Rayne's POVChaos erupted. People jumped out of their seats, screaming like it was the end of the world—it might have as well been to some of them. They rushed to the exit of the café, not caring that the creature they were trying to escape from was closer to the exit of the shop than the inside of the shop. I wanted to raise my voice and tell them that they didn't have to be scared of the man since he wasn't a Rogue, but I bit my tongue. There was no better way to tear off my cover and expose me.I shook my head. Why now? Why did the man shift in broad daylight?The wolf in question turned his head heavenward and released a great howl, further eliciting more screams and actions of panic from the people nearby, before bounding off past the café. I wanted to follow him and understand what had just happened, but I couldn't leave Celine and Jacob. Especially with what I already knew about Jacob, I couldn't give him any reason to doubt or suspect me.Celine's voice was full of awe rather
Rayne's POVI couldn't feel anything. That was what stood out to me. All shapes, moving or immobile, were vivid—almost too vivid to have been captured by my tired eyes. The atmosphere, although I couldn't feel it, seemed like it would need someone to put on something with significant layers to ward off the growing chill.At first, I didn't know where I was, but as I delved deeper and further, it all started to make sense. The way the sky looked, the people moving about, and even the shape of houses. For whatever reason, I was back in Oceanpearl pack. Initially, I had little idea of what it meant or what I had to do, but the further I looked, the clearer things became. I followed a familiar face; one of the lower omegas that usually attended to the high-ranking pack members at the time. People like Reynold or my aunt. The woman smoothed her patterned dress, nervousness was evident on her petite form. Whatever she wanted to do, she hadn't done it before, or she didn't know how to go
Rayne's POVDays passed, and the incident that took place at the café still hadn't died down. Luckily for me, I didn't have to shift as much as other werewolves, so I didn't have to risk my life just to fulfill that criteria.People were getting too comfortable with the ideas of werewolves. At school, people didn't miss out on the chance to scream and point at an innocent person, tagging them as a creature of the night simply because they had odd behaviors.Also, a group of people had started frequenting the school halls, dressed in all back combat gear. They called themselves the Anti-Beast Alliance. In other words, they were the so-called werewolf hunters that were responsible for the capture and death of our kind. At first, I deemed them harmless, until they started subjecting suspected werewolves to interrogations.Of course, the school wasn't happy with their presence, and constantly pushed back against them, which made them less effective at their investigations, fortunately. Bu
Rayne's POVThings were no longer meant to be taken easily. The attacks on our kind were getting bolder, and it wasn't fair that we were the ones that had to show restraint.I went over my investigation notes again, trying to piece together the little things I had found. The suspect I had for now was Jacob, but he had started acting too weird for me to even keep a close eye on him. The AA’s efforts could have been blamed, but I didn't see any clear link connecting them to those deaths. They just appeared like simple figureheads covering up something deeper and darker. The body found at Mysticrock's borders had undoubtedly been one of our own pack members living in the city. He had been a middle-aged man who lived alone with his dog. Once, he had been married, but somehow the marriage didn't work out, and he was left all alone.I thought about wht hisnlast moments must have been like. If he felt fear or simply wanted everything to be done and over with. The marks on his body suggested
Rayne's POVI blinked multiple times to clear my head. The images remained, plaguing me each and every passing minute. Jacob's brother had been killed by a werewolf indeed, but it wasn't the young werewolf I had seen in the vision. What killed him had been a much more mature wolf, and feminine from the shape of its body. It had ripped into Jacob's brother's neck so quickly that he was dead before he even touched the ground.The gruesome imagery unsettled me so deeply. I had never gotten used to violence, and I never would. The mere sight of blood rushing out of that guy's neck like a river . . .“What are you doing here?” The voice triggered the tiny hairs on my neck, and I whirled around. Jacob stood there, looking at me with a suspicious look on his face. I wanted to ask him the same question, but I noticed that I was stepping very close to something sticking out of the ground. I had missed it earlier when I walked in there, but now looking at it, I wondered how I had not even see
Rayne's POVDays later, I went over to the coroner's place. The building had definitely been in existence for a very long time, and reeked of preservatives used for human flesh. I used Jacob's directions and descriptions to find the man in particular that told him about how his brother's death had been the work of a bloodthirsty werewolf.What did the man know about werewolves that gave him the boldness to make such utterances about them?Everything about my plan seemed easy enough when I sat in the comfort of my room, scheming. But after stepping into the building that had seen so many corpses, I momentarily blanked out.I wrapped my jacket tighter around myself and shook myself slightly to get my blood flowing. Kaiden didn't know how I had been taking risks by putting myself into this whole situation, and I didn't intend on telling him anything until I found something tangible.The coroner, known as Mr. Gerald, greeted me warmly, another unexpected behavior from one I experienced to
