-RAINA’S POV- Between us, a golden silence trampled through. We were both waiting for the other to say something first. “Raina.” Valen summoned my attention. I was afraid to meet his eyes, lest he would witness the hurt and humiliation that pressed for release via tears. I should never have questioned him about his feelings. It was the fast approaching footsteps that force me to look at him as he proceeded towards me, fully dressed. “The guys and I spotted some methane bubbles in the witch territory that show that someone was interfering with the dimensions. I have to follow that lead since it has been difficult to locate my brother because it might be the Worgens.” He swooped me up in his strong arms like a child and I shrieked. He carried me to the bathroom while speaking. “Time in the dimensions are different from ours. It could move faster or slower, so I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Either way, you know what I expect.” Sitting me on the white marble countertop in the middle
- VALEN'S POV “Harder! Yes!” A naked Cheryl knelt on our long brown leather couch with her palms on the armrest, doggy style with nude Devin ramming into her from behind. “I'm going to cum! Oh, Devin.” Slapping sounds of my best friend’s sexual exploits in our cabin at sunset weren't what I wanted to hear or see when I teleported from Dark Wolverson. Tits, hair, and ass cheeks bounced in a frenzy as moans and grunts filled the living room. Instead of going home to our pack, my Beta decided to stay in Wolkrane Fortress to spend time with Cheryl. I knew what it meant, but dammit, we had house rules. “Eh-hem.” I cleared my throat with my focus on my best friend. Cheryl's eyes widened when she whipped her sight at where I stood, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she tried to push Devin off her. “Damn it, Valen!” Beads of sweat rolled down his temples as Devin exclaimed his displeasure and paused with his cock deep in his fuck buddy's cunt. “We agreed that you'd use the door.”
-VALEN’S POV Neither my parents nor the Elder Council mentioned hosting a claiming ceremony. Mercedes was probably trying to swindle her way to get me to be mellow with her. “Don't beat yourself up because you didn't find Vaheed. He'll fight to stay alive until his big brother rescues him.” She soothed and crossed her legs. Then she took up the bottle of whiskey and poured more into my glass. “I'm sure he'll be back for our coronation.” Now that caused me to shoot her a ruthless gaze. Her face contorted into an ugly frown, and she kept the bottle in her hand. The very bottle that I really ought to slam down her throat. “After that tiresome mission, why don’t you let me help you relax those big, strong muscles tonight?” Dallying, she brought the bottle to her mouth, stuck out her tongue, and swirled it around the opening. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.” Right now, I was just as nauseated as my wolf who was still playing dead. Turning my head, I sought other options of liq
-RAINA’S POV- Five missed calls from Venus and two from Azara. It's not that I was treating my friends badly, I just didn't want to talk about Valen to them. The girl talk would magnify the drama that I was having a hard time dealing with. I guess I was hiding from all that stuff. Anyway, when Valen left, I dived into my schoolwork. The pile was already half completed since it took me hours. Thank goodness. After ignoring my phone all day, despite its buzzing and chiming, I finally packed up the books and laid on my bed, going through my messages. -SMS Venus: I know that you are going through a hard time, but how about pizza and a funny movie? Let us be there for you. I’m your best friend. I want to help. -SMS Azara: Those shitty people are so disgusting. Raina, do not pay them any mind. They don't know what they are talking about. All that trash, ugh! Keep your chin up, pretty girl. Call us ― please, please, please. SMS Peaches: Raina, how are you? How did you find the tea? And
- VALEN’S POV- “Did you delete the account from Gramlynz?” Raina blasted over the phone. Damn, she sounded extremely angry. “Yes.” I scratched my forehead and swallowed, staring down into my tumbler of bourbon. Devin leaned against the bar counter, slowly sipping his drink and waiting to see how our conversation would end. He, too, had been pissed over the last social media post of the kiss with Mercedes. However, my concern was mainly Raina. “Why?” She hissed. “So that you won’t be hurt by the media. I was trying to protect your feelings.” I nonchalantly explained that it was a damage control measure. “Jason will delete anything that harms your reputation.” “You and Mercedes.” Accusations overlaid her furious tone and I heard her sniff. “I saw that one. How could you lie to me?” A bit of my heart swelled in pain that she could have been crying. It saddened me. “Raina, those posts were altered to distort the truth.” I firmly insisted, frowning. “There is ‘nothing’ between me a
-RAINA’S POV- An individual is self-accountable and responsible for the quality of their life. I wanted control over mine. My life felt like someone else had the handles. It was exasperating to live like a chicken in a coop. I soaked in my tub for a while to clear my mind. Right now I would rather feel emptiness than the travailing emotions that were tumble-washing me. After that, I threw on drawstring checkered shorts, and a white blouse to match. Sliding my feet into my bedroom slippers, I yawned, squeezing my eyes shut with a fist at my mouth. The day’s events made me exhausted. Omega Meera brought me breakfast that I picked at. I missed lunch, and now it was past dinner time. Hera wanted to see Valen. She thought that we should talk face-to-face about the media instead of over the phone. She whimpered even more when I hung up the phone on him. For me, I think there's more to the situation with Mercedes than he was willing to admit. The kiss explained her infatuation. “He’s
