Watching the clock tick from the umpteenth time was starting to become a hassle. I hugged my feet to my chest, my butt sinking deep into the softness of the bed. ‘He’s not coming,’ Maya admitted. I sighed in defeat and laid on the bed, hugging a pillow to my chest. A few minutes passed when I heard the door click, then it was quietly pushed open. I heard silent footsteps, like tiptoes. My eyes closed as I listened to the sound of the steps approaching the bed, waiting till it got closer. The steps stopped beside the bed. My eyelids complied and stayed shut. A weight dropped to the bed beside me, something hovering over my face as a familiar sweet scent of bourbon vanilla, mixed with mint and oak filled my nostrils. I felt fingers brush my hair, and from the sparks that coated my skin, I immediately knew who it was. I turned and felt him jerk from the bed. When I opened my eyes, Brian was standing by the nightstand, pretending to be taking something out of it.I bit back a smile
A simple ball, I had read. It was just going to be a small parlor event, I had assumed. I didn’t need to dress too fancy, I had thought. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Tell me why we just arrived at a ginormous building, filled with couples in outfits that seemed right off the runway, people in makeup that could compete with plastic surgery. Yet, here I was, in the same outfit I had worn on my first date withBrian. It wasn't ugly, but maybe a little too underdressed for this. “Are you nervous, kitty?” Brain asked, gently squeezing my hand. “Uh?”I jerked my neck to him.“Your palm is sweaty,” He pointed out.“Oh, I’m sorry.” I quickly took my hand from his grip. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t care if they’re sweaty.” He grabbed my hand again, flashing a smile at me. I smiled back. “You’re obsessed with me, even my nasty sweat is therapeutic for you.” I joked to soothe my nerves down. “You’re not wrong. I wouldn’t even mind if you rub them down my body, all the way to places unreachable to no
What?”I half chuckled, hoping they were lying.“YEs, so what the hell do you want?” Emily snapped. “We're trying to move on and start over in a new pack. Don’t try to ruin it again.” No, no, no, no, no! This couldn’t be happening again.“No, you can’t be the Alpha. It just can’t happen. Find a different pack or anything else, just not here.” I shook my head. “Why do you care? WHy are you—” She gasped mid-sentence, quickly taking her phone out of her purse. “Baby,” she pulled her phone to him. “Is he the one?”“Yes,” he said and she gasped again. “You’re dating the Fisher family, so you’re here to take the Alpha position from us. No way!”“What?” Roger frowned. “You’ve crossed the line now. Why? Did you know all along that he was a rival of my granduncle?” “Why would I bother to know? I’m not in any way obsessed with your lives.” I frowned, yet my heart was pounding harshly, my thoughts racing through how I was going to explain this to Brian. Emily scoffed. “YOu stupid pretender.
~ RAINA ~ Pacing around the bathroom of the bar, I stopped and concluded: Tone was hiding something from me, and I knew it. He was always running off in the middle of the night to do whatever heavens knew. He would leave at intervals to answer multiple phone calls, and he had some physical changes that weren't normal, like his eyes changing colors. It was too confusing. Plus, I didn't like it. Exiting the bathroom, I made my way to the counter to order a glass of margarita when my gaze trailed off to Blade. "Hey!" I waved frantically. "How are things going between you and Lyric?" He shrugged. "Bad. She's not talking to me anymore. I think she blocked me." What in the world? Why'd she do that? "Can you please talk to her for me?""I would, but she wouldn't listen to me either. She's not gonna answer my calls or texts if I call." I sighed, taking a sip of my drink. Lyric was such a hard puzzle to solve. My phone buzzed, and I lifted it, seeing a call from Tone. Answering it, I gri
The hag stared at me and began to laugh. “What do you mean? What gift? How do I activate it?” I wondered. She stepped backwards then gazed into the confusion of my eyes before bursting into another fit of laughter.“ What? Do you think discovering such a unique gift would come by for free? Oh no, darling, no darling. You've got to pay and it's going to cost you a huge amount.” It was at this moment that I knew she was nothing but a scam. I glared down at her. “Get the hell out of here.” Her eyes widened and she stared at me and attempted to hold me but I stepped back. “No, darling. I know you might think it's a scam but I promise you you're missing out on a big opportunity; it's just going to cost you a lot because whatever we're going to need to activate this is going to be super expensive.” She flashed a yellow toothy grin.Scrunching my face, I stepped back. “I don't care and I'm not interested, so get out.” “Child , you're making a big mistake.” “I said I don't care!” I
~ BRIAN ~ (I know, I know, we finally get to see things from my perspective). Today represented the peak of my life. I had put up the challenge to the Alpha and Beta family, and J was ready to take over and finally satisfy and reclaim the desires of my past generations.I was fully dressed, my body was now quoted in my full armor for war. Just then my gaze trailed over to the most amazing, most gorgeous being sleeping in my bed. It felt like time stopped by just staring at her. Every day of my life, I questioned how I got lucky to have someone this gorgeous as my mate, as mine, mine to claim, mine to have, mine to hold, and mine to love. If anyone had told me that I would ever fall in love with anybody like this, I would have argued, because since I found out about the curse, it had ruined my passion for romance, filling me with the idea that I would never experience the joy of having a mate.However, upon finding out about Lyric, she had been a dream I looked forward to since th
