Silence descended after the two females left.Alphose stood there trying so hard not to look as hopeful and dreadful as he felt. The fact that Wolfaraine's face had remained unreadable throughout his encounter with Kassandra and the part where he's being too quiet now was not helping him at all."Say something, please." Alphose urged at last, when he couldn't take the silence anymore."She was too terrified of me." Was his first remark.Alphose took a deep breath. He smiled crookedly, "I know, I smelled it too. Surprisingly, the cougar was being too quiet at that point. Probably because it knows that you would not harm her."He nodded, rising from his seat. He walked to the window, crossed his arms and looked out of it. The evening sun casted a long shadow to the ground. The sky was ablaze with the fire of the setting sun."It was strange. I could not scent the potential mate in her, nor did I smell your scent on her. Only her feminine scent." He sounded confused too, "I allowed the
"I guess, I can't help it. I'm trying not to be." Her eyes rested on her hand in his. He squeezed her hand a little and her heart fluttered."Last night was beautiful, Ismena. Thank you for giving me a night like that. But, at the same time, I want to apologize for being too rough for you." He paused, "I tend to lose control and become less civilized with you. I..." At the silence that descended, Ismena knows he's having a hard time expressing himself. She wished he would say it, those words that seems to have caught on his throat but she watched him swallow them down.She cleared her throat and went for lightening the mood, "Well, this time around I wouldn't tell you that there's no need to apologize because I do need an apology. Just look at me? All bed-ridden and sounding like a barn owl."He didn't smile but his eyes lightened, "You still sound sexy to my ears. Even if you squawk like a peacock, you'll still sound sexy."Her cheek warmed. Damn, she has to stop blushing like a sch
The night was beautiful. When the Alpha King stepped out of the Tower with her strapped behind his strong back. Ismena felt the happiest and most secure, especially when the night air caressed her hot skin.The sentinels guarding the Tower bowed their heads in chronological sequence as he passed by them. Out of the huge gates, he took the path of the woods.Ismena was surprised at the number of changelings they saw on the pathway to the woods, but then, she wondered why she was surprised? This is a changeling world. These people are part-animals and they love the woods more than the road. It's fascinating.Wolfaraine has always been a lover of silence, he can stay the whole day without saying a word.But, she wanted to hear him speak. She loved hearing his voice."The night is beautiful, don't you think?" She asked, initiating a conversation."Yes, she is. Just like the night before." He looked up to the sky, "I heard a lot of my people outside, last night. They love a good night be
******************************OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS******************************But, in the days that followed, his good mood deteriorated until there was no trace of lightness remaining in his features. Just the usual; a face made out of stone, coated with heavy frown lines.That look made him terrifying to everyone including Ismena, even though they didn't see much of each other.He'd been busy with his duties, both the ones that concern Naturiah and the ones that concern the NAALC business outside of Naturiah. Apart from that, Ismena had a hunch that he might—he just MIGHT—be avoiding her too.Her hunch only grew when he never slept beside her for the night. He didn't make sexual advances at her. It might be because she was still recovering from his sexual demands three days ago. But it bothered her that he does not sleep beside her at night either. Instead, he'd sleep in another bedroom.Then, the next day, Marian arranged out the bedroom next to his and warmly informed he
Ismena spent her day moving around the werewolf clan, familiarizing herself with the clan her mate belongs to.Just like every other clan, the werewolf clan is as beautiful and just as peaceful. The people are kind too. They were no longer as touchy as most of them were when she came to this place the first time. No, they are becoming more accepting of her and it makes her very happy. She'd asked her bodyguard, Sentinel Noah, if there was a special reason why this is happening."The people heard about how injured our Alpha King was when he came back from the human world but he'd healed just as fast. I think it has something to do with that." The wolf changeling shrugged, "They are beginning to accept you better because they are beginning to see how compatible you are with the Alpha King even though you're human. You smell so much like him, it's hard to get past that too.""Most importantly, it seems the Alpha King has accepted you. Where he goes, we follow." He finished, shrugging ag
Her heart crumbled. She hid it well. "Okay. I'll...uhh...I'll just get going."She walked past him towards the door. She'd opened the door when his voice stopped her."I am going to the Elephant Clan for the meeting in regards to the family that was killed. I will be back in the morning. If..." he paused for five seconds, "If the wolf in the dungeon makes a fuss during the night, send one of the sentinels to come and get me.""I will do that." He was hurting—especially about his sister—and he is doing it alone. He is not letting her in.Ismena wondered if he has started hating her as much as he hated her kind?The thought left a sore taste in her mouth. In her heart. She walked past the door and closed it behind her.******Hours later, Ismena in her night robes walked through the long, hallway that leads to Nalaila's bedroom.Her heart was in her throat for what she was about to do. But then again, playing it safe was no longer helping the situation, neither was it helping Nalaila.
