The room I was in became suffocating, the adrenaline of what just happened leaving and reality kicking in. Wolves just attacked me. I sat on the edge of the bed in the room I found myself in. It was a simple hut in the woods that August brought me to rest my legs. The lamp cast long shadows on the wall, but the dim light did nothing to ease the storm raging in my chest.
August’s voice still echoed in my ears, sharp and frustrated, how he'd looked at me like I had broken some unspoken rule.
It made my stomach twist, but behind the anger, I'd seen something raw and vulnerable, though he'd never admit it. That was August. I have come to know him over the past few weeks, and it's a surprise how fast I'm catching up.
My fingers absentmindedly found the mark on my neck. A jolt of electricity went through me when I did that, and a hiss came from my lips before I could stop it.
The door creaked, and my head snapped up; my heart jumped into my throat when I saw him step in—closing the door behind him without a word. His presence filled the room like a storm cloud, and I felt the magnetic pull I always felt whenever he was near.
“You shouldn't have been out there.” His voice was low but scolding.
“Do you even realise how dangerous it was?”
“I'm sorry,” I said quickly. My voice was shaky. “I just…” I swallowed hard, trying to hold my ground under the weight of his glare. “I needed to see you.”
He froze, his jaw tightening. I thought he might yell for a moment, but his voice was softer when he spoke.
“You shouldn't have had to come looking for me, Azalea; that's on me.”
Something in his tone was heavy and full of refer that made my heart ache, but before I could respond, his voice came rushing out like a dam breaking.
“Do you have any idea what you've done?” He asked, pacing the room. “Everyone knows now, Azalea. Everyone knows now that you're my mate.”
The air left my lungs in a rush.
“What?” I whispered. “How?”
“My brother,” he growled, his tone dripping with bitterness. “He twisted the truth and made it sound like I betrayed them. Like I turned my back on them for a human.”
My stomach churned. “That's not true,” I said quickly, facing him. “You didn't betray anyone.”
“Try telling them that.” He snapped, running his hands through his hair. His frustration was obvious, making the room feel smaller. “They don't trust you, Azalea. They don't trust us; now they see you as a threat.”
I couldn't breathe. My legs felt weak, and but I refused to let him see me falter. “I didn't mean to make things worse,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
He stopped pacing and turned to me, his expression softening enough to see the sharp edges of his words. “I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean to make things worse, but that's why I told you to stay away from the woods; it's not safe for you. Not anymore.”
“You didn't come to see me anymore,” I said trembling. I didn't know why I sounded like I wanted to cry, and I didn't know why it felt like his words hurt me; I honestly could not pinpoint what was going on with me exactly. “For days, August, I wanted…I thought…” My throat tightened, and I forced myself to look away. “I thought you weren't going to come see me anymore or that something happened to you, so I was worried.”
He was in front of me before I could blink, his hands reaching for mine; his touch was warm and grounding, sending shivers up my spine. “You think I don't want you?” He asked, his voice low and rough.
“Azalea, I've wanted you every second since I laid my eyes on you. You're all I think about; the mate pull is not even making it easy. Do you know how hard it's been to stay away? Do you know the amount of times I had to sport blue balls to important meetings, just thinking about you?”
My breath caught, and for a moment, I couldn't speak. Without looking at my face, I knew it was flushed. His eyes burned into mine, filled with a desperation I hadn't expected. “Then why?” I whispered. “Why didn't you come?” I finally asked when I could put words together.
“Because I thought I was protecting you.” He said, his voice breaking slightly. “Many things are going on beyond, and there are wars that I need to win. I needed to be careful of the way I came to you. My brother is a madman who would do anything to bring me down. So, I have to be careful around people I care about. I had to sort something out.”
“I thought I was protecting you, but I was wrong. My absence only made things worse.”
Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked them away quickly. “Thank you for considering me, but I think I'm good. I dont need protecting.” I told him.
“I just thought you didn't want me again,” I said, shrugging and trying my best not to make it feel like a big deal.
“Is that even possible? Not to want your mate anymore? We are tied together forever.”
“Yeah, I get, that's what I thought though.”
He stared at me, his gaze searching mine like there was something he was looking for. “Then come with me.” He said suddenly, his tone urgent. “Come to my pack. I need you there, Azalea; we will face them together. They'll have to accept you if they see how much you mean to me. I need you, just you.”
My heart twisted, the weight of his words crashing down on me. I pulled back slightly, shaking my head. “I can't,” I said softly. “Not yet.”
I gave him the same answer I've been giving him since he started asking me the question.
I couldn't leave my father. I just couldn't.
