VIOLET
The accident, glass being crunched as someone walked over it, and the voice saying to take care of them were the last things that I remembered before everything went dark.
My body felt like it had been through hell, but I supposed that it had given everything that happened in such a short period of time.
I attempted to take stock of everything that I could before I opened my eyes, uncertain about what would be waiting for me.
My body was laying on something soft, surprising me because the assholes hadn’t seemed to care about my comfort when they manhandled me. It would appear to be a bed that I was laying on if the silkiness of its sheets was any indication. At least they were good quality. That right there was a plus.
Why would they care about placing me on a bed? I got the impression that they were elitest bastards that thrived off of the pain that they inflicted on those they deemed to be unworthy.
I was focusing on their glaring lack of personalities that could be at least stomached instead of what I had overheard about myself and Mom. Everything was making my head feel like it would combust at any point.
‘And you’re certain that she’s not human?’
Those words bounced around inside of my skull, but they refused to make any sense whatsoever. Of course, I was human. Those assholes were just delusional. That had to be it.
My fingers flexed as I remembered what happened when Greg and Ron both went flying. It had to be a coincidence, right? Sure, I didn’t believe in coincidences, but I might have to change my stance on it. Appearing insane was not on my bucket list of things to do before I died. Speaking of that list, I should add another bucket goal: don’t die.
The light was a bit bright, so my eyes immediately closed right back again. Ugh. This wasn’t helping the throbbing headache pounding away at my skull.
“No, she hasn’t woken up yet,” I heard a female say.
I did everything in my power to keep my breathing and heart rate under control so that she didn’t realize I was actually awake. There was no telling how long I could keep her in the dark, but I would do everything within my ability to stay off of other people’s radar for as long as possible. It was a damn good thing that she hadn’t seen my eyes open.
“It’ll take however long it takes.” There was a pause. “Yes, I understand. I’m going to go grab some things that’ll be necessary once she awakens.”
She must’ve been speaking on the phone. I heard her bid farewell to the other party.
The sound of a door opening and closing caught my attention. I waited for a count of ten before my eyes popped back open.
Not certain what I had expected, but this room looked nicer than anything I had ever been in before. Everything looked polished and expensive. Part of me worried that I would dirty it up.
Was this a tactic to psych out their captives? Give them a false sense of peace before ripping it away from their clutches and throwing them into a medieval torture chamber? Now, that would be true torture. Going from wonderfully silky sheets to a hard concrete floor. The inhumanity of that thought.
I shook my head to clear away the unnecessary thoughts. Then I forced my body up, knowing that I needed to disappear before the woman got back. There was no telling what she felt would be needed once I was awake, but I wasn’t going to be waiting around to find out.
At least I was clothed, making me wonder who changed me out of the other clothes. Now, I was wearing a plain black tee and a pair of sweatpants. A pleasant scent wafted up from the shirt. No idea what cologne it was, but it was nice. It wasn’t a focal point at the moment though.
My cheeks heated in embarrassment that someone saw me like that. A shudder went down my spine when I remembered how the guy had groped me. I had felt powerless, which was something that I never wanted to feel again. Somehow, I’d make sure that happened.
My heart clenched when I thought about Daphne. What would Ron tell her about me being gone? A tear rolled down my cheek at the thought of my sweet sister hurting.
I had to get it together if I wanted to make it back to her. No matter how long it took, no matter what it entailed, I would find Daphne again and we’d run the fuck away to some place where nobody would ever find us. Had I did that in the first place, we wouldn’t be where we were right now. Hindsight was a bitch.
I blew out my breath, needing to focus on the situation at hand.
Whose voice was the one that I heard before I blacked out? Who was he in relation to the assholes themselves? There just wasn’t enough information to go on.
My legs felt like jelly when I swung them over the bed and attempted to stand up. Thankfully, my arms caught me before I kissed the floor. It took another minute for me to feel stable enough to move slowly.
“You can do this, Vi,” I whispered, trying to pump myself up. “You’re not going down without a fight.”
