ORLATHE BLACKWOOD MANOR "That's clearly a trap, Orla. You can’t just go," Maverick said, following closely behind me as I rushed out of the manor, frantic and barely aware of what was happening around me. "Listen to me—""I am listening to you," I said, turning around to face him. "But what do you expect me to do? Leave my parent and have them killed aga—" I cut my words, trying to not let anything slip from my mouth—"to leave them to their fate?""No. I'm simply saying that you should have a plan. If Ophelia wants you there, what are the chances of her being alone? What if she's there with Ryker or his father?"I little part of me wondered how he was able to quickly become so serious after what had just transpired between us. It made me feel more guilty. If I had stayed back home, maybe I could have done something.He had a point, though. Just going there without thinking could in the end do more harm than good. And it made no sense to just go there without having a concrete plan.
ORLA THE DARKE RESIDENCEOphelia's knife glinted as she pointed it at me. Gently, it swayed from left to right, not obviously, looking ready to detach from her hand and sink into my flesh at any minute.I take deep breaths until I could do so no longer. Until it became bothersome to do so.My mother laid on the floor, immobile, while my father bled out from the wound on his shoulder, and there was actually nothing that I could do with Ophelia's threats handing over my head like a dark cloud heavy with rain.When did things become so bad? When did it become a crime to care for someone and cherish them? Why did people have the right to bite the hands that fed them?As I stared at Ophelia, I wondered what went on in her head, the force behind this her erratic behaviour. What had been the trigger for this kind of thing? I actually wanted to ask, but I could sense that she was at the end of her tolerance rope. Now, all she wanted was for me to hand over everything that I had earned to her
ORLAWith Ryker's interference in my mind, I could barely think or do much else apart from aggressively twisting and screaming at intervals. I grabbed Maverick's hand and held it tight."Maverick. Please, find Ryker. He is somewhere nearby," I whispered with the only droplet of strength I had left. "Please. Just please help me.""I can't leave you all on your own here, Orla. I can’t just leave you like this.""Just go! I'll be okay. You need to find him. I can feel him . . . He's so close," my body was seized by another bout of pain and I surrendered to it, nearly falling completely unconscious in the process.My vision had doubled; the world ne sat in duplicates in my disrupted vision. The pain felt like someone had taken a long sharp knife and proceeded to stab me repeatedly.The worst pain of all was the one in my head. The one that pounded against my skull and made my head feel like it was being torn apart piece by piece. My lungs constricted and expanded forcefully. Everything I
ORLAAfter the reality of Ophelia's death completely settled on me, I also found the strength to get back up to my feet.I shared a glance with Maverick, and he looked just about as confused as I was. Her death had been so sudden, such a different ending to what we had envisioned. Yes, I was willing to use whatever I could to win this, but I never actually imagined that she'd have to die in the end.Maverick pulled me by the waist to his side, lending me his warmth even as I stood on shaky legs. In times like these, I wondered why I had been initially cold towards him. How did he manage to keep waiting for me all these years.The agony and anguish on Ryker's face was too clear to ignore. His breaths were heavy, like he was having an attack of some sorts. He gasped, clawing the air in front of him desperately in a way that I'd never seen him do. Not even when his father had been announced dead years ago.'She was his true mate,' Maverick explained through our mind link. 'The pain is fe
ORLAOphelia, despite not bringing rest to the Darke family, was finally laid to rest two days after her death. Unlike what most people saw in movies, rain didn't fall. Although I'd carried an umbrella just in case it was all some fancy hoax to get me to let my guard down.All the while they lowered her brown, shiny coffin six feet below, I watched without moving. Dressed in a black gown and holding a black umbrella, I must have appeared as the most mournful person in that gathering.And maybe they were right.Despite telling myself that it would have been useless to cry or to care about her, a part of me still saw her as the girl I'd lived with for most of my life. My sister. My family. Whether I like it or not, she had become a part of me that I simply couldn't forget, no matter how hard I tried to toss away that truth.Mom cried, although it most likely came from the fact that one of her children had tried to hurt her, or the painful truth that Ophelia didn't care about the famil
AUTHOR'S POVSOUTHSIDE FOREST, SAINT TERRIREverett's heart pounded in his chest as he followed Makila through the forest. With each step he took, he came more and more aware of how wrong his actions were.What would he do if Maverick found out that he was seeing this woman secretly? Especially after everything she had done.Maybe it was why she also didn't tell him the truth he was searching for all at once. Makila herself wasn't an idiot. She knew about everything that was happening. She knew that she was a wanted woman, and was trying to make the best of her freedom before things changed.In the days that had passed, Makila had either visited his dreams, or led him out into this forest late at night and he soon had to come up with a reason why and a plan to keep his actions safe.As soon as he had all the knowledge he needed, he would take her in, he promised himself. He had to. It was the only way he would have been able to live with his conscience afterwards."Where are we going?
