Ellie's POVI wake up and it feels like I am breaking the surface of water for oxygen.My heart still beats from the last part of my dream and my eyes are heavy, feeling like snowflakes fell on my eyelids.I am alone in the room and when I pay more attention to my surroundings, I find out that I am back in my own room.It takes me a moment to recollect that I had been in Austin's room, and the last I actually remember is me kissing him on the lips and then falling asleep beside the Alpha King.How much I wanted him. But he did not want to compromise. Never knew there still existed males who think with the upper part of their bodies and not the lower part.Finally, I have lived up to his accusations of me being a seductive piece of feminine creation. And this brings a smile to my face. I caress my neck with one palm and stretch until I hear some joints shift in protest.I pull the covers off me and it doesn't surprise me any longer that my clothes are still intact and I don't feel like
Ellie's POV"Are you fucking kidding me?""Say what?" a little childish voice asks. I look down to see a boy not more than five, staring at me with a curious and confused expression.I open my hands and shrug at him. Then I dance around the boy, trying to make him get into the fun act. When it works, I herd him back to the team of furry suits and he forgets about Barney for a while and giggles at Mickey Mouse.I keep my gaze on Austin as he walks over to bloated Robin Hood and they shake hands like longtime friends. Suddenly, the manager seems to have developed a loud voice and I almost hear all the stuff he tells Austin, amidst the gleeful chatter from the kids around me.It turns out that bloated Robin Hood, whom I initially thought was the manager, is actually the owner of this amusement park. He must be rolling in money, and maybe that's why he is so fat. He is also a long-time friend of Austin.How they met, I have no idea, but I guess that it must be the money connection. Spoile
Ellie's POVWhen it is midnight, I hear it. The ripples come in form of sounds like someone is struggling to breathe. It spreads, like an endemic. And I almost feel it across my body like goosebumps.I begin to have a feeling that the medicine has begun to exert its effect on Austin's body system. And I am too nervous that I pause the movie, rise from my chair and open my door.The hallway is empty. There is a light seeping out from the space under Austin's door. I step into the hallway and tiptoe to his door. I need to know what is going on.I place my left ear to his door, ignoring the obsidian lion snarling at me. My body moves before me and I catch myself even before I fall inside. The door is ajar.Touche.I find Austin lying on the bed, his face to the ceiling. I move closer and his face is flushed, like a man about to give his last thrust before he releases all the seed in him. He looks even sexier in this state. I kneel beside the bed and put a palm on his neck.It's as hot as
Ellie's POVAustin doesn't ask me anything about that night again, and I relieve me to the bone. I cannot even believe that Dr. Nathan Edge's medicine was fake and had no positive effect on Austin. I was hoping that would mark the end of his wolfsbane, but life can sometimes be a playful bitch, and you just have to play along.We don't talk much in the days that pass, Austin and I, but anytime he looks at me, I can feel the electricity of desire crackling in the air between us.I try to make up another plan on how to get Austin to eat or drink whatever I bring him. And I need to do this regularly so he doesn't have to find out that I have been mixing my blood in his food or champagne, and serving it to him with a pleasing smile on my face.I use the internet on my laptop to do this. Discover a lot of ways to do what I have in mind, and choose one of them.It's on a Saturday morning when I corner Uncle Chris for a discussion in the lobby. He is dressed like a corporate waiter at the At
Third POVThe Alpha King stands in the doorway for a spell, without moving. And it looks like he is stuck to that very spot.Those blue eyes of his move in their sockets and scan the two ladies covering their mouths with their hands. He doesn't recognize the other one dressed like a school teacher with an apron. He isn't sure if he has ever seen her before.Then Ellie laughs and his attention is drawn to her like a magnet. Austin looks at himself and shakes his head. He cannot remember the last time he looked this messy."What is going on here?" he asks, his tone bordering on a stern edge. He really wants Ellie to stop making the situation look like a joke.The strange lady is the one who speaks up as Ellie collects herself. "My apologies, sir. We were having a dessert class and she mistakenly blew the chocolate cream."The Alpha King eyes the woman with interest now. "A dessert class? What is that?""I was teaching Ellie here how to make desserts," Madame Aquila says, trying to put a
Third POVThe Alpha King dusts and reappears behind Ellie, the cream completely missing him and smashing against the tiled kitchen floor. When she feels a presence behind her, Ellie turns and Austin is so close to her that she can feel his breath on her forehead. His suit is stained in some places and Ellie thinks he looks like some walking graffiti."You cheated," she exclaims scornfully, raising her hands in protest.Austin holds her wrists before she grabs the opportunity to smear chocolate cream all over his figure. He feels a tad bit aroused at the contact and if it isn't for the wolfsbane in his blood, he would think it is a good thing that can lead to an exciting show of intimacy."I improvised," he says, in defence of his latest act. "There is a difference."Ellie, too, suddenly stops struggling once he grabs her wrists. "There is no improvising in a chocolate cream fight."He grins, amused. "Who made those rules?"Ellie opens her mouth to say something but she thinks better o
