Weeks and months passed; my father became worse because I hadn't found my mate, and I also wasn't surpassing his expectations for me. Angered after our discussion, I'd stomped down to my room, and she'd quietly knocked a few minutes later, explaining that she'd heard our fight then suggested a massage.I'd obliged without thinking too much of it, but when she began humming a hauntingly beautiful tune, I'd gotten turned on without thinking and brought her to bed with me. That was the second and last time it'd ever happened, and I forced myself to never take advantage of her again.Her hands moved deftly over my back, and I groaned, feeling my tense muscles relax. She was an expert at this, I'd repeatedly told her, and had my full permission to be employed in a spa. But she'd vehemently refused, choosing to stay in my quarters. “Is this alright, Alpha?” her voice softly said, and I nodded with another groan. Fuck, she was hitting the spot. “I'll need you to lie down now.”I did as she
Jacob was yelling orders at a group of trainees when we arrived. As soon as he saw me, his jaw tightened and he began to yell even louder.Julian chuckled. “Oh, he hates you.”In response to that, my jaw tightened. We watched in silence as the trainees proceeded to do whatever he told them, then fell onto the floor when he announced a break. “When we resume,” he announced. “You'll be choosing sparring partners. This is eesential because you need to understand how to fight in a real battle. As soldiers, our duty is to protect our pack no matter what, so you must never back down in a fight.” When he said that, his gaze flickered to me for a second. “Never, ever.” I knew exactly what fight he was referring to, and jealousy filled me. Before I knew it, I'd stepped forward, to the shock of the trainees before me and to Julian's amusement. Jacob's look was stoic. “Alpha?”“Since we're telling them about understanding how to fight in a battle,” I said, lifting a hand and watching content
Audrey POV:“You can't be serious,” Roman wheezed and continued to laugh out loud. “He really started weeping?”I laughed as well, my wolf letting out a sound of contentment. We were in my room, having a discussion and laughing our heads off about certain incidents that had happened to us. This was weeks after his clash with Jacob. I hadn't told him, but seeing him get injured did something to my heart, so although I was still somewhat sad with him for not wanting to give intimacy a chance, I knew I didn't want to lose him at all. I'd forgiven him and allowed him to visit again, and we'd been friendly with each other ever since.Kara, I hadn't seen in a while. But then again, I avoided that door like the plague.“Well, humans take much less kindly to the kick in between the knees compared to werewolves,” I giggled. “Which reminds me of one time when I accidentally did it to Jacob, and he went flat on the ground. I almost thought I'd killed him. Then he jumped up and tickled me till I
“Yeah, I just-” I broke off when Olivia handed me the cup, and caught the slight shaking of her fingers. “Thank you, Liv.” She nodded and stood aside, waiting for me to finish as usual so she could take the cup back. I was just about to place the cup on my mouth when she cried out. “Stop!” It all seemed to happen in slow motion. One minute I was holding a cup, the next hot tea was spilled all over me. When I finally made sense of the situation, there were broken shards of ceramic on the floor, and Roman was holding the maid to the wall. “What did the hell were you thinking?” he snarled in rage, gold flecks swimming in his eyes. “Do you realize-” Olivia struggled against his hold. “Tea-” she choked. “Poisoned.” ♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎ Roman POV: Audrey looked shocked. “W-what?” she stuttered, looking from the maid to the floor. “D-did you say?” My wolf let out a growl, and I applied more pressure to the girl's neck, causing her to gasp for air. “How dare you?” “I-I-” she flailed ar
She shrugged. “The only difference between a drug and a poison is the dose. Now, tell me, do you have any culprits in mind?”It would have been a good time to tell her about the Crimson Wolves, but I was afraid her memory about the prison since that was part of the reason why I threw her in there. “None yet. You?” She hummed and tapped her chin. “Well…there's Diane.”I gave her an incredulous stare. “You think your stepmother is responsible for this?”Her response to that was to chuckle bitterly. “She's my father's wife. And I just destroyed her plan to marry her daughter with the Alpha of our pack. Of course I think she's responsible.” I knew Diane was terrible, but I would never have thought… “Damn.”Audrey playfully bared her teeth at me, then looked ahead of her, not focusing on anything. “That's all I have though.” “I'll ask the soldiers if they've seen any suspicious occurrences,” I promised, and she nodded, before placing her head on my shoulder. “I'm scared,” she whispered
Audrey, on the other hand, seemed to have glued together all her broken pieces in that moment, and I was afraid for her. I'd wanted nothing more than to kiss her till all her fears were gone. That wasn't going to happen for a while, though. I'd made the mistake once, I wasn't going to do it again. Even if I wanted to wake up every fucking day with the plan to worship her body like a crazed man. I would do so later, just not now. There was a lot to do first. One particular not so serious one was my best friend’s disapproval of my mate. Julian still didn't trust her, regardless of all his teasing, and I'd tried multiple times but failed to get him to properly interact with her. He still kept her at arm's length, and it bothered me, because I planned to make him my best man at our wedding. Our wedding. I hummed satisfactorily at the thought. With Tanya, the plan was to shut the elders up and have a good Luna. With Audrey, the plan was to shut the world up and have the best Luna.But
