EdelineI moved as fast as I could, stumbling toward the truck, my heart pounding in my ears. I slammed the door shut and watched through the window as Conor held Percival down, the two wolves locked in a brutal standoff. Percival’s eyes, wild and glowing, flicked toward me, and for a split second, I saw it—the scent that hit him. He smelled Darius on me.Fear crawled up my spine, and then I heard it—the sickening crack of bone. Conor had broken Percival’s arm. Percival crumpled to the ground with a howl of pain, and Conor turned, running toward the driver’s side. The doors clicked open as he punched the code, sliding in quickly beside me."Let’s get the hell out of here," Conor said, his voice taut with suppressed anger and fear.Percival was in agony, his arm cradled and his gaze wild with an intensity I’d never seen before. Before Conor could even shift the truck into drive, the backseat door was yanked open. Darius was jolted awake, disoriented and confused by the rough handling.
Percival Jack stepped forward, while Dahlia and Mirabelle looked on in shock as I stood over the lifeless body of my brother.“Hey, Annabel and William, I will take care of Darius. Why don’t you head back to the pack house? You do not need to witness this,” Jack whispered. Annabel’s eyes flickered up to meet mine. She seemed to understand, but I was left wondering—what did he know? What was he thinking?Jack knew Darius well, just like my dad and I did. That was all. Just the three of us. Did they have any idea about Edeline?My mother’s face, streaked with tears, turned to me, her features twisted with anger as she stood up to confront me. “Why would you do this to your own brother? He was a good boy!” Her voice trembled with fury as she shoved my chest. I stood there, unmoving, completely exposed. “It is all your fault! Why!? Why?” She screamed, landing a punch on my chest. The impact barely registered against the numbness from my broken arm, and my gaze wandered aimlessly into the
Percival I have to admit, I am feeling... just blank. It is almost surreal.As Edeline drove away, my heart seemed to go with her, leaving me behind.Without a second thought, I hopped into one of the motorboats and sped across the lake towards my cabin. The water splashed against me occasionally. I barely registered the chilly breeze or the cooling sensation of the water. Instead, I felt a burning on my skin and a strange numbness spreading over me. I felt absolutely nothing at all.I knew the feelings would hit me later. My wolf was restless, itching to break free and destroy anything in its path. It wanted to find its partner and bring her back home. But I was not going to stop him. He was ready to call it a night.I arrived at my cabin, still numb, not yet feeling any pain in my arm. I walked through the darkness, closing the door behind me with a soft click.Making my way to the end table next to the sofa, I casually turned on the lamp, casting a warm, gentle glow in the room. I
Percival She gave me a stern look. "She left because of you, jerk. You spent too much time with Tatiana. You ignored your own mate! Instead of being there when she woke up from a three-day sedation, it was me who had to pick her up. You were too busy protecting Tatiana and fawning over her like some lovesick fool!" Her concern for me had clearly vanished, replaced by frustration.I squinted at her, my vision blurring. "I couldn’t resist!" I shouted, throwing my arms up in frustration. "I couldn’t resist, honestly! After you mentioned Tatiana and saved us, my wolf just had to see her. Lately, I’ve been struggling to control him... I feel so powerless!" My breathing grew heavy as she leaned back in her seat, clearly intrigued. "I really wanted to be with her, believe me. But she wasn’t in danger... my wolf knew our mate was safe. He knew our pup wasn’t, though. It was my fault that he was going to die because I marked Edeline and she marked me! If the threats weren’t enough, knowing th
Percival Mirabelle leaned in closer, her eyes searching mine. “So, why exactly was he considered a threat, Percival?” she pressed, her curiosity clearly piqued.I didn’t look at her, continuing to stare blankly. I felt a profound indifference. “There are things about Darius that no one knows. Just me, my dad, and Jack are aware. Edeline doesn’t know. If she did, it would completely shatter her and destroy all her precious memories. That’s the last thing I want to do,” I said hoarsely, my voice strained.Mirabelle’s expression grew more intense. She mentioned she had seen a dark vision about Darius but couldn’t make sense of it. “Percival, can you tell me something?” she pleaded.What’s the point anymore? I’ve already lost everything else."Darius wasn’t feeling well. He wasn’t feeling well at all,” I began, trying to steady my voice. “On my mom's side of the family, there’s this illness that runs in the genes. Darius was born with it, even though it tends to skip around. It’s a menta
Percival “Things got worse,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “My dad stumbled upon a shrine that Darius had secretly built for Edeline. Can you believe it? Behind a false wall in his closet. It was filled with bits of her underwear and hair. It was never shown to her, just hidden away. I don’t know exactly how it affected his wolf, but the physical side of him was long gone.”I shook my head, a bitter chuckle escaping my lips. “My dad wanted to teach Darius a lesson for a couple of months. Just for mentioning one crime. But he knew that challenges would come because Darius had attacked Edeline. As a father, he wanted to keep him safe, but he also knew Darius’s illness made it impossible. My dad didn’t want his memories tainted for everyone—my mom, Edeline, his buddies. So, he dismissed the idea that Darius was coerced into his actions.”Mirabelle’s eyes were glued to me, her expression a mix of horror and confusion.“But little did anyone know, my dad was actually getting bac
