Ian took me to the town center and parked the car right in front of a cell phone shop. It was a lively street, full of stores and boutiques. It resembled a high-end shopping district… only smaller, far less crowded, and much more friendly. As I walked out of the car, I instantly saw the smiling faces of people passing me by. They all looked carefree and peaceful… I narrowed my eyes, scanning their almost unreal happiness, which made me wonder if their smiles were genuine, or false, and I found myself on the Truman Show's set. Ian walked out of the car and glanced at me questionably.
"Aren't you going to go inside?" He pointed at the shop's door.
The sound of his voice broke me out of a daze. "I am… I just…" I looked back at him, not knowing how to explain my weird behavior. "I'm going inside right now." I shot him the beamiest smile possible.
"Fine. I'll wait in the car," he tossed, opening the door on the driver's side.
"Actua
I kept staring at my reflection in the mirror, and I felt as if I was wearing a seductive nightgown. Not in hell, I was going to indulge his senses by presenting myself in this dress. I looked at the clock; it was exactly 1 PM. I ran to my closet and took out my favorite oversized, loose sweater. It was white, and it was long enough to cover my butt. I grinned wickedly, checking my look in the mirror for the final time. "Perfect!" I ran down the stairs, looking for the dining room. The door on the right was wide openas if inviting me in. I cautiously passed the threshold and found myself in a spacious room with a long, massive wooden table running the length of the room. "You're here." I heard a whisper right behind my ear. I turned around. Draven was standing inches away from me. He was wearing jeans and a black fitted T-shirt, partially exposing the tribal mark tattoos on his upper arms. His eyes slowly roamed down my body. I gulped but forced
I changed into jeans and my old sweatshirt. When I finally felt comfortable, I sat on the bed and started staring at my new phone. I was hoping to get a call from Kanan or Martha before tomorrow. I couldn't believe that it had only been a day and I already missed them. I would probably sit like that and wait if it weren't for Beta Ari knocking on my door. I let him in, and once he entered my room, I invited him to sit down."I assume that you and Alpha had a fight?" he asked as soon as I closed the door behind him.I smiled sourly at him. "How did you guess?""I saw him eat his lunch alone, murdering the food on the plate, and then he organized an extra training for his elite warrior squad," he smirked and narrowed his eyes at me."So why are you here instead of training?" I tried to ignore his interrogative gaze."I told Alpha that I would go and check on you. He agreed." Ari grinned cunningly."So I am your way of skipping training?" I chu
I guess you never know that you might miss someone until you are far away from that person. Martha and I had grown to be friends. It had happened unknowingly, and, at that moment, I wanted to hug her. Even though I couldn't, just hearing her voice was comforting and heartwarming. I kept smiling at the phone, feeling less alone in this new place where I was supposed to live from now on."Do you know how unbearable this day was?" She whined, obviously putting all the blame for her terrible day on me.I chuckled, "I know you'll tell me whether I want it or not.""You're damn right I will!" She let out an adorable roar, which made me grin even wider. "The corridor was so loud from the gossip about your leaving that it woke me up. Every servant was buzzing around that you had broken the blood bond to leave with the Alpha from the Moon Hill Pack. Do you have any idea how devastated I was hearing something like that?""It wasn't like I'd planned this to ha
I couldn't recall the last time I had such a peaceful sleep. I felt as if all the anxieties around me had decided to go on vacation. My mind was clear, and all the burning emotions were locked away, leaving my heart at ease. I needed that. It was the first time that I woke up at dawn completely regenerated and filled with energy. I was burdenless, although I didn't know where that carefree state came from.Since I had a lot of time before my appointed training, I used it on something I hadn't done for at least a year: I meditated. I slowly began to put all the tiny blocks of thoughts in order, fixing what was broken and healing my pain in the depths of my mind. Once I opened my eyes, I felt different, focused, as if I had entered some space that had been locked for years but was now open.As I was sitting on the floor by the bed, I looked through the window and suddenly saw the details my eyes only yesterday couldn't reach. I could see the different colors of the feath
The roaring monster stood right in front of me with his shredded human clothes lying around on the floor. While being on his four massive paws, he was still a whole head higher than me. His dark grey fur emanated savageness, and combined with the excessive rage overflowing his pupils, his aura screamed horrifying danger. The crowd went wild, supporting Brick's beast and encouraging him to attack me. I swallowed hard and glanced at Draven and Ari. "Alpha?" Ari stepped forward, expecting Alpha to interfere, but he was stopped by his Alpha's raised palm. Draven looked at me calmly without saying a word, and I could see a faint smirk appearing on his face. "You have to be kidding me!" I hissed, wondering if Alpha was trying to kill me. I glanced at my opponent. He was about to attack. I quickly calculated my chances, and a second later, I already knew that inside this building he could rip me to pieces in no time. This beast was way too close to me, and t
I had a slight taste of déjà vu once I opened my eyes and saw drops of drip flowing in a plastic tube. I instantly remembered when I woke up in Argent Investment Bank's medical center. It felt similar yet different… What felt similar was the hospital bed, but once I turned my head to the side, I saw a large window and a sunset over a beautiful forest outside. When I turned to the other side, I saw Draven sitting next to my bed. He was asleep. His head was lying on the bed with his cheek near my right hand that he was holding. His grip was tight with a hint of possessiveness in it. Staring at his calm, sleeping face, I started recalling every second of my fight with Brick. Once my mind captured the image of my ripped shoulder, I turned my eyes, trying to check how bad it looked.The whole area around my left collarbone and arm was patched with thick bandages and some stinking, herbal ointment underneath the layers of gauze. I tried to move my arm a bit and
Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on me as every corner of the training grounds became silent. My heart began to race, and my brain was slowly getting closer to a state of panic. Alpha Draven glanced at me briefly, letting me know that the next move was up to me, but what the hell was I supposed to do?!"Lilith, think for God's sake!" My mind activated the logical mode. "While they were sent here to join the pack on the battlefield, the vampire army kneels before YOU. If you don't do something quickly, there might be no peace treaty, and you will be forced to choose whether you want to be with the vampires or the werewolves!"The silence extended, and it forced an awkward smile on my face. I could see Draven clenching his teeth. It didn't look like the Royal Army would acknowledge him as their leader merely because the legions were sent there. I knew that I was going to regret what I was about to do, but I felt as if I had no other choice…"Thank you…
The party was supposed to be held in the large field near the forest. It was just outside the mansion's grounds. Beta Ari took me there. I was grateful for his company. I didn't want to spoil my mood by walking there with Draven. I was still pissed at him for what he had put me through, and I was additionally pissed at myself for doing something to his advantage after all of that. I couldn't evaluate where the limit of his arrogance was, and if I wasn't going to hear a sincere apology from him the next time we talked, I was going to punch him in the face. I deliberately delayed the moment we'd have this talk. I was looking forward to having some fun, drinking, and meeting people. Punching the Alpha of their pack in the middle of the party might have complicated a few things for me…When we reached the spot, I saw multiple long tables. They were already set up with plates and glasses for the drinks. There was a huge fire set in the middle of that field, giving just the