"What about Jardran and Jared?" Mattie frowned in concern. "The Alpha has finally given you access to his sons. You can't disappoint him." I blinked at her question, screwing my eyes shut as I remembered I had toddlers to look after. I couldn't leave their side for one minute. Who knows what could happen? "We'll bring them along for a drive." "No." Mattie shook her head vehemently. "That's an even worse idea. The pack house is not safe today. Didn't you hear word on the street?" "But I must go there." "Why, Athena? Why must you go there, of all places?!" "Because I have to help him as much as I can." It was guilt leading me on. I needed to do something for him to balance this scale of guilt that's eating away at my insides. This way, I wouldn't feel like I deserved his wrath for what happened with Levi Kingston. "The Alpha can help himself." I shook my head. "No, it bothered him. I could tell it startled him to know there was a protest." Mattie saw that there was nothing that
KALOYAN'S POV Did she think I did it? I couldn't get the image of Athena crouched over her grandmother's lifeless body out of my head. I couldn't stand watching the scene for another minute, so I left. She was like the rest of Eastmoon wolves who believed I was a cruel king. I wouldn't blame them. It wasn't like I had given them a choice to think otherwise. Reece and the Lord's of the Eastmoon palace gathered in my parlour that evening. It wasn't the throne room, but I had been here to have a glass of wine in solitude. "Alpha Kaloyan, we've stationed guards around the pack house to sanction anyone who tries to make a fuss." Reece informed me as I rocked the glass in my hands, lost in thought. Lord Timothy seconded. "They wouldn't dare rise against your rule again. We've made sure—" "There's something I want." I interrupted him, keeping the glass back on the glass centre table in the lounge-styled room with modern furnishing. "Omega slaves are the ones leading this protest. I ju
CARA'S POV I was nervous about my wedding night, though Kaloyan had made it clear that he wouldn't touch me until it was what I wanted. I didn't want to have anything to do with him at this point as I sang a lullaby, helping the twins to sleep. Jardran always slept with his tiny mouth open. I couldn't count how many times I had scolded him for doing that. I glanced at Jared, who was already deep asleep. My heart ached for them, for the evil their father was about to commit, and there was no one alive that could stop Kaloyan from doing what he was about to do. Patricia walked into the twin's room. It was the first time in a long while that they had been alone in the same room together. She didn't smile. Nothing showed me that I was welcome around her. "What do you want, Patricia?" I hardened my voice. The feeling was actually mutual. "Can you believe the Alpha? But this is always what he does. Even to those he cares about, he will discard you at the first chance he gets—" "Your
I didn't even look him in the eye again. My time was running out. I knew that. I had stalled on the note that we weren't married yet, and that had reached its expiring date. Kaloyan made a vow, but the time for me to want this was now. Athena knew what was involved before tendering her application to be the royal nanny. Being his wife came with duties. Duties that could have been satisfied by the sea of women at his beck and call. But I chose to tie him down to me by being here. He finished eating and took his coat from the maid who rushed to his side. I stared at my almost empty dish for a few more minutes, contemplating like the coward this palace had turned me into. Standing on my feet, I smiled at Jardran when he wondered about where I was headed. I patted his head, a sign to continue with breakfast. They were slow eaters, but Kal hadn't even touched his food. I glanced at his side of the table again before returning my eyes to the prize. Him. Kaloyan saw me coming towards him.
Mattie took the twins to get ice cream down the street. My personal security tagged along, and that was almost enough to keep me at ease. These days, I never let them out of my sight, but that didn't mean I suffocated them. Balance was something I was savvy of. She would watch over them while I stand here with all those working for the palace, no matter what their ranks or jobs were. Even now, they still whispered. Their pointy stares judged me again and again. 'What a slut!' 'She shouldn't be Luna!' 'The Alpha can't have her represent Eastmoon!' 'I wonder if she'll give me a pass since she's having affairs with lowlives now.' I faced every look and glare with my chin up. Those words weren't what I heard, but what I could feel or see that they were saying. It wasn't true—at least that's what I know. I still can't tell what happened between Levi and I. My memories were jumbled like an unfixed rubix cube. Something went down. I was sure of that, but the only other person who ex
Those dark webbed veins and frozen skin. The sight was horrific. Though, I hadn't fallen on my arse like a weakling. My guard had caught my arm before I could. I was grateful, but I couldn't speak any words. The crowd that gathered at the scene began whispering amongst themselves. They looked green in the face, probably thought something from hell had done this, and they were right. Demons. The kind that attacked Ian, the brother of Dax months ago, did this. But I had thought they weren't a cause for concern. I was almost certain we wouldn't be seeing any more of cases like Ian's. I felt it had been an unintended defect. Hospitals in the city hadn't reported any abnormal cases to the office of the King of Eastmoon, not that I knew what went down inside there. My point is, why now? After long silence, what business do demons have with the people and wolves of Eastmoon? "Guards! Take boy to the royal physician!" Beta Reece raised his voice at once. His royal title as the King's ass