Rayne's POVKaiden's hug when I got back home was warm and long enough to chase away some of the fatigue eating away at me. I could sense the worry in the tightness of his embrace, and the way he didn't release a breath until he had fully caught hold of me. I had missed him so much, and I didn't know the extent of it until I felt his warmth against me. He still had the same sturdy muscles that got me excited when we were alone together. Whatever the Moon Goddess had been doing when she was making him, was definitely the best decision she couldn have made. My hand landed on his chest and took a little time touching his warm flesh. He pressed me closer to him with a light groan and kissed me, the way he always did when we had been apart for much too long. Our breaths mingled together, and I didn't mind breathing in his air because it made my head feel so light. I held on to him for dear life, drinking him in.At last, we finally came up for hair. When we saw the flushed look on each o
Rayne's POV“Who is it?” I asked. The news brought relief and anxiety at the same time. Relief because at least one of the two people I had in mind would be absolved of suspicion, and anxiety because what did that mean for the other?“Crest.”“What?” I nearly rose to my feet. He wasn't the one I had been expecting, given that he had been so clear about his hatred for werewolves. “But . . . He hates us.”Kaiden shook his head. “I know about what happened to his brother, and of course, he doesn't exactly love us as a race, but he is dedicated to protecting both sides, rather than eradicating one.”“No. No. But he told me himself that we deserved what was happening to us—the murders, everything. Why would he say all that if he was an ally?”He looked at me seriously. “That is strange, but so far, he hasn't given us any reason to doubt him. His sheer will alone led him to us. He's a bloodhound.”“What do you mean?”“We all deal with grief in different ways. For him, dealing with it was by
Author’s POVYears had passed since the great war that signaled the end of an era for the Mysticrock pack and its allies. That singular moment that had seemed miniscule in the eyes of many ended up being a memorable turning point in the treaty between humans and werewolves all over the world. The scars of the terrible times had healed, though the memories of struggle and loss remained etched in the hearts of those who survived. Life, however, had a way of moving forward, and in the years since Dr. Cedric’s imprisonment, the werewolf community had continued to thrive. Mysticrock pack had expanded even further since Rayne’s rescue of the imprisoned werewolves. Many of them chose to remain in service to her, preferring to stay within reach of the Lycan Queen, than even in their own home packs. The pack now stretched across more miles of dense forest, now basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun. The land had increased in vibrancy, and anyone who saw it wouldn’t have been able to tell
Rayne's POVKaiden.I smiled at the thought of him, my heart swelling with warmth. He had been there all along, quietly watching, waiting, and never pushing. Even when I had been mated to an Alpha, our fates intertwined in ways I hadn’t understood. Kaiden had been my constant, my true north, even when I didn’t realize it. And now, here we were, fated to be together, just as it was always meant to be. Even the years apart did nothing to dampen the flames of our passion. Many times, thinking about him was what kept me moving during the most terrible of days—the hope that eventually, once I got free, I would be back by his side, where I was truly meant to be. The place where I truly belonged.A soft rustle of leaves pulled me from my thoughts, and I opened my eyes to see Sal approaching. Her twin daughters, Ivy and Isla, followed closely behind, their identical faces full of curiosity and energy. Seeing them filled me with a burst of joy, because I could still vividly remember when she a
RAYNE'S POVIt’s strange when I look back at everything now. All that chaos, the pain, the heartbreak—it all seems like a lifetime ago, though it’s only been months since my world changed for the better once again. I sat at the edge of the pack grounds, watching the late afternoon sun stretch its golden light across the treetops. A soft breeze played with the locks of my hair, pushing the strands against my face in a tickling manner. The wind carried the familiar scent of pine and earth, but it also brought memories, tugging at my mind until I could no longer push them aside.Eighteen years. That’s how long I had been trapped, held captive by Dr. Cedric, who cared for nothing else but his own twisted ideals—only what my blood could do for him. I used to wonder how I survived all those years, locked away, forgotten by the world I had once known, and separated from my family. The nights that I had screamed myself to sleep because I couldn’t stand the silence of those human-sized pods o
