AthenaMy wounds did not heal. Not even the slightest bit though it has already been a day.Usually, they would heal on their own during the day but this time they were drawn deep. They were like the invisible wounds Sebastian has given me all these days.He was destroying me bit by bit. He was ruining me every day and night. And after what he did last night, the need to escape from him was sowed deep within me.Last night, the realization had finally hit me— I had to escape his cage, not only for myself but for my soul. He'd already tainted me, snatched my innocence, leave me all shattered and scattered. And the way his tortures were increasing, I couldn't even imagine how he'd go.He certainly had no bounds. He was a sadist.And after the shower, I looked at myself in the mirror, and unknowingly I found my eyes filling with tears.The reality hurt more than the nightmare itself. The reality pained me and somehow it pained another part of me too—My wolf, who was like a shadow who mi
AthenaIt was late at night and Sebastian had not come to my room yet. As I looked at the clock, I came to realize, it was already hours past the time he'd usually come to my room.There were far fewer chances of him coming to my room, today. Maybe he was simply enjoying his night with his beloved mistress instead of deciding me torture me like every other day.I needed to go out of the room to reach Winona and get out of this place, but what if Sebastian comes all of a sudden?If he catches me trying to escape...I did even know what he'd do.Surely he wouldn't kill me, but whatever he'd do, I knew it was going to be worse than death.But sitting like this was not going to help me either.I might lose a huge opportunity because of my fear.What should I do?Sit here and wait for him or just put faith in fate and go for it?This was my last chance to escape. I couldn't miss it.Every minute with my so-called mate felt suffocating, I was dying little by little.....No! I couldn't miss t
AthenaEverything around me stopped, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, my eyes stayed glued to the sight of Winona's beheaded body and my shaking hand moved to touch my cheek where lingered her blood. A momentary disbelieve shrouded my body and soul.He killed her? He...Killed her.He just killed her right in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything to save the girl who was only trying to help me.She died because of me....I stilled on the spot, my blood felt cold as ice. For a moment I forgot how to move, and maybe even breathe. I did not know how to react, the horror I witnessed with my eyes left me petrified. I was shaken to my soul.He was a murderer. A bloody killer."Now that the first culprit has reached where sit deserved to be, it's your turn to pay for your mistakes, Athena Campbell," His voice sounded through the silent room breaking my trance.I looked at him, absolutely having no intention to run away or stop him even if, in his mind, he decided to kill me.I jus
AthenaI woke up in bed, alone in the room. Or so, that's what I'd thought until my eyes drifted to spot Sebastian sitting casually on the black couch set in the corner.Dread crawled up my insides just from the sight of him.It was indeed the morning, yet everything in his room made it seem still darker. The curtains were fully closed, the high walls with the deepest shade of black painting them and the minimal amount of lightning that was currently the only source of light, made it seem like there was a different sort of darkness that was draped over this room.Indeed it was expected, it was Sebastian's room— The Alpha who was considered the ruler of darkness with venomous nature and all of his barbaric deeds."So you are finally, awake," He spoke, letting the coffee mug set on the side table and stood up.I clutched the blanket tighter to me in reflex as he slowly walked closer to me.I found myself pressing my back further into the headboard of the bed, the memories of last night
AthenaJudging by the woman's facial structures and wrinkles that draped all over her face, it was not hard to scrutinize that her age could not be less than sixty. Her skin color was light brown and multiple freckles were dotted on her crinkled skin, grey covered most of her hair. There was a strange sort of care shining in her eyes as she looked at me."Who are you?" I asked.Confused and baffled by her sudden arrival. I did not even know who she was, and what could even be the reason for coming here late at night?"I am Julia, I used to work as Sebastian's nanny when he was a kid."Soon as she spoke what Sarah had said the day I came here after Sebastian purchased me rang in my mind as a recognition."If anyone who has the possibility to know about it is...Julia."— About his curse.If she'd come a few days, maybe I'd have bothered to ask her about Sebastian and his past but now, I just did not want to.What I experienced was enough to tell me he was and has always has been the ass
AthenaI couldn't breathe, speak or blink. I was horrified; There were so many emotions rushing inside of me at this moment. My entire existence was in denial right now. What I heard pained me beyond extreme, it was so severe that my body was trying to find relief by trying to deny the truth."No...no...no, you must be lying," I found myself vigorously shaking my head, despite knowing that there was not even a drop of a lie in everything she said, "It's not his story, it can't be his story."Julia must have seen the fear of acceptance that draped over my eyes because she did not try to convince me to believe her, she just kept speaking."His father killed his mother right in front of his eyes. He saw his mother's throat being slit by his father, I and many maids were there too but we all were forced to witness it just like the Nine years old Sebastian. Poor Carolina begged her mate, she knew there was none for her child except for her, her eyes constantly took glances at the tear-sta