"There are names you should never speak of in your lifetime, Lord Henry. More so, within the boundary of the Eastmoon palace." "But if your brot—" "Physician, do your job. I'm waiting." Kaloyan interjected while Lord Henry fell back after clearing his throat awkwardly. Kaloyan stood next to the boy. I hid further behind them, thinking my mouth and my slip up would be forgotten now that their Alpha was here. They wouldn't believe me if I claimed next that it had been a lie. Kaloyan wouldn't buy it. "The film over his eyes looks like a spell cast over his mind. If my years of knowledge still stand, this is a demon's victim lying here." The physician told Kaloyan, who crossed his arms, focused in thought and on the dying boy. "Demons drain the life out of their victims. They kill them." The general raised, pointing at the body on the table. "If you speak the truth, he should be dead. A clean one at that." "I know what you mean, General Roknan. But this demon did not intend to kill
KALOYAN'S POV I sat in the throne room with the elders. Only the palace wolves had discovered what had happened. The Eastmoon pack was still in the dark, including the humans in this city. The Ravenclaws had brought the boy over as soon as they saw him. The elders sat with gloomy faces watching me and waiting for me to allay their fears, but we were living a nightmare. Nothing, but the head of the demon responsible on a pyke could bring peace back to the city. Just when the rumours of my bastard brother were long dead, another hurdle faced me head-on. One that brought back names I didn't imagine I would ever hear again. When my family’s breeder, Cara Smyth, died alongside Marc Babel on that street, I had known. I had even gone to see her body, not up close, but close enough to know that something wasn't right with it. She didn't have a family, so she had been dumped in the morgue. I didn't like to remember Cara. It took a while to get rid of her from my thoughts. Athena caught my
I arrived at the Eastmoon palace a while later. The cab dropped me off and I wouldn’t be surprised if Miles was tailing me with how abruptly I had left the pack house. The guards at the entrance immediately recognized my face. “I have a message for the Lycan King from Xora, the moon goddess.”The moment they heard the moon goddess, they figured that I was here on important business and they let me into the palace. I didn’t walk, I ran for where I knew Kaloyan would be, his study.But just when I was about to climb up the stairs, the twins shouted my name, “Cara!”They screamed, rushing over to me and I hugged them back, ruffling their hairs although this loud welcome was not what I needed at all. “Where’s Shirley?” I whispered but it was too late.“Right here.” She surfaced at the top of the first landing on the grand staircase. “What are you doing here? Last I checked, the Lycan King had commanded you never to return.”“My business is not with Kaloyan. It is with you.” I glared at
“When is she going to get here?” I huffed and Miles rubbed a hand over my back, placating my impatient pregnant ass.We were receiving Ingrid at the airport. She had travelled to the North pack again and knew nothing about Xander’s arrest. “Just a little more. I know she’d come out next—“Miles hadn’t even finished talking when Ingrid surfaced with her many bags from the airport. I rushed for her, pulling her into a warm hug. “Ingrid!” I shrieked, “how are you, my darling?!”She hugged me tightly like we hadn’t seen each other in years which wasn’t exactly the fact. We helped her put her bags in the trunk, while we were in the car and she rode shotgun, she kept going on and on about her trip. “I can’t wait to see Xander. The last time I left things were pretty tense around here. Miles even had you locked up.” Ingrid’s eyes bulged as she realised she was touching a delicate subject.“It’s fine. He knows he made a grave mistake and is currently paying for it.”“Where’s Xander, Miles
I stopped breathing. He had run out and it was my fault because I had put that dagger in Joseph Kaine’s heart. I worried my bottom lip with my teeth, distraught.“You need to rest, Kal.” I held his arm, begging him to not dare leave me behind. He had to fight whatever this was, but I had seen what lacking Joseph’s blood did to him. I knew deep down that he was in grave danger. We had to do something fast. “I won’t die today.” He kissed my cheek tenderly. “Promise me you’ll show up for breakfast.”I thought about it for a second. Being at a table with Shirley made poop more inviting. Though I was eager to see Kal’s next move. Would he fight for whatever we have that we couldn’t seem to get over?“I promise.”He smiled at me, taking his time to let go of my hand until our fingertips parted. I smiled back and offered a tiny wave, wary of the hope I felt inside my heart. Kaloyan would choose me this time around. He had just made a mistake the last time. He just needed to see Shirley’s
