One month later. It is strange how time flies. The hours turned into days, days into weeks, and a month had gone by. Not a single day did I stop thinking about Thane and Axel; not a single day had I stopped crying. I was a mess. I thought I could heal from this pain, but I couldn't. Once, I dreamt they came for me; oh, how real the dream felt, and then I awoke, and here I was, in the Raven Clan. They say time should heal all wounds, but even time couldn't heal this. I woke up with a start. It had been another dream about Thane. Another dream that felt too real. I sobbed silently. I had been here for a whole month and I had never left the room. I was a shell of the person I one was. I should fight this. Thane might be out there, with another woman standing in my place, and I would remain here, a total mess. I deserved better, yet I couldn't find the strength to walk out of that door and meet new people. My mother walked in, a tray in her hands; she didn't bother looking
Dinner was nothing like I expected.Back in the Nightshade pack, meals were a subdued affair — there could be a few occasional chatters but nothing as loud and carefree as this. It was the complete opposite here.Nick joked and laughed with everyone; the table was so loud and strangely comforting, but what was even more comforting was the fact that there weren't people staring creepingly at me. Sure, a few glanced, but not with the curiosity members at the Nightshade Pack did."Does she speak?" one of the men asked, referring to me."Yes, I speak," I answered, and many paused their chattering."She does speak," another said out loud, seemingly surprised."You thought I was... mute?"Many nodded, and for some reason that was funny. My mother had a smile on her face too; that's the most I had said the whole month. I did feel comfortable here, these people... there was something about them; maybe it was how welcoming they were or how very carefree and relaxed everyone was. Damn, even th
I spent more time with Nick, not only because it made my mother happy, but because I discovered that I could easily distract myself from thinking about Thane when I was with him.Nick was interested in agriculture, and I did admire him, but today we sat on a three-branch together."What did it feel like?" he asked. "Being with the Alpha King."I was silent for a long while; I hadn't talked about him since I came to this pack, but maybe sharing what I felt would make things better. Nick was close; he had become more of a family friend, and my mother loved him; she loved the fact that he was 'bringing me to life', but she hoped too much. I didn't love Nick, not in the way she thought, and I didn't think Nick felt that way either; he was just a free person."It was beautiful at times, painful at other times, scary sometimes, exciting at other times," I answered."I can't understand why exactly he made such a decision," Nick says genuinely."I don't know either; maybe he is trying to ‘pro
"What?" I demanded, my eyes narrowing at him."That didn't quite come out how I planned, I'm sorry. It is not a demand; you are free to refuse.""I can't marry you; I don't even like you," I said blandly."Love is never a big part of many marriages," he says."So then why would you want me as a wife?""Your influence; you don't seem to notice it, but you are the werewolf queen.""Not anymore""Many would always see you as that.""And so you plan to do what?; Use me to increase your pack status?”"If you want the truth, then yes."He didn't hesitate; I should be irritated by his request, but strangely, I wasn't. At least he was making his intentions clear from the very start; he would only let me attain power capable of making me his equal if I agreed to be his wife, and this way benefiting the pack. Thane never did this.Still, his request had caught me by surprise. "You can take as long as you need to think about this," he said."There won't be any need for that; my answer is no.""I
I couldn't explain it all to my mother. She wouldn't understand; no one but Nick would; he understood what it felt like.The thought of hurting her saddened me."Riley, are you alright?" she asked. This was the third time she had asked that question."Yes, mom, I am alright," I answered, trying to put on a smile, but I couldn't fake that, not with her."Okay, tell me what's going on." she asked, taking a seat on the cushion opposite me.I inhaled deeply. "We all have to take risks to get what we want, you know that, right?""I do, but not all risks are worth taking," she said; it was almost like she could read me. "Something is wrong, I can tell. Does this have to do with... Nick, did he say something to you?""Yes...No""What did he do?" she asked, her expression turning grave."Nothing""Don't lie to me; what is the risk you speak about?""I and Nick are getting married.", This was only a part of the truth, but I knew I wasn't going to get past my mother's curiosity so I had to tell
