RYDENZarah might be powerful but Samarah was canny and used black magic, and so far we always fell for their traps.I sighed heavily as I felt like I didn’t know what to do right now.We arrived at the site. I tested the shield. “The shield is down. We have only a two-minute window,” I informed them. I couldn’t even look at Brant’s wolf’s head. He must have been so scared, and I wasn’t there to protect him. Again, I failed everyone for the umpteenth time.I looked away. My chest was imploding as grief, pain, and regret filled my chest.My phone vibrated catching my attention. It was Amelia.“Ryden, don’t touch the head. Do you hear me? Don’t touch the head.”Zeph just crossed the barrier. His hands an inch to Brant’s head. “Don’t! Zeph, don’t touch it!”Dane managed to grab him on the arm and threw him back inside.Zeph fell on top of him, glaring at me. “What the fuck?”“Ryden! Ryden, are you there? Can you hear me?”I briefly closed my eyes and replied, “Amelia, I hear you.”“Did Z
AMELIA “Where is she?” Our plans were successful, except Nora got shot. I didn’t know how bad it was, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for letting her go to her father’s firm. “She’s fine.” A deep frown formed on Zeph’s forehead as he strolled his gaze at me. “Why do you care so much about her after what she did to you?” I ignored my brother as I walked past him. “Am.” He grabbed me by my arm, causing Ryden to growl at him. I rolled my eyes at Ryden for being overprotective of me towards my own brother. “You’re being ridiculous. Call up for a briefing.” He didn’t move until Zeph let go of my arm. His jaw clenched. “Geez, Ry. She’s my sister, and I would never hurt her.” Scowling, Zeph released my arm and walked away. “Hey. Wait,” I called Zeph and followed him. “Just wait, Zeph!”Groaning, he stopped and faced me. “Is Ryden okay? He seemed aggressive.” I understood Zeph. He had a good moral compass and was way more sensible than any of us. That was why he was good as Beta
AMELIAI took full control of my powers in a few months, but I wanted to convince her that she was stronger because truthfully, we needed her on board. “Lucky for Ren because he has the right people to help him. That’s why you need to focus and train. Tomorrow, we might need your help.” “Of course, I want to help, but how? And now, I’m injured.” She dropped her gaze, face contorting. “And goodbye bikini.” Theia chuckled. “That’s not even funny,” Nora berated back. “Or maybe, try to be Percy Jackson.” Theia came. “The son of Poseidon?” Nora stared at her in surprise, and I could literally see the light bulb blinking above her head. “Do you think it will work?” “You should drink five gallons of water, Nora. Remember what our parents always said to us? To drink eight glasses of water?” Theia barked out laughing, even giggling. “That could work. Try it.” As much as the idea was insane, maybe it could heal her fast. “There’s only one way to find out?” I grabbed the bottle of water,
RYDEN “How about Dane? Where is he?” I checked the time on my phone. At the same time, I received a text from him. “Ah. He said something came up. He and Kailin will catch up with us later.” “So what’s the plan? How are we going to deal with them tomorrow now that we don’t have the physical book?” I turned to Zeph. “I’m sure we can come up with better ideas.” He checked his watch. “Then we have fourteen hours to come up with that.” “What is your point, Hayes?” My voice came out strong, but I wasn’t regretting it. I felt like he was minding my rank and my decision. “What happened today may be luck. I’m sure they’re already aware of what we did so to speak, and anytime, they can come and retaliate. We’re outnumbered. We’re here stuck in a dome, with no way in, no way out. They could have taken our families outside and shot them one by one in front of us.” “Zeph, I understand where this came from, but we can’t think like that. We also have leverage. That’s why we stole everything
AMELIA “We should do something.” I looked at everyone, begging for their help because I knew I couldn’t do it alone, yet they somehow managed to ignore me. I walked towards the door, shaking my head in disappointment. “Fine! I’m calling Sebastien and asking for his help instead.” “No!” Ryden blocked me from going out of the office. “You won’t do such a thing, Amelia? Respect her decision. Who knows? It might work. We’ve tried many things before, but we barely made any progress.” I glared at him. “Is that my alpha talking or my mate?” He met the intensity of the anger in my eyes. “Both. Learn to respect someone’s decision, Amelia. If Zarah said, she made a deal, then we’ll wait for the result. We’ve done what we could, and so far, we only had one successful mission. We should be grateful Zarah has helped us through those months. Give her some time to do her plan.” “I can’t believe I’m hearing this. She may be powerful but she’s also alone with Nora, and Nora hasn’t mastered her po
RYDEN I jolted up in bed, disoriented, and my heart was still hammering in my chest. Aside from the moonlight, it was already dark inside the room. I now remembered that we’d decided earlier to stay at the pack house for dinner tonight. I wiped off the tears on my face and the sweat on my forehead as I rested my back against the headboard. That was weird, and it almost felt so real. “Baby, what’s wrong?” Amelia came from the bathroom. “Nothing.” It wasn’t nothing, and she knew it, judging the look on her face right now. “You were screaming.” She came to sit on the edge of the bed. Her cold hand cupped my face. “You were dreaming? Or was it a nightmare?” I took her hand and kissed it. When I couldn’t say something, she came to me and hugged me tight. I sighed and sagged in her arms as I felt her so alive and breathing. “Ryden?” She pulled away and looked me in the eye. No matter how hard I tried to hide my emotion, she must have seen it somehow. She leaned close and kissed me o
