SORAYA“Soraya. You don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to,” Xaden’s calm voice was forced. I could see it even more clearly when I turned to look at him and saw the veins on his forehead threatening to pop.He was explosively angry, but was trying to keep his cool, probably because Kaylee was in the room with us.“I have to, Xaden. I have to prove that I can fight and die for this pack…and if proving it means that I actually die now, then so be it,” I took his hand in mine and gave them a reassuring squeeze.He didn’t look at me…not even when I placed a kiss on his forehead. His eyes were on the cocky council members.“You…” he growled. “If anything happens to Soraya. I’ll kill you and every single person on that damned table,” he grit his teeth so hard, sparks could have flown out of them. “I’ll kill you all and leave the pack. It doesn’t matter to me. Nothing matters to me after Soraya. Am I clear?”Kira rolled her eyes and turned around to start walking out of the room. “C
SORAYA“Oh Sora? She’s a fool! You can tell!” A familiar voice boomed from behind the door and it stopped me from knocking as all the insecurities started flooding back.That was Liam’s voice alright.“Oh, please,” someone laughed and I didn’t need a seer to tall me who it was. The high pitched laughter paired with the obnoxious voice told me all I needed to know about the voice.“Fucking Sally,” I snarled, more to myself than out loud. There was no way I was entering that room now. Or maybe I should simply get in there and have their heads…now that I know I can hold my own in a proper fight…“Soraya?” A voice called out to me from behind and when I turned to inspect the voice, my heart sank. It was Xaden. I tried to turn and face the voice, but I couldn’t move.That’s when I realized that I was paralyzed and in heavy tears. Maybe not tears of grief, but tears of pure, unadulterated rage.When I tried to move again, I was finally unstuck, but even that didn’t last. As soon as I tried
SORAYA“Xaden!” I screamed again, moving as fast as my legs could carry me. My wolf gave me speed. My nose could always catch a whiff of where he was, but his scent was scattered. The clinic had many halls too.That made it almost impossible to follow his scent with singularity, as it felt like every corner I turned, he was there as well.Impossible. The sterile whiteness of the corridors taunted me. The clean, spotless walls laughed at my confusion, but I pushed through. My eyes blurred with tears, so everyone I pushed out of the way was unseen to me.I used my nose to see, and I would not advise it. I kept bumping into things I couldn’t sense. Things that blended into the general landscape of the place. A protrusion in the wall, that is of the same dry wall material caused me to stumble.I picked myself up without hesitation. Now was not the time to stumble and wallow in my pathetic-ness. I needed Xaden to understand things from my point of view.After a while, I quit trying to pin
SORAYAThe mumbling was still the most prevalent thing, even after a few minutes, and we just stood there, letting the elders and other council members take it all in.The fact that Xaden chose a completely different interpretation from what they had all imagined, took them by storm, and I wasn’t surprised. Not a single bit.They never wanted me to be a part of them and it’d be stupidity to thing that all of a sudden, in the twinkle of an eye, one fight and a simulation would convince them. I knew it was a losing game right from the very start, and I still decided to play.And this wasn’t even over yet.There was no telling the horrors that awaited me, and I frankly didn’t want to even think about it as I was nestled in Xaden’s arms. Right now, his approval was all that mattered.“You really don’t know what you’re doing,” I could hear Lancelot mutter a little louder than the others, but Xaden still paid him no heed and just kept rocking me.Essentially, despite the choice of my mate…d
SORAYA“When a person tries to force something on you, it’s clearly a glow stick spelling the word ‘danger’, right? If you’re being forced to take a drink, it’s probably poisoned. When you’re unnecessarily coerced to go somewhere against your will, you can’t help but feel like it’s a set up for you, no?”I felt like screaming.What if that person was your mother, forcing you to leave the house and touch some grass?Unnecessary, but you wouldn’t think it to have any malicious intent!The people of the pack didn’t seem to think about it like that, though and seemed to completely resonate with Lancelot.“That’s the same way we have Soraya in our midst, believe it or not,” he nodded emphatically, his spectacles gleaming from the ray that hit it from certain angles. “Whether you would like it or not, she’s is a stranger. And accepting her as Luna is the moral equivalent of getting into the van of strangers, no matter how loyal she tries to prove. She snuck unto us…seduced our Alpha while
XADENHa! I knew it! I knew she had it in her to resist! To oppose!Here she was, eloquent as ever. As eloquent to the crowd in open, as she was to me in private. I knew she had it in her. I just didn’t know how to bring it out in her.Maybe all the encouragement has finally paid off. I wasn’t sure what awoke this beast in her, but I liked it.I could see the embarrassment flush through her face when she looked at me, and I immediately averted my gaze so as not to make her feel too uncomfortable, but that was too late.She buckled her knees and plopped right into the chair beside me. With a swell of pride in my chest, I took her hand and clutched it tight.Her courage was so sexy, I felt the strong urge to whisk her away, far from the prying eyes of the fault seeking crowd before us today, and to a place where it would be just us, and make such sweet love to her, more than she had ever experienced.It would be raw, and passionate, a big expression of how I want now, no one but her to
