NEILLA'S POVMy nostrils flared open on their own accord, greedily inhaling deeply the scent that swam in right before the domineering aura sent me to my knees. My body trembled as the recognition of the scent hit. Lykos? I thought. There was no way in hell that he'd be in this pack in such short amount of time. The last time I saw him, he was in a deep sleep in our bedroom back in Greece.Had be been right behind us all this while? How did he even know the exact place to find us?The sound of footsteps reverberated throughout the room. The closer the newcomer got, the more anxious I got, the more curious I became to unravel who they were. Deep down, there was the possibility that the stranger could be Lykos. I mean, what are the odds that he wasn't? The way the hairs on my arms were erect, the familiar feeling of awe situated in the deep pit of my stomach. Most especially, his scent. There was no way I'd miss out on the alluring scent of his body. My only doubt was how he manage
NEILLA'S POV"If he leaves, your bitch leaves too." There was no two ways about it. If he wanted privacy to speak, then it had to be completely between us.Venn released an angry gasp. "How dare you refer to me as--""Deal." Rylan replied without so much thought. At least it was only fair that it happened that way. I watched Axel stalk further into the room with jaw clenching over and over in anger. Marching straight to where Annabella was staring him down with an annoyed expression of her own. He grabbed her hand and made to pull her along."No!" She snapped defiantly at him. "I won't move an inch until those psychos tell us what we came to hear!" "Anna, please go with him. Don't make this hard for everyone." I pleaded with her. Somehow, she listened to me and with an annoyed huff and a nose upturned, she walked out. She totally disregarded Axel who was right on her heels.Marcell took a bow and promptly left afterwards, so did the two bulky werewolves who had come in with Axel. W
LYKOS' POV"There's not much we can do at the moment but I assure you that we'll be able to cook something up in a few days." Rylan announced after he looked up from his computer.For nearly an hour, he spent his time going through the directories for traces of anything suspicious. Nothing positive came out from the search. Neilla was growing more and more apprehensive beside me. Every now and then, she'd hold my fingers in a death grip, her harsh pants of breath would get to my hearing and my heart would only squeeze painfully. I felt what she did. The triplets were as much mine as they were hers. Losing a family member was a quite devastating incident, talk more of losing three toddlers in one day. Not to death but through a sudden disappearance. For me, it was unheard of."Having looked through the records, I've seen nothing that sums up to the triplets being in the pack." He announced again."We can't go back all the way without them. We can't go back." I could sense all the br
NEILLA'S POV"This place is top-notch." Axel praised as we stepped in through the doors. Annabella was also by his side but frowning at the whole place nonetheless. She never liked to hide her displeasure. However, I was sure her sour mood had nothing to do with the house. Whatever it was, she and Axel could deal with it."I have to admit." I agreed with him. I looked at Lykos beside me. "Don't you think so too baby?"He grumbled his response. He'd been that way since I refused to let him in on why I needed to see Rylan alone. He needed to let me handle things on my own because that was why I ventured out on my own and without informing me.This was my war to fight as the babies were mine and no one else's."They're mine as well. I have a right to input in their safety. Except you want to deny me that." He argued, his warm breath falling harshly against the side of my face.I ignored his protests, returned my attention back to the beautiful interior of the place we were going to be l
NEILLA'S POVI had my arms wrapped around Lykos' midriff, while his left arm went around my head and one of his strong thighs trapped both of mine.In a soothing motion, he ran his fingers through my hair, stopping at intervals to plant a few kisses on my head. After getting thoroughly ravished against the tiled wall of the bathroom and bent over the sink multiple times than can count, I was feeling really sore and exhausted. Regardless, it was something I'd do over again.Once I healed first.At the moment, I laid there naked and content in the scent of his freshly showered body and the feel of him pressed naked to me. Therapeutic, I tell you.Hours after we laid on the soft bed, content in listening to our heartbeats, Lykos decided to break the serenity by choosing to talk about the incident of three days ago."Why didn't you tell me before you thought of leaving? You acted based off thoughts that I wouldn't care about the triplets." He accused gently, his grip on my shoulder tigh
***Smut Scene***RYLAN'S POVI was seated in my bedroom and on the bed, thinking about the one person I couldn't get my mind off. It was a bittersweet feeling and I welcomed it with arms spread. Venn was in the shower in preparation for me. She wanted us to have sex but I wasn't in the mood for it. Rephrased in a better way, I did want sex yet not with her. Surprisingly, it wasn't in her warmth I wanted to sink in tonight. For the moment, I craved someone else entirely. I used to think I'd buried the past in the past and gotten over anything that caused me heartaches. Also used to think my shameful actions in the past were far gone and sealed shut, never to be revisited.I believed strongly that no one else could make me feel what I felt for Venn, that no one could occupy the greater thoughts in my head like she did...I was wrong.I was in a delusion.That delusion was out to set me straight and draw me back out of my world of fantasy which I'd carved for myself and was living in.
NEILLA'S POVIt was pretty late when I finally fell asleep and that was as a result of the anxiety I felt while making plans for the next day. The night went by in a quick blur and by the time I woke up, it was morning already.I only had to move a little to stir Lykos awake."I'm sorry to have startled you." I apologized instantly when the arm draped over his eyes moved and he opened them to look at me."You didn't. I was never asleep. Just in a state of rest." He assured me, draping his arm once more over his eyes."You couldn't fall asleep? Perhaps it has to do with the insomnia that comes with spending the night in a foreign place." My fingers roamed, splayed across his smooth chest, stomach and remained there."You think so? Well here's the truth," He turned to lay on his side so we could both stare at each other. My fingers slid off him. "I couldn't sleep a wink last night because of you." He admitted out of nowhere."Me?" The confusion set in."Who knows what other plans you ha
NEILLA'S POV "Stella, it's me, Neilla. Remember me?" I inquired softly. Her eyes flitted to my face and it took a heartbeat before it softened instantly in recognition. I could feel the heat from Lykos' wolf dissolve slowly as he grew less cautious and wary of her."I heard what happened through one of the new volunteers. I'm sorry about that." I drew near to her, still making sure to be gentle in my approach.Her eyes had an unsteady gaze in them, moving around intermittently, not stopping even for once. I heard Lykos take a step closer when I crouched low in front of her. "Remember those years ago when I left? I'm back now but for an entirely different reason." I pointed in Lykos' direction. "That's my mate behind me and we're here on account of my triplets."Stella nodded briefly, her eyes looked to have zoned out before she looked back at me with an unsteady gaze. Her head lolled back, staying there for some seconds and falling forward."There's something wrong with her." Lykos
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