AMELIA “We’re back, bitches!” I didn’t know I ran towards Theia, lifted her up, and squeezed her hard. “Bitch.” She laughed out loud. “I can’t breathe.” Letting her go, I looked at her. “You knew.” When she grinned sheepishly and crunched her nose, I hit her in the arm. “How could you do that to me?” I turned to Ren, who didn’t even look guilty. “Wait. Stay back, guys.” I stepped away. “How do we know you’re you, guys?” “Seriously, Amelia?” Ren finally talked, looking guilty. “Step away, Amelia.” Ryden held me by my elbow. “Agh! This is ridiculous.” Nora rolled her eyes. “I’ve been awake for more than twenty-four hours. I’m exhausted and have you forgotten I was shot yesterday?” She should her wound, which left barely a scar. “This ring proves enough that I’m your best friend? I stole your wallet and you only have twenty dollars.” “It was twenty and five cents,” I retorted. “Fine.” Nora looked exhausted but still bitchy. “Remember during our junior year? I invited you to my
AMELIA “Where is the witch now?” “I don’t know. We don’t know. She just created a portal and took the witch with her, then she sent us back here,” Theia explained. “So you don’t know where they are?” “I’m sure Zarah will come. She’s worked hard to make this plan work. Give her some time to gather her strength,” Dane said. “Ren, did she tell you what Nirvana saw?” “Yes. Zarah said that someone in your pack will die, and it’s unavoidable. If the trade happens, a lot of people are going to die, and you will get hurt badly. Alpha Ryden will lose his sight.” Gasps filled the room, and I thought the loudest came from me. “What the fuck?” Zeph took a seat and sighed heavily. “How did that happen?” “Because of him.” Ren pointed at Ryden. “Why me?” “You were furious, you lost focus, and when Amelia got hurt, you lost control. That’s how the exchange went horribly wrong. They got Nora, and we lost the fight,” Ren explained, and my chest heaved as dread and terror filled my chest. “O
AMELIA After what we’d been through together in a short time, something beautiful happened. I stared at him in awe, wearing the same face the first time he saw me in my wolf form and wolf fire. Now he had in him. He just became one of the four, and the most powerful alpha with that power. “Amelia!” everyone was yelling at me, except Ren. I felt like he already knew when I lost my wolf, that it would take over someone. “Ryden,” I called his name and looked him in the eye. He looked shocked and began to panic as his clothes burned down to ashes and he was completely naked before us, engulfed in fire. “Guys, can someone grab the extinguisher, please?” “You know it won’t work!” Theia yelled. I turned to her and pointed at the wooden floor. “It will work on the floor before this house gets toasted.” I’ll go take it,” Alessandro volunteered and stormed out of the office. “Ryden, if you don’t calm down, you’re gonna burn us all. Trust me. I’ve been in your situation, done that.” “W
AMELIA “Alpha, stop it. You’re still healing.” Naughty Alpha was looking all cute as he started kissing me on the cheek first, licking my earlobe, then his hand moved to my abdomen, slipping it inside my shirt, tracing his fingers up, teasing my nipple from the bra. “I want you.” “No, you don’t.” I looked at him. His eyes darkened, his breathing was hot, and I could feel his growing erection pressed against my thigh. “Keep your dick under control until you’re fully healed or I will scream.” “I am. Trust me.” He kissed me on the nose. “I missed you. I miss being inside you.” “Really?” I pressed his wound, and he winced. “Right, you’re healed.” His hand was gone, and he chuckled, shaking his head. “Have patience there, buddy.” “Yes. Tell him that.” I faced him and kissed him on the lips. “When we go home, you can have me all you want. I will be yours all night.” He grinned at me. “Is that a promise?” “You know I won’t break it, Ryden. You can tie me to bed if you want.” He arc
RYDEN “Amelia, stop!” I crawled back to bed. My ears hurt, and that was killing me more than my wound. Then I felt a warm liquid rolling down my upper lip. I wiped it off and realized it was blood. “You’re killing me, please? Ladybug, you have to stop.” The shrilling sound abruptly stopped. The shaking ended. Her body went back to normal. “Oh, Goddess. Baby.” Her eyes were wide as she finally back to herself. She cupped my face and wiped off the blood dripping from my nostrils. “I did do that? I’m so sorry.” “Unless I have that kind of power.” I was still staring at her. What kind of power she had was both frightening and remarkable. “What the hell is going on?” The door slammed open, and Zarah came, furious. She scanned the room and shook her head. “She did it again, didn’t she?” Ren followed Zarah inside, looking at my bloody nose. Theia and Nora were tailing him. “If you can’t get control over your emotions, Amelia, we have to confine you. You can kill any being just with you
