Ronan's POVThe sound of the glass shattering on the ground roused me into action. Margaret was writhing on the kitchen floor and judging by the little piece of plant on the floor beside her, she had ingested wolfsbane. I grabbed my phone to call the pack doctor before bending to lift her from the ground and carry her bridal style out of my chambers. I wondered how the hell she had gotten the flower. It hadn't been with her after we left the forest. Perhaps she snuck out to the conservatory while I was asleep. I hadn't heard a thing because I was so tired and slept deep. I got downstairs and tried to settle her in as gently as I could in the backseat of my car. Then I slid in behind the wheel and drove like a possessed man to the hospital which, thankfully, wasn't far away from the palace. The pack doctor and two nurses were already waiting outside with a stretcher when I got there. I didn't bother with proper parking. I rushed out of the car to the passenger side and yanked t
Malia's POVSoon after Ronan left my room, I stripped and intentionally left my clothing right there on the floor. If anyone should come inside when I was in the bathroom, they'd know and leave to return later. The key to the door still remained mysteriously missing. I took my time in the shower, not leaving the bathroom until my stomach growled in hunger. I wrapped my towel around me and moved to my closet where I briskly dried my hair with the hair dryer and slid into a comfortable pair of shorts and a tank top. I went to pick up the clothes that littered the floor when I saw the dress on the bed. I first went to dump the clothes in my laundry basket before coming to properly inspect the dress. I sat on my bed and noticed the note beside the dress. Of course, it was from Ryder, saying he wanted to take me out for a late lunch. There was no way he wanted me to wear this just for lunch. Why did he have to be so extra? I wondered. The door swung open and Ryder walked in look
Ronan's POVI left Malia's room and headed back to my chambers. I had forgotten to reschedule our visit to the hospital to see Margaret. Perhaps there'd be no need. She had sounded a lot better earlier and there was a high chance that she was going to be discharged soon. I walked straight to my kitchen immediately after I got inside. I was ravenous and tired, and cereal seemed like the easiest and quickest thing to make. I opened the pantry to get a box of cereal and I sighed in frustration when I discovered that I didn't have any. I grabbed three protein bars instead and tore the wrappers open impatiently. As I munched on the snack, I deliberated on whether to go take a bath, sleep and wake up to eat later or just try to cook first and do the others afterwards. There was a knock on my door and I frowned. I wasn't expecting anyone. “You can come in. It's open,” I called out. The door swung open and I was surprised to see Penelope carrying a food tray. She walked in and placed
Malia’s POV“You're doing it again,” he said, setting down his silverware. Ryder had asked for two servings of his dessert emboldening me to do the same. I gave him a quizzical look. “What am I doing?” I asked, thinking of the best way to ask for a third serving of dessert without coming off as a glutton.“You're getting lost in thought,” he replied. He cleared the corners of his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair. “Well,” I began, trying to make myself more comfortable in my seat without slouching. “I'm just worried about Margaret. She's in the hospital.”He cocked an eyebrow. “How come I'm just getting to know about this?” “Have you gone to see her?” He asked, sitting up straighter. “Ronan, Scott and I were at the hospital earlier, but it seemed like she and Lucien were having some sort of argument, so we didn't enter her hospital room. It would have been rude of us to interrupt,” I replied. “Do you have any idea how she landed herself in the hospital?” He quer
Malia's POVI wondered if I had said too much once the words were out of my mouth. His eyes hardened and slowly turned red. I sucked in a deep breath in fear. He leaned towards me and I shrank back until my back touched the passenger door. “Ryder,” I whimpered. I had forgotten for a moment that he was an Alpha and they could snap when pushed. I watched as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I knew he was fighting to regain control. When he opened them, they had returned to their original colour and I slowly released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. “We're home,” he said and that was when I noticed we were no longer moving. He opened the door and stepped out of the car. I took his hand as I got out of the car. He seemed calm. Too calm. We had already taken a few steps when I remembered the desserts that the manager of the restaurant had given to us. “I forgot something. I have to get back to the car,” I said. He arched an eyebrow but said nothing. I hurried
Malia's POVPenelope's countenance had fallen so I gave her a hug and then proceeded to plant a quick kiss on her mouth. I thought she was going to push me away but the weirdo looked at me and gave me a slow sensual smile. “You know, I don't need Ronan when I have you. Could you please do that again? It felt really good.”I looked at her like she had lost her mind. “It's okay. I know how to kiss,” she said, leaning towards me. I reached for a pillow and hit it against her face and she burst out laughing. “You should see your face right now, Malia.”I rolled my eyes at her. “I'll always say this. You're really something else. Looks really can be deceiving,” I stated but inwardly I was pleased that her countenance had become brighter.“Now, speaking of men and kisses, you and the Alpha need to have sex and get this over with. The room was literally on fire earlier with the sexual tension and he looked ready to kill me when I interrupted.”I remembered how it had ended earlier in our
