Back in her cell, Gina's mind ran a mile a minute. She knew she would have to move fast if she were to survive the experience, and part of it was getting to get her voice heard for that second chance.At the guard and her meager meal upon arrival, leaning into the bars, urgently:."Please," she begged, "I need to talk to the Alpha. It's about Thane. I have more information." If she didn't say anything now, she could just wait for a way for Thane to kill her in this cell. The events of today happened so fast, even her could hardly keep up with it.The guard wavered, but her desperation seemed to speak for her.Minutes later, she was dragged back into Cida's study. He stood by the window, staring out of it."This better be good," he said without turning around.Gina swallowed hard. "Thane has a spy in your pack."Cida stiffened, his gaze whipping to hers. "And how would you know that?"Because I helped him put them, " she breathed.In that moment there was a hush of silence as the weigh
Cina finally took the initiative to capture Malik. "Captain,""Alpha""I need you to question a certain wolf named Malik. Use any means you can but don't kill him"The captain just nodded, his features set. "It shall be done, Alpha."Cina leaned forward, his tone low, intense. "He works for Thane. I'm sure of it. He has information we need, and we don't have the time to play around.The captain bowed and drew back without a word, motioning his most trusted heavies forward. Silent as ghosts, they drifted through the compound of Silvermoon, alert to every movement. They knew Malik was cagey; he would not be easily caught.It was well into the night when they finally saw him: Malik, skulking near the eastern watchtower, half-concealed by the shadows of trees. He moved deliberately; his eyes were intent as he scanned the perimeter.The captain hand-signaled to his men as they fanned out and silently boxed Malik in. When Malik turned to move deeper into the forest, they pounced.Malik shift
I stared at Elder Kato, somewhat suspicious.He looked at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes "I won't help until I'm asked to. No one goes where they aren't wanted."I nodded trying to make sense of it all. He had already began eating but I stood there, waiting to be sent away. As a maid, I needed to be told to leave before I could."You may sit" he said. I was about turning when I realized what he meant. Why didn't he want me to leave?I tried to feel wary but instead I felt calm...an indescribable calmness. Once I sat, he began talking "Tell me about yourself. Your life? Friends? Parents?"Deep down, I felt uncomfortable. He noticed and said "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable but knowing a little more about a friend won't hurt"I stood up abruptly. Friend? When did I become his friend? How come I didn't know we had become friends?He chuckled "You aren't so delighted to be called my friend"I bowed meekly "It's an honor but I'm not so sure I deserve that title"He smi
At first I thought he just wanted to play the cat and mouse game -stalking your prey until you have a chance to pounce but it seemed the Alpha of that pack was tough.Thane was a proud man who had a large ego. I was more like his right hand woman but when it came to showing weakness, he never showed it in front of me. Especially concerning the Silvermoon pack case, he'd just give me good updates concerning it. I had to find out his mishaps from other subordinatesI never questioned him about it, after all he was still my boss.I picked a dusty looking duffel bag and stuffed some old clothes in, I added a few pieces of dried meat and some weapons. I added some other necessities but later decided to hide the weapons on my body.That way, even if they checked my bags, they won't find anything. I started my journey and moved quickly. I didn't like being too far from my pack. It wasn't comfortable. Besides, I like working under twelve hours on missions. Why take time when you could do it i
The two guards looked at me skeptically before softening their expressions.I knew I had already won them over, I only needed to use my trump card for them to give in.I widened my eyes "Is -is this going t- to cost you -your jobs? I'm so sorry. I didn't -know. Just help me tell Greg I dropped by" I stmered and began to walk away.They looked around before the one standing at the right shouted "Wait! You have ten minutes. Tell Greg he owes us a favour"I looked at them with joy in my eyes "Thank you so so much. I'm so grateful. Where do I find him?""Second floor. He's guarding the dining entrance. Keep your head down throughout. If any guard stops you, tell them 'oversle eetme'"I pretended to repeat it before nodding and walking in. I must say their packhouse is really furnished. It's better than ours to be frank, it's spacious and very clean. The ground is marbled and a red rich rug runs from the entrance to goddess knows where. There were many rooms along the side and a waiting ro
Frozen, my blood ran cold. Who were they talking about?"She'll make a mistake," another voice answered, but even so, just as threatening, "When she does, we'll be ready."Confusion came, like a weight between the eyes: were they speaking of me?Panic welled up in my chest, yet I willed myself not to freak out. I couldn't afford to get caught now. I sidled backward from the door, trying to be really quiet, turning to my way back.But turning, something solid came in the way.I hunched backward, my gaze rolling upward aghast. A guard towered over me, his face set in grim resolution."What are you doing here?" he grumbled back, his voice echoing off the dungeon."I'm lost?," I staed, trying to sound as harmless as possible. Although it came out more of a question.He looked unconvinced. "You shouldn't be here."Then suddenly, another voice cut through the silence."Let her go."I turned to find a figure emerge from the dark, a portion of his face shrouded in shadow. The air ordered him,
