BellaI gasp for breath as I sit up. My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Faint sobs echoed around me.I was in some sort of cage. A dungeon maybe. Groaning, I push myself to my feet. My entire body ached. The last thing I remember is the clawed hand around my throat. Squeezing until I couldn’t breathe.“Bella.” My name is whispered in the darkness.Turning to my left, I see Aiden’s mother, Lilah, staring back at me. Her hands gripped around the bars that separated our cages.Even in the darkness, I could see how tired and ill she looked.As I turn my head, I see that it isn’t just us. There are dozens of women, some are barely women at all. Just children, who cowered away.“How long?” I mutter, rubbing the side of my head“They dumped you in there a couple of hours ago.”“Hours?” I was surprised it had taken me so long to wake up. But that wasn’t the main thing puzzling me. There were no scents down here.“They inject everyone.” Lilah whispers as my eyes scan the darkness.“Wit
Aiden“You need to get a grip!” I glare at my father. We had waited hours for him to sober up. Halle, forever being the good girl, had stayed by his side, dabbing his forehead with a cloth.When he woke up, the first thing he asked for was for someone to bring him a bottle of whisky. Halle had quickly disappeared. But I made it clear if she brought him another drink, she would be out of the house.My father glares back at me with his blue eyes. “You haven’t got a clue what this feels like.”“I haven’t? Bella is missing too.”“She is?”I nod“It’s not the same. You haven’t confirmed your bond. You haven’t marked her.”“You don’t remember?” I thought he had seen her mark. We had been to see him since I had marked Bella. But he had stunk of alcohol then.“How much have you been drinking?” I mutter.“It doesn’t matter. Your mother is gone.”“I don’t believe that. And as a King, you shouldn’t either. Not until we have proof.”“Forever the optimist.” He mutters with a shake of his head.“I
BellaEvery inch of me hurts. I hurt more than I have ever hurt before. My bones, my flesh and yet, somehow, I couldn’t remember anything that had happened to me. Before waking in my sister’s room. The last thing I could recall was being dropped back into that dungeon. I hadn’t been beaten then. I had just been dropped. A girl spoke to me and then everything went dark.I smell his warm chocolate scent like I had when I woke in Darcy’s room. I let my eyes creep open. The bright light giving me an instant headache.“How are you feeling?” He presses his lips to my cheek.“Sore.” I hated it. Out of all the things that had been done to me, this was the worst. They had made sure I was unconscious for it too. Was it Christian or had he asked someone else to beat me to a pulp?I try to move. At first it felt like there was something wrong with me. Like my body was fighting against me. It took me a second to realise I was tied down again.My chest pounded as I scanned the room.“Bella, you’v
Aiden“Well, where is she?” My father mutters as I enter the office alone.“She’s freaking out. Halle’s calming her.”“Halle? I take it that you told her about Myra then?”“I didn’t get a chance. Halle will probably tell her. It seems she has a way of telling Bella things before I do.”“Maybe Halle just hates the fact that you are keeping secrets. Whatever the reason is, I still need to talk to her.”“Dad, you know what she’s been through. Do you really want her to try and remember what they did to her? Would you make mum do the same thing?”He glares at me with his brilliant blue eyes.“I just need to give her a little bit of space to breathe.” I mutter. Otherwise, she will shut down. And we will be right back to square one, where I could barely get a word out of her.“Are you sure that’s what she needs?”“Yes.” I say confidently. “I may not be able to sense her at the moment. I have to trust what I see with my eyes. And I see her.”“How are you so calm?” He quizzes me. “You know wha
Bella“Order me to do something else!” I beg the King“Did you know?” Aiden questions me.I shake my head. “Not until you told me your father wanted me to speak to him. Then I felt it, the drive, the order, the need to fulfil it.”I look back at the King who is watching me. He seemed fascinated rather than angry. I was doing everything in my power to resist the order. To keep my ass in the chair.“Is that how it’s always been? You’ve been ordered to kill?” The King questions me“Not at first.” My grip on the chair tightens so much that it physically hurts my hands. “As I got older.”“When you started to rebel?” Aiden asksI nod. “Please, break the order.”The King was the only one who could. He was the only one who held power over everyone. But he just watches me.“You have your Wolf.” He mutters, rising to his feet. He moves around the desk until he is in front of me. “Somehow, you still have your Wolf.”“That’s what we came to speak to you about.” Aiden tells him. “She can still sce
Bella“You don’t need to…”But he removes the remainder of his clothes and gets in the tub at the opposite end to me.I could feel the heat on my face as I look away“This way I can make sure you’re not going to do something stupid.” He flicks the water at me.Pulling my knees to my chest, I refuse to look at him.“Why did you lie?” He murmurs. “You told me you weren’t a liar, so why did you lie?”I glance up to his grey eyes. He wasn’t going to let this go. Not until he was satisfied with my response.“I feel…..“Violated.” He finishes the sentence for me.“It’s more than that. Before, when it happened, I was conscious but I made it as difficult for him as possible. This time—I couldn’t even fight it. I didn't even know, not until you confirmed it.”I hug my legs tighter.“He made me—vulnerable and weak.”I felt sick and disgusted. I had been trying to focus on other things. But in the silence, all I could hear was my own mind.He slides forward in the large bath towards me. “You ca