It would be helpful if that pressure and power thing worked on command. Imagine an enemy coming at you just to be whacked upside the head with the power. Bam, instant bitch slap. Oh, I could get behind that.
My nails dug into my palms in an attempt to give me something to focus on instead of the way that my heart was pounding. Anticipation and fear wove throughout my system, threatening to drown me. That adrenaline needed to be regulated unless I wanted to end up crashing, which would get me nowhere good.
I peeled the corner of the curtain away from the window. The sun was in the process of setting, so it provided enough light for me to see outside. Based on that, I was out of it for at least a day.
It looked like I was currently on the third floor, so jumping out of the window wouldn’t be advisable. Damn.
There appeared to be thick woods surrounding this place. That would provide coverage and other places to hide if I could make it out there. It was not ideal but the best option at the moment.
The biggest issue that I could see was the people that I saw milling about. I would definitely stand out between the way that I was dressed and the injuries that I was certain were visible. It was too damn bad that I didn’t have an invisibility cloak to don.
I ran a shaky hand through my hair. Well, I wasn’t going to get anywhere by staying in this room. I’d rather go down fighting than wave a white flag. Fuck those assholes who thought that they could take me to wherever the hell they had planned to.
There were two great questions that were on my mind right now. One, where the hell was I? Two, was I in danger? Based on the events that happened since the diner, I would have to assume that I was.
I could totally go for a blue TARDIS showing up right about now. Either David Tennant or Matt Smith would do.
My eyes scanned the room, looking for a weapon. I wasn’t too picky about which one.
Aha! In one of the drawers was stationary. Papercuts hurt like a bitch, but it was the letter opener that caught my eye. It wasn’t overly sharp or anything, but it could be used as a weapon if need be. Anything was better than nothing.
Luck was on my side that there was nobody in the hallway. It was slow moving because I had to hold onto the wall, but it was better than nothing.
I heard footsteps approaching, so I ducked inside of an open room. Thankfully, it was empty. The door closed softly. I had my ear pressed up against it so that I could hear if anything was said.
“What are you going to do with her once she wakes up?” It was the same female from before.
“The same thing that we did with all of the others,” the gruff voice from the accident said.
Their voices faded, which was a good thing because my heart was pounding inside of my chest. What did they do with all of the others? What were they planning on doing with me?
Two deep breaths were taken before I opened the door and peeked out. Slipping outside, I made my way down the hallway. The cream-colored walls were lined with pictures as well as gold and bronze accents. It was objectively beautifully decorated.
“I don’t care! Find her.”
What were the chances that he meant someone else? One could hope at least.
I needed to do something, and I needed to do it quickly. I re-fucking-fused to be a prisoner and would do everything within my power to ensure that it never happened.
Violet and Enzo meet next.
ENZODad was just as wary as we assumed that he would be when it came to the situation surrounding Violet. It was filled with too many unknowns both about who she was and why they had her.Alpha Nico was known far and wide as a calculating bastard. He was feared by his enemies for a very good reason. He was a stickler for things being done a certain way. One such thing was assessing potential outside threats before they came into the pack. Normally, those seeking sanctuary were taken to temporary housing until they could be assessed properly. They were never just brought right into the packhouse like we did with her.What worked in Violet’s favor was the fact that she was saved from hunters.Dad held a small soft spot for those who have faced hunters ever since he rescued Mom after she was captured by them and kept for six long days. It had taken a long time for Mom to heal from the horrors that she faced there, but she did eventually heal.The only thing that Dad said was that we were
VIOLETGruff voice guy was a drop-dead sexy specimen of a male. So much so that it had temporarily caught me off-guard. Somehow, I had been able to hold an icy glare instead of drooling like an idiot.Things went downhill when other people showed up. I felt trapped, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to take them all on. Again, I had found myself wishing that the explosion bullshit would work on cue. Everything happened quickly but ended up with me agreeing to a talk. He did say that I could keep the letter opener, so I held onto it tightly.I smiled inwardly at the fact that I actually got a wound in on him. While it might not seem like a big accomplishment, seeing as it was just a superficial wound, it was a big deal for me. I was awfully proud of that fact. It felt great to fight back. I had no doubt that he could’ve mopped the floor with me, but he was just focused on evading my crappy moves.“Right in here, spitfire,” Niccolò said, holding the door open for me.I bared my teeth at hi
