I thought about what Bryan had just said, and I had to admit he was right. These were just the basics of self-defense, but I should at least be decent at this. I wasn’t living in a normal world anymore. This was a world full of supernatural beings—werewolves, Lycans, witches—and the least I could do was learn to defend myself.Taking a deep breath, I bent my knees, adjusting my stance. My muscles were sore, but I tried to push the discomfort out of my mind. Bryan lunged at me again, but this time, I was ready. I quickly dodged, grabbed his right arm, and twisted it hard. He let out a grunt, and I took the opportunity to kick his left knee, feeling a sickening crack. Not wasting any time, I used all the strength I had to throw him to the ground. I straddled him, my hands instinctively wrapping around his throat, applying enough pressure to remind him I could choke him out if I wanted to.We were both panting heavily, the intensity of the training session still lingering in the air. Bry
We walked for what felt like several minutes, though it was probably less, with me kicking and screaming the entire way. I scratched at Jake’s hand, desperate to break free, but his grip was like iron. He didn’t even flinch, not once. This man was clearly insane, dragging me along like a rag doll. My mind raced with fear and confusion as I continued struggling against his hold. But he ignored my protests, as if I was nothing more than an annoying fly buzzing in his ear.Suddenly, he stopped. Without warning, Jake grabbed my waist with ease and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. I let out a sharp squeal, pounding my fists against his broad back. “Put me down! You can’t just carry me around like this, you lunatic!” I screamed, my voice high-pitched with panic, but he kept walking, completely unfazed by my outburst.We climbed a long set of stairs, each step making me bounce awkwardly on his shoulder, and soon found ourselves in yet another hallway. The house seemed massi
I blinked a few times, utterly dumbfounded. “What...?” I muttered under my breath. Here I was, having just been pinned against a wall by a man who acted like a crazed predator, inhaling my scent like it was some sort of drug, and now all he had to say was, "You talk too much." It was beyond belief. I scoffed out loud, shaking my head. The world had officially gone mad.Jake moved away from me, seemingly satisfied with whatever twisted power trip he was on, and leaned lazily against his massive desk. He crossed his arms, a smug smirk playing on his lips. “There’s a dinner party tonight,” he announced, as if the past few minutes of his deranged behavior hadn’t even happened. “I expect you to be ready by seven. Wear something nice—preferably a dress.”I blinked again, trying to process his words. Was he serious? How could he switch from acting like a lunatic to casually mentioning a dinner party? My blood boiled at his nonchalance. “Excuse me, Alpha,” I said, my voice laced with anger, “
“We look amazing!” Cathy squealed, striking a few exaggerated poses in front of the mirror. Her excitement was infectious, and despite everything, I found myself nodding in agreement as I ran my fingers through my bouncy, thick curls. Stephanie, however, was still busy applying yet another layer of lipstick, oblivious to our antics.It was already seven o'clock, and I had expected the Alpha—Jake—to be the one to pick me up, or at the very least make an appearance. But no, of course not. He was too important for that, apparently. For reasons unknown to me, he couldn’t make it, so he sent a car instead. I was mildly disappointed, though I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the idea of showing up at this grand event alone that made me feel a little off.The dinner party was being held at the pack’s main Grand Hall, a few miles away from the pack house. Stephanie had mentioned earlier that it would take exactly fifteen minutes to get there, which was enough to make me realize just how enormous
Alpha Jake caught my gaze across the room, and I quickly looked away, but I could still feel his piercing stare. Why should I even care if he’s with that blonde anyway? I tried convincing myself that it didn’t matter—that it was just my wolf, messing with my head again. Yeah, that’s it. It’s just the wolf. I took a deep breath, trying to settle the storm of emotions that kept bubbling inside me, but I wasn’t fooling myself. Seeing Jake with Rebecca, his hand a little too comfortably placed on her waist, gnawed at me in ways I didn’t want to admit.“Hello... Earth to Prisca!” Cathy’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She waved her hand in front of my face, her expression somewhere between amused and annoyed.I glared at her, but she just scoffed. “It’s okay to be jealous, you know. I won’t judge. If my man were holding another chick’s waist like that, I’d snap her head off so fast no one would have time to even scream the Lord’s name.”“I’m not jealous,” I said, scrunching my eyebro
“Drinking that much is not good for your health, you know. If you’re trying to commit suicide by alcohol poisoning, please don’t do it in my presence. And try not to make it too obvious—it’s embarrassing, especially for you,” Alpha Jake said bluntly, glaring at me as usual.I scoffed. “Why would I commit suicide? I’d rather just kill the source of all my depression instead. And drinking a couple of glasses of wine never killed anyone.”He rolled his eyes, and I almost laughed at the sight. It was actually adorable. “You might be the first,” he muttered.“That’s ridiculous, and you know it,” I replied, feeling my annoyance growing.“What’s ridiculous is your stubbornness,” he shot back.I widened my eyes and carefully placed my glass of wine on the table in front of us. “I am not stubborn—you just think you know it all. What are you, a doctor or something? You can’t tell me what to do. And I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’ll drink as much as I want,” I whisper-yelled at him,
