Liyah's POVThe smile dropped from my face as soon as I was safe inside my room. My hands slowly came up to clutch my shoulders as the memory of the last ten minutes started to replay in my head.What the hell just happened?I wondered if I had only be dreaming or if I actually caught Nikolai studying my face... staring at me, actually. If I didn't know better I would've said he was checking me out. And I was so clumsy and awkward as as usual that I hadn't realized we stood that close when I looked up. I felt myself reeling when I realized that it would take just one small motion to have our lips touching. For some reason, the memory of the time when we had kissed at one of his business events came to mind, and my heart began to thump louder in my chest. I couldn't understand the way I had felt. It was both annoying and confusing. When I saw his gaze move to my lips, I couldn't understand the goosebumps that quickly formed on my skin. Instead of the usual fear and anxiety I had alwa
Liyah's POVAlthough Eve had requested to have more adults at her party for the adorable reason that they were "much better conversation" than kids her age, Nikolai had made sure that a good number of kids had turned up. He did this tactfully by inviting the kids of his business partners and friends, so there were equal numbers of both adults and kids. He explained to her that the adults would not be comfortable leaving their kids home alone. Eve had felt bad enough that she began to engage them in conversation. And before long, she was enjoying the company. It was adorable to watch, as I always wanted her to interact more with kids her age. "Enjoying the party?" I looked up to see a smiling Drew. He was clad in a navy blue suit and held a glass of champagne in his hand. I had seen the eyes of ladies all over the room follow him. It wasn't much of a surprise as he was simply gorgeous, next to none at the party. Well except the host...My cheeks warmed at the thought of Nikolai. In a
Liyah's POVNikolai was avoiding me. He wasn't exactly the most discreet person, so it was quite easy to tell. I had been surprised when I arrived at the training ground this morning only to see Annalise instead of him. Later on I learned that he had asked her to take on today's session as he had some things to finish up. Training with Annalise was unexpected but quite fun and I would love to do it again, but my mind continued to drift to Nikolai. If he had other things to do, why didn't he just tell me? That's when I began to wonder if he was avoiding me. But I waved it off. When it became clear that he was avoiding me was during the kitchen incident. I had come into the kitchen to prepare a concoction for one of the omegas who had gotten injured. He quickly left through the backdoor when I stepped in, acting like he had not seen me. I couldn't help but feel a little hurt after that. As I strolled through the house, my mind wandered to the other night. The kiss. I felt a shiver run
Nikolai's POV"Go, Liyah!" I threw Drew a dirty look as he cheered her on, but he was too busy watching her shoot down the eight empty beer cans placed on the fence. She did it so quickly it had my jaw falling open in shock. I couldn't say I wasn't impressed. It was simply amazing to watch. She smiled widely as she jogged over to where the three of us stood. Drew and Anna must have sworn to pick on me today, because as soon as she came, they continued to cheer, pouring praises on her head. "That was amazing!" "Oh my god! She did it faster than Nikolai! Come see," Annalise announced, raising the stopwatch for all of us to see.My head whipped up. "That's not possible."Liyah snickered. "Whatever helps you sleep."Still in disbelief, I grabbed the stopwatch from Anna. "By 0.2 seconds?""Still, she beat you," Drew responded.I narrowed my eyes at my supposed best friends. "If I didn't know better, I would think the both of you were trying to pick on me today. No one cheered me this m
Liyah's POVI couldn't control my laughter as I watched Nikolai blink in pain as the spaghetti sauce got into his eye. He had been slurping each strand of pasta all through the meal. He should have known that it would eventually get into his eyes. "Help me," He pleaded, groaning in pain as he rushed to the tap and began to splash cold water into his eyes. After I had had enough fun watching him struggle, I stood. Walking to the kitchen cabinet, I took out the salt container, putting some in my hand and walking over to him. "Water won't help. Lick this."He eyed me with his good eye looking down at the salt in my hand suspiciously. "How's that supposed to help?"Rolling my eyes, I went on my tiptoes and tilted my palm to let the salt fill his mouth. His grimaced from the taste and I chuckled. He was like a different person, weird and goofy. I found it extremely adorable and I began to suspect that behind his tough exterior he might really just be a teddy bear. "Wow, it really works,
Nikolai's POVI whipped out my phone from the top drawer and dialed Drew's number. He picked up on the first ring. "Wow, look who finally remembered his family exists."I chuckled. "It's only been three days. Besides this was all your doing, remember?"He gasped in mock shock. "Me? I have no idea what you're talking about. That's outrageous." As we both burst into laughter, he asked, "How are you really?"I smiled although I knew he couldn't see me. I turned around to look at Liyah who was sleeping soundly at the moment. "It's one of the best weekends I've had in a really long time," I answered honestly. And it really was. I didn't want it to end. "You're welcome," Drew laughed and I could already imagine him smirking in satisfaction. "So why did you call, what do you want? And before you deny wanting to ask something, don't. I know you love me, but I'm pretty sure you didn't call to check up on me when I'm sure there are other..." He coughed, "...exciting things that you could be do
