“She seems to be growing on you,” I heard Thane’s voice say in my semi-conscious state. “Now I’m left to wonder which side are you on, Axel.”“Why would you ask such a question, Alpha? You know exactly which side I am on.”“You’ve disrespected me, Axel, over and again, and it’s all because of her." He spit out the pronoun ‘Her’ with disgust. “I apologize; I just didn’t see it fit...”“She is my mate Axel; I’ll do as I please with my mate, and you will not interfere in that,” Thane says, his voice silent but laced with furry.“Yes, Alpha,” Axel said after a moment.“Don’t think I’ll let this slide,” Thane said to Axel.I heard the sounds of footsteps approaching, and stopping right next to me."Riley, I know you are awake, so quit the pretence." Thane said, and whatever haziness I felt cleared of. I got up from the bed.I was in the Axel room and not our room.“I didn’t hear a thing,” I lied."Oh, don’t worry, princess; I wanted you to hear all of that, so you don’t need to lie or pre
I walked into the cell, Thane remained outside but the cell door was left open.The room was dark, and the only source of light was the one coming from the entrance. My eyes settled to the dim light, and there Ryker was, but I could barely recognize him. He was a bloodied heap; the only sign that he was still alive was the steady rise and fall of his chest.“Riley?”I didn’t know how he could tell it was me; he surely wouldn’t be able to see me with those swollen eyes that were mostly shut.The slight fear threatened to rise when I recalled all he had done to me and the pain he had caused me, I pushed the fear away, reminding myself that here he wouldn’t be able to hurt me, not now, not ever. I walked closer to him, close enough that the cold metal gun came into contact with his head. But to my surprise, he pulls forward, as if accepting his fate, the chains around his arm and legs rattled.“I know what I have done to you Riley; I know I have caused you so much pain, and it is a despe
“It doesn’t make any sense that you found me outside the pack borders and you wanted to hurt me... again, if you really felt sorry, then I would have expected you to begin making amends.”“I know, and you have every reason to doubt, but if you want the truth, then this is it. What we had... it wasn’t a lie, and you too could see it.”“I never thought it was a lie either, till another woman sat beside you, taking my position before my very eyes.”Ryker inhaled, and I remember the man he used to be—the man I fell in love with. I still hate him now.“After you left, everything felt empty,” he says, and I remembered how unorganized he had looked; that was very unlike Ryker. “I had to send her away; the pack members are yet to discover why, but I would only hurt her, or maybe she would poison me and make it easier. She hates me; I hadn’t been treating her right either. Since you left, things got worse... and when I saw you in the woods, I was a fool to think force could do it again; I just
I wanted to hurt him so bad. And I knew I would regret my words, but I said it out anyway."Maybe that's why Bella never wanted you; this was why you were never blessed by the moon goddess to have a mate that actually 'stays alive'; if you were more selfless, then you would have noticed that something was very wrong with her, but you loved the idea of your happiness so bad, you didn't care." I spit at him, immediately regretting it. It was a low jab, but I had been so angry at everything, and I wanted to hurt him so bad.His eyes on me were cold as steel. I stared at the door, wondering how long it would take me to get there, but again, there were those scary-looking guards out there; they were not going to let me through if not permitted by ‘him’. Thane pulls me flush to him—that I didn't expect. He leaned, so his lips were against my ears."You are right, I didn't want to look too deep, afraid I wouldn't like what I saw, but aren't you the same? There must be a reason your mother ha
"I was only fifteen when our pack was attacked by the Night Shade pack. Slade had been the Alpha; I would never forget watching my parents die before my eyes, but that wasn't the worst part. Alpha Slade wanted to do a clean sweep; he didn't want any of the pack members left alive, and so he went along with his soldiers, house by house, making sure everyone was dead. I don't know if any survived, but they might have escaped into the woods, yet it would only be a few who’d managed to escape.When Alpha Slade walked into our house, my mother had hidden me beneath the bed, but when I heard the screams—my mother's screams—I went for her rescue. I couldn't let her die, but maybe that was the biggest mistake I made; she was killed but I wasn't.Alpha Slade had wanted to kill me, but for some reasons he didn't; he brought me back to his pack.That night..." my mother closed her eyes as if the memory was too much to bear and I didn't need to hear more, but she spoke on, "He was the first—my fi
"I don't need his money, Riley," my mother says."I know, but we need to start up afresh, and so we need this; after it is all over, I promise you we will leave and never return.""Why you?" she questions."I don't know....""There are so many females; he is an Alpha, the most known; any she-wolf would want him; why did he pick you, and what is he going to gain from this? Because I don't think your companion for six months is all he wants," my mother says, hatred in her eyes."I've asked, but I don't know what he gains from this either, but we shouldn't care about that; we would be gone soon.""I know why he picked you," mother says."You do?""Yes. It's some kind of payback. I ran away from this pack many years ago as a... sex slave, and my daughter is taken for the same purpose.""I am not a sex slave!," I say, lying through my teeth."Tell me he hadn't bedded you more than once? This is what he wants; they want to ruin us, and it started with me," she says.I stood silent, because
