Thane returned late. He paused at the door, his eyes trailing down me.“You are hurt, aren’t you?” he questioned"No,” I lied, but one look at him told me he saw through that, “yes,” I admitted.“I’m sorry,” he apologized, but there was no promise that he would go gentle next time. He had warned me, just so I could prepare myself. Yes, it was more than I could ever prepare for, but at least I knew what I was getting myself into.“I liked it a lot,” I say to him, and his eyes brighten up.“You did?”“Yes, I thought you could tell.”“You are a mystery, Riley,” he says, and I couldn’t agree to that; he was the mysterious one, and I, on the other hand, was nothing but an open book. .“Axel did take good care of me,” I said, gorging his expression.There was nothing but a smirk on his face. “Of course he did,” and that confirmed a lot.Thane was in his briefs now, and I couldn’t help but marvel at his size. I looked away quickly; I couldn’t bear any more awkwardness.“You could look as lo
I had wanted Axel there with me, and it was strange that I'd seek comfort from a man I had only met, just to face my own mother. I walked into her room, and she shut the door.I gasped. The room was beautiful. It was almost as wide as our own room."Beautiful, isn’t it?” She asked, pouring a glass of juice into two glass cups. She passed me one.“Thank you, and yes, this is a lovely space.”“You know what I hear? This was one of the previous Luna’s rooms. And my pay is way more than a person even in my position should earn.”“I am happy to see you are being treated well." I said genuinely.My mother scoffed. “I think it’s weird, all the things he does... Alpha Thane would never do anything if he wasn’t getting something in return.”“So what are you trying to say, mother? You are the mother to the Luna of this pack; how is this questionable?”“I know you more than you think, daughter. He wouldn’t have taken you if he didn’t have something to get in exchange.”“Because I am weak? Becaus
"I think we should talk somewhere more private; what do you say?""I am quite in a hurry at the moment," I replied."Where are you heading to? Maybe I could walk with you," she asks, a small smile on her lips. She hadn’t been rude and maybe we both could play whatever game this was."I was heading for my mate's room.""Is that so?, Strange that you are going in the opposite direction.""The pack house could get confusing at times.""So you are lost?" she questioned."I'll admit it, I am lost," I said with a shrug, trying to act unbothered by the fact that I was alone here with this Beatrix. I had seen her fight; she was good; there was no doubt she could take me down easily. Being alone with her was dangerous, but letting her know I was lost was even more dangerous."Let's make a deal, Luna. I'll help you on your way back if you could only give me a few minutes of your time.""And if I refuse?" I ask with a cocked eyebrow. I had to look calm and settled, and I really hoped it worked.
I didn’t think she was leading me the right way. But I didn’t let her know that. I tried keeping track of every route we followed, but there were just too many turns.“Riley”. I turned to see Axel. I couldn’t deny the relief I felt the moment I saw him. “I told you to stay there; where did you go...” His words trailed off as he only seemed to notice Beatrix at my side, and he gave me a questioning look.“Beta. Not to worry, she is safe with me; we were only having a little chat, and I was going to escort her back to her room; she’s not very familiar with this place yet.”“Thank you, but I will be taking over now,” Axel said, taking my arms and leading me away.Beatrix had actually been leading me the right way.When we were a good distance away, Axel stopped.“What?”“I told you to wait there. Why didn’t you” Axel questioned“I got overwhelmed; I’m sorry.”“No, don’t be. I had been worried.”“Why? Wait, did you think I was going to run away?”“I thought of that, but of course, you wou
“Does whatever you have to tell me endanger you?”I thought about it. “Not really, why?”“Then I can promise you, Thane wouldn’t know.”“Beatrix suspects something.”"Well, she’s a fool; nothing to bother about,” Axel said. He didn’t seem to like her very much, and that brought a smile to my lips.“This is something to bother about. She had seen me when we both visited the training grounds. And she had pointed out the fact that I had no visible marks due to the...” I trailed off, but Axel understood where I was heading. “She has these theories; she thinks this might be a mistake, and I hadn’t actually been mated to Thane, or there is some kind of agreement, she also suspects that I blackmailed him into this.”“Blackmail?” Axel scoffed. “You don’t have to worry. I bet she is hoping this is an agreement too.”.There was a knock on the door.“I’m not expecting anyone,” I said to Axel.“That must be the maid. It’s lunch time.....Thane should be back by now, and I was getting worried. A
