"Have you ever met someone that looks so familiar, but you can't quite grasp where you know that person from?" my mother asked."No, it hadn't really happened to me. Why?"She placed down her spoon, clearly done eating."I don't want to sound all paranoid, but I saw this man; he was standing outside the pack house and just staring at me. It was strange, but then he was… gone. For some reason, I feel like I know him from somewhere, but I can't quite place where."I paused eating. "Wait, how does this man look?" I asked her."Blonde hair, average height... I didn't get much of him, but I felt like I had seen him before."I had every reason to believe that was Bruce; it just had to be.He had promised he would stay away from her; why was he at the Raven Clan?"Mom, listen to me: if you ever see that man again, run.""Run? Why?""Nothing, just run.""There has to be a reason; is he evil?" she asked."I can't be sure if it's the same person," I lied, I was very sure. "But if it is, then th
ISABELLA...I always knew I wouldn't live a long life; I knew all I had was months, and at some point, I stopped caring; I stopped fearing death, I accepted it.That had changed since Thane came into my life. He made me see that there was more to life, things I was missing out on and all of a sudden, my fear for death returned. I didn't want to die.I watched him through the tiny window as he chopped down a tree for wood. He was going to be brokenhearted when he discovered the truth. I should tell him; I owed him that, and yet I couldn't. I couldn't because I feared he would leave me.Thane caught me staring and abandoned the axe; he walked into the house, easily finding me."Checking me out as always?""Yes." I answered truthfully, there was no need to deny it."You look a bit... frail. Have you been eating well?" He asked, and I nodded. I tried to keep calm; if Thane detected any signs of unease, he would investigate further. It was hard trying to hide things from a man as smart a
RILEY“I can’t believe he still visited my mother; he promised me he would let her live her life.” I said to Thane, exasperated.“She knows nothing about him; that’s all that matters.”“What if he makes her remember? I don’t want him to come between what she has with Gabriel.”“Think about it this way. For almost two decades he left her; maybe he thought he was trying to protect her, but that revelation is bound to leave her heartbroken. Do you think she would simply fall back in love with him like it had been all those years ago?”“I think not. At least I wouldn’t.”“Exactly.”A maid walked in with a tray of food.“Wait.” I called, and she paused. “Pricilla?”She turned to me, and it was indeed Pricilla.“Why are you here?” I asked.“To deliver the food.” She said like that wasn’t obvious.“You may leave, Pricilla,” Thane says to her, and she gives a bow before dismissing herself.“She’s one of the maids now?”“Yes.”“How did that happen?”“I think she genuinely wants to be a better
“We can both have him.” Isabella says, her eyes pinned to the ground.“So you want us to...” I couldn’t even say the word.“Yes.” She answered simply.“That won’t work.”“It will; it did before. I’ve been busy these past few days. I know about you and Axel. Your relationship with him never came between what you had with Thane, did it?” I couldn’t give an answer to that. “Riley, if Thane felt nothing for me, I would be gone by now, but I was his mate, and so there’s a part of him that would always have those feelings for me. I’ve been gone for long, so the mate bond between us has weakened, but it’s only a matter of time. When that time comes — we don’t have to make him choose.”“I don’t want that Isabella.” I said to her, even if I knew that she spoke the truth, or at least partially the truth. Thane might have feelings for her, and why he would never admit it to me, I knew that letting go of one’s first love and mate couldn’t be that so easy. “But then that would only be you being s
"I enjoy it, Riley; I enjoy punishing them. I am a demon; it's a part of me.""Just stop, stop saying that; it makes me scared of you, and I don't want to be scared of my own son.""Son." He calls the word like it disgusted him. "I don't like when you call me that."Those words cut deep; what on earth was wrong with him?"I told you once that my heart can only belong to one person, Riley, and you want to know who that person is?" he asked. I gave no response. "It's you, Riley. I love you, and I've said that to you over and again, but I don't love you like a son loves his mother; I love you like a man would another woman."The revelation stunned me into silence.Wait... what?"Daemon, you can't...""I can, because that's all I feel. Every single time I think of you, I think of what it would feel like kissing you; I think of fucking you and making love to you..."I slapped him hard. He seized both my hands. He leaned down and kissed me. I struggled against his firm grip, but damn, was h
ISABELLA'S POV...."If you had a day left, what would you spend those few hours doing?" I asked Thane.He gave me a calculative look. "Why would you want to know that?" he asked."Nothing; I am just one curious creature.""Well, if I did have a day to live, I wouldn't spend a minute thinking about death; I would live through the day like it was every other." he said, and I couldn't help but smile at that. "Bella, I have a question for you. Have you ever thought about having a family?"The smile on my face disappeared. I had thought about that so many times; anytime I looked at Thane, I knew if I could have a family, he would be the one I would want to have that family with."No." I lied, "I will worry about that when the time comes."I rose from the bed."Where are you going?""I need to use the bathroom." I said to him, but I had been trying to hide the tears; they had once again ruined my makeup. Hiding this was getting harder. I took out my powder; I just needed a few more touches
