/-Azaiah-/“How long are you going to endure it?” The question startled me and I turned to see Nile behind me. He walked to my side where I stood, watching Raven and Declan kiss. “You said she is your mate, yet you watch her be with another man, and you do nothing. The same man who Hannah left me for.” That statement immediately caught my attention. “What?” I blurted. “I thought they were merely companions who came to find Raven together.”He scoffed. “She was away from him for years yet he was all she would talk about. Not a day went hh without her reminding me of how worthless I was compared to him. For years I wondered what he looked like, wondered why he was better than me. I treated her right to the best of my abilities. I took care of our child so she wouldn't feel overworked. I handled the chores and treated her like a queen. I just didn't have the money to get her the expensive things she craved…” he sighed. My gaze returned to Declan who was staring at Raven as if she w
/-LISA-/I couldn't wait for them to come back. Life has been hell. I don't know what kind of magic Amelia used or how she was able to subdue the Elders, but she was now in charge of the pack. Tonight, the most abominable thing in the history of wolves was going to happen. A witch with no wolf blood was going to be crowned Luna. I knew it was definitely black magic. There was just no fucking way she could just make the pack elders submit and agree to marry her to Declan without his consent. “I guess this will have to do,” Francesca sighed, throwing her least favourite dress on the bed. “Heaven knows I will give anything to sit this one out!” “You and me both,” I sighed.But we couldn't. It was mandatory for everyone to attend. Disobey her and you would have your head on a platter. “This is just so outrageous!” Francesca exclaimed. “How do you just show up from nowhere and suddenly declare that you are the Alpha's mate? Even going as far as asking to be wedded to him when he clear
/-Declan-/Something was happening to me. Something dreadful that I couldn't explain. It felt as if I was being drained yet I couldn't tell how or where it was coming from. I had to hope that whatever it was didn't kill me first before I figured out how to stop it. My first thought was the curse, of course, but while I still felt my body freezing from time to time, it wasn't as intense as it should have been if it was actually draining me. My next thought was Azaiah. It had to be him. Maybe he was angry over the fact that Raven chose me and was trying to get back at me. Even that felt like too much of a sketch. He hated my guts fine, but I didn't think he had that kind of power over me. I was still contemplating when a knock came on the door. “Come in,” I sighed and a little servant girl entered. She shut the door behind her and stopped in with a tray. She was quite young so I assumed she was possibly one of the maid's daughters. “I brought you food, sir,” she informed me. It
/-Raven-/“What is happening here?”So many thoughts were running through my mind, so many questions, so many things I needed to know. The girl stood there, bleeding and sobbing with her mother trying to clean her up.Azaiah turned to me, “Declan did something really terrible. I would have never thought that he would descend so low.” “What are you talking about?” I demanded. “What did Declan do? What are you accusing him of this time?”“Accusing him?!” Azaiah repeated with disbelief. “Are you being serious right now?”“What happened?” I sighed. “He tried to rape a child!” He dropped the bomb and my blood ran cold. “We heard her screaming and begging him to let her go.” My jaw opened and closed several times but I couldn't get a word out. Declan did what? “See, I was shocked as you are! I know Declan can be possessive and a arrogant piece of shit, but I didn't think he was a paedophile!”“Stop saying that about him!” I snapped before I even realized it. “There has to be some sort
/-Raven-/“Leave?” I repeated. “Are you serious right now?” He turned away from me to hide the hurt in his eyes but it was already too late. I could see them and it broke my heart. “Yes, I am very serious, Raven. The entire point of you coming here was to hear my side of the story, right? I have told you just that and if you wouldn't believe me then there is no point.” I stood there for almost a minute, speechless. What was I supposed to do in this situation? Believe him or the child? In as much as Declan was my mate, I've come to know him as someone who wouldn't deny his actions. He would do it and rub it in your face. But what were the chances that an eleven year old was making that up? What reason did she have to fake it, to the extent of hurting herself?I released a confused sigh. Since there was nothing more to be said, I decided it was better to leave and probably cool my head. As I turned away, his words stopped me. “Just before you leave, I want you to remember somethi
/-Raven-/“Uhmm… what do you mean by that?” I asked. I just managed to convince Azaiah to give him a chance to prove his innocence and the next thing he says is don't bother?“Declan…” I called with warning. “You know is not the time for pride, right?”“This had nothing to do with my ego, Raven. I didn't do it and proving it will not be a problem, I just don't think he will appreciate my methods,” Declan said and Azaiah cast me a look. “What methods do you mean?” Azaiah asked.“Compulsion,” Declan shrugged. “She will be compelled to speak the truth or suffocate to death. The longer she resists speaking the truth, the more she bleeds from her eyes, ears, nose, every fucking hole in her body, until she drops dead and…”“Declan!” I gasped and those silver eyes narrowed emotionlessly at me. “What? Works on wolves all the time,” he shrugged.“She is a child!” Azaiah exclaimed. “You don't expect us to watch you subject her to torture after the trauma she has been through!” “She has been
