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“I, Alpha Tatum Cromwell, under the all seeing eye of Selene, witnessed by the elders of the Council, renounce my position as the Alpha of the Blood Oak Pack.” He feels the rage of his wolf blending with his as he locks eyes with Trent who has a smug look on his face. Trent steps forward, joining Tatum in the middle of the circle. “Representing the elders, we witness your renouncement. Who do you name as your successor,” Trent’s face is flushed with a look of mockery that makes Zane boil even further. He should have had Trent sentenced to death instead but then he thought it would be quick mercy, he wanted him to suffer imprisonment for the rest of his life as a lesson for all his evil deeds but it seems that decision has come back to bite him in the ass. Zane frowns. “Not as my successor but as an interim ruler, I name—” he extends the claws of his left hand and slashes the wrist of his right hand. He looks slowly from the thick red liquid dripping from his wrist, making patter
“Welcome to the North Star Pack Leila, I am Alpha Caden,” Alpha Caden says to Leila before opening his arms and squeezing her in a hug. “And you must be Amara,” he smiles, breaking the hug and bends to pick Amara up in his arms, tugging her chin as he chuckles. “Thank you for having us,” Leila replies to Caden, hiding her surprise in her tone. Caden is not like anything she imagined or like most Alphas she knew who were either lean with muscle or bulky with the same. He looked very different, tall and robust with a stomach that could pass for a pregnant woman’s bulge but he has a warm aura to him and his sandy blonde hair has been twisted into short locks. “Thank you?” Caden suddenly frowns at Leila, making her wonder if she said something wrong. “Family does not thank one another. I find that offensive, Leila, you must apologize,” his tone softens and his frown morphs into a smirk. Leila smiles back to him, amused by his character. “I’m sorry Alpha Caden.” “Apology not accepted b
Leila looks at Amara who is fast asleep beside her in the middle of the night unable to sleep herself. Aside from the fact that she naturally finds it hard to sleep in a new environment for a few days, her heart is heavy. Tatum didn’t argue with her concerning returning to the pack in a few days but her daughter and her have never been separated for more than a day and she will have to leave her, perhaps for weeks or even months, depending on how long it takes for them to get Tatum back his position of Alpha. She runs her hand slowly through Amara’s hair, her eyes welling in tears as she kisses her daughter’s hair, taking a good whiff, a strong sense of anguish filling her for the decision she has to make, even though deep down in her heart she doesn’t want to leave Amara but it’s the only way to keep her safe. Aside from the anonymous letter that they got asking them to protect Amara, she also cannot shake a feeling deep in her heart that Antonio is doing all of this because he wan
“My daughter!” The sound of the head warrior’s yell as he rushes towards the scene jolts Leila to the harsh reality of what Amara just did. It’s not just that she used her powers in public, breaking a rule that had been given to her but she also used it to hurt someone. Athena flew yards into the air, if anything happens to her, Amara could be in real trouble because of it. “She’s not breathing! Help, somebody do something!” The head warrior yells, clutching Athena to his chest, blood oozing from the corner of the limp girl’s head. Leila rushes towards them as fear of the worst grips her. She ignores Amara who stands there with a blank expression, her face staring at Athena and her father and she tries to hold Athena but the head warrior shoves her away. “Don’t touch my daughter, your child did this, she is evil,” the man spits out with venom, casting a cold look at Amara. “Why?” Leila immediately turns to Amara, holding back the bitter words she wanted to reply to the man with
Leila stares at her phone for the umpteenth time, feeling very worried. She has a lot on her mind but chief of them is that Tatum hasn’t replied to her messages in days and she cannot reach him via phone call. They’ve been at the Northstar pack for over a week now and it was only the first two days that she was able to communicate with him. Tatum mentioned that Trent had given her three days to return or she will be banished and she has been here for days more than that. After the incident at the training for the competition, she couldn’t just leave the next day, Amara needed her but now, she’s worried something might have happened to Tatum because of her absence to show up during the stipulated time window. She sighs and decides to go see Jenny to talk about it. Jenny can look after Amara and also keep her out of trouble. She needs to go and help Tatum no matter what. His position is their only true security. She steps out of the room given to them in the pack house to go to
“Again!” Trent yells at the warriors training with Tatum who Tatum had just put to the ground. Tatum is on his knees, one knee on the floor, the other bent with his elbows resting on it as he pants exhaustedly. His shirtless body is dripping with sweat, mixed with his blood oozing out of the whip marks on his back and the side of his torso. “What are you waiting for?!” Trent yells, trashing the whip and landing it on Tatum’s back. “So you think that rebel, Alpha Leo will give you time? Pathetic,” he spits out with venom. As the silver tip of the whip cuts into Tatum’s back and tears his skin on the way out, it sears him with pain but he barely reacts to it, only looking at Trent with a deadly look in his eyes, his teeth clenched. No matter how much pain he has to endure, he will never break before this ceremonial Alpha. He folds his fists together and smiles maniacally at Trent, blood covering his entire dentition. “You need to hit harder, old man. You’re an Alpha now but you see
