Elena's POV "Is everything okay?" Valerian asked, throwing me a sideways glance while chopping off a spoonful of eggs and chewing on it.I tried to give him a small smile to show that everything was fine but it fell flat on my face and he saw it.He dropped his spoon on the counter and faces me.I continued playing around with the food on the table, my appetite gone."Don't you like the food?" He asked again, trying to get me to open up, peering at the food worriedly."I do…" I said, trying to assure him even as I pushed a bit of egg over to the corner of my plate."Well if you like the food, then eat the food." He teased me.I said nothing to that though and he then pushed back from his chair, rounding the counter to come over to my side.I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist from behind, and he rests his chin on my shoulder."It's not the food, it's just.." I say utterly exasperated that he was just focused on the food so much."So, what's wrong then?" He breathes, his voice
Valerian's POV I was surprised to see Jared in the corner of the room. He didn't tell me he was back already.He was talking to someone, gesturing wildly as he spoke, his face tensed up and screwed up in annoyance.I moved to Enrique to get the latest update on our findings. Since we had discovered the massacre of the Fountain pack and how they mercilessly slaughtered innocent women and children and my friend, the Alpha of the pack, I had sworn to do everything possible to hunt those bastards down and make them pay for it.Coincidentally, we've found out that that is also their intention for us seeing as we've heard supposedly from our spies that they've made contact and formed an alliance with two other packs, growing in strength.It all got me worried and anxious but I tried not to show it instead try to channel what my father would have done in the situation.They all looked up to me to be their leader, and at the first sign of crisis, I can't look weak and start to shake in the
Elena's POV I WOKE up with a start, thrust out of my unconscious state like I was shocked with electricity completely.I tried to raise my head up but it turns out I could only move it a couple of inches.My head was strapped down to a metal table, much like the rest of me.I tugged on my arms which were spread sideways beside my head but they also didn't budge.I strained harder until I realized something.My hands were bound by thick straps like my head and the rest of my body. No. It was held up by thick, iron chains that were big enough to hold someone much larger than me.Which means, no matter how hard I try I wouldn't be able to get out of them.Still, yet, I tugged on the chains harder but I only heard the mocking sound of the chains clanging as they didn't budge from their position, not even a little bit.Dammit.From the limited turns my head could make, I tried to get a glimpse of where I was, but I only saw dark, dirty, and damp splotches on the ceiling.I wrinkled my no
Elena's POV Faced with Ethan's steely and impassive gaze on my bare body, I shied away trying to sink into myself but he didn't give me that opportunity because he came forward and grasped my chin in his hand and twisted.A sound escaped from my clenched at the feel of the sudden contact of his skin on mine.Instantly, every nerve in my body snapped to attention and unconsciously my body leaned into his touch no matter how much I despised him and wanted to bite off his hand."I've missed you." He murmured, staring at me with an undecipherable emotion glinting in his brown eyes.I clamped my lips shut forcefully so I wouldn't do a stupid thing like "I did too."And weirdly, I did miss them. Not their constant torture and abuse, hell no, but despite all that, they were my mates.Nature, no matter how cruel had destined the three of us to be together and had bound us, so they would always be a part of me.His gaze lingered on my skin before his eyes left a hot trail to my calf where the
Elena's POV Cold water splashed on my body, drenching my clothes, the coldness seeping into my bones, jolting me awake.The first thing I saw was Zayn's evil grin beaming on me as he watched me react.I coughed out water, turning on my side as I groaned out loud."Finally, I was starting to think you'd never wake up." Zayn drawled sarcastically, clapping his hands.I shivered uncontrollably as I realized that adding to the cold water splashed on me, I'd been transported to another room different from the one Ethan placed me in, and the temperature was lowered to minus twenty degree Celsius making the room very cold.The room was brightly lit, showing the room was painted in muted red-wine color, with drapes and rugs to match.This room was quite different from the other room of pain I was used to, and I feared what they had in mind for me this time around."Zayn-" I started to plead when I saw different areas of floggers, canes, and whips lined up on the wall before me."Shh, there'l
Elena's POVI forgot what they told me, as I sucked in a sharp breath and my eyes flew to meet his hard ones."No! Please…" I sobbed but his expectant expression gave me no choice but to acquiesce. I knelt down on the cold floor, my hands fidgeting by my sides.Zayn walked straight to me, unbuckling his belt even as he approached and unzipped his fly before he brought his still-covered erection within three inches of my face.I jerked back a little and I trembled harder, as I fought between wanting to flee and staying.Casually, Zayn put his left hand in my hair and gathered it in a loose ponytail in his hand."Look at me." He ordered, turning my face upward as he spoke.I obeyed, my eyes filled with hatred and my nostrils flaring as I watched the amusement on his face as I struggled.With his right hand, he freed his dick from his underwear tugging the boxer briefs down to his scrotum to expose his member properly."Do not use your hands, is that clear?"A sneer appeared on my face
