(Lena’s POV)I was covered in a thin layer of sweat as I threw kicks at the dummy before me. I kicked harder, and soon Diego walked towards me.“That’s enough,” he says.“No, it is not,” I say, kicking harder, letting all my pent-up frustration and anger on the poor dummy.“I said enough,” Diego says, gripping me. I panted. “Something is not right, Lena; there is something you are not telling me.”“I have nothing, Diego; why don’t you mind your business?” I said, well aware that I sounded bitchy, and the regret was instant. Diego looked away from me.“If you are ready, I would accompany you to your room, Luna,” he said, and even if he had tried to hide it, I still heard the slight annoyance in his tone. He sounded all business-like; when was Diego ever business-like with me?“Yeah, I think I am done here,” I say, and he passes me a towel.Diego accompanied me to my room, completely silent, and the apology was at the tip of my tongue. He didn’t follow me into my room.“If you wouldn’t
(Nate’s POV)Everything felt empty without her.Every single day, I had to fight the urge to go right back to the Raven Pack and take her back with me. I couldn’t imagine this was the end. Many times, I wondered if I actually made the right choice, if I should have remained with the guilt and kept her, but again, I knew she deserved better. I remembered her mother’s words. I hadn’t only put Aurora through hell; her mother too had suffered that, all because of me.I couldn’t let that happen again.My room seemed so empty; a place I once saw as home was just not that anymore; it seemed foreign, yet nothing had changed, but the one single fact that she was not here with me, I guess, changed everything. I had to face my job and duties as the Gamma in hopes that it would keep me distracted, and it does for the most part, but one thought about her was enough to shatter my concentration.“You did the right thing,” Diego told me. He had always been like a brother to me, but he had given me a
(Aurora’s POV)I was naked on the bed, but anytime I closed my eyes, I thought only about Nate. How was this possible? This was what I wanted, right? Then why would my mind not let go of the last time he had made love to me?It felt wrong to be with Jordan and think of another man. Maybe I was fucked up beyond repair.I stood slowly to my feet.Jordan woke up too.“I have to go,” I said to him, leaning in to drop a kiss on his lips, but he held me closer, my naked cleavage against his chest.“Rora. I want you to know that I am willing to do anything to get you back as mine, even if it means I would have to let her go,” he says, and I hold back my gasp.“But she is your mate!”“And Nate is yours too, but here you are; you are who I want to be with.”"Jordan, you should think about this.”“I have done all the thinking there is to do, and I know what I want. I know you feel the connection too; it is and will always be. Maybe that’s what is drawing you back to me.”“You should wait.”“Why?
(Aurora’s POV)The silence was killing me. I waited for my mother’s response, and when I got none, I turned to her.“Mother, I am sorry, but I cannot change what I feel for him; I just can’t. I have tried so hard, but nothing can change it.”“After all he has done to you, Aurora, you still want him?” she asks"It was strange to me too, but he changed Mama; he stopped doing all those things he did to me, and I fell in love with this new part of him.”“Aurora, I know he changed; he would never have brought you back if he hadn't. I imagine he would torture you to death for something you had no control over; it wasn’t even partly your fault, but he brought you back. Still, do you really think a man like him could turn into a good person that so easily?”“Mama, I did something bad... I betrayed the one person who helped me; I am a traitor, and maybe I deserve all I got; some things do flow in the blood.”“Why would you say that?” She asks, of course she would not believe that her Aurora co
(Aurora’s POV)“How could you do this to me, mother?, How could you hide this from me for all those years? I mourned this man. I hated Nate even if I knew he was right. How could you, mother?” I asked. We were both in tears now. I felt my life had been a lie. The man I thought was good in some ways turned out to be all bad. If I knew, maybe I would have kept my mother’s promise and laughed over his grave. Maybe I would have saved my tears because he deserved none of it.“You were so innocent, Rora, and he loved you; he truly did. I didn’t want to paint him in a bad light, but I believed now you need to know,” she says, or rather pleaded.The truth was that I always believed in the Raven Pack, I lived in a bubble; I had the perfect boyfriend; I had friends; I was beautiful; I had parents who loved me; I was the only child, but when I was taken back to the Blood Moon Pack, reality hit hard, and the truth was that I hadn’t even tried to get out of that bubble; I was too comfortable; I di
(Aurora POV)The patrollers parted the moment Nate arrived. Could it be a coincidence?, a coincidence that he happened to be exactly where I wanted him to be and at the right time too. He stared at me, a look of pure shock in his eyes. I wanted to run into his arms, but then a thought that hadn’t crossed my mind all the while did. What if he had moved on?Yes, it was only a few days, but why had he been willing to finally let me go? Could there be another person?. No, there was no other person; I just knew it, and finally he picked me up, holding me close to him. In that moment, no one else mattered but the two of us. My legs circled around his waist, and he kissed my lips, my nose, and my face.The patrollers, feeling uncomfortable, walked away to give us some space.“Tell me you are back, Aurora,” he says, more like pleads.“I am back; I couldn’t do it, Nate; I couldn’t live without you, and I discovered that I do not want any other person but you. We might be flawed, but I want th