It wouldn't make sense for Thane to come here after everything. Yet, maybe I've been wrong all along; perhaps, just like me, he couldn't stay away.I never bothered to think about the fact that Gabriel wouldn't refer to the Alpha King as 'someone’, I didn't want to think, my heart seemed to have a mind of its own. I followed Gabriel down the stairs, and all the while, I imagined scenarios of what it would be like to see Thane again. Would he be sorry for what he had done to me? Would I forgive him?The answer was; Yes. Call me pathetic and foolish, but I knew that would be my answer if he pleaded genuinely. A part of me knew he would come for me, and that part of me 'waited' each day for him. Was it possible to hate and love a person?Yes, it was. I hated Thane, but also I loved him. Finally, I walked into the living space, and there I noticed...There was no Thane.For some reason, that hit me so hard. I should have known better, but I didn't.I never realized how hopeful I really
"As much as I want to help you, you must have heard by now that I am no longer the Queen Luna," I said to him."Titles like that cannot be taken away by mere words," he insisted. "We need your help; an attack is coming soon, one bigger than the previous; we cannot fight that off."I still didn't think Thane would do this, not if these people haven't done anything to start up the war, and yet the man sounded so sure, and from the look in Nick's eyes, he seemed to agree with the man's opinion."I cannot help you; I am not the savior," I admitted, and with that, I walked away because I couldn't stand and watch the disappointment in their eyes. What did they expect me to do—talk to Thane? fight against him?I couldn't do that..I sat down alone in my room lost in thoughts until a knock at the door drew my attention."The door is unlocked; come in," I called, and Nick walked in."Can I sit?" he questioned, and I nodded. He took a seat on the bed while I sat on the cushion. "They were not
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
The dark blue dress would look beautiful on Kaida. That was the first thought on my mind when I saw it in the store. I knew I had to get it for her..Kaida was on the training field, she’d taken up Aric’s position. I believed it was another way to honor his memory. She trained the soldiers just as he had done… before everything went downhill. I had to admit, she was very good at it. Even the soldiers seemed to be enjoying the session with her."Your weight on this leg," she instructed, adjusting the soldier’s stance. I didn’t miss the way his gaze flickered to her ass for a split second before he quickly looked away, likely fearing he’d be caught staring. The possessive part of me wanted to pry out his eyes for even looking, then drag her into our room and fuck her all day long for looking so damn sexy.The longer I watched, the more something dark stirred inside me. She was too damn close to that guy, and those leathers—hell, they were so tight, her ass was practically on display. I
The Rogue leaders had waited. When the two days were over, I invited them into the meeting room.A maid brought over bottles of beer, and Edna was the first to take a deep gulp, the others following soon after. The maid excused herself.“Edna, Skale, Kev, Gal, and of course, Timothy. Welcome to the Nightshade Pack.”“I didn’t remember keeping you waiting this long when you paid us a visit.” Edna said to me."I’d hoped you’d get impatient enough to leave."Edna chuckled; it was silent and humorless. “Unfortunately, we’ve come to speak on an important matter.”“I assumed as much.”"We allowed a peace treaty with you once, and now we’ve come to discuss the terms.""I made you a promise, Edna. I told you that if you couldn’t keep the rogues under control, there would be war. This time, something tells me you were the brains behind the earlier attack.""Yes. I was. Like the rest, we believed you were gone, and we did what anyone would do—we attacked.""But I guess you were wrong.""Sorely.
ALEXANDER’S POVIt was almost unnerving how similar she had looked to Kaida. Her voice sounded so much like hers—I had hesitated, and in that moment of weakness, Cynthia escaped.It all made sense now. I could recall that incident. When Kaida had walked into the room, looking all seductive, I had given in so easily. And then—she ‘d lifted the dagger to my chest. I hadn’t realized it wasn’t her. For a fleeting moment, I had even thought the weapon was just another tease.But then she’d stabbed me, and too late I realized something different about her—something I hadn’t picked up on earlier. Her eyes. They were different, not because they weren’t the same grey I knew, but because it felt like they belonged to a stranger, not the woman I had known and fallen for.Kaida had taken the blame, but of course, she could never have done such a thing. She’d never have gone through with it, and I couldn’t believe I was just realizing that now."It’s not your fault. Cynthia excels at those kinds o
"I know the truth," I said to Julia, finally speaking up.“What truth? Don’t tell me you still fall for his falsehoods—you should have learned your lessons by now.”"He tried to protect me. He kept me safe. That’s more than you’ve ever done?"“Protect you—you really think you are safe here with him?”“Safer than I ever was back in the castle.”“I taught you better than this, Aliya. I taught you about bad people who would want to taint you, but you were always the curious type; I should have known.” She said, I didn’t miss the fact that she addressed me by my name."I remember everything you taught me, Julia. Thanks to you, I know more languages than I’ll ever have the chance to use in my lifetime. You spoke endlessly about good and evil—you painted yourselves as saints, but you all are far from that. I know the truth now. Your plan was to sacrifice me. That encounter—all of it—was a lie. I was nothing but a vessel to you.""And do you think you mean anything to him?" she asked, her g