- -RAINA’S POV- “Jakub, go home.” Dad grouped the documents together to put them into the beige file jacket. “I’ll deal with these in the morning.” The lanky warrior bowed and left us. I eyed him suspiciously. I attempted to keep my breathing regular to not alert the others of how flustered I was. “The girls keep bugging me to see you.” Mom put the doll on the empty chair at the table and cut into her chicken. My heedful sight refused to leave the doll. It sat there, adorable and innocent while my insides tied up, feeling like it was the notorious Chucky from that American horror flick. This message was not child's play. It was like a lurking monster lumbering out of the dark and brooding to bring to light what I wished to keep hidden. “Raina?” Mom rent me out of my reverie. I gulped down hard and muttered, “Not yet.” I kept putting off Venus and Azara. Sometimes it was better to go through shit without your girls constantly gnawing me with things about Valen. “The bonfire’s
-RAINA'S POV- “Jason, I want to know who the culprit is before you disclose it to anyone else.” I approached the witches’ off-white farmhouse-style cottage, ambling down the gravel walkway to the sprawling porch with the snow globe in my hand. The phone conversation was meant to be short since I was at my destination. After waking up with my panties soaked from orgasms in my sleep from the copious erotic dreams of Valen, I quickly had breakfast and rushed to see the tech team. I had faith in the pack’s head technology wizard, Jason, to track whoever was targeting me with the messages and social media bashings. “I will let you have that after dinner,” Jason promised. “Sounds good.” I hung up. Before I could ring the doorbell, the door swung open by a golden-brown-skinned, slim-thick pretty woman with lilac eyes. I did not know this girl. "Hello there, my gracious Luna." She chirped brightly, smiling. Turning sideways, she gestured with her hand inside the sitting room. "Welcome
VALEN’S POV-I side-eyed Gamma Blayne furiously. He immediately bowed his head and averted his gaze.The stench of blood got stronger, permeating my senses, causing my legs to speed up. I can't stand the thought of any more of our members getting hurt or killed."What the hell..." I trailed off as I inched closer, crouching down and examining the line of dead bodies. It was just downright sick and twisted to use them for a ransom note effect.A chill entered the air that made everyone shiver. Raina’s eyes widened at the gruesome sight.Venus gasped, going pale with a hand flying over her mouth. “This is barbaric.”All their necks were slashed by claws and two of the deceased were used for the punctuation marks. Reading from left to right, it stated: ‘We have not forgotten, and we are coming for her.’Gamma Blayne crouched at the lifeless body next to me. He touched the wound on the man’s chest, inspecting it. “The gashes aren’t as deep as you’d expect, but this one got a double tap en
VALEN’S POV-Together, Theo, Thaines, Jason, and I pushed forward in our wolf form. Leaves and twigs crunched under our pounding paws. The sight of the full moon took its turn in the sky and the faint wind skimmed my fur.The grim sound of battle reached my ears long before we reached the outskirts of the station. We arrived united, skidding to a halt as we met the bloody scene with hard eyes and fangs bared. The air was thickened with the stench of sweat, blood, and death. Gruel residues of combat.Looking around the field for a target, the sounds of gnashing teeth, angry snarls, and painful shouts that had previously filled the air vanished with the rogues that swiftly fled through the tree line, leaving an eerie silence.“Cowards!” I roared internally, anger filling my veins.“Go now! Don’t let them get away!” Gamma Blayne shouted orders to a specialized team of elite wolves to pursue the escapees. He stood naked, heaving and curling his hands into fists, and his head whipped to sp
VALEN’S POV-“What’s my Alpha doing in a place like this?” Albert the old bartender had the nerve to joke as he wiped down the triple-fronted bar counter with a chuckle.“It’s a bar. What crime have I committed?” Although he was jesting, I was in a foul mood.Arbitration Day with those bumptious Alphas has finally ended. Things at Alpha Camp were going well with Valiant. Devin’s still in his coma and Raina seems to be in a bad mood. She was madder than a fucking hornet and shanghaiing my mental space.Yesterday, everything went downhill. Devin’s condition showed no change and I did not find the damn Worgen. I came here to clear my mind from the weight of failure that settled over me.All I wanted to do was head to Raina’s room and hug her. But knowing that she’d probably bring up Mercedes again, I detoured here. The thought of her name made the beer in my hand so damn distasteful. Out of panicked desperation, I’ve been spinning my wheels all day to come up with a way to get through to
