Adelia's Point of ViewThe concubine was sitting poised at the end of what I could only call a throne room. Draped over the large stuffed chair like a queen dominating her surroundings. Not like a painted traitorous whore.Her cruel smile spread wide the deeper Siya and I walked into the room. Having left Nessa behind in the hall, I almost felt vulnerable under Phaedra's gaze. As if Nessa granted me an extra layer of protection that was now gone to the wind. There were no guards to speak of. Only our footsteps echoed as we went. Siya, to my delight, remained a healthy distance away from me. But had my hands shackled in front of me. To put on a show. When Nessa had suggested it, I balked at the thought. My father had used handcuffs to teach me a lesson every time my hands were idle according to him. I relented, seeing the logic in his thought even though I hated it."Welcome, welcome. Brother, I'm glad to see you are in one piece. Did those barbarians treat you well, at least?" Ph
Adelia's Point of ViewFear slid down my spine. Lodged in my throat, inhibiting my breath.Cold, calculating eyes slid over my face. Slid back over to Siya, assessing as she went.But the male didn't back down. Took up a stronger, wider, stance. His head tilted back a bit more in defiance. "Hurting her would hurt our cause. You are acting rashly, sister. It angers me to think that you would throw away all of my hard work for a few seconds of pleasure on your part." He diverted suspicions effortlessly. Phaedra's eyes softened. A single index finger ran along her bottom lip. "Fine. As always, you're right. I was just wondering how pretty she'd look if someone were to run a knife along her jaw. But as always, you have our mission's best interest at heart," She mused cruelly and slid out of her chair.My heart balked as she approached. Gone was the fury. The anger. All I felt now was an instinct to run. She was no wolf. Rather she was a snake sliding along its belly. When she stopped r
Adelia's Point of ViewNessa basically gave a fuck you to Phaedra. Allowed me to go for another run in the closed-off garden. This time around, only one guard stood watch. Barely glanced at us as my heart skittered in my chest.She wasn't invited to the family dinner like Siya. Instead, she was given the duty of keeping me locked up in my room. A task she failed miserably at. Almost as horribly as she failed at keeping pace beside me.After the third lap around the garden, she tapped out and resigned herself to simply observing me and making comments.I never missed the way her eyes would light up when I passed what I presumed to be the weakest point in the wall. The way she had chosen the furthest spot from it. Or how she tried to look away every time I came close. It was obvious that she wanted me to escape.But something inside my chest wouldn't let me go, despite the lack of people here to stop me.Maybe it was pity. Pity towards the girl who had let me go. Because Phaedra would h
Adelia's Point of ViewHe was lighter than normal. Seemed to float back to the room.We promised Nessa we would have dinner with her tomorrow night. Had a lot to talk about between now and then. My heart was hammering in my chest by the time we got inside the room. Threatened to claw its way out of my throat if I didn't pause for a second to breathe.Siya closed the door behind us with a click. Leaned against it for a second before pushing away and walking to where I was leaning against the couch. With only a few reading lights illuminating the space, I could only see the main features of his face.Pouty full lips. Prominent eyebrows. The dark etches of his eyes now freely roaming my body. The very body clad in skin-tight workout clothes that Nessa had scrounged together for me to use for the time being.Until we could escape.Now the only horrendous task before me was convincing Siya to go with me. That this life wasn't for him."Do you want to tell me what the two of you were doi
Adelia’s Point of ViewStaying true to his word, I found Siya on the couch in the small living room the next morning. His chest still lifted and fell with a steady beat. Arms were draped over his face. And a thin blanket barely covered the rest of him.It was early in the morning, with the sun still a good hour away from breaking over the horizon, leaving the air crisp as I walked toward the bachelor’s kitchen.Before now, I never dared make anything in it. Barely even glanced at the kettle on the counter. But something had changed last night. Not between us but inside of me. Shifted.Stifling my footsteps, I walked closer to where he was sleeping. A shallow hitch of breath from him had me stopping in my tracks. Assessing the situation before I went further. When he carried on with his deep breaths, I lowered my hands, gripped the bunched-up blankets, and pulled them up to his chin.“Look at you, being soft for a change,” He grumbled, sleep still thick in the tone of his voice.My han
Adelia’s Point of ViewHis eyes burned holes through my body as I jogged. Or it felt that way.I was keenly aware of every movement I made. Every step that I took. How well my back was arched and the distance my feet were spread apart.No one else was here. No one else would dare come here if he hadn’t invited them.Good. I didn’t need more eyes on me. Not when his were already so intense.“Pick up your chin and relax your shoulders.” He called out from the steps.He was in his usual combat gear. Looked ready to take down anyone that came too close to me. But his eyes never wandered. Remained on my form.Doing as he said, I picked up my chin and relaxed my shoulders. Although, after running for over an hour, my body was beginning to lag. Sweat now firmly coated my brow. And the new posture somehow seemed to strain my body even more.“I’m tired,” I called to him as I finished what I hoped to be my last round.In the weeks leading up to my capture, I had become lax with my running. Alva
