LincIt hadn’t taken me long to pick up his scent. What was worse is that his scent was already mixed with the smell of death and I was surprised none of the guards had picked up on it.Following the scent, I head deep into the forest. To the place where the trees grow tall and hardly any sunlight breaks through.There Grant was, hanging by his neck from the branch of a tree. His neck was already broken as the noose sat tightly around his throat. His green eyes wide and bloodshot as they bulged from his skull.“Alpha Colt.” I called him through mindlink.“This doesn’t sound good.” He mutters back.“It’s not.”He pauses briefly. “Grant?”“Yes. How did you know?”“Callie broke down in front of Daphne. Is he…?”“Dead.” I mutter, walking around his body.“Are you sure?”I look up at Grant’s hanging body and then down to the cavity in his chest. “They hung him and took his heart.”“What?”I repeat what I had just told him as I start climbing the tree to cut his body down.“Where are you?”
Alpha ColtCallie. Of all the people out there, I never expected it to be Callie that would try and screw me over. She was like a little sister to me. She had always looked out for Lilah. What had changed?“Shit!”“What’s wrong?” Daphne asks me“Callie is in the packhouse with Lilah.”“She’s fine, I would know if something is wrong. You would too.” she calmly tells me.“Callie wouldn’t do this!” Linc pleads with me“Finding your mate does funny things to you." I tell him. "You will find it hard to decide where your loyalties lie. Daphne isn't saying this to hurt you, she is sharing important information."But...."I shake my head at him. We had to accept that this was a very real possibility. That Callie may have turned against the pack.It was only a couple of days ago when we realised that no one had really seen her or Grant. It was like they had both vanished into thin air, only to show up together and with Callie marked. Her mark had looked so familiar, but I just couldn’t figure
DaphneCallie stares into my eyes exactly the way my sister used to. A hint of amusement hiding behind them. How was it even possible? I always thought that the witch gene had missed my sister. My grandmother never gave me any clue that Sophie was like us.“I am not stupid!” I snap back at her.A laugh escapes Callie. It sounded strange. It was Sophie’s laugh but in Callie’s tone.“You always have been the stupid one. To stupid to see what was right in front of you. Did you really think I was going to let a stupid Lycan kill me? Absolutely no fucking way. Worst of all, this one.” She looks down at herself.“Grant… That was you?”“With the help of this body?”“How? Why? You were mated to him. It doesn’t make any sense. He thought… How could he be mated to Callie if he was mated to you?” “With a little witch’s spell.” She mutters with a smile spreading across her face.Aiden was watching us carefully. His grey eyes shining bright in the darkness. He was linking someone. Sophie had abso
Alpha Colt“Is that wise? Given what you and Callie both said, do you really think it's a good idea?” I was not keen on the idea of her being alone with Knox, even if I didn't know what his intentions were.“I will take Linc.” She smiles at him but he looked less than pleased with the idea.“Don’t do it!” Callie warns her again and I feel like there is something else she isn’t telling me. But now it was going to be hard to know if she was telling me the truth. Or whether it is Sophie controlling her.“I am the King, I will escort you.” I tell Daphne and she nods her head in agreement.“Probably for the best.” Linc muttersI turn to Callie, pointing to the empty cell, “This is for the best too.”She flashes her honey eyes at me, her nostrils flare a little but she still makes her way into the cell. I had made sure that she was separated from Aiden, leaving a cell free between the both of them.“It’s better safe than sorry.” Aiden tells her. “That way we can’t hurt them.” He eyes her ca
Lilah“She wants my son?” I had been called down to the office by Colt. They wasted no time in telling me what was happening. How long had I been asleep? I didn't think it had been that long.Daphne nods her head at me, “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”“The only thing? How is Sophie even alive? I thought Callie killed her?”“A spell.” Daphne mutters “Callie swears she buried her. She swears that she slit Sophie’s throat.”“So you are both witches?” I splutter. Because she she had been certain that the witch gene had missed her sister.“I’m a true born. Sophie is what grandma called a false witch. A witch that relies on spells and other gimmicks to get what she wants.” She rolls her eyes.“And she wants my son?” It didn’t seem real. I knew Aiden hadn’t been himself when he attacked, but still, why would a witch want him.“Because no one knows what he is capable of.” Colt is staring at me. He had read my mind and if I wasn’t so worried about Aiden, I would be shouting at Colt r
Alpha ColtAs we head down into the dungeons, I could hear Callie demanding to be listened too. The guards weren’t wrong when they said she was restless.“Callie, will you just shut up.” Aiden snaps at her.“Like you can tell me what to do. You’re just a baby.”“Do I look like a baby to you? You have been marked exactly like I have. Dad is just doing what’s right. Aren’t you dad?”I step on to the stone floor with Lilah’s hand laced with mine. Aiden’s eyes flashed past me and to hers and Callie groans.“You shouldn’t have brought her.” Aiden turns his back on us and retreats to the very back of his cell.“You are my son. I wanted to see you.” Lilah lets go of my hand and moves in front of his cell. She eagerly peers in, but Aiden keeps his distance. Refusing to move or speak.“Aiden, you can’t hurt her.” I try to reassure him"Pfft!" Callie mutters"And you are not helping."“Sophie can. What if she takes control of me and makes me hurt her?”“Sophie doesn’t want Lilah.” I tell him“T