I sat up calmly; staring at this masked young man. His physique was quite alluring but not in a seductive way -more like a protective way. Those eyes.. where had I seen those eyes?"If you keep looking at me like that, I'd think you've fallen for me" With his tone you could easily tell that he was smirking.I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Yeah right!"What do you want?" I asked. "Thane would soon send men to find me. I suggest you kill me or let me go""You really aren't afraid of death" he stated. I rolled my eyes at his statement but deep down, I knew he was right. There was really nothing to live for anymore.I shrugged before saying "Life is just not so important" With our present discussions, it wasn't still clear what he wanted. Or was he just trying to stall for time? But why?I got up, his eyes watching me like a hawk. That was it! My patience had run thin. I had important things to do. I thought he was going to snitch on me but he didn't, guess he was done lousy creep.I steadi
I smirked, "I thought you knew everyone and everything.""Well, I do," she returned serenely, "but I cannot be everywhere at every time."I lifted an eyebrow. "Mm. I would agree, but why do you think I would trust you?"She smiled. "Because my offer is quite good. There's no lie there."I nodded flatly. Who wouldn't want to know what happened in their past?Just when I was going to ask about the payment and service, she interrupted my thoughts. "I would tell you some of it. Once I make sure your loyalty, you'll meet someone important."I shrugged. "I don't care about meeting anyone important."She leaned in. "That person is related to you."I hesitated and nodded in agreement. I didn't have anywhere in particular to go, and this seemed like an opportunity."I hope-She cut me off. "Don't you worry, you'll be comfortable. I don't let my partners suffer."I wanted to burst out laughing at the term "partner," but I nodded, and that's how I became Luna's right-hand man.Fiona's job had ma
She came as a ghost, her step as silent as breathing, her presence cold that seemed to penetrate to the very heart of his pack. She stood before him, her eyes bottomless black as always, her lips as cold as ice."You owe me, Thane," she whispered, her voice sweetly tinged with threat. "And this day's payment."Thane's ground fell away beneath him. All that it had cost him those years of running, that effort to remain one step ahead of his devils, had been for nothing. He had seen today on the horizon, but there before him, weighed down by the burdens of his conditioned responses, a strangling sense of despair struck him.He looked at his pack, whose faces he vowed to protect, and knew he could no longer flee. He had to go back to Arachne, and face the wrath of what he had done, however repulsive. "As you will," he breathed out, his voice slick and unfaltering.The grin of Arachne spread wider, her hunt gleam eyes burning hotter."Oh, Thane," she breathed softly, her voice silky as poi
Bermont’s throat had been ripped out, his body lying lifeless on his desk, his empty face blankly regarding the ceiling. And beside him, Lyanna, her elongated body twisted into an impossible shape, her beautiful face contorted into face of terror.Thane's stomach lurched. This wasn’t a clean kill. It was a massacre.The room was trashed, desecrated by gigantic claw marks bigger than what any wolf could have left and through his friend. Obscene symbols, painted red, thick black smudges, painted on the walls. It was an abomination of deformed, ritualistic butchery, painted to look like that of some horrific supernatural being.Backwards, his wolf started snarling in shock and horror, receding and receding until Thane backed away. Not this. This kind of killing was not what he had signed up for.He suddenly felt like he was being watched. From a corner he saw her. Arachne.She had emerged from the shadows, her hands and lower forearm smeared with freshly-shed blood. She glowed."You—" Th
Years Ago-The room in Bermont's study glimmered blackly with unwritten things, weighed down by pungent smell of burnt pine and acrid taste of bitterness. Bermont, a huge fat man, collapsed over his enormous wooden desk, his shadow falling on pieces of paper here and there.His wife, Lyanna, at the window, statue of coldness, her eyes over some point far away beyond frosted glass. The theatre of authority, its rough tactlessness."You know you can’t be Alpha, Thane," Bermont told him, his tone laced with thoughtless disdain of a man who was certain he was in charge. "You were born to be a follower, not a leader. Learn that, and perhaps, perhaps I'll continue to allow that you might stay at my side. A pet, perhaps."The second half of that tense almost-snarl, cautious bite.Thane's fists were balled, fingernails pressing crescent moon shapes into palms. The wolf within him, that source of strength, snarled fury, its primal power bursting in harmony with his own.Years of that, of provi
