Kalen dragged me out of the small building and towards another, even smaller one. He pointed to a woman. “You come here and stand here till she comes out. When she’s dressed, bring her to the bonfire.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed as she saw me. Distrust and wariness were easy to read in them.
“Yes, alpha,” she said, ducking her head and shoved me inside.
The door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang. The sudden sound startled me. Instantly, I turned and tried to open it again. I vigorously beat against the closed door, my voice with urgency and entreaty: “Please, let me out!” However, no one answered me.
I slipped slowly, like losing support, and I sat slumped on the ground against the door. I looked up and around the room. All sorts of clothes piled up in a mess, if one could call the scraps of cloth clothing. Looking at this, I felt a force in my heart. No way was I going to ‘entertain’ anyone. I looked around the room and saw my salvation, a window. It was small, but I was sure I could squeeze through. I found some other clothes. I put on a t-shirt and some shorts. Climbing on the shelves, I opened the window. I sucked in a breath and wiggled through it.
I crashed onto the ground. Afraid the woman heard me, I took off running. My body hurt as I ran, but I grit my teeth and forced myself to ignore it. I had to get away from there. I had to escape. Kalen wasn’t the man I remembered. He was cruel, volatile, and wanted to tear me down, just like Carl wanted.
If I died now, no one would know the truth. No one would know that Carl killed my son. I had to survive. I had to escape, find my father. He was the only one whom I knew would listen to me, let me explain everything, and be understanding at how easily those I trusted had fooled me. I had to get to my father.
That thought alone drove me as I charged through brush and past the stinging branches of the trees. Yet, before long, I felt my energy drained from me, and as much as I wanted to keep running, my chest hurt. I couldn’t breathe. Having no other choice, I slowed, gulping in air, my breath wheezing. Suddenly, a coughing fit forced me to stop.
My upper side hurt. Pain flared through me as I laid my hand on the area. Shit, that couldn’t be good. Getting my coughing under control, I stood up. A hand wrapped around my neck and jerked me back.
“Where are you going?”
I gasped as Kalen turned me to face him. His eyes were that dark color, promising violence again. I couldn’t help the meek whimper of fear that escaped me. “Leaving me so soon?” he asked, his voice a sharp bark.
I fought against my fear. Now was the time to fight. “Let go of me,” I yelled, clawing at his hand, trying to free myself from his grip.
He pulled me closer to him. “Never,” he told me, his voice low and dangerous.
“You have no right,” I argued, hitting and kicking him, but Kalen didn’t seem to notice as his eyes grew harder and darker with his anger.
A slight sound attracted my attention, and I froze as I watched my necklace slip from my neck and fall to the ground. “My necklace!” I forgot about trying to free myself from Kalen’s grip.
“I have every right,” Kalen said, then his eyes dropped to the necklace. Instantly, I knew what he meant to do, and I screamed, trying to reach the necklace before him. Yet, Kalen was like a block of stone. I couldn’t free myself or get closer to the necklace. “No,” I pleaded, as I realized I was powerless to stop him from taking it from me.
Kalen picked it up off the ground and I screamed, feeling like I was back four months ago when the pack doctor told me Caden had died. “No,” I screamed. I threw myself at Kalen so hard he took a step back.
“No, no no, please, Kalen,” I begged him. I grabbed onto him, no longer caring about the fear of what he might do to me. No matter what, I couldn’t lose that necklace. I couldn’t lose my baby a second time.
With tears in my eyes, I begged him, “Don’t break it, please! Oh, goddess, please, don’t do it!”
A hint of confusion broke through his anger, but quickly vanished. “You don’t want me to break it,” he said, pulling my face close to his. “Then do every damn thing I tell you, Alyssa. I promise to smash it into tiny little pieces so that it can never be fixed if you disobey me.
“No,” I screamed, tears streaming down my face. “I-I promise,” I said, still grabbing onto his shirt. “I’ll do whatever you tell me. I swear,” I said, desperation clawing through me.
“Just please don’t break it.” Goddess, let there be something of the man I remembered inside Kalen. Despite trying to reach for the necklace, Kalen kept it out of my reach.
“I know you will,” he hissed into my ear, then released my neck.
Once he released me, I collapsed onto the ground, unable to hold my weight. It was too much. Everything was too much. Why was the goddess doing this to me? What could I possibly have done to deserve this torment? Kalen grabbed me by the arm, jerking me to my feet. I cried out as pain shot through my side.
Ignoring my cries, Kalen dragged me back to the rogue’s camp. The woman from before stood, fear over her face as she saw us. Kalen threw me at her. “Get her dressed,” he yelled, then stormed off.
Again, I fell to the ground. Fear and pain mingled through me. “Come on. You heard the alpha,” she said, her voice hard and bitter.
