AnnabelleAnybody in their right sense would cover their eyes or spun around and give their back to him. I did neither of the two. I stood there dumbfounded and stared at him with a slack jaw. At more than six feet, he towered over my little five-six and tiny figure. As he stalked out of the pool towards me in all his naked glory, I took in his appearance, drinking him in.He was tall and exuded a dark masculine energy. His face was pinched with his usual brooding expression. My eyes roamed over his facial features. Dark hair that was scattered all over his face but not wet. Made me wonder if he was really coming out of the pool. Piercing dark eyes, pointed nose and strong jawline.My eyes moved down to his broad shoulders and then chest that was wet and dripping with water. I swallowed thickly as my gaze lingered on his well defined chest and washboard abs. My eyes did not stay there on his chest for long because they trailed downward and this time, I did choke. A mass of dark curl
Ezra“Fuck,” I cursed with one of my hands braced against the wall of my bathroom as I fucked my fist hard and fast, pumping my length quickly so that I could come. I’ve been like this for a while now but my cock seems not to understand that we could not have Annabelle and had refused to come down. Shit! Why the fuck did I kiss her? One minute I wanted her gone because her presence was toying with my meditation and the next I was hurling her into my arms and kissing her like my life depended on it. It was the mating bond that was toying with me. Nothing more. I’ve been fighting my attraction since I found out that she was my mate and I’ve been avoiding anything that would make us be in the same room for long as it would do nothing but cause the mate bond to deepen. A bond that I was so sure she could not feel.How Annabelle got to this part of the house was baffling. It was far from every other room and no one came to this side of the house except for me as it was my spot and I didn
ANNABELLEWhy had I thought that following the kids to see Ezra was a good idea? Even with the distance between us from where I was standing at the door of his office, his displeasure was so potent it seeped through the air and landed on me like a deadly poison.“Dad, how is work?” Dani asked, causing Ezra to look away from me. I was only able to breathe when the weight of his gaze lifted from me.When Dani asked me to follow them, I was so doubtful that I could drive. Dani stole a car key and gave it to me and when their driver came to pick them up, I entered the other car to follow. I’d been nervous at first that I won’t be able to drive and would crash the car and increase Ezra’s ire for me but I was wrong. Sitting behind the steering felt natural so I let go of all my inhibitions and let my instinct guard me. I knew damn well that Ezra’s driver had been aware of my presence behind them throughout the journey and I expected him to stop and ask that I not follow him but he didn’t.
EZRACruel satisfaction settled over me as Annabelle’s face turned red with anger. Yes. That was it. Feed me with your fire. Go crazy and return home to gather your things and go far from me. She did the exact opposite like she’s always done since she woke up from that coma with her memory missing, she stepped further into the room until she was in the middle.“If you expect that I will sit and idle about all in the name of taking care of your kids then you must be a joker,”“Am I, really? Why don’t you run along and ask your sweet father what the contract we signed entails.” I cocked my head to the side, my voice taking a mocking undertone when I saw the dark look on her face, “You didn’t ask him, huh? You just up and brought your things over to make peace because sweet daddy asked you to. You never struck me as an obedient daughter. I guess knocking your head on the hard floor was the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”Annabelle looked like she was on the verge of taking a sw
EZRAI hated this. I hated having to be reminded of my past and the feeling that comes with the remembrance of it and that’s all Annabelle had done since she woke up: remind me of Melucia. It was strange because the two women were the direct opposite of each other. Where Melucia had dark hair and dark eyes, Annabelle was sandy blonde with forest green eyes. Melucia had been at least six feet and she had an air of authority around her that even her captivity had not been able to squash. Annabelle was five-six and she carried herself well and walked like she own the fucking world. She was all roses and fucking sunshine.I took two steps back from Annabelle. “We don’t need to get to know each other. You’ll appear with me anywhere I’m supposed to show up with my Luna but otherwise, you’ll stay home.”Annabelle's face became closed up, “I know why you are doing this.”“Huh,” I raised a brow, “Care to share?”“You want me to get angry and leave. You said you were going to give me a second
