NEILLA'S POV"Beheaded?" My voice rose a notch higher in surprise. I was sure that wasn't the whole story but what did he know. He could've been lied to. "That's quite disturbing." He rolled his broad shoulders in a careless shrug, even though his eyes said something else. I decided to move on from the said topic. "That makes you the Alpha of your pack?""Yes."Interesting. Little wonder he confidently reassured me of my safety in a new pack. He could offer me protection alright, I just didn't want to accept it on his terms. I needed to earn the trust of his people to merit my stay there. I didn't want to be given comfort on a silver platter because of his position.I avoided his gray eyes once more, looking at my almost empty bowl with so much fake interest even when all I wanted to do was deeply gaze at him. "Describe your pack in one word.""I said it before; homely." His stare was unwavering and it unnerved me greatly."Could you stop staring at me that way?" I blurted out when I
LYKOS' POVI walked out towards the cockpit for the last time since Neilla fell asleep several hours ago, engaging in light-hearted conversations with the pilots. Unlike what people thought of Alphas, I was carved different; with a knack of ensuring comfortability of whoever served under me. From the pilot, I learned that approximately, we had less than an hour to land which also meant that we were already close to my palace which stood out proudly in the area of Kolonaki. I strolled back out, catching the heavenly scent of Neilla and letting it pull me back to the cabin where she was. She stirred awake at my entrance, eyes puffed and red. She yawned, rubbing her eyes tiredly."We're still flying?" She pushed the blankets I'd wrapped around her legs out of the way."Yes. We have a few minutes before landing and then I'll officially be welcoming you into my home properly." I found myself picking the window seat adjacent to her. It was an excuse to have a perfect glimpse of her beautif
NEILLA'S POVI'd never been more grateful for anything than the knock at the door which came at the right time. A healthy distraction from the unforgivable mistake I was about to make. My heart would not stop beating a hundred times per second as I stole my way out of there. I could already see my wolf shaking her head in disappointment."Speak for yourself, bitch. In case you didn't notice, we've spent months without being laid. We're pregnant and crave physical touch, and I don't give two fucks if they don't come from my mate." She argued strongly, debating against my moral standing.I was too tired to continue the conversation with her. She wasn't one who liked to back down from anything she viewed as a challenge; arguing was one of them.The sound of footfalls reached my hearing, increasing to a crescendo and falling silent immediately. It came from the direction of the little cabin door. There was no need to consult a seer to know who the person was. It was him. My heart banged
LYKOS' POVFuck! Now I was acting like a jealous obsessed prick, a fucking possessive lover. For how long would I be able to withstand the pressure of not coming on strongly to her? It wasn't just my primal needs, it was also the involvement of the mate bond. She might not be feeling the same pull because her wolf decided to keep her away from the truth for the time being.Until then, being the only one fueled with such obsession was maddening. Trying not to show my natural attraction to her was one thing and fighting those feelings so she could heal was on another level of discipline. Patience, discipline; two virtues I lacked the most. One could only imagine how I snagged position of Alpha. Well, that was called simple tactics. As future leader, one would be required to be as lethal and ruthless to defend one's pack and take what one needed else one would have to face the risk of losing. On the basis of that, I could decide to claim her whenever I wanted. It wasn't something that
NEILLA'S POVNothing prepared me for this moment. Absolutely nothing. I wasn't used to this much attention, being swarmed by questions or the physical touch here and there. It was too much for my overactive senses. A lot of scents to take in, a lot of names to keep in mind. It was physically exhausting.When Lykos had offered to bring me to his home, I definitely wasn't expecting it to be a mansion -scratch that- a big friggin' castle. At first when the car pulled up to the gate, which by the way swung open with no one in sight, I wasn't prepared for the regal beauty that I was about to behold. It was nothing in comparison to what I was used to back home.Then of course, Lykos had to ruin everything by speaking to me. Thankfully, I'd gotten the hang of the mechanics of a car door. I opened it immediately and stepped out, my eyes still trained on his palace. Such massive space meant too many people visiting and since he was the Alpha, it could be ten times worse. I didn't do too well
NEILLA'S POVI stepped out of the bathroom, which by the way, completely stole my breath away with mirrors everywhere I turned. Having a warm bath seemed to put me in much better mood than before; a smile gracing my face as I sat on the chair in front of the vanity. A small knock sounded at the door, startling me suddenly. I pulled the bathrobe tightly around my waist, making extra knots to keep it secure from loosening."Lykos, is that you?" I called out, suddenly feeling nervous for the outcome if the person at the door wasn't him."It's not." The voice was feminine, a sultry voice capable of holding one captive with just a syllable. The door opened and in she came, slowly making her way to where I was."Hi. I'm sorry, Lykos didn't tell me he'd be sending in anyone." She looked a tad bit familiar. I couldn't place my finger on it yet. She stepped closer, further into the light until it illuminated her short black hair, perfectly straight nose and captivating blue eyes. I did a men
