“Just be careful,” Ben says, before I leave the house the next day. “I’m really happy for you, I truly am. But be careful, okay? I’d hate to see anything bad happen to you.”“I will be,” I promise him. “I already know how awful it feels to even think about anything bad happening to you. I don’t want to have to give you that same feeling towards me. I’m going to be super careful about it.”“And you’ll remember what I said?” he asks.“Of course,” I reply. “I can’t forget it.”That part is a little too true. I can’t forget what Ben said to me about Ryan. It follows me as I get in my car to drive to the pack’s territory.Ryan is predisposition to hate me and it makes so much sense because he did jump to the worst possible punishment when Ben was captured. He wants us dead because his father hated our family. His father killed my father.Yet I also think of the fact that I’m only able to go to see James now because Ryan is allowing it. He’s allowing me onto pack territory which is unh
“It really has been wonderful meeting you,” Helen says as she gives me a hug. “I’m so impressed by your strength, your willingness to work hard and never give up, and you dedication to your family.“I’ll be honest when I say we’ve all heard some things about your family that haven’t been fully great. They may have colored our perception of you, though we’ve tried to cast that aside to get to know you.“I’m glad we have. I’m glad we didn’t stick to old bias because I can tell you’re a wonderful young lady.”“Even more importantly,” Garrett says, worrying me. He’s certainly the toughest one of the bunch, “you make our son happy. That much was apparent right away.“We’re incredibly proud of him anyway for becoming Beta of the pack. That’s a high honor and we’re grateful that our son achieved it. “But we want him to be happy more than anything else. So, if you make him happy, and it seems like you do, we’re more than happy to welcome you into our lives.”“And maybe even someday into
“I wish I could stay here forever,” I say, as I lay my head on his chest. “I wish you could too,” he laments as he kisses the top of my head. “Someday you’ll be able to, I promise. Someday we’ll find a way to make it so we can stay together.“We’ll figure out a way so we can share a bed every night. We will become a bigger part of each other’s lives. But for now…”“I know,” I say. It’s horrible to even think about leaving, but I know I must.“We have to be careful,” I continue. “I understand that. It’s surprisingly great that Ryan is letting me spend the night here once a week, but we shouldn’t push our luck.”“Exactly,” James says. “Though I want to. I really want to. We have a lot to prove to him and the pack. Which isn’t fair. None of this is fair. We shouldn’t have to prove anything to them.”“But we do,” I acknowledge the hard truth. “We do have a lot to prove so we have to play their games for now.”“Only for now though,” he promises me. “Only for now, and then we’ll be a
“Ben, this isn’t fair!” I say, knowing how much like a child I sound. But no matter how much I press him, he won’t elaborate on what he said. He won’t give me the answers I deserve. The answers I need to make sense of everything.“What’s not fair is the fact that you don’t respect me even after all I do for you,” Ben says. “It’s not fair that you still won’t trust me. It’s not fair that you’re jumping down my throat right now.“I love you Bel, but this is getting ridiculous. I’m not going to fight with you. I’m going to bed and I’m going to sleep soundly knowing that I’m doing my best to protect you.”With that, he goes upstairs before I can say anything else, leaving me more confused than ever.Is he right? Maybe a little. I do believe he is doing his best to protect me. I always trust him like that. He would never do anything to knowingly put me in harm’s way.But I still can’t imagine what that has to do with the rogues. And I still want him to tell me what’s going on.It se
“We found another rogue on our territory,” Ryan says, fixing a glare at me. Though he has accepted Isabel as my mate, he still hasn’t fully warmed up to the idea yet. And that shows in moments like these. Little jabs that suggest he blames me for the problems we’re having with intruders.“I’ll take care of it,” I say with a sigh. “We haven’t caught him yet,” Ryan says. “I’ll have the guards grab him and then you can do the interrogation. You can figure out what to do about him and how to keep rogues off of our territory.”“Don’t worry about it,” I say, eager to prove myself to him. The more useful he thinks I am, the more leverage I’ll have when it comes to negotiating Isabel’s presence here.“I’ll find him and catch him myself,” I say. “I’ll figure out why he’s here and try to figure out what we can do to rectify this problem.”Ryan nods as he looks at me apprehensively. “Okay,” he says. “I’m trusting you with this because you haven’t let me down before. But I swear if it’s Be
I panic because I know. I can hear them and I think they want me to hear them. They want to torture me like this.These wolfs are the kind of sickos that get off on other people’s pain. They’re drowning in mine and they love it.“Hey Ben,” Nathan says, as nonchalantly as ever. It’s as if he’s my brother’s best friend and they’re having just a normal, everyday conversation.I suppose that’s what it feels like to him. This probably all feels so normal and risk free.“No need to be rude,” Nathan says. “I appreciate your help so far, but it’s only taken us so far. We have bigger plans that we need Isabel for. “This is nothing against you, of course. We meant what we said about not harming her if you helped us, but that was when we only knew she was your sister. Now we know she’s the Beta’s mate, things have changed. That makes her even more valuable.”These are the people Ben has been hanging out with, and suddenly it all makes sense. They must’ve threatened me. That’s why he’s been