Nikolai's POVMy chest tightened as I watched Liyah rake her fingers through her hair. From the helpless look on her face, I knew she was close to tears. We had been at it again today since early this morning. We had tried basically everything I could think of. I had taken her into the woods to go hunting, hoping her wolf would sense the presence of game and come alive. When that didn't work, I had cut the deer I had caught into pieces. If she felt a thirst for the blood then we were on the right track. But the only effect it had on her was the projection of vomit. It disgusted her to the core. After that we had tried to put her in a position where she was in danger. A connection with one's wolf was built in such a way that it was designed to protect her. I had been reluctant to try out this method because I was scared of her getting hurt. But after much pleading I gave in. The distance I had to push her from was not a very far one but I was scared nonetheless. When she landed badl
Nikolai's POVAs soon as I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, I instinctively reached out for Liyah, jumping up when my hand touched empty sheets. On sitting up, I saw that she had rolled to the edge of the king-sized bed, her head nearly touching her knees as she folded into herself.I let myself breathe. At some point I had began to wonder if last night had just been a dream. Because it actually felt like it. But there she was, lying right beside me in nothing but a flimsy piece of lingerie. She was mine. I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face. Liyah was mine; my mate, my own. Reaching out, I gently pulled her into the bed, pulling the blanket over her and getting up gently to avoid waking her as I made my way into the kitchen.I chuckled as I opened the cabinet. Drew and Anna had really outdone themselves. The cabin we had expected to be thick in dirt and dust was sparkling clean when we arrived, the cabinets were stocked with so much food items I wondered if they had pla
EPILOGUEThe black-haired man who sat on a large ottoman fidgeting quickly sprang to his feet when he saw a middle-aged woman appear from the room directly opposite him. He had been wiping his clammy palms from time to time throughout his stay outside the room. At intervals he would shut his eyes in a silent prayer to the Goddess. His heart leaped in fear when she solemnly began to take off her gloves, and with his heart in his mouth, he waited for her to speak. But instead, her lips parted in a wide grin. "It's done. You can see them now."He raked a hand through his hair, smiling and then leaning in to accept the hug she was offering. "Jeez, Margaret. I was scared for a moment there."She only gave another chuckle. "Go on, they're waiting for you."He nodded shakily, walking into the room. His eyes first flew to the frail-looking woman laid out on the bed. She opened her eyes weakly when he walked in, smiling as she saw him. "Baby..." He whispered, quickly moving to her side. He t
Liyah's POVI tightened my arm over Nikolai's torso, leaning into him and not wanting to let go. I still felt eternally grateful to have him standing by my side alive and well. His wounds had been so bad that he had fallen unconscious for days. Margaret and I had to work day and night to treat him, mixing concoctions and applying them on him and the other man he had asked us to bring back with him. He still hadn't told us anything about the strange man. His wounds were nearly fatal, ten times worse than the ones Nikolai had sustained. I didn't know who he was but I was praying he would be okay. Nikolai chuckled and it sounded like music to my ears. It felt good to hear his laughter again. "Li, I know you love me and that you're happy to have me back, but now you've got me thinking you're planning to send me back into a coma."I laughed, loosening my hold on him. "Do you have any idea how long it's been since I touched you or even smelled your hair? Let me have my moment," I joked, pu
Nikolai's POVAs I waited with my eyes shut for a final blow that never came, it all happened at once. One second Jonas was staring at something on the other side of the garden, the next he had slumped to the floor, blood gushing from the hole in his forehead. Still in shock, I stared at Jonas' unmoving body on the floor through my heavy lids, and then I looked to the other end of the garden. That's when I saw her. Liyah dropped the gun from her hand, racing towards me in a split second. "Nikolai..." She breathed, placing a hand behind my head for support. "Drew and Annalise will be here soon, okay? I mindlinked them already. Just hold on..."I smiled, feeling my busted lip ache, but I didn't care. Liyah was here...leaning over me and smoothening out my hair. She was here...she was alive. And Jonas was dead. It felt like a dream. Everything had happened so fast, I wasn't even sure it had happened. My chest was burning, and everything was beginning to get blurry. But that was okay.