Malia's POVAfter my failed attempt at hitting Penelope with a pillow, I got up to shut the door since she hadn't had the chance to do so trying to escape from my pillow attack. I gobbled up the rest of my breakfast and hurried to the bathroom hoping that I would be out of the room before Ronan came to check on me. As I showered, I wondered if Lila would object to me being on the training field because Ronan was usually there. I guess I could try to be busy at all the times I would spend on the field. I planned to disappear immediately when I was done and not wait behind for any chit-chat. This is ridiculous, a voice in my head said. I agreed. It was even impossible to totally avoid the Hawkins brothers. But I just needed to law low until I had something against Lila. Let's say a video recording of her and Derek making out if I was lucky. I got out of the shower and quickly got dressed. I tried the best I could with the laces of my sneakers and went out the door. I was alre
Ronan's POVI stiffened as I spotted Lila on the training field. Why in the goddess's name was she here? I wondered. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Lila and the training field were like day and night. Malia got up from beside me and gave me an excuse about having something important to do. I could tell she was lying but decided not to push. At that moment, I was more concerned about what Lila was doing here. She had left my room very early this morning after an intense night of sex. I didn't feel bad about using her this way. She deserved it.I saw her say something to Malia, but couldn't quite catch what it was because they were so far off at the other end of the field. She sashayed to where I was and I noticed that the other guards were also surprised to see her on the training field. My dislike for her aside, Lila was very stunning with a figure most women would kill for. She stood in front of me and gave me a slow seductive smile. “Hello lover,” she mouthed.
MALIA’S POV Zade came to see me a week later. I had tried not to look excited at all when Penelope had come to tell me that he was waiting for me in the conference room. “Or should I ask him to come up to your chambers?” she queried and I gave her a withering look. “Oooh. How scary. I just hope he is not scared of you at all,” she said. She frowned when I didn't immediately get up from my bed but returned to the book that I had been reading before she came to inform me about my mate’s presence. After the incident, I had taken to reading books. I had gone to the library to check for any book that had to do with the witches of the Alfea tribe. I wanted to learn how to use my powers at will and I think that I was already getting a hang of it. The other day, I had managed to make Penelope’s dress wet when she had dared to make fun of my voice. We had decided to join a music class just for the fun of it and I realized that it was best I left singing alone. I also learned that pl
MALIA’S POV After making both Ryder and Victoria as weak as I could with extra help from Tommy(thank the Goddess the paralysis spell was temporary), I had to render them even more helpless by taking away Ryder’s wolf with the same spell that Victoria had used. I didn't even have to do any spells to take away her magic, she protested weakly when I lay my hand on her chest as though she already knew what was going to happen. I felt her power leave her body and go into mine with such force that I nearly lost consciousness. When it was over, I hurried to Zade’s side as fast as my weak body could carry me. Tommy was already by his side performing CPR to keep him awake. “This isn't going to work,” he said with fear in his eyes. “He needs his wolf right now or else, he is going to die. You can return his wolf to him, right?” I shook my head. I didn't know how but I was going to try everything in my power. He wasn't going to die on my watch. I bent my head close to his face and swipe
MALIA’S POV I must have fallen asleep again even though I had desperately tried to stay awake. Victoria had been forcing some sort of liquid down my throat for reasons best known to her and it had been making me fall asleep. I had vaguely overheard Ryder speaking to Zade. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that he should not fall for their trap but I knew that even if the Moon Goddess wanted to save him and prevent him from taking the bait, he was still going to find a way to come and save me. For the first time, my wolf hoped he wouldn't come. We were well aware that Ryder just wanted to kill him and claim his pack for himself. I lost count of the number of times I had wept because of Ryder’s betrayal. Never in my life have I felt so used and totally stupid. I wondered if Penelope had noticed my suspicious disappearance. And even if she did and discovered that Ryder was behind it, I doubted she would be able to do anything about it. He could easily threaten her with the lives of her ki
