-Andrew-‘Corrine? Where are you? What happened to you?’Our bond as mates allowed us to communicate through the mind link at any distance. It was something I had only heard of once and had forgotten about because I thought I would never have a mate.Now I was grateful for this ability.‘My family locked me up.’I could almost hear the tears in her voice, and anger once again overcame me.What kind of family locked up their own daughter?‘Did they hurt you?’‘No, no. I’m fine.’‘I’ll come get you.’I heard the panic in her voice as she said, ‘Don’t! They’ll definitely kill you if you come here!’‘I’m not coming alone, Corrine. And they will never catch me.’There was no answer. ‘Corrine? Are you still there?’‘Please, don’t come, Andrew. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m sure my family will release me soon and send me back to Golden Valley. They’re a good family. They’ve never hurt me.’I imagined her face when I heard her begging me like that. Oh, fuck, I missed her already
-Corrine-Before my mom could shift, I jumped in front of her and spread my arms. “Mom, please!” My tears welled up without me asking, and I knew my mom could never see me cry.Her anger died out and was replaced by compassion. “Oh, Corrine—“ She sobbed. “What kind of abyss have you fallen into?”“Mom, he’s my mate.” My hands fell to my sides and clenched into fists. I wanted to hug her, but I was afraid. Afraid that she would suddenly change her mind and pull me away, separating me once again from Andrew.This was a tough situation, and my heart was torn in two. For my mom and for Andrew.“Please, don’t hurt him.” I was very careful when I said that. My hand reached out, about to rub her arm, but stopped midway before I dropped it to my side again.This was the first time I hesitated to touch my own mother.“Are you sure he’s your mate?” My mom’s face was wet with tears, but she was no longer crying. Her hands wiped away the streams of water on her cheeks. There was no smile there, b
-Corrine-I screamed and jumped back, trying to avoid the sudden attack. But the woman’s movements were so fast. She clawed at my arm, tearing at my clothes and skin.Blood rushed onto the carpet, and I winced at the pain.“How dare a werewolf enter this house?!” the woman bellowed. Then she glared at the maid. “How could you let her in?!”The maid seemed to have expected this situation to happen. She looked surprised but kept her calm demeanor. “She’s Mr. Ashbridge’s guest.”The maid’s reply made the woman’s eyes grow wider. She jerked her gaze to me. “You?” The tone of her voice showed disgust that she made no effort to conceal. “What’s your relationship with Andrew?”“I—““She’s my mate.”All three of us were stunned to hear Andrew’s voice. My heart poured relief into my tense body when I saw him appear in the doorway. He looked at me, then his expression hardened at the blood on my arm.In two wide strides, he came over to me, pushed the woman and the maid out of his way, then tou
-Corrine-My stomach tightened at the challenge Leana threw at Andrew.“He has to fight with one of us! Isn’t that the rule for a lycan who wants to join our alliance?”“My niece’s right,” the man said. “She must fight and prove her worth. Whether she deserves to be in this alliance.”So the man was her uncle. No wonder they supported each other.A second that felt like an hour passed as I waited for Andrew’s answer.“Don’t you understand the meaning of the word ‘mate’?” Andrew growled. “She doesn’t have to prove anything because she’s my lover. It wasn’t her who wanted to join our alliance, but I brought her here.”“But—““Once again you make a fuss about this, I’ll kick you out of the alliance,” Andrew cut in firmly. “Isn’t that the rule? That as the leader, I have the right to do that?”“Ever since you replaced your father’s position, I’ve always supported you. But this is what you’re giving me in return?”I could feel the depth of Leana’s feelings for Andrew in the sentence she ha
-Corrine-“Give us a minute.”Andrew stepped back and pulled me with him, then he slammed the door right in Bent’s face. After that, he put his hands on his waist, sucked his lips, closed his eyes, looked away, and then took a deep breath.Without anyone needing to tell me, I knew he was upset. Very, very upset.“What—for fuck’s sake—are you thinking?” he asked in a trembling voice, with the emotions that must have been stirring in his heart. “Do you know who Leana is?”I knew he didn’t mean to look down on me or compare me to Leana to make me feel inferior. But hell, I didn’t like the way he asked me.I folded my arms across my chest. “Do you know who I am?”“Are you a warrior in your pack?” He puffed out his chest and leaned closer, challenging me with his gestures and piercing gaze. “Are you highly trained in combat? Do you, as a werewolf, fight often?”For a moment, I flinched. All the answers to Andrew’s questions were no, I wasn’t a warrior, and I didn’t fight often or highly tr
-Corrine-All eyes were on me as I entered the fighting arena with Andrew.The fighting arena was similar to the gym at my high school in Wesgrove, with a high, curved roof and a large room without partitions. Only here there were no stacks of mats and basketball hoops, but an arena bordered by ropes, similar to a boxing ring.In the center of the arena, I see Leana. She was stretching when I arrived and she stopped to look at me.The murmurs of the alliance members built up around me. Their gazes momentarily made my knees wobble and I could feel their aura as lycans, which I admit was stronger than the aura of the werewolves.My hands clenched and opened, a sign that I was feeling nervous. But I tried to push those feelings aside and instead recalled everything about Leana that Andrew had told me.Besides the fact that Leana was one of the alliance’s top fighters, there was a lot of other information I had received from Andrew. The most useful fact was that Leana was very weak in pro
