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119 | BATTLE
Alpha Brius was shadowed on either side by his family. His hair, red as blazing fire, stood out even in the darkness. The glow of the sun shone on it, blood dousing flame, and it rippled like water as he stepped forward beside his mate. I could just make out Luna Lucille’s classical features in the dim morning light, though her hair, darker than Brius’s, was obscured.
“We said we would stand beside you,” he called. “No matter the task. You saved our son, and the White Elm pack is in your debt, Lapis Moon. We have come to fight at your side.”
Luna Carla beamed, and walked down the slope to greet them, Alpha Felix at her side. “You came,” she breathed.
“We did, Luna,” said Alpha Brius, bowing his head to her. It was a gesture of respect, and one that was not necessary under such circumstances. “You called, so we came.”
I beamed dow
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The Beta's Daughter 120 | NIGHT
Death was easy. There was no pain in darkness, no anguish. There was no regret, no suffering. But there was no joy either; no elation, no sense of wonder. The darkness was all consuming, but it was not fulfilling. There was something missing, something niggling at the very farthest point of my mind.Then the darkness began to lift, and, though my bleary eyes stayed shut, a bright, golden light shone upon my face. I wondered if I would be opening my eyes into the afterlife, this first blurry vision of gold my eternal resting place.“Arienne?” Samyak murmured. “Arienne – please, open your eyes.” Then I heard him turn, shuffling despairingly to someone, anyone for help. “Why won’t it work?” He asked, his voice heartbroken, confused, like that of a child.This didn’t seem like death. Death was a painless, eternal nothingness. Samyak was crying, and I could see him w
The Beta's Daughter 121 | AIRINI
“It seems,” Alpha Gedeon smirked, “that an accord will have to be negotiated. Young Jacob is to be Alpha of your pack one day, if I am not mistaken. Airini will make a fine Luna; of that, I am sure.”But nobody was paying Gedeon so much as an ounce of attention, not even the wolves of his own pack. All eyes were fixed on Jacob and Airini.She, like Jacob, was covered in the mud and gore of battle. There was a deep, purple bruise blossoming along the side of her face, which stood out starkly against her white skin. Her hair was fine, golden gossamer that floated down to her shoulders. She was easily as tall as he was, but lightly boned and lithely muscled. She looked delicate, but sharp, like an ivory blade.I grabbed Samyak’s hand excitedly, and in that moment I knew that Jacob and I had never been meant to be. My love for Jacob poured out of me now, an expression of friendship and joy for h
The Beta's Daughter 122 | EPILOGUE
I tugged nervously at my dress. Nami and Rosa were behind me, weaving flowers and plaits into my long, brown hair. It waved neatly, having been blow dried and oiled by my entourage. “Are you sure you don’t want any lipstick?” Rosa asked, fiddling with a daisy. She glanced at me in the mirror, her sharply plucked eyebrows raised.“I’m sure,” I said, rolling my eyes at her. They sparkled in the bright light, wide beneath the swathe of brown and gold eye shadow on my lids.“I think you look good without it, anyway,” Nami shrugged. She wound a small, black band around the end of the braid she’d woven into my hair, and then stepped back. “You’re all done, Ari.”“Thanks,” I smiled, turning from side to side to admire myself in the mirror. The dress was simple: I was draped in gold, tightly fitting and hugging the curve of my waist. It had a squared off sweetheart neckline, and I wore a shimmer of glittering highlight across my collarbones. My sun necklace, given to me by my parents, so very
The Beta's Daughter ONE | AWAKENING
I yawned, rolling onto my side. I brushed against Jacob, and his hand began to trace lazy, abstract patterns across my hip. It was getting close to midnight. A slanting beam of moonlight fell across our exposed legs, making them shine silver.We were waiting up together on the night of my eighteenth birthday. We’d become official members of the Silver Crescent pack at sixteen, and that had been exciting enough – a ceremony held for all of us who’d turned together, with Jacob’s dad, the Alpha, stood in front of the elders on a small wooden platform.We’d pledged ourselves to our pack, vowing to care for one another and, above all, to preserve the wellbeing of the pack. In our honour, we’d sworn, and his parents, Alpha and Luna, had looked down at us with pride. Ever since, we’d been able to mindlink, and had been permitted to join in training with the pack.But at eighteen something even more special happened. At eighteen, our true mates were revealed to us.Not immediately, of course.
