at me, feeling restless inside; he wouldn't move, and my patience was getting thinner."I'm sorry I can't do that.".I lost it.I slammed him against the wall. "You don't choose where I go and when," I snarled at him. No, he didn't look alarmed; his calculative gaze simply watched me, noting down that there was something off with me.My eyes found his neck."I'm sorry," I say to him, but he says nothing; my eyes never did leave his neck. "You scent really nice, Axel... really really nice, and your neck... it's beautiful.""Is she drunk?" Axel asks Thane."No, she's not."T
THANE'S POVRiley had not always been this strong. The duel with Bailey, the incident with Axel, and her impressive defense against my soldiers all hinted to the secret she kept hidden and we both knew it."That was the last thing on my mind right now.I was furious.When the healers had confirmed she was pregnant, I made the decision that that wouldn't change a thing between us; I was going to take full responsibility over the child, but then, if she never did have sex with Nick, how could she be pregnant?I struggled to seize control over my inner beast; he was raging. Riley, my mate, had been taken advantage of by the bastard.I was going to kill him; I wouldn't spare his life this time.My trip to the Raven Clan had all happened in a haze, and finally I was there.Getting into the pack was easy; their security wasn't that ideal, with only a few soldiers left to guide every entry there's only little they could do. Of course the pack house was the biggest of all the other buildings
I stared at her, amused. Not everyone had the bravery to hit the Alpha King. She hated me, and I knew making amends would be so damn hard— almost impossible, but I would have to keep trying... for Riley."I guess I deserved that?""Stay away from him; stay away from me and my family too!" She cried out, the pain in her eyes deep.I wondered if she would protect this Nick if she knew what he did to her daughter."I am trying to help here.""How? By beating up the Alpha?, that is not helping. If you really want to help, then you could let go of my daughter.""No, I can't, Kate. The thing is, I really love her.""You don't; if you loved her, you would never have hurt her; goddamn you, she only started healing; if you had stayed away for a while, she would have been married and happy.""And how do you know that? How do you know she would have been happy?""You've never deserved my daughter.""That I know, Kate. Please let me make it up to you," I say. She lifted her hands to hit me… again
RILEYI woke up with a strange hunger and thirst.I stared at Thane; he had his hands wrapped around mine."You would be fine," he promised, kissing my knuckles."You are back." I whispered, and he nodded."I am; Nick will be here soon, I don't think he did this; he speaks of a sorceress; he says she could help," he informs.I nodded absentmindedly. The sorceress was coming; how was I going to keep this a secret for much longer?My breathing quickened"Riley, are you alright?" He questioned the slight panic in his eyes. I nodded. "Look at me, Riley," and I did as he said. "Breathe in and breathe out very slowly." I did just that, and after a while I felt better."I'm fine, thank you," I said.The hunger panged at my stomach. I stared up at him; his scent was so nice, and then his neck. I couldn't get my eyes off it."I'll get you something to eat," he says, rising to his feet."No, please don't leave me." I pleaded.He sat back beside me. "I am here, always.""Kiss me."It had been a
It had taken every ounce of willpower in me to return here.But if I was going to be his Luna, then the rules would have to change; I didn’t care who the hell he was.The soldiers escorted me to his chambers. He wasn’t alone. There were about a dozen men seated there, many of whom were middle-aged; they should be the ones people refer to as the king's 'advisors.’Alpha Ethan’s eyes settled on me.The scent was even stronger now, but I was going to rein in my wolf; I was in control, not her, and it's time she knew that. I had expected to see a smirk on his face; after all, he won. I was here because I had no other options, but his face remained unreadable, and maybe that’s one of the many things I found unsettling about him. I couldn’t read his emotions, and I was very good at that. I didn’t like surprises, but the man seated before me had a bottle filled with surprises, waiting and ready for me.“Leave, every one of you.” He ordered, and all the men rose and walked away, leaving me a
My father had told me countless times the story of when I was just a child, and he thought he was going to lose me, he had done everything in his power but it all failed and then he discovered the ‘healer’s lilies’, it healed me. Words could never fully capture what it feels like to stand on the edge of losing a loved one.I didn’t miss my mother much—I never had the chance to know her. She died giving birth to me. All that was left of her were only her pictures. Alpha Trent was a strong man; not many Alphas carry on after the loss of their mates, and yet he did.Now, the very same man I once believed was invincible, laid on his deathbed. I held in the tears because they were of no use. Crying never changes anything.“Kaida, I want you to know that I love you so very much. I know you will take care of this pack, even in my absence.”“I will.” I promised.“You met with the Alpha… I know he might seem…”I cut him off. “He is my mate.”“That… is very convenient.” He said with a small smi
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