Dargan's Point of View
Clouds had gathered across the sky. Rain threatened, dark grey clouds coming ever closer to the house. Maybe it was a sign that what we had discussed with Eugene yesterday wasn't right. Alvara had rushed into agreeing to meet him without thinking. But I could understand why.
She needed closure. An end to her suffering. He had done horrendous things to her over the years and if this was all she wanted in return, we would happily give it to her. Maverick had his hands full trying to anticipate every move and counter move the brutal Alpha would make. No threat was too small.
But we had a secret weapon. Ciaran had clawed his way through life up until now. Violence was born into him. Fighting for survival was instinct. Fighting for his mate was his purpose. The Alpha everyone now knew as merciful was just what he showed on the surface.
We all had tainted pasts. Parts of my soul would never fully heal from wh
Alvara's Point of View My body was on fire. Screeching from where he touched me. Every nerve stood on end as our tongues danced together. Rain slipped down my body, drenching the heat of my skin. Dargan was here. He would kill for me. Die for me if need be. The thought was perplexing but woefully enticing. There was a thrumming inside my chest. Like my heart would beat straight through my ribs and shatter into the air. His hand tugged at the back of my head, forcing me into submission. I wanted all of him. Especially the hard cock he so carelessly shoved against me. I moaned when he bit my lip again. Digging my nails into his back, Dargan growled lowly. Pleasure jolted to my groin. Fuck want, I needed him closer. Sensing my urgency and change in pace, Dargan lifted me by my ass. My legs wrapped around his stomach. Only one hand kept me in the air. One arm. And I knew I wasn't the smallest, yet Dargan didn't slow or falter.
He was coming today. Mother had already left, knowing the fallout would be tremendous between them. The house had to be perfect. Freshly cut flowers in vases, tulips to symbolize unconditional love. Lavender incense burning in almost every room to calm his mind. Every dish he had ever liked waiting in the dining room. Servants kept themselves scarce. Good. Father shouldn't be burdened by the lesser wolves around him. Today was just our day. The door bell rang and I could hear a maid head towards it. Fire heated my blood. "No, no! I'll get it." I chimed and jumped towards the door. The maid recoiled at my sudden appearance and I smiled. They were terrified of me. No matter how many times mother had scolded me on being more polite, I couldn't force myself to be. After all, I was their superior. Smoothing down my hair a last time, I clicked the door open. My heart raced within my chest. How long had it been since I last saw him? Months? Mother was terrib
Ciaran's Point of View Cinnamon wafted through the air when I entered the kitchen. Alvara stood in front of one of the counters, whisk in hand. Something was baking in the oven. Dargan sat at the far edge of the counter. Neither looked at the other, both with red streaks across their faces. My meetings for the day had concluded earlier than I had anticipated. Maverick was still gone. Same with Ozias. Although I knew the Beta was just trying to stay away from Alvara. The bombshell had ruffled some feathers and Ozias couldn't handle verbal confrontation all that well when it was with people he loved. Tension floated through the air. Propping myself up on an elbow in the door, I cleared my throat. Alvara's head shot to me, her mouth forming a small O. Dargan glanced towards me, then averted his gaze. Something had definitely happened between the two. I couldn't tell if his scent was all over her or if it just surrounded the kitchen.
Alvara's Point of View I had admitted it. Told her he was my mate. Dargan's eyes had bulged from his head. In the moment, I couldn't care less. She needed to know her place and it wasn't with my mate. Any of them for that matter. Yet he had still gone with her. Slammed the door of his office shut so that they couldn't be heard. My jaw had clenched in anger. We had shared a moment, even if it was brief. Out of them all, he was the biggest mystery to me. A puzzle I couldn't fully solve. She had come in here and just demanded his presence. For a moment I thought he would refuse but he had given in to her. Whatever was between them, it had to fucking end. Right here and right fucking now. "Alvara, if you grip that spatula any harder, it might break." Dargan whispered and came closer to me. I flinched from his out stretched hand. Snapping myself back down to earth, I spun on him. "So what? All your money and you can't buy
Alvara's Point of View Dreams played on the back of my eyelids. No more nightmares or cold sweats in the middle of the night. Although the fight with Ciaran still made my stomach sick. We had tried clearing the air but it was too late. Damage was done and we were both overly emotional to continue speaking. Leaving things so up in the air felt wrong. Corrupted. We would have another go at speaking another time. A soft creak at my door had my eyes cracking open an inch. Footsteps thrummed across my room. There was a small squeal before a body collided on top of mine. The air rushed from my chest, smile spreading across my lips. Only one person would come into my room without warning. Giggling, Teagan tickled my sides. Laughter came from my chest in short bursts and I doubled over on myself. Her fingers found my sides. I groaned and laughed, bending over backwards to try and get her away from my most vulnerable spots. "I