(Damien’s POV)I stared at Isis. I always believed she would never snoop so low, but now, for the first time in my life, I doubted. Could this be one of her schemes? Maybe all this was connected to her, and she was trying to frame Lena, just as she tried to kidnap Lena. Then she rescued her, just so she could be seen in a different light. Could this be all her plan from the start?“Isis. You do know what would happen if you were discovered lying, right?” I asked, and she swallowed. Isis looked scared for the first time in a while.“Yes. But I can’t be sure... I knew I saw her, but maybe I am mistaken,” she says.“That claim you made was of a great magnitude, Isis; you know that, right?”“I do, Alpha,” she says.“That’s all I need from you, Isis; you may leave,” I say to her, and she bows, quickly leaving the office. She seemed in a hurry, contrary to every other time she came here and kept lingering. I might have really scared her; I never saw the need to exercise my power on a woman,
(Lena’s POV)Something was definitely wrong; three days passed, and I don’t even have a clue where Damien was.Diego had told me to give him some space; he was dealing with so much, and that was strange. Diego was never one to speak to me in that way, but maybe he was right; maybe Damien had been injured and didn’t want me bothered, but it clearly wasn’t working. I hadn’t slept well for three days, and it was affecting me. Something was going on, and I had to find out what exactly was going on.Six times I had gone to search for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Where are you, Damien?I tried mind-linking him, but he had plainly told me he wanted space; could it be he had found out? A part of me refused to believe that; I just couldn’t.Once I crossed paths with Isis, and I had anticipated some more insults thrown at me, but she passed with no comments, and the weirdity—"if that’s even a word"—of the past few days was draining me. I made up my mind that if he wasn’t home today, I w
THREE YEARS LATER (Lena's POV) Kaden was color blind; I had always suspected this, but now that he was older it had been easier to tell. Damien blamed himself for it, but this wasn't even under 'his' control, neither was it his fault. . I had gotten better; I didn't need to be scared when I held my child on when I came into contact with others; Damien was all the control I needed, and together we've managed to start up a life once again. I had agreed to never use my powers again, but the less I use them, the more they seemed but be buried deep down, beyond my reach. I could live a normal life—or at least something close to that. Aurora walked into our room with two year old Leslie in her arms. We had become very close friends after the incident three years ago. With Diego gone, Nate took his title as the Beta, and for the past three years, there has been no one to fill in the gap until now. Diego's sister Alice had turned out to be one of the most brutal warriors, outmatch
(Natasha POV) We never really had a place to call home. The closest thing to home was the little cabin in the woods. I remembered Set bringing me in here. I had been so surprised at the beauty of the place. I had imagined things—I had imagined children running around in this space. I was going to plant new flowers every week, just at the side. It would have been a beautiful home. I had so many regrets; what would have changed if I stayed behind? Yet, I knew that Diego would have been killed if I did. Set wouldn't have wanted that. One thing was sure: The Ghost, who was also the Vampire Prince, wouldn't let us go that easily. I had killed the Ghost, the man who put me through so much pain. I had made 'Number One' pay for assaulting me and for taking my one true love away, yet it meant nothing now because even those couldn't bring Set back. I and Set had gone on dangerous missions, and I grew to believe that nothing could overcome us. Set was a pro at what he did. I had believed he
(Lena's POV) Damien tore through the crowd of vampires, and finally I could see him-- that was enough to give me hope, prehaps this wasn't my end yet. "Damien!" I cried out "Lena, hang on" he says as he yanked one of the vampires off me."Take off the necklace" he commanded."No!" Hecuba screamed.Damien ripped off the ruby necklace from my neck. I gasped. It all happened fast. Hecuba screamed, louder than a banshee; it was an ear-bleeding noise; the glass shattered. Damien held me close shielding me from the glass shards; The screeching sound must be one of the vampires' bane, a weakness we had just discovered because they clawed at their own ears, running in all directions of the room to find an escape. After what felt like hours- but were actually minutes, the noise stopped, and Hecuba's body, just like those of her victims, dried up, fading away till she was nothing but bones. I stared at the ruby necklace on the floor; it had turned back to the emerald green it originally ha
