The moment Alexander was gone, I wolfed down the food he had brought as I was starving.I began my daily exercises. I had been slacking off for the past few days, so I started with 100 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and then resumed my squat routine. The hours passed by in a blur; I hadn’t even realized how long I took exercising; the sun had gone down, giving way to dusk.I was covered in sweat. I had to take a quick shower; I was in no mood for long baths and I wasn’t expecting Alexander back anytime soon; I guessed he would spend the night with his whores, and I will once again have the room all to myself.The cold water was just what I needed.I paused, turning off the shower.I thought I heard a sound. I listened in harder, but there was nothing. I must have been mistaken. I stepped out of the shower stall; only then did I notice him. Alexander stood by the door, his eyes trailing down my very naked body.“Get out!”“You are my mate; you don’t need to be shy.”There was something slightly
He was right. I was not as fearless as I made people believe I was.He took another swig of his liquor. That was good; I needed him as drunk as he could be for the question I was about to ask.“Tell me… did you ever plan on telling me what happened to your parents?”“Do you want to know, little mate?”“Yes, I do.”“And you will, only if you tell me how you got those scars.”A frown formed on my face; I had my back to him so he wouldn’t notice it. I had told nobody about my scars, no other person but Aric. Not even my father knew the full story.Alexander was curious about my scars, just as much as I was curious to know what happened to his own parents, and while I would have never told him the truth of how I got these scars, there was no harm in telling him now; he was drunk, and he would probably forget it all, but I would get the truth out of him.“I had a friend. A female friend. Her name was Cassandra, but I called her Cas, and she called me Kai. We were best friends, though she w
I knew something was wrong the moment I set my eyes on the boy named Eli.Maybe it was because he seemed so… nervous. The car came to an abrupt stop before a tiny building that didn’t look anything like a romantic spot. My hands wrapped around the dagger I had carried along with me.Eli was quick to open the door and Cas walked out.“Wait!” I called out, but it was too late. There was a man behind her, he placed a brown rag to her nose and she immediately fell into his arms. She had been drugged.“Come, come. Child.” The man cooed, but I moved backwards. He let out a growl. Something about him didn’t feel right and I could finally place it, it was his scent, he didn’t scent like a wolf and yet he was one.A rogue.He was a rogue.The man reached out to pull me out, but I slashed at him with my dagger; I got him across the eyes, and he let out a snarl. More men appeared; there were about six of them. The other door was pulled open, and I had no place to hide. One of the men picked me o
**TRIGGER WARNING: The following chapters contain themes of trauma and abuse. Read with caution!**The man placed a blade over the green flames.“I have a question; I need an answer, else…” he motioned to the blade. I understood his threat. “Our brother, Mason, was taken by your father; where was he kept?”“I—I don’t know.”“Well, too bad.” He picked the blade from the flames; the iron shone purple, instead of red.“No!” Cas cried out.“You said you would only ask questions!” the fool, Eli, screamed above his lungs. I looked away.Father told me sometimes fear contributes to the pain.The smell of burnt flesh filled the room and a single tear escaped my eyes.“A strong one we have here,” the man said. The leader with the one eye didn’t look impressed.“She would break with time.”He was right. I did break, just about when the iron met my skin for the seventh time. I called for my father, for my late mother, for the moon goddess, and every supernatural creature I knew.“Where did he ke
“You will – forgive me?” Eli asked, his eyes wide.“Yes, no one would know anything – I promise you, I’ll tell the Alpha I never did see her, all you have to do is free me.” “But they will kill me.”“I will have my father kill them all. He is an Alpha, a powerful man.”Eli nodded and walked up to me; he unlocked the chains and took them off. I spotted my dagger tucked in his belt.“Thank you,” I whispered.“Do you forgive me?”I drew closer to him, close enough to reach for the dagger, I pulled it out and in a fluid motion, I stabbed it into his chest.“You will rot in hell. You killed her; you did this, and you will pay.” I said to him, and I pulled out the dagger and stabbed it into his stomach. He cried out. “She loved you; she was innocent.” I pulled it out and stabbed it into his chest again. “You destroyed her… all for what? Money!” I growled, stabbing him over and over again, tearing through his body.That was my first ever kill.I rose, covered in blood, and I walked out of t
I took the bottle of vodka from his hands and lifted it to his lips.“Have a drink.” I encouraged, and with his eyes on me, he did take a drink, a rather long one. I watched the movement of his adam’s apple as the drink went down.“If the man still lives—the one with the scar.”“He doesn’t. I had searched for him for years, but there was no trace of him.”“Had you tried inquiring about their secret hideout from his brother, the one who was in your father’s custody?”“I couldn’t. I killed him the moment I had the chance. But as I said, he is most likely dead, Aric was a good tracker, he could have found him if he still lived.”“The amount of time you mention your Beta’s name is sickening.”“Is it?”“Very.” He said drawing closer.His eyes seemed to have darkened, it wasn’t lust, I could tell, it was something… scarier.“Drink some more.” I encouraged.“Are you trying to get me drunk, little mate?”I stilled.“You are already drunk… A little more wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”“I guess
