I had been on my way back to Axel’s room when I suddenly felt firm hands clamped around my mouth, restraining me from screaming.“Got you,” Thane whispered into my ears.The shiver had nothing to do with the cold.He led me into the closest room that turned out to be ‘unoccupied’. This was, of course, planned by him.Finally, he let me go.“What are you doing?” I asked, planning to act clueless. I was panicking in here.“What does it look like?” he asks, and I could see his fangs; the glow of his eyes seems too otherworldly to be natural.“It looks like you are kidnapping me; would you let me go?” I asked."Well, the door is right there.”“So you would actually let me go?” I questioned, not really trusting his words.“Only if you could get there faster than me,” he says.Maybe I could do that if I caught him unaware. I zipped off, heading for the door. I was so close, and just then, Thane who had been leaning against the wall a good distance behind me, was right before the door and me
Thane watched me as if etching every feature into memory.“That is very creepy you know” I say“I didn't realize how much I missed you. So… What do you say bout' returning back to our room?” Thane asked. “I don't know if I am ready for that yet,” I said to him, yet my heart and body yearned to be close to him. I missed having him so close; I hated the distance between us."Well, maybe we could make a... deal.”“I'm listening,” I say with a smile. I was giving in; it shouldn't be this easy, but after what he had done earlier today, I doubt I would be able to stay away from him any longer.“You would get to see me completely naked on my knees once more.”“Leave it up to you to create very enticing offers, but unfortunately I selfishly want more.”"Anything,” he promises. “I would only agree to your deal if there would be more touching involved... I want to be in control this time,” I say, already aroused by the thought of Thane naked, on his knees, and me in charge.“You are not very
“Do you need some help getting up?” Axel asked me with a falsely innocent smile.“I think I can manage that myself, thank you,” I said, rising to my feet. I did feel a dull ache between my legs.“Are you sure?”“Maybe a little help.” I finally admitted.He chuckled, sweeping me off my feet. He placed me gently on the couch, and he took a seat beside me.“I did warn you, but you are so stubborn.”“I didn't want him to have me back so easily,” I murmured silently to myself."Well, he did have you,” Axel said in a 'matter of fact’ tone.“Okay, you were right, I was wrong... and stubborn, are you happy now?”“He didn't hurt you badly though, right?” Axel inquired, and I knew deep down he cared about my safety.“No, he didn't, but even if he did, it would be all on me; I mean, I had been the one begging and pleading for it.” “He feels guilt, and he is worried too; that's why he sent me here.”“I'm not really as soft and breakable as you both imagine me to be.”“Oh, really?”“I mean, I am
The door burst open, and Bailey strode in, just as I had anticipated.“Are you familiar with the concept of knocking?” Axel questioned her.“Seeing as I am so ancient, it must have skipped my mind a century ago or there about.”“You shouldn’t be here, Elder, not after that little stunt you pulled,” Axel said, and I knew what he was referring to. Bailey had known I was on my way here, so she made sure I discovered what she and Thane had been doing while I was away. I didn’t want to think about it; the thought made me feel so angry.“Apologies Beta, if the Luna had responded to my message, I wouldn’t see the need of coming here unannounced.”Axel gaze met mine.“You didn’t actually think you could send me a crappy note and I’ll run along to find you, did you?”“I see, the Luna finally acting as the queen; there is so much you don’t know,” she says with a sinister smile, but what she doesn’t know is that Thane had told me the deal he made with her. He wasn’t planning on keeping to his pa
"What makes you think I am less driven than you are? What makes you think that I would be satisfied with being the 'other woman' or the 'mistress''?""Please spare me; I know about your relationship with the beta; anyone with an eye can figure it out. It is only a matter of time, and you would have to choose one of the two men, but that wouldn't be necessary if you were only seen as the 'other woman'," she says, using my term, "You would always get a taste of both.""You might be ancient, but that doesn't make everyone else fools, Bailey. As much as you are ready to do anything to claim my title, I am willing to fight twice harder to keep it. So good luck trying to claim what does not belong to you."She snorted. "I was giving you an easy way out; this would have been very convenient for us all, but of course you choose to be a hussy.”"Convenient for us all or just for you?""You do have a lot to gain here, child.""Just by the side, Elder, the term 'hussy' is a bit old-fashioned; we
