She excused herself. Solemnly once when she was outside, did she allow fear to cloud her vision. Questions were purring in her mind, redundant but frightening nonetheless. Why in the basement? Hadn't he shown her enough misery? Even as she douted him, she felt the need to go down and to see yet again the suffering. That despair shown across the faces of his victims would haunt her at night as if she didn't already have enough fuel for those dreams. She retraced the trajectory they had taken. First, she went up to the ninth floor, and from there, she used the second elevator, reserved for his personal use, and clicked the button. Again, she didn't feel the device move but watched as the numbers decreased while her anxiety increased. Something about this visit troubled her. A gut feeling that she was about to understand just how messed up and damned the Conqueror truly was. The acute voice of the machine brought her back to earth and she set her foot out. Stephan was already entering
The few days had passed at a slow paste. She wasn't sure how she felt about becoming the number one target of so many werewolves. From her guardians, she knew more or less how their underworld operated. Alliances, betrayals, hidden truths, forbidden lies, and so on happened as a daily occurrence. She also wondered what ensued to Milene's body, where was it, and if he had even bothered to bury her. She hadn't seen him for about 3 days. After her visit to the basement, she had gone home, washed a comedy show, and laughed until she felt sore and waited for guilt to occur. But nothing, not even remorse, she felt empty of such. She felt like a river, flowing down at a steady pace. They had done the final exam and the positions of werewolves in the brach had been distributed. As expected, she didn't receive a letter like the others. She knew she wasn't simply a member of the general army anymore. She had worked hard to become a captain, but the grey hammer had faded recently; it was now a
Stephen carefully walked into Akyl's office, taking precautions to not step on the papers on the floor. Akyl was sleeping in the canopy bed fully clothed. It wasn't a rare occurrence to see him sleeping in the late afternoon. He was in black attire: a black velvet Italian suit and a double-breasted blazer. His uncombed hair spread on his face, the curls had grown too fast, and his white leather gloves were laying next to him. Stephen contemplated the idea of waking him up so they could go and fetch his date. But as he looked at his sleeping boss/best friend, another idea crossed his mind: he could lie down with him. After all the work and cases they handled these past 3 days, didn't they deserve a break? But he knew this thought to be bad, undisciplined, and wrong. He passed his hand through his dark ominous hair and caressed his brown skin. He wished he could feel the little hairs there usually were on his beard but unfortunately, he had shaved. He wished he could see those dark b
He held her close, proximity enabling her to smell him. It smelled of forest, of burning wood, and male. His arm had snaked behind her waist and tugged her closer to him. He didn't seem fazed by his actions, and she appreciated the defensive posture he had taken. The inside of the Manoir was more elaborate than the exterior. The marble floor, the high ceilings, and the numerous paintings' beauty were accentuated by the chandelier light being reflected upon every place of the grand entry. She was in awe in front of the clusters of sculpted supernatural. As soon as they stepped into the hall, eyes turned in their direction. Raïna could feel their stares as they advanced and could hear the murmurs. "Don't be intimidated, a lot of them have fake jewelry, and others have been abandoned by their mates. They are jealous of you because you are better. Don't let anybody question you're right to be here. " Akyl murmured in her ear. She felt his lip brush her earlobe and felt goosebumps erupt
"Why does it come to you so easily to call me mate? " She wondered about that fact for a while now. She had trouble still adapting to the recent changes and the chemicals were still making her head feel fuzzy. "To what are you referring to? " He retorqued as they proceeded to the ballroom where a poor werewolf was about to meet his end. "Exactly what I said. Your way of calling me by what I am is disturbing, use my name. " She had picked another glass of wine, having soon realized that she was starting to like the feeling of being poisoned, with this type of chemicals at least; her wolf could easily digest them and they made the anxiety flutter away for a short while. Stephen who was hearing the conversation from behind them grinned slightly, being only too familiar with Akyl's way of speaking. "But anybody can call you Raïna, sole I can call you mate. Isn't it more beneficial to use the privilege I have to the full extent? " he casually brought her closer to him and started walki
"Well, that is what's called being frivolous. " Quevelerin commented as the doors to Ballroom 243 opened. Alpha Milan's room didn't resemble the others in the least. When the others were glamourous and polished, detailed, having been under the gaze of professionals to coordinate an assemblage of colors that would flourish the room, this one was particularly simple. Various colors were not coordinated. It felt as if a painter had splashed his paint bucket on the floor and walls, on the decorations and the furniture. Raïna turned her head slowly, she felt like in a museum or an exposition, admiring abstract art. "He's indeed a bit weird, Vinn Milan. " She meant it in a good way. Her eyes searched for the life of the party but once she saw the crowd, she didn't see the tall, powerful, all-muscles macho wearing a hoodie and skinny jeans she was expecting. She was staring at a man in a wheelchair being pushed around by an athletic man who seemed in his late 30s. "Is it him?", she asked, p
