"We need to break this bond."Richard wasn't sure he heard correctly and he couldn't bring himself to ask Charlene to say it again. He felt frozen to the spot and just stared at her, his face still registering doubt."Did you hear me?" Charlene asked impatiently. "We need to break this bond."She repeated herself and now, the words were clear enough in their meaning, if the tone was anything to go by. Richard wanted to laugh but he couldn't find the strength or motivation. All he could do was shake his head and hate himself. Why was she rejecting him even now that she had started feeling the bond? He had left his own people for years, all for her. Everything he had done for the past thirteen years was because of the mating bond. And now that she was feeling it too, she wanted to break it?"Why?" The question finally came out as a whisper, but it was loud enough for Charlene to hear."Isn't obvious?" she asked him. "We don't belong together."Richard chuckled, finding her statement v
With disappointment etched all over their faces, the Pentagon members gathered in the surveillance room and watched the footages from the previous night. They had all left early to give Calvin and his supposed mate enough time to get acquainted with each other. But from what they had watched, nothing of the sort happened."Mates usually don't need any help" Lucille said. "Bonding happens naturally.""Should we be watching this?" Phiri asked. "We left to give them enough privacy, yet we are watching CCTV footages?""Oh, don't be so modest" Lucille teased, playfully bumping her shoulder against hers. "We just wanted to be certain that our plan worked.""As you can see, it obviously didn't", Phiri answered. "And who even planted a camera in the grand alpha's room?"Rufus slowly lifted his left hand and Phiri just shook her head at him. Though Ivy was still asleep, the seer thought that watching her like this, was an invasion of her privacy."This was Mark's idea, but I don't see him any
Diana smiled inwardly as she listened. She certainly wasn't going to tell Roman that Ivy was comfortable and well. Things were going according to her plans and now, all Roman needed was a little push to move things along."I wish you could see things the way I see them" Diana said softly after listening to him."What do you mean?" Roman asked her."Can't you see?" Diana asked him seriously. "First, it was your wolf and now, your mate.""My mate?" Roman was yet to fully comprehend what the witch was implying. "Calvin has insulted you and I don't thinking you should just sit still", Diana continued. "First, it was your wolf. Fine, he's not responsible for your death but he benefitted from it the most. An ordinary human suddenly became grand alpha, leader of the werewolves, stripping you of your respect and prestige. Now, he has your mate and they would fall in love, while you would die alone and forgotten."Diana got the reaction she was expecting. Even without his wolf, Roman was stil
The low humming sound of the air-conditioning and the muffled voices coming from the television were loud enough in Ivy's ears. Sitting in one place for hours was not Ivy's forte. Being still and quiet for an extended period of time was not her thing either.She appreciated the fact that the Pentagon were trying to make her comfortable. She also liked the solitude, but she was not used to having it around her as a constant companion. It seemed too… quiet. Ivy felt out of place here. She wanted to be active again. To move about, stretch out her wings and do the things she knew how to do best; which were carrying out Diana's orders. Instead, she now sat on a huge bed all day, doing absolutely nothing productive.Ivy turned her head and stared at the CCTV camera situated above her bed. That man, Rufus, had installed two cameras in this bedroom just the previous night. She could tell that the first one was for surveillance and the second was to monitor her movements. Rufus had also adde
"Escape?"Diana's orders were now confusing Ivy. First, it was to get herself into the Pentagon's custody and now, she wanted her to plan an escape?"Yes. And I need you to make it look like you were abducted by the zealots", Diana said. "I don't know how you're going to go about it, but find a way before the end of tomorrow. I need you to get out of there as soon as possible."Diana disappeared and all Ivy could now see was her own reflection in the mirror. The conversation was obviously over and Ivy reflected on what she had just been instructed to do. She didn't understand why her disappearance would start a war among the werewolves. And what was Diana's game plan anyway? What was she hoping to achieve from the war?Ivy didn't want to think too much about it. She had been given an order and as always, she was going to carry it out without question.She finally stepped out of the bathroom and not once did she throw a glance at the cameras. She didn't want to act suspiciously. Now t
While keeping an eye on the men roaming around the Eastern Alpha's residence, Charlene was able to tell that Mark was no longer home. He had probably left for a meeting with the Pentagon and there would be no better time to carry out her plan.Going around the back, she found an open window and when she looked through it, there was no one in sight. Without wasting any time contemplating whether it was a good idea, she thanked her luck and then climbed in. Being a werewolf, doing that was quite easy for her and she was able to navigate her way around the house to find Richard's room. There were guards by his door and Charlene knew that she had to distract them in order to get in. She stayed behind a curtain for a while, grateful that her scent was masked. It would take a while for any werewolf, except her mate, to detect her presence. Charlene went back to the empty room she had come through. She had finally found a way to get rid of the guards. Sure that she was alone, she shifted