Wolfaraine and his Alphas spent hours scouting around the area the Wild Psycho had attacked in. They extended their search, combing the entire area. But they were still unable to come up with anything, not even a scent. They'd sniffed the corpse of the victims and their belongings which the killer might have touched while carrying out the crime. Yet, they got nothing.It was frustrating. It was excruciating. It was tormenting.Finally, when it was really obvious that they were getting nowhere with the search, he gave the order for them to wrap things up. They did so. Afterward, the Alphas took the bodies of the dead out and buried them. It was well after midnight by the night they headed back to the manor house of the Elephant Alpha. They all lowered themselves to whatever seats they could find. A few sat on the floor, while some even sat at a table.No one was looking for comfortability when there has been a brutal murder not just of a person but a whole family of six. There was
It does not seem like the wolf wanted to hurt her, Ismena thought.It boosted her hope. It elevated her courage.She took a step forward, closer to the wolf, watching its movement. The wolf did not react aggressively or anything. That's a plus.Another step forward. And another. And another.Ismena stood in front of the bars. Now, she is within grabbing distance. With quick reflexes, it can grab her and twist her neck. Then, hellooooo...Death.But the wolf didn't. It just watched her, with glassy, amber eyes."Hi. I-I'm Ismena. I'm sorry for waking you up if you were ever sleeping." She cleared her throat, "You are the first wolf I've come this close to. Well, there is your brother, but he was raving mad at me at night. After fighting Wild Ones, I rode on his angry fur-back on the way home."Damn, this is the worst time to blab. But then again, whenever she was nervous, she might as well be wearing a crown for Blab Queen."Don't blame me, please. I tend to blab a lot when I'm nervous
When the full moon eventually came, screams from two women in two different parts of Naturiah were particularly high in the air because two couples were getting mated. One from the Cougar Clan, the other from the Heart of Naturiah.In the Cougar Clan, Alphose held his woman close as he gave her all that was him. She has never taken all his forms before, but tonight she was going to before the mating ritual is performed. Her sweaty body shook under his, and he could smell her fear too. He whispered words of love and encouragement to her ears as he filled her body from behind yet again and began thrusting again.They were in their bedroom, kneeling on the floor with Kassandra's upper body lying on the bed and Alphose's own blanketing hers from behind. They've been at it all night. She has lost count of how many times she has released. At this rate, her soul was going to leave her body. Alphose was the best lover she'd ever been with—hell, even the word 'best' does not do him justice. G
"I love you too, baby." He rose with her in his arms, withdrew a gold ring from his pocket, and slipped it into her ring finger. "It's so beautiful..." She cried, staring reverently at the sparkling jewelry. "It looks so good on you," he whispered to her. That night, they made passionate love together. As always he took his time arousing her body, touching her everywhere until she begged him desperately to join them intimately before he proceeded to do just that. They created the perfect rhythm together, moving sensuously and whispering words of love to each other. Wolfaraine took his time making her go wild in pleasure in his arms, he savored the cries, the litany, the sounds he drew from her as they pleasured each other for hours. Afterward, they lay together, sated and happy. He caressed her belly, cradling their child as Ismena burrowed closer to him. "I'm so glad that it was my father that helped us escape. We were victorious because of him." She played with the soft hairs
The next day, Onaries was publicly executed in the square at the Heart Of Naturiah, before the people. Crowds gathered to watch it and it gave them great satisfaction to see the shame, the humiliation on the psycho's face before he was beheaded. To Onaries, it was the worst punishment. He should have killed himself when the lab was invaded—it was better to die in battle than to be killed by public execution where the people get to laugh at him, spit on his face and call him names. He'd been tortured for days by his own Head Sentinel, Rodarh who took great pleasure from the act. He tortured Onaries until he lost his pride and begged to be killed. But Onaries, that monster, had denied him. Until today when he was publicly executed. As for the human doctor, Beloca; Alphose, and Degar had taken turns beating the man up, they carved his skin out of his own body, his screams like music to their eyes. They tortured Beloca to an extent that he stopped breathing several times, but they did
