Oliver POV:
So this is my mother’s new game, she tries to force me reject my mate, she knows that I’ll do fucking anything to protect her from the danger that race is posing. That event might be nothing more than a mere formality for a she-wolf, but for a human is an entirely different story. And it’s a double-edged sword, not only Kylie could die, but if that dreadful scenario happens, I’ll also be as good as dead inside.
I believed that she cared about me, about her family, but I don’t know at this stage. She’s like an entirely different person, every day surprising me with new plots.
I can’t understand her anymore, she had completely lost it. I tried to deny this even to myself, but my mother is a public danger. She messed with my fucking brain, locked my brother in the dungeons and made my mate fight in the arena. And only the Goddess knows what else she did that I am not aware of.
I’m done finding excuses for her behavior, I’m going to have a lit
Oliver POV: She was right, I was wasting my time trying to make her regain something at least remotely similar to consciousness. That spell overpowered her own will long time ago, she just can’t see it. Means that she needs a little push from my part. I am pacing in the room, making holes in the floor, waiting for Blake to come and have a talk. It’s challenging for him to leave the premises of Killian territory and come here undetected, especially in such a short notice. I hope he’ll make it, for right now he’s all I got. “Stop that, you’re making me even more nervous!” Kylie demands sounding tense. Fuck, I’m a useless piece of shit. “I can’t help it, baby! It’s my fucking fault for not seeing earlier what my mother has become.” I blame myself for not being there for her more when my father died. I barely managed to get through with my own grieving and I was not the best son, probably. I should have done more, I should have been more p
Oliver POV: It’s fucking happening. Kylie is about to spend three days in the forest, all by herself. Not one of our packs’ members is allowed to set foot in the forest, either to help her or attack her, Killian surely would have loved to send his elite soldiers to hunt her, but still, there might be rogues out there. Or worse, the demon wolves might make an appearance. Hell, if she is lucky, there would be just feral animals lurking in the forest, if that can be considered luck, of course. “Are you really going to be like that?” Her anguished voice pulls me from my own thoughts, only to meet her penetrating gaze filled with agony and disappointment. It’s fucking torture, to see her like this. It’s killing me from inside. I feel useless, in fact, I am fucking useless. I thought about taking my mother’s offer to reject her, erase her memories of me and let her live peacefully. This way she will be safe and maybe live a long happy life.
Kylie POV:I glance one more time at Oliver, my heart hammering loudly against my chest.Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.He leans down and settles the tracker on my ankle, I am supposed to wear it for them to follow my moves. It is equipped with a countdown timer as well, he sets it at 72 hours.So those three days are counted to the last second.“It’s your last change to give up, if you want.” His voice matches the pain in his eyes.I shake my head in disagreement and then taste his lips one last time.“I said ‘Go’!” An angry voice behind me makes me roll my eyes in annoyance.Oh just give me a break, I’m on my own fucking time!With no further delay, I bury my fear deep inside and start running through the spine-chilling forest. I run against time as fast as I can, adrenaline is pounding in my veins, I need to find a shelter before it gets dark, my life depe
Oliver POV: Everybody stopped from what they were doing, they all look perplexed by the unexpected development of this event. Even my mother seems affected, confusion flashes in her eyes, she puts down her glass of champagne and stares at the map. There is a reason for all this sudden interest. My pack and every pack that I know tried at least once to claim that territory, but nobody was able to even get close to it. Though it is marked on the map, each time we edge near that area, we just find ourselves going in circle, we have never once been able to push forward. Everyone that attempted to find the land of the damned just passed near it, so rumors have it that it was enchanted one thousand years ago, when a human girl destined to a werewolf alpha died there, betrayed by her mate and his kind. Of course, those might be just made up stories, it’s not like someone from one thousand years ago is here to confirm it. We do live a longer life than
Kylie POV: My body is in full panic mode, I hold my breath in stupefaction as she falls to the ground. Despite my instincts that scream to get out of this place, I take a few steps to where she fell and reach a trembling hand to check her pulse. There is none. The woman is cold as ice, her skin the color of the porcelain, her long black hair styled in loose curls, she is wearing some dress from centuries ago that gives her an aristocratic air. Even with her eyes close, I can tell that she is stunning beautiful to say the least. And that statue she was trapped into was sculpted after her appearance. Poor soul, how did she get here? Who did this to her? Then out of nowhere, her chest is rising, she gasps for air. Next thing she opens her eyes, they have the color of the sky in a stormy day, a cold and murderous aura radiating from her figure, the shock coursing through me drives me to lose my balance and fall on my back. I start
