The pain of the sight was just too unbearable for Elsa, that she wished she hadn't walked in on it. She knew that it had been a rather unreasonable idea to follow Lucian as he snuck out of his fortress. Her curiosity had led her to see how her dreams of having the alpha to herself were sinking.The sun was up and shining brightly, but the day had suddenly become gloomy from her perspective. She just couldn't take it anymore, and she didn't have anyone to pour out her struggles to, but herself.“He kissed her,” she said to herself angrily, as she recalled the sight of Lucian sitting beside Anna and kissing her so passionately. How could he have stooped so low? “He kissed her!” She yelled.“Yes, he did.” Her wolf spoke up to her from within. “He seemed to have enjoyed every single moment of it.”“But what on earth could he have found in her, that's making him even break his own character? Lucian would never think of sitting on the sand by the side of that stupid stream.”“That stupid st
The pain at the back of Anna's head woke her before the surrounding voices did. The voices were unclear and indistinct, as the faces were blurry. The sun had almost left the horizon completely when she opened her eyes, which had her wondering what was happening.Her memory was quick in recollecting the rapid progression of events that had led to her current state. But then, she didn't recall holding anything in her hands when she had been knocked out.She sensed what felt like an arrow in her right hand, and what felt like a bow in the other. How did she end up with such items? It all felt like some dream she was waking up to.Perhaps, she had fallen asleep at the stream side while waiting for Barbara. Perhaps, she thought, if she shut her eyes and opened it, everything would go back to normal with her, sitting by the stream side waiting for Barbara to come join her.She shut her eyes in hope but opened them to the same sight. Something was desperately off with the whole scenario. She
"I do not want to believe any of it.” Lucian hadn't slept all through the night, as he had been kept up by an inner battle. The pressure on him was simply sickening. “None of it seems right, but—”“But what?” His wolf protested within him. “If you go ahead to punish her like all your people are suggesting, they will not bear the consequences of it with you. You're going to live a long, lonely life without your mate, and they will not go through that with you.”Lucian thought over those words as he lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. None of them who proposed Anna's death were going through the emotional trauma of having to make that decision with him.“It has always been the pack before yourself,” his wolf went on. “But now, you're going to put yourself first. You do not deserve the pain and loneliness, besides, there's no telling if she had actually been the one.”That was yet another question, he wanted to get to the bottom of. He couldn't just hurriedly make that decisi
"You can't go see her now," Roth said to Elsa, as she was about to step towards the door. "You'll have to wait a bit longer.""Why's that?" Elsa asked with furrowed brows, wondering if there had been a new development in Anna's predicament."Lucian is still with her." Roth's mood seemed a bit down as he made mention of that. He had obviously run into Lucian while he had gone to see Anna."Oh..." Elsa expected that. Lucian had probably been having a hard time dealing with all that was going on. She regretted not going in to encourage him, as she was sure that her quietness at the meeting on the night before had probably given him a good impression of her. "It must be a really tough time being an alpha in this sort of situation.""And it must also, really be a tough time being a stray wolf in a new clan," Roth spoke with a disposition that depicted compassion if not grief."You believe she's innocent, don't you?" Elsa sat on her bed, wondering how long it was going to take Lucian to be
Anna was scared to death by the vicious look in Lucian's eyes. There was something about the fiery color of his eyes that could make anyone's knees buckle.She had expected him to, maybe, hit Horace hard, or reprimand him, or anything that wasn't delivering such a vicious bit on his neck. Horace wasn't dead yet, but he seemed as good as dead as he lay on the floor with his eyes wide open, which depicted how he was yet to recover from the shock of the sudden attack.Lucian's ferocious fangs retracted and his eyes were normal once again, as he wiped the blood off from the sides of his mouth. The way he looked at Horace made it clear that he wasn't done yet. He walked closer to him and crouched right where he lay in pain.The doors at the other end of the room suddenly opened, with some people coming through it in their direction. That made Anna recall the fact that Lucian hadn't come through the door. How on the edge of the blue moon had he suddenly appeared behind Horace and brought hi
"You must have been through quite a lot.” Barbara's attempt at sympathy would seem like sarcasm on a normal day. But then, Anna was willing to take whatever she was willing to give.“It was quite a lot,” Anna said slowly as they both sat in Barbara's tent, engaging in a scantily worded conversation. “I wonder if I'll ever gather the courage to be able to head down to the stream all alone.”“You'll be fine.” Barbara seemed more genuine that time. She always did when she tried to say words of encouragement. “In no time, you should start getting the hang of it a little bit.”“A little bit? That's encouraging.” Anna commented in silent sarcasm. It would be hard to get over being on the verge of being executed for a crime that she hadn't committed. Yet again, she had something to be grateful to Lucian for.“I know.” Barbara had her eyes focused on some unforeseen object in front of her as she spoke. “It feels like a new beginning in the Lock Heart. There appears to be a momentary aura of p
"What?" Anna still didn't get if it was an imposition, a suggestion, or a considerate offer. "Why?""I told you already," Lucian said. "I cannot let you out of my sight, seeing how everyone in the pack is now looking at you suspiciously. I cannot let any other thing happen to you.""But..." She wanted to ask what exactly she had done to merit such preferential treatment from the alpha, but then she knew that he fancied her, and it would be awkward trying to get him to say it there and then. "Wouldn't suddenly taking in the questionable stray into your fortress cause the people to be even more suspicious of you?""I know that," Lucian stated, without emotion. "But I don't care."It was clear that nothing she said was going to change his decision. His mind had been made up a long time ago. She wouldn't stand a chance if she tried to unmake it."All I care is about your well-being," he added. "I can't let you get tangled up with any more trouble. We can't tell what the enemy would do nex
Her first night in the spacious, cozy room she had been given in Lucian’s fortress had been better than she had expected it to be. She had been quite restless at first, but then she fell asleep after a while of staring at the ceiling of the room.Anna realized that she was up early, as she peeked out of the window to be met by a sight of the Lock Heart territory under the first light of day. She was thrilled by the view from up there and was instantly glad that she had chosen that room after being offered countless choices.The moon’s crescent was still in the early morning sky, and that reminded her of the forthcoming full moon. She wondered what exactly it would be like to finally awaken her wolf. Feelings of curiosity and fear gripped her at that thought. It was something inevitable, and it was for the better. That way she would be better equipped for the revenge mission she had in mind.She sat up slowly to yet another new beginning in Lucian’s pack. It couldn’t be denied, how muc