Withdrawing my eyes from Alexia, I handed the letter to Alexei and summoned my wolf on my way out of the hall. I ran as fast as I could to locate the place where the advisor had mentioned in his letter and shifted back when I saw three Triton members’ heads skewered on a sharpened bamboo buried outside the gate.One of them was a guard on a post, a female omega, and then I felt inside me rankled when I realized the last one was just a child. It was a heinous crime one shall be terrified.Back to my human form, I felt my face go slack and my tears began to sting the corner of my eyes. “No... h-h-how can I let this happen? How— Why didn’t I see this coming?”Their headless body was lying on the ground and fresh blood was pooling off the white smooth cement. Using my trembling hands, I reached out for the boy and wept in agony. And a paper falls out from his mouth that I immediately read with my tears blurring my sight.“Three months. Surrender my fated mate, Alexia Volkov, the Alpha’s s
“Lie. You are lying to me,” Alexei said, his voice dropping into a whisper of obstinacy. “Tell me you are only lying to me, sister...”Alexia remained silent so I took it as my chance to dress Alexei with the robe I brought. He didn't stop me so I was able to cover his body and mine before Alexia swung over to face us. The silence was so daunting, the only sound I could hear was the howling of the wind and the way it caressed the trees, causing the withered leaves to descend on the ground like they are destined to.“Why must I lie to you when I know full well what happened a year ago was my own mistake?” Alexia inquired, crossing her arms and never taking her eyes off of her mother’s grave. “I insisted on coming to the Canidae Union as the second in line heir instead of father. After the party, I got drunk and I was located by my fated mate. I accepted my mate’s claim in possession of alcohol and I was marked that night without knowing who he was, his rank, and from where region he wa
“I don’t think I can do it. He’s avoiding me...” I grumbled and leaned on the trunk, glancing at Yelena, who was now frowning in front of me beside the distressed Irino.“But it’s been a month, we are running out of time,” Yelena reminded me, concerned as much as everybody and yet more transparent when it comes to displaying her emotions as much as voicing her thoughts. “I just tasted my freedom. I didn’t risk my life in that deadly race just to die in the war.”Because of Yelena’s sentiments, I shut my eyes and slouched. I feel like I failed everybody. Alexei was damn hard to convince and his perception had come to naught, completely forgetting that his duty was for the pack and not just for his family. Changing Alexei’s mind was harder than deducing a cold case. It felt like talking to a wall. My persuasion skills have no effect on him.“We are fortunate the members had no idea of his plan yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in his rank. The only thing he had in mind was to keep Alexia i
Alexei’s embrace was so abrupt and unnecessary, it made me think about a possible assassination in regard to opposing his decision. Should I not be worried? Is Alexei hiding a knife in his hand, ready to sever my side so I would die painfully? Or perhaps slit my throat? I couldn't help but be wary of his approach, since I had thought about doing it to him many times. As wicked as Alexei, I’m certain he could do that to me. I cannot be complacent. When Alexei tightened his embrace, I pushed him off and slammed him on the wall. He groaned and I took his invulnerability to search his hands. He had nothing in his hands. I glanced at my boots to check for my hunting knife and it was there. “Please... I’m not in the mood to kill you,” he said with a sad smile. “Besides, all four of them know and would suspect that I did it so not today. I just want a hug.” Wincing, I looked at Alexei in guilt and slowly drew my body towards him, giving him the embrace he desired since he sounded so sincer
Wet. Hot. Inclined. That was all running through my mind as I savored being pleasured below. An erotic moan caught in the back of my throat when Alexei’s tongue movement changed its rhythm into swift and slightly aggressive. Even his finger that was slowly sliding back and forth inside me had picked up its pace as well, causing my back to arch and my hip to move on its own.The pleasure was too much for me to handle, I couldn't articulate a word other than chanting his name. “A-Alexei... Ahh...” I moaned with my eyes closed as I shuddered in bliss. With my mouth open, I met his movements with no shame, since at the very beginning he was my possession to be used and enjoy. I threw my back, placed my feet on the table, and looked down to gaze at him. And then I swore several times in my head when I realized I was wearing a long blue dress and I couldn't see Alexei but only his head. I had to strip naked in order to do that. But it doesn't matter for I am pleased with what I have now a
“What’s wrong?” Alexia asked when she stood beside me. I was so focused on Alexei and Aena, I failed to notice that she followed me to the hall. When I remained silent, she followed the direction where my eyes were settled. “Oh, who is that? That’s odd. I never recall my brother having female friends.” If I was surprised and threatened to see Alexei having such a fun conversation with Aena, hearing that information from Alexia herself suddenly irritated me in a way I never felt before. I don't know the reason why, but I do. I have never been insentient about my feelings so I always know when I’m happy, or glad, whether I’m in sorrow and most especially mad. And I was an ordinary shifter who had dislikes and seeing Alexei together with my twin sister was one of those. Watching them smiling together and incredibly comfortable with each other, it felt like my past had come back to me. Now I can't help recalling the things my sister could easily obtain in just a flip of her hair because