The world around me blurred into the background as I stared at the dead man. It couldn't be right? I blinked, once, twice, praying that my eyes were deceiving me.But they weren’t. It was him.My breath caught in my throat, a strangled gasp that I couldn’t suppress. My grip on August's hand tightened as if I was holding on to the only thing that kept me standing. I felt my knees weaken, threatening to give way beneath me, but I tried to remain on my feet, I couldn't fall.The clearing went silent, the murmurs of the crowd fading into nothingness. All I could hear was the pounding of my heart, and I feared August could hear them too. Oh God this cannot be real….His face—God, his face. There was no mistake that bit was him, even despite how pale his face had gone, I still recognised him. Blood smeared on his skin, but it didn't matter anymore. That was Andrew, a close colleague of my father. I had known Andrew literally all my life and he was just like an uncle to me. Seeing him here
The graves were half-dug, the shovels resting upright in the mounds of wet sand. The bones lay on makeshift biers, wrapped in white linen, to be burned and set away to sail.For days I felt the weight of sadness my lack members carried. Though their loved ones were missing for a very long time, but they came back not even in flesh but bones. The priestess’s voice droned on, empty words of comfort that did little to ease the ache we all shared. The place was silent, save for the voice of the priestess as we all stood in silence in respect to the dead ones.Then the sound came—heavy footsteps against gravel, cutting through the silence in the air.I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. His scent was enough to recognise him. I gritted my teeth in anger even before I turned to look in his direction.“What the fuck is he doing her!?” I asked no one in particular, letting the words bear my anger. He walked into the clearing, dragging behind him a sack. It looked heavy and I tried to gu
I tried to shake off the thoughts, tried to shake off the guilt, but I couldn't. Each step I took farther from the throne room only amplified my guilt. I lied, about the dead bodies and how I knew how they were killed…..but at least not where I had seen them before.For years I watched my father ravel on about a world I thought never existed until I was mated to one. I always thought he was somewhat insane and maybe the death of my mother out delusional thoughts in his head.I remembered a journal of my father I came across when I was seventeen. I was bored and alone at home and when I stumbled upon it, it was something I wanted to read.In it, he wrote down the stages of transformation of a wolf until it was fully covered in fur. Their deathly attacks, how and when they attack, what kills them and what strengthens them.Some pages described how he killed werewolves and they were exactly the same way the alphas' said their dead wolves died. I always thought it was some kind of fairy
The moment we stepped into the throne room, it was as if the weight of a hundred eyes fell on us, one so heavy it'd move the will of kings.The air was thick with tension, laced with the air of dominance and unspoken challenge that always accompanied gatherings like this. Alphas from every pack in our world sat at the table, their heads turning sharply as we entered.Immediately, I felt Azalea's hesitation. Her hand, tucked into the crook of my arm, trembled ever so slightly. I could feel her fear and nervousness from the mate bond, and I pulled her closer to myself in a quiet reassurance. To anyone else, she looked poised, her chin lifted just enough to feign confidence.“Calm your nerves baby, they're just like me.” I relayed through the mind link, and that seemed to work a bit.I straightened my shoulders, making a deliberate show of my authority as we moved toward the throne. My gaze swept the room, daring anyone to hold it for too long. The whispers began before we were settled i
I jolted awake, gasping for air as though I had been drowning. What the fuck was that!My chest heaved, and my heart thudded so loudly I could swear I was hearing it. Cold sweat trickled down my face even though the air in the room was cold. My trembling hands were on my thumping chest as images of the dream flashed through my eyes.“Are you okay?” August's voice seeped into my ears as his arms wrapped around my naked body. I closed my eyes, trying to will away the fear that had crawled up my heart. “Baby…” he called again, but I was too far gone into trying to convince myself that my father was somewhere in the human world and far from Gray's clutches, to answer him.“Azalea?” This time I answered him with a quiet ‘hm’ as I turned to look at him.“What's going on? What happened? You had a nightmare?” “It's worse than a nightmare, August.” My voice came out quiet and almost shake as I ran my hand through my hair, getting it out of my face for a second.August scooped closer, pla
“Is something wrong?” I asked, still holding the toast in my hand. “Your neck…” she muttered, still staring at the spot. “What happened to my neck? Is there something on my skin? Is it bad?” I questioned, touching the skin there. “I thought you had two marks there.”“Yeah…. What happened?”“I can't see the other mark,” she said, she shrugged her shoulders as she took her gaze off my neck. “Really? Which mark? Are you sure?* I touched my neck like I could see it before picking my phone off the table. I unlocked it and tapped on the camera, opening the front one. My face came into display and immediately I turned my neck towards where the camera was. Right were Gray's mark was supposed to be, I couldn't see anything. I brought the camera closer to take a closer look and that was when it became a bit clear. It was still there, but it had faded like it was never there. “Oh my God….. the mark Gray forcefully placed on me is fadingggg.” I squealed in excitement as I examined the mark