CalebI look at the female in front of me. Her black eyes scan my body, my scars. I hate being looked at like I am nothing more than a piece of meat.“Give me a moment,” I say, and I rush to retrieve my clothes from where I left them.‘Who do you think she is?’ ‘I don’t know,’ I reply to Raven’s question.Once I am dressed, I return to the clearing. The battle is over. From what I can see, two of my warrior didn’t make it. I will have to let their families and friends know as soon as I return to the pack.“Thank you for saving my life,” I tell her.A crossbow and a quiver with ashwood and silver-tip arrows are across her back. I glance at the rogues and vampires that attacked me—they all have arrows in their foreheads. I should get a crossbow as well.“Tatiana sent me. She said you might need my help,” the female says.I rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t count on the wolfbane.”“It is not only wolfbane; it is mixed with liquid silver.”I look at the vampires. “That explains the numb
The entire Pack House sounds like a beehive, as the last preparations for my ‘big day’ are being finalized. I couldn’t care less for my birthday or about finding my mate, but my father needs me to step in as the Alpha of the pack. Ever since my mother got sick, he has taken on her role as the Luna of the pack, in addition to all of his Alpha duties. This has caused him to spend many sleepless nights working. I love my life as an unmated male, as I can hook up with whomever I want.Someone passes near my room, and the scent of caramelized apples wafts through the gap between the door and the floor—the scent that has been tempting me for months to take a bite from a certain female.Rain.My newest plaything.The previous night came to mind. If she has told me the truth, no male has ever touched her before. I was her first kiss. I bet I can take her virginity by the waterfall too.‘Can you stop being such a douche?’ Titan, my wolf, growls in my head. ’Just because you kissed Rain against
I don’t understand why Titan is so passionate about Rain. He never had a problem with me fooling around with females until now. And for me to treat Rain like she is the most special thing in the world for the next ten days is… ridiculous.I get out of my room and notice Rain cleaning the windows at the end of the hallway. Hadn’t she done that already yesterday? The light of the July sun makes her hair seem like it is on fire. The freckles covering her face are so damn sexy. She hums something under her breath. I wonder what she is thinking about. I tried to do a mind-link with her a few months ago, but because Safia is mute, it wasn’t possible.Except for Rain and me, no one else is in the hallway. I tiptoe until I am right behind her. She doesn’t seem to notice me, as she keeps humming a lullaby while cleaning the fingerprints left by some pups on the windows. A broom closet is to my left. I open the door, pull my right hand around Rain’s mouth and nose, and pull her inside. As soon
My lips still tingle from the kiss Jordan gave me earlier. I don’t understand why he is suddenly acting so nice to me. Until two days ago, he had treated me like I was a slave. ‘Rain, do this; Rain, do that. Rain, you don’t get to eat for two days for breathing.’ Then all of a sudden, he changed. Last night he not only stole my first kiss—which I so wanted to be with my mate—but he also brought me food.He probably only wants sex. But why me? There are plenty of females in the pack to choose from.Once I finish cleaning the windows, I drag my feet to the stairs. If I make Jordan wait any longer, he would probably punish me.The scent of lemons reaches me, and I rush all the way down to the first floor. Females are busy setting the last details to the backyard, where the party is to take place, and I try to make myself as small as possible, not wanting to be spotted.“Rain,” someone suddenly calls my name. “Can I have a word with you?”I could recognize that voice anywhere. My hands tr
Not wanting to risk making Jordan angry, I finally decide to go to the waterfall. Close to where the forest starts, I meet with three males. From their scents, I know they are Kevin, Dan, and Victor. Kevin has a little basket with food and some cans of soda, and a blanket with him.“Rain, so glad that I found you,” Kevin says while handing me the blanket and the basket. “Jordan is getting really impatient. I will let him know that you will be there in a few minutes.” He glances behind him to where Dan and Victor are, before saying to me in a low tone, “Be careful with Jordan. Your birthday is soon, and then you will find out who your mate is. Please wait until then until you decide anything.” His scent changes, letting me know he is nervous. “Please wait,” he asks me again before leaving.Victor goes after him while Dan approaches me. “Are you well? You look… upset. And why do you smell like bleach?”“I had a small accident back at the Packhouse,” I lie.“Do you need any medical atten
Rain looks at the natural pool formed at the base of the waterfall. While it is not deep enough to actually swim in it, we can still have fun. When I was younger, during the hot summer days, I would come with Kevin, Dan, and other males to the waterfall and spend many hours collecting rocks or in the pool. Then Elly started coming here to dance, and it sort of became her place. Rain’s cheeks turn red. Fuck. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. “I don’t want to get naked,” she says, her voice trembling. She is so stiff, I am afraid she will snap in two. I have been with virgins before, but Rain is too scared, too jittery. I can’t shake off the feeling that someone did something to her. If that is the case, then why isn’t she saying anything? “If you want to get your clothes all wet, then be my guest. I am still going to take mine off,” I tell her while I help her sit on the blanket next to me. Rain stands fast, her palms turning into fists. “I don’t want you to get
Wanting to be sure I am not misinterpreting the situation, I ask Rain, “Have any of the males done something to you you didn’t want or forced you to do… stuff?”Her gaze returns to me. “No,” she replies, not looking into my eyes. She never does.I feel relieved. “Good.” Maybe she is nervous around me because I have been her… bully. I hope I haven’t fucked up everything with her. “Then we are together. End of discussion. How about we eat and then enjoy the pool?”She begrudgingly agrees, and we sit on the blanket. Some sandwiches and chocolate bars are in the basket. I pick up one of the sandwiches and give Rain a chocolate bar.I mind-link Kevin.‘Dude, tuna sandwich!? You know I fucking hate tuna!’ I complain.‘That’s for Rain. She likes tuna,’ Kevin tells me.Rain rips the wrapper around the chocolate bar, her eyes going wide as she takes a small bite from it. Is she moaning? ‘I didn’t know she liked tuna.’Kevin is silent for a moment. ‘About earlier, if you only want to screw arou
“Wait a moment!” I shout back as I rush to fix Rain’s shirt, not wanting any male to see what is mine.I help Rain get out of the water, put my jeans on and wrap the blanket around her.“Ok, you can come now!” I let Kevin know.Kevin appears from behind the trees with a backpack on his back. He looks at Rain and then at me, and I can see him getting angry. A moment later, he puts on a poker face. I really don’t understand why he is upset. Maybe he is worried Rain is the future Luna of the pack.‘He has nothing to worry about. Rain will be an excellent Luna.’I don’t know why Titan is so certain about Rain being an amazing future Luna, but I trust him. If the Moon Goddess paired me with Rain, it is only because she is my other half.Kevin hands me the backpack, and I unzip it.“Andrea says she has a dress and shoes Rain can wear to the party. Elly is over at Andrea’s house, and they said they would love to have Rain join them and get ready together,” Kevin lets me know while I take out
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