I can barely sleep. Ryker is on my mind all night. I'm apprehensive and nervous about my first shift in four days. After a yawn and a stretch, I get dressed, make the bed, and go downstairs to the dining room for breakfast. A few members are already at the table eating, Amelia is one of them.'Good morning, Astrid,' she says. 'Good morning, everyone,' I say, sitting next to Amelia. The other ladies smile. 'You'll have to tell me all about Shady Crest,' I tell Amelia. 'Alpha Zenith is obviously our Alpha,' she giggles. 'Yep. I think I got that.' I chuckle.'We train here daily, including she-wolves. Alpha Zenith likes to keep our reputation intact. We're the strongest pack, and he wants us prepared if another pack becomes a threat so that we can take them out. His eldest son James hasn't found his mate yet. Alpha Zenith has one in mind. He won't say who just yet, but says he will only settle for the strongest she-wolf, as James will eventually take over as Alpha,' she explains.'Wh
I discard my heels and run in my tights as fast as possible. 'Get her boys!' Zenith yells. John and James shift and chase me in their wolf forms. I run through the trees and slip, rolling down a rocky hill.My hair is messy, with leaves and twigs sticking out at many angles. I continue to run. 'Ryker!' I scream at the top of my lungs. Someone hazardously throws me down. I kick and punch them as hard as I can. A hand covers my mouth. The weight of a body holds me down. He is completely naked now, in his human form.'Shh... shh,' James whispers, stroking my face. I can't free myself. My movements are futile. 'Stop trying to fight me,' he whispers. Tears roll down my cheeks. 'Consummating the pairing already?' John laughs.'Fuck off, John,' he says to his brother. 'Why did you scream out for Ryker?' James asks. He slowly removes his hand, and I spit in his face. John laughs. 'You better put her in her place before Dad does, James! You know he won't tolerate her treating you like th
Alpha RykerI'm excited about spending the day with Astrid. Every day, she trusts me more and more. She is thankfully adjusting to werewolf life. After my shower, I knock on her door. There's no answer. I knock again. 'Astrid, are you awake?' I open the door. Her bed is neat and creaseless. She hasn't slept in it. Strange. I knock on the ensuite door. She isn't there either. One of her drawers is open. Inside, Astrid's clothes are strewn about. She must have been in a hurry. My stomach sinks. Her bag is gone. I sprint downstairs to the dining room. Seth and Mia are at the table with Kane, Hayley, and Vanessa. They all stand as I enter.'Has anyone seen Astrid?' I ask. They shrug and say they haven't. 'Is she still asleep?' Mia asks. 'No, she isn't there, and her bag is gone too,' I say in a panic. 'Ryker, I'm sure she's around somewhere. I'll mind-link the pack to keep an eye out for her,' Seth suggests. I call out for Astrid, running through the house, searching every room and en
'Alpha, you look tired. May I suggest you rest for the night?' Alice says. I nod, making my way to my room. Everything in my room sways. I grab onto the armchair and sit down. Kicking my shoes off, I wait for the swaying to stop. My door creaks open. 'Is someone there?' I ask, squinting at the figure I can barely make out.'It's me!' She says. 'Astrid? Is that you?' I ask and try to stand, but my balance is off. I feel a hand gently press against my chest. 'Sit down, Ryker. I'm here now. I'll take care of you,' she whispers. She straddles herself on my lap. 'Astrid, you came back.' 'Of course, I did,' she whispers as she slowly unbuttons my shirt. 'Why did you leave? Where did you go?' I ask. 'All that matters is that I'm here with you.' One hand caresses my bare chest, while her other unfastens my belt. Her lips brush across mine. 'Ryker,' she whispers lustfully, placing my hands on either side of her thighs.'Astrid,' I whisper. 'I want you to mark me, Ryker,' she whisper
Astrid'Astrid, you need to eat,' James says. Ignoring him, I keep my eyes on the stone floor. This will be my second night down in the cell. I've refused all food and never acknowledged James’s presence when he comes down to the cell.He punches the cell door angrily. I flinch in fright. I'm worried. 'Damn it, Astrid! Why can't you be a good little mate and do what you're told?' He yells.Hearing keys, James unlocks the cell. It creaks open. James picks me up and sits down on the bench, holding me tightly in his lap. I try to fight him off. I scratch his cheek. He slaps me hard across the face and wraps his arms tightly around me so I can't move. His nose nuzzles my hair and sniffs the back of my neck. 'Astrid, I could make you so happy if you let me,' he says.'You will never think of Alpha Ryker again if you give me a chance,' he whispers. I wriggle and squirm. 'After your first shift, I will mark you straight away,' he says. I stiffen at his words. 'No, I won't let you. You can
Alpha Zenith'I'm going to tell you a story, Astrid. And you're going to listen to every word,' he says. I glare at him but give him my full attention because I know he can make me listen if he has to, and I've been through enough.'Twenty-two years ago, Moonstone Crest was the strongest pack around. They hosted an annual mating ceremony, where packs would be invited from all around the world to potentially find their mates.''Unexpectedly, my pack, Shady Crest, had been invited. Unfortunately, my father was the Alpha and did not get along with the Alpha of Moonstone Crest. My father was willing to put his hatred for Alpha Bane aside, though, as he hoped I'd find my mate there. I could finally take over as Alpha if I did.''We attended the mating ceremony, and it was a spectacular event. However, not long after arriving, I smelled the most alluring scent I had ever smelled before - vanilla and honey. I followed the scent to no avail. I didn't understand why my mate's scent kept disapp
