DAKOTA "Violet is dead."These words send a shiver down my spine, my blood freezing in my veins. "She was perfectly fine when she left, wasn't she?" West says, and Dashiell heaves a sigh."Members of the Guild will be coming here soon," he continues."Why? Is this about the seal?" I ask when I finally find my voice. "They believe that she was murdered," he responds."Murdered?!" West and I echo, our eyes wide. "That's not all. It appears that I'm the prime suspect of her murder," Dashiell states, and I freeze, my mind reeling. I stare at him for a moment, puzzled. My chest tightens, and a niggling feeling of deja vu gnaws at me. "Why do I feel like this has happened before?" I breathe, my heart sinking. "Kota..." Dashiell says, reaching out to touch me. I rise to my feet, feeling like I'm going to throw up. "Why you? You didn't kill her," I choke out, my voice trembling.West slams his fist on the table, his brows furrowed."It's starting again. It's a sickening cycle. Do
DAKOTA When the quake ends, I lower myself onto a bench, letting out an exasperated sigh."She's definitely his mother," I mumble, and West chuckles."Trust me, she's fun to be with when you actually get to know her," he states, joining me on the bench."Right. She's pretty intimidating," I comment. A few minutes later, two officers usher Dashiell out of the restraining cell. He walks up to us almost robotically. I embrace him, and he sinks into my arms. "Are you alright?" I ask, and he blinks. He seems dazed. "What happened? Who got me out?" He asks."That would be me," Dashiell's mother responds as she approaches us. She's no longer wearing her sunglasses."Mum?" He whispers with a crease in his brows. "That's right. You only ever get yourself in trouble. My goodness," she says as she pulls him into her embrace. Dashiell glances at West and glares at him. "They didn't hurt you, did they?" Mrs. Gryphon asks her son. He shakes his head, and she beams.When they pull apa
DASHIELL A smile curls my lips as I pour myself a glass of martini. Dakota had said yes to me. She has accepted my help. To say that I'm in a good mood would be an understatement. "I haven't seen that look on your face in so long," my mother comments from her position on the couch. I turn to look at her, taking a sip of my drink."What look?" I say, sinking into the same couch."You're literally glowing again, and your eyes...they tell me that you've found happiness again. It's been decades since I saw that look in your eyes," she explains.I grimace, taking another sip of my drink. All along, I'd believed that I'd hidden my loneliness quite well. Most people were fooled by the easy smile on my face. "She reminds me of..." My mother's eyes turn sad. She's trying to consider my feelings. Years ago, I couldn't stand the sound of Alyssa's name. I guess my mother still remembers that. That's why she's the first woman I've ever loved. I would kill for her, just like I've done in t
DAKOTA Opening my eyes to find that Dashiell isn't in bed with me, I sit up and glance at the digital clock on the nightstand. It reads: 6:23 a.m.Yawning, I get out of bed and slip on my flip-flops."Dash?" I call out as I head out of the bedroom, rubbing one of my eyes. "I wonder where he is," I mumble, letting out another yawn. "Dash?" I raise a brow at the sight of Dashiell, who's sitting on the floor along the hallway, a glass of orange juice in his hand. He looks dazed. I hurry towards him, crouching beside him when I get to him. "Hey," I say, touching his bare upper arm. I flinch when I realize how cold his skin is."What's wrong?" I ask, sitting on the floor beside him with my arms wrapped around him, to warm him up. When he still doesn't say anything, my stomach churns with anxiety. He'd been completely fine last night. Did something happen while I was asleep? I can't help but wonder."Dash? What are you looking at?" I ask. Slowly, he lowers his drink to the floor
DAKOTA "What's that?" Dashiell asks."Violet's corpse," West responds, his arms folded across his chest. I stare at him for a moment, puzzled."What are you talking about? How is that even possible?" Dashiell asks."Apparently, someone broke into the Guild's holding room and stole the Orx. Whoever this person was, they went after Violet's corpse as well," West explains. "Wait... Could this be related to the Six? They probably plan to do something with her body," I say, and Dashiell heaves a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Worried, I watch him as he rises to his feet and starts to head towards the stairs. "My head hurts," he mumbles, and disappears up the stairs. West winces, concern written all over his face. "I think you should get going, or you're going to be late," he tells me. He's right. As much as I'm worried about my mate, I have to attend the meeting with the six. ...During the meeting, Madam Noir seemed on edge. It's probably because she was in a bad mood;
DAKOTA Hunter stares at me for a while, his face contorted with anguish. The hurt in his eyes is enough to steal the air from my lungs as my guilt worsens. It hits me in that moment that I am the villain in his story. "How could you do this to me? What about all the plans and promises we made? Do they mean nothing to you?" He croaks, his frown deepening. Instinctively, I bring a hand to the spot where his mark used to be on my neck. It's as good as gone right now. Dashiell is yet to mark me. It's the only reason the mark still exists. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hurt you the way I did," I say, and he blinks at me.I wonder what he's thinking. He probably thinks I'm a cheater. I wish I could let him know the whole truth. His mate is long gone."I saw you with him," he points out, and I freeze, refusing to look him in the eye."I heard that he's your mate as well. You could have told me. Did you ever feel anything for me? You fooled me!" He yells at me, suddenly raising his ha
