LIAM"How wouldn't she know where she went? And who is Zel?" I asked, my temper getting the best of me.The Luna Queen lifted a brow at me in question. "Zel is my niece and Maxine is old enough to choose her path in life." She replied, her voice picking on a different tone."I'm sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to speak like that.""Good. Because Cinder sent them an email while they were in a town. She's going to try sending another to see if they'll get it. I can give you the town's address."I nodded, relief flooding through me. It wasn’t much. But, that was a lead. It was a way forward in finding Maxine and I was going to take it.“Thank you,” I said. "Also, I heard she's using the name, Annalise.""Yes, Maxine has started a new life. She and Zel went off on their own, far away from all of this. Cinder doesn't know exactly where but she made it clear, Liam. Maxine doesn’t want to be found.”"Annalise,” I repeated. The name left a bitter taste on my tongue. Maxine had been so de
LIAMHe smirked and with two fingers, he commanded them to attack me. The figures moved immediately approaching me. I slashed and fought back as much as I could.I watched Kris struggle to keep fighting and one of them clawed at his back, getting him. He screamed in pain, falling to his knees."Kris!" I yelled, going towards him. I got a blow to the face and I tasted the blood in my mouth before I even hit the ground."Where do you think you're going?" The giant attacker asked.I was dazed. His punch felt like a house had fallen on me. He put his foot on me, stepping on my back. I grunted, being crushed by his weight and being unable to.Who the hell was this? Even trying to use my wolf strength was failing me.Their leader walked towards me and crouched beside me. He smiled. "Master would be pleased that we found you." He said."Who sent you? Who's your master?" I demanded."You'll find out very soon." He replied.I tried to summon all the energy I had left. But that blow to my head
LIAMThe cold in the darkness of the van seeped into my body. I tried to move and to shift into a more comfortable position. But, every muscle screamed in protest.The giant's beating had left me battered and with a couple of broken bones. Each breath I tried to take sent sharp stabs of pain through my body. My vision was still blurry as my left eye was starting to heal.I was fighting to stay conscious, trying to listen to the sounds around me to know where they were taking me. But, the ringing in my ears made it difficult to focus on anything other than the pain.The van moved forward as it sped down the rough road. Despite the ringing, I heard the tires crunching over gravel and dirt. It meant we were off the main roads.The only other sounds were the engine and the occasional movement of feet. I tried to hear what someone was saying in front but I couldn't make it out.I tried to take stock of my injuries. I wanted to mentally check each part of my body. It would help me decide wh
MAXINEThere was something about spending our last day off in Conrad's house. Maybe it was because it was him, or it was because our lives were finally looking up.But it was so lighthearted. I had been searching for so long—for something I didn't quite know what it was and it held me down. But here, with Conrad and the others, I was starting to feel like maybe I didn’t have to search anymore. I had everything."Oh?" I teased, letting go of him to look at his face. He flipped the pancakes in the pan."I have so much more to show you but, you're going to have to stay long enough to find out." He said."Don’t worry,” I replied. “I’m not going anywhere. I'm right here."But even as I said the words with all my heart, a part of me said that it was a lie. It surprised me. Conrad smiled.After a while, he stacked pancakes on a plate while I removed sausages from a pan. We took them to the kitchen island where there were three stools.I called Peter and Zel and they came to take their seats.
LIAMI couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. I stared at the man standing before me. Brother echoes in my mind. I hadn’t heard that voice in years. Never seen that face in almost a decade.Truth be told, I had hoped I would never hear it again. But, here he was, like a ghost from my past. I’d never expected to see him again, let alone under these circumstances.“Ronan,” I let out in the shock of seeing him."In flesh and blood," He smirked. I had seen that same smirk a thousand times when we were younger. It has always made my stomach turn."Surprised to see me, Liam? Did you think you could escape from me?” He asked, his voice lifting in mockery."Ronan," I said again, repeating the name. I was in disbelief.My older brother, the one who had disappeared years ago without a trace, was right in front of me. The same one who had always lived in my shadow. The one who was jealous of the position I held as the heir to our pack. The one who had tried to kill me.“What the hell are you doing
MAXINEThat strange feeling settled in again. It was stronger this time. So strong that I couldn’t ignore it. Something wasn’t right.“Wait,” I said, pulling back slightly. My breath was coming out in gasps, and my heart still racing from what was about to happen.Conrad froze, his hands still on my waist. His blue eyes searched mine. “What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?"How was I going to explain this? I was going to hurt his feelings and I was going to be the bad person. What did this make me? I still loved Liam and I wanted to be with Conrad. Did that make me a cheater like Liam?I didn't realize I was crying until I saw the worry in Conrad's eyes. "Hey, hey, hey," he said, coming up to cup my cheeks. "It's okay. It's okay. You don't have to do anything you don't want to."I nodded sniffling. "I want to," I let out, "I just…""Tell me, Anna." He whispered."I don’t know," I admitted, my voice shaky. "I just… I have a weird feeling."He frowned, concern furrowing his eyebrows s
LIAMThe darkness was suffocating. But I think it was the silence that did it. It was so quiet down here. I could hear the sound of my blood rushing through my veins.I couldn't tell how long I had been down here. The hours seemed to have blended that I had lost count. I was healing but the cuffs around my wrist kept a steady pump of wolfsbane.It wouldn't be long before I died in this place. I could pick out faint sounds of footsteps but they were never for long. My heartbeat was the constant sound in the room.Not only were the metal cuffs poisoning me but it was cutting off circulation. My hands were always having a dull, constant pain. My muscles ached from the cold. I couldn't even kneel. I was left standing or hanging by my chains. My mouth was dry and even my saliva couldn't fix that.I’d been in bad situations before, but this was different. Those were when I was younger. Before I made a name for myself.And this one wasn’t just about me. This was about my pack, my family, eve
MAXINEThat weird feeling had only grown stronger since that day at Conrad’s house. I couldn’t shake it off, no matter how hard I tried to distract myself. It ate at me, whispering that something was wrong, terribly wrong.It wasn't until the eye of the ancients appeared to me in a dream. "You need to go back," the masked spirit said."Why? Go where?" I knew the answer but I needed to be sure."Liam's pack. He needs you," that was all he said before the dream ended.I spent the next few days trying to act normal. I pretended that everything was fine as I tried to return to our routine at Gray Lodge. But the more I tried to ignore it, the more it caused me to worry.Conrad noticed it, of course. He always notices. He would find me staring off into the distance, lost in thought. He would ask if I was okay. Of course, I would lie. I would tell him I was just tired. Everything was fine.But I could see that he didn't believe me. I couldn't tell him the truth. It meant that I had to tell h