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
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 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
JASMINES POVThe following morning, I woke up to the sound of the loud chattering of pack members and buzzing machines on the lawn. I dragged my feet to the window to see what was going on. A clean-up?Is this because Caine is being named the Alpha of the pack today?I hurriedly washed up, found something nice to wear, and left my room. On my way down the stairs, I bumped into Dave.“It must hurt,” Dave said, stopping me from walking past him. I shook my head a little in confusion, refreshing my tracks to where he was. “What?” my voice was below a whisper. “I said..it must hurt to adapt to changes. After being with something or someone for so long,” he added. My mouth spread open to say something to him, but this felt like a morning trigger, and that was the exact opposite of what I was looking for this morning—or who? “Where’s Caine?”“Off somewhere…taking on his new role,”“And are you leaving too?” I asked, leaning on the staircase.A small smile tore across his face, and he t
JASMINES POVHis words hit me like a sledgehammer, and my pulse quickened in humiliation. “Little rejected bride?” A wave of humiliation drowned in me, and my eyes drifted from them to the floor. I felt tears brewing in my eyes, but I fought it with every strength in me. Never was I going to let him see me break down. After everything, this is what I get? The man whom I loved, has again, proven that I’m not capable of being loved or being cared for. Lucy laughed, the sound of her voice echoing in the diner as she walked to me. “What’s wrong? It’s just a stupid game…”“Yeah…a stupid game,” I repeated, forcing a smile. “Don’t look sad, it’s just for fun. After all, we used to play it when we were younger and you always like your role. That is why I suggested…” she paused, glancing at Caine as her eyes grew wild. “We…suggested that you take the role,” she completed, snuggling me. Her words were light, almost carefree as if she didn’t realize the kind of dagger she’d plunged into my
JASMINES POVMy heart nearly stopped as I spun around to find my father standing in the shadows, his piercing gaze fixed on me. His hands were tucked into his coat pocket, and the night air swirled around him, sending his feeling of disappointment flushing one my face. “Dad…” I stuttered, my tears getting in the way of my voice. The bags in my hand dropped to the floor, and I ran into his embrace. He squeezed me in, massaging my scalp as I rested my head on his chest, crying. “I didn’t mean to…”“You did. Yes you did,” he said. He didn’t sound angry, just disappointed and sad. I totally understood what he felt like. I pulled away from him, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Why?”“I can’t…” I tried to explain the reason to him, but my heart was still aching from the hurt. I thought by now I would be better, doing better than when I heard the engagement. I lied to myself that it wouldn’t hurt me as much as I thought. But here I was, feeling the pangs of sorrow and pain hitting me shred
JASMINES POVCold air swirled around me the moment we took a turn to the left. That was when I started hearing the streaming water coming from a distance not so far from us. After we walked for about a few more minutes, we finally came face to face with the crystal-clean stream. “You live this far?” I asked, dragging my bag along. Natalia smiled, her steps sure despite how cold the water was as we walked through it. “As you already know, we are a threat to the rest of the world. They see us as one, rather. So this…this is the way we stay out of their business,” she said, lending me a hand as I climbed out of the water. We walked down the hill, and it felt like we were going underground. A cave stood meters away from us, buried in the earth. I couldn’t see beyond the waterfall at its entrance despite how hard I tried.“Welcome to our haven,” Natalia said, walking past the waterfall. My heart wasn’t sure about the step I was about to take, but I trusted myself with it and joined her.