Elena's POV I was dropped off unconscious into this room or so I think because I didn't have any memory of being carried here. At least whoever it was had the common sense to lie me down on my stomach because my back was hurting like hell. The few times I gained cognizance of my surroundings, the pain was so intense and overwhelming that I couldn't even think. I blacked out, seeking the peace of the darkness. Unfortunately, I couldn't be unconscious all the timeI would have shifted to my wolf form to alleviate the pain but the shackles bound to my wrist and legs were much bigger than I was, and even if I did chances of escaping were very slim. Tears seeped down into my tiny bed as I thought about the endless months, and years, that lay spanned out before me. Continous, persistent torture.I was able to survive two years with them, but now that I've seen and experienced what it's like to be free, to be loved, I don't think I can survive even a month before they successfully brok
Valerian's POV I picked up a pebble and threw my hand as far back as I could before I tossed it into the sea, watching it sail before falling into the water with a splash.I repeated it several times, finding comfort in the motion as I tried to think about the space in my bed when I woke up every morning. When I would roll over, expecting to encounter a familiar shape on the bed but touching nothing, or was it her scent on the sheets that taunted me every time no matter how I tried to block it out?The huge, gaping hole in my chest anytime her face flashes in my mind.A bird flew past, perching on a washed-up log, squeaking loudly at me, then bent over to peck at the log, fishing for something before flying away. I watched it go, tracing its figure in the sky until I couldn't see it anymore.The motion reminded meof a memory I had with Elena while we stayed in bed.She was still asleep. She had no idea I was watching her, my head propped up on my hand, smiling at the little noises sh
Ethan's POV I jerked awake out of the darkness with a deep gasp, clutching my heart which felt like it was going to jump right out of my chest.I felt my chest knit itself back slowly in my chest, and I felt the faint sharp cut still worrying me."What do you remember? Can you hear me?" Someone asked, leaning and blocking the light, which upset me. And of the three men, one guy came close being brave to check on me.I remember his cute, innocent eyes peering at me...I loved when those same eyes were bleeding with fear.I tried to raise my other hand only for the hand to stubbornly refuse my command, the other hand however have graduated enough to learn movement.Before even the next morning, I had already learned about the major languages in the country and can strangely pronounce them.My body and joints felt very awkward like they weren't mine and it took some getting used to.I moved forward, my muscles grinding against my bone, creating a very unpleasant experience.I wanted to s
Valerian's POV Ethan was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't hear me coming in time and only turned back at the last minute.I rushed towards his knees, tackling him to the floor.I raised my fists and brought them down on his nose, breaking it with a sick crack.I lunged again but he dodged, rolling to the side and I lost my balance."Why. Won't. You. Fucking. Die?" He banged my head against the floor harder with each word he uttered as he tightened his hand on my head.I reach out to hit him but He rolls and leaps to his feet kicking me in my stomach. I curl into a ball as fresh pain blooms in my stomach as the kick reopened the wound. He didn't care, kicking me harder, so much so the force made me fly backward hitting the window and shattering the glass to pieces.I was so badly hurt that I didn't move after I slumped to the floor, just moaning in pain."Fucking pathetic prick." He spat, stumbling to his feet, and walked drunkenly towards Elena. She scrambled back,
Valerian's POV My heart was in my throat as we sped back to the city, all the while inside my mind I was beating myself up for not seeing everything they had planned out sooner.I should have known it was all a setup.I've heard stories about how sick those men were and I can only imagine the twisted and depraved things they were doing to my pack mates, people who right now were looking up to me for help….and I let them down."You'll drive yourself crazy if you don't stop." Jared came to stand beside me where I was fidgeting. I couldn't keep calm, eager to get back home and fight."I can't stop!" I hissed, whirling around to turn furious eyes at him. "It's all my fault that this is happening. I was in such a hurry to get to Elena, I rushed in blindly avoiding a lot of blinking red flags.""Blaming yourself won't help our people, pulling yourself together will."Due to my whole display in the woods, everyone kept away from me giving me a wide berth.I didn't like messy killings prefer
