LOGIN-THIRD PERSON’S POV-
“What is this hustler’s name?” Seff engaged Jarvaldo with the business card in his hand. He rose from the chair and his foot knocked over the empty communion wine bottle. It clinked and rolled on the floor.
“He goes by the pseudonym of Shekel Moneta,” Jarvaldo divulged. “Give him a call. Tell him that you’re my guy.”
Seff stopped the bottle with his foot and bent over to steady it on the floor. When he straightened, he took out his new Android phone to make the call. He wasn’t in the bullshit today with Jarvaldo. He assessed the business card and whispered the contact details:
1 000 EZE BUCKS
Looking back at his phone, Seff procrastinated at the dialpad section. Doubtfully, he punched the digits. He knew he got the first part right but where was the rest of the numbers to complete the standardized ten-digit contact.
Seff grimaced, pursing his lips. “E. Z. E. ―” His crimson eyes narrowed as he searched the number keypad for the words to press. “Where are you ‘eze’ and ‘bucks’?”
Jarvaldo snickered, holding down his laugh. He knew well that Seff was absolutely clueless about what to do and enjoyed his misery.
“Are you playing with me?” Seff fussed, darting a mad gaze at his comrade, feeling frustrated because he was stuck and Jarvaldo’s behavior meant that he was up to something. “Is this phone defective?”
“No.” Jarvaldo shook his short, shaggy, brush-cut pearly-white head, folding his lips under to conceal his amusement.
Seff resumed his efforts on the phone, grinding his teeth because he could not figure it out. Steaming with impatience, he shouted after a minute of trying to solve how to make that phone call. “Telephone numbers aren’t supposed to have words! That’s what the fucking technician taught me.”
Jarvaldo burst out a deep, snort-filled laugh. He slumped backward in his chair with his upper body jerking from his humor.
The entire time, Seff’s anger was boiling. Irately, he scratched his cotton puffs of white hair. He remembered when Jarvaldo had tricked him into tasting some white powdery stuff that got him as high as a kite. His high ass tripped on the stairs, and as he was going down, he farted loudly and crash-landed onto the mother superior.
Seff practically began humping the petrified, screaming nun. When Jarvaldo got him off her, Seff sat there a minute at the bottom of the stairs, giggling, before shifting into his large blue-black wolf and running off to do some other stupid shit that would make even the devil laugh. His wolf had never been more doped.
“If you don’t shut up and tell me how this works, I’ll wrap this communion tray around your neck.” Seff erupted, threatening to use his metal-bending power in a loathing tone.
Jarvaldo's laughter died down. He blew Seff off with a hand and rose to stand by him to explain how to substitute the letters with numbers. Finally, Seff made the call, cursing under his breath while the phone rang at his ear.
Once the call ended, Seff alerted his boss, “Dymian, I’m off.”
Dymian nodded curtly and Jarvaldo followed him out.
"Rovell, let's go and visit Mrs. Bumpkin. We’ll also put in our order to the pirates of the Vale." Dymian stepped from his desk.
Farrah mutely gazed out the window.
His second-in-command arched his full white brows, wondering why make the requisition from the underworld when the money ought to be present first. Nonetheless, Rovell repelled raising his objections because of the finality in Dymian’s tone. He settled down with a nod.
"Farrah, go and monitor the portals. Do not leave the chapel," Dymian ordered.
She bowed and in two strides his husky voice warned, "I hope that I don't have to tell you to stay away from the alpha prince while I’m gone."
Farrah groused internally that she had no intention of seeing Vaheed. Outwardly she responded politely, "Of course not.”
Priest Ramcrook entered the study, meeting Dymian and Rovell before they got to the doorway.
“Father Dymian, you have a visitor.” Father Ramcrook informed him with hands behind his back. “He claims to be Alpha Rowling.”
Dymian smirked evilly. “By all means, I’ll meet him in the auditorium.”
“I’ll go and receive him,” Rovell went off, immediately.
Dymian exited with the priest, talking.
