*Alice's POV*I wiped the sweat off my brow and brushed the dirt off of my hands. The sense of accomplishment I felt as I looked at my final trap made it worth it.The last few nights had been full of Simon teasing me, so I decided that I was going to get him back.After the night when he made me run until dawn, we officially started combat lessons.However, it wasn't in the way I was expecting or hoping.He had been provoking and teasing me every night until I would mutate. Simon believed that for me to be truly strong that I needed to quit rejecting my mutations and use them to fight. And it pissed me off.I knew that shifter blood was stronger, but that didn't mean I magically liked it. So, he had to provoke me every night in order to get me to change.Simon would corner me or rush me or do whatever he thought necessary until I would shift. Most of the time, it was rage that caused me to shift, but occasionally it was pain as well. Or even surprise
*Alice's POV*Simon guided me towards his separate housing, keeping his warm hand pressed against my back the entire way. Despite whether I saw anyone else or not, I kept my face covered. It wasn't until Simon had shut the door that I began to lower my hands.But even still, his presence alone was enough to make me doubt myself. So, I self consciously turned away so that he wouldn't be able to see me. He had made a comment that he didn't think that the beard had made me ugly, but that didn't mean I liked it."This is new," Simon said from behind me.I turned my head slightly to see him staring at himself in the mirror. There were angry red spots across his entire face and even from this distance, I could see the white heads. It was the worst looking acne I had ever seen.Even though I should be disgusted, I couldn't help the roar of laughter that came out of me as I stared at him. Simon looked at me in surprise, but then laughed as well. I tried to gather mysel
*Alice's POV*On the way back to the main palace, I stopped and pulled out the pen and paper from my dress pocket. Time for payback. And it would even kill two birds with one stone.I scribbled out a quick note to Olivia, pretending to be Simon, and asked her to meet him at our training spot. I couldn't help but smile at the wickedness of it. Simon would be teased romantically, since Olivia was not so easy to get rid of. She thought everyone should like her. Although she was afraid of Simon, she would go crazy if she thought that he liked her. And Olivia would be humiliated, just like she attempted to do to me earlier.It was a win-win.Since I was already about, I finished up a couple of things to help Joan before getting back to my plan. The last thing I did was swing by the bedrooms. Dropping the note off at her room, I hurried back to my own to change into my training clothes to get there as soon as possible. I needed to be there so I could eavesdrop and w
*Alice's POV*A tall, midnight black wolf appeared in front of my eyes.I watched as he rolled his front shoulder, and it seemed to heal in front of my eyes. I knew that healing was accelerated when in wolf form, but that was impressive.The moonlight reflected off of his coat as he walked up to me slowly.He was so handsome.For the first time, I found myself not feeling fear or hatred as I stared into his wolf eyes. Simon must have sensed my comfort or acceptance because he stepped even closer and bowed his back, nudging against me.After a couple more nudges, I realized that he was wanting me to get onto his back. I self-consciously lifted my leg over him and settled behind his shoulder blades.His fur was soft, yet rough at the same time under my hands. I tried my hardest to make sure I wasn't pulling on any of it. It was hard to know what to do when I had never rode on a wolf before.As soon as I was settled, he walked towards the road and o
*Simon's POV*"Lucky for him, I am such a vicious woman that I don't give up easily."Alice's eyes burned, telling me that she was serious. "I already get too few things, so if it was me, I definitely would not give up. I will stop at nothing to snatch up what I like."My heart seemed to skip a beat.I stared at her, impressed by what she had said. It hurt to think about the fact that she didn't get much of what she desired, but the fact that she fought so hard for what she did want was admirable.I found myself wishing that I had that determination. That fire that burned into her life. I used to have such strong emotions as well, but they had ebbed out slowly over time.I could use that fire in my life.Laying on this beautiful mountain clearing was very relaxing, and I soon found myself opening up to her as we continued to talk. The more I talked to her, the more I began to understand her, and I found myself almost feeling guilty for bringing her out here