RYDEN “You knew all this time, and you didn’t warn us?” The way Victor averted his gaze and looked as ashamed and guilty as ever. He only proved to us that he knew all along, and what after all, powerful alphas there were out there that he called himself the Alpha King. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Amelia was angrier than me. Despite losing her wolf, I could still feel her emotions, and my mark on her was still intact. “Whoever he is will come after every alpha who comes his way. Do you understand how deep the trouble you’re in? He will come after our allies, take control of the werewolf council, and take your position. But you don’t give a shit, do you? As long as you’re safe over there and sipping coffee and whiskey.” “Of course, I care.”I even rolled my eyes at his reply.“Cut the bullshit, Head Council. I know you’re scared, but we can protect you. Alpha Califf, Alpha Knight, and the rest of our allies can protect you, but you have to be honest with us.” “No, Amelia. N
AMELIA “You lost your wolf to save my life. I’m so sorry you have to choose between me and her.” “I can live as a human, but I can’t live without you. You said you loved me, did you mean it?” I lifted my gaze to see his reaction. He still looked handsome despite almost dying and still in pain. “I love you with every beat of my heart. I love you till my last breath, Amelia. I don’t care if you’re human or a tiger or a mouse.” “A mouse? Really.” I sniffled. He tried to hold his laugh, and he grimaced instead. “You should take pain meds.” “No. The bullet that shot me was not an ordinary bullet, was it?” “Yes. Sebastien said, it could be a high-grade military prototype silver bullet, and it should explode inside your body, but it didn’t. It was either intentional or faulty. We don’t know. None of us has seen that kind of bullet before, even at the Werewolf Council.” “How are you feeling?” “Why are you asking me when I’m not the one that has gotten shot?” “So you’re still feisty
RYDEN My eyes fluttered open. The first thing I saw was the white ceiling until everything came back to me like flashes of memories. I was in Hawaii and Amelia and I had a fight. Nora was talking me out of it. Then I got shot. I groaned as I tried to move. I was shirtless, a bandage on my upper left chest reminded me it indeed all happened. I should have been dead by now. How am I still alive? Then I heard a snore. I turned my head to my right. There she was. I didn’t even know she snored. I guess, that was first. “Amelia?” I tried to move to reach for her, but my wound was killing me. I might have lost a lot of blood, and I didn’t heal faster than my normal healing process. “Ladybug.” She gasped, jolting to sit on the chair. Her eyes grew big as she turned to me and saw me awake. “Alpha? Oh, Goddess!” She threw herself at me and hugged me tight. “Agh!” I groaned and hissed in pain as I tried to wrap one arm around her. “My wound.” “Shit. Sorry.” She slowly pulled away from me,
AMELIA The surgery was successful. I didn’t even know Sebastien was a corpsman until today. He, Zarah, and Shadow just saved my mate, and I owed them a lot. Ryden was still critical. Since the bullet was silver, it slowed down his recovery. He could be dead, though, but what kind of message our enemy was trying to send to us, and who were the people behind this? What would they want from us?” I was still grateful despite everything. Watching Ryden in bed, breathing, and alive, was the greatest feeling in the world. I still felt the dread crawling in my skin of almost losing him. “How do we find Margaret? “That’s a problem for another day. And it’s not your problem anymore. It’s mine.” I turned and faced Zarah. “Do you think she’s working with Alec now? I mean, why would she? She’s your leader. What did Alec have against her?” “I don’t know, and I’m exhausted, kid. You should get some rest, too.” “Are you avoiding my questions?” I rose from the chair and looked at Ryden one mor
AMELIA “Father!” I felt the surge of energy rush through me that siphoned from around that it shook the house down and exploded into an intense blast, shattering the glasses in the entire house, everything near me went flying including Theia. I could still feel the extreme pumping of my heart as the sound of splashing shattered glasses dropped on the floor. I heard Theia hit the wall and then she fell, groaning. “Amelia!” Ren came, his eyes could slice me into two at how pissed off he was. “Are you going to get us all killed?” I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself down, but it wasn’t working. I still felt the unconfined energy rolling and thundering through me. “Holy shit!” Theia was quicker on her feet and rushed in my direction. Ren stopped her, blocking her from getting close to me. “Stay there.” “Why?” Theia asked, but Ren was actually talking to me. “Amelia, stay right there.” It was not a statement but a warning. Sebastien came, still wearing the bloody gloves. “Wh
AMELIA Ryden. My breathing caught as I mumbled his name. I felt him— he was in great pain. He was terrified of something. Something happened. I quickly put my clothes on, grabbed my things, and went outside the room. Nora’s scream poured adrenaline through me as I stormed out and followed her voice outside. “Ryden!” A shudder of dread and terror ran down my spine, and I sucked in a sharp breath as I looked down at my wounded mate. My world stopped. Tears streamed down my face. I stood still, then my body shook, and watched Ryden bleed out to death. “Amelia!” Someone shook me. “Get the fuck inside!” I watched Sebastien and his beta Alessandro carry Ryden back inside. “Now is not the right time for a nervous breakdown. Amelia, look at me.” Ren cupped my face, forcing me to meet him in the eye, and I did. “Ryden.” My chin trembled. My entire world faded as I met Ren’s terrified gaze through my blurry eyes. “Pull yourself together. The shooter is still out there.” “Yeah. He wi