LORRAINE'S POV I laid on my bed. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about my boys. I missed them so much it hurt. There was a deep ache in my chest that wouldn't go away. I prayed they were safe, wherever they were. I hugged their pillows, inhaling the faint scent of them, and cried until I couldn't anymore. Exhausted, I eventually fell into a fitful sleep.I didn't know how long I had been asleep but then, I sensed someone in the room with me. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw a shadowy figure standing at the foot of my bed. Panic filled my body. . I was alone in the house. Who could this be?Before I could scream or even react, the person lunged forward, covering my mouth with one hand while slipping a mask over my face with the other. I struggled, but the mask had a strongscent, and I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.*I woke up with a pounding headache. I felt disoriented and confused. I didn't know how long I was out but it felt like an eternity. I took a look a
KYLIAN'S POVThe cold steel of the cell bars bit into my skin as I gripped them, my knuckles white with tension. I couldn’t shake this feeling—this overwhelming sense that something was terribly wrong. My wolf stirred within me, pacing, growling, unsettled. It had been days since they threw me in here, but I couldn’t focus on anything else but the anxiety clawing at my chest.“Something’s wrong with her,” my wolf whispered in my mind. "Lorraine."Her name echoed in my thoughts, sending a shiver through me. I pressed my forehead against the cold bars, trying to breathe through the panic rising in my chest. I could feel her. I could always feel her, like a part of me was connected to her, and right now, that bond felt dim. It felt like she was slipping away.I turned to the officer stationed just outside my cell, trying to keep my voice calm, though I knew it came out strained. “You have to find Lorraine. Something’s wrong. Please.”The officer barely glanced up from his phone, his exp
KYLIAN'S POVMy wolf's senses were all at high alert as I tried to trace Lorraine’s scent. I noticed that at Neil's place, there was no scent of any human. The only scent I could pick up were that of dust and sand. He must have deserted his home for a while now, I thought. Where could he have gone to? He was usually with Lorraine or doing his job in town, according to Lorraine. I thought of going into town, perhaps I'd find him there and he'd hopefully have an idea where Lorraine was but I couldn't go to town after I'd just broke out of prison. Not if I wanted to make sure Lorraine was fine.Finally, I decided to let my heart lead me. I turned in the direction wherever the pull was the strongest. After a few minutes of turning the way I thought was the best route, I suddenly caught Lorraine's scent. It was as strong as ever. It pulled at my heart strings and I just knew I had found her. I followed her scent. The closer I got, the more certain I was that something was terribly wron
KYLIAN'S POVWe all watched as the police cars drove away into the night, taking Neil's shouts with them. The place grew silent as the car went out of sight. Suddenly, I felt tiny arms wrap around my legs.“Dad! We missed you."I looked down at the kids with a smile on my face.. My heart warmed at the sight of them. I hugged them tightly, ruffling their hairs “I missed you too, buddies," I told them and hoisted them up in my arms.I was glad when they started to narrate all that they'd been up to since I was taken. I had half expected that they might be shaken up by what just happened. They also said that Neil treated them well so they were surprised when he started to hit mom. After a while, they fell asleep in my arms. Lorraine finally walked to me with a nervous expression. “Thank you," she muttered as she took Alex from me.She made to take Aiden too but I shook my head, “Let me deal with this one."My gaze lowered to her bruised chin. It was starting to heal but it was still
LORRAINE'S POVAfter a long while of staring into space even after the car was long gone out of sight, I finally turned around slowly and dragged myself back to the house.Inside, Kylian stood there waiting for me. He now had a shirt and pants on. “Is everything cool with you guys?” He asked in a worried tone. .“Yeah," I muttered back absentmindedly as I made my way to my room.“What would you like to have for dinner?" He called out to me before I opened the door to my room.I turned to face him and saw the concern and worry on his face. I didn't want him to feel as if he caused Rose's hostility to me so I flashed him a smile. “Anything. As long as the boys love it."Usually, I would insist to cook but tonight, I just wanted to curl around myself and sleep.***It'd been some days since the incident with Rose. I had tried to reach her but all my efforts had been in vain. She wasn't returning any of my calls. It'd also been days of hiding my sadness from Kylian and the boys as I kne
