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68. Unsavoury reflections
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The demon wolf’s Affair 69. The letter
LorThe message comes in and I retrieve it. It must be pretty important if Tate had it delivered. Emma is in the bedroom, catching her breath while I lean into the wall of the sitting room and peel the letter open. Hi. It’s me, Celine. I stop reading. The sight of her name punches the breath out of my lungs and I need a second to get it back. Is this her script? It’s scrawling and almost illegible, like a child’s. The surprising script brings a smile to my face instinctively, one that drops when I remember the complicated mess our relationship currently is. I glance back to the bedroom, where Emma will need me any second and I contemplate shelving the letter for later, after this little tryst but my soul starves for anything at all that is her, and if it is letters of ink pressed on parchment that will bring her to me, I’m helpless to take it. I unfold it and read. It’s short, too short. I’m sorry for interrupting you but there is something I must discuss with you. Can you find
The demon wolf’s Affair 70. Veiled threats
NeemAs promised, my duties resume today. The king beckons for me and I go to him, keeping the smile pasted on my face. I kneel in front of him and he lowers his lips to my shoulder. I don’t make a sound when his teeth punctures my skin, deeper than he usually goes, and he gulps my blood. I bear it because I had days without this, thanks to the prince and this is as close to starving as the king gets. The prince sits at his right hand and he stares down at the court with an aloof expression, bored even. On my glance, his gaze shifts to find mine and his eyes are completely unreadable. It’s like a thick curtain has slid over his eyes, shielding the wolf he is when he is not being prince. He looks away without so much as a blink, the shield of formality between us burning more than it should. We assume this role effortlessly in public, that of a regal prince and a mere servant not worth his time and even though I should be used to it, it still hurts. I have to wonder which of them is
The demon wolf’s Affair 71. Trespassing
CelineIt’s a short way to the kitchen hall, and everyone is conspicuously absent. Strange, because the pack house has been extraordinarily busy since Emma got pregnant.We are bursting full of gifts, the joy of the Blood-bound pack oppressing me in its intensity. But that is the least of my problems. My unease increases when I turn into the next hallway and still hear no one, not even a stray laugh from behind closed doors. I swallow hard and think about food. This will be the first time I eat in more than two weeks now, and I need it to maintain my strength. It’s only a short walk to the kitchen, and I refuse to let my fear cripple me in doing that much. The dragging of claws on tiled floor makes me jump and I glance around suspiciously. Is my imagination playing games on me or am I being followed? I shrug it off and increase my pace. I found a peaceful spot in the garden out back where I can sit under a shade and watch everyone undetected. Their happiness does not touch me and
The demon wolf’s Affair 72. I’m coming for you
LorMore disbelief, anger, did she run from himDan examines Emma and I fold my arms to watch. "Oh, I feel his little heartbeat." She exclaims. "He's so strong!""A male?" I ask. "Yes." She says and continues her examination. How bizarre, this wretched feeling in a moment that should bring me greatest joy. I always wanted a female pup, and now that it's a male I'm glad. Perhaps he'll take more after me. The goddess went behind my back, despite my curse that led to all this in the first place, and She gave us a pup. Perhaps She does make mistakes after-all, either that or she's a sick fuck that takes pleasure from screwing up my life. If Emma and I have a pup together, I'll be damned if I don't spend the rest of my life trying to get it right, with my own damn mate not some random female. I hope my baby with Celine will be female, and I hope she'll take everything after her mother. "How is he?" I ask and Dan stands at last, cracking her neck. "He is healthy and he is stable. We h
The demon wolf’s Affair 73. Missing
Lor “Alpha Lor!” Emma’s voice stops me and I look back to see her hurrying towards me. “What are you doing?” I ask, immediately concerned and not sure how safe it is for her to be running around like this. “You should be with Dan, resting.” I grab her shoulders to bring her to a stop when she nearly plows into me. She’s obviously not yet herself. “I should be saying the same to you.” She says, catching her breath. “You should be in bed with me, so what in the name of the goddess are you doing running around instead?” Ice spreads over my demeanour and my concern cools. “In bed with you?” Unbelievable. “Do you think I have been in your bed for my pleasure? You are carrying my son, and the last two weeks were a sacrifice I made for him.” She flinches like I slapped her, and I grit my teeth with frustration. “Is being with me such a sacrifice?” She asks in a horrified whisper. “Am I now so repulsive to you?” It is such a stupid question that I don’t bother to grace it with an a
The demon wolf’s Affair 74. Finding her
LorThe next knock sounds on the double doors of the meeting room and the doors are thrown open. Two males approach me, two of the guards that rotated duty in that apartment with Emma. “May you prosper, Alpha.” The first of them says. “Liam, What news do you bring?”“We heard you are looking for your mate, Alpha, and we believe we might have been one of the last people to see her.” “Did you? Tell me everything.” I command. It will be the first concrete news I get about her, not the sickening rumours. “She was at the apartment.” He says. “She was what?!” My voice rises and they flinch collectively. “What the hell was she doing there?”“She came to see you sir.”My mind reels. Is this before or after she sent her letter? She must have known what was going on inside that building, and she sought me out anyway. Why? What did she have to say that couldn’t wait? Did she fear for her safety? Did she foresee her disappearance? I have a thousand questions and no goddamn answers. I refus
