I felt no pain, and it was strange; I had just been shot, right?There was a loud thud as a body fell right beside me.During their little arguments, someone had walked in; they hadn't been quick enough to notice it. But it was the last person I expected to see.Beatrix.Behind her, Thane and Axel walked in; their eyes were coal black, and their gaze never met mine, but I could see the anger and fury in them."Axel, take her away," Thane ordered, and Axel finally turned to me; he picked me up easily and led me away from our room.I couldn't believe it; I was safe.~~Axel walked into a very unfamiliar room, and there was a maid there tidying up the space."You. Get out," he says. I had never heard Axel sound so furious, and I had to remind myself that Axel couldn't hurt me.The maid scurried away as he placed me on the bed.His gaze swept down my body, he slightly lifted my gown, and his hands grazed down my body, checking for injuries."What did they do to you? Are you hurt?""No, I
Where was he? Where was Thane.The whole hall grew silent, and I noticed why, he just walked in. He was shirtless, only in a pair of torn-up jeans; he hadn’t bothered about washing off the blood of the men he had beaten up and killed; his body was covered in blood, and a cold shiver walked it way down my spine. His eyes were cold and empty; he didn’t look up to me once.“Let it be known to everyone that disobeys me; let it be known to the few rebellious amongst you, that if anyone goes against my Luna, then be ready to face death,” he says, his voice harsh and low, but it could be heard clearly even from where I sat.One of the soldiers walked forward, handing him a sword. It seemed heavy, I could tell, but the blade was so sharp it reflected.“That’s silver steel,” Axel said to me, and I gasped.Thane held it, and the crowd watched in anticipation; some even had smiles on their faces. How could they find joy in a thing like this? My question goes unanswered, maybe because I already k
I woke up in a dark, unfamiliar room. The first thing I noticed was that I had been tied to a bed. The place smelled familiar, but I couldn’t place it all. I tried clearing off my foggy mind and remembering all that had happened and why I was here, the harsh memories flooded in—the blood, the brutality, the danger. It all flooded back in.Where was I?There was a figure in the darkness; I could tell. The room was dark, but there was a dim light illuminating the wide space.“Who is there?” I questioned, and the figure walked closer, close enough that I could see all his features and every single detail of his body. The blood wasn’t there anymore, but that didn’t make him any less scary. Thane stood before me, his eyes still those dark orbs they had been in the judgment room. Was he going to harm me? There was another figure seated on the couch, one I didn’t notice earlier. Axel.“Where am I?”“Where do you think?”“Let me go.”"No,” Thane responded.“How could you do that to them?”“Th
I was fifty shades of freaking red.Axel was gentle; the movement of his hands around my clit was just as gentle. I didn’t want to think about what was happening, how close he was, or what he was doing to me.And he watched me squirm beneath his gentle touch. I let out a silent gasp when his lips circled around my aching nipple.A moan left my lips. Axel: I had cried out his name; how could this feel all wrong and yet so right?Two fingers dipped into me, and I moaned louder, struggling against the bind, riding my hips against his fingers, chasing his thrust. Axel watched my body; he watched the effect of what he did to me and how my heat pooled around his fingers, taking him in, and then he was out of me.I couldn’t imagine how lost I had been. My gaze travelled back to Thane, who watched me greedily. The lust darkened his eyes. What type of bond did Thane share with Axel? Axel held something in his hands: two dark-coloured balls, with a string connecting both of them.“Look at him,
I must have blacked out at some point, because I was back in our room and I didn’t recall walking my way here.I felt numb down there; I was sore too, and I wasn’t alone. Axel sat there, staring at me. I looked away almost immediately. I was finally clear of the high I felt and now I was totally red, and my mind wouldn’t stop replaying all that had happened—how he had touched me everywhere.“How are you feeling?” he asked, his eyes never leaving mine.“I’m fine—well, not fine considering I can’t walk—but...” I rambled on.His chuckle gave me a pause, and I swallowed nervously. Could the earth just swallow me already?“I guess you are still surprised.” he questioned. Surprise was not quite the word.“It did feel surreal,” I admitted. “Please don’t tell me to look you in the eyes; I can’t handle that now,” I admitted, knowing he was about to say that. Axel loved seeing me embarrassed.“It was a surreal moment for me too,” Axel says.“Is this normal? I mean you two...” I couldn’t say th