MOLLYKane didn't bother to use his words anymore. The second I heard the cock of the rifle, I stopped hesitating and fully stepped out.My head was blank as I gently closed the cupboard behind me. I looked ahead at Kane, my heart in my throat. He had his rifle pointed at me and there was something in his eyes that broke my heart. Hurt. Betrayal. My eyes watered at the sight of him.I wanted to say something, anything but I feared that I would say the wrong thing. What could I even say at a moment like this? We stayed like that for a while. Kane looked at me as though he was seeing me for the first time and he couldn't understand what he was seeing. I wracked my brain for what to say and how to say it. How do I spare myself from his wrath? What do I do to get rid of the hurt and betrayal that was naked in his eyes? The only way was to blackmail him. I decided. I will blackmail him emotionally and spare myself.“Yaz made me do this,” I blurted. It wasn't like I was selling Yaz out
YAZ'S POV As I stepped out of the car, my heart leaped with a triumph I’ve long awaited. I closed my eyes, taking in the moment. Soon, this world—this kingdom—would bend to my will. I could already taste the fear I’ll instill, the respect I’d demand. The reign I’d dreamt of was just within reach.A low chuckle escaped me, and I caught some of the guards throwing puzzled glances my way. Let them wonder. Soon enough, they'd understand. My reign wast some distant dream. It wasn't just within reach—it was a few strokes of ink on a piece of paper away.I spotted the head of my bodyguards approaching with the black leather bag, the one containing the file Molly got for me. My smile widened. I could almost feel the crown on my head. Just a signature, and it would all be mine.“I'll accompany you,” he says, stopping before me, and bowing slightly.I wave him off. “No need,” I told him with a grin. “Today, I want to do this on my own.” I yook the bag from him. I turned and headed for the pa
COLE'S POVI had barely sunk into the couch in my chambers when I heard a knock at the door.I closed my eyes, exhaling heavily. Can’t I get a moment of peace? Of solitude?The knock came again, sharper this time. Urgent.“What do you want?" I snapped, my patience hanging by a thread. I silently hoped it wasn’t Yaz. He’d walked past me earlier, saying nonsense like the fool he was, likely still drunk from his nights out.“It’s me," a voice replied.For a moment, I frowned, rubbing my temples. The voice was familiar, but with all the Alpha duties mother had been drilling into my head, I couldn’t place it immediately.“Alpha? May I come in?”Then it clicked. I bolted upright and walked to the door, pulling it open to reveal my most trusted spy. He was drenched in sweat, his breath labored as if he’d just escaped death itself.I gestured for him to enter, glancing down the hallway to ensure we were alone. "What's happened now?" I asked "Who’s trying to kill who this time?"“It’s Yaz,”
MOLLY'S POV. I had a perfect plan. Every step I took was meant to secure my position of power. But there was one crack I hadn't anticipated—Kylian hated me. He didn’t just dislike me; he despised me in a way that seeped into every glance, every word. He treated me worse than the maids, worse than the guards, like I was less than nothing.And now, the staff was starting to notice. They no longer gave me the respect due to a Luna. The way they looked at me—it was unsettling. No. This couldn’t go on. I needed to make Kylian like me, at the very least respect me as his Luna.Killing Lorraine had crossed my mind more times than I cared to admit. But the truth was, the second she dropped dead, suspicion would fall squarely on me. Kylian wouldn’t even need proof. He’d throw me in the dungeons without a second thought, and what good would all my plotting and power be if I was rotting away in a cell?So, I searched for another way. Something quieter. I asked around, made some discreet inquiri
KYLIAN'S POV The pack was finally restored to its natural state. It hadn’t been easy—trust was fragile, but over time, the pack members began to heal, learning to live once again in peace and harmony under my leadership. The shadows of Yaz’s reign gradually faded. I hadn’t expected Yaz to step down willingly. The day he discovered the truth, he climbed onto the stage, addressing everyone. His voice was heavy with regret as he apologized for the trauma he had caused. But his words were met with silence, and the pack didn’t believe him until he publicly denounced his desire to lead and declared he would step down.It wasn’t until the moment he stepped off the stage that I realized how deep their wounds ran. Stones, shoes, food—everything imaginable—was hurled at him. The shouts and curses came fast.“You beast! You killed my daughter!”“I have nightmares because of you!”The scene was chaotic, heart-wrenching. Yaz, once feared, now stood vulnerable, bearing the wrath of a broken pack.
