“Mother, I need to ask you some questions,” I said as soon as the door opened before me. I stepped into the room and began to pace around while I let my mother shut the door. I had been restless the whole drive down to East Chicago, to the location of my pack, Castros, where my mother lived. Mother stepped into the room with inquisitive eyes glaring at me. I wanted to excitedly tell her I’d found my second-chance mate, but the look in her eyes and the haste to ask her the questions that had preoccupied my mind throughout the day made me ignore that part. “What is it you want to talk about, Neil, that you seem to have forgotten how to be the cordial boy I raised you to be?” Mother’s voice was cold, a sign that she was annoyed. I exhaled as I realized what I had done. I shouldn’t have barged in that way. “I’m sorry I barged in that way, but…” “It’s okay,” Mother raised her hand to dismiss my plea. “What do you want me to help you with that is so urgent?” Mother took her seat with he
“What happened on the day I was born?” I wanted to know what Alpha Oris meant by “something strange.” Mother sighed and sat up on the sofa. “It's fair that you have to know now.” This time, I took my seat opposite her, ready to determine if I would call this the moon's curse or blessing. “When I went into labor—it was the most painful labor ever. Your elder brother didn't give me so much trouble. You had a strong body even as a baby. The full moon suddenly turned red before the lunar blood moon night. The whole forest, which was supposed to be filled with werewolves on the full moon, was suddenly empty. You didn't come out after the first normal contractions, but after we concluded to perform a surgery, you pushed out in your wolf form…” “In my wolf form? I was a wolf from birth?” “Yes. You could transform swiftly into your wolf form from a very tender age, which was very abnormal but also very wonderful. You had to be hidden. I hid you until you were up to the age of puberty when
After calling Neil, I thought of something else to do to keep myself busy until tomorrow. A thought crossed my mind—the idea of doing something to show appreciation to Lorenzo for finally letting me start work. Yes, it was my right to go to work, and I wasn't obliged to thank Lorenzo for that, but I should also try to build a mutual relationship between Lorenzo and me. I'm his wife now; I should try being a wife. With that thought in mind, I rushed out of the room. My feet hurried down the stairs until I reached the living room, where I spotted Leo sitting opposite the door, watching the entrance. He was always bristling around the house, anxious about the unknown. “Is Lorenzo coming home tonight?” I asked as soon as I was behind Leo. He turned slowly, surprised that I was asking about Lorenzo. “Yes, he's on his way already.” I checked the time; it was still early to make dinner. So, I turned and walked towards the kitchen, where I saw Lily doing some dishes. I tickled her sides f
I was only glad to be going to work that morning after facing Lorenzo's outburst the night before. I woke up much earlier and realized Lorenzo was already gone to take care of his business; good for me. I quickly began to prepare for work. I put on a blue ball-sleeve dress that barely covered my knees. The slit on my neck showed enough cleavage to make mouths water. I slipped into a pair of golden brown cone heels with a perfectly matching handbag. I preferred to tie my hair into a bun, and before I knew it, Leo was driving me to the company. “Stop me at the café.” I ordered some freshly brewed coffee and Neil's snacks before hurrying off to work. I checked the time; I was almost late. Too bad—I had to leave a good impression on my first day. I urged Leo to speed up. I grabbed the stack of Holer files from the brunette at the reception area after we exchanged pleasantries. I noticed my forehead was sweating, but it couldn't match my excitement and anxiety. With Neil's breakfast in
I was back in my office the next day, finishing up with a file that morning when a tall shadow filled my doorway. I looked up to find Neil staring at me. “Have you finished with those files, Lia?” Lia? I almost asked. He had found a name for me? Well, it wasn't that bad. “Almost,” I answered, looking at him. The office phone began to ring, and I quickly picked up the call. “Good morning. Berg Oil Company. This is Mr. Neil's secretary; how may I help you?” “Notry director speaking. We've arranged a venue for the meeting, and it is scheduled for eleven this morning.” I quickly checked my watch; it was past nine. “Isn't that a bit too sudden? We should check our schedule before making such arrangements, don't you think?” “We have to strike the deal today so we can focus on mining as soon as possible. What does your boss say?” I turned to Neil, with one hand pressed against the phone. "I apologize, but the Notry director insisted that the meeting be held today. He says it's urgent
After the meeting, I noticed Karl stop Amelia in a corner while I spoke with the CEO of Notry. I saw Amelia smile innocently at his usual dry jokes. She gave him her hand to shake, but instead of shaking it, Karl placed a kiss on her knuckles. That fool! What was he doing? I tried to control Sphinx from pushing out, as he was already grumbling in anger. What was Karl thinking, flirting with my mate? Karl's lips lingered on Amelia's hand for a moment too long, and I could feel my anger rising. I fought to keep Sphinx at bay, but he was growing increasingly restless, demanding to be released. I couldn't understand why Karl was being so bold—to flirt with my secretary before my very presence. He knew the consequences of his actions, and he might be tasting my rage for the first time today. But even as I was consumed with rage, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene unfolding before me. I could see a flash of discomfort in Amelia's eyes. She quickly pulled her hand away from Karl's
