While not a long time has passed since Caleb and I met, I know he is a good male. He made a pack for rogues like me. Whatever he decided to do with the Omegas that had… hurt him, I am sure it is not something bad.We go up a few flights of stairs until we reach the last floor of—wherever Tatiana brought me. The library encompasses the entire floor, with many bookcases stacked full of books -many of them looking very old. Sitting at a desk, behind the screen of a computer, an Omega is typing something fast. Her scent lets me know she is a berserker.“She is one of the seven Omegas that raped Caleb.”The embers I felt in my chest earlier come to life again, and for the first time in my life, I want to hurt someone. I want to hurt her, just like she had hurt Caleb.Tatiana keeps talking. “A year after I rescued Caleb from the Cosasi Vampires -when he was finally able to get out of bed, he decided to start a program for those that once were, or still are, slaves to the vampires. It was no
When I am in control of my feelings, I slowly stand. I pray that by the time I make it back to the Rogue Village, Jordan has already come and gone, taking Red with him. I don’t know if I am strong enough to let her leave, if I see her again. I might even beg her again to stay.No one ever wants me. Or Raven.Not my mother, who had abandoned me on the edge of a road, in the middle of the night.Not my adoptive parents, that hated my very existence.And not my mate.‘Even if I failed to protect you, I want you to know that being your wolf is an honor.’‘I love you, Raven. I don’t know what I would do without you.’With a heavy heart, I look around the clearing. I found it, by chance one day, while walking through the woods. For a while, it had been the place that provided me with some comfort. Then, it became the place where Raven spent so many wonderful moments with Red and Safia. I watched Red through Raven’s eyes, falling in love with her more and more each day. And with Safia.Now,
Loud voices wake me. The sage and bay scents around me let me know I am still in Tatiana’s home. While talking and drinking tea, my eyes started to feel heavy, and I must have fallen asleep. All the things she told me gave me a lot to think about, and I have already made a decision about what I want to do regarding Caleb and Jordan.I remain in bed a little longer, with my eyes still closed, thinking about all the questions I want to ask Caleb when I return to the Rogue Village. Safia is not off the hook either, as she, too, kept Raven a secret from me.Something brushes against my cheek, sending sparks all over my body, and my eyes pop open. Caleb is crouched next to the bed, his chocolate scent wrapping around me.So deep was I in my thoughts that I did not sense him?“Hi,” he whispers. “You got me all worried when I couldn’t find you. I thought something had happened to you. Then Tatiana called me yesterday to let me know you are with her.”Yesterday? How long have I been sleeping?
My heart sinks because the one who is yelling is Jordan. Alpha Ben lets go of me, and I get away from him.Jordan yells again, this time harder, and I try to tell him, but my throat feels like it is on fire. The order Alpha Ben gave me of not letting anyone know of what he does me prevents me from speaking about what happens in his office. But I have my phone, and I recorded everything he said and did. I want to show it to Jordan, but then Alpha Ben claims I am a whore, and Jordan’s scent changes from shock to believing his father. Then my mate—my mate—grips my hair and yanks hard, forcing me to stand.Everything is happening so fast that I can barely think of what to do or say.“You are just a cheap whore!” Jordan snarls in my face. “You not only lied to me, but you made me believe you were innocent while I was planning the day you will become Luna of this pack.”How can Jordan believe I am a whore after everything that had happened between us?Tears run down my face. “Listen to me,
“What are you doing here?” I ask Jordan while Caleb stands. I grab his hand, not wanting him to leave.I know Jordan notices because his scent changes, letting me know he is angry but sad at the same time.“I came to take you home,” Jordan replies.Still holding Caleb’s hand, I get out of bed. “Home? What home? The one you kicked me out from?”“Can we talk in private?” Jordan suggested.I take a step back, my body glued to Caleb’s. “No!”“Just give me five minutes to explain—”I don’t let Jordan finish. “Explain? Like you let me explain?”“Rain, please. I know I fucked up, but give me one chance to prove how sorry I am for everything,” Jordan begs me.I shake my head. “You hit me.”Behind me, Caleb growls. “You hit her, you piece of shit?”“And got Ruth pregnant,” Kevin’s voice comes from behind Jordan.I feel like I just got punched in the gut.Caleb tenses.Kevin steps to the side, and Jordan turns to face him. “It might not be mine!”“You got Ruth pregnant?” I mumble. “When?”Jorda
Behind me, Caleb stills. I will do anything. Caleb begged me the same yesterday when he asked me for a chance. “You have a pup to think of. I, Rain Stillwater, accept your rejection, Jordan Reed. I also reject you and renounce being the future Luna of Crescent Moon Pack and the Guardian of the Portal to the Diamond Realm.” I expect to feel pain, but there is none. If anything, I feel… free. Jordan is gripping his shirt hard. For a short while, he made me happy. “You rejected him.” Caleb seems surprised. Letting go of him, I start to walk away. “I would never let a child grow up without a family the way I did,” I say over my shoulder to Caleb. When I walk past Jordan, he says to me, “I contacted Caleb as soon as I saw the videos, but he told me you were not in his pack. He lied to me. If he had told me the truth from the beginning, I would not have wasted so much time begging the Council to grant me permission to enter his territory. Maybe if Caleb had told the truth, you would