“Thane is on his way here; I should leave,” Axel said to me. I wasn’t expecting Thane; it was nowhere close to the time of his usual return. But just as Axel had said, Thane walked in.“How is she?” he asked Axel, shrugging off his suit as if I were not in the room.“She just needs more rest,” Axel said, and I felt like there was some hidden message he was trying to pass on to Thane that I wasn’t getting.“I don’t need any more rest; I've been sleeping for hours,” I piped in, and Thane smirked at that.Axel stood, leaving us alone. It was strange that being alone with Thane was just scarier.“You let Axel have sex with me?” It was more of a statement than a question.“Yes, does it bother you?” He asked, watching me. “You seem close to him, and he would never hurt you,” Thane said, joining me on the bed.Does it bother me? The weirdness of it all bothers me, but apart from that, did it really bother me? , No, not really."Is just... some Alpha wolves get possessive, and others...”“Der
The dress Thane had picked out for me wasn’t that bad. Though it revealed my back and threatened to go lower, the front was decent enough, exposing a little of my cleavage. The green dress had two slender straps and a deep slit. It was beautiful.Thane walked in, already fully dressed; of course, he didn’t need much to look as spectacular as he did now."Sit,” he says, pointing at the chair, and I take my seat, knowing if I don't, there will be consequences.He selected a large diamond necklace with matching earrings, and he put them on me. I didn’t miss his hands lingering on my neck longer than supposed. But he hadn’t stopped there; he had proceeded with my hair. It was indeed a surprise; one would never expect a man like Thane to have the patience required to learn hair styling.“How did you learn how to do this?” I asked, staring at the mirror. My hair was in an updo, and I was sure I had never looked this beautiful.“I did this for my mother a few times,” he admitted, but there w
Alpha Slade and his mate’s seats remained empty.“I need to go to the restroom” I said to Thane.“Axel can go with you.”“I can go on my own,” I say, my cheeks reddening. I didn’t think he should worry about any attack, not after the example he had set for the others. I noticed how the other pack members seemed to keep a good distance from me; they were all afraid of coming too close and I couldn’t blame them.Thane wasn’t happy about my choice, and I was very sure he would come looking for me if I took more than a few minutes. But I wasn’t planning on returning; after all that happened today, I just needed to go back to the room and shut everyone else out.It was only going to be six months. I reminded myself.I knew the way back to our room, and I had made sure to study the routes we had followed when coming here, I wasn’t about to get lost again.I exited the hall, very aware of the stares boring into me."Luna,” a female who had been leaning against the wall, called; of course, it
On our way out, more women stared. It was getting unnerving—I wanted to snap at them.I was tempted to show them he was mine by wrapping my arms around his torso, but I wasn’t sure he would like that. He had never been one for such close contact, so I kept my hands to myself. But as if he could read my mind, he wrapped his arm around me—possessively.I stared up at him in surprise."I’m on my best behavior, but if those guys don’t stop undressing you with their eyes, I might have to reconsider," he said. I followed his line of sight, and sure enough, about five guys stood there, watching me. The moment Daemon’s gaze fell on them, they quickly walked away.“You don’t seem to be noticing how almost every female in the building is checking you out.” I said, and his eyes met mine again, making me realize that he truly hadn’t noticed them. How was that even possible? Some had walked past him multiple times just to get a single look from him, I couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy for t
I had never seen anything like this place; it felt more… alive. This had been all I wanted, and here I was. Free of the castle and out in the open. The world was far bigger than I could ever know—far more diverse too. I didn’t realize I was smiling until I noticed his eyes on me. His attention was no longer on the road ahead of us. "It's beautiful," I said after a moment.“I would have done this sooner if I knew how happy it would make you.”"Daemon, thank you for doing this," I said, and for a moment, our eyes locked. I reddened and looked away. "Where are we going?" I asked to fill the silence."To watch a movie. It’s a rewrite of Romeo and Juliet," he said.For some reason, I couldn’t help but laugh."What?" he questioned."Who would have thought? The Demon Overlord watches movies.""I like to see myself as a normal person at times.""But there is nothing normal about you.""I've been good since we arrived here. That should win me some points in normality, shouldn't it?"“Yes, I gu
