Ronan's POV“What? Did you think you'd be left off the hook just because you're not the Alpha?” He asked. “You seem to have forgotten that you're also supposed to choose a suitable mate as soon as you can.”I rolled my eyes. “Let's focus on my brother first,” I replied. He trained his intelligent blue eyes on me. “You already have eyes on a certain woman right?” He queried. I shrugged. “I'll take that as a yes. I'd love to meet her,” he said, a bright smile on his face. “You can't meet her now.”“Why not?” He questioned. “It's complicated at the moment. Something close to unrequited love,” I answered. “You know you can have any woman you want right? You're a great catch. You don't have to pine after a woman who doesn't return your affection.”I closed my eyes and released a frustrated sigh. “But I don't want any other woman.”He shook his head. “You're just as bad as your brother.”“No, I'm not,” I disagreed rather vehemently. He looked taken aback. I took a deep breath and c
Malia's POV“Well, I deduced that they were crazy in love from what your brother told me,” I replied. His eyes hardened. He turned away from me to face a vampire sculpture. “So my brother has been telling you family secrets huhn?” He asked, his tone laced with barely controlled anger. I kept mute unsure of what to say. The room had grown deathly silent and the only thing I could hear was my own breathing. I exhaled a breath and moved closer to Ryder. “You seem angry. Why?” I asked. I got no response. Not even the slightest movement to show that he had heard me. “Ronan didn't tell me anything that I do not need to know,” I said. Frankly, I thought he was overreacting. It wasn't like they had some deep dark secret they were covering. Or did they? His silence was beginning to irk me so I said something I knew would make him react. “You didn't tell me you had a sister.”I was right. I saw him stiffen before he turned to face me. His usually cold green eyes had become even col
Malia's POVI willed my brain to work really fast. “Honestly, I have no idea why. I was just his sex slave.”“I would've said that maybe he thinks I'm going to rat him out and everyone would finally know what a disgusting man he is but who would believe the word of a servant over an Alpha?” To my credit, there were real tears in my eyes probably because I was damn scared and was remembering again how horribly Zade had treated me by sleeping with his ex-girlfriend. Lucien's eyes narrowed. “Or maybe you stole something of value from him.”“I beg your pardon. I'd never do that,” I replied with indignation. He was beginning to piss me off. Ryder squeezed my hand gently and I inhaled deeply. “She's not a thief. In fact, I was the one who found her in the woods quite far away from here, surrounded by rogues. She had nothing with her apart from the clothes on her back.”“If you don't believe me you can ask the guards I went hunting with together. They helped me fight off the rogues,” R
Ronan's POVI was filled with a fierce protectiveness towards her. Her blue eyes were filled with fear and sadness and I squeezed her hand gently to offer comfort. She might think she was being a burden but she wasn't. She was worth every shred of loyalty. She was worth dying for. There was no way I'd allow anyone to take her back to her former pack. Except if she was willing to return. My heart ached at the thought of that. “There's something I need to tell you,” she said. I could tell through her eyes that whatever she wanted to say was pretty serious and she was only telling me because she felt she could trust me. She suddenly looked so fragile and vulnerable and I wanted to wrap my arms around her so badly. She licked her lips and gave a tiny shake of her head and I wondered if she had changed her mind about whatever it was she wanted to say. I released a sigh and slowly moved to position myself right in front of her. “You know you can tell me anything right?” I said, cu
Ronan's POVI would have gone back to Malia's room but I thought I heard her chatting to someone, most likely, Penelope. I noticed that they were becoming closer by the day. I was still kind of surprised by Malia's humility. Even though she had been a Luna, she didn't choose her friends according to status. I could not imagine someone like Lila becoming friends with a servant. I made my way to my wing and lay down on my bed immediately I got in. My mind went back to the discussion Ryder and I had just had. He made it seem as though I was the one who didn't want our sister to return to the palace. I didn't remember ever saying anything like that. Maybe he was just trying to mess with me or shift the blame on me. Maybe he had also shared our father's thought that she was the cause of our mother's death. I sighed and tried to lull myself to sleep. After a frustrating hour of tossing and turning on the bed, I accepted defeat and threw the covers off me. I decided I needed to tal
Ronan's POV“We should start heading back to the palace. I promised my wife I'd be home early for dinner. I don't want to risk offending her again just after I cut her vacation short,” Lucien said.“I was hoping I could challenge you to a duel. I need to be very exhausted. It's the only way I'd be able to sleep tonight,” I replied. “Just thirty minutes,” I added when I saw the hesitation in his features.“On one condition,” he said. “When we're done, you'd have to follow me back to my chambers to explain to my wife that you're the reason I'm late for dinner.”I nodded. “Consider it done.”He gave me a wolfish grin. “I'm going to have so much fun beating you.”“We'll see about that,” I replied with a smirk. We ended up dueling for an hour and by the time we finished we were nearly totally out of breath and our muscles had turned jelly. The only thing we could do was plop down on the ground. “Admit it,” I said panting, “I've become so much better.”“Don't look so smug,” he replied.
Malia's POV“Now who told you that?” I asked Penelope. There was no point in saying that it was Lila that the Alpha wanted to crown as his Luna. That would be a lie and I didn't want to lie to Penelope. Her eyes glittered with mischief. “I swear this time I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just passing through when I heard the Beta and his brother talking about it.”My eyes widened in surprise. “Ronan knows?” Penelope nodded. “I guess he didn't tell you either because he didn't want you to know due to the way he feels about you, or because he feels it's not in his place to tell you about it,” she reasoned. “Whatever it is, he's my friend. He's not supposed to keep something like this from me,” I grumbled. “Do you want to become Luna for the second time?” Pen asked. “Hell no! I can't risk Lila suffocating me to death in my sleep,” I said and she chuckled. “Perhaps Alpha Ryder might insist that you move into his chambers once you're crowned Luna. No one would be able to hurt you.”
Ronan's POVI awoke sometime before the devil's hour. I knew I had been dreaming about when I was younger but the more I tried to remember the details of the dream, the more they eluded me. Hunger gnawed painfully at my stomach and I remembered that I had gone to bed with an empty stomach. I walked into my kitchen to prepare a quick meal. I settled on pasta and a simple sauce but first I poured myself some cereal and milk into a bowl and ate greedily. It was then that the details of the dream hit me and I realized that it wasn't really a dream but a memory that I had managed to bury in my unconscious mind. It was immediately after my mom had delivered my sister. My father, Ryder and I were pacing anxiously in the hospital building. Not far away from the room where the Luna was in labour, trying to bring another pup into the world. We heard the wails of a baby just before the pack doctor came out of that room and we all hurried to meet him halfway. “How are they?” My father had
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