"You again," I said weakly. There was mild disbelief in my words.The werewolf approached me and as he did, I realized that his eyes weren't on my face. They were on my neck, on the noose around it. In his eyes, even in the dark, I saw rage."This shouldn't be happening," he mumbled.I didn't have an answer for him. I couldn't even think of one. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty. Every bone in my body was on fire and I was on the verge of giving up completely. I couldn't figure out why I was still standing. I had no hopes, so why was I still on my feet?His fingers skimmed lightly over my cheek and this was enough to wake me up. I inched away from him and stared at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"I wasn't angry; I was scared. He creeped me out but I was always safely in my cage. It was never like this. Out here, there was nothing stopping him from hurting me and nobody would care either. I was the witch they wanted dead."Get away from me!" I exclaimed. "I tried to," he told
Horrified gasps emerged from the crowd. Some people even stepped away from him."What?" the Alpha asked, rising.There was a troubled look on his face as he beheld me. I didn't know what to think anymore. I didn't take him seriously until now so I was as equally lost as everyone else.Was he actually doing this?"You can't kill her," he said in a loud voice. "I won't allow it."My eyes darted to the Alpha's face, which was growing red with rage and indignation. He said, "I always treated you like a son.""Yes," he agreed. "But only after Garrett left you and this world behind. You speak as though he didn't make his own decision. He didn't want anything to do with any of us.""That doesn't mean she had the right to kill him!" he boomed. His voice was sharp enough to make me flinch. "Enough with this foolishness. End this once and for all!"Panic entered Xander's eyes and he said, "Whoever touches that lever will have me to answer to after all of this!"The Alpha chuckled darkly. "Is th
I awoke hours—and I meant hours—later. The room was dark, which indicated that the sun had gone down. In that case, it meant I slept through the day.I was energized and on edge now as I didn't know what came next. I had only spoken to Xander a few times before and was rude to him all those times. I wouldn't go as far as saying that he killed his uncle because of me but I benefited from that immensely, and now that it was all over and I was safe, I was thinking about what he had said to me last night in the dark. He was being sincere when he said he'd help me. I felt ashamed, naturally. I doubted him and he ended up being my salvation. How weird was that? I was being hunted by them and ended up being saved by one of them. There was still the issue with me being his 'mate'. I didn't know what that meant exactly as I only had a loose idea but it made me anxious. I sat on the bed in the dark, unsure of what to do. I was devastatingly hungry and thirsty, but my anxiety was wild enough
"What do you mean by that? What night?"A small smile tugged his lips as he said, "I had a feeling you wouldn't recognize me. You were carrying a jar with herbs and bumped into me. We made eye contact. Do you remember that?"It sank in then. It was that night when Felix took me to this den of werewolves or whatever that was and we spoke to Red. As we walked out of the room, I lost sight of him and as I was looking around for him, I bumped into Xander. Yes, it was him. How did I forget that? It had slipped my mind entirely and I never thought about it again. I had lost Felix for a few beats and he was there, looking at me. I even remembered being freaked out by him. This was absolutely insane and I was shocked that I hadn't realized it before. Then again, my days were all crazy and eventful those days. He added, "I was there to kill you. I'd been following the two of you for a while.""You said you knew I was innocent. How...how did you know that?" I asked, wincing. "You didn't seem
The next morning, I woke up with the sun on my face. It took me a second to get used to it. I’d been under the sun before but this felt more significant somehow. It made me realize that it had been too long since I felt this, and that I was slowly transforming into a creature of the night when I was with Felix. This felt a lot more natural and normal. My mood was elevated and when I sat up and stretched my arms over my head, I felt well. Physically and mentally. My source of anxiety was the werewolves attacking me, but now that I was amongst them, and knew I was safe, it didn’t bother me anymore. Presently, I had no worries. That didn’t mean I was completely relaxed. I knew that I had to find a way to get out of here and start my life from scratch. I couldn’t depend on the kindness of strangers forever. I had to figure my own things out. Xander had been more than nice for letting me stay, and I would return the favor by getting out of his hair as quickly as possible. I took ano
I followed Xander to his cozy office. He closed the door behind me and our bodies came into contact for a split second. Electricity fizzled in the air around us but it’s either we both chose to ignore it or it was just my imagination. Something about him pulled me to him, and I couldn’t understand what it was. It was stronger than me, and the closer I got to him, the more certain I was of this feeling. He went around his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a photo album. When he looked up at me, excitement was glinting in his eyes. “This holds the history of our pack,” he informed me. “Everything we are is right here. I want to show it to you.”I nodded and took the empty chair across from his. He opened the first picture. It was black and white, which astonished me because I didn’t think werewolves were this old. Then again, they were probably around from the beginning of time. “This is the first photograph one of us ever took. We were around for way longer than the 1800s.”“Y
