Chaos erupted—people spoke over one another, everyone desperate to be heard."Enough," I snarled. “You bicker like children. I am not for one side or the other—this pack is one, and everyone will be treated equally. You’re right that I don’t deserve this position, but…” I paused, weighing my next words. “The Alpha will return” I assured them. Keith spat on the ground. "That's a lie, and you know it. You did something to him, and he's not coming back."I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I did what I did to help him!” I hated the fact that I lost it, but I felt the need to let them know. “I love him, and I will never stop loving him.”“And yet here you are, taking his title and taking over his pack. You didn’t do this for love, but greed—greed for power. What you fail to realize is that you might claim the title as yours, but loyalty and respect are not passed down; they’re earned.” Keith finished; with one cold glance at me, he turned around and walked away. Many others followed.“You ca
We were both in tears, but there was something about the way he looked—so vulnerable, so helpless, so pained. I couldn’t bear to watch; I looked away."I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m so fucking sorry. I told her—I told her that no matter what, I would never hurt you, even if it meant choosing between my sister and you.My sister could be dead for all I knew. But every time I felt like I had already done too much wrong, I told myself—what was one more bad deed to add to the cart? Your father had been like a father to me—that’s how he so easily picked up on the fact that something was wrong. He tried to talk to me about it, and I felt so guilty. But you have to understand—one way or another, Cynthia would have killed him. She was never going to let him live."“That doesn’t make you any less of a murderer. That doesn’t make you any less of a criminal.You know, I had thought of all the things I could do to you—all the ways I could kill you slowly and painfully. But now that I’
Prologue(Riley's POV) I woke up to a sharp pain in my abdomen. I knew what was happening; Ryker was doing it again. He was cheating on me with another woman. I rolled off the bed, my hands circling around my stomach. The wave of pain passed through me again, and I screamed out, my hands remaining on my stomach as if to shield my unborn child. I groaned, crawling for the door. "Help!" I screamed, but my voice came out hoarse. The pain came again, worse than ever before, and I cried out. "Please... please stop Ryker; you are hurting me," I begged, even if I knew he wasn't here or listening. A strange kind of fear filled me, one I always felt before things went completely wrong, and I was afraid it would now. My child was only one month old, and he 'knew' I was pregnant for him. I crawled for the door, my breaths coming out in pants, my whole body drenched in sweat. The pain wouldn't stop; it only got worse, and I couldn't go any further. In here, no one heard my cries
Growing up, there are so many stories I hear about rejections, the pain that comes with it, and then the sense of loss, like something was missing. I knew what was coming, and I was prepared, even as I said the words."I, Riley Kaidon, accept your rejection," I respond, and that gave him a pause. Of course, he doesn't expect me to accept his rejection so easily; every female is dying to be the Alpha's mate, and I had been one of them till I discovered that he wasn't as charming as my thoughts had painted him to be.I felt the pain, just as I had anticipated. It's a different kind of pain, one that is deep within, but what I do not feel is the loss.How could you lose what you never had?It was over. All my dreams of finding a mate had all come to nothing. I was given the monster as a mate, and he had used me, taken from me, only to dump me like trash. I couldn't stay in this pack any longer; I had to leave."Banish me from this pack; I no longer see the use of remaining.""Oh no, Rile
The Mating Ball. (Riley's POV) Ryker sat with his mate, and I was to sit besides him, close enough to hear him whisper the same words he had told me to her, close enough to see him kiss her, close enough to hear her soft moans as his hands disappeared beneath her dress, but that wasn't the worst part of this all; the worst part was having to see my mother, refilling his cup like the servant he wanted everyone to know she was. All I felt was anger, burning fury. I turned away from them, focusing on keeping my breath steady. "You work slugglishly, old woman," Ryker said to my mother, she had pretended not to hear that as she refilled his glass for what seemed as the hundredth time. My mother glanced at me, her eyes a warning, begging me to stay still and not do anything crazy, and it took everything in me to seat still. "You forgot to refill mine," Zara said to my mother, and of course, my mother did refill hers, muttering a silent appology which wasn't even due. Zara
(Riley's POV) There was a lot running through my mind, but I couldn't stop myself as I let my lips move against his, his hands raked through my hair, and I let him touch me in more intimate ways. His kiss was unlike anything I had ever felt; it was like a breath of fresh air and, at the same time suffocating. I felt everything and nothing; the electricity rolling down my frame had nothing to do with a mate bond; it did have everything to do with the fallen angel standing before me. No, he was no angel, maybe quite the opposite, but he did have the looks of a Greek god. Finally he pulled away, and I was left panting, wanting more, my lips all swollen. What the hell just happened, and why is Alpha Thane calling me his mate when I was sure I wasn't his? From the look he gave me, he knew that too. "Pretend," he whispered in my ear, low enough for only me to hear. Pretend?. He meant I should go along with this. Why would I do that? , why... My trail of thoughts was cut off.