Ellie's POVThe thing about grand banquets is that they are grand, and full of lights and colour. It never misses that part of flamboyance. The moment I am out of the palace, I hail down a cab and stop a few blocks away from the hotel and walk the rest of the way.In my mind, I just cannot stop thinking of how Austin will react once he sees me at the banquet.Will he take me by the arm and announce to all who care to listen that I am his female companion for the night as well? Or will he get angry at me for playing a fast one on him and throw me out like a waif?If the latter happens, then this will get me thinking: did he have someone in mind he wanted to come with?I shake this thought from my mind as it has no benefit whatsoever to me.There is a red carpet at the Chevron Hotel and I decide that whoever is hosting this actually has a lot of doughs that he isn't using. I follow the train and there are blinding flashes of camera lights from the gist chasers and paparazzi.Yesus, shou
Third POV"Bail," someone grunts out in the dimness.The crashing of the door appears to be a telltale sign to these cabal of men that they have been compromised. But it's not just a werewolf that they are facing nor is it an Alpha.It's Austin. The Alpha King.And the odds will be less decent than their usual melee.Austin sets his sights on the first man close to him. He grabs him by the neck and smashes him into the wall, causing a dent in the building and showers of stones to rain down.Ellie hears a grunt at the impact and the next thing she sees is a flash, and the bulb hanging with just a stretch of coil dangles like a pendulum bob. The light moves, and shines in another spot and she sees a fast arm taking a swipe at something.There is no impact, but there is suddenly a break in the ceiling. The light moves again and Ellie sees someone hanging halfway from the top of the damn building, like a light bulb on a goddamn stretch of coil.______________________Austin moves with the
Ellie’s POVI watch in horror as Jaden coughs up blood, his body convulsing with the effort. My body freezes for a few minutes as I realize what I have done. I know I had expected this, but planning it and seeing it happen are two different things. Plus, it’s too late to turn back now.Jaden glares at me, his eyes filled first with surprise and then with anger and betrayal. "Why?" he croaks out, his voice barely audible. “I thought you loved me.”I fall to my knees beside him, my hands shaking. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I have to protect Austin and my people. You and your vampires are a threat that I can’t let go free."Jaden's eyes widen in disbelief. "You set me up?" he gasps. "After all that we've been through, you would do this to me?"I stare unflinchingly into his eyes. "I had no choice," I say, my voice hard. "I had to do what was best for my people. Your death is what’s best, for all of us. I know your plans now, I know Cathy is on her way to the battle with the rest of your ar
Ellie’s POVJaden had gotten too dependent on my blood after the last few battles, and it was all I could wish for.The poisoned blood would be running its course now; I can feel it in my bones. I try to ignore it, and most of the time I am able to, but some nights I am hit with vicious fevers and cold sweats. I am always better in the morning, but my body, and my resolve, have gotten weaker and weaker.If I am this weak, that means Jaden will be too, even if he doesn’t show it. He would never suspect that I am responsible for the weakness, though. I overhear him once telling his subordinates to fetch him fresh humans for blood instead of refrigerated blood from their usual blood bank.Gross.Jaden pampers me, and Cathy shoots daggers my way each time she sees me, but their attention, extreme as it is, doesn’t matter. All I want is Austin, but I can’t contact him.Not yet. It will be too soon.But as the days go by, I start to realize that the vampires are planning something big. They
Ellie's POVI stare at Jaden, feeling my world shatter into a million pieces. I can't believe what I'm hearing.So he is a vampire, and not just any vampire but the vampire prince, the very one who has orchestrated the war between werewolves and vampires. The one who has caused so much bloodshed and chaos. And yet, here he is, standing in front of me, looking just like the friend I had come to know and care for.I feel a wave of emotions washing over me - shock, anger, betrayal - each one so intense I can hardly breathe. How can he have deceived me like this? How can he have been so callous as to use me, to manipulate me?My mind races with questions, but I struggle to form any coherent thoughts and I only manage to ask one."Why, Jaden? Why go through all this trouble?"Jaden says nothing, but he gives me a huge toothy grin that shows off his fangs. I try to muster a little anger, but all I can focus on is the fact that Jaden has been lying to us all this time. Was anything he said o
