Roman POV:Initially, our- that is, Julian and my- thoughts were tuned towards the cloaked figure rescuing us due to almost deafening yowls the rogues sent into the atmosphere. Then we found out he was a magic user, but also an enemy of ours. Before we could make our escape, the concealed person caused us to fall face flat onto the ground, preventing us from moving as he spoke to Kim.We lay there on the ground for so long, I began to feel insects crawling over me, and I wanted to rip someone's head off his shoulders.“Well then, Alpha Blackburn,” Edward Kim said after what seemed like a long time, and it'd taken so much to even look up at him. “Information reaching me says I shouldn't kill you. My master wants me to just rough you up a bit.”Julian immediately barked, “Over my dead body!” Kim gave him a bored look, and I was almost afraid he would tell the magic user to kill him. Instead he blinked, his eyes turned green, and Julian howled. “There. That should hold you for a bit.” T
Audrey POV:“What do you mean, injured?” I’d asked the night before, when I'd received the most disturbing news. The servant that had burst in had swallowed deeply before answering, and my heart dropped to my stomach when I heard that Roman had been ambushed by some rogues and almost killed. “He was so bloody when they brought him in!” the servant had wailed. “Oh, dear Luna. I thought he might die!”I'd immediately tried to get to him, but Paul had stopped me, advising me to wait till morning came. Which is why I raced to Roman's room the following morning, my heart pounding. The pack doctor and a nurse stood a short distance away from his door, their heads bowed over some ointment. They both looked up when they saw me, and the doctor's face burst into a huge smile. “Hello, future Luna!” I always resisted the urge to cringe whenever I heard that title, but I had begun to train myself to accept it wholly. “Hello, Dr. Garrett. Um…is the Alpha…”He beamed. “He's awake, ma'am. And muc
Roman POV:The room was silent for a moment as my question hung in the air, but my head was pounding. I couldn't move my hand to rub my head, however, because it hurt like a bitch after my failed attack on Edward Kim.What the hell had I just asked her to do?I'd been thinking about her before she entered, and seeing her triggered the part of me that wanted her terribly, despite the hurt I felt as a result of her lying to me. As a result, my presentation of that desire to her was absolutely disgusting. ‘I just need to heal?’ I groaned inwardly. ‘Who the hell says that?’She suddenly coughed, and I was drawn back to the reality of us being alone in silence. What was going through her mind? What was she so afraid to tell me about?“I-” she paused, coughed again, then attempted to speak. I turned slightly to see her looking puzzled, then annoyed. At what, I couldn't tell. “Well, I- I can't tell you, Roman.”Of course she couldn't. “Why not?” “Because-” she sighed and stood. “I just can
Audrey POV:I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I know I'd messed up by not telling him about Jacob, but I'd never expected that he didn't trust me at all. It was a somewhat ironic thought process, but I'd have preferred to break his trust than to find there was nothing to break in the first place. And when he'd brought up my father, well. Agonized, I raced out of the Alpha’s quarters, I made for the open field where the soldiers usually trained, knowing that the major trainings wouldn't have begun. As it was, I didn't even care who I met there. I just needed air. So when I ran straight into Marvin’s arms, I felt nothing. “Whoa, babe,” he said in his usual cheery voice, then frowned when he noticed the tear streaks on my face. “Dear Luna. Who- what happened to you, Audrey?” “Nothing,” I responded, trying to evade him, but he was much stronger, and he glared at me while holding my arm when he saw what I was trying to do. “Nothing happened, okay Marvin?” “Your tear-streaked face
Tanya POV:“You want me to what?” Marvin’d grinned at me from over his laptop. “You heard me, baby. I want you to join the Pack Guard.”“Do I look like I can work in the Guard?” I'd shrieked, then shut my mouth when a flame of anger flickered in his eyes. “I mean, come on, Marvin. That- that's a lot to ask of someone like me.” He’d raised his brow. “What's too much about it? You’ve an athletic build, and I've seen you on your personal workout.” He crossed his legs and leaned against the couch.After my mother fled the pack because of Marvin's presence, he'd moved into the Hill residence and stayed in one of the guest rooms. However, it seemed he was one to mix business with pleasure, because he was at my room almost every night, and though we hadn't had sex yet, there were a million other things he'd done with me. The personal workout session he'd seen me on had been another avenue for him to play with me. The oddest thing about the arrangement was the fact that not a single compla
Audrey POV:Paul met me when I arrived back at the Alpha's quarters, his expression unreadable. But I was not in the mood to dish out apologies, and I only paused at his huge figure for a second before brushing past him. “Good morning, Miss Audrey,” he said behind me. “I reported to your room earlier, but… you were not around.” I'd dismissed him much earlier than normal yesterday, despite the news of Roman’s injuries. He must have been worried. “I went to see Roman,” I responded, not bothering to explain more about why I wasn't in Roman's room then. Fortunately, he said nothing more, choosing to follow me silently as I raced up the stairs to my room. When I reached the door, I paused, my wolf pining for our mate. But I remembered Roman's words and Tanya's smirk, and I wanted to punch something. Maybe I just needed a distraction.I whirled around, and if Paul had been startled by that abrupt action, he didn't show it. “Ma'am?”I groaned. I was exhausted, and rightfully so. I'd just
