VALERIE The shock she felt was so heavy that it made the walls of the cell shake when she fell to the ground. I was still for a moment, waiting for the next reaction before jumping to a conclusion. "What did you say?" Her quivering voice filled the dark cell, causing a smirk to tug at the corner of my lips. "You are a witch, Renee. I'm certain about it," I repeated, earning another horrified gasp from her. She slowly gripped the bars and leaned forward, her eyes as wide saucers. "Who are you?" She whispered in a ghostly voice. I smiled and leaned closer, my brows raised in pride. "Someone that you can never beat." I saw her throat bob when those words left my mouth. Silence fell on her and all she could do was stare at me like she had seen a ghost. I got tired of waiting and flickered my fingers over her face.She jumped and blinked severally, trying to put her distorted mind in order. She took slow steps forward, her face scrunched up in a deep frown. "What do you want?"
VALERIE "But…" I paused and pouted in anger. He narrowed his eyes and began to trudge away. I huffed in disappointment and forced my feet to shuffle after him. "I need to save someone!" I snapped. His silence only made my heart heavier and almost brought tears to my eyes. I had to get away as fast as I could, even if it meant committing another crime upon the crimes that I had already committed. I clenched my fist, my heart constricting in anger. I looked down at the pants that I wore, and my throat knotted. This was the only way I could escape from him and save Jasmine as well. My hand moved to the belt strapped around my waist and pulled out the blade from its sheath. I took quick steps towards him and raised the blade in the air, ready to sink it into his neck. Jasmine's words snapped into my mind and my hand froze. It felt like a force was holding me back, preventing me from committing murder. "Get back to your senses, Valerie, get back to your senses!" Jade's warning
VALERIE I stood at the spot, dazed and confused. "What did you say?" I muttered, my breath almost ceasing. He pulled the prison door open and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the cell. A breath escaped my parched lips as my body got dragged out of the suffocating cell room. He swung back into the cell and grabbed Jasmine, dragging her out as well. He turned and faced me, a deep frown laced against his face. "If you have anything to say to her then do it quickly!" He snapped. My heart leaped for joy and my jaws dropped, my eyes widening in surprise. I turned around and faced Jasmine, my hand wrapping around her arm. "I will miss this Jasmine," I whispered, tears gathering in my eyes. She sniffed, her face heating up and tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you for showing up in my life, Val," she whispered. I hugged her, sniffing in the lavender scent that hung on her. "Don't ever let anyone bring down your esteem. Lift your head high no matter what people think of you
VALERIE I couldn't overcome the temptation to take a nap anymore. I slammed my eyes shut and dropped my head into his chest, drifting into darkness. I was afraid of getting trapped by the fake Valerie or another creature, but I didn't dream about them. The only thing that I saw was the dark tower standing some distance away. My brows raised as several voices followed a mocking laughter, laughing exactly the way the first voice laughed.Whispers of my name filled the air, making me shiver. I looked down at my feet and gasped when I realized that I was standing in the dark waters. I noticed that I wasn't sinking and I wasn't feeling the water beneath my feet. Everything seemed so real, including my feelings. I looked around and realized that there was nothing in sight aside from the dark waters I stood on and the dark tower some distance away from me. There was not even a single flying insect or bird flying around. The place was as silent as a graveyard— even a graveyard made more
VALERIE The man rowed the boat slowly and silently, his eyes fixed on the peak of the dark tower a distance away. I itched to say something to him to ease off the tension weighing on me. "How long will it take to row to the other side?" I asked, staring at his scarred face. He darted his one eye towards me, his lips stretched out in a thin line. He seemed to be triggered by the harmless words that I had said to him. "You… you don't have to worry about answering," I quickly added. He grunted and looked away, staring at the tower behind me. We were sitting across each other in the boat and this made it quite hard to notice anything behind me. I stared at the man's wrinkled face again, having a sickening feeling in the pit of my belly. His left eye looked like it was forcefully gouged out years ago. Perhaps, that was how he got the scar that ran down to his cheek. I wondered if it was done by the demons that always wake up when darkness takes over the sky. I didn't ask any que
VALERIE The faces of ghosts surrounded me, their mouths wide open and eyes as white as snow even though they had no life in them. I raised my hand, struggling so hard to survive the water. Is this where it all ends? I remembered my promises to Jasmine, Lucian, and Alexander. Even the promise I made to Renee and myself. Will it all end here? In the dark waters? I pinned my lips against each other, daring not to open my mouth. One of my hands touched a skull in the water and a sickening feeling inhabited my body. My heart had stopped beating, and the dull light that sneaked into the water was slowly fading away, making the underneath as dark as the surface. Just as my eyes were about to slam shut forever, a hand delved into the water, and I was grabbed by the collar. I felt myself being dragged up and out of the water before the ghosts could find a way to enter my body and eat me up from inside. I parted my lips and breathed heavily, my life returning to me as I hit the surface.
