ALEXIOS I never intended to say it. It was cruel to bring up his past. It was the most insensitive thing to have popped up in my head. Twisted as what Curtis wanted to do was, I knew he was only looking out for me. However, the heat of the moment and the unwavering eyes that were fixated on me cornered me and my wolf. It was the only thing I could say to break the chain of madness but as I watched him become a mess o tears and mental torture, I wondered if all of it was worth it for the girl. My legs jerked backward as I took a step closer to him. With each thrust forward, I felt like they would give at any moment. All his life, Curtis had been prepared to be the Beta by my side. His parents did anything; his father especially to fulfill a dream that was stripped of them. Their madness ensued even further when the boy showed that he had potential. They drove him last his limits. Physically, mentally and spiritually. All in hopes that when the time came, Curtis would be unstoppable
CLARA I chose to be my son's side when I see him snap at everyone he loved. You only do that out of desperation. I had been in a similar situation myself and I could assure the entire world that it was not a pretty place. When I lost Alexios and his father. I was certain I would die. That moment when I felt the bond to my husband being cut off. I literally went insane. I had been alone then. Looking at how frantic Alexios became seeing his rejected mate in a pool of blood proved that I had been right. By some miracle from the mother of night, the rejection had failed. Alexios was still very much Lydia 's mate. I saw myself in his place when he threw the tablecloth along with everything the pack women had prepared for the feast. I moved to his side once the healer arrived. A talented werewolf from an unknown pack that my late husband had adopted. Her gift was one of healing. But even knowing that, I couldn't help but be worried about what would happen if Lydia was one of the fe
CLARA I did have to snap out of my suspicions eventually. They had no grounds. It could have had something to do with the circumstances concerning her transformation. It wasn't every day one saw a werewolf shift at the state of near-death with a healer just right around the corner. "The girl will be alright. She just needs some rest and plenty of water." The healer informed Alexios, giving a solemn now to both of us before exiting the ballroom. Alexios and I remained motionless for the space of five minutes. All we did was stare at the girl and hope that the healer was right. It still felt very much like a miracle. It was but I knew exactly what I was hinting at. Alexios eventually lifted Lydia off the table and into his arms. There was something different about him and the way he carried her. Who knew it would take him the culmination of his fated's murder for him to realize the bond his wolf shared with the girl. A bond that survived even his rejection. "I'll take her to her r
LYDIA A dull pain stabbed me all over as I felt life return to me. The image of my mother slowly faded and morphed into a silhouetted figure that hovered above me. My sight was far from clear so I assumed this was death coming to take me to the bosoms of my parents. Its warm hands caressed my face and in a whisper, the figure spoke."Are you alright Lydia?"The voice. It sounded familiar. It reminded me of someone. Someone that was not supposed to be here. I looked around and noticed that the walls were floral pink. The soft scent of cologne and spices filled the air. This didn't look like heaven or hell and it certainly did not look like my room in the Rose mansion. I blinked incessantly until my vision cleared up. I glanced again at the hovering figure from before. It was Alexios if my memory was not failing. It came so casually that I immediately jumped to the side of the bed the moment it struck home that it was indeed Alexios. "What... Why are you here?" I stammered, grabbing
LYDIA Being rejected by your mate was the greatest pain in the universe. A suffering that had somehow managed to evade me. A mutual one was never written in the books because being denied was always one-sided. I was not sure what to expect. Heartbreak? Physical pain? Not that I cared. My heart was already broken. My body was already in pain. The proverbial rope that was tightening earlier loosened. I felt the alien emotions that were pungent in the air just a few moments ago vanish. It was successful. I wiped the tear off my face and dared to look into Alexios's eyes. He was dejected. Not quite what I was expecting. I had freed him. He could go back to hating me. A life where he did not have to make a choice that most probably led in my direction."You can keep me here if you want," I told him."But is that what you want?" He questioned me. No, I didn't want that. I wasn't even sure what I wanted now. I didn't want to remain a slave. I didn't want to be close to this man who had hur
LYDIA As I opened the doors I was met by the confused and terrified face of Clara. She had been listening. Too awestruck to move and do a thing about it. In a way, it did make things better. I didn't even know I would have been able to face her and tell her that I was leaving. Clara grabbed me by the hand and dragged me towards her son. With tears in her eyes, she proceeded to speak. "Rebuke the rejection!" Alexios looked at her then back at me before giving his reply. "That is not my choice to make."His reply caused Clara to look at me. She pulled me even closer, her hands cupping my cheek as a mother would to her child. "Child," She began. "Believe me when I say this because everything that is leaving my lips right this instant is nothing but the truth. Do not let your hate fester on your eternity. Second chances are not always guaranteed."I wanted to so badly give her the answer she wanted. If I could, I would but I had made up my mind and there was no changing it. "This isn'