DaphneI felt like an idiot. Or maybe I just was one. Why I thought it would be a sensible thing to go and check out the house that Alpha Knox had been staying in, I will never know. I should have told them where I was going. I should have at least let Linc know.It had to have been a Lycan that grabbed hold of me. The strength matched Linc’s and I couldn’t escape the hold, no matter how much I fought against them.They had held something over my face. The pungent smell had brought tears to my eyes as my insides felt like they had been set on fire.Everything went dark, and it had been dark since. My hands were strapped behind my back. My ankles bound together, so tightly that I was certain it would break through my skin at some point. I had tried moving, only to be met with a slap across the face, but with the eye mask, it made it impossible for me to be able to see who it was. But then, there could only be one person. Sophie.“Why are you doing this?” I call out, not even knowing
Alpha Colt“Dad, I’m not a little kid.”“Aiden…”“Dad, look at me. What do you see?”“A fully formed man.” There was no denying it. He wasn’t a little boy like he should be. He was a man. Bigger than me in height and in muscle.“Your mother is going to kill me if I let you do this.”“Mum will get over it if I can bring uncle Linc home.”“Are we talking about the same person? Do you even know how long your mother holds on to her grudges and frustrations?”“Auntie Daphne is out there, crying. Callie isn’t far behind. Mum is already scared. Don’t deny that you can’t hear them. I'm the one that is wanted, let me do this."I wasn’t even trying to tell him otherwise, because as I stared at my grey eyed son, I just knew that it wouldn’t be the right decision.“Alpha Knox wants me, right?”“We’re not calling him Alpha any longer.”“Whatever, Knox still wants me right?”“Yes.”“So let him have me. He doesn’t know that I’m no longer marked. Let Auntie Daphne take me to him.”“Aiden, you have ne
Lilah The next morning, I find Colt packing up the office. “Going somewhere?” I look around at all the half packed boxes in amusement. “We are.” “We are? Did you try talking to me when I was asleep?" He laughs at me, “No, you said you wanted to live in the apartment.” “You’re joking right? None of this shit is going to fit in there.” He had more than enough boxes to fill the bedrooms. Plus it would have remnants of her and I couldn't be somewhere like that. “I thought that’s what you wanted?!” He stops packing and places his hands on my small bump “Once, but there was barely enough room for me and ….” I hadn’t mentioned her name since I had set her on fire. Any time there was a fleeting thought, I would push it away and focus on something else. “You can say her name. She can’t hurt you anymore.” “No. Even thinking of her is giving her time. Anyway, what about when this one comes along? A town centre is hardly a place for a newborn wolf or Lycan.” He presses his lips to my ch
LilahPulling the blade from my chest. My lungs quickly expand, desperate to suck in some oxygen after what had just happened.The wound above my heart, knits itself together, removing almost all trace of nearly being stabbed to death. All that was left was my blood soaked top. For just a single moment, I was afraid to move. Afraid to look at the damage she had done.Linc appears in front of me. His dark eyes searching mine, her blood coated the skin around his mouth and his chin. He stretches a hand out towards me and pulls me to my feet. “You survived.” He mutters, running his eyes over me, “Not very many of the others did.”As I look around, I see that Callie had stopped jerking about, but her eyes were closed and her body was now motionless. Aiden was hunched over, weeping over Ivy’s body, surrounded by dead Lycans. “COLT!”“Here,” His voice is faint in my head. He was still flat on his back, from where Daphne had knocked him down. “You have to burn her.”My eyes flicker across
Lilah“Snare?” My voice breaks when I say his name. I thought he was long behind us. “What does he have to do with this?” “You should have listened to him. He was watching you. Just as grandmother requested.”“Your grandmother?” Everything was quickly unravelling. Everything that Daphne had ever done or said was all lies. Out of everyone, she had played me the most, lied to me the most. She had used my emotions to get what she wanted and I had fallen for it, again and again and again.“It really was you. You are the one that made the hospital cave in on us. You almost killed yourself!”She chuckles. “I knew I wouldn’t die well not completely. But the pissy Hybrid had to get involved, didn’t she. Sharing things that shouldn’t be shared. You and I, we could have been great together. A descendant of The Greats and me, a strong and powerful witch. But you ruined that. No matter what I did, you and your special Colt could not be torn apart.”“What about the photo?” Colt croaks from the gr