When I walked into our room, he wasn’t there.The sobs racked my whole frame, the guilt felt too much to bear. What if mom was right? What if this had been while Thane wanted me back here? I had to be strong when I was with her; I had to be the stronger one, but now back in my room, I could be weak.I hated the fact that I could no longer see a light at the end of the tunnel.This room, despite being so wide, felt so suffocating all of a sudden. I inhaled deeply, trying to steady my breathing, but that didn't work this time.I paced round the room, my heart slamming against my chest. What if Thane wanted me locked in here for the rest of my life, in this pack, never able to escape? , what if I could never leave?The thought alone builds a strange claustrophobic feeling in me. I walked to the dressing room, pulling the door open. I pulled down all the clothes there, threw down the desk and chairs. I picked up the broken leg from one of the table, and I slammed it against the other glas
Dinners... Parties.... events.Two weeks pass by and I am completely numb. I might be alive but not exactly living; everything seems to move in a blur. I do as Thane says, not once going against him; my mother is worried, but I didn't know how to explain to her that her little girl had been so ready to leave her all on her own. The equipment I destroyed had been replaced that very day. Thane never brought it up, but it would always remain an unanswered question.Why? Why did I think taking my own life would solve anything? I still couldn't give an answer to that because at that moment it felt so right, but when I was finally calm, reflecting on it, I knew it had been so wrong.We were both in the room. Thane was saying something, but I couldn't make out the words."Riley?" he calls, finally noticing that I wasn't following at all."Yes Thane?""What's wrong with you?" he asks."I'm sorry, I'll try...""You don't have to be sorry for anything; you did nothing wrong," he says sounding sl
THANE'S POVThe door opened, and Caleb walked in, his hands up as if in surrender. My beta, Axel followed, a gun pointed to his head."Free him," Axel said.Caleb walked to me, taking out the pipes. "The chains too." Axel said, and I could tell Caleb was not going to do that.Axel shot at his leg, but Caleb was strong—maybe even the strongest of all the elders. In the next second, Axel's gun was in his hands, and the table turned."Let him go, Caleb; it's me you want." I warned."You are right." Caleb says, "But I want him dead too."He shot at Axel. I growled, pulling at the chains; they burned my skin. He aimed for me next, pulling the trigger, but the gun was empty of bullets, and he tossed it to the ground."In every single room, I had planted a bomb; all I need to do is press the button, and everything would go 'boom'; everyone in this building would die, and I alone would be left. After a while, you will be forgotten, but for me, I'll take over from you; I will be known and fea
Axel unsheathed his sword before striding towards Nick.Nick let out his wing, flying right over us, but Axel leaped into the air, bringing him down by his wing. Axel pinned Nick down, holding both wings. I watched in amazement as Axel sliced them off, and Nick roared in pain, the bones where his wings had been attached prodded out of his back.Axel passed the blood stained sword to me. I limped to where Nick lay groaning in agony."Didn't I tell you, I will kill you?" Now kneel." I said, and he rose, falling on his knees. "Riley I..."I didn't let him say more; in a clean swipe, I incapacitated his head from the rest of his body.Axel took off his leather jacket and helped me put it on."I know a way out." Axel says, leading me out of the room, we walked down the hallways to an open space."Going somewhere?" A voice called from behind us. Bailey.She held a crossbow in her hands. "Nyaos is dead. Thane killed him. I guess this means our deal is… off."She shot the crossbow at me, bu
RILEY"It's girls time, Nick; you should leave." Bailey said to him, and he gave me a long look before leaving both of us alone. "I didn't remember telling you to stop with the dagger," she said."It fell." I lied.I didn't know if she bought that, but she spoke no more about it, taking a seat beside me."I'm going to tell you a story, one I had never told anyone before. Well, you would die in the end, so it makes no difference.I was in love once. I don't mean the casual crushes and those little feelings girls have. I was in love with Nyaos; he had always been there for me when I needed him; he helped me so many times; I can't even count the number of times he had saved my life. But Nyaos loved another; I was the ‘other woman’, and I knew that. Katara believed we were good friends; she trusted me; she trusted the both of us, and I knew what we did behind her back was very wrong, but I couldn't help myself. Nyaos said he loved us both, and though I always wanted more, I could settle
