I always knew something was off with Thane's statement. How could I be so foolish? How could I have ignored such a huge clue? I remembered Thane's words when I confronted him about the pictures. 'Not everyone is happy about the new changes,' he had said. As the Alpha King, he claimed he was only monitoring them to stay one step ahead and remain on a safer side.' Then, I did feel like they were hiding something. What if they were? Still, I found it hard to believe Thane was behind this, those packs many believed he attacked committed no crime against him, many people had died, children too and all for what? Power is a deadly game, but Thane was all for the dangerous stuff. How could Axel agree to this? That was the most shocking of them all. I had long forgotten about the secret room, till the dream, and maybe I didn't want to believe this as the truth but the evidence was all there, how long would I keep denying it. Once more, Thane never fails to surprise me. I had
Nighttime came way too fast. Decisions like this were easier said than done. I couldn't tell my mother I was leaving. She couldn't know I was leaving with Nick either, just because things could go very wrong and he might not return back with me. I stared at the blank paper on the table. I couldn't just leave without writing my mother a letter, just in case... "Gotta take a walk; I'll be back late. I have some good news too. Nick just OFFICIALLY proposed to me, and now I get the hype. The ring is so beautiful, and I am actually... excited. I love you, mom, always. XXX I reread the letter; it would have to do. I packed up some of those beautiful jewelry I had gotten from Thane into a bag—I had finally found use for them as I rarely did wear them. I put on a black coat over my leather trousers and crop top, and I walked out of my room. I met Nick at the farm; he did love this place, and I admired that. "You came quick," he says. "Of course I would." "So do we
It had been scary at first.The knowledge that Nick was in total control was scary, but when I ignored those fears, it was simply amazing. I looked down; from this height everything seemed smaller.I lost track of time as we 'flew', but too soon we plummeted downwards, and Nick landed elegantly. Only then did I notice how tight I had grasped onto his shirt."You could come down now," Nick says, and I nodded, but my legs wouldn't cooperate. He chuckled, helping me down."That was... wow," I commented."I know right?""Is she here?, the sorceress, I mean.""Yeah, come with me," he says. I followed after him.We were in the woods; this had not been what I expected. A nervous feeling settled over me.Finally, Nick came to a stop. At this part of the woods, dense plants with tendrils formed a curtain, blocking our view from what lay ahead. Nick pushed aside the tendrils of the plants and walked in. I hesitated before following.In the little space, there were even more flowers, their inter
I woke up, squinting against the bright lights; it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to it.Was I dead?I stared around the room.This place looked familiar.This was Nick's room.The past day even flashed past my mind. I stared at my wrist to see the bite mark. It hadn't been a dream; Nick had wings, and he also had very sharp teeth. ‘Did it work?’ That was the next question on my mind.Just then I noticed Nick; he was making coffee.I rose from the bed, feeling a bit light-headed from the abrupt movement. "You might need to sit for a while; you've lost a lot of blood," he says."What happened... did it work?" I asked, my eyes wide and hopeful.He finally turned to me, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. He shook his head. "No. It didn't work. You almost died back there," he says. A wave of disappointment filled me. I just wasn't good enough."But you survived; that is the most important thing. Your mother had been worried about you, and with you in my room, she thinks we we
For the next few days, Nick guided me on how to control my wings, and soon using them felt like second nature to me, they felt like an extension of myself.Now we had to plot on how to stop Thane, and it was easier said than done. "You can't possibly think I can return back to the Nightshade pack," I argued.We were seated in a small meeting room. Nick and Gabriel were present. Gabriel was regarded as the commander and next in command after Nick."Hear me out, okay?" Gabriel pleaded. "You alone know the ins and outs of the Nightshade pack more than any other person, and with those... wings, getting in wouldn't be as hard."Gabriel knew about my wings. He had discovered them one of the days I trained with Nick. Turns out he also had an idea that Nick wasn't just a werewolf. That day, Gabriel had walked away like he saw nothing and never brought it up until now.Nick didn't seem to like the idea of me returning back to the Nightshade Pack one bit. "Is there not any other way?" he quest
"I would have preferred going with you," Nick says. "You have to stay here," I reminded him. Nick helped me with the hood mask; I was fully clothed; only my eyes and the little portion for my wings were left unclothed. A sword had been secured to my side, two daggers in my boot, and a single gun at the other side of my hip. I was armed. The scenturia potion emitted a sharp smell but I could live through that. I stared at the mirror. I wouldn't recognize 'me'. Green contact lenses had been used to cover the blue of my eyes. "Ready?" he asked me, and I nodded. But the truth was that I wasn't ready; I wasn't ready to see Thane again. Neither was I ready to return back to the Nightshade pack. "We would see soon," he says as if hoping for any reassurance from me, but I didn't trust my voice to speak, so I only nodded again. "Remember, the paths are all on the map," he added, patting my back. We stared at each other; this was the moment we were supposed to kiss, but I couldn't bring m
