ALEXAKIS After tracking one of the people who were so loyal to Nathaniel that they fled the pack after he disappeared, I finally found one. I was skeptical about approaching him because I was sure he resented me a lot for stealing the position the man he loved wanted. I soon found out that I was worried about nothing. The man had wanted to return to the pack earlier but was scared about what my reaction would be and for his life."So, you are now telling me that Nathaniel had not gotten into contact with you for over a month now?" I asked the man. We were currently sitting across from each other. For a reply, the man nodded. "How is that possible?"If I were to believe what this man in front of me was saying, that had to mean that the last time he talked to Nathaniel was when I first imprisoned him for treason, before the coronation day and the uproar he caused happened. "The last I heard from him was... was... when he said he was going to... you know... attack you." The man stammer
Scott's POV I was already at the secret place where I was to meet the hunters who chose to side with me. I had sent them to listen in on the news concerning Alex. None of them were allowed to go closer to the man. They were just to mingle with the people of the pack in public places like the market and all that. Finally, there was some sort of news ready for me to hear."So, what is the update about?" I asked. There were about twenty of them present in the room with me. I watched as one of them stepped forward to deliver the update."That man is having another coronation soon after we put an end to the former one." He announced."What?!" I screamed. I didn't know if it was because I screamed or because my demonic aura released some coldness into the air at my anger, but most of the hunters moves backward as they shivered slightly.How dare that shameless man try to hold another Coronation after I just thwarted the first one barely two weeks ago? Was he that desperate to gain a footin
Claire's POV My joy knew no bounds the moment the Elder announced that everyone should pay their homages to the new Alpha of the pack. Before that, I had been a nervous wreck, praying to all the entities above that the incident that happened the last time would not repeat itself. I also prayed that Nathaniel would not choose that auspicious moment to appear and demand for the throne.And now, it was finally done. Alex was now the Alpha of the pack."Claire, can you get me some juice?" Luna Lisa asked."Sure," I beamed at her. I left her side, slightly feeling guilty that I was disobeying Alex's order for me to stay where the woman was. As I walked, I smiled at the pack members and the neighboring pack representatives who came over to pay their respects to the new Alpha. However, I noticed that none of them returned the same energy I gave them. I found that strange but still brushed it off as unnecessarily worrying over something that might not mean anything. I went over to where the
205Evie's POV My head still banged from just thinking about Scott, Nathaniel, my deal with them, and especially how to get everything over and done with. For the last three days, I had thought about nothing, but why Scott wanted me to be the commander of the hunters. Only one reason came to my mind and stayed all the while.He wanted to be the leader himself.It stood to reason that he wanted me to grab that position from Father first, then he would hijack it from me later. The explanation made a whole lot of sense to me. The fact that the man had first dated Claire who was supposed to be the heir to the position, and then dump her quickly and came for me when it was apparent that I was the favored child also added to the assurance I had about my thought. After all, if he married the successor to the position, he automatically becomes the owner of it."That jerk!" I yelled suddenly, feeling overly frustrated with myself. The door creaked open, and I looked up to see who would intru
ALEXAKIS "Claire!" I yelled for what was the third time in five minutes just to get the attention of the woman. That was all that had been going on now. The woman had done nothing but zoned out while we were at the dining table, having breakfast. "Huh?' She answered absentmindedly. When she looked at me and saw that my gaze remained on her, she winced and had the grace to look sorry for her odd behavior."What is it?" I asked her without wasting any time. She had been like that ever since we woke up this morning. I had to shout her name multiple times before she returned her attention to me. That was not even the worst of it as she looked apologetic every time she did that, only to repeat the same process. I was beginning to be fed up with such an attitude, but I didn't want to say anything that would hurt her feelings."Nothing." She answered, shaking her head. "Hiding things from me now?" I asked in a very tired voice. I was still worn out from the event of the previous day, so h
Scott's POV "May I ask what the essence of this meeting is?!" Malkholm roared at the top of his voice.I looked at the man, feeling irritated with the way he has been acting like an enemy ever since I called for this meeting. His action was now beginning to pass me off, and I was barely able to control the rage that was boiling in me."A meeting is going on," I responded. My voice sounded a lot calmer than how I felt currently. Still, I was ready to hold it all in because I didn't want to react negatively to the man who took care of me when I was a nobody. Otherwise, he would already be regretting why he was trying to stand as a hindrance to me."Why are we having a meeting when the leader and his heir, Evie, are not even here?" The man asked again.I snorted. I thought that it was easier to understand exactly what was supposed to be going on with these people. After all, the leader and his heir were not here. That should automatically transfer to them that I was aiming to become the
