“Why would you look for him?” she asked. “He wasn’t a somebody. He had no connections to the high-end community. If he did, he would’ve told me.”
Her voice carried a tone of anxiousness – of course, they didn’t keep secrets from each other. Except that he lied to her or kept his origins hidden for reasons, primarily to protect her because their kind didn’t crossbreed, especially with mortals. He made a wrong move when he marked her though, thankfully, having been kept in the dark, even if she came across one of them, she’d come across as ignorant. He … realized that just then.
“Perhaps it would be best if we talked about this some other time, Emma,” he said. “It will be too much for you take in now, and for today, I just want to remember my friend.”
She didn’t reply.
“I&r
“What made you change your mind?” Henry asked with a straight face. He was leaning onto the office desk, which had to be replaced after that day. It was about time too – it was probably the oldest thing in the office.“He stalked her,” said Hunter as if it was a completely normal thing to do. Wearing a light blue shirt, leather jacket, and dark blue denim jeans, with aviator glasses clipped on his shirt’s neckline – either he was going to the Angel’s Club or that he had a date – probably both.“That’s unlike you,” said Henry. “Will you take the mate bond seriously now?”Aidan looked him straight in the eye. “No.”“Asshole.”Henry must really like this girl to cuss – swear words rarely came out of his mouth. Hunter raised a brow at his broth
“Ms. Emma … or would you prefer ‘Dami’ instead?” he smirked, and she blushed.“Emma … Sir.”“Let’s start over, shall we?” he said. “Henry asked me to look into West Side, with regards to plans of branching out. I happened to be at the same place as you were, and good thing I was else you wouldn’t be here right now.”Emma looked down, cheeks taking on a deeper shade. Aidan didn’t mean to embarrass her, but what would she think of him if he admitted that he was indeed stalking her. Her apple cheeks had a naturally rosy color to them but seeing them deepen in color … had a certain charm to it.“I like it,” Arke commented. He was fully awake, wagging his tail excitedly at her presence.“I’m sorry,” she said. “I … jus
Niquel watched Emma from across the street. She was seated in front of a coffee shop, waiting for him. He couldn’t keep himself from calling her last night just to hear her voice. And he almost hit his head on his desk when he asked her to meet up with him. As expected, she was about ten minutes early from their agreed-upon time. Typical Emma.He crossed the street. Emma was busy with her phone, scrolling through something with her brows furrowed in concentration. Just watching her triggered his beast awake. It wanted to feel her again, the mark on her neck keeping him in check.His senses let him know that there were women checking him out, but he didn’t pay them any attention. The supernatural beings knew who he was and unlike the humans, they kept their distance and minded their own business. Might as well – Niquel had no interest in any other women but
Niquel stood beside her, holding her shoulders to support her. She looked like her knees would give away any second. “Emma, what’s wrong? What happened?”“Gladdy…” she cried, turning to face him with a worried face.Niquel had seen a multitude of emotions in her beautiful green eyes – happiness, concern, love, rage, disgust, lust even, and emptiness, but never had he seen fear. She had always been a strong woman, even when she talked about her horrid past, her eyes were tainted with sorrow, grief, and anger, that fear seemed to be alien to her. Something was very, very wrong here, and the one word she said awoke his dragon.“Let’s go,” he told her, grabbing her wrist and dragging her along as they rounded the corner to where he parked his car. Sparks shot through him from the sensation of her touch, but now wasn’t the time. The
Aidan was in Henry’s office. His feet were on the table as he leaned back on the chair, eyes to the ceiling and deep in thought. His mate was the first to reject a date with him and it didn’t settle well with his ego.He deduced it had something to do with his approach. Chances of keeping her within his reach might’ve just diminished because of a brash move. They barely knew each other. And he already let her know that he knew about her child. It would’ve rung alarm bells in her mind.“I miss mate,” said Arke. “Go to mate.”“It’s a Saturday, Arke.” He sighed and craned his neck to the side. “We can’t just show up in her front door.”“I want to see mate.”