The instruction was that I remained here to make sure the soldiers had a safe passage, but I couldn't wait here; some might have heard the sound, while my gun had a silencer, theirs didn't.I walked into the pack. Everything seemed familiar; I hated being back here; I hated how this felt so much like home.Soldiers paraded nearby, their footsteps and loud chatter drowning out the sound of my own. I moved swiftly, darting between trees until I reached a more secluded spot, where I finally stopped.Now all I had to do was wait for the soldiers to return.Zed did trust his soldiers, and so I had to have some faith in them too.Gabriel should be arriving anytime soon with the vehicles to pick us up, this way we wouldn't be easily traced. I pulled open the map. He would wait some distance away, so as not to be spotted by the Nightshade pack patrollers. But the problem was that he may have to trespass on another pack's land.One hour turned to two.I didn't know how long I would have to wa
"Get up" I ordered "I can't," the man says, I could see it in his eyes, he had already given up."Help me lift him," I said. We managed to lift him, he groaned in pain as his injured leg scraped against the bare ground. Together, we carried the man away, heading for the pack borders. I doubted we'd be as lucky walking past undetected, or escape as easily as we had entered.Damn he was heavy, we managed to travel only a short distance before the gun shot stopped us. The man I had been carrying slumped. The bullet had gotten him in the side.It was one of the Nightshade soldiers, he fired another shot and it got the other man in the arm, he cried out. I let go of the man, but before I could reach for my gun, there was yet another shot. This one had been fired from another direction. Not at me, but at the Nightshade soldiers. Gabriel was back.He rushed to us, quickly checking on the man who laid on the floor."He would survive," he said to me and I nodded."I need to get you out of here
I sat in front of Thane's door the whole night, pleading and begging, but he never did come, and finally I rose.I had lost him, and it took me this long to see that. I hadn't only lost Axel; I had lost Thane's love too.How did my life turn into this? One moment it all felt like a fairy tale, one I didn't want to wake up from, and now it was a complete nightmare.Some days I questioned the point of my own existence; I had no use remaining here, and yet, I didn't want to leave, maybe because I still had hope that one day Thane would forgive me.I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, ignoring the knock on the door. I didn't want to see anyone right now, and I knew for a fact that it wasn't Thane. Whoever was behind the door persisted and it got annoying. I rose from the bead, heading for the door. I pulled it open, the frown on my face that disappeared the moment I saw my mother.She hugged me, knowing exactly what I needed. I couldn't help but be a child again and cry in her arms. "
I stared at the mirror; I looked like a mess. I sprayed some cold water on my face; a knock drew my attention.It was a maid."Can I help you?" I questioned."The Alpha sent me to pick up a file he left here. It must be that one." She said, pointing to the file on the table. She walked in, picking it up."You know what? I'll hand it to him." I said, taking the file from her hand. She seemed unsure."As you wish Luna," she said."Uhmm, where is he now?""The third room on the fifth floor," she said, and I nodded."Got it.".I knocked on the door to his ‘new’ room, and after a minute the door was pulled opened. Thane stared at me."What are you doing here?" He asked like I was some complete stranger, an intruder, but I couldn't blame him."I brought your files."He collected it, about to slam the door, but I placed a foot in the threshold. I pushed the door open and walked in."You've been avoiding me lately." I said to him, but he gave no response. He took a seat, opening the file and
The next few days I spent them with Thane; he was still in coma. The healers had to extract all of the toxin the elders had passed into his bloodstream; only then would the healing process begin, and from their report, he was doing well, but he still had a few more days to recover.I wiped his face with a wet towel; next, I gently brushed through his hair. I placed a kiss on his forehead and then his lips. I knew that when he awoke, things wouldn't be like they used to. I returned back to my room to take a bath before joining him once again.I couldn't bear the solitude of my room; I always ended up breaking into tears. I hadn't realized I was sleeping until the sharp intake of breathe jolted me awake. Thane was awake.The healers had said he would be down for a few more days, but he woke earlier than they had predicted; my heart pounded for the first time in excitement; I was so scared, I couldn't lose him too. "Thane!" I cried out, running to him to embrace him, but his cold star
A rock fell inches away from me, and I only managed to dodge it. Axel was losing a lot of blood. I knew what was about to happen, but I didn't want to think about it. It just couldn't."Riley, please listen to me." he said, and I turned to him; sweat coated his face and his breathing was laboured. "I can't make it, Riley. You know that, but if you go, you can save yourself and save Thane.""Please, Axel, we can make it alive, the both of us.""Look at me, Riley," he pleaded, and I did. "Kiss me."Tears rolled down my eyes as I leaned to him and kissed him. I wouldn't let him go; I just can't. "I love you, from the very first time I met..." he took a long breath. "But you were never mine, and yet that didn't stop me from wanting you. Don't blame yourself for this; you, Riley, were the best thing that had ever happened to me.""But Thane... he hates me.""No, he doesn't; reason with him; make him... make him understand." Axel coughed out blood. "Go now, get him, and leave this place.""
