My eyes scanned around the golden-lighted room, spotting at least fifteen to twenty men sporting the leather lounges lining the walls. All cladded in extravagant suits and curious gazes. My nostrils filled with rich, masculine scents, like spice and earth combined with cigarette and whiskey, making me dizzy in the head.One look at them, and you'd know they were the wrong group of men to be near. I felt the heat of their eyes scorching me in all the places set in exhibition for the world. One of them even drawled up to his feet as he visibly checked me out. My eyes widened. Without another thought, I turned around, reaching for the door. Instead my face collided with a hard chest. The belongings on the tray rattled with the impact. A hand placed under mine, stopping the accident from occuring, and another wrapped around my waist, steadying me. "Easy there," a deep male voice spoke.I looked up, meeting a pair of dark blue eyes and a darker smirk. A shiver ran down my spine. Twisti
His eyes came my way, filled to the brim with cold, dark fury. "What did you just say?" The red alert in his irked tone sent a tremble down my legs, but the anger in me wasn't backing down either. "Exactly what you heard." I jutted my chin feigning confidence that I didn't have. He turned all the way to me, his broad shoulders rising up and down in deep, rugged breaths. "You knew, didn't you?" I yelled. "You have been watching me getting harassed by those men." The words hurt my tongue from the spiked adversity they carried. He didn't respond, just watched me with that challenging fire in his gaze, like saying, "Go on if you got the guts."Well, good thing my guts were on fire today. "How could you have done this to me? How could you stoop so low?" I wiped away the lone tear that rolled down my cheek. "All this time you have stepped on me. Insulted me. Hurt me. Even spewed shit about my papa. Yet I never said a thing to you. But now this? How could you? Who gave you the right to
Blood, blood and more blood. Someone groaned, a woman wailed and the others dragged the mutilated bodies on their shoulders. One by one, three men were brought and taken to a building nearby. They had gashes like claw marks on their chests and backs. One even had half of his cheek hanging by a fraction of skin as red liquid continuously poured out, reddening his white shirt, or whatever was left of it. A bile rose up my throat from the scene. The metallic stench of blood filling the atmosphere wasn't helping either. My hand shot to my mouth, and I ran to the side. Freeing my stomach of whatever little food I ate in the morning, I wiped my lips and took a moment to gather what I just saw. Those claw marks. They were either from an animal or metal claw weapons or...These people were too strong and powerful for an animal or weapons to tackle them into such bad shapes. My heartbeat stilled. It was here, wasn't it? The monster was here. It was coming to get me.The feminine sobs in
"Gisella!" My head whipped to the other side in the direction of the voice. Nola stood there, her eyes wide. I turned back only to meet with stark emptiness. The wolf was gone. I blinked, squinted my eyes around through the spreading dark and frowned. "What are you doing out here at this late?" Nola came rushing towards me. Leaning on the tree, I got to my feet. "D-Did you see that? Did you see the wolf?" I asked, frantically looking from her to the other direction. "W-Wolf? No, I didn't." "But it was here. It was right here." I pointed a feet away from me. "C-Could be. It's the woods. There are wild animals. That's why it's not safe for you here." I glanced at her. "It's not safe for me there either." At this, her expression turned into one of pity. "Helen told me what happened. I'm sorry I shouldn't have left you alone." I sighed. Even if she was with me, she wouldn't be able to save me from the hatred they already held close to their hearts. "Let's go." "I don't want t
I felt my soul leaving my body. Right before the device hit the ground, my foot pushed in the direction. A gasp left me as pain shot throughout the bones in my leg. Bending down, I held the throbbing spot. "My phone!" Maria yelled, coming and picking it up. She rubbed it clean like it was her baby. Thank the Lord, it didn't break though it most definitely broke a few metatarsals in my foot. "The fuck were you doing, slave?" I had to crane my neck to look up at Tera. She looked furious as always. "You're fucking stealing now?" I shook my head. "N-No. I-I..." My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn't be caught. Not when I was so close to my salvation. "It was at the edge. I hit it accidentally." "You think I will believe you?" She spat. Then a smirk took over her face. "Wait till the Alpha hears about this." I felt the colors draining from my face. "N-No, no-""Tera," Nola spoke finally, "no need to stretch it. We have been here the whole time. She wouldn't dare do anything." T
It was time. I pulled myself to a sitting position. It was still dark outside, but it wouldn't be for long. I glanced to my side at the emptiness of the bed. Nola was gone. Getting up, I fished out a few pillows I found in her closet and lined them up, covering all the way to the head pillow. Satisfied by my representative for the next few hours until someone figured out, I took a black scarf from her drawer and headed out. Luckily no one was at the hallway- My breath got caught in my throat when a woman appeared at the other end. She had her hands on her eyes rubbing vigorously, then she stilled. I was too far in to go back unnoticed. So I did what my panicked brain suggested me to do. I twisted the knob of the nearest door and slid in. Her footsteps approached, then paused and continued back down the hallway. I could just imagine her looking around baffled and blaming it as hallucination on lack of sleep. I let out a breath of relief which got abruptly cut in the middle. I