Aidan held the two tighter then dashed out into the hall, hoping that she was somewhere else in the city. He arrived down the stairs, just as the gas tank exploded, causing a loud explosion and adding more to the fire.He had to get the two out of the building. The soundwaves rang in his ears that he didn’t notice the man who had just gotten to the second floor.“Get out!” Aidan shouted as he neared him. He stopped when he realized the man was no human but his enemy, the death of whom would bring forth an eternity of triumph to his kind.“You…” he growled, but before he could act on his impulses, fire blazed through the top of the stairs, reminding him of the current situation. “Get the fuck out of my way!”Aidan walked past him, woman and baby in his care, then felt the man follow him out of the building. Once they were out
Aidan, dressed in a casual black denim jean and low-cut shirt, and Hunter, wearing the same getup of black denim jeans and baby blue collared shirt, strolled into the building with powerful strides with their heads high, oozing confidence like they owned the place. The Alpha gave the lobby a sweeping glance. Men and women dressed in formal business suits, their appearances neat and professional, scurried on to their destinations – a meeting, to their desks, an errand; the janitor maneuvering a floor scrubber the only anomaly on the floor.Aidan hated the faint smell of arousal but reveled in the adoration of the humans around him who were secretly casting glances towards him and Hunter. As usual, his Beta was sizing up who his next target was behind his aviator glasses, an amused smile on his face.They walked to the center of the entire floor, where a circular glass table was, behind it three personnel, all
A growl left his throat, and revolving small orbs of greenish fire danced in the fingertips of his left hand.“Alpha!” Hunter yelled. “This isn’t the place.”“Backing out?” Niquel taunted, raising his chin. “Run away with your tail between your legs, dog.”“How about you show me your wings so I could rip them off your back,” Aidan answered back. “What? Worried the humans will find out?”Fwoosh!Niquel thrusted his arm forward and shot blue flames at Aidan who dodged to the right. Then with a sweep of his left arm, the flames arched and returned to his hand before it could hit the glass.“Missed.”“On purpose.”Aidan had to get close to inflict damage upon the dragon. Just
From the panel on the side, Niquel swiped over a card. The door opened with a mechanical whirr, signaling the captive that he had a visitor. There was but one chair in the room, and the cameras on all four corners were off. A tattoo of a dragon breathing fire from its open mouth decorated the captive’s entire upper half, leaving only patches of skin uninked. He huffed, mocking the visitor.“I suppose I must be honored to be graced by the presence of the Dragon King,” he greeted.Niquel draped his jacket over the only chair in the room after placing it nearer the man, who breathed heavily through his nose. “You should be,” he replied. “I’m on a tight schedule.”Scorch marks lined the floor from where the man was tied. No wonder they had a difficult time getting him to talk. His ton
The thick titanium infused doors opened before Niquel. Lights immediately turned on, illuminating an empty passage between the outside world and the highly guarded prison and torture facility. Cameras situated on the corners followed his every move – he paid them no heed, resisting the urge to burn them. He had never been fond of being watched of. For days, Niquel had been waiting for results, only to be disappointed every time the reports said the same thing – the captive continued to act mute. He ambled through the passage alone, his jacket creasing from his tight grip. Stains were unavoidable, hence why he preferred to have others extract information for him. The thought of what he was being forced to do irritated him more. He had to meet his wife and child tonight, and he was on a tight schedule as it was – at most, he had only an hour to make the captive talk.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me,” she whispered as she curled her fingers against her chest. “That was Hunter, mate.” He reached out to touch her face, but she irked away from him in disgust. “Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?” “Please don’t touch me.” Her voice cracked, and more tears fell. “Listen to her,” Hunter pleaded. Haisek ignored him. He held her arm and she screamed. “Why are you still crying!” he demanded, annoyed to the fullest. He caught her arms again and pinned them down and placed his weight on her thighs, so she’d stop struggling. “Stop … please …” “Stop crying!” he shouted. Why wouldn’t she calm down. He wouldn’t take advantage of her and intentionally physically harm his mate without a justifiable reason. An act of weakness was beneath him. But it was