THANE I stood before the tiny cottage that had once belonged to Bella. I didn't know exactly why I was here, yet here I was. The little cottage, which had been abandoned, was barely holding together; termites had infested the woods, cobwebs filled every corner. I walked into the house. Dust layered over every piece of furniture and dried leaves littered the floor, this place which had once been full of life, was empty and lifeless. Not much furniture survived the years. There was a sound from the inner room, and I headed there. The squirrel ran past me; that must have been the source of the noise. I stared at the couch— rather, what remained of it, that had been the very couch Bella had died on. I remember the pain I had felt waking up to see her lifeless body; at first I had been in denial; it couldn't possibly happen— I'd thought to myself, but then the pain set in, Bella had become a part of me and a part of my life, with her gone I'd felt oddly incomplete. I picked up t
"Say the words, and I will kill him.""He's not that easy to kill," she says, but I knew that she didn't exactly want him dead; for some reason I failed to understand, she sorted for another option rather than killing him because she still ‘cared’ for him despite everything. I had to try and understand that she still wanted to spare the very person who hurt her, simply because she gave birth to it. Riley had a kind heart, and in times like this, I wish she were less innocent."Come here." I said to her, and she does. Riley didn't need an avenger right now, all she needed was someone to comfort her, and if that's all I could do to help, I'd gladly hold her for hours if she wanted that. She finally stopped crying after an hour. I couldn't help but wonder why she shedded tears over Daemon; he wasn't really worth it. I placed her on the bed before taking off my shirt and joining her. She rolled once more into my arms, just as she always did each night. When Riley was close by, she alo
I didn't sleep all night. Finally, when It was dawn, I rose from the bed and headed into the bathroom, rummaging through the closets for my clothes. They weren't here; I only found a robe, and so I put it on quickly before returning back into the room."Riley. What are you doing? Come back to bed, you need some more rest." Daemon muttered."I'm sorry." I said, and with that I threw the blinds open. He should have never told me about his newfound weakness. The sun burnt his skin, I didn't wait to watch him die. I raced down the stairs and out of the main entrance door, and I froze. The house was practically in the middle of nowhere; snow covered the ground. Where exactly was this place?The drugs he had used on me prevented me from using my wings, and so I ran on my feet; the wild wind blew through my hair, causing my eyes to water, but I couldn't stop running. After a few hours, I slowed down, I couldn't run anymore; My breaths were shallow and foggy, visible in the cold air. With e
Daemon placed the pack of ice on my wrist. Sometimes, I couldn't even understand him. One moment he is the nice guy, and the next moment he is the villain, a total monster. It had been the other part of him I saw that made me believe I could change him.He took a seat on the couch, going through a notebook."You read; that is surprising.""No, this is not a novel.""Then what is it?""I picked it up from Daisy's room; I couldn't leave it behind.""It belonged to her?" I asked, and he nodded."She seemed to love drawing a lot," he said with a small smile."You liked her," I stated."I felt something for her." He admitted."Then why did you kill her? It makes no sense; she loved you back.""Because she wanted to be with me.""And why is that a problem?""You think I don't know about Isabella and Thane?""Leave Thane out of this.""He keeps taking you for granted over and over again; she is his mate for fuck's sake. He should have let her go the moment he set eyes on her, yet he'd rather
“You cannot force me into loving you, Daemon.”“I can and I will.” Daemon shrugged his suit off and began unbuttoning his shirt. “What are you doing?” He gave no response. I scrambled out of the bed, but he caught up to me. “Don’t think your little stunt won’t go unpunished, Riley.” He says, taking off his belt.“You wouldn’t dare.”“I saw your son, Ethan. He is one cute little thing.” Daemon said with a smirk playing on his lips. I could see the unspoken threat.“No, not Ethan, please no!” I sobbed.“I didn’t hurt him... not yet, but now you know what I would do if you don’t cooperate, little Riley.”“Don’t do anything to him.”“I promise you, Riley, if you stop acting like a bitch, then I wouldn’t hurt him.”“I won’t; I will behave.”“Good girl. Now strip.”“What?”“Don’t make me repeat myself.”“I know you, Daemon; you are better than this.”“I’m not, and soon you will understand that. Now strip.”He watched me as I took off my clothes; when I was completely naked, he positioned
