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CYNTHIA POV After days of ruthless torture, my sticky body is caked in dried blood, sweat, and dirt. My red hair is dingy, and mats are already starting to form. It feels like nails have been jammed into my throat from the endless hours of screaming in agony and very little water to quench my unbelievable thirst—only enough to keep me alive as a play toy for Tiberius and his band of rogues. The heat in the room becomes unbearable, my clothes sticking to me as I sweat like a man in the Sahara desert. Tiberius upgraded the cells in the last few years, making them much more similar to a human prison. However, he has included some perfect improvements for torturing unwelcome guests. Now that each cell is a sealed translucent box, they are more easily temperature controlled. Allowing my captures to crank the heat until this is a personal sauna. Once I am on the verge of passing out from dehydration, they provide me with enough water to keep me alive...Barely. After they almost kill me fr
TIBERIUS POV Slamming the prison door, using more force than necessary, my boots thunder down the hall, my anger hitting the men like an army tank. The ones who have been here long enough know to step away from me like a bomb waiting to explode. My fury swirls around me like a storm needing a release, my fingertips itching as memories of past choices flash before my eyes. A movement in my peripheral vision sends my instincts into overdrive as my hands wrap around the person's head, twisting with all my force before I hear the satisfying crack of his neck breaking. His body goes limp before landing with a dull thud on the floor. Looking down at his neck, I see a mate mark resting proudly as a howl rings throughout the house, a small smile breaking over my lips, listening to the mystery wolf's cry of pain. Kicking the guard one last time, I turn and continue down the hallway calling over my shoulder to those standing around with shock and fear on their face, "Kill the mate too. The
*TRIGGER WARNING SUICIDE* TIBERIUS POV *****FLASHBACK CONTINUED****** ***Six Months After the rejection and death of his mate. Cynthia's Arrival at Silver Run**** Everything seems darker now that Claire is dead, Acheron and I's guilt starting to gnaw away at us like a pet dog chews a bone, slowly withering it away to nothing. The guilt we didn't think we'd feel is starting to make living unbearable. Anger consumes every waking moment, from those in my pack ashamed of my actions to my own that seem to fill me to the brink. No matter how many hours I spend in the gym working away my aggression, it never seems to wane, staying just underneath the surface, starting to concern those around me. If I am not taking care of pack responsibilities, I am in the gym or on the training field. Today is one of those where I will be in front of a punching bag until the last possible second. I must work through the rage brewing all morning before showing Cynthia around the town square. I know
LUNA OLIVIA The morning of the birthday Ball. It's been a whirlwind of a week. I can't help but think about all the shit that has happened while eating my breakfast with the others like I do every day. After Elle's shift, we were left to facilitate numerous conversations about Elle's heritage and why she was brought here. No one asked if it had to do with Damon. At least by the adults, they know how two Alpha are together. While not as uncommon as it once was, it's still a rare thing to see. A pull between two Alpha mates is undeniable. It's magnetic and palpable. Making matters more complicated, I hope to find Elle and Damon at the table with fresh marks every morning. Instead, they turn up with bare necks. It's damn frustrating. I want to throttle their necks for being such teenage idiots! Jesus almighty! We have been following the plan to a 'T,' but nothing seems to get through their hormone-addled brains! Their inability to cooperate has frazzled my nerves, which isn't good w
DAMON POV There is electricity in the air; every pack member is busy scurrying around, helping with the decorations, and making the pack look pristine for the Ball today. Elle was up training early like she had been all week, leaving a little note beside my pillow with a little Hershey's kiss resting on top like it had been all week. I don't know where she keeps them, but I have grown used to the little tradition that developed between us. 'Damon,' my mom's voice rings through the mind link, her voice taking on that pitch, telling me she is pissed off and not in the mood to wait around on my bullshit. 'Are you coming into breakfast or not?' "Yes," I say aloud as I round the corner to the dining room, where my mom is already sitting with the Beta and Gamma families. I walk towards the table and plop down in the seat next to Elle, throwing my arm over her chair before kissing her temple in a silent greeting. I can feel my mom's frigid stare on Elle and me again, and it's been the
ELLE POV The pressure of tonight wraps around me like a straight jacket, and with each second, it's like I am one of those poor Salem women when blocks are placed on their chests. Damon's excitement is almost palpable, and it doesn't help that everyone constantly comments or stares at my neck. Every time I walk by a pack member, they instinctively check to see if our unique mark sits there yet. How stupid would we be to mark each other BEFORE the ball when visiting Alpha's and Council Officers will be able to see it? I am seventeen, and Damon would be thrown in the Council's prison and be forced to step down from being Alpha. Neither of us would be willing to live with ourselves if that happened. New Moon is Damon's birthright like my pack is mine, not to mention this is the only home I have known for the last five years. I don't have any intention of seeing it destroyed, which is why it's so fucking annoying that no one else seems to have the same reservations. "All done, Lun
ELLE POV Walking down the steps behind the Beta and Gamma families, I cannot help but gasp at the breathtaking beauty of the room. Black tables sit on the outskirts of the space surrounding the dance floor, with the pack emblem in the middle. Olivia did a great job incorporating the pack colors of silver and black in everything. Each table has a silver candle stick centerpiece covered with dangling jewels and candles that were lit. A DJ sits in the corner, getting set up for when the dancing can finally begin. The further into the room we get, the more my skin burns under the scrutinizing gaze of the other guests. As Olivia predicted, they hadn't taken their eyes off our group since we appeared at the top of the stairs. A few Alphas made their interest in me so known I am positive they'd resort to kidnapping me to get their hands on a born Luna to strengthen their pack and bloodlines. What they feel for me has nothing to do with who I am but more with what I am. 'Stay close,' T
ELLE POV "How did you know to pick this song?" I ask. My gaze is stuck on Damon; the rest of the world is nonexistent and inconsequential as we continue dancing around the ballroom. "Elle," he replies, a small devious smile, "you have lived in my house for five years. I would have to be an idiot not to know you are obsessed with Taylor Swift. You'd be surprised at the things I know about you." "Oh?" I say, slightly surprised that he knows anything about me, "what else do you know?" Curious to see what Damon's great observations are about my life." "Mhmm..." Damon hums as he ponders through everything he knows about me, trying to decide the best one to impress me. "You always watch Pride and Prejudice, the Kiera Knightley one, whenever you get the rare illness." "Is that all?" I ask with a smirk, hoping he doesn't have any more up his sleeve because if he keeps going, I might melt, becoming a puddle in the middle of the dance floor. "Never," he says, his peppermint breath f