-RAINA'S POV-
“You’ve been avoiding me,” an angry voice came from behind after I descended the glass-bifurcated stairs of the exquisite Saturn Striders Hotel.
“Alpha Kain,” I acknowledged when I swung around to the six-foot man with hands crossed that made his biceps appear larger and ready to crush me for neglecting his messages. I said coolly, “I didn’t know that you were coming.”
“You would if you had replied to my recent messages.” He dropped his hands to his side and his vexation toned down.
The seventeen-year-old Alpha of an external pack licked his lips as his steps approached me with a cocky swagger. His nomad eyes lit up as he roamed them over my body and I took a deep breath. I was not afraid of him, but he has been one of those guys who constantly expressed an interest.
“May I have the pleasure of enjoying your company or am I too late?” He stood too close to me with a taunting smirk as he gazed at my rose-mauve-coated lips. “I’ve been looking for you all evening.” He took my left hand and raised it to his lips. “I used this opportunity just to come and see you.” He kissed my knuckle. “You are quite the beauty.”
Tonight was Valen’s eighteenth birthday party. It was the event of the year since Alpha Females gathered from around the globe for the main reason that we expected him to scent his mate tonight. We all wanted him to make the announcement. Each of them was wishful to be his future Luna Queen.
Especially me. I turned sixteen two months ago, but I won’t have my wolf until two years’ time. Therefore, if I were his mate, he would be the one to know because he was at the age of maturity. Nevertheless, werewolves could like or even fall in love with others until that time. It wasn’t wise, but I could not help that my heart yearned for him. Not Alpha Kain.
Valen was my childhood crush. The man I crammed my brain with thoughts of. I wished he was mine. I've prayed countless times that the moon goddess would grant me this one desire of my heart. It was the hope I clung to for tonight. Every second that dreadfully went by ticked on my heart with anxiety.
Alpha Kain was my espresso brown-haired friend and a visitor to our pack tonight. He wanted more, but that was his problem. He did not back down from my rejections.
“What’s this, Alpha Kain?” Vaheed, one of my best friends, jumped from the top of the stairs and flashed between us, shoving the guy back. Harlequin-green eyes dilated full black and his warning was a barbaric growl, “Do not touch her! Get the fuck away!” Then he turned to me and brushed the fringes of his medium-length black hair slick back. He gently touched my right arm to ask with concern, “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I shook my head and assured him, “He’s a friend. Not a stalker.”
Vaheed growled in response to demonstrate his dislike of my friendship with the Alpha. Treading away, I glanced over my shoulder to give Kain an apologetic expression.
The party was in full swing when Vaheed grasped my hand and led me into the luxuriously decorated grand hall. My electric blue eyes combed through the grinding crowd in search of my other two best friends, Azara and Venus.
“You’re finally here,” Azara hugged me while dancing. Her auburn orbs sparkled with glee and her bouncy, cinnamon, soft, kinky hair slapped against her forehead when she bobbed her head to the rhythm.
Vaheed left me in their care and left to hang out with his boys, Isaac, Benji, and Zack. He gave each a high five and then took a drink. Girls swarmed them but mostly because of Vaheed, since he was Valen’s younger brother and Venus’ twin.
“Kain is here. Did you see him?” Venus asked with questioning harlequin green eyes, knowing about our friendship. With hands at the back of her neck that lifted her mid-length, layered black hair with side bangs, she did a pivot turn before jumping up and down to the beat.
“Yeah, and your brother chased him away.” I began swaying my hips on the dance floor, throwing my hands up in the air and waving them from side to side.
Venus and Azara chuckled. Basically, we drank and danced to every pop and hard rock song. Suddenly, the strangest thing happened. An intoxicating scent of cardamom and amber swirled into my nasal passage.
My body froze in disbelief and perplexity. I sniffed again. That scent! Could it be what I think it meant? Impossible!
A certain scent of cardamom and amber lingered in the air. It was rather enticing and potent, almost palpable. The spicy taste lingered on my tongue.
"Mate," I heard, puzzled.
