I stepped back on her request, my body once again acting against my mind. Inside I was raging; I wanted to hurt her so badly, but I felt like I had been caged in the inner parts of my mind; I could only watch what was happening, but I had no control over my own actions.Nothing was as torturous and infuriating as that."Bad bad, Luna. Look what you made me do." She drew out each word as she walked deeper into our room, she pulled open a drawer, taking out Thane's cuff. "Kinky," she said, tossing it to me; it fell at my feet. "Put the cuff on.""You have control over me; you don't have to make me wear that to control me." I said to her,"Oh, I know that. Still I just needed to show you how much in control I am, now be snappy about it." I put the cuff on, just as she had ordered. "Good. Now ask me what I had to do to get you."I inhaled deeply; I hated this feeling of powerlessness."What did you have to do to get to me?" I questioned; those words had come out against my very own will.
"Riley, what is going on?" Thane questioned."Nothing...""No, just don't tell me that; don't lie to me, Riley; something is wrong and you are keeping it from me. What is it?"I remained silent because I had no response to his question."You think I don't notice? The sudden desperation to tag along everywhere I go makes it seem like you are afraid to be left alone, like you are scared of something, and I want to help you, Riley, but I have to know what is wrong to help you; you have to open up to me, Riley.""Just let me be, okay. I am fine.""No, you are not." He said he wasn't going to let this go. "Are you sick?" he questioned, clearly concerned."I am not sick; it's just..." I couldn't say the words. Thane waited, eyes hopeful; he was willing to help, and I wish I could tell him everything, but I couldn't. "I still think about Jake," I lied. "I'm willing to do anything to take my mind off him, but... there is something else I didn't tell you. When I left this pack, I had paid a vi
I didn't know exactly how I got here, but I had been in the pack safehouse when a figure approached me.Bailey. I realized."Why am I here?" I asked, keeping my face bare of emotions."You are here because I wanted you to be." "What do you want from me?" "I did tell you I would be back, didn't I? Well, here I am, and I have a mission for you." She said, passing me a small glass bottle filled with a greenish-yellow substance. "Go on, take it," she urged, and I took the bottle from her hand."What is this?""That, my dear, is wolfsbane extract.""Why are you giving me this?""Don't worry, it isn't for you but for the Alpha King, Thane. You will put this in his drink. The Wolf's bane when in his system would weaken him, and so we could proceed to the next step, but for now, this is all you have to do.""He could die." "That would be a pity, a death too quick, not at all worth all the time I spent plotting. You are right though, with the quantity in that bottle, it can kill regular wol
It was all supposed to be a dream. A very bad one. But it wasn't; it hadn't just been a dream. My hand shook as I held the bottle. "Add this to his drink." Bailey's voice reechoed in my head. I walked back into the room, staring at the glass of apple juice on the table. I hadn't asked the maid for it, and I doubted Thane did either. Sending the maid here must have been a part of Bailey's plan—I realized. Tears rolled down my eyes as my body acted on its own, pulling the bottle open. The harsh smell hurt my nose. "No, no, you can't." I said to myself, but still I found myself pouring the content into his cup. It had mixed so nicely, one couldn't even tell. ... Thane arrived home, and he paused to stare down at my choice of clothing, or rather, my choice of underwear. "I like being welcomed like this." "You can have all of this, but first, join me for a drink." I said with a smile on my face. "It's apple juice." He picked up his glass, and I stared at him as he lifted t
Bailey's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the dagger now prodding out of her chest. I didn't stop at that. I pulled the dagger out, only to strike over and over again, till I was sure she was dead. She fell to the floor in a puddle of her own blood, and finally I paused to stare at her. It was over; I couldn't believe it. I would be free.I didn't know I was crying till I felt the tears against my cheeks; this wasn't tears of pain or sadness but of relief. It worked. I couldn't believe it worked; I had been one step ahead of her.~~~I took Bailey's body deeper into the woods, a shovel in my hand, and when I was completely out of sight, I began digging as quickly as I could. I dumped her body into the hole I had dug. I had been about to cover her up when I heard the footsteps. I turned, but I had been a second too late. Something hard came into contact with my head, and I fell to the ground.The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Nick's figure standing over me..I awok
I spit out blood, my gaze returning back to Nick."I am not afraid of you, Nick; do your worst.""You were always a bold one, but the problem was your emotions; they are your greatest weakness.""Why not take your crappy insights and shove it right up your manhole."That earned me another slap, and I smirked knowing I was getting to him."Bailey would betray you; I mean, that's what she does best; you are nothing more than a tool to her.""Are you any different from her? You used me; I helped you heal from all the hurt the bastard inflicted on you; we made a deal, but of course, you broke it; you went back to him and returned my wedding ring like that solves it all. You aren't much different.""You lied to me; you hid the truth from me and left me suffering the consequences.""What did you think? That there would be no consequences? That the dark side would grant you power with nothing in return? If you thought that, then maybe you are the fool.""You want to know why I left you even
THANE'S POVEvery single commander and a few high ranked members had been interrogated, but none had been found wanting.I couldn't stop thinking about Riley. In the room, all alone, it was clear that she wanted to spend the night a different way, and I was going to make it up to her."None of them did this." Axel said to me when we were back in my office. "Yes, I could tell they weren't lying."Just then there was a knock on the door, and Regnux, one of the commanders, walked in."I wanted to speak with you," he said. I noticed how nervous he looked."Go on," I said."So from the investigations, it is clear that the murderer is not a Commander or a high ranked. What if we've been looking in the wrong place all these while?""Skip to the point, Reg."He nodded. "The point is, what if it's someone closer... maybe the Luna, I mean after what…"Axel walked to him. "Do you have proof?" He asked, cutting him off."No, not exactly...""So you come here and accuse the Luna with no proof?"
