Melinda’s POV Aster fussed about me cleaning up the blood, changing my clothes, taking my pulse while I stayed unmoving like a corpse. My baby, our baby was gone. I didn’t even get to hold him in my hands… I couldn’t even see him once. He was gone as if he had never existed.A strange numbness had come over me; as if someone had sucked the life out of me; leaving behind an empty hollow shell.“How are you feeling now, Melinda?” Aster asked in a concerned voice, pressing her hand to my forehead. “Why didn’t you call me earlier?” Her voice held equal parts of grief and regret. “If I had reached you a bit earlier, I could at least try….” Her voice got choked and her movements froze.“Why didn’t I come for an extra visit yesterday?” She tore her hair in frustration. “When you didn’t call me for an entire week, I thought that the symptoms had subsided. If only I knew…”Wait! What rubbish was she spewing? Kramen had been reporting her every day with my worsening symptoms. The shock of her
Keith’s POV“You are quite something, aren’t you? Keith.” Houston taunted as I walked into the hall. “You even dared to barge into my council meeting; that too alone.” His eyes lit up on seeing Veronika. “No, wait, you are not alone. Who is this beauty?”Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he continued, “If you are here to beg me for mercy, I might consider giving you a small position in my pack.” Tossing his head in a proud gesture, he smirked, his lustful gaze raking over Veronika. “After all, you have brought a generous gift for me.”“Houston!” I roared, lunging towards him in rage. I would have literally ripped his throat out if Veronika hadn’t blocked my way. Cupping my face, she forced me to look at her, urging me wordlessly, “Keith, don’t act rashly.”Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths, forcing myself to ease my jaws and clam my
Keith’s POV “What in the fucking world is going on?” I exclaimed as I grabbed Veronika’s arm and pulled her just in time to avoid a zipping arrow from hitting her.Thundering footsteps resounded in the hall as a group of about a hundred guards armed with guns and bowstrings rushed inside. They spread out quickly and formed a tight circle around me and Veronika.I pulled Veronika behind me in a protective gesture and looked around; my mind reeling with ideas and strategies to get out of here. My eyebrows furrowed seeing the familiar weapons in the hands of the guards. “You don’t seem to be the guards from the Moonmist Pack… Who are you?”They didn’t reply to my question. However, the guards in front of me stepped to their side, making a narrow path. A few moments later, three men marched into view.My heart skipped a beat and my eyes widened in shock seeing when I r
Melinda’s POV “Melinda?” Kramen’s voice sounded as he walked into the study. “What are you doing here like this?” He crouched beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder, “I couldn’t find Aster at her clinic. So, I went and called Laura instead. She is waiting in the bedroom to examine you.”“You are finally here.” My lips curled into a wry smile as I raised my head to look at him with a tear-stained face. “I was waiting to congratulate you….”“Congratulate me?” His eyes flashed with concern, making the sting in my heart dig deeper. “Are you okay, Melinda… You look so pale and the way you are talking…” He pressed his palm against my forehead. “You don’t seem to have a temperature….”A long, suffering sigh left my lips. All this care, preparing meals for me, treating me with so much affection
KEITH’S POV “I knew I made the right choice.” Alpha Alexander stated, placing his hand on my shoulder. Startled, I raised my head and looked at him, my eyebrows set in a deep frown.“You have passed all my tests, Keith.” Holding my shoulders in a firm grip, he helped me to my feet. “You are clever, steadfast, loyal and a brilliant strategist.” I gaped at him with a bewildered expression as he continued, “What is more, you love Melinda with all your heart. You are willing to sacrifice everything for her happiness.” His lips curled in a bright smile. “No one in this world can match up to you.”“You mean to say, this entire thing was a part of some damn test?” I gasped, shaking my head in disbelief. “I don’t understand. Why in the fucking world would you go to such lengths to test me?”“I will explain everything in due time, but for now, let us get over with the formalities.” He said as he led me to the chair placed at a higher elevation than the rest. Making me sit on the chair, he si
MELINDA’S POV “Melinda,” Keith’s excited voice sounded through my phone. “How are you?”Me, I am shattered, heartbroken. It is like my soul has been shredded into a hundred parts and trampled; like there is nothing left within me.Drawing in a shaky breath, I forced myself to speak, “I am fine…”“What about our baby?”Our baby? Tears streaked down my cheeks and I had to thrust my fist into my mouth to muffle the sob.“Place the phone on your abdomen.” He continued in an excited tone. “I want to give our baby some good news….”I swallowed hard and grunted, “Okay…”My fingers trembled as I held the phone close to my bosom. Every word that Keith spoke was like a fresh stab to my wounded heart.I wanted to stop him; tell him not to have any false hopes, but I lacked courage. I didn’t have it in me to break this earth shattering news to him; at least not over the call.“You know what? Today is the best day in your Daddy’s life.” Keith said in a voice mixed with equal parts of pride and mi
