LUCIANO’S POVI raced back upstairs to grab some towels and soap. She didn’t want to be here, in my room. In our room. I had not helped matters. After my initial reaction when she woke up I had been distant. She had gone through a lot and I had a lot to apologize for. I prayed and begged her to wake up so I could apologize. But seeing her, now. I didn’t think I deserved it. She had lost a baby because of me. It didn’t matter if she forgave me or not. Heavens knew I didn’t deserve it. But I owed it to her to be sorry. I grabbed the soap and two towels and headed back downstairs. I could hear the water running in the bathroom and contemplated going in there. I placed the towels on the bed and stood there. I was not this person. I was sure and always knew what to do. On the other hand I had never screwed up so colossally before. I didn’t need to think too long. A blood chilling scream came out from the bathroom. I ran to the door immediately yelling out her name.“Arianna!”“Luciano
ARIANNA’S POVDave and I sat on a bench in the garden while Alex made Luciano help her pick flowers. It was good to be out of bed but I was exhausted from the walk. “She looks happy.” I told dave. He was watching her with a smile on his face. Who could blame him? Alex was amazing. “She is. How are you?” He asked me in a very serious tone. “I don’t know. I mean … it’s been a lot.” I told him.“I can’t imagine. It’ll get better. You are home now.” I smiled half heartedly at him.“That’s not good. Is there somewhere else you want to be?” he asked me.“Honestly Dave. I don’t know. I think it’ll just take me a while to find myself again.” “He was out looking for you. Everyday. I know it doesn’t make up for anything but … he hates himself so much for what happened.” “He said as much. I don’t hate him. I really don’t. I just don’t know what I want anymore. Over a month ago I thought I was going to be a mom.” I blinked away the tears that were pooling in my eyes. Dave gave me a warm s
CIARA’S POVI had walked the entire length of one of the fences of the Ice Claw Compound. I always wondered why they fenced it. I couldn’t walk in through the front door. The last time I tried that, Dave had his goons throw me out. “This seems like a good spot.” I muttered to myself. I walked back, enough to give myself a running start. I took off towards the fence and jumped as high as I could. My palm grazed the top before I fell back down. I tried again and this time was able to hold on to the top of the fence. I pulled myself up and soon I was over the fence. This part of the compound was quiet. One thing I noticed during my time here, Dave and a few others were the only ones who stayed close to the edge. The compound was big enough that you didn’t need to get to these parts. “Probably why they fenced it.” I said to myself.I walked in, trying to keep my head down. The last thing I wanted was for someone to recognize me. It took a while, but I finally made it to the big ho
LUCIANO’S POVI kicked in Carter’s front door. I didn’t bother knocking. I could tell he was the only one at home. The entire yard looked abandoned. “Carter!” I walked up the stairs expecting to find him in one of the rooms. The first door I opened was empty. There was a mild smell of bleach. The realization that this was the room Arianna was held in made my blood run cold. I kicked open two other doors but the rooms were empty. I knew he was here somewhere.“Come out Carter. Since when do you run from a fight?” I asked the empty looking house. I turned to go back downstairs and was met teeth first by a dirt colored wolf. I managed to throw him off at the last second but he managed to rip open the flesh on my arm. “There you are.” He came at me again, jumping so he could reach my neck. That was his mistake. I had no intention of turning. This was not going to be a fair fight for him.I crouched down and stabbed up at his open mid section. His growl turned to a pathetic whine imm
CARTER’S POVShe was right. I would not be Alpha much longer, and I had made my peace with that. “That is done. There is nothing that can be done about that. It’s only a matter of time.” I explained. “Okay. Okay. What about the ceremony? I don’t see how that is important.” Ciara asked.“That’s where we hit them. They will have their guard down and will not see me coming.” “Carter, a newborn pup is going to see you coming from a mile away in your condition.” She pointed out.“I’ll manage. But that’s where you come in.” I told her.“Me? What can I do?” “Suddenly you are not full of ideas? Figure something out. We have one chance to get this right. I have to get him back for this.” I told her.“What exactly did he do to you?” “I have no idea. George claims it’s going to get worse with time. I’ll probably get paralyzed eventually. The pain is never leaving. I have to learn to live with it.” “I don’t see how. Carter, you were spread out like a disabled person when I walked in here.”