A rush of energy flooded my system as I pictured the next good thing coming in. It wasn't my fault that he died. His carelessness had killed him, but it worked just according to plan. I stepped into Sen. Clayton's penthouse with all my hopes high. Logan trudged in behind me into the living room. I inhaled deeply, feeling a sense of satisfaction. “Did you get his biometrics?” I asked without looking back at Logan. “Everything is ready. If you wish to access the vault right away, we can do that as well. But we need to dig more and find the exact location of the vault in the senator's office,” Logan replied as he slowly walked over to stand beside me. "Are you sure we won't have any opposition? Who else knows about the senator's money vault?" "My intel says that only his wife knows how to access the vault mechanically and—she might be the only problem we'll be facing and maybe the only one who knows the exact location of the vault." “Then get me the bitch,” I turned to face Logan, a
I didn't know if I was to shed tears or ignore the news I had just received. But I couldn't stop my tears from flowing. He sold me out for nothing. He gave me to bondage without a cost, at least to maintain my dignity, and Lorenzo had played him real well. I continued sobbing in the car, unable to control my emotions. I was not sure if I was crying for the fact that I meant nothing in this whole setting or for the fact that my father was dead. I tried to hold in my tears when I saw Neil approaching, but instead, the tears poured out. Neil rushed over to my side in the car and held my shoulder. “What's wrong?” he asked. I felt my throat clog from tears, affecting my voice. “I know he was selfish…” my lips quivered, my chest began to rise and fall in tears. I saw him as a victim. He fell prey to Lorenzo's trickery because he was obsessed and selfish while I got caught in the middle. “But still—he didn't deserve this…” Neil's arms crossed my shoulders, and I felt so warm under his arm
Neil's POV It had been almost a week and I had been mourning him, loathing myself for his demise. I felt empty, weak, and powerless as he was cremated six feet into the ground. I would bear this scar, this burden all my life, as the one who killed his brother. I couldn’t accept any other truth, knowing this would not have happened if I had paid attention to what my mother said a few weeks ago about my brother's disappearance. I should have gone in search of him; maybe I could have saved him earlier. But now, there seemed to be more to this than just losing him to the monster I was yet to understand. A monster that operated with shadows and was as dangerous as hell, capable of possessing the soul of a werewolf. I had to dig into this. Who were the 'they' that were coming? And why do they want to wipe out all werewolves? His voice echoed in my mind. A thin line of tears rushed down my face as I stared at his grave. Every werewolf in the Castros pack had come to pay their last respe
Neil's POV "Scythe!!!" I screamed in fury with everything in me. The hairs on my body rose in anger. My blood boiled, and the only way to stop this was to take Scythe down and make him pay for everything he put the werewolves of Castros pack through. "Scythe!!" I roared again. Heira paced angrily within me, and I knew any moment now, he would push out. The air suddenly went still, and an ominous silence fell among the ruins of the pack. Cold air rushed in from all sides, and strange shadows began to take shape around me. Scythe's power had increased since the last time. More larger and thicker lumps of shadow penetrated the air now, cloning themselves... more than one Scythe stood before me, ready to attack. "You called me." His voice was unusually deep and menacing, resonating like thunder in the environment. But I cared less; he could display an array of powers as much as he wanted, but he was going down today. With gritted teeth, I pounced forward on both feet, claws pointed at
Neil's POV One blissful, amazing night with my mate had left us both curled into each other's arms. Her head rested on my chest while she slept. She was my mate, my Luna with a wolf spirit—a healer. Not only was she a werewolf now, but she was also a healer. In that moment, I wished I had turned her earlier; Cole wouldn’t have had to endure all of those struggles in Europe to save me from silver. I felt proud of her. She had awakened her wolf successfully after one bite, which was very rare, and she had been blessed by the moon with such a unique power. I suspected that was just the tip of the power of blue wolves. As I lost myself in thoughts about what it would feel like to finally present my mate to the Castros pack, a voice suddenly screamed into my head through the mind-link. "Alpha! Where are you? The pack is in chaos!" It was my beta, Damien. "What’s wrong? What’s happening?" "It’s the shadow assassin! The pack members are disbanding in fear. So many werewolves have been k
