The sun beats down on my back and with the warmth it brings, my memories of pain come rushing back.
The laughter of kids fills my ears faintly while the feeling of my throat closing up with tears comes back like a dull ache.
A life of happiness was never meant for me.
Maybe that's why I'm doing this instead of being somewhere else right now.
I feel his hands grip my jaw, slowly, almost tenderly. The hate and resentment in his eyes knocks whatever tenderness his touch might portray right out of me and I gulp despite myself.
"If you're going to choke Adelaide, then at least do it properly."
He throws my face away the next second and I go crashing onto the floor beneath me. My breath comes in heavy short spurts and tears line the corner of my eyes.
His cold blue ones bore right into my soul as he sneers and stares down at me.
"Do it again, and don't make me come back until you get it right this time."
I watch as Lyros walks off and as he does, my stupid heart follows him too.
My feelings of love are with him wherever he goes and my heart continues beating for him.
Despite all he does to me, I still love him. Even when he tells me to practice sucking on a wooden pole in the open fields where all the members of his pack can see me.
I still love him.
I get back on my knees and position myself in front of the pole.
It has this odd protrusion that is almost shaped like a male's organ.
My cheeks turn red despite the disgust I feel and I take my mouth to it again.
My heart pounds in my chest as the straight wooden object goes in and hits the back of my throat. My new master's eyes are focused on me and I can feel the air around me getting colder even with the warmth of the sun.
I go forward and back.
Forward, and back again.
The aim of this practice is clear. He wants me to be prepared for what's to come.
And what better way to prepare me than send me out, under the bare sun, with a wooden dummy in hand, for all his pack members to see.
"You're not sucking fast enough Adelaide!"
I move faster and faster and try to ignore the pain that clogs the back of my throat and the shame that sets my heart on fire.
I'm so focused that i don't see him when he moves and yanks my hair back painfully,
I burst into tears the next moment and i see the disgust in his eyes when he looks at me.
"I've told you time and time again, Adelaide. If you're going to do it, DO IT RIGHT!"
He throws my head against the protruding pole of the male dummy and the last thing I see before i black out is the hate in his icy blue eyes, and the sun shining behind him.
I chuckle inwardly at the way those two things are polar opposites.
One, a source of endless warmth wrapped in burning fire.
And the other.....
A chasm of hate, and ice, as cold as the land he rules, and as unloving as a blizzard in the heart of winter.
Running will only take you so far in life. Sometimes the only thing you can do except run is fly........ but unluckily for me werewolves aren't built with wings. The only thing I can do is run. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sound of leaves as I step on them crashes into my ears and the adrenaline pumping into my veins almost makes me pass out from sheer tiredness. I stop to catch my breath. I'm doing it. I'm finally doing it! I am running away from my pack and I am not taking even one look back at whatever it is I have left behind. All they ever offered me was pain. Pain and broken bones. I ignore the way my heart twists at those thoughts and focus on walking again. One step at a time. With each step I take, I go farther from my pack. My parents lead this pack and I should have been treated like a queen in it, but ironically the reverse is the case. A chuckle escapes my throat and I wipe away the blood that comes with that chuckle. My neck is broken somewhere. I'm su
"Get dressed." My mother sneers at me and pushes me into a room before she locks the door behind her. My heart is in my mouth due to the fear I'm feeling but I ignore that and focus on getting dressed. I passed out again somewhere in the middle of the strange man's conversation with my parents, but one thing is clear. He's here for me. I gulp. The thought of it fills me with excitement and dread at the same time, but the excitement overpowers the dread and I find myself smiling. Fuck. My head still aches from the way I had hit it on Gerald's earlier and I haven't recovered from the damage they did to me before. My whole body hurts. Regret is something I said I would not feel no matter what happened with my escape plan, but right now I regret trying to run away like that. I should have found somewhere to hide first before running. Wolves always give chase to the prey they can see. What they don't see, never hurts them. My mind drifts back to the blue eyed man again and I fe
