The hunt is on. The gala will occur in the next chapter and I have a lot planned. It's gonna be good!
Cinnia stared at herself in the mirror in Denzel's room which she felt she could be calling their room but it did not seem quite right just yet. She smoothed down her floor-length dress and turned this way and that, admiring the fitting of the gown that Denzel had insisted a designer make. It was the night of the Charity auction gala and Cinnia's nerves were all over the place. If Denzel's intuition was right, they would be able to find someone from the blood demons, hopefully, their Alpha. She still wasn't exactly sure of what Denzel planned to do once they received the message containing the coordinates and if she were to be honest with herself, some part of her did not want to be aware of it. That part wanted to simply enjoy a night out with her mate without a creepy occurrence or a looming threat to worry about. Cinnia inhaled sharply and let out her breath slowly. She cracked her neck to the side, grabbed her coat, squared her shoulders, and sauntered out of the room to Denzel
Cinnia felt her legs spasm the second Denzel plunged his fingers into her quivering core again. This time, she didn't stop the noises that came."Not an answer to my question, Princess," Denzel continued. He changed the rhythm of his movements as he watched her face, figuring out what made her quake from sheer pleasure while she was fighting a losing battle for control."The...gala...we...oh, please, please, Denzel... Please." Tears seeped from her eyes. Cinnia wrapped an arm around Denzel's neck as the pressure built up in her. This was not her first time with Denzel so she wondered how it could feel so...different.Their first meeting was passion-driven with her having most of the dominance she usually preferred but now, it had slipped out of her hands, and to her dismay, she did not want to do anything about it.Cinnia clenched her walls around Denzel's fingers, wanting more, needing more from him but he was torturing her instead. He would curve his fingers and twist them in agonizi
"Going once, going twice..." The auctioneer paused, glancing around to see if anybody could match Denzel Montgomery's bid. When he found no one, he called out, "Sold to the Lycan king!" He banged his gavel against the sound block. Cinnia clapped along with the others as Denzel set down his number plate. Much of the night had been like that. Pieces of art were brought out and purchased by those who bid the highest, then they would choose the charity organization where they wanted the proceeds to go. Denzel had chosen to donate to a human-owned orphanage since werewolves always took care of their own whether they had parents or not. She noticed how offended he was at the mere mention of the foster care system and how some humans badly treated each other. Cinnia had seen his relationship with his pack. Even the omegas were treated with respect though they were the lowest in rank. The dislike she had felt for all werewolves was diminishing the more she spent time with Denzel. There were
Maverick rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. He found himself doing that more often ever since Cinnia Ramilek appeared in Denzel's life and by extension, his. This time, Cinnia Ramilek was not the direct cause of his misery and frustration but she had a hand in it. Denzel had notified him via text— because the mind-link is not as strong over a wide distance—that he and Cinnia would not be returning that night and so he had to take care of pack duties. It was not a problem. He loved being Beta. What he did not love was being awoken by four a.m. in the morning because a certain witch had decided to show up at the gates. He was still skeptical of Sophie—well, he was skeptical of all witches. They were the same. They were a cunning, malicious bunch that the werewolves had managed to suppress after a long, long time. Yet, with Cinnia's arrival, she had brought one of them along with her and now it was Maverick's problem. "If you are here for Cinnia or the Lycan King, I am
The mark burned at intervals but most of the time, it was numb. Denzel had whisked Cinnia away to a lavish hotel in Renmar, an hour away from Lunar Crest. Cinnia's heart swelled at the way he worshipped the ground she walked on. To her, there had been no need to go to a hotel. She had suggested that they go back to the pack house to inform everyone and think of the next course of action but he had insisted that they get away at least for some time. Denzel had given her a relaxing bath around midnight and held her to his chest through the rest of the night and early morning. Though Cinnia would have preferred they did something a little more exciting than cuddling and listening to a soothing playlist that he had carefully curated from a list of songs that he knew she liked since she always bobbed her head to the beat whenever it was played on the stereo, she had relaxed into his warm embrace and set her mind at ease. The realization that he had quickly become her safe space frighten
Cinnia could scarcely believe her eyes. A million questions raced through her mind at break-neck speed. How was the grey man here? Why was he here? What were his motives for entering Nightfall territory? Was he not aware that he would be killed after questioning? At least, that was what she assumed would happen to him. Yet, try as she might, Cinnia could not figure out a reason for the grey man's actions. So, she decided to see for herself. If the answers won't come to her, then she would have to go get them herself. Just as she was about to trail behind the group that had already departed into the dungeon, a soft hand on her shoulder stopped her. Cinnia flinched at the unexpected contact and whirled around to meet Mya's reproachful gaze. "Jeez, Mya, you scared the shit out of me!" Cinnia whisper-yelled. "Please do not tell me that you're going where I think you are," Mya said, folding her arms under her breasts. "Fine. I won't tell you that I'm going to the very place that
