Adriana's Point of View Alpha Brandon finally came back into the room. I don't know how long it had been since he left, but it seemed like hours. Even though there was no bed in the room, I managed to fall asleep lying on the wooden floor. I was starving and sore. The agonising throbbing in my neck was getting worse. To make matters worse, I had fallen in love with Daemon, and his betrayal left a void in my heart. "Here is some food," he sneered, dumping a tray on the floor next to me. "Enjoy it while you can." "And what do you mean by that?" I asked, absolutely sure that I didn't actually want the answer, but at the same time, some sick sense of wanting to know made me blurt it out. Brandon just laughed at me as if he were well aware of what I was thinking. I sighed, thinking he wasn't going to tell me what he had planned. Whatever it was, I was sure it would end in my death. Would that be such a bad thing? Wow! How had I gone from hoping for a chance to escape all the way to won
Daemon's Point of View The following two nights were hell. The nerve-wracking waiting for all the trackers to come back and report, hoping that at least one person had found Adriana. I knew it would take time for them to find her. A lot of preparation was needed for all the trackers to minimise their scent so they weren't putting themselves in danger. I totally understood this, but this was my mate and their Luna in trouble, and I was having difficulty reconciling priorities. Adam coordinated between the commanders, ready to put attack plans into action as soon as we had found her. Tyler spent his time organising the other work I would usually do. It was very remiss of me, but I couldn't concentrate on anything other than getting Adriana back. Tyler was also consoling me between jobs and ensuring Theo didn't take control and attack someone... anyone. "Alpha. Tyler. One of the trackers has come back. He thinks he's found her," Adam mind-linked us. "Meeting in my office now!" I order
Adriana's Point of View It had been two days that had passed since getting dragged off the bus. I was sure of it. At least Brandon is feeding me. I get two small meals daily, which consist of dry bread, some form of cooked meat and stale-tasting water. I was undoubtedly used to tastier food, but it is better than nothing. Prisoners can't be choosers. I know the saying was “beggars can't be choosers”, but I refuse to beg. My hands were still cuffed and causing welts. Despite this, I was not tied down in any other way, leaving me free to wander around the storage room. In one of the visits, Brandon gloated that the welts were caused by the silver handcuffs. I already knew this and told him so. He flipped his lid and had a massive meltdown. Easily riled piece of shit, although I might have used the word "doh!" while telling him. The look on his face when I laughed at him. At times, I thought my mum was nearby in spirit. Where I had felt like giving up before, I now felt like I would no
Daemon's Point of View We were in position. It had been torturous creeping up on the old packhouse like that, but we had managed it without getting detected. I only hoped we would be there in time, although if we had seen Brandon and his henchmen act, we would no longer have bothered creeping. With the full moon out, it was bright, and with our shifter senses, it might as well be daytime. So far, nothing had happened, but we still stayed in our positions, ready to attack. I took note of my surroundings in case there was someone else we hadn't accounted for. On one side, there was the large packhouse. Some other smaller buildings surrounded the open flat area on the other two sides. We were hidden on the fourth side, where there was long grass and some trees. All of the buildings were rundown, and it was noticeable that they hadn't been occupied for the last 18 years. It wasn't long before something happened. We watched Alpha Brandon enter the storage shed with the unknown woman, an