I scanned a wide scope to see who was saying that. Riveting a full three-sixty degrees. Did Azara or Venus find their mate? Despite the blaring music and loud chatter of the partying bunch, one voice was the clearest.
"Mate!" The female voice was a bit louder. A sharp pain pierced into my cranium. “Find mate.”
Venus saw me flinch, with fingers rubbing my forehead, and inquired, "Rai-rai are you okay?"
"Um, yes." I lied and tried dancing again to avoid drawing attention to myself.
Something was happening to me. An essence was inside of me and growing.
"Find our mate, Raina." There it was, very resounding and exclusive.
"Who are you?" I pondered internally.
"Silly girl, I'm your wolf." The voice heralded, “Call me Hera.”
“How?” I was stupefied. The arrival of my wolf was not due yet.
“I don’t know either. But I’m here now. Don’t you want me?” Hera queried, sounding sad.
“Of course. I’m just shocked.” This was remarkable. My enthusiasm was fueled by her joy.
“Go to mate, please. Follow the scent.” She urged.
A bullet of panic rose in my throat. Which guy in this vast place was the man that I was to spend the rest of my life with? My heart raced in exhilaration and fear.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I told Venus and Azara. They nodded as I weaved through the mob, tracking the breathtaking scent. I found myself going towards the left end of the banquet hall and realized that I was actually drawing closer to Valen and his crew, but his back was turned to me.
The throng was too massive to move faster. My chignon was pulled apart by a flashing hand as a tipsy girl carried on loosely on the dance floor. My burgundy bundle rolled down to my lower back. As jerking bodies brushed against mine, my strands got more unkempt.
It wasn’t until the cutting of the cake that the music died and Luna Sianna made the announcement. I paused and every eye went to the clamorous Luna Queen.
There was a low stage where the trolley with the super-sized birthday cake with eighteen colorful candles was. As Valen advanced in his Greek god-damned glory, whistles and hoots went off from the audience.
He was handsomely wearing a gray denim jacket suit with a white dress shirt underneath that did nothing to conceal his bulky chest and paired that with leather low-top sneakers. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows to reveal portions of the tattoos along both muscular arms.
Oh, goddess, his wavy long, glossy, black hair, which flowed over his shoulders, was the ideal complement to his chiseled features. The raw and intense sex appeal he radiated demanded everyone's attention in the room.
Tall and confident with a powerful gait, he strode with grace as he passed me, leaving behind him a rocketing aura trail. The scent I'd been hunting hit me like a boulder. My heart beat wildly. Our skin is connected. Sparks produced instant shockwaves through my body and I gasped.
It was him. My brain, heart, and soul screamed at me. Valen was my mate!
The goddess has blessed me with this perfect man as my mate. My heart fluttered and my eyes beamed with happiness. Every cell in me wanted to run to him. Hera purred in my head. I touched my temples from the dizzy spell that came with her foreign movements in my head.
“Valen! Valen! Valen!” Continuous screams of excitement filled the building as Valen took the stage and blew out the candles.
“Have you detected your mate, son?” Luna Sianna's icy-blue eyes gleamed with hope. Alpha King Vance embraces her around the waist, waiting for his response.
Our gaze collided and electricity sizzled through my veins. His pained eyes narrowed on me in a way that hitched my breath. The mate bond snapped into place so strong that it tugged at my heart with a compulsion to touch him. A pin-drop silence permeated.
Then he tore his eyes from me and landed them on his Mom to deny it in a deep velvety voice, "No."
“Aw!” The crowd sympathized.
My heart panged and my brows furrowed in confusion. The humiliation carved a deep hole in my chest and I wondered if the pain was evident on my face. Or if my attempt at maintaining a stoic façade was successful. I blinked back tears. Internally, I was falling apart, yet he appeared normal and disinterested.
"Well," Luna Sianna hugged him and kissed his cheek. "The night is still young."
Heartbroken, I stared at Valen while he exited the stage. Hera whimpered as I let out a soft sob. He didn't want me. Most werewolves would have run into each other’s arms for a passionate kiss as the bond kindled. I was stuck staring at what was mine.