(Riley's POV) Everything about Alpha Thane screamed sexuality: the way he walked, his height, his look, his lips- oh, those very beautiful lips, and the way those lips had formed out my name. Never had I thought my name could sound that sexy and enticing... Also the last thing I should be thinking about right now was how sexy he was. . He was right though; if he wanted me dead, he wouldn't need to go through all that stress to get it done; he only needed to do it right there in the mating ball. After all, they were known for just that, so it wouldn't exactly be a surprise, and not many would care about the fact that I was killed; my mother would, though. "Then what do you want?" "I want you to come with me, as my mate," he answered, as if that were the simplest and most obvious thing. "What?" "I guess you heard me clearly, and you need a while to process it." "No, I do not need a while; I am not your mate; I know that; you know that; and I cannot leave my pack a
(Riley's POV) It didn't make sense. That Alpha Thain of the Nightshade pack had chosen me; I had so much to gain—my mother's freedom, 'my freedom', and wealth—lots of it. It felt almost too good to be true. He had told me that he never made any deals in which he had nothing to gain, but I can't imagine what he had to gain from being mated to me. Yet, his promises had been mouth-watering, every single word, and I knew he was right. I knew I would agree to his terms, whatever they might be, as long as my mother was free. He was not a gentleman; he had told me just that, and that was the one thing I believed. After the little conversation, he had left me here all alone, to think about his proposal. No, he didn't bother escorting me back to the ball where he had taken me; he was letting me know, even from the little gestures, what kind of a man he was. When he meant he wanted me as a mate for a period of time, did that involve intimacy? Maybe it didn't; maybe I just had to play
We were both in tears, but there was something about the way he looked—so vulnerable, so helpless, so pained. I couldn’t bear to watch; I looked away."I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I’m so fucking sorry. I told her—I told her that no matter what, I would never hurt you, even if it meant choosing between my sister and you.My sister could be dead for all I knew. But every time I felt like I had already done too much wrong, I told myself—what was one more bad deed to add to the cart? Your father had been like a father to me—that’s how he so easily picked up on the fact that something was wrong. He tried to talk to me about it, and I felt so guilty. But you have to understand—one way or another, Cynthia would have killed him. She was never going to let him live."“That doesn’t make you any less of a murderer. That doesn’t make you any less of a criminal.You know, I had thought of all the things I could do to you—all the ways I could kill you slowly and painfully. But now that I’
Chaos erupted—people spoke over one another, everyone desperate to be heard."Enough," I snarled. “You bicker like children. I am not for one side or the other—this pack is one, and everyone will be treated equally. You’re right that I don’t deserve this position, but…” I paused, weighing my next words. “The Alpha will return” I assured them. Keith spat on the ground. "That's a lie, and you know it. You did something to him, and he's not coming back."I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I did what I did to help him!” I hated the fact that I lost it, but I felt the need to let them know. “I love him, and I will never stop loving him.”“And yet here you are, taking his title and taking over his pack. You didn’t do this for love, but greed—greed for power. What you fail to realize is that you might claim the title as yours, but loyalty and respect are not passed down; they’re earned.” Keith finished; with one cold glance at me, he turned around and walked away. Many others followed.“You ca
KADIA’S POVThe whole pack had gathered before me—some drawn by curiosity, others eager to know what would happen next.I looked upon the faces of those I had to protect, their lives resting in my hands. One wrong decision, and they would all suffer. I couldn’t let that happen.Austin and Phil sat on either side of me, on the platform overlooking the pack members.After the incident with Sarah, her body had been disposed of. I supposed I should feel bad that she hadn’t been given a proper burial, but I couldn’t bring myself to. She was a traitor, and she had died a traitor. News of her betrayal had spread through the pack, giving people even more to gossip about. Aric deserved the same fate. I should have killed him—made his death slow and painful. I might have once considered Sarah a friend, but Aric… I had seen him as family. His betrayal cut the deepest, yet I couldn’t bring myself to expose his treachery—not until I heard everything he had to say. For now, he rotted in the cold, d
I awoke in bed, wrapped in a blanket—but beneath it, I was completely naked. Daemon lay beside me.“I’m sorry.” He said, “I lost control.”I recalled passing out and couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. “That wasn’t on you. It was my fault.”“Not really. You passed out from blood loss. I should have fed before, but I had never tasted any blood as sweet as yours,” he said.“That feels and sounds like a compliment.”A small smile played on his lips. “Now, everything else tastes like dirt.”“You’re always welcome to drink from me.”“No. I’m not putting you through that.”I reached for my neck, and the bruise from his fangs was almost completely gone. “How…?”“You don’t have to worry about that,” he said.I nodded, rising from the bed.“You shouldn’t…”I didn’t listen. The moment my feet touched the floor, my legs gave out. He caught me instantly and placed me back on the bed.“You are severely sore.” He said, and I could almost see the guilt in his eyes. Not many things made him feel guil
