Two weeks later, all the members of the Blood Moon pack gathered in the pack hall wearing sad looks and black clothing. This was the first time I had ever seen this hall so full of people but so quiet. This hall was always full of joy and cheers and celebrations, but today, it was so quiet and the atmosphere was covered with a thick curtain of grief covering everyone.Derek looked like a defeated man, with his unshaven beard and rumpled clothes, lost with no direction in this world. Asher stood by him, a grim look on his face but with a hand on the shoulder of his once best friend, to provide comfort. Whatever issues the two had, they had put it aside to mourn the life that was taken away so soon. Liana was absent.“The Alpha will now address us.” Muriel announces and steps away from the pulpit mounted in the centre of the hall. All eyes fall on Derek, but he doesn’t move, he remains on his chair staring at nothing. Asher leans down to him and whispers something in his ear and he star
This pack just couldn’t catch a break. We were mourning the death of our alpha’s unborn child and now he just collapses? Talk about pouring rain. “What just happened, Alexa?” Hope asks me, her eyes wide. “Dere-the alpha just collapsed.” “He’s usually so strong, the death of his child must have really shocked him.” Someone behind us says. “That is true, it was his first child.” Another replies. “The alpha must be sick from his grief.” “Maybe it’s his broken heart.”Was it true? Was Derek really just suffering from a broken heart or was it something else? He did clutch his chest before falling unconscious, a heart attack maybe? Could werewolves have heart attacks? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it before. “Alexa? What are you thinking?” I shake the thoughts from my head and sigh, maybe I was getting ahead of myself. Derek could just be sick from grief, which was clear enough. My mind goes back to what Ida had said about Derek’s aura being gone, did this have anything to do with it?“A
I decide that I’ve seen enough and leave the hidden room, heading straight for home while I recall the conversation I had with the doctor earlier. “This is a slow acting poison, it is called lycan python in some packs because people liken it to the way a python would slowly crush it’s victims to death. This poison has to be continuously given over a period of time as it slowly destroys the internal and mystical system of a werewolf.” That was what the doctor had told me.I wondered just how long Liana had been feeding Derek this poison and why? She had several chances to stop but she kept going at it, and now it had probably destroyed Derek. For all I know, it was too late. Even though I had issues with Derek, it bothered me that Liana was killing him this way. I didn’t want to just stand by and watch her, I wanted to do something but I wasn’t sure what to do about it.My thoughts consume every part of me that I don’t notice an omega-maid carrying a tray of plates, and heading in my d
“Asher! Asher, stop, listen to me.” I scream and struggle against his hold but his hand is bound tight around my wrist. I grab on to the curtain in the living room to stop him from pulling me but he’s too strong and the curtain rips. I am running out of ideas to get Asher out of his head enough to listen to me so I throw caution to the wind and bite him hard on his arm. He grunts but doesn’t stop so I bite harder, hard enough to break skin and taste blood. That finally gets him to stop.“What the hell, Alexa?” Asher asks as he stares at me with narrowed eyes. “You aren’t thinking clearly. If Derek found out I was Genevieve, the first thing he is going to do is to kill me!” “I’ll protect you.” “Like you did last time?” I ask and immediately regret it. Asher’s eyes briefly cloud with pain and then in an instant, it is gone and I wince. Low blow, Alexa, too low.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“”Forget it.” “Asher what I’m trying to say is, in no way does this end up not being a disaster and b
“What do you mean? What happened?” I ask, alarmed at the defeated look on Asher’s face. “Let’s get out of here.” Asher slips his hand into mine and we walk out of the alpha’s suite. “He didn’t believe you?” Asher stops walking and turns to face me. “No.” “What? Why? Did you show him the container?” “I did.” “Did you tell him about the poison?” “What do you think we talked about all this time?” Asher snaps at me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Asher says when I just stare at him, rubbing his eyes and sighing tiredly.“Do you want me to talk to him?” I ask quietly. “You would do that?” He says, surprised by my statement. Apparently I would, because I didn’t like seeing that look on his face. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t think anything you’d do would make him realize what Liana is doing to him.” “Just how much does he trust her? She’s cheating on him and killing him!” I feel so frustrated at Derek’s behaviour. A look passes over Asher’s face but is gone before I can figure what it is a
“It’s Dorothea, she needs help. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. Please Alexa, do something!” Ares cries out in desperation. I finally unfreeze and push past the two men, running out of the house and down the path that leads out of my neighbourhood. It isn’t until I’ve run out of the neighbourhood that I realized that I didn’t know where Dorothea was. I stop running, about to go back when I spot both Ares and Asher not too far behind me.“Where is she?” I ask, out of breath. “My house, I’ll take you there.” Ares replies and starts running again. My lungs are on fire but I don’t complain, I run after him. With how fast we are running, it feels like we’ve been at it for days instead of minutes. Ares finally slows down and stops at a modest bungalow house with a rusted black gate, in a small, quiet neighbourhood.Ares pushes the door open and we all rush in and into his house. “This way.” Ares says and leads us to a door that I assume is Dorothe’s room. He opens the door and we are al