Denzel pinched the bridge of his nose and marched to the door. He yanked it open and roughly dragged both Cinnia and Mya in. "I told you to stay put. What did you not understand by that?" He rebuked. "You cannot—" Not letting her finish, Denzel went on, this time focusing his anger on Mya. "And you! Why did you let her come here? What is wrong with you?" "I tried to stop her..." Mya mumbled, her head bowed. "Why, you must not scold them. Cinnia must have wanted to see her dear brother-in-law. Isn't that right, love?" Elijah directed a dazzling smile at Cinnia but her response was a cold glare. "I wanted to know if you needed any help from me or something. There has to be something I can do. I mean, he of all people is here. He might be more willing to answer any questions you have now that he has seen me. And wait... Brother? What does he mean by that?" Cinnia rambled before ending with a question about the very large elephant in the room. The stench of dried blood permea
They were more difficult than she had anticipated. Especially the insufferable beta, Maverick Montgomery. Why couldn't he be stupid and blindly trusting? It would have made this whole mission so much easier. "Ugh!" Sophie groaned as she punched the bed she lay on over and over again till her fists tired out. At that moment, some movement outside her window caught her eye. Denzel, the Lycan King, the annoyingly handsome Maverick, and two others whom she couldn't place were leading someone whom she felt she should know but couldn't find any memory associated with him. She huffed, rolled over on the bed, and closed her eyes to sleep. Maybe she would have better luck that night or the next morning. She just had to get Cinnia away from Denzel and the other girl, Mya—who stared her down as if she were an insect that needed to be crushed—for an hour at most. Sometime later, a bump against her window roused her from her slumber. The sound was not enough to wake the average person but Sop
Six months later... It is during the time of peace that one should fear the occurrence of war. However, the prospect of war was a distant threat. One that Cinnia didn't even want to think or worry about. Sebastian was gone; so were Elijah and all the other vampires and hybrids he had created. Therefore, Cinnia only sought to enjoy the relative peace that had settled over West Volken for the last six months. There had been a lot to do after finally defeating Sebastian. The wounded had to be attended to—fortunately, they healed quite quickly, some faster than others—and a lot of collaboration among all the factions had to be established to ensure that adequate excuses and compensations were given to the families of the humans that had been turned by Sebastian and the matter hidden from the press. In the two months after New Orleans, although everyone constantly reassured Cinnia that none of the deaths was her fault and nothing was held against her, she still couldn't help but occasio
Embers, ash, and pillars. That was all that was left of the ancient edifice that had once stood in the position Cinnia, Denzel, and Mya were standing on. "One step ahead of us... Fucking son of a—Agh!" Cinnia balled her fists and kicked a pebble in front of her, sending it flying. She ran her fingers through her hair and sank to sit on her heels. A muscle in Denzel's jaw ticked. He wanted to break something, to kill someone but he had to keep his anger in check. There had to be another way. "When could he have done this?" Denzel murmured to himself as he stepped further into the rubble, not minding the smoldering ash that licked at his shoes. Mya moved ahead of him, kicking away crushed stones and waving her hand in front of her to block away the dust that threatened to suffocate her. Some minutes later, they returned to where Cinnia still sat, her fists shaking in her lap. The look on their faces said it all. The tree was gone. Cut down and burnt to a crisp. Only a single root r
"I feel I should be surprised but weirdly, I'm not," Cinnia whispered to Maverick whilst keeping her eyes on Denzel who stood ramrod straight as he stared down at the bloody heart in his palm. "Me neither," Maverick replied with the corners of his lips raised in satisfaction. His brother always had a way of showing up at the right moment. "Can you please find me some water around here? My throat is dying," Cinnia requested to Maverick. "Sure." The moment he left, Cinnia took slow steps to Denzel. The clangs of weapons, grunts and growls of the supernaturals, and the whimpers of the wounded echoed through her ears which created a nagging feeling in her chest. Something was wrong. Sebastian was dead, wasn't he? Then why was the battle still ongoing? His creatures should have dropped dead...even the one she had granted the illusion of choice. Yet, when Denzel's eyes met hers finally, all previous thoughts melted away and she picked up the pace and ran to him. A huge smile lit up Den
