RILEY "Was the hug really necessary?" Daemon asked. "You said I should make it convincing, and I did." "All those things you said back there... did you mean them?" he asked. "You mean when I said you make me happy? No, not really." "You know, you could have lied and said, ‘Yes’." "Did I hurt your feelings? Good, because that serves you right." Daemon's gaze drifted past me to the notebook on the table. "Did you touch the book?" he asked me, and I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course not." I lied. But he walked past me and picked the book up. He scrolled through the pages and paused. "This book is missing a page, Riley." "What do you mean?" "Where is it?" "I'm not in the mood for this..." My words were cut off when Daemon slammed me hard against the wall; my head collided against the wall, and for a moment I felt dizzy. "You little bitch, I did everything for you, and yet, this is how you repay me?" "I don't understand what you are talking about!" I cried out. "Don't play
ISABELLA'S POVI was worried about Riley; since she was gone, Thane refused to allow himself even a few minutes of sleep. He blamed himself for everything—but it wasn’t his fault; it was mine.I paced round the room, waiting for any update about Riley's whereabouts; just then, Thane walked in."Thane! Is she alright?" I asked him."She is alive," he responded. "What happened to her? Where is she?""I think we need to talk," Thane says."I know, I'm sorry about earlier; I had no clue she was in danger; I shouldn't have tried to stop you from going to her.""It's not about that, Bella," he said, and I couldn’t help but notice how he wouldn’t even look at me."Then what do you want us to talk about?""I want you out of this pack."For a moment I doubted if I heard the right words, but there it was, what he wanted to talk about."What... why? I am sorry if I did anything wrong. I just... I don't have anywhere to go.""You can't stay here anymore.""No, you need me; I can help you—I know
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 seemed like she
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
"I'm guessing there were no truths to all you told me." "Actually, the part about me not being your father was true." Slade responded, clearly enjoying this."What is the point of all these? Kill me; one of the biggest packs in the world will be left without their Alpha.""No, I would be there to fill the space.""As a ghost? Come on, you've got to think better than that.""You are a lycan, a powerful creature; also, you are the Alpha King and that's why you are here.” he cuts his sentence off, not wanting to give out too much information. “You know it had once been me, and it could be like that again. You don't know what it felt like watching you take over my pack, what it felt like watching you take my place, what rightfully belonged to me. You were just the bastard son, and yet, the goddess gave you the crown. I think Logan is a bit jealous. He had to spend his whole life hiding while you were out there, you became everything he wanted to be and much more.""The longer I stay miss
THANEI woke up on the cold ground, my surroundings dim and unfamiliar—was this... a cave?I hadn't been chained; there was no need for that; I couldn't move. Everything flooded back, Isabella's betrayal—I shouldn't have trusted her."You are awake," the voice called. Speak about the little devil."It isn't wise to be this close to me, don't you think?""You can't harm me; at this state, you can't even hurt a fly.""Did Logan keep you here to babysit me?""Ah, you figured that out too; of course he is in on this too.""I guess this is revenge for sending you away from the pack?""No. I would never do that, but that action did change everything.""I guess this is where the big revelation comes in?""Yes, it is and there is a lot to be revealed. I didn't lose my memories. I knew who awoke me, and it was Slade, your father.""Slade?" I asked, surprised. "I think I'm done with your lies; you can keep your little explanations to yourself.""Do you really think that ghosts are real? Slade w
I awoke with a start. It was already morning.Gods, it had only been a dream.The tears falling down my eyes were tears of relief. I wasn't alone — I realized; slowly, I turned to see the other person on the bed, it was Thane, and he was very much awake."You seem to be having a nightmare," he said, but there was something different about him."You scared me. When did you return from your trip with Isabella?" I asked, watching him; I couldn't push away the strange feeling, like something was very wrong and yet his scent hadn't changed."A few hours ago. I didn't want to wake you," he explained."Did you... did you get the cure?" I asked him, and he nodded."Yes, I did.""So Isabella was right; there is a cure.""She is, and now you don't have to worry about me losing control; I have been cured completely.""That was...""Fast?" The word on my mind was unbelievable, but I nodded, with a smile on my face."You know I am really glad to hear this." I say, rising to my feet and heading t
"The scrolls didn't say anything about how it's been used." Isabella said to me.I took the flower from her hand and tore it open; it immediately turned black. Its inside stored a strange blackish liquid. I had this weird feeling like I had seen this before. "Maybe I'm supposed to drink this," she muttered. I gave a shrug. She took it back from my hand, and I watched her drink of its sap. This was even weirder than I thought it would be."How do you feel?" I asked.She stared down her body like she hoped to see some kind of instant change. "Nothing. I feel the same.""That means it isn't quite it. Let's get going.""No, we didn't come all this way to leave with nothing.""What do you suggest we do? Drink of all the flower's sap till we find the 'chosen' flower that cures?""That is a smart plan.""I meant it as a joke."Just then she coughed. She bent over and threw up dark blood. "Are you alright?" I asked; she shook her head."I don't know what is happening," she cried.But then h
THANEI had flown by my private jet before; I rarely used it. I do believe technology has done more harm than good, and as werewolves we had less need for it. While the humans relied fully on the use of technology for almost... everything.Logan had left me with Isabella. She hadn't uttered a single word to me but things were better that way, as long as she was able to communicate the directions to Simon, my pilot, I was fine with the silence. The flight stretched on for a full day, and I didn't enjoy a minute of it; I would prefer Bruce ‘Shifting Spell’ anytime to this.“This is the only landing space closest to the mountains.” Simon informed us from the cockpit.“It will have to do.” I responded.Finally, the jet lowered down on a natural clearing. It was snowing lightly but I didn't need to worry about the cold; my body could maintain the heat.Isabella was the first to get out; it seemed like she had been counting the minutes and seconds till she could finally get out of the air
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
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
"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
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