AMELIA My phone rang, and it was from an unknown number. “Hello? Hello.” Nobody answered from the other line. “Who’s this?” The call ended. “Is everything okay?” Ren asked while I was still looking at the phone screen. “Wrong number.” “I thought you were taking a break. Where exactly are we going?” “Theia, if she said she’s taking a break, she means to say, she’s doing other extra activities,” Ren said from the passenger’s seat. “You should have stopped asking her a long time ago.“I’m not comfortable sitting in the backseat,” she complained as she used to be behind the wheel. “We’re not going far. Just away from his house.” “Hmm. Interesting,” she mumbled.I parked the car at the clearing. We were still in Ryden’s territory. At least, he wouldn’t see us sneaking out. I photocopied Ryden’s new proposal for investors earlier. I knew I went behind his back, but I had good intentions. I wanted to help as much as I could. His business may be his problem, but he wasn’t alone anym
RYDEN “Wow. Chopsticks.” I didn’t know what to say, but grateful, and at the same time confused. “Why chopsticks? Is there a meaning behind it?” It was made of steel with a serpentine design at the handle. “Silly. It’s Kanzashi.” I still didn’t know what that was. “A what?”“A hair accessory. It comes in several varieties. Beautiful,” she said as she examined it. Then she twisted the nob as if she’d seen it before. I heard a soft click. Then the sharp point popped up, shining against the light. “Holy shit. A weapon?” “Yup. I’m pretty sure it’s laced with poison.” She twisted it back, giving me the other one. “One for you, one for me.” I chuckled as I took it from her. “Do you expect me to grow hair and use it, ladybug?” “Keep it in your jacket pocket, or your pencil holder on top of your desk. It may come in handy,” she said as she put her Kanzashi back into the box. “You should resume your training with the sword, Alpha.” “I’ll give Ren a heads-up. Thanks.” I kissed her on
AMELIA “What are you doing?” Ryden came from behind, his arms snaked around me, cupping my breasts. “Leave that for later. I need you now.” “It can’t wait, Ryden. I’m almost done, anyway.” He shushed me, sliding his hands into the black lingerie I was wearing. I already bit my bottom lip to stifle my moan when he got to rub his thumb against my sensitive nipples. “Alpha.” I bit my bottom lip harder, it might bleed. His fingers just rolled my nipples, pinching them to almost painful, yet, I could feel my body reacting against his touch. My skin felt hot. My breathing hitched. My head dropped back, resting against his chest, and I felt his cock growing hard pressed against my butt. “I want you,” he whispered, voice raspy and breathy, spreading goosebumps all over my skin. He shut the laptop and put it aside, grabbing me by my waist to the middle of the bed. “You’re such a dick sometimes.” “I’ve been called worse. Get naked and spread your legs for me. I miss the taste of your pu
RYDEN “Why did you want to kill my pack?” With the help of the police database and the traffic cams, we found who tried to kill Jaxon. This smug son of a bitch just punched his death card. “Did you assert the attack in the pack house weeks ago?” I’d been punching John Deacon to get information from him, but I just broke his jaw and nose and pulled two teeth, and he never gave up on whoever he was protecting. He spat the blood out on my face. It angered me further. Rage was filling my chest so fast I wanted to rip his heart out. But I still needed something from him. And he knew once I had what I wanted, he’d be dead. “Talk or I will rip your throat out! I will find out why you targeted my people one way or another.” “You won’t get a shit!” He tried to scream, but Zeph threw a bucket of water soaked with wolfsbane on his face. He screamed in pain, but no one could ever hear him in the tunnel in my territory. I watched his face and upper body burn, as if he just showered in boili
AMELIA “Please…” I moaned as I arched my hips helplessly, surrendering my body to him, begging for his mercy, begging him to make me come. And I was there, yet I was not. A frustrated groan tore from my throat, widening my shaking thighs farther for him. “Tell me what you want, sweetheart.” He paused. His voice was deep and husky. “You. I want you,” I said between pants, flexing my hips to his mouth. “You have me, Amelia. I’m all yours.” His voice dropped to whisper before he tortured me again with his tongue and mouth. I shuddered, feeling the coldness of air against my skin. I could smell his addicting scent and the scent of winter night. I could taste the sweetness in his kiss. I could hear the rapid breathing and every beat of his heart. I made a long and slow pleading moan as I shut my eyes close. My body was stiffening, floating. At that moment, I knew I was so close to the edge. I could almost fly until someone nudged me to wake up. I gasped. My heart was still beating f
LUCIUSA few weeks ago“Who the fuck are you?” a terrified motherfucker asked. His eyes bulged. His body was tremored. Face ashed. He was clutching his chest which had just been burned. He was lucky he didn’t burn to ashes if you could even call it luck.“Who ordered you to attack the woman?” I stalked him inside the abandoned warehouse until his back hit the wall. “What kind of sick fuck are you attacking a defenseless woman, huh?” I looked right into his terrified eyes. He might have just seen death in mine as he started screaming, squeezing his eyes shut. “Talk!”He jumped at my voice.I turned to Drak and Eann, shaking my head in annoyance and dismay.“We’ll take care of him. He can’t say a shit anymore.”“Wait,” said the asshole with trembling lips.Eann shrugged. “His mouth is still intact.”Narrowing my eyes, I turned around and faced the motherfucker. My nose flared as I dragged himself down the ground.“I don’t think he will tell us something useful,” Drak said. Sometimes, pe