As agreed, Thelma came for me early in the morning. I was already up by then. I had showered and cleaned up as best as I could. I wanted to look presentable. She surprised me by having clothes ready for me, though. It was a dark blue pencil skirt and a ruffled blouse that reminded me of librarians, which was ironic considering the job I’d soon be undertaking. “Dress up,” she told me. “Xander really wants you to attend his coronation. He has front seats for us.”Thelma and I hadn’t t really spoken much, but I felt the need to confide in someone, and so I said, “I’m scared. The last time I was amongst at the rest of the pack, things weren’t all that great.”“Think of it this way,” she began, “you’re with the Alpha, so there’s nothing they can do to you. And if they happen to have a bad thought about you, you won’t be able to hear it either. I suggest you stop worrying about them all, or you’ll make yourself sick.”I smiled at her words of encouragement, but didn’t feel significantly b
After the coronation, there was a lunch buffet-style and everyone from the pack was invited. I didn’t have breakfast, so I was starving by the time noon rolled around. The coronation was longer than I expected because after Xander was ‘crowned’, there were speeches after speeches, and the history of their pack was retold. I found out more, but I had to admit that I was bored by the time we left the main hall. I didn’t see Xander anywhere. My eyes were searching for him even if my mind wasn’t really into it. My reaction toward him changed overnight; it was insane. I was thinking about him more than before, and I was always eager to see him. I had some lasagne followed by the creamiest mac and cheese I’d ever had in all my life. The cheese on top was melted to perfection; it was chef’s kiss. I had no idea who cooked but my compliments went to them. I’d make sure to tell Xander that when I saw him again. Speaking of which. He was coming out of his house alongside his father, who had
Xander brushed my hair away from my shoulders, leaving my neck bare. His pupils dilated. To be fair, I was more nervous than he was, but that was only because of the last time that we bonded. I was in pain for the longest time, and about half of the bond ended up being consumed by my blood. I didn’t want to go through that again, but if we didn’t try again, I would never know if trying to mark me a second time would work. “You never know,” he said like he read my thoughts. “Second time might be the charm.”“Isn’t it usually the third time?”“Let’s hope it won’t come to that.” He massaged the spot with his thumb, spreading heat in the area. I shuddered a little, and my nipples hardened against the soft material of my nightgown. He lowered his head and kissed the spot he caressed, ripping a soft moan from me. If there was one thing that Xander knew how to do, it was turn me on. While he kissed my neck, his hands began exploring. He placed them over my breasts, which were so taut th
A few minutes passed by in absolute silence. Konstantin was dead. Cassian was dead. I guessed that the others were dead, too. Felix stared at his brother’s body unwaveringly. I wanted to go to him and offer him some kind of comfort. He’d tried to find a way out for him for centuries. And now that he was out, he was forced to kill him himself. Xander looked at me and said, “Jade, let’s go. Let’s get out of here.”I looked back and forth between him and Felix. I didn’t want to leave him; I didn’t come all the way here just to free him and then walk out of his life like nothing happened. I didn’t want things between us to end so abruptly. “Jade,” he said again, this time more firmly. I glanced over at him, then raised a hand, gesturing for him to wait for a bit. I went down the front steps and then slowly approached Felix, who was too busy looking down at his dead brother. He didn’t look up, even when I was just a few feet away from him.“Felix?” I said. Only then did he meet my g
“Felix?”He was in disbelief. “What are you doing here? What did Cassian do to you?”I couldn’t see anything, but still tried to stand up. I held out my hands in front of me as I tried to find out where he was. “There’s a light pull switch somewhere around here. Try to find it.”I didn’t stop until I grabbed the cord. Light flooded the room, and I had to shield my eyes from the glare. I heard him say, “How did you end up here? What happened?”“I came to save you,” I explained. He said, “What?”“I knew that you were in danger, and so I came to find you.” I opened my eyes and took a good look at him. My heart broke in two when I saw that he was locked in a narrow cage, completely naked and bound. There were deep cuts in his chest, one of the cuts being suspiciously close to the heart. It was like he was being drained. “You shouldn’t have come here,” he spat. His eyes were bluer than usual, but perhaps that was only because of how pale his skin was compared to before. “Why would you
