VERENA“Did you forget we have a guest cottage? They won’t be harmed there. Also, you said you have that water to purify the house, right? So what’s there to worry about? I’ll make all the arrangements to make sure they are safe.”My muscles relax. Dad always keeps his word, so I have nothing to worry about.I look at the twins. “Yes, please stay. I’d like to show you around the pack,” I plead.“Man, I can’t refuse a request made by the Luna,” Drake says in a frustrated voice, and Dory smiles.I take them to the Guest Cottage that’s not very far from the main building and has a swimming pool. As Dad promised, everything is arranged for them, including the clothes and daily necessities they need since they haven’t brought any luggage.I spend some time exchanging light conversations with them, and once I make sure they are comfortable, I head back to the mansion.I walk inside Ezra’s room and find him sleeping. My heart clenches. I fed him dinner before I had mine, and the poor thing c
VERENA“Alright. Let him in,” I say and get up from the bed.The moment I push open the foyer door, his musky, citrusy scent hits me. It sends a jolt straight to my stomach. He’s already turned, his broad, powerful frame filling the doorway. As our eyes meet, my breath catches in my throat.“I didn’t expect you to come today,” I say as I stand before him.He stares at me for a few seconds before he pulls out his phone and shows it to me. “I sent you so many messages last night. Twenty missed calls. Your phone was switched off,” he says, his tone showing his anger.Worry washes over his face before it's quickly replaced with a mask of annoyance. He holds up his phone, the screen showing his call log. “I tried calling you all night,” he says, his voice a low rumble. “Fifty messages. Your phone was off?” he asks, glaring at me. “I was so fucking worried, Rena. That’s why I came here to see if you aren’t doing anything reckless by yourself.”I purse my lips. “The battery died so I couldn’t
VERENAI prepare the plate with scrambled eggs, sausage crumbles, diced potatoes, peppers, and onions. Then I hand it to him. He frowns as he looks at the plate he’s holding.“Go and eat,” I order, crossing my arms.His jaw tightens. “I told you, I am not hungry. At least not for this.” My heart skips a beat as his eyes slide over my body. I am wearing a casual gray shirt and pink shorts, my hair loosely tied in a bun.I give him a tight smile. “If you don’t eat, then I’m not talking to you from now on,” I warn.He raises a brow. “Is that a threat?”“Absolutely.”He rolls his eyes. “Fine.”I smile in victory as he heads over to the dining table. He keeps the plate on the table and looks at me, his gaze filled with mischief. “But on one condition. You have to feed me,” he adds, and my eyes go wide.“This is not a bargain, Alpha Elijah,” I say, my voice stern.He narrows his eyes and reluctantly grabs the fork to start eating. I pour him a glass of water and take the seat beside him. He
VERENAMy heart beats loudly against my chest. The edge of his lips curls into a smirk. “I want to take you out on a date…” He looms closer, his intense gaze stealing my breath away. “And I’ll make sure you have the best time of your life.” His voice dips to a whisper, sending shivers down my spine.How can I resist him?He surely knows how to charm me.I force a smile, my cheeks warm under his gaze. “That all depends,” I tease, letting out a shaky breath. “If you find the book.”“Challenge accepted,” he replies with a smug look. But then his eyes flicker with longing. “Can I see Ezra?” he asks, his voice laced with concern.I slowly nod and get up from the chair. We walk up the stairs, keeping our steps light so that we don’t disturb anybody’s sleep, and I slowly open the door to Ezra’s room.The room is quiet except for the chirping of birds peeking through the closed window shutters. Ezra’s chest heaves below the blanket as he sleeps soundly, the silver marks clearly visible on his
VERENAOur hands brush against each other, and a tingling shiver runs down my back. I snatch my hand back, my heart hammering as Elijah stares down at the book.He snags the book before I can, flipping through the pages with ease. Sunlight highlights the sharp angles of his jaw and the way his dark eyes glint as they scan the text. His hair is messy, probably from rushing over here. Suddenly, I have a strange urge to mess it up even more.And maybe, just maybe, get a whiff of whatever cologne he’s wearing. It smells… good. Really good.Serena purrs inside me, having woken up from her slumber. “Go for it,” she encourages.Elijah’s voice breaks my thoughts. “If you are done eye-fucking me, then concentrate on finding the book. This one isn’t it.” He slaps the book closed and places it back on the shelf.“I wasn’t looking at you. I was looking at that… shelf behind you,” I reply confidently.“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.” He flashes me a sexy smirk that takes my breath away. Why is he l
VERENA Books tumble down on me, but an arm shoots out and grabs the falling hardcover before it can land on my head. I look up, my heart pounding.Elijah looks back, glaring at me. “Be careful.”I huff. “Well, I was. It's you who’s distracting me with your talking,” I retort.“So I do affect you.” He smirks, and my jaw tightens.“Whatever.” I quickly head out to the next shelf.I don’t know how much time has passed, but I feel exhausted. Drake plops into one of the armchairs before the fireplace, yawning. “I covered thirty shelves, and there’s no book on celestial wolves. This is not a library. It's a book town!” He rests his chin on his arm. “It's so huge that I might find aliens hiding somewhere.”“Stop with the excuses. You are just incapable, that’s all,” Dory says while biting her thumbnail, her eyes trained on the book she’s holding.Elijah joins us and looks at me with a disappointed look. “I have searched everywhere. There’s no book on celestial wolves.” He says, and my heart
VERENAA tense silence falls on the library. I stare at Dad, my eyes wide and my heart thumping.What? He lost his powers?!“How is that possible?” I ask.He sighs heavily, looking at his palm. “The attack that happened, it made me lose a lot. Not only your mother’s life and you, but I also lost my celestial powers that day. My wolf survived, but his powers were gone.” He explains, sadness glinting in his eyes.“How did you lose it?” Elijah asks, observing my dad with his arms crossed. “Did the enemy have something that can cause harm to a celestial wolf?”Dad frowns at him and then looks at the window. “It was more like a rogue attack,” he answers and Elijah’s brows shoot up.“Rogues? But rogues can’t harm a celestial wolf.”Dad’s jaw tightens. “They were different. Not like your usual rogue. Hollow eyes, burned skin. They were hard to fight.”Elijah looks at me, his eyes lighting up with realization. “Ashwalkers,” he mutters and my breath hitches.“You were attacked by Ashwalkers?”
VERENA Footsteps thunder inside the room and I feel a pair of strong arms hold me from behind. Elijah’s scent crawls up my nose as he helps me get on my feet. “What the fuck just happened?” he asks as he looks at Ezra, his eyes wide.As Dad enters the room, Ezra’s baseball bat levitates toward him.“Duck!” Elijah roars, shoving me down behind the bed as a toy airplane soars above us with a few more flying objects. It slams into the wall with a crack, raining down splinters of plastic.“What happened to Ezra?” Elijah asks as we both lie on the floor.“I don’t know. He’s probably possessed,” I answer.“Possessed? By a curse?” Elijah asks and looks at Ezra, who’s simply sitting on the bed like a statue. Before I can answer, a nearby chair lurches towards us. “See?” I yelp, grabbing his arm. We both tumble to the other side of the bed just as the chair thuds down, missing me by a hair’s breadth.The twins and Dad are also victims of the furniture flying in the room. Drake deflects the i