AZRIEL’S POV
We followed Alpha Cole to a large field, walking past several guards.
For some reason, there was a sordid smell in the air and the lands seemed...dead. The grass was dead and the atmosphere was odd - like a disaster was waiting to happen.
Cole led us, ushering us in while we followed in silence. The Atmosphere around Zadok suddenly tensed and I knew something was wrong. I looked around and that was when I saw her.
Short Red hair, curvy and strong. Standing agile beside a lady I didn’t know. Zadok stilled beside me and I knew he’d seen her too. There was no way in hell it wasn’t Ithra.
Even her presence was familiar. I could feel it despite standing metres away from her. Her back stiffened as soon as Cole spoke.
“Forgive me, my Calla!” He said, slowing his steps as he approached her and carelessly hung an arm around her. “We had guests and I had to play host for a minute.”
Uh
CALLA’S POVI felt his eyes on me - Zadok’s.Or should I say, Alpha Zadok’s? I couldn’t be distracted by him though. I didn’t have time to think about how his hands fit so perfectly around mine, or how much I wanted to return his gaze that had been on me all this while.“I know you are tired, love.” Cole’s voice brought goosebumps in my arms. “Make it snappy and you’ll be off to rest.”Since when did I hate his guts this much? My eyes found the bloodied men placed before me. The men I was supposed to kill for Cole’s amusement.Sparing them wasn’t an option. I knew that from my three years of experience with Cole. If there was even the slightest chance of me trying to change his mind - it was thrown out of the window by the appearance of the guests.I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry about it.“Channel that power you sp
ZADOK’S POVI couldn’t stop looking at her - My Amore, my Ithra, my mate.I knew it was stupid to agree with Azriel’s plan to pay her a visit without a concrete plan to recover her but I couldn’t resist the temptation of even a chance of seeing her again.I needed to see her again, to be sure I wasn’t crazy. I needed to see her and touch her. To feel the little sparks between us to know that I was indeed living a life where my Ithra was still alive.Nothing prepared me for the sight of her, standing under the sun while she forced herself to kill against her will. It took a miracle to prevent me from blowing up at Cole, who was having difficulty reading the room.I got angry at how many other things he was forcing her to do against her will. We were leaving the field after Ithra blatantly confronted Cole, declaring she was unable to kill.At that moment, I felt my member harden
ZADOK’S POV“She made me lie! I had to do it to survive the dark forest.” He said, “She saved me from dying and gave me the assignment saying it was for the good of the pack!”“I didn’t mean to lie! Please! Spare my life!” Aaron lamented while I stood immobile, gaze focused on Athaliah.For the first time, I felt at a loss for words. My brain was blank and I could bring myself to understand why she would do such evil against me.I couldn’t understand what I did to her to warrant such an act of betrayal. My blood boiled as I looked at her, waiting for some explanation.Something that told me Aaron was lying, and his entire story was a scheme to save his head. But nothing came forward, forcing me to ask.“Athaliah.” I breathed, “I will only ask you this once.” Athaliah stiffened and for the first time in a long time, the air reeked of Athaliah
ZADOK’S POV“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I roared as soon as Azriel shut the doors of my office. “Why on earth would you keep something so important from me?!”“Nothing,” Azriel answered, his tone calm.“What do you mean nothing? You mean to tell me that this entire time, Athaliah, who is YOUR mate has been pining to be Luna and you didn’t deem it fit to tell me? Are you kidding me?!”“It wasn’t necessary.” He answered and that only increased my anger.“It wasn’t necessary?” I laughed and threw over my table the next second - causing a loud crash in my office. “It wasn’t necessary?!” I roared. “Tell me, how many more things have you hidden from me? How many more things did you deem unnecessary to tell me?”Azriel bowed his head, biting his lips. Did he think I was joking?
AZRIEL’S POV“If for some insane reason, you make it out alive today, do us all a favour and leave this pack,” I said to Athaliah, who walked with a limp, around her prison room.“How is Zadok? Why isn’t he here? I need to thank him for sparing my life.” Athaliah said with an eagerness that made me want to slap her silly.“Is that all you can think?” I asked in bewilderment. “You are on a death roll and you still can’t shut off the thoughts of Zadok?”Frustration was evident in my tone but she didn’t care. What was I thinking? She never cared.“Don’t dramatise it.” She said in a taut tone. “You know how I know I would survive this? Because If Zadok wanted me dead, I would be dead by now.”“No shit.” I rolled my eyes. “Right now, the Alpha is out of the waters, and as much as I think you deserve death
CALLA’S POVI wandered through the bushes, unable to find my path. Where am I? I thought fearfully.The sky was getting dark. I needed to go before it got too dark. I needed to go back to my pack. But how?“There you are!” A voice said from behind, and I was startled to a stop. Slowly, I turned around, looking for the owner of the voice. “You thought you won didn’t you?” She smirked, hands akimbo.“Did you think I would not find you?” My body jittered with fear. “Did you think I would not find you in this forest?”“Leave me alone,” I said, stepping back. “I don’t know who you are.”“Of course you don’t!” The woman roared, and the grounds beneath us shook. “You destroyed my face! This is a glamour to cover the wickedness you have done!”I felt like I needed clarification. I didn’t r
CALLA’S POV.My dreams didn’t stop.I woke every day with another horrifying dream of the dark forest and Shilhi.As time proceeded, they stopped feeling like dreams. They seemed so real - like I had lived in them. Like I walked through the grounds of the dark forests and battled with many things with a person I couldn’t see his face.It didn’t help that Cole was dumb to my questions and desire for knowledge. Scarlett too. Every time I met them with my dream, asking more and more questions about the dark forest and the woman, Shilhi, they tended to wave it as another of my meaningless dreams.At some point, they even said I might be conjuring hallucinations using my powers! I could never get over the ridiculousness of that theory. The worst part of it was that I couldn’t help myself.I could not help myself and as the days went by with me idly sitting in my room or walking around th
ZADOK’S POVThe pack had been quieter than usual lately.Since the day I banished Athaliah, the air in the pack was filled with a sense of foreboding. I couldn’t stand it anymore.I decided to visit the training ground. It’s been a while since I’d been there and I needed some fight to burn off the nerves around me.Pack members greeted me with a bow as I passed, headed for the one place where I knew I would find Azriel - who had also been distant lately.I stepped foot on the training ground, and everyone stopped sparring. They got on one knee with their heads bowed. “Alpha.” They chorused in greeting and I nodded my head in approval.“Rise.” They got on their feet at my orders and I walked in front of them, with a proud look. “I can smell the sweat and blood in the air. I’m glad that the Blood-Hound warriors are still what they used to be.” This time,