Vienna's POV:Apparently, my father had been guessing all my emotions correctly so far, but he couldn't see the look of horror in my eyes. Rather, there was a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes as he confirmed. “Yes, but why do you look so surprised dear? Don't you remember? He is the one who took you to the hospital yesterday.” My mouth fell open, and before I could even form a coherent response, he had moved ahead. “Alpha Blackwood also sent flowers and jewelry as a gift for you, I'll ask one of the maids to show you everything he has sent, later. Before that! The doctor told me how careless you’ve been about your diet, young lady!So, from now on, I will be overseeing your meals, in fact, I’ll take care of everything regarding you. I have been far too lenient for too long, but from now on, everything will be under my strict observation. Do you even know how much you worried me?” Worried him? In spite of myself, I raised my gaze to meet his, as if I would find the answer wri
Vienna's POV:Asher’s panicked voice reached my ears before I could say anything more than a simple hello. This was something I hadn't heard from him, even after I caught him red handed with Gemini… when there was actually some chance of us being together. Then what was this sudden change all about?And while my thoughts were making me question all his actions, his voice knocked my ear drums once again. “Vi? Are you there?" “Yeah, I'm okay…" This was all he waited for me to speak, before the next words came tumbling out of his mouth. “Oh, I’m so happy, Vi! You know, I thought my soul had been ripped out of me, seeing you knocked out on the floor! I swear on Moon Goddess, I won't be able to survive that scene ever again. Please, Vi, I know things have been rough between us, but don’t punish yourself like this or take your anger out on food ever again, okay? ! I promise, I’ll be here to take care of you. Always.” I listened silently, trying to find the speck of sensibility whic
Author's POV:Gemini snuck out of Vienna’s room, carefully closing the door behind her without a sound.The frustration of Asher talking to, caring for and giving gifts to Vienna had ignited the fire inside her… and finally, she had managed to tame that fire a little. For now. After all, according to her, she was just doing what Vienna actually deserved. And as a good step sister, Gemini just wanted to give her full contribution in delivering the consequences of her actions to her. She tiptoed down the hallway, her heart pounding with the feeling of adventure in the middle of the night. A satisfied smile tugged at her lips as she muttered under her breath, opening the door to her room, “You must have been thinking that you have somehow won the game, and now you will snatch everything which is actually mine… my father! Asher!!! Then just wait, Vienna, and watch how I play…" With a quiet sigh, she lifted the covers and got under them, finally ready to sleep soundly despite it being
Author's POV:Asher opened the door and scanned the room briefly, before turning his determined footsteps towards the garment bag lying neatly on the small bench at the foot of her bed. He only let go of Vienna's hand to briskly unzip the bag, his eyes sparkling with eagerness. But as he grabbed the hanger and pulled out the dress, his brows shot up, mouth falling open in shock. The dress… Well, only half of the dress was still clinging to the hanger, and the rest of it had been cut brutally into scraps. Large holes and jagged cut-outs stood out as ugly scars on the delicate pink silk, as if someone had taken a pair of scissors to it in a fit of rage. It was no longer wearable or even fixable in any way, shape or form… at this point, it was barely distinguishable from a random heap of discarded scrap fabric. But no matter how shocked Asher was, Vienna was even more surprised, because she was the one who had seen it last! She had held that dress just last night… then what had ha
Vienna's POV: I hadn’t lied when I said I had an early submission. Although I was rather desperate for any excuse to leave the miserable company, that much was true. But I wasn’t in any rush to turn in my assignment. What I really wanted to use this time for, was to find Fynn and find out if my gut feeling was right… was he really there, with me at the hospital? Or had I just imagined him there?Whatever it was, I needed to hear it from his own mouth, because my family couldn’t be trusted to tell me the truth, even if Fynn had walked into the hospital room in broad daylight, they would just simply lie to my face and say that it was some sort of shadows of my sins, trying to create hallucinations for me! This was how much I knew them.The first place I checked was the staffroom, but it was empty except for a few professors I didn’t know. The hallways were deserted too, except for a few stragglers heading to their classes as I walked through the corridors, peeking into every open cla
Vienna's POV:“Hey! Anyone there! Please open the door, I am still inside, don't lock it, the washroom isn't empty…”I called, tugging at the latch. "Hello? I'm inside! Please don't lock the door! Hello? Who is there?" A moment of silence, and then the lights went out as the switch was flipped. “Hello! I'm inside, please don't lock it! Can you hear me!”“Oh, I can hear you loud and clear. No need to shout and make my ears bleed.”My heart sank as I recognized the taunting voice. Gemini. "Gemini? Open the door. What the hell are you high on? I’m locked inside–”"That’s exactly your problem, darling Vienna!”I could practically hear the smile in her voice. “I already know you’re inside, but why would I let you out when I went to all this trouble to lock you in? Rest assured, neither will I tell anyone that you are here nor will I let them find out…”"What are you talking about?!" “Unlike poor, helpless you, I know exactly what’s going on around the campus, but apparently you mi