“What had Bailey wanted to talk to you about?” Axel asked.“I really don’t know who she thinks she is,” I responded, taking a seat at the edge of the bed.“Is common with the elders to feel entitled to things; pay her no mind,” Axel advised.“Do you think Thane did the right thing when he made a deal with her?” I questioned“No. Not really, but that was the only way we could get her to agree with our arrangements; she is indeed stubborn but also very calculative.”“How exactly does Thane plan to sidestep her? I mean, she had gone through her part of the deal.”“Are you sympathizing with her?”“No, I just feel like Thane is playing a dangerous game, but again, when is he not?”“Don’t waste your time worrying about Thane; he knows what he is doing.”“Bailey does not love Thane; all she wants is the title,” I revealed. Axel didn’t look surprised to hear that. “You knew?” I questioned.“It isn’t exactly surprising; the elders crave for power, and you would think all the power they have a
I wondered how bad his parents might have been for him to be ashamed of them. I knew Axel, maybe not as much as Thane did, but I know he was kind, even more than he would like to admit.“You don’t have to talk about it if you aren’t ready to.”“No, I want you to know,” he insisted, and I was very curious to discover more about him. “When I was younger, I thought I had the perfect family; my father was the Beta, and back then, the pack faced so many threats; he was always at war, so he was rarely around, but when he was... he spent his time on me.I hadn’t realized how jealous my brother had been; I had been so caught up in my own stuff, I didn’t realize that he spent less time with his own mate and even lesser time with my brother Adrian.”Axel had a brother; never once had he mentioned or talked about him, and that was indeed strange. There were so many questions on my mind, but I chose to keep silent until he was done narrating.“Adrian had been close to my mother; he was only three
I felt sorry for Axel. His mother truly was a sicko.I hugged him because it felt like the right thing to do, and after a few moments, his hands wrapped around me.“I needed this,” he admitted.“Thank you for letting me into your life. I feel like I had been selfish for never really asking all this time.”Axel released me from his embrace. “Let’s go to the gardens; this is a place I go to clear my mind and it’s literally the most beautiful place in the pack”.I had never really been one fascinated by nature; I wasn’t the type that adored flowers—though it would be nice to receive them, but I'd rather prefer focusing on the issues at hand, and back in the Windborne pack I had a lot of that, there was no time to be entranced by nature.But it was different this time.My mouth dropped open when I saw all the flowers of different colours. Though I didn’t know their names, but for the first time, I appreciated the beauty of nature.We were not alone.Beatrix, who I hadn’t seen since Thane’
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
Thane and I returned back to the Nightshade pack. I couldn’t stay at the Raven Clan pack even a bit longer. I couldn’t look into Gabriel's face and see how shattered he was. Mother had broken his heart, not just his’ but the whole pack's, and all she left was a letter. No one deserved that treatment, and yet, there was nothing I could do about it.“So she ran away with the warlock?” Thane asked.“Seem so. I had checked his place; he burnt the whole building to the ground, possibly because he hated the house or maybe…”“He wanted to start afresh.” Thane completed.“Yes, I can’t trace him; he is gone and maybe… I don’t want to find him. My mother says she would visit to see Ethan, but that could be in months or even years.”There was a knock on the door. It was Meredith; she had Ethan in her arms.“Your son is well and healthy.” She said before passing him to me. I held him in my hands; he had grown considerably, and he stared at me with big blue eyes, and in that moment I fell in love
I had found my mother an hour later at the farm; she was dressed in a regular gown.“What are you doing? The ceremony had begun, and people were getting very worried.” I said to her, but she gave no response; she had her back to me. “Mom!” I walked to her, and only when I saw her face did I notice something was wrong. Tears streamed down her eyes.“I can’t do it,” she says. “What do you mean you can’t do it? Gabriel is the love of your life; you wanted this. What changed?”“Everything. Everything changed.”“I don’t understand you—what is wrong? Why are you crying?”“You never told me. You knew, and you never told me.” She says, and that silenced me. “You knew that your father, Sebastian Bruce, was alive. You always hide things from me, and I had to go on with it because you are the queen, and you can’t always share things with me like you once would do, but this wasn’t about you—this was my life, and you never uttered a word. You were going to leave me in the dark.”“Bruce had left