“Make sure you’re right about this…” Nate exhaled loudly and mumbled, “the king is gonna kill me.” I sighed and nodded. “I’m sorry.” I looked at the empty entrance way of the dungeon. “And thank you for allowing me to be here. I swear I won’t be long.”Nate just nodded. Since I told him I wanted to see Lana and told him my reason, something changed in his demeanor and in his eyes. There was a bit of hope and something I couldn’t quite decipher that flashed through them but immediately went away. “I’ll look for you in the mansion after 15 minutes. If you’re not there, I’ll come back here and get you out.” I nodded. I know he’s just being careful.”Okay.” Nate once again nodded at me before he urged me to go. I turned my back on him and started walking inside the cold dungeon. The last time I was here, I was terrified. I saw probably the worst state any wolf could be in. Samuel. The last news I heard about him was he was taken to a facility to get checked. I don’t know his whereabout
I was fourteen when I saw what the real world was. Waking up with the sound of screams and pleas, I remembered scrambling towards my door to see what was happening. But before I could even touch the knob, the door slammed open, revealing a man so tall and big that I immediately trembled in intimidation and fear. “You’re coming with us, girl,” he said. I could never forget the huge scar across his face. It started on his left brow towards the right side of his neck. I wondered what kind of creature could still live through what seemed like a deep wound in his body. Then I realized he wasn’t just any other man. He was some sort of a creature that could withstand what a weak person like me couldn’t. Seeing that I was staring at his scar, the man growled at me that had me whimpering. His large hand grasped my arm. “Get inside that truck and do not make a sound.” Scared, I swallowed whatever screams I was about to get out of my throat. He pushed me, and with shaking legs, I walked out
Tears fell down my cheeks as I trembled on my spot. “P-please… no! help!” One of the girls with me screamed as she struggled in front of the pole where she was tied alone. I could only watch her, my knees trembling as the cold metal of the pole behind me seeped into my skin. Like her, I was tied tightly, ready to be offered. The entire place was lit with orange-yellow lights from the torches that surrounded us. In the middle was the huge statue of the very first Lycan King that ruled over Vamos. Its stony eyes looked down on us, condescending our weak existence. I could still feel the blood trickling down the side of my face from the slap I got. I struggled from the guard that took me earlier, and he slapped me so hard that my head turned and slammed on the wall; the side of my head getting sliced by its rough texture. Despite feeling dizzy and my vision blurring, I couldn’t stop feeling the swirling in my stomach. The magnetic pull I had started feeling since they delivered us
Growing up, stories about the Lycans were all I heard when parents wanted to scare their children to obedience.They said they were horrible, huge creatures that resemble wolves. That one could see the evilness from their bright eyes that could assault anyone that would stare at them. Some even claimed they could manipulate people.They were bigger, faster and quicker than anyone. And they used that power to dominate lands and conquer territories that weren’t theirs. People called them savages, some even proclaimed them as the devils in wolf form. That they were just another form of Rogues that found their own organization and leader. So when I woke up in a room that was dimly lit, I immediately thought of the worst.I gasped and sat up on the bed, realizing I was not wearing the same clothes I had worn the last time. I was in a silky white night gown that went down to my knees and elbows. I also had patches from the wounds I knew I had from the last beating I got from the House. I
I was tagged as the ‘Remain’ of the girls from the Offering. “As the Remain, you will be assigned anywhere assistance is necessary.” Miranda Grey, the Head Matron of the services in the Vamos pack, told me as I stood alone inside her office inside one of the few mansions I’ve seen in the territory. Hearing so many terrifying stories about the lycans, I thought there was nothing as savage and as disorganized as their territory was. But I don’t know whether I just had prejudices, or I was dumb down by my hatred to their kind—when I should have taken into account how they are the reigning pack, and someone who reigns an entire community should have an organized and wealthy land—when I saw how civilized, huge and wealthy their pack territory was. It looked like an entire rich city. “But for now, since all the Offered have taken on tasks of their own, and we have sufficient servers, I will assign you to the Office Building.” Just like her surname, Miranda had these gray almost whit
People looked at me as I walked inside the Office Building where I was assigned.Two days had passed since the Offering and people in the Vamos pack were still adjusting to our presence. Well, MY presence. The Remain.Apparently, it was true that for years since the tradition of the Offering was made, this was the first time in a couple of decades that someone was not picked to be taken.So, those girls may have been right to say that, but still wrong at the same time. I wasn’t the very first one! I was just the first one after many years of not having a Remain.Insecure brats. They didn’t even realize it was more pitiful to be taken by someone like an object like that than to be left alone like me.‘We found our mate. That’s why we weren’t taken.’ Lia, my wolf, suddenly intruded my train of thoughts.I frowned, hating how she has the power to do that. Also hating the fact that I was also somehow considering the reason she was saying to be the cause of this—not that I wanted to be pic
