/-Raven-/Declan was still weak. I could see it in the way he swayed as he stood up and Azaiah was getting ready to fire. How was I supposed to run?If Declan died anyway, then all that stress of running back here to save him would be in vain. So without thinking, I stepped in front of him.Azaiah paused.“What are you doing, Raven?” Declan's exhausted voice asked. He could barely speak, yet he wanted to throw his life away by fighting off Azaiah. “Instead of fighting him, why don't you fight me?” I challenged him. “What are you doing, Raven? Have you lost your mind?” Declan asked but I ignored him. “If I win, you let us go. If I lose… well I'll already be dead by then,” I said. I knew what I was doing of course. I didn't plan to die. I just knew Azaiah would never take the risk of fighting me. I was his “queen” after all. Just as I suspected, he shifted to human form and his expression was far from happy.“Why are you doing this, Raven?” he asked. “Because you are being selfis
/-RAVEN-/“Declan…” I climbed into his bed slowly. His body was warm this time and I was relieved that he was getting better.Having him next to me felt so unreal. It was as if I had been stuck here forever. I reached for his face, caressing it gently in my arms. His face was so peaceful and beautiful. For a second, my eyes flickered to his lips, and I felt like kissing him, so Ieaned over, slowly drawing closer to him until our lips were just inches apart, but I stopped myself. That would be taking advantage of him. I was going to take off my hand when he muttered, “Don't stop.” I was paralysed by shock at first. He was awake this entire time?Those eyes fluttered open and a wave of embarrassment hit me. My cheeks flamed, and I tried to quickly retract my hand, but he caught it, holding it in place. I couldn't look at him. How would I explain sneaking into his room in the middle of the night and touching him without his permission?“Never thought I would see a flustered Raven in
/-Raven-/Azaiah was pissed. We could feel it even before we got to meet him. He must have heard me, last night. Thanks to my very “subtle” moaning.Declan, on the other hand, didn't seem to that the place was hotter than usual. In fact, it seemed like it was even more beneficial to him.We were still in bed, and I noted that at this time, the maids would have been serving me breakfast already, but I guess that wasn't going to happen now. The whole thing was somewhat amusing to me. I mean, we didn't even make love yet, and Azaiah was already ordering the maids to stop serving me. I tried to get out of bed so I could look for the kitchen and make him something to eat but when I tried to peel his arms off me, he only tightened them. “Let me go, Declan. I want to make you breakfast,” I told him, but he pulled me closer and buried his face in my breasts. “Declan,” I groaned. “Five more minutes,” he mumbled. I was about to respond to him when there was a door on my door. I thought t
/-Raven-/Hannah?That attention-seeker? I was pretty sure she was hiding somewhere waiting for her absence to be noticed. “Why was she here to begin with, though?” I asked.“Well, she felt guilty over what happened to you. Apparently, she saw when you were abducted and buried, but she couldn't do anything about it. I told her to stay back but she insisted on coming with us,” Declan explained. “I have so many questions,” I blurted. I was buried? Where? How? “I'll explain later but for now, we need to find her. We don't know what these people might do to her if they catch her alone,” Declan said.I wanted to know now but then, I guess we could find her first. “Have you asked that guy… what was his name again? Nath? Ryan? No, that doesn't sound right…” Declan muttered thoughtfully.Nath? Ryan? Who are those?“uhm… who is that?” I asked.“One curly-haired dude with mismatched eyes. He claimed Hannah was his wife,” Tim answered. Curly hair… mismatched eyes… that sounded so fucking
/-Raven-/Later that day, Tim returned to tell us that he couldn't find Nile and after conducting another search in the volcano, Hannah was still no where to be found. We had no choice but to go to Azaiah to ask for help. At first he was excited to see me, but when he spotted Declan beside me, the smile vanished. Even Declan didn't bother to fake friendliness. I ignored their feud and walked to him. “Raven,” he smiled. “Why are you here so late?”“It's still early in the evening so I don't think it's that late. Also, one of Declan's friends is missing. Her name is Hannah and they haven't seen her since their first appearance here. We think she's missing,” I answered. I almost thought he would roll his eyes and ask how any of that was his business. Azaiah’s brows pulled together. “Missing?”“Yes,” I said. “And we think Nile might have her. When he saw her, he claimed she was his wife. They had some sort of argument from what I heard and maybe… I don't know, he might have an idea o
