-THIRD PERSON'S POV-
Dymian fixed his eyes on Farrah, knowing her points were valid. The guardian cubes on his forehead glowed. He pursed his thin peach lips and uttered, "Then we'll have to get rid of her. No one will stand in the way of our plans."
If that bitch was Selene, it made sense that she'd keep the red wolf away from us. She was a source of power for them to harness. Therefore, it made them remain weak, because that was the state that she left them, comatose and power-drained. On the other hand, there was the option to meet and have her reinstate their status. Dymian would not take the peaceful road. He was hellbent on revenge.
A taste of the red wolf's blood surged so much power through Farrah's system. She had regained a power increase for a minute until the other white-haired bitch sucked it out of her.
"Must we kill the moon goddess?" Farrah inaudibly inquired, testing him. She believed they ought to be merciful towards their creator, despite the grudge they had towards her.
Dymian glowered and firmly asked, "We did it before." Raising an eyebrow, he paused for a moment to study her. "Are you being softened by the Alpha Prince because he's your mate? Do you visit him behind my back?"
Guilt printed on her face with trembling lips. She looked away from him and replied, "No, do not overthink the situation. I will not accept him."
"You are mine, Farrah." Dymian warned, "You are too pure to be with anyone but me." He snapped with a harsh threat. "You are either with me or against me."
It was true and it made her cringe. Farrah knew he was serious. Dymian's temper had risen. Although he was wise enough to know that, as the only female Worgen, he required her to produce his offspring.
Vaheed Wolverson was Farrah's mate. The unworthy son-of-a-bitch. For now, his value to her was to use him as leverage, a pawn to their plans while she remained Dymian's lover. The woman was expected to populate a new breed of shifters for the werewolf realm. It was soon to be renamed ‘The Worgen Realm.’
Her daughters would be coupled with the other three Worgen Guardians to produce offspring. Together with Seff, Jarvaldo, and Rovell, the five of them will take over the shifters' realm, making all wolves bow. Subsequently, they will wipe out the humans, vampires, and witches. As it should have been since the beginning of time.
"Good. Because he will die as soon as we get the red wolf." Dymian's tone lowered but held maliciousness. "And if this mystery woman is in fact Selene, I will take her head and rid the werewolf realm of the stupid mate bond."
Farrah's heart fluctuated between obeying him and following her instincts. Selene did not have to die. In fact, she could also be used as a breeder. Sharing Dymian was fine and the bloodlines would be very strong. Who needed a mate when the bond could be rejected?
"Give me your hand." Dymian put forth his left palm through the little square slot and Farrah laid hers on top. He checked the scale of her power. "Were you not able to draw any power from the red wolf?"
"I did, but the mystery bitch undid my work, and a funny thing happened," Farrah told him as he drew circles in the palm of her hand which made her want to be close to him. A chill went down her spine and she found herself aroused.
"Yes." He looked up at her, waiting for her to finish. Dymian did not miss the lust in her eyes.
"The red wolf wore a moonstone necklace that the mystery girl broke, which affected me when I touched her a second time." Farrah explained, "There will be a problem with touching the red wolf to draw the power that we need."
"No worries." Dymian stared at her hand, seemingly unbothered by Farrah's concern. "First we must find out the reason that she was wearing the necklace to block. Perhaps the issue you had with her is being experienced by those around her." Satisfied, he released her hand and his lips quirked up into a smirk. "Perhaps your visit there was helpful, after all."
Farrah disbursed a pleased smile. She had done some good to dispel his anger.
"Come." He stood from the padded brown chair and opened the door of his side of the confessional booth. Farrah did the same and followed his footsteps as he led her to the quarters on the second floor of the building.
Once in the study, he pulled her into him and delivered a savage kiss, biting her lips to draw her blood, tasting a speck of her power level. Farrah winced slightly and swallowed down a whimper.
Then he grabbed her chin, steadying her garnet eyes on his, and dug into her mind to access recollections of her most recent activities. When he was done, he shoved her chin and her head tilted forcibly backwards.
Dymian scoffed and turned thoughtfully to gaze out the window into the front court. “Had this world not evolved so significantly, we would have been able to accomplish a lot." He rubbed the irritating creases from his forehead and laced bitterness with his next words. “The Alpha Prince will help us to gain the required knowledge that we need about the technological age. These contraptions and thingamajigs are a fucking nuisance.”
“I agree,” Farrah said without much conviction. She relaxed a bit and stood directly behind him.
She could not deny the pull of the mate bond with Vaheed, but neither could she be distracted by it. Her mate was a means to an end. She was also the tool to persuade him to summon the red wolf to them. Although no amount of torture was successful in gaining his cooperation.
The opening and closing of the creaking door snapped their heads in that direction. It was Seff, gripping onto Vaheed with his hands magically bound behind his back.
"Our honored guest is right on time," Dymian smirked at the Alpha Prince. Surreptitiously, he noticed the way that Farrah and Vaheed's eyes locked in a burning desire that made every fiber in his being want to kill the prisoner.
