I woke up feeling dizzy.A glass of water was passed to me, and I accepted it not bothering to look at the person who gave me the water, I took a big gulp before realizing something—it wasn't water; it had this strange after- taste to it."Thane?" I called, everything seemed a bit blurry."I am right here; you need to rest.""No. What is this?" I asked, referring to the glass of water that left a bitter taste in the back of my throat."You blacked out earlier; it must be due to your now heightened senses. It would take you some time to adjust to it all. The liquid would help clear the dizziness," Thane says. The liquid worked faster than I expected and I felt very much better immediately."Where am I?""In our room," Thane said, and though I wasn’t looking at him, I knew there was still that annoying smirk on his lips."I'm naked, Thane.""Your dress was utterly ruined by your shift. Too bad, it was really a beautiful piece.""So I did transform... into a wolf?" I questioned; it felt
"Why not another book?, I picked up this other book...""No, I want this book, our favourite.""You are really going to do this to me, Thane?""Yes. That's the plan."He passed me the book, and I held it with shaky hands as he took a seat."What passage do you want to listen to?""You pick," he says.I inhaled, scrolling through the pages of the thick book before stopping randomly on one. My cheeks redden, and I was about to scroll past it."That one, I like that one," Thane says, and I knew he simply wanted me burning red in embarrassment. I could do this.This passage was shorter than most, so I began:"Mr. Cutie wasn't as innocent as I thought him to be when we were in bed. He was going to try a different technique, fisting—he called it. I was a very naughty girl, and so I could make a wild guess, it wouldn’t be my first time getting a fist from a guy but I was soon to find out how pleasurable ‘Cutie’ could make this." I paused. I had read about this ‘act’ from previous passages, Th
I knocked on the door to my mother’s apartment, but there was no response. I had been here for about five minutes now. Was she avoiding me?. I tried the door; only to discover it was unlocked so I pushed it open, walking into her apartment.“Mom?”No response.“Anyone home?”No response.It was very clear that there was nobody in here; maybe she was out working, but her scent seemed a bit... faint, like she hadn’t been in here for a few days, I was slowly getting the hang of my ‘heightened’ senses now, and I could easily note things like this.I frowned, bemused. I searched in the fridge for a drink—anything that would keep me busy, I hated the idea of returning back to my room. I felt so trapped back there. But the fridge was completely empty. Strange.I shrugged off this eerie feeling and walked out of her apartment, shutting the door just as I had found it.A maid had been walking by, and I called to her.“Have you seen my mother lately?” I questioned, and her eyes flew wide.“She i
She took a few moments of hesitation before she finally answered.“Yes. I did just that. I knew that if you weren’t away, somewhere Thane would never find you, then I'll lose him—of course he won’t expect you back at your previous pack, so he would be searching anywhere else. I wanted you as far away from here as possible and that had been the only way to achieve that.”“Why?, Beatrix”“Why!” she called out a bit louder. “You want to know why?” she questioned again. “Because I had been here all along, standing by his side, I had done everything, been everything, just to prove to him that I was fit to be his Luna. I gave my life into this, and I finally thought I was so close to achieving this, but you came in and everything changed, Riley. He went all those miles away, just to get you—a common wolf like you—over me! Over every single able she-wolf in this pack, it feels like an insult, a fucking slap on the face.”“You are not his mate; I am. What is your problem?”“My problem is that
Beatrix’s words were genuine, she had meant every single thing she said."Well, I love him too,” I said, staring right into her. “And he loves me.”“He never gave me the chance. You say you love him, but could you bleed for him? Would you give your life for him? Could you fight for him even with your very last breath? Could you leave behind the people you love just to be with him?” She questions, and there is something so deep about her words that I’m left silent. “No, you can’t. So what makes you think that you deserve him?”~That night, when Thane had asked me if I met my mother... I lied. I told him I did and didn’t know exactly why I had to lie, but at the moment it felt like the right thing to do, and I could only hope that the maid was the only one who knew that my mother was gone; Thane couldn’t know—not after I had lied to him.Beatrix words replayed in my mind over and over again: she was in love with him, so hopelessly in love just as I was... if not more, she was willing t