CAUTION: THERE WOULD BE VIOLENT SCENES IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS; PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION.THANE.I could do it; I knew I could break through the chains. Rage is one powerful thing. I pulled hard, and the chains broke off. I ripped out the pipes that had been used to pass the fluids into my bloodstream, and I staggered to my feet. I heard footsteps approaching, and I positioned myself beside the door. Nyaos walked in; he noticed the empty chair, I could smell his fear; he should be afraid. I shut the door behind him, and only then did he notice me; he turned, his eyes widening in terror as I plunged my hand into his chest, past the crunch of his ribcage, and deep into his heart. His mouth opened, frozen in a silent scream."The cursed weapon isn't the only way to kill an elder." I whispered before I pulled his heart out. The sight of blood was so intoxicating it ignited a lust for blood in me, I wanted to spill more blood. An elder had been brought to nothing in a matter of minutes
RILEY.I couldn't turn back; if I did, he would see the tears I could no longer suppress; that would destroy everything and my little act would be over, so I didn't turn back when he called, I had my eyes pinned to the door. "When I get out here, I will kill your lover, Nick, and after that, I will kill you, bitch."Those words would forever haunt me. He sounded so cold. I wondered for the first time if I did the right thing; my fear was that my attempt to save would cause him to lose the little humanity he held onto."You did well back there." Nick says, "I almost believed that maybe you never really liked him. He seemed very angry; I would stay as far away from him as I could if I were you.""Stop talking.""Oh, come on, this was the deal; get over..."I punched him right in the face, cutting him off; blood dripped down his nose and his eyes flashed with anger. He slammed me against the wall, and my skull, still fragile from his previous attack, hit the wall hard. For a moment, all
I remembered Regnux's words; he had suspected Riley; he must have seen something, something I was too blind to see.I also recalled Riley's disappearance and how all of a sudden she wanted to tag along anywhere I went. She was the only one who knew where I had kept the keys to Bailey's cell, yet I believed there had been a spare key. I was ready to believe everything but the truth that had been right before my eyes.A fool. That was what I was.The evidence was clear, and yet... yet, I didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. Once I had been heartbroken, Bella's death had left me in so much pain I couldn't heal on my own. Axel had bonded with me to share my pain.But I hadn't loved my mate like I loved Riley, and that's why I refused to believe it; the truth was clear, and yet I wanted it to be a lie; I wanted there to be some kind of explanation to it."Riley, if you think you are doing this to help me in some way, then don't. This won't help me, tell me this is all lies."The
THANEI couldn't move. It must be these damned fluids being passed into my veins. I was forced to endure hours of pain and agony, the only comfort I got during that time was the minutes I spent thinking about Riley.My fear was that they got her too; I didn't mind them taking me; I was ready to bargain my life to save hers if it came down to that, she could go back to Axel, I was confident that he would take good care of her and she could live the rest of her life happy. The only problem was that in this position, my life wasn't really good enough to make the bargain. I hated to say this, but I was completely at their mercy, and that could only change if I managed to take these damned pipes out.The pain only worsened with time; maybe this would be my end. I had spent my life killing people—yes, the majority of them were those who challenged me and others who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so this could be karma catching up with me. My only wish was to have a few more
I always knew Bailey wasn't a good person; from the very first time I saw her, something about her was off-putting, but this was beyond evil.She was not only going to torture Thane but torture me too. He would hate me; even in my death, he would never discover the truth that she had been the one compelling me, and yet... it would be worth it if he stays alive in the end. Yes, he wouldn't have his wolf, but he would still have his life."And how do I know you won't stab me in the back after I am done with what you've asked?" I questioned. I couldn't trust Bailey; I knew that."You don't really have a choice here, do you?"That was equally correct; I didn't exactly have a choice. "Take me to him.""Give him a day; he is too weak to react now.".....A day.That's what Bailey asked for, but I would have preferred if I walked right into that space and said it all to him at that moment; at least it would be over, but now I sat here, alone, thinking about what I was about to do; I didn't
RILEY'S POV I was alone in the empty containment room, chained to the chair I had been placed on. The footsteps approaching got my attention. Bailey was back, again. "Your mate is here. Just as I had said, feelings make us weak, and that was his downfall." "Don't you dare harm him." I warned, struggling out of the chains. "I guess you would want to see him, right?" She questioned me, and I gave her no answer; I wouldn't let her see how desperately I wanted to go to him. She walked to me, taking off the chains, and I immediately bolted for the door. The moment I touched the handle, the silver burned my hand. "You may call it karma—you remember the silver dagger you used on me?" she asked. "Let me out." "I'll do that, but first, we need to make things clear. In whatever you do, you will not try to escape this place. Got it?" She ordered, and I nodded, compelled. "Good, now come with me." I followed her out of the room. The building seemed ancient, clearly an underground h