ALEXA.
I closed my eyes and bit my bottom lip as I waited for the whip to destroy my nightgown. I knew I sounded petty, but I was just trying to be brave. I needed to think of something to distract me from the pain that will come.
I counted and kept waiting, but the whipping never came.
Instead, I heard someone scream, as if a commotion was happening behind me.
I opened my eyes and turned around just in time to see the last of the few men left behind leap from their seats, transform into their wolves, and flee, leaving me behind.
I had no idea what was happening. Was this a sick kind of joke to leave me here for the whole night?
But then one of my father’s men came to me and tried to untie the rope.
"What’s happening?" I asked him.
"A wolf pack found us!"
"Did you mean they would want to kill us?
"Of course! You’re so stupid to even ask that! "
"Can you untie it faster?" I ignored his remarks. I was more scared that they would reach us before I was untied.
"You owe me, slut! The only reason I came to help you is so I can f*ck you tonight!"
My eyes stung with tears, but my wolf, Serenity, told me not to say anything. She said she had a plan and I just needed to remain quiet until we were free from the rope. But he couldn’t untie it. Either it was too tight or he was too scared that he couldn’t concentrate.
"Don’t you have a knife? Or use your paws!" I exclaimed, but it looked like he wasn’t listening.
"Shit!" He growled as the noise became louder and the sound of paws thudding the earth echoed around us. My heart was beating erratically as it dawned on me that this might be the end of me.
"Please, please, faster…" I begged him as I tugged the rope harder, but it was no use.
"F*ck! You’re on your own!" He gave up! He let go of the rope and turned around, ready to shift into his wolf, but before he could, a brown wolf launched on him and ripped his head off in an instant.
My eyes widened as his blood splattered all over my face and some of it in my mouth, making me taste his blood as I watched in horror as his head rolled off the ground.
Tears trickled down my face as the wolf before me turned his attention on me, baring his sharp fangs. And just when I thought he would leap to attack me, he backed away and let out a loud howl instead.
Soon, the earth shook as more paws thudded the ground. They were heading in our direction. And I knew I was doomed.
And I was right. I stood before more than ten wolves, with all their eyes on me as I hung, tied up on a tree.
A big black wolf emerged from the back, and everyone made way for him. I knew he must be their Alpha because of the aura that filled the forest in his presence. And it didn’t take long before he shifted into his human form, as he continued to walk and approach where I stood tied up.
He was naked, as were all those who shifted into human form, but that was the least of my worries. The man looking straight at me was giving me a death glare, and I knew death would be my only way out.
He stopped in front of me and cupped my chin with his fingers, tilting it up to meet his eyes.
"Alexa…" He knew me. His voice was so powerful and cold that it sent shivers of fear down my spine. "Where is he?"
"He?" I repeated after him, my face showing confusion.
"Achilles." He spat his name laced with hatred, and I knew I was in a bad position. His hatred for my father was surging off of his body.
"He ran away when your men came. I don’t know where he is." I hoped he would read the truth in my eyes.
"Kill her!" He ordered almost immediately.
My lips quivered as tears trickled down my face. "Please…"
But the man didn’t care. He was just looking at me with no emotions at all. "I want her head."
"Please… spare me," I begged again, my voice almost inaudible.
He let go of my chin and I hung my head low in defeat.
Death was better than being ravished and abused. I should be thankful. I tried to console myself and my wolf. I’m a rogue. I knew this was where my life was heading. I should just accept it.
I closed my eyes and waited for the time that they would cut off my head when the wind blew in my direction. My mouth watered as I caught a whiff of the most intoxicating, delicious smell I have ever smelled in my whole life.
Am I dead already? Are my body and senses being returned to the moon? If this was the afterlife, then I would welcome it wholeheartedly. It didn’t look or feel bad at all.
"Don’t touch her." A calm but authoritative voice erupted in the thin air, and it reminded me I was still alive.
I tilted my head up, looking for the owner of the voice, and my eyes caught sight of him. He has the bluest eyes I have ever seen, and the moment our eyes locked, I felt something snap into place, and the whole forest just vanished in my sight.
It was just him and me.
'Mate…' Serenity whimpered in my head and my jaw dropped open. The man with black hair hanging over his eyes with a perfectly sculpted nose and jaws is my mate.
I let my eyes wander over to his naked form, and I knew he was just perfect. I have seen naked men when some of my human friends sneaked out porn films for us to watch. But the men in those films were nothing compared to the perfect way my mate’s body was sculptured.
He has perfectly chiseled abs and muscular biceps. And to top it all off, he was huge down there. And it wasn’t even on erect yet. I shook my head and snapped myself out of my trance. I shouldn’t be thinking naughty thoughts about him when my head could roll-off at any moment.
