Tentatively, I returned to perch myself on the edge of the bed, with no idea what to do next.
Alpha Travis had departed without a word, leaving me alone with no explanation or directions on what comes next.The feeling of uncertainty about what was to come next left me unsettled but simultaneously, his scent mingling with the natural air was oddly comforting."We will be safe here, with our mate," The female voice from earlier rang again and I frowned visibly, had I not locked her out?"We're one entity, you can't ignore me forever," She replied as if she had read my mind.It was no news to me that apart from shifting, we werewolves had a wolf spirit that we were connected to and that enabled us to have silent conversations, as well as share each other's emotions.She was right, I could not ignore her forever. Overlooking the fact that she had just saved my life, I needed her close to me to brave the uncertainties the future heldI followed him curiously as he led me out of the enormous building. For some reason, everywhere seemed deserted, a contrast to the flurry of activities that was ongoing when I arrived.We crossed a street and made our way down to another building with huge doors and two men manning it.They hastily pulled it open for him, bowing in subservience as he made his way up the stairs."Is everyone present?" Alpha Travis stopped to ask one of the men, lacing my already confused self with further confusion."Yes, they are all waiting for you inside," The guard dipped his head even lower as he spoke.Alpha Travis nodded then stepped through the threshold, throwing a glance behind at me, "Come on."His voice was frigidly cold with an air of authority, his face an icy mien and I hurriedly made my way up the stairs to catch up to him.He did not wait for me and was already walking forward.I finally realized why everywhere s
"Stairs, stairs," I mumbled to myself as I trudged through the dark hallways, trying to find any signs of the stairs Alpha Travis had mentioned.Who turned off these lights? I knew they were turned off because I could see extravagant light bulbs hanging off the high ceilings with not a speck of light in them.My gaze was still fixated on one when I missed a step that made my feet clack together before I came tumbling down the exact flight of stairs I was looking for.'This is bad,' I could not help thinking to myself when I lifted my head and my eyes met with Alpha Travis'.How I wish I could turn myself into a speck of dust and be blown away with the wind and not have to lay on the ground sprawled out embarrassingly before my mate."What are you doing?" His face creased as he looked down at me, looking like he could not understand why I was lying on the ground.Had he not seen me fall off the steps? I wished
Everyone began to leave one after the other right after Alpha Travis stood up.I was the only one still seated without a clue what to do. Dinner had barely just started and I had not even gotten a single bite because I was nervous yet it was already over."Sorry I ruined your first meeting with the family," Adriana reached to grab my hands over the table apologetically."It's fine," I replied with a simple nod of my head.What else could I say? A meal was not going to give me a sense of belonging or anything but what I was really worried about was Alpha Travis' silence before he left.Did he mind or did he not? Would he suddenly order for his sister to be killed or tear her to bits himself?I shook my head at the ridiculous thoughts I was having then stared at the plate of bone-in rib steak adorned with truffle butter with seasonal vegetables on the side that I was hesitant to leave."Let's go," I hea
I was still enshrouded in the haziness of the demanding kiss that had taken my breath away when Alpha Travis stepped away from me as abruptly as he had kissed me."Don't ever try to avoid me, you belong to me now," I swallowed nervously at the dangerous look in his eyes, yet I was unable to look away.It held me in place with tingles running all over my body.Still, my mind pondered what he meant when he said I belonged to him.My neck turned swiftly to the empty bed and my eyes widened in realisation.Would he force me to have sex with him and mark me?No, I was not ready, I did not want to.With that thought in mind, I shrank my body even further away from him, plastering my back against the wall in fear."You're scared of me." It was not a question but a statement.He was my mate and even without us standing in such proximity, I knew he could feel my emotions."Why, do you think I'm going to
"Miss, watch out!" Ann yelled, reflexively pulling me aside before a wolf running mindlessly through the streets could crash into me."What is he doing?" She huffed, her face reflecting her annoyance."Um, running?" I said with uncertainty, wondering why she was angry.She noticed the look I gave her and smiled awkwardly, "I don't like when others turn in the streets, they never consider the accidents they could cause."Well, she did have a point. There was a mix of wolves with furs of different shades and those in their human forms alike mingled together in the street we were passing through and the huge and looming form of those wolves made it a little challenging to navigate through the streets.Earlier, I had to jump backwards so I would not be squashed under their heavy paws."If everyone decides to morph now and then, no one would be able to do business, it's already rowdy enough," She went on complaining."I guess