YAZ'S POVIt was the day of the fight. The one Kylian, that bastard, had challenged me to.For the hundredth time, I cursed myself for not ending him when I had the chance. I could’ve killed him, and no one would’ve batted an eye.What about Cole? And his formidable soldiers?Cole’s weakness was simple—his mother. I could use that, easy.As for Kylian’s soldiers...I clenched my teeth at the memory of how stubborn they were. After we returned to my pack, I’d crammed them into three of the largest cells we had. They fit into three separate rooms, and I went to each one, offering them riches and power, attempting to sway them to my side. But they stood firm. “We only answer to Kylian,” they had said in unison.I hissed under my breath, adjusting my fighting gear. "Fools."The battlefield loomed ahead. The ground was cold beneath my feet. Kylian was already there, and the sight of him made my heart skip—he looked...stronger. How? I’d locked him in that cell, barely feeding him enough to
KYLIAN'S POV “I’ve got your back, man. Do as he says,” Cole whispered to me. I wanted to yell in his face, to scream at the injustice of it all, but I saw the truth in his words. There was no choice. Not with Yaz standing there with his cold eyes watching me like a predator about to strike. I’d heard stories of Yaz’s cruelty, his ruthlessness, but seeing it now—the hard lines on his face, the smug twist of his lips—was enough to make the hair on my neck stand up.This was once my Beta, someone who stood by my side for years. Now, I realized he wasn't who I thought he was. Yaz was my best friend, my best man, the person I trusted. He had my family in his hands. My pack. My people.My nails bit into my palms as I fought to control the rage boiling inside me. How had I let this happen? Right under my nose, that bastard had gotten his claws into everything and everyone that mattered to me. My men stood shackled, helpless. I couldn’t protect them. Not yet.I glanced at Rose. Her chest r
LORRAINE'S POV "No!" Aiden's screamed "I won’t leave you, Mommy!" He started climbing the ladder again, his small hands gripping each rung."Aiden, please," I whispered My pulse thundered in my ears. "Please, go."But Aiden wasn’t listening. His little body moved back toward me.The soldiers were closing in fast. Their boots pounded against the earth, rattling my bones. I saw Rose rush from the house in a futile attempt to stop them, but they struck her hard across the face and bound her wrists instantly. I wanted to scream, to run, to fight, but every plan I thought out didn't make sense. There was nothing I could do in this moment. Too much happened all at once. Even if I ran with Aiden, I knew they’d shoot. My boy—they would kill my boy.So I stayed. I stayed rooted to the spot, paralyzed as the soldiers finally reached us and pulled Aiden from the ladder, their rough hands gripping him too tight. Aiden cried. I struggled, my own hands clawing at their arms, trying to free him. B
KYLIAN'S POV “Are you sure we can trust this man? How do we know he’s not tied to Yaz somehow?” Cole’s voice was thick with WORRY. I sighed, keeping my eyes on the road. “For the last time, Cole, the guy’s not interested in politics or alliances. He just wants to do business. You tell him how many soldiers you need, he gives you a price, you pay, and that’s it. He’s a mercenary, not one of Yaz’s lackeys.”Cole grunted, “I just don’t want us walking into a trap. Yaz has become a monster—he controls everyone through fear. One wrong move, and these mercenaries could turn on us in the middle of a fight.”“I get it, I do. But trust me, brother. This guy is solid. He doesn’t care about Yaz or anyone else. All he wants is his gold.” I kept my voice steady, though I understood his hesitation. The stakes had never been higher, and one misstep could cost us everything.Silence settled between us as the car hummed along the road. Since Oscar's funeral, I’d been working every contact I had to f
WES' POVI thought the goddess was punishing me. That was the only explanation for what my life had become.After days of endless torment, I'd stopped trying to survive. The pain was relentless, pulling at me until I was nothing more than a shell. Cole had promised to take care of Lorraine, and I believed him. He always kept his word, even when he acted like he didn’t care. There was nothing left for me to fight for. I wasn’t living—I was simply enduring, and each day brought new horrors.When Cole left, my world spiraled into endless agony. They introduced me to tortures I hadn’t known existed, using my body as a test subject for their newest, most sadistic weapons. I prayed for death, begged the goddess to take me, but she never did. I could still hear the sharp crack of the whip, the searing hiss as fire scorched my skin. My body was nothing but pain, a ragged thing barely holding on.My voice had long since given out. My screams echoed in the dark until they became part of the sil
KYLIAN'S POVI pulled my eyes from Lorraine, though the connection lingered in the air between us, as Oscar’s voice filled the space."Rose and I," he began, his voice shaky but firm, "we’re both related to Kylian."The room fell silent as both Rose and Oscar's gazes landed on me. The weight of their attention was palpable. I blinked, my mind racing, trying to piece together the puzzle they were laying before me. How could this be? I didn’t know Rose, not at all. Oscar had worked for me since I was a kid, yet nothing in our relationship hinted at anything beyond employee and employer. I knew how close he was to my father. That was all. But I didn’t say any of this aloud. No one did. We all waited. The tension was thick as Oscar took a breath, pressing his bruised hands to his chest.“I am your grandfather,” he said, his voice breaking slightly, “and Rose here is your mother.”I should have laughed. If I hadn’t already regained my memory, I might have believed them. But I had. I knew
LORRAINE'S POV Rose had finally convinced me to let one of the nurses take Aiden to the children’s section. Though my heart ached to leave him, I knew he would be safe, surrounded by others his age. I watched him settle in. His cute face looked back at me with a smile before I turned away.Once we were sure Aiden was in good hands, I rushed after Rose, following her down the corridors to Oscar's ward. My heartbeat quickened with every step. I could feel an unshakable sense of dread building within me. When we burst into his room, the sight that greeted us left me frozen.Oscar lay battered, bruised, and broken. The bandage wrapped around his head, the casts on both legs, and the sheer number of cuts scattered across his body—he looked like a man barely holding on.“Oh Goddess,” I gasped, my hand flying to cover my mouth. The world tilted slightly as I absorbed the state he was in. Yet somehow, through all that pain, he managed a weak smile.“How did this happen?” My voice was barely