-RAINA'S POV- Great puffs of air blasted from his nostrils as his vision tunneled with black rage. Fangs peeked through his sinful lips like a hellhound. Stalled in all movements, my chest felt like it was splitting in two as his palm pressed hard into me. Clinching my teeth, I grunted in agony. The weight of his hand served as a reminder to me of his indomitable masculinity and my impotence to stop him from physically abusing me. "Since everything is out of hand, I need to do something with you.” He raised his thick eyebrows and spoke so sinisterly slow that I quivered with dreaded anticipation. "W-what?" I sputtered while trying to bore my body through the wall. Damn this careless tongue. I digested the pain, bearing it silently. With his face lowered so close to my breathless one that I thought I might faint, I turned my head sideways to avoid my mouth being in his direction. With the hand that rested on the wall, he dragged his sharp claws in a descent, digging into the conc
-RAINA’S POV- "You have history books to learn about the Worgens." Hellhound Valen palmed his forehead. "I have already said too much. I shouldn't be here, Raina." "No," I argued. "You have all the knowledge inside of you. The least you can do to really help is to tell me what you know and how to defeat them." “You have the snow globe.” He removed his hand from his face, staring intently at me like a fire-breathing dragon. "Do you know about time manipulators?" "Like Snow. I know she has the ability." "Snow?" "Your mate, the white-haired woman." I deliberately asserted to see his reaction. It was an inkling that I wanted to confirm. He scoffed and was gruesomely silent for a few seconds. What? Did he dislike my nickname for her? He did not deny her being his mate. So that's who she was to him. I hated it. My stomach twisted. A cruel anguish burned my heart. "Is that all you can tell from interacting with her?" He sounded like a teacher in the classroom who was grilling me for
-RAINA’S POV- Cardamom and amber. The sweet scent wafted around me. At first, I couldn’t open my eyes when they felt so heavy like they’d been closed for months. Sparks and tingles cushioned me with warmth as I laid in bed on my right side. Feeling too comfortable, I was unable to move. My body was extremely exhausted. Yesterday. Memories crashed into my head. I shoved them away. I did not want to think about it. It was so surreal. Impractical thoughts reeled in my head that kept me twisting and turning all night long. I did not remember at what point I fell asleep after crying my eyes out about learning my dismal destiny. Thankfully, I drifted off into a slumber. Now, I squinted my eyes at the blinding morning rays that blasted with intense illumination through my bedroom windows. My headache worsened. How could I not have drawn the curtains last night? The beams picked on my eyelids, making it difficult to sink into another nap. Damn, I’ll have to get up. I groaned and jostle
-RAINA’S POV- With his dominant grip around my neck, Valen roughly pulled me into him and smashed his lips on mine. Silencing me with a rough feverish kiss, one that forced my lips open and stole my breath. Undaunted, he lifted me up and sat my rump on top of the dresser. His lips did not cease sucking mine as the kiss deepened, taking over my coherence. Crotch against loins. He eased up on the kiss, being more sensual and passionate. Then his hands coasted down my neck to settle on my lower back. The mate bond flared up with each intimate contact, stretching its leathery binds to further entangle us. Like a lightning bolt charging my skin, every fiber of my being became a conductor for him. My arms wrapped around his thick neck. He stroked his tongue inside my mouth with sensual licks, tasting and savoring. Our tongues twined in a chase game. His raw masculine scent of cardamom and amber settled over me. Slipping, sinking and drowning. It was one hundred degrees Fahrenheit in her
-RAINA’S POV- Casting an irate glance at him, I blinked twice and retorted. “You alpha-commanded me while you were in my mind. You prick!” I slapped his hands from my temples and the headache heightened its volume. “Uh!.” How am I supposed to reject him now? I hissed as the lancing pain overpowered my bubbling rage. It was this minor issue that obstructed my fists from ramming at his chest. Was I truly stuck with him like a stream of bad luck? It seemed that the moon goddess was fully drunk and overdosed when she decided to write my story. Because, like an uno reverse card, everything in my life was going in the wrong direction. A smirk tugged at his lips and his slyly glinting emeralds darkened with arousal and intrigue. “I figured that would be your next move.” He chuckled, and placed his thumb under my chin, tilting my head up. “The guy that came to your room wasn't me. That's not the future we'll have.” Positioning both hands on the dresser to cage me, he leaned down and averre
-RAINA’S POV- Valen’s grip-locked entrapped me in the same sitting position on the dresser. The intimacy was obvious. Candid embarrassment prickled heat around my ears and my throat bobbed once. The forty-nine-year-old omega floor supervisor stood at the threshold with a plastic yellow serving tray in her hand. “Luna.” Meera greeted me with a lovely smile and I shyly nodded. “Alpha, I brought what you requested.” “Come in.” Valen broke his hold and I almost whimpered at the loss of his touch. Meera approached in her black and white maid’s tunic. Valen took the small bowl of grapes, almonds, and tangerines pulps along with the cup of warm cocoa from the tray, and an artfully folded yellow napkin. To hide how awkward I felt, I brought a large section of burgundy hair over my shoulder, mindlessly raking my fingers through it. Meera winked at me and I managed a half-smile. Apparently, she liked our pairing and the sight of our intimacy pleased her. Giving a shallow dip of her head,