Brazenly, he trod the same route that he'd taken to the stage. He paused at my side with a smirk and whispered right in my ear as his hot breath tingled my skin, "Stay away from Kain."
"What?" I peered up into his mesmerizing emeralds that hacked into my soul to stir up a fervent desire I had never experienced. My cheeks blushed red. The sexual attraction was very commanding.
"Go back to the girls." The coldness in his voice extinguished the heat and he rejoined his clique where Theo, Thaines, Devin, and Jason stood. Not to mention the women who flocked around them like that ever-present strawberry blonde girl.
Hurting in the process, I growled lowly with my chest heaving. Hera wanted us to tear those girls from around him. He was mine but he did not display any sign of wanting to claim me. I was doing my best not to crumble and break down.
And now, I endured the dreadful hallmark moment, wondering when and how my crush would reject me.
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One year and some months later……………… - -VALEN’S POV- "Enough, Vaheed!" We tumbled out of the back door of the bar into the drenched, cold, drab alley and landed in a pool of water. Rolling around in a tussle on the hard urban street, we aimed to score a blow once one of us took the top position in the struggle. Unbothered by the chilly night’s drubbing rain, our wrestling prolonged through the commotion of our wrath. Quickly, I flicked upwards to land on my two feet, while Vaheed was on his back. My soaked abalone button-front shirt clung to my sinewy body, missing a few buttons. My hands automatically cleared the curtain of dripping black strands from my face, tossing the long hair slick back. The steady shower that doused the two of us could not extinguish the enmity between us. “I don’t want to fight you!” I hated raising my fist against him and I watched him rise to his feet, glaring at me with contemptuous harlequin green pair of eyes. He wasn’t drunk, but he was not thinki
-VALEN’S POV-When Raina lifted her left hand from her shoulder, a deep red print of my palm blistered her honeyed skin. Her doleful blue eyes questioningly pierced into mine so deep that my heart prickled.Simmering with rage, I decided to draw the line here. I went closer to her and roughly nudged Vaheed out of the way with my shoulder. I took her hands into mine and she screamed again. It was a cry of pain.“Ahh!” Her shrill echoed high and wild through the noisy rain as she tore herself from my grasp as though I was acid or a contamination.Thermal heat from my hands burnt her wrist.Although I fumed with suppressed anger because of Vaheed, bewilderment superseded and I gazed at my palms and wondered what had happened. All I did was touch her. Why is she being bruised by my contact? This was not how it was supposed to be. We are mates and our touch created the most superb sensation. How is it that my hands burned her, instead? It baffled me. “What’s wrong with you? Stay away from
-RAINA’S POV-"No fucking way!" Vaheed argued with me all the way to Wolverson Hospital.He insisted on carrying me in his arms because of my injuries. I managed to convince him that I was physically fit to walk, not crippled. He parked his silver Porsche in front of the illuminated twelve-story hospital building.There was no rain here, just the moon shining bright in the natural black that hugged the glittering stars, splattered but never falling. It was around five in the morning that we arrived at the central area which is called Central City and I felt weak and burning up with my heart in tatters. The fire raced through me like an amplified jarring jolt when Valen touched me. The shock hadn't dispelled that my own mate inflicted wounds on me.My pained strides held balance and gave no indication of a limp. I was concealing from Vaheed the extent of agony that I truly experienced. Dauntingly, my entire skin was a picture of chili-red rashes that pinched. Giving the impression that