“You b*tch!”I groaned before landing on the floor. I held my cheek, the sting and pain from the punch echoing around my skull.“I almost died!” The Warrior bastard screamed at my face, his brown eyes so bright with anger. I could almost even see his wolf surfacing.“N-not my fault… you’re stupid…” I said, satisfaction in my voice despite the electrifying pain in my bones from his punches.Still on the floor, he kicked me on the stomach. I groaned and clenched my fists on the ground. I couldn’t fight physically against him. Not when I knew I was going to lose. So I just stayed curled up there, trying to protect vital parts of my body, and fighting him with words.They had training with firearms this afternoon, and since I was the one who assembled his weapon, his gun ricocheted towards him, almost hitting him on the side of his stomach. To be fair, it was a silver bullet, and one wound from that could be critical. But still, it was his fault for letting me assemble his weapon wh
“Rina?” I slowly opened my eyes, squinting immediately when bright light assaulted my vision. “Hey, what happened?” I focused on the person sitting beside my lying form, and realized it was Maddie. “I got smacked,” I said, my voice hoarse. Maddie didn’t appreciate my nonchalance when she frowned. “You have two broken ribs and a sprain in your ankle. How could you be so casual about this?” “I’ve had worse days. You know that,” I just said and looked towards the side, curious where I was. “You’re in the pack’s clinic,” she said, as if reading my mind. I sighed and lied properly on the bed, remembering only half of the happenings before I got here. I remember getting so dizzy as Sebastian continued trying to make small talks with me. Then I just lost balance and blacked out. I looked at Maddie and saw she was looking outside the window, looking like she was in a deep thought. “What time is it?” Maddie turned to me. “It’s 11 AM already.” I immediately started standing up.
“Make sure you’re right about this…” Nate exhaled loudly and mumbled, “the king is gonna kill me.” I sighed and nodded. “I’m sorry.” I looked at the empty entrance way of the dungeon. “And thank you for allowing me to be here. I swear I won’t be long.”Nate just nodded. Since I told him I wanted to see Lana and told him my reason, something changed in his demeanor and in his eyes. There was a bit of hope and something I couldn’t quite decipher that flashed through them but immediately went away. “I’ll look for you in the mansion after 15 minutes. If you’re not there, I’ll come back here and get you out.” I nodded. I know he’s just being careful.”Okay.” Nate once again nodded at me before he urged me to go. I turned my back on him and started walking inside the cold dungeon. The last time I was here, I was terrified. I saw probably the worst state any wolf could be in. Samuel. The last news I heard about him was he was taken to a facility to get checked. I don’t know his whereabout
“What are you thinking?”My hand that was immobile on his toned stomach flinched when he suddenly broke the peaceful silence around us. Titus looked down on me as I laid on his arm. He looked magnificent as his dark eyes reflected the sliver of sunlight that went through the glass window. It was still afternoon and the bright sun had finally braved its way through the thick clouds that had been darkening the skies of Vamos these past few days.“Hmm,” I exhaled a breath and looked down on his bare chest. My hand traced its toned skin. He caught my hand and intertwined our fingers. “Tell me,” he urged, knowing I was holding something back. The buzzing in my head never stopped since my headaches came. I realized that this also happened to me inside the laboratory just when I was starting to hear some other wolves. My head was still hurting a little, but I know now they were effects of hearing somebody else’s wolf.And I feel like there is a certain connection to that to what has been
”She was mad that all their plans were not followed. They said that Lady Lana dropped everything she had before she was betrothed to the king, even leaving her mate, but then you suddenly came into the picture… and that was the reason why she decided to betray the king… all of us.”I just listened silently at Maddie as she explained to me why Lana was arrested after seeing her the day I was abducted. I just continued staring at the large clearing of the pack before I faced Maddie who looked quite a bit down as she narrated to me what happened during the arrest.”Do you believe it?” Her light green eyes went to me. “Do you believe that she is the traitor?”Hesitation immediately flashed in those kind, green eyes before they looked down again. “I… I am in no position to disagree with the king and the Council’s judgment.”I stared at my best friend as she basically did not answer my question. “Tell me the truth, Maddie. Do you believe the accusations against Lana Wintour?” I asked agai