Farrah watched them leave and sighed. She had been busy using whatever power boost she stole from the red wolf to create portals at the two sinkholes they left in Bolivia and Uganda.
Fucking Selene closed all their past entry points into the realms. Now they had no old connections to count on for the war they would wage. That was why they relied on the pirates of the Vale in the underworld to secure a passageway to a particular realm.
While buried in her thoughts, she made her way to the roof.
Ever since she met Vaheed, something inside her twisted. It tied her gut into knots of conflicting emotions. While Dymian had a past mate whom he killed, Vaheed was her first mate. The irrepressible experience nagged her. The uncontrollable bond pulled at her so hard that she could barely avoid him.
She was miserable.
Lust, desire, and hunger mauled her daily. Something fervid swirled inside of her for the low-down prince. Something not even Dymian could give her. Right now, the thought of continuously being in Dymian’s bed was starting to make her sick to the stomach. She hid it well.
Indeed, it was hard not to go to the basement to see him. Her wolf yearned for his scent. Dymian could certainly sense the change, yet he told her not to reject him. He planned to use the mate bond to an advantage. To what extent? She didn't know. Apparently, he was keeping things from her. It was unusual of him to act in this way.
These erotic feelings were alien.
Farrah knew only purpose. Fighting for a reason. Fucking for an objective. She knew not love.
Nothing in her life had ever been just because. Together with her comrades and Selene, they fought many battles and won. Their last feud was against the moon goddess and the other four Worgens, which they failed back then. Though it was the same fight that landed them in a perennial slumber with their powers sealed.
Farrah ended up on the flat concreted roof of the chapel standing in the center of two domes. The sun was setting. A coolness descended on the land. The faraway street had a busy line of traffic. It was the end of the day and people were trying to get home.
Home.
She had no home.
A hollow sensation tore at her chest with the desire for one.
A whispering breeze flowed around her, whisking up her long, white strands in a slow, swaying dance in the air. She closed her eyes as it caressed her face, driving her distressing thoughts away. She drew a large intake of its freshness, feeling peace.
"Don't walk away from what I’ve given you." A voice softly whispered as the wind whirled around her.
Farrah's eyes flicked open. They scanned the surroundings but she was alone. Both of her hands threaded through her flying wavy strands to keep them away from her face.
"Do not defy your destiny." The breathy female voice graced her ears once more. "You know the right course."
Was it Dymian getting into her head to test her? Or was it a direct message from Selene?
Peace deserted Farrah, leaving an awry sensation in her stomach and muddled mind.
-
VALEN’S POVClenching my hands at my sides, I stepped back. Feeling suddenly suffocated, I refused to allow any form of closeness.Before this wicked trap could swallow me whole, I lifted my eyes over the roof of the car, desperately letting my gaze wander over the crowd until it landed on Raina. She smiled beautifully as she interacted with the anxiously overjoyed crowd, and the tension in my chest eased.Then her lovely eyes flicked to mine, meeting them in a way that always stole my breath and made me feel alive.My heart jolted with hope, and I smiled warmly. Then her blues drifted to Gustav. My smile faded as she blinked slowly at him, giving him that soft, lingering look that squeezed my heart.Every fiber in me disliked it, and I pressed my lips into a tight frown. Come on, Raina. Look away from him. Look at me.She didn't look away, and my stomach twisted in jealous knots.I don't want her, so you can't want him, please, my soul cried from the ache developing in my chest.I wa