I went outside and found a dark corner where I could cry without anyone seeing me in my miserable state. I never imagined I would cry like this, but I couldn’t help myself. It felt like I was a magnet for bad luck, with everything collapsing around me. I sat on what I thought was a large rock—it was too dark to be sure—but it didn’t matter. Nothing did at that moment.Minutes passed, but I couldn’t bring myself to go back into the hall. My mind was swirling with emotions, too chaotic to even think clearly. The fresh air was doing little to calm me down, and every time I thought about going back inside, I felt a new wave of tears threatening to spill. So, I stayed out, hoping the darkness would somehow swallow me whole.But then I felt a presence. I wasn’t afraid—I knew instinctively who it was. My mate. I sighed, clenching my fists. I was angry, no, furious, and I didn’t have the energy for another one of his games.“What do you want?” I snapped, not even bothering to look at him. “I
Rebecca's POVI watched them from a distance, hidden in the shadows like a ghost. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat filled with rage, pain, and betrayal. I saw him as he stood there, telling her he never "fucked" me last night. The words cut through me like a knife. We didn’t do anything last night because he rejected me again. Ever since she arrived, he has been pushing me away, time and time again. Every rejection stings deeper than the last.I always believed that whenever we were together, it was more than just sex. I thought it was love. How could he stand there, so casually dismissing everything we had shared, calling it nothing but "fucking"? My heart twisted with a cruel combination of pain, betrayal, and humiliation.How could he do this to me?Pain. Betrayal. Rejection. Humiliation. And finally… Anger.That overwhelming anger simmered in the pit of my stomach, threatening to consume me whole. He had promised me. He said she was nothing. Nothing! He hadn’t been lyi
The ballroom was alive with music and laughter, a stark contrast to the heaviness that had lingered over the pack these past few weeks. Fatima had outdone herself, organizing this ball to remind everyone that joy still had a place in our lives.Dressed in a flowing emerald-green gown, I swayed gently in Jake’s arms as we moved across the dance floor. The light in his eyes, the way his fingers traced soothing circles on my back, made me forget—if only for a moment—that our world was still in pieces.“See?” he murmured. “A night without doom and gloom. Feels nice, doesn’t it?”I smiled up at him. “It does.”He twirled me, and for a second, I felt weightless. Then it hit me.A sharp, piercing sensation in my skull.I stumbled, the room tilting violently.Jake’s grip tightened. “Prisca?”I couldn’t answer. The pain spread like wildfire, and suddenly, the music and chatter faded into the background. My legs buckled, and I was falling.Darkness swallowed me whole.And then… I wasn’t in the
The weight of what I had just seen clung to me like a second skin. Even as I sat on the edge of the bed, back in the safety of our room, I could still feel the cold presence of that figure. The sound of its voice—my voice—echoed in my head like a haunting melody. Choose. But choose what? I could still feel Jake’s hands on my face from before, the desperate way he had searched my eyes, pleading for an answer I didn’t have. Now, he paced the room, his body tense with unspoken frustration. The others sat nearby, watching me with equal parts concern and curiosity. “You need to tell us everything,” Althea finally said, breaking the heavy silence. I rubbed my arms, trying to rid myself of the chill that had settled in my bones. “I was… alone. You were all gone. And the figure—it wasn’t just some shadow. It was me.” Sophie’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait. You? Like… a doppelgänger situation?” I nodded slowly. “Exactly like that. She—It—told me I had to choose. But I don’t know what t
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a blade. We had all woken up in a cold sweat, shaken by the fact that we had the exact same dream—no, it wasn’t just a dream. It felt too real. The streets of that town, the heavy feeling of being watched, the way the air had seemed almost alive with something unnatural. I glanced around at the others, my heart still hammering in my chest. Jake sat at the edge of the bed, his muscles tense, his jaw clenched as if trying to process everything at once. Fatima and Sophie had both fallen into a heavy silence, their usual humor nowhere to be seen. And Althea… she was staring blankly at the candle burning on the bedside table, deep in thought, her fingers twitching slightly. “This isn’t over,” I finally said, breaking the silence. “We left that place. We returned here. But somehow, it’s still with us.” Jake turned to me, his expression unreadable. “There has to be a reason why we all saw the same thing.” His voice was low, controlled—b