Oliver POV:My body is fuming with rage, I slam my fist in a wall in anger, all eyes are on me and I couldn’t care less.‘He’s gone.’ My brother’s words are resonating in my ears, my brain cannot make sense of anything. I feel anger at my own foolishness.How could I have been so stupid?There must be someone that has some type of information about the witch boy, and where else can you find all the packs if not here, celebrating my fucking nightmare, dancing on my dire misery.I try to keep my mind clear and my rage in place despite the strong emotions I am experiencing, but it’s not working. Before I could conceive a strategy, my impulse and my despair get the best of me, I begin interrogating all the guests, asking if whether or not they knew Jasper’s identity or where to find him.Some seem annoyed by my inquiries, but most of them appear to be actually worried, making promises to provide assistan
Killian POV:“And you mean that human girl might give birth to the half-blood from the prophecy?” I scoff, what I am hearing is utterly impossible, I refuse to believe it.After all the efforts I made to take control of the demon wolves, the supreme sacrifice I had to perform to make them obey my commands for no great power comes without one, after everything, does she want me to believe that a simple half-blood offspring would overpower me? Maybe when hell freezes over.I gave up something valuable, if Kendra would know what really happened to her mother, if she would know what happened that day, she would never speak to me again, or worse.“What I know is that the one thousand year seal was shattered, my magic is slowly crumbling, I can feel it in my bones, and it happened the moment she entered the land of the damned.”Shock is coursing through me, I drop myself on the couch, there are too many things that I might l
Kylie POV:I take a step back, my brain struggling to come up with a solution, but it’s clear that even if I give it my best shot, I cannot escape her. Maybe I just have to surrender, after all, I’ve been running for hours and I am exhausted to say the least. It’s not good for the baby either, my angel needs to be healthy and strong.After drawing the conclusion that I have to confront her, I push forward, closing the door behind me and walking to the table where she is, pulling a chair and leaning on it, I do need some rest.“Good choice. You had no chance in outrunning me anyway.” She declares nonchalantly, as if reading my mind.Can she do that? No, there’s no way, I am just panicking.“I guess you’re right.” I utter.“I’m sorry about earlier. Everything was a blur in my head, but I am starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I still don’t have the whole pic
Oliver’s POV:I watched in amazement as the woman who resembled my mate stood facing the demon werewolf that was about to attack her.The tension in the air was palpable, and I prepared myself for a fight. I felt my own transformation start, my body shifting and contorting as I prepared to defend myself and the woman who I thought was my fated mate.But then she spoke, and I realized that something was off. As strange as it seemed, this woman looked like Kylie, but she wasn’t Kylie. I could tell by the way she moved, by the way she smelled. She didn’t have my mate’s heavenly scent.Just as the werewolf was about to lunge, she called out a name. The werewolf stopped mid-air, its body contorting and shifting until it was no longer a beast, but a man. He looked at her with wonder and awe, and I could feel the tension dissipate from the air.As they locked eyes, I could feel the connection between them. It was like a bond that could not be broken, a bond forged by fate. I could see the lo
Alpha Killian POV:“What did you do, Sandra? Why did you leave my daughter to the demon wolves? Are you out of your fucking mind?” I snap at the damn witch, squeezing her shoulders in a way that I’m aware it will leave a bruise. If something were to happen to my precious daughter, I would kill her mercilessly. Everything I did was for Kendra, and I would never endanger her like this witch did.NEVER.To be honest, what she said earlier hurt me. She even declared that she wished for me to be dead instead of her weakling mother. I only tried to protect her legacy, enhance her power and authority. I know it’s not her fault, I don’t blame her. Clearly, that mate of hers brainwashed her. Why did the Moon Goddess mocked me by pairing my daughter with that good for nothing omega?I hope he gets killed by the demon wolves. This way I would get rid of him once and for all, and with him out of the picture, Kendra will be forced to follow my guidance. An odd feeling of panic surges through my
