The first thing Freya saw when she opened her eyes ago was an old, but carefully maintained ceiling. The originally white ceiling had darkened to dark brown. She closed her eyes again before the scene of her being in Bloodstone Pack with Theophilus about to violate her, flashed into her head. Freya sat up immediately, only to be held down by someone. She reacted, prying the person's hand from her before raising her hand to hit whoever it was. “It's me.” Neon said. Freya paused and glanced beside her to see Neon. “Neon?” “I'm alive.” Neon smiled wryly. “What about Theophilus? Did he leave on his own, or did the Council send backup?” Freya questioned, glancing around her. Neon raised an inquisitive brow. “Don't you remember what happened?” Freya held her head and closed her eyes, trying to recall what happened after she heard someone complain of being woken from her sleep. However, she felt a terrible headache come on the harder she tried to remember. So she shook her head. “I
The Council Residential Buildings, Ethan's Place It was midnight as usual when Mariah walked into his house to see him in the dining area. He was drinking a cup of coffee in a dignified manner. “Are you offering to let me stay in your room tonight?” Mariah chuckled as she sat opposite Ethan. Ethan had his eyes pinned inside his cup as he gently swirled the coffee in it. “I've called to tell you'll be in trouble if you leak that photo.” He said, without looking up at her. Mariah raised a surprised brow and relaxed on her chair. “I don't understand why you think you can threaten me.” Ethan drank from his coffee, then set it down on his table. Next, he picked up some photos Mariah hadn't seen when she walked in and slid it towards her. Finding it familiar, Mariah hesitantly reached out and took them. Her heart stopped beating for a moment when her handwriting on the back of the photos stared back at her. “Did you break into my room while I was away?!” She seethed, tearing apart t
Out of 580 contestants who started on the first day, only 20 of them made it to the seventh day. Being sent to neighboring packs to subdue rogues had most of them heavily wounded and left with no choice than to withdraw from the tournament. Daya quietly watched the tournament. She was number 18 and as long as it sounded, it was closer than anyone thought as the fights were ending faster than expected. Six contestants had gone into the ring with four being knocked out and two winning. Despite being weakened, these werewolf hunters still possessed such an insane amount of brute strength. "They're strong." Daya turned when she heard the familiar voice, subconsciously taking a step backward in fear. This girl was the same height with Daya, they even had the same hairstyle. This was the real Marinette Hutchins. "I'm sorry." Daya apologized. "For what? Taking me to the witches should be the best thing that has ever happened to me in a very long time." Marinette chubkled, standing bes
Besides the strong killing intent she smelt from the werewolf hunter behind her, Freya didn't hear the words Neon, Sarah and Daya had just said. Lain rushed towards the ring to stop anything from happening, but Knight and Hunter, who had left where they sat at one point, got to the ring before him. If Lain had planned to tell Neon and the others not to hit the werewolf hunter, he was totally tongue-tied when the frail man got dragged out of the ring by Hunter. The Council guards around quickly ran to the werewolf hunter and dragged him off the floor in a bid to prevent him away from getting hit. "We'll take him back to the Council Prison and discipline him as soon as possible." One of the guards said, turned around and dragged the werewolf hunter away. The alphas' actions may not be judged in the Council, but they had no authority over Council guards. "Let go of me! I have to kill that damn omega!" The werewolf hunter seethed, struggling to escape their hold. He was ignored by
“Congratulations to the ten of you for emerging as the winners of the combat tournament. You all did so great that the Council thought it only fitting that you get more than the usual price for winning.” Cleopatra said, her eyes dancing around the ten youngsters in her office. “Thank you, ma'am!” The ten of them said at once, their right hand moving towards their heart region in a salute. One of these ten people particularly stood out because of the bandage that was wrapped on her head and the numerous casts on her face and arm. “Because we use materials produced by humans, it's compulsory that we need to have their money with us at all times. So firstly, the Council decided to allocate gold and human money to all ten of you. Secondly, you'll all be going to the human's city for a few weeks.” Cleopatra reviewed, earning joyful gasps from most of them. She glanced towards a stone-faced Neon, then at Freya, who kept wincing at every turn. They didn't look surprised. That rude girl m
"You've reached me. Don't leave no message," Nebra's automated voice echoed from Cleopatra's phone.She placed the phone on the table, her gaze shifting to Hercules standing before her.Numerous calls to Nebra over the past three days had yielded no response, and with the winners of the Combat Tournament set to depart for the human city that day, Cleopatra's worry grew.Cleopatra had tried in vain to inform Nebra about Freya's impending arrival. She couldn't reach her, and frustration weighed her down."I've been calling her, but all I get is that automated message," Cleopatra sighed, her exhaustion evident as she slumped into her seat.After the tournament, Cleopatra had Brianna test the werewolf hunters who had participated in the tournament. The results revealed that four of them had traces of anabolic steroids in their systems, enough to enhance their physical abilities. The most concerning part was that the hunter Freya had fought had the highest dose.Hercules had interrogated t
"What are you talking about?" Alarick mused, his eyes frantically glancing around him in search of something. "I know you made a deal with whoever injected that werewolf hunter with anabolic steroids. While it's a pity Alpha Knight killed him before we could get the name of the person who asked him to act how he did, you'll be following behind him if you dare to continue acting dumb." Neon threatened. "I told you I don't know what you're talking about. If anything happens to me, my colleagues at the front can identify you. Believe me when I say you'd be imprisoned by Cleopatra for hurting one of the Council guards!" Alarick scoffed, his confidence returning when he realized the privilege he had. Neon paused briefly, giving him the feeling she took his words to heart and was probably realizing the mess she had gotten herself into. "Hand over the dagger and leave." He huffed and took a step forward, his eyes glistening murderously. Neon stared at him for a moment. He might've sound
Neon swirled the dagger around in her hand, her muscles tense, ready to react at any moment, as she swiftly turned towards the direction of the voice."I said I'm not an enemy!" The person, who turned out to be a boy who looked her age, screamed, raising both hands in fright.Neon's eyes settled on the gun in his trembling hand. It was a famous weapon among werewolf hunters, renowned for its ability to shoot from a long range and its deadly accuracy against even the fastest of werewolves."I take it you didn't hear me when I said I'm not an enemy," the boy chuckled nervously.Neon's eyes narrowed, her guard still firmly in place. "How did you get that?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion.The boy dropped the gun immediately and replied, "I saw it in the archives. The keeper there didn't think there was anything wrong with me taking it.""He also gave you the most potent wolfsbane to practice?" Neon raised a skeptical brow."This?" He looked at the vial of wolfsbane mixed with a
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