Third POVAustin growls internally as he barks orders at everyone around him. It was supposed to be a night of laughter, joy, and love. The guests had arrived early, and the festivities were in full swing. Ellie looked radiant in her red gown, and her laughter echoed through the trees as they danced. Austin had watched Ellie all night, unable to keep his eyes off her, feeling his chest swell with pride and something dangerously close to love.She was radiant, filling the space with her presence, and he wasn't the only one she trapped in her spell.The night would have been perfect, but the vampires just had to show their faces, and now he is needed. His Gamma Warriors have gathered at the first sign of trouble, and he needs to lead them into battle. He knows he has to abandon the party halfway through and rush to get rid of the vampires. It's not a decision to make; after all, the safety of his kingdom comes first.As he walks through the guests, he grabs Ellie's hand and gives her a
Ellie's POVAfter the day Cathy flees, I hear the rumors swirling around the pack for days before someone, Beta, finally says it out loud: Cathy has defected and escaped to somewhere unknown beyond the werewolf border.My heart sinks in my chest at the thought. Cathy is strong, more powerful than any one wolf has ever had the right to be other than the Alpha King himself. If she has left, it means something is seriously wrong.There's something significant coming. She has a plan.But nobody knows what it is.I can't stop thinking about Cathy as I walk through the forest, trying to clear my head. Knowing the things she was capable of in Austin's presence, I shudder to think of what she will now be capable of without the power of the Alpha King hanging over her.The sound of wood crackling fills the air around me, so I look up and see Jaden leaning against a tree, right where I asked him to wait.Jaden and I had been together for some time, but something inside me has shifted recently.
Austin’s POVI wake up to the sensation of someone's warm breath on my neck, and I realize that I have spent the night with Ellie. My body feels sated and content, and most of all completely healed, but my mind is restless. There is a nagging feeling that something is off.While we were together, after the first time in the tub when I carried her to my room, I had noticed something. There was no blood, and she was more willing than I could have ever imagined.As we lie there, basking in the afterglow, I notice a strange look in Ellie's eyes. It was almost as if she was feeling the same thing I was. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was a familiar feeling that was hard to shake.This situation with Ellie and me – the feeling of her arms wrapped around me and her moans in my ears, the fact that I could even take her over and over again – it triggers a sense of deja vu, but I ignore it.I notice Ellie’s deep breaths even out and I turn my face down to hers. There is one question
Third POVThe force of the explosion rocks the road itself, sending debris wide and other drivers running. A siren sounds from far away, but the firefighters would be too late. Ellie is knocked unconscious, unable to climb out of her burning car.Luckily, a few people who would be very familiar to Ellie if she is fully awake rush to the scene, and dazed Ellie coughs continuously as a pair of strong arms pull her from the wreckage.Free from the smoke and soot, Ellie gasps and shoots upright as fresh air fills her nostrils. She is disoriented at first, her eyes darting around her as she fights to bring her breathing under control, and a familiar voice sounds from behind her as a blanket is wrapped around her shoulders.“Don’t worry, El. You’re safe now.”Between gasps, Ellie manages to look behind her and is greeted by Beta’s worried face.“What… what are you doing here?”He scoops her up into his arms and signals for the people surrounding them in a tight circle to spread out. While t
Third POVPast events run through her head like a bullet train along a rail line. She remembers them all. Nonfiction. Because they all happened the way she planned. Coupled with the information in the letter in her hands, Cathy cannot be mistaken.Ellie is really her biggest enemy.She never saw the signs, never got too suspicious of the fact that there might be something going on between the benefactor and the beneficiary.So he cares about her. Really does. But why pretend? Why put on a facade that she is just his adopted daughter when she's obviously more than that?Or does he know about the sudden deaths that always befall his chosen mates and decide to protect Ellie by telling a public lie because he really cares about her?Cathy shakes her head and slowly sits down on the couch. She rereads the part where the letter says that Ellie has been investigating the real cause of her parents' death for the past two years.Markus and Rebecca Roze.A wicked smile breaks her face apart as
Third POVEllie knows that Austin is wrong about Jaden and her. He is always wrong about her personal life, but she doesn't even understand why he still tries so hard to get involved.Why come to the table if all you have to offer are condemning insinuations that make no sense nor convey any atom of truth?The look on Ellie's face is lost on the Alpha King. He watches as a tear crawls down her face like a gecko stalking an insect prey."Isn't that what you want?" he demands.When Ellie tries to vent her disapproval and disappointment, words choke in her throat like a knot has been tied around her voice box. She feels the hurt clench her throat, dissipates down and across her upper half that she begins to shake like a child whose brain has been taken over by jaundice.She sobs.And the quakes break her down. Piece by piece. When she cannot take it any longer, Ellie pushes forward and runs out of her room. She doesn't bother to shut the door this time."You can run all you like, but you