RAINA’S POV-Theo bent and picked up the folder. He placed it on the desk and fell back into position.The file contained four candidates. Me being one of them. It depicted the Alpha cabal, who represented seventy percent of the werewolf kingdom, voting on whom they advocated to be Queen. Mercedes gained the highest votes, while I had a meager one percent. I saw Tallulah Rumer’s photo, an Alpha-Female from the Rym Greyback Pack in New Zealand. Next was Kristen, the Alpha-Female Valen pitted me against in the sparring competition for the world to see.Then there were pages of signatures and pack seals to officiate the petition in demonstrating which candidate held their favor. This was the beginning of an uprising. It could plunge the kingdom into chaos if Valen’s choice upset them.My heart chipped away at the daunting situation. Mercedes bowed her head to hide the gloating smile that curled on her lips.Okay, I see you Mercedes.“Your Royal Elders marshaled me for the task. Their old
RAINA’S POV-"Oh, goddess!" Venus squealed at us, after entering the loft with Mercedes, dragging her by the ear. She dramatically threw one hand over her harlequin eyes while maintaining her hold on the girl."Damnit Venus! Can't you knock?" Valen snapped, clearly still riled up from the hormones stirring between us. He quickly yanked up his sweatpants, though the bulge was quite prominent."How was I to know that this would be going on in here!" Venus yelled back, keeping her hand over her eyes. “Who would ever bang in their kitchen?”“People with mates, little sis,” Valen replied low and gruff, and I sensed the shift in him.My face blushed bright red in embarrassment. I reached over and grabbed my shorts, clumsily slipping them on while sitting on the counter. Once I was mostly covered, I was ready to jump down. Valen's large hands gently grasped my waist and quickly helped me down to my feet."Of all the people in the world, why would you bring Mercedes here, Vee?" Valen asked, t
RAINA’S POV-"Morning, my beautiful Bluebella," he whispered, wrapping his arms around me while I cooked at the stove. "Smells delicious.""Good. I hope you’re hungry," I trailed off as he nuzzled my neck.My breath hitched in my throat as I stared back into his eyes. My stomach flip-flopped."Valen," I moaned. "Don’t make me burn our breakfast. Get the plates."He grumbled, and without moving his body away, the front of his body bumped against the back of mine as he reached his hands up to the black metal shelf to take down two square plates and put them on the left counter.Then he hugged me around the waist, resting his jaw on my shoulder, and angled his head sideways to look at me. My heart fluttered wildly."Baby, you didn't have to do all of this," he said softly. “That’s what the kitchen staff is for.”"Nonsense, I will feed you when I feel like it," I replied with a smile.He just beamed at me. “You’re amazing. I know it’ll be as good as it looks,” he remarked while his hands
RAINA’S POV-I scoffed. "Save me your speeches. I'm tired, and I'm going to bed."Crawling into my side of the bed, I laid down and was about to pull the cream blanket when Valen yanked them away from me. I glared at him."Give me the blanket," I bit out, sitting up with my eyes narrowing at him."Stop being jealous," he insisted in a sharp tone, with the blanket in his hand.I scoffed again, "Who said I was?” I shrugged, swallowing the thick lump of emotion in my throat. “I don't care.""I know you are because, if I were in your shoes, I would be too.” He confessed in an ominous undertone, “To be honest, the guy wouldn't live.”My gaze drifted down his impressive form. Mountainous muscles covered his chest, dipping into cut ridges on his abdomen. Despite the anger, heartache, and humiliation churning inside of me, I wanted to rip those pants off him and throw him on the bed while I had my way with him.Redirecting my thoughts, I simply muttered, "Whatever. Keep the damn blanket."I f
RAINA’S POV-"She attacked me." Mercedes lied, curling into a fetal position with her hand on her stomach, pretending to be in serious pain.“That’s not true.” Again, the rage pulsed through me and I struggled against Valen, wanting to get back to hitting her. "Let me go, Valen. Let me go, and I’ll give her another good black eye.""Raina!" Valen shouted in my ear.I huffed and stopped when I felt him tighten his arms around me. When I relaxed, he let me go and turned me around to face him. His eyes scanned my face and when it landed on my bruised arms, his emeralds darkened.His jaw ticked when he turned to look at the she-wolf on the ground. "Mercedes, mind telling me how your Luna got bruised?""I don't know." Mercedes wheezed, sitting up and clutching her abdomen. "She almost choked me to death.” She gasped, dramatically. “I can’t breathe.""You'll live," Valen responded indifferently. He turned back to me. "Go back upstairs, Raina. I'll deal with you later.""But it wasn't even my
RAINA’S POV-“You must be bored out of your mind.” For a brief moment, Mercedes' brows furrowed deeply as she tried to analyze me. Then she sighed loudly and shooed me with her hand. “You are excused, Raina. I seem to have misplaced my interest in anything that you have to say.”"My words are for her, not you." It sounded pathetic to me as well, but it was the truth.She eyed me skeptically and rejected with disdain in her voice, “No. Your chatter is not on my to-do list.”Thankfully, I spotted a ring of keys on the wall and grabbed it. I fought with the faulty lock until I found the right one and swung the door open.Her expression quickly changed to down-right mistrust. "What do you want with my wolf?" she snapped."She’s mine." I stepped inside the cell, pulling closed the metal grill door behind me.Unafraid, she stayed seated, and her eyes lit up in anger. "Not yours,” she protested bitterly. "I pity you. Fucking pathetic.""Your habit of wanting everything that's mine is infuriat