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Chapter 12 : Dreams and Nightmares
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 13 : Blood on the Marble Floor
*Gemma*He was only six feet away from me. I could hear his heart pounding in his chest. Fueled by what emotion, I couldn't tell. But of course, Connor could too and interpreted it wrong."Alright, enough staring," he barked, jerking his head back. "They're mine, so don't let your lower brain think." I forced myself not to wrinkle my nose in total disgust at the comment."Give us a fake name at least," the Alpha sighed dramatically. "I like to address my prisoners by their birth name. It makes things more… intimate.""Darian works for now," the male said. "Darian. Clever thing thinks he can fool me with a Niburgh name," crooned Connor, patting "Darian's" cheek aggressively, making him wince and groan in pain as the slap aggravated his injuries. My body tensed further. Raisa was squeezing my wrist so hard it hurt. But I knew if she didn't keep me in place I would do something stupid.Connor looked and sounded crazed, breathless as if excited. "Have you ever heard o
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 14 : Leverage
*Gemma*It was a lesson all shifters knew whether their country was at peace or not: never cross a possessive male. Even more important: never cross a possessive Alpha.I saw terror clear the bleariness in Darian's eyes as quick as a blink. "Gemma—"I yelped when Connor grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me away from Darian and throwing me to the ground. This time, my elbows slammed into the marble. Pain jarred through my nerves. "Gemma!" Raisa cried out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her crawl toward me. Her hand was an inch away from me when Connor kicked her in the chest, and she collapsed backward. I screamed, my throat rasped raw, overwhelmed by fresh horror. "No—"Connor crouched down, blocking my view of Raisa, his face inches from mine. He reeked of blood, sweat, meat on his hot breath when he growled, "I saw that smile, little wolf. Have you met him before? Do you know who he is?"I shook my head. "No.""'No' what?""Don't tell him anything,"
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 15 : Plunging the Knife
*Gemma*Do it. If you can't kill him, at least stab him.If a big male like him could move, I could move faster.I kicked out with all the force I had—my heel collided with Connor's jaw, forcing his head back. He grunted and almost fell to the side. It was the two seconds I needed to twist and snatch the knife hilt. Somehow I found my footing and was already creeping away from him, pointing the knife. The best-case scenario would be for him to run straight into it.Connor rose to his feet, and it was one of the most lethal things I'd ever seen. It was so wolf-like, so predatory, and I felt as small and weak as a rabbit. But when he curled his lip, baring thick canines, I steeled myself. No. I was a predator too. I would not be a victim of a tyrant like him.I bared my teeth too. Connor didn't seem affected in the slightest. He just kept advancing slowly. "Tell me what deal you and Haveleok made," I demanded, forcing my arm not to tremble."Not just yet, little o
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 16 : Banter
*Gemma*"I'm the picture of health," Kael said with an involuntary cough.I scoffed and held out my hand for him to take. "I'm not very worldly, but I'm pretty sure being beat like a beef flank isn't normal."Raisa was pacing, looking torn between miffed and worried, her hand resting on her stomach. "Pick it up, you two."I helped Kael to his feet as much as I could, my arms out as he gathered his balance in case I needed to catch him again—I hoped I didn't—until he regained his footing. He swayed, and I worried he would pass out from blood loss. But he seemed to manage and hold his own. He caught sight of Raisa. "At least you're okay," he said to her.She shot him a sour look despite his kind tone. "Kicked in several places does not count as 'okay,' but thank you anyway."Kael glanced at me questioningly and I mouthed, 'She's pregnant.'His eyes—eye, rather, one of them being swollen nearly shut—went wide, and then his brows knitted, suddenly troubled. "This situation
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 17 : He Sacrificed Himself for Her
*Kael*I didn't expect the mystery female from the Niburgh square to be so… irksome. Though she definitely thought the same about me. Especially after what I felt—what I knew she felt too—in the throne room. I could only have described it as a rope—no, it was less abrasive than that. A ribbon, maybe. It wrapped itself around my heart like a snake squeezing its prey, but I could sense its other end just faded into darkness and it wanted to find something in it. Rather, someone.When I saw her standing in front of me against all odds, looking stricken in a skimpy nightgown, the ribbon seemed to rest at her feet, no longer squeezing. I was so rocked that I couldn't help but breathe, "You." When I heard her name, I felt delirious—more than I already was—with relief. Gemma Brooks. She was alive and real and…And we were likely in mortal danger. Well, maybe just me, as she was the one looking pampered while I was beaten to a pulp.I needed to stay alive. For Rian, for Jerah, Ja
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 18 : Time to Rest
*Gemma*It was hard to trust someone to help you escape from a fortress, and harder to trust them when they were feet away from driving us over a cliff.I screamed Kael's name, the sound belting out of my throat. He slammed on the brakes. I heard and felt the ground beneath the heavy car start to crumble. "Back up!" "I know!" Kael yelled, putting the car in reverse and slamming the gas.Raisa and I were hurled forward into the back of the front seats—and then into each other as he wrenched the wheel, careening us to the side. As I righted myself, I glimpsed an army of Epsilon coming toward us headed by Connor and Cillian."Drive!""I know!"Kael slammed on the gas, and in seconds flat we were speeding. It wouldn't be long before other cars were on our tail, but we were lucky that Bryn happened to choose this monster of a tank. It was already eating land; the army would be as small as ants in just a few more seconds.I slouched in the backseat. "I hope you can drive.
