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
Adriana's Point of View I was alive. Well, at least I thought I was. After all, if I wasn't, I was sure it couldn't hurt this bad. My left side still stung from where Alpha Brandon stabbed me with his knife. The wound was throbbing and aching. Why hadn't I healed fully yet? "Calliope?" I asked, hoping she would still be there to answer me. "Calliope?" She didn't respond, but I could feel her. It was like she was curled up, sleeping in the corner. There was also another sensation. Someone was holding my hand. I heard a groan. Was that me making that awful noise? Yes, I thought it probably was because I then heard Daemon asking me a question. What was he saying? "... are... awake?" I groaned again. It was definitely me making that sound, and it was Daemon who was holding my hand. "Adriana, are you awake?" he asked. "Water, please," I croaked. Although I hadn't opened my eyes yet, I was sure it was Daemon giving me a drink of water. I could feel the straw on my lips, and when I s
Mitchell's Point of View Two days ago, I rang Leon, my contact with the Council of Alphas and explained what had happened. They were unhappy that we hadn't informed them prior to going in to get Adriana, but at least Leon understood why we couldn’t wait. Leon advised me that he was sending someone to come and get the bodies. Then within the next week, they would send a representative to do a full investigation. I made my daily trip to the medical centre to see if Adriana was awake. I could have mind-linked Daemon, but considering how strained our relationship had become, I wasn't willing to risk him telling me to stay away. I was completely aware that our issues were mainly due to me and my interference in his life. If only he could see that my actions were due to my love for him, despite how much I had fucked up. Just like Daemon will need to make it up to Adriana for his part in this, I would too. My actions had put her in danger. The very opposite of what I intended to do. To mak
Daemon's Point of View "I want to make right the situation I got you and Adriana into," Mitchell said. "I also know that you want to make it right with Adriana. We both made mistakes, and an innocent young woman paid a dreadful price. Not only that, but we almost lost an important treasure." My father's words gave me pause. He was absolutely right, and I agreed with him. The question that remained was, how could I make it up to her? Going forward, what did I need to do to not only fix the situation but also make her realise how important she assuredly was to me. When I asked Mitchell this, his answer was, "Communication. The thing that you and I didn't do very well, which led to Adriana running away and putting herself in danger." He told me that even though Adriana didn't realise the danger out there if he had communicated that she and her mother had sought refuge here, I would have known to protect her. The communication between my father and me was not the best. It had never bee
Cole’s Point of ViewDawn broke over the city as the last of the Supernatural Council guards departed with the prisoners. Thank the Goddess that the docks were a rundown abandoned area with few to no humans. The warriors we brought with us cleared the area before the Council arrived.The rogues and traitors, shackled and subdued, were loaded onto the council’s enchanted wagons, their fates sealed. I stood beside Marc, our shared relief palpable as the weight of the past days began to ease. Lucienne stood a few steps ahead, her posture straight and proud, but I could feel the tension radiating from her.Marc and I exchanged a glance. She hadn’t spoken much since we found her. It wasn’t like Lucienne to hold back—she was bold and fearless, her emotions always worn like a badge of honour. But now, her silence was deafening, the weight of everything she had endured pressing down on her.She stayed close to us, her touch grounding. Whether holding our hands, leaning into us, or simply brus
Lucienne's Point of ViewTaking our prisoners upstairs, Elizabeth’s face twisted into a mask of desperation. “Reject her!” she demanded, her voice shrill. “Choose Beatrice instead. She’s been trained for this position her entire life. You grew up with her—you know her! She’s everything a Luna should be. Not some—some Gamma!”Her words grew more frantic as she continued. “Beatrice loves you! She’s ladylike and graceful; everything Lucienne isn’t!”Elizabeth was giving me whiplash. First, she mistook Marc and Cole’s Lycans for my parents, recognising that I am a princess. Then she called me a mere Gamma as if what she said previously was non-existent.Marc and Cole both laughed the sound deep and mocking.“You’re delusional,” Cole said bluntly.“As is Beatrice,” Marc added, his tone filled with disdain. “To think we’d ever give up our fated mate for something far less.”“As if we’d give up our fated mate for anyone else,” continued Cole. “Unbelievable!”Elizabeth’s mouth opened and clos
Lucienne's Point of ViewShaking my head, I couldn’t believe she couldn’t put two and two together to make four. My father had already told them I was his daughter the first time Elizabeth threatened me. It wasn’t hard to make the connection that if my mother and father were Lycans, I must be one too.Beatrice shook her head, her trembling intensifying. I guess she was that stupid. Her head sank into her hands, her muttering turning into unintelligible whimpers. Her disbelief and humiliation were all too much for her fragile ego to handle. Despite wanting Eric rather than my mates, she had built her entire life’s plan on lies and half-truths fed to her by Elizabeth. And now it was crumbling before her eyes.Behind me, I heard a sharp intake of breath. I turned my attention to Dwayne, who had managed to pull himself into a sitting position against the wall. His face was ghostly pale, his eyes darting between me and Beatrice. There was no fight left in him, no bravado. Just a growing, s