The Beta's Daughter TWO | FATED
My heart sank. 12:01. I was officially eighteen, but I couldn’t feel anything except for disappointment. Jacob was struck dumb. He hadn’t moved for a full minute now, and I could scarcely feel the movement of his chest rising and falling.“Jake?” I whispered, pressing myself closer to him. He sighed.“We’re not mates,” he murmured, and the heartbreak in his voice made my chest clench. “I asked my mum how we’d know. She said we just would, that our worlds would change, re-arrange so that you were at my centre. It feels the same,” he said, choking on the last word. I wrapped my arms around him and furrowed my head even further under his chin.I still felt safe and at home, but there was no magic spark, nothing mystical or otherworldly. I could feel my love for him pounding against my ribcage, bursting like a firework and then fizzling out over and over as the realisation hit me. We weren’t mates. We weren’t meant to be.I could feel tears worming their way up to my eyes, my throat burnin
The Beta's Daughter THREE | COMPROMISE
I groaned as I made my way downstairs for breakfast. My alarm had gone off at 5:30am as usual, and I’d immediately regretted my decision to attend training despite having been given the Alpha’s permission to skip it.I’d dragged myself out of bed and over to the mirror. I never bothered with makeup until after our morning workout, so I pulled a brush through my hair and scraped it up into a high ponytail.The brush made my beachy waves wispy, so I raked some coconut oil through my long brown lengths using my fingers. I rubbed the remnants of it into my forearms, the deep caramel of my skin soaking it up, before pulling on some gym shorts and a boxy, cropped tee.It was a brisk morning, the air sharp with a bitter chill, but the sort that promised a sweltering heat later in the day. I waited in the pack kitchen for Jacob and The Twins, anxiously bouncing on the balls of my feet.I’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, finding that every time I shut my eyes all I could hear was
The Beta's Daughter FOUR | THE CLIFF
The rest of the day went quickly, passing me by in a blur of frenzied activity. After speaking to Jacob all I really wanted was a nap, but I was almost certain that my parents would have other plans for me.I was proved right as soon as I walked back into the pack house. They were sat in the kitchen, right by the door to the grounds – impossible to miss. I smiled at them.“Thought you two were overrun with work today?”They shrugged in unison.“We made some time,” my mum said with a glitter in her eye. I moved to sit down next to them, but my dad held his hands up.“Woah there, Ari. Don’t get too comfortable. There’s something we want to show you.”I beamed. I loved surprises. “What is it?” I asked, bouncing on the balls of my feet. My parents laughed at me, standing and nodding towards the door.“This way,” my mum said, giving my hand a squeeze. I returned the gesture, and then followed them eagerly out into the gardens.The pack house itself was huge, but it was dwarfed by the ground
The Beta's Daughter FIVE | WHITE
It’s a rogue, I mindlinked to Rosa. I held my ground, feeling my wolf urging me to shift. Get in the truck quickly. I couldn’t hold it back any longer. I let my wolf come forward and I shifted, feeling my face elongate into a snout and my legs shoot backwards, lengthening and widening. My hands and feet became paws, and my whole body sprouted fur. I growled, keeping my eyes on the rogue.It seemed startled and took a timid step backwards. I immediately filled the space, looking down at it. It was smaller than me, with mousy brown-grey fur that looked tattered, covered in bite and claw marks. It’s eyes seemed to harden, and it howled loudly, the sound being drawn up into the night.It pounced. Suddenly I felt the lash of its claws against my neck, scraping down towards my chest. I growled in fury, ignoring the pain as I jumped at it. I latched my jaws around it’s leg, and heard a
Latest chapter
- The Beta's Daughter 122 | EPILOGUE
- The Beta's Daughter 121 | AIRINI
- The Beta's Daughter 120 | NIGHT
- The Beta's Daughter 119 | BATTLE
- The Beta's Daughter 118 | THE DARKNESS OF THE DAWN
- The Beta's Daughter 117 | AURAS
- The Beta's Daughter 116 | ORB
- The Beta's Daughter 115 | BLOOD
- The Beta's Daughter 114 | SILVER CRESCENT