Kai's POV: The sharp tringing sound echoed over the car speakers, building up the anticipation until Fynn reached over and pressed a button on the steering wheel, cutting off the call. The sound disappeared, plunging the car into silence again. "I don’t get it…" He muttered under his breath, “Her phone is ringing, but she’s not picking up. It's the third call…" He was chewing on his lip as he manoeuvred the car into the college parking lot, before he broke out into another panicked rambling. "Maybe you should try calling her? We never know, she might answer, I mean I don't know if she even has my number saved or not… actually the more I think, I'm really not sure if she has my number. Probably she isn't picking up, thinking that it's a spam caller or wrong number… but we can't just stop trying, can we?" I placed a hand on his shoulder, patting lightly. The tight lines of his forehead softened slightly, but the worry in his eyes was still evident as ever. "She’ll b
Kai's POV:Asher… My hands clenched into fists of their own accord, hearing the name of that jerk. As long as he was there, no good could come out of that situation.Regardless of my rising anger and panic, the girl seemed like she was finally getting some oxygen in her lungs. I muttered a quick thanks and rushed out of the library.I didn’t care about where on this Godforsaken earth Gemini or Asher were, nor about what surprise he might have planned for her and why he was trying to plan surprises for my mate.My focus was on Vienna, and Vienna alone.If she wasn’t in the library, then maybe she was still in the common room washroom, but why hadn't she returned after almost an hour… had something happened to her again? My panic had indeed driven me to walk directly towards the women’s common room, but I skidded to a halt just outside the door. I couldn’t exactly march into the women’s space, demanding for Vienna to come out. Frustrated and helpless, I began pacing in the corridor,
Vienna's POV:I could feel the tension in the air; and the awkwardness was thick enough to choke on, as Orion stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. "What... what are you saying... about Vienna?" Before I could respond, Tessa’s voice cut through the silence, dripping with frustration. “Gemini isn’t your daughter, you thick-headed fool!” “So stop thinking of ways to get her killed and beg Vienna to save her life. Or I won’t let you take a single breath in peace! I’ve done all this, planned all of this… just for my daughter’s sake! And I’m definitely not going to leave her fate in your hands, so that you can risk her life in a Blood Auction.” Tessa was definitely scared out of her wits, since she had gone from pleading with Orion to threatening him within minutes. And Orion didn’t seem to know what to make of it. He stared blankly at Tessa for a moment, still scrambling for some form of clarity, his voice shaky. “Vi… Vienna is my daughter… and not Gemini…” That was thw
Author's POV:Tessa had been lurking in the shadows, listening intently to every word.She knew better than to step forward too soon, knowing that if she revealed herself in the middle of the conversation, it would only increase the bitterness in Vienna’s, making any chance of negotiation impossible. So she has been hiding herself behind the pillars, making sure that she was hidden from every eye present in the room; while at the same time she was able to hear everything that was going on between the people standing in front of her eyes.Normally, she relished watching Vienna suffer, but this time, the stakes were too high. She couldn’t afford to let Gemini bear the consequences. But then Orion—foolish, impulsive Orion—had gone and destroyed everything. The moment he spat out that Vienna wasn’t his real daughter, he had severed the last thread of control they had. He had stripped himself of any authority over her, giving her the perfect excuse to bring their family’s dirty secrets
Vienna's POV:Once the words left my mouth, Orion’s entire demeanor shifted. I didn't even want to refer to him as my father from now on, and my words had already made it clear to him.His expression hardened, but his tone became suddenly gentle, almost fatherly and affectionate. If didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he was genuinely concerned, but I had been burned by this syrup too many times. “What are you saying, Vienna? How can you drag your sister to the Law Tribunal? The Council has been assembled to deal with matters of actual seriousness and significance between packs, not trivial family matters and… sisterly jealousy.”He scoffed, as if recalling some fond memories between us, which were never there to begin with. "I know you have always been jealous of your little sister, but think properly, look closely…all she has ever done was to think about your well being and has always supported you in your good or bad decisions, she was even ready let go of her first love, jus