Adelia’s Point of ViewKillian came to our room later on. He had aged ten years somehow in the span of a day. Seemed more haggard than I had seen him yesterday.When he walked in, Siya noticed the change as well.“Already fed up with her?” Siya said from his perch on the couch.Three cups of steaming coffee sat on the table in the middle. This time around, Siya had opted for that instead of coffee.Giving my mate a long look, Killian slinked towards the open single couch and fell in with a sigh. “I had to fuck her three fucking times last night. Each lasted about two hours. I’m tired. I’m spent. Can the bitch just fucking leave already?” He stated bluntly.I blinked. Blinked again. Processed what just came out of his mouth without making too much of a fuss about it.But as always, my mate noticed the confusion written all over me and stepped in to explain. “She beds him to prove a point to his family. And when he refuses her… well… His pack has suffered enough as it is.”My eyes slid
Adelia’s Point of ViewThoughts of my mother haunted me the entire night long. Kept me from falling asleep. Had me staring at the ceiling and the shadows that danced across it throughout the night.Her supple hair, now riddled with grey. Her kind blue eyes. My eyes.And everything she had done for me to survive.Most of all, it haunted me how I had treated her. How far from grace she had fallen because of my own sins.Because the sins of a child became the sins of the parent. And I had gotten all my sins from my father and passed it along to my mother.In the end, all she had ever wanted was my happiness. And I had cost her hers. Sliding out of bed, I pulled the large shirt I was wearing down. Wrapped my arms around my body before a shudder slid down my spine.The only thing on the other side of the bedroom door was silence. Enveloping silence. Not even the light snoring I had become so used to over the last few nights.Opening up the door felt too loud as the wood slid across the ti
Adelia's Point of ViewThey both cleaned up well. Looked dashing in their suits. But the scene in front of me was obscenely strange. Two fully grown men hiding behind a bush. One with an empty glass of some type of alcohol in hand. The other laughing maniacally into the dark If it hadn't been for me noticing their scents nearby, we wouldn't have found them at all.With their vantage, they could see the entire party perfectly. Still, they chose to hide away. Watched from the outside.And the moment they turned around to look at us, both of their jaws dropped to the floor.I knew Nessa had done a good job of styling me. Knew I looked better than I had ever done before. But their reactions were priceless. Worth every single burn Nessa had given me when she tried to curl my hair for the updo."Close your mouths, boys, it's fly season." Nessa joked from beside me. Chortled when all Michael could do was curse again, eyes digging up my flesh inch by inch. Siya wasn't far behind. Let his ey
Siya's Point of ViewI was a mated male.For one, I couldn't believe I wasn't dead yet. At the end of my twenties and I was still alive and well. Or as well as I could be, given that my body was a royal fuck up at the moment.But not dead. Not yet. And not anytime soon. Second, I was mated and in a new pack. Watched now as my old pack members streamed into a lush and vibrant garden made up for them and only them. To welcome them into a new and more stable home.If only the rest of my pack could have followed as well. Could have escaped the hell that was now Noha Khoeli.My mother would have been proud to see me now. Would have loved to know that her son was not only living but thriving. Saddened by the fact that her daughter had turned into such a cruel monster, yes, but glad to know her son had escaped that reality."Well, don't you clean up well," Michael crooned as he approached me from behind.I was standing in the shadows. Avoided anyone looking at me yet. Speaking to me. Mainly
Adelia's Point of View"Stop fussing! Everything has been sorted outside. It is two hours before the ceremony starts, we need to get ready!" I screeched at Nessa, hand clamped around her wrist and pulling her furiously into my walk-in closet.She was finding every reason in the book not to go inside and look at all of her options. From the decor to the food and everything in between. "Shit needs to be perfect and that fucking florist put one too many fucking roses in the centerpieces," She argued back whilst pulling away from me.A child with a new toy, that's what she was acting like right now."One too many roses isn't going to kill anyone, Nessa! But we can't be late for our own party," I hissed again and finally dragged her the rest of the way into the closet.The overhead lights flickered on the second they detected us. Flooded the small but packed space with light. And shimmers and sparkles from the clothes around us. This was where I kept most of my fancy clothes. The kind t
