Chapter 43Zara’s POVAnother ten minutes of being upside down. I was getting a headache from the way my head was swung from side to side as my captors ran tirelessly through the dark woods. I watched from my terrible view as light began to penetrate the tall trees. The moon finally decided to grace us with her presence, bathing the earth beneath in her silver glory.It felt good to see a little. I kept wondering how the men navigated through the dense woods with nothing but their senses. Well, Blair could do that. The reality of living without the inner consciousness that was my wolf was starting to get worried. Blair is an irreplaceable part of me. Five years was more than enough time for someone to get stuck on you, especially when they were living rent free in your head. It was weird at first. Sharing my mind with another consciousness felt like I was losing my mind.With her perspectives that differed from mine on most things, Blair felt like an intruder in my head space. My
Chapter 44Xavier's POVIt's my fault? I could not help but blame myself when aunt Rose appeared to announce the possible escape of my father's newest prized possession. Alpha Zoran, that old hyena. What was the use of a peace meeting if you'd just go ahead and attack days later?"I'm coming with you," I said hastily to my father who was already on his way to retrieve the girl."Stay here," he looked at me with blaming eyes. I hated that look, those eyes screamed "disappointment" at me without my father having to say anything. I hated that he treated me like a child up until this day.How was a child going to ever inherit the family company? Those eyes, my father's eyes made me want to shout, "I'm not a child anymore," but I knew that was not going to work and it would make me seem even more like a child. A full grown adult has no reason to deny being a child, his actions speak for me. My actions were the reason those sneaky bustards infiltrated the pack house. "I can do somethin
Chapter 45Zara’s POVThe sound of crickets chirping drowned out all other sounds but Bruce's voice. His voice pierced through nature as he spoke."Why have you come, Bruce?" I pondered on the answer to that question even as I asked."Your father asked me to go on one last mission. That's why I'm here," came his response. "What? He's alive?" Almost immediately, like a switch went off in my head, the phrase, "one last mission," made a little more sense to me. "Is he...?" I let out a quiet sob. My father was one of the worst out there, I was sure but it did not sever the bond between us, like a wolf and her mate, try as I may, alpha Donovan is the only blood relation I have left in the world, or had. "No princess. Your old man is safe," he said like he was at the brink of laughing at my stupid question. "He's the one that sent me to come get you." I could not believe it. "Why?" I wanted to ask but I suspected that even Bruce did not have all the answers. I was relieved either way
Chapter 46Alpha Damon's POVI have never been so humiliated. You'll pay for this you stupid Redmoon wench. My head was filled with thoughts of revenge only as I marched through the woods in search of the intruders. Did they really think they could get away from me in my own village?Two of my betas were dead and five were injured. There was little left that could faze me. Fools! They were all fools and I knew just the way to punish fools. It was only a matter of time now. "Footprints!" Jose, one of my betas shouted. He was one of the younger generation of betas, about Xavier's age, eager to prove himself and confident in his abilities at the same time. He reminded me of myself from a long time ago."Follow the trail. They should not be far off now," I declared, letting all five of the others know we were on them. It's only a matter of time now, I reminded myself. Witch hunts weren't my thing but I can adapt. Those spell casters would pay for what they did. I spotted them! Shadows
Chapter 47Zara’s POV"Princess! Princess!" Bruce yelled. His blonde beard covered two third of his face. I could only see his square jaw and that overgrown facial hair."Come on!" His hands jagged at me, pushing and pulling me by my shoulder. The force with which he pulled was so strong that my whole body moved in accordance to his pulling motion. My arms would hurt if I could feel anything."We need to call the doctor!" Came Bruce, crying out in the hazy room. Who was he talking to? I could not see past his face and I did not know where I was.I looked down at my hand and it all came back to me. Blood spilled uncontrollably from an open cut on my thin wrist. I did this. I wanted this but when I saw how much anguish I subjected Bruce to, I could not help but feel guilty.It was too late now, I would bleed out any minute, like I wanted to. My consciousness slipped steadily away, my eyes were closing by themselves. "It's okay Bruce. I wanted this. I wanted to die," I wanted to say to
Chapter 48Zara‘s POV"I can't go on," was the last thing I expected to hear as Bruce ran from the imminent danger behind us. The two men running ahead of us were beyond hearing distance."Run! Don't look back!" Bruce gave his order to his men earlier. He did not want to lose any more lives in trying to save mine. It was understandable."What?" We had gotten away from the shooters but just barely. Alpha Damon could be anywhere in the dark woods, especially since we did not see him coming the last time.Bruce stopped and put me down after enough time running, to reveal his blood stained shirt.I put my hands to my mouth that was opened in shock. "How? When?" This is not happening. It can't be happening but again, I should have seen this coming. I should have known that hope was never a constant in my life, it never stuck around. I watched the wounded man shriek in pain of the bullet wound to his side as he tried sitting. "Come on, Bruce. You can do something about this, can't you? He