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 19 : Avoiding the Subject
*Gemma*I flung the quilt off me and started to hurl myself off the bed, but Kael stopped me by sitting on its edge with an exhausted laugh. "You're alive," I said, unable to keep the disbelief out of my voice, even as relief flooded my veins. I could breathe normally again. "Miraculously. I'm glad you don't sound disappointed.""I am," said Raisa behind us as she turned on the gas lamp on the wall, throwing a decent amount of light into the room. "You don't mean that," I protested, twisting around. She'd sat up, and I assumed she was overheating in the desert weather because she was only wearing the "bra" Seri had given her up top—just a few strips of cloth banded around her chest. Reflexively I looked at her exposed stomach. There was a faint bruise where Connor had kicked her. Kael laughed again under his breath. "It's alright. She can be as mad as she wants at me. When we're all better I'll let you have a swing at me.""Oh, you'll let me," Raisa snapped sarc
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 20 : Jealousy
*Gemma*Seri led us out a back door to a narrow alley that Kael barely fit into. We walked sideways crab-style to the corner where she peered down each way. She waved her hand to follow, and we darted across a small street to the next narrow alleyway."I'm really sick of alleys," Kael muttered."I'm sick of doors," I added.We froze when we heard Epsilon shouting and banging on doors. Each knock made me wince, bringing a flash of memory of Hazelstone. Kael was behind me. When he touched my shoulder, I flinched and nearly slammed my head into the wall. "Are you okay?""I'm fine."Then all of a sudden we were back on the outskirts of Dust. Directly ahead, Ferio was waving from our stolen car. I could've wept with joy. I took Raisa's hand, and we sprinted full speed to it, not hesitating to climb into the backseat. Kael got in the passenger side. Seri stayed in the alley and waved goodbye.I didn't want to shout to gain attention, but I mouthed it and waved back empath
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Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 56 : My Mate, My Love
*Kael*If anyone had asked me before the war what I would be doing when I turned twenty-eight years old, I would not have said marrying my mate who came all the way from the Eastern continent. I wouldn't have said that she didn't come all the way so much as was kidnapped, nor that she would single-handedly end a twelve-year war.I wouldn't have been able to comprehend the pride and love and wonder—and occasional irritation at her stubbornness—that swelled in my chest and made it hard to breathe every time I even thought of her.She found me as a bloodied and broken lost heir who couldn't fathom ever returning to his homeland. Now, thanks to her, I was a king of a renewed city wearing all white under the night sky in the Moon Goddess's temple.And she was across from me wearing a blue dress the color of the sea—what I assumed the ocean looked like, having never seen the same one she knew—looking like she could rival the beauty of the Goddess herself.I loved that dress.
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 55 : Two Halves of the Same Soul
*Gemma*I rose to my knees. He lifted his pelvis, his tip brushing my damp entrance. I helped him inside, and together we thrust until he was fully inside me. Tears sprang to my eyes, but it wasn't the pleasurable pain, but the importance of our act of love. Kael sat up, arms scooping under my ass, and I locked my legs around his waist. His face, warm and damp and bristly, buried in the crook of my neck and shoulder. Another shiver went through me at the light scrape of his teeth and tongue over my sensitive skin. My core burned and ached. The ribbon connecting our hearts was the shortest it had ever been, our closeness a beautiful reprieve, making me realize how strained it was over the past few days despite our proximity. But mates were two halves of the same soul, and with our bodies connected, we were joined in more ways than one.It made me want to tell him how much I loved him.And yet, when his teeth started to put pressure on the flesh of my shoulder, I pulled ou
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 54 : Get Inside Me, Mate
*Gemma*I hoped with all my soul that we would all get the chance to eat and rest, giving our skin a break from the sweltering sun. Apparently, that was too much to ask for. The leaders spoke some more, straightening out individual plans as well as a unit. I zoned out for most of it, which I really shouldn't have, selfishly figuring my friends would catch me up when the time came for the information to become of use. I was too busy imagining what the reunion with my family would be like. I couldn't even decide what I was feeling right now, much less how I would truly feel in the moment. Was I angry about their shitty plans and arrangements? Was I still completely and furiously baffled by their decision to let my sixteen-year-old cousin take on the Beast of the West almost completely by herself? Would I lash out at Lynn for duping me so easily and thoroughly? Was I deliriously relieved that I would see them again at all—especially my parents—after thinking I lost them? Or
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 53 : Full Circle
*Kael*I had to remind myself that I barely knew my mate.I had no idea how Gemma would handle grief. And if that's what she wasn't feeling right now, then I didn't know how she handled the aftermath of a death. I just had to reassure her that she didn't actually kill Connor. He did that himself.We were all rocked by his last act. It kept replaying in my mind, but the more it did, the less real it seemed.It was the same response I had to my brother's and father's deaths. The more I relived it, the more distant I became from it—from the pain, the guilt, the helplessness and hopelessness… Eventually, it just sat in the recesses of my mind waiting for me to bring it out and be crushed by it all over again.Twelve years was a long time. I had come to terms with losing my family, even if Elara's two years ago was still a little fresh.I could come to terms with the death of my greatest enemy much quicker and with far less remorse.And I would make sure my pack would see t
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 52 : Who Will Do the Deed?