“Hey!” Because of Irino’s loud voice, my chains of thoughts were disrupted regarding what happened to me three weeks ago. Slightly ashamed, I blinked at him with inquiring eyes to pretend that my mind wasn’t wandering. “What were you saying again? Our plan to the Alpha was...” “I haven't started since you paced out. I was asking for your permission to begin,” Irino pointed out, making me force a smile of embarrassment when everybody looked at me in skepticism. “Are you really all right? You have been distracted a lot. When I say a lot, I mean for three weeks straight. And I wasn't the only one who noticed that.” I looked at them one by one and they had the same reaction. Worried with a mix of dismay because our plan had not advanced after almost two months of trying. Everybody was rooting for me to succeed but I, the one who promised everyone and once was confident to change Alexei’s mind, was now losing hope. “It’s because of that Luna from the Ether pack,” Alexia started while ai
“Me? Hiding? From the Alpha? No, I’m not,” I lied, shaking my head at Alina as I let out a forced chuckle. I wandered my eyes and found a plant near me. “I was enjoying this plant. Isn’t it beautiful?”Alina looked at the plant with a grotesque expression. “It’s a dying flower, how was it beautiful?”I looked at the plant again, this time carefully, and blinked several times when I realized that it was true. Damn, why didn't I notice that earlier? Seconds after, one of the maids plucked up the plant from the flower pot and threw it inside the bin together with the other waste. Now, I was left in shame, cheeks flushing red, and having difficulty meeting Alina’s gaze. I was so nervous and embarrassed, I ended up blurting words without thinking.“It was beautiful when it was alive, I mean,” I defended as I gave Alina a fake smile. “Poor plant.”“Don’t lie. You are hiding from my brother,” Alina pressed, sounding concerned as her look was sly. “I was behind you, you know, calling you many
“I couldn’t believe that shifters here in Buenavista forgot the siblings after just two decades, what are your plans for the Martinez siblings and Calisto now?” Irino asked, breaking the peaceful silence I had with Alexei.“Well...” I looked at Mason and Miya and exhaled deeply. “I would love to give them a proper burial and let the Calisto know that they were the Martinez siblings who survived the fall of the Martinez twenty years ago. The shifters who should be the ones ruling Calisto and not the Alvarez. I would also love to conduct a rescue and search for anyone who survived other than Mason and Miya that day to give Calisto back into their hands.”“What if they were the last of their clan?” Irino asked.“I have no choice but to let Akim take Calisto as the new Alpha like everybody was expecting him,” I answered and paused before I faced Irino and the others. “But I won’t let the others face the same leadership here in Calisto, so I will take the shifters who wanted to leave the p
“I’m sorry, Miya...” I uttered under my breath when she dropped at the last blow.Witnessing how Miya shifted back to human, my knees gave up and I threw the gun in outrage, fear, and sorrow. As much as I was thankful that the gun saved me and Alexei, it was still the most dangerous weapon anyone could have possessed to kill one’s wolf.I immediately held my belly and made sure that the baby was alright inside me by caressing it several times. I watched the siblings' dead bodies lying on the ground and heaved a deep sigh.With a heartbreaking sight, I suddenly remember their fates read by the wolfsayer six years ago. It was blank. Unreadable, as the wolfsayer called it, saying she had trouble reading their mates and possibly that they were one of the few that aren’t fated for another. I recall refusing to believe our wolfsayer before, thinking that she only made a mistake.And it turned out that wolfsayers don’t make mistakes. Because the meaning of Mason and Miya’s blank fate is beca
Miya let out a horrified scream before she shot me using her malevolent, trembling eyes. “This is all because of you... this is all because of you! You killed my brother.”Stunned and weeping, I ignored Miya’s outburst and held onto Mason’s stab wound, pulling him closer to me as I refused to believe what Miya had done to her own brother. Mason's eyes were fluttering when I looked at him and his vision was unfocused while watching the setting sun.“Mason, look at me...” I told him as I kept tapping his cheeks. He slowly complied and gave me a sad smile when our eyes finally met. “The Moon Goddess is very kind to let me see you before my life ends, Aera. I had no regrets about saving you, so you should feel the same.”“No, Mason. You will not die! Do you hear me? You will live!” I persisted, but Mason’s breathing started to become shallow and short, making me panic more than I already was.I was now covered in blood. And I didn’t know where to place my hand when Mason suddenly reached
“I will not mess this up, sister. You can trust me,” Mason said, avoiding my gaze as he faced his sister and undisclosing the state I was in.He could have told Miya that I wasn’t unconscious anymore. Kill me the moment he had crouched down since I was secretly listening to their conversation when I should not. Slit my throat without waiting for me to gain consciousness but he didn’t. He remained pretending that I was unconscious for my own sake.With that considerate gesture, I felt like there was still kindness in him, which Miya had totally forsaken a long time ago because of her rage and her intense need for revenge. I most definitely feared that my life was possibly coming to an end, but I felt rather confident about Mason sparing my life.Silently, I just wished I was right.“I trust you,” Miya said to her brother and then she left the cell afterward, leaving Mason who suspiciously trailed his eyes on her sister and let out a big sigh of relief when she was finally out of sight.
