“You have been accused of murdering Alina, the pack witch, how do you plead?” Once again, Leila finds herself in the elders’ chamber, in the midst of the same men who were ready to condemn her days ago without proof and now, sitting in the middle of their judgemental circle with twelve sets of eyes leering at her, she knows her fate is sealed. Especially since Carmela has created proof, proof no one will let her see or defend herself against. A gross injustice. “Where is the Alpha?” Leila mutters weakly, counting her words. She is tired, hungry and thirsty. “You are in no position to ask questions, Leila! How do you plead?” Trent barks at her but Leila doesn’t cower. Looking into the green eyes of the man who murdered her father in cold blood and whose daughter is hell bent on taking hers, she finds strength in the rage that boils through her. “Until I am convicted, I am still your Luna and you will address me as such.” Though weak, her aura still powers through her commandin
“Guards….anyone…..anyone there?” Leila mutters weakly, crawling on her knees and holding on the steel bars that keep her imprisoned.Her hair dry and tattered, her clothes torn, her finger and toes wounded from her hungry cell mates, the mice, nibbling on them. She cannot even fight them off anymore, she just lays there and lets them feast on her while she feasts on her thoughts of regret.Is this really how she is going to die? With a child inside her?Her wounds are healing slower now, her pup’s energy must be drained, she can still feel it, barely…..Even if Tatum cannot find the mate bond, this fake one, even if he has been tricked to believe Carmela is the one, what about his child? The heir he so proudly announced to the world.What about his constant promise to her that he will never let her go?She breaks down against the steel bar, her heart clenching in pain, a bitter sorrow filling her deep eyes that have now lost its bright beautiful blue hue, tears simmer down her face a
Tatum’s eyes are full of passion, desire and lust. The exact same way he looks at her whenever he makes his promises. He cups Carmela’s face, smiling sweetly at her as her eyes glow. “I’m sorry for not marrying you as soon as you came back, I just wanted to be sure but now I am and you are the one I choose.”Pain slices through Leila’s heart back and forth, and she rests her head against the steel bar.‘I will never let you go.’She remembers Tatum’s promise to her and her heart shatters even more. Was she foolish to have hope? Did he mean any of it?He did, he meant it, she could feel it, it was real. This is not his fault, he has been tricked and the mate bond is hard to fight. If she somehow survives this, she will fight tooth and claw to pull him away from Carmela’s evil grasp.She is his choice, the one that his heart truly wants, Carmela just took advantage of him but she will not let Carmela win.Tatum belongs to her.Carmela steals Tatum's lips in a sultry kiss, inflicting
Did Carmela also get that witch to bewitch Tatum? She probably did, that is something Carmela can do and that would explain Tatum’s refusal to take her mindlink, to visit her and even agree for her to be killed. It has to be, it is the only rational explanation. She doesn’t want to believe otherwise, she doesn’t want to believe Tatum said those words in his right senses, something else has to be at play. He loves her, he confessed it to her, he has always been in love with her from when they were young, that’s what he said. Just like she has loved him from a young age as well, that love could not have just suddenly evaporated, mate bond or not. Carmela is behind this, she has to be and she doesn’t have anyway to defend herself or fight back. Tatum is her only hope but she seems to have lost him now. Tatum knows she is pregnant. It doesn’t make sense that he would just abandon her like this and worse, condemn her to death with the heir to the pack growing inside her. Even if
Carmela chuckles, switching on the torchlight she’s holding and pointing it at Leila. Leila doesn’t move an inch, nor does she say a word.She stares straight into the blinding light defiantly, her heart pumping with rage, her stomach boiling with anger.Carmela has taken the most precious thing in her life away from her, her child, the one source of joy she had in the midst of all the other sorrows Carmela has put her in.The guard accompanying Carmela places a chair for her to sit and he gives Carmela the keys to the cell before he departs.“You look pathetic,” Carmela says, scrunching her nose from the bad odour hanging in the air. “But then, it is what suits you.”She snickers, taking her seat and leaning forward.“What did you think you were going to do Leila? What did you think was going to happen? That you were somehow going to stay married to Tatum with me on the side?” Carmela asks with a sneer on her face.Leila stands up like a lifeless woman and walks to the corner of the
The shock fills Leila’s eyes and her thuds but the next thing she feels is an immense pain that almost makes her run mad when Carmela punches her bump, making her yelp even more pain, tears spilling out of her eyes, agony striking her heart and strength leaving her body as her eyes flutter open and close.Carmela takes out a vial and holds Leila’s mouth open, emptying the content inside it before she drops Leila to the floor and stands up, dusting her hands and wiping them on her skirt, a sinister smile on her lips.“Now you can die in peace or despair, I don’t really care,” Carmela shrugs and chuckles. “I should have been his mate, not you but it doesn’t matter now, he’s mine and I’m keeping him.”The disbelief remains staunch in Leila’s eyes that she can barely keep open as she stares at Carmela. Different emotions coursing through her heart.Tatum is her fated mate? But how would Carmela know that when neither her nor Tatum knows it?“You know I’ve always liked Tatum Leila, why di
“So I’m the phoenix— What have you done Carmela? How can you be so selfish?” Leila mutters weakly in shock, out of breath and covered in blood. She can barely keep her eyes open and her heart thuds slowly, every movement painful to the core. Carmela stole her destiny, made her the enemy and is now getting rid of her. Is this how her story really ends? Blood mixes with the tears dropping from her eyes and she winces as she tries to move but her muscles are stiff, she can barely feel anything but the immense pain in her chest. “Why Carmela? The pack comes before any of us, before any of our wants…” For a moment, Leila loses the hostility and anger she feels towards Carmela and it’s like she just wants Carmela to see the wrong she has done, not even to her but to the pack. Despite how they have all neglected her and treated her with contempt, it hurt her deeply to know that they will miss out on the prophecy that makes them hate her all because of Carmela’s deceit. “I don’t care a
Tears spill out of Leila’s eyes in abundance as Carmela walks away, sorrow hugs her heart and anguish serenades it. Anna’s betrayal hurt when she tried to give her that food that day but knowing that Anna has been poisoning her for Carmela’s sake for two long years does more than cause her pain.Why her? She has been nothing but nice to the people around her.Why is all of this happening to her? Is it a test that comes with being the phoenix Luna? Can she really trust Carmela’s words? If she is Tatum’s mate and the real phoenix Luna, why did she never get the mark, even after getting her wolf?She heaves a tired sigh and drags her back down the wall till she is laying on the dirty cold floor, her back flat against the floor as she stares into the darkness above.It is hard to believe Carmela, perhaps she only wants her to feel even worse than she already feels because her wolf said in that dream that she needs the real mate mark, if Tatum is her real mate, why didn’t his mark libera