Claire's POV After contemplating my decision for a while, I finally came to a conclusion. It would be better for me to leave Alex and the pack, even if it was only for a while. Maybe when I would return, the animosity these people had toward me would be gone."Alex, can I have a word with you?" I asked. We were seated in the living room. He was busy with some files while I had my laptop in front of me, but I couldn't concentrate on anything I was learning on the screen. The man looked up from his work and gave me a gentle smile."I'm all ears, love." He said, the smile still plastered across his face."I want to leave," I let out quickly. I was afraid that if I hesitated, I would never be able to say it to him. I winced as he dropped the files in his hand on the floor and rushed over to where I was, holding my hands."Why? What is it?" He asked in a very gentle tone. "I just... I need a break," I told him."I know. I've been feeling the way you keep pulling away from me recently. I
ALEXAKIS I wasn't sure what exactly was making my heart feel like it had been shattered into two. Was it how Claire left me after I thought that she was going to stop and think about the love between us? Or was it because the house now seemed empty without her?I wanted her close to me - that was a fact. If I hadn't stepped into the position of the Alpha already, I would have damned every other thing and asked her to leave with me to a faraway place where we would be happy together, without anyone judging us.But I was already one, and she felt out of place.I knew it was necessary for her to take the break as she truly needed it, but I was against her going over to her parent's house. Still, that was the only safe place I knew would work for now. That didn't make my worry lessen any bit, though.Apart from her family treating her like trash, I was worried that Nathaniel might make a move for her now that she was no longer under my protection."We are here, Alpha."I looked up and sa
Epilogue. Claire's POV A full year had passed since Alex proposed to me, and I gladly accepted to be his woman. Today, we were taking the final step and getting married.My hand went to my neck where the mating mark was. After I accepted his proposal, he carried me to our room and gave me the mark after a hot, intense sex session. He had wanted the wedding to be carried out two weeks after his proposal, but I told him I wanted to wait. I wanted the pack to accept me as a human. To gain that approval, I learned how to fight with swords and how to shoot arrows, to show them that even if I was a human, I would always be there to fight by their sides if the need ever came. Then, I went ahead to start my own restaurant at the pack.At first, I barely got any customer as they were all weary of me. But little by little, people began to troop in. Now, I had two other branches out in the human world. This helped to show the people that if we ever had the need for cash - which was very unlik
Claire's POV A week passed after the ordeal we had in defeating the man who tried to claim the lives of so many people. I sighed, praying to the God in heaven that Scott's soul would find relief wherever he was now. He deserved that much for all the trouble he went through in his life."What are you doing, Claire? Wheel me well." Luna Lisa complained, drawing me back to the present."Sorry," I apologized. I moved the wheelchair a little bit faster than the pace I was keeping before. We were on our way out of the mansion to get some fresh air in the garden. Luna Lisa had to use the wheelchair as her legs were still healing. The doctor had, however, assured us that she would be fine and it was taking long to heal because it was a demon's bite."Claire." I heard someone call my name and I turned back, only to see Evie standing behind me, her suitcase already packed and with her."Are you going to somewhere?" I asked her. After the incident, we had gotten somehow closer as we had to comf
ALEXAKIS As soon as Kieran told me through the mind-link that my mate and her sister were safely back in the pack, I felt relief wash over me. I turned to look at Scott, her ex-boyfriend, all the anger in my heart targeted at him.He had endangered the life of the woman I loved, and I was going to make sure that he paid for it. No matter what anyone said about it, I was going to make sure that he paid heavily for his action.It was with that anger that I gave him an uppercut on his chin. While he bent over at the shock, I gave him a jab at his side, making sure I went all in to ensure I broke almost all his rib bones, if not all."You..." The man growled at me. He stood upright and gave me an evil smile. I knew he was up to something and that helped me stay alert. He began to morph into something hideous in front of me. Within seconds, there was no longer a man where Scott should have been. Instead, there was a tall dark beast, with two horns on his forehead, red eyes glowing brightl