The mist disappeared, giving way to a completely different location. Daemon’s hand steadied me.“Are you alright?” he asked. I could only nod. Our ‘travel’ had been one of the strangest experiences I had ever encountered.“Where are we?” I asked, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.“In a museum.”I glanced around, noting the towering dinosaur skeleton, the paintings, and the sculptures. The more I observed, the more I appreciated the beauty of each piece. This museum was unlike anything I had ever seen, it fascinated me.“That painting… it’s so beautiful,” I said to Daemon.“Yes, it is,” he agreed. Daemon had his hands shoved in his pockets, standing still while I moved around, gushing over the beautiful artifacts. “Humans have this obsession with preserving things from the past.”I paused.“Humans?” I repeated. He nodded.“If you haven’t noticed, we’ve traveled far from home.” He took my hands in his and led me to the door. A guard sat in a small booth, his posture relaxed—until h
ALIYA’S POVDaemon had kept his distance, reminding me once again of the times back at the castle when he would withdraw into himself. He had a lot on his mind, none of which he was willing to share with me.I didn’t miss the fact that he seemed to enjoy my company, even though he never made a move on me—and I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. As the days went by, I found myself settling into this ‘new life.’ It didn’t seem so… bad, now that I knew Daemon wasn’t about to end my life anytime soon. But there was still one problem—Tasha.It didn’t take a genius to see that she was jealous. Daemon fed from her, but beyond that, she was just another person living in his house. He never seemed to look at her twice, despite her efforts. The twins were nicer, but they mostly kept to themselves. Tasha had no interest in making friends with them—or with me, for that matter.Today, something changed.Lying on the bed in Daemon's room, I felt trapped. It shouldn’t have bothered me—I had lived my
"Is there anything else I should be aware of?" I questioned my advisors. Once again, they seemed to be holding something back—I could tell."We worry about what will happen when the news reaches the other packs," Austin says, giving me a look that suggests I read between the lines and figure out what he isn't saying. When he realizes I’m not catching on, he speaks up. "There has never been a female Alpha before. There will be a lot of opinions—especially with you being the… Alpha Queen. The others might not accept this change,"“We should be ready for anything. The other packs might see this change as a sign of weakness and think it’s the best time to attack. The Nightshade pack might have been enjoying peace for years, but it would be foolish to think that that would continue.”“When they attack, we will be ready, we will go to war and I will take the front lines and prove to them how wrong they are.”Phil nodded, and with that, I dismissed them.As I stepped out of the meeting room,
Austin helped me back to the pack house. I was filthy, covered in mud—but I didn’t care.“Gather the council of advisors.” I instructed him.“Now?” he asked, surprised. “You should rest, Luna. You are in no condition…”“I gave you an order.” I said and that seemed to surprise him too, he nodded before turning away.I stripped off my filthy clothes, took a quick bath, and stepped into another leather outfit—identical to the one before. My hair, still damp, was twisted into a bun before I headed to the meeting room.I had expected to be bombarded with questions from the advisors; I had expected some of them with frowns on their faces. I was ready to take all the disappointed looks casted at me, but what I wasn’t ready for was to find all the seats unoccupied—all except two.Austin and Phil.“Where are the others?” I questioned.“Erh… Luna, I really don’t think this is the right time…”I cut Austin off for the second time. “Where are the others?” I repeated.“They left.”“What do you mea
The bond was gone, leaving a void in my chest. But what I felt for him didn’t change. Despite the fact that we were no longer mates, I still loved him. I was right—what we had was beyond the mate bond.I had given up far too quickly, I realized. I wasn’t willing to let him go just yet.The crowd was gone by the time I returned to the healing room. I stood by the door of the room where Alexander had been kept, contemplating what to say. I could apologize again, but something told me it wouldn’t be enough. He believed I could ‘move on,’ but he needed to see that I never would—that I could never love another. My heart belonged to him, mate bond or not. Nothing had changed. And maybe, if he saw that, he would change his mind.Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. No response. I lifted my hand to try again when the door creaked open.I pushed it fully open—only to find the bed empty.His scent in the room was still strong, enough to tell me he hadn’t been gone for long. I walked int
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