AthenaI'd waited the entire night for Sebastian's arrival but he did not arrive. Maybe this was the first night I'd waited for him and this was also the night when I didn't get his glimpse.I knew I'd decided to help him out of his situation but was I going to be able to stay on my ground when everything he has done to me was still embedded deep inside my head?He had no control over himself or his mind whatsoever. But did that fully justify all his actions? No, I knew it didn't.Nonetheless, I still thought that my decision was not wrong.It was the truth that even if I did not get him out of the curse, there was no way of my escape. He was just so tied to the chains of his curse that he'd just never stop making everything hard for me, put me through hell because he was in need to suppress his feelings that the mate bond between us made him feel.Of course, getting Sebastian out of his curse was not only my want but also my need. I needed to do this in order to save both of us from
AthenaHe looked so unaffected and casual as if it wasn't just a murder he committed. He normally lit up a cigarette, the smoke that came off of it reflecting against his dark sunglass as he raised it to his mouth.There was no rage I could notice, there was no hurry, it was just an utterly calm demeanour of Sebastian that I had got to see a few times but that too was not this intense.The situation to me was confusing at first glance, and it was true that it scared me to see Sebastian killing another person right in front of my eyes with no emotion whatsoever. But when my eyes moved to take a look at the rest three men being held down to the ground by the guards, I became aware of what might be going on.But I still have no idea about who these people were and why they were brought here; Each of them was heavily injured as if they have badly beaten before they were put in this place and Sebastian's bloody knuckles told the story— He was the one who have beaten them."Are these the sa
Sebastian"Sebastian, you have to talk to Vincent. Enough is enough; I can't handle him anymore," Athena walked into the room, her hair cascading down her waist, her skin flushed with frustration, "Moreover, we don't even have enough room for toys and dresses now. There are still hundreds of things that Asher hasn't even tried yet, but he just dropped off more than ten bags full of outfits, just now! Asher's growing so fast; he won't even get to try all of it. It's all going to be a waste. God, I can't take it!"She threw her hands over her head. In her flowy white maxi dress, with no bra on, she did indeed look tempting. It might make me seem like a complete jerk, but I wasn't paying the least amount of attention to her words compared to what I was paying to her body now.Oh, how I would love to tear that dress off of her and have her on the bed, clutching onto the sheets with her silky hair sprawled all over the pillow while with each thrust, I'd drive deeper into her—it'd be a deli
Athena"Luna, there's someone who wants to meet both of you," the maid informed us."Who is it, sweetie?" I asked as I gently placed Asher in his crib. This was his second nap of the day, and in his soft snores, there was a hint of Sebastian. He had definitely taken after his father in terms of looks and a few habits."He says his name is Tristan Perez.""What, Tristan?" I asked, my brows rising in surprise, and Sebastian's reaction mirrored mine as he immediately closed his laptop."Bring him in," he said, “Right now."The maid promptly left the room.It had been four months since that fateful day when Sebastian, after apologizing to Tristan, me (even though I was unconscious at the time), and our newborn baby, disappeared. He had promised to return the following day, but Tristan had vanished without a trace. No phone calls, no visits, no messages, and no news. Cora had been devastated, but she eventually found the strength to move on, accepting the possibility that he might never re
AthenaFour Months Later"Sebastian, Vincent, I need to feed Asher. You two need to give him to me, right now!" I yelled for the second time, standing at the doorway with my arms crossed over my chest."Do you want to go to Mama?" Sebastian asked, planting soft kisses on Asher's cheeks, eliciting a chorus of giggles, "We don't think so. He's happier with Daddy and Uncle Vince.""Yeah, our little fighter is happier with us than with you, Athena. You seem to bore him all the time," Vincent chuckled, gently taking Asher in his arms and playfully nibbling on his ear, "What a big boy you are, huh?!" He planted a loving kiss atop Asher's head."Yeah, Mama's boring," Sebastian joked, pretending to lie down across Asher's lap. Asher, ever the daddy's boy, leaned in and gave Sebastian a kiss of his own, complete with a cute but slobbery open-mouthed smooch. That was his way of kissing."See, even Asher agrees with us," Vincent said with a proud grin.Goodness! When I had Asher, who could have