-RAINA'S POV- I was confused about Valen’s actions. Vaheed returned to the examination room with a beige t-shirt dress for me. As I took the clothes from him, a dizzy wave spilled from the headache. My legs went weak, my knees buckled and I fell into something hard. He swiftly appeared in front of me with hands wrapped around my waist to steady my balance. Resting my head on his pectoral for ten seconds allowed the dizziness to pass. When I gently pushed against his chest, his grip remained and he looked down on me with concern. He was also wearing a different top and blue jeans. “Raina, I can help you.” He uttered serenely, “I know that you are covering how deep in pain you are.” “The dizziness comes and goes.” Stubbornly, I brushed him off with my hands. Taking a few staggered steps back, I firmly demanded. “I’m fine, but you need to tell me why you ran away from your birthday party and why you were fighting him.” Obviously hiding the underlying factor of their grapple, he grim
-RAINA’S POV-"Valen, don't be mad at Raina….." Venus' voice trailed off when I placed my index finger over my lips to shush her. She raised a brow quizzically."Out!" Valen snarled in a way that made everyone jump in their skin as his aura tripled out. Wanting to hear no further objections. He percolated an energy that was so raw and animalistic that you would forget there was anyone else in the surroundings.In contrast, his deep irate tone sent a pleasurable shiver from the nape of my neck and down my spine. To others, he was fearsome and ruthless. To me, he was handsome, sexy, and pretty much a Greek god that was intricately designed to make women swoon. My vagina was shouting for my virginity to be stolen by him. He was dishy and the ideal man of my dreams. The man whose babies I wanted to have.Horrified, Mom clearly thought that Valen was angry and here to chastise me for sneaking out of Central City. Dad's mouth opened to beseech leniency but quickly closed it when his alpha wo
-RAINA’S POV – Unrequited love. Unfortunate souls. A myth. Heard of it throughout generations and thought that it did not exist. How could the deity of all werewolves take my mate from me? Valen was my crush. There was not a day that my heart did not climax with love for him. Howbeit our bond was ludicrous. A laughable tale. A deep clawing pain wedge in my chest. The bond had us on two distinct plateaus with a massive cleft between us in the middle. The second grievous truth was that on Valen's eighteenth birthday, everyone was anxious to know if he had sensed his mate. He told them "No." As a result, it made my sweet sixteenth birthday bittersweet. That was the day, through the early arrival of my wolf, I discovered that my childhood crush did not want me as his mate. The poignant memory affected my brain like poison. Just fucking great! I unfurled several reams of anger at my deity. Eye water trickled out. I did not conceal my wails. “How can this be?” “I wish I knew the answe
-RAINA’S POV- Valen threw his head back and released a rumbling, sonorous laugh. What was the joke? I thought that he’d be mad at me. When he finished laughing, he intently gazed at me, pulled his lips into a lopsided smile, and sneered. “You know my feelings so well, Raina.” What should have been a silent battle between us transformed into an activation of passion. Depth cried out to depth as the venereal mate bond did tug-of-war through our locked eyes. “Valen!” Luna Sianna vehemently demanded a direct answer, breaking up our fervid tussle. Gingerly, his deprecated emerald orbs met the challenging gaze of his mother. “Of course not.” His enunciating tone abetted me to question the stark assurance of the declaration. He was really frustrating, but still, I simpered in self-satisfaction. His obsessive gaze was fixed on me in a way that stated he was going to make me pay for it. It was unfair to put him in the spot, but it was time for me to step out and demand that he claim me. H
-RAINA’S POV- "Why does he get to stay?" Vaheed shoved his way forward past the others, displaying utter disapproval. “He should not be around her!” Instantly, Valen erected himself from the wall, facing Vaheed. His wolf bared his teeth and showed his presence and possessiveness, as his claws extended. Losing his temper slammed a gargantuan aura into the entire room. Veins populated on his forehead. He was ready to finish the brawl that had started at the bar in Furborg City. Vaheed flinched because this time Valen’s attacking position was different. It was dark, turbulent, and hellish. Clutching the sky-blue sheet, I held my breath and my heart beat wildly. My pulse thumped inside my ears. They should not be fighting again. Oh, goddess! A premonition of Vaheed's blood sprinkling over the white hospital floor tiles flashed across my mental vision. Two fighting alphas would be terribly bloody. “Boys, end this now!” Even Luna Sianna was peeved with her twitching eyebrows. Vance, th