But I couldn’t help the happiness surging in me. My heart fluttered in my chest. I never thought I would still have the possibility of meeting my mate. And did he tell them not to touch me? Did it mean he wanted to save me?
Hope rose in my heart and my lips were about to curl into a smile, but it was wiped off even before it happened.
"I need her to trap Achilles." He added in a cold voice, and it crushed my heart.
"Do you hear yourself, Aeon?" The man in front of me turned around to face the man he called Aeon, my fated mate.
It was only then that it dawned on me how powerful his aura was. It had the same aura as the man who ordered my death. But regardless of whether he was a powerful wolf or not, he only wanted me as bait to catch my father.
I should have expected it. No one in their right minds would want a rogue for a mate, especially if he was a powerful one. I always knew this, but why does it still hurt?
A hand grabbed a fistful of my hair and tugged it upward, tilting my head higher as I hissed in pain. "Look at her, Aeon. Who would leave their beautiful daughter in the hands of their enemy if they didn’t have an agenda in place? And don’t tell me you’re falling for their trap?"
"That female doesn’t even look like she could hurt a fly. A useless one to use for a mission." He mocked me before he let go of a bored sigh as if he found talking about me a waste of time. He began talking again as he walked toward us. "Look father, when did I ever fail you? Trust me on my plan. I want that rogue. She’s a perfect tool for my plan, and I promise you, in no time, you will have Achilles’ head in your hands, served on a golden plate."
"Are you sure you’re not lusting after this female?"
"I know who I want. But yeah, maybe I can feast on her body for a while." He smirked like a devil while hatred brewed in my chest. "I can do what I want with her, maybe make her suffer. But I can assure you, at the end of the day, the end goal is always to kill Achilles."
The man holding me didn’t say anything. It took a moment before Aeon spoke again.
"Do you think I have a hidden agenda?" He chuckled sarcastically, and he certainly looked like a devil to me now. "When did I ever think of other people instead of our pack, father? She’s just a f*cking rogue, but she’s my best chance to catch Achilles. And I’m not letting that chance slip by."
His father let go of my hair before he walked to where he was and patted his shoulder. "I know you won’t disappoint me. But let’s make it clear, the moment that rogue shifts into her wolf, she will be killed. I didn’t want to take any risks and endanger my pack. Do we have a deal?"
"Yep. It’s a deal." He answered him, but his gaze was locked with mine and I was sure he could read the hatred in my eyes.
His father patted his shoulder once more before walking away without any more words, with a few men trailing behind him.
"Krane, give me a neck shackle."
ALEXA."Krane, give me a neck shackle." My mate said this with his face void of any emotions, all the while his eyes were fixed on mine.A shackle? My lips quivered as a dark-skinned man with short curly hair approached us, handing Aeon a shackle that was still covered with dried blood.Aeon looked at it, but he didn’t take it. "Do you have anything that has not been used? I don’t think the princess would appreciate someone’s blood on her neck."’"But she already has blood on her face, Alpha. I bet she thinks rogue blood is delicious." One of his men chuckled, and I was fighting hard not to cry. "Enough." He growled lowly before taking the shackle handed to him by another man and walking closer to where I was tied up.He raked my body up and down. I saw the way his eyes lingered on my almost naked breasts, and I couldn’t deny the tingles that rose from my skin just by the way he was looking at me. He licked his lips before he swallowed hard, shaking his head as if waking himself up
AEON.'Alexa is mine!' Thunder growled in my head, and he’d been telling me that from the moment we laid our eyes on her. And he was telling me this again after I confirmed that all the perimeter had been searched and we were now ready to leave this area to head home.This was the first time that Thunder wanted to take full control of my body.My wolf, Thunder, has always been submissive to me. He was not like other Alpha wolves who were hard to control, such as Caspian and Riley’s wolves. Thunder would always do as I asked him to, even if he didn’t want to. But he was showing me a different side today. The mate bond was awakening his protective side, his Alpha blood. He wanted to protect his mate. And I knew it would only be a matter of time before he asserted his power over me.'Relax. She’s yours. But we can’t let Father know until we can make a plan on how to keep her safe. Right now, Krane is our best option to take her home. You understand, right?'He growled once more, and it
ALEXA. We had been running for a long time already, and my hands and legs were trembling from holding tightly to Krane’s wolf. And if we didn’t stop, I would soon fall off his back. I needed to think of a reason so I could rest for a while. "I need to pee!" I shouted, leaning my mouth near his ear. I was sure he had a strong hearing, but with the wind blowing hard as he sped off, I wasn’t sure if he could catch my voice. But it looked like he did. He slowed down as well as the wolf running beside us. And in no time, he stopped and lowered his body to the ground. I climbed down as the wolf with us shifted into his human form and took my arm, taking me to a far tree. The male was giving me a smug smirk, and I didn’t like his look at all. He was the one who taunted me earlier about me loving the taste of rogue blood. But aside from his nasty remarks, I felt a knot in my stomach. He looked dangerous. I took a glance at Krane’s wolf. He was looking at us, and I tried to tell myself tha