If I had felt fear before, it wasn't anything compared to this moment. It felt like when a man was being chased by a Great White, or when a claustrophobic got stuck into an elevator, even when one thought about a zombie apocalypse coming true. It made your soul want to isolate your body. It made one wish to the earth and wish hard to crack open and swallow them whole. It made them scream at the top of their lungs. I did. I screamed at the top of my lungs. The sound abruptly got cut off when the hugeness of his rough hand wrapped around my windpipe constricting it. I could feel my esophagus closing. No air reached my lungs. I clawed at his hand, but he didn't budge. He looked like he had made his decision, and it was my slaughter. "Sh-She 'ed 'elp." I gasped using the last air in my lungs. "L-'et go. P'ease..." He didn't listen nor said another word. He didn't have to. The red, hot anger radiating from him was speaking loud on his behalf, and it was so thick I felt the flaming a
Clomp! Clomp! The sound of heavy footsteps came like the low beating of a drum before a sanguinary war ensued. It energized the battler and terrified the enemy. My hold tightened around the knife as I straightened up pointing it at the door. Clomp! Clomp! With every step nearing, my heartbeat quickened so much I felt like it was going to jump out of my mouth and ditch me. Even my hands gotten so slippery, I was struggling to hold onto the knife without cutting myself. The doorknob twisted slightly. Once. Twice. It didn't budge. I prayed and prayed hard so he would leave finding the door locked. He didn't. He stayed there.I could just imagine the reddish stuff in his anger calibrating scale going up. Then the jiggle of a key inserting into the lock sent a tremor down my back. I had been such a fool. Of course, he had the key. Hurrying to the door, I leaned on my back against the wall beside. Considering his inhumane strength, I would only have one chance. One chance to ram t
Eight years later~ "Elizah?" I stared at the empty room, my brows furrowing. He was supposed to be in his table studying. "Elizah," I called again in a low voice afraid the twins might wake back up.I and Nola spent three hours trying to get them to sleep, and then I dozed off, completely forgetting that I had promised my elder son to help with his homework. Walking down the hall, I checked in the other rooms, even the twins' just in case he decided to visit them like he did sometimes, yet no sign of him. My stomach knotted with unease. Normally, he'd come running to me on my first call, occasionally the second no matter where he was in the house. He was such a sweet kid. But today as I ran around looking for him, I knew something wasn't right. Not working myself up as the doc suggested because of the heart problems I developed over the years as heirloom, I decided to check his hiding spots. There were several throughout the house, the most used one being behind his bookshelves in
One month later~ I sat before the huge mirror like a mannequin princess being coddled by a dozen women. A soft, warm air blew on my hair as someone blow-dried it. Two painted my nails, and another ran several brushes on my face applying make-up. This was the big day. My wedding. Yet as I looked up searching for familiar faces among the people surrounding me I missed the ones I called family. Some more than the others. Some I hated that I ever loved. They took things from me. Significant things. Parts of my heart that I can never get back. But it was a relief knowing the ominous time was over. The evil lurking in the dark waiting to pounce and feed on our happiness was gone forever. And if someone new decided to test their luck, I knew Hades would be right there, protecting his family, and his pack like the feared blood alpha he was. And with him beside me, I too could tackle any storm, swallow any pain and vanquish any enemy that dared to wedge their evil ploys between us. "The d
"No!" I screamed, my chest constricting so painfully I could be sure I was having a heart attack. But it turned out to be fruitful because Gordon's head shot my way, and Hades took that opportunity to slam his forearm on his elbow pit, making a crack echo through the trees. He didn't stop there because the next moment he headbutted the elder sending him flying across. Hades was bloody all over, but he was okay. However, there was no relief as I knelt beside Tera, my head spinning, and a strange pressure building in my belly. Shaking my head, I glanced at the huge broken branch sticking out of her torso. "Tera," I cried out. "Why did you do it?""Don't... get your knickers... in a twist, woman. I'm not... dying for you," she spoke between coughs, her eyes squeezing shut as she clutched the wood and tugged at it. But it didn't budge. She tried again, a gritting scream leaving her lips, but once again, the wood piece refused to come out. It was stuck to something inside. Falling b
