-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
-RAINA’S POV- The minute I entered the pack house, I received Jason’s call, “Did you find out who it is?” “Well, the device that the message was sent from belongs to Jiya Kaur.” The name shocked me. “She was a rogue we took in a few weeks ago.” The day I met her came to memory and my blood ran cold. She was the girl who came to my room and was rubbing in my face that Valen had kissed that other girl, Zurri. That nosy rosy skunk! She also had that obsession with my Dad. “She is living in the pack house. I’ll find her.” I told Jason and compressed my anger. “Raina, you need guards to face this girl.” Jason cautioned, in the event that she was a danger to me. “I’ll be reporting this to Alpha Valen, Gamma Blayne, and Delta Raj. I have a duty to do so.” “Yeah-yeah,” I replied dryly and disconnected the call. Wasting no time, I rushed to the lower floor with rage infused in my veins. I searched the entire square foot and did not find Jiya. Where could she be? I was getting more and mo
-VALEN''S POV- Phooot! A loud trumpet blared in my ears. The blast of it jolted me out of my sleep and I sprang up in the bed. “What-what!” Theo snatched the sheet clean from my body and exclaimed with urgency. “Alpha, giant bees are attacking the pack!” “The camp is being attacked?” I slurred groggily and still dead tired as cool air chilled my body and shivers raced down my spine. The muscles in my neck strained and spasmed as I gritted my teeth. My heart palpitated and my ears ringing. Panting, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and my brain slowly woke up. “Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!” The shirtless moron in his boxers yelled and ran from the room. I flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, letting out a weird animalistic sound of both anger and annoyance. The words sunk deeper and deeper. Damn! I jerked upwards and rushed into sudden action. It was a full-alarm blaze. “Everyone prepare for battle. We are under attack!” I alerted the Alphas at Wolkrane through
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
VALEN’S POVEighty-four hours.Three and a half days.It’s been that long since I’ve been home and without my precious Luna. Precious time was being wasted when I should have been able to go after her. That knowledge and helplessness weighed heavy on my chest, obstructing every labored inhale.Detached from everything, I wallowed in heart-shattering misery.With a deep scowl, I ran my thumb over the inscriptions of the golden bracelet as my mind worked overtime. My brain felt like it was on a treadmill, unable to stop.At this point, my eyes were hooded and void and my brain wasn't far from becoming the same. Frazzled and throbbing.“You’re the reason she disappeared.” Zeus snarled in my head, castigating me for putting Vaheed over our mate. He rambled, “If we weren’t away, we would have been here to stop her. I told you to leave him alone, but no, you had to go and bring him back. Are you trying to make us mateless?”My throat was too parched to argue with him.The worst had happened
VALEN’S POVAll their heartbeats rose, thundering against their chests. Devin quickly scurried over to the witch’s side.My eyebrows met. My face scrunched up and I pointed at Penn. My voice was incensed, and my teeth clashed together. “You let her go?”They visibly sagged under the weight of my temper. Anger pulsed through my chest, the upcoming headache didn't help his bitch fit either.“Well, I—um, I, er,” Pennelope stuttered and Devin frowned, spinning around to cup her face before facing me again.Letting out a breath of disbelief, I felt like my whole world was caving in. My vision went spotty as I pictured Raina lost and on her own in an unfamiliar world, and this witch did nothing to help her when she had the means.“It’s not that simple. I tried to stop her…” Penn explained, shaking her head, and went into more detail, stumbling over her words. “...once she saw Snow, she decided to go AWOL.”"Slow down, Penn." Devin guided me because at this point she was mumbling, and I didn
VALEN’S POV “Beta?” I scowled in the witch's basement after descending the last step of the stairs.Thick tension greeted me. One built on apprehension and fear.They were as scared as a kitten that had just noticed the shadow of a dog’s tail lashing against a white wall. I could feel the weight of their trepidatious stares pressing against me. Their fretting, whispering thoughts practically radiated off them like static.Zeus growled low and ferociously in my chest, unsettled by the hangdog silence. The implication of guilt hung heavily in the air.My anxious eyes roamed every inch of the space, skipping through the bookshelves, futons, chairs, and stone tables seeking the one woman that my soul ached for. Seeing no trace of her, my longing hammered our bond with impatience.An outburst climbed up my throat to be lashed out, only to be hindered when Venus flew at me. I swallowed the impending words. She gripped the front of my black shirt and tugged it repeatedly. Immense anxiety fu