Nikolai's POVI could feel the heavy swelling in my right eye as I slowly regained consciousness. I knew I had only been knocked out for a few minutes but I could feel my head spinning. I clutched at the grass, trying to pull myself to my feet but my hands were too shaky. I fell back heavily onto the grass, expelling sharp breaths as my chest started to burn. A piercing scream made me look in the direction of the sound and I looked up to see Jonas digging his fangs into the other man's side. I gasped in shock, trying once more to stand to my feet. I had almost forgotten that the man called Gabriel had come to my rescue. As I tried to crawl over there, I saw Jonas ram his fists into Gabriel's face...over and over again until he finally stilled, his damaged face buried into grass as he fell from Jonas' grip.No, no, no."No!" I yelled, grabbing Jonas' attention to me. As long as he was yet to snap his neck off his shoulders, there was still hope. Maybe he could be saved. Jonas swung ar
Liyah's POVI counted my steps as Barbara and I circled each other, everything I had learned during training resurfacing in my head. I knew she was waiting for the perfect chance to strike, but for now she wanted to stall, make me wait before she came at me. I knew she was confident...the glint in her eyes and the way she was walking calmly as though she were strolling told me she was. And I knew it was because she didn't think I stood a chance against her. She didn't know I had a wolf now. That, was my advantage. She was confident enough that she thought I would be dead in a heartbeat. But she wanted to take her time, taunt me and toss me around before she could really enjoy tearing me into pieces. Which was why I played along. Since she didn't know I was a full werewolf now, why tell her? I would only wait. Wait for her to make a mistake. Then I would play my hand. "Oh, step sister, this will have to be the most interesting thing that has happened in this pack for a long time," S
Nikolai's POV'Nikolai?' My heart skipped a beat when Anna's voice filled my head in a mindlink. I stopped in my tracks, my breath caught in my throat, praying silently that she was about to deliver good news.'I can hear you Anna, what's up? Did you…' I paused, not knowing what exactly to ask. My insides churned as I waited for her response.'We've found Liyah, she's alright.' I felt my heart muscles loosen at the sound of those words, my clenched fists relaxed and I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank the goddess. Liyah was alive. She was safe. Everything would be alright now. 'Okay. That's very good.' I breathed'Drew says our soldiers have already rounded more than half of the Monhowl pack, a lot are dead and the few who are wounded are surrendering.' She sounded in my ears.I scoffed. So these were the best fighters of Monhowl. Pathetic.'Okay. I'll need you to help him gather all the prisoners, maybe into their dungeon or something then wait for my command.' I said and broke the m
Liyah's POVAs I sprinted out of the dungeons, I checked for any sign of life in the cells I passed, but there was no one present. I knew that most times Nanny Maria was either in the cells or in the servant quarters depending on which mood Mira was in. I needed to find her. She was the only member of this pack that I cared about. As I made my way up the passages where I knew she usually was, I prayed that she was still alive and well. I could feel the blood pump in my ears as I kicked the door down and stepped in. My heart fell. The room was empty. No, no. Where else could she be? "Maria!" I yelled into the deserted room. But there was no one around. My head spinning with different thoughts, I held onto the door to steady myself. Maria was alive. She is alive. And I was going to find her. I repeated the mantra in my head until I began to feel better. As I walked out the door, I heard someone sniff. I froze in my steps. It was short and ever so light. But I was sure I heard somethi
Nikolai's POVAnna held my hand in a light squeeze as we waited for Drew to arrive. He had already mindlinked us saying that he was close by. I nodded at her, understanding all she was trying to communicate to me. But I knew I would not be able to relax until Liyah was standing unharmed by my side. I signaled the pack to hide in the shadows as we heard footsteps approaching.Anna and I did the same. A few seconds later, a figure clad in a cloak slipped into the courtyard. My wolf growled but I held back. We needed to be calculative. As soon as he was in the middle of the hall, I stepped out. The spy staggered back in shock. As he made to escape, Drew pushed at him from behind, dealing him with a deathly blow before he could recover from the shock. As I walked toward the man who lay on the floor squirming and begging, I shifted to my elbow. He played a huge part in Liyah's abduction. He was part of the reason why she was not here with me. Kicking him up in the air, I held him forward
Drew's POVFear gripped my insides as I walked out of the study. I couldn't help but continuously blame myself. Why did we leave them both alone? We should have been around, at least we would have been able to stop them before they went too far. But we didn't. And now Nikolai would not stop blaming himself for everything. We were all at fault...we should have been more watchful. If a spy had slipped into our territory unnoticed, it was because we had all let our guard down whilst making preparations for the wedding and the engagement party. I tried to hold myself steady, looking in Nikolai's direction every now and then to make sure he was okay. I couldn't imagine how he must be feeling. As we halted at the entrance of the hall where he had ordered every single pack member to assemble, Nikolai stepped forward. He had already masked his expression as that of anger, and I marveled at how well he was keeping it together."A couple of minutes ago, I found out that my would-be Luna has be