Percival I pulled open the drawer and grabbed the silver switchblade that I always kept there. Then, I casually sat on the edge of the tub, flicking open the silver blade. I took a moment to examine it, noting its sharpness.This could be a lifesaver.I could definitely meet the moon, no problem.I hopped into the bathtub, trying my best not to make a mess. Despite the shock I felt, I did my best to keep my emotions in check. I leaned against the back of the ceramic tub and ran the sharp tip along my vein, making sure to go deep enough.I barely noticed the pain as I observed my wrist splitting open. Blood spurted everywhere, my pulse pumping as I released my energy.This is totally my fault.Sometimes I feel like I am not really adding much value to anyone's life.I do not feel very strong.Some wolves just cannot make it in the wild.As I closed my eyes, I could not help but think of Edeline. Her beauty was absolutely stunning. She had such a warm and caring heart... Her stubbornne
EdelineI felt his regret and sorrow. Maybe I should let him experience my feelings. See what he has done to me. But honestly, I was not keen on reopening those walls. I did not want to experience the intensity of his emotions or his thoughts. As we kept driving, it felt like our newly formed mate bond was fading away, just like a lousy Wi-Fi signal.I really hope I never have to encounter him again. I cannot stand him. He is a real beast.My wolf, on the other hand, already missed him. She understood his actions but was still really angry. She was grieving the loss of her pack member—a buddy of hers. Considering everything he had accomplished, she truly missed her mate.I could not help but feel a sense of disgust, which was directed at her. She seemed to whimper in response. She was upset and expressed her disappointment when we found out we were not pregnant. We do not want that creature.“Hey, how are you doing?” Conor’s deep voice broke the silence. I looked up at him with my ti
Percival Edeline’s eyes were locked on me as she marched over, grabbing my forearm and pulling me along with her. The contact felt like fire igniting on my skin. She was fired up—angry, for sure.She dragged me into the equipment shed, out of sight, and then—wham!—she whacked me right in the eye.I let out a low growl and slowly turned my face back to hers. Anger radiated off her as she raised her other hand, ready to swing at me again. I managed to grab her wrist before she could land another hit, squeezing gently around her slim wrist. “What the heck, Edeline?!” I exclaimed, my lip curling to reveal my fang. Low warning growls rumbled from my chest. The wolf inside me was not thrilled, but at least she appreciated that this wasn’t happening in front of the pack. Don’t mess with my authority.“Hey! Did you give that girl false hope or what? I know you have not hooked up with her because I would have sensed it!” Her nose wrinkled, eyes blazing with fury. Then, I caught a scent from
Percival Promoting her to lead female warrior might not have been the best decision after all. She was my top fighter, having trained hard before I stepped in, but now I was left questioning my judgment. We didn’t have an expert on board yet, and Jazz’s ambition made me wary.She tucked a loose, curly strand behind her ear, looking up at me with her big green eyes, her skin a lovely shade of creamed coffee. She was undeniably pretty, but just not my type. “Hey, Percival... what if we tried something different with the ladies?” She edged closer, taking a deep breath as if to check out my scent.It might sound wild, but the night before last, after showering and snuggling up in bed with Edeline, I had rubbed against her, soaking in her scent. Waking up without her made me skip a shower yesterday—or maybe even today. I just wanted to hold onto that connection a little longer. Jazz caught a whiff of Edeline’s scent, and her eyebrows shot up.“Hey, is Edeline back?” she asked, her voice
Edeline“I totally get it, Nixx. It is something else. Really special. I see what you mean.” My gaze drifted to his cuffs, curiosity piquing as I furrowed my brow. “Have you been a bit risky? What does your world do to people?” I tilted my head, observing the way he passed the bracelet back to me, unable to take his eyes off it.“My wolf is stronger, you know? Sometimes I just cannot control him and end up lashing out at people who get on my nerves. Percival dealt with the same stuff. He wants to help me train like Gaspar did for him, but all I can think about is Tatiana and the pup I lost. It is tough.” A wave of sadness washed over him, dimming the light in his eyes.“Nixx,” I sighed, “why are you still hung up on losing the pup? Mirabelle was only a few months along, right? You never even met him, and you can have pups with your real mate. You could not have had both. Tatiana would have been jealous of you and him. Trust me, I get it. Tatiana is a beta, and her wolf would have want