He could keep a serious relationship, couldn’t he? He used to sleep with numerous girls and took none of them seriously, but he could be loyal and caring and sensitive ... to his mate.“What’s wrong with me?” he questioned. He treated her like one of his past times, letting his ego answer for him. For fuck’s sake, he wanted her to stay with him and do things with her – whatever she wanted because all he could think of were of a sexual manner.“What was that!” Haisek roared. He emerged from the dark corners of his mind and showed himself, teeth bared. “Go after her.”Hunter tried to raise his wall. “I just gave her what she wanted,” he said weakly.“This isn’t what she wants.”“Well, shit, Haisek … I d
Just as he surmised, they arrived a quarter before ten. Hunter expected her to be in bed by then. He had to sleep alone in his own bed since the previous night because she decided to sleep on the couch, and he couldn’t have that. So he gave her a separate room. Unfortunately, the closest one available was on the opposite end of his. And unsurprisingly, as he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, his wolf whispered a risky idea in his head. Late into the night, he secretly went into her room and kissed her goodnight. Only then was he able to rest in his own room. “Well, here’s to another night of sulking,” he muttered as they walked in. “What are you gonna do?” Aidan had a scowl on his face. Even his mate had been distancing herself from him, obviously unhappy about their situation. It didn’t help that his work was keeping him preoc
“She hang up on me,” said Hunter with a look of disbelief. “Of all my years … no one had ever done this to me!” He sent the rogue flying towards the ceiling. Another came for him right after, and he quickly reached out to break his windpipe, bringing him down on his knees. It was far from enough to calm him down at this moment. His fists went down on the rogue’s face as he shouted, “Why. Are. Humans. So. Fucking. High. Maintenance!” A hand stopped him from landing another punch on the rogue’s broken nose. He looked back and saw that it was Aidan, whose eyes were gleaming a deep dark red. The Alpha was simmering in anger, but he was being more patient than him by giving the girls some space, which was an unlikely trait. Was he actually guilty about the whole thing? They were in danger for fuck’s sake! If they left the mansion, they’d be stepping out of the barrier which had been keeping them alive for a week
Vanessa peeked from the door. “Hey,” she whispered, just in case the baby was asleep. Emma was folding the laundry, which she recognized as those that Niquel bought for her and for Gladdy. It was already past noon, but she was still wearing her pajamas, and the bed was a mess. She looked up from the cute pink onesie she was folding and offered a tired smile. Dark circles lined under her eyes and her lips were chappy from dehydration. Gladdy was on the floor, playing in her own pseudo jail of a playground. The child was already crawling, the giant teddy bears looking down on her. It was a wonder Emma hadn’t tried to escape until now. So far, there were no attempts at her life and Gladdy’s for a week, but the stress of being in this new environment where she wasn’t allowed anywhere near the door was beginning to physically show on her friend. A
Her thick lashes curled against her blushing skin as she sucked in a breath. Aidan dipped his head, warm breaths fanning her neck. She had the most intoxicating scent Aidan had ever encountered. It set her apart from all other women he had been with, and he had no intention of letting the Dragon King have his way with her. It was far too late to renege on his claim – he would make her his for good just as he must. Even if his pride wasn’t in complete agreement, his ego couldn’t take letting the overgrown lizard have what belonged to them since birth. A growl rumbled from his chest. Arke was please with her docile stillness. Surely the bond was doing wonders on her body simply from being this close to him. “Emma,” he murmured as his lips descended on her tender skin. Tingly sparks crept under his skin, fueling images in his mind that would serve to excite her. She gasped and grabbed his arms. His gums itched
He was a werewolf. They were given one mate for life and that was it. There had to be a reason why the Moon Goddess mated them together and he’d rather lose his rank than lose her then. Besides, he made a promise that he’d cherish his mate forever when he found her. Goddess, if his sister was still around, she’d be screaming his ear off because he actually thought about rejecting his mate.“Have a seat,” he said, motioning for her to sit opposite him.Emma glanced at Niquel before turning her back on him. “Leave,” she said quietly.See how that feels. What she did to him earlier was something only three women in his life were capable of, including her. Aidan met the dragon’s burning gaze. Such a shame that he had to be told the same – they were even.“Please … just go, Niq.”