The reality struck me like a sledgehammer. I respected her, I looked up to her, and never ever admitted that I loved her, not even to myself. I was just too afraid, too occupied being the person I was supposed to be, too afraid to be rejected.But now that she was in danger, I could not play games anymore. I loved her, had loved her for years, and would do anything to win her back in one piece.There was a knock on the door, shattering me out of daydreaming. Greggory stood there, his face creased with concern."Alpha," he said, "we have a problem."My heart sank. "What?""We've been told by the border patrol," he explained. "They did see tracks, off our territory, into the Nelder forest. But not ordinary tracks. Lena's."I bolted upright, my fists clenching. "Are you sure?"Greggory nodded. "Yes. They picked up her scent. She was definitely there.""But she's been gone for so long," I said. "Why would her scent still linger there?""We don't know," Greggory admitted. "But the prints s
"Words are breath, Alpha. An oath of loyalty must… be flesh." I touched him, my hand tracing the harshest plane of his jaw, feeling the shuddering under his flesh. "Kneel, Alpha," I commanded, my tone falling to a silky pitch, but supported by adamant authority."Pledge yourself to me, here and now, before the ancient powers that lie in wait within this caravan."There was a flicker of defiance in his eyes, the lingering of his Alpha pride. But that was quickly overwhelmed, smothered by the crushing weight of his desperation. Reluctantly, he knelt down, slowly, his gaze still on mine, an internal battle unspoken."Repeat after me," I ordered, my voice low and rich, calling on the inner strength that coursed through me, generating a sense of drama around the event. "I, Killian of the Skyline Pack…"He echoed the words, his voice rasping, just audible, every syllable a concession, a fragment of his freedom surrendered."Promise my allegiance."He stood before me, the gravity of the word
Shakira's POVMy frantic investigation had turned out to be nothing but murky suggestions and dead ends. Ancient texts mentioned domination spells, psychic intrusions, everything apart from the inexplicable, mass damp that hung over Killian's pack.I really couldn’t admit that I knew nothing of what was happening. Not to Killian. My well-crafted reputation of an infamous witch demanded an aura of omniscience, of proficiency at the divine crossroads. To reveal my fallibility, would be to destroy the illusion, to jeopardize all that I had struggled for. And to lose Killian… that was something I was not going to allow to happen.My defense would be in deception. I would pretend to have a solution, to stall and keep Killian in my control, while I desperately searched for a real one, or… created one myself.I got up from my chair, the groaning old wood grumbling a welcome creak in the still caravan. I gazed about at the crowded shelves of jars, bottles, and desiccated herbs. Ingredients. I
Killian’s POVThe weight in my chest was more than crushing, it was overbearing. Every beat a leaden weight in my chest, every breath a struggle. Shakira's words haunted my quarters, taunting me. What did it even mean, to yield to another, to a witch with such a reputation as that? The very thought sent a shiver down my spine.And yet, the happenings in my pack flashed through my mind, the stunned horror and fear on their faces, the unearthly incantation of "Simon is Lord!" ringing in my ears. Dexter's sickening smile, insincere, repulsive, revolved through my thoughts like a record stuck on a groove. My pack was falling apart, family by family, and here I stood, contemplating and hesitating to submit to Shikira's request.Delaying was not going to cut it any longer. Something had to be done but what? Xavier's suggestion of going out to other packs and begging for assistance was practical, logical even. But his advice was replaced by an increasing horror that compelled me to listen to
She took a deep breath, her eyes snapping open. The pool was calm, its reflective mirror of the moon's glow unbroken. Aurora was not. She could feel it. The power that lay within her was no longer latent. It was alive, humming with energy, the essence of White Luna.She looked at Selene, her eyes shining with sudden understanding. "I… I think I understand."Selene's face erupted into a warm smile."The way has just been opened, Aurora. There is much to learn, much to prepare you for. But you will not be doing it alone. I will be here, every step along the way."Aurora's heart was a tempest of the expectation and terror that battled within it. She was a goddess, a new White Luna. Her journey would be challenging, but giving up was not an option.The weight of a new life was heavy on Aurora, more heavily even than any material weight. She was the White Luna, a goddess reborn. Her mind was heavy with the words, a reminder of just how great a weight was on her shoulders. She looked at her
Those words hung heavily in the empty garden, alone-an affront to all she had ever conditioned to understand about the world. She was an Omega, the lowest one to exist within the pack, born to take orders and not give them. This… this could not be. And yet, visions, power flowing through her veins, Selene's presence here-everything screamed for a truth she could not help but believe."Preparations?" she managed to croak with a throat parched and raspy. "For what?"Selene's visage became unbroken. "For war coming. The war you saw earlier. One to raze not your pack alone but all the packs. A war unlike any other."Her mind was a wild knot of possibilities. The rumors of the Thane of Redblood-whispers of another foe-it fit together all too sickly. This, however, was not a pack war; this was a war against something older and far more evil than anything imaginable. Survival war."But..but I am just myself," she stammered without faith in herself, helplessly waving her hands. "I know nothin