Cinnia's heart pounded in her chest as she waited and hoped that Sebastian was truly messing with her and Maverick wasn't dead. She didn't think she would ever be able to forgive herself if he died because of her rashness. She gasped when Maverick landed face-first on the ground right in front of her. A relieved smile grew on her face but promptly bled out when she noticed that he wasn't moving. "Why isn't he getting up? What did you do to him, you bastard?!" Cinnia yelled, struggling against the bonds that held her back. She felt the skin on her neck break and begin to bleed but she paid no mind to it. She screamed her voice hoarse, yanking at the chains but it was futile and all to Sebastian's glee. "What did you do?... What did you do to him?..." Cinnia sagged against the chains that held her down; her voice reduced to a pitiful croak. Sebastian sat on his heels and bent his head to the side. A wide smile that immensely irritated Cinnia was stretched out across his face. "It's
"Beg your pardon?" Cinnia quirked up an eyebrow, uncertain about whether she heard properly. "Kneel before your King," Sebastian repeated, dragging out each syllable like she and Maverick were dim-witted five-year-olds. Cinnia and Maverick exchanged a glance. Then, Maverick scoffed while shaking his head and clutching the fresh wound caused by the grazing of the silver bullet, on his arm. "I only have one king and I don't even kneel before him..." Cinnia bit back. A second later, she added as an afterthought, "Often... And I certainly won't do it if he demands it in that tone you're using." As she spoke, she kept her right hand behind her with a portion of her mind focused on chanting a spell and channeling power to her fingertips. Sebastian barked out a laugh. "I do love your sense of humor. It's refreshing. Very rarely do average people make jest in dangerous situations." "Thank you for recognizing my immense potential." At the last word, she fired two bolts of crackling ligh
For the first time in a long while, Denzel had a dream. One that he remembered the moment his eyes fluttered open to the dimness of his room. A smile grew on his face as he recalled the events. He was happy. There were no foes. Just him and his princess. Yawning, he stretched out his muscles and then turned to pull Cinnia closer to him. But the sheets beside him were as cold as ice. He shot up from the bed, his heart racing in alarm. A glance at the bedside clock let him know that it was almost four-thirty, half an hour before the pack would assemble by five a.m. He got up and threw open the curtains. As someone who never slept for long, he should have been awake thirty minutes before. "Princess?" He called out to the eerily empty room, hoping that she was in the bathroom and just being extremely quiet or holding her breath or something. Yet, from his incredible hearing, the sinking realization occurred to him and his eyes widened. In a flash, he washed his face, threw on some c
Cinnia watched from her window as Denzel drove off with Maverick, Mya, Kai, and five of his best gammas. As Luna, without even being told, everyone was looking up to her to run things in the absence of their Alpha and Beta. However, she didn't feel like doing anything pack-related. Earlier that morning, she practiced various spells from a grimoire she had taken from her mother's house before the Darah Haven witches decided to try and drain her of her magic. Yet, she still experienced some difficulty in performing some of the more complicated magical spells and it made her throw the entire book aside from frustration. Cinnia leaned her head against the window frame and heaved out a melancholic sigh. Just as she was about to lock her door and try the spells again, someone knocked on her door. Her shoulders dropped as she bowed her head and let out another sigh. "Come in," She called out after a beat. Conall stepped in and shut the door behind him. "Do you people not have off
"Fuck the drive. What is it?" Denzel whirled around to face Maverick, his eyes alight and expectant. "It's not good, brother." Maverick shook his head solemnly. Mya scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "When last has anything been good around here?" Denzel shot her a look that made her zip up her mouth. "Well? Speak up, brother," Denzel pressed as his index finger drummed an anxious beat on his thigh. "Sebastian has made more vampires out of innocent humans. The council just sent a memo about a meeting tomorrow because of all the disappearances the human faction have had to cover up as freak accidents or kidnaps," Maverick informed. Denzel raised an eyebrow at him. "You aren't telling me everything." "Can this get any worse?" Mya mumbled while tracing a pattern on the ground with her foot. "It can. It has," Maverick answered her. "I don't understand how Sebastian has done it but the smaller packs have been recruited into working for him. He's making an army of vamp
Cinnia wordlessly threw dirt onto the little coffin in the freshly dug hole in the ground. Three days had passed since Sebastian's victory and barely a word had left her mouth. To someone who wasn't privy to her situation, they would think she went about her days like a normal person but those who knew her intimately—especially Denzel—were aware that she wasn't the same. The Cinnia he had met that starry night in Bromsken was gone and replaced by a hollow shell of the woman she used to be. Maverick was like Cinnia. The only difference was that he buried himself in business, pack duties, and hunting for Sebastian. Sophie's death had changed something inside of him. Though he never properly acknowledged the relationship they had, it didn't make him feel any better. In those three days, he was filled with unwavering regret that he couldn't have been with her the way he wanted. He finally understood just how Denzel felt about Cinnia even though she was part witch. Worst of all, he cou