Claire's POV After waiting for what felt like an eternity, even thinking that the man I was waiting for would no longer come, I was shocked when I saw him finally make an appearance. The tears that stopped flowing before came again, afresh. My heart wrenched within me, and I struggled to breathe well. Why? Why would he come here? Why did he risk his life like that?Our eyes met, and the man smiled at me. I shook my head at him as he started walking to where I was. When he got to me, he sighed."I am here now." He consoled me. It was clear that he thought I was crying because I was happy I saw him. I shook my head at him to show him that he was wrong about his insinuation. Still, he didn't get what I was trying to say."Alex, you need to run!" I finally let out amid my tears. I looked left and right to see if Scott and his men had gotten a whiff about Alex's appearance and were now on their way in here. When I didn't see them rushed in, I sighed, a little bit relieved about that. "L
Claire's POV "Scott, I am begging you," I pleaded again. I didn't care how pathetic my voice was. All I knew was that there was no way I was going to let the man kill Alex just because of a mistake that my father made."Why do you think–" his phone rang, cutting him off. "Really? Good." He said. Then, he cut off the phone. The kind of look he gave me made me cold all of a sudden."What is it?" I asked, feeling scared already."Guess who is coming over soon?" His voice held the malicious excitement he felt. "Alex! He is going to come here soon, and I will have so much fun killing him." He let out.My eyes widened in shock, and my breath became hitched."Do you want to know how he is going to die soon?"I shook my head to stop him. He ignored me and continued anyway."I plan to corner him and hit him when he least expected it." He said with a small evil laughter."You..." My voice trailed off as I realized that the man was gone already, leaving me alone."All of you, leave the building
Claire's POV It felt like forever since I got trapped in this basement where the light was never in and made it hard to tell when it was either night or day. The horror of not knowing how long it had been since I was in this hellhole made my heartbeat pound even faster. There was also the awareness that I no longer have a father to reach out to. Even though the bridge between us was rough, my heart sank now that I was aware that it had been burned forever. What made it worse? Knowing that the man and I were not on good terms before he died. How was I supposed to live on now knowing that my father hated me?I wanted to get angry with Evie over the death of my only family and how she played a part in it, but she lost Becky also, and I knew how much hurt she was going through for that. Besides, she was my family also no matter how hard we fought with each other."Claire, we need to escape." She said to me frantically again. I shook my head at her since the bandage was still covering m
Claire's POV Scott!" There was no doubt in my heart that I was relieved to see a familiar face even if it was that of the jerk who cheated on me with my sister.After I left the car and went in, I was surprised to see the door open. I thought it was so because they - Father, Becky, and Evie - were all home. I stepped inside, but it was empty. I went to Father's study but he was not there. After I searched all the places that I could, I swallowed my nervousness and went to Becky's room to see if she was there, but then she was not in the room either. A quick visit to Evie's room revealed the same ordeal.The house felt bizarre at that point, and I had a bad feeling flushed over me. I ran out of the house to see if I would see them, but nothing of such happened. I was about to move to the woodshed to see if they were there taking care of the games they hunted the night before when I saw Scott standing in front of me."Scott!" I called again. Even though the man and I never exchanged wo
ALEXAKIS I wasn't sure what exactly was making my heart feel like it had been shattered into two. Was it how Claire left me after I thought that she was going to stop and think about the love between us? Or was it because the house now seemed empty without her?I wanted her close to me - that was a fact. If I hadn't stepped into the position of the Alpha already, I would have damned every other thing and asked her to leave with me to a faraway place where we would be happy together, without anyone judging us.But I was already one, and she felt out of place.I knew it was necessary for her to take the break as she truly needed it, but I was against her going over to her parent's house. Still, that was the only safe place I knew would work for now. That didn't make my worry lessen any bit, though.Apart from her family treating her like trash, I was worried that Nathaniel might make a move for her now that she was no longer under my protection."We are here, Alpha."I looked up and sa
Claire's POV After contemplating my decision for a while, I finally came to a conclusion. It would be better for me to leave Alex and the pack, even if it was only for a while. Maybe when I would return, the animosity these people had toward me would be gone."Alex, can I have a word with you?" I asked. We were seated in the living room. He was busy with some files while I had my laptop in front of me, but I couldn't concentrate on anything I was learning on the screen. The man looked up from his work and gave me a gentle smile."I'm all ears, love." He said, the smile still plastered across his face."I want to leave," I let out quickly. I was afraid that if I hesitated, I would never be able to say it to him. I winced as he dropped the files in his hand on the floor and rushed over to where I was, holding my hands."Why? What is it?" He asked in a very gentle tone. "I just... I need a break," I told him."I know. I've been feeling the way you keep pulling away from me recently. I