Tatiana prepares a portal not only for Jordan and Kevin but also one for Caleb and me so we can return home. Home. Crescent Moon Pack never felt like home. But Black Ruby Rogue Pack is my home. It is the place where I met Caleb and Raven and made friends. It is the place where I want to spend the rest of my life.Caleb stands next to me, and my hand reaches for his, and his for mine, our fingers meeting in the middle, skin brushing against skin, sparks coming to life, making my heart race. It is like one of those cheesy moments from the books Viki always carries with her, where the main characters fall in love in the most unexpected moments, and yet I am living it.His fingers keep brushing against mine.I don’t think I will ever get used to the sparks that I feel each time I touch him. I look up at him, a smile tugging at my lips.My mate.While sex is still a scary thought, and the idea of being that vulnerable with Caleb sends cold shivers down my spine, I know he won’t push me to
Still holding my hand, Caleb asks, “Ready to go home, my love?”He called me ‘my love.’ Act cool. Safia is waging her tail happily.I look toward the pack. Toward home. “‘My love,’ huh?” I huff.“If you don’t like that, I can use other endearments,” Caleb says as we start walking. Is he teasing me?Kevin, who is walking behind us, is quiet. I wonder if he is regretting leaving Jordan and Crescent Moon Pack.When the houses come in sight, I jerk my hand away from Caleb.“Is something the matter?” Caleb asks, confused.“Just making sure the others don’t find out about us.”Caleb stops walking. I do the same, but Kevin keeps walking, giving us space to talk in private.“Why don’t you want the others to find out about you being my mate?” Caleb asks when Kevin is out of sight.I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Well, I thought—” I fall silent, not knowing what to say. Jordan did everything he could to keep me a secret.“Red, you are the future Luna of this pack. I am not going to hide
Ever since the feral rogues tricked us into believing Caleb was dead, grief like I’ve never felt before threatened to overpower me. Katherine is the only thing that kept me sane. Along with helping Conrad take care of the pack and keeping an eye on Rain and Sky, I was exhausted at the end of the day, and by the time my head hit the pillow, I would fall into a deep sleep, only to start again the next day.Being apart from Katherine added another level of pain to my grief, but her returning the same day Tatiana let everyone know Caleb was alive still has my heart dancing with joy inside my chest. Tatiana visited the pack while Katherine and I were preparing for our date and let everyone know what had happened to Caleb. Everyone wanted to come and see with their own eyes that Caleb was alive and well, but it wasn’t possible. My arm snakes around Katherine’s waist, her slender body molding after mine. Caleb’s joke didn’t sit well with her. It doesn’t really bother me since Caleb and I a
I chuckle. “She did. I would be dead if not for my amazing soulmate.” I look around for Red. She is behind me. It’s wrong. She should be by my side, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart, soul to soul, as my soulmate, as my Queen, as my everything. I take her hand into mine and guide her in front of me so that everyone will know that she is the most important person present. “Tristan, this is my soulmate, Rain. And the one clinging to you is my daughter, Sky, but I have a feeling you already know this.”Tristan looks at Sky, who glances up at him with silver eyes, similar to mine. “How could I not know when she carries part of your scent? Daphne told me everything. I see Sky as my flesh and blood, but I made sure she knew who her real parents were.” This is why Sky said she wanted me as her dad the moment we met because she suspected who I was to her? ‘How could she not know when she looks like you? Except for the hair color. That one she got from Daphne.’ Now, that Raven mentioned
Being a slave for the Cosaci Vampires reduced me to a shell of my former self. I lost count of how many times I begged all the gods and goddesses out there to let me die. The only reply I’ve ever received is silence. Even the Moon Goddess deserted me as if I wasn’t worthy of her help. In the vampire castle, I was alone in my suffering. Most of the other slaves loved to taunt me, especially the Omegas, because it granted them favors with Sinn or his monster of a mother, Queen Lamia. Not all slaves wanted to be in Sinn’s good grace. Katherine was the only one who risked her life to take mine and set me free. Not all vampires took great pleasure in tormenting me. Daphne, despite being Sinn’s sister, was nothing like her brother or mother. She was more like her brother. Like Tristan. He has been my light in my darkest moments, my friend when I needed one, the brother I always wanted. When my adoptive father sold me to the vampires, Tristan was the only one who never tried to drink m
