Sienna ~“Well, unfortunately, they’re our roommates,” I heard Dahlia say. Naima’s sharp eyes widened at us like we’d just confessed to treason.She sighed dramatically and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Roommates. Of course, the goddess loves to be entertained?”“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Dahlia said with a shrug like this was just another Tuesday.Naima raised a brow, lips curling in disbelief. “Have you fed on them yet?”I froze mid-breath. Dahlia, too. The air suddenly felt too thick.Naima’s gaze darted between us, her face twisting with frustration as understanding dawned. “Oh, for the love of—” She let out a string of curses so creative I was impressed.My brow also arched in confusion.“But—” I started, “in our defense, you told us to find males to feed on.”“Yes,” she hissed, waving her hand like I was missing the point. “Males. Could have been anyone, not them.”Her glare could’ve burned through steel.“You two listen to me,” she said, her tone icy and low. “Th
Dahlia ~ I searched around for Kaden for about a minute and I was starting to get irritated, why did he make me search for him? I considered approaching Naima and demanding for a partner change, but I knew the likelihood of that happening was low because everyone was already paired up— My thought processes came to a halt when I bumped into hard wall, the force knocked the air out if my lungs and sent me flying to the floor.What the—An imposing shadow covered the light of the sun and I looked up to see Kaden, his mismatched eyes glaring down at me with delight at causing me pain.He did not make a single attempt to help me as I scampered to my feet. His broad shoulders appeared stiff, and his dark hair curled at the edges, just messy enough to make him look dangerously good… as usual.“Are you just going to stand there?” I asked as I crossed my arms.He tilted his head slightly, his piercing eyes locking onto mine. “What do you want, Caleb?” His voice was low, rough, and so calm
Dahlia ~“I really think you should stop getting on his nerves so often,” Sienna muttered as we strolled through the dimly lit hallway toward the dining hall. Her voice carried a half-joking, half-serious tone.“It’s not completely my fault,” I replied, flicking a strand of hair out of my face. “He’s utterly insufferable. I hate him, I hate all of them.”“How couldn’t you?” Sienna sighed. “I’ve been trying to hide how much they disgust me.”I clenched my jaw. “It’s getting harder to pretend I don’t want to set this entire school on fire with everyone in it.”The words had barely left my mouth when we rounded the corner and ran straight into some students. Four of them… it was a pack. The Alpha stood in the middle and his sneer was instant. He shoved Sienna so hard and she hit the ground with a thud that echoed through the hallway.“Watch it, dimwits,” he said with a voice that dripped with disdain, “You both reek of abominations.”My blood boiled instantly. I grabbed Sienna’s arm a
Kaden ~“I would kill that fucking bitch! Strangle her until there is nothing left in her but audacity, and then I will squash that as well.” Anger welled up in my veins even more as thoughts of what she had just done ran through my mind's eye. “So what exactly is pissing you off right now?” Orion asked as we entered the dorm room. I was once again assaulted by her scent. Of all the scents in the room… hers, hers penetrated my nostrils and branded itself in my brain, never to be forgotten. This was fucking torture.“Is it the fact that she won you, or the fact that you can't get her out of your mind? If it's the latter, losing to women isn't as bad as you think.” Orion continued.“What?” I asked, looking up at him sharply. “Who the fuck are you, and what have you done with Orion?” I questioned and he lifted his arms in surrender with a small smile playing on his face.“I have to admit, Sienna’s witchery or whatever it's called might be getting to me, but I love it, you know, I want
Dahlia ~“Kaden, Orion, Aurelian, Silas, Theo and Caleb.” The instructor called.All students were gathered once again at the training fields, it wasn't even dawn yet and I had barely managed to get enough sleep the previous night because of how irritable Kaden was, he intentionally bumped into me so many times that I feared I might have developed a concussion. He was such a sore loser.And when it was finally time to go to sleep, my duvet was nowhere to be found. Now, everyone else was fully dressed yet my training gear AND my uniforms were discovered missing this morning. I would kill the son of a bitch, slowly, ensuring he felt every single agonizing moment, and then I will kill ALL werewolves, they were all vile creatures that did not deserve breath.A shiver racked through my body as I stood bare foot on the grass, wearing nothing but my skimpy silk pajamas.Yes, my shoes were missing too.I was lucky he left my chest bandages. Otherwise one look at me and everyone would know
Dahlia ~They would easily track us with the shirt, plus the scent of my blood was so strong because of all the cuts on my feet. The footsteps were right outside the cathedral now. Sienna snatched the stone from its spot and handed it to me. I looked at her with confusion in my gaze.“You need to shove it down your vagina,” she said.“What? That's the best you could come up with?” I grabbed it from her hand.“Have any other plans? My pockets are too exposed and the gemstone could fall out at any moment, plus, I'm too dressed to shove it into my—“Fine… just give me a second,” I pulled my pants down.Luckily, the gemstone was rather small, about a quarter of a fist. But it was still too large as nothing had ever entered me before through that entrance.My fingers ran through my folds and I realized just how treacherous my body was when I found them wet. I momentarily hated myself. The gemstone slid in easily and it was properly nested when the doors were busted open.Kaden strolle
