(Luther)I DELIBERATELY walked away as slowly as I could because I wanted Alexandra to call me. I wanted her to stop me from walking away because once I get out of these woods, once I leave her here with Giovanni, I feel like we’ll only drift further away from each other.Here I was, thinking we could somehow work things out since she was starting to talk and open up to me. But this happened.In the end, my expectations had hurt me again. I never really learned.My parents were the living proof that falling in love was a terrible thing. And yet, even while knowing that, I still fell in love with Alexandra. I only realized it when I saw her embracing another man. I think I’d been in love with her from the first time I saw her and that feeling must have grown more as I watched her from afar all these crazy years.Maybe I first fell in love with her bravery. No one was ever that brave around me. When I saw her again in Manila, I fell in love with her determination, with her guts.Then I
(Luther)AFTER getting out of the car, I ran. I don’t remember ever running this fast before. Fear and anxiety were gripping my heart so strongly that it was difficult to breathe. I could feel the sweat building on my forehead and yet, I feel cold inside.In the hallway, I found the fifty-year-old butler and the head maid. Both of them looked stupefied.“Where is she?” I asked in a hoarse voice.The butler lowered his head. “We will lead the way, Sir.”In my head, I still wanted to believe that this was all a lie. My mother couldn’t be dead. Pa was not even here so maybe it wasn’t true. Maybe this was only a prank because she wanted to see us. But then, Pa was never around when she needed him, when ‘we’ needed him.When the butler led me to the mortuary, my hands began trembling.“I’m sorry, Sir. When we found the madam, it was already too late. When we brought her in this hospital, the doctor declared her dead on arrival,” the butler said in a low voice.I could still hear his words.
(Alexandra)“IF YOU join the Crimson Moon pack, we will help you out. If you were to join the Silverstone pack, your father’s previous pack, then it’s okay. We will send you to them. I know them. They are nice people. They will accept you and be glad to welcome you once they find out who your father is. The choice is yours, Giovanni. But let me tell you this: choosing wolves meant that you will belong to us from now on. Your loyalty will solely be to the pack and not to the humans,” Alpha Calypso told Giovanni after the latter told us his situation.Giovanni’s condition seemed better this morning. But he will still need training. Lots of it. Based on his story, he was not a true Sinclair. And he had only found out about it yesterday through Davina, his mother. Davina fell in love with a wolf and it was Alpha Bernard from the Silverstone pack. He was my father’s friend.And because their love for each other was forbidden, Davina and Bernard had a secret relationship. But then Mason spo
I UNCONSCIOUSLY hit the break. Luther just called me this afternoon. And then I remembered his voice when he spoke. It was not like he didn’t tell me. He wanted to. But I unknowingly stopped him from doing so. Besides, those were the things I should have known if I was by his side.But I wasn’t.So, this was why I’d been feeling uneasy. Something happened to my true mate. I glanced at Giovanni.“You heard it. We are not going back to the woods. We are going straight to where my husband is,” I said as I maneuvered the car and stepped on the gas.Luther had been very careful not to drop his mask in front of everybody. That was because he had something he wanted to achieve. I know that much at least since I’d been studying him these past few months. He had never let his guard down except last night, when we were together. I felt… his sincerity.In front of the public, he was a flawless businessman, a good friend, and an obedient son. He had never displayed his real emotions. He had been
(Alexandra)“THAT woman you’ve been glaring at is Michelle Villar, twenty-seven years old. She was last year’s Miss Universe first runner-up and currently works as a runway model in the States. She’s your husband’s ex-girlfriend and among his ‘tremendously famous’ exes, she’s the one who got to be with him for more than a year. I heard that was his longest relationship ever. She was currently having a vacation here and unlike someone I know, when she learned about Luther’s situation, she rushed to his side that there were some people who thought she was his wife.”“I’m not glaring at her, Beatrix. I’m only looking at her face. And so what if she’s famous? I know my worth, Beatrix. You can’t put me down just like that.”She giggled. “Then why are you pouting?”“I just think that the reason why people mistook her was because she doesn’t know her place. That woman is not the real wife but look at her, acting like a snake as she wraps her arm around Luther’s arm,” I answered while my eyes
MICHELLE staggered. And just like the guests, she didn’t seem surprise about my identity. She knew what I am.I noticed that she was more gorgeous up close. She didn’t have to wear a heavy make-up or to dress so daringly for men to look her way. Her breasts were almost exposed because of the extremely low neckline of her black dress. It didn’t seem like she came here to mourn, but to seduce someone, especially with that silver stilettos. She just made this mansion her runway!Looking back, had I ever hated a female human like this before? I think I’d always been too busy to care.Not to mention that Luther hadn’t glance at my direction the entire night. These were the things that I wouldn’t normally pay attention to. And I didn’t want to pay attention as much as possible. But I find myself constantly looking at Luther. As soon as I saw someone getting close to him, I felt a lump in my throat.“You’re joking, right?” Michelle said, stuttering.“Wolves don’t joke around, Miss Villar. So
(Luther)I WOKE up when I felt a soft hand on my cheek. When I opened my eyes, I saw Alexandra sleeping beside me on the grass in the backyard. When I glanced at my wristwatch, it was almost eleven in the evening. She really did stay.For others, this woman was my poison. And maybe she truly was my poison the same way she was my cure. Only this woman could build me up, break me, and then build me again. Tonight, because she was beside me, I was able to breathe just fine. The whole time without her felt like there was something stuck in my chest that I couldn’t get out.Things don’t magically become okay just because we are with the ones we love. That bullshit only happens in movies, in books. But I realized that somehow, with Alexandra around, things become a lot less painful, they become… endurable.And how I wished my mother was able to feel something like this too when she was still alive. But from the day she fell in love until her last breath, love just remained a poison to her.
