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
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
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
“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
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
I knew Julia was going to pay me a visit—I had anticipated it. But as the hours passed, I began to hope I had been pardoned. That hope shattered when I awoke from my slumber to find her seated in the chair facing me.“Empress.” I acknowledged, about to rise to my feet.“There would be no need for that,” she says.I looked up to see Trian standing there, his gaze hard.“I’m so sorry; I disrespected the Empress, but I didn’t mean to.”“I hear you are tired of learning.”“I never said that.”“Are you calling her a liar?”“No… of course not. It was simply a misunderstanding.”“I’ve already been tasked with learning so many languages; I fail to see the use in learning more.” She quoted the very words I had spoken. "When I was little, I had so many questions—why did strange things always happen to me? I asked myself, why me? But as I grew older, I realized that every single ‘strange’ thing that happened was meant to push me toward my destiny.The god of light speaks, but no one knows the ex
I walked into Julia's chambers. The soldier escorting me waited behind. “You may come in,” she called out to me, and I stepped into the private room, finding her naked. Trian stood nearby with a glass of wine, dressed only in his pants.“Hey there.” He said to me with a smirk.I couldn’t help the sudden anger I felt. I shouldn’t be angry; I should be happy that he was totally fine and I was, but he seemed a little… too fine. One would think he was one of the High Regents, given how relaxed he looked. He fit perfectly into luxury. I had been worried for no reason, but that wasn't the real cause of my anger; I knew it. I looked away from him.“You called for me, Empress.”“Yes, I did. Empress Cynthia has decided to ignore your foolishness and engage you in lessons as previously arranged. You’ll be wise not to mess this up. I might not be as merciful next time.”“Thank you for giving me another chance; I promise not to speak out of turn or disrespect her in any way.”“Of course,” she sa
ALEXANDER’S POVIt was a risky plan, but I had always had a taste for danger.I could spot about a hundred rogues, not counting those lurking in the bushes and trees. This could either be a clever move or a very reckless one.I stepped forward, and the rogues followed. Some moved silently, slipping easily through the shadows, while others didn’t bother hiding. None of them attacked—they knew better. The deeper I went, the more of them I saw.“Alpha King.” The familiar voice belonging to Edna called.Edna was one of the rogue’s leaders.I smiled. “We meet again.”“I wasn’t expecting your visit. Brave of you to come here with no backup.”“I came to talk.”Edna smiled wide, exposing his fangs. “Of course. Come with me, you must meet the other leaders.”Edna walked ahead, and I let him lead me to the lone building standing in the middle of practically nowhere. It was a small, abandoned structure with thick wooden doors. He banged on them, and after a moment, a tiny man with huge curious e
The disappointment in his voice was even harder to bear than the betrayal I had suffered from people I once called friends."I should have told you, but I knew you would’ve kept assuring me you were fine—even when we both knew you were dying inside. She said you were going to die, whether you stopped or continued with the doses. I just… couldn’t lose you.""Who is this ‘she’ you are referring to?” he asked, and I immediately realized my slip."I… it doesn’t matter. You’re alive, and that’s what’s important."Slowly, he let go of me, and I instantly missed his warmth. “How does it feel?”“What?”“To be so close to achieving your dreams?” he asked. I wanted to tell him I didn’t care anymore about the goddamn title; all I wanted was to have him by my side. I wanted him, but before I could tell him just that, he spoke on. “I hope it was worth it.”Those final words had felt like some kind of goodbye.“I, Ethan Alexander Darkwood, reject you, Kaida Dawn, as my fated mate.” He said.Seeing
There was something different about the way he looked at me—the way he regarded me. I saw it in the way his body tensed the moment I stepped inside. He saw me as a threat, and it took a moment to understand why. Cynthia had taken my form when she approached him, making him believe it was me. The moment his guard dropped, she struck.But what he remembered was me stabbing him—my face, my hands, delivering the blow.“Alexander,” I whispered, unable to say anything more. He only stared at me, as if trying to read me. I had wanted to see him so badly, but I hadn’t stopped for even a moment to think about what I would say to him when we met.“The Cursed Weapon—how did you find it?” he asked.“I don’t understand.”“The dagger you used on me.”The cursed weapon, I’ve heard about that too. History says the Elders had been the original keepers of the steel; that had been before they were killed. The weapon had the ability to take away one’s wolf. It made more sense now, what Cynthia was saying
It felt surreal—the blood on the sheets, the body—Alexander. I couldn’t process any of it.“No!” I cried.Foolish, foolish girl.I held him. “You can’t die, please, you can’t die. I’m here, look at me, open your eyes, dammit!”I had never felt this afraid, not even when I received news that my father had passed.Soon, I heard footsteps approaching—the door was still open. They were coming to find the source of the noise. I hadn’t even realized how loudly I had been screaming.“I didn’t mean to… She said she wouldn’t kill him.”More people gathered, and soon, our room was crowded, every face frozen in shock.A hand pressed against my back—Phil. He was saying something, but I couldn’t understand him. Austin was there too, along with some of the other advisors.A woman stepped forward.“I have to take him, Luna.”I let out a snarl. “Don’t touch him… No one touches him!”There must have been something in my voice because she stepped back immediately—so did some of the other pack members.