TRIGGER WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS CONTAIN TRIGGERING CONTENT; READ WITH CAUTION.Tears streamed down my face as I stared at Daisy’s lifeless body; her eyes were still open, frozen in shock.“Why would you do this? She did nothing to you!”“Here you go, once again, caring for the same person who betrayed you.”“You did this; you messed with her head.”“She was far gone, Riley. I would have let her go, but she is going to get all crazy and try to find me. She was a loose end; I had to kill her.”“You didn’t have to, but you did anyway because you are nothing but a monster.”“I made her death quick; I should get some points for that, don’t you think?”I punched him in the face; it could have fazed any werewolf, but he wasn’t one. “I am stronger than you, Riley. You are only half demon; you don't really think you can really harm me, do you?”I threw another punch at him, but he caught my wrist midair. I pulled free of his grasp before letting out my wings, I darted towards the windo
Maybe Thane was right; I didn't have to push him away. Isabella could stick around, but that didn't mean I would have to leave just so she could be with him. I made a decision. I was going to fight for what belonged to me..When I returned back to Thane's room, I was met with the sight of Thane on the floor, unconscious; claw marks marred his body, and a few more identical marks on Isabella."What's wrong?" I asked her."It happened again, and it's getting worse.""You need a healer.""No, I will heal, and so will he.""How can I help? Just tell me what to do.""Nothing. There is nothing you can do Riley, and it's not safe for you to be around him anymore.""I'll be the one to decide that.""Riley. You need to listen to me. I thought this would work, but it won't. You cannot be around him.""But you can?""Do you know what happened to Logan's mate?""He told you about Logan?" I asked, feeling a bit betrayed."No, he didn't. I've been getting some fragments of my memory back. Logan ha
RILEY"Finally you show up." I muttered, letting Thane in."Are you mad at me?" he asked; of course he sensed that almost immediately."No, I'm not.""You sound mad, Riley.""How did you think I would feel? I hate the fact that you have to be with her.""You said this was what you wanted. I wanted none of this, but I did it for you, and now you are going to put it all on me?""I didn't know what I was thinking.""So does that mean you'll return back to the room and stop all these?"I shook my head but said nothing."When I brought up the idea of both of you in one room, it didn't occur to me that you will both have to share a bed.""You saw that, didn't you?""Yes, I did.""Nothing went on between the both of us.""I know that, but I couldn't help but see how perfectly matched the both of you were. She had her legs wrapped around you, and you seem to enjoy her company. I don't know what to think anymore.""I love you.""Where is it? I keep hearing those words, but I can't see it; I ca
Once again, the bed was empty by the time I awoke. I felt a hollow in my chest; once more, I would have to hold onto the memories he had left, until his next visit. I was sore, but I managed to get out of bed. I took my pills."Good morning," the voice called, and there Daemon sat, still looking through my notebook."You stayed." "Yes, I did.""Why? I mean, I am happy—you know what? Don't answer that."He gave me a small smile, and it might just be the most human thing I had ever seen him do."You don't have to be uncomfortable around me; I won't harm you." he assured. I couldn't come up with anything to say. "It occurred to me that I don't know anything about you — except that you are the pack healer. I didn't know you drew. This drawing is really nice.""Thank you. I have been drawing and painting for years now; it’s something I do to keep calm."This was the most he had said since I knew him, and I wanted to keep the conversation going, but I didn't want to say the wrong words."W
DAISY'S POVIt wasn't the same.When Daemon made love to me, when he bit me, all I felt was pleasure. Maybe I didn't realize it at the beginning, but he had become like an addictive drug, the more I got, the more I wanted. I thought it had just been the bites, and so I had tried getting that from Riley, but it wasn't the same.The Luna knew where he was. Why wouldn't she tell me?Each day, it got worse. I scrolled through my notebook; he occupied every single page.I had drawn him about a hundred times, and yet, I picked up a pen, ready to make another image. This was the only way I could keep myself from losing my mind thinking about him.Twenty minutes later, I was done with a perfect drawing of him. In this drawing he was shirtless, those locks of shiny black hair fell over his eyes. Damn, was he sexy."Hello, Daisy," the voice called.For a moment, I had thought it was all in my mind. It sounded so real. Slowly I turned, and there he stood, yet I couldn't be sure, this could jus
**DAEMON** "I have every reason to kill you." Bruce said to me as he tended to my wound. I should have kept an eye out for Thane; maybe I did underestimate him."I know.""No, you don't. You are a fool if you think you have a chance with my daughter; you don't. Many have tried; she has eyes for only one man.""I've learned from my mistakes; I won't repeat them.""Of course you won't; I will not let you," he says.We were back in Bruce's home. I hated this place; for some reason it made me feel powerless, totally helpless.Bruce had helped me escape from Jade; together we locked her away, but I always felt like I escaped from one prison only to fall into another. Just like Jade, Bruce wanted to control me, but unlike her, he made me feel like I had an option even if I didn't."You gave them the pendant; why?""Why else do you think? I know about what you did to my daughter, against her will.""You don't really care, so stop the pretense.""Is that what you think? That I don't care?Ju