*Simon's POV*There was a light knock on my door, surprising me. I wasn't expecting anyone, and nobody usually dared to visit me except for Alice. But at this point, she usually just walked in, or it sounded like she would break the door down when she knocked.As far as I knew, she had no idea I had spoken to the Alpha King alone, and I planned on keeping it that way in order to protect her. When I saw her standing outside of the Alpha King's door earlier that evening, I knew that she was pissed. Whether it was at me for breaking my promise to take her there myself or with the king was yet to be determined.I just hoped it wasn't the former.Leaving Alice standing there, knowing the king wasn't inside, was challenging. God knew how much I wanted to tell her everything. However, I needed time to organize my thoughts. She was so smart that I couldn't let her find out I was hiding something from her until I figured out how to tell her the truth.I walked to
*Alice's POV*The next morning, when I went to find Simon to talk with the Alpha King, he was not in his room. I had tried to go the night before on my own accord, after Simon had randomly vanished. But I was unsuccessful. The Alpha King had already left his chambers. I asked a nearby guard about Simon's location, only to be told he had already left the palace for the day.Why did he leave so suddenly? I was angry at his sudden departure. But I couldn't do anything else. I stood in front of his room and waited for almost an hour.When I called him, I only got his voicemail. Soon after, I received a text.'Alice, I have some things to deal with. I'll be back in the evening.'I groaned. Fine. If he wanted it to be like this, then so be it. I gave up and walked angrily towards the kitchen.I knew Joan was there. I needed her comfort. Although she didn't know anything, seeing her made me feel better. As soon as I made eye contact with her, I let ou
*Alice's POV*My head felt dizzy as we dropped out of the portal. I probably would have fallen to my knees if it wasn't for Simon's warm arm still wound tightly against me, supporting me.I looked up and blinked my eyes multiple times, trying to get rid of the dizziness. Simon stood still, allowing me time to adjust. I was thankful for that. Not only now, but back in my room also. What I had seen of my mother shook me more than I thought and I needed the distraction.The room came into view and I felt like I was in what I had pictured as the human lab. There were bottles and beakers everywhere, with racks lining the walls filled with all sorts of ingredients. A table sat in the middle of the room, and sitting at it was a woman that looked oddly familiar to me.She was a bit older than me, or even Simon, but she was still beautiful. There was a wildness about her that I could sense and admire. I watched as she stood up and walked confidently towards me."Hello,
*Simon's POV**Previously…*When I initially left Alice with Sofia, I knew she would be safe. If I trusted anyone to keep her under control and out of harm's way, it was Sofia. But at the time, I wasn't worried about that. I was more worried about what I had seen on the hard drive after Alice watched the video of her mother.It shook her—that was easy enough to see. But what I wasn't expecting to find when I took the laptop and closed the video out was another folder labelled 'Creator.' I couldn't help myself. I clicked it open, scrolling through the files. Even from a quick glance, it was easy to see what they were about. Alice and her mother's legacy at the lab. And more importantly, her father. I didn't tell her because she didn't need to know. Of course, it concerned her; it was her past, after all. But I needed to protect her and shield her from this ugly mess. She didn't deserve any more pain, and judging from her reaction to her mother's video, I had m
*Alice's POV*The next day, I climbed out of bed and threw my long hair up into a ponytail before heading out of my room. I was planning to go to Simon's to see if he would take me back to Sofia's. I really enjoyed my time with her, and she knew a lot about not only magic and potion creation but also Simon. Maybe she could tell me something that I could use to my advantage at some point.However, halfway there, I was surprised to be interrupted by William walking into my path. He purposely cut me off and brought me to a stop."Hey, Alice," he said breathlessly. He must have been running."Hey, William," I countered, trying to sidestep him and continue on my way.He stepped back in front of me."Are you on your way to Mr. Simon's?" he asked. I looked at him for the first time. His eyes were wide and refused to remain steady—as he had just come to a groundbreaking revelation."So what if I am?" I asked as I folded my arms across my chest. What I did cer
*Simon's POV*I watched as Alice walked away from me, but I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips. Her stubbornness was still a cause of humor for me. Plus, making her angry was also my plan. I needed to distance her from what would happen. At least tonight, she would be so angry that she didn't want to see me.She didn't even notice that she was showing her emotions in front of me more and more. I was grateful for it.There was a slight breeze by my side and I looked to see as Sofia appeared. She had her eyes in front of her and just happened to catch the tail end of Alice walking away."You are working hard to prepare so much, but Alice still does not appreciate it?" She seemed confused. "Is she a lost cause?"My smile faded to a completely serious frown as I dedicated my attention to her."I am no longer that impulsive boy that I was back then," I told Sofia. "What I have now is patience in emotional matters.""Are you sure you want to
*Alice's POV*Suddenly, mutated rogues poured in from the gaps in the palace walls. They damaged the walls even more than they were, all while saying things they shouldn't have been able to.I didn't know where they were coming from. It was all becoming a blur.Then, I realized that they must have overheard what Olivia was saying about William being my mate and thought she was actually me.Nobody said they were smart shifters.My thoughts were confirmed correct when Olivia and William tried to fight with them and were both instantly knocked unconscious by two rogues that had snuck up behind them. I watched as they proceeded to throw them over their shoulders and walk back out through the hole in the wall.Not once did they glance in my direction.I let out my breath when the last of them was gone and turned to head towards Simon's at a quick pace. Sh*t. That was interesting. Should I tell anyone? I didn't care about Olivia…but William didn't deserve t
*Alice's POV*I felt the huge smile that was spread across my face falter slightly as I watched Simon walk out of the door. There was something that felt so final about it, and it was eating at my stomach.But the fact that he had once again said that I was his best student kept my spirits high. I had never thought that he was serious when he said all of that stuff, but now at this point in our history, I was sure he was telling the truth. He really did believe that.He had never looked down on me. Even from the beginning, when I was a weak little thing with no endurance, and no muscles, he saw the potential that I had known was there all along. But he truly made me recognize it by forcing me to show myself in front of everyone.His teaching style may have pissed me off from time to time, but I had to admit that the results spoke for themselves.Now I was able to release my anger and aggression, which allowed me to gain the freedom I needed to come and go from
*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