Nikolai's POV
I had been eyeing the pile of samosas the whole time. I couldn't remember the last time I had had samosas. As I picked one and tossed it into my mouth almost moaning from how good it tasted, the table went silent.I looked up in suspicion, wondering what had happened. I could see the pack members suddenly become intent on observing their food. They had been arguing and cackling a few seconds ago. Deciding I didn't care, I tossed three more of the snacks into my mouth."We haven't had this in a long time," I commented. "And they never tasted this good either."I could feel their eyes on me. I never struck up conversation anymore because I honestly didn't feel like it. But I don't know what came over me today."Yeah it is. I guess the prisoner girl is good at a lot of things," I heard Margaret say.My jaw stopped working halfway on my sixth snack. I slowly turned to face Margaret who sat at my right side, hoping I had heard incorrectly.Nikolai's POVI wasn't even sure what I was doing or why I was creeping around in my own house, but all I knew was that I was hungry. I shook my head as if to get rid of this ridiculous feeling but I could still hear my stomach rumble in disapproval, so I knew it wasn't helpful. Since the dining table issue I hadn't had anything to eat. And after my show of anger earlier, I would chop my own head off before I asked them for food.As I neared the kitchen, my stomach growled so loud I thought it would alert the rest of the pack. The mansion was so big that at the moment, no one was on this floor right now. Although I felt ridiculous tiptoeing in my own house, but I really could not help it. And I think what infuriated me the more was the fact that all I craved were those fucking samosas. I raked my fingers through my hair. This was all just so stupid. My stomach growled once more as if to silence me.Cursing silently, I made my way into the kitchen and
Nikolai's POVAs Annalise nodded and turned away to leave, something came to my mind that reminded me of one of the things I had honestly been curious about."You know what, Anna?" I called out as she pulled the door open. She stopped in her tracks, whipping around in surprise."Yes?""Get her ready. She's coming with us."I saw Anna cock an eyebrow. "Really? Uh.. okay if you say so." She gave me a puzzled look and walked out, shutting the door behind me. I had changed my mind for a reason, of course. And I wouldn't rest till I'd satisfied my curiosity.The pack was getting ready for our biweekly hunt. We usually picked a day to go on a hunt for animals when we were thirsty for blood. That usually covered up until the next hunt. We would spend the night in the woods and also use this time as an avenue to train a little. It was customary and fulfilling as it acted like a kind of recharge.An hour later we we
Liyah's POVIt felt like my face was about to explode. As I got to a small stream, I hurriedly splashed the cold water on my face. I couldn't believe I had seen what I just did. My hands shook in fear, I'm sure he had seen me. Of course, trust me to get into trouble with him. Again. I prayed that I had been mistaken and he really hadn't seen me. But I knew he had, I had felt the glare of those piercing silver eyes on me. His eye color made every stare seem harder, every glare more piercing. And yet it was beautiful. It had taken me a while to get used to them, and still I had a hard time looking him in the eyes.I groaned, slapping my forehead. I couldn't seem to take the image out of my head. The image of his muscular form, standing tall and nude in all his glory, his arousal huge and erect. My cheeks warmed in embarrassment as the image replayed over and over in my head. I had never seen a nude, good-looking man up close. And he was gorgeous. My cheeks flamed
Liyah's POVIf I was given a chance to either die or leave my tent this morning, I would have chosen death. I tried to convince myself that yesterday had just been a terrible nightmare, but in my mind I could clearly see him staring at me, and the scream that followed from me afterwards as I tried in vain to cover up.I tugged at my hair in frustration, wishing I could be hit by a moving truck or something. As I sat still clouded in embarrassment, my tent flew open and I saw Elyan stick out his head."We're leaving."I nodded, scrambling to my feet and holding out my hands so he could replace the binds. But he only took one look at my wrists and shook his head. "There's no need for that today. You'll be surrounded by a larg
Nikolai's POVI would have avoided this meeting if I could, but there was no helping it. It wasn't like humans would suspect anything because the pack members had been trained consistently and taught to control their appetite when they were around humans. The only remotely suspicious thing was the location of my mansion, away from people. But that was quite explanatory as I worked better in a serene environment.But my problem was the other wolves in the vicinity. If they caught the scent of a human they would surely come running. For some reason, the day we had been surrounded by those rogue wolves after the hunt came to mind. I couldn't imagine something like that happening to my soon-to-be business partner. But this was an important client and I had nothing else to do but make sure of his safety. I needed this deal to go through as planned as
Liyah's POV"I can't do it," I pleaded with Margaret as she sat on the bed, a mischievous smile on her face. She had finally told me her name and it was much better than referring to her as 'the Healer'."Well, you surely can't say that to him," She sighed, patting my back. "You can picture it as a job, you know? One of your chores, then get it over with."I buried my head in my hands. "It's not fair, neither is it my fault. I mean, no one told me to stay away from that area of the house today. Why do I have to take the blame for even things that aren't my fault?"She only sighed as a response. "I understand, child. But we can't do anything about it now. He has been chasing this client for as long as I can remember. And now
Liyah's POVI froze when I felt the alpha's lips on mine. A new kind of warmth flowed through me as he worked his lips over mine gently. I let out a gasp when he stopped for a second to run his tongue over my bottom lip, and I couldn't understand why my heart began to pound so hard it was all I could hear. I wanted to... I had to pull away, but my legs just wouldn't cooperate.Slowly, I melded into the kiss, sighing when his arm moved to snake around my waist. I couldn't believe that a few seconds ago I was practically drunk-yelling at him. I knew I would get into trouble for that later but I didn't care."Already attempting to eat each other's faces off, I see," I heard someone chuckle from behind us, making him break the kiss. I saw him stare at me, his face calm as though nothing had
Nikolai's POV"So she's your plus one to events from now on?" Margaret asked from where she was seated on the ottoman. I didn't like the way she described it, but I grunted in agreement."Yes.""I see," She replied simply, and as usual she gave a knowing smile. "Well in that case, you can't keep starving and overworking her. Sooner or later people will begin to suspect."I frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?""Well for starters, she's lean, malnourished, and has about a thousand bruises on her body."Something clicked in my head when she said this. "Why hasn't she healed already?" I asked Margaret,
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