Oliver POV:I slam my fist into the nearest wall, I don’t give a fuck about Killian’s return. I should have spent more time with Kylie, instead of worrying that the bastard arrived home. I should have shared with her all the information that I have gathered.I sigh deeply trying to calm my raging nerves, at least I had the chance to hold her in my arms again, to know that she is safe, but now… Now I’m left with gut-wrenching pain in the pit of my stomach and a desire to kill everyone that stands in my way.“Oliver!” Kendra casts me a reprimanding glare. “We need to leave. Now!”“No! I know that he’s your father, but if he had anything to do with Kylie disappearance, I’m going to fucking rip him into pieces, Kendra!”“You will do no such thing, Oliver! Compose yourself, dammit! There are too many things at stake, we need a strategy, and you’re acting on your i
Kylie POV: I blink nervously as I stare at her in utter disbelief. I might have avoided studying her intensely until now, as her mood swings frightened me, yet I can still register the changes in her appearance. A knot forms in my stomach, her long black hair that she used to wear in curls is not dark nor wavy anymore, but covered in ash shade highlights. Her eyes the color of the sky turned almost silver. Cold, metallic, focused. And there is something more. My heart drops from my chest when recognition dawns on me, she resembles someone. She resembles me. As if we were family. Sisters. Well that would be highly unlikely, as she was trapped here for one thousand years. But maybe we do have some sort of connection? Oliver said he has some information to share with me, yet our connection broke suddenly. “The way you used to look has changed.” I did my best to talk normally, with only a hint of curiosity i
Kylie POV: My heart stops in my chest, am I imagining things? Is this real? I blink nervously trying to breathe less and avoid making a sound, I have to know if I’ve heard right or if my brain decided to play cruel tricks on me. “Kylie, baby, can you hear me?” Oliver’s husky voice is penetrating my mind, calling out to my soul and driving my heart to jump from my chest out of enthusiasm. A tingling sensation is quick to spread through my body. My soul is like an ocean, tumultuous and raging with the need to feel him near me, touch his skin. It’s not even sexually my need, more like an affectionate kind of way. “Baby!?” His voice once again is destroying my composure, it holds strong emotions, love, longing and despair and it hits me in the depth of my soul. I might be going crazy, but even so, I want to believe that this is happening, that I didn’t obsess to the point that I started hearing things.
Oliver POV:“So you’re working with Killian! I should have known! Did he demand you to trick Kylie? To trick me?” My blood is reaching boiling point, I have to fight the urge to beat him to death.Slow and cruel, painful death. I would have killed the motherfucker the moment I registered his presence, if not for the fact that I might get information out of him. I don’t care what methods I'll be forced to use, I’ll break him. In fact, the more violent, the better. I am dying to burn up some steam, my wolf agrees with me completely.“She is such a gentle soul, she trusted you blindly! I trusted you and you betrayed me!” I punch him in the liver, and it takes all the willpower in the world to stop at just that.No, never mind, I throw another punch to his face, and next thing I hear is his nose cracking. He had it coming and better be grateful that I have some self control left.“Oliver!” Ken
Motherfucker!Even more mystery.“What’s wrong?” Kendra asks, dissecting me as if she’s trying to penetrate my mind and suck the information out.“This fucking design, it was on Kylie’s pendant. The one that Jasper gave her, the one with the compass inside, the same compass that guided her to the land of the damned.”She studies the design with interest, recognition dawning on her, or so it seems.“Ohh! Now that I delve into it, I’ve seen it before, a long time ago.”“Where?” I grab her shoulders and squeeze them roughly, until I notice Blake fuming as ready to engage. I let go of her. “Sorry!” I mutter.
Oliver POV: To say I was surprised to see Kendra and Blake together is an understatement, I was beyond shocked. Yet right now, what counts is to find a solution to save Kylie. Kylie. My love, my other half, my life. It seems like ages passed since I last held her into my arms. Everytime I think about her, my heart sinks from my chest, a stabbing pain is throbbing in my head and I find it difficult to
Oliver POV:Nothing. We got absolutely nothing.I swear I’m losing my fucking mind and I don’t know what to do or whom to ask for help. The ones that I can request assistance from are already here, by my side.I have no witch acquaintances beside that Sandra, and she vanished along with Killian in the blink of an eye, leaving me with no choice other than to presume they are involved somehow. In fact, I’m sure they have some connection with everything that’s happening.Then there is Blake. I can tell that he is more than what meets the eye, but I have no idea how to reach him. I am surprised that he didn’t show up by himself for I’m convinced the news about my mate being lost has already spread like wildfire through the forest. He helped her before, won’t he help her now as well?I’m inwardly screaming in frustration, it’s already been a fucking day, what if something happened to her?No n