AEON. I ran my knuckles down her cheek. Alexa was sleeping peacefully, purring softly in the passenger seat of the car. Her body finally succumbed from all the running and all that happened in the last twenty-four hours, that even after the car came to a full halt, she was still not moving from her sleep. I withdrew my hand from her face the moment I realized what I was doing. I was not supposed to give in to the bond. It wouldn’t do us any good. I have a chosen mate, and I didn’t want to hurt Katarina. Lady Katarina was the Alpha Female I was betrothed to. She’s the sister of Alpha Darvin of the Moon Stone Pack. Months ago, Darvin and I entered into an agreement for a union to take place between me and Lady Katarina. This was to ensure that both packs would survive. My father has been consistent in holding on to the Alpha post until I produced a Luna he would approve of. And at the moment, he wanted Lady Katarina as my Chosen Luna. Alpha Darvin, on the other hand, has a different
AEON. "Did Dad find out Alexa tried to run away?" On our way home from where we captured her, on which she was on Krane’s wolf’s back, Alexa asked Krane to stop by stating she needed to pee. Luis, one of my warriors, volunteered to watch over her. But not even a minute passed when Krane heard a muffled scream, and when he checked them out, Luis had already pinned Alexa by the tree and was trying to stick his dick into her. And I was satisfied with the punishment Krane gave him. But while Krane was focused on Luis, my little mate took the opportunity and ran away. We knew she would never be able to run far in human form, but I was impressed with how long it took us to track her. She ended up almost at the Silver Moon Pack’s border and was seen by Luna Nadia and her men. This was the reason I was able to drive us home in a car instead of running in wolf form. For safety reasons, Riley, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack and a friend of mine, offered one of his cars. From his te
AEON.I left the training grounds immediately after Krane informed me that she was already awake. And by the time I almost reached the cottage where she was staying, Krane sent another mindlink. Alexa asked him if I was mated.And he didn’t know how to answer her. Me too. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to tell her about Katarina. Or that there was no possibility between us, even if I wasn’t sure if she wanted me or not because I didn’t know what I was feeling either.I was not able to sleep at all last night, I wanted to see her. I tried closing my eyes, but all I saw was her helplessness while she was tied up in the tree. And I knew, regardless, if I would never claim her, and no matter how bad my ordeal was right now, I was thankful that I arrived on time before my father executed his order to kill her. I don’t think I would be able to forgive myself or live with myself if I was even a second late. That night, I smelled her at the exact moment my father stated that he wanted her h
ALEXA. "My father left me in the orphanage when I was seven…" I blurted out in a low voice. I panicked when he stood up and was about to leave the house. As much as I hated him for what he was doing to me, I couldn’t deny that I wanted his presence in this house. It made me feel safe that, regardless of what I threw at him, he would never let anyone hurt me. So I opened my mouth to speak, hoping he would stay a bit more. He stopped walking and turned his head around to look at me. I swallowed hard as I met his eyes. "He told me not to say to anyone that I still have a family. He told me to tell the orphanage I ran away from the man who put me on the street to ask for alms. And I must keep it that way until he comes for me." "How old are you now, Alexa?" "Nineteen. I begged the orphanage keeper to give me a space to sleep after I turned eighteen because my father told me not to leave the place. She was kind enough to give me a space in the attic. And I found work in a nearby
LADY KATARINA. My head swung to the phone ringing on Darvin’s desk, and I contemplated if I should pick it up or not. Lately, I’ve been doing some paperwork for the pack, helping Darvin so as not to overwhelm him with pack duties, especially since soon he will be stepping down as the Alpha of this pack. Soon, I would be claimed by Alpha Aeon of the Blood Moon Pack, and as soon as the union took place, Darvin would step down as Alpha of our pack, the Moon Stone Pack, and Aeon, my chosen mate, would be given the Alpha post, and I would be Luna of this pack as well as the Luna of the Blood Moon Pack. This mating was nothing out of the ordinary. Aeon and I were entering this union to save our packs, especially mine. And as much as I hated the idea of Darvin not being an Alpha anymore, I couldn’t say no to what he wanted. It is my responsibility as an Alpha Female to step up if the firstborn Alpha is unable to perform his duties. So here I was, slowly switching my mindset to learn more