“Stop here,” Leila says to the driver bringing her back to the Blood oak pack territory, her voice low and sullen, her eyes pregnant with tears but she holds it in, determined to stay strong for her, Amara and Tatum.They both needed her and she had to make a choice.Something inside her feels torn that she chose Tatum over Amara, that she chose the father who abandoned them over the child who brought joy back into her life.She remembers how sad she always was when she was pregnant with Amara, how the days spent in the cell being nibbled on by rats while she starved haunted her sleep throughout that period.She was not herself then, often lost in her thoughts thinking, swimming around in her anguish until it drowned her.But Amara was the light that the goddess sent to her darkness. Once she was born, it was as if alongside her, Leila also pushed out her sadness.Amara gave her hope, something to look forward to, something to live for.The tears push heavier against the blanket of he
Leila backs up, ready for whatever is going to happen next. The four wolves growling menacingly at her, ready to strike at any time. She snarls, considering whether to shift and let her secret be known when these men see her wolf but that would mean she might have to kill them to kill them to protect it but she’s not even sure she can fight one of them and win, not to talk about four. Her heart pounds slowly in her chest, fear grating down her nerves even if she doesn’t show it as one of the wolves advances towards her slowly. He halts and they all turn to the right at the same time, seeing an off-roader drive towards them in full speed and before the car parks right between them, demarcating the wolves from her, the excitement of Leila’s wolf already tells her who it is, even before his smell comforts her. Tatum jumps out of the car and Leila frowns at the sight of him, feeling an instant uneasiness and discomfort deep in her gut from the way he looks. He has lost a lot of weight
Despite it being only a few hours of the morning, the city is abuzz, teeming with people, everyone seems to be in a jubilant mood. Large posters of Antonio and Carmela hang on almost every corner Leila turns her eyes to, posters announcing Antonio’s wedding to Carmela.“Who would have thought the king, who we hardly even see would someday be getting married and even invite all of his subjects?” A lady at a stall where Leila stopped to get water says to another one.“That phoenix Luna is really a blessing, she’s completely changed the personality of the king. It’s so awesome to see,” the other lady replies.“I already told my nephew who is a fabric dealer overseas to get me the best fabric. No one is going to outdress me for this wedding,” the first woman chuckles and they clap hands.Leila moves from there but every corner she walks through seems to be in a similar mood, hyped about the king’s wedding and it just makes her feel sick. Hearing the people talk about it, one would think
Leila stands to her feet and clenches her fists by her side, glaring at the six obviously trained guards surrounding her. She’s far away from any help and if they are here to kill her, this may well be her last day on earth but she won’t go down without a fight.“You’re supposed to be men but you continually gang up against a helpless woman, pathetic,” she sneers, extending her claws, the eyes of the men going wide at the blue and yellow aura surrounding her paws.She cannot risk shifting fully so she does not expose her secret of being the real phoenix Luna. Exposing her claws like this is already a great risk on its own but if she will ever reunite with Tatum and Amara, if their family will ever be complete and live in bliss, she has to survive and survive she will.“Come on! What are you waiting for!” She yells, snarling at them, losing every epitome of fear. Even if she dies here, she will not be the only one.The men all exchange glances, an emotionless look in their eyes but the
Leila frowns as the car speeds off in the distance, her heart sinking as she gazes at the expanse of land around her. She has no idea how to get around in the capital or what she has to do next. Does she return back to her pack? She could but that would only give Antonio an excuse to say that she disobeyed him and only the goddess knows what evil he’ll do to the pack as a result of that. Honoring his summon is suicide as well, he made it quite clear that his intention is to kill her with the order that he gave to Kelvin. If only she could reach Tatum, he would know what to do, he would help her. Tears pool in her eyes and she lets them fall, sitting on the dusty roadside, her heart clenching with pain and churning with bitterness. Every step forward seems like two steps backwards. Trent paying for his crimes hardly feels like any victory at all, her husband and child are still missing and she’s stuck in the capital of a murderous king who wants her dead and turned her best friend