Audrey POV:“You're very beautiful,” she spoke, her voice silky and smooth, but I couldn't respond. Instead I looked dumbly at her, wondering who the hell she was and how I should address her. “And you have a good heart, too. Roman is so lucky to call you his mate.”I blinked, finding it difficult to speak once again. Finally I gave up and just stared at my feet, then froze when I felt her fingers under my chin, lifting my head to look at her. I swallowed when my gaze met that of hypnotic green eyes. The color of her eyes was the only difference between her and Roman. “Oh dear,” she said, and I blinked again, pulled out of my thoughts. “I’ve startled you, haven’t I?” She snapped her fingers, and the place became flooded with light, revealing a room with chairs and a table with a teapot and two cups. “I'm sorry, I was in a hurry to speak to you, and I forgot to brighten up the place.” As she said that, she moved to the couch to…arrange the pillows? Finally, my tongue loosened. “Wh-
Roman POV:I groaned, and Julian looked up from his place on one of the chairs in my bedroom, his hand poised over a file ready to sign. “What is it now?” he said calmly, dropping the pen in the file, staring at me. “I already said I won't help you to take a leak in the bathroom.” I cursed at him, then turned to the ceiling. “Why would Audrey lie to me, Julian? I've proven to her many times that she can rely on me. I’ve shown her many times that I adore her with all of me.”He picked his pen again. “I'm not going to be that guy.”“Oh, come on,” I snapped, flinching at the sharp pain that shot through my neck. “Say your mind. I'm losing mine here.” “I plead for the right to be excused from this conversation.”“Julian,” I growled, and heard him sigh. “Speak, would you?” I really needed an external opinion, because no matter how I tried to look at it, the only explanation for her hiding her reasons for being so late was that she'd done something wrong. The next thing would be to ask
Roman POV:“Him? Of all people?” Jacob looked confused as Marvin folded his arms and glared back at my Beta with the same intensity. “I'm not here to work you, fool. I'm working with Roman.”“I'm Roman's best friend,” Julian retorted. “You're some lucky bastard who stumbled upon the truth.”I frowned as Jacob's eyes widened. “Julian.”Marvin snarled, but held himself at the last minute and gave Julian a cocky smile, a mask over his true feelings. “At least I'm a lucky rich bastard. You're some help's boy that Roman had pity on.” I noticed the tick in Julian's jaw. “Fuck you.”“I'd rather masturbate to a diaper commercial.” “Shut up,” I growled. “The two of you.” They frowned at the command, but complied, insulting themselves with their eyes. I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. I hadn't foreseen this when I accepted Marvin's offer to help out with Audrey's situation. “What do we know about Edward’s interest, Julian?” I asked. He looked away from Marvin to me and pursed his lip
Audrey POV:“Audrey Hill, you said?” I was still in the company of the brethren. Kim had left me alone with them so he could ‘freshen up and stop looking like some damned grandfather’, and they'd placed a small chair before them so they now seemed to be way above me even while seated. That only added to my trepidation. If Edward Kim’s actions were anything to go by, these men were bloodthirsty people who would not hesitate to kill. Their aura permeated the air, and I almost cowered in their presence. But I recalled the bond Roman and I shared. What we had solidified my place as Luna, despite the fact that we hadn't had the official crowning ceremony. I was, by lycanthrope laws, the rightful Luna. I was not going to show obeisance before these people, scared as I was. That didn’t stop my hand from shaking as I set down the glass of juice they'd forced me to take. “Y-yes, ma'am.”“Does that mean you're Gatrix-Hill’s daughter?” I stilled for a millisecond, my emotions conflicted t
Tanya POV:I watched, slightly irritated, as my mother prattled on and on about how infuriating Roman was. She'd returned home about three hours ago, but had gotten up as soon as the shouts began. I'd run outside after her, and my blood had run cold at the writings in the sky. In contrast to my shock, however, my mother's face radiated glee, and she went back into the house, almost skipping in fact. I'd been puzzled, but then again, she was my mother. She was always alternating between infuriating and puzzling me. “You need to have seen his face though,” she laughed, and I blinked at her happy expression. “It felt like I was looking into Keith Blackburn's frustrated face all over again.”I didn't speak, turning my attention from her to the television and turning the volume just a bit higher, enough for her not to notice. Then I forced myself to concentrate on the media, though nothing was entering.She continued to prattle on and on, ignorant of the fact that I was no longer listeni