ORLATHE BLACKWOOD MANORSlowly, sensation returned to my body, and my mind finally caught up to it. I woke up soon after.I blinked slowly, trying to get a good look at what surrounded me so that I could fully understand where I was. The moment my eyes landed on a lone picture frame sitting at the top of a bookshelf, I knew where I was.The last thing I could remember was pain rising up all over my body so intensely that I couldn’t breathe. Maverick had been telling me about what had happened to his parents, and somehow his words had triggered something within me. A memory of a life once past.How flames licked my skin as I cried out for help. How I couldn't escape no matter how hard I tried. The way someone came through the burning building just as my body shut down, and pulled me into his arms despite the roaring flames.Maverick.He'd saved me then, and now, he was still saving me.As though he could hear my thoughts, he came over to me, and touched my forehead with the back of hi
MAVERICKTHE BLACKWOOD MANOR"Orla, stop it." I didn't want to say the words, but I had to. I would never forgive myself if I took advantage of her in such a way. "Please, stop."Her fingers ran down my chest, my abdomen, and stopped at the waistband of my shorts. She looked like an angel as she sat atop me, watching me with heavy lidded eyes."Why?" The question came out so innocently. If I didn't know any better I would have thought that she wasn't the same person that had been seductively pressing herself against me for the past five minutes."I can't let you do this."Her face scrunched up, and she looked genuinely hurt by my words. "You don’t . . . want me?"I shook my head. "I didn't mean it like that, sweetheart." My member throbbed painfully, a reminder that if I didn't get away from her soon, I would end up doing the very thing I didn't want to. I shifted slightly to get comfortable, but only ended up bringing her right atop it.She gasped. "Oh." Her cheeks reddened even more
AUTHOR'S POVA YEAR LATERThe usual belief about life is that a person only lives once. For Orla, though, that wasn't the case. From being mistreated, abused, and ultimately killed in her previous life, she awakened to find herself given another chance to make things right. A chance to fix the wrongs that led to her unfortunate demise. A chance to build that which she should have lost.Another chance . . . to find love.+_+_+Orla bent down, crouching as far as she could go to pat the last heap of rich brown earth into place. She'd always wanted to try gardening since she was a child, and now she had finally made that dream come true.She sighed contentedly, and sat back on her haunches, looking up at the sky whilst wiping off her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. Although it was still quite chilly, and the ice hadn't completely thawed, strenuous physical activity could still make a person feel like they were stuck inside a furnace.The advice Alec had given her was to plant
ORLAIt felt like an eternity. The darkness. It had neither a beginning or an end. It took me—grabbed me in a suffocating hug and refused to let me go.At some point—I didn't know how long it took, but it came to my understanding that the darkness was of my own making, and only I could free myself from its clutches.So, I opened my eyes, and welcomed the light back in.The first thing I saw was a face. One too familiar, and at the same time, dreadfully disturbing.Blood seeped out of his nose, ears and mouth and dripped on my shirt. His eyes had gone blank, with its usual icy colour sucked into the cold emptiness of death.Ryker was dead.I pulled my hand out of his neck, unable to ignore the feeling of gore and slippery blood. His weight had become suffocating since life no longer flowed through his veins.I pushed his corpse off me, and sat up with a groan. The wound in my chest was still struggling to knit itself back together, but with the bullet still lodged inside of me, it wou
ORLAA gun. That was what he had been holding. I'd failed to recognise the hidden shape in his hand on time. I had been too occupied with other things to think about the fact that he'd probably had a plan B.He fired three rounds without pausing.I only had milliseconds to respond, but I wasn't fast enough. He'd surprised me, and I had to deal with the consequences.Cold descended on me as I realised that I had indeed acted too irrationally. Searing pain bloomed in the left side of my chest, and another in my thigh. The last one grazed my cheekbone, and that was only because I pushed my head to the side just before the bully made impact with my flesh.Blood rapidly started to pool in my mouth, filling up my throat until air couldn't pass through and I had to spit it out before it choked me.I fell on my good leg, clutching my bleeding chest.I hadn't foreseen this. I'd been so eager to get him that I had forgotten how cunning he could be. There was no way he would have just been here