She's useless. That's the first thing i notice about her. Expending all that energy just to run away but never actually getting away. It's like she expected her capture before setting out and she waited for it patiently, like a good little weakling. "Any thoughts on how long this one is going to last before you kill her?" Cain is a lanky silver blond-haired presence beside me, and the only one who can talk to me without wetting himself. I appreciate that about him, so I reply when he speaks. "It'll depend on how well she performs." I hear his breath catch. "You want to fuck her first?" There is slight disgust in his tone and I turn to face him. "Is that displeasing to you Cain?" "She's an omega!" "And I'll do what I want to do. Am I clear?" There is a note of unbridled anger in my voice and I know Cain hears it too. His mesmerizingly beautiful silver eyes turn away from mine and he clears his throat as he adjusts his posture. "Yes Lord Lyros." The room suddenly feels too
The sound of a wolf howling in the distance brings me out of my slumber and I try to move. I can't. Amidst my tears and hysterical screaming, I was either hit behind the head or I screamed so much that I passed out. No matter what happened, my fate is sealed. Thinking about it now, maybe it's because of the way he appeared in my head before, making me touch myself and then calling me filthy after. Or maybe it's because of how he snapped Jane's neck without the slightest bit of hesitation. I always heard rumors of how such a man existed. One of the four Lycan kings in this realm, and the only man with the power to make any Alpha cower in fear before him, even those who were twice his size thought more than twice before they stood up to him, and no one ever did. I always imagined that kind of man to be the type that was all muscles and bulging veins. With the biggest bush of a beard ever grown and either some chainmail or a hacksaw in his hands. I never really thought that he wou
I always leave my brides to settle in for a day or two before I kill them. It makes them run mad with desperation. In those two days, they will do absolutely anything to escape the fate that awaits them and I find it amusing to watch as they place their chips on the bargaining table. Some offer family wealth. Others offer secrets. Most offer their bodies and sometimes I let the guards have their way with them. Werewolf packs will give you the illusion that they are nothing but a group of wolves, coming together for joint safety, protection and a common interest. The Alpha heads the pack, and he is always graceful, benevolent, and even if he's sometimes trashy at first, he'll naturally bloom into a strong man of honorable actions. It would have been nice if that was the truth, but it's all a lie. Some of those Alphas are born trash and they die as the trash they are. Werewolves have secrets they hide too, but I don't need this one to hand over any of her secrets. I want to kill
The Lycan king's words sound like falling sand to me. I can't see past the pain in my fingers.It's not just my fingers, but also my heart. I have been beaten, humiliated, cursed at and seen only in terms of what I can do for others and the pack. I'm the lowly omega daughter of the Alpha, a disgrace to the pack and the one who will never be free no matter how much she tries.The moment I hear the word freedom, my tears come out even hotter and I try not to break out into another sob.I can't help but feel like he's lying to me.There's no way I can ever be free."This offer isn't going to last forever Adelaide, I'm guessing you have....."Panic flares through me and I almost scream the words."I'm in!"They slip out of my mouth before I can even think of anything else and with my fear filled eyes, I look up to peer at the face of the man whose mercy I'm at.He looks amused, and somehow that makes me feel this is the right decision.He would have killed me if he wanted to kill me, bu
"It's a sad world for girls like you y'know." I watch as the guard peeks his head into my room with a smile on his face. He looks pleased with himself and I don't want to wonder why that is. "You're supposed to get some food to eat today aren't you?" My head aches. Like someone's hitting it with a mallet and my body is weak. Seven days without food, only dreams, and I didn't even eat in those dreams. I open my mouth to speak but my voice comes out raw. What I say does not make any sense. The guard chuckles and walks into the room, his eyes roam the expanse of my skin and he frowns and wrinkles up his nose. I took a bath the night of the first day, so I got rid of some of the grime on my skin, but I haven't taken another bath since then. Personal hygiene is the least of my problems. He leans down and crouches before me. He's the guard from last time, the one with the scar, and as I suspected before, whatever magic they had worked on themselves was what made me find them irresisti