/-Azaiah-/“So, did you like it?” He asked and my eyes moved to the doorway where Nile stood, crossing his arms. “Excuse me?” “The Alpha. He's in prison now. You can have the woman of your dreams, though I still don't think you should trust women,” he said. I dropped the glass in my hand. “Wait, let me get this straight. You're asking if I like the fact that the Alpha tried to rape a child or the fact that he is just in prison?” I asked.Nile chuckled and made his way into the room, “I don't see why you have to analyse that, your highness. The lady is all yours, that is the most important thing.”I crossed my arms, more stupefied than I was earlier. “Did you, by any chance, have something to do with it, Nile?” I asked suspiciously.“And why would you think that, Your Highness?” He chuckled. “I am not allowed to express my opinions anymore?” That triggered my suspicion even more. It was more like he was growing into someone I couldn't recognize. I mean, he was quite fine before th
/-Declan-/Something terrible was about to happen and I could feel it in my bones. It concerned Raven.I know I wanted to give them a chance at a fair trial, but hurting my mate was not part of the bargain. They had no right to touch even a hair on her head. I called Tim through the mind link to come with men. I felt a little too weak to break myself out through those iron bars. In what seemed like thirty minutes, I heard grunts outside and soon Tim appeared in the dark hallway with the keys to my cell. He opened it and I immediately sped past him to look for Raven. I tracked her to a room where I had no idea what was going on. I kicked it open immediately and the sight before me rendered me speechless. Raven was on the bed, pale and naked. She looked almost lifeless and Azaiah was sitting on top of her with a blade in his hand. A strange woman was also present, muttering some incantations and Nile was the one who moved to stop us.“What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here…”
/-Raven-/“That can't be right,” I blurted. “Why not? You desperately want me to be the bad guy don't you?” He asked and I was speechless for a few seconds. I knew Eric and Timultin lied to me about many things but memories don't lie. There were so many blank spaces in my head but that didn't mean that I was going to just believe what he said. “I don't believe you,” I said and he shrugged. “Suit yourself.” Something about the way he casually said those words, like it didn't matter whether I believe him or not, infuriated me. He was so comfortable. So unbothered and here I was, struggling to live. If it hadn't been for him, I would still have my memories and now the gaps that Timultin and Eric managed to fill were most likely lies, what was I supposed to do with myself?It didn't help that there were still tiny sparks of attraction between us. The stupid mate bond sent my heart racing every time he glanced at me. And I hated it. I noticed that the other man seemed moody. I stare
/-RAVEN-/The buzz of the place jolted me from the horrific nightmare called sleep, My eyes flew open as I say up in panic. Did they catch me already? Oh goddess, I'm screwed. I tried moving my body subconsciously even though I expected to be tied up and to my surprise, I was unbound. I sat up and took in my surroundings. There were several maids entering in and out of the room, serving food on a big table. Who are they? Where am I? One of them glanced at me and immediately squeaked. “She's awake. We should inform the Alpha immediately.” That was when I truly panicked. It was obvious that I was captured by some unknown Alpha and probably going to be forced into marriage. Alpha Timultin would never catch me and spare me, especially after killing his son. He would murder me. Not sell me off. Which was why it made sense that this Alpha found me in the woods and brought me here, to be his Luna, possibly because if I were to be a slave, I would wake up in a cell, not a queen sized b
/-Declan-/“Are you even listening to me?” She yelled triggering an instant headache. I wanted to just lie down and get some sleep. But she got in my face again. I was trying so hard to tolerate her but she would stop making things difficult for me. Sometimes, she made me question how we got together because we had absolutely nothing in common.“I don't know what you want me to say,” I sighed. “I want you to deny it!” She yelled. “Tell me that this has nothing to do with her. That you didn't go to see her or something.” “I went for a run. Does that make you feel better?” I asked and walked to the bathroom without giving her a chance to respond.I took off my clothes and got under the shower. I shut my eyes, enjoying the way the steamy water ran down my back. The burn on my skin came with flashes. Me in a tub filled with hot water. Me taking pyre's breath. Me carrying a burning person. Me and a flame of fire. I turned off the shower andrl tried to think but everytime I felt like