"Nothing, Miss Kassandra; I only forced your dormant hormones to come alive. My 'attempted claim' on you forced your body to wake and take on your mate's scent." He smiled a little, "Now, you practically stink of him." Sandra doesn't understand. "Him?" She asked, confused. "The Steele trying to break down that door, ma'am. You are his mate. There was a time you were very sick, right? To the extent you thought you might die, right?" Sandra doesn't need to think hard about that. "Yes, when I was very young, I suffered pneumonia." He nodded knowingly, "Whatever drugs humans used to cure you suppressed your hormones that made you a potential mate. So deeply suppressed that they wouldn't have stirred if you hadn't met your lifemate, my twin brother, and I wouldn't have been able to awake them if I didn't push as hard as I did. I'm sorry for hurting you, lass." The man wasn't as bad as she thought he was, Sandra thought, and some of her fears dissolved. Instead, joy began spreading thr
When Ismena heard the news about Alphose and Kassandra, she left the Tower and went back to Eline's house to be with her best friend. Sandra cried on her shoulders, dreading every hour that passed, every ticking of the clock because it was a reminder that Josiah was already on his way to Naturiah to claim her. She told Ismena that she didn't wanna do it. She just wants to go back to the human world. It's better to go home to live the rest of her life alone than to be with a man who isn't her Alphose. Although it killed Ismena to do it, she talked her out of it. How will she live the rest of her life knowing that she could have met her soulmate? She could have been with him, but she gave up on it? She talked her into giving Josiah a chance. After all, who knows? It might be the best decision she has ever made in her life, right? The Alpha King, on the other hand, could only pat his best friend's shoulder, commending him for doing the right thing even when the 'right thing' hurts. B
He smiled, "She is. Do you remember all your time together with her?""Oh yes. She is my best friend.""She will be so happy to hear that. It'll probably make her cry. She thinks of you that way too. Maybe even more.""I want her to stay with us forever. You're going to mate her, right?" "Yes, I will. If she will have me." Wolfaraine stated matter-of-factly. He has no doubt anymore. He wants to spend the rest of his life with Ismena. In fact, he cannot imagine his future without her in it."I'm glad. I hope she will have you, too. We will be one big family. She is so brave. She's everything you need in a mate. She always came by my room, all the time, no matter how scared she was. She came every day. I knew you two fought when she didn't come by for a few days. I was mad at you because you let her go.""Is that way you growled whenever I came close? I thought perhaps you hated me.""I never. I was just mad at you, madder, because I couldn't tell you how I felt. I'm happy you two sort
He walked into the room, quietly closing the door behind him, and took a few minutes to just stand there and watch them. The two most important women in his life. He felt lighter and refreshed, his heart filled with happiness like he'd never known before. How his life has changed in the past few months. He'd resigned himself to a bland life filled with guilt, sadness, and loneliness, never taking a mate, never having a child of his own, and living day by day with the fear of not knowing when he would lose his sister forever. But Ismena came into his life and changed it forever.He'd felt more in the past six months than he has in almost twenty years. The past no longer fills him with rage and sadness, his cougar wasn't as rough and out-of-control as before. He has a mate who is so highly compatible with him, his child is growing in her belly, and his sister, who he thought was lost forever was back to him again.Complete. He feels complete."What are you thinking so hard about?" Ism
Gasps of disbelief filled the air. The people were shocked and excited. They found it hard to believe that their King's sister—someone who they'd all given up on—would take her mortal form again after all these years. Murmurs rose in the crowd, bits and pieces of them could be heard audibly."Did you see that—" A voice said."What just happened!?" Another added."She took her mortal form again...!" "Bless the Lord!""May the deities be praised...!""Did you see that too?""...thought it'll never happen for her.""It's been eighteen years."Wolfaraine Daminor Throne stood frozen. He glanced down at the small, pale, feminine hand in his larger one. His eyes trailed from her hand to her arm, up to her shoulder, her neck, and her teary face. His throat constricted at the sight in front of him.She was more beautiful than the distorted image his mind had desperately held onto all these years. His sister was ten the last time he saw her face. His eyes watered as he gazed into eyes as blue
All the leading Alphas of Naturiah were there, the sentinels, the Betas, the Omegas, the houseworkers. He could see Eline, Mirian, and Kassandra too, even the Alphas that fought with him in the human world earlier in the day. They were all gathered there. They rose and greeted him respectfully when he walked through the door with his mate in his arm.Then they were crowding him. The joy and relief on their faces, filled his heart with love for his people. The females had tears in their eyes as they came really close to him. Some were hugging him, while the others were kneeling at his feet—a gesture of welcome and respect. They were all careful not to press tightly against him because of the woman in his arms. Ismena wiggled a bit, a sign that she wanted to be on her own feet, but Wolfaraine glanced at her and shook his head slightly."Please, I'll be careful, and I'll be right here by your side." she pleaded, a hint of her smile on her face. She knows how badly his people wanted to g