ELEANORThe rage, the pain, the torture, the hatred, the torment, and every bad thing that had befallen me since the moment I stepped foot into this cursed place as a slave, all came crashing down on me. This overwhelming mix of emotions must have been the push Alpine needed to wake up from her slumber too as growls began to fill my head."Kill! Kill! Kill him" she continues to chant. If I wasn't so enraged too, I'd have thought her to be crazed, but I could feel every bit of her anger too. She didn't even have to say the words over and over again. I'd made the journey here with just one thing in mind.“Grant me all your strength, Alpine, every bit of it!!" I ordered and she succumbed.“You have it all human, now kill that bastard and get rid of him," she urged almost immediately and my claws elongated as a snarl escaped my lips, alerting the bastard of my presence.The moment he pulled away from her, I saw Clara's eyes widen before falling shut again seconds later. Relief washes over
ELEANOR“Please save us!!! Please save us!!!" The continuous pleas of the girls kept echoing in my head and it slowly started to become a lot. I closed my eyes, hoping to block the voices out, but it seemed to grow louder if anything.I still felt overwhelmed at the thought that I'd just taken the life of someone, brutally, and despite the continuous assurance from Aurora and the other girls that I wouldn't get caught and punished, I couldn't get my rapidly beating heart to keep still.At this rate, I would be the one exposing myself if I do not start acting normal. All the girls had resumed their duties with the reentrance of the guards who had been away for a while and they all chatted leisurely, completely unsuspecting, but I couldn't help sparing nervous glances at them the whole time.Even as we made our way back to the pack house, they continued to chatter loudly, still unaware of the fact that one of their own was missing. I wondered how come they didn't catch the stench of blo
ELEANOR "Clara, I'd advise you to start talking now or you'd leave me no choice but to force it out of you and you know you wouldn't like an alpha wolf forcing the answers out of you. So start talking right now." My hands went to cross over my chest as I stared at her. I watched as she shifted nervously on her feet before lifting her head to look between Jasmine and I. “Well, Clara, we are waiting. Start talking… you almost cost Eleanor her life, so I think you atleast owe us an explanation regarding that. What was that about?" Jasmine added and she finally sighed, chewing at her lower lip. “I'm sorry guys… Eleanor, I'm so sorry, I really am. I wanted to tell you but I was just scared. I hesitated because I didn't know how you would react. I'm so sorry you both" Clara apologizes, tears beginning to stream down her face as she bows her head. “Clara!!!" Jasmine suddenly yelled, causing her to flinch at the tone, “This is no time for you to cry, we want to know what happened. So plea
ELEANOR My eyes widened in shock, jaw-dropping as the reality of the situation dawned on me. My torturer, the one that has brought nothing but pain and misery with himself from the very second he stepped into my life. The one I was ready to dedicate my whole life to ending, was my mate. Everything suddenly felt too much and I was staggering backwards as I had nothing to hold my weight coupled with the weight of the realization. My back hit the wall and I was now practically wheezing as I struggled to get air into my lungs. I continued to choke on nothing other than my own misery and the thought of what this could mean for me. Everything came rushing in, the supposedly unexplained anger he felt when he found me with Easton, the anger that resulted in me being punished, his words back then, his insistence on me pretending to not know about something he was sure I knew of, his threat to my friends just to ensure I stayed and not run off with someone else. All that was because this
ELEANOR “Snap out of it and use your words!!!!" Zane's voice startled me back to reality and if I needed even more of a wakeup call, I got that in the form of his rough hands fisting the collar of my shirt, with which he pulls me to my feet and quite literally drags me towards the bed, tossing me unto it. That grin appears again, accompanied by a smirk this time as his eyes roam over my body and he chuckles haughtily. “I would have loved to hear all the details of how you just killed me in your head but I'm really just too excited to care at the moment" he muses as he resumes stalking closer and I gasp. I wondered how he was able to know just what I had just pictured in my head. “Don't think too much, I could see it in those eyes of yours and that sudden evil smile on your lips. I know killing me is the only thing that can give you such a sense of accomplishment. So, tell me, how do you feel about having me as your mate? Don't tell me…I'm guessing happy? Excited? Or maybe even bot
ELEANOR I stared wordlessly at the ceiling, waiting patiently for the tell tale signs of Zane's breaths evening before slipping out of the room. I felt something break in me with every step I took away from him. My palm quickly fell over my lips to prevent the sobs from leaving them.I felt my skin crawling with disgust at every part his hands touched -which was quite literally everywhere- the smell of his pheromones still clinging to my skin nauseated me and I wished I could claw the feeling of his hands and body on me out of my brain. I still found it hard to believe this was what fate held for me. Zane was my mate. The one person I would give everything to see dead. The one who broke and destroyed my whole life. The moment I shut the door after myself, I broke into a full sprint, unable to stop myself. It was well into the night outside but that didn't stop me from running all the way to the slave's quarter.I couldn't head straight to my room looking like this, I was a mess and