AMELIA I smoothed my blue dress as the car pulled over at the front of the pack house. I suddenly became nervous. Ryden and I waited for Ren’s parents to get out of the vehicle. Their details helped them out as we approached. “Oba, Oji.” I bowed my head in respect to our guests for tonight. Ren welcomed his parents as well. “Mr. and Mrs. Raito, please, welcome to our pack.” Ryden in his fancy well-tailored suit shook their hands and led them to the entrance hall with me by his side. He initially planned a dinner at the restaurant, but I suggested that it would be great to be done at the pack house so they could meet everyone, and the pack could join at the dining table. I wanted to make a good impression, especially when Ryden’s name was on the line, the pack, and the Corporation. I even stressed about the five-course menu but everyone had been very helpful in making this dinner possible. The dinner started smoothly. Our people dressed accordingly, which impressed me, and how th
RYDEN “I wanna kill those smoking monsters as much as you do, Ryden.” Alpha Michael from Las Vegas grunted in anger. His face contorted on the live Zoom. “So if you have any clue how to kill it, now is the time to share it with us. I’ve already lost three men. The last one that happened was two days ago. So you understand my frustration.” “To easily kill that thing we called wraith is when it possessed a body. It can be killed by silver bullets, by killing the host.” “Possessed? So it can be expelled by exorcism?” Alpha Grady asked. “If you know how to lock it up, it could work, but I have to relay that question to an expert. The only thing that’s risky about exorcism is it would only find a new host and take more lives.” “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed, distraught. “What do you say, Califf?” “I’ll go with Ryden. We should kill it when we get a chance before it takes more lives,” Califf replied. “Me, too,” Knight seconded. Shadow appeared beside Califf. “If you get hurt by tha
AMELIAThree years laterEnochian Institute “Okay, bud. Are you ready?” Ryden towered at his son as he tried to prepare him for his first day of school. “No, Dad. Please, don’t call me buddy or bud anymore. I’m six years old. Alex is fine.” I looked at them and tried hard not to grin. When Ryden saw my smile, I looked away. “You will always be my boy, so I can call you bud or buddy until you get a girlfriend or have kids on your own.” “Mom, I need help here. I want to be like every kid at the institute.” When he gave me this puppy-eyes look, the same look he gave me when he wanted to be with his Uncle Ren or Uncle Drak. I knelt before him as I fixed his coat. Alex was carrying a blue backpack. I looked right into his blue-green eyes. Every time I looked at him, he always reminded me of his father. “My love, listen to me. You grow up so fast. Me and your dad still see you like our two-year-old boy. That’s why Dad still calls you buddy, and it’s actually cool that you and Dad ar
AMELIA I still cried whenever I felt alone. I still cried to sleep knowing he was gone because he wanted me to live. The feeling of losing someone I loved hit differently. It felt like I lost a part of me, a part of my soul. I woke up to the blinding light streaming from the opened window. Or at least I felt like I just woke up when the image of my father appeared before me. “Dad?” I sat up on the bed. I was still sleeping in the same bed I shared with Lucius. “Why did you let it happen? Why did you accept his deal? Now I’m all alone.” “You’re not alone, Amelia.” I wiped the first tear that fell on my cheek. “I died twice. You should have let me die. I can’t. I can’t take it anymore. Lucius was a good man. He had a lot of things to live for.” “And you don’t?” he asked me calmly. “I know life isn’t fair, but I don’t deserve another chance. I would have swapped places with him. These people need their alpha.” “Amelia.” He stood before me. “He accomplished his mission in life. H
RYDEN The moment I received a call from Drak, I knew something terrible had happened. He couldn’t hide the sadness in his voice. I quickly asked help from Zarah to send me to the Blood Moon Pack. Every last member of Lucius’ pack was around. His compound was crowded with the people who loved him, who believed in his cause, and the people he saved and had given a second chance. As I entered the house, a howl of mourning echoed from the forest. It was heart-wrenching. I didn’t only feel extremely sad about losing a great alpha, but he was also a savior and a hero, and I was proud to call him a friend. “This is so unfair.” Amelia ran into me. She looked like she’d been crying. She really looked like a mess, with wet cheeks, and red eyes and nose. “This can’t be happening.” “I’m so sorry, my love.” I took her in my arms. I knew my presence wouldn’t help the fact that Lucius was gone, but I was hoping I could somehow help ease the pain in her chest. “He’s gone, Ryden. He’s gone.” She
