Zane’s POV
I watched Kayla storming away in search of her Beta. My lips pulled into a frown as I remembered how close I had been to marking her now. What would have happened if I had gone with it and actually did it? Maybe she would have stopped resisting me then?
Then I shook my head and let out a laugh. Knowing her, she would have just kicked me out of here and declared war on my pack. I would have to let her come to me on her own terms. Pushing her to a corner would only make her lash out and resist me even more… Till she realises what she is missing out, I would just have to wait. Pressing her buttons was fun, anyway!
Then my thoughts wandered to what happened with her Beta. The guy was so in love with her that a blind man would have known it. I wondered how my mate who was clever with everything else remained ignorant of it for all this while. I had realised that he was head over heels in love with her
Kayla’s POVAfter the confrontation with Ethan, my mind was in a turmoil. I couldn’t help but blame myself for not realising what he felt for me. How could I have not known about it for this long? I always took pride in my ability to find the truth from anyone with just a glance, and I was oblivious to what was right in front of me all this time. How could I have been blind like that? Maybe if I had realised it sooner, I could have told him off in the beginning itself and he wouldn’t have gotten hurt like this…Ethan was an amazing guy; good looking, powerful and most of all, a caring man. Any girl would be lucky to have him as her mate. Anyone except me. Because I just couldn’t be that girl. I was packed with too many burdens to have a man in my life, and if I was resisting my own mate whom the Goddess destined for me, how could I accept another man?I loved Ethan as much as I was c
Zane’s POVAs the ceremony continued, I smirked, thinking of what was going to happen. Though the Alphas normally lead the packs on the run during full moon, in the days where there are mating ceremonies, it was the newly mated couple who would lead the run. The rest of the pack would give them enough time to enjoy the run in their wolf forms for a while before joining them.But as I planned the ceremony, Kayla’s words kept ringing in my mind. She had told me to take all the decisions regarding the ceremony, and I thought, why not? Though I had stuck with the traditional methods in all aspects of ceremony, I wanted to change one last detail. I wanted to lead the run with Kayla instead of having the couple having the lead. I was allowed to take the decision, and I didn’t think Kayla would go back on her word of letting me handle the ceremony. That meant she would have to agree to my decision if I say that we w
Kayla’s POVI closed my eyes and leaned back into the chair with a sigh. My mind flashed back to what happened in the ceremony and a bolt of anguish shot through my chest. The hopeful expression of Zane as he waited eagerly for me to turn to my wolf form had sent a wave of longing and agony through my heart, even though I kept a blank expression in my face.In the seven years since I first changed, there were several moments when I had a battle between my mind and body when I resisted the change. But before today, there had never been a day when I actually wanted to go through it. Maybe if I had stood there a bit longer, his penetrating gaze would have undone all my resolutions. I may have even forgotten the consequences of changing and the reason for why I never changed all these years. How could a man affect me this much that I was on the verge of doing something so stupid? How could I forget that it would cost me everything
Zane’s POVMy mind kept wandering back to Kayla’s expression when I asked her to shift. The longing and the anguish in her face was heart wrenching... The question ‘why’ kept ringing in my mind. Why would she torture herself by resisting the change? How much agony she would have suffered by not changing for years? What could have happened to make her take such a decision? Whatever it was, I had to find it and help her tackle it. I wouldn’t let her subject herself to this torture for long. My mate deserved to be free and live her life to the fullest like every other wolf. I wouldn’t let her cage her wolf forever like this!Just when I had found such a serious matter, the damn council had to call me! I was sure that if I stayed a little longer, she would have cracked and told me what it was. Maybe I could even have made her fall for me and take back her rejection. Well, I wouldn’t let it obstr
Kayla’s POVI read the file on my desk and again, a set of mischievous amber eyes flashed in my mind, distracting me. This was the third time I was reading the same paragraph without comprehending a word. I pushed the file away from me angrily and rubbed my forehead.I couldn’t even get any work done from the moment my devil of a mate left my territory. I swear the man had done some black magic on me. The effect he has on me couldn’t be natural. One moment, I was cursing him, wanting him to leave, and when he did, his face was the only thing I kept seeing everywhere. I wanted to see him again just so that I could yell at him for causing me to act like this. If I saw him again, I was going to shake him and curse him for the havoc he is wreaking on my mind. Then I would kiss his perfect pink lips and trail my hands over his toned body while clutching him close to me so- Wait! What? Where did that come from?! No
