A day passed, and I hadn’t cracked—that’s what I made him believe. The few hours of sleep I managed to get were the only escape from the pain, and even then, I dreamt about him.Now I couldn’t help but wonder how people were so in love with the idea of finding their mates if this was what they had to bear. But I guess many of them won’t see this as torture; they would give in easily.I had an idea, quite a crazy one.I had never touched myself before, but perhaps… I could try.I slowly lowered my fingers, watching as my hands slipped beneath the waistband of my panties. I rubbed my finger around my clit.I groaned, frustrated; it wasn’t working either.The knock on the door drew my attention. Aric. I just knew it had to be him.I didn’t make a move to go to the door but he didn’t go away either, he knocked once more.I managed to rise to my feet, stagger to the door and pull it open.“Kaida, are you alright?” he asked, alarmed.“I do remember telling you to send a maid, if there is an
Slowly and gently, he slipped a finger into me, going in and out. A moan escaped my lips. He added in a second finger and this time he went a bit faster, I moaned out, the pleasure was unlike anything I had ever felt and then… he pulled out.I wanted more and this time I let him take me to the bed. I took off my clothes, stripping naked, but he didn’t take his off.He kissed my collarbone, and then he took my nipple in his mouth; my back ached as I gripped his neck. With his other hand, he caressed my hardened nipple. He proceeded to kiss down my stomach, my belly button, and… lower.I stilled. “No.” I tried rising, but he forced me down. At this point, I wanted him so bad and yet… I didn’t like being so exposed to him.Then I felt his tongue.I couldn’t hold back the sensual sound that escaped my lips. He nibbled at my clit, and I spread my legs even wider. His tongue slipped into me, I gripped onto the slick sheets; he went in and out with his tongue, and slowly I began matching pac
I hadn’t spoken a word to Alexander in days, and I wasn’t planning to. I shouldn’t have let him touch me; I should have endured the pain longer, but once again, he won. . “So you could come visit me, but I can’t do the same?” Aric asked the moment he saw me by his door. I pushed past him and walked into the room. “Not bad.” I say, looking around. It was smaller than the one I shared with the Alpha King, but elegant and nicely furnished. “Why are you here, Kaida?” “Do I need a reason to visit my beta and friend?” “I’m not the Beta anymore; I am a Commander and Chief.” “You will always be the Dawn’s pack Beta.” “Well the Dawn’s pack is no more; you are a Luna now…” “Okay, what the hell is wrong with you? If you don’t want me here, all you have to do is tell me.” “I’m a man who had just been rejected by the woman he had been in love with for years; how do you expect me to react?” “Aric… It can’t work.” “I know that—at least now I do. I’m not a fool; I know when to draw back,
“Where have you been?” Alexander asked the moment I entered the room.“Not your business.”“You must keep me informed about your whereabouts.”I turned to him. “I must not. I don’t try keeping up with your whereabouts now, do I?”“You are mad at me. I shouldn’t have said what I did earlier.”“Oh, an apology from the high and mighty Alpha king; that should solve everything.” I said, rolling my eyes.“Usually, it does solve everything most of the time.” He said with a smirk. “And I do like the term ‘high and mighty.’.” He added.“Unfortunately, pretty boy, your words don’t mean shit—not to me.”“I expected my Luna to be less profane”I flipped him the middle finger.“I spent the day with my Beta. I plan to be out there more often; I get sick of this place and also—you.”“Come on, let’s not lie to ourselves. I don’t infuriate you—I scare you, and that’s what’s got you all riled up.”“You would have liked it, wouldn’t you? If I was afraid of you?”“I mean, I’m liking it now. But that’s
I had never heard of them before, and for some reason, I felt… ‘humbled’ by that knowledge. If they were such a large community, why had they never been mentioned in all the conversations I had with Aric and my father? I was going to have to speak to Aric about this. “What do they want from us?” I asked.“I am yet to find out; perhaps they just want an alliance or a pact.”“Don’t you think it’s dangerous making pacts with them? What if they have other plans?“Like what? Ending the werewolf’s cycle?” Alexander asked, a smirk playing on his face.“They aren’t werewolves; they are different, and no doubt they would only grow stronger; it’s all a matter of time.”“You don’t have to worry about that. They will never be able to beat the werewolves—not in numbers. So would you please put on a dress?” he asked.I would have liked to argue some more, but I was very curious to meet these people. I picked out a purple, long-sleeved dress that stopped a little above my knee; it was just perfect.
One of the council members, who I believed was named Austin, was the first to speak up.The Alpha is as alone as he can be,” he said, eyeing their soldiers.“Leave us.” Alexander said, and for a moment no one made a move. “Now!”“Are—are you sure?” another of the advisors asked.“They are my guests; it will be rude of me not to hear them out.” Alexander said, and the woman smiled. The smile might have seemed a little flirty, but she was old enough to be my mother, so maybe that was just me looking too deep into things.Our soldiers left first, followed by the council of advisors, who seemed to be everywhere Alexander was.The woman's eyes turned to me.“She is my Luna; she stays.” Alexander says, and the woman only nods.One of the men in blue passed the woman a wooden box, she took out a key and unlocked it.“May I?” she asked, and Alexander nodded.She walked forward, up the stairs, until she was only a few feet away from where we sat. She placed the wooden box before his feet.Insi
ALIYA’S POVI didn’t think Empress Julia liked the way things had gone with the Alpha King. No pack had disregarded us like the Nightshade pack did. I had reasons to believe the other packs were afraid of us, but I couldn’t say the same for the Nightshade pack.My maid, Vera, brushed through my hair.King Alexander was an intriguing man, but I had my focus on the woman seated by his side. There was something about her—something fierce, something I hadn’t seen in other Lunas—and she kept on staring at me; it was like she knew exactly what I was thinking.The Chosen One. That’s what they called me; they say I was a gift from the god of light’s,and that I would lead the people of Aureonna into victory.One would think of me as a powerful person, but I was nothing more than a mortal woman. Empress Julia believes everything would change on my nineteenth birthday, when the god of light herself would pay me a visit. Julia refers to it as ‘The Encounter.’.For the past thirteen years of my li
The one in the middle approached us, and I backed away.Vera didn’t; she held the knife in her hands, ready to fight. He took out his handgun, and before she could make a move, he shot.She fell to the ground, a bullet embedded in her forehead.“So tell me, Chosen. Have you ever been… fucked?”“I did you all no wrong.”“You didn’t, but the Empress did. It’s our brother she sent out there to be killed.”“My condolences. But these men swore oaths; they swore to serve and protect; they weren’t forced.”All three burst into laughter. “My condolences.” One of the men mimicked. “Your condolences don’t bring back the dead, do they?”“Why don't we leave the Empress a message, one she would never forget? Let’s find out how pure the Chosen One is, shall we?”“When we are done with you, you will wish you had never been born, but don’t worry, we won’t kill you. You are too pretty to die.” said the third man.One of the men pushed me to the ground; before I could rise, his weight upon me held me d
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
“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