Alpha ColtHer breath quickened as she kept her hand steady on my chest. Annoyance maybe, or maybe she finally accepted that someone was lying to her. And that someone was Daphne.She shakes her head at me and moves away. “You’re wrong, Colt.” “Why are you refusing to see what is right in front of you? Even after all the shit you have been through, you still want to believe her.”“She won’t lie to me.”“How many times have you heard that? How many times are you going to keep forgiving her?”“She doesn’t need forgiveness this time because it isn’t her!”“Then who? Who do you think it is? And don’t you dare say me, again!”“That Ivy girl.”I wasn’t about to tell her that Aiden isn’t certain about her, because that would just give Lilah more reason to blame her instead of the real culprit. “Ivy was with you.”“Maybe she planned something, maybe she set something up.”“You don’t believe that. You are just trying to convince yourself.”“Fuck off, Colt.” She sits down on the chair, crossin
Lilah Making my way down the steps, I’m hit with a cold breeze that almost takes my breath away. Looking back, I see Colt and Linc deep in discussion, but at the same time, I could hear Daphne down below, her quiet sobs filling the silence. “Daphne?” She stops crying and her hands appear through the bars of her cell, “Lilah? Is that really you?” Stepping in front of her cell, she pulls me in for an awkward hug, holding on tightly. “Lilah, you have to make them understand.” “I’m trying.” I mutter. “But Colt still thinks you still want revenge, that’s why he is blaming you. He is refusing to listen to me.” “You’re not wrong. I did want revenge, but only because I was angry. When I saw Linc's dead body, anger was all I felt but then… I saw him, standing in front of me, like he had never died, only his eyes were black and all the anger, it disappeared.” “Do you know what happened with the hospital?” I ask quietly She shakes her head. “Linc told me, but it doesn’t make any sense. Ho
Aiden“You want me to find out if she had something to do with the explosion? Dad, she was with me and mum when it happened.”“Well someone is hiding something.” he snaps.“I agree,” Linc nods his head at me“It’s not me, at least, I don’t think it is.” Daphne mutters from her corner. “It just doesn’t make sense.”I tell her what Ivy told me, and what she had said to my mother. Daphne violently shakes her head. “I have already said, it wouldn’t work that way.” She glances up to my father, “I don’t know what you saw, Colt, And I don’t know what you mean by the light being under my skin. But I am not responsible for everything. You have to stop blaming me.” She leans her head back against the stone wall. I could see the light flickering along her neck.“You’re doing it now.” I stare at her“What?”“The light that dad spoke of.”She looks down at her hands and rolls the sleeves up. Her mouth falls open as she stares at them. “What’s happening to me?”“You’ve not seen this before? What
Alpha Colt.“Clear the room.”Callie, Aiden and Ivy all make their way out carefully stepping over the shards of china, when Lilah starts to follow, I grab her arm. “Not you. We need to talk.”She scowls at me and tugs her arm away, letting out a groan. I wait for the door to be closed and to listen to their footsteps as they walk away.“Don’t bother, Colt.” Lilah growls at me.“With what?”“You are going to try talking me around. Convince me that Daphne is the bad person. But it’s not her Colt, it’s you.”“What are you talking about?”“This is what it’s all been about, isn’t it?”“Lilah, you are not making any sense.” I literally had no idea what she was going on about.“You never wanted me to have a sister. You wanted me for yourself, with no one around to get involved. But one by one, everyone that has been a part of my life has died. Dad, my mother. Halle, Drake, Grant, my children. The list goes on and on Colt. Who is next?”“It doesn’t mean it’s all my fault.” I snap in frustrat
Alpha Colt“No,no,no,no,no.” Linc mutters from next to me as his hand starts disappearing. His dark eyes flick up to where my mate is and back to his hand.“She’s dead!” It was the only thing that made sense. It was why Aiden was hugging his mother, it was why I could hear my mate crying. And it was why Linc was losing his hand all over again.Ivy says nothing. She watches my son and Lilah with wide blue eyes. A slight frown forming, but the frown quickly disappears when she sees me looking at her.“I will go and help.” She declares and starts climbing over the rubble towards my mate and son.“Well, I guess we didn’t need to kill her after all.” I mutter to Linc“If she’s dead, so is her magic.” He shows me that he can move around freely. “It's gone.” He beams at me but those dark eyes show an emptiness that seemed to go on forever. I could deal with Linc later, right now my mate needed me more.Aiden carries Daphne's body over the rubble back towards me. While Ivy helps to keep Lila
Lilah.“Mum, just calm down.” Aiden is growing frustrated with my pacing. “Please, just sit down.”“You are my son, why are you keeping me locked up?”“I’m just following Dad’s orders. What the hell happened in there?”“I don’t know.”“How can you not know? You were in there when the first explosion went off.”“Daphne was still unconscious. I was holding her hand when the roof started caving in. Colt, he pulled me away. He blocked me from the falling ceiling. He….” I knew he was blaming Daphne, but there had to be more to it. There just had to be.“Aiden, you need to let me go out there!”“No mum. Dad made it clear, you are to stay here with me and Ivy.”“Daphne is my sister!”“And she is the one who did this!” He glares at me with his grey eyes“I’m not so sure.” Ivy mutters from the window.“What?” Both Aiden and I speak in unison.Ivy hadn’t spoken a word since we had been in the house, well not to me anyway. She had spent the entire time watching what was happening from the window