Novels by scholasticaoyama5

The forest fell into a tense silence.Efe stood still, her eyes locked on Kade. The fear was still there—it hadn’t disappeared—but it no longer controlled her. Beneath it was something stronger now.Clarity.“I won’t run this time,” she said, her voice steady.Kade tilted his head slightly, studying her. “Good,” he replied. “That makes this easier.”Mama Tola stepped forward. “Leave this place,” she warned. “You don’t understand what you’re dealing with.”Kade didn’t even look at her. “I understand more than you think.”His grip tightened on the silver blade.Efe felt its presence immediately—a strange, uncomfortable pull that made her chest tighten. But she didn’t step back.Instead, she took a slow breath.Balance.The word echoed in her mind.Kade moved first.He lunged forward with surprising speed, the blade slicing through the air. Efe reacted instinctively, dodging to the side just in time. The blade missed her by inches.She stumbled but quickly regained her footing.“You’re fa

The man remained in the village longer than expected.By midday, everyone in Aderin had noticed him. Strangers were rare, and this one did not behave like a traveler passing through. He asked questions—too many questions—about the forest, about strange happenings, about animals behaving “unnaturally.”Efe kept her distance, but she couldn’t ignore the uneasy feeling sitting in her chest.“Stay away from him,” Mama Tola warned. “Men like that don’t come without a purpose.”Efe nodded, but curiosity burned within her. Who was he really? And how could he have looked at her the way he did—as if he already knew her secret?That evening, the village grew quiet again as the sun began to set. Efe sat outside their home, pretending to focus on weaving, but her thoughts were elsewhere.She could still feel it—the change inside her.Everything seemed sharper now. The scent of smoke from distant fires. The faint sound of footsteps across the village. Even her own heartbeat felt louder.She clenche

LEILA’S POVI could hear the sound of my heart pounding; all eyes were on me, and my legs were trembling.My throat burned, my chest caved in and every breath felt like swallowing glass. I couldn't blink because I knew that if I did, all the tears that I had been fighting would betray me.But I didn't want to give my sister that satisfaction she desired. Her lips were curled up in a smirk as she wrapped her arms around Ryder. She had it all, the beauty, the family. She went to the best school, and since I was just an orphan picked up from the slums, I didn't get much education.Ryder was all that I had. Why did she have to take him away from me in the most heartbroken manner? In front of everyone on a day like this that was supposed to be the best day of my life.“Ryder” my voice trembled as I called out to him.“You don't have to do this. I don't know what she told you, but we can make this work”Even as the words left my lips, I hated myself for begging. For clinging to a man who h

Leila’s povI felt it, it was right there in my chest, each beat felt unique with a force. I haven't felt this excited in a long while, but it was different today.It was the full moon today, a day when a large festival was usually held at the NIGHTSHADE pack. All distinguished members gathered around the ancestral hall to celebrate our existence and the gift of the full moon, because for every wolf, the full moon was our greatest strength, and we are nothing without it.But that was not just why I was excited, it was also my birthday today, my eighteenth, and the day I had waited for all my life when I finally got to feel the mate bond that I share with Alpha Ryder.He was twenty-four years old and had gotten his wolf two years back, that was when he realized that we were mates, and since then, both of us have been together. Even in the midst of all the chaos going on in my life, Ryder had been my source of strength.Ryder had explained to me everything regarding the mate bond, and a