XADEN“Huh…” I took a step back to evaluate the situation. What was the play? It stumped me. I was a little confused, but she didn’t have to know, so I gave her a poker face.She still saw through it…or at least, acted like she did…which was a good bet.“What? You thought Soraya could fight a full-blooded beta wolf on her own? Let alone one that was trained and curated for battle?” she scoffed. “Gotta be kidding me.”“Why, then?” Soraya asked her. “Why did you do it? Why are you helping me?”“Because I believe in the power of the mating bond, Soraya,” Kira told her pointedly. “When all this is done. When I finish my duties for the day, I will go back home to a man. One look into his eyes will take away all the stress…all the anger…everything,” she mused.There was so much happiness in her eyes when she talked and I could really feel the genuine energy pulsing.It was weird, but it was welcome.“If the moon goddess…the first and original Luna…thinks you’re the mate of our alpha, then s
XADENI watched Kira leave, her quick paced footsteps peppered with a little bit of sass, as was her usual gait.There was always something about her. Something I couldn’t place that made me just a tad bit uneasy about her. That feeling became even stronger as I saw her move away, and I knew it was just the paranoia, but hey…anyone blame me?I turned to Soraya as soon as she was gone. “You really trust her?”“Of course not,” she scrunched her face and pursed her lips after her answer, bewildering me. “She’s offering a truce, though, and right now, we need someone there. Someone in the council that believes in us.”I nodded.“Okay, then…so, what’s the plan?”“Well, you heard her. We push for adjournment, and then we reconvene later and see what she has in store. If it’s not feasible, then we push forward alone, trying our best to convince the pack. If she wasn’t right about anything, I had to agree with what she said about the vote. It’s going to take more than a five-minute outburst
CELESTE He stayed silent and eyed me suspiciously for a while before letting out a deep exhale.“I hope you’re not trying to fuck me Celeste? I would end your life painfully if I even get as much as a whiff of treachery on your part.” He said as stared me down and held my gaze uncomfortably.“Why would I betray you? We both came up with this and the plan would favour us individually when it comes full circle. Just be patient, you would have Soraya in your arms soon enough.” “You had better be right.”“So now, are you going to tell me why I’m really here?”He watched me for a moment before pulling out a folder and tossing it at me.“What’s this?” I asked, staring at the strange package.“Open it and have a look.”I quickly opened it and read through the document. For the most part, it made no sense to me but I got to a unique point in the write up where I was familiar with what I was seeing and my eyes widened with disbelief.“How did you get this?” I asked, staring at him in shock.
CELESTEI walked out of the living room with a skip in my step and I commended myself for expertly finding a way to get Xaden to calm down and not make me the brunt of his still simmering anger. If I stuck to the way things were playing out and held out just a little longer, I was certain that I would be able to win him over and then Soraya would be out of here. I just needed to be a tad patient.I stepped into the kitchen and noticed Melissa pulling out an oven tray filled with pie. My blood boiled at the thought of Soraya who actually conceived to sabotage all my plans and come clean to Xaden. That bitch actually had the gall to ask me to go to hell and she mixed batter while doing it. It didn’t matter now, I was the one who ended on top.“What the fuck are you doing Melissa?!” I announced, completely startling her.“Ma’am! You scared me. How long have you been standing by the door?” She asked, holding a hand to her chest as she tried to catch her breath.“I asked you a question fir
CELESTE What a show that was! I thought excitedly to myself as I retrieved two clear crystal glasses and a bottle of absinthe from the living room side bar, Xaden had requested for the strongest stuff I could lay my hands on. Seeing Soraya completely stranded, scared and afraid had filled me with so much ecstasy that I thought I would burst. Nothing could have prepared me for it, Xaden definitely did not pull any punches and I loved every bit of it. There was however one little bump in an otherwise flawless plan, he didn’t have the guts to send the bitch packing. He could have ranted for as long as he wanted and even tried to come up with valid reasons as to why he couldn’t kick her out but in the end, I knew there was a part of him buried deep down that still cared for her even when he thought she had been unfaithful to him. I didn’t worry much about it, in no time, I would smother whatever little feelings he still harbored for her until I was the only one he saw, until I was the on
