/-Declan-/“Alpha…”The words snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to the servant and she bowed immediately. “I came to inform you that Lady Francesca just passed out,” she informed. “Why are you here instead of getting the doctors?” I asked and she blinked away the shock. “I… the doctors were already attending to her,” she stuttered. “Why are you here then?” An exhausted sigh fell off my lips. “I'm sorry… I'll just leave,” she gulped and scurried off. I turned back to the bright blue sky, listening to Rolfe’s low growl. All the while she was there, he had been growling. It seemed like his bloodlust picked up every time I came across someone. I hated the idea of shutting him out but I had no choice. There was a meeting coming up later tonight and I didn't want him snarling at everyone he came across. Attacking the elders was something I couldn't afford. My hands fell on my wrists. An image flashed in my mind. “...let me go, I'll kill you all! I'll kill all of you!” I growl
/-Raven-/Perfect!It was exactly what I needed. A chance to get all the answers to the questions in my head. And goddess help him, he didn't provide the answers I wanted to hear. I didn't know how to feel about killing Timultin. The man practically raised me, even though it was with an iron fist.A part of me still feared him. He knew my weaknesses and knew how to break me into submission. I wasn't sure I could bring myself to kill him, but Eric…I wanted to see the pain in his eyes while I slowly took the life of that little bride of his. I returned to the slave quarters, excited about the events that were going to unfold tonight.“What were you discussing with the Alpha?” I froze at the door. They didn't even let me come in before throwing questions at me. “And why do you have that stupid smile on your face?” Selene scowled at me. “You obviously have something up your sleeves don't you?” Othelia said suspiciously.I stepped inside the room, crossing my arms as an amused smile
/-RAVEN-/As I approached the gates, I felt my nerves shoot up. I suddenly wasn't the confident Raven I was before Declan. Something about this place gave me cold feet. It triggered a lot of unwanted memories that were better off buried. Usually, I could contain them, but now, it felt like I was too weak to shoulder it all. The warriors at the gate recognized me immediately. “Commander!” They gasped, rushing to me as I struggled to keep my self up. “What happened?” They caught me before I fell. “IronClaw… they… they took me…” I said weakly and they hurriedly took me inside the pack.Even though I expected their reaction to be the same, I assumed Eric would have made provisions to keep me away from the palace and his new bride if I ever returned.Unless, he didn't expect me to. Hoped they would kill me. “We will inform the Alpha now,” one of the warriors said but I stopped him. “I would like to see the Alpha myself. It would be an insult to demand his presence for a mere slave,
/-Declan-/Right after Raven left, my men began going through the tunnel. I couldn't shake off the feeling that Raven was tricking me again.“Alpha?” Tim called after climbing in. “Go ahead, I'll use the gate,” I told him and turned around to avoid further questions. I sniffed the air and Rolfe picked up a faint scent of two guards. I snuck to the entrance and spotted them leaving with Raven. A smile formed on my lips. Once again, her acting skills were quite impressive. I snuck through the gate and straightened up, taking another route immediately. I intended to follow Raven, to find out what she was up to. I stopped when she cornered a blonde woman, whom I immediately recognized as Eric's wife. My lips pressed in a frown. It couldn't seriously be what I was thinking, could it?I was very intent on following her when my men summoned me through the mind link. “Alpha, there has been a bit of a situation,” Tim said. “What is it?” I asked.“The opening leads to a dungeon and we ar
/-RAVEN-/I could smell my freedom just metres away. I had no idea where I was going but it didn't necessarily matter. After what happened in BloodFang, I needed a serious break to fully recover before striking back. This time, I was going to make sure he didn't have any more power over me. Eric was done already and if by chance he survived, I would finish him off when I returned for his father's head. Suddenly, I had a strange feeling that I was being followed. I didn't look back immediately because I was certain the person would hide. I slowly took out the pen-knife I sneaked along with me. However before I could make a move, I was grabbed instantly and pushed against a tree.I blinked rapidly as a familiar intoxicating scent overwhelmed me. My mind was everywhere and nowhere at once as I gazed into those beautiful silver eyes.I swallowed thickly, suddenly aware of his body pressing against mine. “Declan…” I breathed, but his gaze shifted behind me. “Were you following me?”“W
/-RAVEN-/I've never felt the need to be responsible for anyone until now.As I walked back to the healer's hut, I looked at the children, playing around on the streets, giggling and laughing without a care in the world and all this will be gone by dawn? Because of me? How? Why?I had so many questions. I wanted to go back there and probe her answers but I knew she wouldn't give me anything other than what she had just said.I walked into the hut and the healer had a strange expression on her face. One I couldn't read. “I'm guessing you didn't get any good news?” She said and I shook my head, crestfallen. “You know one thing about visions? They don't always show you everything. Only a crucial part of your actions determines whether the end will favour you or not. There's a reason it is hidden, you know,” she said with a smile, yet I couldn't bring myself to return it. “She said the village will go up in flames,” I told her. “We know that,” the healer shrugged, stunning me.“Why di