“Can you please tell us, what happened when you were conscious in that lab, Miss Ringwood?” One Councilor wasted no time and asked. I looked at all of them, seeing how serious everyone was. I have always felt kind of intimidated by this group of men and women, but there was something more somber and sinister in their presence today. The kidnapping and the discovery of what those rogues were up to really changed it for them.”When I…” I paused, feeling my heart in my throat. I don’t even know what I’m so nervous about.”When I became conscious, I was able to speak to one of the leading rogues inside that lab,” I said.”What’s his name? Do we know him?” I shook my head as an answer to another one of the Council people’s questions. “I didn’t get his name. But he was tagged as the leader inside that laboratory. Though, I heard him say they had a master. And I personally recognized him from years ago.” I added, wanting to be very transparent and honest about this. It’s the only way I kno
As soon as we stepped outside the Andreyev mansion, I immediately felt how different the atmosphere was. Vamos has always had this somewhat filled atmosphere around. Hundreds of years of history has already etched itself in this very land, and it housed the greatest lycan kings in history so I understand. Its atmosphere could sometimes be light, most of the time, it could be quite heavy. But this heavy was different. I looked around the wide clearing and saw many Warriors walking around. All in complete uniform and armed. Most were on lines and some were speaking as if meeting for some important mission one last time before they went out and did it. The scarce normal packmates of Vamos were merely passing by and getting back inside their homes. No one was there to walk around leisurely like how most usually do. Everyone was busy. But it wasn’t the typically busy grounds of Vamos. It was buzzing with tension. With an eager force to attack. With men in uniforms occupying the grounds
“I’ll be back before the sun gets down.””Okay,”He leaned in to give me a kiss. But what I thought was going to be a peck became a deep smooch as Titus pulled my neck towards him. I held on to his shirt as he devoured me. And I couldn’t complain as I loved everything he’s been doing to me. “Don’t go out without me, Sebastian or Nathan, okay?”“Okay,” I nodded, knowing he’d need my assurance that I will be safe. I don’t want to defy him with that again. It has been our issue, and something grave has already happened to me. It’s the least I could do to help him and to be safe. “I love you. I’ll see you later.” He once again gave me another kiss before he started walking out of the room. I watched him in his usual black pants and black long-sleeves. He said he was going to have numerous meetings today for all the investigations they’ve been doing after getting some evidence in the rogue lab they got me from.“I love you, too,” I said and waved back at him before he closed the door to
“W-why…” was all I could say as I gaped. Maddie just looked down, sensing how confused and worried I got. I closed my mouth and turned to the window once again. Titus was no longer there. Sebastian was left and he was commanding the now divided troops into who-knows-where. “You’ve basically been in a coma for the last month, Rina. And according to Sir Ben, it was least likely you could recover. We could barely feel you. When the king heard that, the troop mission to annihilate every rogue in our lands intensified. King Titus could no longer be stopped, even when it was already hurting some civilians.”My figure just froze there. Not knowing what to feel about it.The last conversation I had with Titus, he opened up about his worst fears and experiences. He had finally opened up to me and I also did to him. So, I know this must have been very hard for him. I couldn’t imagine what must be going on inside his head as he thought he was going to lose me. It was his worst fear. It was e
“… wait. She will recover. She’s strong.”I stirred, hearing voices around me.”She has too many rogue venom in her. I’m just afraid…”The voice sounded so troubled. Like they were crying. But I couldn’t recognize who’s voice it was.“You did well, Maddie. You were just in time. It’s not your fault.”Sobs echoed around the room as the girl started crying. I couldn’t move myself nor do anything. That went on for how many more minutes until the voices faded away. It’s either they went away, or I just started drifting away again.Sounds came back to my senses when I heard a loud beeping sound. It wasn’t exactly irritating to the ears, but I was bothered by what it was. I started opening my eyes.Bright light immediately greeted my vision. I was looking at a cream ceiling—my vision was still quite blurry. I blinked, adjusting to the light.I slowly looked over my shoulder, following the beeping sound that had me woken up. It was a machine that monitored my breathing and heart rate. I imme
My vision became hazy as exhaustion got to me. Sweat dripped on my forehead. I took huge breaths. I watched everyone outside—seeing Maddie getting taken away by the doctor beside her out of the bed as a fight broke inside. A constant ringing blared on my ears. I could see the people outside fighting with another group. I could make out how messy everything has become. But I couldn’t hear them—I couldn’t hear anything besides the sharp ringing in my ears and the compliant whimpers from other wolves inside my head. What’s happening? ”M-Maddie...¦” I mumbled as I saw her getting hauled up by the doctor who had been constantly beside her. After taking out the last needle in her body, he immediately ran out and took her away. Away from me. Where I couldn’t see what they’d do to her. ”M-Maddie...¦” My voice broke as tears fell hard on my cheeks. Whatever remaining strength was left in me was given to the act of just watching everything unfold. The doctors inside the lab, includ