Chapter 49Xavier's POV"She's beautiful," I thought as the glorious rays of the moon fell to ground, providing light, as little as it may have been to the creatures below. I was reminded of that night I spent with the moon goddess in the pool. Her silvery skin like none other was unusually alluring.She left me speechless, wanting more of her. Now I think about her everytime I see the moon in the sky.I walked aimlessly through the cold woods for a while, until the next set of gunshots brought me a sense of direction. It was almost funny, werewolves using guns."We've lost them," were the words I heard when I finally got to the men. My father and his betas seemed to have more of a problem than I expected with finding these intruders. We had been in the woods for at least two hours. It seemed pointless running after my father this long when all I could do was chase after his shadow.It was pointless and I was starting to lose sight of why I came outside in the first place, why I joine
Chapter 50Xavier's POV"D.E group bankrupt?" Read the billboards towering over various parts of the city. Orleans was a flourishing city, one of the few places in the country that preserved the cultural heritage, or at least that was what Nick liked to believe.Nick was a classmate from high school, the sticky type, his parents rednecks whose only achievement must have been the ability to boast of their home city and it's cultural heritage. Their wretched midset rubbed of on Nick with talks of his city being the only real conversation he could hold."Did you know that?" Nick would start, his introduction to one of his many historical lectures on the great city of Orleans we both lived."Did you know that Orleans still practices voodoo?" A random fact that I would not expect a regular teenager to know about but then again it was Nick and it was the only thing he knew."Voodoo is still practiced in Orleans." I had to pretend that I had no interest in the fact like with the rest of the
Chapter 105Xavier’s POVI watched in fear as Riana left. She said thank you and just left. Her back turned to me, exposing her magnificent body. I knew she knew something, but not enough to conclude or figure out that I was planning an escape.There was something about the way she said thank you, the way she walked in and walked away so quickly. Her eyes had lost their light. They looked like two empty spheres in her wide eye sockets.She didn’t press hard when she asked if I loved her. She didn’t push herself toward me. I found it strange that she never asked for more sex after that day. She became an entirely different person. Changed. I should’ve worried more but I didn’t. I closed my eyes to it because I believed that anything keeping her away from me was a good thing.I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care at all, but I shoved that feeling aside because it was a distraction.That evening, I happened to be outside my room far from it. Thoughts of the wedding suffocated me. How easi
Chapter 104Xavier's POV“She knows!” Lucas burst into my room saying. It was evening when he came. Light was slowly leaving the sky as day transitioned to night. His face held worry in a way that warned onlookers not to look away—not to take his dreadful expression for granted.I was immediately alarmed by this. “What’s wrong?” I asked. The huge man was not much of a talker, I knew from the moment I met him, three days ago. I mean that I really met him three days ago—he had always been around, but we never had any need to speak to each other until we did.His head was balding but he still let it grow out, even though it showed at the trimming edges that formed deep cups that ate into the sides. It was only a matter of years,maybe a year,until all of his hair was gone, or at least most of it.I kept looking at his hair while we spoke, while I told him what I wanted him to do.“I just need you to give these to her. Nothing more,” I said to him. This was three days ago, while he was on
Chapter 103Riana's POVThe shameless look in Brownie’s eyes cleared any doubts I had before. This was her. This whole thing was her plan, her doing. She profited off my squabble with Zara like kings and country rulers profited by selling weapons to warring countries.Did I regret telling her she could have the dress? A slight moment of second guessing, rethinking my hasty decision to trust this scam of a girl with having any reasonable information. Potent weapons are sold by crafty leaders for future patronage, it was a business, just like my interaction with Brownie. She needed to be trusted for future deals, if there would be any, so she would offer only the best, most reliable news to me. This was my reasoning, my consolation as I pondered her trustworthiness.“He slipped a piece of paper between the door and a hand reached out to take it from him. No doubt the girl’s hand,” Brownie said, and I wondered why she referred to Zara that way. “The girl,” she said, and it angered me. I