Ouch, he's got her necklace. What do you think? Would he really break it?
The woman pulled me to my feet and took me into the room, refusing to leave until I got dressed in what Kalen had picked out for me. I gritted my teeth, reminding myself he had my necklace. I undressed and put on the clothes that Kalen chose and tried not to think of how I might look in them. When I finished, the woman led me out of the room; her face was a stoic mask. I had no way of telling if it bothered her I was going to be the ‘entertainment’ or if it was just another day for her.She walked me up to Kalen. “She’s here alpha.”Much like Carl had at my trial, Kalen sat looking like a roman emperor, ready to decide the fates of those beneath him. Four women sat or stood around him, each breathtakingly beautiful. They pawed at him, eagerly awaiting whatever command he would give them.My chest ached with a spark of jealousy that was swallowed by grief. This was just more evidence that the Kalen I knew. The Kalen I loved never existed. This was who he was for real. A rogue. A cruel,
Kalen’s PoVMy heart pounded in my chest as I sprinted through the forest, running along secret trails I knew by heart. No matter how fast I ran, Alyssa still haunted me. Despite how she hurt me, I couldn’t stop desiring her. My body yearned to feel her again, taste her… I growled and pushed myself to run faster.She betrayed me. I had come to see her and then when I heard what was going on; I wanted to save her… Stupid. Shaking my head, I tried to keep my anger in check. Married? Goddess, how could she do that to me? Alyssa claimed she had to? What in the hell could make her marry that jackass? She was lying, playing with me. She had to be, because otherwise, why wouldn’t she just explain everything to me?I wanted to humiliate her tonight, make her feel like she had made me feel. Yet when she took off that shirt and all those bruises… Carl was lucky I didn’t know about them when I was beating his ass or I wouldn’t have stopped.If that wasn’t bad enough, those assholes were looking a
I spent the morning cleaning dishes, doing laundry, and whatever chore it seemed like the rest of the servants didn’t want to do. The other servants avoided me and never spoke to me unless they had to.I don’t know if it was because they knew I was from a pack or because their alpha hated me. I’d never been a social pariah before. That, combined with the loss of my necklace, I was more lonely than I had ever been in my life.I worked by myself, setting up food on a long table. There was an event tonight, as the older woman said, the head servant, I think. But all my minds had already drifted away. Survive, I told myself. This was the only thing I should focus on at present. Get the necklace and find Father. Let Kalen think he had the upper hand. Let him try to tear me down and humiliate me. I would have my justice.However, just as I was about to step out of the hall, the familiar figure broke into my sight. Kalen strode into the room with one of the women he had with him last night.S
Kalen pinned me to the wall, one hand held me by my neck and the other pressed against the wall. His face was mere inches from mine as he accused me of trying to get men’s attention. The pain immediately hit my nerves and left me breathless. My bruised ribs didn’t like Kalen’s rough treatment of me.“Let me go,” I demanded. “You’re hurting me! I have no idea what you’re talking about? I am not doing anything but what you told me.” Placing my hands on his shoulders, I tried to push him back, but he didn’t move an inch.“Don’t play dumb with me,” he growled. “I saw him with you!”What? Was all this about that man who helped me? I swear Kalen almost sounded jealous, but that couldn’t be right. “Thomas?” I said in disbelief. As soon as I said his name, Kalen growled, and his eyes darken.Anger filled me. I was getting tired of men jealously treating me like a thing they owned, and didn’t want anyone else playing with. “Get off me,” I demanded, and tried to push him back again, but he was s
I woke up with a scream. Sweat peppered my entire body. Panic seized me until I recognized the room I was in. It was a storage room in the rogue servants’ building. They refitted it into a bedroom for me to stay in. My nightmares kept the other servants awake, so they moved me to this room to avoid bothering them.Since Carl admitted to what he had done, I had nightmares of Caden’s cries. Every night, I try to get to him before Carl, and every night I fail and can’t save my son. Then I must watch as Carl hurts him and snuffs out his precious life. It all felt so real that my heart was nothing but a gaping, bleeding wound that won’t heal.Setting my feet on the cold cement floor, I leaned forward and buried my hands in my hair. I took a few deep breaths. I felt like I was going to be sick. My chest still hurt, but no longer was it on the side, but more in the middle. I closed my eyes and searched deep inside me.‘Maddie,’ I called out mentally, trying to call out to my wolf. She took my
A mix of emotions flashed over Kalen’s face, all of them too quickly for me to read before his expression hardened.“I don’t allow anyone to take what belongs to me,” he says, then a hint of anger and maybe disgust sparked into his eyes. “Even if I don’t want it anymore.”I gasped, then flinched away from him, my eyes filling with tears. His admission sent pain through me. I stared off to the side, unable to believe that I really was just a thing to him. Something to own, hurt, use or abuse how he wanted. My feelings didn’t matter. That I was a person didn’t matter.Anger replaced the hurt. I wasn’t a thing, but a person! I looked back at Kalen and his expression of cold indifference. Jumping to my feet, I wanted to hit him, hurt him, make him show some kind of emotion. My hands curled into fists, shaking with my fury.Kalen laughed when he saw my expression. “Don’t waste your strength, Alyssa. You can’t do anything more to me, but piss me off and we both know what happens if you do.”