“So, we just do nothing and watch the alpha die in what is supposed to be his prime?” Ares asks later that night as Asher and I sit in his living room after Dorothea had gone to bed. Thankfully, she was feeling better and calmer now. “We can’t help a dying man, Ares. It’s too late now, we were too late this time.” I answer quietly. “Then what about the Luna, do we watch her get away with her crimes? She’s going to be the leader of the pack!” Ares directs his question to Asher who sits in a corner quietly, nursing a bottle of alcohol.Asher had been quiet and withdrawn ever since Dorothea confirmed that Derek wasn’t going to make it. “I don’t have an idea on how to deal with Liana for now.” He answers weakly. “Ares, Asher and I should be on our way now. It’s already so late.” I say standing and walking to where Asher sits. “Oh, right. I shouldn’t keep you waiting. Let’s try to get some sleep, hopefully we’ll find a solution to this problem.” I appreciate Ares’ positivity in this very d
“I wanted to make them proud. I wanted them to love me as their alpha, but I guess I forgot, I got lost in my ambitions. I’m sorry Genevieve. Some part of me always wanted to apologize to you and your family but the other part always said, it wasn’t my fault.” Derek says weakly, his eyes staring at nothing. “So now you are on your death bed, you see the error of your ways?” I ask bitterly. “I’m sorry, Genevieve.” “Stop saying that!” I say and wipe the tears from my face.“Look what you did to yourself! You killed innocent people and pushed away your best friend just because you wanted…what, power? You let in the person that ended up killing you, you chose this fate and apologizing to me isn’t going to change anything!” My words come out fast that I have to pause and take a moment to catch my breath. “You never saw me, Derek.” “I see you now, clearly.” “Yeah well, it’s too late.”“I guess I saw some things when we were together but I ignored them. You always had that spark in you that
It takes some time for me to get to my senses, pull myself up and off from the ground and start looking for a way to fix this mess. Ramsey had not locked me back into the suite, probably assuming that I was going to curl up into a ball and cry myself to sleep. He was dead wrong. Ramsey had given Ryder the opportunity to ask for anything from me, he had sensed that I was willing to do anything. It made no sense that Ryder asked for Hope. Ryder wasn’t a gentleman, he was a brute so he didn’t need to ask me for her when he could take her by force. Ryder was playing with me.The first place I go to from the office is the hidden room I set up. It is empty and looks clean, so I guess Asher heard what happened and got out but I have no idea where he is. I grab what I need from the hidden room and head for Jessa and Hope’s house. The rogue guards watch me leave the residence of the alpha, they don’t try to stop me but I’m sure they’ll send someone to follow me. I didn’t care, as far as they l
“Ryder!” I bang my fists against the locked door of the alpha’s suite. I had been locked in the suite for almost a week now, and I was so sick and tired of being locked in here as if I was a common criminal. “Ryder!” I try again but he just ignores me. I know he’s out there, standing guard until he fully recovered from the bashing he received from Ida. “What is Ramsey up to? What is he doing?” No answer. “Hey! Stop ignoring me and let me out of here! I need to talk to him.”My fists were already burning from the force I was using to bang on the door so I decided it was probably best that I take a break. I slid down the door as my thoughts went back to Hope. Two days had already passed since she first came to see me and I still had no idea about what to do to convince Ramsey to let Kylan go. Did it mean I was giving up? No, there was no way I was going to let Hope’s baby grow up without a father. But there was also no way I was going to give up Asher’s location or reject him. I was stu
“Kylan, no!” I scream just as he brings down the silver club on Ramsey’s head. The intention to kill Ramsey is so clear in Kylan’s eyes. For a moment, time slows down as Kylan brings the club down and then it happens so fast that for a split second, I don’t understand what happens. The club connects but not on Ramsey’s head and then Kylan is pushed so hard that he collides into a tree that breaks into two from the impact. That is how hard he was pushed.My mouth is wide open in shock as I take in the scene before me. Ryder stands over Ramsey, with blood pouring down his arm with the look of murder on his face. Where on earth did he come from? I realize that he blocked the blow meant for Ramsey’s head with his hand and then shoved Kylan away like he was swatting away a fly.“Alpha, are you okay?” Ryder helps Ramsey up to his feet, he staggers a bit before standing still and wiping the blood dripping down his head. Ramsey shakes off Ryder’s hand and points to Kylan who is still trying t
