The way he had me backed up against the chair reminded me of an alcove, a space where he could freely intrude on my privacy with a sense of intimacy like right now.
My shoulders bumped against the leather fabric of the sofa, cool to the touch."Um, Travis," I cleared my throat awkwardly, glancing behind me for a way of retreating from the hunger that was written visibly in his eyes."A nice upgrade from Alpha Travis," He mused amusingly, his hot breath fanning my face.He lowered his head and his lips, smooth and silken, laid a feathery kiss on the side of my neck, one that made my toe curl involuntarily.Right from the moment I laid sight on this man, I thought he was the most attractive person I had ever seen yet I was scared of him, scared of what he could do to me and terrified of what being his mate meant and how it would change my life but right now, it all didn't matter.All I could focus on was the warm pressure of his liThe next morning, when I woke up, Travis was gone like always.His side of the bed was cold, without the warmth I had felt from snuggling up close to him.I thought it was an illusion but realized it was very much real the minute I opened my eyes.Being with him brought me a sense of comfort I had not felt since my Father died, yet it brought a sense of fear too.What if what happened with Shawn repeated itself? The thought of that kept my heart, which was itching for affection from my mate, under control.I let out a heavy sigh then got up and began to lay the rumpled sheets when a knock sounded on the door."Anne," I muttered with a smile; her soft, milky scent tended to herald her arrival before the person herself showed up.Straightening my body, I smirked in satisfaction at the perfectly laid bed then walked up to the door to pull it open."Good morning, Miss Maya," Her voice rang out cheerfully,
"Adriana, you always forget everything," Cameron chided, casting a worried look at my expression that had gone pale almost instantly.I cleared my throat then tried to muster a smile, "It's okay, Cameron. It just happened much sooner than I thought."Adriana scratched her head guiltily, "Sorry Elara, it skipped my mind."Between news of the Pack settlement that had suddenly popped up unexpectedly and her other duties in the Pack, I could understand why she would have forgotten."Are you nervous?" I snapped my gaze towards him in surprise when his calm, collected voice suddenly filled my head.How did he even do that?I was still lost in my surprise when Travis raised a brow questioningly, waiting for my answer.His words seemed to have boomed in my mind like how I thought my voice sounded whenever I was talking too loudly.Having no idea what to do to establish a mind-link just as he had done, I simply nodded my
"So what do I do?" I asked, facing a woman I could only regard as the Female Version of my mate.She had not so much as spoken a word to me since I arrived and all I had gotten from her was a nod of her head in reply to my greeting."You can stay and watch if you want," She responded, still giving me barely any information on whatever I was meant to do.Stay and watch what exactly? I was at a loss.She came down from the observation deck which was essentially a high vantage point that allowed overseers and trainers to monitor and analyze training sessions and also had communication systems to provide feedback and adjust training programs to a large open space that seemed to have reinforced floorings to withstand heavy impacts put in place, where there were other females in the same bodysuit as her standing.From what I learnt from Anne who had been here before, there were various rooms specialised for different purposes.There wa
With Jana's goading and the eyes of the other women fixed on me, I took slow steps down the observation deck, knowing I could not avoid this confrontation.I had no idea what level Jana was on but I could guess it was much higher than mine, enough to give her the confidence to challenge me.It could hardly be considered a challenge because I had not agreed to it but the looks of the Female surrounding me told me I had no choice.They seemed curious to know how strong the Luna that had been thrust in their faces was and each of their looks were expectant.My guts churned and my pulse raced because I knew...I knew I was going to fail, and miserably too."I came here to support and learn, not duel with you," I tried to keep up a calm expression, hoping this was enough to make Jana give up."The Luna must be a scaredy cat, already trying to back out from a challenge. Is this how you intend to support and learn?" She spat ou
The words hit me like a ton of bricks and my pulse raced as I struggled to control my quivering palms and eyes as wide as saucers, similar to Adriana next to me."Where is he?""What happened to him?" Adriana and I chorused in unison. Earlier this morning, he was completely fine and I was looking forward to seeing him later without knowing there would be an arrival of bad news.But Travis was strong, I had never seen him fight but from his presence and aura alone, I could tell he was strong.Who could have managed to injure him? No, the question was why was he even in a fight?"I do not know all the details, I was only told to inform the both of you," She panted heavily, trying to speak through the heaving of her chest."Where is he?" Adriana asked, her voice barely above a whisper."He was taken to the Infirmary," She replied."Is that the one at the Sentinel's base?" I questioned hurriedly."No, there
"We may be his siblings, but she is his mate. Have you given how she must be feeling right now any thought?" "But, I want to stay with him too. I can't leave...""Adriana, please, just go home. You heard the Doctor; they will inform us immediately if his condition improves."They were right outside the door, speaking in hushed tones that weren't so silent.Their conversation drifted to my ear and I took my gaze off Travis for a few seconds to glance at the door.Cameron was being so considerate, although I understood Adriana too.I was unable to keep calm, too, and I had wondered about this very same thing they were arguing about.As soon as my gaze shifted, the door opened, and the both of them walked in, looking natural as if they were not just embroiled in an argument just now."Maya, I have to head back to assist Jay in strengthening our defence; with the hybrids on the loose and so close to us, too, we can
TRAVIS' POV A torrent of pain flooded my head and voices roared in the distance. I tried to move my hand to grab my aching head but found it too heavy to lift. The roaring voices gradually lowered until I could make it out as agitated cries. "His hand just moved; you saw it move, too, right?" I tried to make out who the voice belonged to and recognized it to be Adriana's. Who was she talking to? My brows scrunched together as a bolt of pain surged through my chest and I pressed my eyes together and gritted my teeth to stop myself from groaning out loud. After the pain subsided, which was a matter of seconds, I slowly opened my eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust them to the sudden brightness. "Travis, can you hear me? It's me, Adriana," She cried out, and I felt her hands grab mine, her voice choking with sobs. My eyes opened fully and the first person that came into