MIYA26 years ago...“Yes, honey. You heard your father right. You will be the first female Alpha of the North and the North Canideans will love you once you take the highest rank,” my father, Manolo Martinez, said to me, twirling me in the air and my laughter and shrieks filled my room that blissful night.My mother, Susan Martinez, gave me a warm smile before she walked toward my father’s side. “Okay, that’s enough. The heir to the highest rank will need to get a lot of sleep so she can be the first female of the North when she turns twenty. And that is fifteen years from now. You need to be strong and brave when that happens, Miya honey. For your shifters and for Calisto.”“I would be strong and brave, mother. I promise,” I vowed with my hands spread in the air and then explained excitedly when my father twirled me even faster.After a few turns, my father placed me down and gently tucked me into bed. They kissed my cheeks and wished me good night as their daughter and now the newl
I woke up in a dark room with fear and anger filling me, my hands and feet tied behind my back and I was helplessly facing the floor, trying to shout for help but no words could emerge from my mouth other than a silent moan.Struggling yet determined to move, I tried to free myself by flinging my hands constantly behind my back but my whole body was still numb that I even find it hard to blink or even turn sideways so I would not put all my weight on my stomach since I was a month old pregnant. I am soon to become a mother and I couldn’t lose the most precious blessing the Moon Goddess has given me when other shifters are struggling to bear a child.I never thought that a shifter like Miya, let alone a shifter whom I treated as one of my closest friends and a sister more than I treated Aena would do such a thing to me. And maybe— no, certainly, I am to be blamed as to why I am here in this dark and cold room only the Goddess knew where it was located. It appeared that I trusted Miya t
A week later...Wearing a black dress, I made myself inside Calisto’s hall without minding the mixed gaze of everyone was piercing me.All eyes immediately turned on me when I stepped inside and they gave me a deep respectful bow when I walked past them. Not just Calisto but all shifters from other packs who paid a visit to my father’s funeral. After everything that I had been through, the praise and the exaggerated appreciation, seeing them treat me like I was next to the Moon Goddess was never new, especially when there was a rumor that I helped Muck and not long after when Andras revealed that it wasn’t a rumor but the truth.Aera the Great. That’s what they called me even before the revelation. Now that the truth was out, they began to worship me for driving out all the Antartis as though I did it by myself. I had help. Andras could receive some attention as well, including the Muck’s brave shifters who fought with me during the riot, but the North has never been a fair region eve
“I am what?” I blurted, holding my stomach, unable to believe what Yelena said. “No, I am not.”“You are. Look.” Yelena held my waist and made me face the mirror. And then she tilted me to the side and carefully scooped my bump I never knew I had. “You are pregnant.”I gasped when I realized Yelena was right and my hands flew to cover my mouth in shock and delight. “Oh, my Goddess... I am! I am indeed with child, Yelena.”“You are...” Yelena gushed and did a little jump while holding my hand. Out of excitement, the news made me jump as well with her, but Yelena stopped me immediately. “Careful, Aera. You cannot jump or fight, or do straining activities from now on. You have a precious life inside you now. Oh, what a blessing for you and your mate! We shall tell the others, especially Alexei.”“No,” I cut her off, making Yelena's eyebrows arched in wonder and confusion. “I'm afraid we have to keep it for ourselves, Yelena,”“Why?” she asked with a little wondering laugh that turned out
“W-What?” Mason asked, his tone in utter disbelief and rather contemptuous. “Aera, are you hearing yourself? Are you forgetting yourself? He is your father.”The corner of my lips arched and I looked away, dropping my gaze to the table with a silent yet spiteful laugh before I looked back at him testily.However, this time, my lips turned into a thin line and my reaction turned cold, my face went slack quite intentionally, not because I regretted what I said but because I was disappointed by the fact he had the courage to ask me such an absurd request when he knew my painful past. And seeing how he gave me the reaction, right exactly the opposite reaction I would like to receive from Mason, I knew that the madness inside me that had been kept and caged for long awakened, wanting to spew forth and wild.“A father who abused me mentally and physically,” I corrected him, my voice rising in fury. “Now, let me return the question to you, Mason. Are you hearing yourself? You know exactly wh