ZADE’S POV There was no way Victoria could have broken out of that house and killed about five of the highly trained guards I had placed there to prevent her from leaving and any person other than me and our son from going in. It wasn't just possible. I knew she was strong but she wasn't trained and didn't even stand a chance against one of the guards. So how had she been able to kill all five? I had immediately sent some of my soldiers to go after her when I discovered what had happened and was still waiting for them to return. “I think we should keep an eye on your son at all times. She loves him so much and might want to come pick him up. We can catch her that way,” Tommy was saying. I still couldn't get past the deaths of those guards. It wasn't just about the fact that they were killed but how they were killed too. It must have taken someone with a lot more physical strength and bigger size than Victoria. “There is no way she could have done it all alone. She had help,”
MALIA’S POV After skimming through the pages of about five books, we were able to learn a few things about the witches of the Alfea tribe. Like Alice had told us, there could only be one Alfea witch in a lineage and I was the chosen one in mine. The age at which the witch may discover her powers is different for everyone. But this discovery would be at a period in her life when she was going to need it. We were the most powerful of all the witches and were never supposed to act in rage because it could lead to the loss of many lives. Penelope and I had read open-mouthed, the story of an Alfea witch who had set a whole village on fire with her mind just because she had thought the King had something to do with the death of her only child. But she found out at the end of the day that her child had been killed by her best friend. “Well, now we have to get you to an anger management class,” Penelope said. I rolled my eyes. “I do not need it. I know how to control my emotions,”
MALIA’S POV While we were on our way back to the palace, Lucien warned us not to talk about my newly discovered identity as a witch. Penelope was not even supposed to tell Damien and he was not even going to tell Margaret. “If so many people know about it, it might cause them to be hostile towards you and some may even exploit you to their own advantage,” he had explained. I had so much to learn. I didn’t know the first thing about being a witch. I was just even getting used to being a proper werewolf. “You are not going to keep on wearing that hat forever are you?” Penelope queried. “I don’t know,” I replied, looking at Lucien for guidance. He shrugged. “Well, people are going to wonder why their Luna is suddenly covering her hair all of the time. It is going to make them more curious and when they discover that your hair colour has changed, they are going to be even more curious about why you had chosen to hide it. And trust me, they are going to find out.” “So I guess I
MALIA’S POV Penelope took off my hat without my permission as soon as we entered her chambers and Lucien gasped. “It is pretty, right?” she asked her father-in-law with a smile and I rolled my eyes. “That is not the point here, Penelope,” I said. She giggled. “I am so sorry but I can not just help but say it,” she replied. “Do you know if you have any witches in your ancestry?” Lucien asked. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. I had a feeling where this was leading and I was not sure I liked it. “I do not know. My mother never made mention of it. Neither did my father,” I replied. He was thoughtful for a moment. “It is better that we confirm what I have in mind. I think we should go to the witch that the Alpha took you to, to have your curse lifted,” he suggested. Penelope bounced in excitement. “Do you think she is a witch? Oh, I have always wanted to have a witch as a friend.” Lucien and I both rolled our eyes. “Are you not supposed to be taking care of my grandkids instea
MALIA’S POV There was nothing as sweet as your own independence and freedom. This I realized in the first few days of being alone in my room without Ryder in my space. He was sorely mistaken if he felt that giving me space was going to strengthen whatever attraction I had left for him. The more I stayed away from him, the more the attraction died and my wolf was beside herself with happiness. She was still insisting that I leave the palace and reunite with our mate. But I just didn't want any man in my space. I was dreading the day Ryder would ask me to return to his chambers. Maybe that was when I was eventually going to decide to leave him, go somewhere else and start afresh. The first time I heard him sneak out of his chambers, I thought perhaps, that he was going to his study to work overnight. He had done it a couple of times when I was still sleeping in his chambers. The same thing happened the next day and then the next and I began to get curious. I decided to ask him a
ZADE’S POV I returned to my Pack with mixed feelings. When I had decided to go meet my step-brother for help, I had known that there was a very high possibility that he wasn't going to help me but I just had to give it a shot for the sake of my Pack. What I had not been expecting, was to see my mate there. And the worst of all was that she was already married to that monster. I banged my desk hard in anger just as my Beta came in. He looked somewhat pissed that I hadn't allowed him to accompany me to my step-brother’s Pack but I didn't care at that moment. His expression changed to one of concern when he saw how pissed I was. “I take it things didn't go well at your brother’s Pack,” he said as he took his seat in front of the desk. “He is no brother of mine,” I spat out. “Woah! Okay, please just calm down and tell me what happened.” His mouth hung open as I told him how I had seen Malia and how she was already married to him. It took him a while to recover. “Then why d