Alpha Zenith'The moment I see Alyssa, my heart races. I watch her for a while and notice she doesn't seem sad or depressed. Not the way I have been, every moment I've been away from her. She laughs and dances with everyone, she even clings to her Dad's arm, kissing him on his cheek. I don't understand. Why isn't she upset or angry at him? Why does she look so happy? I thought there had to be a good explanation.''Alyssa walks over to the food table, plucks some grapes and strawberries from a fruit bowl, and eats them. 'Alyssa', I whisper. She stops herself from reaching for another strawberry and looks around. 'Alyssa', I whisper again.''She looks around to see me hiding in the garden. Her lips part as she lets out a small gasp. She is shocked to see me. She scans her surroundings to see if anyone is watching her, then looks back at me. I gesture for her to walk over to me. She is very hesitant and is debating whether or not to approach me.''She bites her lip and gives me a small n
AstridIn utter shock, I can't believe what Alpha Zenith has just told me. He is my mother's true mate and murderer. I stand, run to the cell door, and shake the bars with fury full of anger. 'You killed my mother! You killed her!' I yell. Alpha Zenith smiles. 'Yes, I killed her! After everything, I did for her! I gave her a chance to reunite with me, and she threw it away like I was nothing, like I wasn't even worth the risk!' He yells.'You killed her whole family! You murdered them all in cold blood! She didn't want to be with a monster!' I yell. The look on Alpha Zenith's face changes from a smile to aggression. He unlocks the cell door and grabs me by the throat, holding me against the cold stone wall.'What did you call me?' He growls, squeezing my throat tighter. I try to loosen his hands from my throat. I can't breathe. Black dots appear in my vision, and he loosens his grip and speaks.'Call me a monster again, Astrid,' he warns. Boring his eyes with mine, I know he will ki
More thunder and lightning flash through the sky above us and turns into a wild storm raining down on us. As I hold Nina in my lap, I feel the electric static where ever our skin touches. It feels amazing. Our eyes turn black. ‘Mate.’ We say in unison. Nina lets out another scream. ‘Try not to fight it, Nina. It will hurt less if you let your wolf take over.’ I say, stroking my fingers through her hair. ‘It hurts,’ ‘I know, babe. I’m here, and I will help you through this.’ She nods and tries her best to relax. Black fur covers her as she shifts into her wolf. My breath is taken away. Her wolf is pure black with a white-shaped star on her forehead. ‘Nina, your wolf is so beautiful. You even have a white star on your forehead. I’ve never seen anything like this.’ I say, stroking her fur. She steps back, prances happily in wolf form, and then nudges into my shoulder. ‘You want me to shift too?’ She shakes her head. ‘Well, if the curse is broken, I should no longer feel any pain
We sit by the fire and keep warm. I lay on my back and looked up at the stars. Nina lies on her back next to me.'I miss my mum and dad.' Nina says.'I miss my family, too.''Would you believe I'm even missing May?''You, miss May? Never.' I smile.'What if it's months or years until we ever see them again?''We have each other. You and me now against the world until I find my mate.' I sigh.'Yeah.' Nina frowns and stands up. 'I'm going to go for a walk.''I'll come.''No, please stay. Some time to myself is what I need. I won't go far. I promise.' She says with sadness.'Oh, okay.'I watch as she wanders further into the darkness of the woods. Why did she become so sad suddenly? She is going through a lot, having no wolf, a curse, and a witch hunt after her. I wish I could hold her, smell her mint and lavender hair, and tell her everything will be okay. If I could choose my fated mate, I would select Nina in a heartbeat.Nina returns with red puffy eyes. She has been crying.'Are you
I chase after her.‘I’m sorry, that never crossed my mind.’ I fall to my knees. ‘I’m the biggest idiot ever to exist.’ Nina stops running and turns to look at me. ‘We were the best of friends once. I thought the pack saw me as one big joke. I pushed you away and ignored you for years because of it. Then I made things even worse. I cursed you, and now you don’t have a wolf. And you won’t be able to sense your mate until I find mine. All I ever wanted was to protect you and keep you safe, but all I’ve done is cause you hurt and pain. I’m so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?’ I cry.Nina morbidly approaches me and falls to her knees in front of me. Our knees are touching. She takes my hands and holds them in hers. I can feel her hands trembling.We gaze at each other with tear-filled eyes. Nina bursts into tears and wraps her arms around my neck. I hold her tight and cry into her soft brown hair.‘All those years, you say you ignored me; you never did. Every day we had breakfast and dinne