FIONA I rose to the sound of the house gates creaking. My eyes fluttered open, and I blinked, feeling out of sorts, wrong. I drew the knitted blanket draped over my body close. It wasn't usually opened this early so it did ruin my sleep. I staggered towards a covered window and flicked it aside. The gates were indeed open and strange enough, they were opened for Lydia . I wondered why that was so. Her eyes searched around until they found mine and eventually, we made eye contact. She smiled. The disgusting whore smiled. As if to imply that we were friends of some sort. I scored and put the curtains back in place. "Why was she leaving?" I wondered. Normally I would assume she had charmed a guard or something but the girl was no witch. Neither was she a seductress of any caliber. The only answer that seemed to suffice was that Alexios had let her go and that only brought up more questions. Why would Alexios ever let her go? He hadn't reached out to me since last night. Even his moth
FIONA "Wow," I chuckled, laughing at the euphoria that followed. "You think we should break up?" It felt like the things that haunted my nightmares. Did Alexios really think I would just hear that, give him a smile and call it quits? "That is very noble of you Alexios. Why? Why should we break up? Because you think we are toxic? We are not Alexios!""I am doing this because I love you, Fiona." He told me. Hecate! Did he think I was so gullible! His words seemed to open my eyes. They were closed before. Yes, they were. If not, I would have seen this from a mile away. This wasn't a breakup. No. This was a setup. How could have not seen it before? Alexios noticed my demeanor and tried to move closer. As he did, I looked him square in the face and said. "That is why you sent her off didn't you?" "What...do you even mean by that?"Oh, he was playing dumb. Men. I did love him but I was not stupid enough to ignore the game being played in front of me. Clara paying me a visit and telling
LYDIA This was madness, wasn't it? As our tongues tangled together, playful one moment, hard and desperate the next. I had never been kissed so thoroughly or gloriously in my life. I knew it needed to feel wrong. Goddess knows I wanted it to feel wrong but when his body touched mine, when his lips plundered mine, the gap within me seemed to close up. I dared to believe at that moment that Alexios completed me but it was immoral. Yes, It shouldn't have felt good when felt his hands drifted to my waist and in seconds, my promise to hate this man perished as the stiff denim material I wearing fell to my feet. If I felt nothing for him, why did I toe off my sneakers and slip off my shirt giving him unbroken access to body, mind, and soul? His hands fingered through my panties and brassiere and with a single flick, they become nothing but shreds of clothing on the graveyard floor. His strong hands lifted me to a gravestone and I welcomed him between my legs, pulling him closer. His hand
ALEXIOSImmediately the ritual was over, Fiona's body was dropped by my feet. They were kind enough to say a last prayer to the woman who had caused them harm in the first place but they weren't about to bury her in a sacred place for their people and I understood that. "I apologize again for this. If it was in my power to bury her here, I have no problem doing so but as a Beta installed Alpha, my stance is not to be questioned." Vitale told me.I looked up at him blandly. I couldn't even focus on his words because all that dominated my heart were the things that Lydia had said about me. She was right. I was an arrogant idiot and a murderer. Those two things were the personality traits I had garnered since my childhood was taken for me. They were the only thing I could grasp on to at the time because those aspects of myself wouldn't leave me as my father had done."I understand." I finally replied. "I have an idea of where to bury her. I have a feeling she would like it there.""If t
LYDIA"You didn't have to do that," I told him. "It doesn't matter what anyone thinks of me. The bodies will be buried after the rituals are completed and I will be out of town. But a thank you is deserved I must say. Now that you are here again, I am reaching out to that stubborn part of your skull to see past the bond that is blinding you and see common sense. Alexios Rose, it would be in your best interest to reject me.""You act like it's only my wolf that will be eternal torment. We both will so instead of placating to my stubborn skull, you should be subduing your headstrong attitude. I will not be rejecting you. If we must suffer together, then so be it.""The rules might not apply to me, Alexios . My mom made the goddess promise her that I end up happy. Whether I choose you or not, it doesn't matter. The rules do not apply to me anymore. So please, reject me." I forced myself to ignore my wolf and my body’s demands even when Alexios stepped even closer. One of his hands cage