DASHIELL Waking up to the sound of Dakota throwing up in the bathroom, I sit up in bed, worried. Last night, we had great sex. She'd been very needy due to her heat period. Even so, it's strange how she's suddenly throwing up in the bathroom, barely three hours after we'd fallen asleep. "Kota?" I call out as I head towards the bathroom to comfort her."Did I wake you up? Sorry," she breathes, and I furrow my brows, holding out a hand to open the door. "Wait!"I freeze, my frown deepening, when I notice the distress in her voice. She sounds like she's been crying for a while."What's wrong?" I ask, flattening my palm against the glass door. "It's n-nothing. I'll be out soon. Just give me a minute," she replies with a weak voice. At this point, it's taking me a lot of effort to not barge into the bathroom.A few minutes later, Kota steps out of the bathroom, her head hanging low. Her red hair is all over the place, making it difficult to see her face.She attemp
DAKOTA Terrified, I watch Dashiell as he throws up blood, staining the floor with crimson. With trembling fingers, I take out my phone from my purse and dial West's number. He picks my call on the first ring and I quickly bring it to my ear. "Hey," he breathes and I glance at Dashiell who gazes up at me, his brows furrowed."Can you uh... come to Dashiell's study now?" I ask and he sucks in a sharp breath."Something happened," he points out and I purse my lip, gripping the strands of my hair as tension grips me. "Dashiell got poisoned," I say, squeezing my eyes shut. West curses under his breath and before I can say anything, he's suddenly standing in front of me, holding his phone to his ear. He nods at me and slips his phone into his pocket, turning to face Dashiell who leans against the wall, his eyes closed. "How did you get here so quickly?" I say. He doesn't spare me a glance as he goes down on his knees beside Dashiell who is resting his head on the wall, his lips stained
Thank you for giving this book a chance, you're such a darling!!!I've been writing this book since last two years and finishing it has been such a task. I've been super busy, and at some point, I had writer's block. But, I really wanted to finish it. If you have questions about the characters, please ask away. I'm also thinking of writing a book based on West and his new love interest. If you also want this, please indicate. Thank you once more for taking the time to read this book. Please check out my other books if you have the time.Much love!Mwaaa!
DAKOTA I stare at the double line on the pregnancy test strip in my grip, my eyes widening. My mind is reeling, and I'm yet to wrap my head around this new reality."I'm pregnant," I breathe, lowering myself onto the closed toilet, my heart thumping faster against my chest. A smile tugs at my lips and happy tears fill my eyes. I've been married to my husband for barely a year and he has always wanted kids of his own. Due to the trauma of how I'd died without getting to see our child, I'd dismissed the thought of getting pregnant, every time it came to my mind.The knock on the door startles me, and I flinch, nearly jumping out of my skin. The door creaks open, and Dashiell pokes his head in, with a longing look on his face. "You've been in there for way too long. Will you come to bed now? I already miss you," he whispers.Unable to fight off the smile coming on, I quickly rise up to my feet, making a quick attempt to hide the pregnancy test strip from him, in a bid to brin
DAKOTA Dashiell lets out a groan, tilting his head to the side to stare at Madam Noir. Slowly, his gaze trails downwards, resting on the black restraints around his wrists, torso and feet. "What is this? Were you not thinking when you tied me up this way?" He asks, his voice thick with disbelief.She shrugs, a smug expression on his face."It doesn't matter. You can't move. I made sure you wouldn't be able to," she drawls, and a frown creases Dashiell's brows. He turns to look at me, his gaze softening."Why is she here? I'm the one you want," he states. "Isn't she so perfectly made for you? With her power, we won't need the rest of the seals to create more seals," Madam Noir says, and I glare at her."I won't let you touch him," I hiss, and she chuckles."That's adorable," she replies. Dashiell releases an exasperated sigh and lowers his head, his gaze pinned on the floor in front of him. "Leave her out of this... please," he rasps, and Madam Noir's expression darkens with