Nina takes a step back, putting distance between us.‘Why would you do that to me? Why would you put a curse on me, Magnus?’ she yells.‘She is cursed?’ someone yells.Nina looks at me with tear-filled eyes and a look of anger and hurt in her eyes.‘Well, that’s one less thing I don’t have to tell.’ Hank says.Nina and I glare at him. ‘Nina has a curse that affects your dear future, Alpha. He can’t shift naturally without severe pain, as you all know, but you don’t know it’s because of her curse!’ he shouts and points to Nina.Everyone glares and point at Nina.‘No, leave her alone! It’s not her fault.’ I say, pulling Nina behind my back.‘I have the proof that Nina is not what she seems. She has no wolf because she is a witch and cursed you, future Alpha.’ he shouts and points a remote up, pressing a button. The projection screen shows a video of Nina and me and the lake earlier today. Nina is casting spells.There is a sudden uproar of pack members and people from other packs yellin
‘You scared me, Magnus! Don’t sneak up on me like that again.’‘Sorry.’ I say, ringing my shirt out.Nina moves over to a dry area on the grass. I sit opposite her.‘What are you doing, Magnus?’‘Monitoring you, so you don’t get caught.’‘I will not get caught, Magnus.’‘What spell are you going to try now?’ I say, changing the subject.‘There is one here called The Blinking Spell, which says to focus on an area you can see in the distance, wave your wand, and say Skedaddle Dash. This will port you in that area. This spell can make you blink or teleport up to a one thousand metre radius at a time.’‘Think of how quickly you can get to school with that spell?’ I laugh.Nina rolls her eyes and stands up. She walks roughly five metres away from me and looks past me into the distance.‘Okay, here goes nothing.’ She says, waving her wand. ‘Skedaddle Dash!’She disappears for a split second; I suddenly felt a weight on my lap. I look down to see Nina blushing as I hold her like a baby in my
‘This is impossible.’ My father says, standing up. ‘This can’t be happening. Magic has been long gone and forbidden for many years. We only found out that a few witches still exist when you had the terrible fever, Magnus.’‘Nina, you and your sister cannot experiment with this. You are already in danger. If everyone finds out, you are cursed and that it affects Magnus and now to know you can cast magic. It will cause mass panic. Everyone will hunt you and May down. The only way to keep the secret safe is not to cast magic. My mother says.I know how much being able to cast spells meant to Nina. She was trying hard to hold back any tears and hid her feelings from everyone.‘We need to figure out how this is even possible.’ Dad says.We all look at Leon and Amelia. Leon shrugs his shoulders.‘I’m in just as much shock as you all are. I swear I do not know.’ He says, then looks at Amelia, who has the look of guilt written all over her face. ‘Amelia?’ Leon says.‘Well, you see. There is s
As soon as the sun rose, Leon came out to the car.‘You look worse every time I see you, Magnus.’‘Are the girls ready to go? I want to get out of here.’ I say, ignoring his observations of me.‘Yeah, I’ll tell them to hurry it up.’‘Good.’ I say and sit in the front passenger’s seat.The girls climb in the back, talking to one another as I stare out the front window. I pull the visor in front of me down and slide the panel across, exposing the small mirror. Leon wasn’t wrong when he commented about my appearance. The bags under my eyes have only gotten bigger and darker. I notice May give Nina a look and gesture her head at me. She was hinting to Nina to say something to me. Nina glares at May, shakes her head no, and looks out the side window, avoiding me.Leon enters the driver’s seat and puts the radio on to break the silence.May sings along to half the songs throughout the day. We stop for petrol and Leon buys snacks for everyone while we are there. The girls tell Leon they are
We arrive at the car.‘I’ll mind-link Alpha Ryker and let them know we have Nina and that we are safe.’I open the back passenger door—Gianna steps in, then Nina. May sits in the front. My heart rate increases as I get to sit next to Nina. I unzip the bag at my feet and pass out a bottle of water to everyone. Nina and Gianna scull the water down before I hand them snacks. They moan as they eat the food, especially Gianna. She eats a packet of chips, a muesli bar and three chocolate bars.‘This is so good. I’ve never had food like this before, not even when I was at the orphanage.’ She says with her mouth full of food.‘We will get you a proper meal when we reach the next town.’ Leon says to her while adjusting the rear-view mirror.As we reach the town, we park outside the diner. We raced inside, causing a lot of attention from the diners and staff. We sit at the nearest table and wave the waitress over. She takes the pen from behind her ear and the notepad from her pocket.‘What woul
The older woman grabs the younger woman’s shoulder but stares at me.‘It’s over for now, but this won’t be the last you see of us.’ She hisses.I growl and step towards them. May places her hand on my back.‘No, let them go. We need to find Nina. We can worry about them later.’She says as the two women quickly shift and run away. I shift back and yell in pain. After a few minutes, I’m in my human form. Leon shifts back as well.‘Nina!’ I cry out.There are dead bodies everywhere. Gianna is sobbing. May approaches her and unties her from the post and the rope from her wrists. I hear a moan and a mumble and run towards the sound. Pushing a couple of bodies aside, I find Nina.‘Nina, I’m here. You’re safe now.’ I say, untying her wrists. She squints her eyes, letting them adjust. The look of relief shows on her face. She sits up and lunges into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck, and cries into my chest.‘You came for me. You found me.’‘Of course, we came for you, Nina. I would s