I watch as Gorm moves. He hits the door again, and again, blinded by the rage he's feeling and driven by pure lust. You'd think this fool was sex-starved, and he might be but that's none of my business. What is though, is the girl he's probably going to rape once he gets in there. I saw what she did when the mutt from her pack tried to mount her unwillingly. She cracked her skull against his head so hard that she passed out. Maybe that's why I'm going to spare her the additional trauma of being manhandled by a dumb fuck. The door goes down with a crash and my ears twitch. Gorm's breath is coming out heavy and the smell of his anger is potent in inspiring disgust, mostly in me. "You should have let me fuck you willingly." Despite my best efforts, memories rush into my head and flash past my eyes like a slideshow. I feel my chest tighten up and when I move, it's with blind rage. Screams and the sound of choking waft into my ears but they sound far away. I don't know where I am
Cain grabs onto my waist and kisses me, hauling me up and plastering me against him. His voice is a rough husk in my ear as he whispers “You did it, Adelaide.” Tears run down my eyes and he hugs me, holding my body to his as I sob into his chest. I don’t think I'd believe what just happened if someone told me it would a few months ago. All I wanted was to be free and run off to hell knows where, but I'm glad for what I did. Now I know I have parents, parents who loved me and a mother who would have done anything for me. I’m not just the pack omega destined to be maltreated and beaten for all of her life. The suffering I went through changed me. It gave me tougher skin and with the power of my heritage… I've just won back my kingdom. Freedom is mine if I want it. Freedom, and power, and love, if I want any of it, and all of it, and I do. I really do. I kiss Cain again, just to cement the fact that we are a thing now. We’re more than a thing. I’m wearing his ring. He’s as much
Lyros is no longer the all-powerful Lycan lording his majesty over the weak populace. We are powerful in our own right now.And in the face of real power, the Lycan king can only do one thing, cower, like a coward.Lyros attempts to run but almost like he knows it’s futile there’s no spirit in it. Lycan speed might have given him a chance, but running was just one final way of making a dash for his life.I flash and slam Lyros with my sword, the blade slapping the side of his face and drawing blood as he tumbles to the ground. I lean down and whisper close to his ear,“I don’t intend to kill you Lord Lyros.”I feel his heartbeat intensify as my words graze his ears but I continue confidently, “I intend to make you pay for all you’ve done. For the young girls you plucked from weak werewolf packs, only to kill them after torturing them, their dreams ended and hopes cut short because of your wickedness. I intend to make you pay for the cities you’ve attacked, the people you have killed,
I rip through the fabric of space as I burn.I feel the Lycan’s flame coursing through my being and it sets me on fire with the force of a supernova. I feel the strength of a thousand stars in me. The flames lick at my dress, burning it short and tattered, turning me into a version these men see, but which they don’t see at all.I wonder how many times Lyros has looked at me and seen nothing but skin. Nothing but clothes in pieces, flesh for the taking, a body to be claimed, and a mind to have fun with.I wonder how many times he’s seen skin and ignored the fire that rages in my heart. Ignored the love I have for the simple things. Ignored the fact that I am more than just skin and flesh, that I am heart and brains and emotion. That I am not his plaything.I am a Queen, and this Kingdom is mine.I kill the King beyond the border first. The battle with him takes less than an hour.In my hand is a sword hot as flame and solid as diamond. Rafie attacks me next so I slay him too.Raymel
We all stand in wait for her.Me, Rafie, Alizadeh, and Galan, all four Lycan kings, we wait for a weak omega female and something hollow rings in my chest. It was stupid to think I could find love.Even before the truth of Elara’s betrayal was revealed to me, I already knew. I already knew something was wrong with my heart and that I couldn't love properly anymore.I should have left it out of the cards, left love to those foolish enough to crave it but instead, I had to go ahead and try to keep her. Adelaide made me imagine something hot and exciting between us, something fiery and passionate, but at the end of the day, she’s expendable.She’s always been. Only I matter.A kingdom rests on my shoulders.“Is she on her way?”Rafie’s voice grates against my nerves but I nod. I’m not angry at him anymore. He’s doing what I didn't have the strength to do.Galan chortles where he stands and I feel my hands clench. I should kill him for using his trickster magic on me, but he saved my life