RAINA’S POVSlinking inside the Alpha suite with night vision goggles, I crept up to the king-size bed to see Valen tossing and turning in his sleep.Why wasn’t he dead yet?Moving surreptitiously to the side of the bed, I was thankful that my black leather catsuit blended well with the darkness. As quiet as ever, I held my sword tighter, angling it in a left-plow position with the long edge up.Committed to the assassination task, my blow had to be quick and precise, piercing the heart. I cannot miss this golden opportunity.Standing exactly beside the nightstand, I glanced down at the ripped muscles of his heaving chest. Grunting, his sweaty head shifted from side to side. His face twitched, and his closed eyelids flexed as he breathed jaggedly in his sleep.Cardamom and amber surrounded me, the potent scent wafted straight from the source into my nostrils. A mouthwatering scent, so maddening. Perilously beguiling. The bond beat against my chest like a bone-crushing drum. The physica
VALEN’S POV“Raina is hurting.” Penn interjected, finishing up and discarding the cotton in a bin.“I saw the pain in her eyes when she saw Snow with your baby.” She gazed sadly at Devin and added under her breath. “I can imagine what that feels like.”My Beta averted his eyes to the side of the room, avoiding hers, suddenly unsettled as he scratched behind his ear.I blew out a hard breath. I did not care about what was up with these two. Raina was priority. The mate bond wrenched at me in a silent cry from her that only I could hear. Missing the softness of holding her hands and basking in her endearing presence, hugging, touching, gazing—I just can't go on without it.“I'm pissed too because the future hasn't changed and at some point, you'll give the dick away.” Devin aired bluntly. “How could you? After all those times you swore to me…”“I'll never cheat on Raina.” I cut in sharply, darting daggers at him.Unconvinced, he huffed. Then he spoke again, his voice quieter. "She loves
VALEN’S POVMy eyes snapped open, looking up at the wooden beams in the ceiling in confusion.This was Wolkrane.I can’t be here. Not when I promised Raina to be home by 9 P.M. daily. My head pounded with hazy memories, and I missed her pleasantly cool scent so badly. With her beautiful burgundy...Oh, fuck!I bolted up from the bed, and pain exploded on my side, spasming up and down my torso. Immediately, I glanced down at the three stitches that I just accidentally ripped, blood trickling down my side and into my gray sweatpants.Angry at myself for not knowing how long I’d been asleep, I yanked the IV line from my arm.Cursing silently while gritting my teeth against the agony, I barged out of the bedroom, ignoring the trail of blood I left on the umber-weave pattern of the vinyl plank flooring.Dizzy waves swept over me as I descended the stairs, determined for someone to tell me that it was a damn nightmare. That I imagined it all.“Where is she!” I roared, bulldozing into the sm
RAINA’S POV“Kókkino, I don't know,” Gustav replied with understanding in a low voice. His words lingered, heavy with an edge of doubt. “The sword should have taken his life.”I swallowed hard and confessed dejectedly, “I wanted to believe him, but he can’t be the real Valen.”Gustav hummed thoughtfully and moved to the foot of the bed to remove my shoes.Flashes of the harrowing hurt in the last Valen’s eyes made my forlorn heart sink deeper and deeper. It seemed nearly genuine, yet it was not. It was a mask to get me to lower my guard. I was glad that I didn’t let the bond derail the mission this time.My eyes trailed to my guardian, and I expressed, “The timekeepers were so cruel. This is my ninth trial, and if he's not my Valen, he'll kill me again. As an anomaly, they've cursed me to die over and over.”“Then I will protect you,” Gustav swore, putting down my shoes at the bedside while his gaze met mine. The sincerity and promise were clear in his voice.“How long do you think I
