Selena's POV. From how warm the other side of the bed was I knew Zander had come back to me room last night, but by the time I'd woken up this morning he was gone again leaving nothing but his scent and the warmth on his side of the bed behind as an indication of his presence here and even though somewhere in my mind I'm aware that he did return I'm still left with a huge hole in my chest. I've become so used to waking up with his arm wrapped around me, tucking me into him and making me feel safe again. Waking up to an empty bed wasn't something I was used to anymore and his presence was something I was beginning to realise I couldn't live without. I sigh tiredly and sit up, stretching and yawning. I glance down to the foot of the bed where Ana and Naz had fallen asleep yesterday, obviously they're gone now and I have a faint memory of Naz dragging Ana out of the room, the both of them saying a drowsy goodbye while I nod and him before slipping back into sleep. Last night was fun,
Zander's POV. Selena was trembling in my arms and I could smell Tristan on her. I felt my heart drop and for the first time in my life I felt genuine fear and rage, fear at what Tristan might have said or done to her and rage at his guts. He touched her.He fucking touched her. And now she was trembling in my arms, shaking, sobbing and from how unresponsive she was to Naz's prodding she was out of it, probably lost in the memories of the horrible things Tristan has done to her over the past two months, the disgrace, the burns, the hitting her … I could see it all over her face as she replayed those memories over and over again, sobbing and shaking as I clutched even closer to me. Both to comfort her and to keep myself rooted, otherwise I'd go after Tristan and I would fuck up the plan of spent months crafting, I would kill him, I'd make sure I give the bloodiest death I could ever give a person. And if I could I'd bring him back and kill him all over again. I look down at the weepy
Tristan's POV. Maybe I was as twisted as my brother, because for a moment in the hallway I'd enjoyed the smell of her fear, I'd enjoyed the way she'd cowered away from me, I'd enjoyed everything about being my own mate's worst nightmare. To Be honest, I hadn't gone looking for her, I just needed to slip out of my room for a minute and then I'd scented her coming towards me. Flowery and soft, my wolf couldn't resist her scent and a part of me had hated to find out that I couldn't either. Even though I found her face absolutely repugnant, I still wanted to see her. The mate bond in me was screaming at me to mate with her, begging me to grab her that moment and fuck her brains out, make her mine. But I couldn and I wouldn't. She'd rejected me, she'd disgraced me, only a fool would go back to their object of disgrace. So I'd decided to mess with her a little bit, remind her that I was someone to fear, even though deep down I had no intention of hurting her, hell I still don't remember
Selena's POV. Once again I woke up to an empty bed. But not an empty room, because I felt the tingles in my stomach and I'd opened my eyes to see Zander standing on the other end of the room, staring out the window with an expressionless face.I blink tiredly at him, suddenly filled with an urge to reach for him and have him hold me. At this same time I was too scared to move, too embarrassed to call him to me when earlier today I'd shooed him away lost somewhere in memories of Tristan ripping my clothes away before the greedy eyes of his pack's males, disgracing me completely. So instead of reaching out to him I stay as still as possible and watching as he watches the view outside my window. There really was nothing to see, the sun had gone down a couple hours ago judging by how dark the night sky was, meaning most of the pack was cast into darkness, the border was lit up by the watchlights stationed around there and on this side of the world we weren't exactly blessed with a glit
Selena's POV. The next day I wake up I'm his arms again. An immediate feeling of relief and satisfaction settles within me as I rest my face a little deeper into his chest. From the slow rise and fall of his chest I can tell he's still asleep, which is odd considering he usually wakes up before me and watches me sleep. Maybe yesterday took a lot out of him as well. I slip out of his hold and sit up stretching and yawning as I do so. I'm naked from the waist up, my bottom half only covered by my heavy duvet I glance down at myself running a finger down my smooth light skin, I didn't notice that since I started using Ana's bath soaps I've started to look a lot healthier and a lot lighter making the hickeys that come from his mouth on my a lot more stark against my skin on. I blush at the sight.A usual morning occurrence then slip out of bed, careful not to wake Zander up. I take quiet steps to the bathroom and enter the warm, white tiled room. My bath soaps are almost gone and I do
Selena's POV. I wasn't very good at reading social cues or meanings behind people's actions, but I'd thought for once I'd been able to properly read the meanings behind Zanders' comforting words and sweet whispers, that is until he made that statement in Alpha Ezra's room. 'I have no intention of being your friend.'Of course I'd long since realised that what we had seemed to surpass friendship, at least to me it wasn't just casual sex, and even if it was, he at least treated me like a friend, comforting me when I had a teary, trauma episode, making me smile, being protective, trying his best to take care of me and promising to shield me from Tristan. I took these as things one would normally do for someone they considered a friend. I must have read it wrong. I must have been so lost in grief that I just established a meaningful connection with the first person that came my way, even though he was well known for his heartlessness and soullessness I'd misread his horny, sly attempt