Roman POV:“I came to see you,” my stepbrother said, grimacing at the carnage before him. “But if I'd known today was ‘Slit-a-couple-of-throats Day’, I wouldn't have bothered.” I ignored his usual jibes and barked orders at the servants who stood like statues in an almost concealed part of the area to clean the parlor. They sprang to life almost immediately, scrambling to put things in place, while Marvin watched it all with an unreadable expression. “What did you come here for?” I asked when I decided he'd stared for long enough. “To ask for permission.”That caught my interest. No matter what, Marvin never asked for permission. I gave him an incredulous look. “What for?”“I wish to take Tanya Hill back to Romania when it's time for me to.” I thought I hadn't heard right. “Tanya? Audrey's stepsister?”His gaze flickered briefly when I mentioned my mate's name. “Yes.” I lifted a brow. Marvin was known for being anything but serious with women. Even when he’d been with the girl
Roman POV:I'd known something was wrong as I entered the house, but it wasn’t until I was a few feet away from what I sensed as Paul’s battered body that I could finally put my finger on it. Not only was the stench of blood thick in the air, but I also couldn’t feel the mate bond. I’d paused at the discovery. Though Audrey’s scent lingered in the air, it trailed off into the distance and out of the reach of my senses. That set off multiple alarms in my head, and I barked for all the servants to step out, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. Paul lay sprawled on the floor, nasty bruises littering his skin and an eye swollen shut. He was surrounded by three corpses, each one brutally murdered.“Where is she?” I’d asked, my voice low, almost slipping into a growl. Paul’s gaze met mine, and a single tear drop had rolled down the side of his cheek. It was then I’d noticed that Paul’s lips were gone. As in, his mouth had completely disappeared, replaced by a layer of smooth skin. The r
Audrey POV:I gasped as I fell onto a meadow, the smell of grass hitting me almost immediately, like a hard slap instead of a soft caress. Unlike my terrible fall, Edward Kim lowered himself to the ground quietly, then gave me a look, as if saying ‘That's how you do it.’ I glared at him. I wasn't a magic user, for Luna's sake. “Where are we?” “Romania.” “Oh, Romania.” I nodded vaguely at first, but then the knowledge of the name struck me again. “Romania?!” He sent an annoyed look my way. “Yes, Miss Audrey. Romania. Have you never heard of it?”“Romania is thousands of miles away from the United States!” I shrieked. “How's it possible that we're in- all of this happened in less than five seconds?!”He bristled, very annoyed by the look of things. “That's why we went through a portal, girl. Have you any brain in that skull of yours?”I blushed in embarrassment and slight anger. He'd stopped being courteous to me as soon as we came through the portal. My guess was that since he’d go
Roman POV:It felt like something had been ripped out of me, and my head immediately snapped up to the Alpha's quarters, a short distance away.“Audrey,” I whispered. Julian snarled in my mind, bringing me back to reality. “This is no time to be fantasizing about your mate, Roman. We have a serious problem here.”We did. As soon as the words in the air dissipated, some stupid elder had called for an emergency meeting. Thus, I was seated at the head of the table, while the elders went back and forth over the current matters on ground- namely, Kennedy’s death. “Who's next?” Graham Wilbur said, his voice gruff as he slammed on the table. “Who will these people take next, huh, Alpha? They've killed so many of our people, yet nothing is being done to deal with them!” Julian tensed beside me. Only he knew what was really going down. Jacob had been sent to the pack square along with the Epsilon of each family to try and pacify the people. I took in a deep breath, ready to speak, just t
Audrey POV:I sat quietly, hoping that the quivering in my body wasn't obvious, while the old man lowered himself into the chair opposite mine and smiled at me. I don't know if he thought it was or wanted it to be a fatherly smile, because all it did was scare the shit out of me. Paul stood a few paces behind us, his face dark and his gaze fixed on the man, as though he was expecting him to spring from his chair at any time. To anyone watching, it would seem like just two adults talking, but what I saw were three animals: one lion, one tiger, and one puppy. A female puppy. With her tail between her hind legs. “Well, Miss Audrey Hill,” Kim began. “I want to assume you have no idea who the Crimson Wolves are, so I'm going to begin our chat from there.”I heard a low growl from Paul, but he kept mute with a warning sign from me as Kim spoke again. “The Crimson Wolves is a group of loyal wolves whose sole aim in life is to spill blood. In a more basic statement, the Crimson Wolves are
Audrey POV:The moment I saw the words appear in the sky, my first thought was Roman. Eva had told about some dangerous people who had begun to find out about his situation, and who were very eager to exploit it. Fear clouded my senses and I jumped out of bed then fled to the parlot, just for a bad feeling to pool in my gut. He wasn’t around. He must have left for work. My heart thumped, and I ran towards the door, almost colliding with Paul who appeared out of nowhere.“Miss Audrey!” he yelled, gripping my arms as soon as he was close to me. “Miss Audrey, are you alright?!” “Where's Roman?” I cried. “Where is he?!”He had a concerned look on his face. “The Alpha? He should be in his office at the pack house. But that's not a problem. He's alright, I'm sure. He can handle himself. Miss Audrey, you have to return to your room for now, till everything is settled, please.”“W-what was that writing in the sky?” His face tightened. “I can't say, Miss. But my job is to protect you.