I woke up to Trian by my side.After the bath last night, he brought me back to bed; I didn’t miss the fact that he had replaced the sheets with fresh ones. Despite the throbbing pain between my legs, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied.It was better than I had ever expected, and I was glad Trian had been my first.Now I lay there, staring at him like some creep while he slept, noticing how tense he seemed—even in sleep. Maybe that was something all soldiers had in common. The thought of tracing my fingers down his perfectly sculpted face was enticing, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, afraid I might wake him—and then things would get very… awkward.I managed to rise to my feet, certain I’d be feeling him down there for days. I limped out of the room, planning to take a small tour of the house, and made my way to the kitchen. That was when I realized something I had completely overlooked—I didn’t know how to cook. For most of my life, the maids brought me food, and I ate whatever
A smirk curved on his lips; his eyes, once full of emotion, were empty, cold, and… distant.Suddenly he looked like a stranger.In a blink, he was no longer in front of me. I felt his presence right behind me; my heart pounded as I slowly turned around, and there he stood only a few inches away from me.“You wanted to know how I got out of The Pit? Well now you do.”“What are you?” I asked, backing away once again.“Fortune tellers might be liars, but she didn’t lie. I do have darkness living and breeding inside of me. Your empresses, they were all fools; they couldn’t see that the very thing they fought against was living with them, under their very noses.”“You are scaring me, Trian.”“No, not Trian. Daemon.”That name was also familiar; it took only a few seconds for my brain to place it. Julia had told me about the demon that had been born into the world by the Luna Queen. The demon that was supposed to be dead, he went by the very same name Daemon.“No!” I gasped.“Now you're sca
I felt so stupid—foolish enough to believe I was the queen in this game, with everyone else as mere pawns in my scheme. Little did I know there was a master plan, one far greater than my petty game. And in His plan, I was nothing more than a pawn.“You released those flesh eaters that attacked me; I could have died!” “That wasn’t exactly part of my plan, but again, I didn’t think you would go running off.”“You want me to believe that everything you said to me was a lie, but I don’t believe that. I know there was some truth to it all; you took the blame for me, risking your life. More than once you’ve risked your very position to make sure I am fed; you saved me from them. The kiss we shared in the lake, the memories we’ve made—they aren’t fake; they are all real.”I sounded so sure of myself, but in reality, I wasn’t. Perhaps it was all real to me, but never real to him.Trian—no, Daemon—gripped my chin, his eyes flashing from their usual blue to pure black before returning to their
ALEXANDER’S POVI couldn’t bear to look at her. I came home late and left early—we hadn’t had a real conversation since we returned a week ago. She had tried starting one a few times, but after noticing my lack of interest, she stopped trying.I should get over this and move on. After all, I had been with other women too—but that was before Kaida and I became more than just unwilling companions. What hurt me the most wasn’t the act itself, but the fact that she hadn’t said a word about it. I had waited for her to finally gather the courage to speak up, only to realize she was going to pretend nothing had happened—like she hadn’t broken my trust. And that was what annoyed me the most.I would have forgiven her, damn, I still would— if she spoke about it.I drowned myself with work, and of course it paid off; the pack earnings had increased significantly this past week. When I wasn’t working, I was drinking myself to death. Usually, women, liquor, and violence were my only ways to let o
The sun had begun to set as I approached Aric in the field; thankfully, the place was completely empty of people.“I knew I would be seeing you soon.” Aric said with a smile.“I had been waiting for you; I almost thought you chickened out.”“I had sex with her,” he said abruptly, and despite the fact that I already knew that, hearing it from the man who she had fucked only made it all worse."I should have known you'd take your chance the moment you were left alone with her.""For all you know, she might have been the one begging for it. Maybe you weren’t enough to satisfy her, or perhaps… she was craving something different."I’ve always excelled at keeping my emotions in check, but this time it took everything in me to keep calm. I was one step away from cracking his skull.“You know you can’t kill me.” He says, “She wouldn’t like that one bit, and you don’t want to make her mad.”“On the contrary, I do.”He hadn’t expected it; I grabbed his arm, snapping it. He let out a growl. “Yo
KAIDA’S POVA whole week, and he barely spoke to me.I knew he was mad at me for leaving without informing him—he had every right to be—but I never thought it would drag on this long. I had believed that after my explanation, things would return to how they used to be. I was very wrongNothing was the same.I had just been informed that Aric had returned. I had been worried about him, but maybe it was smart of him to stay away for a few more days. Now he was back, he too kept his distance, and I didn’t think I was ready to see him either—maybe because a part of me blamed him. He had advised me to keep it all a secret from Alexander, and now I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing.The Empress still lived, but everything I had built with Aric crumbled to pieces right before my very eyes.I spent my day exercising; that was the only way to let out stress, but this time it wasn’t enough. I missed him—I missed Alexander; I miss his touch… it was all driving me crazy.Most times, I had
