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
"I, Alexander Blackwood, Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, hereby reject you, Freya Armstrong, a mere Omega in my pack, as my mate!" Alexander's voice boomed through the chilled night air.Desperation surged within Freya as she begged, "Please, don't do this, Alexander! I beg you!"Before him stood a frail figure, clothed in tattered rags that offered little protection from the biting cold. Her pitiful appearance only fueled Alexander's anger, his eyes gleaming with fury as he violently kicked her away, his words dripping with disdain, "It's Alpha Alexander to you, and a lowly person like you doesn't deserve to have me as a mate!"Turning his gaze to his waiting pack warriors, he barked, "Lock her up for daring to lay her filthy hands on me!"Freya, weakened from laboring all night on an empty stomach, offered no resistance as the warriors dragged her away, heading toward a grim dungeon.In the depths of despair, she caught a glimpse of a sight that twisted the knife of betrayal in her hear
Returning to the kitchen, Freya's stomach growled hungrily, a relentless reminder of its emptiness. She could only salivate at the tantalizing thought of food and tried to calm her ravenous stomach as she surveyed the remnants of dinner in the empty pots.The heaps of plates had also grown in size and number since most of the pack members already had their evening meals.As soon as Freya began cleaning, a hushed voice jolted her to a momentary pause. "No matter what, don't come out," the familiar voice warned from behind, causing her to nearly drop the fragile glass plate she cradled.Mariah, snorted with a mix of amusement and disgust as she strolled forward. "The Alphas have arrived, and they don't seem to be in a very good mood. Who knows what they'd do if they caught sight of an omega."Freya's grip on the plate tightened instinctively, her fingers trembling as Mariah's words hung in the air like a dark cloud as she involuntarily thought of the Alphas' scary reputations. "Or mayb
When Freya slowly blinked her eyes open, the very first thing that greeted her vision was the expanse of a stunning, pristine white ceiling gracefully arching overhead. The soft, comforting illumination from above bathed the room in a gentle, ethereal glow.With a curious glance, she began to survey her surroundings. Every inch of the room seemed to be steeped in this pristine, angelic white. From the chairs to the tables, the entire ambiance exuded an almost otherworldly quality. It was as if she had stepped into a realm where purity and elegance reigned supreme.As her memory started to piece together the fragments of what had transpired before she lost consciousness, her hand instinctively went to her chest. She remembered Mariah resting her leg there before everything went dark. A tremor of uncertainty coursed through her as she tentatively uttered, "Am I dead?"A voice, deep and masculine, emerged from somewhere behind her, shattering the silence. It was a voice that carried a not
Beads of perspiration trickled down Menroe's forehead, his nervousness growing with every passing moment as he felt suffocated by the oppressive atmosphere in the room.His hands moved urgently over various parts of Freya's body, desperately attempting to invoke his healing magic, just as it usually worked when he tended to the pack members. Yet, despite his best efforts, everything he did seemed futile. Freya remained unresponsive, her temperature rising as her complexion turned even paler.The only thing preventing Menroe's throat from being torn out and flung across the room was the stark realization that he was the sole healer in their vicinity.The Alphas had initially contemplated bringing in their own healers, but they quickly dismissed the idea due to the considerable time it would take for them to arrive."Why is she running a fever? Why isn't she healing? Goddammit, where's your damn Alpha?" Steele seethed with frustration, his eyes glaring daggers at Menroe."Mariah was seve
The pack members sat in silence, their spoons tightly gripped in their hands, their eyes fixed on the three Alphas who surrounded Freya, carefully piling food onto her plate.Steele couldn't resist but comment with a sigh, "You should eat more. You look so skinny."Knight and Hunter simultaneously turned their attention to Alexander, who clenched his knife so tightly that it began to bend, saved only by Mariah's quick intervention.The entire pack was on edge, wishing fervently that this was all a terrible nightmare. Everyone in the pack had wronged Freya at some point, and given the Alphas' apparent attachment to her, there was little doubt that punishment would follow if she were to speak up."Freya, isn't there something you'd like to clarify?" Alexander asked, offering her a strained smile when she glanced up at him.Freya stared at him for a moment and attempted to get up, but Hunter firmly held her down."What are you doing? I'm sure Alexander wouldn't mind if you said whatever y
Night fell and soon, it was the morning of the next day. It was wednesday, one of the three days in a week the pack's prisoners were let out to do manual labor for the pack. At six in the morning, numerous pack warriors made their way to the cells. Chained men and women were pulled out of the cells. Among them was a dark-skinned man, tall and lanky, had long messy hair, an overgrown mustache and sharp eyebrows. His lips were thinned as he shut his eyes, attempting to adjust them to the sudden sunlight. When he opened them again, his sharp but tired brown eyes bore into everyone and everything he saw. He seemed fascinated. “Move it!” One of the pack warriors snorted, shoving the man forward. The dark-skinned man was led to a pile of cleaning equipment. He grabbed one of them and joined the rest of the prisoners as they took care of the littered pack. “I haven't seen him before.” Mariah, who had tasked herself with overseeing the work to impress Alexander as always, said, as soon a
“I don't understand why she has to go away.” Alexander outrightly stated his dissatisfaction when he was told the reason for the Council members' visit. “Having a mate isn't surprising, but having three is unaccounted for. Worse still, it was the daughter of a beta or the daughter of an alpha, but it was an omega.” Said the representative of the three members sent by the Council. During the course of their conversation, Freya had picked out their names. The representative, who was the only woman among the three of them, went by the name Cleopatra Chapman. Her father was one of the Alphas in the Council, or so Freya thought. After all, her father had to be someone important for her to get to be the Council's representative.Cleopatra was tall, about 5'8, lean, but not extremely and had a fair skin tone. She tied up her black hair into a ponytail and had the habit of tapping the floor a little too often. All this, Freya had noticed because she was bored and didn't want to bother herse
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