Somewhere on the outskirts of Red Sun Hill CityZayn's POV The soft rays of the early morning sun were filtering through the clouds and I moved around impatiently, waiting for the signal.We were all gathered here since yesterday, camping in their backyard. It was quite hard to conceal this large number of people from the city's radar but our people on the inside helped with that, diverting any attention away from us."What's the status?"I spoke into the earpiece I'd wired into my ear for easy communication, while one eye was on my mate. She was by Ethan's side, her head swept to the side to display her collar which was a symbol of our ownership. "It's a go, sir." A voice squeaked over the earpiece, quite difficult to hear but I easily got the message since it was what I'd been waiting to hear all day.Immediately I signaled to the Alpha for them to kick into action, then called Trent to the side.He jogged over to meet me, decked in his battle gear with several daggers and a knife
Valerian's POV "Hey," Jared calls out and I turned from where I was on the balcony to stare at him, watching his long legs eat up the space before he crossed over to where I was."Heard anything from her yet?" It had taken him a few hours but he healed from the wound, and after being placed on mandatory bed rest he was back to his normal jovial self.The search was still out for Ruby but I doubt we would catch her, I had a feeling she was long gone.I turn back, looking down at the activities taking place below.I was at the Court for some meetings- which seems never ending recently - and also because I needed to think. Being clouded by Elena's things and her scent in the house wasn't helping me think clearly.I had needed to come to a fast decision on what to do, either to forget about Elena and try to move on with my life or to fight like hell for her.I was quite torn about it for a while, the natural instincts as Alpha to protect my pack weighing heavily against my selfish desir
Ethan's POV"I've been thinking," Zayn announced out of the blue, gesturing for us to take a walk down the line of trees by the cabin away from prying eyes. "About what?” I ask, watching two birds tweeting at each other.“Elena.” The sound of her name was like a blaring alarm which caused me to look up at Zayn.“What happened to her?” I think back to the unconscious woman lying on the floor a few feet away from where we stood.“I want us to perform the mating ceremony today.” He informs me, not looking anywhere near me.“That’s sudden,” I turned to look at him. “what caused the change?” “If she’s mated with us, she would truly become one with us in every aspect physically and up here” he tapped the side of his head looking fierce. “she won't be able to hide anything.""You're not giving her the choice?"We might have not been the most loving of mates but there are some lines I do consider extreme, we are mates but performing the mating ceremony has to be the choice of both people i
Ethan's POV I watched Zayn down drink after drink of alcohol, trying to blot out whatever he was feeling.When he first found out, he yelled, raged, and raked for the longest time until I thought he wouldn't stop.I totally understood why she would do that, she was a simple creature that just wanted love and to be loved, unfortunately, she got saddled with the wrong people but what made Zayn so angry was that she was going to take our child away from him.I opened the door quietly and looked at where Elena lay unconscious on the floor with the mark on her thigh.Zayn had rubbed wolfsbane into the wound to ensure that it didn't heal properly, even if it did heal, it would ensure that his name would forever be branded on her thigh.I had initially wanted to stop him thinking that that would be too much and it would definitely make her hate him all the more, but then I understood that he was hurt and he needed to lash out, in whatever form.After he stomped out still angry, his marks on
Elena's POV I was rudely awakened when someone dragged me out of bed in the morning by thrusting the covers back, letting the chill of the morning air kiss my skin, and winding their hand around my arm, pushing me out. I blinked my eyes several times to clear the grogginess and focus on the brick of a man dragging me away, my night dress flapping around my feet. I whimpered when my bare foot stubbed on a table, effectively clearing the sleepiness from my eyes and the man turned to look at me and I realized it was Zayn. I sagged in his hold with relief and looked up at his face. "Za-yn slow down!" I shrieked when he increased his pace. He rounded the corner, his long legs eating up the floor and I hurried behind him walking twice as fast to keep up. He almost ran down the stairs, still dragging me without paying any attention to me or even stopping. If I thought my words were going to convince him to let up, boy was I wrong, because if anything he started to walk faster. "Zay-n! P
Valerian's POV "Someone get me, Jared!" I yelled to the entire room not speaking to anyone in particular, raking my hand through my hair in agitation. I've been trying to get across to him but to no avail. We were supposed to meet up this morning but he wasn't picking up at all and after a while, the calls were going to voicemail. I was getting worried, it was not like him to dismiss an important meeting without cause. "Sir." Someone called my attention to the front and I turned in that direction, meeting one of the younger shifter's earnest gaze. "I've tracked his phone as you suggested, its location is still pinging that it's at his house. 'So why wasn't he picking up the phone?" I mutter to myself. Then I picked up my keys and dashed out of the room like my tail was on fire. The beta assigned to drive me today saw me rushing out of the building and standing up in a hurry, to jump into the vehicle but I paid him no heed, rounding to the driver's side and I sped off without lo