ARIANNA’S POVLuciano was in my bed when I woke up in the middle of the night. He had been sleeping here for about a week now. I never asked him to stay, but I did not make him leave either. It was a cool night and he walked me to my room after dinner and just didn’t leave.I looked at him, sleeping peacefully. I almost never had the chance to see him sleep. He always went to bed later than I did. And was always up before me. This was a rarity that I wanted to savor, but my full bladder would not let me.I was washing my hand in the sink when I caught my reflection in the mirror. My sunken eyes were starting to find the light again. It was good to see. I was about to look away when I saw Carter standing behind me. I squeaked, terrified of what I was seeing in the mirror. My heart rate jumped and the hairs on my skin stood in fear. I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was not real. It was not real. I was safe now. I had repeated this mantra in my head so many times since I got bac
ARIANNA’S POVWe were driving down a long stretch of highway, it was bordered on both sides by woods and trees. It felt scenic and chilling, but in a good way.I pressed the button to roll my window down. I wanted to feel the air on my face. I needed to know what the trees smelled like here. The way the sunlight bounced off the trees was beautiful.“Do you want to stop for something to eat?” Luciano asked.I wasn’t hungry, we had stopped about an hour ago. But I would not mind stopping and walking through here. “Can we stop here?” I asked. His face creased in a confused scowl but he slowed the car down and pulled up to the side of the road. “Do you need something?” he asked. I shook my head and got down from the car. I walked out to the middle of the road and looked up with my hands spread wide.It felt good to be out here. I inhaled deeply smelling the trees, it was loud with the chirping of multiple birds. I looked back to find Luciano watching me. I shrugged and walked back to
LUCIANO’S POVThe day was uneventful. Our bed and breakfast was mostly deserted. We seemed to be the only occupants. Arianna had been coming out of her shell a lot more this past week. I had finally started to relax. I did not realize how worried I was until she asked me to hold her. The flash backs were mostly gone. And the constant calls from the Alphas had stopped. I didn’t tell her about it because I did not want to add to her worries.I knew greed was a thing but I had never witnessed a manifestation like this before. They all seemed ready to strip her for parts.The news of her blood healing the mystic moon did not help either. One of them even boldly suggested we study her to know what more she could do.I took care of Carter for Arianna. I would have beat him to a pulp and killed him off without feeling anything but I needed to make a statement.The calls had stopped. Collin was sour about it but he didn’t say much. His beta sent a passive message about wishing us well and t
ARIANNA’S POVAlex walked in and the sea of people standing around parted for her. She looked gracious and I couldn’t wait to tell her that her dress captured the light of the moon like she wanted. The crowd of people parted and converged around her. It was like a maze that opened up in front and shut behind you as you walked. They were leading her to the center. To her minotaur. But this time, it was no scary monster, it was the love of her life. She finally got to the center of the crowd and stood opposite Dave. Luciano stood with them to perform the ceremony. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His robe, fortunately for me, left a lot of his chest bare. There was a lot left to the imagination but just enough was open that I couldn’t help but stare. I stepped up when I was called. It was time for best friend duties. I handed over the stone. It was white but a little see through. It was supposed to represent the moon. Luciano took it and placed it in Dave’s hand, he then covered it
LUCIANO’S POV“And what’s wrong with that?” She asked me. Fuck! That question tugged at the beast in me that just wanted to take her, with zero regard. I took a deep slow breath to calm myself. We both needed this, but she needed it more. Her body needed to remember that there was a lot more than the pain she had endured. “Shhh” I whispered back to her.I traced kisses all over her body, slowly, and holding on to her hips. Those hips. I would let them move, in time. I made my way down her body till I got between her legs. I buried my face in there and took a deep breath. The smell of her arousal drove me nuts and I could feel my erection grow in my pants. My tongue immediately went to work. Licking and sucking at her mound. I could feel her shaking beneath me and it made me happy. I slipped one finger into her opening and heard her let out a loud moan, I slipped in the second finger and let go of her hips. She was thrusting against my fingers now, my thumb once again found her c
ARIANNA’S POV “Alex, you did it! It’s beautiful.” I told her as we stood in the clearing. “You should see it at night, with the lights lit.” She said. “Two days away now. How are you freeling?” The smile that covered her face was infectious. I didn’t realize I was smiling too. “It feels like a lucid dream. A good one.” She explained.“Well, it’s not a dream.” I told her. “There you two are. Your parents have arrived.” Dave announced as he walked into the clearing. I watched Alex subconsciously gravitate into his arms. There was no thought behind it. Her body just moved. I loved that they had found each other. In the midst of all the crazy, something beautiful came out of it. “Where are they?” Alex asked Dave.“Luciano is keeping them busy in the big house. They came with the mystic moon’s new Alpha, Dylan.” Dave explained. “That still feels weird to hear. Alpha Dylan and the mystic moon. Thank the goddess for that.” I shuddered. Alex squeezed my hand for a brief second befor
