[ALPHA EVANDER’s Point of View]The lightning illuminated the foul-smelling prison cells and I found my way to where my friends were.[Suck a dumb idea!] Leo, my wolf, snarled in my head as I grappled my way down the wet stairs. I cursed when my foot slipped and the sharp rock cut my ankle.[Shut up, Leo. I am not leaving without them.] My jaw tightened as I snarled back on my wolf. [I will never forgive myself if anything happened to Mel. I promised Holly I would take her back alive.][You can save them once you return here with reinforcements, fool!] Leo scowled at me. [It's your only chance to go back to the pack—]My eyes glinted red through the darkness and Leo pursed his mouth against his teeth as he sensed that great rage in me. I sighed when he finally went silent and I glared as I went down the dark hallway towards the sound where I heard the echoing of Mel’s small sobs.The rainwater dripping from the ceiling of the cavelike prison sounded like a ticking clock, which reminde
[HOLLY’s Point of View]I couldn’t believe my eyes.I found a small cave near the stream before nightfall, a blessing for Alec and me to protect ourselves from the predators roaming in the mountain. I gathered bushes and branches to cover the mouth of the cave, thankful that the moonlight was bright enough to illuminate the area while I forced him to drink water.“Alec…” I murmured while watching his bare chest move—his breath was shallow and fast. He wasn’t sweating, and I was scared because he was burning like hell.I took a shirt from my backpack and drenched it with cold water from the stream to wipe the grime and filth on his skin.“What happened Alec?” I asked, my voice croaking as I studied the pain on his face. It was as if they were tortured for so many weeks after they were caught by the mountain rogues. “Where is my husband? Where is Mel? What happened to the three of you?”Alec groaned as his back arched in pain. There was something in him that brought agony to his face, a
[HOLLY’s Point of View]It took me almost five days and four nights to let Alec heal and convince him to go with me to the camp of the Ambroses.My hand rubbed my round belly. I finally felt that pain on my hip as I walked under the tall old trees of the forest. Thankfully, the weather was nice when we decided to start finding the camp. I had to take advantage of the determination that was in Alec’s eyes while the fear wasn’t there. I could tell that his guilt of leaving Mel brought nightmares to him, and to save himself from the guilt, he had to go back and save his mate while it wasn’t too late.And that would be the same with my husband. I had to go there and find him and take him back to Blackwood before the war broke in the city. Beta Kian needed him to protect our home. His people needed him. I needed him.Bullets of sweat covered our faces as we caught the scent of what Alec had told me was the scent of the rogue folks. They smelled like old clothes. Of someone who never had a
[HOLLY’s Point of View]“Mel… Mel…”“Evander,” I breathed after I couldn’t feel my husband anywhere through our bond. “He’s not here, Alec. My husband is not here!”Alec’s jaw tightened as he snapped the silver chain from Mel’s limbs and carried her in his arms.[Holly, I can detect enemies on the surface. You have to go out with your friends before these people go down the pit.] Lily’s voice surprised me as she gave me the warning.[But what about Evander? We have to look for him?] I answered sharply. [There is no way I would go out here without him, Lily!][You will all die here, Holly!] She fumed at me and I never heard Lily speak at me angrily before.Alec looked at me as he stood with Mel still unconscious in his arms. “We can’t stay here any longer, Holly. We have to go and call for the reinforcement now that we know where this camp is! We will get Evander back once you and Mel are safe.]We stared at each other for seconds as if weighing the situation. My heart told me I had to
[HOLLY’s Point of View]Just as Mel suggested, the three of us headed down the mountain when the first rays of sunlight reached the insides of the cave.If the situation weren’t so grave and scary, I would let her have a few days staying in the cave with us for two days while she was still severely injured. The silver chains slowed down her self-regeneration, and because she was deprived of food and water for weeks, her body started to lose muscles that she couldn’t even stand on her own without Alec helping her.[I am so sorry you have to shift to your wolf form to bring us down the mountain, Holly.] Alec’s voice in my head echoed as he secured Mel in front of him while they rode on my back. My silver fur glimmered under the soft morning sunlight.My claws dug against the earth as I slid down the scarps of the mountain. It was a good thing. I was really good with balance and was not worried that the two on my back wouldn’t fly back, so I jumped from tree to tree until we reached the
[HOLLY’s Point-of-View]I saw how Irina looked at the dress miserably. I could tell her indecisiveness about what to wear after Dad, Randalf Ambrose, Alpha of the Ivory Pack sent her so many expensive dresses for whatever occasion that was coming.I couldn’t help but lean on the wall, not too far from my sister’s room. I sadly sighed while holding a broom in my hand. The calluses and blisters were nothing compared to the pain I felt for wishing Dad to love me as much as he loved Irina—for wishing that he could treat me the same way he treats Irina with so much adoration. I hated it. I wish I could change things.But of course, I don’t have power over the destiny that was given to me. I was wolfless. Weak. A burden to my father’s pack and everyone. Maybe if I was in a different situation where my Dad wasn’t the Alpha, the people here had already thrown me away from this place. A wolfless like me was an embarrassment to everyone. A weakling that makes a pack look vulnerable to the enemi
“You know what kind of werewolf Evander Edgerton is!”That cursed voice again. But at that moment, he sounded desperate.I hated that I was starting to grow a habit of hiding myself while eavesdropping on the people of this house. But it was my only way to know if they were planning something against me, or if Dad said something concerning about me staying in his household. Dad was not happy about my stay here.He used to yell at me that being wolfless was worse than losing all my limbs and because of it, I was nothing but a mere insect in his eyes and that horrid gaze every time he saw my face made me want to run away and never look back to this place, ever.But Dad was getting older and he never wanted anyone to serve his tea but me. I thought maybe Dad still had a soft heart for me. And that was enough reason for me to stay and take care of him despite the treatment I received from him and Irina.Inside the receiving area was my Dad sitting across from Irina and Alec who were side
I couldn’t move. I was numb all over.Everyone refused to look me in the eye except Alec who was glaring at me with his elbows on the table and his hands clasped over his face. I didn’t know why he had that kind of expression but I was sure he enjoyed watching me being tortured in front of my Dad and his new fiancee—my little sister, Irina.“Oh, before I forget, I bought something for you, Irina, dear,” Dad said to my sister happily, changing the cringing topic so badly as if seeing me standing in front of them was sickening, “I want to see you try them!”Didn’t he just buy her new dresses the other day?“Oh, Dad! Sure!” Irina was extra excited now that the burden of the family was no longer hers to suffer. She leaned closer to Alec and touched his chin with the tip of her finger, her eyes were like sticky honeydew when she flirtily blinked at him. “Can I go with Dad, love?”“Sure,” Alec smiled at her and held her hand. Their sweetness to each other gave a wrenching feeling in my stom