It was hard to miss the blaring red spot on Holden's face the next day when he came into the clinic, courtesy of Hayden, who was not amused when he found out he was the culprit in this mess and brought Elise to the pub. Elise barely spared a glance at Holden, still annoyed that he knew what was happening and let her go in there just to see Hayden with another woman. “Ouch! Can you fucking stop that?” He hissed at Elise, as she put a warm cloth to clean the bloodied area. Abby had asked her for a favor to clean his bloody face. “Sit still,” she hissed, not sorry for his pain. She was holding back from laughing at his face; he deserved it. She wanted to add another punch, too. “Don't you have healing powers or something like that? So much for being on my side.” “I am not on your side; you called bullshit and you found out the consequences; what did you even gain for letting me see that?” Elise hissed, dropping the warm cloth back into a bowl. “I thought I’d spice up your r
“So you are the one that my men reported to me about,” he mutters, looking up at Elise. Hayden raises his head to speak in her defense, but he raises a hand to stop him. “I know all about your secret in helping a female that got attacked; you helped and gave her refuge even though she is a stranger, but she is an alderman, an enemy to our pack. I need you to explain what that means to us right this instant.” A wicked smile sprawled on Holden's lips; he seemed to be enjoying this, enjoying seeing his brother being scrutinized by their father, knowing now he would be in the chief's good graces instead of Hayden. “I-i mean no harm, Chief Blackwood,” she says with a curt bow. He lets out a dismissive hum to his men, who bow and leave them. With Holden and Hayden behind her, their arms at attention, their faces stoic as they face their father, the chief of this pack. “I was saved by your son while I was on the verge of death, and I’m grateful for that. Yes, I might have been rais
“You cannot be serious about this, father,” Holden argues with Chief Blackwood the moment that Hayden follows Elise down the balcony steps. His eyes were dark and intense with jealousy and anger that a strange girl from somewhere could have his birthright. “She is Edgar’s daughter; the throne belongs to her; we all know that I’ve been keeping this seat warm for him; this is a promise I kept to Edgar Hale,” he mutters. “She could be lying about her mother, father! You cannot just give the seat to a stranger; for all we know, she was sent by Dexton to infiltrate our pack and destroy us from her father; you cannot allow this!” Holden argues. “There aren't any laws that stop her from claiming this seat,” Hayden's voice cuts in. He’d come back from his chambers, leaving Elise there. “We all know she is a true royal calhan wolf; her beast looks like ours; she is one of us; no, even more powerful than us." Hayden concludes. It drives Holden mad, his hands bound into a tight fist
Rygan’s POV “Rygan?” I hear my name roared out by Taz behind the door. The loud, unending pounding of the door pulls me out of sleep. I roll over, forgetting the spinning room around me. But I don’t answer; I’m barely living and barely there at the moment. Everything feels useless and unimportant since I found out that Elise is dead. And all the news from my troops that came back was no news at all. I don’t want to believe the trail ended on the deep, rocky cliff. There has to be something I’m missing; there has to be, but Kaide made it known to me that she was gone. There isn’t even a body I could salvage. I hate myself for that. I hate myself that my last words to her and my last encounter were filled with nothing but anger and blame. I can barely breathe when I think of her right now. I roll over, my fingers meeting the cold glass of a wine bottle in my bed. My only companion these days is the solace of being drunk. It’s the only way I can sleep without waking up to nig
A few months had passed in the black moon pack and things had turned out unexpectedly. As the tension grew around the pack to their alpha behavior. For a newlywed couple, the whole pack felt so quiet and distant, they all could feel the monstrous shift in their alpha’s demeanor. Gone was the alpha who gave out smiles and assurance to his people, they could tell something had changed, especially after the disappearance of Elise. Rygan became a cold-hearted tyrant. Never to be seen in daylight, now a predator of the night that lurked in the shadows, he preferred his wolf from now on, prowling in the darkness for his next kill on humans. Protection around the pack increased nonetheless, Kyren never made an appearance after Rygan had removed his left eye, making the alpha of the Dark Night pack blind in one eye now he scoured like a coward in his territories not risking another fight with the beast, Kyren had vowed he’d make Rygan pay for the loss of his eye, but there was
Seasons passed with time; Elise had chosen to stay with Hayden, and with Chief Blackmoon's blessing, they had their mating ceremony. She had asked for nothing festive; only Abby and Hayden’s best friends were there as witnesses. She could remember how tense she was as she repeated those vows and how the last time at the altar ended up so horribly. But with one of Hayden’s eyes, she reached his promise to be by her side, to protect her. There was still a nerve-wracking feeling after the ceremony. It made her nervous about how the pack would accept her as Luna and Hayden’s partner. Contrary to her beliefs, the people welcomed her the moment Hayden announced she was in; they were all grateful for her help, and the people warmed up to her. Even though there would be biased whispers and some filled with jealousy, that was nothing that could break her. Not until the very day her water broke and she was rushed to Abby’s, with Hayden waiting outside for the birth. It felt like an ag
Elise’s POV. It got harder day by day to hide the urge to touch Hayden and be close to him. I felt like a crush-stricken pup who had just realized the presence of an alpha who had been with me all this time. And now it was far too clear to ignore. I wondered if he had noticed too, if he had seen the times I looked away when our gazes met. It got harder each time our eyes locked from across the room or from where he stood with his friends, laughing at a joke Brady made. I watched as his eyes crinkled from the joke, and an unconscious smile spread on my face too. Jax called his attention back to the field as I stood with the ladies under the gazebo. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder from Jenna, Brady’s mate. We were under one of the tents, with the other serving beverages and drinks while we watched. According to their tradition, there was a day for young pups and males to participate. She-wolves were allowed to join, yes, but more of the mated females enjoyed the shade and let
No one expected this attack, especially as the sound of explosions and gunfire echoed through the city gates. Elise and Hayden could only watch in horror as the pack and their men by the gated wall were under attack from the weapons. “I need to go now,” he muttered, his tone racing in haste as he rushed to the door, with Elise right behind him, her eyes filled with adrenaline. “I’m coming with you,” she muttered as Hayden stopped her, his gaze filled with a plea for her to stay safe. Elise frowned. “I can fight; you know I can,” she told Hayden, his eyes filled with rage and hardened from the ongoing attack. He couldn't help but feel his wolf wanting to protect her. “I need you to be safe; you need to go check on Ethan too, just please,” he told Elise. They ran out the door, and she saw a quick shift of his wolf as he raced into the darkness and departed by the gates. Elise ran to Abby’s home while Hayden shifted to his wolf and raced to the gates. They were trying to use bo