It had been a maid at the door; I had left so quickly I couldn’t get even a single word from their conversation.I didn’t know whether to feel at ease that my mother was back or more anxious. What had she done? Why was she injured? Where had she gone?Those were the questions on my mind—questions I would not be getting an answer to ‘yet’. She had said we would talk later—how much time is considered as ‘later’? I was only going to give her a few hours, and then I would be back. I didn’t like what was going on, and I had to know. I was more than ready to help now, if only she would trust me enough to tell me.~~“Is Axel alright?” I asked Thane, trying at anything to get my mind off my mother; she hadn’t come to me, and so I was going to go to her; her time was up and I needed answers. “Yes. He is”“I hadn’t seen him since the date,” I said.“He is pretty engaged,” Thane answered and then paused.“Anything wrong?” I questioned“No, I just got mind-linked by Axel; it seems like Slade lov
"I doubt the culprit is from this pack, and assuming it had been a common member, then how exactly had he been able to get to the Alpha King and leave without being caught?""Is not a he?" the messenger said, and a smirk spread on Thane's lips."So is a ‘she?" he questioned, though already suspecting the answer, the smirk on his face widened."Yes, she is a female; she had a darker shade of blonde hair.""Would you recognize this woman if you saw her?" Thane questioned."I had only had a single glance at her backside, but there is more... she has an injury to her arm; she didn't get away as easily as she had planned."The messenger said, and for some reason, my mind travelled back to my mother; she had seemed a bit strange since her return, and then... there was also an injury on her arm. I tried my best to look composed, also grateful that not a single eye was on me. I knew something was wrong when I went back to her room to discover she was gone; she had kept it a secret from me, an
I had doubts... I hadn't believed my mother was capable; this had been the same woman I lived with all my life, but here I was in her apartment... And now I think maybe I was very wrong; maybe I just never knew who my mother truly was; she might have hidden that part so well from me.“You were away for a few days. Where did you go?” I asked, my gaze burning into her.“I do not have to report to you; I am your mother, and I have the right to be wherever I want to be.”“A messenger was sent from the New Blood Pack, Thane had assembled soldiers to search for the offender. I can only help you if you talk to me,” I said to her.I could see the fight in her eyes die away.“I had been so close,” she says, and I shouldn't be surprised, yet I was because I hoped she wasn't involved; I hope it was just a mere coincidence, and maybe that had always been my problem... I hoped a lot.“I don't believe you; how did you do all that?” I asked staring at her, she was strong for a woman in her late thir
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
I had to make sure I was fully covered at all times; we couldn’t risk people discovering what I was, and my cold skin would give the clue.“How is Ethan, your son?” Mom asked the moment we were alone in the room.“I had entrusted him to one of the healers; he wasn’t safe in the pack, and so I had to let her take him away. He stayed amongst the humans, but I had sent for him. Things are better now, and it’s time I gave him my full attention.“Why didn’t you tell me anything about what was going on? I would have helped.”“You would have been in danger; I didn’t want that.”“Oh Riley, always thinking about others before yourself.”“Gabriel seems to be treating you very well.”“He is, more than that, I love this pack too; this place feels like home.” She said,“So when are you going to show me the dress?” I asked, and she chuckled like a teenager; for a moment we both laughed over nothing..“You look beautiful in that dress.” I complimented. My mother had gone for a white wedding dress;