Tatiana scoffs, “Antonio doesn’t need to cast a spell on me to make me do anything, he obviously has other methods,” she glances at Kelvin, “but that had nothing to do with him, I left and delivered his message of my own free will.” “And when you set me up at the border with the royal guards, was that of your own free will too?” Leila asks pointedly but her expression holds zero hostility towards Tatiana. “I didn’t set you up. I was only desperately trying to get help for Kelvin then but I knew my brother had eyes on me, so yes, maybe I knew what would happen if I contacted you,” Tatiana replies in a similar tone, not missing a beat. Leila purses her lip, feeling a slash in her heart. It’s hard to comprehend why Tatiana who rebelled against her brother for their sake would just change. When they worked together, they were able to get Kelvin free and get Antonio to leave the pack. Something came out of their cooperation the last time, why is Tatiana so against it now? Tatiana even
Leila quickly crouches above him, her heart pounding with fear. She grabs Kelvin’s hands and checks for a pulse, a slight shudder of relief taking her when she feels something. She gazes around but she sees no sign of anyone. What does she do? She cannot just leave him out here but at the same time, it is dangerous to be around him and she still doesn’t know who or what sent the beam that hit him. When she tried to focus to bring out her magic, she did not feel anything innate, so she knows this did not come from her. “You should be making a run for it, not kneeling there.” Tatiana’s voice makes her head snap up and her heart races when she hears it, the realisation hitting her. The red beam must have been sent by Tatiana. “Tatiana!” Leila springs up to hug her but Tatiana holds her hand out, pushes past Leila and mutters and incantation over Kelvin. “Is he going to be alright?” Leila asks, peeping the worry in Tatiana’s eyes. Kelvin was cold to her, cold enough to want to t
Leila’s heart pounds. Kelvin may have said the words as if talking about killing her is like talking about taking a walk but the sinister look in his eyes is enough to let her know that he means it. She bolts out of the car to make a run for it but Kelvin is already on the other side waiting for her. Her eyes bulge at his speed. His aura is definitely not the only thing that has changed about him. “You don’t have to make a scene right now,” Kelvin dips one hand in his pocket and retrieves a vile, “this is poison. You can make this easy by drinking it, I’ll watch you die and then I’ll dispose of your body or you can make this hard and I’ll have to use my…” he retracts his claws and smiles sadistically at it. Leila frowns, at the same time hit by a wave of sadness. The Kelvin she knows would never talk about her death in such an amusing manner. She may have to accept that her friend is gone but she has to try to reach him if he’s in there, one last time. “You’re better than this Kel
Outside the hall, one of Kelvin’s men holds the door to the back of the car open for Leila to enter when Kelvin shakes his head. “I’m riding with her in mine,” he says in a cold tone, glancing at Leila, “the rest of you, take the other cars.” The man shuts the door and nods. Leila’s heart races as she locks eyes with Kelvin. Perhaps the Kelvin she knows is still in there and he couldn’t just be himself around her in front of Antonio’s other men which is why he wants her to ride alone with him. Kelvin walks over to his car with Leila in tow and then he walks back to his men, giving them further instructions before he walks back to Leila. He stands close to her at the passenger side of the car and scoffs before he walks over to the driver’s side. “What are you waiting for to get in? Gone are the days when I always opened the car door for you, Luna,” Kelvin says in a sarcastic and cold tone, getting into the car. Leila bites her lower lip, feeling like a boatload of stingers were ju
Leila shoots to her feet, her teary eyes locking with Kelvin’s in the distance. He is looking directly at her but there is no warmth in his eyes and his gaze isn’t cold either, it just ... .is— void, without any emotion. “Uncle Kev!” A teenager in the crowd yells and runs towards Kelvin with her arms wide open to hug him but the royal guards with him block the girl off and Kelvin doesn’t even look at her, he just keeps sauntering forward, his unreadable but eerie gaze focused on Leila. A sore feeling wraps around Leila’s heart and she remembers what Tatiana said Antonio had done to Kelvin, that he was different. The girl his men just shoved aside that he showed no concern for is one of his young nieces in the pack. How far gone is he? “It’s quite a scene you’ve made here,” Kelvin says in a sarcastic yet cold tone, staring from Trent’s headless body to his bodiless head, a cold smirk forming on his lips. Leila’s heart thuds slowly as she climbs down from the podium to meet him. T
“Luna, please don’t do this, we were only following the orders of our Alpha. Surely you cannot punish us for doing our duty,” One of Trent’s men who had been apprehended alongside him wails as the warriors drag them to the front of the crowd. It is the d-day for Trent’s execution but before him, a few of his most loyal men who perpetrated crimes against the pack in his name have also been brought before the pack to dance to the tone of their music. Leila frowns at the man who spoke, sitting atop of the podium, on the central seat reserved for the Alpha. She raises her hands up and the crowd goes silent. She stands up and walks over to where the accused are sitting on the floor, her cold eyes fixated on the one pleading for mercy. “Luna, Luna, Please, have some leniency,” he pleads again, trying to grab a hold of her feet but she moves away from his hold and the guards immediately restrain him. “You plead for mercy, claiming you were only doing the deeds of your Alpha. He may have f