AMELIA “Breathe, Nora.” I’d been telling her to breathe and relax, but she wouldn’t listen. She did the opposite. “I’m breathing.” She grunted. She had a bowl of water before her, and I wanted her to concentrate so she could start her water training. “Relax. What’s on your mind?”“Nothing.”“The reason why we’re doing this is so you can rest your mind. Let all your worries go. This is a meditation so you can learn how to control your power. If you have a lot of things in your head, you can train for months and nothing will happen. We don’t have much time, Nora, and I have things to do, too.” She opened her eyes and looked at me. “Like be with Alpha Ryden?” “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” I’d been brutally honest with her. She needed to hear what she needed to hear without sugarcoating it. “The pack needs me, too. I have friends I want to see. I have a mate that I want to spend some time with.” “He’s lucky to have you. You know.” “You said that already.” “I know.” She
RYDEN “Why do they have to watch us? And Nora has to join Theia? If it isn’t awkward enough I don’t know what to call it.” She hopped off the bike and took off her helmet. “Think of them as our details.” Amelia always took my breath away. Every time I looked at her, she had this radiant light from the inside. I didn’t know if it was the fire inside her or if she was just stunning, but she’d always been beautiful before my wolf claimed her as his mate. “We haven’t gotten inside the restaurant, and you’re already looking at me like that,” she added as she fixed her hair. “You’re just beautiful.” She wore a white fitted top a red fluffy tulle mini skirt and black high heels. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” I offered my arm and she hooked her hand around as we asked for our reservation. The ambiance was romantic and it made us a normal couple for a while before we got back to hunting demons and rogue werewolves. As the waitstaff came with the menu, she looked at me and smiled. “Give
RYDEN “How do you know these people?” I asked Nora as we got into a cigar room in another hotel a few blocks from where Ren was. “Company parties, auctions, and galas my father wanted me to attend.” “I guess there are benefits of attending some events.” “You know for a fact there is.” She grabbed the man on the elbow when he sensed us and tried to escape. “Finlay.” “You shouldn’t be here. You being a Webster isn’t welcome here anymore.” Finlay stole a glance at me. His olive skin seemed to shine in the light. “Do you think I don’t know that? But I’m trying to do some good here. I left my father weeks ago. I’m with the pack now.” “Yet, I don’t see you being in a pack,” Finlay said. “She’s under provision. We need your help, and if you don’t, once I get to meet your queen, I will tell her that you refused to help us while we’re looking for the owner of this.” I showed him the leaf. “And she just attacked one of my people. I will bring war to your doorstep, Finlay. So choose wise
RYDEN “I was there when she came out of Ren’s hotel room. My mate and I chased her. The woman that attacked Ren was Asian, twenties, with dark hair, and we found that in bed.” “With this man, Ren?” “Yes.” She briefly looked at her guard. “Yes. I know her. She went rogue months ago. Where is she now?” “Dead.” “You killed her?” For a moment, she froze. Her back tensed. “No. She coughed and died.” Her brow arched. She was certainly aware of that kind of death. “Just like that?” “Yes. After she laughed at my mate, she coughed and died. Her eyes turned white.” “I see.” She sighed. “What kind of help you seek?” “A cure for my dying friend.” “Well, I may ask something from you, Alpha Ryden.” So it was true then. She asked questions. “I’ll do my best to give what you ask for.” She knew what was going on, and she sure was canny, dangerous, and manipulative, so I had to trade carefully. “Why are you with the daughter of a treacherous man who betrayed you?” “Is that the first ques
RYDEN “Oh, thank Goddess!” Amelia threw herself at me, hugging me tight. “I was so worried about you. What took you so long?” I couldn’t even look at her in the eye. How could she hide something so crucial from me? It was either she didn’t trust me or she didn’t expect me to find out the truth. “Is everything okay?” She had sharp eyes and vigilance and she immediately sensed that something went wrong. “We got the cure.” It was a good thing Nora knew how to interfere when my sudden cynicism towards Amelia started to test my weakness. “Give it to me.” She took the cure from Nora and went to the bed with dying Ren. “Is she gonna be okay?” Theia asked quickly. The cure barely got into Ren’s mouth. I loved this woman so much, and it hurt me so fucking much that she could still lie to my face. It broke my heart knowing the truth from other people, in front of a person I couldn’t trust, but maybe Nora was more truthful about everything than my own mate. “Hey.” Nora gripped my arm. “D
RYDENWhen she stepped back, I turned to Amelia again. “You need Ren and Nora. That’s why you never stopped looking for the last two because you need their help to stop what you started. You started something you can’t stop it. You’re no hero. You’re an abomination, a kamikaze, and a lying hypocrite.” “You—” she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks nonstop. Her chest was heaving. Her chin trembled as she couldn’t say anything anymore. “You’re a walking destruction. A world destroyer.” One thing that no one dared ask her was, why these threats were after her.“I’m no hero, but at least I accept what I am. And you? I know why you rejected me. Because I’m not like you. I’m weak and pathetic, and you were ashamed of having a mate like me.” She shook her head, grabbed the sword from the bed, and stormed out of the hotel room. “Don’t blame her.” Theia gasped to hear Ren’s weak voice. She wiped her tears and ran to Ren. “Hey. How are you feeling?” Ren tried to get up. I came close to
AMELIA It hurts. It hurt that my own mate accused me of something I did not know about. It hurt that he didn’t trust me enough than I did for him. He didn’t only hurt me, but he broke my heart. As I was able to get out of the hotel, I didn’t know where I would go. I thought about going home, but I was not ready to talk about everything that happened tonight. All I wanted was to get away and clear my head. My heart thumped. I hesitated at first, unsure of if it was a good idea. It would put my life in danger, and I still had many things to be done. I closed my eyes and took the leap. I ran into the woods without stopping. My heart pounded so hard I could not even hear it. My wolf was hesitant, but I was in control. One moment I was in the woods, and for a second, I hit something that had me gasping. A magic wall, a hidden shield or cloak, or something that no one shouldn’t cross. Yet, I was on the other side. “Hello? Anybody there?” I looked around. At that moment I felt like so
AMELIA “You don’t know anything about you, do you, child?” I turned to Zarah. “What the hell is she saying?” “She’s maybe dying and her memory comes and goes, but she speaks the truth, Amelia. You and Ryden argued because he found out something about you, but not the entire story.” “I’m lost. And yes, he accused me of something, and I was hurt. So I walked away.” I shrugged and instantly felt at ease. “She’s old enough to take the truth of what she did, Zarah. You opened the door to both worlds and touched the Book of Shadow,” Samarah started. “You broke the spell that protected the book from getting into the wrong hands, and no one had done it in a thousand years.” “I didn’t. I was merely learning a mastery. That’s impossible.” I blinked in shock, and because I didn’t remember doing so. “Is it?” The only thing that moved in Samarah was her mouth and the faint moving of her chest as she breathed. “I only mastered that spell to open a rift.” “You’re wrong. Everyone could maste
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