~ BRIAN ~ “No, Mom. Stop it. This is not the time to start your nonsense. I know you don't like Lyric, but it's not the time to make accusations.” I snapped at her. “Oh, so now I'm making accusations? When I told you that girl was ill-fated, I told you you had the opportunity to change your mate and request for someone else, but no, you just had to stick with that thing.” As she said that, my hands balled into fists, a wave of heat rushing up to my head. “I don't know what the heck you saw in her, but look at what she's done. She already messed things up for you. That filthy—”“Mom, be quiet.” I growled and glanced around at the confused faces of the people. “this is not the place and this is not the time for this. I have claimed the Alpha power; it is an important part of my life and we need to figure out what went wrong. Lyric must be missing.” Shuffling sounds came from behind me and I glanced in the direction to see Roger begin to move, coughing. His eyes opened as he cough
~ LYRIC ~ It had been 42 hours, I thought to myself, glancing at the wall clock on the broken wall across from me. I had six hours left. I knew I had to hurry. If those six hours passed and Brian couldn't kiss mee, then he’ll be defeated. The entire scheme would be a waste. Heaven know what would be on his mind right now, I found out Emily had snuck in to clear my closet out to make it seem like I had run away instead. Brian must hate me so much. I glanced at the rectangular block by my feet, something that once bubbled with lively videos and text messages,now laying at my foot, dead. She had also turned my phone off to avoid any communication.I stared around the room, and it was obvious I had been dumped in an abandoned barn that looked like it had been built in the twentieth century. Suddenly, I noticed a knife. My eyes widened. I immediately hopped with the chair andI grabbed it with my feet. It took a while till I successfully passed it to my hands, slicing through the rope
“What?” I screamed. “How could he do such a thing? Why? Where?” I asked at once.“I don’t know. After you had left the party, I got bored, so I was doing extra research on werewolves upstairs, then I stepped out, only to find him at the party, kissing another woman!” She wailed. “That bastard!” I gasped. “He just… I didn’t invite him to the party, so he didn’t know I was going there, and he just came with another woman. I just.. Gosh, I’m gonna pass out.” She said breathlessly, palming her face as she wailed. “Why? Why me?”Her body began to tremble, so I hugged her. “It’s okay, I’m so sorry.” “It’s not your fault. I should've listened to you when you yelled that he was irresponsible. I sacrificed everything for him and even lived in that shabby house with him, just out of love. How could he betray me like that?” She cried. Her body was shaking vigorously. I patted her back to try to calm her down, but it didn’t do anything. “It’s okay.”‘It’s not okay, not at all.” She wailed. “H
Pulling away from the granny, I nodded. That made my chest sink deeper because not only was the thought of Brian dying disturbing enough, now I had to continue bearing the burden of this knowledge by myself. “Can I please get your number?” They looked at one another and burst into laughter. “WE don’t do that here. We’re very traditional and don’t want those technological things messing with us.” Janice said. “Oh, then I guess I’ll have to come back to visit?” I raised my shoulders. “Absolutely, and you both are welcome anytime.” Pat said. “Thank you,” Brian and I said in unison. “What exactly did you mean by 'she's gifted’?”Brian asked. “It’s just as you have said it. She is extremely gifted. Certain werewolves are chosen once in a thousand years to possess the power of the moon, which represents that they would be the most powerful werewolf alive, physically and spiritually. They would possess physical strength, and powers that are not ordinary. This time, Lyric is the chosen
I watched myself in the mirror and my eyes flooded with tears. The white dress was knee-light, body hugging and its hem had a white furry coat around it that gave off a vibe of a wedding dress. Brian definitely had ulterior motives when he had bought this for me. I had tied my hair up to a neat bun and added some accessories I found. I also found makeup items that were my perfect shade, so I caked my face a bit and it turned out looking gorgeous. ‘Remember why we actually came here?’ Maya said and before she could speak further, I cut her off. I didn’t need any other option, not even my wolf’s. I felt her tugging at my mind, forcing me to let her speak, but I didn’t give her the chance to. A knock came on my room door, followed by Brian pushing it open. “Are you ready?” He asked with a grin. I nodded. He stretched out his hand to me and I took it, staring down at his neatly ironed black tuxedo . HIs gorgeous dark brown hair was slightly gelled backwards, and because it was longer,