VALEN’S POV“You know what's your problem?” I descended the rest of the steps, narrowing my eyes. “You've spent days drinking and losing control. It's partly my fault because I've made you do whatever the hell you wanted. How many times have you woken up unable to remember what you did the night before and never learned your lesson? I want that woman out of my pack, even if you have to go with her.”All this time, Jiya had her hands on her hips, drifting her eyes from me to Benji as we talked. I could see them calculating mischievously, working her mind obsessively.“Wait, Alpha, you can’t use that mark to kick me out,” Benji pleaded, “I know that marked mates can’t be apart for the sake of their wolves, but that’s when they want each other. The other usually leaves their pack to live with the one who holds a position of authority. In this case, that's mine. I shouldn't be moving to hers. ”“You’re not a Gamma anymore,” Devin reminded him flatly.“Vaheed hasn’t demoted me,” Benji deba
VALEN’S POVI bolted from around my desk and walked out the door. Benji followed, with Androkles and Thaines behind him. Gustav stayed close to his brother, apparently determined to make his presence as irritating as ever.By the time we reached the foyer, I could hear Jiya’s annoying high-pitched shouts. I exited the packhouse and stopped on the second front step, glaring down at her in shock.My hand shot up to my chin, curling my index finger across the base of my nose as my eyes roamed over her in perplexity.The white hair…gone. The restless pull…gone.The unwanted protectiveness…the distressful longing… the miserable possessiveness…all gone.I was free of that revolting connection; it was as dead as a decaying dead dog.This was the best relief I’ve ever felt.“You can't throw me out like some common criminal!” Jiya was on my Beta's back, attacking him. “ I did everything for this pack! You won the war because of me.”I didn’t know how she managed to climb on him, but her legs wr
VALEN’S POV “So, let me get this straight. You two let Farrah escape?” I paced back and forth behind my desk in my office at the packhouse, shoving my hands into my pants pockets.Gustav’s jaw tightened. “We didn’t let her escape.”The tension was thick and heavy with stale ire as I leveled a fiery glare at Androkles and my so-called replacement. I could barely stand looking at Gustav.I was like a loaded cannon the way Zeus thrashed inside of me, wanting to get his claws into Gustav. The turmoil inside my heart would not cease, and I felt like hell on two feet.“Then how did she manage to slip through your fingers again?” I eyed them with mock ignorance.“Because we were more interested in your brother than her. We know your father took him here,” Androkles snapped. “Unless you’ve forgotten, he spilled one of our sisters’ blood.”My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Funny how you know nothing about Figaro asking Selene to spare Farrah’s life.”Peeved, Gustav eyed me hard. “Are you accusi
VALEN’S POV "Baby?" My fingertips brushed across her forehead and cheek, sweeping loose white hair off of her face as I sat by her bed. “Raina?”"Is she waking up? Should I call Luna?" Devin said with an edge of concern, drawing closer to the foot of the bed and gazing down at his cousin."Raina, if you can hear me, baby, move your hand again," I prodded gently as my thumb rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand.Her fingers flinched, making my body tense under me and I held my breath, anxious for her to move more."What is it?" Mom asked as her hurrying footsteps carried her closer."I think she's waking up," I replied, my voice full of hope.Mom began to check her pulse. A moment later, she has the penlight shining a bright light from one eye to the other. Raina groaned, but didn’t open her eyes."Raina?" Mom beckoned, turning off the penlight. "Raina, can you hear me?""She moved her fingers," I said excitedly, looking up at Mom then down on Raina’s fingers in my subtle gr
VALEN’S POV“Please,” I begged her, still holding Raina's hand.Selene waved her hand at Raina, and I backed up from the flash of her divine aura. The black wisps instantly vanished, and Raina’s body plopped down onto the bed, unmoving. Her hand slipped from mine as I watched the drastic change happen in a flash.Relief swept through the room as the machines settled into steady beeps. Her chest rose and fell completely normally. Color rushed back into her cheeks when the black lines receded, and her pink pouty lips parted slightly.“She is fine now,” Selene spoke softly, clasping her hands again.I smiled half-heartedly, suddenly anxious to see her eyes open, for those beautiful blues to seek me out.“And the babies?” Grandma Jade asked, moving towards the bed. She removed her stethoscope from around her neck to check Raina’s heartbeat.Selene turned to me. Her eyes blinked with interest. “They are fine. Be patient and do not force her to wake up.”Selene shifted her gaze to Mom. A sm