Akyl had blood on his hands. Not the image of people he had assassinated over the past decade but the liquid that flows through the arteries. He tried to recall how he stained his hands and clothes but ultimately gave up: his memories were too fuzzy. He looked around, confused. Where was Stephen? Why wasn't he in proximity? Since when was he left all alone like this? That's when he noticed: his hands were shaking, his heart was pounding furiously and his eyes began spinning. It was the closest to afraid he had been in years. But afraid of what, there was nothing. Precisely. But then, it stops. As suddenly as it came, the ushers in his heart calmed down, his view cleared out, and his hands stopped moving. Slowly, he began the hear a familiar voice and slowly came back to himself. "Akyl, do you hear me?" The worried voice asked. " For the MoonGodness sake, answer! " Akyl finally opened his eyes to see his best friend on the verge of crying. It calmed him down, knowing someone cared an
The night was high in the sky as she watched the moon she so adored. How things had changed in not even a few days! She should be falling asleep but his smell was everywhere. Her thoughts were fuzzy with the memory of his eyes and his lip and her embarrassment. So close, a few inches and she would have felt those plum lips on hers, and how badly she wanted that wasn't human. You are not human, stupid. His odor enveloped her in a tight embrace, surrounding her with a calmness, a stillness she had not felt in a while before falling into a world of dreams. When she woke up that morning, she looked beside her, where she had left her phone. 6 am, it read. 4 hours of sleep probably weren't enough for the stressful day ahead of her, but it would have to suffice. She shook the covers off her body and put her left foot on the cold wood floor. She had been pleasantly surprised that her affairs had been brought to the huge complex. She looked around again, still believing she was dreaming. Fo
"That wrench! That unworthy daughter my even stupider wife had given birth to hadn't come home still. " Anger boiled in his veins as Asher Remillians stood in front of the gentlemen. The only moment in her life when she could be useful was the exact moment she wasn't in his possession anymore. That infuriated the man even more as looks of reprimand played on the gentleman's face. He, who valued his pride more than anything, had no choice but to ask for their help. He knew that he simply couldn't go against the Conquerors with the fake power he had accumulated. "Asher, we will let you borrow our power for this fight alone. " The tallest gentleman, with a black fabric covering his eyes said. He had long been declared as their chief. " You have one chance Asher, one. We will only go against the Conquerors for only one battle. " He spoke slowly, instigating fear in the forty-year-old man. His baritone voice went lower and lower as his speech continued. " If, by mistake, you couldn't bring
Her heart thumped in her chest, and she could only hear the pounding of it, resonating like a tambour. She feared what her face looked like and a glance at his made her understand that she was doing a poor job of hiding how scared she was. She took several breaths, trying to calm down enough so she could talk, but her lips were quivering and she felt as if she was drowning as the seconds became minutes. He got up, came closer to her, and sat down in front of her, on the floor. She understood what he meant and sat down too, realizing that her entire body was shaking with the kind of panic she hadn't experienced in a long time. She crossed her legs and rhythmed her intake of breath with his. A couple of seconds later, she felt better. "Start at the beginning, " he said. She nodded her head and took out her phone, but faltered. No matter how needed it was that he saw the messages, it would mean everything would be revealed. It certainly didn't please her that he learned everything like
The days flew by, and a routine installed itself in their daily life. In the morning, she would cook breakfast and he made sure to always be there while she cooked. He wished he could help her, and had tried once, which resulted in a catastrophe, a mess they spent an hour cleaning afterward. Every single day, he inquired what breakfast would be, delighted by whatever it could be. For a reason that he could not grasp, she never made plain old cereals, the fastest, cheapest breakfast there was. Not that he complained. She would cook lunch, a simple sandwich or a soup or a salad, and would simply give it to him before smiling at him warmly and exiting. After that, they would dress and leave to go through the day. He soon realized that her help grandly benefitted him. She mostly provided support to Stephen and helped ensure the good functioning of the pack. It took a lot of workload off Stephen's shoulders which enabled him to fasten the paperwork and improved their efficiency. He