-Corrine-I woke up to a groan and a jolt of pain.It took me a few seconds to realize that the groan was coming from my lips.My eyes slowly opened and the first thing I saw was Andrew. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on me.“Where am I?”“My room.”He helped me sit and let me catch my breath, feeling the presence of all my limbs.“I thought I was dead,” I muttered as I raised my hand and examined my fingers. I winced as I moved my shoulder and then I glanced at it. That’s when I realized I wasn’t wearing any clothes. I could see a pretty wide scar there.“Leana hurt you pretty bad,” Andrew murmured, following the direction of my gaze. “I thought it would never heal.” He reached out and grasped my hand. “I thought you would never wake up again.”He lifted my hand and brought it to his lips, then kissed it as he closed his eyes.I felt that what he was doing was overly dramatic, but I didn’t understand why he was acting like that. “I’m not dead,” I grumbled. “Sto
-Corrine-As soon as I heard my parents being dragged into this conversation, I sat up. “What?!”Andrew, sleeping next to me, was startled, and he woke up with a wide-eyed look. “What’s wrong, baby?”I ignored him and continued talking to Eva. “What else did he say?”“Um—he said that you should read the letter and contact him as soon as possible.” Eva cleared her throat. “Is everything okay? Are your parents in danger?”I wanted to say that my parents were fine, but I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t impossible for Jerome to do something to them, and Trevor couldn’t do anything if none of the pack members defended him either.The news about me running off with a lycan must have spread within the pack and I was sure they all hated me now instead of sympathizing with me because I had found my mate.“I don’t know,” I said then, trying to be at least one bit honest with Eva. “I’ll come to pick up the letter. When do you finish classes?”After Eva gave me her schedule for today, we ended the convers
-Corrine-The scream froze everyone in place, and together they looked back and forth between me and Andrew.“You cheated!” accused the teenage girl. “You deliberately distracted us by accepting this fight, and then you had your friends create chaos, didn’t you?!”“No!” I yelled. “I would never use such a cheap trick!”“You are cheap!” the girl shrieked.Rage boiled in my chest. I had been holding back, tolerating her insolent attitude, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I dashed to her and slapped her cheek as hard as I could, making her stagger and nearly fall.“Did your parents not teach you any manners?!”I still wanted to hit her again, but a few people ran toward us and separated us before the fight escalated.“That’s enough, Abby!” shouted Harry, who held the teenage girl back. I remembered her now. Abby. She had always disliked me because Jerome paid more attention to me.“We should have killed her!” screamed Abby as she struggled in Harry’s grip. “She only brings trouble to this
-Corrine-Believe it or not, the first fight was won by me.I had just defeated one of the strongest warriors in Moon Dust. And it wasn’t just me who was surprised; all the pack’s members who were present there were stunned, watching as Sam was thrown to the ground after I landed a fatal blow to his chest.Harry counted to ten, but he didn’t get up.“The first fight is won by Corrine!” he announced, and only Andrew clapped and cheered.“Five minutes break for you, Corrine. After that, you’ll face another candidate,” Harry said then.Sam had returned to his human form—he was still breathing, thank the Moon Goddess—and some people pulled him out of the arena.I walked over to Andrew at the edge of the arena. He unfolded a robe for me, and quickly wrapped it around me the moment I turned back into my human form.“That was awesome, babe,” he praised, grinning.I returned his grin weakly. He told me to sit down, then handed me a bottle of water, which I chugged in one go.“He was a tough o
-Corrine-Even though I didn’t want it to, the day I dreaded the most finally came.My heart raced faster as the car carrying me entered Moon Dust territory. Harry and the pack members were waiting for me in the front yard of the Alpha’s house. Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a welcoming party, since no one smiled when they saw me step out of the car. Even Harry looked more tense than I was.“Dad,” I greeted softly, nodding my head. My eyes instinctively darted to his side, and my heart sank with disappointment when I didn’t see my mother there.“Your mom is not feeling well,” my father said. He knew who I was looking for.I pursed my lips and exhaled. I didn’t ask further about her condition because I didn’t want to hear the reason why she was unwell. I’d bet my life it was because of me.“So… who are the challengers?” I asked, scanning the warriors and pack members surrounding me.My father shifted awkwardly. “Most of them wanted to challenge you, but—”I swallowed hard. *Most of t