Melinda’s POV “Kain?” I called out as I walked into the hall. “You were going to stay back with Ariana and make sure she is safe, right? Why are you here?”“Umm… I don’t know….” He mumbled, setting the cutlery on the table. “Yesterday, I started feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden. I was filled with this strange urge to see you.” He poured a glass of juice and handed it to me, his lips curving into a small smile. “I am glad that I came. The state of mind you were in….” He shuddered, and his eyes flashed with concern. “What exactly happened, Melinda?”“Umm…” I lowered my gaze, “Nothing really… I was just feeling depressed….”It is not that I wanted to hide anything from Kain. I just felt that Keith must be the first one to know about everything.“Must be the mood swings.” Kain said, his expression turning serious. “I had read it in a book that hormonal changes during pregnancy can make you depressed and irritable.” His eyes lit up suddenly, and he rubbed his palms together. “I also
Melinda’s POV Groaning, I stretched my arms again, trying to reach into my pocket. The mere act of pulling out a silver needle seemed arduous, given that my hands were bound behind me with silver handcuffs. Each time I tried to move my hand; the metal burned into my skin painfully.‘Corel,” I called out to my wolf. ‘This seems like an impossible task. Do you have any suggestions?’‘No,’ she snapped. ‘You are getting what you deserve. I told you to focus on the right things. If you had told Keith about the call instead of coming here stupidly, you wouldn’t have landed in trouble!’“Are you helping or not?’‘Nope,’ she snapped obstinately. ‘You are the one who created the mess, you fix it.”‘Arrghh!’ I grunted with frustration. If I didn’t get out of here, that rascal would try to use me as a bargaining chip to manipulate my mates. Tugging hard at the cuffs, I stomped angrily.The chair tilted to one side, making me lose balance. It swerved in the air for a dangerous moment before topp
“Alpha Keith,” the manager greeted, hurrying over to bow in front of him. “If you had told me that you were coming, I would have made better arrangements.” This stupid woman, she was pitching for her downfall and honestly, after what she did to Aldwin; I didn’t feel like saving her, either. So, I stood there, arms crossed over my chest, waiting to watch how the drama unfolds. The way she was looking at me flared Keith’s temper further. He gnashed his teeth. “That is not the answer to my question.” “My apologies, Alpha.” Mrs. Stellar’s face flushed. “We didn’t mean to cause you inconvenience.” I clicked my tongue. This woman, she still didn’t understand what Keith wanted to know. The way Keith was glaring at her, I was afraid he would shift and rip her to bits. The woman must have felt it too. I could almost hear her teeth chattering with fear. I was about to talk to Keith when Luna Aspen spoke up. “Please don’t blame her, Alpha Keith. It is all that guard’s fault. Mrs. Stellar was
Melinda’s POV “Where are Keith and Kain?” I asked, walking into the hall. “Why are they taking so much time to get ready? We are just going for shopping.”Karmen rolled his eyes, his face lighting up. “This is nothing, Melinda. Back in the days when we went to college, Keith and Kain would wake up at least an hour before to get ready.” He chuckled, “They would try out so many outfits before finalising that by the time they were done we would all be fed up.”“Kain is the kind of person who would do such a thing but Keith…” My eyebrows shot to my forehead. “I can’t imagine…”“He was the worst of us. Then again, all the girls flocked around us mainly because of his looks.” His lips pressed into a thin line. “No wonder Jessica fell so hard….” He slapped his hand to his mouth and his eyes widened. “I am sorry… I didn’t mean to stir up unpleasant memories.”“It’s okay, Kramen.” I drew closer and took his hand in mine. “Actually, I have been meaning to talk to you. But, every time I tried,
Melinda’s POV “Whether it is a few steps or an entire lifetime, you can always rely on me to carry you.” His words dripped in my ears like honey, melting my insides. I really liked this new version of Keith, who was bold, proactive and impatient.Resting my head against my palms, I looked at him, studying his features. His eyes were sunken and his cheeks had shrunken a bit, but that made his jaw bone more prominent, adding a devilish charm to his appearance.“What is this?” His words pulled me out of my thoughts. My eyebrows furrowed as I took the piece of paper from his hand. Why did it look so familiar?As I gazed at the paper, words started appearing one by one. ‘For the past five thousand years, I have lived my entire life with a deeply set prejudice against werewolves. I always thought that werewolves were selfish, ambitious, and cold-hearted, but you managed to change my worldview.While seeing your memories, I realised that werewolves are capable of being honourable and selfle
Keith’s POV “Please tell me that I am not dreaming,” my voice cracked as I looked into her deep, beautiful eyes. “Please tell me that you are really here.”Her lips curved into a wry smile, and her mesmerising eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I am really here, Keith. I am fine.”I raised my hand to stroke her hair but then dropped it; too afraid that she might turn out to be just an illusion. “Can you tell me that you are here once more?” I swallowed hard. “This seems so surreal. I am afraid that you will vanish like a cloud of smoke at any moment.”“I love you, Keith.” She said in a voice thick with emotions and drew closer. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she cupped my face, raised herself on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. “Does this seem real enough?”I shook my head as I grabbed her arm and tugged, causing her to slam against my chest. Wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug, I buried my face in the crook of her neck, whispering, “I missed you so much, Melinda. I m