AthenaEverything around me felt too light, and my body felt burdened by an inexplicable weight. I was acutely aware of my own breath, the gentle touch of someone's fingers caressing my cheeks, and the faint, delicate movements of a small figure nestled in my arms.Do the departed continue to breathe? Perhaps in their consciousness, or maybe in a manner imperceptible to the living. Do the dead really breathe?Am I among the dead now? If I am, then why do I still sense that touch, one that seemed to coax my soul to the surface with every stroke? Why do I feel the presence of someone incredibly dear to me, as though a part of my essence had drawn near?Thoughts raced through my mind, clamouring for attention, until one realisation surfaced — my baby.My eyes slowly fluttered open, adjusting to the soft, ambient light. The surroundings were unmistakably familiar — our very own home, and our shared place—Our room.So....we made it?"Love," Sebastian's voice whispered beside me, and I turn
TristanI had made a mistake. A great one. One that I couldn’t undo no matter how much I wished.Cora handed me the diary as we all stood outside the hospital. The morning winds were bitterly cold or maybe, it was just the cold within me."This is Celine's diary," she said, her demeanour different today, unlike the times when she used to follow me around in an attempt to make me acknowledge the mate bond I had been denying until now. Of course, I knew the reason—she had seen the kind of person I had become.And who would ever want to be with a man like me? Worthless.I hadn't done this right. I made Athena pay a price she wasn't supposed to pay—all that pain and suffering just to see her child's face once. She had endured too much for my revenge, a revenge I shouldn't have sought in the first place. But what else could I do? I wanted to hurt Sebastian, and she was the only one who truly mattered to him in this entire world.Celine died to save Athena. Had I made her sacrifice go in va
Athena"What kind of sick joke is this?" Sebastian growled. "She can't even breathe, and you're asking her to push? Is this another one of your schemes to put her through even more suffering? Listen, Tristan, why don't you just leave? You've already succeeded, then just go.""Look, I'm not lying. I know I should be the last person you'd trust, but if you want to save her, this is the only way. It had always been this way.""Do you expect me to believe that? You're the one who brought my mate and child to this condition. And now, you suddenly change your mind and say you're willing to show a sick way to save her?""I don't know why I'm doing this, okay?" Tristan shouted. "I still don't know if I'm supposed to save your mate and child and give you a happily ever after when you've ruined hundreds of lives, including the one I loved. I'm not even sure if I won't regret my decision if I save her... but," his voice dropped low, "I don't know if I'll be able to forgive myself if she dies bec
Vincent"Where could it be?!" I scoured every corner of the room that my sister had once lived in. Each belonging I touched, felt like a piece of my soul leaving my body. She had degraded herself into being someone's... object, all to avenge a duty that was never meant to be hers in the first place.I had failed as a brother. First, I couldn't save my wife and child, and then my sister— I had failed as a brother, a husband, and a father. Perhaps, at some point, even as a son, the day I emptied all the bullets in my gun into my mother's body.What else could I have done? She wasn't the mother I once knew, or maybe she never was. She’d become just a wife, a woman consumed by revenge for her husband's death, stooping to any level she could."Fuck, I need to find it!""Do you really think she wrote about it in her diary?" Cora's voice was laced with frustration, mirroring my own. Despite her wound, she'd insisted on coming with me. Seeing her struggle and fight through the pain just to be
AthenaIn just a matter of minutes, perhaps five at most, another howl echoed from the same direction I had just fled. The urgency to rescue my child and escape intensified. The deeper I ventured, the jungle's darkness engulfed me, beyond the approaching dusk, as if the very terrain absorbed my every pawfall.Adjusting to my newfound lupine form proved challenging, despite the profound potential it held. Joy should have welled within me, had circumstances been different. Amid this life-and-death urgency for my child and me, my half-life of hell ended. The ash-hued fur now enveloping me marked my shift – bones realigning, former doubts erased. A single question remained, paramount: Can I save my baby?I did not know but I knew, I had to. No matter what, I had to.Irrespective, I surged forward with unrelenting speed, and the strength in my body grew. But the abdominal ache deepened, sapping my strides. My efforts persisted, each second ticking toward an impending reckoning. My deliver
SebastianThere was no trace of her anywhere. Every search and every query yielded negative results.Fuck this!A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. My heart's rhythm grew louder, each passing second eroding my grasp on composure—I can't forgive myself if anything happens to her or our child. Past mistakes already burdened me, and failing them now would be unbearable."Any leads?"."No, Alpha. No sign of her," came the reply."Then search around! Why the fuck are you calling me without anything to report? Damn it!”"Apologies, Alpha. We'll expand the search."I disconnected and flung the phone away. This situation was maddening. Worry consumed me, and Aaron's tactics, unexpected. I had misjudged his feelings for Athena, forgetting the twisted core that might lead him to harm her for his ego's sake.Damn it! I should've seen this coming. Accompanied her instead of letting her go with Cora.How could I act fucking careless?!I sped up the car, the dark night heightening my fears.