The moment we were alone in our room, I placed my dagger at his throat.“I warned you. I told you if you tried playing games with what I told you, I was going to kill you.”I pushed the dagger against his throat, nicking him, and a thin line of blood rolled down his neck and disappeared beneath his clothing.“Then kill me, Kaida.”“Don’t tempt me.” I warned.“You cannot kill me, not even if you want to. You have me in this position because I choose to let it be.”In a flash, he had somehow managed to flip me around so I had my back against his chest, his hand wrapped around mine, and now the dagger was at my own throat. He was stronger than me; I hated times when I got reminded of that.He held me closer; I could feel him against my ass, strong and hard.“If I wanted you in this position—in other, more… interesting positions, I wouldn’t have a problem making it happen. You don’t threaten me; you might be my mate, but I am still your king.” He whispered in my ear before letting me go.
Trigger Warning: The following chapters contain themes of trauma. Read with caution!I followed Alexander down the dungeons.The rogue had been chained up in one of the dungeon rooms.“They will come after you—the rogues; they will become your biggest enemy.” He threatens Alexander, but I could see the fear in his eyes; he knew his death was near.“Then let them come.” Alexander responded.“Is the bitch even worth it? The amount of lives that would be lost?”“Careful, she decides your life now and you wouldn’t want to make things any worse.” He paused, “If there can be anything considered as ‘worse’ in your case.”“You can’t do this… Please, I beg you, I can make you a deal.”“I hate rogues—they are barbaric, untrustworthy, and cunning creatures. I think I’ll pass on that one.”Alexander left me alone with the rogue.“Do you remember me now?” I asked him.“I don’t know who the fuck you are.” He lied through his teeth.“Pity. I’ll help you remember.”The room had been furnished with an
I had always wanted this; I dreamt about it so many times that it felt surreal now. I dreamt about killing them over and over again.“It must be hard having just one eye left to see with.” He pleaded some more. “You know, you did leave some scars too. I would spend the rest of my life with them, so it’s only fair that I, Kaida Dawn, be the last person you will ever see.”I slashed at his eyes, and his scream grew louder. Soon his cries turned into whimpers.“Just kill me, he pleaded. Please, just kill me.”“Not yet.” I whispered.“I… am—no better than a—” he paused to take in a shaky breath. “I am no better than a dead man… Just kill me and end the torment.”“End the torment? Where is the fun in that?” I asked, and he broke down in tears. “Oh baby, don’t cry, little kitten; no one is going to hurt you. I mean, you didn’t really think you would go scot-free after what you’ve done, did you?”“Please…”“Okay, no more begging; how about we take your tongue next?”“No… no… please!”Begging
I shoved Aric away, quickly putting some distance between us.Alexander’s gaze met mine, and I thought I saw a look of betrayal on his face before his emotionless mask returned.“Leave.” I said to Aric.“No,” he replied, his eyes also fixed on the Alpha King, his fists clenched.“Get out!” I growled at him, and He gave me a long look before walking away, glancing once more at Alexander on his way out.“Is not what you think…” I began.“So you weren’t about to fuck your beta in our room?” he asked, his voice calm, a different type of calm. The dangerous type.“No, I wasn’t going to do that.”“Lies.” He says, “All lies. I thought you were better than that, Kaida. I did remember making a deal with you; you cannot fuck another man while you are in this pack; that was my rule, and in exchange your ‘conditions’ would be met.”“Aric and I are just friends.”“Friends don’t fuck each other, Kaida. Now tell me, do you prefer older men?”Things had finally started falling into place; my life her
He took off his clothes, all the while, his eyes remained on me. He grasped my hair, motioning for me to rise, his grip almost painful.“I can walk.” I said, not liking his grip on my hair.“I know that, but I like this better,” He threw me onto the bed. “Now bend, with your ass in the air.”I turned red.It was a challenge, one he believed I would back out from. This time, I won’t. Slowly I moved to position. His hands trailed down my back, and then round to grasp onto my breast firmly, and I stilled.“Afraid?”“Fuck you.”“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” He held onto my hair, tight. “Go a bit lower, my little slut.”Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away. I wouldn’t cry; he wouldn’t break me.I gasped for breath when he thrust into me, hard. His punishment.“Tight.” He whispered. “Just how small is he?” He wondered aloud; his next thrust was even harder, and he pounded on, going deeper, and then he paused.I could smell the blood. “Now you know.” I whispered, “I’ve never b