RAINA’S POV I lingered behind Gustav as we arrived by teleportation at a sprawling lakeside manor. With urgency, he stalked off down a corridor that cut straight through the house. I broke off into a little jog to keep up with his large strides. Walking by his side, I felt curious and apprehensive about where he had taken me. Warm tones guided me through the great hall. Feeling antsy, my head pirouetted in the unfamiliar environment. Gaping archways revealed sitting rooms, recreational rooms, a grand dining room, and others. Each was filled with soothing terra cotta tones from walls painted in red earth color. “Nice safe house,” I remarked as he led me up the winding stairs, overwhelmed by the sheer size of it.Layers of vintage finds, painted artwork, and houseplants created a classical, inviting effect across the spaces. Together with white and green accents, the wall's reddish tone produced a muted color scheme that brought a diverse range of furniture pieces in a harmoniously b
VALEN’S POV“Grrr! You are not needed here,” I growled, feeling my skin ripple, pinning the man in place with a murderous glare.“The nerve of that Worgen,” Zeus snarled in my head.Nyx and Zuzu swayed their attention to the obnoxious intruder, waiting for my command to attack him.“Stand down, Nyx. Do not attack him, Zuzu. Hibernate,” Raina commanded them, her back constantly bumped into my chest from her struggle against the grasp I maintained on her arms.It was a shock to see my guardians revert to a leisure position, debunking their fight mode.Raina averted her eyes to the man in full white. “Get me out of here, Gustav.”“Careful, Bluebella. Do not deliberately make me jealous. My wolf is unsettled as it is. You are mine,” I muttered into her ear, and she flinched with resistance.Swinging her sabre-rattling eyes sideways, she expostulated, “I’ll chose him a million times over you, you fake bastard!”What the hell was this?She was protecting him—choosing him?Wanting to go with
VALEN’S POVThe portal spat her out with a thud on the floor of my sanctum in a disheveled mess.“Mate! Mate! Mate!” Zeus purred, going into overdrive to touch what was ours.Thank fuck.“Ugh!” She groaned, landing face-down, and something clattered on the floor.My body jumped to life as her rich scent wrapped around the entirety of my being like thick vines.“She came back to us!” Zeus’ rear end started to twitch and wiggle in excitement to see our beautiful mate.Gladness pumped my heart wildly, and my feet moved briskly before my wolf shouted at me to go to her. Zuzu flapped her giant wings in flight towards her regular spot on a custom-designed tree branch in the corner.I rushed towards Raina, dropping to my knees and gently grabbing her shoulders to help her to stand. My heart danced with delight when the sparks erupted across my palms from the skin-to-skin contact.“She’s back,” Zeus howled in my chest with joy and enthusiasm, jumping up on his two hind legs.Raina's legs gave
VALEN’S POVEighty-four hours.Three and a half days.It’s been that long since I’ve been home and without my precious Luna. Precious time was being wasted when I should have been able to go after her. That knowledge and helplessness weighed heavy on my chest, obstructing every labored inhale.Detached from everything, I wallowed in heart-shattering misery.With a deep scowl, I ran my thumb over the inscriptions of the golden bracelet as my mind worked overtime. My brain felt like it was on a treadmill, unable to stop.At this point, my eyes were hooded and void and my brain wasn't far from becoming the same. Frazzled and throbbing.“You’re the reason she disappeared.” Zeus snarled in my head, castigating me for putting Vaheed over our mate. He rambled, “If we weren’t away, we would have been here to stop her. I told you to leave him alone, but no, you had to go and bring him back. Are you trying to make us mateless?”My throat was too parched to argue with him.The worst had happened
VALEN’S POVAll their heartbeats rose, thundering against their chests. Devin quickly scurried over to the witch’s side.My eyebrows met. My face scrunched up and I pointed at Penn. My voice was incensed, and my teeth clashed together. “You let her go?”They visibly sagged under the weight of my temper. Anger pulsed through my chest, the upcoming headache didn't help his bitch fit either.“Well, I—um, I, er,” Pennelope stuttered and Devin frowned, spinning around to cup her face before facing me again.Letting out a breath of disbelief, I felt like my whole world was caving in. My vision went spotty as I pictured Raina lost and on her own in an unfamiliar world, and this witch did nothing to help her when she had the means.“It’s not that simple. I tried to stop her…” Penn explained, shaking her head, and went into more detail, stumbling over her words. “...once she saw Snow, she decided to go AWOL.”"Slow down, Penn." Devin guided me because at this point she was mumbling, and I didn'