VALERIE I swerved my head around, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. I could feel my breath leaving my body as I stood in that dimly lit hallway. "Is someone there?" I asked, going against the warning that echoed in my mind to keep silent.Silence followed my question and lasted for over three minutes. I shot my head back, slowly realizing that I must have been hallucinating. My mind was probably making voices up in my head out of fear.I sighed in relief and turned around, continuing my walk to wherever the antidote might be. My heart skipped when I heard footsteps echo in the hallway. I stopped walking, my hands trembling violently beside me. I leaned on the cold wall and gripped the hem of my shirt as I tried to control my fast and ragged breathing. The footsteps stopped and I heard a grunt. My eyes widened, and my jaws dropped in dismay. My mind snapped back to the boatman and chills rushed down my spine.What if the whole story about demons eating up people in the Isle
VALERIE It seemed impossible to believe but there it was, standing gallantly on the stand in the middle of the hall. I felt like all the troubles and fights had finally come to an end. Right before me was the sole reason I was on that forbidden island. With a heart thumping in excitement and joy, I took a step forward and swiftly covered the distance between the stand and me. I paused and stared at the bottle of elixir like it was a priceless trophy. With trembling hands, I reached for it, and the moment my hand grasped it, a feeling that I had never felt before enveloped me. My lips shook and tears gathered in my eyes. Tears of accomplishment and happiness filled my eyes and rolled down my reddened cheeks.I raised it from the stand and stared keenly at it in admiration, picturing Killian sitting up on the bed, alive and well. "I promised to survive. I promise you'll survive," I muttered, a smile spread out across my face. "Are you sure about that?" A familiar voice muttered b
VALERIE My heart tightened and I gasped in surprise. "What?" I snapped. Bianca nodded and moved closer to me as if I was attempting to do something stupid to myself."Yes, she was killed by rogues while trying to protect master Damion. Even up to today, no one has dared talk about her death for Damion's sake," she muttered Rachel's laughing face flashed before my eyes and a sickening feeling filled the pit of my belly. I staggered back and lost my balance. Bianca caught my wrist before I could touch the ground and pulled me up to my feet, wrapping her hand around me."Calm down, just calm down," she whispered, patting my hair slowly.I broke into tears, sobbing loudly.I couldn't believe that she died that terrible way despite her kindness and good heart."She never deserved that kind of death, Bianca!" I blurted out, unable to subdue the pain within me anymore."I know, but what can one do? It's all in the hands of fate and destiny—""Fuck fate and destiny!" I screamed, pushing
VALERIE My trembling hands slowly slipped away from the edges of the stone, fear bubbling in me. His cold hand was still wrapped around my wrist as he waited for me to get up and explain the act I was caught in. I couldn't dare imagine the disgusted look that would be on Lucian's face, worse, Killian's. I gulped hard and slowly turned, but the fear tightening in my chest eased up as my terrified eyes fell on the person clenching my wrist. "Damion!" I sighed in relief. His lips turned up in suspicion and his eyes darted to the fake flagstone on the ground before he released my wrist."What are you doing here?" He asked, nodding towards the spot he found me squatting down. "Uhm…" I trailed, fixing my eyes on the flagstones on the ground with the true intention of avoiding his prying eyes. "Are you scared of saying the truth to me?" He questioned. I remained silent, my eyes still fixed on the ground. I shivered slightly as he wrapped his hand around my chin, turning my head to
VALERIE Bianca scoffed and narrowed her eyes, glaring haughtily at her. I sighed, aware of what she was talking about. Michelle smirked and didn't wait for my reply before striding fully into the room. I stood up, my heart clenched in fear. Even though I needed to know the cause of my father's death, I knew deep down that I wasn't ready to bear the heartbreak that would come with the truth. "I don't think I want to talk about it yet," I muttered, glancing at everything in the room aside from Bianca and Michelle's faces. "Why?" Michelle's voice bore shock and disappointment. "I have a lot to deal with at the moment. I'm not ready to hear it," I muttered. She huffed and stepped back. I finally looked at her, forcing a smile into my face. She huffed, fuming in anger as she glared at me. "Are you scared of the truth?" She asked, her lips turning up in a mocking smirk. I sighed and tilted my head to the side, staring confidently into her eyes. "Yes, I am scared of the truth."
