Thank you for reading! This month I will be updating Kat's book a little more, as I want to finish it soon. I will then be down to two books and can give this book a little more love too! Thank you for your constant suppot.
~ JULIAN ~I stare down at the man who had started the fire in the archives and trapped Layla inside with unmasked hatred. It may have taken me a bit of fucking time, but I have finally caught him. But no matter what I ask him, he’s simply begging for mercy not giving me a name or a reason behind his actions, even if I do have a good idea about what and who may be behind it.“I’m not going to keep asking and I am not new to torture, so spit out a name or I will fucking rip you apart and then have someone stitch you together just so I can do it all over again,” I snarl slightly breathless as I punch him in the face again.I want to kill him right now, but without a confession, I can’t, because Layla was already pissed that Quade killed Logan. She may be pissed at me, too.She had asked for a ride yesterday and she had gone to the pack headquarters, saying she needed to get some work sorted. She had fired Sadie, who had been in tears. She had caused a commotion, and I know it was because
~ QUADE ~After trying to get out of Nikita where she’s hidden the sapphire that she stole from me, I leave her there. She won’t last. She’s never been on the receiving end of my true fury and this time she will have that honour. I’ll break her slowly and she will break.I clean my hands with a cloth before I walk up the steps and unlock the door leading into my castle.Time to go see Layla. I know she’s angry and I’ve given her enough time to cool down, or maybe made it worse. We’ll see. It’s been a hectic few days, and I had a lot to do, what with the Blood Moon, Nikita, Logan, and of course, above all, I haven't been around Reagon. And Reagon… There’s no sign of him, although I know he isn’t far. He can’t be.One glance down tells me I need to shower first.Once I have showered and pulled on some sweatpants, I walk down the hall to her bedroom. I know she’s awake. The light seeps out from the bottom of the door, and I heard her pacing when I passed by earlier.I knock lightly, about
~ LAYLA ~I wake up suddenly, scanning the room. I’m sure I heard something. I push off my bedsheets and switch on the lamp, listening out for anything.Silence.My brows furrow. Maybe I imagined it…Running my fingers through my hair I sigh remembering the conversation with Quade before he left; a glance at the clock tells me that was about an hour ago. I switch off the lamp about to settle down again when I hear a door shut somewhere down the hall.Is Quade still awake? It was quiet, as if not wanting to disturb anyone. I can’t just turn around and go to sleep, my curiosity wondering what he’s up to getting the better of me.If I’m going to find answers, I will need to do some snooping. I lay there staring at the streaks of lights that pattern the white ceiling that seep through the cracks in the curtains.I hear a shout from outside and tense, it’s quickly stifled but… it is a woman’s voice. Unease grows within me and I get out of bed quickly, grabbing my glasses as I walk to the do
~ QUADE ~My heart skips a beat as I pick up on the racing heart of someone who is hurrying away.Fuck.There’s only one person who would react like that in this castle to seeing this and she is the last person I want to have witnessed this. I knock Nikita unconscious before I rush to the stairs. I don’t know what I’m going to say when I catch her or how I’m going to fix things.But for the first time, I don’t want someone to know the real me. I don’t want her to feel repulsed by the monster before her, because even if I am one, she’s the one person I can’t lose. Not this time.I hear the faint sound of a door opening and closing ever so quietly just as I reach the top of the second flight of stairs and make my way down the hallway to her room.I knock on the door, no answer.I raise an eyebrow, wiping my hands on my pants, but it does little to remove the blood that stains them. I knock again before I open it, hearing the tap running in the bathroom. The door stands slightly ajar. I q
~ LAYLA ~The following day, I decide to hit the training grounds where some of the guards are carrying out their morning training session.“Mind if I join?” I ask, watching two men fight rather violently. I just want to take the chance to find out where exactly Quade is right now because I have a plan, and the only way I can carry it out is if he isn’t around.All eyes turn on me, and the men hesitate, clearly not wanting to agree to anything without Quade’s permission.I smile sweetly. “Quade realised I was getting a bit bored and told me to join you all before he left this morning.”I know for a fact he’s out of mind-linking range. I heard that little fact earlier on when he had tried to speak to me and his phone had rung, interrupting his poor attempt.My words seem to make a few of them relax, whilst there are still a few others who still look uncertain.“He’s busy with work out of town, otherwise I would call him so you can all get your confirmation.” I bluff as I pick up one of
~ LAYLA ~An hour later, I’ve had some lunch that Nadia gives me, along with the pills that I don’t take. Is she really just determined to keep me fit and healthy or is there more behind it? We will see.After lunch, I decide to go check my phone.Once I enter that hall, I quickly pick up my phone and disappear back to the lounge, where I skim through the video.For the most part, it’s empty, but there are two times that guards enter that hallway, and one of the times the guard carries a small vial, heading to the locked door.My heart skips a beat, seeing him take out a key and unlock the door. I can’t see his face, as his back is to me, but when he comes back up, I recognise him as one of the men who had been at the training ground this morning.“Bingo…” I breathe.He didn’t participate in a match against me, but he had been watching. Now I just need to find him and somehow get that key… and I have a way, maybe not the most ideal of ways, but a way, nevertheless.Ten minutes later, I