-RAINA’S POV- Putting a pause on the grinding, Valen devilishly smirked, leaving a teasing small space between us. “If I touch the entrance of your pussy, and you aren’t wet, I’ll leave and never bother you again.” “W-what?” I breathed out, but the desire betrayed my aghast expression. I would lose for sure because my panties was already soaked, and he could very well smell it. “It’s a stupid deal.” His jaw flexed into a smug grin as his stare regarded me with such immense power. “Then you have nothing to lose.” Shaking my head. “I won’t accept.” Something was tugging on my heart, whispering naughty things that my body understood. “You are playing dirty.” "Maybe I like playing dirty." He smirked ardently and pushed his lips so close to mine that they grazed with every word he spoke. “Why shouldn’t I want to be dirty with my mate, hmm?” “Fuck you, Valen!” I blurted out in an attempt to kill the chain of thoughts rising in my head, as well as to offend him. “When you talk so dirt
-RAINA’S POV- Jealousy swam in the depths of Valen’s piercing orbs. Despite the wrath of a territorial male who felt threatened by another, his hold on my waist remained gentle. "They're maintenance. And it's to fix the door that you broke." I charged, pointing at his chest. Valen’s thick brows pulled together with a frown etched across his handsome features. He grasped my hand in place, and when I tried to snatch it away, he kept it imprisoned in a tight hold. "I'll fix it." "When, huh? When cats can play the fiddle?" With a cheeky attitude, I implied that he did not have much time for me. "Baby, don't say that. I'll do it." He promised, ruefully. Yeah, right! I complained inwardly, betting that maintenance would get it done before he ever did. His thumb drew lazy patterns on my left cheek, and it calmed us both, evaporating the angry air. “How about this?" As a solution, he waved a hand and cast a white wall mirage there which blended in with the rest of the room, making it ap
-VALEN’S POV-“Gustav!” I roared, nakedly stomping through the circular pillars with Zuzu perched on my right shoulder. “Get out here!”Chasing him brought me to Pindus in Greece at the Temple of Zannos. It was an albescent-white, Doric-styled, pentagon-shaped building that lacked care and was covered with limestone dust. On the walls were featured engravings of weapons and symbols that I also recognized were identical to the ones that were inscribed on the Worgens' foreheads.“No need to be so loud, Alpha Prince.” Gustav groused with his back to me. The hem of his cream trench coat carpeted the ground, right next to his enormous sword. “Even the gods can hear you shouting.”Up ahead in the dusty grand hall, he was down on one knee with his white head bowed to the light blue, marble, fifty-foot statue of Selene. She was gracefully sitting on a crescent moon with a beige wolf around her shoulders as she glanced down at the queen of the night flower she was holding up in her left hand. T
-VALEN’S POV-“Holy fuck.” I panted out as the sweet sensations rocked me.Her pouty candy-pink lips began moving up and down my length. She started bobbing her head back and forth. My hand coiled a large bunch of burgundy strands on the top of her head, helping her with the pace.“Deep breaths—yeah, take it.” My lips parted, and I blew out invisible puffs of air.The pleasure was overwhelming, almost making me forget what we were fighting about before. She picked up the pace, fisting the bottom of my shaft with one hand while she sucked the top and repeated.“So good, baby,” I remarked huskily. “Show me how badly you want it.”Already my balls were tensing up and stars exploded behind my eyelids as my orgasm drew near. She hummed around my dick, licking it good as I drew it out of her mouth.I grunted and thrust my hip forward with more force this time, hitting the back of my throat. Her pretty mouth was driving me nuts. The way her tongue moved against the ridges was giving me a whi
-RAINA’S POV-Yellow flags billowed in my head as the mood shifted sourly. Hot, angry puffs of air expelled from Valen’s nostrils. His blazing emeralds locked with my subtle blues.“Hold on a sec.” I scrambled to the edge of the bed and sat up with a frown. “That’s not what I’m saying.”“Really, Raina?” Valen asked me with hidden anger in his voice. “That crab-louse took Vaheed, and you aren’t in a hurry to get my brother back, especially since that’s the only way for us to find out what happened to Devin.”“I know that,” I muttered in a casual tone, licking my dry lips.“Vaheed isn’t with us because of him.” Valen’s voice rose, and he raked back his black hair with a frustrated hand. He turned and walked towards the glass doors to the balcony, aggressively parted the green drapes, and looked out into the gray sky.“I want to summon Gustav, but I don’t know how,” I expressed, feeling crappy that he had a valid point. “Plus you have that murderous gleam that you are going to kill him w