LYDIA I stayed. Not because of any of the things that Alexios had spewed. I did it for myself. Okay. Maybe I wasn't being completely honest. Alexios 's words did make some sense. I couldn't trust the Nightshade to give Elliot a proper burial. They couldn't even do it for my mother who was part and parcel of the pack and a goddamn Luna at that. Elliot had been an outcast at the time he died, as much as I viewed him as a hero, it was really tragic that plenty had no idea what sacrifices he had to make because I didn't matter, and neither did Elliot. The clean-up process had been fast. Swiftly wrapped up compared to the tragedy that befell us during the aftermath of the divine justice that befell my father. I couldn't quite tell if this was because of better leadership or prior preparation. By evening time, the bodies had been wrapped up and brought to a platform where the traditional rites of soul passage were read out for them. It almost brought tears to my eyes seeing Elliot's body
ALEXIOSMedics from the Nightshade finished strapping the last of their bloodied, defeated pack members onto stretchers. They were being taken to the pack's healer for treatment. I stared at the bodies on the floor. My eyes lingered where my mom stood, an inch not too far away from where Fiona's body lay. The medics around walked towards her body. Some of them had been rounding the bodies. But when they got to Fiona. I notice the scowl and disdain they all had on their faces. They all ignored it. In their eyes, Fiona was Blossom trash and I was torn. I did pity Fiona. I couldn't hate her. No matter how rational I tried to think about it. Not even when she had summoned a ball of fire to kill me as I continued to protect Lydia . But Fiona had been a true Blossom at the last moments of her life. She has become the very thing she hated about her family and that was the legacy she had left for herself. I felt guilty for that. Because as much as I tried to water it down. It was still my fa
ALEXIOSI had never shifted to my wolf form fully unless it was serious business and this was serious business. After being left stranded in the middle of nowhere by Fiona, I was pissed and downright worried. One of my pack members had been murdered by Fiona. I didn't know how to get out of that. As my mother and I sprinted on all fours, I made time to ponder on a truth that bothered me. I wondered if Fiona was worth saving at this point while also cementing the fact should the scenario eventually occur, Fiona posed a danger to Loretta. I couldn't let that happen. After running miles, we eventually made it to Nightshade territory. My keen senses caught the chaos. I could hear screaming the closer we got to the gates. It was not the scent of fire, smoke, and wood burning that made my wolf skid to a halt. It was the horrific sight in front of me. Lydia had pinned Fiona down. Her right hand was clasped to Fiona's throat. Her windpipe was blocked ensuring she couldn't cast any spells. H
FIONAWhy did I stop? I asked myself looking at the girl I was supposed to kill. My chimera had paused too because it sensed my hesitation. I did want to kill Lydia but that moment when she dropped to the floor and fetched Elliot's body shattered me. It brought back something I believed I could keep buried inside me for as long as I needed to. My humanity. Tears streamed down Loretta's face as Elliot breathed his last. Lydia remained rooted where she kneeled. She was cold and stiff as marble but beneath the surface, I could sense anger surging out of her frail little self like jolts of electricity consuming everything in its path. Her gaze rose from the body below her and she chuckled between gritted teeth. Eyes the color of a dark storm landed on me, twinkling with malice. I swore that the color of her irises altered. A menacing silver gleamed my way. I couldn't be seeing things because moments after Lydia Nightshade's irises turned ghost white. Her hair did too. "What the..." I t
NOTE: This conversation takes place mere seconds after our FL (Female lead) ascends to the second dimension. Time works differently here. However, this conversation is important for readers to understand what is about to happen soon after. The wolf stepped forward. The hair on its skin moving in molasses. Each stand moved like seaweed in the waters. Beautiful and mesmerizing. It didn't speak but I could hear its words loud and clear. I didn't quite understand it but neither was I so wary about it. "Do you know your mother was here last time?" The creature told me. "She stood at the very spot you are now. Covered a pool of her own blood. Yet all she did was think about you."I looked at the floor. The earth was filled with fine sand. Each smithereens looked like crushed glass. To think about that awful memory yet again brought me nothing but suffering. I swallowed a lump in my throat and looked at the ethereal beauty before me. "That is why I am here." I mused. "You want me to ask f
LYDIA Whatever fantasy I had conjured in my head died when I arrived at the gates. The great oak that had once barricaded the entrance had been shattered to smithereens. I saw bodies scattered across the ground. Some were missing heads. Some legs. The singular thing the bodies did share was that they were extinct. "Run!" A sentinel shoved me away from his path. The distress in his face was eminent as he raced for the creature his brothers were also fighting. Whatever it was, it looked like a man. It was double in size and riddled with tattoos that glowed red hot and singed deeper into its blue skin every passing second. The wind that blew my way confirmed that the enemy was anything but human. My nose simmered just inhaling. The air surrounding us smelled like sulfur and rotting meat. Behind the creature was a smaller figure unbothered by the chaos enveloping them. I squinted my eyes a little and realized the figure was that of a woman. Her hair danced in the hot whiff that encompas