Ruby Mallory Clive No…Adrian. My racing mind dizzies my vision before a sense of nausea washes over me. The scent of blood is so repugnant that I can feel my mouth water in preparation to hurl, but I can't! I mustn’t! "Adrian..." I utter with trembling lips; even the goddess knows it is not the snow's chill that quivers them. I dare not touch the appendage, lest it be useful for evidence, but instead, I rush up the stained steps to fall still at the sight of Leon and the Alpha outside the blood-stained house whose door has been torn from its hinges. Leon holds the Alpha to keep him from entering the house that looks as if it were decorated for Halloween, especially with the several body bags being loaded into a dark truck with tinted windows. The two of them break into a passionate-looking argument that Leon controls with a forced hug to the much larger framed Adrian, whose back begins to shake as if he is weeping. He has been crying a lot of late, but this time, I cannot help
"You- you sent them to Adrian's mother?"I ask Elaine, finding it wholly impossible to maintain a straight tone that doesn't show my disbelief, but even the rage in my bones at her stupidity causes me to stand.Her gaze escapes mine as she takes a step back."She dead because of you? If you are angry, attack me, fight me! Don’t send my parents to kill the Alpha’s loved ones all because-”A loud scream escapes me.“You clumsy bitch, what did his mother ever do to you?"The shock on Elaine’s face looks genuine.Yet, despite that, I can’t help but want to scratch her face off. She has the nerve to detest me and call me the daughter of a murderer when she is the one collaborating with the man who killed her father.What is this hypocrisy?"She isn't dead. They just took her somewhere safe. To-""Are you three years old? When you tell an evil fuck a weakness, do you expect them to nourish it? Adrian’s mother is dead; her body was torn limb from limb. I saw her hand, I saw the body bags the
Dominic’s nails must have lengthened in the fist he holds my hair in because some strands of my copper hair fall off. "I can walk on my own!" I protest when the edges of the stairs strike my ribs each time he pulls me up a step, giving me no chance to get on my feet. The entryway leads to a familiar bar, the same one I played pool in against Sydney and his gang— I guess it doubles as a safe house. “I said I'm willing to walk!” I yell as my hands fight against his much larger ones. "Shut up!" Dominic curses. "Let me go!" "Shut your mouth, you whore!" He curses before tossing me against the pool table, which crushes instantly under the force and my weight. My entire body hurts at the impact, but at least there is some proximity between us. “How dare you! How fucking dare you let him mark you, you are mine!” He roars as I struggle to pick myself up from the collapsed table. My eyes turn to the open doorway, then the window; it’s closed, unfortunately. The rattling of his be
Where am I?The brightness around me turns to a pastel purple before three people show up before me.All of them have my hair and eyes...actually, they are me at different ages.Soft fur brushes against my left side before Maya settles beside me.“What's going on? Is this 'heaven’, rather is this where the Goddess resides?” ‘Do you think you are going to heaven with the kind of bedroom sex you had with the-?'“Ahh! Stop, oh my God, Maya!”Maya smiles before turning to my eight or is it seven-year-old self.‘This sometimes happens when you have multiple regrets. Typically, you choose how far back you want to go, but…’She drawls.“But?”I prod.‘There are usually gates behind the representations that you choose, but there is none, meaning…’The three versions of me at different ages vanish, leaving Maya and me behind.‘Meaning I do not have the power to make a way back for us.’So…this is it?The room’s light dims slightly before a sigh escapes me.“So, this is our afterlife, then? I
Trigger Warning: Suicide.The twigs beneath Alex’s paws crunched heavily under the pressure of his steps; Adrian had been through the forest thousands of times, but he still couldn’t place his urgency.It was a trap…he knew, but he couldn’t place what precisely the trap was; either way, his wolf propelled him forward with such speed that resistance was futile."I made a mistake...Muaas!"Elaine’s voice rang in his head, and a nostalgic feeling surrounded him. "I told her parents where she was and-"He had never in his life wanted to kill anyone that badly, it was worse that this was ‘Elaine’ he felt hostile towards, but he couldn’t help it!"What the hell were you thinking? If she dies, you die!"He had snapped back in response to the confession, forgetting Jace and their relationship and only focusing on the hum in his veins that yearned to hurt her.The sky had turned dark by the time they had gotten to the territory of the snow leopards; he hated the woods during the winter; the
Adrian M. Knox The eyes of the woman— of the ‘Clive’ before him shone like Rubies. He had heard that Ruby was perhaps the most beautiful of the Clives, followed closely by Magnolia, but the mention of ‘Clive’ made the news enter one ear and out the other. He should have paid more attention; perhaps then he wouldn’t feel so caught off guard. He could feel Alex's delight, but he would be damned if he fell for- Ruby's long copper hair fell to the side as she bowed before him. He loved the thickness and curls in her hair, loved how well she wore it down, but he hated that the bow denied him the sight of her eyes. "I offered my hand-" "You offered your gloved hand, Alpha.” She interrupted with a soft sigh that made him feel shameful. “I know what that means." The regret that hit him was instant. The gloves had felt like such a good idea, but now perhaps… He retracted his hand as he offered his apology. "I am sorry. I did not mean to-" "Yes, you did. You did mean to offend me, b
"Elle! Stop running with-" The bell to the cafe's door rings, causing Elle, who dashed off from the kitchen with a dusted doughnut, to crash into a bulky man and spray loose icing all over their very expensive-looking suit pants. Christ, it's one thing to have a reputation as the shittiest coffee place in the block, wholly another also to build a reputation as a client attacker. "I am so sorr-" I freeze when the man enters fully; of course, it's Adrian—of course, it is. Elle loses her footing, so Adrian secures her with ease before lifting her and plopping her securely on one of the seats next to the door. "There you go, princess." He utters with ease before looking up at me. "Well..." The Alpha drawls as he looks me up and down, perhaps in search of the injury I claimed to have to evade the gala he so graciously invited me to. "Your legs look fine, and so do your ribs and neck. You mentioned yesterday to my staff they were broken?" Shit, he never used to go through rejectio
After one last kiss to Elle, I turn to the nanny, who, despite the inconvenience, seems glad to pick Elle from my workplace. A raise is in order, but something tells me setting her up with Walter will excite her more. Closing the shop is quick; the cafe is right next to the beach, so I take a moment to soak in the beautiful peach of the sky glimmering on the ocean’s water. The view of the ocean from Dominic’s manor was cold, far from the liveliness of the colours here. This time, I managed to help Vivian and her mate escape his ‘initiation’ into his gang life; I don’t know where he is, and I would rather not keep tabs—then again, I am without a wolf, so does the concept of mates still work for me? My hands fly to my neck, to where the Alpha had pressed his tongue and sucked; he left a hickey. I almost groan at the cringy giddiness that I feel. But that should prove we are still second-chance mates, so I guess the concept works. A warm breeze carries the bulk of my hair, reminding