*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*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
*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.
*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*"Look at you, ugly bitch! Show us what you are!" I sighed as I put down the bucket of dirty greasy water, watching Olivia charging towards me. Had she not learned enough to leave me alone?"How may I help you, Princess Olivia?" I greeted her as politely as I could. It was a joke. She and I were both the Alpha King's daughter, yet, she was a princess, but I was treated like the lowest maid. "Ugly bitch! How dare you look at me? " While Olivia approached, I found there was a tiny wound on her forehead. She just ended today's training, probably with the new royal teacher.She was wretched in every sense of the word. When she suffered, all hell broke loose and there was no doubt that she definitely was looking to make me suffer too. That was how it was here: I was no one and my life meant nothing."Bitch! Didn't you hear me?!" Before I could respond, she slapped me hard across the face, sending me rolling down the stairs. My body felt like I had been obl
*Alice's POV**TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains mention of, and light depiction of, sexual abuse. Please read at your own discretion*Olivia knew of my inability to shift fully, but no one knew how truly excruciating it was. In great pain, my hands transformed from human to elongated wolf claws, and my teeth became sharp and pointed canines. Such horrid changes happened to me almost every night, and I hated it because it reminded me of my true nature. Of who I was, not who I wanted and pretended to be. I never fully shifted. At least, not fully. That could only happen if I had a sentient wolf. As such, these features only brought me pain and shame. They told me I was an alien, a monster not meant to be alive. My nails and teeth were still growing; they pierced my lips and skin, leaving bloody wounds as gray wolf hairs began to appear on my face. They burrowed out of my cheeks, making my face heated.My bones changed, they grew out of shape, making it impossible for me
*Alice's POV*His light brown eyes shone in the moonlight, like a pair of crystal clear amber stones. They were clean and beautiful, but there was no desire inside.Tears pearled in my eyes, but I forgot how to react. I forgot everything I had taught myself over the years on how to defend myself from people like James. Like Olivia.He was dangerously close, and somehow was leaning closer. Why wasn't I stopping him? I could feel his hot breath spread over my ears and neck, creating tiny sparks in my body. I shivered. "Little girl, you are playing a dangerous game," he whispered in my ear. His warm lips almost touched my ears as the heat of his breath surrounded me. I should have felt threatened, but I was too stunned at what he said. Dangerous game?The next moment, before I could react, his hand grasped my wrist and he pushed me to the side. My knee scratched against some stones on the ground and I was entirely covered in dirt and fallen leaves."We
*Alice's POV*The next day, I walked down the hallway leading to the kitchen. Along the way, I heard all the palace maids talking about James falling into the water the night before, their voices low, but still nowhere near a whisper."Do you hear?! Prince James fell into the lake in the garden last night and was saved by the royal teacher, Mr. Simon. It's the most exciting news of the morning!" one of the maids squealed.Another chimed in. "No way! I wonder who did it. I mean, pushed Prince James in?""Hush!" a third voice demanded. "Don't speak too loud. Prince James is still a prince, despite his awful attitude. We should be careful of what we say.""...Yeah, absolutely…" the first stated. "I'm happy he was saved. But I just want to know who did such an amazing thing. Is it some girl abandoned by him? Ooo, I bet it was revenge.""It's a mystery," the third woman answered. "I guess we'll never know. Even he doesn't know who did it. Says he has no memory
*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