VIOLETHere went nothing…“You know how Yoda can use the Force? Well, that’s kind of what happened. Never had it happened before until the confrontation with my boss and then the one with Ron.”They didn’t seem to be freaking out or scoffing at the absurdity of it all. No, they looked intrigued. Did they actually believe me even without witnessing it?“Go on,” Niccolò encouraged me.Fuck it. I was just going to rip the Band-Aid off and tell them what Ron said and did. It’d be on them to decide whether or not they believed me.I told them what he had said about Mom and me. Enzo’s jaw clenched when I explained about him selling me off to the assholes. Niccolò smirked when he heard that I eluded them by sneaking out through my window. Yeah, I was proud of that bit too. Then I finished off with getting tossed into the SUV.It was silent for a couple of minutes while they took everything in. I saw their eyes go unfocused at the same time. It didn’t last longer than a minute, but it was real
VIOLETMy mind was officially blown wide open with the revelations that were shared with me.Looking outside gave me confirmation of the truth. I watched as a woman literally transformed into a wolf. There was absolutely denying it after witnessing that. I had told him to prove it because I truly thought that they were just messing around with me.I was a huge fan of books with supernatural origins. Fiction. That was its classification. It was amusing that werewolf fiction was my favorite genre to read. There were numerous times when I wished that worlds found amongst the turning pages were real.I almost wanted to laugh because of the direction that this discussion took.Nerves had taken a hold of me before we even began because I knew that our discussion would end in one of two ways. They’d either believe me or not. Therefore, they’d either help me or kick my ass to the curb. There had been no telling which one they’d choose, but I was thankful that they decided on the former option.
ENZOLooking at the interactions between my brother and Violet, one would think that they had been friends for a long time. Nobody would assume that they had just very recently met.Niccolò’s personality tended to draw people in, so I wasn’t the least bit surprised when it happened to Violet. Honestly, I hadn’t seen Niccolò open up so quickly and freely as he had with her.I agreed with him that there was just something different about her even if neither of us knew what it was.This situation wasn’t easy on her. She spent her entire life believing that she was human, and the supernatural world was just a fictional element. Then everything changed when the truth was metaphorically slapped her in the face.I had to hand it to her though. Her reaction to it all was fairly mellow. I wasn’t certain if it just hadn’t set in yet or if her mind was just more open to it. There was a variety of reactions that I’ve witnessed over the years when humans were exposed to the truth. Sometimes it went
ENZO“You stupid fucking bitch. I should’ve just killed you the day I figured out that your whore of a mother was a fucking monster,” he spat at her.If I hadn’t been looking at Violet, I never would’ve seen her eyes flash in response to his words. I made a mental note of that for later. Clues like that would help us to narrow down what she was. It didn’t matter what that ended up being. It was only important so that she could be trained properly.An easy example was someone who held magic within them. Think about it. If they were being trained as if the magic was a witch’s magic but was actually Fae magic then it could become problematic because those two types were vastly different. There were fundamental elements that could be triggered without someone realizing it.“Ah, but then you wouldn’t have made the big bucks that you demanded that I provide to you. God forbid that you actually worked for your own money. Instead of manning the fuck up and putting on your big girl panties, you
VIOLETSomeone knocking on the door temporarily distracted me from the shitstorm of thoughts in my head.Three days had passed since I found out that Daphne was handed over to the hunters.Guilt drowned me, refusing to let me surface. I was dying inside with worry for my beautiful sister. She was so damn sweet and innocent, a true light in this world.I was supposed to protect her. It was my job. I failed, and now she’d suffer the consequences. I should’ve just ran with her any of the times that I’d thought about it in the past.If only time travel was real…Niccolò was on the other side of the door when I opened it up.I’d been given a room here at their packhouse, which was what I’d come to learn that it was called. It was hilarious to compare this new reality of mine to the ones that were in some of my favorite books.Never once had I imagined that I’d find myself in a world that was similar to those created by my favorite authors. Oh, how much I used to wish that I was Alpha Gray’s