AMELIAIf this was the last day we had together, then I would make the best of it. I couldn’t fathom a life without him, my hero, who sacrificed everything so I could live another day. He was the true savior, not me. He was the true leader, the greatest alpha I’d ever met. He deserved that recognition, yet, here he was, waiting until he let go of his last breath and succumbed to death.It was unfair. Life was so fucked up and unfair. “Maybe you should give me an heir. I wanna have a mini you, please?” I wiped my tears away. “For that, I might be able to forgive myself. Then I’m going to tell him the story of how amazing and brave his father was, his sacrifices for this world, and how much we love each other, and show him our photos together.” “I will give you everything, my love. If we have a son, I want you to teach him to be a good man and respect and treat Ryden as his father. If we have a girl, tell her, that her father will always be watching her. Tell them their father loves t
AMELIA Lucius pulled away, looking right into my eyes. “We’re not doing it again, Amelia. I’ve accepted my fate.” “Well, I’m not! You should have told me. I could have done something other than keeping me in the dark. I have every right to know, Lucius. Have you forgotten that?” “I know that, my love, and I’m so sorry.” “Save it,” I said as I faced Ryden and pointed a finger at his face. “You, I trusted you. Are you happy now? Lucius had sacrificed his life twice for me so I could be with you. And I only asked one thing. Just one thing from you, and you couldn’t do it. You can’t be honest with me. Why should I stay with you if you don’t value honesty?” Ryden looked away as pain and agony laced in his eyes. “Amelia, don’t say that,” Lucius said. “Oh, so now you’re his best friend because you’re peas in a pod?” “Amelia, I know this is hard, but Lucius made his decision. You would have been dead by now and the rest of the werewolves who had fallen that day.” Shit. Zarah was right
AMELIA It had been three months since that war against The Director ended, and our lives had finally returned back to normal. The pack was going strong. No more sightings of demons and wraiths. No more threats other than rogues on occasion. The mother and son Ryden took in, and some werewolves had become the new pack members. Theia and Bryan were still like cat and mouse, but I could feel how much their relationship had developed, especially when it was built with trust. The two elemental werewolves had begun their training at Elysian. We still talked over the phone, especially with Ryden, since he was one of them. Margaret finally woke up a few days after I went back home. Zarah, Samarah, and her had never been closer, and that made me happy. My Relationship with Ryden had never been strong. I told him everything, and he forgave me. He and Lucius seemed to have formed a friendship, which was weird. Since the day I left the hotel room, I stayed close to Lucius, not as a mate or
AMELIA I joined him in bed and kissed him on the lips, and he scooped me so I could rest on top of him. I curled into a fetal position as he wrapped his arms around me, his fingers tracing my spine. I felt tiny and fragile when I was with him, but powerful at the same time. He sighed again as if something was bothering him. “How did you find me?” “Your mate gave me your letter. I supposed you went back from where you started. Did you mean what you said?” He was talking about the letter. “All of it.” “Hmm.” He kissed the top of my head. “He came to me. He’s worried about you, sweetheart. You should go back.” “What about you?” I lifted my head and looked him in the eye. “I always trust what you do that you know what’s best for you. Like always, I won’t control you.” He smiled as he tucked my hair behind my ear. “But of course, I get worried all the time even though I know you can take care of yourself.” “How’s everyone?” “I’m not telling you anything, Amelia. It’s about time y
AMELIA “I want you right now, Alexander.” The moment those words left my mouth, he carried me to the bed in my hotel room. He ripped my clothes from my body until I was naked and exposed. Then he spread my legs wide, and one thing led to another. My ovary was throwing a party as he dipped his head between my legs. A gasp escaped my lips as he pressed the softest kisses on my foot, my leg, and my inner thighs, nipping my skin. Then captured my entire pussy with his hot mouth. “Ah!” My hips bucked, hand came to his head to grab a handful of his hair, shamelessly pushing his mouth to my sex. Then he dragged his tongue from my folds upward to my clit, making my head spin. Tingles ran down my spine as I shuddered in delight. “Goddess!” I panted, rocking into his talented tongue, stroking my clit. Every muscle in my body clenched, and my legs trembled. Then he glided it in my entrance, thrusting in and out, alternately sucking my sensitive hard nub. Tension instantly coiled in my lowe
AMELIA “So where are you going?” Gaia asked. She’d been spending some time with Ren and Theia while Nora was trying to fix the broken relationship she had with her father. With Victor in the council jail, there was no threat to Alec anymore. “I don’t know yet.” I looked at the three of them. “Please, take care of each other. The greater demon might be gone, but there are still a lot of bad people out there. Maybe the good citizens could use your help.” “I’m gonna miss you.” Theia hugged me. “Don’t be gone too long, okay?” “I won’t, but you should go and be with the Caltech dropout.” “I will. Ren doesn’t need a driver anymore. He’s the monkey king after all.” She got a groan from Ren. “Gaia and he will start a new adventure anyway.” “I have to go.” I hugged Ren tight. “Thanks for not giving up on me. You always have a place in the pack. I love you, Ren. I’ll see you soon.” “I love you, too, Amelia. Don’t be a stranger. Visit the Raito house once in a while.” “Once I figure out