DAKOTA It hits me like a storm. Sitting in Hunter's living room with no clue of how I'd gotten here in the first place, I try to sort out my thoughts. Bits and pieces of my memories finally return to me, and I wince at the memory of throwing a mug at my own mate. Hunter walks in with a cup of coffee and beams at me. His smile fades when he notices that I'm standing in his room awkwardly."What's wrong?" He asks, his voice tinged with uncertainty."I want to go home," I tell him, and he furrows his brows at me."I guess the spell wore out," he mumbles, and I frown at him, puzzled."I liked you better when you were under the spell," he tells me, lowering the cup of coffee on the nightstand. I move backwards, glancing at the door behind me. "Not so fast, princess."I freeze at the sound of Madam Noir's voice at the entrance of the room. She walks in and smacks me on the back of my neck. Instantly, my knees go weak, and she drags me further into the room with Hunter's help. Pl
DASHIELL The moment the statement leaves my mouth, regret slams into me, hard. I should know better. My mate wouldn't betray me to be with someone else."It's a long story. I ran into Hunter," she tells me, and I stiffen. "Did he hurt you?" I ask, and she shakes her head, a few locks of her red hair falling over her face."He knows everything," she rasps, and I raise a brow, puzzled."Everything? Including who you really are? You told him?" She heaves a sigh, brushing her hair away from her face."Madam Noir got to him first. I'm not sure if he's just neutral about the whole thing. I don't know if he's on her side. I feel like I'm missing the big picture," she tells me, and lets out a yawn. "You should get some rest, you look exhausted," I say, and her gaze softens."So do you."I crack a smile, and she returns it. "Don't do that again. I understand that you were desperate to find me, but being intimate with another woman just doesn't sound right," she says."I know. I w
DAKOTA "If you make a sound, I'm going to slit your throat. Do you understand?" Hunter whispers in a menacing tone, and I nod frantically, squeezing my eyes shut. My heart thumps madly against my rib cage as I feel him sweep me off my feet, swinging me over his shoulder like a sack. I part my lips to let out a scream, but I decide against it when I feel him align his claws with my spine. He heads down the alley and places me in a car parked down the street. He proceeds to drive off instantly. Too petrified to do anything, I remain silent. He still doesn't know who I really am, and I want to keep things that way. "Won't you ask me where I'm taking you to?" He suddenly breaks the silence while he glances at me through the front mirror. Avoiding his gaze, I direct my gaze outside the window, watching the rain fall on the rough asphalt on the road. "You literally just kidnapped me. How do you expect me to feel?" I retort. "What did he do? He did something, didn't he?" Hunter
DAKOTA My stomach churns with tension as I hold out a trembling hand towards the transparent glass while a strong feeling of nostalgia hits me. The moment the tips of my fingers connect with the glass, a tremor runs through my body, several cracks appearing on the tank. Dashiell stumbles backwards with me in his arms. As if on cue, the glass shatters and my floating body collapses to the bottom of the tank. In that instant, my vision bleeds white and I'm suddenly left with a feeling of bleak emptiness. Terrified, I reach out for my mate's subconsciousness. However, I fail to reach him every time I try. Am I dead? I can't help but wonder. While I ponder on this, I hear Dashiell's voice. He's calling out my name with desperation. He's pleading with me to stay with him. In my feverish haze, a feminine voice fills my head. This voice sounds just like Dakota's.'Go to him. You have my blessings.'With a gasp, my eyes shoot open, and a pair of strong arms pull me into an embrace.
DASHIELL Hearing my mate's voice in my head for the first time in days, spurred me into overdrive. Like a storm, I head straight for the headquarters of the Guild. Despite the large numbers of officials that try to get in my way, I don't hesitate to take them down. Once I'm below ground level, I finally encounter the members of the Six. West had taken his time to get me information on every member of the Six. Therefore, it's pretty easy to recognize them."Do you think we will let you through? Surrender now and save yourself the embarrassment," one of them says to me. I snort in amusement. They clearly do not know what I'm capable of. "Hand over your keys. It's going to save you a lot of trouble if you do," I state, and they all stiffen, exchanging bewildered glances with each other."How do you know about the keys?" One of them asks, and I shrug, nonchalantly."It's none of your business. Now, are we doing this or not?" I've barely completed my statement when two members
DAKOTA I'm freezing. This place, which looks more like a dungeon than a prison cell, has no source of illumination. Therefore, everything is pitch black. Ocean growls in my head, her frustration bleeding into me. My head is throbbing, probably from colliding with the floor when I collapsed. With my limbs firmly tied up, my movements are limited. Even so, I am determined to get out of this place. Even if it means that I'll have to crawl out of it. The heavy door creaks open, and Landon walks in. He halts by the door for a moment, his grey eyes watching me with pity. Slowly, he walks towards me and crouches in front of me, bringing a hand to my face."It's such a pity. I had such great plans for you, but you ruined it all. I believed in you, Mel. You disappointed me. Now, you will have to pay the price for it," he whispers, brushing my hair away from my face.Pulling away from him, I rest my head on the wall."That's quite funny, you know? You claim to have big plans for me, but