Maverick's Point of View Harland and I looked like Christmas trees. Alvara's parcels were my ornaments. Teagan's were Harland's. The girls would never stop talking. Or spending. How Ozias never had a heart attack after seeing so much money gone from his account, I would never know. On the contrary, he adored seeing Alvara in her new outfits. Smelled her new perfumes. Heard the click on the tiles from her new shoes. By now, her room would have been a mess, but Ciaran had taken care of it. The maids now had an extra room to pack her things away in. Retail therapy wasn't cheap, yet the look on Alvara's face was worth it. Gone were the worry lines. Scowls. Glares. Timid nods and looking down at her shoes. Instead, she beamed at me, light shining from her smile. The glow had returned to her face as she spoke with Teagan. Harland and I trailed behind them to the car. They wanted to go go-karting. First, they needed to pack away the
Maverick's Point of View She was fast. Impressively so. Alvara's smiles grew inch for inch the more we drove the route. She was learning. Adapting. Every so often she would glance behind her at me. Those bedroom eyes would show and I would nearly collide with the side. I stayed behind her, just in case something happened. But nothing did. Her corners were tight, never spinning out into the tires alongside the walls. Unlike Teagan. Harland had his hands full with her. Between her whoops and snarky remarks at her mate, Harland all but floored it to the finish line. Determination came running down his face in the form of sweat. Whether he intended to beat her to the finish line or not wasn't the question. The real question was, how did he make it out alive afterwards? "Last round!" The speakers crackled the kiosk worker's voice. Alvara seemed to take this as a personal challenge. Ducking her head down, she stepped down on the pe
Ciaran's Point of View We barely had two days to prepare for his arrival. Two days in which I knew my mind would wander in every direction possible. Going into open war with Half-Moon would entice the royals to finally show face. They had never kept it secret that they pined for Eiecrunt's vast resources. A little rogue had built himself up in a small time frame. Somehow, they perceived it as a threat. Making us an A-class pack was just their way of enticing other packs to attack us. Dwindle down our man power so that they could swoop in and secure everything for themselves. What made this worse was knowing why we were going to war. Alvara. Eugene had gotten the biggest piece of the pie for years now. He had secured himself the only living member of the Lover's Quarrel Alpha bloodline. The only person who could inherit the wealth of those fucking diamond mines. With her out of the way, the only person who could take those min
Alvara’s Point of View “Aunty Adelia!” Aurelia screeched and ran to the front door. Adelia leaned against the frame, arms crossed over her chest, until she saw my daughter. Her face lit up like a thousand little lights. Her arms unfolded and reached forward. The little girl jumped full force into her. Nearly knocked her inside the house. Dargan came in behind me carrying the diaper bag. As he passed me, he kissed the side of my face. His wedding ring glinted in the afternoon sunlight. I swelled at the sight, still transfixed at the thought that I was a married woman. Married to the loves of my life. “My sweet girl!” Adelia exclaimed and threw Aurelia into the air. A giggle escaped the two-year old. Her dress puffed out around her. Hair fluttered in the wind. Dark golden blonde. Curly, like mine. The trees were a bright green. The grass neatly trimmed. Flowers bloomed all around us. Maverick was next to walk up. His hand settl
Alvara’s Point of ViewJessebelle stood at the edge of the fighting. Kept a close eye on all of her men. Guns fired in rapid succession. Wolves tore men limb from limb. Blood coated the grass. Between it all, Ciaran had a standoff with Eugene.Both sides landed blows. Bones crunched beneath their combined strength. Ozias had run after the Beta. Maverick shot whoever got closest and Dargan was still passed out cold.For a moment before Ciaran had arrived, I was sure I would be dead by the end of this. I was sure that I wouldn’t see the morning. Yet, Jessebelle had pulled through. Made sure that the odds were fatly stacked against Eugene. With however many reinforcements he called, he still wouldn’t win. Money drove him. Drove his pack, which wasn’t a good motivator. Love and freedom drove ours.Mason had gotten away in the chaos Harland caused. Got hold of Jessebelle and convinced her that we needed h
Maverick’s Point of ViewThe truck collided with the first of their cars. I lurched forward, gripping tightly onto the dashboard. My driver floored it. Scraped the road with their scrap metal. I braced as we hit another one. Men darted from their positions. Drew their guns and fired rapidly at the sides of the truck. Bullets peppered the steel but refused to go through. Thousands and thousands of rands were spent securing my people.The border patrol was thin tonight. Almost lax. According to Mason, we would have a hard time getting through, but this seemed almost too easy. Some of my men jumped from the rear. I heard their feet hit tar. Saw them run beside us. They opened fire. Some of Eugene’s men held up small flags with a diamond on it. I opened my window and craned my neck outside.“Don’t hurt the ones with the flags! They are on our side!” I screamed to my men. All of them nodded and proceeded to atta
