Adelia's Point of View Despite our argument earlier, Michael carried on following me into the woods. Kept a healthy pace behind me at all times. Blood surged through my body. Legs ached as I crossed the 4-mile line. My time spent cooped up in the compound had done me no favors. Or I was just not getting into the right pace. The right rhythm. Either way, I kept pushing forward without thinking too much about it. Behind me, Michael barely even breathed. Had his rhythm so wonderfully under control that I couldn't hear him. Only the steady crunch of his feet told me- "You aren't keeping your chin straight and your back is slightly hunched forward. Try focussing on those areas," He called and I ground my teeth. Like he could hear my thoughts. Or read my body language. I hissed back at him. Increased my pace to a run, no longer a jog. The burning in my lungs felt pleasant. Washed away all of my other thoughts. Until he spoke again, keeping pace like it was nothing to him. "Fine. D
Siya's Point of View"Don't do this, Siya! She already flayed you like a fucking fish! Your back is barely fucking healing! If she catches you doing this..." Killian ground out behind me. His footsteps echoed down the hall. Vibrated down my bones.I gritted my teeth but carried on walking."She is going to know something is up if you do this. She'll go out of her way to find Adelia again, just to punish you in the process. Or worse, she'll think you helped her to escape!" He seethed. But remained firmly behind me.Never dared touch me as I cruised down the long halls of the outer wing.This was the wing most of our men stayed in. Divided up into quadrants and squad quarters. An easier way to navigate all the lackeys who fell beneath us. First came the man who had survived the attack. The only fucking survivor. The fool should rather have taken his own life than cling to his miserable fate now. By the time I was done with him, he would pray to the goddess that he hadn't been spared.O
Siya's Point of View Gerald was trembling by the time I had unplugged most of his machines. With wide eyes and thin lips, he watched me wordlessly. Spit seeped out of the corners of his mouth, like a rabid dog about to be put down. The fear in those wide eyes of his sent thrills down my body. Woke up the most wicked side of me. "Ah, I read in your file that you are on the mend. How is that gunshot feeling?" I asked, a large grin forming on my face. His eyes shuddered. Scanned the empty room and the dead monitors all around him. "Bet... Better, thank you, captain." He replied, voice hoarse. Breathless. Afraid. I nodded slowly. Turned on my heel and looked at the door. Marched toward it before slamming the lock into place. On the other side, I heard Killian swearing several times over. "I'm glad. So glad that you remained alive during the entire thing, just so you could report back to me. The goddess must find you favorable indeed." I mused, twisted back to look at him with anot
Michael's Point of ViewShe was spectacular.A lithe runner's body. Silky hair darker than a raven's wing. Piercing blue eyes that left me gasping every time I stared into them.Bottled lightning. The kind that I had never found before.And when I pressed her backside into me, breathed in her smell, I thought my entire world might fall apart right then and there. How I managed to speak at all was beyond me.The director of special forces would never have been so disarmed by someone's mere presence. Not even to mention the way my body screamed at me to be near her. Touch her. Run my hand through her hair and hear my name whispered on her lips.All my future plans melted away in that moment alone. Dissipated with zero effort.But I had forgotten about her other hand. Still free. Still deadly. And the fucking thing found my side easily enough. A sharp-tipped finger pierced between the two plates of my armor. The only vulnerable seam in my entire get-up.I hissed out a breath and let her
Adelia's Point of ViewBy the time I stopped running, I was well outside of our pack boundaries. Had managed to reach the outskirts of Half-Moon pack, another pack run by Eiecrunt. My heart hammered inside my chest relentlessly. But the sweet ache of my muscles kept my mind at bay. Wouldn't give me enough reprieve to let my brain wander.I was a good fucking three hours from home.Had it really been that long? In my wolf form it was easy to cover that great a distance without noticing. We became so in tune with everything around us that time almost... stopped existing for us.Trotting to the center of town, I noticed heads turning my way. Sneers marked their faces, as they always did when someone from the outside came in.They had a long and messy history, to say the least. Hated that Eiecrunt killed their former Alpha, despite him being a royal cunt. Alvara's ex-husband, to be precise. Although his pack never thought so. Well, not the well-off side of his pack.I strode up the now-f
Adelia's Point of ViewThey sent Michael. Fucking Michael.Even after he had told Ulrich what happened in the woods, they thought it would be for the best if the human came to get me. Walked right into a pack that hated outsiders to begin with and loathed humans beyond reproach.What were they thinking? Were they even thinking? Because from the looks of it, they weren't.Alvara wouldn't have approved this. Not in a million fucking years. Ciaran must have done this to punish me. There was no other way.Michael was shifting from foot to foot as he waited for me out in the foyer. The receptionist looked uncomfortable at his presence. Glanced his way time and time again. Leaned forward, no doubt making herself smaller than she was.At least he wasn't in his combat gear. Donned normal clothes that were cut precisely to his body. Clearly tailored. A man with fine taste, then. Or someone who saw wearing anything but tailored clothes as a sin.Either way, I couldn't help the scowl that warpe
Adelia's Point of View The silence broke after another hour. Either because Michael was growing bored or because he no longer felt comfortable in it. I didn't know which but at the sound of his hard-timber voice, my insides flipped. As if I had forgotten the sound of it within the last hour. "Where did you grow up?" He asked. A mundane question to most. But not to me. Hell, it only scraped open a scab I had wanted gone for a long while. Breathing out, I twisted my legs to the side. Got a bit more comfortable in my seat. "Everywhere. My parents never believed in staying in one place for too long. Now I think I know why," I replied, keeping my tone light. Our earlier scrap could wait for now, then. We would most certainly hash it out once we were back safely in Lover's Quarrel. "And why is that?" "Because my mom is part of an exceptional bloodline that allows her to heal anyone she touches. She can even knock them out to help make the process go faster. And according to what
Michael's Point of View I had two days to get to the bottom of what had happened the night they took her. Two days and I had to set off on some ludicrous mission for Phaedra. Which wasn't enough time in the slightest. "Throwing someone in the kennels isn't going to solve all of your problems, Siya," Killian growled, following me back down the hall and out of the medical wing. "You heard the man. She went willingly. She took Nessa willingly. What more do you want to know?" Bristling, I ground my jaws together. Took a sharp left and headed for the other side of the compound. "He still didn't do his job. Why do I need incompetent wolves to think they can get away with something like that?" I seethed back. She had left. Granted, I didn't blame her. I would have done the same, regardless if she was my mate or not. Knew that freedom meant everything to wolves. But a pack meant more. And that's exactly what I thought we had become. A pack. Stopping short of entering the barracks, I f
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