Zander's POV. I'm very good with social cues and reading the gestures people make, it's just that growing up as the Pack's monster and pariah I learnt not to give fuck what their subtle glances and hissed words means, but now as Selena rolled away from me and curled into herself on the bed I knew and cared about what I might have done.All this started yesterday when we'd returned from my father's home yesterday, she'd silently slid onto my back and gripped the fur on my nape, normally Selena would run her fingers through my fur, coo at me, tug at my ears and even while I run back she'd spend most of her time trying to distract me by running her fingers up and down my fur, she'd whisper things in my ear and laugh as the wind whips through her hair. But she'd remained silent this time instead, opting to bury her face, her reddened face, in my fur and even though she thought I didn't notice I could tell she wanted to cry.I'd wanted to ask her about it, but then she'd slid off me and
Zander's POV. "I've known you for long enough that I know you're not an impulsive hot head Zander, so tell what the fuck prompeted you to do that!" Nazeera hisses at me, pacing the long length of my bedroom. It was dusty now from lack of use, the sheets were neat, the windows had been shut till Naz came in and flung them open. I hate this room. I hate that I have to come here because Selena isn't speaking to me, I hate that I don't know what caused it and I hate the fact that I care in the first place. I wasn't like this, I didn't lash out of anger, worse off anger caused by a woman, she was my mate, yes. But fuck, she'd fucked me off bad enough that a day without her and I was exploding like a fucking child. I scowl and look up to meet Naz's enraged eyes. What I'd done today might have set us two steps back and even if it hadn't I'd lost my temper quite harshly too. But even with the looming figure of Naz and Callum over me I still felt satisfied at the scratches I'd left on tha
Zander's POV. I'd planned several times how I'd kill my brother. It's a sick thing to think about one's own twin, but I'd hated Tristan from the very moment we'd come out of my mother's womb together. I'd planned a slow death for him, I wanted him to watch as I took over the pack, I wanted him to see me take down every single thing he'd put in place, I wanted him to watch me make him obsolete once more. But I'd brushed all that away the moment Selena's body fell limply against mine. I could feel the few borders I'd kept up collapse in one instant and before Tristan had the chance to move I was on him, my hand was at his neck and my teeth were buried onto the other side. He screams under me, scratching at me, hitting in the eye nose and trying to break my teeth, but that barely worked on a regular wolf talkless of me, so undaunted by his little attacks I buy down and before he can react even further I rip a huge chunk of flesh out of his neck. His screams increase as I tear into his
Zander's POV. If not for the fact that her scent was everywhere. It wouldn't be the first time I'd dreamt of her, gliding into my office like that, saying that she has decided to forgive me, then she kisses me and I touch her and she moans and then I wake up. Sometimes I just dream of her walking into my office to talk to me, to laugh with me again, to slip her hand into mine and smile at me that bright way only she knows how to, I felt happy once again at peace and then I'd wake up… back to my miserable reality where she couldn't even look me in the eye. I hate it, I hate it. I hate not having her around, I hate having her so mad at me, I hate knowing I'm the reason she cried so pitifully that day. I miss her so fucking much.But in the midst of all the chaos happening in my mind, in the midst of all that turmoil and pain I was still planning, searching for ways to finally bring my brother down once and for all. While I knew Selena's current grudge with me was all on me I knew tha
Selena's POV. I was never a particularly cruel person. My mother raised me to be many things, strong, uncompromising when need be, tactical when making decisions, kind and many many other things that she crafted to make me the next great leader. But cruelty, I was unused to turning eyes away from people if they needed help, I was uneasy when it came to making decisions about execution or anything that had to do with murder and now even with everything I knew about him, I was still hesitating to make the decision that would get me the revenge that my family and I rightfully deserved. I had no trust for Tristan. Just because he suddenly woke up and told me about Zander's secrets doesn't mean we were suddenly friends. I wasn't stupid, telling me was more for his benefit, even though I wasn't sure how it was possible for me to kill a whole ass cursed Prince, getting Zander out of his way would benefit him a lot more than it would me. Two sides of me were conflicting here, one part of m