I am trying so hard to rein Ida in but she’s too strong for me to suppress. She stands there growling at a rage filled Ramsey, ready to do anything to protect me and my oath to our mate. “Ida, don’t provoke him! He might hurt you!” What was I saying? Ramsey had already found out that I didn’t reject Asher and that was provoking enough for him. He practically vibrated with anger as he stood across from me.“I want to speak to Alexa, bring her to me now!” He finally explodes and charges at Ida, eyes dark with rage. My best bet and the only way I could get out of this situation with little or no injuries would be to let Ida take full control, I had to stop holding her back. Ida dodges Ramsey’s first attack and I decide to let her handle this, I was out of options.Ramsey’s eyes change to the colour of his wolf –a creepy red colour, as he watches me shift into my wolf. Ida bares her razor sharp teeth at him and stands ready for whatever he was going to throw at us. “Is this how you want i
“Are you okay?” “I’m fine, why are you asking?” “Nothing, you just seem a bit…” “Tired?” I supply. It was hard for me to hide anything from Asher, especially now that we were mates. He knew me and he saw things that I thought I had hidden well. After Ramsey’s declaration of a second wedding night, I had searched for a solution but found none and the weekend started tomorrow. I had ended up giving myself a headache and I looked even worse than before. I had given up on finding a solution and decided to come see Asher. We were cuddling on the small bed in the room as he lazily stroked my back.I thought I had hidden my worry about the situation I was in well from him, but he just saw right through it. “Yeah, you look tired but that wasn’t what I was going to say. Are you sure everything is okay?” Asher says with a frown on his face as he tilts my face to his. I had to think of something fast or he was going to find out about the wedding night, and there wasn’t anything I could do to sto
“Where were you, Alexa?” Ramsey says again and walks slowly towards me, like a lion stalking its prey. “I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk.” When did I become so anxious at the sight of Ramsey? No, this wasn’t a new thing, he always gave me a bad feeling whenever I saw him, but these days, especially since the day he killed those innocent people, the sight of him made my skin crawl even more. “I know I haven’t been so attentive to you these days and I’m sorry, you’ll have me all to yourself this weekend.” “What does that mean?” Ramsey nods to a seat in the room.When I finally settle down, he continues. “We haven’t had our wedding night yet, Alexa. It makes it feel like something is missing from our marriage.” I try not to shake his hand off of me when he starts to stroke my hair. “We need this wedding night to bond us, to bring us closer. The pack needs an alpha and a luna, you know.” “Who told you that we needed a wedding night to be close?” “Alexa, we are married.” “So?” “So, I
Choosing Asher was the best decision I made in those tense moments. “I’m so glad you’re safe. Thank you for being safe.” I manage to say around the tears clogging my throat. “I promised you, didn’t I?” Asher replies with a small smile on his face. My smile is so huge as I run my hand through his shoulder length hair. “You need a haircut.” “Later.” “Why not now?” “Later.” He says again. “Asher you-“His lips press on mine, cutting off whatever I was going to say. “I missed you. So much.” He murmurs against my lips.My arms go around his neck as he deepens the kiss, pulling me closer to him by wrapping his strong arms around my waist. I missed those arms around me so much. My hands make a trail from around his neck, down his chest and slip under his shirt to feel those hard muscles. I moan when my fingers connect to them and decide that this isn’t enough, I want skin on skin. Asher stops me when I fiddle with his buttons and I am about to protest when he rips the shirt off himself, scatt
I haven’t been able to sleep for the past three days. When night comes, all I do is toss and turn in my bed. The few times I’ve been able to sleep, my dreams are filled with images of Henry the guard-wolf, looking at me with sad eyes while blood pours from the hole in his stomach. Other times, it is Evan’s son lying on the ground, his eyes open, looking at me while vultures feast on him. Some days, I see Asher running towards me but he is caught and killed by Ramsey, the same way he killed Henry, and I wake up in my bed soaked with sweat, like someone emptied a bucket of water while I was sleeping.The only good thing that happens during these three days is that Ramsey doesn’t try to share the room with me. A part of me is glad but the other part of me is worried about what he must be up to next. There’s no way he’d listen to me and give me space.Five days later, I look worse than I have ever and I’ve stopped coming out of my room. I don’t hear from either Ares or Kylan and that make
“Where? Where is he?” Kylan hands me a note. I take it from him and stare at it. “Alexa, you should read that.” I nod. “Come in.” I shut the door behind him and open the folded paper he gave me. I recognize Sue’s delicate handwriting.“How are you doing Alexa? I hope you are holding on? I just received word from Valor that he has found your mate. As I write this, they are on their way back to here. Valor didn’t say much but Asher is fine, he’s okay so you can stop worrying about him. As for Liana, there’s been no new news on our end but we won’t stop looking. I know we are close and we’ll soon find her. I wish you strength always. Love, Sue.”After reading the note, a sigh of relief pushes past my lips and I feel my mood lift. Asher was okay, he was still alive. “Now what, Alexa?” Kylan asks. “Honestly? I don’t know. We are sitting ducks without Liana’s testimony. The other packs won’t be willing to help us without Liana saying anything. She’s the most important part of our plan.” “Ho