*Alice's POV*I slowly blinked open my eyes as the light of the sun fell across my face. As I looked around, I realized that I was still curled up onto Simon's chest. My cheeks flushed as I looked up into his face.But his eyes were closed and I realized he must be asleep. I took the opportunity to stare openly at his face for the first time. Simon looked much younger as he slept. His seriousness and his underlying sadness seemed to be gone when his eyes were closed, making his face softer.I reached my hand up, before I realized what I was doing, and was just about to place it against his face when I heard a throat clear behind me.Without a thought, I tried to roll away from Simon. But at the sound, Simon became alert and grabbed me before I could get away, pulling me behind him as he stood up as quickly as possible.Then I felt him still slightly.I glanced from behind his back to see none other than the Alpha King standing there strongly in the d
*Simon's POV*Watching Alice run away made my heart clench. She must have misunderstood and thought it was me who wanted her to duel Olivia. Although when the Alpha King made this request, I did not refuse. There was my selfishness in this, but I hoped that Alice would take this opportunity to build her self-confidence. No matter how much she aspired to be human, she was a shifter. She had the characteristics of a wolf, and she was not weak. I wanted everyone to recognize that so that no one dared to bully her anymore.Seeing the redness on her face almost made me lose control but I quickly calmed down. I couldn't protect her all the time. I need to teach her to protect herself. I wanted her to show off her attack in a way that no one would ever underestimate her. I knew I needed to talk to her. But obviously, I had to deal with the matter here first. What's more, the Alpha King was still here, and I had to make him believe that Alice would definitely participate
*Alice's POV*The nerves were still mounting as I walked to the lake.I had continued to talk with Joan in my bedroom, but she had not calmed me down, so I left to get fresh air. It was starting to get late and I wasn't sure if Simon was still going to show for our regular training session.I hoped so.I would much rather keep privately training anyway. Simon was ignorant if he thought I would do well around the rest of the palace wolves. Just because I had gotten comfortable with him, it didn't mean that I was magically going to be comfortable with the rest of them.Simon hadn't tortured me my whole life.I walked up to our usual meeting spot and was hurt to see that Simon wasn't there. Maybe he had gone further into the woods. I walked to the nearby grove. It was a small area in the trees, still covered by branch cover, but big enough to still train in. After a quick evaluation, I realized that Simon wasn't here either.Suddenly, my anger spik
*Simon's POV*I was twelve years old, and I was staring down at my dead father at my feet. My older brother stood next to me, and when he reached out, I smacked his hand away."That's our father; why did you kill him?!" I yelled at him.Everything dissolved and zoomed by as another scene developed around me. It was now the day I left my homeland. Standing beside my brother was my now-dead uncle. It pained me to see him again.I, on the other hand, was fuming."This is all your fault," I sneered at my brother, hiding the hurt that I was feeling inside. "You are an evil man who murdered his own father. I will never forgive you for this and make sure the world knows the truth."My brother was speechless as I hurled my accusations. He was always seen as gentle and trustworthy and was hurt by my words. My sister howled in the middle of it all, trying to make us both see reason.I rushed out of the house, with my sister still crying and calling for me to co
*Alice's POV*Victoria stood in the doorway and watched as the giant beast stepped closer and closer to me. The fact that she had created a mutated rogue to look like Simon with the intention of upsetting me really pissed me off, and I cracked my neck from side to side.I wouldn't let this thing give Simon a bad name.I jumped in, letting my claws extend even farther as I went to slash its throat. But unlike the other rogues, it moved quickly and evaded the attack, countering with one of its own.My eyes widened, and I barely managed to avoid him by stepping back to reassess. This mutant seemed more cruel and delirious than I had ever seen.He charged back at me before I could make a plan, and I stumbled back, staying on the defensive. I dodged and dodged, falling further and further behind. My breathing started to get more and more ragged. I couldn't find a single opening, and I didn't have time to think about going on the offensive. My wolf whined in my head.