~ LAYLA ~“What?” My head is spinning, eternal life?“And that is why Reagon too wants the same…” her voice is laboured.“He forgot to mention that part.” I can’t keep the bitterness from my voice, but I knew from the start I couldn’t trust him entirely.“Of course, it’s what they all want, and the only way to get it is by having you by their side…”“Why me?”“Because of whom you are, dear clueless Layla; so strong… so blinded… so in the dark…” She lets out a maniacal yet weak laugh and I frown slightly. “Everyone of the legendary Sapphire Pack contains a sapphire within them. How strong, that depends on your rank, lineage and blood. It is just as important to your body as a heart… There was a time people would kill members of the Sapphire Pack for their sapphires… the very reason behind the massacre of that pack…”I listen, trying to make sense of what she is going on about. Eternal life and sapphires sounded so… out of this world. But the pack was said to be special.“That sapphire h
~ Quade ~She’s not the same Layla I met at the ball, and I hate how it affects me. It shouldn’t. She was just meant to be part of the plan to attain something I’ve always wanted. But then why did every single gaze from her affect me? Why did every single time I’m not with her make me want to be with her?The longer I go without seeing her the more this incessant desire to see her grows. The more I realize that I am falling for someone I shouldn’t becomes ever clearer. Even if I care for her, it’s not a good idea.Even now as she tries to hide her annoyance from me, she’s perfection. The way her hair refuses to stay back from her face, the way she pushes up her glasses when she’s annoyed even when they don’t need to be pushed back. The way her lips purse and her eyebrow arches when she doesn’t like or believe what I just said.But what I long for is to see the smile on her face, hear the laugh, the playful flirting, the glint of desire when she looks me over. Everything that I feel I’m
~ QUADE ~Her glittering eyes widen, and I can’t help but smile.“I love you, Layla. I fucking love you. You make me feel what I never knew I could.”She closes her eyes, tears trickling down her cheeks and I cup her face, leaning in to kiss her. “Wait!” she whispers, and I cock a brow, removing her glasses.“I did brush my teeth and shower in the hospital wing before I came to see you,” I murmur, making her laugh. “No! Not that, I want to tell you something first.” She pouts, “I love you, too.” I smirk. “I knew that, but I do want to hear that every single day.”This time I don’t wait for a response and press my lips against hers, claiming them in a deep hungry kiss. She whimpers against my lips as she cups my face, pulling herself even closer. I wrap my arms around her and lift her up as I place her on the drawer she was standing beside when I had snuck into our bedroom.I kiss her hungrily, my hands running up her thighs, enjoying the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips. She’
One Month Later…~ LAYLA ~It’s been a month since everything went down and it’s oddly… peaceful. To feel safe and relaxed is something I haven’t experienced for ages. My memories returned, so many where I spent moments with Quade, where I was crushing on him. He was my first crush, and that crush remained until my memories were erased. Through those memories I noticed how he became distant after a while. Cross-checking those memories with Julian, he confirmed that was when Tray told them I was his mate.Sickening.And right now, that’s all I have, these memories of him.The shot Reagon took was aimed to kill, containing the same poison as the blade I was given. But somehow Quade didn’t die. I felt his heart slow in my arms, and then it began pumping again. Julian thinks it was my gift, but if it was, then why is Quade still asleep? He didn’t wake up, and it’s killing me not knowing if he ever will.Nikita is healed; it took her two weeks of complete bed rest before she was able to g
~ LAYLA ~I have to trust Julian not to hurt Quade, or Quade to not kill Julian because I need to find Tray.They’ve been protecting me for so many years. It’s my turn to protect them. They are all that’s left of their brotherhood. Their bond is the only legitimate one.I need to think!It’s hard to, with the growls and snarls of the two men I care for fighting one another. I need to look past the illusion. But how do you do that when they are so powerful?Think! My heart is thudding, my ears ringing as I try to look beyond the storm within my mind.I need to shift! I’ll be able to mind-link Quade too!I shift, bones cracking and reforming before I look around me with keener eyes. The scent of my mate is intense in my nose.‘Quade…’ I trail off when something else fills my nose. The metallic stench of blood.I sniff the air, sensing Tray and Axel’s blood. I might be able to find him to put an end to this. I have to act fast before Tray realises and disguises the scent. He is able to ma