“It doesn’t have to be this way, you know.” He says. “We don’t have to be this distant.”“I don't get what you're trying to say.”“It could be just the two of us, no fighting, no whores, just us — as mates.”I was silent. He was offering me a life as his mate and his Luna, when we didn’t have to hate each other. Cas would have wanted this; this would have been to her a dream come true, but I didn’t know if this was what I wanted.Maybe I was afraid. Alexander was a charmer, no doubt committing to a man like him could never end well. What if this all turned out to be another game to him? What if breaking my heart was his master plan?Yet, a small part of me lusted after something… different, something new, but then there was the other part—the other part that told me love was never meant for me.“No. It can’t. What happened tonight doesn’t change a thing. I only agreed to this to prove my point, but… You are better off with your whores; things are better off left how they had been.”“Y
Kaida remained at the very edge of the bed, the sheet wrapped tightly around her body. She was still very much alert. It was clear she didn’t trust me; neither did she like to be placed in such a vulnerable position.I rose in the early hours of the morning, doing my best not to wake her. I got dressed, giving her one last glance before leaving the room.I headed down to the dungeons to where the rogue had been kept; I needed to return his body to Grayson for whatever ritual they did with their dead.Turns out, the man was not yet dead, but he was no different from a corpse. I couldn’t help the smirk that formed on my lips. It wasn’t all talk without truth; my little mate was every bit as dangerous as they claimed..Stark, one of my advisors, met with me in my office.“Alpha Grayson is furious.” he began.“He should be.”“Did you really have to kill the rogue?”“Yes. He had to die.” I responded, the rogue to me was a breathing corpse, he would be fully dead in a few days. “Where is
Kaida’s POVI met Aric in the training grounds.The moment he saw me, a small frown appeared on his face, “Are you alright?” he asked.“Come with me.” I said, avoiding his question. I, on the other hand, was happy to see him unharmed; perhaps Alexander had chosen to let what happened earlier slip—at least I hoped so.The moment we were out of sight, I stopped walking.“What was that stunt you pulled earlier?”“What?” he asked, acting innocent.“Don’t play the fool – why did you kiss me?” I asked and he looked away. “Look at me Aric.” I demanded but he wouldn’t.“I have feelings for you, Kaida.”“For how long?”“How long?” he repeated. “I don’t know; since I watched you grow into the woman you are today.”“But… you never said anything, you never told me.”“I had been waiting for the right time—it never came.”“Aric, you have to let it go—whatever you feel for me, you have to push it aside because it cannot happen, not now and not anytime soon. You are better off with any other woman.”
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
It felt surreal—the blood on the sheets, the body—Alexander. I couldn’t process any of it.“No!” I cried.Foolish, foolish girl.I held him. “You can’t die, please, you can’t die. I’m here, look at me, open your eyes, dammit!”I had never felt this afraid, not even when I received news that my father had passed.Soon, I heard footsteps approaching—the door was still open. They were coming to find the source of the noise. I hadn’t even realized how loudly I had been screaming.“I didn’t mean to… She said she wouldn’t kill him.”More people gathered, and soon, our room was crowded, every face frozen in shock.A hand pressed against my back—Phil. He was saying something, but I couldn’t understand him. Austin was there too, along with some of the other advisors.A woman stepped forward.“I have to take him, Luna.”I let out a snarl. “Don’t touch him… No one touches him!”There must have been something in my voice because she stepped back immediately—so did some of the other pack members.
