JASMINES POV “Dad,” I blurted, my gaze fixed on him as I followed the guards further into the arena. I didn’t notice they had stopped until I bumped into one. That drifted my gaze away from my dad, back to the ring and the wild guards were now facing me. “You wait here until the trumpet goes again,” one of them said, staring at me through the holes in his helmet. I swallowed the fear that crawled into my throat the moment the gates at the opposite end lifted from the ground. Spencer and Harper walked into the arena, their pride written all over their faces. To them, I was a done deal, and they had every reason to show me no mercy because I hurt their sister. The crowd cheered as they made their way in, bare-chested and armorless. “This won’t take long. We’ll just hang around the lines until they’re done with her,” one of the guards nudged the other, a soft chuckle escaping their shielded faces as they walked away. “Ladies and gentlemen,” a loud voice boomed over the microphone.
JASMINES POV When I stirred, I could feel the cold, hard ground beneath me and a metallic taste in my mouth. My eyes fluttered open, hit by the bright light coming from the sun. All of a sudden, everything became dark again. “Awake, finally,” a voice said, drawing my attention away from the once lighted window. Chills ran down my body, sending my heart into a race. I turned my head to find Adrian standing in the shadows, his eyes as red as blood. “Adrian? What’s going on?” My voice cracked, confusion and fear swirling inside me as I struggled with the chains that bound my hands to the wall above me. “Shhh…we wouldn’t want to let the cops know we are here,” he silenced me, quietly walking out of the darkness, into the light which hung above my head. I listened carefully, and that was when I heard the blaring sirens of the cops. “Where am I?” “You’re safe…for now,” he said, crouching beside me. I was about to ask what happened to his eyes and why they were blood red when they fl
CAINES POV Pain shot through my neck as Adrian’s fang tore into my flesh. It burned an unnatural heat, spreading through my veins and weakening me faster than I could comprehend. My wolf howled in agony, struggling to take control. But something in Adrian’s bite dampened my connection to him. I felt my blood leaving my body with speed, and with the strength I had left, I pushed Adrian, crashing into the window. I staggered to the wall but fell before I could get to Jasmine. “Caine,” I heard her voice, faint and muffled. “It will take a while before you will be able to use your legs,” Adrian said, walking out from the pieces of glass that broke after his crash. He carefully extended his hand into the sun's ray and withdrew it immediately after getting burned a little. “What…are you?” I stuttered, the pain seeping deep into my nerves. I fought to get my feet again, but I again, this time face flat on the floor. “Stop fighting the venom. It will only get worse if you fight it.
LUCY’S POV A FEW HOURS EARLIER… “Adrian, no!” I yelled, racing to where he was. But before I could get there, he knocked the air out of Jasmine and zoomed off. “No!” I yelled, scanning the arena which erupted in chaos. There was no sign of them, only the dust that had risen due to the speed Adrian used. “Find Caine,” I told Imani and quickly ran out of the arena. I went through an alleyway at the back of the bridge, making my way to the alpha's office. There were still a few guards on duty, but they didn’t seem like a problem. My father and mother wanted a book from the Alpha office, and a stone too. She called it a Firestone, the last of its kind. I’ve been her little spy without results to show for it, but after seeing through had taken things further with Adrian, I knew this was my time to step up. I let out a heavy breath, arranged my clothes, and walked out of where I was hiding. “We can’t let anyone in,” one of the guards stopped me from crossing the black gates. “C
LUCY’S POV “Yesterday?” I repeated, searching my mind for a perfect lie. That wasn't going to be possible with the way he stared at me like he could see beneath my calm face. “I was with…Imani,” “Imani?” “Yes, Imani, my friend. You should know her, Caines friend too,” I answered with a shrug. “And what were you both doing between that time frame?” “What?” “Would you like me to repeat the question?” “I heard your question, what I don’t seem to understand is why I’m being asked all these. Is there a problem?” I snapped, squeezing my key in my hand to hold in my impatience. “Thing is…a few bags of blood went missing from the clinic yesterday within that time frame. I’ve asked the rest of your friends, and they have an account of where they were. It’s just you and Imani left,” he said. “And Caine…have you asked him?” I asked, but he looked away to hide the guilt in his face. “I expected as much, he’s your nephew so he can’t be a criminal, right,” I said softly. “This won’t t
JASMINES POVThe car came to a halt a few meters away from the pack house. Harper switched off the headlamps and turned to us. “Sheriff Sherwood has men mounted all over the pack house,” he said, his eyes darting between Caine and me. “Caine and Jasmine, take the back gate, head straight to the pack house…take no turn or bends, you’ll be able to avoid the policemen,” he said.The door lock clicked, and Caine and I came down. “Spencer and I will draw their attention away. Jojo and Imani…” “We know,” Imani said, coming down with Jojo. They exchanged handshakes before Harper continued his journey without the headlamps on. Caine was limping, his arms crossed over my shoulder for support. “Almost there,” I muttered, pulling through the long vines in the bushes behind the park house. We ducked and waited for the officers who were heading towards the bush to pass, then we proceeded. We headed for Caines room but stopped and dodged the moment we saw Sheriff Sherwood and a few other offic