Panting hard, Charlene got to her feet. She didn't think she would survive that jump without breaking a bone or even dying, but she did survive. So she ran, not looking back and not thinking about that jump just now.She could hear them chasing after her and she realized how much trouble she was in. Not only did she sneak back into the eastern alpha's residence, she also murdered his brother and the guards had seen her face."I'm so dead", she muttered as she ran.She didn't want to imagine what would happen to her if she got caught. Calvin wouldn't be able to help her in this situation. Only her father could. That's why she had to run even faster so she could seek refuge with her father.At some point, the guards shifted into wolves in order to run faster and Charlene immediately did the same. There was no way she would be able to outrun them in her human form. She ran very fast and when the beta wolves saw that she was a white wolf, they knew that they didn't stand a chance in catc
Calvin could tell that Mark was not bluffing when he said he would kill whoever was responsible for his brother's death. And if that person was Charlene, she was as good as dead because Mark was going to stop at nothing to avenge Richard.The grand alpha watched as Mark angrily kicked his foot in the air as he walked out of the room. Everyone felt sorry for him but they couldn't blame him for his anger. He was grieving and that was understandable."What do we do about this?" Lucille asked Calvin as soon as Mark had left the room. "There's nothing we can do", Phiri answered instead. Everyone turned their attention to her, waiting for her to explain further."Even if Charlene Hayford did this, we cannot do anything to her", Phiri said. "What's that supposed to mean?" Rufus asked. He sounded angry. "You mean, she gets to kill Richard and get away with it? Without any punishment?"Look, I'm angry too" Phiri said in a loud voice. "I'm angry and I don't understand why she'd do this. But,
The struggling sounds ceased when Ivy got to the entrance of the building. She touched her back to feel her injury, but it was not completely healed. She knew she had to be careful as the wound made her vulnerable. She could go into shock if she bled anymore so she threaded carefully.Inside the building, Ivy gasped when she saw Adolphus's head detached from his body. She didn't know how to feel about what she was seeing. Adolphus, leader of the zealots and the origin of everyone's problems was finally dead. She quickly turned her head when she heard heavy breathing coming from the opposite direction. When she saw that it was Roman, she quickly ran to him and held him in her arms.She looked him over and saw that he was seriously wounded. Ivy figured that it was Roman that had killed Adolphus. Way to go, she thought proudly. He didn't use to be grand alpha for nothing."Shh. Shh. Shh", she whispered when he tried to say something. She wanted to encourage him by telling him that he wo
As the coven of witches storms the premises, the atmosphere crackles with tension. The werewolves, sensing danger, prepare to defend themselves. Knowing that werewolves draw their strength from the moon, the witches draw clouds over it, hiding it's light.Diana had given the witches an explicit order before this night. They were to invade the premises and put an end to the werewolf race if anything were to happen to her. The women of the coven sensed that their leader was already dead and so, they planned on carrying out her order.The moon, hidden behind dark clouds, casts an eerie shadow over the grounds, adding to the already intense atmosphere."They're here", Phiri mutters as she rises to her feet. Even Adolphus and Roman were now looking in the direction of the gates, while Calvin was more concerned about Ivy. She was still unconscious so he couldn't care less about the presence of witches.The witches, adorned in their mystical cloaks and wielding powerful spells immediately la
Calvin still didn't understand all the screaming and running that was going on around him. He also didn't realize that Diana had just saved his life and was even killed in the process.He had just taken his hand off Ivy's back because it felt wet and when he looked at it, he saw blood. He looked at Ivy and saw that she was unconscious. He shook her gently but he got no response.Calvin called out her name in a whisper, but she still move. He wished her eyelids would just move or even a low moan would have sufficed, but he got nothing.Ivy's unresponsiveness made Calvin panic. He knew that she was still alive but it wouldn't remain that way if she continued losing so much blood. And the fact that he didn't know what to do in order to save her made him feel useless."Help", he wanted to scream, but the words got stuck in his throat. He only breathe a sigh of relief when Lucille and Phiri came to him, both kneeling by his side."Please save her", he pleaded. He was literally begging but