Ben comes racing through, energized since he hasn’t been part of this fight until now. I can see the exhaustion on Nathan’s face as he looks at Ben.This is unexpected to him. But he gathers up his strength as he and Ben face off. Ben doesn’t waste any time. He goes straight for his neck, forcing Nathan to up his game, leaving James to wrestle with the other two.James finally latches onto a vital vein in Levi’s neck and bites hard, then rips with his teeth.Levi cries out as blood showers the ground. Nathan ignores this. Too intent on Ben to pay attention to any sort of distractions. But Patrick is fueled by watching Levi fall to the ground in a slump.We all know he’ll be dead soon, which fills Patrick with the kind of rage that’s most dangerous. He goes after James with a new fury, lashing out at him, causing horrifying wounds.I continue working on freeing myself from my binds. I need to help them. They won’t like it, but I need to. They’ll die if I don’t. Then, I notice
Despite the rules of only staying at James’ house once a night, Ryan makes an exception and allows Ben and I to stay at James’ house for the night, since we both are so drained, sore, and just plain exhausted after the fight.We wait up anxiously for James to get back home after he gives us the key. And finally, after worrying for so long, the door opens.James walks in all bandaged up and bruised.“Where’s my hug?” he asks with a grin.“I don’t want to hug you,” I reply. “I worry I’ll break you. I don’t want to hurt you even more than you’ve already been hurt.”“Going without a hug would hurt me more,” he argues. “Come on. One hug?”I hug him as lightly as possible before giving him a light kiss. Once we part, Ben stands there looking uncertain.“I wanted to thank you,” he says, walking up to James. “I know things haven’t always great between all of us, but you saved my sister. You fought hard even when you were hurt.“There’s a lot to admire about you, James. So, I do admire
DAMIENYears pass slowly when eternity is no longer in sight.Standing on the edge of the balcony of the bedroom I’ve shared with Isabel for five hundred years, I watch the lush lands in the distance. The demon realm has never prospered like this before. I’ve never been this content before.In the distance, I hear laughter and I look over to see two of my older sons carrying their sisters in their arms while my other daughter run after them, Cerebus trailing after them.I’ve had children before. I’ve watched them pass on. I still watch over their families. But this is different. This is more precious. Isabel has given me so many children and for once, I will not have to watch them die before me. Twenty strong children, half of whom are now leading their own lives, coming back to visit us. I have never once regretted sharing my life span. Now I get to enjoy my beautiful mate for centuries to come before we move on from this world. Speaking of my mate, I hear her voice.“Junip
I clutch on to Damien’s still body as I see Balin’s body dissolve into nothing within seconds. There is hush across the battlefield as everyone stares in shock at what has just taken place.‘Justice.’The words echoes in everyone’s ears and then I see the realization hit the elves about what is coming to them. The begin to flee.But only if it was that easy.One by one, they fall, their deaths painful and horrific sights.The battle which had come to a halt because of Damien’s sacrifice has now been ended by the interference of the Gods. There is no guilt within me.There is just dark and vicious satisfaction.Let them burn. Let them feel what it is like.The whole thing is over within a couple of minutes and the silence stretches across the field.Finally, the Gods face me, ‘What do you wish from us?’My eyes flicker towards Damien and when I look up, the field is gone. Both me and Damien are in this white space that has no end.“The elves are gone,” I say with great di
My heart is filled with a broken pain that I can’t breathe past.They showed up. But they showed up too late.I’ve lost everything.Damien isn’t breathing. I pull out the spears one by one, ignoring the presence of the beings, tears falling down my face, my chest so tight with pain that I think it will burst. I can’t feel our mating bond!Oh, God! I can’t feel him anymore!The wail that rips from my throat at the realization that he’s left me all alone is a terrifying sound. The earth begins to shake as my grief grows out of control. These powers, these abilities, they’re useless to me!My heart is tearing out of my chest in my madness, the ground shaking.Let it all burn!Let them all die!‘Child.’The voice echoes in my head again and this time I look at those beings, my face ravaged with the tears of a broken woman.‘You cannot destroy these realms.’“I cannot?” I snarl, “Just who do you think you are to tell me what I can or cannot do?!”The more upset I am, th