(Lena's POV)"Take a seat with me, will you?" Konstantin says."I think we have a lot to talk about," I said, and he nodded. Walking, I followed, but Hecuba held me back."We have no time for this. I have no time for this," she says, but I pulled my hands free of her grabs. I followed, and after a while she did too. I didn't know what I was planning to do, even as I sat."Do you want anything to drink?" The vampire prince asked, his eyes fixed on me, as if we were the only ones in the room."No, thank you."He took the seat opposite me, not minding that there was none for Hecuba. I turned to her, but she shook her head slightly, indicating that she didn't mind standing."So here you are. Two years ago, you disappeared, I want to know if everything was a lie" I inquired not because I really cared but more out of curiosity."Not everything—this was my home even before I met you and have been for a long time, but you see, as much as I wanted to be close to you and as much as I loved th
"You lied to me all these years; you made me believe The Blood Moon Pack destroyed my family and my pack, but you lied, the vampire did." "They died ten years ago; get over yourself, child," he hissed at me. It sounded more like a sound a snake would make. "Go to hell!" I screamed back at him. "I have already been there" he says.Number One chuckled. "I go by many names." The Ghost began, "Some call me The Ghost; others call me the Prince of Doom, the Ruler of the Undead," he says as he lets his cloak fall to the ground. "But I am popularly known as the Vampire Prince.Just like all the others of my children I picked you all at the worst moment in your lives. In your case, it had been after the death of your family. You are right-- the vampires attacked them, yet I couldn't let you know that because I knew you would be of so much help to me. But you have to know one thing. The vampires do nothing except what I command them to." The Ghost finally took off his mask. Now I did unde
(Natasha's POV) I felt selfish after I discovered the truth about Diego. All the while, he had been suffering in silence, and I was too blind to see it. I never knew about his sister; I didn't even see the need to ask. My whole focus had been centered on destroying the pack—these were people who had done nothing to me. . I had to return back to the cabin, just as I had promised Set. I wanted to see him again, fall into his arms, and let him take control just as he always does. I wanted to hear those sweet words from him. I needed to be reminded of how special I was because, at this moment, I didn't feel very unique. I felt awful for how I treated Diego. I arrived in the cabin; the lights were on, and a small smile stretched on my lips as I walked in. "Set, I'm back," I said, but there was no response. "Set?" I called out as I walked into the living room. I saw the shattered glass on the floor; the couch had been ripped; the portrait was on the floor; and so were the curtains.
(Damien's POV) The decision I had to make weighed on my shoulders. Even as I walked into the dungeons where Diego had been kept waiting. I walked in alone. Diego didn't stare up at me; his gaze never left his hands. "You believed I had fucked your mate; could this be why you turned against me?" I asked. "I never believed you could do such a thing," he says. I stared at the injuries I had inflicted on him; his ear had been completely torn off; he needed a healer; but he was a traitor and couldn't be treated any better than that. "It hadn't been the way you think. Your mate had poisoned me; I had thought I was with Lena; believe me, I could never do that, she tricked me." "I do believe you. I knew you couldn't go that length, but I had been so mad. Yet, that was not the reason. Years ago, I had a sister; her name is Alice. She had been stolen away from us five years before I was born. The incident faded so quickly, and my parents discarded everything that belonged to her. They
"For so many years, you made me suffer; you made me believe I was the cause of your childlessness, you sold me away for your selfish benefits and when you discovered that your ill action still favoured me, you framed me for something I did not do, you made me see the worst in life, but that hadn't been enough for you; you still believed that I was the reason your mate was killed, and now you have returned to have me," I said. "What are you doing to me?" he asks. "Once a woman came to you, she brought a baby, and she told you that this child was special. Look at the woman beside me," I said to him, and he does. "She might be in the body of another, but this is my true mother, and she is going to make you pay for what you did to her child," I say, stepping aside. Hecuba walked forward; she was nothing like Aradia; even if she had claimed the woman's body, there was something about the way she walked; she walked like she owned the world; her aura could be felt even from miles away. H
The woman, Aradia, sat, waiting; she already knew what was coming. The gunshots could be heard outside and blood flowed into the room, spreading in from underneath the door. She reached out to her powers and then stretched her hands over Lena's body, muttering strange words, and there was a faint glow as energy erupted from her outstretched hands, forming a shield over Lena's body. This shield was one of the hardest to make; it did cost her, and she felt suddenly weak. The longer it stayed on, the weaker she became, yet she couldn't let go. The door busted open, and soldiers moved in. About fifteen of them left. The Blood Moon Soldiers had managed to take out a good number and had inflicted some brutal injuries on others. The attacks had come in large numbers; no wonder they had been able to overpower the five Blood Moon soldiers who had been kept there to protect the Luna. "Wake up, Lena," Aradia whispered to the woman on the bed, but there was no sign of movement. The soldiers