JASMINE'S POVWhat others would call fame, I called unnecessary attention. There was no single aisle I was led down that had people around without having the riveted weighing my shoulders down. At some point, I thought of returning to my room, but Caine wasn’t done with his interview. He’d stayed up in one of the offices opposite the pack building, answering questions from the sheriff. He asked me to wait around, so I took some time to explore the perimeters. “Excuse me,” a feminine voice called from behind. Little blondie with large framed glasses. There was a shy smile on her face, and then she inched closer to me, raising a familiar brown paper to my face. “Is this you?” She asked, her British accent betraying her looks. “Urm…” I muttered, staring at the shabby drawing of me for a while. I drifted my eyes, scanning the environment, and noticed that the people around were staring too. “Is it?” She asked again, her smile fading away. “Yeah…yeah…that’s me,” I stuttered. Her smi
JASMINES POV The shock in Caines's eyes was almost comical and I could feel my roof chuckling inside me. Caine blinked rapidly, trying to process what I just said. “Wait…Imani and Harper? Since when? Damn, I knew I should have trusted my guts. Is that what all those shady link-ups have been about? How did you find out?” He asked, running his hand through his hair as he made his way to the window. “There was this night they kidnapped me…” “Kidnapped you?” “Yeah… but nothing happened…no need to freak out,” I said sharply after seeing the look of concern on his face. I leaned against the wall with a shrug. “I don’t think they’ll be much of a struggle now nor will they be a problem now,” I added. Caine’s face was still lit by his smile, his head shaking gently in disbelief. He let out a low whistle and returned to me. “Well…that makes things interesting,” “Interesting? Well, that’s one way to put it?” I replied, crossing my arms. What kept going through my mind was how I was go
JASMINES POV“Leaving…why?” I asked my father who hadn’t sat since I walked into the office. He just filled me in on the plans of Alpha Morgan leaving the pack with his family. My heart raced with fear of Caine being along that relocation. “Is Caine going too?” He stopped pacing about, shaking his head in negation. “No, he’s staying,” he didn’t look comfortable with his answer. He finally turned to face me, his eyes heavy with an emotion I couldn’t describe. “In fact. Morgan plans on making him the next Alpha,”My heart sank at his words. Caine?Next Alpha?It was happening too soon. Even if we did expect it, none of us expected it to happen this soon. Why the sudden change of plans?I swallowed, rearranging the look on my face to hide my concern. “And? Does that bother you?”“The boy is young,” my father hosed. That was when I understood his pain and where all his restlessness was coming from. He’d probably expected Alpha Morgan to make him the next Alpha. He served the pack for
CAINES POVI stood at the end of the hallway, staring at Jasmine as she walked into her father's office. She stole one last glance at me, her eyes filled with anger and deep seething resentment towards me. If I was her, I would have felt worse. She went in, slamming the door behind her and leaving me standing in the silent corridor. “Are you just going to stand there staring at a door or will you come in?” My father's voice called from inside his office. I sighed, turning the doorknob and pushing the door in. Dave was already seated at his table, legs, and hands crossed as they awaited my arrival. I shut the door behind me and went further into the office, taking my seat on the couch far from the table. “I want you closer,” my father instructed as he took his seat. “There’s a lot to do in the pack, father. I would very much appreciate it if you just summarized whatever this little family reunion is about,” I blurted, stealing a glance at his wife, Dave’s mum, who was standing at
JASMINES POVThe next time I opened my eyes, I was lying on my bed, blinded by the lights coming from the bedside lamp. I groaned, turning to the other side to face the door. My head throbbed with pain as I sat up, mustering every strength in me to not fall back on the bed. Every breath I took felt like dragging air through shards of glass. “Jasmine,” a familiar voice called. Caine. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, which made it impossible to notice his presence because the bedside lamp only illuminated the head of the bed, leaving that part of the room dark. His usual stoic demeanor softened by concern, and he slowly stood up. “You’re awake. I waited all day and was already losing hope,” a scoff was laced with his voice. My lips parted to say something to him, but sharp pain seared through my head, closing my mouth immediately. Memories of what happened in Lucy’s house flooded my mind in fragments—the pain, the blood, the desperation…my claws slicing through Lucy’s fathe