SORAYA“Now tell me, is there anything I have not done or sacrificed for your protection and that of Kaylee? Or is there even any request you may have made that I have ever deemed as insignificant?” “No there isn’t. You have been most generous and I am grateful for everything.” I said as I threw a look of disdain at Celeste who was already seated and crossing her legs, obviously savoring every bit of that moment. She was having the time of her life at my expense and she wasn’t going to say one word. She wouldn’t risk undermining Xaden again and so she simply kept quiet and enjoyed the show.“Have I not been fucking good to you? Have I not been a loyal mate and genuine partner?” He asked, staring at me like he couldn’t even recognize the woman in front of him.“Xaden please, if we’re going to do this, can we not do it right in front of your ex wife?” I asked, while the pain of the way he looked at me threatened to bring me to my knees.“The same ex wife who got wind of all your escapa
SORAYAXaden’s voice rang out through the halls with such an intensity that it had sent shockwaves thrusting throughout my body and the ominous tone with which he yelled, echoed throughout the space and filled it with a scary ambience. In all the time I had known and been with him, I never heard him sound so furious or intimidating. Sure, he normally had the occasional outbursts and feats of rage but there was something different this time around, this time it seemed as though the fire in his voice would never be palliated. I felt my lips twitch and my fingers tremor in fearful anticipation of what was to come, it definitely was not going to be pleasant.I was still set up in the kitchen with Melissa and had almost rounded up with the pastries we spent the better part of the evening preparing. I had put so much effort into them and now it seemed like in the end, it would all be for nothing. I was still going to get them done and Melissa could keep them for all I care, she worked just
XADEN “You can be honest Dax, you don’t have to be brutal about it.”He paused momentarily, thinking over what he had to say. “If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t say my advice on this would be the most insightful but from the way I see things, I don’t think Soraya is or will ever get over Celeste living in your house. It’s just not right, I mean I don’t even live there and I really find it repulsive. I can’t possibly imagine how hard it must be for her to wake up to that everyday.”“Well, it seems you ended up being brutal with your honesty Dax.” I began, stifling a smile. “The thing is, that is what she said and I don’t believe it one bit. She may not have been comfortable but I knew she was already coming around to tolerating and ignoring her. No—this is more than that, this is definitely something deeper. The switch was too sudden and that’s completely out of character for her. There is something afoot Dax, I’m just finding it hard to place my finger on what it is.”“Like I said boss
XADEN To say that I had the faintest idea of what has been going on for the past three days would be an obvious lie. One moment everything seemed to be fine with Soraya and I thought we were finally in a good place and the next, it’s almost as if her mind did a complete one-eighty and I couldn’t even recognize my mate anymore.I had gone above and beyond for her protection, pulled strings to organize a lavish and fancy dinner for her, I even kept my distance from Celeste, choosing to move her away from the masters and still, it’s almost as if it wasn’t enough. There was something definitely wrong with her and whatever it was, she was choosing not to tell me. If she wouldn’t spill, then I guess I would just have to pry it out of her when I had the chance. But how could I even possibly get the chance? She refused to move back into our room, refused to cook and eat together as a family, it’s like living with a completely new person.Screeeeeech!I quickly slammed on the brakes of my SUV
SORAYAI didn’t know how George had done it but he somehow managed to drop Kaylee off and still get me to the university in time for lectures. Xaden sure knew how to employ those who were the best at what they did and our movement this morning was quite hasty. I couldn’t say the same for the classes though, the entire process just seemed to drag on for hours as lecturers replaced one another in a frenzy. I was grateful for the close of day and quickly made my way to the parking lot. I located the car parked in a corner under a tree shade and hurriedly walked up to it before knocking on the driver window.“Did you wait here all day?” I asked, looking over at George who had his hat hooded over his face and the driver seat reclined. He had probably been napping. He jumped up with a start and quickly adjusted his seat.“Sorry about that ma’am.”“Don’t apologize for resting, I mean what else would you do here all day? So you just stayed here waiting for me?”“Yes ma’am, those were my dir
SORAYA Morning definitely couldn’t have come faster. I thought as my eyes opened to the soft glints of the early morning sun that slowly filled the entire room. The cool fall breeze softly sipped in through the open window and caressed my skin with a tender feel. It was a beautiful morning and I couldn’t even appreciate it, all I felt was an heartache that threatened to tear me apart.I hadn’t had much sleep, how could I? When Celeste had made sure I heard everything that was going on during their dinner, even while I did my very best to ignore. She wasn’t kidding when she said she would be keeping me here simply for the fun of humiliating me and last night was seriously a test of my patience, I didn’t know how much more of it I would be able to take.With every laughter and happy moment that they seemed to share, an equal of amount of pain shot through my body and just seeing them cozy up to each other like that was simply too much to bear.I promptly got out of bed and went into th