No matter how I struggled, I couldn't win and I knew it, I just couldn’t outsmart ten of them.“Help!, somebody help!..” I screamed out of desperation, hoping someone would hear me.I felt a hand around my mouth, muffling my screams. "You speak again, and I promise you that will be the last time you ever speak," the man with his hands around my mouth warned. I also noticed the wickedly sharp dagger in his hands. I felt the panic rising. Could this be my end?He slowly withdrew his hand from my mouth and took off his hood. I didn't know many people here, but I recognized him almost instantly. He was one of the men Beatrix had fought on the training grounds."She's supposed to be an omega," the man said to the other cloaked figure standing to the side, the only one who hadn't bothered holding me down or participating in this."She had been marked by him; that should be the reason," he says, and I did not understand a single word of what they were saying. All I could think about was how
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
KAIDA’S POVA whole week, and he barely spoke to me.I knew he was mad at me for leaving without informing him—he had every right to be—but I never thought it would drag on this long. I had believed that after my explanation, things would return to how they used to be. I was very wrongNothing was the same.I had just been informed that Aric had returned. I had been worried about him, but maybe it was smart of him to stay away for a few more days. Now he was back, he too kept his distance, and I didn’t think I was ready to see him either—maybe because a part of me blamed him. He had advised me to keep it all a secret from Alexander, and now I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing.The Empress still lived, but everything I had built with Aric crumbled to pieces right before my very eyes.I spent my day exercising; that was the only way to let out stress, but this time it wasn’t enough. I missed him—I missed Alexander; I miss his touch… it was all driving me crazy.Most times, I had
The sun had begun to set as I approached Aric in the field; thankfully, the place was completely empty of people.“I knew I would be seeing you soon.” Aric said with a smile.“I had been waiting for you; I almost thought you chickened out.”“I had sex with her,” he said abruptly, and despite the fact that I already knew that, hearing it from the man who she had fucked only made it all worse."I should have known you'd take your chance the moment you were left alone with her.""For all you know, she might have been the one begging for it. Maybe you weren’t enough to satisfy her, or perhaps… she was craving something different."I’ve always excelled at keeping my emotions in check, but this time it took everything in me to keep calm. I was one step away from cracking his skull.“You know you can’t kill me.” He says, “She wouldn’t like that one bit, and you don’t want to make her mad.”“On the contrary, I do.”He hadn’t expected it; I grabbed his arm, snapping it. He let out a growl. “Yo
ALEXANDER’S POVI couldn’t bear to look at her. I came home late and left early—we hadn’t had a real conversation since we returned a week ago. She had tried starting one a few times, but after noticing my lack of interest, she stopped trying.I should get over this and move on. After all, I had been with other women too—but that was before Kaida and I became more than just unwilling companions. What hurt me the most wasn’t the act itself, but the fact that she hadn’t said a word about it. I had waited for her to finally gather the courage to speak up, only to realize she was going to pretend nothing had happened—like she hadn’t broken my trust. And that was what annoyed me the most.I would have forgiven her, damn, I still would— if she spoke about it.I drowned myself with work, and of course it paid off; the pack earnings had increased significantly this past week. When I wasn’t working, I was drinking myself to death. Usually, women, liquor, and violence were my only ways to let o
I felt so stupid—foolish enough to believe I was the queen in this game, with everyone else as mere pawns in my scheme. Little did I know there was a master plan, one far greater than my petty game. And in His plan, I was nothing more than a pawn.“You released those flesh eaters that attacked me; I could have died!” “That wasn’t exactly part of my plan, but again, I didn’t think you would go running off.”“You want me to believe that everything you said to me was a lie, but I don’t believe that. I know there was some truth to it all; you took the blame for me, risking your life. More than once you’ve risked your very position to make sure I am fed; you saved me from them. The kiss we shared in the lake, the memories we’ve made—they aren’t fake; they are all real.”I sounded so sure of myself, but in reality, I wasn’t. Perhaps it was all real to me, but never real to him.Trian—no, Daemon—gripped my chin, his eyes flashing from their usual blue to pure black before returning to their