Dahlia ~“So where is it?” Naima questioned as her gaze flicked between us. “Let me see the gemstone.”I froze as shame colored my cheeks.Sienna coughed. “Uh… it’s inside of Dahlia.”Naima blinked. Then, with the straightest face, she said, “Oh, never mind.”I resisted the urge to shrivel into the floor.“Moving on.” She folded her arms across her full chest. “I need to teach you both a teleportation spell.”Sienna frowned. “Why would we need that?”“Because this school is a fortress,” Naima said. “It’s guarded by werewolves trained in the previous king’s army. And there is nothing more terrifying than an extremely powerful, highly skilled warrior holding a gun.”Fair point.Naima continued. “Since you both have royal blood, your magic is naturally stronger than that of regular Scarvyns, but power is nothing without control. You need to hone your skills before you can cast anything stronger than mere teleportation spells.”“When was the last time you fed?” she asked.I thought for a
DahliaThe spell worked, thank the goddess! But we had not teleported far enough, we were outside the school gates.“Find them!” A voice shouted from inside the school.Shit.Sienna grabbed my hand, and we ran. The cold night air stung my face and rocks pierced my raw feet, but adrenaline dulled the pain. We barely made it a few feet before a glossy black limousine pulled up beside us.The door swung open.There was no time to hesitate. Sienna dove in.But just as I was about to do the same, I felt something that made me glance back.That was when I saw him.The unmistakable silhouette of Kaden stood on the roof of the school, the moonlight turned his new white hair silver. His mismatched eyes practically glowed in the darkness. He stared at me like he was marking me, branding me, his gaze held a hunger that frightened me right to my soul—“Dahlia get in!” Sienna yanked me inside, and the door slammed shut.The car sped off.I pressed my back against the seat, trying to catch my brea
KadenThe day of the Claiming ceremony had finally come. And anticipation filled the air.The entire kingdom had gathered, their eyes fixed on the altar where I stood, waiting.For her.I rolled my shoulders and adjusted the heavy ceremonial robes draped over my skin, but no fabric could ease the weight pressing against my chest.The wait was becoming unbearable.And then a hush fell over the crowd and Dahlia emerged, I had no doubts in my heart again, I was looking at my mate.Dressed in white, the fabric looked soft and light as it flowed like water around her, delicate gold chains draped over her collarbones, and circled her wrists before wrapping around the slender curve of her waist. Her red hair was woven into intricate braids, pearls and moonstones glinting under the sun.She was breathtaking.And she was walking straight to me.My jaw tightened.The hatred I felt for her was gone completely and now all I felt was want.A raw, aching hunger that burned deep in my bones.She sto
Dahlia ~I needed to get out of my head and stop thinking so damn much.The moment I stepped into the massive shower that was decorated with silver tiles, I turned the water on full blast and let the scalding heat wash over my skin. My fingers pressed into my temples, trying to rub away the ache that had been sitting there since this morning.Everything was a mess.Everything was too much.The way he looked at me like I meant something to him, the way his eyes burned into me like he knew something was off. Like he was piecing it together, bit by bit.And now the claiming ceremony was in two days, meaning I had less than two days to seduce him and kill him. A muscle jumped in my jaw.This mission should have been easy.He was arrogant. Overconfident. The kind of man who thought himself untouchable. He had let me in, trusted me enough to fight beside me, to put his hands on me, to kiss me like he meant it.And yet he had saved my life during the Jorran war.I let out a slow breath and
Kaden ~Something was wrong with Maeve.Or maybe something was wrong with me.Because the more I watched her, the more I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something obvious. Like a puzzle with one piece just barely out of place, an image almost complete but not quite.And I hated it.I hated that she made me think so much.I was still stewing over it when Orion found me.He leaned against the stone archway with his arms crossed, looking entirely too smug for someone who had just experienced a war. There was something different about him, his scent was dull and his pulse was slower.A Scarvyn had fed on him.I narrowed my eyes. “I thought you had better self-preservation instincts than that.”Orion ran a hand through his hair. “She needed it.”I let out a slow breath through my nose “You let a Scarvyn bite you again?”“Couldn’t exactly say to Scarvyn venom, you should know this.” He pushed off the wall and walked toward me, he stopped just close enough to make a point. “But