The night was high in the sky as she watched the moon she so adored. How things had changed in not even a few days! She should be falling asleep but his smell was everywhere. Her thoughts were fuzzy with the memory of his eyes and his lip and her embarrassment. So close, a few inches and she would have felt those plum lips on hers, and how badly she wanted that wasn't human. You are not human, stupid. His odor enveloped her in a tight embrace, surrounding her with a calmness, a stillness she had not felt in a while before falling into a world of dreams. When she woke up that morning, she looked beside her, where she had left her phone. 6 am, it read. 4 hours of sleep probably weren't enough for the stressful day ahead of her, but it would have to suffice. She shook the covers off her body and put her left foot on the cold wood floor. She had been pleasantly surprised that her affairs had been brought to the huge complex. She looked around again, still believing she was dreaming. Fo
Akyl had blood on his hands. Not the image of people he had assassinated over the past decade but the liquid that flows through the arteries. He tried to recall how he stained his hands and clothes but ultimately gave up: his memories were too fuzzy. He looked around, confused. Where was Stephen? Why wasn't he in proximity? Since when was he left all alone like this? That's when he noticed: his hands were shaking, his heart was pounding furiously and his eyes began spinning. It was the closest to afraid he had been in years. But afraid of what, there was nothing. Precisely. But then, it stops. As suddenly as it came, the ushers in his heart calmed down, his view cleared out, and his hands stopped moving. Slowly, he began the hear a familiar voice and slowly came back to himself. "Akyl, do you hear me?" The worried voice asked. " For the MoonGodness sake, answer! " Akyl finally opened his eyes to see his best friend on the verge of crying. It calmed him down, knowing someone cared an
"Well, that is what's called being frivolous. " Quevelerin commented as the doors to Ballroom 243 opened. Alpha Milan's room didn't resemble the others in the least. When the others were glamourous and polished, detailed, having been under the gaze of professionals to coordinate an assemblage of colors that would flourish the room, this one was particularly simple. Various colors were not coordinated. It felt as if a painter had splashed his paint bucket on the floor and walls, on the decorations and the furniture. Raïna turned her head slowly, she felt like in a museum or an exposition, admiring abstract art. "He's indeed a bit weird, Vinn Milan. " She meant it in a good way. Her eyes searched for the life of the party but once she saw the crowd, she didn't see the tall, powerful, all-muscles macho wearing a hoodie and skinny jeans she was expecting. She was staring at a man in a wheelchair being pushed around by an athletic man who seemed in his late 30s. "Is it him?", she asked, p
"Why does it come to you so easily to call me mate? " She wondered about that fact for a while now. She had trouble still adapting to the recent changes and the chemicals were still making her head feel fuzzy. "To what are you referring to? " He retorqued as they proceeded to the ballroom where a poor werewolf was about to meet his end. "Exactly what I said. Your way of calling me by what I am is disturbing, use my name. " She had picked another glass of wine, having soon realized that she was starting to like the feeling of being poisoned, with this type of chemicals at least; her wolf could easily digest them and they made the anxiety flutter away for a short while. Stephen who was hearing the conversation from behind them grinned slightly, being only too familiar with Akyl's way of speaking. "But anybody can call you Raïna, sole I can call you mate. Isn't it more beneficial to use the privilege I have to the full extent? " he casually brought her closer to him and started walki
He held her close, proximity enabling her to smell him. It smelled of forest, of burning wood, and male. His arm had snaked behind her waist and tugged her closer to him. He didn't seem fazed by his actions, and she appreciated the defensive posture he had taken. The inside of the Manoir was more elaborate than the exterior. The marble floor, the high ceilings, and the numerous paintings' beauty were accentuated by the chandelier light being reflected upon every place of the grand entry. She was in awe in front of the clusters of sculpted supernatural. As soon as they stepped into the hall, eyes turned in their direction. Raïna could feel their stares as they advanced and could hear the murmurs. "Don't be intimidated, a lot of them have fake jewelry, and others have been abandoned by their mates. They are jealous of you because you are better. Don't let anybody question you're right to be here. " Akyl murmured in her ear. She felt his lip brush her earlobe and felt goosebumps erupt
Stephen carefully walked into Akyl's office, taking precautions to not step on the papers on the floor. Akyl was sleeping in the canopy bed fully clothed. It wasn't a rare occurrence to see him sleeping in the late afternoon. He was in black attire: a black velvet Italian suit and a double-breasted blazer. His uncombed hair spread on his face, the curls had grown too fast, and his white leather gloves were laying next to him. Stephen contemplated the idea of waking him up so they could go and fetch his date. But as he looked at his sleeping boss/best friend, another idea crossed his mind: he could lie down with him. After all the work and cases they handled these past 3 days, didn't they deserve a break? But he knew this thought to be bad, undisciplined, and wrong. He passed his hand through his dark ominous hair and caressed his brown skin. He wished he could feel the little hairs there usually were on his beard but unfortunately, he had shaved. He wished he could see those dark b