I stood there for a moment, watching him, aware of every inch between us.I stepped closer. "Daem—Trian, I..." The words wouldn’t come. I wasn’t sure if I was afraid of saying them or if I simply didn’t know how. So instead, I rose onto my tiptoes, reaching for him. But he was too tall, and my lips only grazed his jaw.I lingered, searching his face, hoping he would understand what I couldn’t say.“For a demon, you have a surprising amount of self-control.""Every moment with you pushes me closer to losing it.""Then why didn’t you? Why didn’t you make a move?""After what I did to you, I have no right to touch you."I watched his fangs as he spoke, then lifted my gaze to meet his. Once again, he knew exactly what I wanted. He bared his fangs, allowing me to touch them. Their tips were so sharp that with just a little more pressure, they could have easily pierced my finger. Like everything about him, his fangs were both beautiful and terrifying—they scared me just as much as they amaz
On our way out, more women stared. It was getting unnerving—I wanted to snap at them.I was tempted to show them he was mine by wrapping my arms around his torso, but I wasn’t sure he would like that. He had never been one for such close contact, so I kept my hands to myself. But as if he could read my mind, he wrapped his arm around me—possessively.I stared up at him in surprise."I’m on my best behavior, but if those guys don’t stop undressing you with their eyes, I might have to reconsider," he said. I followed his line of sight, and sure enough, about five guys stood there, watching me. The moment Daemon’s gaze fell on them, they quickly walked away.“You don’t seem to be noticing how almost every female in the building is checking you out.” I said, and his eyes met mine again, making me realize that he truly hadn’t noticed them. How was that even possible? Some had walked past him multiple times just to get a single look from him, I couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for t
I had never seen anything like this place; it felt more… alive. This had been all I wanted, and here I was. Free of the castle and out in the open. The world was far bigger than I could ever know—far more diverse too. I didn’t realize I was smiling until I noticed his eyes on me. His attention was no longer on the road ahead of us. "It's beautiful," I said after a moment.“I would have done this sooner if I knew how happy it would make you.”"Daemon, thank you for doing this," I said, and for a moment, our eyes locked. I reddened and looked away. "Where are we going?" I asked to fill the silence."To watch a movie. It’s a rewrite of Romeo and Juliet," he said.For some reason, I couldn’t help but laugh."What?" he questioned."Who would have thought? The Demon Overlord watches movies.""I like to see myself as a normal person at times.""But there is nothing normal about you.""I've been good since we arrived here. That should win me some points in normality, shouldn't it?"“Yes, I gu
The mist disappeared, giving way to a completely different location. Daemon’s hand steadied me.“Are you alright?” he asked. I could only nod. Our ‘travel’ had been one of the strangest experiences I had ever encountered.“Where are we?” I asked, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.“In a museum.”I glanced around, noting the towering dinosaur skeleton, the paintings, and the sculptures. The more I observed, the more I appreciated the beauty of each piece. This museum was unlike anything I had ever seen, it fascinated me.“That painting… it’s so beautiful,” I said to Daemon.“Yes, it is,” he agreed. Daemon had his hands shoved in his pockets, standing still while I moved around, gushing over the beautiful artifacts. “Humans have this obsession with preserving things from the past.”I paused.“Humans?” I repeated. He nodded.“If you haven’t noticed, we’ve traveled far from home.” He took my hands in his and led me to the door. A guard sat in a small booth, his posture relaxed—until h
ALIYA’S POVDaemon had kept his distance, reminding me once again of the times back at the castle when he would withdraw into himself. He had a lot on his mind, none of which he was willing to share with me.I didn’t miss the fact that he seemed to enjoy my company, even though he never made a move on me—and I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. As the days went by, I found myself settling into this ‘new life.’ It didn’t seem so… bad, now that I knew Daemon wasn’t about to end my life anytime soon. But there was still one problem—Tasha.It didn’t take a genius to see that she was jealous. Daemon fed from her, but beyond that, she was just another person living in his house. He never seemed to look at her twice, despite her efforts. The twins were nicer, but they mostly kept to themselves. Tasha had no interest in making friends with them—or with me, for that matter.Today, something changed.Lying on the bed in Daemon's room, I felt trapped. It shouldn’t have bothered me—I had lived my