(Alexandra)THE SOUND of my ringtone woke me up. I was still yawning when I opened my eyes only to be surprised when I found out that it was past six in the morning already. I think I woke up twice, but my body still felt too heavy that I couldn’t force myself to move.Or maybe it was because of Luther’s scent in the room that I was able to sleep comfortably again. He arrived in the room at four and when he saw me awake, he said that he could take a nap now that there was Suzanna who could replace him downstairs. Then he pulled me close as he slept and without knowing, I fell asleep again.I found my phone on the bedside table. The call was from Clay. Luther had also woken up from the sound although he remained lying on the bed as he held my free hand.“How are things there? As for the pack, the new wolf didn’t let anyone here get even a wink of sleep last night. It's morning now, but he hadn’t shifted back to his human form yet,” he stated.“So, it’s about Giovanni,” I said and turne
LUTHER’S fingers grazed my cheek as he stared at my face. He swallowed when he glanced at my lips. Seconds later and he pulled my head and waist as he claimed my mouth. He nibbled on my lower lip, urging me to open my mouth and when I did, he hungrily pushed his tongue in until our tongues met.When he finally let my mouth go, he took a rough breath and rubbed his erection against my stomach. “You look so lovely again today that I just wanna devour you right here, right now, Mrs. Sinclair.”Although completely aroused, I held it in and just smiled. “You can’t. Dad texted me an hour ago and said he’s preparing a victory party for me. We need to go back to San Antonio. How did you even escape from Iris?”“No worries. I told them that I was promised a date and I would claim that promise today. They seemed to understand. Dad told us to take our time, he’ll look after our princess. She even happily let me leave by myself. She had one thing to say, though. She said it’s her Christmas wish.”
(Valerian)“THE ROYAL family from the wolf empire is here to give their greetings and gifts to Your Majesty,” Matteo, the host of the event, announced. The guards opened the castle doors and from there, Alexandra, Luther, and their daughter appeared and walked towards the center of the hall, towards me.After Alexandra’s wolf reappeared, her hair was back to being crimson and so was her daughter’s. Luther’s hair, however, was still ink-black. It was the only thing he retained from his human genes. But whenever these three were on the edge of their emotions just like what happened in San Antonio before, their hair would all turn crimson along with their eyes.Together, these three could move mountains.Iris was at their middle. I stared at the Luna Queen, she was as stunning as before, but whenever I see her lately, her beauty just transcends everyone around her in another level. I guessed it was the radiance in her eyes. She was happy and it showed. She was shining more than ever.See
‘THE CRAZIEST thing in the world happened, but I cannot tell you about it yet, little sis. Telling you will spoil whatever scheme your moon goddess is cooking up. So, don’t get too disappointed if I will shut up for now. But be assured that Val is okay. He was just shocked and confused. Let him be. This is his first time being in this state. It’s actually fun to watch him rattled,’ Nick assured me. He winked. ‘He will figure it out and he will get over it, trust your big bro.’ ‘When?’ I asked. Nick laughed. ‘In fifteen to twenty years, I guess?’ Nick seemed to be having the best time of his life teasing Valerian. Even now, he was grinning beside Val who just ignored him. He turned to my direction and tenderly smiled. “I’m proud of you,” he mouthed. “I know you will be great.” “Thank you so much,” I replied. Halfway through the red carpet, I glanced at Giovanni who quietly walked with me. Just like my husband, he had come a long way, too. All of us had matured. He had become one
(Alexandra)MY POSITION was the closest to Beatrix. I could have stopped her from killing herself. But when she shook her head and looked at me with weariness in her eyes as if she was begging me not to take another step, I couldn’t move my feet.This was her wish: to be one with the man she loved. As heartbreaking as it was, I had to respect it.“Beatrix!” her parents yelled and sobbed.She confessed it to me while I was still pregnant. Kenji was the second mate given to her by the moon goddess. It was something she didn’t have the courage to tell even to her own parents knowing that they would not be happy about it anyway. It was rare for wolves to be given another mate after the original one dies. In fact, it was so rare that there were no records of it anywhere.Trix could be the first to experience such phenomenon and there could be a reason behind it, reason which Kenji and Trix had an eternity to discover.My knees staggered, but Luther was quick to grab me by the waist. Both o