The demon wolf’s Affair 75. Mysterious voices
CelineI’m submerged under, or that’s what it feels like. I hear voices, faint and indistinctive. There is a scent in the air that is both familiar and strange and it tickles my memory. I know for certain I have been here before, but I didn’t remember before now. The last thing I remember is the fear of the hunt, the screech of pain and then nothing. It dawns on me, I’m in the place where I go to every time I disappear. Dreading what I will find, I try to pull myself up, to open my eyes, to do anything at all but I’m immobilised. Not again. I fight harder to get free. Whispering voices flutter closer and I stop my struggling, ear straining and heart pounding. I can’t make out their words but they are talking about me. When I try to call out to them, I am silent. All I can do is lie down like the dead. And then there is the touching. I flinch but I cannot reject the touch. I feel a poke here, a shift there, almost like I am being checked up by a physician. The touch retreats and then
The demon wolf’s Affair 76. The search
LorI made the promise to find her a day ago, and a day later I have nothing to show for it. The entire pack suffers for my terrible mood and gloom lives and breathes in the air. With every hour without the slightest idea who could have taken her, I could run mad with my apprehension. A part of me wait for a demand for ransom, something. I would give anything. The rumours are terrible, and they’ve grown as her disappearance drags out. Some say she was too haunted and she killed herself, that her body is deep in the ground and her soul lingers on in the pack to torment her mate. I ferreted out the source of the rumour and made a spectacle of her in front of the others. Buried in the ground, right. There is nothing that my nose can not detect, not even if it is fifteen feet into the ground. Though poorly constructed and only for salacious satisfaction, the useless rumour achieved its objective of doubling my fear, and feeding my imagination. That was before this morning, when the sun
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The demon wolf’s Affair Epilogue
Neem "I thought you would be done dressing up. We are going to be late." I tell Aden. "These buttons are hell." He mutters. "There should be about a hundred buttons on here.""Hardly." I say, amused. "There are only fifteen."Our clothes in Lyria never had buttons and it's always amusing that something so simple always gives him so much trouble. "Might as well be a hundred." He mutters and shaking my head, I go to help. He stares down at me as I work one button to the next. "You are staring.""I can't help it, you're beautiful." He says and I smile. "One would think you were only seeing me for the first time.""It feels like that sometimes." He says. "Sometimes I wake up amazed to have you by my side.""Only sometimes?" I tease him and he laughs. "Come here." He pulls my lips to his and kisses me and I forget about the buttons as I hold on, revelling in the movement of his lips on mine. I moan when his tongue darts in to taste me and his hands clench conclusively on my ass. "D
The demon wolf’s Affair 146. Victorious
EmmaOne of the creatures runs at us, foaming at the mouth and bleeding from a dozen cuts. Celine intercepts him and kills him and I stare at her. “They said you controlled these creatures. Control them and end this wretched war.”She shakes her head. “It’s not that easy anymore. I was able to control them when my cat was dominant, when they absorbed my wolf. Someone donated her energy to bring back my wolf, but she neglected to mention that I would lose control of the soldiers when she is restored. I wouldn’t have it any other way anyway.”I sneer. “How pathetic. Of what use are you with your wolf then? You should sacrifice her to save hundreds of lives if need be but you are nothing but selfish as ever.”Her brows rise. “I’m not receiving a lecture on selflessness from you, am I? Now I have seen it all.”Behind us, Lor finally rips the king’s heart out with a roar. The war seems to stop for a second, everyone watching as he twists his head off his throat and sends it flying. And t
The demon wolf’s Affair 145. His weakness
Celine They are unending. It is as if the entire world has moved against the Island. My soldiers are not enough, and so people of Lyria have joined, fighting against the enemy but they are lacking in spirit. Perhaps because they have been broken down by the economy but they fall like corn stalk against the enemy. I keep soldiers on their leader constantly, but he is not the only one to be worried about. My soldiers tear into most of the soldiers before they have a chance to defend themselves but too many of them are experienced killers, cutting through our numbers in swaths. I glance behind me but the king and the Whisperer are now gone from their perch, and then finally the harpies are released. Terrible terrible creatures that can ice the blood in your veins with a touch. Where they go, death follows, immortals shrivelling up and dying in numbers. And yet more of their army comes. There are about ten of the harpies and I’m surprised when one of them streams from the ground right i
The demon wolf’s Affair 144. Maria’s sacrifice