My thoughts drifted to Ash. Could he have been stupid enough to come back here with Daemon present?Something told me Daemon wouldn’t be pleased about me seeing him behind his back.A small sense of relief washed over me when I realized the footsteps approaching weren’t from a man. There was something feminine, something familiar about them.It was Empress Julia.Of course, I would recognize the sound of her footsteps; I had spent over a decade of my life listening to them.Daemon seemed genuinely surprised. “How did you find this place?” he asked."I can't say. You see, it's a small secret, Trian—I guess that's the name you stole."Daemon’s eyes drifted from her face to the object she held in her hand: the Nexus Amulet. She had somehow gotten it out of the transparent glass container—perhaps that explained the noise that had alerted us we weren’t alone."Give it to me," Daemon all but growled."Tsk, tsk. Not so fast."Daemon looked like he was about to lunge for her."You won’t get t
I shouldn’t be thinking about Ash’s words, but I was. No matter how many times I tried to shove them out of my mind, they always found their way back."Dinner is served. Come eat," Daemon announced. Staring at him, I could almost forget that he was a demon; he just seemed so… human. But when you looked deeper into those dark blue eyes, that’s when you noticed something off—something that screamed predator.“I’m not hungry.”“That’s a lie. Come with me,” he said. I might be hungry, but I was in no mood to eat, yet I followed him. He had already dished out the food for me and, as usual, none for himself.“Thank you.” I muttered, taking a seat. The smoky scent of spiced grilled meat filled the air. On any other day, it would be enough to make my mouth water and my stomach rumble, but this time, I could barely force myself to eat more than a few small pieces.“Aliyah,” Daemon called, and I looked up at him. “I can make something else if you don’t like this.”“It’s not that. I’m just not h
ALIYAH’S POVI stared at the empty room, once occupied by the human girls. Now, the chains that had been used to bind them were the only sign that they had ever been here.After the incident with Tasha, Daemon wasn’t willing to take any chances. He had let the two cousins return to their homes.When Daemon wasn’t home, I had the whole house to myself.I returned to my room to take a quick shower before his return. I peeled off my clothes and walked into the shower. I was done in less than twenty minutes. I was about to step out of the bathroom when my reflection caught my eye. I paused, staring at the figure in the mirror that was mine.My eyes were the only thing alive; every other part of my body seemed to be fading away. My silver hair didn’t look as healthy, and my pale skin was even paler. I spotted the bite marks marring my skin. I didn’t mind them at all; maybe I was getting just as crazy as Tasha, but I liked seeing those marks on my skin; they reminded me of him, and so I ha
I watched as Aric’s casket was lowered into the ground.All the memories were buried along with him. Guilt ate at me, knowing he shouldn’t be down there.Many who knew Aric were also present. He had once been a beta to the Dawn pack, then a commander to the Nightshade Pack. He was loved by many, but the strangest thing about life was how fast people tend to move on.Two hours later, everyone was gone, back to their lives. A few months from now, some would forget him. In a few years, others wouldn’t even remember that a man named Aric had once lived among us. He’d be just another tombstone like the rest. No one was ever truly too important—life always moved on.I stood before Aric's grave, eyes puffy and red, tears rolling down my cheeks, and Alexander stood beside me. His eyes were on me.“You know, he had a sister. I had no clue about her; she was the reason he betrayed me; he wanted to save her.” I paused when I realized who I was talking to. “Sorry, I know you’d always hated him.”
Derek had been taken away from the pack after our fight. A small part of me felt bad for him. In his pack, he had been worshipped, but now… everything was about to change—especially the fact that he would have to rule as an Alpha with only one arm.If his story taught me anything, it was that we often fail to appreciate what we have. He had a pack, people who loved him, but like every other Alpha, he wanted more. He was an honorable man, and for that reason, I had let him go his way—even after his demeaning words about making me his ‘whore’ when he took over the pack.“I have to admit. You did very well with the pack.” Alexander praised, and I couldn’t help the swell of pride I had felt in that instant.We were currently in the bed, none of us wanting to leave the room or each other’s company.“Most of the time, I didn’t even know what I was doing.”“Well, that makes the two of us. You were born a leader, Kaida.”"No, I wasn’t. I might be the daughter of an Alpha, and I might have ha