Sienna ~The pain seared through my body and I had to bite my lip to the point of bruising to keep myself from crying out.I sucked in a breath and pressed my hand to my side where the silver blade had cut deep. The healers had done everything they could, but silver wounds were rather tricky to heal.I needed blood… fresh blood to heal.I lay on the med in the private healer’s quarters, my head rolled to the side and my body was weakened. The white sheets beneath me were already stained red, and the scent of my own blood was making me nauseous.Then the doors were opened and someone stepped in.I didn’t have to look to know it was Orion. I usually felt him before I saw him.“You look like hell, sweetheart,” he said to me in that smooth deep voice.I opened my eyes.And gods.He looked good, especially better to my hungry eyes.His copper hair was damp, strands falling across his forehead in that effortlessly messy way. He had a few smudges of dried blood on his jaw, but it didn’t make
Kaden ~The Jorrans were defeated and what was left of their forces retreated.It was pathetic to say the least.One moment, they were an unstoppable force, with their war cries that shook the ground. And the next? They were nothing but desperate men and women fleeing for their miserable lives.My grip on my sword tightened as I surveyed the battlefield. Mangled bodies lay scattered everywhere, the scent of blood was thick in the air. The thrill of war still hummed beneath my skin, and then my skin prickled with awareness.Maeve was watching me, only her gaze caused this visceral reaction from me.I turned slowly to find her standing a few feet away from me.Blood streaked her cheek and there was a smudge of dirt along her collarbone which I had the ridiculous urge to wipe away.“We won, Kaden, they're gone,” she said with a smile on her face. Instead of speaking about the battle, I said, “You saved me.”She lifted her chin in a defiant gesture. “Don’t mistake it for loyalty.”A shar
Dahlia ~The battlefield was flled with screams of the dying and struggling.Steel clashed against steel, and flesh, the scent of blood and smoke was thick in the air. The Jorrans were relentless in their fierceness.Kaden was a storm.He moved like he was born for battle, his black sword seeped with smoke anc he handled it as though it was an extension of his body. He cut through enemy after enemy without hesitation, his expression was calm, cold and calculating… I came to the realization that back in the training room, he had let me over power him for some reason.And I should have hated it.Should have hated seeing just how much of a challenge he would be to kill. But there was something maddeningly intoxicating about the way he fought. Like war was nothing more than a game he knew he would win. Like death was an inconvenience he didn’t have time for.He turned and his back was to me for just a second as he struck down a warrior to his left. Another enemy lunged from behind him wi
Sienna ~The battle had barely begun, and already, Orion was at my side.Where has he materialized from? I have no idea. I should have been annoyed.I should have rolled my eyes, brushed him off and told him I didn’t need a bodyguard.But the way he looked at me as though I was the only person in this entire palace that mattered… yeah, made my pulse stutter.His voice was rough, urgent. “Are you alright?”I blinked and gripped my machine gun tighter. “Why do you care?”His jaw clenched. “That’s not an answer.”I hated that my heart fluttered at the way he said it. Like my well-being was something personal to him.I forced a smirk. “I’m fine. But really, Orion, don’t you have more important people to protect?”He didn’t hesitate. “No.”I swallowed.Damn him.I shook off the warmth threatening to settle in my chest. “You know nothing about me.”Something changed in his eyes.“You remind me of someone,” he said slowly. “Someone I once knew, she meant a lot to me.”My breath caught and m
DahliaKaden drove fast and hard until we got to the area where the smoke was coming from. I rushed down from the car and a massive fire was set to the kingdom.Bombs were dropped from fighter jets and explosion after explosion rattled my bones.For a second, I couldn’t move. The smoke plumes curled into the sky, thick and dark, the scent of burning wood and blood clogging my lungs. My heart slammed against my ribs.Gunshots rang out and my eyes darted to the kingdom where people fought with guns and knives. A scream tore through the air and a warrior charged at me. He was fast and deadly. His golden blade gleamed in the light as he swung toward me. I willed my body to move, to dodge, to fight, to go anything, but my feet stuck to the ground.But Kaden was quick to counter his attack.His dagger sank into the warrior’s chest before I could even gasp. The man choked, eyes wide, before crumpling to the ground.Kaden swore under his breath and yanked his blade free, his other hand alre
Dahlia ~The training session was a total mess. I had barely made it back to my chambers before the shaking started.I slammed the door behind me and pressed my back against it, trying to catch my breath. My pulse was still unstable and my skin was on fire from Kaden’s proximity.Damn him.Damn his strength, damn his eyes, damn the way he got under my skin without even trying.This wasn’t supposed to happen.I squeezed my eyes shut, but all I could see was the way he had looked at me—like he saw something beneath the surface, like he was trying to read me. Like he knew I was Dahlia.He can’t know. He can’t.I shoved off the door and paced the length of my room. My muscles were still tight from our fight, my body still wired from the way he had pinned me, so close, so solid, so unbearably there.I should have laughed it off. I should have played along. I should have leaned in and let him fall deeper into the trap I was supposed to be setting.But instead, I had panicked.Like a foo