“Wait. What?” His brows jerked upwards. I nodded, laughing. “Yes. Let’s get married, right now. Jordan can be a witness on the call, whatever location. We can sign our marriage legally, do the blood oath at a temple or a park. I don’t know what it is, but…” I tried to define what felt like explosions in my belly, a feeling that I Could do anything right now. “”Are you certain?”“I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life. Let’s get married. It’s a win win. The pack wins, we win.” I was grinning from ear to ear. “Uh… okay, okay.” He glanced back then back at me then at the phone and he looked back and forth, searching for something. “I swear I don’t know what I’m looking for.” He said and we both laughed. “Get your car keys first.” I instructed. “Okay, gotcha! Wait here, okay? Don’t run away after I leave.” He instructed.I threw my head back to laugh. “Why would I run away?”“That’s right. Why would you?” He clicked his tongue and ran up the stairs. I heard him exclai
“What did you just say?” I asked Brian, a frown on my face. “I– I… I can explain.” He immediately took off his apron from his body, rushing to me. “Lyric is there?” The panic in Jordan’s voice could be heard over the phone. I turned around, storming off, my fists clenched to its side. “Wait! It’s not what you think it is!” He called, his steps thundering behind me. I increased my pace but he caught up with me and grabbed my wrist, forcing me to a halt. “Let me go!” I hollered, yanking my hand from his grip. “Please hear me out. I promise it’s not what you think.” His face was paler than it was, his breath quickening. “What do you mean? Are you crazy? Why would you propose to me but not want to marry me?” I screamed. “That’s not what I meant, I promise. I swear, it’s not. Of course, I’d want to marry you. I won’t propose to you for clout.” “You said otherwise earlier!” I snapped. My entire body was boiling. I could swear smoke was oozing out of my ears. “It’s a misunderstan
I tapped my feet uncontrollably in the cab as I reflected on Roger’s words. ‘Brain would die in a war,” Roger had said. I shook my head, ridding my brain of such horrific thoughts. No way! I shouldn’t believe Roger's words. I don’t know what came over me with Roger tonight, but it shouldn’t make me believe all he had said. He was still the same old liar. I may have forgiven him about our past relationship, but that didn’t mean I had to completely trust him now. As much as I tried to convince myself, my body became more unsteady at the thought of Brian losing his life too soon. “Can you please drive faster?” I said to the cab driver, and he shot me a death glare through the rear-view mirror. “This is the tenth time you’re saying that, ma'am. I want to believe you’re not blind and can see the traffic ahead of us. I can't make my car fly over the other cars.” He snapped. “I–I’m sorry.” I said, immediately drifting my attention back to my phone to avoid catching his glare. I tried c
I stepped out of the building, a frown on my face as I glazed around for the annoying sight of Roger. Something kept poking my mind, telling me I didn’t need to know and I should just ignore his text and go back inside. However, a heavier stubbornness pushed me all the way out of the hall and was waiting to hear what Roger had to spill.MY gaze shifted to the side of the porch and a couple were making out beyond viewer’s appropriation. It made the frown on my face worsen. “Get a room!” I yelled. They shot me a glare and resumed their nonsense. I walked away from them, watching between the jam packed cars to see if I’d see a familiar figure around, but none was found. Rolling my eyes, I began walking back in when my phone chimed again. ‘Calm down, baby. I’m coming. I see you. Just wait.’ Roger’s text popped up.My frown hardened at his text, yet I waited and lifted my head to the side, watching Roger scurry up to me. “Hey, baby.” He grinned.“Call me that again and you won’t live t
My body immediately began trembling and I glanced at Raina who had her brows furrowed in confusion. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Raina asked, stepping in front of me. “It means exactly what we said. She had come to confess it by herself.” A lanky girl draped in all-black and black makeup said, walking towards us. “Confess it?” I lifted a brow and finally looked behind me, realizing that Bri had walked in right after us. She had a tight, pursed-lip smile on her face. I raised an eyebrow at her and she just averted her gaze. “Yeah, she confessed it herself and ruined the fun of us trying to discover the truth.” The lanky girl said, picking a glass of drink from the table. “What are you going to do now? You’ll surely be expelled.” someone yelled at Bri. “Yeah! Reveal who the professor is. Why are you still trying to protect his image?” Someone else hollered. They kept yelling, till it became jumbled nonsense. Bri, on the other hand, was trembling as they spoke, her
My forehead furrowed at her like she was one stupid child. "What are you rambling about?" "Cut the crap!""Cut what crap?!" I yelled back, making her flinch. "You just walked up to me, yelled at Ms, and started rambling nonsense, yet you're telling me to drop the act. I honestly don't know what you're talking about." "So you've never noticed anything off about yourself as a werewolf since you were born?" She raises a brow, but her forehead was still furrowed up in a frown. "No. I mean…" was I supposed to tell her? I didn't think twice before blurting out, "I'm cursed, and you should know it, I was bullied for it in middle school and high school." "I joined our high school late. How am I supposed to know?" She hissed. "You idiot. Who made you tag a blessing as a curse?" "Wait. What are you… what do you mean?" I stepped back, trying to gather my thoughts as one piece. "I'm…" "It's not a curse. I've done my research. You've been meddling with my love life so much, I wanted to find