Kayla’s POV“I am Sara Patrick, a member of the fae court,” said the woman, whom I had rescued from the Night shadows.After bringing her to the pack house, she had taken a bath. Her clothes were all dirty and torn after being hunted by the Unseelie fae. Hence she changed into one of my pack member’s clothes that were too big on her petite frame, making her look like a child playing dress up. As she sat in my office and sipped hot chocolate, she looked exactly like an innocent little girl with her wide eyes and tired look.Well, she was neither innocent nor a little girl. Though she didn’t look a day over eighteen, she must be centuries old because to be a court member, she would at least have to be a century old. The fae were almost immortal since they never aged past their prime and never died of natural causes. Only way of killing a fae was by stabbing them in their heart with an iron st
Zane’s POV(One week later…)The moment I came back to my pack, I started missing the golden-haired temptress who was my other half. I just wanted to turn and run back to her pack, forgetting everything else just so that I could be with her. It didn’t matter that she didn’t feel the same. I mean, it would have been awesome if she missed me too, but since she didn’t, only seeing her mattered to me. Even if it was only to just bicker with her and tease her, it was enough to cool the fire in my heart. Not to forget the occasional kisses that I stole when she was expecting it the least. If only I had a few more days, maybe I could have worn her stubbornness down and saved us both from this torture…Though I wanted to go to her again, I knew it wasn’t possible. At least, not yet. I had responsibility towards my own pack. Also, I would require her permission if I wanted to visit aga
Kayla’s POVAfter Sara left, days passed by slowly with the thoughts of Zane and the impending meeting with the Seelie Queen warring for my attention. Sometimes, I just wanted to forget everything and rush into the arms of my mate where I could stay safe and loved. Whenever that thought occurred in my mind, I admonished myself for my stupidity and snapped out of that daydream. Because it was only just a dream that will never happen. And I never needed a man to keep me safe, anyway.I tried to immerse myself in training the warriors and the next batch of weapons for the fae, but I was too wound up to be of much use. I couldn’t help but wonder if Sara would have even brought the issue to the Queen even though she was bound by her promise. Even if she did, it was just her who was indebted to me; the Queen didn’t have any obligation to fulfil my demand. I could only hope that she would be intrigued by the prospec
Three weeks later…Kayla’s POVAfter I killed Stephen, we searched the mansion and found the papers of his research. We destroyed everything to make sure that no one would ever get the idea to create a race of wolves with magic ever again. Once that was done, we covered our tracks and ensured we left nothing that led to us. Done with our work, we left the place since the spell that blocked us from escaping had already gone down by then.The next day, I announced our relationship to my pack since I had no more reservations about it. The man had literally faced death for me several times, and I loved him as much as I could ever do anyone. There was nothing that stopped me from accepting our relationship wholeheartedly. The pack received the news with far more enthusiasm than I had expected. Even Ethan appeared to be genuinely happy at the way I accepted Zane, and I decided that it was time to let g
Kayla’s POV I stalked towards Stephen, and he stood there looking at me with wide eyes. He was no longer sporting the smug expression from before, and he didn’t look interested in my wolf anymore either. “Kayla darling…” he called out in a coaxing tone that one would use to soothe an aggressive dog. I let out a loud growl at him and he flinched and took a few steps back. “I am your uncle, remember? I am the only one left in the world for you. You don’t want to harm me, right? You don’t want to be alone in this world, right?” The red in my vision darkened at his stupid words, and I snarled in response. ‘And whose fault is it that I have no one else left? Weren’t you the one who killed my entire family, you bastard!’ I mind linked him and his eyes widened in response. That’s right. He never left the pack officially, and hence he was still a member of my pack. And I am still his Alpha…
Kayla’s POVI looked horrified as the men laughed and approached Zane. I tried to hit my hand against the golden cage I was imprisoned in. But just like the last time, I was thrown off by the electric sparks from it. My hand sizzled for a moment before the burn healed. Well, it means the burns would heal at least. If I could just tolerate the pain, maybe I could break the cage?With renewed vigor, I took a few steps backwards, stopping right before my back hit the edge of the magical cage. Then I gritted my teeth, ready to endure the pain, and leaped towards the cage and kicked it. But all my efforts were for nothing. Even though I forced myself to endure the pain, it didn’t help like I had hoped. Instead of passing through the cage with some burns, it just repelled and threw me from it. I fell on the floor and panted hard, not even feeling the burns in my feet. My heart was suffering more pain than my body. If I couldn&