I lay on the bed, wide awake.I couldn’t sleep, even with Alexander so close to me. This time, his presence offered no comfort; we were on the same bed but might as well have been worlds apart, the gap between us growing wider and wider with each passing day.After he had fucked me against the table, I managed to make my way back to the bed and attempt to sleep. Clearly, it wasn’t working. I hadn’t said another word to him, and he seemed to prefer the silence.My memories pulled me back to an incident from a few years ago, back in the Dawn Pack. I remembered finding a woman in the woods—she was in so much pain. I tried to calm her down, but without being able to speak, she couldn't tell me what was wrong. I finally convinced her to shift back, and the moment she did, she broke down in tears. I had thought something terrible had happened to her, but I was… disappointed to realize that all that agony was simply because she was having issues with her mate.I had tried consoling her the b
Nothing in the world could have prepared me for that news. Sarah's eyes held nothing but sympathy. I should have taken the pills. Now it was too late. I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t ready to train a child. Damn, I couldn’t even control myself; how am I expected to raise a child?I began panicking. “I can’t—it can’t be; there’s too much on the line; I can’t be pregnant.” The words came out in a panicked whisper."We haven't run any tests yet; I'm only speaking based on the visible signs; we are not yet sure of anything till we run a test.” She explained to me, and I nodded, but I could barely understand any word she was saying..I paced around my room, waiting for Sarah to bring the results. She had asked me to pee in a cup for the test; I didn’t even mind how awkward it was—I didn’t care. Please let her be wrong. If she is wrong, I would ask her for those pills and stay regular with them. Anytime I closed my eyes, I imagined myself getting big and round. I couldn’t fight with a child in
PRESENT.I pulled my wings back, making them vanish as I stepped out of the circle."Hello, Brother," I said to the Alpha King, my half-brother.He saw me as a threat, of course, and he was right to. My gaze shifted to the second figure in the room—Jade."An old bat who just refuses to die. You're tough, I'll give you that."Jade's eyes shot daggers at him. “I haven’t forgotten you stole from me.”“It was never yours to keep.” I responded. Many years ago, I had taken the amulet from her possession, cementing my place as the Demon Overlord."This is not over," she said, pointing a crooked hand at me before turning to Ethan—or as he preferred to be called, Alexander."I've done as you asked. Just so you know, I might not be available if you reach out again," she added, then turned and walked toward the balcony. She pushed open the windows and leaped down.The werewolf queen gasped, walking to the railing to look below, and a bird flew up, its eyes the same color as Jade’s. It was no su
DAEMON’S POVEarlier…I stood before the house I had set ablaze, watching as it burned to the ground.I was a fool to believe I could ever have a silent life. Part of me had craved that kind of peace, while another part longed for more—wanting to rule and, at the same time, have the girl I loved by my side. I wanted both, and that was the problem: I could only choose one.I picked wrong.I stared at the amulet, the only thing I had retrieved from the house I had set on fire.I had promised to protect her; I had promised to keep her safe and away from harm’s way, and I failed. The moment she was taken, I returned to the castle to find her, but the empresses weren’t as unwise as they had been before. They had found the strongest witches and sorceresses to cast a spell on the castle, preventing my entry. The spell was strong enough to serve its purpose, but it must’ve drained those who had cast it. They would need months to recover.But like every spell, it would fade eventually, and tha
KADIA’S POVIt was already late at night. I’d spent the hours patrolling alongside Alexander. Well, we’d done a little more than just patrolling.A slow smile curled my lips at the memory of Alexander taking me right there on the hard forest ground."We’re supposed to be watching over the pack borders," I’d reminded him as he kissed me."I’m still very much alert. I think I can do both at a time," he’d replied.I now had dirt, crumpled leaves, and a few stubborn twigs tangled in my hair. Alexander didn’t look much better, but he still managed to pull off that rough, roguish charm that made my stomach flutter.We walked to our apartment together, stopping in front of the door.“Keep looking at me like that,” he said with a grin, “and we won’t be sleeping much tonight.”“I’m not staring,” I lied, immediately looking away with a blush creeping on my cheeks.He smiled. “You can stare all you want, baby. I’m all yours.”His words stirred butterflies in my stomach. Maybe it really was going