*Alice's POV*The first step of our plan was already underway. We were on our way into the palace with the cover of William to infiltrate and weaken the Alpha King.We had both agreed that the easiest way to take down the human lab was to install William as Alpha King. Then we could have the support of all the packs to find Simon and destroy the lab for good.William was outside, gathering all of the other Alpha to storm the palace, while I was sneaking in to weaken the Alpha King and prove him incompetent. The needles that held my gene fusion agent in them jingled in my bag.It was later in the day, but I decided to check the one place where I could usually find the Alpha King. I opened the door and was greeted immediately. "Hello, Alice," the Alpha King said as I walked into his office.My stomach flipped. Guess the surprise element was gone then."Hello, father…or should I even call you that?" I made a fake frown face. "Though you already knew tha
*Simon's POV*I lay in our bed stroking Alice's hair with my fingers as I admired her gorgeous naked body next to me. She slept peacefully, and I felt my heart swell inside my chest. I never had any idea that I would feel like this with her, or ever in my life.If I had known, I probably would have made a move sooner.Suddenly, there was a noise from outside, and I stopped moving for a minute, trying to hear as well as possible. I must be imagining things. Alice's nightmares must be getting to me now as well.Except this nightmare was real.I heard a sound again and heard my phone vibrate on the table next to the bed. I grabbed it and felt my blood run cold.The message was from James and read: 'We found you.' It was followed by a picture of the front of the estate. Then another came through as I sat there staring at the screen. 'Come out alone, and we can make a deal.'I knew that I had to at least try.Carefully, making sure not to
*Alice's POV*I woke up with a start, still laying against Simon's chest. My breathing was fast, and I tried to slow it down along with my heart rate. But Simon had already felt my movement and was fully alert."What is it?" he asked, sitting up so that he could examine me. "What's wrong?""Nothing," I sighed, pulling him back down onto the bed and on top of me. The warmth of his body soothed me. "It was just a bad dream.""What was it?" he still asked, but I felt his body relax somewhat against my own as he realized there was nothing seriously wrong. He kept most of his weight off of me though."Just something stupid," I played it off. "Olivia and James showed up to drag me back to the palace.""That is stupid," Simon smiled. I felt his soft lips press against my neck as he cuddled in closer. My heart fluttered nervously. "I would never let that happen."I chuckled at his confidence and began to rub my hand through his hair. The room was still dark,
*William's POV*The shifter world was falling apart.Ever since Alice had escaped from the human lab, everything came burning down. The Victoria lady that had taken me hostage in the lab had come out with a press release video of sorts not long after Alice went missing. The video served as a call to action and a threat all at once.And most surprising of all, it also led to the discrediting of the Alpha King. It was clear that he had something to do with the mutated rogues and people were not happy. Most of the packs even chose to no longer be subject to his jurisdiction.So here I was, on my way back to my own pack.With the fall of the Alpha King's popularity, my father, and the Opal Moon pack were more popular than ever. Our pack was well known for having helped multiple others fend off the mutated rogues in the past, and that was a good show of faith for the people now when so much was uncertain concerning this new breed."Ah, William, you are here!" m
*Alice's POV*Simon leaned in a closed the space between us. His lips brushed against mine, and I instantly responded.My body arched into his as I pushed back into the kiss, making it deeper. Simon's hand moved from my chin to the back of my neck and he pulled me in passionately. The other hand drifted to the small of my back as if he wanted me as close as possible. We both seemed excited to finally be kissing and didn't want to part. By the time we did, we were both completely breathless.Much better kiss than the first."Is that your answer then?" Simon asked between breaths with a smile that matched mine.I knew I should pull away. Knew that I was bad news for Simon. But at that moment, I couldn't even force myself to do it.The ferris wheel car jerked, bringing us back to reality as we had to get off and I was spared the embarrassment of answering. The operator opened our door for us and we walked out hand in hand.All of the people around the fe
*Alice's POV*I lay on the bed waiting for the knock that always came at this time of day.After I had told Simon to leave, I locked myself in the room next to his. I knew he would argue with me, but I wanted him to know that I was serious. If he got used to not seeing or having around now, then it wouldn't be so hard when he left.Days had passed. Despite my solitude and lack of communication, Simon still knocked on my door at least a couple of times every day and called out to me. Eventually, he would give up and just leave food by the door, but you had to give the guy credit for trying.He also hadn't forced his way in, which I knew he was capable of, and I appreciated that as well. Forcing his way in would get him nowhere, and maybe he realized that.I continued to lay there waiting for his knock.And waiting. Regardless of it all, I still waited.My belly growled and I sat up. Simon never went this long without bringing me food or attempting to k
*Victoria's POV*"Ahhh!" I screamed out in frustration and shoved over the last remaining office chair.The men around me shrank back in fear. After years of working with me, everyone in this lab knew better than to mess with me. I picked up the smashed monitor and chucked it across the room as well.By the time I had gotten back to the lab, it was completely trashed. The rogues had finished off what I was sure Alice and Simon had started. The smashed computer was definitely compliments of them since they were the only ones smart enough to actually destroy the tower as well."Fuck!" I cursed out loud, causing the others to shrink back even further.All of my experimental records were destroyed. Twenty years of research and experiments, and I had nothing to show for it. The only hope I had left now was Alice and her blood.I would have to get her back somehow."Bring me a camera now, we are going to send a message to the shifter packs," I ordered no on