Startled, I turned and saw Thomas leaning in the doorway.“Admit it, Chelsie, she got you there.” He walked into the room, humor sparkling in his eyes. “Who knew you were so funny, Alyssa?” he said, grinning.Relief made me return his smile. “I was-” I started, but the woman, Chelsie, cut me off.“What are you doing, Thomas?” she demanded. “Why are you defending her? You realize she’s a pack bitch! They’re our enemy! Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with a pack bitch, Thomas!”At that moment, Kalen walked into the room and froze. His eyes darted around, falling on each one of us. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Thomas. Chelsie immediately rushed forward and clung to Kalen’s arm.“Alpha, she’s trying to seduce your people,” she said. “I came in here and found her practically throwing herself at Thomas instead of doing the work you ordered her to.”My eyes widened and Thomas wore a similar expression of shock.“Alpha-” Thomas started to say when Kalen glared at him.“Save it,” he sn
I spent more time than I should wondering what might be going on with Kalen. I’ve never seen anyone whose eyes change like his does. So far they’ve gone from near black to an icy blue. Maybe that was a rogue thing. I shook my head. Out of the things that were my problem, Kalen and his eyes weren’t even on the list. Instead, I focused on sorting the documents.It was late by the time I finished. When I stood up from my chair, I stumbled, feeling a bit dizzy. I took a moment to steady myself, and decided before going to my new room in the pack house, I decided to take a bit of fresh air.Stepping outside, I closed my eyes and let the cool night air wash over me. The chilly bite of the air helped my head clear and some of the tension eased. When I opened my eyes, I saw Thomas walking up to me with a girl, maybe twelve or thirteen, with him.“Hey, everything, alright?” Thomas asked.“Yeah, just getting a bit of air. What about you? You’re out late,” I replied.“Since I was stuck training t
EpilogueWith the death of James, there was enough evidence in his safe house to prove he was behind all the conflicts between pack and rogues, and the war officially was over. The lycan king spent the next several months majorly cleaning house. The king stripped most of the alphas of their positions with the choice of being incarcerated or going through a rehabilitation program. Not surprisingly, most were incarcerated or forced the king’s hand into killing them.He was also trying to repair his relationship with Danielle and the rogue king. The kings weren’t friends, but they stopped the petty back and forth they used to do. Danielle thinks there’s hope for them. Me… I am not so sure, but just glad to see their issues probably won’t cause any more wars.The lycan king offered the leadership of the Crimson Fang back to me, but I refused. There was too much bad blood between the pack and me. Besides, the rogue community felt like home to me now. I had friends and family here. Being th
The sun was warm against my skin as Caden and I sat on a blanket in the late morning. I tried to focus on him, and the joy of having him back in my life, instead of worrying about Kalen. Two days have passed since they left to find James, and I’ve not heard a single word about what was going on.“Hey,” Thomas said as he sat next to us, breaking me from my thoughts.“Hey,” I replied and unable to help myself, asked, “Heard anything yet?”He shook his head with a downfallen look. “No, but it doesn’t mean anything. Operations like this take time.”That would’ve made me feel better if he didn’t also look worried himself. He was trying to hide it, but I saw it all the same. Perhaps he wasn’t only trying to make me feel better, but himself, too. “Yeah. You’re probably right,” I said, deciding to play along.“So how are things with this little guy?” Thomas asked, looking down at Caden who had rolled over to his stomach now.“It’s been an adjustment,” I admitted. “You know, you hear about all
The Wolf's PoVI moved my neck to the side and shook off the painful little aftershocks of my shift. I lifted my massive snout and sniffed the air. Sweat, adrenaline, fear and anger. It was the smell of the most basic, primal of all instincts of any living creature. The fight for survival. It was an intoxicating mix. Working my jaw, the desire for blood filled me.I lowered my head and glared at the man before me. He looked equally excited as he did terrified. This man, James, didn’t understand the danger he was in if he was anything but afraid. I wasn’t Kalen. I didn’t care for him or the memories Kalen had of him. To me, he wasn’t family. He was a threat to my family. James separated my pup from his mother. He tried to take her away from me. For all of that, James needed to die. With a growl, I stepped towards him and allowed him to see his death in my eyes.“Why are we fighting, Kalen?” James said, shaking his head with a grin. “Look at the power you command. You could be the king
Kalen PoVI froze, unsure if I heard my uncle right. He was challenging Father? “You can’t be serious,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. James met my gaze, his smile growing. “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”Across the room, Father stood still, his hands clasped behind his back, the way he always stood when he was thinking, or more likely in this case, calculating. His eyes flickered toward me before returning to James. “Is this what you want, James? Have you become so seduced by power that you would fight me, kill me for it?”“You know nothing about me, Elijah,” James said, a growl in his voice. James took a step forward, his jaw tight, his fists clenching at his sides. “You built this all on weakness, nurturing that weakness, claiming it to be strength, but it’s all a lie and I’ve proved that. You haven’t been able to stop anything I’ve been doing.”Father tilted his head, considering him. “And what would you do instead? Be a tyrant? Ignoring those in need? Rule wi
