RILEY POV"Hello, Riley." The woman said, "Don't mind my newly acquired body. Thane did get your message and managed to free me from Hades."Daemon turned to me; I had never seen such hate in his eyes before and this time it was directed at me."Where is Thane?" I asked Jade."He should be here in a few minutes, assuming Bruce got the shifting spell right.""How did you find me?" Daemon asked her."It was easy; we are linked in a way."In a flash, Daemon appeared right before me, gripping me tightly as the black mist swirled around us. He was escaping, and he was taking me with him, I had no right to fight him.But something was wrong; I could see it on Daemon's face. He finally let go of me.It didn't work. We were both still in his room.Daemon let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground, clutching his ear; blood dripped down his nose. Jade seemed to be doing something to him; her eyes glowed, and her hands were outstretched. She didn't stop till the footsteps drew both our atte
"I once told you the difference between a sorcerer and a warlock: a sorcerer is born into magic while warlocks have to earn theirs. Our magic comes from a… dark source. All my life, I hungered for power. I believed I wasn't born to live an ordinary life and I wouldn't settle for less. I studied every supernatural creature, and that's how I knew about Vox.""Who is Vox?" I asked Bruce."He is the Demon Overlord, a powerful entity, and he saw me as useful. I went on missions for him—while I wasn’t skilled in the physical aspect, my knowledge and resourcefulness made up for it. I wanted to become his favorite, but with Vox, things don't work that way. You are only important to him when you are of use.I was able to complete all my tasks; I did really bad things, none of which I am proud of, and finally I was rewarded; he made me a warlock. Just as I had wanted.Still, I wanted more, and my greed got in the way.A warlock's magic never does die. If a warlock kills another, he gets a port
DEMONJade had brought me back to her little hermitage. I've been here before; the small rustic building in the middle of the wood was the closest she had to a home. I was bound to a chair—not that I could escape if I tried, and she knew that.“Daemon. She gave you the name, didn't she?” Jade questioned; I didn't give her a response; I knew exactly what she was getting at. “What was really going through your mind when you had me locked up? Did you think she would leave everything behind and fall in love with you, and you both would have a family?”“Stop talking about her.”“You still care? Even after everything.” She said and chuckled.“No, I don't. It took me time to understand that they are all the same, but now I do, and if I want to meet her again, it will be to end her.”“So you are finally back to your senses; glad to hear that.”“What do you want with me?”“The very same thing I've always wanted. I need you to free Vox.”I had suspected this, but it never made sense why a sorc
Jade placed the pot filled with burning coal beside the candle. She knelt in the middle of the circle. “Expergiscere, dominus inferorum,” she chanted over and again. Those were Latin words. Suddenly, the white, powdery substance ignited in a burst of flame, surrounding her with green fire. “It's working,” she gasped. She rose to her feet, chanting the Latin words louder; a gust of wind blew through the room, and I watched curiously, but then everything stopped. The lights went off and the wind ceased. There was complete silence. “I... I did everything right; why wouldn't it work!” She screamed, kicking over the pot of coal. I was used to this outburst; she was always like this anytime it didn't work, but I had to admit, this seemed to have gone to a different level unlike her other trials. “What am I doing wrong? Why wouldn't this stupid spell work?” She pushed over the bottle of potions, and it shattered, spilling on the floor. She ran her hands through her hair; it s
I wondered why Bruce had kept the truth to himself all these years. Now it did make sense why he left us and just maybe, he deserved my forgiveness. My mother never did know anything about the man she fell in love with; she didn't know he was a warlock several years older than he looked. She knew nothing, and he shouldn't have left her in the dark, but still I could understand why he did that; maybe he believed he was protecting her.The members of the Nightshade pack paid their respect to Daisy. Many wept over her death; of course, they didn't know the truth about her betrayal. Thane, on the other hand, didn't like this idea; he didn't think she deserved to be buried with honor after what she did."You don't have to watch all these." Thane said to me, he believed me being here at Daisy's burial was just an act, a simple cover up."You know, I don't blame her for anything she did; she was not in her right senses. Daemon messed with her, just as he always does, and so it's him I blam
"I feel so guilty... I didn't want any of it, but still it happened, and I can't help but think that I don't deserve you. I feel tainted...""Don't say that. He forced you; that was not your fault, so don't you blame yourself for anything. Maybe I do know a way to make you feel better and we will do this together. We are going to replace those memories of him with new ones. I will make you forget about him; you don't have to be afraid."...Thane kept to his promise; when he was done making love to me, he was all I could feel down there, all I could think about.He lay beside me. It was already night time but we were both very much awake."What is your biggest fear?" I asked him, in the mood for a conversation after being away from him for so long."Can you guess?""Easy, the Lycan's Curse.""That is one. When you were away with Daemon, I was afraid; I had an idea of what he would do, and I felt so restless, but my biggest fear is losing you.""I will always be here; I am not going a
