Here is the first one. I am just finishing the second one and it should be up in an hour or two 💜🔪 I have drawn the winners for the Paperback plus merch. Congratulations to Jenny, Usha_Parihar, and Errica Maiden. Find me in my s.oci. al to see the video of the draw plus for the winners to get in touch with me 💜
YOUNG ALPHA CASSIDY. (A few moments ago). I couldn’t keep a straight face as I looked at Catherine and Uncle Jake. My heart bled not just for Catherine because the maniac Maddox was here but also for what Uncle Jake was feeling. Dad would always tell me that my pain was always his biggest pain, and seeing Uncle Jake proved that. He had always been so tough, like Dad, but he was breaking down tonight. I couldn’t watch them anymore. I quietly turned around and walked toward the empty corridor, back to Catherine’s room. I closed the door behind me and grabbed my phone from my purse. Walker answered the phone after just one ring and talked right away. “I think I will be late. I will be there for more or less one and a half hours.” I closed my eyes and calculated the time. “The arena will open in less than one hour,” I said in a low voice. “I know. I’m driving fast. If they put my name on it, I can rush inside the arena as soon as I arrive.” “Okay… I’ll see you here then,” I said
BETA XANDER. I smelled trouble the moment Luna Charina entered our territory and requested a meeting with Maddox. I was lucky that the Alpha let me stay in the office while she spoke with him so that I could catch what they were planning to do. But as usual, I couldn’t do anything. With no men and no trusted people to work with me, it would be harder to stop him. I didn’t even have any idea if Maddox believed me at all that my loyalty was with him. All I knew was that I had to be careful, or I might end up dead like his former Beta. So I kept playing along, waiting for the right moment to strike while making sure I softened the blow for everyone around us. And this time, he was aiming for Lady Catherine and Lady Zoey at the Claiming. “Make sure to enlist our names under Catherine. Take note of the men under it as well, so we know who to target. I will check the list later to see it for myself, but put my name now, so if they see it, then whoever plans to add himself there will bac
NADINE.My mind told me to be careful, while my heart wanted me to trust the man in front of me, but I knew I didn’t trust anyone. I couldn’t — especially someone related to Maddox. But while my heart and my mind clashed, I knew I had to have a taste of him. So before I could stop myself, I grabbed him and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. After tonight, I knew I would be seeing him again because there was no way I would let him go - Maddox or not. I think I wanted to be around this man. I just needed to be careful, so I would not fall for his or Maddox’s trap. But while I was in this game, I might as well enjoy it. "Then don’t enter the arena for me," I said in a hoarse voice. It took so much of me to say those words, as I wanted just to keep kissing him, but I couldn’t let my lust overpower me. I needed to help Catherine.He stopped kissing my cheek and pulled away, and uncertainties flitted in his eyes. "I can’t. I have a duty to fulfill," he told me in a low, defeated vo
CATHERINE. If I counted right, fifteen females stood up in the middle of the propped-up stage that leads to an exclusive pathway to the entrance of the forest — the first stage of the Claiming Arena. It was no wonder we were this many, as the two Claiming before this were canceled. But it looked like this would push through even if the meteors fell in here tonight. I could see Alice in my peripheral vision as if she could not stay still. Two females were between us, and I was sure she was just as nervous as I was. If we were on good terms, I would have helped ease her, but I hadn’t forgotten how she attacked Amara while pregnant. So I just ignored her and kept my focus straight ahead. My heart thundered as the lights around us dimmed and the spotlights went to the stage. My eyes squinted as I tried to look for Tyler in the dark. And I found him looking directly at me, as I wanted him to. ‘I know you are nervous, but I don’t want to end the night without telling you how beautifu
TYLER. “Take one shot for your nerves.” Jace handed me a glass of whiskey as he stood beside me in the middle of the ballroom, in front of the stage. The Alpha Females due for Claiming, including Zoey and Alice, were already up there. But Catherine was still in her room. I chuckled and took it from him before raising my glass. ‘Take home the pack’s Beta Female.’ He said in my head. We clinked our glasses before he pointed at me and spoke with his mouth. “That’s an Alpha’s order.” They were just words, not an Alpha’s command, but it was one of those requests I vowed not to break for my Alpha. And for myself. “Yes, Alpha.” I nodded before taking a full swig of the whiskey and handing it to the server that passed by. Ledger had arrived with his Beta, Wentworth, and both listed their names under Catherine. Walker’s pack was just next door to Green Valley, but he was at the far end of his territory when they asked him for help. According to Bellatrix, he had yet to enter the border
ALPHA JACE.I should be sitting already on the spectator bleachers, but I needed to make sure Andrew would be able to get in, so I let Amara go with our moms and the rest of our families while Alonso and I remained inside the ballroom, looking at the males as they were confined in one big hall leading to the outside forest.I sent Hammond to check on Andrew just to make sure no one would corner him and stop him from entering the arena. Bellatrix went with him, and she reported back that the Beta was vomiting until nothing was coming out. But he couldn’t stop barfing, and he looked pale already.Bellatrix was concerned that something was wrong with the food they served, but I was leaning more toward the idea that someone wanted Andrew sick. We rarely get food poisoning from simple food problems. As shifters, our immunity was way stronger than humans. So I knew something was off.The signal sounded, alerting everyone that the females were already inside the forest and the males were abo
CATHERINE. “She’s mine to claim. Let her go.” Martin said, almost roaring as his eyes dilated. “Alice gets to decide who she wants to be mated with.” I snapped at him. “This is an arranged marriage, and you have nothing to do with this! Give me my mate!” “Alice…” I said in a soft voice as I stepped back, knowing she was stepping back as well. “One more time, tell me. Do you want him or not?” “I don’t want him.” She said with a trembling voice. I knew she was not faking it. Alice, for the life of me, had never shown any weakness until tonight. “Then run,” I said softly, my eyes not leaving Martin, who was slowly moving toward us. “But you…” She said. “Run!” I growled, and Alice sprang to her feet, taking Martin by surprise. He was about to launch after her, but I was faster. I was already running toward him as Alice ran in the opposite direction. I gripped the hem of my dress and leaped high, extending my right leg, and my foot landed on his chest. Martin growled loudly a
BETA XANDER.The man in front of me didn’t have an Alpha aura, but he definitely wasn’t just an ordinary Alpha male.A Beta like me.I slowly raised my palms, hoping he got the message that I was not up for a duel before I spoke to him. “I meant no harm.”“Of course you do. Or you won’t be here with your Alpha.” He said arrogantly.I swallowed. He knew. He was here for Catherine. “I will say it again. I meant no harm.”“Then leave the arena.” “I can’t.”“You won’t.” He said almost immediately as his eyes dilated, and I knew he would be attacking me soon.“Do you know Nadine?” I asked, trying to divert his anger.His forehead creased as he scoffed. “I know her. We grew up together. What do you want from her?”A pang of jealousy hit my chest at the protectiveness in his voice.“What’s your name?” I asked, shoving any negative thoughts in my head. Maybe they grew up in the same pack, and that was it. But I couldn’t remember the name of the Beta of the Crimson Pack.“I didn’t come here fo