I follow Esyn as I try to memorize the scents of those working here. It would be so much easier if I could see their faces, but there’s no cure for face blindness. The palace is so big it feels like a maze. The entire pack could live here, and there would still be empty rooms. Caleb and Conrad should consider it. The pack would follow Caleb anywhere. It takes us several minutes to get to the Royal Wardrobe. “This is…huge,” I say as I stand in the doorframe and look at clothes displayed on mannequins. “Queen Sera loved clothes. When the place was built, King Aris requested that an entire floor be turned into a wardrobe. He wanted to fill it with all sorts of gowns he designed especially for Queen Sera,” Esyn explains. “Their love must have been something special,” I say. “It was,” Esyn agrees. A long one-shoulder lavender tulle dress catches my eye. The soft tone should look good on me. Noticing the dress I’m looking at, Esyn says, “You will look very lovely dressed in it.” I
I let out a sigh of relief. “That room just saved my life,” I say, making Caleb laugh softly. “There’s something I wanted to ask you. You mentioned a vampire, K. Do you think he is Kain?” Caleb falls silent while he thinks. “I think he is,” he finally replies. How could Kain have ended up as a slave in another realm? Wasn’t he going to find his mate, Elly? “Your friend, Voros, got Kain out, right?” I ask, concerned about Kain.Caleb’s scent changes again, this time to shock. “Voros. How could I have forgotten about him?” he wonders. “Yes. By now, Voros and Kain should be far from the Nether Realm.” “Good. Good,” murmurs slip past my lips. “We should find out what happened to them.” “If everything went according to plan, Voros and Kain are in the Ruby Realm, home to the Dacian Vampires.” My hands slide to Caleb’s chest, and I tap it with my right forefinger. “Unknowingly, you might have secured your friendship with the Dacian Vampires. You also count on the help of the Druid Witch
Despite going through so much, Caleb’s endurance and resilience are beyond anything I’ve ever seen. He is not only the male fated to me and the one I trust completely, but he’s also my hero. Everything that had happened to him made him into who he is today.I’m determined to prove, not only to him but to myself as well, that we are meant to be together not because the Moon Goddess decided so or because of the love and friendship that binds our hearts together but because we are equals. There’s so much I need to learn about the Diamond Realm. As the future Queen of this nation, I must give my all. My stomach churns as I think of all the implications that come with such a title. I don’t know how Caleb can be calm about it. Safia suggests that maybe he had some time to get used to the idea.I chew my bottom lip before I reply to Caleb’s question. He won’t like my reply, but he deserves the truth. “The pack is fine. We had some problems a while ago, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Conr
My hand stills on Red’s back as I reminisce about the past. When I fall silent as I remember my fight with the one trapped in the sword, my soulmate and love of my life says, “You won the right to use the Sword of Nightmares from the god trapped in the blade.” She has no idea how right she is about that.“Something along those lines.” It’s too complicated to explain what happened after I was absorbed in the sword. To be frank, I don’t think I understand everything myself, but Red is right, I was given the right to use it. “What happened after?” she asks. I drag the loofah sponge across her back, my gaze on her tattoo, wondering why it appeared on her skin, and say, “I think you already know. Not long after I pulled out the sword and knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was the heir to the throne and a descendant of Queen Sera and King Aris, I saw you fighting with…” A crease forms between my brows as I fall silent, thinking of the day I first saw Red in the Diamond Realm. “My
Each week, there’s a different test, each one harder than the next; more contestants fail them. Fortunately, just as the doctor predicted, I made a full recovery from the silver poisoning. My biggest opponent is the one with the green mask. So far, he’s the judges’ favorite. I prefer not to draw attention to myself, so I can sit in the back and observe all the contestants and learn their weaknesses and strengths. From what Elton told me, the last task involves fighting the remaining contestants, and the last male standing will be the regent. Elton slowly wins my trust and over time, we become friends. After six weeks of entering the Games, after a very difficult test, Elton approaches me. “Sir Colt, I was wondering about your wolf. What color is he?” His question takes me by surprise, and I reply with another question, “Why do you ask?” Elton looks right and left, making sure no one is listening to our conversation. When it’s more than clear that the only ones left in the arena a
After entering the competition for the next Regent of the Diamond Realm, I spend my time either dreaming about the female with red hair, reading in the Royal Library, or roaming the palace, learning its secrets while I wait for the first task to begin. The tension in the air is high, as each person in the race to become the next regent thinks they deserve to win the Games. It will be fun to see them lose one by one.A week after the Games officially started, the first task takes place—the contestants are tested to see how much they know about the Diamond Realm. A good regent knows the history of this place so he won’t make the same mistakes as his predecessors. Passing the test is more challenging than I thought, testing my knowledge to the fullest. Spending most of my time in the library paid off as I answered most of the questions correctly. Out of fifty contestants, seven fail to answer the minimum number of questions and are sent home. The rest of us pass to the next phase of t