Alice POV “You are weakening me. I cannot come forth!!”, I heard Rina whine in my head. I knew the bracelets were keeping her at bay, but I needed to do what I had been tasked with. How – I did not know. But what I did know was that if I did not kill him, the Dark Lord would kill me. That much was clear. Besides, my father was dying already. “Father is dying, but do you even understand what you are doing??? Do you understand the sacred bond between a parent and a child?? Especially a parent such as our father who loved you all your life, supported you???” I heard Rina whine again. She was right, her voice was getting weaker and at times I could feel her energy slip away. I did not know if she was there or not, but I dared not take my bracelets off as the little courage I had to complete my task would likely have gone away. Walking up to Roman’s office, I needed to notify him about leaving. I did not know if he would notice anything different and I prayed to all the Gods he would not
Dragana POV Art’s kisses tightened my stomach, and I could feel excitement building within me every time we kissed. I felt safe with him. It was a very different type of a kiss than Roman’s – not that I had many with him to compare. However, my body reacted very differently to them both. I knew I craved Roman with an almost animalistic desire. The soft kiss on the morning I left, while completely innocent in comparison to his previous ones, showed me once and for all that I was in love with this man, and that I wanted him. With Art, it was different. I knew I cared for him. I looked forward to seeing him every day. I purposely wore outfits and special clothes just for him. I was excited. I would think of him before I went to bed. But none of this was the fated mate bond I read so much about. I needed to do some more reading on the books I got from the Library, that much was clear. “We are different. We do not feel a mate bond until each of us finds him”, Vasilla now chimed in, noting
Dragana POVHis question caught me off guard. I did not know how to respond or what to say. The internal struggle I had with the two men was about to expose itself if I said anything, even though in reality I had no real relationship with either of them. Truth be told, I was very, very confused and conflicted. Could you love two people??? Equally? Could you be mates with two??? I did not know the answers and perhaps I was scared to probe. Perhaps it felt safe to have Art here and pine for Roman. The two of them never meeting after we left, me, never having to push myself or analyze or ever really make a decision. “We are not cowards!” Aisha came forth, agitated at all this. “Great grandfather”, she purred to him. “Perhaps I can help address something here”, she said confidently. “Please Aisha, my beautiful girl”, he said. “Dragana, you may not want to hear this, especially given the circumstances, but when I shifted at the pack several night ago, Caleb saw me”, she explained. “I was a
Dragana POV So Roman knew he had a mate and still decided to marry somebody else???? Still decided to follow whatever fake bond that was!! He had likely learned about the prophecy too – and nothing. He did NOTHING! There was only one possible explanation for this. He did not want me. I do not know why I should be surprised about this, as for many years, while I lived in the pack, he never showed any interest in me until recently. And even that was not about me. He was not interested in me, but in the fact that I could be his breeder. I felt like a fool!! Who did he think he was?! I held onto the memory of that morning kiss as something precious to me – some type of indication that when he kissed me it mattered, that it was real, and that he cared for me. For a moment, I allowed myself to feel, to believe – even if I thought we could never be, even when I thought that his mate-bond was real! I remember wanting to turn back to admit my feelings and agree to anything, but based on this,
Dragana POVThe large glass shreds were sticking out of Art’s back and blood was seeping;, however he did not seem to care. “Art… Let me pull them out, at least, please.. you must be in pain!”, I urged him, while on the outside we could hear whole hell breaking loose. Cybela was spitting fire in somebody’s direction and growling like thunder, her large, outstretched wings blocking my view. The skies had darkened into a misty black color and clouds appeared out of nowhere. I knew Solomon left, so this attack, just shortly after his departure, was more than suspicious. I made a mental note to discuss this with Jasmine later – we obviously had a traitor in our midst. “Never mind the glass Dragana, Emir will heal me. We need to get you to safety, that is most important!”, he replied, his voice laced with urgency and concern. His handsome face was serious, his eyes darting everywhere, but I could see pain flash as he tried to dress himself. I could not let him go injured anywhere. I quickl
Dragana POVI was running as fast as my legs could carry me, my chest burning up from the pressure, the wind whipping up against me, but I did not stop. There will be nothing to stop me from getting to Cybela. I focused my magic further and engulfed myself in blue flames of magic, radiating electricity from my very being, killing our enemies in the process. “Let me out!!! We need to shift. We are faster as a Lycan”, Vasilla urged me. “I must be able to channel the magic, Vasilla, I must help Cybela! She is being attacked by dark magic”, I screamed. “We can do that, that is our power, you can use your powers while shifted!! You are a Tribrid.”, she reminded me. She was right and she was going to be faster. I had to get to Cybela as quickly as possible, I had to save her! The injuries from the bows were getting darker by the minute and I knew those were not ordinary weapons. I needed to put a shield over her. Mid-run, I shifted and Vasilla gave haste, running directly towards Cybela. Lo
Alice POVAfter leaving Rising Moon under the pretense of visiting my ailing father in his last moments, we had finally arrived. The Alpha King sent 50 warriors to accompany me, including his Gamma, Aldar. A stoic man of few words, Aldar exuded dominance and power, and was a no-nonsense type of person. I knew my usual tricks would not work with him, but I continued the charade anyway. He was built like a house, little over 6ft tall, his blonde hair cascading to his shoulders, his crystal blue eyes piercing when they looked at you. I had seen him around the pack with his mate and pups, and he was very much a family man,devoted to Rose and his children. I learned that he too grew up with Roman and was unquestionably loyal. A strong man, with a strong chiseled, normallyclean-shaven face showed the shadow of a beard after all these days, probably because we did not stop for camp. We made a few stops to water the horses andget some nourishment, but we really did not rest. Roman instructed
Roman POVDragana was back. I did not know how I felt about this – part of me was excited thinking about that fateful morning and our kiss, her soft lips, her warm breath on mine. Part of me was confused, in fact very confused. I was a mess. The array of emotions was suffocating me: happiness, embarrassment, fear, desire, guilt. I did not know what to think or what to do. I knew she was at my father’s house with Lady Asma and Art at her side – they teleported from the palace she was staying at and arrived this morning. It was late afternoon, and I still could not convince myself to go see her. I was coming up with one excuse after another, not sure what to do. Several times I opened the door of my office fully determined to go, only for my legs to give out, and stop me dead in my tracks. What do I even say to her??? “How about I am glad you are alive?? It is good you are back?? You know, a basic courtesy??” Caleb spat, irritated. “You know, we could ask her Roman. We could ask her abo