"Hezell now has an agreement with Jerome Nichols, which gives him access to most of the places in the human city," Hazel informed as they stepped foot into the woods at the other end of the city.Sarah bent beside Neon, who placed a hand on the ground with her eyes closed. "You hear that? If this woods isn't it, we're as good as dead because a certain witch will find and unalive us.""Maybe if you don't whisper that into my ears every three minutes, I'd be more focused," Neon opened her eyes and glared at Sarah."I'm distracting you? What the hell are you saying? As a rogue beta, I thought this is what you do all the time. After all, you're always on the run from your enemies," Sarah tsked, folding her hands underneath her bosom.Neon ignored her and straightened up."This is it. Whoever this person is, he is skilled in covering his tracks. But from what I just uncovered, there are hundreds of werewolves following him in this woods. We have to be careful not to be ambushed by them.""
Knight was the first to open his eyes. The room was pitch dark, and the only reason he believed he wasn't alone was the beating hearts he was hearing.He strained his eyes for a little while before switching over to that of his wolf's.Thanks to it, he noticed the people with him.He groaned when a familiar pain shot straight to his heart and hurriedly looked down at the smell of wolfsbane.His wrists were bound together in chains, chains soaked in wolfsbane.He felt the back of his neck sizzle with the same kind of pain and quickly looked up to see an overturned barrel filled with wolfsbane. It was dripping one at a time, but its hinges looked like it'd fall on him anytime soon."Guys, wake up!" He growled, and the eyes of everyone shot open in alert."Mmm!" Sarah was the first to grimace as she promptly sat up. "What the hell?! We were captured?""Most importantly, these chains are killing me!" Neon clenched her teeth tightly. No sooner had she said so that she felt something hot and
Two months ago,Two minutes after Sarah and Freya walked deeper into the woods to gather firewood, Mendoza got up and walked towards Ryan."I'm having a strange feeling," she said, stopping in front of him.Ryan took down the book he held up and smiled. "Come, there's something I need to show you."He got up and walked to the back of the tents, towards a big, shaded tree.Mendoza hesitated for a moment before following him. He first climbed the tree and lent a hand to her. She held onto it and climbed up.From the tree, they could see literally everything happening on the ground."It's a nice view," she admitted once she was beside him."Indeed. Now look closer. What do you see?" Ryan probed, and she narrowed her eyes at the moving bushes on the ground.It only took her five seconds to notice there were people moving on the ground."One, two, three…eight people. Did the Council send people after us?" she asked in confusion, glancing at him briefly."Not at all. The people on the groun
"Sarah Bennett, always so smart. If you didn't irritate me so much, I bet we would've been good friends," Mendoza chuckled."If Mendoza Barnes of two months ago had offered me friendship, I'd have rather drowned myself than accept it," Sarah spat out coldly."Can't blame you. I seemed to have that effect on people," Mendoza smiled broadly and turned her eyes to the side. "Hazel, you're a witch, but right now, you're on par with a werewolf pup. Are you with me, or would you rather I drop you in the middle of the human city for Hezell to find?"Such an offer… only a fool would say no to it."Don't look at them. Right now, they are as powerless as you, and after now, they'd be beneath you as before, granted you accept my offer, though," Mendoza said, seeing Hazel glance towards Nebra."As long as Hezell is alive, he won't stop hunting me. I'll gladly accept whatever plans you have to kill him," Hazel accepted in a firm voice.Mendoza clapped her hands happily and turned to the alphas who
Human City, Jerome Nichols' House"W-we've swept through the entire city seven times, and still no sight of them. At this juncture, I think it's either they got help from someone on the outside, or they've been hiding under our noses," one of Jerome's men reported to him.There were two men opposite Jerome and another behind him. While the one behind him didn't seem like he was listening to the conversation, he clenched his fist tightly tightly at the report."You didn't find them? Not even a trace. You lots become useless every passing day!" Jerome hollered, picked up the pistol on his desk, and aimed it at the temple of the one who reported the news.The limp body of the first man fell to the floor in a thud, while the second man immediately fell to his knees, shuddering in fear."One last chance, Mr. Nichols. Just one more, and I promise that the next time I return, I'll have Miss Cheyenne with me!" Jerome heard him beg from the floor.The desk was relatively high, so Jerome couldn
Cleopatra immediately narrowed her eyes at the man."I don't remember you, but if you were a close friend of my aunt's and you're being held captive here in the Council, that means you are one of the people who plotted the downfall of the Council."The man clenched his fist guiltily. "You're right. I was bought just before the fight between the Werewolf Hunters and those in the Council happened. But I never thought that the fight would lead to so many deaths, including that of Cloris'.""If you're looking for pity, you're not going to get it," Syren butted in, looking up at him."If I wanted pity, I wouldn't have waited for so long to come here." He smiled.Cleopatra stared at him for a long time before asking, "Who are you supposed to be?""Pardon me, I'm Malakai. I lost my memory during the war 19 years ago. Hence, the only thing I remember is my first name and a woman named Cloris Vause. I only have memories of her," replied the man."If you don't have any other memory, you can't b