(Beatrix)I HAD a secret that I could never admit to anyone. A month after the tragedy that killed my best friend, I was able to recover. At that time, I was about to go back to my duty in the pack but on my supposed to be last night at the facility, Kenji paid me a visit.His voice was gentle as he talked to me. He spoke like an old friend of mine. His eyes were affectionate as he called my name. He didn’t talk anything about vampires and wolves. Kenji only talked about the time we dated. And I pretended to be crazy so I could keep seeing him, so I could keep being with him in my own way.And maybe I had really gone crazy. Who would have imagined that I could stay in that facility for seven years all for him? For a chance to hear his voice? But for me, that facility had become our secret place, our hideout.‘I’m the world’s richest man. I have everything that money could buy, Trix, but I would swap them all for a day to be with you again, to feel your kisses one more time, your hugs,
THE WIND grew more violent as each second passed. The birds that were resting on the branches of the trees all squealed and flew away. We were yet to see the hybrids, but we knew they were here. We could feel it as tension sizzled in the air. We could even smell it. Their blood scent was everywhere which meant that we were now surrounded by them.And when Kenji had finally made his appearance, the steel gates flew towards our direction. But we were quick to evade them. There were hundreds of hybrids and they were all wearing red cloaks. I saw the faces of the men who made my mother suffer. And when they sneered at me as if they were remembering the same thing, my blood boiled and my body shook with anger.“The reports are true after all. My best friend and my mentor are indeed in one place and are working together. What a reunion,” Kenji said as he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, he had a dead look in his eyes as if he was uncertain about tonight’s outcome as well. When
I STOOD up and ran my fingers through my scalp. “When you told me to escape with you back then, I wanted to do just that. It was not just you. I wanted so badly to forget, too, Trix! I would do anything to forget even for a day. I want to escape, too! I want to be with you, too! But I can’t forget their cries. It haunts me all the fucking time.”I kneeled before Trix and when I could no longer stop myself, I held her hands and buried my face in them, relishing the familiar warmth that I could not feel in any other place no matter how hard I searched.Only Beatrix could do this to me. If it was not her, it would not work. She was my sanctuary. The voices were still there, I could still hear them. It seemed like I had been cursed to hear them for as long as I lived. Or maybe my mind was just playing with me, maybe I had gone crazy. My mind was a wretched place to be. And so was my heart.But with Beatrix this close to me, the voices were not as loud as before. It gave me the chance to l
(Kenneth)“HAVE MERCY, your majesty! I am still your father-“The old lying son of a bitch didn’t get to finish his sentence when I swung my sword onto his neck. His head rolled onto the floor along with the rest of the Mages who swore their loyalty to me. It sucks how Valerian was right again. The clan who abandoned me before because I was not as strong as them only came to find me after they heard how I rose to the throne. If I didn’t discover what they were secretly planning to do behind my back, they would have overthrown me and would have tossed me on the streets, poor and powerless.Their plan backfired, though. I killed them before they could even do that to me. Using a spell, I stole all of their magic.They were only after my throne, my position, and my army. To hell with them all! I don’t need them! They could rot in hell and after all this, I will see them there. In hell will be where our next family reunion will take place.After I killed the man who claimed to be my biolo
(Alexandra)“GET up, Alexandra. Shift and run with me.”When I heard Dad’s voice, I wiped my tears away and rose. His eyes were full of compassion as if he could relate to what I was feeling. He gave me a soft smile.“Shall we go?”I nodded. When he shifted, I followed him and shifted as well. Together, we ran in the woods as quickly as we could and howled. It was the farewell ritual that I didn’t get to do for Mom before and Dad was allowing me to finally do it for her now.It was seven years late, but I hope Mom could still hear it… including my apology and gratitude. While we were running, I was taken aback by the huge number of wolves who ran behind us including Luther. They howled along with us until we reached the lake once again.When we all transformed, the women took me someplace else and I just let them. They prepared a white silk dress for me to wear. They assisted me as I wore it. When I