Kaida’s POV I paused at the door when I noticed the brunette whore—the same one I had helped get to the healers—sitting on one of the couches with her legs crossed and a bright smile on her face. She was dressed in a very revealing black gown. I might have thought that saving her life would bring about a change, but I was wrong. “Did Alexander ask you to come here?” I questioned. “No.” “So why are you here?” “I wanted to see you… alone. He cannot know about my visit.” I chuckled. “You don’t want the Alpha King to know you’ve been here, and yet you come to the very room he spent his nights in.” “I’m not stupid, I know I shouldn't be here; but this is the only place I could meet you without having prying eyes on us.” “So, why do you need to see me?” She rose to her feet. “I want to thank you for what you did for me. I would have died if not for you.” She said, I was tempted to ask how she had gotten poisoned with wolfbane, but perhaps it was better I didn’t know. I didn’t like
I was stunned into silence; Lara spoke on."Meet me at noon. I stay on the fifth floor, in the last apartment to your right. I’ll be waiting.”She rose and walked to the door. “One last thing.” She called. “I swear to the gods, I have no ulterior motives. And I am excited for this.” She said with a smile on her face.She was good-looking; I could understand why Alexander picked her.…I watched as Aric gave instructions to the Trainees, teaching them how to deliver an unexpected strike against their opponent. They listened intently. He spotted me and waved; I waved back. The moment he was done with them, he walked to me.“Want to spar?”“Come on, aren’t you tired of losing?”“I’ve only lost to you twice while sparring. Most of the time, it ends in a tie—or you cheat your way to victory.” I do cheat sometimes, but you don’t expect your enemies to be honorable fighters; I was just training him to be a better warrior.“I wanted to ask you a question.” I said, remembering why I came here
I knocked on the door. I suppose this was Lara’s apartment.Of course, I still didn’t fully trust the woman; she could swear on all her gods as much as she wanted; that didn’t mean I’ll let my guard down.The door was pulled open, and there Lara stood, completely naked save for the beads hanging on her waist.“I almost thought you wouldn’t make it,” she said, letting me in. I felt for my dagger; of course, I carried it everywhere I went. It was my favorite weapon: light and easy to hide. “I have a few guests.” She said, and I spotted the men who sat naked on the couch, panting.“You may all leave now; The Luna would like to talk to me.”They stood quickly, bowing—yes, it was awkward watching naked men curtsy.They grabbed their clothes and walked away.“I’m glad you came. Have a seat.”“That won’t be necessary.”“Would you prefer the bed then?”“I’m here to learn how to…” I couldn’t say the word.“I know. Engaging in practicals is a better way of learning.”I took a seat on the couch.
We were both naked. My eyes never left him; he stalked towards me, and picked me up, he placed me on the bed.“You don’t have the slightest idea what you’ve just awoken.”I leaned closer so my lips were against his ears.“Oh, I know.” I whispered.Like a starved man, he ripped off my lingerie, tossing it to the floor.Heat pooled between my legs; I had never been so ready.“Wait.”“I have no patience, Kaida… I’m one second away from taking you like the animal I am.”“You will have that and more if you let me.”He stared at me, the look of amusement in his eyes as he rolled over so I was on top.“I’m not a very curious man, but today I am curious… what are you up to?”“I can’t tell you, Alpha, but I can show you.”I took my position; he was hard, firm, and very huge. Slowly I took him in, and then I began moving. I rode him, just as Lara had done. He let out a guttural sound. My hands trailed down his chest.“Alex.” I moaned, increasing my pace.I could see it in his eyes; he was losin
Aliya’s POVTrian stood dutifully at his post by the door. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, careful not to let him know I was looking. The man was indeed handsome. I wanted to say something to him—anything—but I didn’t know what to say. Since the incident, we hadn’t exchanged a single word. He went on breaks and returned as quickly as he could; he was always present, and suddenly my room didn’t feel like a cage anymore.If only I could talk to him. What would I say?Ask him about the weather?... maybe complement his… clothes. His uniform was different from the soldiers here. He wore a thick, black, high-collared jacket paired with fitted pants. From the texture, it looked like it was either made of crocodile skin or something that closely resembled it.I found my eyes trailing lower.“Aren’t you hungry?” He asked, and I quickly looked away from him, my gaze returning to the book in my hands, the one I held up-side-down.I was indeed hungry, but I was used to being starved.