EARLIERBailey was still in here somewhere. I walked cautiously down the passage ways and I spotted yet another room. I pushed open the door and walked in. The room was similar to the one I had been kept in earlier, but she wasn't in here either.I needed a weapon; the sword alone wouldn't do to kill an elder as powerful as she was so I searched through the room. I pulled open a cabinet, and there I found more syringes filled with black serum, the very same ones used on Thane. I was almost certain of it. I would have to take a gamble with this. From what Bailey told me, this was created by the elders as a bane for Lycans, I could only hope it had some effect on her too, if it didn't work on her, then I was doomed.I strode out of the room, and there she was, standing at the very end of the passageway."So you've come to kill me." Bailey said with a smile on her face. "You know, Nyaos has been killed by your mate" She said to me.I couldn't exactly say I felt bad for that.I chose to r
THANE'S POVThe door opened, and Caleb walked in, his hands up as if in surrender. My beta, Axel followed, a gun pointed to his head."Free him," Axel said.Caleb walked to me, taking out the pipes. "The chains too." Axel said, and I could tell Caleb was not going to do that.Axel shot at his leg, but Caleb was strong—maybe even the strongest of all the elders. In the next second, Axel's gun was in his hands, and the table turned."Let him go, Caleb; it's me you want." I warned."You are right." Caleb says, "But I want him dead too."He shot at Axel. I growled, pulling at the chains; they burned my skin. He aimed for me next, pulling the trigger, but the gun was empty of bullets, and he tossed it to the ground."In every single room, I had planted a bomb; all I need to do is press the button, and everything would go 'boom'; everyone in this building would die, and I alone would be left. After a while, you will be forgotten, but for me, I'll take over from you; I will be known and fea
Axel unsheathed his sword before striding towards Nick.Nick let out his wing, flying right over us, but Axel leaped into the air, bringing him down by his wing. Axel pinned Nick down, holding both wings. I watched in amazement as Axel sliced them off, and Nick roared in pain, the bones where his wings had been attached prodded out of his back.Axel passed the blood stained sword to me. I limped to where Nick lay groaning in agony."Didn't I tell you, I will kill you?" Now kneel." I said, and he rose, falling on his knees. "Riley I..."I didn't let him say more; in a clean swipe, I incapacitated his head from the rest of his body.Axel took off his leather jacket and helped me put it on."I know a way out." Axel says, leading me out of the room, we walked down the hallways to an open space."Going somewhere?" A voice called from behind us. Bailey.She held a crossbow in her hands. "Nyaos is dead. Thane killed him. I guess this means our deal is… off."She shot the crossbow at me, bu
RILEY"It's girls time, Nick; you should leave." Bailey said to him, and he gave me a long look before leaving both of us alone. "I didn't remember telling you to stop with the dagger," she said."It fell." I lied.I didn't know if she bought that, but she spoke no more about it, taking a seat beside me."I'm going to tell you a story, one I had never told anyone before. Well, you would die in the end, so it makes no difference.I was in love once. I don't mean the casual crushes and those little feelings girls have. I was in love with Nyaos; he had always been there for me when I needed him; he helped me so many times; I can't even count the number of times he had saved my life. But Nyaos loved another; I was the ‘other woman’, and I knew that. Katara believed we were good friends; she trusted me; she trusted the both of us, and I knew what we did behind her back was very wrong, but I couldn't help myself. Nyaos said he loved us both, and though I always wanted more, I could settle
CAUTION: THERE WOULD BE VIOLENT SCENES IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS; PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION.THANE.I could do it; I knew I could break through the chains. Rage is one powerful thing. I pulled hard, and the chains broke off. I ripped out the pipes that had been used to pass the fluids into my bloodstream, and I staggered to my feet. I heard footsteps approaching, and I positioned myself beside the door. Nyaos walked in; he noticed the empty chair, I could smell his fear; he should be afraid. I shut the door behind him, and only then did he notice me; he turned, his eyes widening in terror as I plunged my hand into his chest, past the crunch of his ribcage, and deep into his heart. His mouth opened, frozen in a silent scream."The cursed weapon isn't the only way to kill an elder." I whispered before I pulled his heart out. The sight of blood was so intoxicating it ignited a lust for blood in me, I wanted to spill more blood. An elder had been brought to nothing in a matter of minutes