I nod. After a few seconds of silence, I say, “Sarah and Viki showed me where the new school is. I bet the pups will be happy.”“I think they will. Kassandra complained, for months, that the old school was too small for the growing pack. Five new pups started school this September. Also, with all the newly pregnant females, I am thinking about adding an annex to the clinic and having a midwife in the pack. What do you think?”I did not expect Caleb to ask for my opinion about pack matters. “Well, I think it could be a good idea. Hector is a good doctor, but I think females will feel better knowing a midwife will be here in case they need her. I mean, if I were to have pups, I would prefer a midwife over a male doctor.”“You want pups?” Caleb asks.My mind goes back to my conversation with Sarah and Viki. “I never thought about having a family. Not until today. But I think I would love to have a pup or two. Not right now, but in the future.”“I should have guessed you wanted a family,”
RainFor the next week, I keep meeting up with Alb in the clearing. Since he never shifts for me, I spend the time chatting about all kinds of nonsense. Most of the time, though, I let Safia out and just enjoy watching Alb teach her how to hunt and other things she never got to learn as a pup.As for me, I decided not to let Jordan’s rejection, or my rape and attack, define my life. While I didn’t want to be touched by males, I started to speak with more pack members, and I even met Kassandra. Not only does she have red hair like me, but she is a hybrid. Her mother was a werewolf, and her father was a vampire. With a round belly indicating she will give birth anytime now, I don’t know how she keeps up with all the pups she is teaching. They are the most energetic lot I have ever seen.Sitting at a table between Viki and Sarah, I watch Conon and Jeremy play soccer with some pups while Caleb and Blade are busy flipping hamburgers, meat, and sausages on the three barbecues built close to
It is Hector who replies. “No. As long as Caleb is touching you, skin-on-skin, the pain will be tolerable. In the morning, when the suppressors arrive, everything will be over.” Reluctantly, I agree. “If there is no sex, then I think I won’t mind being touched.” Caleb walks out of the clinic. “You are such a good little Omega for not putting up a fight,” he coos. I lean my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. I was supposed to meet up with Alb later on today. Realizing that he is going out of the village, I ask, “Where are you taking me?” “There is a bungalow in the forest near the village. It is used by females when they are in heat. I was thinking of staying there until morning.” I nod. My body starts to hurt so badly, I start to sob. Caleb starts running. “We will be there soon,” he tries to comfort me. My hands find his t-shirt, and I grab it hard. Warmth spreads around my body, making the pain a bit more tolerable. Caleb keeps running, and some minutes later, he enters
“When you are ready.” Caleb keeps running his hands over my body, his chest purring, and the pain becomes more tolerable. All the times I thought about experiencing my first heat, I truly believed my mate would be with me, helping me. But not only is Jordan not with me, the slap he gave me that night still stings. What stings the most, though, is the mark of the Betrayer he put on me. Touching my right shoulder with the tip of my fingers, I whisper, “Fuck Jordan.” Caleb chuckles. “Fuck Jordan, indeed.” We stayed in there for hours until the sun was gone. Caleb takes me back to the bedroom and lies with me, spooning. The pain is still bad, but the nonstop purring and touching are helping. After hours of wave after wave of pain and cramps, morning comes, and Caleb takes me back to the clinic. Hector is already there, and fortunately, the suppressors he was waiting for have arrived. “Yavor is waiting for you in your office,” Hector tells Caleb as he injects me with a dose of suppre
CalebI feel like my chest is being ripped apart, and my heart is being crushed. Even when I was in the hands of the vampires, I have never felt as much pain as I do right now. Red, who became my ray of hope in my unending darkness, doesn’t want me or Raven. It is only my fault for being a coward and not telling her the truth. I only wanted her to heal from her ordeal and to give her time. To slowly get her to fall in love with me. As I held her in my arms last night, during her heat, I came so close to telling her what she means to me. How much I love her. That I have loved her from the first moment I saw her and Safia.Raven whines, his heart shattered like my own. ‘She doesn’t want us.’‘No one ever does.’ Then making a decision I should have made years ago, I say, ‘Once the Cosasi Vampires are killed, together with those that harmed our mate, we will return to the Moon Goddess.’‘A life without Red and Safia is not worth it.’I mind-link Conon. ‘Call Jordan Reed and tell him his m
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?
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