Chapter 102.Riana’s POV.Two days until the wedding. I have forced myself to remain quiet and imposed sanity on my raging mind.Two weeks feel like forever when you are stuck in your room with thoughts of a man you are to marry and the woman trying to take him from you.Silence, even though my body ached for adventure and my heart longed for the extermination of a certain person. I have never felt such hate, such anger and jealousy because of a person, not even to the man that raped me as a child.My emotions towards him were conflicting to say the least. I do not know how I feel about the man that harassed me, tore my clothes and opened me up to a world I have come to enjoy. Maybe enjoyment is an overstatement because the thrill that comes with not being tied down to a man was exciting but at the same time the pleasure was satiable unfulfilling.I want to be tied down. I want to be loved by someone, by Xavier. Only two days now.Today is like any other day for the last two weeks, ex
Chapter 101Zara's POVThe intruder pushed again and the door shook but it was hinged too tight to be moved too far from its fixed point. I was too afraid to ask who it was so instead I crouched down on the floor and waited for the intruder to tire himself out and leave. I hoped he would leave.The knocking continued and after a minute or two I knew that he would not go away. Could it be that Alpha Damon was back to inflict more pain or he was going to finish me off properly this time?Each time the handle of the door moved, I felt my heart almost leave my chest. Like I was naked, I felt exposed. The only thing that separated me from the intruder was a door, a relatively small, wooden bathroom door."Open up Zara. It's me," the voice behind the door announced. I know that soothing low pitched voice. I'd recognise it anywhere. Its lustre was distinguishable even in the midst of confusion. Xavier's voice was calming.I opened the door, relieved to see him standing before me because part
Chapter 100Zara's POV"Where is it?" Loud footsteps came before the thunderous voice announced itself in the room and the tall, dark man appeared before me. A sense of danger immediately engulfed me. His deep blue eyes were marked with a hint of boiling red rage."Where have you hidden it?" He repeated himself, a rarity for the alpha of the Bloodmoon pack. His rage was apparent but something lay beneath it, masked and well hidden by the anger but I spotted it. It was one thing I knew too well, fear.Underneath the guise of anger was an intensifying fear. Alpha Damon was afraid. I was afraid. This foreign feeling would no doubt bring with it unpredictable actions. I had never seen Alpha Damon like this, I did not know what to expect, not like I did all the other times he burst in with rage but something was different about him this time, more dangerous."You better tell me where you have kept it," he said and started walking closer towards me. My heartbeat immediately quickened as he
Chapter 99Xavier's POVI shed the false bravado as soon as she left. The truth is I was even more whimpering that she was. I hate to admit the truth, which is the fact that I cower before my father, the man who had been raised high and mighty by the exaggerated stories, endless tales that Lady Rose told of him, of their past together.She said, "our past," when she referred to her and my father's shared experiences, like there was something more to it.I felt pretentious. I asked Zara to put her faith in me. I asked for her trust when I was not even sure of my plan. How could I expect to help somebody else when I could not even help myself. All these years living under my father's wing, under his watchful eye, I had never defied him.I should blame aunt Rose for my compliant behaviour. I like to believe that she was the one that kept me in check."He has his reasons," she would say, making excuses for his unfatherly actions or, "give it time. He'll come around." Her words barricaded
Chapter 98Zara's POVA jab, loud shuffling through books, clothes, possessions, hasty movements. I immediately get disturbed by these. Unconsciously, my heartbeat quickens and my body is reminded of fear. My father is rushing towards me with his hands raised, it strikes me. I can never escape that fear.Alpha Damon is back in the room. He does not look happy. I did not expect him to be. I am just happy that I made it back to the room before he got back.More movement. He is searching for something, rummaging endlessly through his belongings. I dare not to ask, I dare not disturb his search so I sat quiet, frozen. My mind drifted to earlier in the day, with Xavier.He whispered his plan to me, as though we were not alone and someone could sneak up behind us as he spoke. I liked the feel of his breath against my ear."That's it?" I asked, unsatisfied by what he had told me. "What next? We can't possibly..."He raised his finger to my lips and stopped me from talking. "I'll tell you whe
Chapter 97Zara's POVTime existed no more. Seconds, maybe hours, had gone by since I came to Xavier's room. I did not care. Everything was perfect.Xavier lay next to me, quiet and motionless for a while. His fingers had been stroking the side of my cheek very softly and slowly."I love you," he whispered in my ear. Our bodies were mingled under his sheets, just like I had imagined him with Riana.His words sent shivers down my spine. I felt as every syllable travelled from my ear to the rest of my body. Love? Too soon? I barely knew Xavier Elord. There was an undeniable connection between us but that was it. It did not change the fact that I met him a few weeks ago. I did not say it back. Awkwardness and silence lingered in the air, until, like a rotten smell, it dissipated.I looked at him to notice that he was not waiting for a reply, he was not even looking at me. He appeared to be sleeping. His face is peaceful and begging to be left alone."I have a plan to get us out of all t