AUTHOR'S POV
25 YEARS AGOA vision would come today, Myra thought as the pain of labor zigzagged through her abdomen. Her insides felt like they were about to explode into bits and pieces from the intense pain she was going through. It was only by some miracle that her groans hadn't turned into full-blown screams of torment.As expected, after the incident with Jordan nine months ago, Myra had immediately been taken to see the Council of Elders: those pulling the strings behind everything that happened at Oceanpearl.Left, right and center, they threw questions at her, trying to understand why the son of the Alpha had been found battered and bruised. Each and every question they threw at her were met with a simple answer: Jordan attacked her.It turned out to be a good idea to allow Jordan to leave, because if he hadn't, then things would have been even worse.The Pack Elders were more concerned about the welfare of the Alpha'sRayne's POVThe narration came to an end, leaving us all silent with surprise. The quiet stretched on for minutes, only interrupted by the sound of our collective breathing.I stared at the Priestess before us, and other information she didn't give started to come to light before my eyes. Her white-blond hair has more white strands than yellow. Her bright blue eyes. Even the way she carried herself. She didn't simply speak about Myra—my mother—like a mere ordinary friend. She spoke like a sister; one carrying years of guilt of untold stories on her shoulders.“You're Libra,” I said, “you're the closest friend she had while she was alive. And you abandoned her.”Libra shook her head. “No. I would never abandon her. She was family to me. I was just hurt that she didn't listen to me when I warned her about the dangers of being with your father.”“Why would you think that she would give up the chance of being with her fated mate? It's the one thing that binds us all. Some people live out
Rayne's POVAfter everything that Libra said, she spent a little more time discussing other things with us, before she decided to leave. “My work here is done,” she said, rising to her feet at last. “I've told you all that you need to know regarding your mother. I just hope that it's enough.”“It is, thank you,” I said, shaking hands with her. She looked at me up and down, although I couldn't tell why. She adjusted her clothes and gave her parting wishes to Kaiden and my son.“Wait, is there some way we can reach you?” I asked. “Your knowledge would be greatly appreciated in some very important situations. I need to know that it's okay to reach out to you then.”“I always know when I am needed,” she replied. Without explaining further, she waved at us one last time, and left.I sagged into Kaiden's embrace, shutting my eyes once his lips touched my head. “I know it's a lot to take in, but there's not much you can do about it anymore. You know the truth now, but the only way you can
Rayne's POV“Hunted?” I asked Kaiden much later, in the confines of our own bedroom. The children were asleep, even baby Kairen had slept off not too long ago. I could already see that she would be a quiet child.Kaiden's arm went around me like usual, and pulled me flush against him. I couldn't tell if it was because he thought that it would keep me safe from the things he wanted to say, or because he just wanted me close to him—he could be clingy when he wanted to be. “Yes. Hunted,” he replied. “For a while now, there have been reports of our kind being chased down and killed. We're only just finding out how bad it has really been. No one from Mysticrock has been identified as a victim yet, but we can't be too sure. It's better to just let everyone know that the world isn't safe for us anymore.”“How did they even learn how to kill our kind?” “That, we still don't know, either someone betrayed us and sold our secrets to humans, or they have been observing us for so long that they
Rayne's POVLike a true leader, Kaiden led the meeting without breaking any sweat. I didn't expect any less from him, things like this came so easily to him. Maybe he was actually born with the mark of a Lycan King on his head and destiny. He pushed across his views in a straightforward manner, but still gave them room to return feedback if they so desired.Many of the Alphas expressed their fears concerning the attacks, like Alpha Theo, an old Alpha with graying hair and a face with so many lines that as he sat in the midst of the other Alphas, he looked like their grandfather. Many said that he was one of the oldest Alphas till date, the reason for this being that even though he had heirs, none of them were willing to carry on the mantle from him, and the pack members hadn't brought forth a worthy challenger for the title in the last two decades. “What happens to our people out there? You can't suppose we just abandon them to those . . . hunters,” he said. His chin wobbled as he sp
Rayne's POVFor some reason, seeing the email from the college felt surreal. It didn't actually sink in that I'd been accepted until I saw the mail, sitting pretty in my digital mailbox. I opened the letter and read it over and over again, and with each and every moment I did, my earlier inhibitions slipped away inch by inch. Eventually, I couldn't even remember why it was so important for me to not go.I placed a sleeping Kairen in her cot. The little thing looked perfectly content with her morning meal. With an enamored chuckle, I wiped off a string of milk off the corner of her pouty mouth. It startled me just how much like her father she looked, but her behavior was so similar to mine. With Roman, the case was reversed: he looked like me, but acted so much like his father, especially when it came to his joy at seemingly trivial things. He had reached that age where he liked to play around on his own, and only came to meet me when he lifted his head out of the haze of childish play
Rayne's POVJust like I thought, moving to the city felt like something out of my vivid dreams. The cars, the buildings, and even the people carried a certain aura that was so different from that of the people living in the less urbanized areas. Here, they walked with a purpose, dressed with a purpose, and spoke with a purpose.Kaiden helped me move into the apartment that he told me apart. It turned out that the place had been in his name for a long while, but he never really had any reason to live there except for days he had business in town. We spent half of the day setting and cleaning up, and he didn't forget to keep telling me about our agreement for me to return home the moment things got strange or out of order.Depending on my schedule, I decided that I still had to be going home frequently, because even though Kairen and Roman were in safe hands with their father and Sal, who had offered to watch them also, I couldn't stand being distant from my family for too long.“Everyt
Rayne's POVThe time for registration started, and while the sun shone brightly in the sky, I set out to experience the new world of adult education. I dressed up in a simple pair of skinny jeans, a gray tank top—which I had specifically bought because it looked the exact shade of Kaiden's eyes—and a cropped denim jacket. The weather was exceptionally hot, and too many layers would have just made me all sweaty and sticky before I even reached my destination.I assessed the world with a gaze full of awe—or so I believed—and wonder. The city was a far cry from the quiet outskirts where Mysticrock Pack was located. Over there, you could walk for a long time in a forest with no house in sight because all members of a pack lived in just a single location, leaving the remaining landmass to grow and thrive undisturbed. Many preferred it that way because they felt closer to their roots in such a place, than in a crowded place like the city. It wasn't like I hadn't been there before, but as
Rayne's POVThere's a certain way a person would look at you, and somehow, you'd be able to tell that they had experienced quite a number of things in their however big or small lifetime. Their eyes would be like windows into their minds and hearts, showing you just how careful you should be around them.This man had such eyes. He didn't look much older than I did—he was maybe around Kaiden's age or so. A faint stubble lined his chin, underneath full lips stretched into a straight, serious line. He had a nose that reminded me of those sculptures that usually sat in art galleries. As for his hair, well, it could have been done with a little bit of more dedicated brushing, but given the number of men that walked the halls with a similar hairstyle, I couldn't necessarily fault it.I didn't know that I had been staring blatantly at him until he gently shook me and leaned in closer. “Are you okay?”Embarrassed at my lack of courtesy, I nodded. “Yes.” I pulled away from him and started pick