At the mention of the Alpha, fear crossed Tanya's eyes, but she stood firm. “Right now, I don't give a shit. That bitch over there is a fucking thief.” Her eyes swirled to mine, and I could almost see the flames erupting in them. “Are you enjoying this, Audrey?” she snarled. “Do you enjoy seeing me in so much pain? Because of you, my fiancé ended our engagement. I'm the pack's punchline, while you lounge in his house all day like a sack of potatoes!”My heart sunk even lower as guilt flooded it. “Tanya…”“Don't you dare call my name, bitch!” She took a menacing step forward, then paused when Paul glared at her. “I'll make sure that I-”“I give you three seconds to leave here, Miss Hill,” he said darkly. “If you don't-”“Wait,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a pleading stare. “Let me talk to her, please.”“The Alpha does not want her near you,” he replied, his expression stoic. “He gave me strict orders not to allow her to speak to you whenever we were outside t
For years I suffered at the hand of my stepmother, then ran to the humans and suffered at their hands, too. I'd kept quiet around those creatures because no matter what, we weren't the same. I didn't want to be them, anyway. But I had to live among them, so I kept quiet. No friends, just a few acquaintances here and there. Wolves I knew from high school roamed around human territory. Apart from that, after cutting Jacob off, I became a lone wolf,in every sense of the word. Until now.Like a zombie, I took steps towards a couch and sat in it, gratitude rising in me at the ways Roman had changed my life. Yes, he'd messed up terribly, but he had made up and still was making up for it, obviously guilty about his past deeds no matter how much I tried to change his mind.Of course, I was glad he was striving to do all he could to make me feel better, but I wanted something else. However, though he hadn't given me that request, he'd come through in other ways. He'd given me a roof over my
Audrey POV:Paul tensed beside me when he saw the look as well, but I knew it was a defense mechanism, not because he wanted to fight Jacob. As Gamma, Jacob was leader of the Guard, and there was no way Paul would strike him unless Jacob attempted to hit me first. Which, from the look in his eyes, seemed very much likely. However, I was sure he wouldn't do that. Right from time, Jake preferred to talk things over than use his fists. That knowledge gave me the courage to continue approaching him as he sat on a stone watching his soldiers train. “Jake.”He glared at me, then turned back to his trainees. “What are you doing here?” We were attracting a bit of attention. I almost panicked. “I need to talk to you. Please.” He didn't look at me, and I saw the slight tense in his shoulders before he spoke. “Where's your mate?” The bitter tone of his voice indicated he wasn't asking out of excitement, but out of anger. I was taken aback. Why was he asking about Roman? “I-” I paused, cleari
“He's dangerous,” she said, her voice wavering. “How the hell did you get roped with him?”She knew him. Great Luna. They knew each other. I was about to speak when Marvin pulled me closer to him, and briefly sighted a grin on his face. “Well, there was a bit of back and forth in the beginning, Diane. But the most important information is that we're mates now.” He pecked the side of my head, and I hated the butterflies that erupted in my stomach as a result of his action. “Meaning we’re in-laws. Isn't that wonderful?”My mother's response to his question was to collapse. ♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎Audrey POV:Roman was suspicious. I knew that much from the expression he'd given me three nights before when I returned from the bathroom. It'd been on his face for just a second, but I'd seen it clearly, and it'd registered in my mind before he switched to a neutral look. And ever since the following morning, we hadn't slept in the same bed, nor had he come looking for me. It was obvious he had his rese
Tanya POV:Marvin hadn't called yet. I stared at my phone, wondering when he would. After he smacked Audrey into unconsciousness, he told me to stay put and not do anything till he returned to visit or called me. I'd obeyed, of course, but it was noon, and I hadn't seen either hide or tail of him. It wasn't like I was worried for him. I just didn't want him to find himself in trouble because that would put a major damp on his plans. And his plans included me, so I would be suffering by association. I didn't want that. Especially now that I was the town's joke. I sighed, placing my phone screen down beside me and staring up at my ceiling. It hadn't been up to four months since Audrey arrived, yet she'd turned so many things upside down. I'd gone from being the most envied to the most joked about, from the most beautiful to the most idiotic, and from the beloved Tanya Hill to the Hill brat. Mother had started ignoring me, too, going for long days without exactly saying where she was