“There must be another way to cure him.” I insisted."There is no other way. It’s either this or he dies. We don’t have much time. If you refuse my offer, I won’t be generous enough to grant it a second time. You will have to watch him die—knowing you had the power to save him, but you refused."I held back the sob, threatening to escape my lips. They would not see me cry, especially not the woman who killed my parents.“You want a puppet; someone you can control.”“I only have one request from you, the very same one I had already mentioned. Other than that, I won’t make your decisions for you. You will rule.”“When you take away his wolf. What would he become?”"He won’t change; he will be the very same man," she said, a small smile curving on her lips. "And since I’m so generous, I’ll leave your Beta Aric, and Sarah with you to do as you wish. Punish them as you see fit."“No!” Sarah cried out, falling to her knees before the Empress. “I did as you asked of me. I did everything you
"Let me help you, Kaida," Cynthia said, her voice only a little above a whisper."I told you, I don’t need your help. Alexander will find me, and none of you will get away with this."“You’ve only been here for a few hours; besides, Amanda would hardly be considered a threat, and all the camera captured was the little girl leading you in here. He wouldn’t think you are in any form of danger.”"So, you aren’t here for the missing girl. You’ve revealed all your secret plans to me… I can’t help but wonder—why are you here? If you wanted to make me pay for what I did to you, you would have done it a long time ago."“We are getting to that. But I believe there is something you need to know. Addiction to wolfsbane may be dangerous, but stopping is even more dangerous.”For some reason, I believed her. I had seen what the withdrawal symptoms did to Alexander; it was slowly killing him, but his response remained the same anytime I asked; ‘A little while and it would pass.’ The question was, w
Empress Cynthia had read the question in my eyes before I could even ask it."I know you're curious about what your Beta wanted in exchange for betraying your trust," she said. I refused to meet her gaze—I wouldn’t let her see that I wanted to know. “He loves you; that much is clear. There were times he was willing to turn his back on his own family just to keep you safe. You were the one person he would never hurt. But when it came to choosing between you and his little sister… the choice wasn’t easy. She was the leverage I held over him. I have her locked away, far from his reach, until he completes his assignment. Everything he did—he did to keep her alive.”That was a lie.“Aric never had a sister.”"You say you cared about him, but I don’t believe that. You were always caught up in your own little world, blind to what was happening in others’—even those you called ‘family.’ You know, I wanted to reward him for his service, I believed he deserved more, but he never cared for mater
Aric had been the Beta, second in command—it only made sense for my father to leave him in charge of the pack, but he never did. He had seen something I hadn’t. Instead, he wanted me mated to Alexander, believing it was the best way to keep me safe. I had thought it was just to protect me from Cynthia, but that wasn’t the only reason. He knew there were others who posed a threat.Cynthia waited for me to piece everything together and slowly, I did.My father never informed Aric of his plans to marry me off. I had found that strange but never thought much of it. Now, thinking back to their conversation—when Aric had tried to convince him to end the agreement—my father had firmly refused.“The letter… it was false.” I finally spoke up.“Your father would never have sent you against her. He wanted you far away from her. But it wasn’t entirely false—there was some truth to it,” he said, his eyes never meeting mine.“You advised me against telling Alexander about my plans to face the Empre
I woke up with a pounding headache. It took only seconds to realize this had been a setup—and Amanda, the girl we rescued, was part of it.I wasn’t chained or restrained—just placed in a corner of the hall. Sitting right in front of me was Empress Cynthia, with Amanda by her side and…“Sarah?”It came out as more of a question. My gaze shifted between Amanda and Sarah, and the pieces finally fell into place. Amanda had been ‘adopted’ by Sarah—this had all been a carefully planned setup.“I am doing this for you.” She said, there was no hint of regret on her face.Sarah was one of the few I had allowed close to me. I saw her as a friend—the last person I would ever expect to betray me. But I couldn’t let them see how much it hurt. These were people I cared about.Alexander had wanted me to stay out of the Gray Moon Pack’s business, but I didn’t. I wanted justice for the little girl being sent against her will to marry a barbaric man like Grayson. And now, that very same girl had turned
KAIDA’S POVFor the next week, Alexander went to work as usual and returned home on time. Except for the slight tremor in his hands, he seemed to be getting better—or at least, that’s what he wanted me to believe. But I saw right through the act. He wasn’t getting better.The light footsteps caught my attention—someone was in my apartment.I grabbed a handgun from the drawer and silently followed the sound, only to stop abruptly. It was Amanda—the girl Alex had brought back to our pack from the Gray Pack after her parents attempted forcibly marrying her off to Alpha Grayson.“Hey,” I said, shoving the handgun into the back of my waistband.“Luna, I’m so sorry—I shouldn’t have come,” she said, about to leave.“No… it’s alright, Amanda,” I said to her, and her eyes brightened at the fact that I still remembered her name. She stared at me with a strange kind of adoration.“I’ve heard a lot about you since I got here. Do you know the soldiers are practically terrified of you?”“I don’t th