Adelia's Point of ViewI left Michael at the pack house with Aiden.Both men were walking around the place, making sure that every security measure under the sun was well in place. Nukes weren't the only threat we had to face. If Phaedra wanted to she could send an entire army to come and eviscerate us for what we had done to her pack. A tit for tat kind of thing. So the men peacocked around, trying to figure out every single weak point within the pack house grounds."I'm back," I called into the house and closed the door behind me.Groans sounded throughout the house, coming from upstairs. Groans. Moans. A few curses every once in a while. This was followed by a shrill voice that I couldn't make out the words from.Making my way up the stairs, I felt my teeth grind together as the groans intensified. Nessa was doing a number on her brother and showed zero remorse.When I walked in, she was straddling his ass, working her hands up and down the length of his spine. Siya's face was tw
Adelia's Point of ViewHis lips were as soft as I had remembered them. As intoxicating as well. But this time, his hands roamed my body freely. Hungrily. Claiming every inch as if he would never have the chance again. As if he needed to feel me to believe that we were doing this.Settling my own hands in his hair, I pulled his face away and smiled at him softly. Felt my heart still beating a mile a minute as he stared down at me. Blue eyes were half-lidded and twinkling when he looked down at me. Smiling like a damned fool.Ever so slowly he brushed a hand down the side of my face. Swept some of my baby hair back behind my ear. "You are so utterly beautiful that I might just die from looking at you too long." He whispered, breathing fanning my face in a minty puff. I rolled my eyes and shook his head for him. "That was maybe the cheesiest thing you have ever said to me," I bemoaned, unable to look even a tad bit disgusted by it.Because he could say those things to me my entire lif
Adelia's Point of ViewFor the first night where both of my mates were with me, we all collectively decided to sleep on our own. Not because I wouldn't have loved it to be the filling between both men but rather because neither of them felt very comfortable with that yet.Which was to be understood.I wouldn't know how to feel sleeping with my mate and his other mate.But Nessa's couches slept like utter shit! The girl had really said 'fashion and fuck the rest'. They were lovely to look at. Wonderful to curl up on. Horrendous for the back. So, when I finally woke up, I felt like an old woman climbing out of her coffin. My spine was shot to hell. Knees creaked from having had to curl them to my chest for the entire night.And if I felt this way, I didn't even want to know how Michael must have felt."We really should have brought another mattress," I groaned and stretched. Some of my limbs popped in their sockets, making me wince.Siya grumbled something into his pillow on the mattre
Adelia's Point of View"And you made sure to ask him that everything was disabled? Thrown away? Burned?" Nessa screeched, hands on her hips as she paced the length of the living room.Every time she passed Aiden, he reached for her but she was having none of it. Dodged his efforts every single time with a dip of her shoulder. Or a sneer when he got too close to calming her down."Ozias asked Dargan to check everything. He even sent over a plan of the house and where Ciaran placed everything," Michael explained and let his eyes dance over to mine. "He also apologized profusely for what his Alpha has done." "In what regard? Because everything he has done has been more than fucked up from what I hear." Nessa seethed again.Aiden made a last lunge towards her and when she dodged out of his way, he threw his hands up in exasperation. Looked done with trying. Hell, with living at this point.It was funny to witness them together.Him, the pragmatic planner who thought shit through. Her, wh
Michael's Point of ViewShe was fine. More than fine, actually, from the looks of things. Adelia was joking and laughing. Kidding around with Siya and his lack of cooking skills. Made fun of the fact that a carrot nearly took him out. And her with him, if she hadn't stopped healing him when she had. But she was bubbly and happy. Looked relaxed, even when I tried to tickle her feet. Or got her to snort coffee through her nose by accident.This felt comfortable. Easy. Like this was the place I had always been destined to find. A home I always needed to occupy.Logically she had tried several times to get back to planning. Or tried to sneak away with her phone, just to make a few calls, she had assured us. Neither of us let her, on orders of the Beta of the pack.Your first healing was as taxing on the body as your first shift. Something I had to keep in mind once I won her over and got her to turn me. The process and changes of it all were grueling enough that even Alpha pups were
Adelia's Point of ViewI was helped down the stairs. Helped, like a damned invalid. All because my body had decided healing a gash on an arm was one too much.Sure, give it a kidnapping. Nearly being killed. Being held captive by your deranged mother. Escaping said Mother. Organizing one large ass ceremony. And everything in between. But goddess forbid I tried healing someone. That was just fucking unacceptable.At first, both had offered to help me down. Neither wanted the other to help. A few glares had been exchanfged. Maybe a profanity or two, said through their eyes and luckily not their mouths.By the time they were done with their pissing contest, I was already at the door, tired of their bullshit. Scolded them for handling me like I was broken and not just tired. That had been the final straw for them to back off. Michael had been the winner in the end, to my utter dismay.His hand around my waist and my arm around his shoulders caused us to touch all up my side. Forced so m