ARIANNA’S POVLuciano took my hand in his and we walked off into the field. I had no idea where we were but I wondered who owned this place. No way, It was just a wild field. Someone definitely took care of it. There were wild flowers around, two trees apart from each other. But the grass was not wild. From the beginning to the end of the field the grass was cut to the same length. It had this feel of a wild place but at the same time, I could see the intentionality behind it. I watched Luciano spread a blanket on the grass and place the basket to the side. He stretched out his hand for me. I took it and he led me to sit on the blanket. I had never seen this blanket before, so I wondered where he got it. “So, what did the Chef pack us?” I asked. “Chef didn’t pack it.” He answered a little annoyed. “I was just teasing.” I told him. “I know. And I told Estell what to pack. So it was partly me.” He said, sulking. I giggled at his face. He reminded me of a toddler who wasn’t gett
LUCIANO’S POV“Good for Dylan.” I muttered. “Good for the mystic moon. Good for us.” Dave replied. I nodded at him. “Would you mind inviting him to the ceremony? Some of the pack is going to be here anyway.” I asked.“Of course. I was only trying to keep Carter out. Dylan is good. I think he and Alex used to be friends before he left the pack.” “Sounds good. Anything from the other Alphas?” “Just the usual. Nothing about us or Arianna though…” he looked like he had something else to say but could not decide. “What is it?” “Collin was trying to stir some of the others but they shut him down.” Dave explained.“Can someone do the rest of us a favour and challenge him already? By the moon! It’s always something with him.” I said, frustrated.“He’ll be out soon. Without an external factor to distract his pack, they will start to realise what a terrible Alpha he is.” “That may be true, but I doubt it’ll be that easy. He lets them get away with a lot of truancy. This year alone, more
ARIANNA’S POV“Did you know that Ciara was changing the natural state of your forest?” I asked Luciano.We were sitting by the kitchen Island, eating a bowl of microwaved lasagna. I was eating anyway, Luciano was just keeping me company. He had a confused look on his face that told me he had no idea that Alex was planting flowers in his forest. I giggled before explaining to him. “She says its too green and needs other colors to pop.” I explained. “Of course it needs other colors.” We both laughed at the way he said that. It was so playful and almost like saying why didn’t he think of it. “How was your fitting. Can I see your dress?” He asked. “Sure. It’s up in my room.” I said. I could see the very minute flicker in his eyes. If I had blinked I would have missed it. And if I had not noticed it a few times before I would have sworn I imagined it. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked him. “What do you mean?” “Just now. When I said you could see my dress. There was this … I can’t exp
CIARA’S POVHow would I explain to Dylan that I wasn’t welcome at the Ice claw pack? The last thing I wanted was him associating me with Carter’s tyranny. It was bad enough that everyone knew we were together. We were together. The thought took me by surprise. I knew we were done but I had not said it out loud. He was sick and dying. The last thing I wanted was to become his nurse and in extension, the punching bag for all his pain. I would make up an excuse to not go. He had his beta. From what he said, it would be no more than two days. Just a formality. There was actually no need for me to be there. The environment around the pack had been light and welcoming. Everyone who left with Dylan during the plague was back. Families were happy and no one even spoke of Carter. It was almost like he didn’t exist. But he did.I walked by his house for what seemed like the hundredth time in as many days. I knocked but there was no answer. He had locked his door days ago. His door was never
CIARA’S POVI knew Carter was weak but I at least expected a fight. Watching him writhing on the floor with drool running out of his mouth was just embarrassing.He could not even get through his change let alone fight. Everyone who gathered to watch didn’t seem to understand what was happening. “Is that part of it? “What the fuck is happening?”“Can he stand?” I heard these questions randomly from the crowd. This was beyond bad for Carter. If he couldn’t even turn, how did he plan to survive? It actually explained why he was absent during the full moon. Dylan walked up to Carter’s shivering body and placed one leg on top of him, signaling that the fight was done. If we could call it a fight. Dylan standing with Carter beneath his feet was the signal everyone needed to stop feeling sorry for Carter. The screams of joy were deafening. It was like years of pent up frustration could finally be let out. I ran inside Carter’s house to grab blankets. When I got back outside, old man M
CARTER’S POVI looked at my reflection in the full length mirror. I looked like I was hexed. Considering I had no idea what Luciano stabbed me with, I guess I could be hexed. Hexes were the worst, it was also George’s best guess. If he was right then there was no way out of this for me. I would walk a slow pain filled journey to my death. Curse Nadia. What did I ever do to her for her to do this to me? Not only did she tell other witches not to help me, if this was really a hex then it would not matter who wanted to help. Only the witch who places the hex can remove it. I had been in so much pain lately, I actually tried calling her. All my calls went straight to voicemail.In hindsight, leaving threats on her voicemail may not have been the best approach. I did leave an apology, but she still has not called back. I would find a way, I was not going to go down like this. “Max!” I called out. He ran in seconds later. “Any idea where Ciara has been since yesterday?” I asked him.