-
RAINA’S POV Thunderstruck.Valen’s cold words stopped my heart and my brain at the same time. We were mere paces apart, but he stared down at me like a piece of gum on the sole of his shoes.I blinked at him. “What…what did you say? Are you accusing me of something?”Valen's throat bobbed. He huffed out a breath before speaking in a voice with forced calm. “Forget it. It doesn't matter, as long as you stay away from him.”“Right. This is not the kind of discussion you have in public.” Devin stepped closer to us, trying to diffuse the situation. “We’re here to strategize, not to let our frustration lead us down a road that we shouldn’t go.”“No-no-no. Repeat your words, Valen,” I demanded, hoping I had misheard every syllable.To think he could accuse me of cheating and then dismiss it without giving me the space to clear things angered me.“Best of luck, buddy,” Devin said, omitting himself from our conversation by going to the sideline.Valen stared at me, working his jaw. “I know,
VALEN’S POVUnobstructed resentment rose inside me.My eyes flicked open, and I released Raina's hands to cross mine over my chest.Our eyes pinned each other in silence.“Nothing, right?” Her brows raised in question. She didn’t blink; she just studied me closely, searching my gaze for a response.I kept my face an impassive mask so that my mate couldn't tell that I had actually picked up on the location.Raina’s brows drooped, and she sighed sadly, turning away from me to pace back and forth. The bond started to feel strained even though we were mere inches apart, only adding to my concern.“Don't keep it away from her,” Zeus warned. “You’re going to make her upset with us.”“I know how this plays out,” I practically snapped at him. "You know who's involved.”A worrying knot wrung in my chest as I watched Raina pace back towards me, looking more stressed. I couldn’t stand seeing her carry all this weight again. Maybe I should go to the temple by myself. I would bring Penn and the st
VALEN’S POVThe air-conditioned air hit me and Devin as we barged into the IT Hub, naked, sweaty, and blood-coated.The faint smell of new wires and burned coffee wafted through the coolness, but Raina’s scent dominantly drifted up my nostrils. Zeus perked up in my head, his tail wagging anxiously because he’d get to see her.As I slowly entered the space and scanned it, I couldn’t miss the tension in the room. Everyone was preoccupied, hard at work over something.On the far side of the room, Penn and Azara stood hunched over a long metal table. The five broken Ugandan stone tablets, which they pieced together, were splayed before them. Tomes. Notebooks. Scattered scrolls. Sketches. The plagioclase stone was positioned among them, and I was utterly displeased.I was certain the uneasiness stemmed from the cryptic stones. So that’s what this was about. I didn’t want Raina near them. She knew that. They all knew that, yet my mate couldn’t have stayed with her Mom for one day. Penn was
VALEN’S POVOver at Greenberry forest, the thuds on the ground slowed as the battle came to an end, and the sound of bones cracking filled the air.Snarls, barks, and roars died down, and the air rang with victorious shouts and howls.Zeus pushed back to let me take control and I shifted into my naked human form. I peered out between the needle-pointed branches, locking sight on my Beta.“Stop playing with your prey, Beta,” I growled, knowing he was wasting time.“Squish, pissy fleabag!” Devin let out a guttural snarl as he ripped the last rogue open, tearing muscle and bone apart with his bare claws. His sturdy chest heaved as blood splashed over him, trickling down his bare skin.Bodies piled. Blood pooled. Rivals pulverized.Nude warriors began hauling dead rogues to a heap for on-the-spot cremation. The gruesome sight evoked mixed feelings: pride, but also dread.A light gust of wind carried the metallic scent, whipping it around me, strong and pungent, repulsing me. A sickening t
RAINA’S POVMoonlight streamed through the open curtains, like the touch of its soft light had nudged me awake.Actually, what woke me was that dream again. The gut-wrenching scream of seeing deadly, razor-edge claws stabbed into Selene, and the raw tang of blood that raked my nostrils. It felt more vivid and real than anything else, feeling like a wound was left in my chest.I blinked my swollen eyes and brushed sleep from them. Why did the plagioclase stone still haunt me? Why won’t it give me more than these nightmares and tormenting whispers?Moon goddess, what does your death have to do with me? Why make your pain my own?I shifted away from Valen, wanting to get out of bed."Stay, Bluebella," Valen grumbled beneath me as he wrapped his arms tighter around my waist. His eyes were shut, and he was half asleep, latching onto me like his favorite teddy bear. “It's too early to be thinking that hard.”"How can you possibly know that I'm thinking too hard?" I whined, pushing his chest
VALEN’S POVExhilaration snapped through me despite knowing she was flipping things over, trying to make me lose my damn mind, trying to show me how much she had me wrapped around her finger, but now I wanted her wrapped around something else.“So mouthy today.” My mouth sank, crashing onto hers like a punishment, hard and fierce.All the fear, frustration, and fury I’ve been choking down exploded like a popped balloon of water, snuffed out by desire. I slid my tongue inside her mouth, swallowing her moans with rough kisses.“Stubborn…” I pulled back and grazed my teeth over her lower lip, whispering, “...reckless…” I growled into her mouth as my hardness throbbed between my legs. “... smart-mouthed…” I planted another kiss, slow and savoring, letting my breath brush her lips with, “…but mine.”I claimed her mouth again, kissing her longer and more passionately.Breaking for a minute, I slipped her down to stand as we tore each other’s clothes off, dropping them in the puddle at our f