VALERIE My jaws were still dropped in shock as I stood rooted at the spot. "Valerie? Are you okay?" Bianca's words shot into my mind, causing me to raise my head. Her head tilted to the side as she watched me, confusion scribbled across her face. "Why were you acting that way when I mentioned the name of Luna Queen's sister?" She questioned, her eyes filled with suspicion. I released a false laugh and shook my head. "It's nothing. I… I thought I had heard the name somewhere." She narrowed her eyes in disbelief but said nothing concerning my attitude. "Well… mother said that she died some months before her wedding to an alpha prince," she said. My fist clenched and I bit my lips at the discovery. "Was she getting married to Lycan prince Alexander?" I bobbed my head and asked. She threw her head back and narrowed her eyes, letting the silence haunt my curiosityI hoped silently that I was wrong with my guess. "No, it was rumored that the Lycan king Alexander never had any lo
VALERIE "I am disappointed in you, Valerie!" He groused with a glare before turning to help his mother up from the seat. I gulped hard and slowly stood up, dropping my head. "Forgive me—" "Don't say a word!" I shifted back at the harsh tone of Lucian's voice. "Hey, don't yell at her!" The Luna Queen snapped, hitting him on the chest. Lucian sighed in disappointment and threw me a glare before leading his mother to the bed. The maidservant turned and stared at me coldly then moved closer to where I stood. "You should have stopped her, my lady," she muttered. My heart clenched and I gripped the edge of the table, getting overwhelmed with guilt. "I'm sorry. I never meant to let her drink so much," I whispered, avoiding her accusing eyes. She huffed in annoyance and trudged off to attend to the Luna Queen. I sighed in disappointment, muttering curses under my breath. If Lucian hadn't intervened, she would have told me how she killed Renee. I needed to fix the dot
VALERIE My throat knotted and my hand shook at her sudden words. "You want to talk about your life? I… I don't think…" She waved her hand and my lips slammed shut. "Don't worry about trust. We seem to share the same fate…" She paused and gulped down another glass of wine. I had the chance to stop her but the curiosity that bubbled in me and the selfishness that resided in my heart wouldn't let me take that step. I simply sat still, turning a blind eye as she consumed bottles of wine alone. "Alright then. I will listen to your life story," I said, smiling lightly. I could feel the eyes of the maidservant standing some inches away from me. I knew she felt disappointed that I let her mistress drink. She leaned into the chair, her fingers wrapped around her chin as she fixed her eyes steadily on the dark wardrobe. "I don't want to talk about my sister," she muttered, throwing her head to the side with an eye roll."Then… what do you want to talk about?" I asked.oyI felt like I
VALERIE "Your sister?" I gasped in surprise.She nodded her head in response and smiled sadly."She must mean a lot to you," I stuttered, cautious of the words that I blurt out."Yes, she does," she whispered and sighed, slamming her eyes shut.I watched her, silently hoping that she would open the wardrobe.She turned around and moved towards the table, my hopes dashing."I store my memories in there…" she spoke as she raised the glass of wine to her lips. She paused and dimmed her eyes, twirling the glass in her hand."Everyone of them." If not that I paid keen attention to her, I wouldn't have grabbed the words she whispered with sadness."Getting mated to the heir of the Nox family must come with lots of memories," I chuckled nervously."Yes, I had the most chaotic memory here in the Blood Moon Pack, especially with Renee around," she muttered and gulped down some of the wine in the glass.My throat knotted when she mentioned Renee.She dropped the glass on the table and waved m
VALERIE I followed Lucian to Killian's room, my heart thumping loudly in my chest in excitement. He didn't bother knocking before pushing the door open. Killian raised his head when we entered the room. He dropped the cup he was holding and leaned back into the bed, his eyes piercing into ours in a suspicious gaze. "Don't tell me you two have been fucking while I'm struggling with my life," he huffed, turning up his lips as he narrowed his eyes at us. "Why should I bother myself when I'm certain that you're going to live," Lucian muttered nonchalantly. I trotted towards Killian and took his hand, rubbing it gently. "I heard you got the antidote," he muttered. I raised my head and our eyes locked. I blushed lightly, my heart skipping beats as those blue eyes that I had always yearned to stare into consumed me. "Did you get hurt on the way?" He asked. I shook my head, too stunned to speak. His hand moved to my hair, and he brushed it back, a smile flickering across his enchan
VALERIE I almost choked when he whispered those words to me. "What… what?" I gasped, feeling the rush of blood in my face.""Don't you want to be sure you haven't lost your voice yet?" He teased, causing a smile to break out on my face. "Then I should see a doctor for my voice," I replied. Despite the desire I had for him, I still couldn't stop my stubbornness from showing up again.His hand moved to my hair, and he patted it gently before combing it down with his fingers."We don't need a doctor here, little Val, not when I'm right here," he whispered, teasing me with his hot breath against my neck. I shivered and giggled slightly.His hand traced up to my breast and he squeezed my hardened nipples, earning a gasp from me.He leaned forward and kissed my neck, placing love bites on my neck.I groaned out in pleasure, biting my lips as my eyes slammed shut in pleasure.My pussy was dripping wet, begging for an insertion of his fingers.He moved away and pushed his wavy hair back,