“How sweet.”Cain’s hand stops immediately and my foggy brain can’t even make sense of what’s happening. Has Cain taken me to the point of release this morning? Yes.I’m worried I might be a horndog.I turn to see Safira leaning on the doorframe. Her dress is so pretty, it drapes over her body like liquid and damn, I almost forgot how pretty she was.She smirks as her eyes meet mine, “Should I leave?” Cain answers sweetly before I can and his reply makes me chuckle. He goes “Yes please.”Safira’s hand twitches and a pillow launches itself at the back of Cain’s head. I let it hit and burst into subdued chuckles when he lets out a slight “oof.”Safirs sighs and shakes her head “You have a meeting in like six minutes. Will you be down?”Cain smirks lazily and shrugs. Safira’s gaze darts to me and she fixes me with an inquisitive stare, “Will he be down?”I nod because despite how much I want him to stay with me and kiss me silly, he’s already explained to me how things are here.He has
Diane visits me one last time in my dreams. She smiles at me and though my heart breaks, I smile back at her.I know this is the end. This is the last time I will see her, and as we stand on the sandy beach, our eyes locked on each other and the resemblance undeniable, I let her embrace me as a mother would her child, and I cry so bad my heart feels like it’s going to break.Diane kisses my forehead and wipes my tears, “You’re stronger than your pain my love. You know that right?”I want to nod. I desperately want to nod. The moment I saw Cain, the reality of what had happened to me seemed to come crashing down on me. The moment I saw Lyros instead of him, saw flashes of me and him behind my closed eyes each time I blinked….. How do I live with that?How do I live with the knowledge of all the things I did with the man I hate? A man who used me?I wish I could forget.“This is fire Adelaide,” I clutch Diane closer as she pats my hair down, tears still streaming down my cheeks “Like g
Anger makes my teeth crack as Adelaide asks me a question. She looks up at me, uncertainty in her eyes, her expression scared and bleak.“Would you still love me, if I showed you what Lyros and I have been doing these past few months?”Something threatens to snap in me but I know what this is.I’ve seen this before. I’ve done this once.I nod and Adelaide’s shoulders shudder. I can see how fervently she’s trying to control herself. How ferociously she’s attacking the emotions that are surging forth.Something’s happened, and when I ask her, she tells me everything.Trapped in a memory chain of the Lycan King’s making for three months, her magic being the thing he used to fuel that spell, Lyros turned her magic into her trap, and then she tells me what the memories were about. Entire years' worth of memories of her waiting for him patiently in the fortress.Memories of how he saved her from her pack and brought her to a better life in his care, Memories of how she became his personal p
Cain and Safira comfort me and tell me it’s okay. I can feel Cain’s concern for me like eyes at the back of my head.He’s always staring at me. He looks at me with such intensity that I feel all the things in my stomach churn and my thoughts go filthy. Memories flash past my eyes each time I close them.Memories of me and him in this world.Memories of me and him in a cave, happy sated smiles on our faces and our bodies totally unclad. We’re nude, and we’re comfortable.I see memories of deep and easy loving. Love that took me to the peak of pleasure, and threw me off the edge of my climax, again, and again, and again.My body begins to warm and Safira hits me on the arm, “For skies’ sake, Focus Adelaide. Are you sure you’re okay?”I turn to her and at the sight of familiar deeply tan skin and obsidian black eyes, a smile lights up my face. “I haven’t spent a day here and I’m already being mothered.”Safira grins and chuckles at that, and I feel light in my heart.She and Cain give
My heart melts with each passing moment i listen to Cain’s words and I almost can’t believe this is happening.My mind tells me if I blink he’ll go away, so I keep my eyes wide open, and I stare at him. I know it’s real when he stares at me in that same way.The lines of Cain’s face look new to me now. His warmth feels so familiar yet so alien. There’s an air around him that I can’t place, but I love every bit of it.I love it the way I love him, and when he leans in to kiss me again, I can feel the desperation in his touch. He’s as scared of me leaving as I am of him not being real in this moment. Finding him shouldn’t be this easy.It shouldn’t have been this easy, yet it was and I can’t seem to believe that.A sudden scream makes me cling to him like a frightened puppy until my brain realizes i know that voice.I know the texture of that squeall. I’ve heard that feminine tilt before.Safira’s scent invades my senses immediately and a warm body plasters itself to mine. She’s sobbing