I snatched the amulet from his neck while he fell lifeless on the ground. The mask wore off and Miles began to understand what was happening.“What were you thinking, Cara?! That was too dangerous—“I wore the amulet and breathed in power. It coursed through me. Miles stopped in his tracks because he could see it too, what was currently happening. I was becoming one with the gods item. And this had not happened before. “Cara,” he muttered.And I smiled, chest rising and falling hard as I declared, “It’s finally mine, Miles. I’m the rightful Queen of Arzdith Valley and Salems power flows through me!”“No!” Our head snapped to the piercing scream we heard. Reagan bounded over. She slid to the ground at Joseph’s side, shaky hands holding him close. It was weird seeing her this way.I didn’t know evil was capable of loving someone, but I guess it was true. In their own twisted way, they had loved each other. The rest of the protectors and the black guards and Dax’s army dashed over, so
The moon goddess was right. I was in the wrong place. The back of the line was not meant for me. I should be looking for Joseph Kaine and cutting deep into his throat. If it was Reagan I found first, even better. I grabbed a sun sword from the ground. The black guard that had been carrying it was dead on the floor. His green eyes were open and lifeless. I said a prayer for his soul as I stepped over him.“Argh!” I screamed, fighting with all my might and casting the fire spell which consumed the blade of my sword. I was slashing through demons at a rate of knots. The fire was destabilising them, giving me the advantage of speed when it should have been the other way around. At the back of my mind, I knew there was something I had to do. Who led the demon army? That question was yet to be answered. I had seen Joseph, Xander and Reagan conniving at the Silver Eye pack, but it seemed I had missed out on the last piece in the band of evils. Two demons came at me. I used my eyes to con
Kaloyan and Miles got down, followed by Sky. I stayed in the backseat, holding the twins close as they approached the cloaked figure. The streets were dark and lonely. There was mist floating in the path ahead of us. A chill coursed through my spine. I didn’t want any more danger. I needed a breather. A moment with my family again—even though, technically, they were no longer mine. When I saw the three of them bowing to the cloaked figure, curiosity had me getting down from the car. I put Jared in charge. He was more mischievous than his brother, but Jardran could never control Jared.“Kal, what’s going on?”I gasped and lost a step when I saw the face underneath the hood. She was as magnificent as Reagan was back in the Silver Eye pack. I gaped at her glittering pale skin and blue eyes. There was no doubt who this was. The one whom only the six protectors were given the luxury of speaking to face-to-face.“Oh my God, you’re Xora. The moon…the moon goddess.” I bowed my head so low
I gulped, freezing for a long moment. There were a thousand and one ways this could go, but neither were about me escaping this unscathed. Reagan was here because he knew. “How did you know?” I sighed, pulling the mask off and switching back to myself.“I dated you. And even though you don't believe a word I'm saying, I loved you once—”“People who love me die, Xander. Stop lying to yourself.”He rolled his eyes and stepped forward to cuff my hands. “Either way, it was easy to tell that you were not my cousin. You escaped. There was only one place Cara would go and that would be to the Order, just to convince Miles that your Lycan King is innocent. Am I wrong?”I said nothing, just staring at the traitor he chose to serve. The evil that would be upon all of us soon. I had to think of a way to save the twins, but I could only come up with a miracle.“So you knew from the moment he texted you that this was going to be a trap?” I gaped at him. “Miles already suspected me the day he lock
CARA’S POVI headed out to meet Xander while wearing Miles’s face. It was highly dangerous because this could be a trap, but I could get to see the twins again and stall him from harming them. That was all that mattered. I drove his fast car, reminiscing the night of the accident when Athena died. It always flashed back to me whenever I sat in a car, but I had gotten used to the memories and the sadness that overtook me.There was a GPS tracker on the car. I carried his cellphone because everything had to be right. Xander couldn’t suspect a thing until we had him fooled. The Silver Eye pack laboratory was close. As I neared it, I said a silent prayer to Xora, begging her to save us all this once. I would protect the twins better if we got out of this mess. “Xander,” I called in a baritone Miles would use when I went down the stairs, leading into the underground laboratory.“You’ve always hated coming here.” His voice came behind me and I snapped my neck to him.He was right there,
KALOYAN'S POVI moved closer to where they stood because I couldn’t keep myself far away from them any longer. I hated the way this wolf looked at Cara. Those eyes of his. I knew what it meant.He was in love with mine. I had no claim over Cara after everything that had happened, but I couldn’t help myself. My wolf still craved her. Her scent still drove me wild. I wished there was a way she would forgive me for the wrong choices I had made. But I wasn't yet out of those wrong choices. Shirley was my mate now.Miles glanced at me and stopped talking, turning away and leading us to where the rest of the Scarlet Order were settled. I walked paces behind Cara, not wanting to invade her personal space, even though my wolf was hungry to feed on her scent. Once we entered the camp, all four of them stood on their feet, their razor sharp gazes pinned on me, the enemy. Miles Kovani seemed to be crossing the line here with my presence.“What is the Lycan King doing here, Commander?” “Sky