AidenHeading towards the forest. Halle comes charging towards me from the trees. Several guards are close behind her, including a couple who had shifted into Wolves.“What the hell are you doing?” They stop the moment they see me and Halle plonks herself behind me. Her hands hold on to my arms as she tries to use me as a shield.“They wouldn’t believe that I’m a Wolf. They wouldn’t believe who my Dad is!” She whines from behind me.“Of course they won’t, that’s why you have strict instructions to stay near the house.” I growl, annoyed with my sister.The guards are glaring at me. “Hand her over, she doesn’t belong here!”“Fucking idiots. She’s the King’s daughter. You should all know this.” I snap“I haven’t seen her before.”. “Well I can confirm exactly who she is, so back the fuck off”There are mumblings between the unshifted guards, something about the wrong girl.The guard at the front silences them."What are they talking about?"“It doesn't matter. She doesn’t smell anything
BellaI keep my eyes closed as Myra continues to rant at Aiden. She calls me vermin.Vermin. I had been called worse. But I wondered if she would have said it if I had been awake. She had put on a nice act when I saw her in the pack hospital.Myra makes another strange comment. Something about how I no longer belong among Wolves and Lycans. That Aiden should get rid of me as soon as he could.Aiden somehow keeps his cool. His fingers may have squeezed me a little but his tone remains the same. Even when Myra starts swearing at him.“Is there something you need to tell me?” Aiden asks her.“I've told you everything that I needed to say. But Aiden, you should watch your back.”I hear the click clack of her shoes as she walks away.Opening one eye, Aiden shakes his head at me. “You need to stay asleep.”He starts walking as soon as I close my eyes again. He makes several turns before climbing the stairs.Eventually he tells me that we are alone and I can open them.He lowers me to my fee
Bella It was a strange few days, watching Aiden put plans in place. I knew where we were going, he had made that clear and I couldn’t wait. I had never felt more at peace than when we were in the forest and I couldn't wait to show the boys. “That’s all my stuff packed.” Katie whispers as she drops one last box into the back of Leightons van. I had barely seen her smile recently, unless it was a front she was putting on for Flynn. But a natural smile just didn’t seem to exist anymore. I hoped she would get past her mothers death. “You don’t have to come.” I say for the hundredth time. “Yes I do. Leighton says that he won’t leave me, but he won’t leave you either. nd you are the closest thing I have to family besides Flynn." There was a strange tone in her voice. One that I hadn’t heard from her before. “Are you mad?” “No…I just….” She tucks her blonde hair behind her ears and scans the grounds looking for someone. “Leighton’s inside with Aiden. If that’s who you are looking for
Aiden“Well she has to be wrong?!” Leighton shoves his hands in his pockets, completely unfathomed by what I had told him.“Why would she kill herself? Why would she tell me all that if she is lying and then stop her own heart? what would be the point?”“Guilt,” he shrugs his shoulders. “She knew you wouldn’t let her get away alive.”I groan and lean back in my chair, resting my hands behind my head as I stare up at the ceiling.“Bella’s with Katie?”He nods at me. “They are trying to decide on the best way to tell Flynn. Chances are, he already knows.” He studies me. “This is a good thing. The problem dealt with itself. You should be happy. But you’re not, are you?”“No.”“He’s a pup, what harm can he do?”“He won’t be a pup for long. You know as well as I do, he will be fully grown by the time his first birthday comes around. And I can’t help wondering if Eden was right.”“It’s not the first time we have been screwed over by a witch that has been spouting off a load of crap.” Leight
AidenI was grateful for the change of pace, standing guard of my own packhouse. The peace and quiet gave me time to think, to put a plan in place. To decide what’s best for my family.It was dark outside, and the clouds above us were thick. Unusually, you couldn’t see many stars. A storm was brewing, I could smell it in the air.I look at the other Hybrids, Wolves and Lycans that are standing guard. All giving up their own time to either protect my home or theirs. No one moves, everyone is as still as a statue, alert and prepared.I knew Eden was coming back. I knew this storm that was brewing above us was not a natural storm. And everyone else did too. That’s why the chatter had stopped and that’s why everyone is so alert. She was trying to mess with our senses.“You should go inside.” Rhys whispers next to me. “You are the King, and you and I both know she will target you.”“I have to do this.” I mutter back.“What about Bella and your son?”“I’m doing this for them.”He nods his h