ALEXANDER’S POVMy stubborn little mate slept on the couch, I watched her. One would think being the daughter of an Alpha meant she was to be protected. She should have been protected.I also thought her story was a bit similar to one I had heard before.As dawn broke, I rose from my bed. Her eyes snapped open; she was very sensitive to sounds and also a light sleeper.“I’ll be back early today.” I informed her.“Whatever.” She muttered before rolling over; I had a fine view of her ass, which was considerably bigger than many girls I had been with or… noticed. I remembered exactly how she had looked naked. Scars marked her body: one across her chest, another extending to her hip, two on her back, and one tracing up her collarbone. I was furious seeing those scars; I didn’t think they were repulsive to look at, but I hated the fact that someone had put her through pain. I looked away, heading to the bathroom.My type—what exactly was my type?Once I had thought she wasn’t that, I thoug
“I will be willing to answer every one of your questions.” He replied eagerly.“Good. I hear that your pack is also in alliance with the… rogues.”He looked up at me, clearly about to deny but thought better of it.“Yes. Alpha. But you know how much rogues hate packs and their laws. They would not let themselves be involved in any other pack matters.”“I didn’t ask because I need their alliance. Some years back, you told me a story of a boy who was found burnt to death—this boy was from your pack.”“Yes, he was. His father was a Captain. He did well in his service before he retired. That had been around the time his son was killed. The fire might not have been the cause of his death—that’s what the healers said.”“What was his name?”“I can’t remember—I think it was… Eli… Eliott.”“Eliott.” I repeated. It does make sense that the boy hadn’t told them his full name.“What interest does the Alpha have with this lowly deceased boy?”“His death interests me. Do you know this man?” I said,
ALEXANDER’S POVMy blurred vision slowly cleared, and I realized I was in what looked like a small, empty room.The wall facing me was made of thick, transparent glass.I couldn’t tell how they managed to get me in here—there was no window or door, only a narrow slot likely meant for passing food and letting in just enough air to keep the ‘prisoner’ alive.I could only assume there was some kind of hidden entrance.My hands and ankles were bound with thick silver chains.The chains felt excessive—I could barely move a muscle.More wolfsbane than I’d ever consumed in my entire life had been pumped into my system, completely immobilizing me and filling me with this nauseating, sickly feeling. I hadn’t realized I was shivering until I noticed the tremble in my fingers.The room was chillingly cold, and with the wolfsbane suppressing my werewolf abilities, I was no exception to the cold. I tried to summon flames. Nothing.Maybe I was just too weak to summon the flames. The crushing feeli
1KADIA’S POVWhen I discovered the news of my pregnancy, I had been so happy. But I knew a lot would have to change.I had to be more cautious—for the baby. That meant I wouldn’t be able to keep training the pack soldiers for much longer. Of course, I’d have to give up that duty eventually and it had become a part of my life. I would have to watch my diet, too. And then there were other things. Like the fact that I would grow big, and I might not look the same. My toned stomach which I had spent years working on would be no more.This had been the type of life I once abhorred, but everything was different now—I wanted this. I could see a future with Alexander, filled with laughter and little kids running around, and the thought made me smile.Lara was the first person to find out I was pregnant.After I discovered the pregnancy test was unmistakably positive, I was as scared as I was excited.Lara happened to be visiting the pack, and we kind of bumped into each other. She was all s
KAIDA’S POVThe flesh-eaters were all gone. Packs that had been destroyed were slowly rebuilding; the chaos had finally settled. But there were still many things to attend to—like the few humans who now knew that dangerous supernatural beings lived among them.The human president had reached out to us; He was ready to pay whatever sum was needed to keep creatures like the ‘flesh-eaters’ away, as they could cause civil unrest among the people. He was willing to pay even more so things could return to the way they were when humans and supernatural beings lived separately.Alexander sent a letter back, assuring him that the ‘creatures’ were gone and that things would continue as usual. What they didn’t realize was that many werewolves and supernatural beings already lived among humans. They owned major companies and enterprises worldwide. From popular clothing brands to tech products, much of it was secretly controlled by the werewolf community.One constant worry lingered on my mind —