Adriana's Point of View "We are coming to rescue you." What? Moments ago, I had wished that Daemon was here to help rescue me, but I wasn't expecting it. So when he mind-linked me, I was shocked. For starters, the wolfbane compound I'd been given had finally worn off enough that I could hear him. Maybe, I could hear and talk to my wolf, though she still wasn't responding. Secondly, it was astounding that he was still trying to mind-link to me. Why on Earth would Daemon say that he was going to rescue me? I just couldn't comprehend why he would want to contact me or know that I needed rescuing, let alone come and rescue me. "Why?" was the only thing I could think of asking him. "Adriana, you are my mate. Of course, I would come and rescue you." I guess being fated mates wasn't something he could easily throw away, even if he wanted to. How would his new Luna feel about this? Surely it would have been better for them to let me go. Not that it mattered. There was no way I was going
Daemon's Point of View In our wolf forms, Adam and I raced towards Adriana, Alpha Brandon and the witch. Adam reached the witch before I got to Brandon and leapt at her. I could see she was fast, probably due to magic, and had managed to dodge his first attack. I was sure he would be fine, though, and I left him to it so I could focus all my attention on Brandon and Adriana. As I got into combat range, Adriana stopped kicking and hitting Brandon and turned partially to face me. I could see she was puffed and needed to catch her breath. It was not surprising because, with her hands cuffed in what looked like silver, she appeared to find it hard to keep the attacking momentum going. Not to mention, she was probably in pain from the silver touching her. Brandon had been clutching his throat the whole time I was coming at him, something that Adriana had done to him. Seeing that she had stopped attacking and had turned away from him, he fumbled with something on his right side. Suddenly,
Daemon's Point of View "Bring Doc over. Adriana has been stabbed with a silver blade. She isn't healing," I mind-linked to Tyler. "On our way!" he replied. Shit, shit, shit! There must have been something on the blade that is stopping her from healing. I held Adriana in my arms while trying to keep the wound closed. Adam came over and picked up the knife, smelling it. "Smells like wolfsbane," he said. "That'll be why Adriana can't heal. Her wolf will probably be dormant. Hopefully, it wasn't a large dose, but Doc will be able to tell." Fuck! Wolfsbane can be fatal to humans and wolves. If the dosage is large enough, it could kill not only her wolf but also her. If it is wolfsbane in her system, then there is no way she'll be able to use mind-link and shift into her wolf. Still, most importantly, she won't be able to heal as fast as was typical for shifters. She would only be able to recover like a fragile human. I continued to hold Adriana in my arms while we waited for Tyler and
Daemon's Point of View "Well, congratulations, Alpha. Your mate is pregnant." What? I couldn't believe my ears. Adriana was pregnant, and that meant she conceived during her first heat. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Given the way the doctor was congratulating me, I decided to at least act happy. "I need you to put a lid on this," I said to him. "I think Adriana and the family need to know before this becomes general knowledge. I will announce it at some stage soon. Doc nodded and left the room. I held Adriana's hand thinking about the news. The idea of having a pup wasn't horrible. It was just I was wondering what Adriana would think about it? Would she be happy or sad? We hadn't even discussed the Luna ceremony, and now a pup was on the way. Would Adriana even want a pup at this stage? We hardly knew each other and hadn't done much to cement our relationship. Correction... I hadn't done a lot to cement the relationship. If I had, Adriana wouldn't have run when she saw
I hope you enjoyed that short story. It was rather important because it was the beginning of the Supernatural Council, which is mentioned in Book 4.Book 4: The Gamma and her two Alphas follow Princess Lucienne and is set just over 18 years into the future. Lucienne is not entirely happy being a princess and certainly is not all ladylike like her mother, Queen Adriana, wishes she was. In fact, she can be a bit of a rebel at times and pulls no punches if you piss her off. Book 4 has been started and will be posted starting January 2025.Check out my I*******m page (nikoradepressedpoet) for pictures of the latest covers. Each book will be available in paperback. I am rewriting parts of Book 1. The covers for books 4 and 5 are already designed.