Right before we reached the front yard, a man who looked to be in his late forties stepped outside, a hunter’s rifle in his hand, aimed directly at us.Ash instinctively placed his body right in front of mine to shield me.“Bruce. It’s me.”The man didn’t lower the weapon for a long while, and I worried he might shoot. Just then, another woman stepped out. She seemed a few years older."Bruce, put the gun down," she said, her tone affectionate. It was clear that they shared some kind of bond—either siblings or a couple.The man whose name I just realized was Bruce finally put down his weapon. He walked towards us.“What are you doing here?” he asked, fury laced with his words.“I knew you told me not to return here, but I had to. This is the only place she can be safe.”Ash stepped aside to reveal me, and the man’s eyes met mine. But unlike the many lustful stares that usually fixated on my cleavage, he simply looked away. I wondered if the spell Agatha had put on me was still lingeri
I couldn’t leave him behind, so I stood beside him. “I’m not leaving you here.”He seemed about to argue but thought better of it. From the woods emerged five figures. Not people—I'd seen them before. The undead. Hellish, blind creatures, dead but somehow still alive.Without hesitation, Ash drew a gun I hadn’t realized he was carrying and fired. I pressed my hands to my ears in an attempt to block out the deafening sound, but it did no good. Soon, the five creatures were on the ground. They weren’t dead—the bullet in their heads didn’t kill them, but it was enough to buy us some time to escape.Ash was fast, but he had to slow down for my sake. I could hear the creatures pursuing us, closing in with each passing second. Of course, this was the moment I had to trip over a rock. I fell to the ground. One of the creatures grabbed hold of my leg, and I let out a scream. Ash pried it off me and somehow managed to toss the creature—roughly the size of a full-grown man—away.Soon, I spotted
We drove in complete silence. I didn’t know where he was taking me to, but I didn’t care to ask.“Aliyah, I’m sorry,” Ash says, sparing a glance at me. “It was dangerous of me to tell the Empress your location. They could have killed you, and it would’ve been entirely my fault. But I couldn’t bear to do nothing—not when I knew what he does to you.”I couldn’t look at him.“I’m really sorry, okay? I know I had no right to force all this on you.” He tried again, but when I remained silent, he gave up.A few minutes passed in silence before I finally said, “You were right.”His eyes snapped to mine.“I shouldn’t have let him… feed from me. It was stupid. But after being locked in a castle and controlled for most of my life, I guess I craved something reckless—something fun. And maybe that’s what draws me to him.” I looked away. “I know he’s dangerous, but I’ve spent my whole life being kept away from danger. I want to know what it feels like to abandon caution. I miss him… And I miss him
“It’s not much, but it should do,” Ash said, referring to the worn-out dark red car. I didn’t care what vehicle we used, as long as it got us out of the city. I opened the door and slid into the shotgun seat. Ash walked around the car and took the driver’s seat. The car was big enough to comfortably fit five people. Ash reversed and then drove through the busy city streets. I couldn’t help but worry—what if the spell had worn off? By the time we reached the city gates, I was beside myself with anxiety.“Aliyah, the only reason we’d get caught is if you make it look too suspicious,” he warned, and I tried to calm him.We stopped in front of the soldiers. There hadn’t been this many the last time Daemon and I left this place. Perhaps security had been tightened since then—it made sense, but as of now, it wasn’t exactly working in our favor.A single soldier stepped forward and peered into the car. I kept my hair down, hoping it helped with the disguise.“I’m on an errand for the Empr
Still in shock, I didn’t realize there was another person in the hut until he spoke.“Aliyah,” Ash called as he walked toward me, his eyes scanning me as if checking for injuries. I was in a robe, my hair still wet, but the only visible scars were the healing bite marks on my neck. I quickly hid them with my hair, but of course, he had already seen them.“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner,” he said genuinely.“There’s nothing to be sorry about; at least you came,” I said, relieved to be away from the castle. My gaze returned to the old woman, who stood there watching us. I couldn’t help but find her a little creepy. Today, she had black tribal markings painted on her face, “She’s a witch,” Ash said.“I thought she was just a fortune teller.”“Thankfully, she’s not.”“How do you know her?” I questioned.“Well, it’s a long story, but I’ve known Agatha for a while.”He knew her name?“Just keep in mind, I won’t be doing you any more favors, wolf boy.”Wolf boy?“Understood and thank you.
ALIYAH’S POVWith each passing day, I began to doubt everything I had once believed. I knew what the Empresses wanted—at least that was clear—but Daemon? I wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Had everything he’d done for me been part of some manipulation scheme? Had he been trying to deceive me all over again?If he’d really loved me, he should have taken me away from this place by now. But he was nowhere to be found. And as the days dragged on, I felt myself breaking apart—losing faith in him. Had he ever truly loved me?And then there was the urge. I think about it every second that passes—the feeling of being bitten. I had been warned; I knew the consequences. I’d seen what happened to Tasha, how she’d gone mad, willing to do anything for a single bite. And yet, I let it happen. Now, I might have to face the consequences.The door to my room creaks open, snapping me out of my thoughts. Julia walks in—and of course, still no food."You stink," she said, nose scrunched up in what I a