NEILLA'S POV"Is it okay if I come in now?" Lykos' voice echoed from behind the door where he had been for the past thirty minutes. He meant it when he said he was going to wait."No." I hastily replied but his head was already poking through. Luckily for me, I was dressed and ready to leave. "You should have at least waited for permission before entering."The smile he gave in reply, grated on my nerves. He stopped in front of me with another one of his signature smirk. "I couldn't. Patience is a virtue I lack."I rolled my eyes, stepped past him and headed for the door. I caught the reflection of the short blue gown with ruffles at the hem which I'd worn. I'd picked it because it was simple and the material was comfortable for my skin."Not because Lykos picked it out?" My wolf reared her head to tease. "Nope." I was lying to myself and we both knew that.It was no news to me that the stranger appealed to me in more ways than I could count, yet it felt wrong to feel anything for him
LYKOS' POV***Few hours before dinner***I didn't want to impose on Neilla, didn't want it to seem like I was making choices for her. It was just the natural inclination of mates wanting to be there for their significant other. She had completely refused my help despite how I'd tried to pose them to her even on her terms.I just had to hope that she would eventually come around.I saw Annabella on my way back to my quarters and the latter didn't hesitate to walk over to me, her expression stern as she approached."What's up?" I queried nonchalantly without turning my head to give her any attention. "You brought in a complete stranger to our house? You mentioned that the purpose for your journey was to find some unseen treasure. You were away for four fucking days and you bring in somebody you don't even know? What if you picked an enemy? What if you picked someone who is an Intel to the opposing packs?" Of course she had a lot on her mind to say. She always had a lot to say whenever
NEILLA'S POV "You were saying, sweet uncle?" I smiled sweetly at him, enjoying the look on his face. For the first time ever, he bore an expression other than arrogance and it thrilled me to no end. Setting the book down without taking my hands off it nor my eyes off him, I ripped each page disregarding how it scalded my palms. I would heal eventually so it bothered me less. "No! Anything but that, please." He crumbled to his knees, as he begged. "Anything but that. That is all I have of my mate." "Wrong! She did not ask you to avenge her or go taking packs forcefully." I debated in an anger that led me yanking off more pages in quick succession. "If you have lost a mate, you would understand." That touched a sore spot in me and I paused in the middle of my actions. "Lies!" Nia spat out for the first time since I came back to life. "In that book is all the secrets of his existence as a hybrid alongside all the monsters that do his bidding. Do not fall for his wi
NEILLA'S POV I broke down, in shameful admittance of my failure to her. Everyone spoke of my mother in reverence in awe and when they knew I was her blood, they had exalted expectations of me. Even I had expectations of myself only to be slapped with the wicked truth. I was nothing compared to who my mother was before her death. "That's where you got it wrong, my daughter." My mother cooed, as she framed her face again with her soft hands. "You don't compare to me, I don't compare to you. I let sentiments get me into a trap that cost me my family, that cost me you." "If I had killed Vincent a long time ago, when I should have, you won't be in this mess. But I didn't, because he was family to me. He was my only sibling." She revealed, avoiding my face but laying strict attention to my hair. Was it something about my hair or something about the words she was saying? I wondered, pulling out of her hold. "Vincent was your brother and he killed you?" What kind of blood relation was h
NEILLA'S POV"That's not true!" Nia pulled my arm, trying her best to dissuade me from confronting Vincent by myself. "You can't be the Alpha's daughter, you don't know what you're saying!" We turned to her, a buzz of energy humming around us as we replied her. "It is true. If you hadn't said that lie, we wouldn't have been brought to our fate."We turned our focus back to Vincent who slowly descended the short flight of stairs, hands behind his back and that cynical smile on his face.The model definition of a psychopath. "No, Neilla. Let me handle him. Save the kids." Lykos ordered as he appeared by us in the blink of an instant. "I said this is my fight!" We roared suddenly. Frightened, the triplets scampered to Lenora quickly. "Stay out of my business and go be with them!" We warned with our voice ringing out clear.The vein in his neck ticked, his jaw did the same. He was angry with us but who cared? We wanted to get things done with once and for all. "Now, now." Venn's faux