Lucienne's Point of ViewThe sheer arrogance of my captors. They thought they had me trapped, powerless. Fools.Now, Elizabeth and Rodney sat in the corner of the cell I had once inhabited, their faces pale as they realised they were trapped. Their façade of control had crumbled, and seeing the fear in their eyes was almost pitiful. They wouldn't escape justice. Not this time.For now, though, my focus was on someone else-Beatrice.Her betrayal wasn't personal. It didn't sting, nor did it matter enough to hurt.Beatrice was simply another obstacle to remove, a loose end to tie up. However, like Elizabeth, she was an instigator in my abduction. Beatrice was about to learn that actions had consequences, and I intended to ensure she faced them.Elizabeth's voice, shrill and panicked, broke through my thoughts. "You won't get out of here alive, Lucienne. Upstairs is full of rogues. By the time Marc and Cole get here, you'll die!"I smiled coldly. Well, as much of a smile as I could in Lyc
Rodney's Point of ViewHer gaze didn’t waver. If anything, it sharpened, her defiance burning brighter. I could feel the tension in the air as Elizabeth stood next to me, the whip in her hand.“Give me the whip,” I demanded, telling Lucienne that I was going to show her mates exactly why they needed to reject her.Elizabeth refused despite me making it clear that I didn’t want her to do it—not that it mattered. She wasn’t going to listen. Elizabeth was determined to be the one to strike Lucienne, refusing to let me handle it.“Just don’t go so hard that you kill her,” I said.I wouldn't let Lucienne die—not like this. Elizabeth saw no issue with it.To her, Lucienne was just another obstacle to crush. She didn't understand that there was no way I was going to allow her to kill Lucienne. I would kill Elizabeth sooner than I had planned. I couldn't risk losing her, not when I was this close to getting what I wanted.I watched Lucienne’s face when Elizabeth told her that Marc and Cole we
Rodney's Point of ViewShe was perfect—every part of her. From the way her dark mahogany brown hair clung to her damp face to the fierce glint in her amethyst eyes, Lucienne was unlike anyone I had ever encountered. Even in this wretched, decrepit cell, she exuded an ethereal quality that only made me crave her more.I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. Those eyes—by the Goddess, they haunted me. That purple—the most striking, vivid shade I’d ever seen—was like a curse, binding me to her in ways I hadn’t anticipated. They seemed to pierce through me every time she dared to lift her gaze. They weren’t like the dull brown or washed-out blues I was used to seeing in Wolf-Shifters. No, they shimmered with an otherworldly depth, glowing faintly even in the dim light of the basement. I’d never seen anything like it, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how those eyes would look, gazing up at me… filled with submission.My obsession with her had grown from fascination to a consuming need. S
Lucienne's Point of ViewI had no idea what time it was. The thick, suffocating darkness of the warehouse seemed endless. When Beatrice had ordered Michaela upstairs, she’d deliberately switched off the only powered light, leaving me to eat in the dark. The cold seeped into my bones, the stale air heavy with the scent of mildew and iron.My body trembled from exhaustion and hunger; the pitiful scraps they fed me were barely enough to keep me conscious. Thankfully, I was just like a human still, which meant I didn’t need as much fuel to sustain me—but even so, I still longed for her strength, her presence, to return to me.Yet, amidst the weakness, I could feel a faint shift—a flicker of hope. The activated charcoal was working, slowly but surely purging the wolfsbane from my system. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stoke a fragile fire within me.Curled into the corner of my cell, I clung to that flicker, willing myself to stay alert. My body was still weak and far from ready, but
Marc's Point of ViewThe moment we reached the edge of Charleston’s industrial district, our mood changed to serious mode. The dilapidated warehouses loomed ahead, their skeletal frames standing against the faint glow of distant city lights. The air was thick with the acrid scent of saltwater and rust, a sharp contrast to the quiet rage simmering within me.Every fibre of my being was screaming to charge in, to find Lucienne and end this nightmare, but I couldn’t afford to lose control. Not now. Not when we were this close. I glanced at Cole, who sat rigid in the seat next to me, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were bone white. His wolf, Blaine, was barely restrained, a growl rumbling deep in his chest.“Breathe,” I murmured through the mind-link, my voice steady despite the turmoil churning inside me. It was a simple command, but it carried more weight than either of us could have anticipated. I wasn’t sure if I was reminding him or myself.The tension from us was plain to
Cole's Point of ViewThe growl of the SUV’s engine echoed my mood—low and simmering with restrained fury. A day’s drive to Charleston felt like an eternity. Every kilometre of road we travelled was one less between us and Lucienne, but it didn’t feel fast enough. Every second on the road felt like a century.My Lycan, Blaine, prowled at the edges of my mind, eager to tear into anyone who had dared harm her. The fact that we had to wait to reach her made my blood boil. Marc sat in the back seat next to me, his posture rigid and his eyes locked on the road ahead, his knuckles white as he gripped the armrest. The fire burning in his amber eyes mirrored my own.Queen Adriana sat in the front with King Daemon driving, their presence commanding yet oddly comforting. Daemon had been our anchor through this ordeal, his steady voice reminding us that charging in mindlessly would only hurt Lucienne. Gamma Ellis was quiet beside us, his jaw tight as he stared out the window.Tension crackled in