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
“Oh sorry… I didn't know you both were here,” Elsa fumed out of the room, in anger, although she didn't show it outwardly. She had left the letter on the table before storming out of the room.“I've had enough,” she roared at her wolf. “I cannot keep up with trying to be nice to Anna while I watch Lucian slip out of my hands. You see how badly your plan had failed, Audra?”“Calm down,” Audra retorted. “You were not meant to walk in on that moment, in the first place. Just calm down.”“I'm done with calming down and taking things lightly,” Elsa snapped back at her, as she slammed her door shut behind her. “I'm going to make it happen my own way.” She sighed as she threw herself on her bed. “One more fake smile and I might just lose it already.”“I understand your pain,” Audra spoke to her suggestively. “You have been patient for quite a long time, and I guess that's weighing on you.”“Of course, it's weighing on me,” Elsa said. “Each day of the past three years has passed, only to brin
“I bet Craster should be thinking of giving up by now,” Lucian stated as Carlyle followed him from behind. “I don't think there's any way out of this for him. We have closed down every possible route for him and his men to gain supplies.”“That foolhardy bastard doesn't look like one who would give up easily,” Carlyle said as opened the doors of his alpha's chamber, feeling glad to be home after yet another conquest. “We'll give him a couple of days to think about it. Maybe seven days.”“That's more than enough time to regroup and prepare for a counter-attack,” Lucian protested as they both sat at a table in his chamber. “We must strike the iron while it's still glowing hot.”“Alright then,” Carlyle suggested, letting out a tired sigh. “Five days.”“Three days. We need them on their toes, and under pressure if we want their decision to be quick, and insensible.” Lucian leaned back in his chair. “That would be yet another territory under our grasp.”“Alright then,” Carlyle said, as he
Three Years Later…Anna wiped the blood off her sword as she looked down on the dead body in front of her. It was still surreal how she had gone from sluggish practices by the stream side to being at the forefront of the Lock Heart's bout with Craster's forces.It was yet another victory for Lucian and the Lock Heart pack, as they were just about closing in on Craster's territory.Yet another battle, she thought. All the battles seemed the same from the very first day she became approved to join Lucian's men. There was nothing new to it, as it was almost, all about going out, fighting, coming back, and waiting for the next time to repeat the whole process.At a point, it felt like Craster wasn't even putting any effort into the fights, as all their victories were almost flawless. She felt he should have just given up when he had the chance. But then, she knew how great the ego of an alpha could be to give up in a fight and give up his territory in the process. They would have to fight
Anna's eyes opened quite slowly until she was wide awake. She had thought she had been asleep in her room until she realized that, the scent of vetiver and musk were still strong in the air she breathed.She was still a bit doubtful of where she was until she tossed to her left into the thick masculine build which could only be Lucian's. It was then that it all dawned on her, all that had happened. She had indeed fallen asleep being beside him. Her wolf seemed to be unusually peaceful.There was darkness all over, and it was a bit hard to tell if they were in the dead of the night or the early hours of the morning. It seemed to be probably the former, as they had slept off by sunset.I shouldn't be here, she thought to herself, as she shifted a bit away from him. But then, his bed was quite too comfortable, and that comfortably annulled the thoughts of sneaking out of his room.Before she could make up her mind, Lucian's arm came over her waist, as though he had read her thoughts, and
“She was ours for the taking,” Lex ranted further.“Someone could have possibly been watching us from somewhere.” Lucian didn't want anything of that sort spreading about him. His people would possibly ask if his fortress didn't have enough room for the both of them.But then, he knew deep down within him that wasn't the main reason why he backed out from having her there and then. He couldn't care less about what the people had to say. It bothered him how much longer he could put up with the inward battle for restraint that went on within him.He wanted Anna, but then, he wanted her to give herself to him. By herself.The idea of the bargain didn't appeal to him, and he was afraid that it couldn't fill up the void that was within him. He had been searching for a mate who would be a partner and a part of everything he would ever do, and not one who would give herself to him only because of some bargain to make her stronger.But then, he was unable to deny how much he wanted her. He cr
"Yes, it's bound to be awkward," Anna replied to her wolf, as she headed towards the stream. The familiar scent of the leaves forced her to admit that it had been quite a while, and she wondered why Lucian had chosen that place for their practice. Was he trying to bring back memories? If any memories lingered, it would be that of Horace's treachery.“It's not meant to be awkward,” Ava replied to her. “He's our mate, Anna, and you should learn to embrace that and make it easier for the both of us.”She could feel her wolf leap within her as Lucian's scent soon came subtly into the air. His essence could entice anyone.“Get a grip, Ava.” Anna tried to still her wolf, which was almost in an erratic frenzy because of Lucian's presence. She wondered what Lucian's wolf looked like. “We're here to train, and not to catch any sort of feelings.”“He smells so good…” Ava's words echoed unpleasantly in Anna's head“Just stop…” Anna couldn't get herself to say how irresistible his scent was in he
“He's all yours,” Audra roared in Elsa's head.Elsa tried to restrain herself a bit more as she recalled how it had ended the other time. But he looked needy and hadn't pushed her away even though she was drawing dangerously close.‘You're smarter than that,’ Elsa reminded herself, as she wanted to wait for more cues to make her move. Lucian looked heavy, and it was just the perfect scenario, but she needed another convincing subtle go-ahead order.“You never need to worry about anything, Lucian,” she stood to her feet, calculating her woes every step of the way. “All you have to do is...” she stood behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders, and rubbing them gently, “is to look how far you have come, and all the obstacles you were able to overcome...”She felt like she could add more to that, to make him give her the cue she was desperately looking for. Her patience was running thin, as she was barely keeping herself from going all in.“Thanks...” he said, through a relaxed sigh.
“What?” Lucian could barely keep himself from teetering at those words. How could she? Why would she? Just when he had thought his happiest days had come, he was being met with such a queer request.Anna felt hesitant to repeat herself as she had spent it out the first time, but then, she had to clear him of every doubt. “I cannot be your Luna.”“What did you just say...?” Lucian felt his blood boiling through his veins at her words. Who does she think she is to make such a decision?He motioned towards her and she took nervous steps backwards. She saw the fury in his eyes and it scared her but she tried to keep calm.‘She can't possibly be serious...’ Lex stuttered in his head.“Why do you make such a request “Do you have the slightest idea of what you're demanding?” He stopped in front of her, his intimidating features towering over her.Anna gulped, “W… well, I know what exactly you're demanding, and there's no way in a blue moon that I can be your Luna or that of the Lock Heart,”
“Finally,” Lex said to him, sounding pleased and relieved.Lucian was unsure how to feel about Anna's reaction to them being mates. She was just as predictable as he had thought she was. Even though the pull was obviously gnawing at her mercilessly, she seemed to somehow hold get fort against it.“You won't have to try to put up with resisting her anymore,” his wolf went on. “That's almost the hardest thing to do. It was much harder than ending all those men Leola had betrayed you to.”But then, it was beginning to seem like the problem of trying to resist had ended, just to give way for another one. She seemed to resist him that time around. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up with that, after waiting so long to have her.“You are worried about her?”“Just a little bit,” Lucian admitted, but he wasn't going to show it in any way. Not to Anna. He recalled how badly it had gone the last time he had let his emotions get the better of him and was determined not to let anythin