Dargan's Point of ViewMy feet ached from the pace I was setting. I dodged trees. Cleared ditches. Lungs screamed for me to slow down. Air came in short supply. I had to take it easier. But I refused. It had been years since I ran with such ferocity. With so much intent and purpose, it nearly drove me mad.Alvara sounded far beyond distressed. Her voice had pitched and fallen. The fear was tangible in my mind still. She needed us and she needed us now. Everything we had endured led up to this moment. I would not let her have the same fate as Savanah. Let her die in a pack that hated her deeply. Die beside a man that had used her all her life.Those revelations set my mind blazing. My legs pumped harder. Drove me further. I could see the lights of houses in the distance. Slowing down, I sniffed the air. Picked up the scent of several enemies. I lightened my steps and avoided the trail where the scent was strongest.Two secon
Ciaran's Point of ViewMaverick nearly crawled out of his skin the moment Alvara left. Her mind link had shut between us. Locked us out of her thoughts. But I could feel every tremor of fear. Every quickening of her pulse. The panic she felt. Her small feeling of pride. Like she was still with us. Yet, none of us could reach her. Speak to her mentally. It drove us insane. Made us bite our nails and down glasses of whiskey. This was hell.Our minds remained open at all times. We had a plan but plans could change at any moment. Alvara had to be able to reach us at a moment's notice. Thus, we played riddles and made jokes through the mind link. To keep it sharp and make sure it was open even whilst we were sleeping.Ozias wouldn't stop pacing. Dargan smoked more than he had ever before. We weren't far from her. Maybe 80 kilometers, tops. Maverick and Dargan were closer. Harland camped out on a farm close to the edge of Half-Moon. We were w
Alvara's Point of View All the lights in the house were off when I woke up. Glowing moonlight sifted in from the open curtains. A cool breeze drifted over my bed. Yet I had woken up. No nightmares plagued me. No monsters hidden in shadows. My body had made peace with my surroundings, even if my mind was a bit slow to adjust. There wasn't a sound to be heard. Barely a cricket chirping. But I was awake and it was hell. Maybe two in the morning. I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes once more. Sleep danced at the edge of my mind and I rolled back onto my back. Then I heard it. The near-silent struggle in the room beside mine. Soft groans. Scraping of nails across flesh. Grunts of satisfaction. I covered my ears with a pillow. Eugene had a lady visitor over. As I had told Angelique, he would never change. I willed myself to sleep until I realized that Teagan's room was beside mine. Cold dread settled into my spine. Blind panic
Alvara's Point of ViewAs I had thought, Eugene never came to dinner. He had made paint swatches with Mariposa. We could all hear them laughing and bantering above us. Then, she had insisted they go out to eat. Something about having a craving met. So, that was exactly what they had done. Without so much as a whisper about spending too much money, they were off.If she had arrived before any of this had happened, I would have believed it when he told me she was just some woman he was helping. Clung to the idea that some part of him was still good inside instead of rotten and foul. Now, I knew better. Knew that she was his mate and I had been used for my money all these years.Stolen from my pack. Kept under lock and key because they couldn't find the keys to my family's kingdom. Somehow, after spending so much time with my own mates, I understood why he was so excited. Happy. She brought out the best in him as all mates would. But she w
Alvara's Point of View"You asked for me?" I said from the door. Eugene lifted his head, looking at me with a soft smile. He nodded and I stepped inside."Did you find everything you were looking for today?" A vague question. Very vague. It set me on edge enough that I lowered my gaze. Made my eyes appear larger than they actually were. Eugene put a hand out towards me and I took it when I got closer."I forgot how expensive everything was. I am sorry you had to spend money on me." I whispered back. Eugene kept that soft smile on his lips. Gently, he tugged me into his lap. I nuzzled into his neck, draping my legs over his.This was wrong. Utterly wrong. Being close to another man in such an intimate way hurt my heart. Every memory I had of my mates flashed into my mind, making my soul hurt even more. They were far away and I was inside the monster den with only Teagan to help me."Anything for you. I hate how we left thin
Alvara’s Point of ViewMason met us at the house. Unlike when I had first met him, he had a suit on. Sunglasses. Polished shoes. As if he had changed overnight. The young man I had come to know was gone. When Eugene greeted him, he simply gave a curt ‘Alpha’ and a bow of the head. Everything felt formal. Stuffy. As if the air had thickened in just a few seconds. Teagan looked between the two men and shrugged when I looked at her.I had personally asked for Mason, but it still didn’t mean that we were completely safe to wander around. The rest of the pack was still on Eugene’s side, and I had returned. Once an outsider, always an outsider. At least now I knew why they had stayed away.As for Lover’s Quarrel members, they had stayed away because Eugene had threatened them. Told them that if they interfered with me, they would lose their jobs or their lives. None of them would risk that. Until now.