-RAINA’S POV- Venus slammed the brakes. Tires screeched to a sudden halt because the cab driver in front had stopped unexpectedly on the one-way road. Venus rolled down her window, sticking her head slightly out, and yelled, “Asshole!” Her long black hair whipped in the gusty wind. She flicked the strands back as she pulled her head inside. The cab driver stuck out his middle finger. Venus growled and slapped the steering wheel. She tilted her head back and released a long sigh that took her anger away. Her tense shoulders slumped down. Vetting the scene of the town, long lines of bumper-to-bumper traffic were before us. Engines purred, angry horns beeped, brake lights were on, and green lights were up ahead of the blacktop road of stagnant hot wheels. Everything else seemed normal since the people on the street side pavement were going about their business. They were either loitering in deep conversation or going in and out of establishments as we impatiently sat in our vehicl
-RAINA’S POV- “Shit! This is a real problem.” Venus hissed after opening the trunk of her car to find that her weapons bag wasn’t there. It surely would have been helpful. Had it not been for Pennelope’s witch powers, we would be dead. With its girthy dive-bomb howls, the whirling clouds kept cannonading rogues like a sulfur-gray spit-straw on the town. My mind began to spiral, even as fear paralyzed my limbs. The sanguinary rogue dropped the decapitated head from his jaws. He jumped to the top of a dark blue truck and just stared at me with an ugly sneer plaguing his face. "Raina!" Zack shouted my name, pulling me from my deteriorating thoughts. He held the base of my chin, looking down into my eyes. "Stay with me." Nodding, I blinked away the numbness. I struggled to conquer my trepidation, but I knew I had to snap out of it. I was their weakest link and I couldn’t let them die because of my incapabilities. “This will keep us safe, but we cannot stay here.” Pennelope had disc
-RAINA'S POV- Rough hands from the murky shadow clamped on my tender shoulders. “Eeek!” I shrieked, freaking out and wrestling against the unidentified man who tugged me into a wall of compact muscles. Shock ran through me when my mouth was smothered. My body went rigid with terror. My heart flipped and screamed. Fear squeezed the air from my lungs until…...suddenly…….sparks? Robbing me of a moment to breathe, Valen's lips moved on mine. His strong arms wrapped around my waist. Everything went quiet and I slumped against him. His kiss was so desperate and wanting. Fast and passionate. It made me melt. Waves of current shot into me. One of his hands moved from my waist to the back of my neck to hold me close. My lips tingle with a slight pull in my abdomen. He hooked onto my soul. He became my world and the war was forgotten until he tore his lips away. Our eyes locked, and his thumb brushed under my lash. Two of my fingers touched my lips as they sizzled. My mind was a bit hazy
-RAINA’S POV- In a blink, whatever I thought I had seen had disappeared. Was I mistaken? Was my paranoia making me see things? A sudden jab in my rib from Venus’ elbow snapped me out of my haunting thoughts. Drawing her brows together, she asked, “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “Yeah.” My voice cracked slightly. I forced a half smile. I was good for now. Venus rested a hand on my shoulder, and we turned our attention back to the rogue that Valen had brought in. “Cut the shit out, rogue.” Both of Valen’s hands grasped the rabid rogue’s face, turning it directly to apply an Alpha’s eye-lock. The rogue thrashed and growled in resistance until human legs formed and a trembling orange-haired woman took shape. Judging by her looks, she couldn’t be older than twenty years old. The black swirl left her sclera and shaky, amber irises emerged. She was disoriented and panicking. I hoped that she would soon come to her rightful mind. I glanced over at a black-haired war
-RAINA’S POV- Jakub’s chestnut wolf appeared out of nowhere. Valiantly, he attacked one of the rogues and I was impressed by his skills. However, the two of them crashed into Benji’s side, toppling us over with a bludgeoning thud. The air quickly knocked out of me. “Augh!” The side of my head hit the ground hard on something sharp. It burned and ached wickedly. Dancing purple spots overwhelmed my vision for a blurry moment. Pain riddled me faster than a lightning bolt. Benji’s toffee wolf's large body had collapsed on my left leg. I could feel my bones breaking too. I screamed more loudly than I had ever screamed in my life. I winced repeatedly, gritting my teeth and slapping his back to get off me. Burdened by his unbearable weight, I reeled against the ramped-up agony of his body shifting on my broken leg. It was hard for Benji to get up when two aggressive rogues were nipping canines at his ears and neck, but thank goddess for Jakub, who charged at them with full force. Benji q
-RAINA'S POV- The malevolent presence stood still. My trembling, weak hands covered the wound. Blood geysered through the cracks of my overlapping fingers, intertwining with them as they pressed on the severe gash on my right leg. The thick, warm, sticky, dark crimson liquid coated them, crawling under my nails. It would not stop bleeding. Consciousness was dwindling. Reality blurred. The agony was extremely excruciating. The pain and sorrow of the pack amplified in my chest and I clenched my teeth grunting, drowning under a tidal slaughter that felt like it would burst out of me. “Are you going to watch me bleed to death?” I hyperventilated, focusing on the need to control the leaking flow. Yet, the hellish man made no move. Whenever I blinked, my heavy eyelids wanted to stay shut. My heartbeat decelerated to a thready pulse. My lifeforce will end in a matter of time. Terror and despair put a pit in my stomach. Several low voices projected into my head: “Raina, where are you?