Kayla’s POVStephen looked startled at my sudden confidence, but then he smiled at me condescendingly.“My dear niece, I hope you have no illusions that you could fight against all of us? Being a girl and a measly wolf at that, you wouldn’t have stood a chance even if they were ordinary wolves. But with their magic, you have lost before you even start.”I didn’t bother to respond to him before looking over at the men next to him. With narrow eyes, I speculated about their strengths and anticipated their moves. I couldn’t ignore any details without knowing what would help me in dealing with them.“Aww, the little girl really is thinking of fighting us!” one man teased me.I walked backwards, and their eyes twinkled merrily, thinking I was going to run away. But they frowned in confusion when they saw that I just stood behind Zane.“Oh, the p
Kayla's POV I looked at Zane with wide eyes and slowly turned to see Stephen standing there with a wide smile. He looked just as I remembered. As if he hadn't aged a day since the time I saw him five years ago. Come to think of it, he looked even younger than how he looked then. Either the life was really good for him or he had a few tricks up his sleeves to keep aging at bay. Given the crazy hunger for power he possessed, he couldn't have had a peaceful life that prevented him from sporting grey hair. And from the magic raging around us, he was definitely dabbling with wizardry and I had a feeling that it was also responsible for his youthful looks. I looked at him with a blank expression pasted on my face and even though his face looked exactly the same as when I had seen him when he was younger, he felt different somehow. Then I realiz
Kayla’s POVAs Raymond got busy with shouting instructions to his loyal followers, I slowly slipped away from him and walked over to Zane, who was standing there with a sour look.“Relax. You know I don’t care for his attention, right?” I whispered.“As if you cared about that when you saw Maggie flirting with me.”I flinched at the reminder of the witch and bit my lips when I realised that he wasn’t clueless about her pining like I thought he was. I had to give Kudos to his act, though. Even I was fooled into thinking that he didn’t notice her efforts.I looked up to see Zane’s nostrils flaring, and then he narrowed his eyes.“Just as I thought.”Huh?Zane looked at me with a smirk.“Guess who is reeking of Stephen’s scent?”My eyes widened in the realisation that Zane got Stephen’s
Kayla’s POVI stared at the skinny guy who stood staring at the unconscious man with a proud expression. He dusted his hands off before looking around the hall as if waiting for anyone else to challenge him. People looked at him and then the brawny guy on the ground before scampering off while a few lingered around, praising his strength.I watched as the bigger man who was still unconscious was dragged away from the hall by his peers. For a werewolf to become unconscious and to stay so for this long, how much force should have been used on him? That too by a guy who looked as if he couldn’t even stand straight on his own.It smelled really fishy, and I just knew it in my heart that this was all linked to Stephen. I didn’t have any evidence that said so, but my instincts were screaming at me that this has Stephen written all over it and my instincts had never let me astray so far.As the g
Kayla’s POVWhen I thought of going to hunt Stephen, what I pictured in my mind was both of us getting dressed in badass spy costumes and searching for him stealthily until Zane gets his scent trail. And I thought it wouldn’t be much of a hassle since we were fairly certain that he was still somewhere in the state and we only needed to stop by in each of the towns before he could come across the vile man’s scent. We wolves could sniff out our prey for miles, and with Zane’s superior tracking skills, he could track the scents even farther than regular wolves.I had mapped it all in my head, and that’s why I was surprised when Zane declared his brand new plan that had nothing to do with what I had in mind.Zane had vetoed my grand plans by telling that it would look suspicious if we go to every town and sniff around for Stephen. He may get wind that we were searching for him, and we would nev
Kayla’s POVOnce Zane informed me that he got Stephen’s scent, I thought that we would start hunting him right away. But he insisted he needed to get some things done before commencing the tracking. My excitement took a nosedive at his declaration, but I decided I could use the time to check the snake’s diary.We locked the cottage, and I ignored Zane’s ill concealed laughter as I buried the key back in the plant pot. What is wrong with having a hiding place for a key?!When we reached the hotel room, I made a beeline for the couch and sat with the diary in my arms. I wanted to know what all nasty secrets it carried.Zane looked at me with amusement shining in his eyes, but seeing my determined expression, he left me to it before going to the balcony with his mobile.I opened the diary and noted that it was from the year of the rogue attack. For him to lock it in a hidden compartmen