JASMINES POV The cold atmosphere seemed deeper into my skin as Natalia and I made our way out of the room. She went towards the direction where the distance drilling of water was coming from, and I tugged behind, ensuring not to miss a thing. “A vampire?” I repeated, breaking the silence that stretched amidst us. “Why?” “He’s hybrid…not entirely a vampire. But he was once a vampire,” she answered. Her first two statements returned my thoughts to Adrian. But the last countered it because Adrian was a werewolf before turning into what he was. “I believe you’ve come in counter with one,” she stopped and turned to me. Her eyes narrowed into mine, and I felt the truth that lay at the bottom of my chest erupt from my mouth like I had no control over myself. “Yes,” I blurted. A smile played at the edge of her lips, then she turned and continued. “We think there’s something wrong, or someone is doing something which he or she shouldn’t be,” Heavy racing footsteps made us halt, an
JASMINES POVMy eyes fluttered open, taking in the light that seeped into them. I blinked several times to get a clear vision while keeping my head in place to get rid of the shrill sound in it. After some seconds, I could finally see what was before me. It was a room, not old, but a little untidy. There were clothes scattered around the chairs and the floor. The bed opposite me was unkempt, adorned with feminine wear. I pulled against the restraints on my wrist, but they sent me back to the chair with a harsh tug, the metal biting into my skin. My breath hitched as the realization sank in—I was tied up.Panic surged through me, but I forced myself to stay calm. I took a shaky breath and scanned the room again, searching for anything useful. The place smelled faintly of perfume and something else—something metallic.Blood.I swallowed hard, my heartbeat hammering against my ribs. Who had taken me? And why?The door creaked open, and I froze.A man stepped inside, his back to me un
CAINE’S POVI stared at the clock hanging at the far end of the hospital wall and discovered that I’d walked from end to end for thirty minutes. My mind was restless, and I was eager to find out the reason why I still felt incomplete. My father was still in the ward with Lilian and my uncle. They were interrogating her. That was a plus one to the discomfort that ached my mind. Alyssa was sitting somewhere around the corner. She hasn’t said a word since we arrived at the hospital. My gut believed that she knew something. Something she wasn’t saying to anyone and kept trying her best to hide it away from her expression. But I caught that flicker of knowledge for a second when we were driving Lilian to the hospital. When I asked her, she shoved it aside and claimed I caused damage when I wasn’t sure of my memory. Damage?Uncertain about the fragments of events that crossed my mind?They could call me anything but mad.That was the way Lucy wanted to put it. My newly wedded wife thoug
CAINES POV“Caine, that’s my wife you’re accusing,” my father pulled me back and whispered into my ear through his teeth. I shrugged him off and took steps further, but my uncle stepped in the way.“Caine, what’s come over you?” He asked with a low voice. “This is your wedding. What do you think you’re doing?” “She’s a traitor.” “Stop it!” My father yelled.The peace they were trying to maintain crumbled, and I had deadly eyes staring into mine. He walked closer to me, his eyes wandering in mine like he was trying to know what gave me the audacity to point an accusatory finger at his wife.“What is this all about, Huh? Because you do not want to get married? Is that why you have chosen to destroy that of your parents?”“If you think I’m lying…” I said before taking my gaze away from him and fixing it on Lilian. “Ask her how long she has known my mother,” “Your mother died years before I met Lilian,”“A year, you mean? And that means you're not denying the fact that she knew Mother
CAINES POVI stood before the grand mirror in my chamber, my reflection staring back at me, hollow-eyed and unrecognizable. The blue ceremonial robes draped over my shoulders felt heavy, suffocating, as if they carried the weight of every choice I hadn’t made for myself. The deep blue fabric was adorned with intricate silver embroidery, the symbol of my family stitched proudly into the chest. A reminder of the duty I could never escape. The servant attached the last piece of gold ring to my finger and took a few steps away from the mirror. “All set,” he bowed. Today, as per tradition of the house of Creeks, my marriage was to be held in the old traditional ways. Given the kind of line we descended from, our marriage process usually involved various types of rites. First, we would go to the river to get bathed under the moonlight. Also, there was the one of getting the head of an antler from the woods.A third was also mentioned to me, which involved the Sheet's reveal. It was con