~ LAYLA ~“Exactly. We all know Quade took good care of his little sister. He had a soft spot for her, so I wanted him to kill her. Sucks though, but he turned out weaker than I hoped. And he held out, even when I made it look like she was the one that killed your little baby brother!” He laughs again and Quade snarls, the sound ringing through the room as his rage surges forward.“You!”“Nikita didn’t kill him,” I whisper, Tray’s words sinking in and my heart leaps. I feel relief that I didn’t let Quade kill her, because he would have only felt worse.“No, she didn’t. Shame, she had it in her. And she decided to become a disobedient little bitch. Even after I made her think Quade had killed her mate, she still wasn’t able to harm Layla. Pathetic whore,” Tray spits at me.“Fuck…” Julian murmurs as he glances at me before he turns and walks over to Nikita and begins cutting her ropes. There’s going to be a lot of guilt there… I just hope both men can forgive themselves for how she was t
~ LAYLA ~“Tray,” Julian breathes.“Why? If you’ve been alive all this time, then why did you pretend to be dead back then?” Quade is the first to ask the question on all our minds. His voice is low but strained with emotions, he’s good at hiding his emotions, but for him to let them slip, shows how much this is affecting him.“Oh, you mean that entire pond fiasco? Well, I had to plant the seed of doubt somewhere in the boys.” Tray smirks and I’m disgusted. This man is meant to be my mate? I feel nothing for him. There’s nothing, not even a pull. All I feel is anger.“But why, for what?” Julian asks. His anger is clear, and unlike Quade, he’s not trying to act in control of it. It makes Tray chuckle.“Look at the three of you, working together yet still. So. Fucking. Dumb! Why do you fucking think!?” he snarls. “You, Steele! You were the mother fucker I wanted to take down.” His eyes are fixed on Quade and I glance at him, feeling a pang of hurt for him. Quade’s eyes flicker. Is that c
~ LAYLA ~My heart is still hammering, even though it’s been ten minutes since I used the poisonous gas. But I still can’t wrap my head around it as I look at Nadia, who is tied up in the same place where I found Nikita.Her leg is bleeding profusely where Quade had shot her. Axel is tied to another chair, but he’s badly wounded. If he doesn’t get medical attention, he may die, not that either of the boys would care.“We should go take a look around her quarters and see what we can find. She must have a phone. We might be able to find out who she’s been talking to.” Julian moves forward, checking her pockets before he pulls out a phone.“Password lock,” he says, passing it to Quade.“I’ll have Eddie look into this. You and Layla go see if you can find anything else in her quarters or anything regarding her true identity.” Quade frowns as he looks at the unconscious woman, then back at the device.I cast a final glance at Nadia, feeling sick. This was the woman I trusted…“Come on, Layl
~ QUADE ~“Something isn’t right… they are on castle ground,” I mutter, as we park a good 100 yards from the entrance gates. Something isn’t right. Why is Axel here?“We need a plan before we just go in there,” Layla says quietly. I glance at her, trying to squash the jealousy that I feel and still feel knowing she kissed Julian. I’m acting irrationally, but there is nothing I can do to rid myself of this burning rage from inside of me, no matter how pathetic it is.I frown, “I think the only thing we can do right now is to get inside, find Axel and put an end to this.”“We need some kind of plan, Quade. If Axel’s there, then they have friends on the inside, and also it means he’s here to meet someone. I don’t think you should tell Eddie we’re here either,” Julian says.“A reasonable point. Let’s arm up.” I walk to the trunk and take out a few weapons. I’ll shift if I need to, but there is one thing I have to do before we enter.I need to tell Layla about what happened with Tray, even
~ LAYLA ~“All, ok?” Julian asks as I step out of the bedroom feeling horrible.“Yes,” I say with a small smile, before heading to the kitchen area to start cleaning up.“Lay?”I turn and give him a small smile. “What is it?”“Don’t do that. What happened?”“Nothing. Now please let’s drop it,” I say, sighing softly.He glances at the door, then at me. “You told him that quickly?” he asks quietly, now coming over as he tosses the rubbish into the bin.“No, he knew.”“Because you’re not a good liar.”I sigh and look up at him. “It wasn’t because of you. I did something because I wanted to, because I realised something last night,” I whisper.His green eyes soften. There’s something there, a longing mixed with acceptance. “That you love him.” It’s a statement.I nod. “Yeah, exactly that. And I have no idea how to process that. I don’t even know when my feelings became more.”“Then when he’s cooled down, you should tell him.”I look up at him and nod slowly, when I have the courage becaus
~ QUADE ~Leaving Layla with Julian somehow made me uneasy. The gnawing feeling in my stomach kept growing, and although I told myself it's because of what I’m about to do, I couldn’t shake it off.I ended up parking halfway there and travelled the rest of the way in my lycan form. Keeping to the shadows of the night.The grave wasn’t hard to find, even if I haven’t visited it in ages, the memory of it isn’t one that will ever fade. Entering these forgotten lands where the Sapphire Pack once stood is harder than I thought it would be.I remain in lycan form, holding my bag in my hand as I pay attention to every sound around me.This was once a place I loved to spend my summers.If he’s alive and this is all his game, then those memories were all a lie, and proof that trust is usually misplaced.I look around the fields, it’s overgrown, covered in grass and brambles. No one visited, and neither did I. After the massacre, this was a place I didn’t want to come to, remembering the death o