"Don't just roam around however you wish, I will not be responsible for your safety," Beta Jay warned sternly then stepped past me to speak to the rest of the men behind me who I presumed were his subordinates."Ann," I called out and ran over to wake her. She groaned out loud before stirring then jumped to her feet anxiously, still in shock."It's okay, we are fine." I grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to a stop.She stilled in disbelief then turned her gaze to the right in time to see Beta Jay's men taking the body of the hybrid away."Wh...what happened?" She stuttered."Beta Jay saved us, we are fine," I answered, reaching out to pull her into my arms and patting her back comfortingly.From her reaction, it was easy to tell that she had never gone through such a frightening experience.If it had not been for the recent happenings that had taken place in my life as well, I would have had the same reaction.A
CHAPTER 18Ann was right, Alpha Travis was not just angry, he was brimming with rage, enough to send down a torrent of thunder and brimstone, enough to destroy creations if he were a God.He grabbed me by my shoulder, the same one that was hurting and slammed my back against the wall, repeating his words in the same terrifying tone he had used earlier, "Who the hell asked you to leave?"Tears pooled in my eyes at the sudden pressure on my shoulder and I fought it back desperately.They were not allowed to fall, at least not now.Judging by his question and the extent of his fury, I could guess that my mate had misunderstood my intention."I was not trying to leave, Ann took me on a tour of the Pack and we were suddenly attacked..." I was glad my words did not come out as a stuttering mess but they did trail off when he suddenly took a step back from me.He raised his hand off my shoulder in surprise, revealing a bloody i
I resisted the urge to ask Alpha Travis about what Ann had told me earlier, about being the Luna.It was a decision he had to make or had already made as the Alpha and if I had any chance of refusing that role, I had to talk to him.However as I sat across from him in the restaurant, I lost all courage.Soft music was playing in the background, whispers rising above it from the people seated around us but all I could stare at was the small flickering candle on the table.Earlier today, after Alpha Travis had left, I had spent the rest of my day with Ann, listening to her tell tales about the Pack and its wolves.Some were real while some were myths and fables they told each other to pass the time.Ann left when it was time for dinner, after reminding me not to be late.My mind was against the whole idea of having dinner with everyone, knowing fully well there could be a repeat of what happened yesterday or even worse.
MAYA'S POV"Shall we take a break?" Brook asked, swiping off the sweat on her forehead with a light chuckle.I was bent over on the ground, panting heavily, the action a little bit exaggerated. Exhaustion had gotten to me for the past hour, and I had been pleading to be given a breather, but she turned a deaf ear to me and went on anyway.It had taken quite a bit of play-acting and unnecessarily loud groans to get her to make this statement, so I hastily accepted before she changed her mind, "Yes, please, you might end up killing me before my enemies at this rate," I wheezed jokingly."You speak like you have any enemies around here, As far as I know, Jana is the only one who dislikes you." She spoke of it as if it were a well-known fact, and I was not oblivious to it either.I could feel immense hatred radiating from the other woman whenever we met. She opposed me at every turn and at every meeting the Éclat society held. With Adrianna's
TRAVIS' POVI could not stop thinking about what Maya had said earlier and wondering how that thought was conceived.Ever since she arrived, I was sure I had done my best to make her feel comfortable, and Adriana had done even more to help her settle in, but I guess that was not enough.She and I had started off on the wrong foot, not that we did not exactly get along, but I felt our relationship was too stiff, which was partly my fault and ever since I realised that I have been trying to bridge that gap.When we got back home, I went up to my study first, leaving her behind to converse with Adrianna while I called for Jay to inform him of the new development with the hybrids."You don't seem too happy to hear that," I pointed out, knowing his stance on the whole issue was the same as mine but after I spoke on what Julian and I had agreed upon, he did not reject it either."I'm not unhappy about it," Jay sighed, slumping into one
MAYA'S POVTravis' sudden question stunned me and I hurriedly denied it, "I didn't cry.""You did," He answered, he did not seem like he was trying to confirm it but was making a statement because he knew it was true."I..." I stuttered, suddenly feeling humiliated that he had seen me when I tried so hard to hide it.I struggled to come up with a lie or at least a reasonable excuse for why I had cried but could not come up with anything good so I decided to be honest and come clean, "I just felt so overwhelmed by the fact that you do not consider me a stranger," I answered, trying to play it off like it was nothing when that single statement had in fact made my when day."That's why you cried?" He creased his brows just a little bit, his face momentarily tightening in confusion."It sounds like an exaggeration to you right," I laughed mildly, unable to keep my smile up for long."Actually, it wasn't," I answered with a c