The blood in my veins went still as I stared at the man before me. Silver rooted hair and grey eyes. He had the proudest smile plastered on his face as he closed the gap between him and Iris into a loud, sloppy kiss. "Mhm, I missed you, babe," Iris cooed. "I'm here now, my love," he cooed back, and they both turned to me with matching looks of pure mockery. The nerves!Those two? Together? All this time? Shock and disgust combined with each other struck me frozen for a moment. My gut feelings had always been right. Of course it had to be him. Every single of those evidences denoted so. I should've known. I should've fought harder with Hades to prove my reasonings. But then the shock got buried under the weight of the brazen revelation of his dirty game.Every ounce of blood in my veins started to downright scorch. "The fuck you just said?" I snarled. "Manners, girl," uncle Gordon spoke, but then his lips curved into a wicked smirk. "Oh wait, I forgot you didn't have a mother to
Once Garett called off the celebration, the guests started departing with confusion and disappointment washing off the earlier enjoyment from their faces. Some even looked annoyed, but of course they knew better than to complain. I, on the other hand, felt like there was a stress attack swirling deep inside me, but I couldn't freak out now. I had to think about my child. I had to keep it from any kind of harm's way. And when Nola and Iris ran my way, the panic somewhat alleviated from my core. "What happened?" Iris asked. "Are you feeling alright, darling?" Nola followed. "I'm fine," I replied, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves. "I think they caught Alpha Ryan." Nola gasped while Iris sent me a baffled look. "Who's that?" "An alpha who attacked our pack a while back. He even tried to hurt Gisella," Nola explained.Iris' eyes rounded, and she looked around, her gaze alert. "Luna," Wyett and the two other bodyguards stepped closer, "We should go. Alpha asked to take you back
"Why are we here?" I asked, looking around at the fancy shopping mall Hades brought me first thing in the morning. His arms wrapped around my torso and whirled me around. I frowned, staring at the shop before me, but then the name and the long white fluffy gown on display of the shop quenched all my curiosity, and I gasped, my eyes widening. I whipped around too fast, felling a dizziness follow. But I shook it off, my heart pounding in my chest. "Are you going to buy me a wedding dress?" "You're not planning on marrying me in one of your pink sundresses, are you?" I giggled, my insides bubbling with excitement. "No, but a pink bridal gown wouldn't be bad, don't you think?" "Nothing on you looks bad. Drill that into your head, pet." I smiled, feeling a silly swooning moment pass me at the nickname. I missed hearing it from him. It might sound crazy, but I might even prefer this over love, or weird enough, my own name.Hades did as per my wish though. Because the next thing I kne
I sat at the hospital bed anxiously watching Hades and the pack doctor talking between themselves. I couldn't fathom what gotten into Hades all of a sudden. The whole way back home he had been so paranoid even the smallest sounds or movements around got him unduly worked up, and so overly protective even the smallest of road bumps made his free hand shot out to shield me. I had asked him, but he refused to answer before the doctor checked. I told him I was fine. It was only the weakness from not eating enough, but he wouldn't budge. He even made sure half of the nurses from the hospital come aid me like I was some patient with serious illness. My perturbation palliated a little when Bree barged into the private chamber. "Bree," I relieved. Greeting the Alpha, she rushed to me. "Luna, I heard what happened. Are you hurt?" I shook my head. "No, I'm not. But Hades is acting weird I don't understand why. Do you know anything?" She sent me an apologetic smile. "I'm having my hunches,
Sneaking Sam's car keys wasn't the easiest thing, but I did it. I took his car and slipped out of the Church ground. I left my scarf in the shade just so Hades wouldn't lose my scent completely and go berserk. I knew it was the stupidest thing to do right now, but I also knew Hades wouldn't believe me. Not without proof. Whichever uncle Gordon was talking about. And at this point, I was desperate. Something in my guts told me he was speaking about my papa's apartment. Something inside suspected he was behind this murder. I only needed to prove it to Hades and the world. But what I didn't understand was why he would do that. As Papa said the one who started it steered Papa and the other hunters looking for the culprit to the Vilkas spouses. He framed them to get out of the hook. But would Gordon really do that? He had been raising Hades since their death, and sometimes it even felt like he was angry at me for being the daughter of the one who took his brother's life. Then... Could
"Gisele, let me handle this." "So you can let him off the hook?" "I'd never do that," Hades clipped. I stared at him. Maybe he wouldn't because as I had always heard, Hades took justice to a whole new level. He didn't even spare a rare hybrid for wronging one of his allies. Didn't care what the council had to say. "If he's guilty," he added. My teeth gritted. Maybe it was because he never punished a family member before cause when it came to family, even the great rulers fell weak. Turning away from him, I barged through the office door uncle Gordon worked in now. He had been staying in the pack since we arrived from Alaska and helping Hades operate the pack business while he had been recovering and spending more time with me. It felt like a blessing until now. I couldn't keep control of my anger as I stormed right to his desk and slammed my hands on it. "You. You killed my father." He looked up, eyes widening for a brief moment, then they hardened. "Gisella," Hades appeare