Roman POV:Marvin’s forehead was wrinkled when I finished describing the events Julian and I had gone through, and his lips were pursed together. When they were finally separated, it was to let out a breath. “Well, that sucks.”It did suck. Apart from the incident where we’d found that Gertrude was in cahoots with some Crimson Wolves’ worker, Margrave wanting me to give up Audrey for a shaky alliance had continually echoed in my mind, and I was beyond annoyed about it, even if a part of me had begun to doubt my mate's credibility. I adored her with all of me, but who was to say she wasn't- ‘No, Roman,’ I told myself, stalling the buildup of such thoughts in my mind. I had to hold off on my assumptions. ‘Stop that. Audrey wouldn’t do that to you.’ Or would she? “Well, I have the perfect solution to end at least half of the problems.”I looked at my stepbrother, who had a mischievous smile on his face. I didn’t need to think twice to know that whatever he'd cooked up was something cri
Roman POV:I stared at my mate while she struggled to explain. A similar occurrence happened when we first met, and she'd begged for innocence. I'd been on edge during that period, and I was not in the mood to accept whatever she had to say. Thus, I'd been very eager to toss her into prison, though that wasn't the best move at that moment. My brow furrowed as I realized the case was never really solved. We'd seen a note with her, I'd had her arrested…but that was it. I hadn't investigated further into the situation after her brush with death. I'd been too afraid to lose her. As I watched her stutter and fall over her words, I wondered if that hadn't been a mistake. What if she actually was in liaise with the Crimson Wolves? Or the rogues, at least? She carried the Gatrix-Hill blood, after all; there was nothing stopping her from being in cahoots with her father's networks. Her father's networks. My eyebrow twitched. But Audrey obviously didn't see that action, because she kept
Audrey POV:The guards stood at attention the moment they saw their Alpha emerge, and I felt so much relief at the presence of my mate that I didn't hesitate to go into his arms, not even when his brooding Beta came out of the car as well. Roman squeezed me so tight it seemed as though he never wanted to let me go, and I reveled in the feeling of his arms around me, wanting to freeze time at that moment. But there were more important things. “What happened here?” the Beta asked, his brows furrowed. “Why is this woman outside?”I tried to step out of Roman's arms, but his arms tightened around me. “Don't go,” he whispered. I resisted the urge to chuckle and obeyed. “Well?” my mate said out loud, his eyes dark as he looked at the pack guards. “Talk. Anyone of you. Why is my mate outside?” The guards seemed to remember themselves and flew to open the gates, before baring their neck in obeisance. “Alpha.”Roman scowled. “I didn't ask for a greeting. I asked for a goddamn explanation.
Roman POV:It was in the middle of the night. Julian and I had found it difficult to sleep, and we'd stayed awake for a long time discussing the next course of action as regards the revelation about Gertrude and her Crimson Wolves lover. An hour before we heard the scratching sounds, we'd finally drawn a plan up. Thus we’d retired to bed, but my eyes opened when I heard the sounds. A second later, Julian had sat up. “Do you hear that?” he mouthed to me, and I nodded, my eyes trained on the door. Someone was trying to get in, but not by kicking the door open. The person wanted to come in quietly. I heard whispers and narrowed my eyes. Not a person. Persons. That meant a group of people wanted to sneak into the room. In such a situation, especially in a place like Roguemania, it meant they didn't have good intent. They wanted to cause us harm. Most likely kill us. Julian looked at me with a questioning glance, asking if he should go ahead and kill them immediately. But I shook my h
Audrey POV:I shivered from the coolness of the place I’d been caged in, completely unaware about the goings on of the outside world. Jacob and Derek hadn't replied my other fear-filled questions when I'd awoken, and at a point Jacob had snapped at me to shut up, with certain backstories on when his hatred for me began. I almost could not believe it. Jacob, my close friend, had kidnapped and regarded me as some annoying fly he'd had to put up with. I was finding it hard to accept that he and Tanya had planned the entire ruse. How could he have done that to me? He'd been brazen enough to destroy my trust in him without a trace of remorse. We'd grown up together, for crying out loud. He was my best friend! He'd changed so much, that I knew when I returned. He'd become the Gamma, and though he tried to be normal with me, I could feel it. He was different. Perhaps I'd changed too, but that hadn't stopped me from being his genuine friend. I loved him just as I'd loved him before I fled
Roman POV:The last time I’d seen Gertrude was about two weeks ago, when she'd been brought to my office from her place of temporary confinement so we could discuss the terms of co-parenting, after which the guards had returned her to the quarters.And now she'd appeared in a place I'd never have dreamed of seeing her in. Julian had a frown on his face. “What's she doing here?” I had the very same question. But we knew we would not get our answer by standing in the street, so we followed her quietly, ensuring she would not be able to see us. Due to the training we'd received as spies, this was terribly easy, also considering the fact that she was an amateur at sneaking about. Finally she turned into the back of a rundown bar, and I frowned when I sighted another figure behind the said bar. Another look confirmed that it was a male, and when she threw her arms around him, my eyes narrowed. Well, she'd drugged me to sleep with me and get pregnant. Had I really expected that I'd be