Regnux walked into my office, escorted by one of my soldiers."Alpha, the woman named Isabella is back here, she says she has very important information for you.""I believe I made myself clear earlier. Do not let her in.”"There’s someone else with her. The man’s name is Logan, and he’s been here before."Since Logan's last visit, I hadn't heard anything from him; he might be my half brother, but that didn't mean I trusted him."Let the man in, alone” I said to the soldier. “Regnux, go get the Luna."This time I wanted Riley present; I wanted her to know she would always be a part of my decisions.Riley walked in; she was in a tight pink dress, looking all innocent. For a moment, I wondered how long it would take Logan to get here; the thought of throwing her against the table and claiming her once again clouded my mind."Thane?" she called, and I snapped out of it."Logan is here. I'm inviting him in, and I want you by my side."I didn't mention Isabella, things were getting better
RILEYMy day couldn't get any stranger.I saw Logan for the first time, and he did look a lot like Thane. It was clear that they were related; more to that, I could feel the power he emitted. Having two powerful people in the same room was never the best idea.I did notice Logan's eyes roaming down my body and how enraged that made Thane; for a moment I thought he would lunge at him for staring. Any other day, I would have been irritated at that, but I couldn't bring myself to care now. He had the cure, and that's all we needed from him.I couldn't deny that I was impressed by Thane's action, the fact that he kept Isabella out of the pack gave me some level of satisfaction, I would always be first in his heart.Isabella came in, and I noticed how sickly she looked. She had always been tiny, but now she was all bones, her skin even paler than it had ever been."I thought whatever sickness that had brought me to my 'first' death was over. I was wrong. After I left the pack, I began noti
ALIYA’S POVThe man standing before me was all I could think about. Sometimes he stares at me, as if trying to figure something out, then looks away. I thought about how it felt like being completely naked with Trian, alone, free.“May I ask a question?”“Of course!” I said a little too quickly. “Sorry. Yes, you may.”“Was it your first kiss?” Trian asked.I stared up at him and gave a nod. “You should have already guessed that; it’s no secret that I have never been with a man.”“Being with a man and kissing a man are two different things, Aliya.”“I liked it,” I said, shielding my face with my hair to hide the blush on my cheeks.“I can’t possibly imagine how you feel, with all your daily activities arranged out for you, so many fucking rules.”“I hate it. The more I think about it, the more I hate it, so I stopped thinking about it. I made myself believe this was home, and then it felt better, bearable even. But then I went out there, and I was reminded of all the things I’ve been m
“This is unacceptable!” Austin says. “Even though rogues are not familiar with customs and traditions, it is common sense not to attack on burial grounds.”“One of our commanders was killed.” Aric said. “It’s clear the rogues want a war.”We were all seated with the council of advisors; Alexander hadn’t said a word since the meeting began.The Dawn pack members would be devastated to hear about Gadiel’s death.“I say we give them what they want; I say we go to war.” Stark says, and some nodded in approval.“War? The rogues have the numbers, and we all know that many will die.” Seth, another of the advisors said.“They asked for it,” Austin says.“They hadn’t come into our lands, Alpha. The attack was at the Dawn’s Pack.” Seth said, he gave me a quick glance before looking away.“The Dawn Pack is now part of our pack, and the attack was aimed at my Luna, my Commander, and me. But I don’t think it’s wise to go to war. I doubt the rogue leaders are aware of this attack; perhaps those rog
I stared at my father’s lifeless body from the casket he had been placed in. He looked very much the same as he always had—the worry lines on his face were gone, and he seemed to be at peace. Alexander tightened his grip on my hands, comfortingly.All the members of the Dawn Pack were present, and even some from the Nightshade Pack.“We gather to mourn the loss of a great man—a father to us all, an Alpha. Death truly is vile; it renders even the greatest helpless. He was taken from us too soon; only the goddess knows the reason. Though he is dead, his legacy lives on. Dawn will never forget him; I will never forget him.” Gadiel finished. He was once Chief Commander of the Dawn Pack’s soldiers, I didn’t know the position he held in the Nightshade pack. It was my turn to speak before the pack; it was my turn to comfort them; I didn’t think I could do it. There was a moment of complete silence. I looked up at Alexander, and he nodded at me; somehow that was motivation enough.“My father
