Rayne's POV
Kaiden's roar rang through the hall as the pin made contact with my flesh, and sunk deep into my abdomen. In seconds he had pushed Savannah out of the way and grabbed me before I hit the floor.His breaths came out in labored huffs, kissing the skin of my face. It comforted me, in some ways. “No!”I wanted to speak, to tell him about the child in my womb and how I didn't want to lose it, but all I could do was moan in pain as I struggled to remain conscious.Kaiden's eyes flashed red as he turned to Savannah, unhinged, murderous intent rolled off him in waves, and now I truly understood the power that bonded mates together.“You . . .” he said to her as she started to crawl backwards on her elbows. There was a manic look in her eyes, something that absolutely contorted the way she appeared.I could barely recognise her as the woman I had once confided in.I hadn't been stabbed in the center of my stomaRayne's POVRight from the moment I opened my eyes in the clinic for yet another attack against me, something felt out of place. An emptiness from inside of me opened its mouth and swallowed me whole, dousing me in ice from the inside out. I touched my stomach, dragging my fingers underneath the thin gown I wore to feel nothing but warm, unbroken skin there. Unsatisfied, I pressed down on the spot between my bladder and belly button, checking to see if I would feel anything there.The past few hours were blank in my head, and I had a feeling that it was because of whatever I had gone through after they brought me here to treat my wounds.I kept touching and touching, but I couldn't feel anything. Nothing had been there before, but simply by touching it I used to feel a presence underneath. Certainty that not only I shared this body. Someone took my hand, and pulled it away from my abdomen. My gown was gently pulled down over my thi
Rayne's POVWarmth pressed against my skin comfortingly, lulling me out of my slumber. I stretched my limbs, still basking in the quiet of the early morning without opening my eyes. I didn't need to see anything to know that I wasn't alone on the bed.Kaiden's arm sat across my stomach, pinning me to the bed effortlessly. At times like these, I was reminded of the strength held, and the power it probably took to keep it all within. His eyes were still closed, with lashes brushing against his sharp, proud cheekbones. Carefully, I drew a finger down the bridge of his nose, taking the ridges into memory. Beauty that could become vicious if the situation required it. For his lips that were pursed, even as he slept, I wondered what dream he could have been having.The night before had been nothing short of exquisite, and I wanted to bubble it up and keep it in someplace special inside my heart. Scenes of his searing lips brushing over my abdomen infiltrated my mind, and heat flushed over
Author's POVWhile Mysticrock pack engaged in what could be considered as a violent pursuit of peace and progress for their pack, Oceanpearl underwent something similar. Except that this wasn't done for peace and progress, but to satisfy the bellies of those that led with power.Reynolds sat in his room, with his head in his hands. From simply looking at him one would have thought that it was just a simple matter of him wanting to be by himself so that he could think, but the closer one looked, the better the true image was painted in one's mind.He had a lot going on inside his head. His wife, Sloane stepped into the chambers, feet scampering quickly over the tiled ground faster than she'd ever done in a very, very long time. “Reynolds,” she called out to him, before taking a seat by his side and resting a slender arm over his shoulders. “What's the matter?”To that, Reynolds raised his head, now ready to take on the questions his wife and mate asked. His eyes became clearer, and th
Rayne's POVI slipped into the night, taking off my clothes underneath the cover of the moon. I hadn't shifted in a while, and Lisa was starting to get antsy. Without impending doom threatening our safety every passing day, lenience had started to set in. With my newfound status as Luna, it meant that even if I didn't desire it, someone had to be with me at all times. I could understand why it was so, but it didn't mean I had to like it.Kaiden was caught up with duties that he couldn't ignore, so I took my boredom in stride and used the opportunity to get acquainted with the moon once again. As soon as my bare feet touched cool grass, I allowed my transformation to take course, launching me from human to wolf. As usual, my small form as a wolf meant that shifting wouldn't be so much of a hassle as it was for other people with larger wolves. Bones shifted, flattening in places, and expanding in others. The ground shifted closer to
Kaiden's POVThe fear in my mate's eyes lessened the bloodlust burning in my veins. I wanted to rip Victor's head clean off his body, but I couldn't risk scaring Rayne more than I already had.I let go of the still-twitching filth, barely taking notice of him as blood continuously poured out of his gaping, foul mouth. I should have done worse to him, but this would have to be enough for now.I shook my head to get rid of the excess blood still around my mouth and fur. Truly disgusting. Wet grass flattened underneath my feet as I went to her beautiful white form. She had once mentioned to.me that her wolf wasn't large, and because of that she had been considered as weak, but looking at her now in this form, she didn't look any less beautiful.Her bright green eyes were focused on me as I approached. I would have liked to nuzzle her slender neck as a way to comfort her, but I didn't want to get blood over her fur. So I reached into her min
Rayne's POVTo Kaiden, becoming a Luna wasn't an event that could have gone by without an official sort of celebration. He didn't even tell me his plans concerning it at all, but once the day came, I couldn't ignore the rush of energy in the air and the way people kept congratulating me when they walked past.The reverence in their eyes scared and honored me at the same time. The people, even without having to, had welcomed me with open arms and treated me as one of their own even before it became obvious to them that I was mated to their king. The bond the people of Mysticrock shared was a mystery that didn't need to be solved, but instead, nurtured and admired.One old woman, who had been walking with a small child no older than six, even stopped me along the hallway. She blessed me with her words, and inserted a lily behind my ear. The precision in her hand reminded me that even the old still possessed pure life within them, even though they were n
Rayne’s POVThe muscle in my jaw started to hurt from how hard I was biting down. My fingers shook, but found solace in Kaiden's hand. I hated the way my whole system reacted whenever I saw Reynolds. The shaking. The holding of breath as I waited for evil to befall me. The worry.I thought I had been healing from it all the last time I had seen him.He looked around the hall, with hands on his waist. “What a beautiful thing you both have going on here,” he said. “I'm a little jealous.”“What would your wife think?” Kaiden asked, voice too calm for the situation. I trusted him enough to know that he had everything under control, because if he was calm, then there was no reason for me to fret.But maybe it was the way Reynolds' had suddenly appeared here, right in our midst like he owned the place, that fanned the flames of my worry. Although nothing but a coward that couldn't be straightforward about a lot of things, every action he t
Rayne's POVI ran my hand over my mouth to keep myself from outrightly questioning the words I had just heard from Reynolds.“What exactly do you mean by, ‘see me before she's gone forever’?” “If it wasn't obvious from the picture alone, she's very ill, and the doctors aren't making any headway with her treatment,” said Reynolds. “She has a few weeks left, at most. You're the only thing she keeps talking about.”Even from the look in his eyes alone, I still couldn't bring myself to trust his words. But the picture . . . It couldn't have been fake, right?“How . . . How is she sick?” Werewolves didn't get ‘sick’. Sure, they could get severely hurt, like Bradford, poisoned, like Kaiden, but not sick. Our gene pool had become so isolated and deviated from that of normal humans that we just didn't have the capacity to fall prey to normal diseases. “We don't know. But it's bad, and it's very serious. You have to come with me as soon as you can.”I shook my head. “No. I'm not going anywhe