-RAINA’S POV-Brewing with optimism, I watched in awe as the lavender glow disbursed, engulfing Devin's body in a gentle aura of shimmering energy. Like an X-ray, it lit up his skeleton, making it visibly orange with red veins.It was as if the very essence of magic itself was sieving through him, whirling new life into his motionless form. His body was healing, closing the gruesome wound on his chest and reconnecting the superior vena cava."Hang in there, Duke. Your boy is strong. He can make it." Alpha Vance tried to provide some solace.Uncle Duke began pacing while ruffling a hand through his blonde hair. “Come on Smithson, the moon can’t have you today.”Valen's expression was one of intense concentration. His features were set in determination as he exerted more streams of his magic into Devin.For a moment, time seemed to stand still as we held our collective breath, waiting with bated anticipation for any sign of change.And then, it happened.A faint ripple sifted through De
-RAINA’S POV-Sorrowed stalked us back to the witch’s cottage like a grim, black shadow. Unlike the sunset that spread a rainbow flame upon the evening's sky.On a magically conjured table floating ahead of us, courtesy of Valen, Devin's massacred body laid supine.The journey from the yacht to Petroside Grove felt longer than ever before, and Zeus’ sprints echoed with emptiness, silently knowing that things would be different now.As we approached the witch’s cottage, the scene on the off-white porch was one of heartbreak and despair. Miriam, Marlena, Alpha Vance, Uncle Duke, Luna Sianna, and Keisha stood waiting. Their faces were etched with grief as they watched us draw near.Zeus lowered his large, black, furry body so that I jumped from his back, and then Valen shifted. Keisha immediately rushed towards Devin. My heart ached for Keisha as I watched her crumble. With haste, Uncle Duke wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her off the ground."I'm so sorry," I whispered to them
-RAINA’S POV-“The plans they have for us are diabolic.” Vaheed grabbed my arm, startling me as he pulled me to his side.His aura had a scary quality—one that was sickening and could make me puke. He was not my mate, so my body rebelled, seething at being manhandled.Vaheed’s desperate gaze locked on mine, begging me to side with him. “I’m going to kill him, Raina. Tell whitey to leave. We don't want his kind here.”“If you back off, Vaheed, so will he,” I rasped out, which made him livid. His harlequin greens flickered like black coals about to catch fire.Gustav lifted his chin in opposition. “I would not be here if she was not in danger.”Vaheed grinned deviously. “A Worgen….protecting a human? Don't make me laugh. I know all about you and your horde.”“Yes, you do.” I highlighted, “You have a lot of information that we need to make better preparations against them. I suggest we get you to your Mom's for a check-up, and then we'll have a meeting to discuss all that you can tell us
-RAINA’S POV-“Gustav,” I breathed out, still very skeptical of his presence.This pivotal moment would test the guardian bond. With bated breath, I stared at his hand, contemplating taking it. He noticed the alarm on my face and put both of his hands up in a surrender pose.“I mean you no harm, Kókkino,” he said, cocking his head, slightly concerned.Ruffling and a dull creak of dry hinges sounded across the room. My eyes found Vaheed pinned to the decorative, backlit stone wall feature.Grunting with lips pulled over his teeth, his hands gripped and wrested against the formidable, six-foot, double-bladed sword that threatened to slash him in halves. One tip of its broad jagged blade screeched against the floorboard.Panicking, I glanced back at Gustav, in a terrified voice, “Do not kill him.”“He's dangerous.” Gustav furrowed his brows, confused as to why I'd want to spare him, but he relented with an exhalation. He held out his hand and the intimidating weapon whirred back to its o
-RAINA’S POV-“You killed him, you sick psycho!” I screamed at Vaheed with tears raining down my cheeks.“I didn’t do it. Don’t be rash.” Vaheed frowned, and he placed a finger on his lips to shush me. Where was his empathy? “But you knew he was attacked!” I shouted amidst my sobbing, pointing at Devin’s bloody body.“He didn't stand a chance and with loverboy sleeping, neither do you.” His brows knitted as he seemed to be listening for something.I shook my head wildly, beginning to panic. I glanced around frantically, “You brought the Worgens here? Where are they?”Releasing a distressful sigh, Vaheed held up his forefinger and swirled it in the air. “It's the other way around.” He dropped his hand, coming towards me.Smothering my weeping, I watched him cautiously. My heart thumped hard in my chest and I recoiled. I did not want him near me.His eyes widened. “They're coming.” His feet quickened towards me, bending and reaching out his hand under my knees to lift me. “I've got a p
-RAINA’S POV-“Devin, I thought you were going to keep me company.” I launched my voice through the mind-link, hoping for a response. “Dev?”Three seconds passed as I waited for a reply.Nothing.“You found it.” Vaheed’s voice snapped me out of the connection. His eyes softened and landed on the first aid kit in my hands.“Yes,” I answered with a smile, giving the kit a little shake. “Shouldn’t you be lying down?”He shrugged. “I’m feeling better.”How? I wondered. My eyes checked him over. With silver in his body, he would have fainted by now.“Well, you look like shit and smell like Swamp Thing.” I let out a tiny chuckle.Vaheed humphed, unamused. Bad joke, I guess.I stretched one hand out to him and bobbed my head to the side. “Come, let me clean you up in the dining room.”He stayed rooted and asked indifferently, “What's up with my brother? I thought he wasn't around.” He lifted his chin to look down his nose at me. “He’s unconscious. What happened to him?”“He, uh, er.” What sh