/-RAVEN-/I could barely concentrate with the countless glares he threw our way. To think he wasn't even next to us yet we could feel the intensity of his stare. “So how exactly do dragons transform?” I asked. “Exactly the same way wolves do but easier. There's no cracking of bones, or pain or anything. It's just a smooth transition,” Azaiah responded.“Since I have this fire inside me, that means I can transform too, right?” I asked. I didn't fully believe him yet, but when I tried to reason from his own perspective, it made so much sense, so I tried my best to stay open. He was helping us, after all.“Yes, but you can't transform yet,” he told me. “Why?” I asked. “Because you haven't fully harnessed your powers yet,” he said. “You need to be able to control your fire, not the other way around.” “I don't think fire is controlling me,” I snorted. “It doesn't when you are overwhelmed or when your emotions are too strong; it just breaks out of you, and you can't stop it until you
/-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
/-Taylor-/“Who did Sally say she found?” My mother asked. It was the first time I was seeing any sort of emotion on her face.“Raven Ampleton. The woman you have been searching for,” I answered and she got off the stool. I watched her walk past the countless candles to get to me. This had become a part of her for years now. She barely did anything other than set up this semi-shrine of hers and practice different things.“Who is she and where is she now?” My mother demanded. “I tried to get her to tell me mother but she refused. She insisted on meeting you instead,” I answered. She cursed under her breath. “That sneaky little snake! Always doing everything to plant herself where she is not needed.”I didn't understand what that meant but I didn't care enough to ask. “She had only one job. To locate everybody on my list and send that information across and the first person she finds, she suddenly demands a meeting with me?” She huffed.“I made it very clear that you would be pissed
/-Skylar-/The file dropped in my lap, and I looked up. “What is this for?” I asked.“Your next target,” Kai simply answered. “Let me know once you get it done. Anders will go with you.” I couldn't help but notice how cold he was towards me. The haunting look in his eyes, like he was just there but his soul was somewhere else. A place full of pain. The Kai I was used to was an insufferable teasing bastard. He would look for every possible way to rile me up but for some reason, he has been moody today. “Are you okay?” I asked just before he reached my bedroom door. “Yes,” came a one-word answer, and he left. Another sign that something was seriously up with him. The Kai I knew would have smirked and probably asked who I was worried about. I convinced myself that I didn't care what he had going on and took a look at the file he gave me. Shortly after, another knock came and I assumed it was Anders.“Come in,” I answered and the door opened to reveal Anders. “I see you are already
/-Taylor-/“What the hell happened here?” I demanded. I stopped by at the hospital to take a look at my sisters and all I met was chaos. They were still on life support, thankfully but there was something new. Both of them had inscriptions on their hands that read, STAY OFF MINE.A slow, burning rage ignited in my chest as I stared at the message carved into their skin. My jaw clenched, my fists curling so tightly that my nails bit into my palms.Kai.This had his name written all over it.I turned to the guard stationed outside the door, my voice dangerously quiet. “Who was here?”The man hesitated, sweat forming at his temples. “Sir, it was…”“Spit it out,” I snapped, stepping closer.“Kai Alloway,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.The room seemed to shrink around me. The walls, the beeping machines, the sterile scent of antiseptic, it all blurred as red-hot fury clouded my vision.Kai had walked into my space. Had gotten past my men. Had touched my sisters.I exhale
/-Skylar-/My first thought when I arrived at the mansion was to ask Kai about the painting but thinking about Mario's words again, I decided against it. Kai was nobody but my annoying boss, nothing more. He wasn't in when I checked so I headed to my room for a long shower. After showering, my head felt clearer now and I began thinking about the events of the day. Lisa said they were two women, one of them being Amelia so who was the other one and why on earth would they be working together?I tried to think of all my possible enemies back then and my enemies now to see if they atleast shared the same qualities. I started with myself and unfortunately, I was in no way similar to Skylar. From everything Ava told me, we didn't share a single thing in common. I thought about Lisa and Sally. The were almost the same. Cunny, mischievous and very obsessed with Declan. Then I thought about Kai and Declan. Declan used to be a womaniser before I met him. He had many mistresses, and Kai w