"I take it your mother agreed?" Syren uttered, standing behind Cleopatra as she watched her pack a few clothes into a backpack."It's all thanks to her getting better. I wonder what I'd have done if she was still… erratic," Cleopatra exhaled lightly."Thank goodness. Or should I say 'thanks to the moon goddess'?" Syren rephrased."That's just weird and unnecessary.""Unnecessary? Isn't the moon goddess supposed to be supreme for you werewolves?" Syren asked curiously."Witches rely on their ancestors most of the time. Does that mean they say 'thanks to the ancestors'?" Cleopatra retorted.Syren chuckled and walked to Cleopatra's front. "Yes, we do. We are expected to thank the ancestors whenever something good happens to us or something becomes a success when we ask for their help and actually get it."Cleopatra paused for a moment before forcefully zipping her bag in disbelief, amusing Syren the more.Looking up at her, Cleopatra scoffed. "You witches sure are weird.""Weird isn't th
Cleopatra found herself in the Council five hours later. She stood on the sidewalk, taking in the scenery. Hercules was right; the human city had changed since the last time she was here."Hey!" She suddenly turned to see a young boy dipping his hand into her pocket.Seeing he had been caught, the boy panicked and subconsciously rushed into the road, right in front of a trailer.Cleopatra hauled herself into the road and forcefully kicked him back to the sidewalk, the pointy front of the trailer grazing her arm as she leapt out of the way.Thankfully, no one seemed to notice any of it.Cleopatra towered over the boy who looked shaken from the near death experience. She stared at him for a while before she dipped her hand into her pocket and took out some money."Get yourself some, uh, vitamins," she said and walked away.It was two in the morning, and she knew the human city usually wasn't safe by then. So she walked through different streets in search of a motel or an inn to spend th
Jerome Nichols' House,"We've gunned down every werewolf we know about, and for those we are yet to find, we're doing our possible best to bring them in," a Werewolf Hunter stood opposite Lance and reported."What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jerome Nichols yelled at his son as he rushed into the house.Lance dismissed the Werewolf Hunter with a wave of his hand and walked up to Jerome. "Just taking care of business, Dad.""Taking care of business? You're tearing apart everything!" Jerome seethed and looked around him. "Where's Hezell? Why didn't he stop you?"Lance adjusted his tie with a stoic gaze. "Hezell... isn't here."Jerome spun around in disbelief. "Where did he go? And who authorized you to do this then?""He had something to take care of and left the house to me. But then the man he left behind passed on an instruction he had received to me," Lance said and leaned towards his father's right ear. "He said we were in great danger if he didn't call the house seven hours
“What?” Sarah straightened up seeing Joshua and the four other witches step backward. “The barrier is opening up on its own.” He glanced at her warily. Knight, Landon, Adley and Kourtney got serious recalling what Joshua had said before he began trying to reopen the barrier. “Why do you all look surprised? Did you really think they stood a chance against Hezell just because they were Alphas? Bless your delusional heart.” Mendoza's mocking voice came from behind them. “Release me and I'll consider talking to him to at least keep one of you alive. That's the great length I'm willing to go just for old times’ sake.” However, the group ignored her and armed themselves with the guns her pack warriors had taken with them. “Those things you're holding won't deter him.” Mendoza stated the obvious. “I swear if you keep talking you won't be alive to witness what would happen in the next one minute!” Adley glowered, glancing behind her shoulders to look at her. Mendoza frowned and as muc
Hezell suddenly laughed. “I didn't think I'd ever be captured again, but just to be safe, I left a few orders that should be carried out if I don't call Jerome Nichols’ house hours after leaving.”“I never should've let you out of the Council for any reason whatsoever,” Cleopatra clenched her fist tightly.“It's not your fault. He just has a way of getting to people,” Nebra exhaled, glancing at her.“This isn't something that can't be taken care of. A quick trip to the Council should solve it once you return with Council guards,” Steele uttered calmly.Cleopatra looked away from him guiltily. “I sent half of them to the human city to help Hezell out in searching for you since he told me you were captured by Hazel.”“You… how do you come up with these things? You make life hard for others even when you're totally powerless,” Neon sighed, glaring at Hezell.“You can't blame me for trying to stay alive,” Hezell shrugged and looked down at the chains on his wrists. “The massacre will cont