I managed to force down a few spoonfuls of food; I couldn’t take more than that. After a quick bath, I joined Alexander on the bed.Two hours passed, and I still couldn’t sleep. I lay there, staring at the ceiling.“I could get you a sleeping pill from the healers, it should help you sleep.” Alexander suggested.“I don’t think a pill would work this time,” I said. “Every time I close my eyes, I see this woman—the same one I saw in my nightmare, the one who killed my father.”“Your father died from an illness.”“Do you believe that? Don’t you find it all strange?”“I do. I find it very strange. I sent Aric to search the pack house for anything he could find, but the one person who might have a clue about this is your father.”“And he is dead.” I completed his sentence. “Maybe you are right; maybe it was just an illness, and I am overthinking.”“It’s never a bad thing to be suspicious,” Alexander said. “Now, try to get some sleep.”After a few minutes of trying, I finally fell into a dr
KAIDA POVAlexander had never once talked about his parents. I had always wanted to know, but seeing the pain in his eyes, I could understand why he kept it all to himself.“You don’t have to talk about it if you are not ready.”“You deserve to know.I’ve heard so many good stories about Luna Riley, my mother, and even more about the last Lycan, Alpha Thane. But I never saw it. My father loved my mother so dearly, even when she was turned. She would have died if not for a sorceress who brought her back—as a demon. I could still remember her cold skin; she always wanted me close to her; she always wanted to carry me around like a mother would her child, but she couldn’t.Demons get weakened by the sun, so she had to be locked away in her room, but that wasn’t the only reason she was being locked away. Demons have a strong thirst for blood; sometimes the pack members go missing. Every time she ‘mistakenly’ kills a person, she cries day and night. She knew that having her child with her
ALEXANDER’S POVKaida was never one to admit her feelings—especially not when they made her look weak. But back at the bar, she did. She admitted her jealousy; she admitted what she felt for me. And right then and there, I swore to myself to be loyal to her. I wanted her happy; I loved seeing her smile, but everything changed too soon when the news of her father's death reached us.She wouldn’t speak. She wouldn’t eat. She wouldn’t even sleep. And for the first time, I saw her cry. She mourned for her father, and all I wanted to do was take away her pain.Aric sat with me in my office. “The healer who had been present when he died said he had fallen into a strange coma some days before he passed. The only sign of life had been his beating heart,” Aric said.“Alpha Trent knew he was going to die; that’s why he made all the necessary arrangements. Still, I believe his illness is indeed very strange; all illnesses have their cause, but Alpha Trent’s didn’t.”“Maybe it was more than just
Trian led me away from the old creepy woman. “I did tell you that fortune tellers are liars.”“But she seemed to know a lot about me.”"From your skin tone, anyone could tell you aren’t an Aureonna by birth. The majority of the population here comes from all over the world, bound by the 'Purifying Ritual.' She’s a good guesser, but there’s nothing special about that, and you don’t have to worry about anything she says. She is a hungry woman, looking for her daily bread."“She would be rich with all those gold coins—where did you get them?”“I was an orphan, but not a poor one. I found my way around things and also built myself some good fortune.”“Then why are you here?”“Money is not the answer to everything. I am here because I want to be, not because I need the money.”“Where are we going?” I asked, realizing they were fewer people the further we went."Wait and see," he said with a smile that made my stomach flutter. We stopped before a lake.“I never knew there was a Lake in this
I looked around, taking in the crowd—more people than I had ever seen. A smile spread across my lips, the incident with the soldiers at the exit already long forgotten.Trian took my hands again; his were huge and rough—just as I imagined a warrior's hands to be. He led me into the thick of Aureonna’s city; people stared—especially women, but the stares weren’t directed at me, but at Trian."What is that?" I asked, pointing to a group of people gathered nearby. They seemed to be laughing at something."It's a play, a drama.""I want to see it."“Of course.”We weaved through the crowd of excited people, until we reached the front row.A woman with a silver wig sat on a make-shift throne; her skin seemed to have been painted white. The other woman by her side had a blonde wig on. It took me a moment to realize this was a drama about me—the woman in the silver wig was meant to be me, while the one in the blonde wig was portraying Empress Julia."Soon, you will lead us to victory. The fa
About five minutes passed, and there was still no sign of her.“Empress!” I called out. “Empress…”Just then, she broke through the surface. Her face looked different—youthful. She had entered the pool looking to be in her forties, but when she emerged, she appeared to be in her late twenties.“Empress, you look…”“Beautiful, magnificent… I know.”“How?”“The water, many believe the god of light once bathed in these waters; it’s called the Lake of Youth—It was once bigger than this, but, well, this is all that remains of it.”She put on her clothes..“It was like time had reversed, and she was given her youth again.” I said to Trian when we were back in my room.“It seems to me that you would like to take a dip in the Lake of Youth one day.”“Of course, not… the Empress would never let me.”“You fear the Empress like she is a god.”“She is a powerful woman.”“I agree, not many men alive could build a community as big as this one. But have you ever thought about how exciting it would