Nikolai's POVI paused at the kitchen door when I heard someone laughing. Curious, I looked in to see Liyah; her hands were busy as she expertly sliced the vegetables that lay on the kitchen counter. But what caught my attention was the fact that she was talking to herself. I perused the kitchen to see if there was someone in there with her. When I didn't, I stared at her smiling and talking in confusion, and then it clicked. She must have met her inner wolf. Smiling, I walked in."Hey!" She said, grinning when she saw me. The way her eyes lit whenever we talked made me feel so special, it was almost strange, but left a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head as I whispered in her ear. "I see you've met your wolf." She nodded excitedly, and then as if she suddenly remembered something, smacked my arm and turned to face me, her eyes narrowed. "Ow!" I complained, staring at her in surprise. "What?"She placed a hand on
Drew's POVI took another sip of my coffee as we all stared out the kitchen window, watching Nikolai who was currently playing with the kids, little Eve comfortably seated in his lap. By 'we' I meant myself, Annie, Margaret and Liyah. I only just realized how weird we all were as we were comfortable enough watching him like stalkers. I was going to point it out but I held back my comment. After all, it was a sight worth gaping at. It still felt darn good to have the old Nikolai back, the Nikolai I knew and remembered. But the change had been so sudden and so tremendous, none of us saw it coming. But it was truly beautiful. The kids used to be so scared of him before, but now he was a kind of father figure. I couldn't even imagine what they could possibly be talking about. But it was beautiful nonetheless.Everytime I looked at Nikolai, I had this urge to break down in tears. I had always hoped that my best friend was still in there somewhere, but I had also considered the fact that h
Liyah's POVI watched in disbelief as Drew and Anna exchanged horrid looks. They really had no idea? For a second I felt like I had just betrayed Nikolai. I honestly thought they knew."I thought you all knew about this," I said, still shocked myself that Nikolai's family didn't know about his second identity. Why would he keep it a secret from them anyway? I wondered. I didn't think it was something he needed to hide. It was such a good deed, they would be proud of him."Tell us exactly what happened that day, Liyah, and don't leave anything out," Drew said, facing me. He didn't look angry, he just looked confused."If he keeps it secret from you, I'm not sure I should be the one to..." "Tell us everything, Liyah," Anna persuaded. "We're his family, we deserve to know."After a few moments of deliberating on it, I nodded. Then I began to narrate exactly what had happened that day as well as I could remember. Margaret gasped in shock when I mentioned it was the day we had gone to the
Drew's POVI stood at the entrance of the kitchen shocked as I stared at Nikolai attempting to cook something. It was hilarious I regretted leaving my phone in my room before coming outside. Since when did Nikolai make breakfast himself? It was 9am in the morning. Maybe it was his hobby now...or something. Nikolai came with so many surprises now, I wouldn't particularly come as a shock if cooking was one of his hobbies now.After watching him with interest for a while, I stepped in. "Since when did you start making breakfast yourself? No let me rephrase that, since when did you start cooking?"As I spoke, I stretched out my fingers to grab a piece of bacon but he slapped my hand away before looking up to glare at me. "It's for Liyah. She's not feeling well today," He answered before turning back to the pan and stirring the scrambled eggs. The look on his face was so serious I nearly burst out in a fit of laughter."Wow, your whipped!" I laughed, watching as he turned to face me. I mea
Nikolai's POVI took one last glance in the mirror as I checked the time. I still had about ten minutes left before I had to leave. I sucked in a sharp breath, clutching the mini box in my pocket as I tried to steady my breathing. Uncontrollably nervous, I smoothed down the front of my black suit. That done, I checked my hair one last time in the mirror before moving away and heading upstairs to the rooftop. I had solicited Anna's help to organise a small but lavish romantic dinner for Liyah on the rooftop. It was spacious and airy, and there were no chances of us being interrupted or disturbed. Grabbing the bouquet of roses I had gotten for her, I made my way up the stairs and to the roof. She was already seated awaiting my presence when I walked through the doors. She grinned widely when she saw me, getting up to return my hug when I came closer. The sight of her when she stood nearly had me sprawling. The emerald green, sequenced dress she wore matched her eyes to perfection. But
Liyah's POV"I can't believe it. You guys are actually getting married? Wow, congratulations again!" Annalise said yet again, beaming from ear to ear. I was starting to think she was the most excited about it. Well, everyone was. We had announced our engagement to the pack this morning and everybody was ecstatic. Some of the shewolves had already started giving me gifts. For goodluck, they said.Drew was all smiles. He was always smiling, but today's was wider, brighter, happier. He had already announced his position as the best man, making me blush. The wedding wasn't till a few weeks. But I was already used to my new family by now.Anna was already listing all the things we would need for the party, even though Nikolai had protested. "You will both have an engagement party Nik, and nobody's going to stop me. Even if it means doing everything myself." She had teased. Anna could be very persuasive. So dear Nikolai had no choice."Alright, alright but nothing too big, and it should be
Liyah's POVI moaned as the taste of the cherry dipped in ice-cream hit my taste buds. It was so good that I grabbed up the ice-cream bowl all to myself, dipping the cherries into it and dropping them in my mouth. I pretended not to see Nikolai, staring at me with his ice-cream spoon in his hand. I purposely popped a cherry in and out of my mouth, sucking on it and moaning when I finally bit on it. "If you don't stop moaning like that, I'll make sure you don't stop moaning for at least an hour," He finally said, swallowing as his eyes fell on my lips.I burst into laughter. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I muttered, batting my lashes innocently. "I'm just eating cherries."When he slipped a hand underneath my dress, running his hands high up my thigh, I let out a soft moan for real this time, my eyes widening."You were saying?" It was his turn to ask innocently.I laughed, pushing his hand away. "You're not playing fair," I huffed. "I know right?" He shot back earning
Nikolai's POVI woke up with a start from a sharp pain in my chest and a searing headache. My fingers rubbing my temple, I looked around. I was still seated in my living room. I groaned, noting that I must've dozed off. Checking the time to see, I realized that I had dozed off for about thirty minutes. I smiled when I remembered I had been waiting for Liyah. Why did she take so long though?I stood from the sofa and walked into my bedroom. If she had also fallen asleep then there was where she would be. I turned the doorknob, freezing in my steps when I saw that the bed was still smooth without creases, I swept through the rest of the bedroom, the kitchen and the garden. There was still no sign of her. I wondered if she was with any of the rest, so I mindlinked Drew and the rest, asking if Liyah was with them. As soon as I did, Drew and Annalise came running down the stairs."Why are you asking for Liyah? Isn't she with you? She's not with any of us."My heart skipped a beat as I clut
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