RILEY'S POV I was alone in the empty containment room, chained to the chair I had been placed on. The footsteps approaching got my attention. Bailey was back, again. "Your mate is here. Just as I had said, feelings make us weak, and that was his downfall." "Don't you dare harm him." I warned, struggling out of the chains. "I guess you would want to see him, right?" She questioned me, and I gave her no answer; I wouldn't let her see how desperately I wanted to go to him. She walked to me, taking off the chains, and I immediately bolted for the door. The moment I touched the handle, the silver burned my hand. "You may call it karma—you remember the silver dagger you used on me?" she asked. "Let me out." "I'll do that, but first, we need to make things clear. In whatever you do, you will not try to escape this place. Got it?" She ordered, and I nodded, compelled. "Good, now come with me." I followed her out of the room. The building seemed ancient, clearly an underground h
I walked into Julia's chambers. The soldier escorting me waited behind. “You may come in,” she called out to me, and I stepped into the private room, finding her naked. Trian stood nearby with a glass of wine, dressed only in his pants.“Hey there.” He said to me with a smirk.I couldn’t help the sudden anger I felt. I shouldn’t be angry; I should be happy that he was totally fine and I was, but he seemed a little… too fine. One would think he was one of the High Regents, given how relaxed he looked. He fit perfectly into luxury. I had been worried for no reason, but that wasn't the real cause of my anger; I knew it. I looked away from him.“You called for me, Empress.”“Yes, I did. Empress Cynthia has decided to ignore your foolishness and engage you in lessons as previously arranged. You’ll be wise not to mess this up. I might not be as merciful next time.”“Thank you for giving me another chance; I promise not to speak out of turn or disrespect her in any way.”“Of course,” she sa
I knew Julia was going to pay me a visit—I had anticipated it. But as the hours passed, I began to hope I had been pardoned. That hope shattered when I awoke from my slumber to find her seated in the chair facing me.“Empress.” I acknowledged, about to rise to my feet.“There would be no need for that,” she says.I looked up to see Trian standing there, his gaze hard.“I’m so sorry; I disrespected the Empress, but I didn’t mean to.”“I hear you are tired of learning.”“I never said that.”“Are you calling her a liar?”“No… of course not. It was simply a misunderstanding.”“I’ve already been tasked with learning so many languages; I fail to see the use in learning more.” She quoted the very words I had spoken. "When I was little, I had so many questions—why did strange things always happen to me? I asked myself, why me? But as I grew older, I realized that every single ‘strange’ thing that happened was meant to push me toward my destiny.The god of light speaks, but no one knows the ex
ALIYA’S POVThe man standing before me was all I could think about. Sometimes he stares at me, as if trying to figure something out, then looks away. I thought about how it felt like being completely naked with Trian, alone, free.“May I ask a question?”“Of course!” I said a little too quickly. “Sorry. Yes, you may.”“Was it your first kiss?” Trian asked.I stared up at him and gave a nod. “You should have already guessed that; it’s no secret that I have never been with a man.”“Being with a man and kissing a man are two different things, Aliya.”“I liked it,” I said, shielding my face with my hair to hide the blush on my cheeks.“I can’t possibly imagine how you feel, with all your daily activities arranged out for you, so many fucking rules.”“I hate it. The more I think about it, the more I hate it, so I stopped thinking about it. I made myself believe this was home, and then it felt better, bearable even. But then I went out there, and I was reminded of all the things I’ve been m
“This is unacceptable!” Austin says. “Even though rogues are not familiar with customs and traditions, it is common sense not to attack on burial grounds.”“One of our commanders was killed.” Aric said. “It’s clear the rogues want a war.”We were all seated with the council of advisors; Alexander hadn’t said a word since the meeting began.The Dawn pack members would be devastated to hear about Gadiel’s death.“I say we give them what they want; I say we go to war.” Stark says, and some nodded in approval.“War? The rogues have the numbers, and we all know that many will die.” Seth, another of the advisors said.“They asked for it,” Austin says.“They hadn’t come into our lands, Alpha. The attack was at the Dawn’s Pack.” Seth said, he gave me a quick glance before looking away.“The Dawn Pack is now part of our pack, and the attack was aimed at my Luna, my Commander, and me. But I don’t think it’s wise to go to war. I doubt the rogue leaders are aware of this attack; perhaps those rog
