Romane von Lynette Eve

Ceres's POVTwo weeks had passed since we returned to Luxury City from Larvinia.Richard and I sat across from each other at the dinner table, I finally handed him the small USB which held the evidence of what Emily, his sister and Jessy had done. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, sensing the weight of the truth I was about to expose.“What is this?”, he asked with a smile.“Uhmm… I need you to watch it, when you are alone.”He nodded in response. After dinner, he saw me off to my penthouse and went home. An hour later, he called me on the phone. He had watched the video.“I can't believe this, Ceres. I can't believe my sister and Jessy went to this great length to try to get rid of you.” His voice trembled slightly.I heaved a sigh. Richard promised to make things right, and true to his word, he did.A week later, he organized a party with just family and close friends in attendance. He made sure Jessy and her family members were there too. Emily was also present. I came

Ceres's POVMy body felt like it was giving up on me. I was hungry and my throat was so dry it hurt to even swallow, but I had refused to eat since I was captured. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, weak and starved, but still holding on. I hoped my resistance would make Jason give up and send me back home—back to my pack, where I truly belonged.The door creaked open. It was Jason.He entered with purposeful steps. His eyes scanned me like I was a broken artifact he didn’t know what to do with. His brows furrowed. “I heard you have refused to eat anything.”I didn’t answer, but my wolf bared her teeth in silent defiance.He stepped closer, crouching beside me. “Why are you doing this to yourself, Ceres?”My voice cracked as I spoke. “Because I want you to set me free.”He stared at me, his expression unreadable, but I could feel the shift in his energy—his wolf was close to the surface too.“I don’t want you, Jason. I don’t love you. I never did. I want nothing to do with you

Richard's POVJustin hesitated for a second, then said. “Alright. I would start from the top so you would understand everything. After Ceres fell into the sea at your boat cruise, Jason saved her life and took her to his pack. He never contacted us. He knew we were searching everywhere for her yet he never reached out. He wouldn't also let her go when she fully recovered. He kept her almost like a prisoner.” I frowned. “So he held her hostage.” “Exactly. Eventually, Ceres managed to reach out. She contacted my father’s old friend, Mario, who runs a business in Larvania, through your stepmother's stepdaughter, Samantha.” He paused and continued, “My father's friend reached out to us and that's how we rescued Ceres then. After her rescue, my father gifted Ceres a silver necklace and made her promise to wear it always. That necklace has a tracker in it.” He pulled up a map on his phone and turned the screen toward me. A red dot blinked slowly. We’ve been monitoring it ever since. And

Richard’s POVIt had been twelve hours since Ceres disappeared.I hadn’t rested my eyes. I couldn’t. Every second that passed gnawed at my sanity. I was moving from place to place searching for her. My wolf had been restless all night, pacing inside me, growling low and deep, sniffing for her, but she was nowhere to be found, not even a trace. I stood by the railing of a pedestrian bridge that overlooked the river, my fingers clenched on the cold steel, as I tried to force myself to think, to remember anything I might’ve missed. One name suddenly crept to mind causing my eyes to widen with suspicion.Jason.He’d always hovered close to Ceres. Too close. Always too interested. Always looking at her like she was the only light left in his world.We’d fought about it severally and had even come to blows. Could he have been behind Ceres's kidnap?The thought made my blood boil—and then I froze. My wolf growled in warning, torn between fury and confusion.He was possessive, envious, bu

Ceres's POVMy breath hitched.It was Jason.The same man whom i had escaped just few weeks ago. How come it never occured to me that he might be responsible for my kidnap?He stepped into the room like a storm brewing, tall and rugged, his presence radiating raw Alpha energy that coiled around the air like thick smoke. That unique scent radiating from him, stung my senses.“Jason,” I spat, my voice sharper than intended. My wolf’s hackles rose as I took a step back. “Or should I say… Jackson?”His jaw clenched. That name was probably like a silver knife to his pride.“Ceres—”“So it was you,” I cut him off, standing with clenched fists. My entire body trembled, not with fear—but rage. My wolf paced beneath my skin, teeth bared. “You’re the one who had me drugged, dragged here like some stolen artifact?”He took a slow step forward, arms slightly outstretched as if I would melt into them. The nerve. “I didn’t want it to be like this. I swear, I just… I couldn’t stay away from you.”I

Ceres's POVThat night, I barely slept. My wolf paced relentlessly in my mind. She didn’t rest, and neither did I. We shifted just before dawn—ran until our paws were blistered and our lungs burned. But even the wind in our fur and the earth beneath our claws couldn’t purge the ache that gnawed at us.The ache of betrayal.The ache of knowing why Richard abandoned us for all those years.By the time the sun rose, I was back in human form, sprawled out on the cold floor of my room, trembling. My head throbbed and my heart… my heart felt torn in two, still bleeding.I dragged myself to the shower, buried the pain beneath my makeup, wore my sharpest heels, and went to the office.Work. That was the only place where I still felt in control..I shut myself in my office and buried my head in work, analysing data and holding meetings.The hours blurred until the sun sank behind the skyline. My eyes were dry, but my bones ached.A soft knock on the door pulled me back to the present. Then it