ENZOOur tech guys hadn’t been able to get anything of substance from Ron’s phone regarding the hunters because the number that he’d called had already been disconnected. There was no telling if it was because he had nothing more to offer them or if it was a precaution, seeing as we had already cockblocked them with Violet.I refused to let anyone else read what the deranged fucker had written about Violet, so that was being handled by me in hopes that he’d left any clue about this mystery woman. The answer, as of right now, was a big negative.Something that his disgusting journal showed me was how fucking strong Violet was to have endured it all in order to protect Daphne. I now understood how she could endure pain without much reaction. It was because of everything he had done to her. He was very vivid in detailing each injury he gave her and each way he would torture her emotionally.Sadly, there had only been time for me to have one torture session with him because I had a multi-b
VIOLETDr. Sutton and her team were actively treating the people that had already been brought to our house.A triage station was set up, along with curtains for privacy. I knew that everyone was overwhelmed and hadn’t had time to wrap their heads around the fact that they were no longer prisoners in that fucked-up place. Hopefully, in time, they will be able to allow themselves to embrace their newfound freedom.“Dr. Sutton,” I called out to her.She asked one of the nurses to give some pain medicine to the woman that she was tending to before excusing herself.A frown pulled her lips down when she saw Rainy. I could tell how furious she was at how these people had been treated by the hunters. She wasn’t alone in that sentiment. Not by a longshot.“We’re going to be bringing in a large group of individuals who were being experimented on to test different species’ healing abilities. Some of them are really severe just by judging the outward appearances. This little one, Rainy, has bee
ENZO‘How do you feel about Reika’s revelation?’ I asked Titan.I had often wondered what my life would be like as a father. It was something that I truly wanted to experience whether or not the child was biologically mine. I had never imagined beginning a family with someone until Violet came into my life.Titan tilted his head in thought and took a few moments before he answered me. I had always appreciated how much my wolf thought about something before he answered.‘I don’t remember my past lives, but I had them. I’m certain that I had mates and potentially even had some pups. Reika is different because of the type of wolf that she is. We share a very close connection and don’t block each other out. I saw the memories of those Alpha mates that she had, but there was no affection for them except for the respect that she still holds for them to this day. However, it was completely different for the memories of Avalynn and Natalia. I felt her complete heartbreak as she watched them di
VIOLETI was not certain if she had known about the pregnancy or not. I also didn’t know how she felt about it. Not everyone could accept giving birth to a baby that was not consensually conceived. It was a decision that only they could make.Her nostrils flared, attention snapping towards Joshua. Her face paled when she saw him. She ducked her head as shame rushed through her. Not fear but shame. I could imagine where her mind went. The mate who had been fated to her came upon her being raped. Then she was pregnant by someone else on top of that.“You can do it now if you’d like or you can wait until we get out of here, sir,” she told him softly, trying her best to control her voice.“My name is Joshua not sir. What are you talking about?” he asked her, clearly uncertain about what it was even if I had a feeling where this was going.“Rejecting me. It’s okay if you don’t want to wait.”His jaw clenched hard enough that I was afraid it would end up cracking. Panic. That was what he fel
VIOLETI side-eyed the woman who was leaning against me as we walked down the corridor. Despite the bruises and scars, I had never seen her more beautiful than she was right now because she was finally back with us after everything. Her body was weak from two years of being mistreated, but her will was ironclad. I had always admired her strength. That was what kept her going no matter what they tried to do to her. Daph was on the other side of her, helping to hold her up as well. Thankfully, Daph’s injuries were minimal. The bruises from what Alpha Bradley had done to her were nearly gone. Oh, he would suffer greatly for everything that he'd done and everything that he'd facilitated. I wished that he was here just so that I could end him, but he did not deserve an easy death. No. He deserved a fate that was far worse than that. The only way that he would receive that was by us properly handling the situation. It was imperative that this was done in front of the Werewolf Council so t
