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
Michael's Point of ViewAdelia fell asleep almost immediately after touching my arm. After we had spoken about our pasts. Or a fraction of them. The smallest fraction that didn't really matter.Only, it did somehow matter. Because the moment I told her about my domineering, perfectionist father, sadness and pain had entered her eyes. Slid across her face.As if she knew all too well how that felt. How that went.There was a bit about Felix, her father, in the folder Ciaran had given me before we set off. He had been involved in her getting kidnapped so I needed to know if he would show up or not. Now?Now I understood more than I had back then. The bastard had hurt her, no doubt. Was harsh on her.Sure, it had been something I was used to. Something that I managed throughout my life. But to envision her in the same situations I had found myself in... It stirred something dark and rageful inside of me. Seeped down to my very core and ripped away at my humanity.Was this what it was
Adelia's Point of ViewSleep danced around me for most of the night. Tugged me into its allure, just to spit me back out. And round and round it went.But this time, it was Siya or Felix plaguing my mind like they normally would. No. This time, a certain blonde-haired and blue-eyed Director stirred me awake the entire night. Shook me from my sleep with a wistful smile and stoic tone.Turning over every word we had spoken to each other, I came up empty-handed as to why he had left so suddenly last night. Why he had looked so utterly terrified of me for a moment.A deer caught in headlights.I had joked, obviously, when I asked it he was asking me out on a first date. The thought of going on one and pretending we were... normal didn't sit well with me. Honestly, I had thought that he might laugh as well. Fall into my couch the same way he had done the night before when he came to my private living room.But no. He had run like a bat out of hell. And I couldn't decide why he had done it
Adelia's Point of ViewOne moment we were staring at each other. The next, we were a flurry of lips, limbs, and teeth. Tangled deliciously in each other's embrace. Skirting whatever furniture went between us and the bed.The one place I wanted him to be.No, needed him to be.Other than between my damned legs. Calloused hands groped my midriff with fever. Pushed up my shirt over my abdomen as we went. Explored my skin so thoroughly that goosebumps broke out over it. Trailed up my body and down my arms.I flexed my hand in his hair. Tugged on it for more of him. A better angle to consume him. I broke the kiss seconds after that. Tilted my head up so that he could get an exposed look at my neck.Where his lips immediately went and trailed hot, wet kisses down. Grazed my collarbone with his teeth. Nipped at the sensitive flesh at the hollow of my neck.Another shiver shot down my spine.Tangling with him felt like playing with fire. Warmed me to the touch but knew that if I got too clos
Adelia's Point of ViewFear, genuine and tangible, crossed his face. Speared it, like a fish on the end of a hook. He backed away from me like he was burnt. Eyes wide. Lips trembling.All the while, cold hard reality kicked into me. Buried me under an avalanche of self-loathing that I couldn't fully comprehend.What was I thinking? Why had I done this? Given in to the high of him, to the mate bond? Why hadn't I restrained myself as I normally would?And then he came, across my chest like I was a whore, whilst calling another woman's name. Slowly, I rose to my feet. Jutted out my chin as I faced the director.This wasn't supposed to change anything. Fucking is a whole different ball game than accepting a mate bond. I knew this. Had toed the line with Siya once before. Yet never went fully over it. Knew that some part of me would-But the moment her name, whoever she was, crossed his lips, my high sank dangerously low and my heart sank with it. Had I thought this the first step to him
Adelia's Point of ViewNessa sat at the breakfast table when I walked in. Her hand was clamped around a cup of steaming coffee. Eyes seemed to stare into the distance at nothing.But she noted my presence instantly. Inhaled sharply when I pulled out the chair beside her. Yet her eyes never left that vacant spot."I thought you had run back to him yesterday," She murmured, a shell of her former lively self. I knew exactly the he she was referring to. Knew that some part of her had most likely hoped I would. Hoped I would come back to get her as well. But she wouldn't make it out alive if Phaedra got her hands on her now. She would rip the girl to shreds for not keeping me contained.Guilt clanged around inside my chest. Hollow. That's how I felt, especially now that I knew where I stood with Michael more than ever. And Siya, the man who had honestly tried, was betrayed by the woman he thought was growing closer to him."Were you sad when they found me in another pack only a few hours
Adelia's Point of ViewHalf an hour later we were walking into the meeting with our heads held high. Or as high as they could go with the two of us giggling all the way in.Everyone looked at us as we came inside. But their eyes instantly flashed towards where Nessa was. Narrowed in on the girl with razor-sharp precision.Ciaran, as always, took the head of the table in the boardroom. Dwarfed Alvara on his left, who sat with a scowl deep on her brow. To Ciaran's right sat Ozias, his Beta, and one of Alvara's other mates. No signs of Dargan and Maverick, Ciaran's Omega and Delta, respectively. And Alvara's other two mates. No doubt those two were off doing some or other errand for their Alpha. Ran amuck in the underworld with their dealings. Teagan also sat at the table, Bellamy her mate, and the Alpha of Desert Sun beside her. Along with her other two mates, Ulrich and Harland. Delta and Beta respectively of Desert Sun.It was only the men who scowled when Nessa came in behind me.
Adelia's Point of ViewThey got the uranium...The thought clanged through me. Sat on the tender spot right beneath my heart.Ozias carried on reading the report and beside me, I could feel Nessa stiffen. Saw how her face drained of color. Became ashy and close to death when they mentioned how Phaedra planned to use what she had gotten.One name also did that to me.Felix.He had done it. He had actually gone to Phaedra with the uranium the moment he found out I was there. Offered himself up, along with anything else they might need, in exchange for my safe return.I was touched and horrified at the revelation. Some part of him was still my father. Still cared, even when I no longer did. The report ended with Dargan's name. The culprit behind what we had just learned. That's why he wasn't here. He was somewhere up in Africa gathering information about what we were facing. What my capture made possible for the enemy."This leaves us with only a few options. We can either tell Regina
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