Ivy wasn't sure who the target of Calvin wrath was. There was Roman, who was standing in front of him, acting like a live shield for the second possible target, Diana. The witch was definitely in Calvin's bad books. Irrespective of anything, Ivy didn't want either of the targets to get hurt. While she considered Diana to be the closest thing she had to a mother, there was also Roman who she had shared her first friendhip with. Though he obviously wasn't himself, she still didn't want anything to happen to him.Therefore, she tried to reach out to Calvin's mind again. She really wished that it would work this time, but it didn't. It felt like he had shut the doors to his mind and reasoning that even she couldn't get through."I think we have to evacuate", Ivy heard Lucille whisper. "Because we really don't know how dangerous one attack from him would be."Ivy looked around at all the people. Many of them had shifted into wolves as they could perceive the danger lurking with the formi
The moon hung high in the night sky, casting an eerie glow over the quiet city. From where he was, suspended up in the air, Calvin looked down to the werewolves. He saw them as ferocious beasts which the world no longer needed. But then, there was another side of him that was like a soothing voice whispering in his head. It made him feel like he was one of them. One of the werewolves.For hours, Calvin had battled to maintain his sanity, but he could feel himself slowly losing it. His wolf was trying to accommodate his retrieved powers, but it was too much. Since it proved impossible, the alpha wolf was fighting the sorcery and it just felt like an internal battle.Being a wizard, Calvin was a master of arcane arts and he had dedicated the early years of his life to mastering the powers of magic which he possessed. However, even as powerful as he was, he could not bring himself to connect his powers with his wolf side.Why he was up in the sky, Calvin didn't know. He was unaware of w
Charlene's heart skipped a beat when she saw the Pentagon members. She was even more terrified when she locked eyes with Richard's brother, Mark. He obviously still bore a grudge against her for killing his brother and she instinctively drew back."Ivy" Lucille called, ignoring the presence of the Hayfords. "What happened? We've been waiting for you and Calvin.""He got his powers back. The tree died and he just lost control", Ivy explained. "He doesn't seem to recognize him and he was just roaming the forest all day."While Charlene was trying to make sense of what Ivy had just said, her brother snuck back into the premises to report the Pentagon's arrival to his father. "So that's what happened?" Rufus asked rhetorically as he looked up. "What could he be planning up there?""The question should be how do we get him down here?" Mark said as he looked away from Charlene and up into the sky. Phiri was quiet as she looked from Ivy to Charlene. The latter was supposed to be the succee
"There you are".Ivy slowly came out of hiding when Charlene called out to her. If she were to have it her way, she would have preferred to stay out of Charlene's way. With everything she had been through that day, she didn't have time for this drama.Ivy had been keeping an eye on Calvin ever since he regained his powers. Apparently, things had not turned out the way anybody would have expected. It all spiraled out of control and she was here make sure Calvin didn't hurt anybody.Just hours ago, when Calvin regained his powers, she had tried to talk to him but he had stared at her in a very strange way. She had searched his eyes, but there was no recognition of any sort. It appeared that he had been possessed by something. Everything about him felt different. His eyes, his gaze, his aura... It was all different but Ivy just couldn't describe it. All she knew was that something wasn't right with him.Calvin wasn't himself anymore but even at that, she had tried to get through to him
"I saw a vision this afternoon".Adrian turned to his sister with a curious gaze. They were still outside the Rex building and he wondered if she was sleep talking as she stared at her feet as she spoke. "Stop looking at me like that", she said and then sat up. "Well, I was checking to see if you were sleep talking", her brother responded. "I only did that when I was child", Charlene said with scoff. "I've outgrown that.""Okay. So how could you have had a vision when you havn't gotten any sleep?""I don't know", she answered with a shrug. "It just came to me. It wasn't a reality, so I just concluded that it was a vision.""Was it a good a one?" Adrian asked her. "The vision. What was it about?""In the vision, I saw..."Adrian turned to his sister when she remained silent for too long. She was staring up into dark sky, so he raised his head too, towards the big white moon. "I saw that", Charlene muttered. "What?" Adrian asked, turning to face her and then followed her line of si
The Pentagon members exchanged glances before turning their attention back to the phone screen. They had been following everything that was happening in front of the Rex building."Roman is making us look bad", Mark said. "He's lying to the people.""He's obviously not himself", Phiri said. "I think the witch has somehow manipulated him.""This is not good", Lucille added. "If they succeed in brainwashing everyone, then it's over.""Where is Calvin for heaven's sake?" Rufus growled. "It's been almost twenty four hours. We cannot do much on our own.""Patience", Phiri said with a sigh. "He'll come.""He'd better hurry up" Rufus said under his breath. *******Right outside the Rex building, Adolphus's children and his men stood on guard, mounting every corner of the place, fully prepared for every surprise.As expected, military vehicles soon arrived at the scene, demanding to know what was going on at such late hours. The zealots had their orders. They were to prevent any kind of int