/-Raven-/We stood at a distance, watching the village go up in flames. My lips were slightly apart as I watched in shock.It was dawn already and the village was up in flames, just as she predicted, but it wasn't caused by the fire wielders or cloaked persons or whatever was chasing me. It was set ablaze by a man beside me. Maybe that was why she wanted me to leave as soon as I could. Because in the end, fate couldn't be changed. It would happen one way or the other. If Declan didn't do it, the cloaked men would have still done it. I looked at him, but he stood there, an emotionless expression on his face like he didn't slaughter an entire community and set their village ablaze.It made me realize just how powerful and dangerous he was. He could have killed me if he wanted but he tolerated me talking back at him and defying him.I wasn't innocent, but this… this was a massacre. No one was spared, not the women, not the children. He killed every living thing in it. It was suffocati
/-Raven-/“You're going to stain my sheets, Raven,” he stopped by the bedside. “You can change them in the morning,” I answered. “Join me in the bathroom,” he offered and my eyes flew open. “I beg your pardon?” “Don't act innocent now. You just spent a whole night and half a day with my naked self,” he shrugged. My cheeks flamed up. “Don't say things like that. People might think there is something between us,” I groaned. He climbed the bed, straddling me. “And there's not?” he smirked. I pushed him off me and jumped out of the bed. He laughed as I ran towards the door I assumed was the bathroom. There was an inbuilt pool, a tub and a shower cubicle. The whole place smelled so nice and I could feel the pool calling to me. I took over the soldier uniform and jumped in. It was so refreshing to swim freely in the water. Declan suddenly walked in and I submerged my body inside the water, leaving only my head out. “Do you not know the meaning of privacy? You can't just walk in
/-Lisa-/“No! No! No!” I yelled, slamming my palms against the iron bars of the cell. “You have to let me out of here! I am innocent! I didn't do anything!” Yet the stupid guards still walked away ignoring my pleas. I groaned inwardly and cussed.Why couldn't that stupid guard just take the blame for me? I mean, he tried to, but of course, the Alpha didn't believe him, and that stupid assassin just had to stand up for him, didn't she?I let out another curse. What on earth even made me agree to take that safe? I should have left it hidden where it was, at least no one saw it then. “Looks like you're finally where you belong,” I heard Othelia's words. She was in the cell next to me, thanks to her stupid luck. Otherwise, I would have bashed her head against the bars for daring to speak to me that way. “Where I belong? You were the one who let yourself get caught on camera. They just found a stone on me with no other use but marriage. You took the royal emblem, and I assure you that b
/-Raven-/I found myself melting away in his arms as his lips moulded with mine. He wasn't rough or demanding. It was a slow, compelling kiss, luring me with its soft deliciousness to accept it. My wide eyes slowly fluttered shut as I dropped my defences, allowing him to explore my mouth. The erratic beating of my heart, the nervous fisting of his shirt, the churn in my stomach, told me that there was no coming back from this. He pushed in further and our tongues glided against each other. A small moan fell from my lips as his hands made it up to my neck while the other steadied on my waist to prevent me from escaping. “Declan…” I protested in between the kiss.“Don't think about it, princess. Go with the flow,” he whispered harshly against my lip as I tried to pull away. Go with the flow…How could I when my body was betraying me like this? When did this feel so wrong yet right at the same time?Wasn’t I repeating the same mistake with Eric? I mean, if I couldn't get him to love
/-Raven-/“What do you mean by you took it?” Declan's surprise was plastered on his face. The poor man didn't know what was going on. I wasn't even sure he would believe it if I told him unless Tim opened up. “I… I know how much Lisa likes the idea of being Luna, even though she can't. I just thought if I got her the stone, it would make her feel better,” Tim went on. “Do you think I'm stupid, Tim? Do I look like a fool to you?” There was an underlying irritation in his voice. “You are twice the size of every person in the pack and you think I wouldn't have immediately recognised you from the footage?”Lisa's panicked expression caught my attention. She knew things were going to go sideways faster than she anticipated. Tim stuttered, unsure of what to say. “He didn't do it himself,” Lisa cut in. “Yes, that's right. I got two of the maids to do it for me,” Tim answered. “Really?” Declan's brows furrowed. “What are their names? I'll send a guard to fetch them.”Tim glanced at Lis