MAYA'S POVThe return back to the Alpha's tower was silent, many times I had attempted speaking but chose to keep silent each time upon second thought because I did not think Travis wanted to talk to me.Sylvia had stayed back to properly finalize things with Julian, so I and Travis had ended up alone.He was driving, and I was seated next to him, my face stuck to the window as I pretended to admire the landscape."You should have told me," He spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence and I turned to face him, my lips parting in confusion, "Huh?""If you knew that the hybrids had a counter for the disease, then you should have told me earlier," He repeated, glancing at me for a minute and then turning his gaze back to the road."Um...well..." I struggled to form a proper sentence, then sighed, gathering my words, "I did not find out until much later, too; Sylvia helped out as well."I was not sure if he heard what I said u
"Alright, I agree to a ceasefire. You will stay off my land, and I will keep from yours as well; you can have the Gold Moon Pack territory. Based on Maya's proposition, Sylvia will act as a middleman and handle any business we might have with you. However, as compensation for the loss of lives you have caused me, we will deal with you at a much lesser rate than the others." I exhaled a breath of relief, and Travis dropped his words of concession quietly, taking a step back by agreeing to my suggestion once again.It gave the illusion that I was the only one present capable of making him change his mind.Julian grunted, and Alex leaned closer to mumble something to him quietly and instantly; his expression eased. As for him as well, this was the first time I had seen him have any expression that resembled calm.Both he and Travis had gotten really angry earlier and had a violent faceoff. The broken table in between us and Julian's bruised face was evidence
"Alpha Travis," the blond-haired man seated on the other end of the large table, directly facing Travis said, his voice dripping with distasteThis was Julian, Sylvia's half-brother, and true to her description of him, he was a man consumed by rage and hatred and had a permanent scowl on his face as if anger was his default state of being. Travis, on the other hand, seemed more at ease, as if he were a mere observer and not an active participant in the tension that filled the room."Julian," Sylvia called, her anxiety written all over her face as she switched glances between both men."I was told you had plans to eradicate not only myself but my people. I did not think you could be so cruel, Alpha Travis," Alex inputted, his frame of mind much calmer than Julian's and for a minute; I was grateful for his presence.At least he was guaranteed to keep Julian in check before an explosion of anger occurred between him and Travis.Tra
Hard to believe that this was happening but it was.The jolting movement of the carriage as the horses moved confirmed it, and so did the overwhelming scent of the man next to me and the faint smells of the wolves following behind us I could pick up on.Cameron and Sylvia were in the carriage behind us, accompanied by some of Travis' trusted guards, and I could very well imagine the situation within. It was surely no different from ours.I was seated with my hands clasped between my thighs, regretting my decision to throw a regular tank top over a brown bootcut trouser and as the name implied, I was on a pair of boots.Travis was dressed in warmer clothes, cosy even with a thick outer jacket casually draped over his lap.Oh, how I so wish I could snatch it right off and put it on.In actuality, knowing Travis, he would have handed it right over to me but I guess he was still angry. Still unable to accept all that I had done despi
The air in the room seemed to freeze, going several degrees lower as Travis's presence filled the room overbearingly.His eyes were cold and sharp, like the edge of a blade, and his muscles were filled with tension as his eyes scanned both of me and Sylvia with demanding scrutiny.Sylvia's breath caught in her throat, all the colour draining from her face as she swallowed, her wide eyes flicking from me to him.I was sure my expression mirrored hers; my throat felt constricted and dry, and I could not formulate a quick response, gaping instead at him as his face hardened even further, "I asked you a question.""Travis," I pushed past the lump in my throat to say, my growing fear a chasm that passed between us.How should I begin to explain that Sylvia had come to seek my help to disrupt or at least stall his plans, and I, on the other hand, had made an instant decision not to tell him in favour of her? I had even hidden the fact that I ha
"What do you mean by that? What problem?" I asked, my brows knotting into a frown as I stared at her face searchingly.We had parted just a few minutes ago, so I wasn't expecting to see her so soon or that she would suddenly grab me.Her face was lined with worry, fear reflected in her wide-open stare, "Alpha Travis, he's planning a hunt.""A hunt? Why is that a problem? Isn't a hunt normal?" I questioned in bewilderment. Most werewolf Packs I knew frequently organised hunts to hone their skills and survival instincts so I could not understand why she was so anxious about that."No, no, you don't understand," She shook her head vehemently, "He's planning to hunt down the hybrids, he's going to kill them all."The realization of what she meant finally dawned on me and my eyes widened in shock, "Kill them all? How?"."Their trip to Chantel Ridge wasn't so simple; their true intention was to purchase Nightshade.""Nightshad