JASMINENo matter how challenging life became, there was always a driving force that kept me going, a flicker of hope that urged me to hold onto my faith, believing that someday I would escape this wretched existence. Once upon a time, I too possessed hope, but it withered away rapidly in the face of the chaotic circumstances that surrounded me. I deemed it meaningless as the future appeared increasingly bleak until I crossed paths with her—the girl who resembled the person I once was, during my earlier years. She exuded an immense passion for her pursuits, a passion I could only yearn to achieve.She possessed an unwavering determination that seemed to burn within her, an inner flame that showed no signs of extinguishing until she found her path to freedom. She harbored no fear of sacrificing her own life in the pursuit of her revenge, believing that as long as she attained it, all would be well. If I hadn't been naturally drawn to her from the start, her unyielding resolve alone wou
JASMINEI sat still, looking at her without saying a word. Her eyes revealed a mix of fear and dread, which alarmed me. It was the first time since we met that I saw her in such a state. She seemed scared, uncertain, and exhausted. It felt like she was a different person standing in front of me. I had been reflecting on how she brought a fresh sense of hope into my life, and now that hope was flickering weakly before my eyes.Until now, she had been the pillar I relied on and drew strength from. Her resilience inspired me to keep trying. But now, it seemed like that dream was crumbling away, just like Eleanor herself.What was I thinking, depending solely on her to keep us going? She was just like me, facing the same fate and suffering, maybe even worse. This wasn't typical of me. What happened to my rule of not trusting anyone, let alone placing my hope in them?"She's different. She's not like the others who betrayed you. She's genuine, and you know it. Now isn't the time to questio
ELEANOR‘Try and enjoy the party’ Those were the last tangible words I could make out as my mind and thoughts took a downward spiral into a place I struggled to get it out of. Occasionally, I remembered being jolted back to reality by the head of slave's loud yells and Clara or Jasmine's whispered pleas for me to get my head on straight and not bring unnecessary punishment upon myself, but I still couldn't. My mind seemed to have a mind of it's own and my wandering thoughts could not be stopped, even when I knew they were but a fever dream.Gory details of Zane gagging and choking on his own blood flooded my mind. I would stand back and watch in joy and fascination after having spiked his drink, his last agonizing moments as he struggles to draw each breath whilst coughing up his own organs, stained crimson Sure, it wouldn't be as satisfying as watching his head hang off a stake, completely drained of blood, but it was enough to keep me sated for now.Obviously I couldn't act on thos
ELEANOR“Hello? Earth to Eleanor,” Clara’s voice brought me out of my reverie, and I blinked back to reality to find fingers snapping in front of my face. I winced, pushing her fingers away from my face as she offered me a concerned look.“Jeez, you would have been in deep trouble if she hadn’t dismissed us. What’s wrong, El? You haven’t been yourself since you came back from Easton’s Pack. Is this still about what we discussed?”“What? What did you both discuss?” Jasmine perked up from where she'd been surprisingly quiet, and I huffed quietly, knowing what would follow.“She wants to end Zane’s life without following the plans,” Clara supplied, and I could see the exact moment it sank in for Jasmine.“Are you crazy?!” She whisper-yelled, her mouth opening and closing incredulously. “That's like asking to die! Do you have a death wish?!”“Apparently, yes,” Clara deadpanned, and Jasmine continued before I could manage a reply.“Why? What are you thinking? Did things not work out betwee
ELEANORI knew that much could be expected when the drive back to the pack felt like a different kind of torture that even Zane himself hadn't been able to put me through yet. The feeling of emptiness that only grew wider in my chest with the growing distance was not one that could be easily ignored. I had gotten a taste of freedom and deny it as I may, experienced happiness in the warmest possible shades in just a few hours spent in Easton's pack. I wish it wouldn't come to an end. I wished I didn't have to go back and that this day would never end, but alas, all of it had just been wishful thinking.I heaved a sigh as I took a seat on my bed, slowly taking off the uniform we'd been given for the party, which was now to be submitted back to the kitchen head and promptly burnt. It hurt to think about something so beautiful meeting such a terrible end, but luxury was nowhere synonymous with slavery in Zane's eyes. We couldn't be allowed to keep clothes that were obviously made not for