Asher’s Point of ViewAndreas fell to the ground, crumpling against the cold tiles, his body barely clinging to consciousness. The fury in his eyes was still present, but it was mingled with something else—fear. “You may have won this battle, but there are others who believe in the purity of Dragonkind,” he rasped, his voice barely a whisper.His words hung in the air, a twisted echo of the truth he could no longer deny. The irony was palpable; he had sought power through a dark alliance, yet he spoke of purity as if it still held weight. He had traded the purity he claimed to uphold for power, and now, even that was slipping through his fingers.Father stepped forward with the Council behind him, his expression one of grave disappointment. “Andreas, you and your father have sown discord among our people and disgraced your family name. T
Asher’s Point of ViewMy Dragon and I were enraged by Andreas’s words describing our fated mate as a dog. Rin placed her hand against my arm, its muscles tense and coiled tightly, fists clenched in anger. Her gentle touch acted like a soothing balm, softening my clenched fist.Slowly, I felt the anger beginning to dissipate, the pressure easing as I relaxed under her calming influence. The contrast between my earlier state and this new sense of peace was palpable, reminding me of the power of our bond. There was nothing Andreas could say that would make me turn against Rin. I would rather lose my crown than be without her.The tension in the council chamber was electric as Andreas continued to spew venom, his arrogance infuriating. I could feel the Dragon within me thrumming, eager for a confrontation. “Enough!” I
Christine’s Point of ViewThe air felt thick in the chamber, as if the magic that summoned Andreas and Viggo hung around, binding us in an unseen net of tension. Viggo’s face was drawn tight, his eyes flickering with a dangerous mix of fear and rage. At the same time, Andreas’ expression remained cold and calculating. His eyes darted around the room, assessing, scheming.Andreas recovered first, straightening as if pulling on an invisible cloak of authority. “What you claim is… nonsense,” he panted, glaring at Eiríkr. Fighting the compulsion to tell the truth was taking its toll and making him sweat. “I’ve been… nothing but… loyal… to our kind. This… is a… farce!” He was panting now from the sheer exertion.Asher stood tall next to me, his ha
Christine’s Point of ViewWe slowly made our way back, twisting and turning through the enchanted passages to the awaiting Council Members. Asher had already mind-linked his father, who assured him they would be waiting. We weren’t the only ones who had news since the archiver from the Council of Witches and Warlocks had found some interesting information.The Council Chambers buzzed with a quiet intensity. Though our alliance remained steadfast, the growing unrest among the Dragon-Shifter populace threatened everything we had built. Outside these walls, whispers of dissent were rising, fueled by fear of change and manipulation by those who sought to close our society once again.Asher stood beside me, his expression grim as he explained what we found in the books. “While we have nothing concrete at this stage, if we do
Asher's Point of View"So you think he's using his own son as a pawn?" Adriana asked.Her question was answered, "I think Viggo would use anyone—blood or not—to get what he wants." I agreed with Father. This was part of the reason why I didn't want much to do with my uncle, aunt, and cousins.My grandfather had forced Father and Viggo to take chosen mates, ones he thought were acceptable for the Royal Family. Both were well-educated, refined women from noble families.My parents had at least fallen in love eventually, even if they weren't fated mates. Father had never met his fated mate, or at least, that was what he had told me. When my mother, Áslaug (AWS-lough), died, he was heartbroken but still able to function.Viggo
Asher's Point of ViewThe council chamber felt colder than it ever had before. No matter how many fires roared in the hearths or candles flickered against the heavy stone walls, a chill seemed to seep into my bones. I couldn't put it entirely down to tiredness, even though I was exhausted fighting two battles in such a short time.No. It was a combination of many things. Andreas' smirk, the flames from the explosion, and the insignia of the Purists haunted me as I sat at the table, my hands clenched so tight that my knuckles were white.Rin sat beside me, her expression hard but eyes betraying the same exhaustion and worry I felt. It had been hours since we returned from the first fight, but with the second battle, we hadn't had a moment to breathe. There was no time for rest when the Purists were gaining ground. My cousin, Andreas, was
Asher's Point of ViewAs soon as Rin and I returned from the marketplace attack, we called for an emergency council meeting. The tension in what we now referred to as the council chamber hung in the air, thick enough to cut through.The servants had been busy changing the room. It was now a place of stark contrasts. Ancient banners from each species hung from the high vaulted ceilings, their vibrant colours dulled by the weight of war. The air smelled faintly of smoke and iron, a reminder of battles past and future.Every seat around the grand, circular table was filled. Dragons, Wolves, Vampires, and the Lycan King and Queen united under one roof. Yet, for some reason, it felt as if we were all divided by the constant threat looming over us.The Purists were growing bolder, and tonight
Christine's Point of ViewThe days that followed were a whirlwind of activity. We launched joint patrols, organised public gatherings, and ensured that every species—Dragons, Wolves, Vampires, Fae—was represented. It wasn't easy. There were still plenty of sceptical people, glares, and whispered doubts. But slowly, I began to see a shift.In the streets, I saw Wolves patrolling alongside Dragons. Vampires and Fae worked alongside Dragons in the markets to keep the peace. It wasn't perfect, and tensions were still simmering beneath the surface, but it was progress. And I started feeling hopeful for the first time in what felt like forever.Asher and I stood on a balcony overlooking the domed city one evening, watching as the lights of the stronghold twinkled in the darkness of the weir. The air was cool, carrying the scent of snow from ou