THANEI never did tell Riley about Axel. He wouldn’t have wanted me to; he would have wanted her to move on. She was dealing with a lot, but I was going to stand by her through it all.She didn’t like me watching her drinking blood; if only she knew I found it… sexy..I stood before over twenty Alphas, many of whom had frowns on their faces. I had to tell them the truth and try to make peace with them.“Thank you all for coming. I am glad to see you all well.I had gathered you here to address an issue, in which some of you had no clue about.”I went ahead to inform them that there had indeed been a demon ruling in my place; I didn’t go deep into that. Despite everything, I still owed Daemon big time. I explained our plight with the Demon Overlord and how he is being held down now. By the time I was done, I noticed the change, the way they stared at Riley with an eye of respect. I guess they were finally adding the dots.“All of the previous rules made will be canceled.” I informed
RILEYI remembered it all. The feeling of the dagger tearing through me, the pain so unbearable I became numb. Thane's pleads. I had died… but I was awoken a demon.Nothing was the same.I stood in front of the mirror staring at myself. My hair, my eyes, my skin—nothing was the same. A maid came in with a tray of food. “Luna.” She called, giving a low bow. I settled on the couch, taking a plate and filling it up with food. Even this smelled different. I put a spoon filled with rice into my mouth; I spit it out immediately.“What is this?”“Rice and soup, Luna.” She said, panic written on her face.It didn’t taste right, and that wasn’t because it was wrongly cooked but because I had a different food preference now that I was a full demon. I didn’t want to live on only blood like Daemon; I wanted to be normal, or at least try to be.“I feel a bit sick; that should be the reason the food tasted different.”“Would you like anything else? Perhaps another meal?”“No, I have no appetite
..Many believe the Azure Grounds hold some kind of magical energy; perhaps that’s why warlocks, witches, and the likes come here.I spotted Jade, and I headed straight to her.She took Riley from me and placed her on the ground. She checked her pulse.“She is dead.” Jade says to me.“I know that. But there must be something you can do.”“To wake the dead? There is nothing I can do.”“Riley cannot die... You have to do something.”“There is no life force in her; I could have done something, but it is too late. Nothing can be done. Take her back to the pack and give her a befitting burial; that’s all you can do.”I grasp her by the throat, her eyes widened, panicked.“You told me to bring her here; why?”“I—I thought—she still had a chance. Look at her—she is paler than snow.”“Alpha.” Daemon called from behind me. “Killing her wouldn’t do you any good.” He says, and I let Jade go. “But there is a way to bring her back to life, turn her into a demon.” Daemon says to Jade.“I could have
THANEMy eyes locked on Riley, and I sprinted toward her with every ounce of strength I had left. Then I spotted Bella—her hand raised, a dagger in her grip. No one had noticed her until the blade was in the air.Everything seemed to slow as I watched in horror. The dagger struck its mark before I could get to her, embedding itself deep in Riley's chest. It pierced through her heart, the blade tip jutting out. Riley staggered, her eyes wide with shock, and my breath caught in my throat.Daemon snarled, picking Bella up like she weighed nothing; he bit into her neck. But a smile remained on her face.“I accept your rejection.” Her mouth formed the words right before Daemon tore her head off her shoulders.Blood dribbled from her mouth“Thane…”“I’m here.” I said to her.“Ethan… he is… find him...” she coughed. “Am I dying?” she asked, and I shook my head.“No, no, you aren’t…”“You—you are finally free.” She muttered before her eyes shut and she stopped moving.“No, please, Riley, don
Despite making it clear that I wanted him gone, he easily pushed past me and walked into my room. I slammed the door a bit too hard.“What! What is it you want to talk about?”“Would you listen?”“Well, you didn’t give me an option now, did you?”“Once you spoke about the both of us, leaving the pack behind and going far away… I couldn’t do that because of Vox, but with him gone…”“No.”“What do you mean, ‘no’?”“It is exactly what you think. I will not go anywhere with you.”“So you had said that only to… fool me?” he asked, the hurt clear in his eyes.“That had been why you didn’t aid Vox, hadn’t it? Because you believed that if he was dead, then there would be nothing in the way.” I asked, and his silence confirmed it.“I should have known. As long as Thane lives, there will be no space for another.” He said, and his eyes… They held a promise. He turned, heading for the door, but I blocked him.“You will not harm Thane.”“Of course.” He said, a smirk on his face. “I won’t.”I slamm