ZANE“What!?” I yelled out in anger, finding it inexplicably hard to comprehend what I'd just heard. My fingers ball up into fists and I could feel my entire body brew with maddening anger at the thought of Eleanor with another man. I give her even the slightest taste of freedom and this is what she goes and does behind my back? And Easton….. How dare he touch what I'd made clear was mine in every sense of the word? Eleanor was mine! Mine to possess, mine to own and mine to do however I please. I wouldn't have forgiven him for laying even a finger on her after my very clear warning, but kissing her? He had gone way over the line and there was no way I was going to let this slide. He knew Eleanor was off limits. As if my warning the other day weren't enough, I'd sent Mark over with a clear message that Eleanor was not to be touched. Yet, he ignored every single one of them and claimed what was mine. I couldn't swallow down the weight of his disrespect, the sheer audacity to do somet
UNKNOWNI couldn't watch her being happy, the sound of her laughter and thought of her excitement grated at my skin, annoying me to no end. She had the perfect life growing up, while I was forgotten, thrown to the side and left to rot. She had everything a girl could've wished for and when that was gone I thought it would finally happen, and that she would taste life like I'd always known, but she just had to go and find favor in the eyes of that monster that wouldn't even look at anyone else twice.Was I jealous? Hell yeah, I was. I hated the fact that she was always living better than me, no matter the situation. Despite losing her princess life, she still had something while I had nothing. I was made to work like a donkey while she seeks favor in Alpha Zane and warms his bed.She was yet again enjoying the luxury I've always ever wanted. She should have been killed the day I leaked the news she was an Alpha. Alpha's were meant to be killed at first sight but for some reason, she c
ELEANORThere was no way this was happening right now. I shouldn't be feeling my body thrum with excitement and raw need with every move of Easton's tongue in my mouth. His movements had started out slowly, just a press of lips that grew more insistent as he looked to grow more excited and confident as time went on without any form of refusal from me. When his hand comes up and trails down my face ever so slowly until he reaches back up to grip firmly, yet so gently in my hair, a soft, wanton moan is ripped out of my throat and that had been when his slick tongue probed in to draw even more embarrassing sounds out of my lips. This was supposed to feel wrong, wasn't it? I could hear the more rational voices in my head screaming at me, reminding me why exactly I was here and how that was the exact opposite of what I was currently doing, but, how could it be wrong when it felt so right?My body yearned to be closer to him and I could feel myself arching further into his strong arms aro
ELEANORI felt my body go numb, my entire world pulling to an abrupt halt. Left with no other choice, I had followed him with a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts making rounds in my head and at the last minute, I'd decided on the one that seemed the most safe and believable. If he was as much of a gentleman as Jasmine and Clara believed he was, then there was no way he would be able to ignore a defenseless woman's tears, especially not one they'd been so certain he still harbored feelings for. That had been the plan, pretend to be weak, show him a tear or two and leave it up to his reaction to decide my next line of action. It was full proof, at least it had been in my head, that there were not a lot of things that could go wrong. The worst-case scenario, he'd agree to punish me or throw me out of his presence, none of which I couldn't handle. But in the most unexpected turn of events, I'd been pressed tightly against his firm chest with his low voice whispering soothing words that
EASTONDespite my tough front in her presence on the day I had been so brutally rejected, the following days had been nothing short of hell. There was the denial phase where I just sat around and wallowed in disbelief, refusing to come to terms with the fact that my mate wouldn't want anything to do with me. I'd done nothing to be deserving of such a fate. Anger had followed, flipping tables and cursing at everything and anything, but really, the main focus of my anger had been Zane because, first and foremost, how dare he? What right did he have to lay a claim on my mate and, what's worse, she was nothing more than a slave to him, the woman who was my destined other half. Just the thought of it had me reeling, and it was going to be the final push I needed to wage a war against Zane and everything he stood for. I was more than ready to assemble my men and go to war immediately, but Black had a different idea, one that was as ridiculous as they came, but with a promise of less bloods
ELEANORThe drive to the Crescent Pack is unsurprisingly quiet, the air peaceful but filled with an anxious energy, radiating from the girls who are still very unfamiliar with the idea of leaving the pack in its totality for whatever reason, myself included. Everyone looked tense, except for Jasmine and Clara. I could see the excitement on their faces as they stared outside the window of the moving bus, taking in everything they could with their faces glued to the windows like an excited toddler. To them, this was a huge step towards freedom, and as much as I wanted to share the same sentiment, I couldn't shake off the dreadful feeling that something could go horribly wrong. The fear of failure and its consequences sat above my head like a thick cloud, causing me to bite my lip nervously as I fought back the imagery conjured up by my very restless mind, one painted red, with the blood of my friends and every single one of my pack members, with me at the very middle of it, hopeless,