NEILLA'S POV"I can't." Nia said, stopping us in our tracks. Before we started to raise our claws, impatient to strike her down and let ourselves out of the cell, she quickly filled in her reasons."If we do so together, Vincent might discover a little too early of my betrayal to him.""Like you haven't betrayed your own people already."Nia all but snapped at us. "We have already established that, Neilla. You don't have to bring it up everytime." She sighed, "As I was saying, you have to be in here for a few minutes while I go up alone. If the coast is clear, I'll send one of my trusted persons to come get you.""Let's hope they don't betray you too." My wolf spat out cynically before retreating back into the backseat of my head as I took rein now.I felt no remorse for my wolf's words. It was the truth anyway.She said nothing else in reply, went out of the room. Lenora proceeded to secure the locks from within and together we sat in the dim light of the lamp, waiting for her arriv
NEILLA'S POV My ears picked up on the sounds of commotion from way above us. Nia must have as well because she paused briefly so she could tilt her head to the side and listen. "What is that?" I asked in alarm. She shook her head, rose from her seat. "I cannot say for sure." She ventured close to the heavy doors. "If my guess is right, then Vincent, or should I say Lonnie, has lost his mind yet again." "Tell me, does this happen frequently?" I quizzed, my eyes following her every move even as I paid attention to the distant commotion. "You don't want to know how many times he loses his mind in a day. Whatever character he might have been displaying to you was a faux." She added, finally coming back to sit. The noise had all but stopped. However, it was reduced. I found that the kids were no longer playing with their toys. They probably heard the commotion too. I thought back to the short time Vincent add I spent in each other's presence. I found it almost impossible to
NEILLA'S POVNia arose from her position to give I and the triplets a moment to ourselves while she stepped to the darker room with the human girl, Lenora. The kids made sure to talk my ear off with half baked stories of their adventures, the friends they made who were just the fake servants that abducted them that day "I told them about our birthday." Jade was saying. She found a spot in the curve of my arm and settled there. "How aunt Nia told us to follow some people so she could have time with us."Her story drew my interest, same time repelled me. Did I really want to know how they were abducted? The truth of how it really happened?I decided against it. "That's enough, Jade. I'm glad you're here with me, alright?" She nodded and as she did so, the tendrils that were peeking from her crown, bounced."When mean uncle said you wouldn't come back to us, it hurt my feelings so much. I yelled at him and told him he was wrong. He was laughing at me." Juno said, his face reflecting t
NEILLA'S POVI hastened my steps, pushing to meet up with Nia who had become interestingly faster than she was some seconds ago. The servants who saw us coming only took a second to observe me, perhaps out of curiosity, before they immediately lowered their heads.I had seen more than ten of them do the same.What were they scared of?Who was Lonnie?"He's not going to do anything to his sister, is he?" I voiced out my thoughts as we hurried along the hallway that didn't seem to have an end.Nia's grip on my wrist tightened further and she inhaled sharply. "Trust me, you do not want to know."We took the very first turn before getting to the end of the endless hallway. It led us down several stairwells. A few servants met us on their way up. I heard their little whispers as soon as they thought we were out of earshot. "She's going to be in trouble." I managed to catch.I was already in trouble, that was a no-brainer. I was just yet to figure out a way to extricate myself and my tri
NEILLA'S POV.Nia recovered from the shock of seeing me. She turned to the siblings with an angry glare. "What is she doing here? I thought you said you were not going to bring her until you have made a bargain? Why didn't you give me a heads-up first?"Venn leaned back in her seat to regard Nia properly. She plucked one seed of grape and bit into it slowly, taking her time. She dropped the other half of it."I see you have forgotten your place. That is not a problem. Might I remind you that you work for me and not with me and you know what that means, right?" Nia rolled her eyes, nodded all the same. "Still, you should have said something."I didn't even let their conversation come to an end before I started to vent. "Nia, how could you?" We might not have been on cordial terms, but this was an outright betrayal of trust. "We trusted you.""Oh, please." She replied with scorn. "That was you being gullible and that's on you, not me."Everything started to make sense to me. Her sudden
NEILLA'S POVThe long walk from the portal brought us to a yard whose environment brought back a feeling of nostalgia to me. The stranger whose name was Lonnie, walked behind me as Venn went up front. She had reverted to her normal self on the way which I had to admit to myself, was more unnerving. The werewolf façade was a misleading representation of the true nature of her being. There was so much innocence in her pretence than in the form she presented to us.I decided instead that I could deal with the veiny, bloodthirsty vampire that she really was. At least, dealing with people in their true elements made all the work easy.We came to what resembled a throne room with vault ceilings, flower ornaments in each corner, an entire floor of polished marble against which the soles of my boots thudded.There were several paintings of one man whom I guessed was probably the Alpha. With a strong and chiseled jawline, a aqualine nose over a mouth that looked like it said little but promi