/-Kai-/I wasn't one to start a fight.However, I didn't mind bringing down hell on anyone who dared to touch my property and in this case, that property was Skylar. There was simply no way I was just going to stand back and watch Taylor lay a hand on Skylar and get away with it. A rational part of me still insisted that I was going too far. I barely knew this woman and yet, I was here, ready to rage a war with Taylor for her sake. “Sir, are you sure about this?” Anders asked. “What happened? Are you getting cold feet already? You were the one who said you hated seeing her like that, right?” I shrugged. “So you're doing this because of what I said?” He raised a brow. I knew he was baiting me but I wasn't going to give in to his antics and actually confess that seeing her battered made my heart tug in ways I'd rather not experience. “What are you waiting for? Let's go in,” I said, opening the car door. “What are we really going in there to do? The last time he came, he said his
/-Skylar-/Ten seconds passed and I was still staring at the girl that used to be in utter shock. I looked at her in confusion and then at Mario, who didn't understand seem to understand what was going on. “How… how did you get this?” I asked her. A small smile played on her lips. “I'm guessing it finally found it's owner, huh? Selling close to a division house does have it's advantages. That would be $7.20 please.” I was even more confused. “I'm not talking about the price. How do you know her? Who are you?” I asked, taking a step closer to her. Her smile immediately vanished as she slowly stepped back. She seemed frightened like I was threatening her or something. “What are you doing, Skylar? You're scaring her,” Mario held me back but I shrugged his hand off. “I asked a question,” I said icily. “Fine! You're right. It's just my imagination. I have a very creative mind and…”“Bullshit!” I cut her short. “The details are way too accurate for it to be some imagination. Who th
/-Skylar-/I didn't know what to expect now.The artist being a woman was a whole game-changer. Now, I couldn't possibly guess who she was and I knew there was no way Declan would be reborn in a woman's body, right?But then again, I couldn't just jump to conclusions. “Can you take me to her?” I asked him. “I told you it was about a year ago. There is no guarantee that Sally will still be there,” he groaned.“Mario please…” I tried begging. “I have already told you who she is but I am not obligated to take you to her. You know her name, find her yourself,” he said. Wow! I guess we're doing this the hard way then. “Fine! Since you won't tell me, I better just head home and tell your boss that I went somewhere interesting today,” I shrugged and his expression immediately changed. “Are you threatening me?” He frowned. “Why should I? It's called accountability. I'm just going to go back home and tell Kai all about where I've been and who the tour guide was unless, of course, you ar
/-Skylar-/She sat there looking all bossy and authoritative, her legs crossed. The arrogance in her stance made me want to turn and walk right out of the door. “Ma'am, she's here,” the guard bowed. I glanced at him, wondering why I even agreed to get into the car with him in the first place. Maybe I should have questioned him properly but I desperately needed information on that artist and now, I was being forced to face a woman who believes I am sleeping with her husband. Ex-husband, to be precised. “Good job, Mario,” she nodded in approval then to me, she signalled to have a seat. I sat down just as she asked. “I assume you know who I am,” she said with an air of arrogance like she was royalty. Now I wish I hadn't met her earlier, I would have gladly told her no, just to see her reaction. “I know that you are owing my husband a huge sum of money which is why you are forced to stay by his side,” Gwendolyn went on while I stared with a blank face. “What if I told you that I wil
/-Skylar-/I groaned, burying my head in the pillow. I knew he had no control but couldn't he at least use a soundproof room, especially since he was bringing screamers. Three long hours of torture and my ears finally got a break. Just when I thought I could get some sleep for myself, a knock came to my door and I groaned inwardly. What now?I marched to the door with annoyance. It was one of the bodyguards. “The boss said you should clean up,” he informed me. “Are we going somewhere?” I asked him. He looked at me as if I was the dumbest person to ever exist. “Not that. He wants you to send the girls away,” he said and I wanted to scream. “He could make them scream down and entire building but he can't send them off himself?” I huffed. The guard's expression remained stoic. “Should I tell him that?” I shot him a glare. “No.” I walked out of them room, slamming the door shut behind me with annoyance. I marched to his room to three girls, passed out on the floor. He was by the