/-Raven-/“Oops! Trouble in paradise?” I snorted, watching the heated glares pass from Declan to me. “I just wanted to tell you that you're a shit caregiver. My arm feels like I lifted a building.”Declan gave me a look and I threw him a sweet smile. I knew what I was doing, of course, and I enjoyed every bit of it. “What happened to your arm?” Hannah's deviation spun me. I didn't peg her as someone who cared if I was trapped in a burning building. “Well… a chandelier came crashing on me,” I told her. “I see you didn't die. Quite fortunate,” she drawled, a sinister look crossing her eyes. “or maybe you did it so you could get in his bed.”My mouth went agape. What kind of psychopath did she perceive me to be? Why would I set myself up for death just to get attention?“I'm sorry, what?” I sat up properly.“You heard me. You could have completely left the way if it was indeed crashing but you just had to let it injure you, huh? Just so Declan would take care of you,” Hannah spat. I
/-Asiah-/“What news do you bring?” I asked.“He is Alpha Declan of the IronClaw pack, Your Highness. Breaking in is not an option for us,” Tarius, my commander said. “Lucky for, one of our own is already living amongst them. Not just anywhere, but in the palace.”That immediately caught my interest. “A dragon blood is within the walls of IronClaw?” I asked. “Yes, Your Highness. Although she is not a pure breed, she is one of us, nonetheless,” he answered. I frowned. “Hybrid?”“Yes.”My frown deepened further. “How do we know she is not working for them?”“After we discovered who he was, we sent spies into the pack at night to report everything to us. Information reaching us is that she stole the Luna Eclipse stone from Alpha Declan using the form of another,” he said. “I don't understand,” My impatience was overflowing with confusion. “Is she a shapeshifter? And how does this information benefit us?”“She is your majesty. It benefits us because she wants to be Luna and Raven's pr
/-Raven-/“What happened to you?” Declan asked. It was weird and almost adorable to see that he came to me immediately he felt something was wrong. I wasn't sure if he was aware of the mark yet but his presence here brought me some form of comfort. “A chandelier crashed next to me. I guess it was aiming to hit me, but I just missed. Tough luck,” I smirked but he frowned.“Does this look like a joke to you? Have you seen your arm?” The seriousness in his tone was new. This had to be the first time since I met him that he was serious about something involving me. He picked the arm carefully as if it were a gem and examined the bandaged wound as he sat next to me. “The doctor said the cut was very deep and could get infected very easily if not carefully treated. I understand you are wolfless, but can you not at least heal?” He asked. His voice held nothing of the mockery I was used to when someone talked about me not having a wolf. If anything, it was genuinely concerned and my stu
/-Raven-/“What if she's innocent?” I whispered to Francesca. “You're suggesting that the CCTV is lying?” She asked me with furrowed brows. Right, it didn't make sense when she put it like that. “I just have this nagging feeling that she is innocent. Did you see her eyes? I can boldly say that she had nothing to this,” I said. “You better not say it out loud before this people without evidence,” she whispered harshly. “let's leave it to the Elders and mind our business.” “I guess you're right,” I sighed. But if she was indeed innocent, it would be really sad. “What do you think they will do to her now?” “She is still denying it so they will probably torture the truth out of her. Either way, the truth will come out , whether she likes it or not,” Francesca shrugged.“Can we go back to the library now?” She asked. It was surprising how casual and unbothered she was about Othelia's arrest. They had been staying together long before I came here and even if they didn't like each oth
/-RAVEN-/Declan was furious. Furious enough to keep everyone under the heavy rain. The courtyard wasn't exactly large and the palace had a lot of workers. Luckily, Francesca and I managed to squeeze ourselves under the roof. “I am only going to ask this once and after that, there will be no form of mercy. If you have the royal emblem and the Luna's eclipse stone, kindly surrender them now,” Declan's voice cut through the rain. So this thief didn't just take the emblem but the eclipse stone as well? Whoever ever did it either had a death wish or was just plain stupid. For the next five minutes, no one said a word or even admitted to knowing who took it, which wasn't surprising. The men who stood beside Declan, who I suspected were the Elders, studied everyone present. They wanted to pick out the slightest shift in expression and body language from anyone. My gaze shifted to Hannah and Lisa who happened to be talking in hushed tones, glancing at me. “What are those two up to now
/-Raven-/“Hey.” I looked up in surprise. “Mind if I join you?” She asked.“I don't own the chair,” I answered. Francesca smiled, taking a seat beside me. It was weird for her to suddenly talk to me, but again, she was only mistress who didn't go out of her way to make my life miserable. She was rude to me a few times, but she has mostly minded her business. “Are you still planning ways to escape?” She asked me and my lips curled.“Why would you assume that?” “You were sitting out here, lost in thoughts for several minutes. It's a clear sign you're up to no good,” Francesca answered with a small smile. “Subtle way of saying that you've been stalking me,” I noted. “I wouldn't call it stalking. I was just passing by and saw you. Thought you could use some company,” she said. “How remarkably generous,” my voice dripped with heavy sarcasm. “Cut the chase, what do you want?” “Nothing,” she answered. “I just told you the truth.” I nodded, deciding to let it slide. “You know I adm