CAINES POVDistant murmurings filled my ears as I stirred awake. My eyes fluttered as they received the rays from the white light hanging above my head. For the first few seconds, I was blinded by the light. After what felt like minutes of waiting, the light got dim, giving me a chance to take a view of my environment.“He’s waking up,” a voice said. It sounded muffled like he was speaking to me or someone else with water in his mouth. I tried to turn my head towards the direction of the sound, but a sharp pain shot through my head.“Ouch!” I winced, reaching to hold my head. The pain seared through, touching every nerve as it sent cold signals down the rest of my body. “Easy son,” my father's voice said. His footsteps rang in my ear like they were stepping on glass placed beside my ear, and I was forced to close both ears with my palms until I felt his hand on my neck. “You’re fine. You’re with family,” he said. Slowly, I let go of my ears and turned to him. He was still standing
LUCY'S POVBryan was serious about leaving Jasmine in the trunk till the following morning. He acted like we didn’t come with anyone else, all his attention focused on Liz. Her body had gone cold, and he was massaging it with a warm towel. I sat across the sitting room, watching him while Adrian got himself engaged in a discussion with some adults outside, sitting around a fire and passing bottles of drinks. “Is it always this quiet?” I asked, taking the first step to speak since I realized he was bent on saying nothing until Liz woke up. “Not always,” he replied. “Liz bore some type of light. Her absence must have dimmed that light. The reason why most of the women have refused to settle until they see her,” he said. A few hours after Adrian compelled the crowd that gathered in front of the house, some women stopped by again to see Liz. I was the one who spoke to them, giving an excuse that she would be back from her evening walk. Two more hours passed since I did that, and they
BRYANS POV“Liz, please.” I followed her behind, keeping up with her quick strides as she made her way back to the house. “It’s just going to be for a few days,”“A few days?” she turned to me. “Those…few days…as you call it, is enough to bring this little home down. You and I know how much effort we put into securing this place, into the protection of this land. Yet you want to sweep it under the bus all because of what?” She snapped.I sighed, seeing that this was already a lost argument. In our territory, we had no alpha or king. But we had people recognized for their strength and influence. My father was one of them, and that made him one of the most respected people in the rogue lands. Marrying Elizabeth, and her neutral ability to fight a warrior that she is, bestowed that same respect on her. Her say was final, and if she refused to grant me my request, no one else would. I glanced at Lucy who was watching from a distance, then back at Liz. “This one time, Liz. I promise to
BRYANS POVI parked the car at the front of the house, leaning back into the chair as I pulled the keys out. “This is my home,” I answered Lucy. She’d been curious ever since we headed out, probably because I chose not to handle this her way.Funny enough, this was her first being here despite how many years of dating. I kept this part of my family away from the world due to the amount of love I had for them. We were, however, seen as rogues. Perhaps that’s who we are. Lucy has always known that I belong to a rogue pack. She just didn’t know what pack it was. Seeing the shock on her face only made me more excited.“I thought you said your home was taken away from you? she asked, leaning forward to get a proper view of the people moving from place to place ahead of us.“I did say that. But you should have understood what home I was talking about,” I told her. My first home, which I referred to as the home I never met, was the Creeks mansion.I grew up in the outskirts of the city,
LUCY’S POVI walked out from where I hurled myself into for shelter, bridging the sweat off my hair. The place was in a mess—smoke gassed the entire room, its toxic smell making my stomach twist. The machine was fried, leaving most of its wires dancing by its sides.The smell choked me, forcing me to cough. With my elbow, I shielded my nose, while my eyes scanned the room for her.I spotted Bryan lying in the middle of the mess. Several things collapsed on him, and I thought I saw blood streaming from underneath one of them. My instincts kicked into Ron to his aid, which I did immediately.“Bryan,” I called, taking the things that obstructed my path off. They were a lot—from the woods from a frame, to some parts of the machine that exploded, and a part of the wall that crumbled in him. He groaned as he struggled to get himself free from the mess.“Don’t move. You’ll only make things worse,” I said. I searched around for an easier way through the mess, and that was when I spotted my