Mariah gasped and stumbled backward, while Freya sat up and proceeded to stand on her feet. Her previously pale face had brightened, and her dull eyes were now full and vibrant.“If you wanted to kill me, you should've done so on the podium. A knife into my abdomen without the boring words you said would've been just fine,” Freya stretched and glanced at Mariah.“You were unconscious just a few minutes ago. So how is it that you're suddenly so hale and hearty now?” Mariah asked and warily got on her feet.“I woke up two nights ago, but I discovered I couldn't move. It wasn't until this morning that I realized Lalisa did something that made me weak. When Hezell killed her, the magic began wearing off. But when your goon brought me here, meters away from Lalisa’s body, the magic wore off totally,” Freya explained with a shrug.Mariah didn't know when she swallowed nervously. This was the Freya she knew, but at this same time, she didn't feel like she knew this person in front of her.“A
"I know no one has ever told you this before, but you're misguided. You're doing things for the wrong reasons," Terry didn't to struggle with Hezell as he knew his attempt would only be futile. Hezell's eyes were cold as he tightened his grip on Terry's throat."Hezell," Freya called out to him weakly, her voice barely audible over the scuffle. He flung a half-dead Terry down the stairs before rushing to her side.By the time Terry reached the foot of the stairs, his eyes were barely opening, and his breath had become a raspy whisper. None of the heartstealers had the heart to help him as they feared it'd make Hezell see them as his enemy. Nebra, on the other hand, hurried up to him. She held his arm, ready to relieve him of some of his pain, but he stopped her with a feeble gesture."There's no need. I'm more than ready to finally meet my ancestors," Terry coughed weakly, forcing his eyes open, "And you shouldn't be so eager to help the man who almost sacrificed your cousin.""Us
While they remained outside, attempting to reopen the barrier, Nebra fell onto a pile of sand once she was inside the barrier. She groaned and rose to her feet. As she patted away the sand that had gotten into her hair and clothes, she raised her head and looked around.The sky was blue and crystal clear, almost like a painting. Just ten meters away from her were numerous rows of houses.She cautiously sauntered towards them, but much to her surprise, she didn't come across a single soul.She was still wondering if she was dropped in the wrong location when she heard shouts coming from a particular direction.At the same time, the sound of numerous hearts beating at once overwhelmed her.She zoned out of her wolf hearing and rushed towards the direction of the shouts until she walked into a town square filled to the brim with people."So many heartstealers," she mumbled in disbelief, staring at the people who she feared numbered more than two thousand.Her attention was drawn to an el
"Hezell... what a bastard!" Sarah seethed as she got flung backward by the barrier.She waited for a few seconds and didn't get an expected rebuke."What? You didn't find anything wrong with what I said? You don't find me wh... Neon?" She glanced around to see Neon was nowhere to be found."Steele and Hunter are gone too," Knight said, noticing his two competitors were absent."Nebra too," Kourtney scoffed."That's ridiculous. Where could they have gone?" Landon frowned. He refused to believe Nebra somehow made it into the barrier and he couldn't."If they aren't here, that only means they slid into the barrier just before it closed," Adley stated the obvious truth."I was at least a few inches ahead of Neon, so how could she have gotten in and I didn't?" Sarah hissed, waving Adley's words aside."Well, it's not that surprising given she's a beta and you're not," Adley retorted, meeting Sarah's enraged eyes."Beta? What's so good about being a beta? I'm going to be stronger than a bet
Joshua's brain momentarily shut down as he stared back at the man. He had every reason to believe they were serious, but for some reason, he was hoping they were just messing with him. However, one minute later, and they still had the same suspicious look on their faces."Cat got your tongue?" One out of the two men across from him raised his brows provocatively."Mr. Hezell won't take it lightly with you once he hears of this. But if you explain things to us, we might put in a good word or two on your behalf when we report you to him," the second man across from him added seriously.Realizing that what was happening wasn't a joke, Joshua slowly raised his hand, getting ready to mumble a memory-erasing spell when the man next to him suddenly laughed. He widened his eyes a little bit in surprise as the other two joined him in laughing."We totally had him fooled," one of the men across from him laughed."He was first confused, then horrified. I'll give anything to see that look on his
In the woods where Sarah's pack is located,"You took off the chains, but we're still pretty much your prisoners, aren't we?" Sarah hissed as she was pushed into a room by a pack warrior.She stopped talking, seeing the others in the room as well. "Tell me you dragged them in here the same way you did to me.""This isn't the time for one of your incessant whinings, Sarah," Neon hushed."So you think it's okay that I was dragged in here like I can't walk by myself?" Sarah asked provocatively."Hezell has been informed of Freya's whereabouts, and he's already on their territory. It'll only take him a few hours to get through their barrier," Mendoza's voice successfully drew their attention to the other end of the room where she was.Sarah looked away from her and glanced around the room, which turned out to be the armory room."You have guns. I take it you stole them from the humans," she commented, picking up a pistol. "Ouch!"She dropped it immediately when it burned her palm and glar