The morning air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine as I stepped out of the cabin. The town was finally behind us, but a strange unease still lingered in my chest. It wasn’t just the eerie experiences we had—it was something deeper, something clawing at my subconscious, demanding my attention.Jake was already outside, sharpening his dagger with a quiet focus that sent a chill through me. His jaw was tense, his muscles coiled, as if he were ready for another fight. I walked up to him, rubbing my arms against the cold. "You look like you're expecting trouble," I said, trying to sound lighthearted, but he barely acknowledged me at first.Finally, he sighed and set the dagger down. "I don’t like that we had to run from that place. It feels unfinished," he admitted.He wasn’t wrong. We had gotten away, but at what cost? The things we had seen, the presence that still clung to us like an unshakable shadow—I knew deep down that it wasn’t truly over.Sophie came strolling ou
The tension from our near escape still clung to me like a second skin, even as the night stretched into silence. My body was exhausted, my mind running circles around the events that had unfolded. I lay curled against Jake, his arms wrapped securely around me, his breath steady and warm against my hair. But sleep refused to claim me. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flashes—red eyes in the dark, the twisted town, the feeling of time slipping like sand through my fingers. It had been too easy. Too clean of an escape. And that made my stomach churn. Jake shifted beside me, his grip tightening. “You’re thinking too much,” he murmured against my temple. I exhaled softly. “I can’t help it. Something isn’t right.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead, but there was tension in his touch. “We’ll figure it out in the morning. For now, just rest.” I nodded against his chest, but the uneasy feeling wouldn’t leave. And deep down, I knew—this wasn’t over. ---Morning came far too soon. T
The moment we stepped out of the inn, an eerie silence wrapped around us like a suffocating blanket. The town, which had been brimming with life just hours ago, now felt abandoned. The streets were empty, the lanterns flickering weakly, and the air carried a heavy stillness that made the hairs on my arms rise.Jake was the first to break the silence. "We need to get out of here. Now."His voice was calm but held an undertone of urgency that made my stomach twist. I reached for his hand instinctively, feeling the warmth of his skin grounding me.Althea, Sophie, Fatima, and Chris followed closely behind as we hurried toward the town's exit. But as we neared the main road leading out, a dense fog rolled in from nowhere, thick and unnatural. My breath hitched as the path ahead of us blurred into nothingness."What the hell?" Chris muttered, stepping ahead cautiously. He reached out a hand to push through the fog, but the moment his fingers touched it, a pulse of energy knocked him back on
The road stretched before us, endless and winding, as our SUV rumbled down the cracked pavement. The eerie little town we'd just left was nothing more than a fading memory in the rearview mirror. Or at least, that’s what we thought.Fatima sat in the back, fiddling with the radio, static crackling through the speakers. Sophie drummed her fingers on the dashboard while Althea stared out the window, her fingers twitching like she was trying to grab something unseen. Chris, sitting next to Fatima, was uncharacteristically quiet.“I swear, I’ll never step foot in another weird-ass town again,” Sophie muttered, shifting in her seat. “That place gave me the creeps.”“Agreed,” Jake said, his fingers gripping the wheel tighter. “Let’s just get home and pretend this never happened.”Silence settled over the car for a while, broken only by the hum of the tires against the road. The trees lining the highway were dense, towering over us, their darkened silhouettes illuminated by the occasional f
The idea of taking a break from everything was both ridiculous and desperately needed. The pack had been through hell, and for the first time in weeks, there was no immediate crisis to solve. So, when Sophie suggested a road trip, I had laughed—until I saw the way Jake looked at me, like he knew I needed this more than anyone. And maybe I did.That’s how I found myself crammed in an SUV with Jake, Althea, Sophie, Fatima, and Jake speeding down an open road. The wind blew through my hair as I rolled down the window, feeling something I hadn’t in a long time—freedom.“Alright, we need road trip rules,” Sophie announced from the backseat, pulling out a notepad. “Rule number one: No talking about pack politics.”“Agreed,” Fatima said, munching on a bag of spicy chips. “Rule number two: The driver does not get to pick all the music.”Jake, who was behind the wheel, raised a brow. “Excuse me? Who else would pick?”“Literally anyone else,” Althea said, crossing her arms. “You listen to brood
The morning air was crisp and fresh, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth through the open windows. It was the kind of morning that whispered of new beginnings, of hope gently stretching its fingers through the cracks of sorrow. I stood on the balcony, sipping warm tea, watching the sun rise over the treetops. The pack had been through hell, but today—today felt different. The heaviness that had lingered like an unshakable fog finally seemed to be lifting. Laughter drifted up from below, the sound of children playing near the training grounds. Warriors, who once walked with the weight of grief on their shoulders, were smiling as they sparred in the courtyard. The pack was healing, slowly but surely. I had found a place here. It had taken time, patience, and a lot of self-doubt, but now, watching the people I had come to love rebuild their lives, I felt at home. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me against a warm chest. “You’re up early,” J