A smirk curved on his lips; his eyes, once full of emotion, were empty, cold, and… distant.Suddenly he looked like a stranger.In a blink, he was no longer in front of me. I felt his presence right behind me; my heart pounded as I slowly turned around, and there he stood only a few inches away from me.“You wanted to know how I got out of The Pit? Well now you do.”“What are you?” I asked, backing away once again.“Fortune tellers might be liars, but she didn’t lie. I do have darkness living and breeding inside of me. Your empresses, they were all fools; they couldn’t see that the very thing they fought against was living with them, under their very noses.”“You are scaring me, Trian.”“No, not Trian. Daemon.”That name was also familiar; it took only a few seconds for my brain to place it. Julia had told me about the demon that had been born into the world by the Luna Queen. The demon that was supposed to be dead, he went by the very same name Daemon.“No!” I gasped.“Now you're sca
I woke up to Trian by my side.After the bath last night, he brought me back to bed; I didn’t miss the fact that he had replaced the sheets with fresh ones. Despite the throbbing pain between my legs, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied.It was better than I had ever expected, and I was glad Trian had been my first.Now I lay there, staring at him like some creep while he slept, noticing how tense he seemed—even in sleep. Maybe that was something all soldiers had in common. The thought of tracing my fingers down his perfectly sculpted face was enticing, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, afraid I might wake him—and then things would get very… awkward.I managed to rise to my feet, certain I’d be feeling him down there for days. I limped out of the room, planning to take a small tour of the house, and made my way to the kitchen. That was when I realized something I had completely overlooked—I didn’t know how to cook. For most of my life, the maids brought me food, and I ate whatever
Trian spread my legs wide, until I was completely vulnerable to him, I tried hiding away from him once again but he wouldn’t have that.That was the thing about Trian, he doesn’t asks for things, he demands for them, yet I knew all I had to say was a word and he would stop, but I couldn’t say the word, every right I had to make decisions about my own life had been taken from me by the Empresses, but this time I wanted this, I wanted him to be the one. My first.He kissed my nipples before taking them into his mouth."Trian…" I gasped, but he didn’t stop. His tongue flicked over my hardened nipple while his fingers teased the other. The moment he let go, he took the other into his mouth, repeating the motion. Heat surged through me—I had never craved anything more. Then, he kissed lower.“When I saw you, walking down that path, looking so fucking beautiful, I couldn’t wait to see you naked.” He whispered, his voice thick with lust and then he took my clit in his mouth. I jerked, moanin
ALIYA POVWe pulled up in front of a house that resembled the one Trian owned in Aureonna City.“How many houses do you own?”He smirked, “You don’t want to know.”“I do, actually.”“A lot.” He answered.“Why do you need so many houses?”“I used to be a traveler, obsessed with owning houses.” He admitted, before leading me into the house. We didn’t stop at the living area; he led me to one of the rooms.The design in this room felt more masculine.“This is your room, isn’t it?”“Yes,” he answered.I ventured deeper into the room, looking around the place; my eyes landed on the king-size bed in the middle. Dark thoughts filled my mind, but I managed to force my eyes away from the bed.“Those three weeks that I was away… I thought about you. It felt like an obsession, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”“I thought about you too, every single day.” I admitted, walking back to him, I took his hands in mine. “I believe in you now, fully and completely.”“I haven’t earned it, Aliya.”“
A small frown etched on my face.“It is, that’s his handwriting.” I argued.“Maybe, but that last line… it’s not his words.”That had been my very thought, but maybe no one really knew my father.“He knew I could do it.”“He mated you to me and gave me his pack too—to keep you safe. Why in the world would he send you to kill the person who he was trying to save you from?” he asked and I stared at him, speechless.“Did you kill her?” he asked. “The empress?”I nodded.“How?”“Silver bullets. I shot her thrice in the heart.”“And you believe she is dead?”“I shot…”“I know you shot her thrice, but if bullets could kill them, they would all be dead now, don’t you think?”"What are you saying?" I asked. My hands shook slightly, so I clasped them together to steady them.“I’m saying there is a high possibility she still lives. I don’t believe in their god but I know that physical methods are hardly ever enough to kill any of those empresses. They’ve been blessed with the gift of immortalit