I did what I said I wouldn't. I ran. Strong fingers wrapped around the back of my neck, and with a tug, I was hurled back into my chair, the impact almost sending it down with me. He caught it by the armrest with ease. Though that'd be a lie, for nothing in his expression nor his movements were of ease. "No." I threw my hands at him. "Stop. Let go. Uh-" My struggles came to a halt when he grabbed my hands in one unyielding grip and started tieing my wrists in a firm knot. Fear shot through my veins, and I tugged at it. "What are you doing? Let me go-" He flushed against me, his heated skin radiating warmth through the thick fabric of his suit and licking me in places we weren't even touching. I was so distracted for that little while that the hard tug of my hands behind my back didn't register in my mind on time. It wasn't like I could prevent it from happening if I was sane either. He moved away, his lips thinned in a straight line, and his eyes shooting glares.My eyes widene
I had been to his office. Not once, not twice but seven times. Throughout the whole day. Even at night. But he was never there. I even went to the training field, asked around with all the bitter-sweet stares. No one could say a thing or didn't want to. But I could feel it, deep in my guts; that feeling like an intangible pull between us. It was right there. Somewhere around. Never too close, never too far. I could sense him, but I couldn't see him. I knew he was ignoring me on purpose, punishing me, making me suffer. But what he didn't know was I wasn't gonna give up on him. No matter how long it might take. No matter how long he stayed mad. I was gonna find him and lay my heart bare to him. I was gonna show him how grateful I was, and how much I craved him. Missed him. My visits became so frequent to his office in the past days, even the receptionist girl seemed to have memorized the same answer so bad she blabbered it without even looking up or while typing furiously. Even Wy
"Well, there's broken silenceBy thunder crashing in the dark." Lips syncing to the song playing in the small device Bree gave me, I took a sip from the dark bottle. At first it burned my throat and everything within, but after a few gulps, this became heaven. I felt afloat, like I was on cloud nine, or perhaps way over it. Into the space among the stars. "And this broken recordSpin endless circles in the bar."Another sip, and I began to spin, a giggle resounding off the walls in our room. In his room. In their room now probably. I was more like the outsider. The used one. Probably even the slave. But he never used me. I never let him. Was that why he sought resort to another? Someone who actually had the potential to give him what he wanted? Even more so. Experience, obedience and happiness.A sob replaced the endless giggles in my throat, and as though to match the ache raising havoc in my soul, the next lyrics of the song came on. "This world can hurt youIt cuts you deep
"Where is the Alpha?" "Alpha Hades would never abandon us." "What happened to the Alpha?" "Is he sick?" "What are you hiding from us?" "It's the hunter's daughter. She must've done something to our Alpha.""He shouldn't have trusted her in the first place." "Enough!" Garett roared, though not as thunderously as Hades did, but that still struck the pack members silent. After all, he was the beta, the second in command. He glared at the two men who suggested I did something horrible to my own mate. "If you respect your Alpha, then you must respect your Luna. Think if the Alpha finds out how y'all have been treating his other half while he was away, what he might do. He will gut you all out." Fear flashed through every single pair of eyes, and some even looked at me like they wanted to scream and run away. But that wasn't how I wanted them to feel about me. So I stepped forward on the porch of the packhouse."I'm not the enemy here. I'm just as distressed and worried as you are. H
I woke up from the ting on my phone in the middle of the night, indicating I received a message. My heartbeat flared the moment my conscious cleared of the drowsiness. I shot to the bedside table, grabbing my phone and turning it on. The bright light hit my eyes, hurting and making me squint. But the colors drained from my face when my eyes scanned over the text. 'Ela, help me.'Hades? As if my mind was on a reel, I scrambled out of the bed and ran out. But then I stopped, something else registering. This couldn't be Hades. He never called me Ela, and this wasn't even his number. Then who else it could be? Papa? But he was free now. Nola? Wyett? Bree even? Was Gordon punishing someone else in his sick traditional way? My head swirled. Typing in the number, I called. It rang and rang and rang. Then stopped. No one answered. Oh God... What was happening? How was I supposed to know who was in trouble? Feeling a wave of protectiveness surging through my veins, I ran back to Hades' o
It was a fortress, no doubt. A huge victorian fortress with tall, thick stone walls. But that wasn't what had my gut in a twist. It was the name... Dreaden. The same name the lady from the candle shop uttered before she got a seizure. But I had heard it way before than that, though I couldn't remember when or where. They had all been warnings that I so foolishly disregarded. Now I was paying the price. I didn't get to mourn over my stupidity for long because yelps from the girls snatched my attention. Two of them were being dragged by a man forcefully. Something snapped inside me, and I shot to them, pulling them off his clutch. "They can walk by themselves." I glared at him. "You-" He took a threatening step towards me when another of them stopped him. "Let them, Doyle." He looked like he had an entirely different thing planned in his head for me, nonetheless, he didn't protest. I turned to the girls huddling around me, and my chest tightened to see the affrighted looks on t
I gathered the plates and uneaten food, proceeding to wipe the table set with fresh flowers and scented candles in the middle of a rose garden. It wouldn't hurt if the man having the date wasn't my own mate. But it was. I could say it from the distant hint of pine and woods lingering in the air, in the seat where he sat, in the handkerchief he used. But I refused to cry. I refused to believe his feelings for me would evaporate just like that in the span of three days. Then there was the mate bond as Nola stated which wouldn't let a werewolf forget about his other half even if he tried like humans did. They felt it harder than us. He must feel it harder than me. Then why was he...? The frightful incident from moments ago resurfaced in my mind, causing goosebumps rise all over me. I couldn't blame it to the cold anymore because they gave me a new set of clothes aka a maid dress which consisted of six layers; seven if I considered the ruffled headpiece. It was the ghastly appearance
Three days. Three days were all I had left till I'd lose the love of my life. Lose the girls who had put their faith on me. And lose the chance at a life I had yearned forever. If I analyzed what Iris said, then that'd only mean Hades was under the witch's influence. She was controlling him somehow. Controlling his actions. But how? The incident before Hades disappeared dawned upon me, and I gasped. That rogue Alpha with his forbidden black magic. He struck Hades before getting caught, resulting in an obstacle to his healing abilities. Could he have been a pawn to her sick game? Could she have spread her poisonous tendrils on him through that? Or why else would Hades come here in the first place? I stilled, my chest clearing off a weight I had been carrying the past nights. That only meant, those hurtful words he spoke didn't actually come from him, but they belonged to her. She made him do that. That bitch. My hand clutched the cleaning cloth in a fist. How dare she touch what w
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