EdelineHe really needed his not-so-little sister. I would hit him up first, and then maybe I would finally have the guts to talk to Percival about everything. After some tough training, of course. It had been a few days since I had a solid training session. Muscle disappears faster than it builds up, and I really hoped that did not happen. If I wanted to keep being the warrior I had turned into, I had to stay on top of my stamina. But I was not sure my buddy would let me train, especially since my heat was just around the corner, and my scent was driving everyone wild. I had to remember to grab my tea after I hopped out of the shower. As I walked in the front door of my parents’ place, the cozy scent of clove hit me, pulling me back into sweet memories. I could not help but think about what might happen during this heat. The last one just did not do it for me. Did I even want him to help me out this time? Or would I just prefer to be out of it for that? I figured the latter was
EdelineI stared down at our hands, chewing on his words. He might have a point. When I left and went to Conrad’s place, I told myself I was moving on. I threw myself into letting it all go—this life, these people, everything. But once I got some space, the wolves around me nudged me toward the truth. They made me confront my feelings about Percival, especially after I caught myself feeling jealous over him. He was just my friend, nothing more, but still... I had to deal with that. But Darius? I buried that pain deep and left it to rot. Never talked about him, never thought about him for too long. I got stronger, yeah. But I didn’t heal. Not really. And that’s why I’m still stuck. I turned my head toward William, blinking back the sting in my eyes. “How am I supposed to feel about him?” My voice cracked, and I felt my throat tighten again. “Look at what he did.” I swallowed hard, trying to keep it together, but the words dragged me down, making my chest feel heavy. “How am I s
EdelineI never really hated Percival before that. He had done some stuff, sure—but it never made me hate him. Not until that night. That night, I hated him more than anything. My wolf hated him too. My skin side—yeah, she wanted revenge just as bad. But then the truth hit me. Darius was the monster. Not Percival. I spent all of yesterday lying around, trying to make sense of everything. Today, I thought maybe a walk would help me clear my head, so I came here. To the waterfall—the spot I loved the most. And now, here I am. Staring at his grave. Why here? Why did they bury him here of all places? Not in the pack’s graveyard, where the rest of them are. No—right here, beneath the tree that used to be ours. Our spot. My throat tightened, and the tears started before I could stop them. My heart felt like someone had tied a rope around it and was pulling it tighter and tighter. I reached out, tracing his name on the headstone with shaky fingers, as if touching the letters wo
PercivalI hoped I didn’t annoy her. I understood she was strong, but my Alpha side just wanted to look out for my mate. I was trying to communicate my feelings through the mate bond, to reassure her I was here for her.The corner of her mouth lifted in a quick smile. "It's all good."Shaking my head, I did what I felt compelled to do. I walked over, scooping her up in my arms. She gasped in surprise as I carried her across the room to the salvaged bed. Her eyes widened, taking in the effort I had made to clean up for her."I’ll grab you something to wear. Your clothes are wrecked." I stifled a laugh as I laid her down on the bed. I missed the feel of her skin against mine, even from that brief moment before I had to let her go to find her a t-shirt and some clean boxers.I had both boxers and boxer briefs, but lately, I definitely preferred the briefs. Guess it was just part of growing up!As I returned to her, Edeline’s gaze was fixed on my bare torso. She looked up at me with that
EdelineI would not run anymore.“Hey, let me wash your back, my little warrior.” His breath brushed against my warm skin, and a rush of desire coursed through me as his deep voice stirred something inside. My breath caught in my throat as I locked eyes with him.“I got this.” I really could not let him get close. It would only make the cramps worse, and the desire was already doing a number on me.He nodded, totally understanding what I was thinking through our connection.As he stood up, I could not help but let my eyes wander over him, pausing at his chiseled abs and then down to his pelvis. Right there in the middle was a thick, four-inch tattoo of an infinity symbol.Mated wolves have this thing where they let anyone who catches a glimpse of their skin below the waist know they have a mate. This tattoo meant a lot. A lump formed in my throat as my eyes began to water. How long had he been dealing with this?It was like he could read my mind—probably because he could. He looked
EdelineHis eyes were no longer filled with wonder; they carried pain and knowledge. Yet, despite it all, those piercing blue eyes had remained the same, shining even brighter against his sun-kissed skin. His hair was longer on top and shorter on the sides, giving him a more polished look.He looked even more handsome now, completely in charge of himself. The way he moved, the way he held himself—it all made me wonder about the changes in him and what had shaped him during our time apart.“You hungry?” His deep voice pulled me back to reality, his eyes locking onto mine.I was still feeling shy, and I wondered why that was.“I’m fine,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice steady.He nodded and made his way to the door. “I’ll give you some space. I can tell you’re not really feeling it with me around. Just hit me up when you’re ready, and I’ll help you get to bed since you’re not feeling great.” He flashed a sad smile and reached for the doorknob.My heart raced a bit. I really did not