Kairen's POVI couldn’t help but let out a little surprised laugh as he took my hand and led me away from the crowd. Roman, who was talking to a group of his classmates, momentarily paised to give us a knowing look as we passed, but he didn’t say anything. He simply gave a small wave before turning back to the group of friends he was with. Todd didn’t say much as we walked, his hand warm and steady in mine as we made our way through the campus and out into the surrounding woods. It wasn’t until we reached the all too familiar clearing—the place where we had first crossed paths—that I realized where he was taking me.The memories flooded back the moment we stepped into the familiar space. The trees were just as tall, their branches swaying gently in the wind, and the soft sound of the nearby stream filled the air. It was peaceful here, just like it had been that day so long ago, when our lives had first intertwined. Who would have ever thought that I would have fallen in love with a g
Kairen's POVMonths had passed since the chaos surrounding Dr. Cedric had finally come to a fruitful demise. Life had slowly begun to find its beat once again, though the scars of what we’d been through still lingered in small, subtle ways. The pack had recovered from most of the damage done in those crucial 18 years, the tension, fear and anxiety giving way to a renewed sense of strength and hope. But more than anything, the peace allowed us to move forward—each of us in our own way.Today, we were gathered for something far different than the clashing of claws and roaring. The university campus buzzed with excitement and celebration as students in their robes moved through the courtyard, their faces lit up with the glow of glorious achievement. They were celebrating the years they had gone through the halls of this school, studying to become people of influence in the nearest future. Todd and Roman were among them, their final year completed, and now they were finally graduating. T
Kairen's POVI stood next to Todd, the silence between us heavy with everything left unsaid. His face was drawn, shadows clinging beneath his eyes, and I wondered how much longer he could keep this up—this weight he carried, the war within him.“Todd...” I began, unsure of what to say. What could I say? His father was a monster, and though I had known Dr. Cedric’s cruelty, I couldn’t pretend to understand what it meant to Todd. It wasn’t just about stopping a villain; it was personal, wrapped in all the twisted layers of family, duty, and a lot of shame.He probably didn't feel like he was supposed to be by my side.Todd shook his head, as if to stop me from saying whatever was on my mind. “Don’t, Kairen,” he said softly, his voice hoarse. “Don’t say anything. You don't have to try to make me feel better about this.”I hesitated, but I couldn’t let it go. “It’s not your fault,” I said, my words firmer than I felt. “It's not your fault at all.”His lips twitched, but it was far from a
Kairen's POVThe air I breathed in that evening remained thick with dampness, and the stench of blood and fear still lingered, though the fighting had long since ended. Even though the manor was now pristine and devoid of any evidence of the terrible fight that occurred, the memories still lingered in my brain, and I didn't think that anything would have been able to change that anytime soon. Todd had been quiet for most of the evening, focused on freeing the last of the prisoners trapped in the underground cells beneath the manor. Mom had said that even though she had managed to rescue some of them, she had the feeling that there were more of our kind still stuck in the manor—but she couldn't find out where for some reason.Todd had volunteered to go in search of the other prisoners and I had decided to go along with him for two reasons. One, I actually wanted to get some alone time with him and iron out some loose ends concerning his father's imprisonment. I could tell that he wasn
Kairen's POV“Your mother's healing capabilities is probably the major reason she was kept here,” said Dad. “I suspected that one of you might have inherited her abilities, but I didn't know who would.”By this time, Roman's wound had already healed halfway, and color had started to seep back into his face. He hadn't spoken yet, but the look on his face was one of pure relief.I didn't even know what to feel at that point. I had gone from shocked, to grieved, and back to shocked. All I could do was watch him, knowing fully well that I was completely dumbfounded to say or do anything else until I was sure of what was happening.“I guess Roman took my healing, and you,” Mom turned to me, smiling for the first time since she saw her son's supposedly dead body, “and you took my gift of sight.”“Sight?” I asked quietly, pressing a shaking hand to my chest. “What do you mean by sight?”“It's what we call being able to see beyond the physical. I discovered mine late, but my mom was supposedl
Kairen's POVTo my surprise, Dad only walked over to me and ran his hand through my hair. “My daughter has found a mate. Which I find to be a very wonderful thing. She is an excellent judge of character, so I have no doubt that she wouldn't have picked this young man if she didn't see him as worthy.”The man who had spoken up earlier frowned, his face showing disgust. “You would allow your child to be with the son of the one who had tormented your kind? The one who even kept your own mate away from you?” The man's eyes trembled as he stared at Dad. As long as Dad remained the Lycan King, no one actually had the guts to be disrespectful towards him.“I would allow my child the freedom to choose.”The man sneered. “And that is why we all decided that you weren't the best choice to lead us as a society any longer. The years must have changed you . . . Made you more of a spineless diplomat than the warrior you showed us years ago when you were going after this position.”Dad didn't respo