The house where Linda and Benjamin lived with Landon was hard to find. We spent almost the whole night looking for it. I was sure that Konstantin probably found it by now, but we had no way of communicating and anyway, he never said that he’d take care of the situation tonight. We’d probably have to spend a day spying in order to get acquainted with the area. We successfully tracked their home thanks to one of the werewolves who were with Xander. He had a particularly sensitive nose, and he was a shifter, which meant that he could become a werewolf at any moment, unlike Xander, who had to wait for the full moon. Shifters were different kinds of werewolves. More powerful. Things between Xander and I weren’t as tense anymore. We were actually talking to each other now; granted, we never mentioned our relationship or any of the risks involved, but we were saying something to each other, which was a significant improvement to whatever was happening between us earlier on. “Your fathe
Konstantin’s house was as terrifying as it was the first time I saw it. The shutters made it seem like there was never anyone home, and I wondered if any curious soul ever tried to break in and found themselves standing face-to-face with a monster. A blood-sucking one at that. I took a deep and steadying breath. Now that I was here, I couldn’t turn back. I’d come too far. I crossed the unkempt lawn, and onto stopped when I reached the front door. I raised my fist and knocked. At first, there was no reply. I had a moment of derealization. I was having them more frequently. I felt dizziness and an intense disbelief for a handful of moments, and then there was nothing. I heard his voice from within. It was tinged with curiosity. “Who dares to knock on Konstantin’s door? Do you willingly seek death? If so, you’re in the right place.”I lamely said, “It’s me. Jade.” “Jade?” he asked, sounding confused. “I was here with Felix.”He opened the door right away. I heard him unlock it,
Xander still hadn’t said a word to me, and it was starting to make me feel really uneasy. I wished he’d say something. Then again, maybe I deserved the silence. I was taking him to a dangerous place all because I felt the need to save Felix (even when I’d been told that he didn’t want to be helped). He was risking his life here.We rode the subway to reach Konstantin’s neighborhood. I still recalled where it was, but honestly, I was starting to seriously doubt my plan. There was more than enough time to turn back, but something wouldn’t let me. Gratitude, perhaps. He’d saved me many times when I was in danger, and it only felt right to do the same thing for him. Besides, Cassian had to be stopped. Was I supposed to live my life looking over my shoulder for him? I would prefer it if we got rid of him permanently. And because only a vampire could kill another vampire (successfully), I’d need a vampire’s help. And Sven suggested Konstantin, so that was that. As we sat side by side,
Our first stop was their apartment. Since it was daylight, there wasn't much that we could do, so we had to kill time by paying for a room in a shitty hotel room nearby. It was five buildings away—we wouldn't be able to keep an eye on their building and monitor movements—but it was the best thing we could do. Although we kissed right when we left his new pack, I wasn't sure where we stood. It wasn't like we'd completely reconciled, and right now, my thoughts were on Felix. But I was grateful that he came with me, and his gesture spoke volumes. He sat on the edge of the bed while I stared out the window. "So, what now? What's your plan exactly?""I'll ask them where Felix is, and then I'll go to him.""Just like that?"I cut him a look. "It's the only plan I have.""It's not the best plan, Jade," Xander said with a hint with impatience. "You're running back to the very people who wanted to use you as a weapon without a plan. What if they don't let you walk away? What if that Cassian
I must have fallen asleep because I woke up on the bed.I sat up, alarmed. My heart started racing as fear clawed at me. I hated that I'd fallen asleep in a territory that I wasn't familiar with. Where was Xander?I allowed myself to relax when I realized that I wasn't in immediate danger. The bedroom door was closed, so I had no idea what was going on outside. I had to go check. I climbed out of bed and peered outside. I didn't see anything of notable significance. The corridor was dark and empty. It was also impossible to tell whether it was day or night, which meant that I had no idea how long I'd been out for. I was disoriented. Did I want to risk going downstairs and looking for Xander? What did I even want? I didn't know what I wanted to do. What was my plan here? Felix said I had to stay here because it was safer. I wouldn't doubt him because I now knew that he had the best intentions with me. He wouldn't have said that if he didn't actually believe that I was safe here. B
Cassian was enraged. “Brother?” he asked, tilting his head. He touched the side of his head, which was bleeding, and then wiped his blood on his pants. “I told you to stop,” Felix said, using the same voice he’d used earlier. “This isn’t going to continue. I’ve had enough.”“You’ve had enough?” Cassian asked in disbelief. “What about me, who spent centuries rotting inside a cage, starving to death? Do you think there’s such a thing as ‘enough’?”“I won’t let you use Jade,” he stated. “Our plan was different before. This would have all been done with her consent. But now, it’s done. It didn’t work. We should all move on.”Cassian paced back and forth, pointing a finger at Felix and then putting it back down. He was still holding me, and I had to admit that I felt very much safe standing next to him, and I knew that he wouldn’t let his brother put his hands on me again. He’d stopped it, and that was what mattered to me. “You’re choosing this whore over me?” he asked. “Is that what t