Mara’s anticlimactic death has me reeling. But now is not the time to worry about that. I shift into my wolf form, attacking the enemy with a ruthlessness. It’s true what the witch said. My mating bond has increased my strength. I feel lighter on my feet as I wade through the elves like they’re ants. My speed is faster, although not to the level of that of Damien’s.I can feel some of my abilities leaking through but I’ve still not been able to access my abilities. I’m a little disappointed. I thought weakening the seal would have more of an impact but aside from this soft leakage of warm sensation, there is nothing else.I feel frustrated but I can’t do anything.Damien, though.Damien is stronger than I have ever seen. He’s cutting down the elves with speed, his focus sharp. His laughter is vicious and despite that, my heart flutters in my chest at how glorious he looks. I look at him and that is my mistake.You never allow yourself to get distracted on the battlefield.A
The troops are already waiting in their battle positions when we arrive.Damien brings me with him to the battlefield. He’s wearing a suit of dark armor and I feel tense, “The Rubab Stone-”“I’ll have to be more careful,” his voice is calm. “Last time I wasn’t as aware. This time I know I am not invincible.”“Damien,” my heart is twisting in my chest. “I-”He cups my cheek, his voice gentle, “I’ll be fine, little wolf. Just don’t leave your guards.”I know he would have preferred to stash me somewhere but it’s clear that he wants me close by. After so many traitors popping up after the first battle, it only makes sense.“Don’t let anybody catch you off guard,” he thrusts a sword into my hand. “Trust your instinct when you fight. They’re going to try and separate us. Let’s make sure that, that doesn’t happen.”I give him a small smile, feeling a sliver of hope on seeing his confidence.“Okay.”I get on my toes and press a sweet kiss to his mouth.We don’t get more time togethe
“What is it?” “Something has happened in the demon realm,” he says, grimly, before looking down at my hand.I shake my head, “The pain is gone.”“Good, let’s go.”“Thank you,” I give the witch a weak smile, not knowing whether to actually be grateful or blame her for the wrong that has happened in my life. But it’s always a good idea to be graceful.She waves us off and I’m in Damien’s arms as he runs out of the cave, past the trees, towards the temple.“The portal-”“Caleb will open it when I give the signal,” he’s not even out of breath as he rushes down the temple where the shrine gates are.As we move towards the town, I grab his shoulder, “Wait! What is that?!”The sky is orange.“How long were we inside?” I mutter. “Is the sun rising?”“No,” Damien says after a long moment. “It’s fire. The town has been set on fire.”“We have to help-”But Damien holds me back, “Look.”For a moment, I don’t understand what he is saying. And then I see the arrows shooting within the
“There has to be something someone can do,” I ask, forcing my voice to stay calm, despite the roiling fear inside of me.The witch’s voice is kind now, “I’m afraid not. You’re not the first who has tried to seek a way to undo the curse.”It’s hard to keep my tears at bay. The tears are not of sadness but rather of the crippling fear of the unknown future that awaits me. At this point, I am already aware of the nature of the painful deaths a majority of the Righs faced. It was just physical pain they had to go through, that would have been fine. Horrifying as it may be, one can tolerate that to an extent. But seeing your loved ones be tortured? The mental anguish is not something I will be able to take any longer. My suffering may be different from that of the previous Righs. It may not even compare. But for me, it is enough. I am reaching my breaking point. There are so many people in my life that I now care about, so many people who can be used against me. It frightens me to th
The witch studies me, “There have been numerous prophecies recorded about the Righs over time but there was one that was recorded by a Righ who was born to a Seer and a witch. You can call it a curse or a prophecy.”I instantly remember what I saw. The memory of the battlefield. The woman who was held down, screaming.My blood turns to ice as I recall that memory. It still gives me nightmares. “The downfall of the elves. From the hands of the weakest of the Righs. And right now,” the witch looks at me, “no offence, but you are the weakest Righ there is.”I’m being hit by so many curveballs that getting my feelings hurt is at the bottom of the list right now.“It’s funny that you think I’m going to bring about the downfall of the elves when I can’t even protect myself or use my abilities.”My voice is tight with barely restrained anger.“The stars have aligned and the stars have never lied before,” the witch says, easily. “The time is drawing nearer for the final battle.”I don
I feel my knees turn weak, “What?”“But you created the seal!” Damien snaps. “You should be able to break it!”“Logically, yes,” the witch says, calmly. “But this seal is special. It draws its power through sacrifice of fate. Those spells are impossible to break.”A shutter falls over Damien’s face, “What have you done?”I look between the two feeling like I’m in the dark, “What does she mean? What do you mean by a sacrifice of fate?”The witch studies me and for the first time, I see a glimmer of sympathy in her eyes for me, “I don’t think you want to know the answer to that.”I push past Damien, “I do. What do you mean a sacrifice of fate?! Whose fate?!”She looks at Damien before meeting my gaze, “The Righ is a powerful entity. You think it was easy for even somebody like me to be able to contain your powers? No. If I had used a normal spell, as strong as I might have tried to make it, it would have broken against your powers. I needed something stronger. Something that woul