AUTHOR'S POV"Brother, how could you be so hasty? All of our years of hard work have been jeopardized by you. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to gain their trust? You are ruining everything." "Enough! Don't lecture me on what is right or wrong. How could I have passed on such a good opportunity...""But you could not even kill him," She interrupted with a distressed voice. "He is going to wake up and start hunting us. Do you think any of us will be safe then? Alpha Travis will kill us all.""Julian, this was not what Father wanted," She shook her head dejectedly. "We have always looked at the bigger picture before taking any actions, until today, you were shortsighted.""Killing our enemy, that's shortsighted?" Julian threw his head back and let out a belt of laughter and she frowned in confusion."They are not our enemies, Julian. They just don't understand us, and that's what I'm trying to do; make them see that w
MAYA'S POVI was skeptical but then I allowed myself to relax and focus only on reenacting that peculiar feeling my wolf had presented earlier."It's happening, it's really happening," Adrianna's shrill scream made my eyes snap open. There was a huge grin on her face, and she radiated so much joy one would think she was the one with the powers, but ultimately, I smiled as well.She had helped me confirm that this was not a time ability but a special trait that belonged to me."Wow, this is huge. We don't have to worry about being unable to heal from fatal injuries because we have you," In her excitement, she hugged me then stepped back, still gushing."Yes, I can be helpful to Travis now," I muttered and it stunned both of us so much we went silent.The creak of the door snagged both of our attention and we looked over. My eyes widened even further when I saw Travis standing there, quietly staring at me.Had he heard wha
MAYA'S POV"Where's Alex?" Sylvia's voice raised a flurry of anxious voices who began to look around, to find the said person."He was here earlier," Someone mentioned."I saw him too," Another seconded.I glanced at the spot I last saw him standing, fighting off a rouge, wondering where he had disappeared to while we were all distracted by Julian and assumed he had left before that happened because there was no way he would leave while Julian was injured."Was he taken by the rogues?" Jay asked, making Sylvia panic even more."He wasn't," I answered. Some of the rogues had managed to escape but there was no way they could have captured and taken him in town while running for their lives."He might have given chase," Travis, who seemed to be the most unruffled one amongst us, pointed to us, and we all exclaimed in realization.He turned and handpicked two of the wolves from our Pack, delegating them to go in sea
TRAVIS' POVI never realized fear could be this numbing like cold steel against bare skin and in just a split moment, I felt my soul exit my body and my heart pounded with terror, feeling like it would explode out of my body and yet, just a couple of minutes later, that unbelievable amount of fear I felt turned in shock and astonishment.Sylvia's growl had rumbled around us, deep and threatening, when Maya had suddenly yanked the knife out of Julian, but now she was quiet, eyes wide open in shock, shifting from Maya to the gradually closing wound on Julian's chest."It's...It's...healing," She stuttered in amazement.I never imagined this was possible, there had never existed a wolf which could withstand the effect of the lethal mix of wolfsbane and nightshade and neither had there been any wolf that could heal with just a single touch but, it was happening right in front of us and the doer of such an astonishing phenomenon was my mate."
MAYA'S POVMy capabilities were limited, so all I could do was stand on the side and watch as Travis' men joined in the fray; even Sylvia had engaged in the fight, landing a hard blow on one wolf out of the two that had cornered Julian.The rogues were more in number than we expected and each of them looked to be quite strong.Sylvia's movements were mesmerizing, her body fast and nimble yet graceful like a river swan, but right now, her expression was far from that of a swan.Anger was written boldly across her face and she swore as she deflected a sneak attack from a rogue, "You bastards, you dare injure my brothers, I'm going to kill you."My lips drew back stiffly, and I watched her in disbelief; I never thought she had this side to her.She held my attention for a few more minutes, I would have loved to keep watching her, so I could learn a thing or two from her moves, she was after all a Sentinel before getting married to J
MAYA'S POV"Sylvia, are we having a feast? Why is there so much food?" Adrianna exclaimed rubbing her hands together in excitement as she took her seat.Everyone was already present, and she was the last to come in, "Are we celebrating anything?" She went on, reaching across the table to snatch a piece of beef that Jay wanted to take.She smirked when he glared at her as if challenging him."You present such a contradiction, I haven't even answered your question, yet you are already digging in." Sylvia shook her head with laughter."Anyway, today's meal is to thank Alpha Travis on my brother's behalf," She revealed and Adraina nodded, acknowledging her words."There might be a special occasion behind it but food will always remain food. It is meant to be eaten." Adrianna pointed out as if her words could not be argued.None of us was in the mood to bicker with her either.I glanced to my left at Travis. He was s
TRAVIS' POV "Thank goodness we were able to resolve that on time, you were right to accept Julian's offer," Jay said with a relieved expression. We just returned after a quick trip to the Pack healer to check on the containment of the disease and so far, I could say it was going well. Lesser cases were being reported and the afflicted were getting better as well. "Yes," I grunted in reply, straightening my stiff back and cracking my neck. He seemed to be in a good mood; I assumed he had patched things up with Sylvia. "Get some rest," I added, cutting off the rest of the conversation that would have occurred if I granted him leave. I was tired, too, and wanted to get some shut-eye. "Come on," Jay drawled, "Just tell me to stop speaking," He said with a disbelieving shake of his head. "Go," I mumbled without sparing him a glance, feeling his unwavering gaze on me bu
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