BellaThe Omega leaves me with the three boys. While Connor and Cayden were messing around trying to bounce on the bed, Flynn just stares out the window, his small hand coiled up in the curtain.Stepping next to him, his eyes don’t leave the window. I assumed he was looking for his mother.‘You don’t need to be scared.’ I link him, knowing it was the only way to talk to him.‘I’m not.’ His small voice answers me back‘Why didn’t you tell everyone that you were still seeing your mum?’ I was curious. If it hadn’t been for Cayden, we would never have known.He wrinkles up his nose. ‘Is she in trouble?’‘She is.’I watch his shoulders drop a little and his eyes flicker up to me. ‘Katie says we shouldn’t lie.’‘Your sister is very smart.’ I smileA small smile appears on his lips. ‘She’s the best. She looks after me.'I couldn’t agree more. She was a good friend too.‘Do you know where your mum is?’ I ask calmly, hoping that if he knew, he would tell me but I didn't want to push him, he wa
AidenI was trying to keep my mate focussed. But I couldn’t help but be curious about the shifter's words. Had Bella really been born as a pup? Creedance hadn’t said anything when we had interrogated him, but then he had never said that Bella was a twin either.Looking around the room, blood was sprayed all up the walls and across the carpet. The shifters decapitated body discarded on the floor. Leighton was holding Katie against his chest, running his fingers through her blood stained blonde hair, muttering reassuring words but his eyes were on me. I knew why. Being born in pup form was extremely rare, there had only ever been a handful of recordings in history. And all were female, and all with a power unlike anyone else's. They just needed to learn to tap into it. If it was true about Bella, she was more powerful than we realised.Everything was starting to fall into place. The size of her Wolf, the delayed first shift, her need to protect the vulnerable, and why Selene was so des
Bella“Christian. Christian is fucking dead. I ripped him and his Rogues apart.” I spit“Yes, I remember it well.” She smiles. “You really are something else. He said you were special and yet I was always sceptical until I saw you that day. And what a magnificent Wolf you are, wasting no time to shred him to pieces. I was livid and yet mesmerised. You really could have provided him with a brilliant child.” she laughs, wiping her chin and spitting more blood on the floor.“You watched?” I mutter, wondering where she had been.“Like I said, I was fascinated.”“So how do you plan on carrying out Christian’s work? All those women got away. And do you really expect me to let you leave, alive?”“Did they get away?” Cassie mocks as she leans her back against the wall, smiling to herself. So much had gone on that I hadn’t even had a chance to find any of the women that Aiden and Leighton helped to escape. I had no idea about their children, I had no idea about any of them. They had been taken
Bella“Is he serious? Is he really expecting us to believe that he hasn’t done something to my Dad?”I watch Katie pace. Her arms swinging frantically at her sides, her hands are clenched into tight balls. I knew Katie, she was never angry, emotional yes, frantic sometimes, but angry is not something I usually see. If I hadn’t dragged her out of the lounge, I was certain she would have attacked someone. I wondered if it was what Aiden saw when he looked at me sometimes.“You are right.” I mutter. “Something doesn’t seem right.”“So you agree?” She stops and stares at meSlowly, I nod my head. Eli’s words, his denial, something just seemed off.“You should tell them. Flynn, Connor and Cayden are all down there with him.”“And so is Aiden and Leighton. Trust me, he is not getting anywhere near the boys.”She starts pacing again and I try to hold in the laugh. It was funny, we all did it when we were frustrated, like it was drummed into us how to react when we were overwhelmed.“He said
Leighton“What do you mean you can’t tell us?” Katie ask as I push bookcases in front of the windows.“Is it Aiden?” Bella queries.I turned around to look at them. Katie had her arms folded across her chest while Bella stood with her hands on her hips. Both of them glaring at me.“Aiden is fine. I’ve been ordered to not let you out of the room and to ensure you are all protected.”"You know I can shift, right?" Bell mutters, rolling her eyes“But why?” Katie frowns at me. Feeling all her emotions was still taking a lot of getting used too. Yes I’ve always been able to scent changes in peoples moods, but feeling them when your mate can be an emotional wreck was hard.“Yes, I know you can shift Bella. They were Aiden’s orders. I don’t know any more than what he has told me. He said he would talk to us when he gets back.”“Back from where? Leighton you are being very secretive!” Bella scowls at me.“I’ve told you everything I know. Aiden is with Rhys, he isn’t alone. You know as well as
AidenI knew Bella would be losing all sense of being calm, I just had to hope that Leighton and Katie could keep her in the house. That Leighton would use his Beta skills to stop her from coming after me.Guards surrounded the pack house while others were already searching houses, looking for Eli.Katie had said that Leighton could still scent Eden. That she had tried covering her scent but had been watching them as they talked.Sniffing the air, I can’t scent her, not immediately. I look around at the guards who are watching me with interest. Some of them were Hybrids, they would be able to scent her too, but they were holding their places as ordered.“Rhys!”I call him forward seeing as he was watching me the most. He jogs towards me, a wide smile on his face. The guards that had been stood either side of him take a step toward each other, covering the gap that Rhys had left.“Yes Alpha.”“Have there been any sightings of either of them?”“The Witch,” He whispers, “is watching at a