JASMINES POVMy head throbbed with dull pain as my eyes stirred open. My body felt weak and my wolf was silent in my head, like she was never even there to begin with. I blinked away the fog clouding my vision and finally got a chance to see my environment.A fully white oak tad room, with a white ceiling hanging above me. The lights were white as well, at the center hung a thin silver rod. I tried to reach for it, but my hands didn’t move. They were strapped to the bed—I just realized. My legs too, and there was a leather strap wrapped around my waist. “Where am I?” I blurted, panic setting in as I scanned the other sides of the room. “Luce?” I called my voice suddenly getting shaky. My head was empty despite how hard I tried to reach for my wolf. “Lucy!” I called again, louder this time. Footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the door. Slow, deliberate, with each step sending a chill down my spine. The door creaked open, and two elderly figures walked in. The man had a strik
JASMINES POVMy head throbbed with dull pain as my eyes stirred open. My body felt weak and my wolf was silent in my head, like she was never even there to begin with. I blinked away the fog clouding my vision and finally got a chance to see my environment.A fully white oak tad room, with a white ceiling hanging above me. The lights were white as well, at the center hung a thin silver rod. I tried to reach for it, but my hands didn’t move. They were strapped to the bed—I just realized. My legs too, and there was a leather strap wrapped around my waist. “Where am I?” I blurted, panic setting in as I scanned the other sides of the room. “Luce?” I called my voice suddenly getting shaky. My head was empty despite how hard I tried to reach for my wolf. “Lucy!” I called again, louder this time. Footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the door. Slow, deliberate, with each step sending a chill down my spine. The door creaked open, and two elderly figures walked in. The man had a strik
JASMINES POV “Urm…I was in the…in the…” “Are you okay?” Lucy interrupted, running her fingers down my cheeks. “You’re crying, what’s wrong ?” She pulled me into a hug without waiting to hear what I had to say. I’m sure if I told her, she wouldn’t be holding me this close. “I’m…I’m fine,” I stuttered, cleaning the rest of the tears from my face. We pulled away from each other, and I saw the request boldly written on her face. It was the morning after the surf party, and as promised, I was supposed to follow her. “Are you sure you can still do this?” She asked, taking my hand with deep concern etched on her face. I nodded with a forced smile. “Of course. Why not? I’ll just quickly grab a bag,” I went to my wardrobe to select something better to wear. My door swung open, and Caine strode in hurriedly with my name in his mouth. He froze upon seeing Lucy. “Lucy…you’re…here,” he drawled questionably, stealing a glance at me right before they hugged and kissed each other. “Yeah
JASMINES POV The first rays of sunlight pierced through the shades of the branches surrounding us, waking me with a soft warmth that did little to ease the pain between my thighs. I shifted, wincing slightly at the pain—a sharp reminder of the night before. The memories flooded my head—his toughness, his whispers, the intensity of our connection, and the taste of his lips. But alongside the warmth and memories, came a heavy weight in my chest. Guilt. I stirred on the floor, glancing at Caine who was still asleep. He looked at peace, unburdened by the storm that ravaged my heart. I couldn’t stay—not with the kind of guilt that riled up in my chest. I slipped out of his hand, got dressed, and started making my way out. “Leaving already?” Caine’s voice halted me in my tracks. With a heavy exhalation, I turned to face him. His eyes were still heavy with sleep and locked into mine. “I…I,” I stuttered, still adjusting my bra hook which I think I may have mismatched. “I just neede
JASMINES POV “I…” I tried to say something else, but my knees went jelly, trembling as I fell. Caine caught me before I could make contact with the ground, gently placing me on the floor. He sat by my side, letting me use his shoulder as a resting board. But my wolf stirred in my head, restlessly wanting answers. I pulled away from Caine and stared into his eyes. “How is that even possible?” I asked, fear crawling into my body. He looked as shocked as I was, and then he shook his head with doubt. “I have no idea, Jasmine, but…urm…” “You didn’t know?” I cut him short. He gave no response, just staring into the wild. The cold air seeped into my skin, sending goosebumps around my body. I squeezed myself in and leaned closer to him. “But…” “You did well,” Caine interrupted. The sound of his voice was different this time—like he was excited. I smiled, fighting the thoughts of us being mates to the back of my head. It felt impossible to keep it aside, especially when he was sitti
JASMINES POV Caine’s eyes held mine, steady and serious, a stark contrast to the carefree attitude he’d carried earlier. I tried to gauge whether he was serious or if the alcohol had gotten the better of him. The weight of his gaze pressed pinned me in place, and the soft rustling of the leaves around us only added to the strange intensity of the moment. “Caine…are you being serious?” I asked, pulling away from his face after we’d unintentionally gotten so close to each other. He leaned back slightly, his head tilted to the side as if contemplating how much he should reveal. “Pardon me, I should never have brought that up,” he pulled away and tried to stand. I grabbed his hand, pulling him back to the ground. “You were assigned to me to teach me how to take control of my wolf. If you know a way I could do that then why keep it a secret from me?” “Because it’s never been practiced after the last incident, and my father banned it,” he said, avoiding my eyes. He lifted the bottle