Author's POV:Vienna's idea about her family was indeed right. This idea was not built on the mere foundation of her assumption, instead it was based on her experience. And the ideas built on experiences rarely tended to be wrong, just like this one… the reality was exactly matching every single detail according to her thoughts.Because right now, Orion was sitting in the comfort of his grand mansion, his fingers tapping impatiently against the armrest of his chair. And if he wasn't forced to pretend that he cared for Vienna, his older daughter who was supposed to return with Asher, the future Alpha of the Pack, he wouldn't even have been here. He would have utilised this free time to sleep in peace, after celebrating his unfilial daughter having vanished into thin air, to never show her face ever again.Beside him, Alpha Blackwood sipped his drink with ease, though his eyes flickered toward the door every few moments. He wasn't ready to miss even a single percent of possibility of
Vienna's POV:The doctor unfastened the blood pressure monitor strap from my arm. As I looked up at him, he assured me calmly. “Everything looks normal. Your heart rate was elevated, but that’s just from the shock. Just relax, there is nothing to be worried about, you should be fine now.” I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself as I replied with a small smile of my own. I didn't want to leave the doctor’s effort unnoticed while my words had decided that they still needed some time to jump out of my throat, using my mouth. However, even though Kai and Fynn were right by my bedside, neither of them was really paying attention to the doctor. Instead, they were busy arguing amongst themselves, in a hushed tone to maintain the decorum of the hospital. “This is the result of our complacency,” Kai snapped. “That bastard had the guts to walk into a goddamn hospital and kidnap Vienna. If we let this slide, what’s next? They’ll march into our territory and claim it as theirs? We should
Author's POV:Tessa sat on the edge of the couch, her fingers fumbling with the hem of her dress. She had finally been convinced to drop her go bag from her; although she still wasn't sure how she had been roped into Gemini’s plan.This girl had a way to convince her to take part even in her unrealistic plans, and today was proof of it. Because even though she hadn't returned her jewels to their real compartments and boxes, she had at least placed the packed bag inside her wardrobe. And now, both mother and daughter were sitting together, working out a story which they needed to tell Orion as proof of Gemini's innocence– the story of the last conversation between Gemini and Vienna. "You'll say it like this," Gemini instructed. "Vienna was going to run away, and I tried to stop her. I was just looking out for her because I didn't want her to make a mistake that would ruin her life. So, I did whatever I needed to do, to keep her from running off."Tessa glanced at her daughter, fro
Author's POV:Asher's body stiffened in shock as he heard Fynn's voice ring through the alley. His heart skipped a beat, surprised that they had found them. After the fight he was sure that they would need months to recover from the physical injuries and for the mental one, they might take few more lifetimes to face Vienna again, and even after he was sure about them never appearing in front of him or Vienna ever again, he was still so cautious about keeping her away from them at any cost.And this is why he had made sure to bring Vienna just outside the pack borders, far enough from any tracking signals, believing he had covered all his bases. He thought he'd be able to isolate her, convince her that he was the only one who truly cared for her. But now, this—Fynn’s voice echoing through the damp night air.Ruining his plans! Making him extremely angry once again.Asher spun around, his eyes flashing with panic as he searched for the source of the voice. Because as Fynn's voice has
Vienna's POV:I couldn’t believe what was happening. One moment, I was walking calmly through the night, and the next, I found myself pressed against something cold and damp, a wetness seeping through my clothes. The burning, acrid smell of smoke invaded my senses, making my stomach churn. My head spun as nausea threatened to overwhelm me. I tried to take a breath, but it felt impossible, like the air had been sucked out of the space around me. My body tensed as I fought to keep my composure, but it wasn’t enough. I was on the verge of throwing up when I saw him—Asher. He stepped into view, his grin wide and unsettling, I felt the feeling of uneasiness growing stronger in my chest. As my heart pounded in my chest, and even though I wanted to , I couldn’t look away from him. With his left hand still buried in his pocket, he made a sweeping gesture with two fingers, and just like that, the thing that had been holding me released its grip. I gasped for air, sucking it in greedily, my
Vienna's POV:I watched them with growing concern, my hands gripping the sheets tightly. But I didn’t even know who I was worried about? Because the two people who matter the most for me were fighting with someone who has never been fair to anyone in any dynamic, but the reason for my fear was sounding logical and illogical at the same time.Was it the fear for Fynn and Kai, that my heart was unable to beat properly the moment they stepped in front of Asher or was I afraid for myself? My protection? That they might not be able to handle so many opponents at once? No, of course not. They were strong, stronger than anyone I had ever met. I had no doubt they could protect me against anything, against anyone.Or was it for Asher? That he was stupid enough to challenge two Alpha wolves who were older and more experienced than him, without knowing their true power? Maybe. Because I wanted nothing to do with him anymore, but that didn’t mean I wanted him dead. He was reckless, arrogant, an