/-DECLAN-/“Do you want to tell me where you are going?” She asked and I took a glance at her. I fixed my coat without offering a response. I made to walk out but she ran in front of me. “Can you ever stop treating me like I don't matter and actually put some effort into communicating with me? Tell me where you're going, Declan!” She demanded. “No,” I said simply and walked out of the room. As I stepped out of the palace, the guards made to follow me but I stopped them. I didn't want to be policed around by Amelia's spies. As I walked towards the borders, the people kept bowing and greeting and I got tired of responding. I just want to take a long run. Transforming into my wolf, I dashed into the forest. It was exactly what I needed. The energy flowing through my veins, the adrenaline, everything was just exciting until I picked up a scent. It was a sickening sweet smell that reminded me of the woman I met days ago. The woman in that red dress. Was she out here? If she was, wha
/-RAVEN-/I retracted my hand, pulling his eyes along with it. Screams ripped through his throat as blood gushed out of his eyes. I tossed his useless eyeballs to the ground and turned to the guards who were completely frozen in shock. The eventually recovered and tried to attack but I didn't waste time in beating them one after the other until they were all on the ground groaning in pain. I went back to Eric who was crying now. “You bitch! What have you done to me?” He screamed out. “You will pay for this, I swear you will!”I squatted to his position and yanked his head up. I twisted it so hard that he was screaming out in pain and then I pushing my hands into his mouth and clawed his tongue. Another scream struggled to come out but his tongue was at my mercy. “All I ever did was love and respect you. I followed your instructions, allowed to take whatever decisions you wanted to, I submitted to you and the one time I decided to do something for myself, you have me beaten up and
/-RAVEN-/The pits felt a lot more safer than being up there with those animals. But then, when he said rats, I assumed he meant actual rats or rodents at least but this pit was a very deep well and this well had crocodiles in them. I'm not even sure that is possible. Point is, Eric is not even smart and I always about to die. There was still dragon bane in my system and until I flushed it out, or my body neutralised it, I was nothing but a defenseless human with chains around her wrists.When they threw me in, I landed in a floating position, right above the water and once I settled my foot on either of the well, it was gone. No matter how hard I tried to make it work again, it just wouldn't. But it wasn't new to me. Every time I was in a near-death situation, I always ended up floating a few feet from my death and this thankfully, was one of those situations, else I would have conveniently been a late breakfast to some hungry creatures.Water sloshed below. The crocodiles circled,
/-Declan-/Pain. That was all I knew these days. Sometimes, I felt empty, like I was living someone else's life and other times, it felt like I was floating in this empty space I had no control over. I didn't know what I was going with my life until I met her. That fiesty red head that got on top of me with those intense beautiful eyes. All she wanted to do was kill me and leave. Bold of her. At first I was going to let her be but when her sweet scent hit my nostrils, I couldn't hold it in any longer. But I had to let her go. For her own safety. The rumor was already spreading around the palace that my Luna was looking everywhere for her. I didn't care enough to ask her why. I assumed it was because Amelia saw her walking out of my room. She never really talked to me about her or even asked me about that night because she thought I was completely passed out and I preferred it that way. I didn't have the energy to argue with anyone or prove anything. I just wanted to be on my
/-LISA-/“Why did you say Rum was arrested again?” Francesca asked suspiciously. Now was not even the time for her baseless suspicions. We needed to find out what he was hiding. Convince him to tell us where Raven is so we could bring her here to save the Alpha. It was a lie of course, I just wanted Amelia and Raven to meet again so whoever was more powerful could take the other out of the picture. Though, I knew for sure that Amelia could take out Raven. I mean, she did so before, didn't she? This time it was going to be for good. “You should answer her question because if she doesn't agree with whatever you have to say, then I am with her,” Othelia said. I rolled my eyes. When did all this nonsense bonding start? “You should channel your friendship in helping her learn magic or maube you both are just pathetic witches. I mean, think of it, she has been practicing magic for two months now and she still can show us even a flicker of that magic,” I huffed. Both of them glared at
/-Eric-/For a second, I thought I might die but something wanked from behind before she could stick the glass in my neck.She dropped to the ground unconscious and I looked at the person who saved my life. It was aere guard of course, but I guess I still had to be grateful he saved my life.However, the gratitude was going to the goddess, not him. He was merely a tool she used to save me. Other guards running in, picking up their fellow guards to check on them.“What took you morons, so long huh? She could have killed everyone!” I snapped at them.“Forgive us, your highness. We were just coming from the gate,” he answered and I rolled my eyes. If she had succeeded in killing me, I wonder who they would render their apologies too. “Take away these bodies and tie her to the two pillars outside,” I instructed. They exchanged glances and my fists clenched. “What was that for? Are you question my authority?” “No, your highness. Please forgive us,” one quickly apologised. I rolled my eye