Selena's POV. Not even Ana's arms around me can comfort me at this point. I'm beyond distraught. The only thing going through my mind is an image of Zander standing over my mother, covered in blood smiling that same unhinged smile that was on his face when he came to rescue me that day in the woods. He was a monster, a violent bastard. He'd not only killed everyone I'd cared about he had the guts to fuck me afterwards and touch me with the very same hands he'd used to tear into my pack mates. These are the types of thoughts that are constantly making rounds about my brain. The majority of them were curses thrown in Zander's direction, others were shards of glass piercing into me as punishment for sleeping with the man that had killed my family. I was stupid, very stupid I'd let lust and infatuation drive me into the arms of a monster. Why? All because he'd shown me a little bit of kindness while I suffered in this pack. A nagging part of my brain feeds me with the thought that may
Laleh's POV. I could only laugh. Watching Selena in a state of clear turmoil might be one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. Prompting Tristan to tell her about what really happened to her family was the right choice after all.I can't say I was surprised to find out Zander was behind it, though we'd chosen to rule their death as suicide it was obviously not. Their bodies were ripped about brutally and purposely and savagely enough that even I was disgusted. Digging into their deaths though was more for curiously reasons than anything else, a creature that could easily murder a whole pack of healers like needed to be assessed, I needed to know if I had a friend or a foe on my hands and guess what, the fee sources that I'd had all painted back to Zander, a little while before he made his return known he'd slaughtered every last person in that pack.Of course the information was secret and extremely hard to gather, but there was nothing a couple of charms and a good han
Zander's POV. Fucking Tristan. I shift back and tug on a pair of trousers as fast as possible, ignoring the pointed stares that are tossed my way as I run up the stairs in search of my mate. I can't even imagine the state Selena is in and only the goddess knows what he told her. I burst into her room to see her on the floor, her hair is a mess, one side of her face is swollen and very bruised, and her eyes are distant. Horror rushes through me as I remember her last encounter with Tristan, the way she'd pushed me away and shut me out for weeks, she'd barely eaten and was just a teary mess, all because he'd spoken to her, I wonder what he'd said now.I kneel in front of her trying to get her eyes to follow me. But it remains fixed on something very far away, cold and closed off to me. Second only to the time she was kidnapped I've never been so scared in my life. "Selena, Selena please talk to me," I say stroking her face and trying to get her eyes to settle on me.She blinks and
Selena's POV. The first few days since I woke up were odd, I spent them walking about the mansion in a haze and trying to regain my bearings, obviously that took a lot of time and Zander was there through it all, holding my hand and muttering encouraging words to me as I sweated out the last of the drugs. But even with my torturously slow recovery I wasn't blind or dumb or weak, I still noticed everything, for example the clear absence of Naz and Callum, Zander's distracted nature and the tension radiating from everyone in the pack I'm guessing it's because the time for the coup was drawing nearer but I don't understand Zander's sudden tension with his friends, not that he'd answer me if I'd asked him about it, rather he'd dodge the question and disappear for hours to 'work', I wasn't buying it I knew something was wrong but I was much too tired to even fight him on this. Instead I bent to his prodding and his gentle touches, I basked in the feelings and sparks that danced about us
Zander's POV. I've never felt such a deep sense of relief before. Watching Selena's eyes flutter open must have been the most comforting thing I've ever seen, because I could have melted at the sight of those lovely brown yes meeting mine again, yes they were hazy, but I'll settle for that after watching her just drop to the floor in a dead faint in that forest and after haring Naz say that she was drugged heavily and make might not wake up for weeks. That was five days ago and she was awake now. I could feel the relief in my bones, even Aziel was calm for the first time in weeks, he was the main reason I wasn't able to fall asleep really. When Naz would pry me away from her bedside and forcee to get some rest all I could har was Aziel's voice in my ear screaming at me to do something or he would himself, and honestly I was much too tired to control him so for once I bent to his will and actually do something. I went to the dungeons and hit that rogue as many times as I could, I tor
Selena's POV. This time I woke up in my room to the sound of people speaking in hused tones about something that sounded extremely important, in the sleepy haze I was in recognized Zander's voice, tight and commanding as he spoke to who I assumed was Callum, my limbs feel heavy and my tongue is limp in my mouth, but at last this time I woke up on a soft bed instead of the cold hard floor.I struggle to open my eyes and when I do it's barely a crack. I squint at the brightness of the room around me, used to opening my eyes to a piercing darkness for the past few days. My head isn't pounding this time but the glare of the light is working up a headache low-key. The voices around me come into more of a focus now and I can hear the distress in Zander's tone. I hold my breath for a minute to enjoy the smooth, easy baritone of his voice. I never thought I'd miss the sound of someone's voice this much, I shift and try to lift myself up but my limbs are too weak and my head is much too heav