ENZOWe were waiting in the shadows of the tree line for Sven’s confirmation that we could continue forward.There was a lot of nervous energy bouncing around inside of Violet right now. She was so close to her mother and sister but still so far. I knew that she would love to rush in with guns blazing but knew that it would ruin any chance of saving her family while also risking all of our safety.“The security feeds are now being looped, so you can proceed,” Sven said through the comms that we were all wearing.I looked down at Violet and asked if she was ready. A steadying breath was taken before her head nodded. I raised my hand, flicking my wrist to signal to everyone that it was time to move out.We were as silent as possible as we moved towards the compound. Surprisingly, the first guards had not sensed our approach. Niccolò and I raised our tranquilizer guns and shot them. They fell to the ground, knocked out cold.“They aren’t human…” Violet whispered, cautiously approaching th
CANDICEThis was the day that I had longed for since I was imprisoned here against my will.Violet and her people were going to storm the guild to save us all. The Goddess Selene chose her warrior perfectly. It had been amazing to watch as she grew into herself and her abilities. She was far more powerful than I ever imagined that she could be, and this was still just the beginning of her journey on both the werewolf and Fae sides.‘We’re about thirty minutes out from needing that distraction,’ I heard Violet say in my mind.‘Okay. Please be safe. If you need to turn around then you do it. Don’t risk yourselves more than need be,’ I responded to her.The sheer number of their reinforcements didn’t get rid of the risk. There was so much that could go wrong. Hunters were humans, yes, but they had a fuckton of dangerous weapons here. Their goal was the eradication of supernaturals. They spent generations studying the various species in our world – weaknesses, strengths, and everything tha
ENZOThe drive was tense, each of us caught up in our own thoughts.Everyone who came with us was trained. Not everyone was an elite warrior, but every single person was a capable fighter. However, it was imperative that we did not get caught up in complacency because that would lead to failure. Focus was crucial to our success.We had put in as much training as possible. It would just have to be enough.Reika had been an amazing asset with training us in different techniques that could give us the upper hand against the hunters. As she pointed out, reactions during a fight were typically based on memory. They used moves that were familiar to them. So, us using moves that weren’t common would most likely give them pause and throw them off, giving us an advantage.There was no guarantee that all of us who entered that compound would walk back out of it at the end of this. That was weighing down upon me. I felt responsible for each person that was on our side.My mate was bearing the wei
VIOLETRaelynn giggled as she ran away from Niccolò. He had embraced her from day one.It was great to see them together because you could see how happy it made them both. The scary ass Vittori turned into a cuddly teddy bear whenever she was around. She already had him wrapped around her little fingers. His eyes lit up every time she called him Papa. Apparently, both Cara and Zayne had spoken to them respectively, and it was exactly what he and Lilac needed to be able to move forward with their bond.I was a sap for happy endings. Sure, it was a long way off, hopefully, for any of our life stories to come to an end, but the sentiment was the same.It had been five days since I had the breakdown and ended up snapping. Everyone else was pissed off at Aunt Kaia for what she did. I was more hurt than pissed off, especially when I heard about her reasoning. I had spent two years being at someone’s mercy. Ron didn’t want to use me as a weapon, but he did use me for his own benefit. Then the
LILACI looked at Mom and was completely stunned by what she’d done to my cousin.How could she treat her like that? There was a difference between pushing someone and being unnecessarily cruel. Never once had she done that to me while I was training, so why did she do it to her?Enzo had every right to feel the way that he did. On this, I certainly sided with him. I’d be taking over her training. There were ways to teach her emotional control that didn’t involve Mom’s method. No fucking matter what the stakes were, I wouldn’t do what she had done. It was beyond fucked up.“Why?” I asked her, seething at the memory of what Violet looked like as she destroyed herself.None of us were able to get through that barrier. I was thankful that my mate had called Enzo because only he’d been able to. He suffered to get through it, but he accomplished what we couldn’t. It was crazy how powerful that barrier was. Not even Mom’s magic and mine combined had done shit to it.My mate wrapped his arm a