“I’m sorry for not inviting you to join me.” I apologize.“I am not hungry, but you are.”I wiped my mouth with the paper towel before placing it back on the tray.“You must be disgusted…”“No. I’m not.” He said, walking to me and taking the tray, I gripped his sleeve. “She cannot know, please… She would punish me for this.”He nods, but the slight confusion is clearly written across his face.He took the tray away and returned to his position; he didn’t say another word. I waited and waited for Julia to walk in and tell me how she had tried testing me and I failed, but she never did come in.Even as the night came.In the ninth hour, I turned off my lamp, shut my book, and headed to the bathroom. I took a quick wash before changing into my nightgown.I returned to the room.“You are not from here, are you?” I asked.“No. He answered. I’m from the North.”“I don’t hear much about the North.”“It’s far from here and surrounded by humans.”“Are you a werewolf?”“No. I’m not.”“Why did y
How had he found me?I had never felt so afraid before; if he told the Empress about this… I rushed to him, falling on my knees. “Please, she can’t know…”“Are you referring to me?” the familiar voice belonging to Julia called from behind him. I rose to my feet quickly. “How did you find this place?” she asked, staring around.“I—I…”“Don’t lie to me, child.”“I found it a few years ago, Empress.”Her eyes landed on the wolf.“What is this?” she asked. I could see the pure disappointment on her face.“Please, he’s my friend…”The slap came so fast and hard that, for a moment, everything went black, and my ear rang. When my vision cleared, I realized I was on the floor.Ash snarled and lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Its claws swiped at her face, narrowly missing.“Ash, no!”Trian walked to the Empress and picked the wolf up like it weighed nothing. Ash immediately went silent.The Empress rose to her feet, a cut on her neck—I hadn’t even noticed when that had happened. Tr
**Anonymous Narrator POV**Trent Dawn had always believed he would live a long, fulfilling life—one where he’d watch his daughter grow, fall in love, and have children of her own. But life rarely goes as planned. Now, here he was, lying on his deathbed, awaiting the inevitable.His pack was gone, so was his daughter. Everything he had spent his years building was no more, he had given it all away, but he had no other option, he only wished his daughter could understand one day that he did all these for her.A female healer was the only one left to tend to him for the little time he had left.He heard footsteps approaching. It wasn’t yet time for the healer’s daily medications. He looked up, staring at the blurry figure. His eyes were weak, but he knew exactly who it was. It was the very person he was trying to save his daughter from. His ex-mate, Cynthia.“You are a very strong man, Alpha Trent –or perhaps I’ll call you Trent, since you are no longer an Alpha.” She said mockingly, but
“There’s a slight chance we aren’t dealing with a pack,” Daemon said. “Thank you for this information.”“Wait, you’re leaving me here? I just proved how important I could be.”“Yes, indeed. If you get any other information, just reach out,” he said, then turned around. He was really leaving.“Fuck you.” I muttered beneath my breath.“I heard that,” he called out. “I intended for you to hear that!” I said, but of course he was already gone.My gaze fell on Sebastian, still standing on the other side of the wall. He raised both hands in surrender before backing away. Frustrated, I stomped off..Kate arrived at the pack a few hours later. This time, she brought along her luggage.“You won’t really need all those for a few days.”“No, I won’t. But I’m not planning to stay for just a few days,” she said, walking into her room. I followed with two more of her luggage. “I’m moving into this pack,” she said finally, and I couldn’t deny how surprised I was at that.“Really?”“Yes,” she said,
I walked past the patrolling soldier and Phil, who followed after me.“I thought you said you were leaving? I was worried you’d do something rash, so I came after you.”Good thing he and the other patrollers hadn’t witnessed what happened earlier.“Plans changed. Guess I was about to make a rash decision — but I changed my mind.”“Are you okay?” Phil asked, inspecting me.I knew I didn’t exactly look my best — I’d spent god-knows-how-long in the healing room, then ran straight to pack my bags, dressed in nothing but the white gown the healing wardens had supplied. My eyes must have been red from crying. But every other person in the pack looked the same, if not worse.They were all mourning Alexander—I realized.Many cast pitiful glances at me.“Why did he have to go?”, “He was too young to die,” “He ‘was’ the best Alpha the pack had ever had.”Everyone had something to say about Alexander.I could hardly believe I’d run past all these people without noticing a single thing. On the wa
KADIA’S POVI woke up in the healing room.A pair of blue eyes watched me — Daemon. He looked… different, and it wasn’t just the new haircut. There was something about him that made him seem more human."Daemon," I called; my throat felt so dry.He seemed to have already prepared for that. He passed me a glass of water, which I quickly emptied.Everything came flooding back — the news about the plane crash. It became harder to breathe.“Kaida. Calm down.”"He's gone — he was in the plane when it crashed."I yanked out the tubes attached to my arm and rose to my feet. The movement had been too abrupt; the room seemed to spin.I felt hands guiding me back to the bed. I couldn’t hold in the tears.“He shouldn’t have been there. I made him go, and now…”“Stop.” Daemon said, cutting me off. “He is not dead. I visited the site; I didn’t find anything that indicated he was among the ones that died.”“You were at the site?” I asked, my heart speeding up with renewed hope.“Yes. The moment I h
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