I was running again, the world gliding past. The trees were a blur, the ground a fast-paced reel. We were jumping over fallen branches, tackling bushes and crossing river streams. No time to spare a moment and look back or fuss over the thorns splitting through our skin. It had been an hour or two I supposed. Maybe more, maybe less. My lungs were burning, and my legs felt painfully numb. Every time I thought about stopping, I could picture those angry silver orbs, and it only fueled my pace. So many thoughts swirled in my head; some sanguine, some adverse. So many feelings bloated my chest; some overwhelming, some nerve-racking. I was going to see my papa finally after so long. I wanted to ask him where he had been all this time. How he had been. Why he committed such a sinful crime like murdering two souls who had a little bundle of joy to take care of.He had a reason that I knew for sure, but I wanted to know how severe the reason had been for him to stoop this low. Then there
I jerked upright to a sitting position, breathing in pants. Looking around and taking in the bright spring morning, a shaky yet relived exhale escaped me. It was all a dream. A bad dream. Fairy tale didn't exist. Hades was normal. Yeah... I convinced myself. Yet there was a part deep within that refused to swallow those words of cajole. It coaxed me, persistent to make me believe. Yet I shook my head. "It's not real," I told myself. "It can't be. See my necklace is still here..." My hand went to my neck, groping for the crystal and came back empty-handed. My breathing shallowed again. Jumping out of the bed, I ran to the mirror, glancing at my injury in the head. It was newly bandaged. Then I glanced at my clothes. They were changed as well. My heart started beating like drums. I dashed to the washroom and looked into the laundry basket. The dress I had been wearing before was torn from the shoulder."Oh God..." I gasped, holding onto the wall beside as the events from yest
Hades' POV~The ring groaned under my weight as I leaned against a post in the corner. The crowd cheered, yelled and whistled from behind the control barricades while the ref called for someone gutted enough to face me. Human fighters steered clear of me. Not because they knew my identity but because I had knocked out several dozens of them in the very first round. Werewolves, however, did so because they knew better than to cross me. They knew clashing with me would land them into a unnecessary bloodshed on a fair day let alone when I was pissed. And I was goddamn apoplectic today. I already tore down three training halls, dismantled fifty punching bags and sent my half-breed manager at Vilkas Corp. to the ER. Underground fight club was my ultimate choice. Nothing beat the pleasure of releasing aggression on raw flesh and self-healing bones, and I had enough rushing through my veins like rough vesicular lava ready to overflow and massacre the whole world down to ashes. Specific
Gisella's POV~I shot up to a sitting position, my body as hot as the sun, and tingles dancing all over. I was breathing madly. I thought I heard Hades, felt him close. He was... -My hand went up to my neck, feeling a spot sore- kissing me? The heck? It must have been a wild dream. Though there was a small, very small part in me that felt disappointed over waking up. My body yearned to feel more. And I hated it. The next time he saw me he wasn't gonna kiss me, he was going to kill me for stealing his birth book and leaking confidential information to God knows who. And I was gonna ask him about my father even if it got me killed. Since he was the beast from the night of our accident, he must know what happened with my father. What he did to him. For now... I felt my eyelids drooping like two magnets attracting each other with a force. Laying back down, I lost myself back into the darkness. In the morning, when my eyes opened again, it was half past nine. I wondered why no one w
A scream slipped my lips, and I turned in my heels in an attempt to run for my life. But strong fingers gripped around my wrist, and I saw the room spin before I clashed flat against his hard chest, looking right into his intoxicating silvers. They were cold as usual, but now there danced a glint of peccable amusement in them. "Where do you think you're going, pet? Don't want your answers anymore?" My breathing was coming out in little gasps as I tried to squirm under his hold. "I-I only want to know what you did to my papa." I licked my lips preparing for the next words threatening to spill out of my tongue unwanted. "Did you... k-kill him?" He watched me, his intense gaze doing things to my senses, but his silence was driving me to the edge, promising to push me over and stop the pounding beats of my heart forever. Fear crawled its way up my spine. His lips parted, and I took a sharp inhale in preparation for the worst possible scenerio. But then he closed them back, a corner l
I was having a decent time getting a fresh breath of air until the moment we walked onto the village road, and those cold, calculating silvers met my electric blue ones. Hades was accompanied by two of his pack members and three outsiders in dark suits. Judging by their muscled bodies and powerful auras I could easily tell none of them were as human as they attempted to appear. Though Hades stood out in between like a king's throne in a royal court. And he looked as displeased to see me as I to him. I'd have passed them without so much of a second thought if not for Nola to hold me in place and bow before the infuriating Alpha. She greeted the other man as well who I now knew was another Alpha. Though his hazel eyes were settled on me as he sniffed the air, his thin lips stretching with a surprised smile. "My, my, is that what I think it is? Did the big, bad Alpha Hades finally found his mate?" I was going to protest, drill that through his thick skull that I was no one's mate
Bags and boxes filled the space all around the room; the bed, table, even on the floor. Tops, shirts, pants, undergarments even... lingerie? And that wasn't all. I steered my eyes around the racks of dazzling clothes and gaped at the boxes of designer shoes. Those looked like they were brought straight out of some high end dressmaker's shop and costed no less than a fortune. A shuffling sound came from behind one of the racks, and I tensed. "Wh-who's there?" Tera's head popped up over the rack, and her expression turned sour. "So the Luna finally arrived." "What are you doing? What is all this?" I glanced around, ignoring the mock in her tone. She came around, dusting her hands and wiping them at the back of her pants. "Isn't that obvious?" "No. It's not. What are these doing in my room?" "Huh, look at you claiming the room now. First the Alpha and now the room. What is it going to be next you're aiming your filthy claws at? The entire pack?" My eyes twitched with the amoun
I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Rosy lips, rosy cheeks and a good amount of eyeliner along with mascara popped the blue in my eyes. Nola stood behind weaving through my hair into a loose fishtail braid with curls of my honey blonde falling free around my round face. It reminded me of the day I prepared myself like this for my first prom. Even then the man on my arms was my papa. Every other boys at my class were too scared even to look at me because of Papa's death stares whenever they tried. I used to hate that first, though by time I was glad he did that for I had seen a few breakups of my female friends, and they were nasty enough for them to run for therapy. One even tried to commit suicide. I never wished to go through that pain ever. But that never meant I didn't wish for true love. Rather it was something I desired since I read my first romance novel, since I felt the love my father held for my deceased mother. Or was it regret I couldn't tell now. Either way love
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