“There must be another way to cure him.” I insisted."There is no other way. It’s either this or he dies. We don’t have much time. If you refuse my offer, I won’t be generous enough to grant it a second time. You will have to watch him die—knowing you had the power to save him, but you refused."I held back the sob, threatening to escape my lips. They would not see me cry, especially not the woman who killed my parents.“You want a puppet; someone you can control.”“I only have one request from you, the very same one I had already mentioned. Other than that, I won’t make your decisions for you. You will rule.”“When you take away his wolf. What would he become?”"He won’t change; he will be the very same man," she said, a small smile curving on her lips. "And since I’m so generous, I’ll leave your Beta Aric, and Sarah with you to do as you wish. Punish them as you see fit."“No!” Sarah cried out, falling to her knees before the Empress. “I did as you asked of me. I did everything you
"Let me help you, Kaida," Cynthia said, her voice only a little above a whisper."I told you, I don’t need your help. Alexander will find me, and none of you will get away with this."“You’ve only been here for a few hours; besides, Amanda would hardly be considered a threat, and all the camera captured was the little girl leading you in here. He wouldn’t think you are in any form of danger.”"So, you aren’t here for the missing girl. You’ve revealed all your secret plans to me… I can’t help but wonder—why are you here? If you wanted to make me pay for what I did to you, you would have done it a long time ago."“We are getting to that. But I believe there is something you need to know. Addiction to wolfsbane may be dangerous, but stopping is even more dangerous.”For some reason, I believed her. I had seen what the withdrawal symptoms did to Alexander; it was slowly killing him, but his response remained the same anytime I asked; ‘A little while and it would pass.’ The question was, w
Empress Cynthia had read the question in my eyes before I could even ask it."I know you're curious about what your Beta wanted in exchange for betraying your trust," she said. I refused to meet her gaze—I wouldn’t let her see that I wanted to know. “He loves you; that much is clear. There were times he was willing to turn his back on his own family just to keep you safe. You were the one person he would never hurt. But when it came to choosing between you and his little sister… the choice wasn’t easy. She was the leverage I held over him. I have her locked away, far from his reach, until he completes his assignment. Everything he did—he did to keep her alive.”That was a lie.“Aric never had a sister.”"You say you cared about him, but I don’t believe that. You were always caught up in your own little world, blind to what was happening in others’—even those you called ‘family.’ You know, I wanted to reward him for his service, I believed he deserved more, but he never cared for mater
Aric had been the Beta, second in command—it only made sense for my father to leave him in charge of the pack, but he never did. He had seen something I hadn’t. Instead, he wanted me mated to Alexander, believing it was the best way to keep me safe. I had thought it was just to protect me from Cynthia, but that wasn’t the only reason. He knew there were others who posed a threat.Cynthia waited for me to piece everything together and slowly, I did.My father never informed Aric of his plans to marry me off. I had found that strange but never thought much of it. Now, thinking back to their conversation—when Aric had tried to convince him to end the agreement—my father had firmly refused.“The letter… it was false.” I finally spoke up.“Your father would never have sent you against her. He wanted you far away from her. But it wasn’t entirely false—there was some truth to it,” he said, his eyes never meeting mine.“You advised me against telling Alexander about my plans to face the Empre
I woke up with a pounding headache. It took only seconds to realize this had been a setup—and Amanda, the girl we rescued, was part of it.I wasn’t chained or restrained—just placed in a corner of the hall. Sitting right in front of me was Empress Cynthia, with Amanda by her side and…“Sarah?”It came out as more of a question. My gaze shifted between Amanda and Sarah, and the pieces finally fell into place. Amanda had been ‘adopted’ by Sarah—this had all been a carefully planned setup.“I am doing this for you.” She said, there was no hint of regret on her face.Sarah was one of the few I had allowed close to me. I saw her as a friend—the last person I would ever expect to betray me. But I couldn’t let them see how much it hurt. These were people I cared about.Alexander had wanted me to stay out of the Gray Moon Pack’s business, but I didn’t. I wanted justice for the little girl being sent against her will to marry a barbaric man like Grayson. And now, that very same girl had turned
KAIDA’S POVFor the next week, Alexander went to work as usual and returned home on time. Except for the slight tremor in his hands, he seemed to be getting better—or at least, that’s what he wanted me to believe. But I saw right through the act. He wasn’t getting better.The light footsteps caught my attention—someone was in my apartment.I grabbed a handgun from the drawer and silently followed the sound, only to stop abruptly. It was Amanda—the girl Alex had brought back to our pack from the Gray Pack after her parents attempted forcibly marrying her off to Alpha Grayson.“Hey,” I said, shoving the handgun into the back of my waistband.“Luna, I’m so sorry—I shouldn’t have come,” she said, about to leave.“No… it’s alright, Amanda,” I said to her, and her eyes brightened at the fact that I still remembered her name. She stared at me with a strange kind of adoration.“I’ve heard a lot about you since I got here. Do you know the soldiers are practically terrified of you?”“I don’t th