Novels by Duke

“Zara,” Darius called, looking more surprised than I had expected him to be about something like this. “I don’t think you understand what you’re talking about.”I chuckled without mirth. “I do know what I’m talking about, Darius. You know this is going to work. Your brother will figure out that I chose you over him, and he’ll take a step back. Maybe not for a long time, but enough for us to figure out why this is happening in the first place.”“You just got attacked. You’re not in a right place right now. You just want to take it all out on Aeron, and I understand your frustration. It’s just—”“I’m not you, Darius. I’m not here making decisions just because I’m scorned and I hope it’ll upset your brother. I want this to be over. I’m in the middle of everything, just in case you didn’t realize.”He sighed in defeat and nodded.“But just in case you still want to think about it before going any further, we can talk about it tomorrow. How’s that?”“Fine.” I shrugged, knowing that tomorro

“Help! I’m being attacked!” I yelled as soon as I had the opening to use my voice, causing one of the attackers to hold my mouth closed so hard that I feared my jaw was going to break.I kicked and scratched and punched, trying to find my way out of this situation as the second attacker grabbed my legs and hoisted me off the ground. They both started to head to the border in a hurry.I groaned against the arm that was clamped against my mouth as hot tears rolled down my cheeks.“Can you stop making all that fuss? If you do anything stupid, I’ll make sure to kill you and tell Alpha Aeron that we couldn’t get you. Would that be better?” The one holding my legs threatened.For a moment, I stopped struggling. I could almost feel bruises forming from where he held my legs tightly.One moment, I was trapped in the middle of them both with them carrying me out of the pack and left with nothing to do but to think about my own despair. The next moment, I was falling to the ground with a loud t

“What are you talking about?” I shook my head as I stopped pacing in the middle of Darius’s room. My eyes were narrowed and focused on him. He wasn’t serious. He couldn’t be.“Aeron is a horrible person. You might not see it because he’s putting up a front, but you’ll find out soon enough. Just in case you didn’t know, I won’t be granting him permission to come into my pack again. The next time you see him, he’ll probably be dead from trying to wage war against me.”“No. That’s not… What is this all about? Just because you and your brother have some sort of difference between you that you can’t settle doesn’t mean I have to be in the middle of it,” I protested.“And when my brother is dead,” he continued as if I had said nothing, “you’ll have no other option than to complete the mate bond with me as there’s no other person. I have no intention of forging you.”“This is ridiculous. I’m not going to do anything with you. Not even if Aeron dies,” I said, wanting to mean every word but I

“You can carry on with the festival,” Darius said to his pack members, more in a tone that told them that if they didn’t, there would be consequences.“How do you think you’re going to keep me locked up in your pack until he returns and possibly wages war against you?” I asked him with my arms crossed after everyone turned around and pretended like they weren’t worried.“It seems my guards weren’t as competent as I gave them credit for. You will be under my watch for the next few days. I want to see what my brother intends to do. You make an attempt to escape one more time, I won’t care what my brother threatens me with and you’ll find yourself in a less than honorable grave.”From the way he was looking at me, I could tell that he wasn’t bluffing. It didn’t take away the curiosity that I held on to.“Why didn’t you just give me up? You could have made me his problem instead of having me stay here. You don’t need me,” I said.“You have no right to know what I’m thinking. You’re coming

“I found her first. She’s my mate,” Darius said, surprising me. I could tell it was the unspoken competition he had with his brother getting to him.“You were just about to have her killed in front of your pack members for entertainment,” Aeron said to his brother. “Don’t tell me all of a sudden, you don’t want her out of your sight. Are you that threatened by me?”Darius didn’t say anything in response. He only tightened the grip he had on my hand.“Since she’s not very important to you, I suggest you hand her over to me. I’ll take her off your hands, and no blood has to be spilled,” Aeron added.“I haven’t rejected her,” Darius argued. “And if I was the first person she was connected to, it only means I’m her rightful mate. Reject her.”“I don’t belong to either of you,” I finally managed to speak up. “It would be better if you both reject me. I’ll be on my way, and this won’t have to be anything bigger than it already is.”“Are you serious right now?” Darius scoffed. “You really ex

“You’re hurting me,” I said to the man.As if considering it for a moment, his eyes narrowed and he soon asked. “If I let you go, are you going to run again?”“No. Just get off,” I said, and he finally let go of my hands as he rolled over and stood, offering me his hand to help me get up.Stubbornly, I picked myself up from the floor without his help. “This was a big mistake. I’m not your mate. Maybe the Moon Goddess is having some sort of…bad night. I mean, it’s the night of a festival. She has to be tired.”He folded his arms as he examined me. “I don’t think there’s ever been a mistake of that kind ever recorded. Are you a member of this pack? You don’t have the same scent they do.”From his words, I quickly understood that this man was not a member of the pack. Perhaps he was there to celebrate with the hosting pack.“You don’t have to know any of that. I’ll just be on my way,” I told him, turning around in my attempt to escape. This was going to put a whole dent on my plan to esc