I stared at my father’s lifeless body from the casket he had been placed in. He looked very much the same as he always had—the worry lines on his face were gone, and he seemed to be at peace. Alexander tightened his grip on my hands, comfortingly.All the members of the Dawn Pack were present, and even some from the Nightshade Pack.“We gather to mourn the loss of a great man—a father to us all, an Alpha. Death truly is vile; it renders even the greatest helpless. He was taken from us too soon; only the goddess knows the reason. Though he is dead, his legacy lives on. Dawn will never forget him; I will never forget him.” Gadiel finished. He was once Chief Commander of the Dawn Pack’s soldiers, I didn’t know the position he held in the Nightshade pack. It was my turn to speak before the pack; it was my turn to comfort them; I didn’t think I could do it. There was a moment of complete silence. I looked up at Alexander, and he nodded at me; somehow that was motivation enough.“My father
I managed to force down a few spoonfuls of food; I couldn’t take more than that. After a quick bath, I joined Alexander on the bed.Two hours passed, and I still couldn’t sleep. I lay there, staring at the ceiling.“I could get you a sleeping pill from the healers, it should help you sleep.” Alexander suggested.“I don’t think a pill would work this time,” I said. “Every time I close my eyes, I see this woman—the same one I saw in my nightmare, the one who killed my father.”“Your father died from an illness.”“Do you believe that? Don’t you find it all strange?”“I do. I find it very strange. I sent Aric to search the pack house for anything he could find, but the one person who might have a clue about this is your father.”“And he is dead.” I completed his sentence. “Maybe you are right; maybe it was just an illness, and I am overthinking.”“It’s never a bad thing to be suspicious,” Alexander said. “Now, try to get some sleep.”After a few minutes of trying, I finally fell into a dr
KAIDA POVAlexander had never once talked about his parents. I had always wanted to know, but seeing the pain in his eyes, I could understand why he kept it all to himself.“You don’t have to talk about it if you are not ready.”“You deserve to know.I’ve heard so many good stories about Luna Riley, my mother, and even more about the last Lycan, Alpha Thane. But I never saw it. My father loved my mother so dearly, even when she was turned. She would have died if not for a sorceress who brought her back—as a demon. I could still remember her cold skin; she always wanted me close to her; she always wanted to carry me around like a mother would her child, but she couldn’t.Demons get weakened by the sun, so she had to be locked away in her room, but that wasn’t the only reason she was being locked away. Demons have a strong thirst for blood; sometimes the pack members go missing. Every time she ‘mistakenly’ kills a person, she cries day and night. She knew that having her child with her
ALEXANDER’S POVKaida was never one to admit her feelings—especially not when they made her look weak. But back at the bar, she did. She admitted her jealousy; she admitted what she felt for me. And right then and there, I swore to myself to be loyal to her. I wanted her happy; I loved seeing her smile, but everything changed too soon when the news of her father's death reached us.She wouldn’t speak. She wouldn’t eat. She wouldn’t even sleep. And for the first time, I saw her cry. She mourned for her father, and all I wanted to do was take away her pain.Aric sat with me in my office. “The healer who had been present when he died said he had fallen into a strange coma some days before he passed. The only sign of life had been his beating heart,” Aric said.“Alpha Trent knew he was going to die; that’s why he made all the necessary arrangements. Still, I believe his illness is indeed very strange; all illnesses have their cause, but Alpha Trent’s didn’t.”“Maybe it was more than just
Trian led me away from the old creepy woman. “I did tell you that fortune tellers are liars.”“But she seemed to know a lot about me.”"From your skin tone, anyone could tell you aren’t an Aureonna by birth. The majority of the population here comes from all over the world, bound by the 'Purifying Ritual.' She’s a good guesser, but there’s nothing special about that, and you don’t have to worry about anything she says. She is a hungry woman, looking for her daily bread."“She would be rich with all those gold coins—where did you get them?”“I was an orphan, but not a poor one. I found my way around things and also built myself some good fortune.”“Then why are you here?”“Money is not the answer to everything. I am here because I want to be, not because I need the money.”“Where are we going?” I asked, realizing they were fewer people the further we went."Wait and see," he said with a smile that made my stomach flutter. We stopped before a lake.“I never knew there was a Lake in this