Kalen’s PoVA still calmness washed over me as I prepared to leave. Father was waiting for me and I saw he wore a similar expression on his face. I couldn’t imagine how hard this had to be for him. James was his brother, after all. As the older brother, I had no doubt Dad looked after James, protected him from bullies and all of that. They’d been through everything together. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The villain was not supposed to be your family.“Ready?” he asked me when I reached him.“Could anyone be ready for something like this?” I replied.Father nodded and sighed. “No. No, I don’t think so, or at least, they shouldn’t be, but this is what we are given and we’re going to deal with it the best we can.”“That we are,” I said, and we started walking to the meeting point with the others coming with us.We were almost halfway there when Father stopped me. “There is something I have to say before we go.”“What is it? Something wrong?”Father shook his head. “No, just the op
KalenIt had been three days since Caden came back into our lives. Three days of the best chaos of my life. Never in my life had I seen myself in a domestic light. Yes, I’d often thought about building a life with Alyssa, but mostly because that’s what people did when they found their mate. They got together, had kids and built a family. I didn’t get excited about the idea, but I didn’t dread it either.Yet, now? Now, despite the crying mountains of diapers, Caden’s inability to stay still unless he’s sleeping. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I can’t remember a time where I felt happier and more at peace with life than how I am now.Alyssa and I visited that woman who claimed to know all about Caden yesterday, when she wasn’t feeling so confident about her capabilities to be a good mother to Caden. No matter what I told her, Alyssa wasn’t convinced, so we went to see the woman. However, the woman didn’t know anything. After some pressure, she admitted she only cared fo
“There he is. There is my grandson,” the rogue king said as soon as he saw us. He walked over and kissed Caden on the top of the head as he took in his scent. “Nice to see our good looks continue for another generation,” he added with a grin. “What brings you both here?”“Basically to catch up,” I said, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Caden didn’t seem to be that heavy, but, after a while of holding him, it felt as if he’d doubled in weight. “I would like to know more about how Caden was found and where.”“And how the search for James is going as well,” Kalen said, sitting next to me.“The search is going,” Kalen’s father replied. “However, I suggest with Caden now back. You should both focus on him and settling in your new roles as his parents.”“And we will, but there are things I need to know,” I argued.“I understand, and I will pass the reports the search team leader made about the search into the building where they found Caden. Though, I don’t think you
Kalen walked up to me and wrapped his arms around the both of us. “No, this is real. We’ve got him back. You’ve got your son back, Alyssa.”I held Caden to me, unable to believe my eyes. “How? When?” I asked Kalen, then glanced up at him, anger trickling into my joy. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”“Because no one knew until they found him,” Kalen replied. “The location they found him, there weren’t any other children. It seemed to be nothing more than a supply depot. Also, this just happened this morning. The trackers told my dad who told me, and well, I thought I’d give you a surprise.”“Who was with him? How was he found?” I said and looked at Caden, searching for signs that they had mistreated or neglected him.“From what they told me there was a woman with him,” Kalen replied. “I don’t know any more than that. We can take him to the doctor now if you like. Though I have to say he looks fine.” Kalen reached out and held Caden’s hand as the baby looked at us with wide eyes, as if taki
Nearly a week passed after our visit with the lycan king. Danielle and I continued our training while I saw very little of Kalen or his father. There was a lot of movement in the camp. It seemed as if we were getting closer to finding James. I tried asking Danielle if she knew anything, but she just said I should focus on my training and trust that if there was news Kalen would tell her.That only made me annoyed, one because I hated not knowing what exactly was going on and second, because she was right. Kalen wouldn’t keep me in the dark about anything important. Yet, where was he? Until recently, he was practically at my side all the time. It seemed strange he wasn’t here.Suddenly, my feet knocked out from under me, but Danielle caught me before I hit the ground. “You’re not paying attention,” she lectured as she glared down at me.“Right,” I said, feeling a bit of whiplash. “Sorry.”“You should be,” Danielle said and pulled me up to my feet. “I’m not doing this for my health, you