ORLA'Don't think. Don't feel. Just act.'Those were the words ringing in my head as I swung the wooden log into the side of Sonja's head with every power that my body could muster, bursting it open like a balloon. Blood splattered all over my clothes, but I didn't matter. I had killed her. She was dead, and she would never, ever hurt my family again.I had made a promise to go as low as killing just to save my child, and I was glad that I hadn't hesitated when it mattered the most. Although it was a flimsy defence, I had no other option. She had raised her knife to stab Amaranthine, and Maverick was too far away to get anything done.Makila had spotted her and her counterpart from a distance, and was able to perform a spell that teleported us right behind them. We'd also seen the vampires that seemed to also be trying to help her, and decided that it was best to stay out of their line of sight.Sonja's body went limp, and her remaining eye remained wide in horror and shock. She mus
MAVERICKWe followed the trail judiciously, paying attention to the location the trackers had presented us with. We'd gone by car to eat up the most of the distance, but since the trail eventually led into a dense, seemingly unused path, we had to turn to out feet for transport.Under the guidance of the moon, we pressed on, too determined to even stop for a moment to speak to each other. I took mental note of the people with me, and found myself grateful for having such wonderful packmates that were willing to do this with me. Of course, the years had strengthened our bond, but I still was baffled sometimes by their immense loyalty and dedication to me. Amaranthine's kidnapping had been a huge blow to the pack, but it didn't change the fact that she was my daughter, and most of the pressure to find her fell on Orla and I, but they all took the issue and placed it on their shoulders as well, making the weight a little bit easier for me to hear.We kept walking, keeping caution close
ORLANight came, and all our hearts were ready and prepared for what was to come.I stood in the bathroom, staring at my reflection for the second time in six four hours. The time was already a couple of minutes past seven, and as Maverick had told us, it was go time.Everyone else had gotten ready, and those that were at the first part of the plan had left a little while ago. Tim, Everett, Blair, and Avery had gone with Maverick, following the coordinates given on Everett's tracker. From what we'd seen, Ryker and his witch friends hadn't left their positions since the time we had deliberated on the plan. The plan was quite straightforward. Maverick would go with his people to scout the area and then proceed to lure the witches and Ryker out. Again, I had been thinking that I had been sidelined from the plan itself, until Maverick told me that I would go in with Makila to get Amaranthine. Makila's presence couldn't be downplayed simply because she was the only one with prior knowled
ORLAI was sick and tired of waiting for things to happen. The day after my last discussion with Maverick, I'd been unable to rest my jittery nerves. Every second, minute or hour physically disturbed me. I wanted my child. I needed her back in my arms.The fact that I had no idea what they could have been doing to her made me panic even more. What if they were abusing her? Or casting marks on her smooth skin just to cause her pain? What if they were starving her, and watching as life slowly seeped out of her little body?I had to hold on to the hope that she still lived. I couldn't think about anything else.Maverick had called for a compulsory meeting, and as much as I wanted to keep avoiding him, I couldn't turn away when my child came into the picture.The noon was blazing hot, so I already dressed in a black tank top and some denim shorts, baring the skin of my arms and legs. In this, the mark Maverick had branded me with was on full display—an oddly symmetrical line of five dots
ORLA"She's waking up," someone whispered. My eyes couldn't fathom anything but darkness. My mouth felt like something was keeping it from opening, and pain spread at different points of my body, like I'd been run over by something.I opened my mouth to speak, and only a groan could find freedom."Shhh, don't talk. You might hurt yourself."'I already feel hurt,' I wanted to say, but speaking still seemed like a hassle to me. I reached out blindly, and warmth came to my hand. A familiar touch. "It's okay now, you're safe."With a painful flash, the memories of what I'd gone through previously ran through my mind. Makila yelled at me to go.Getting attacked by a woman.Ryker threatening Amaranthine's life.Just like that, my eyes flew open, and a scream finally came out of my throat, wrapped in somebody's name. "Ryker! He has Amaranthine!" I shouted despite my sore throat. Maverick came to my side, rubbing my back and softly whispering, "We know."I looked up at him, recalling my
ORLAIt couldn't be though, that witch was dead. Even if she had escaped death before, it couldn't be possible that she happened to resurrect again . . . Right?The woman before me laughed softly. "Why are you looking at me like that? Does my face ring a bell in your head?""Where is my daughter?" I asked, deciding to go straight to the point. There was nothing worth more than her safety right now. Not even my own curiosity.She frowned playfully. "Your daughter? Hmm." She lazily patted a finger against her chin. "Probably dead by now."Another thing that I found different about her was her behaviour. Sonia had been incredibly loyal to Daniel, and hardly spoke unless it was so say something that showed that. This one had a lighter disposition.The woman didn't even seem bothered at the sound of those approaching. If anything, she seemed to get even bolder. "And what's that I hear? You brought backup?"I looked down at Makila, who still sat behind the shrub, pressing the bottom of her