-Trevor-“Shit,” was the first word that escaped my lips. The next thing I did after cursing was to push Leana off my body. I got up as quickly as I could and ran out of the arena to chase after Eva.My eyes stayed focused ahead, searching for Eva. I could see her back in the distance. She was half-running down the corridor, heading toward the main mansion building. I quickened my pace and caught up to her.“Ev—” I said after grabbing her wrist and pulling her, forcing her to turn toward me. “Ev, wait. Listen—”Eva yanked her hand away and grasped her wrist with her other hand. Her gaze was vacant as she looked at me, and her lips curved into a bitter smile. “Congratulations, Trevor,” she said, her voice trembling.I spread my arms in confusion, frowning. “Congratulations for what?”“For dating the hottest girl in the alliance.”“We’re not dating,” I denied, my tone too insistent, making it sound like I was hiding something.Eva crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed. “Oh, so you
-Andrew-Seeing and hearing Eva say those words to me made me briefly think of Gary. But this wasn’t about some horrible obsession; it was pure desperation.“No,” was the first word I said, a firm rejection that made Eva flinch.“B—but, Andrew… I’d be able to protect myself if I became a lycan like you all.”I shook my head. “That’s not how it works, Ev.”“Andrew—”I pointed sharply at the door, my eyes wide. A flash of guilt hit me as my action startled Eva, but I continued anyway.“You’ve seen how Corrine struggles to live her life as a werewolf, haven’t you, Ev? She was born a shapeshifter, yet that doesn’t automatically mean she’s great at fighting or can protect herself all the time. Becoming like me—like Corrine—won’t magically solve all your problems. You’ll only fall deeper into the dark side of this world.”Eva’s mouth opened and closed, her eyes trembling. She was probably trying to craft a solid argument to counter what I said, but I knew she couldn’t find one.I stood up f
-Corrine-I had never imagined there would come a day when Leana said something like this that she was proud of me.“It’s… kind of weird,” I said, half laughing. “You, out of all people, said you are proud of me.”“I know, right,” Leana laughed along with me. “But that’s the truth. I wouldn’t say such a thing just to please you. So, go out there, meet your pack, and kick their asses.” And then she added, “If you want, we can do two more training sessions, tonight and tomorrow morning.”My brows shot up. “Really? But… how about your condition?”Leana rolled her shoulders one by one and snapped her head to the left and right. “It’s not like I am paralyzed, Corrine. I just cannot shift for a moment. I still can fight.”I grinned. I didn’t know when, but I gradually loved her spirit and her personality. She was a true badass. “Alright, then. Thanks.”Leana returned my grin. “No problem.”*After we finished talking, we walked back into the mansion and straight to the treatment room. Leana
-Corrine-Tomorrow night? Had my father lost his mind? Or was he trying to get me killed?“That’s impossible,” I said, feeling anxiety surge within me. “I—I can’t even beat Leana! How could I possibly defeat those fucking warriors from my pack?”“Corrine—”“I—I think it’s better if I just surrender, Andrew.”“Corrine, listen to me—”Andrew tried to reach for me, but I swatted his hand away before he could touch me. Then I walked out of the treatment room.I didn’t know where I was going, and eventually, I ended up sitting in the backyard of the mansion, on the bench I always sat on whenever I felt restless.I buried my face in my hands.What was I even thinking all this time? Trying to show them I was strong? Who was I kidding?I was born a werewolf, sure, but I wasn’t that strong. Defeating Leana and killing Jerome was nothing but pure luck.“Hey.”I jumped and looked up. “You. What are you doing here? Are you feeling better?Leana gave me a brief, lazy smile. “This is nothing,” she
-Corrine-The deeper we went into this, the more complicated it became.I followed Andrew and Bria down the hallway, to a part of the mansion I had never been to before. There, in a large white room that almost resembled a laboratory, I met several other lycans whose faces I’d only glimpsed in passing before.“Andrew,” greeted a man—he looked to be about Bria’s age—while motioning for Andrew to come closer.Even though Andrew had told me he didn’t want anyone else to know about his family or what we were investigating, that no longer seemed to apply. Not after we had to ask the lycans for help to save Trevor and Leana.I followed Andrew as he approached the man. On the table in front of him were several blue flower petals glowing faintly.“Wolfsbane,” Andrew murmured, studying the petals.“Yeah.” The man nodded.“Larry found something interesting,” Bria said. She joined us, standing near the table and examining the flowers.“What do you get?” Andrew asked.“So, apparently, this flower
-Andrew-A small door beneath the desk swung open when I pulled the knob. Dust flew out, some clinging to my nose, and I wiped it off.There were books inside. I reached in and took them out, frowning as I examined their brown leather covers. These books looked ancient, with pages yellowed and browned, exuding a strong musty smell.“What do you find?” asked Corrine. She bent slightly from where she stood but didn’t force herself to squeeze under the desk with me.“Books,” I muttered, still inspecting them.I crawled out and placed the books on the desk. Standing up, I put my hands on my hips. Beside me, Corrine leaned in to examine the books as well.She reached out as if to touch one, but then hesitated. Instead, she looked at me and asked, “May I—?”I paused before answering, “Yes.”Only then did Corrine pick up one of the books—the largest of the three—and carefully open it. On the very first page, we saw elegant, looping handwriting, as though written with great care.Personal Not