Elara POVAxel helps me to stand as Kane opens the champagne and pours a glass. But instead of pouring two more glasses, he takes a sip, curls his fingers around my neck, and pulls me closer.Our lips connect, and he gently transfers the champagne into my mouth. Bubbles tickle my mouth as he ravishes my lips. Instantly, I am a puddle of desire, and I do not resist when Axel unzips my dress. His hands caress my body eagerly, and I curl my fingers into Kane’s hair.Axel kneels as he pulls down my dress and kisses me on the back of my knee and thigh. Kane creates a hot trail of heat as his lips move over my jaw to my breasts. The sensation of the cool night air following their warm kisses on my skin is mind-blowing, and it is getting harder and harder to keep my composure.I have never yearned for them as I do at this very moment. Frantically, I tug and pull at Kane’s shirt in a desperate attempt to get closer to him. Frustrated with the buttons, I rip it open, sending a few buttons flyi

Elara POVI am giddy as a schoolgirl as I get ready for dinner with my mates. We have been through so much since the mating ceremony. Hell, we even had a baby, but we have never been on an official date. We have never been to a restaurant, enjoying good food and wine.I decide on an emerald green dress. It brings out my eyes and complements every curve of my body, and I want to look nice for my mates.“Elara, are you ready?” Selena asks from the other side of the door.“Yes, come on in,” I shout, checking my lipstick.“Wow, you look stunning,” Selena compliments me as she plops down on my bed.“Thanks,” I smile, my stomach making a ridiculous somersault as I imagine my mates’ reaction.“Oh, and your car’s waiting,” she adds.“Are Kane and Axel already waiting?” I ask, looking at my watch, but I am on time.“They left,” she replies nonchalantly. “You have a car and driver, and he’ll take you to them.”“What are you talking about?” I frown. They did not mention anything about a car.“Lo

Elara POVOne week later.I open my eyes, reaching out to Axel, but he is not in bed. Frowning, I sit up and rub over my eyes. Then it hits me.“Kane’s coming home,” I exclaim happily, jumping out of bed. “Axel!”“What?” He shouts from the bathroom. “Are you okay?”“Kane’s coming home,” I yell, running to the bathroom.“I know, love,” Axel replies, getting out of the shower and draping a towel around his waist. I’m picking him up in an hour.“Good,” I nod. “I’ll be ready.”“I said me, not us,” Axel says, walking to the room.“What?” I ask, confused, following him. What makes him think I will stay here? “Naturally, I’m coming, too.”“No, you’re staying here,” Axel replies nonchalantly.“But why?” I argue as my blood starts boiling. I have missed Kane every second of every day. I am not missing him one more moment.“Because I need you to keep the fort here,” Axel replies. “Things are still a mess after we came home. Malachi and your family will be here with our kids in a week, and their

Axel POVI relentlessly work on Kane, as Elara cannot stop coughing. I look at the basement entrance and ignore the reality that it is stupid to do this here. Smoke is swirling towards us, rendering my efforts useless. Or at least, that will be the case soon enough.“Axel,” Elara croaks, suppressing a cough with great difficulty. “The wall against my back is becoming warmer. The fire is spreading, we must get out, or all of this would’ve been for nothing.”“Dammit, Elara,” I growl, looking at her. “You promised me you’ll get out if you get into trouble.”“You’re mad at me for saving his life?” She asks, confused, before doubling over when another coughing fit hits her.“I’m not mad!” I shout, leaning over and breathing air into Kane’s lungs. “I’m scared, okay? You’re in no better shape than he is. I can’t lose both of you.”“I’m fine,” she argues, standing up, but I can see on her face the effort it takes. “I’ll help you …”“No, you won’t,” I say, picking up Kane. “You can hardly keep

Axel POVI bite into a warrior’s neck, jerk my head and rip out his trachea. I run towards the next wolf, but Elara’s words make my heart stop, and I stumble over my feet and land in the dirt.Instantly, she rushes to my side, shifts, extends her claw and slaps a warrior away from me. I get up and together, we attack the warrior and kill him.“What are you talking about?” I ask urgently as we attack the next warrior. “What’s happening?”“I don’t know,” she replies. “He said he loved me, and then he went quiet.”Fuck! Of all the possible scenarios I can think of, none of them is good. Injury, captivity … death. An invisible band pulls tight around my chest, and it feels as if I cannot breathe.“Kane, where are you?” I mind-link, desperate to connect with him, but he does not reply. This cannot be happening; he has to be okay. We have been doing everything together since birth. I do not know how to live in a world where he does not exist.“That’s the last one,” Elara mind-links, and I b

Kane POVI sit motionless behind the wall, watching as Elara leads everyone away. My stomach dives as the subjects and warriors follow them. I close my eyes and silently pray that they will be safe.Once they pass me, I get up and run into the building, ducking from wall to wall, pillar to pillar. I peek my ears, but I do not hear anything. No movement or breathing. Where the fuck is Gustav, and what is he up to?I sneak through the hallways to Gustav’s office, and I grunt in disappointment when I find it empty.Throwing caution to the wind, I run into every office and every room, but I still come up empty. Frustration boils in me when I run to the basement. He would be a fool to hide here; it is a dead end, and he is trapped. But there is nowhere else I have not looked.A soft grunt catches my attention, and I run towards it.“Anton,” I gape in surprise when I see the old man beaten and bruised, locked up in a cell. “I’ll get you out of here. Where are the keys?”“No key,” he groans,