CelineI feel it when Ismir dies, like a lance directly into my heart. I scream in pain and my attack falters. No. I look back, knowing I will not find him at he balcony he once occupied with his father and the Whisperer. My eyes meet his father’s and I wonder if he knows. My distraction costs me. Strong arms wrap around me from behind and I’m plastered hard against a male chest. “Stand back.” He orders the creatures, keeping them in front of us and me as a shield between them. They angle and pace, the front liners reluctant to attack and skewer me. “What do you think you are doing?” I grit out, trying to break out of his grip but he’s too strong. “You’re coming back with me.” He says, shuffling back. I burst into laughter, a little hysterical. “Are you daft as fuck? You want to leap through the barrier to freedom? The both of us will die before our next breath.”“I passed through the barrier to get here.” He says, his voice resolved. “By some freak accident. You will not be so
The demon wolf’s Affair 143. Motherly love
EmmaHe has grown so much in three days alone, this baby that has become my last surviving shield.“Dan!” I snap, heading to the balcony. “Yes, Emma.” She says from where she balances precariously on the ledge, not even bothering to look up. I thought the female stuck to my side because she had grown a soft side for me, as I have worked hard to lower her guard. I should have known better, she is an omega herself, an emotional fortress. Since the end of the three days that we raised Alaric, she has completely withdrawn, not even bothering to stand for any other person but the little brat. ”You said the three days were all we needed to ensure his survival.”“Yes. Your boy is stronger than a horse.” She says, raising her face to the sun. “Mama!” The culprit comes toddling out, holding chubby little hands out to me with a grin. I stare at him, my face going sour. “So why the hell does he still follow me around everywhere?!” I ask in dismay. I can’t look across a room without finding h
The demon wolf’s Affair 142. The Whispering Crystals
Neem“You found the source.” He says. His voice is cold and the way he is looking at me scares me. I affect a light tone. “Prince Ismir-““I cannot allow you to live.” Chills race down my spine and I laugh awkwardly. “What are you talking about?” I say, my voice pleading. I always knew my inquisitiveness would land me in trouble one day. I cannot believe the day is finally here. “Why do you always have to go around snooping and putting yourself in situations you have no business being in?”“I’m sorry!” I say, taking a step forward. “I’m sorry okay? This will never happen again.”“You are right, it won’t.” He says and then he shifts. I scream and dive to the side as he leaps, coming up on my knee and watching him nearly crash into the crystals. He sidesteps them in a precarious move in the last second and spins around, furious. I’ve never seen him shift, and for good reason, I realise. That is no wolf, he looks like he belongs amongst the deformities on the front line. He is thre
The demon wolf’s Affair 141. Hidden crystals
NeemI burst into the library, unconcerned about the racket I’m making as I race through the shelves to the back. Maria is reading a book and doesn’t bother to put it down. “Ordinarily, you should be banned from coming into the library.” She says placidly. “Outside.” I say urgently. “They are engaged in a fight. Celine and-““I know.” She cuts me off, not taking her eyes off the book. I gape at her. “You do? Then how can you be so calm?”“I am calm. I would recommend some to you too. What concern is it of mine if two idiots want to kill each other?”She’s right, she doesn’t give a fuck. She has said it enough times and yet she was the first person I thought of when I needed help.“I need your help.” I say and she finally puts the book down and pins with a stare piercing enough to make me squirm. “I see you got your tongue back.”“I need your help.” I say again, refusing to be redirected. “No.” She says, making me gape again. “No? But you don’t even know what I want to ask.”“I d
The demon wolf’s Affair 140. Love or war
Prince Ismir“How did he come through the barrier?” Father snarls, finally thrown off his feet by the unexpected happening. “I don’t know.” The Whisperer says, my first time hearing him utter those words. “It should be impossible.”Apparently not, if he’s right there. “What do you know about him?” I ask. There is something about him that has my hair standing on end. It is simply my most primitive instincts recognising a threat, a major one.“Nothing,” The Whisperer says. “But judging by his power and the fact that he entered the barrier unscathed, there are only a few people that come to mind. I believe that is her mate, the one commonly known as the demon wolf.”“What?” I say, startled out of the blue. Is that where the sense of familiarity comes from? Am I feeling her familiarity with him? “She does not look like she recognises him.” I say, tracing her location.“Not with the the amount of poison we had to pump into her system.” He says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t ev
The demon wolf’s Affair 139. Shattering boundaries
LorFor the umpteenth time, I put a hand on the barrier and it goes straight through. My hand curls into a tight fist and I punch it hard. Nothing. It is just air. The demarcation that shows the island of Lyria, a slight shimmer in the air is quite obvious if you know what you are looking for. Otherwise, your eyes would probably skip right over it. We have besieged this perimeter for two days now and to my frustration, we have nothing to show for it. Not a soul has stepped out of it, and neither can we step inside either. If I didn’t have a strong gut feeling that she is behind that barrier, I would have believed that it is all a conjecture of my deranged mind.Maddilla comes to a stop beside me and peers into the barrier. It is not just Bloodbound pack but nearly every damn pack this side of the world out here. There are more than a hundred and fifty packs here, each one of them as eager and enthusiastic to pierce the barrier of the island as the next. I didn’t have much convincing