-RAINA'S POV- The vile Worgen teleported me, again! As the wind whooshed by the mouth of a cave, I could hear the opera of susurration produced by the bonny waves below the precipice. He strode inside the dim den and I surveyed the surroundings. The mossy-gray walls were lighted with luminous lichen. The air was humid, moldy, and a bit cold. Ew! I cringed from the scent of bat droppings. My stomach convulsed as vomit threatened to burst out of my lips. I pursed them. Once he put me down from his bulging shoulders onto the rough, basalt ground, my fists punched him in several hard spots. Quickly, he snatched my hands, jerking me to stop. Panting laborious, I demanded. “Where am I?” I have had my share of caves. Ahead of me was darkness that went deeper into the hollows. Behind me was the white, bright light of escape. He stared at me silently. His red predator’s gaze was unwavering and the heat of them emitted radio waves of a murderous intent. I saw only blood and death in them
-RAINA’S POV- The Worgen sighed and put his hands into his white pockets. “It’s a long story.” “Well, isn't it obvious that I won't leave my mate for you?” I retorted, putting too much force behind it. I had to bend over and put my hands on my knees to reinforce my body. “Nonsense. Why would I be here with you and not him? Where was he to take care of your wound? He was not there when you kept having nightmares in your sleep and I took them away. Neither was he there when you were dying,” he replied sardonically with a flat gaze. “I deserve you more than he does. So, tell me I have permission to court you and I shall.” “People are dying and you want to flirt!” My blood boiled and I straightened my posture to send him the heat of my eyes. “I feel their pain in my heart.” I clutched my chest. “Everyone deserves to live.” I didn’t miss what he said about my nightmares, but I wasn’t going to get into that. Not now. “My obligation is to you. No one else,” he commented, hard and rigid.
RAINA’S POVStiff as a petrified log, I couldn't scream as my world exploded in a kaleidoscope of stars. My heart thrashed a million miles a minute.The agony caught into a knot in my throat. My body tried to curl in on itself – to replicate a spider's dead dusk, but he kept my flailing limbs pinned. My body heaved.Then, Valen pulled his fangs out, licking the punctured flesh and clearing the blood. Sparks erupted. Fucking sparks shot all the way to my toes.Each lick of his tongue was like morphine. Like a kick. I basked in it. I loved it. The bond was like being controlled by an entity. It was making me want him. Dammit.My body tightened, lungs squeezed and butterflies raged uncontrollably inside of me as he flicked his sinful tongue and dragged it wetly across my sensitive flesh.Focus, Raina! Don't let him swoop you in again. This can’t go on. I must bust out of here.“I want to fuck you, overstimulate you, edge you on until you're in tears, chanting your safe word,” he crooned.
RAINA’S POVYanking my injured right hand, Valen twirled me around so that my back slammed against his hard chest. His large hand came straight for my face to rip the goggles off.The room, like my fate, suddenly got darker.“You’re not so bad without your sword now, right?” Valen said mockingly. “But you certainly aren't vanilla and innocent either.”Once he crushed the goggles, he flung it into the wall. His robust right arm circled my waist while his left hand settled above my breast, slowly traveling up to my throat. Electric sparks exploded everywhere our skin touched.“Let me tell you something, Bluebella. You've unlocked a dangerous side of Zeus that even I feared,” he whispered huskily into my ear, gripping my neck. “But since you want to keep this bratty behavior up all night, challenging me, that part of him is going to burst out of his cage.”All the while, his emeralds were fixated on mine. He dipped his head over my shoulders. My flitting eyes watched him as my heart drum
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