Melinda’s POV I was drowning in the sea of darkness with nothing to anchor me. There was nothing to keep me afloat, just a sense of emptiness; an eternal void.“Mellie…” A voice pierced through the haze. There was something about that voice that was deeply comforting. All of a sudden, the emptiness stopped bothering me and I relaxed.“Melinda.” The voice sounded again. “How long are you going to sleep? I really want to see the outside world.”My breath caught in my throat. Why did the voice voice so familiar? Fuck! NO! This was impossible. It couldn’t be….“Corel…” My voice came out as a throaty whisper.‘Yes, sleepyhead.’ Her voice was extraordinarily enthusiastic. ‘Miss me?’‘Am I dead?’ I thought, groaning as my stiff neck made a cracking sound. ‘Is that why I can hear you?’‘You will find out if you open your eyes.’“But, I don’t want to,” I mumbled. “This darkness is so comforting. I don’t have to worry about anything.”‘That is true… But if you don’t open your eyes, you can’t s
Keith’s POV In the elegantly decorated banquet hall, a large crowd had gathered; alphas of important packs, their families, the council members, and several other important members of the pack. We even had pacts and deals with some of them.There was once a time I was quite close to many of them. But, today, I felt alone despite the large gathering. All these ties and relationships seemed futile. They were all cheering and applauding me for my achievements, but my heart; it felt empty. There was no warmth in there, just a sense of void.Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! My mother struck the spoon against her glass to draw our attention. “Alpha Rivers would like to raise a toast to everyone.”My father stood up and held up his glass. “Over the past few months, we have been through a lot. But, thanks to the diligent efforts of my sons and your constant support, everything is back to where it should be.” His eyes sparked with pride as he continued, “Conspiracies have been thwarted, enemies ar
Keith’s POV I sat beside the window, watching the sun rise; slowly scattering the darkness and casting a faint orange glow over everything. The flowers in the garden swayed in the light breeze, creating a peaceful rhythm.Something about the serenity of the garden irked me. The flowers, the breeze, the rising sun all seemed to be mocking me. With an annoyed grunt, I drew the curtains and started pacing in the room again, my gaze drifting to the door every few moments. When was Oleander going to return with Melinda?With each passing moment, my anxiety rose higher and higher on the scale. If this continued for some more time, I would probably explode. I increased my pace further, as if walking faster would help me reach Melinda quicker.“Justin!” Kramen gasped, and he sat up with a start. This distracted me from the spiral of anxiety and I hurried to check on Kramen.“Justin,” He muttered again, looking around anxiously, “Keith… Where is Justin… He is a traitor… He tried to kill Mom a
Keith’s POV “Dr. Stelsar,” I called out, hurrying over to him. “How is my brother?”He froze as his gaze met mine. The color drained from his face, and his lips pressed into a thin line. My heart sank when he placed his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. Everything seemed to slow down and my mind blanked out.“I am sorry, Alpha. We managed to save Master Kramen’s life, but I am not sure whether he will come out of the coma. Silver has combined with the blood cells of his body, inhibiting his healing. Unless the process is triggered again, he might never wake up.”“It’s fine. It’s okay,” The sense of dread that had formed in my heart eased, escaping my lips as a forced gust of wind, “As far as he is not dead and there is still a chance.” My eyes reddened with unshed tears and my voice got choked up. “Just tell me what I can do, Dr. Stelsar. Do you need any special herbs or medicines or maybe I can fly in some specialist? Give me the word and it will be done.”“I don’t want to gi
Melinda’s POV “We have done whatever we can, Miss Spencer. I am sorry to say this, but he might never wake up.” The healer’s words rang in my ears as I watched Kramen’s still form. “Due to the excessive amount of silver in his system, he has stopped healing. If only the treatment wasn’t delayed for so long….”My chest clenched painfully, and I slumped to the chair. “This was all my fault. If I wasn’t so quick in accusing him, Keith wouldn’t have banished him from the pack. He would have been treated on time and he wouldn’t be lying lifeless like this.”Lifting Kramen’s hand, I pressed it to my cheek, “I am sorry Kramen for being such a shitty mate…. For not trusting you more… for not giving you a chance to explain everything properly…” A choked sob left my lips followed by a whimper. This was all I could do now; apologise…“Melinda…” A familiar voice sounded as Oleander placed her hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright? I came rushing the moment you found out.”“Oleander….” My voice b