Amelia's POV She was very focused and carefully navigated the woods as if she had been there before. Also, she was very fast; I could tell by the amount of wind brushing past her fur. Neil was behind us... wait, not Neil. It was his wolf! I chuckled in excitement. It was getting interesting. 'Lydia is beautiful', I heard Neil in my head as our wolves sprinted through the undergrowth. 'She's charming and very interesting. I love her already', I replied as I laughed. We were beating Neil and his wolf in the race. They couldn't keep up with us; Lydia was extremely fast. 'And she's unusually fast! Damn! Heira is struggling to match her speed!' Neil complained, and I took pride in that. I heard his wolf purr as he increased his speed. 'Catch me if you can,' Lydia screamed in excitement. We pounced ahead. But Lydia suddenly paused and turned to Heira. 'Okay, I think we have arrived at the end of the game.' I stretched my eyes and saw it was a dead end—a cliff. Heira swiftly transfor
Amelia's POV My whole body quaked even while Neil was licking the wound. His hot tongue flapped the bite marks, but that didn't stop the storm I felt within. He pulled away and looked into my face. I thought he was going to let go because he didn't know when my wolf would arrive, but instead, his lips found mine. My lips quivered in his mouth as he kissed me, lips first until our tongues almost set on fire. I could feel my thigh getting slicker as our mouths continued dancing together. Yet, my whole body was on fire; starting from the mark Neil had just placed on my neck to the very pit of my stomach. I began to feel so strange, so alien to my body. I gasped into Neil's mouth while he kissed me because the pains were almost choking me, but Neil's powerful arms held me steadily against his chest as he tried to ease the pains. My fingers dug into his back as it felt as if I could merge with his body. The pains throbbed in my head and pounded in my chest, as if my body would explode an
Amelia's POVI know my name is Amelia. I remember that face; the face I wake up with every morning, right on my mind. I remember his name; he is Neil Morreti. All the memories we ever shared all rushed into my mind; including the sex in the pool at Arkans. I remember he had saved me but I can't remember what happened that he needed to save me in Arkans. I remember that monster, Logan; he cut off my pinky and promised he would send it to Neil, which he did.One distinct thing I also remember is that Neil is not an ordinary human. He has a wolf; a dark haired wolf that is so strong.I couldn't stop myself from imagining what it felt like having a wolf that you could call on, even when you are in danger. I would speak to her, hear her thoughts and opinions and not a soul will know what we are discussing. I would make her my gist mate. I would smell things from afar, hear any little sound like I wish to, become terribly fast and my punch will be strong enough to break enough bones.That f
Amelia's POV I knew my name is Amelia. I remembered that face; the face I woke up with every morning, right on my mind. I remembered his name; he was Neil Morreti. All the memories we had ever shared rushed into my mind, including the moment in the pool at Arkans. I remembered he had saved me, but I couldn't recall what had happened that required his intervention. I remembered that monster, Logan; he had cut off my pinky and promised to send it to Neil, which he did. One distinct thing I also remembered was that Neil was not an ordinary human. He had a wolf; a dark-haired wolf that was incredibly strong. I couldn't stop myself from imagining what it felt like to have a wolf that I could call on, even when I was in danger. I would speak to her, hear her thoughts and opinions, and not a soul would know what we were discussing. I would make her my confidante. I would smell things from afar, hear any little sound I wished to, become incredibly fast, and my punch would be strong enough t
Neil's POV I was shocked to the bone marrow. Not once did Amelia stir as her eyes continued piercing mine inquisitively. "Is he the bad guy who cut my finger with a knife and laughed while I cried?" She raised her stubby pinky to me and pouted her lips, ready to tear up. I was short of words. She remembered Logan, Karl, me, and every other thing except Lorenzo. She didn't remember the man who was ruthless and cruel to her in the name of marriage. She didn't remember how he killed her parents or how he led her to the altar and proceeded with the marriage vows with her. She didn't remember the mafia boss of Chicago, the one who married her for an heir and made life hard for her. She didn't remember any of it. But seeing this situation, I was going to seize it. I would make sure she never remembered those horrible nightmares with Lorenzo. She would never remember that Lorenzo ever existed, that he ever lived in her life. And that he was her husband. I would make sure those nightmares
Neil's POV The first thing I did was get Amelia out of that hospital and take her with me back to America. Cole booked us a room in a hotel to stay and watch out for the time being. The situation in America about being the miscreant who took the lives of hundreds of workers in a refinery explosion hadn't been laid to rest yet. But I was not that bothered about it; now I had all that I wanted, an undisturbed life with my mate. It was late by the time we arrived in America. Amelia had been sleeping on my shoulder all through the flight. She looked so weak and sick. The kind that moved me to pity, but it wasn't pity speaking. I was not pitying my mate. I was deeply concerned about her condition and if Neil Morreti would survive if he lost her. I would become a shadow of myself, and I might not be what anyone expected me to be anymore—just a loner who had lost control of his emotions and his whole self. I let her freshen up alone and treat herself to a nice meal. I took her to watch the