*Gemma* I couldn't do it. I couldn't stomach this monster. He was sickening and cruel, and the last thing he ever deserved was kindness or forgiveness.Waiting twelve years—and willing to wait longer—for the perfect, precise revenge was just… unbearable to think about. My mind couldn't wrap itself around why Connor's mind would think any of that was okay or justifiable.All the while he was laughing, basking in his own enjoyment, getting a kick out of our shock and disgust. I clutched Raisa's knife; Kael held Connor over the well wall; Cari stood trembling with anger. "Just do it!" she barked furiously at Kael. "Throw him down that damn well! If you don't, I will!"Kael was hesitating. I didn't know why. He hated Connor more than anything, and abhorrently, Connor was right: we would never get this chance again. We had thought it was impossible, and now it was happening, so why weren't we utilizing this chance?No, I did know why.The Alpha of Moonwake did not want to
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 51 : The Tyrant's Fall from Grace
*Kael*I never imagined I would feel pity for the tyrant who killed my family and destroyed my city.I viewed the Beast of the West on a bloody, cracked pedestal surrounded by the bodies of hundreds of innocents, laughing as he basked in his own strength. He was always perfect: tanned muscle, neat hair, intelligent but cruel eyes—just a calculating monster who never misstepped in his conquering.But now, the pedestal had cracked in half, and Connor Herrick was falling from grace. I had been terrified of having my throat slit after he somehow managed to ambush me in that small dwelling. I was so shamefully stunned that I did what he'd asked: call Gemma. Lure her straight to him. If I was terrified for my own life, it was nothing compared to what I felt for Gemma. I'd lost and found her already. I couldn't lose her again.I'd done what he asked me to do not for him but for my own selfish reasons. I'd wanted to see her one more time before he killed me.Now, I felt no fear
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 50 : Stopping the Enemy's Heart
*Gemma*Bly's report on Connor's state was an understatement. He wasn't just a wreck. He was deranged and unhinged.It was evident the second I saw him with Kael pinned to the floor on his stomach, Connor's booted foot digging between his shoulder blades, a similar scene to the throne room situation, holding a fistful of my mate's hair in one hand while the other held the blade to his throat. Harsh rays of sunlight through another window glinted off the metal.Connor wheezed a laugh. "Do you recognize this knife, Gemma?"Like the rest of us, he was a mess of sand and blood. Unlike us, his eyes were bright and bloodshot with madness. His breath was rattling in his lungs, and he was hunched over as if he couldn't fully straighten his spine. "I remember," I said slowly, knowing that a single word could make him go off. And with my mate's life suddenly on the line, I had to choose them very carefully. I met Kael's eyes. They were wide with fear—but not for him. For me.
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 49 : The Breeder Returns
*Gemma*I never imagined my uncles could be so conniving.But that didn't matter. If we could make them happy by eliminating a threat to them and the rest of Oceantide, even the entire East—hell, the rest of the West—then fine. Kael and everyone else who was about to fight alongside us; none of us were doing it to satisfy anyone. We were going to war with the intent to free the country from slavery. We were going to save villages and cities, protect daughters and sisters, and prove there could be futures for all without the threat of fear."You just might start a revolution, Gemma Brooks."Maybe so. Maybe I really was the reason an army was standing behind me as I stood beside one of the most important Alphas of this lifetime. Would any of this happen if I hadn't plunged that knife into Connor Herrick's spine?Maybe, maybe not.All that mattered was that it was happening, and there was no going back. Conviction was everything. This was not the time or place for hesita
Stolen by the Rival Alpha Chapter 48 : To Victory!
*Kael*"I don't see anyone," Gemma said, leaning forward and squinting past the sun's glare and swirling sand. She was right. The cars weren't running and there was no sign of life. Izar stopped and parked, waving out the window in what had to be a signal to the rest of the caravan. We sat in uncertain silence. "It was not part of the plan," Izar said bitterly, and I now noticed the family resemblance: my mother liked things orderly and according to plan or expectation. "But sometimes you have to just wing it. Alpha Kael, do you have a suggestion for our next move?"Everyone turned to me, and I forgot that Alphas needed to make those kinds of calls. I was the one shifters would be waiting orders from, asking tough questions, hoping—and expecting—encouraging speeches to lift morale and give reason to follow me into battle.I'd barely gotten the chance to practice. Now, I was thrown straight into the thick of it.I looked at my mate, her eyes burning with determinatio