JADE POVEarlierI had chosen to spend my final hours in the little underground lair just beneath the small house I owned.At the other side of the room, trapped behind a magical wall, was a flesh-eater. I had captured it and brought it back here. If Aliyah does go through with her words, then the creature wouldn’t last until the next day.Hours passed, and the beast remained caged—still alive, still stupidly trying to push through the magical barrier I had created to contain it, no matter how many times it got scarred from trying.I wouldn’t blame the girl if she backed out; she had every right to make that decision. She was young and in love—it wasn’t easy to let go of everything for people who were mostly strangers.Beside me was a picture of Ralph. The only one I had, and the only thing that had accompanied me through the years. Many would say I lived a lonely life, but that was the only way I knew how to live—though it hadn’t always been that way.I thought back to when Ralph wa
DAEMONAliya was in the same silk white nightgown she’d slept in. A soft breeze blew through her silver hair. She looked surreal, like an angel. “I have to do this.” She said, and I could see the determination in her eyes.“No, you don’t have to do this. I told you I would find a way…”“There is no other way.” she said, cutting me off. “This is the only way. I can end the war, and this is what I have to do to end it.”I’d remember those words in the dream I had. She’d told me how she could “end the war.”Those eyes stared at me like she could read exactly what I was thinking.“Do you love me enough to let me go?” she whispered—and that’s when it hit me: it was never a dream. “The undead would be gone if Solene died. The war would end if I took my life—with this dagger.”“Tell me one thing, Aliyah. If you were in my place, would you let me go?” I asked. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She didn’t answer, maybe because we both knew what that answer was. “Why in the hell do you think
ALIYAHI stood watching the lake.The memory of what had happened here resurfaced, and I smiled. There were still so many things I had yet to do, so many adventures waiting out there.I looked down at the dazzling diamond on the engagement ring Daemon had given me. It must have cost a fortune, but that wasn’t why I thought it was beautiful. It would always be my most prized possession because of what it signified.Now I could see the truth—Daemon would have given up his title to be with me.I didn’t deserve his love. I didn’t deserve him. And yet, I wanted him.The best days of my life were the ones I spent with Daemon. Truly, he was the greatest gift life had given me, and I would always be grateful for that.But I had to make a decision.**FLASHBACK**“I need to speak to the girl alone,” Jade said, and I watched the others walk away, leaving me alone with the sorceress.“I remember it all,” I confessed. “I remember how many people died because of me… how many others I killed.”“That
“What did I taste like?” Aliyah asked.“Different… better.” If that was even possible.“That’s because I still have her powers. Even if she’s locked away, she’s still in there.”“You feel her?” I asked.“I hear her. She never stops reminding me that my time is ticking.” Aliyah said.“I will make her pay for what she did to you,” I promised.“She will pay.”…In moments like this, we truly see the vanities of life. Wealth, power, titles—none of them hold any true value. What truly matters are the small, fleeting moments shared with the people you love. Those are the things that endure.Time, too, is a precious thing. It belongs to no one, and no one can stop it. Aliyah walked out of the bathroom.“This is the best bath I’ve had in a really, really long time.”“Would have been better with me in there.”“Maybe, but I’m sore, and we both know you can’t keep your hands to yourself.”“You’re right about that. Now take a seat.”“Why?”"Or stand, if you prefer," I said, watching her raise an
DAEMON’S POVThis wasn’t a dream.It was real; Aliyah was back.All I wanted to do was apologize, over and over again, for every wrong I’d done to her. I wanted to beg for forgiveness, but we only had a single day, and I wasn’t going to waste a second of it. I just wanted to make her happy and give her something to hold onto.“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” I asked, and she smiled.“Yes, you have, but hearing it a few more times wouldn’t hurt.”I’d decided to take her away from this pack—to somewhere far from all the chaos and everything that had been happening these past few days.“How did it feel?” I asked, and I didn’t need to say more, she understood exactly what I meant.“Awful. I was there, and yet… not. I couldn’t see what was happening, couldn’t control anything—but I could hear. I heard everything.” She looked up at me. “I did hear when she tried seducing you. And I felt her embarrassment when you turned her down.”Her smile widened.“She might have your body, y
KADIA’S POVTwo packs had been attacked by the flesh-eaters; only a few survivors escaped.The other packs were strengthening their security to avoid being caught off guard. Humans weren’t exempted; many had reportedly gone ‘missing.’ Though their government was doing its best to cover things up, it wouldn’t be long before they could no longer dismiss it as a ‘serial killer attack,’ the work of ‘kidnappers,’ or even ‘wild animal attacks.’We continued to receive a flood of messages from packs allied with us, requesting aid and weapons. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t help them all. The Nightshade Pack was under curfew—only patrollers and soldiers were allowed outside after nightfall. It was a necessary safety measure, even though the flesh-eaters still lingered to the south.I watched as Alexander opened an envelope and pulled out a letter.“What’s that?” I asked.“A letter requesting aid. What’s the pack’s financial situation?” he asked, and I pulled out the file.“It’s the