ANNABELLE “Let’s discuss my salary then and other things that come with working for you,”“Get out,”***He agreed! I left Ezra’s room with a light foot and a giddy feeling as I went in search of the kids. Following Ezra’s clear direction of where Carden’s office was, I did not miss it.I lifted my hand to knock when the door was thrown open and a man with a mass of red curls and baby blues eyes was standing in front and staring down at me. A feeling of anger and bitterness hit me from nowhere, seeping into my bones. I reared back in shock at the harshness of this surprising feeling. Where had that come from? Why did I get angry from just laying my eyes on this man? Why does it also seem like this particular emotion was not mine?I shook off the feeling of anger and buried it deep, putting it at the back of my mind to analyze it later. For now, I needed to take the kids home.“Miss Annabelle. Is there anything you want?” His voice was clipped and there was hostility in his eyes or w
ANNABELLE “Dad, what’s with the contract you signed with alpha Ezra. I want to know all about it.” I went straight to the point after exchanging a little pleasantries with my father.We’ve spoken only on the day I got here. Mom had called to know how I had settled in and if I was having any problems and wanted to come back home. Today was Sunday and I was not going to start work until on Monday so I decided to take Ezra’s instruction to heart and call my father. I was almost like a blind fool just going on with the little information I’ve been able to hear and arrange in my head.The doctor might have told the me not to force me to remember things or fill my head with memory but it did not stop me from feeling like a stranger in my own body, like I was living another person’s life and I was forgetting something important. I hated feeling this way and I wanted it gone.“Annabelle, is there a problem?” Father sounded surprised at my question and he took a whole minute to respond to me
ANNABELLE “She was supposed to marry Alpha Ezra?” I squeaked in shock.Mimi had a solemn expression on her face as she nodded, “Yeah.”“But.. but I thought I was his fiancé?” A certain thought entered my mind and I felt my throat go dry, “I was not his first choice, was I?“No, Annabelle, you were not his first choice.”I moved closer to Mimi on the bed, my heart thudding fast and hard even if I was not running or doing any hard labor.“Did I..?” I licked my suddenly perched lips, “Did I snatch my sister’s fiancé?” Mimi looked taken aback and a small laugh left her, “Of course not. You never wanted anything to do with this engagement in the first place,”A sigh of relief left me as the same time it occurred to me that I’ve just asked a foolish question. Since I opened my eyes at the hospital, it’s been clear that the old Annabelle had been running away from alpha Ezra and the engagement. I was really glad that it was not the case of me taking my sister’s husband to be, so what happe
ANNABELLE“No, honey, you aren’t sure. You don’t just want to admit that there are many things that've been happening right under your nose that you’re unaware of.” I cocked my head to the side, making sure that I was focused on him. I wanted to see every emotion that filtered across his face.“Carden had been bullying the kids and I think they did not tell you because they did not want you to feel bad for having yours since they know that being a hybrid is unacceptable. And also, he threatened to expose them to the world if they told you. He was also going to kill you and take over the pack with the help of …” with my eyes still on Ezra, I pointed at the elders running around in the throne room, “Your believed elders. Them,”Something hard flashed in Ezra’s eyes as he glanced away to look at his elders. “I know they are selfish and have been challenging me for years but they are not brave enough to try and take over my pack. It means they would have to fight me and kill me first. Th
ANNABELLEEzra’s face drained of color, if that was even possible, given how pale and hollow he already looked from days of hunger.I clicked my tongue. “They’re hybrids,” I said, shaking my head in mock disbelief. “Can you imagine how your pack will react when they learn their alpha slept with a witch, got her pregnant, and kept the babies? Other alphas will think it’s an abomination, too.”He snapped, “What they are is none of your concern!”“Oh, but it is,” I teased, stepping closer. “And you don’t need to answer my first question, honey. I can do that for you. Of course it’s an abomination. Your people hate mine and always hunted us down. They would all be angry when they find out. They would demand that you kill your children because their witch’s side might turn them evil and tempt them to take over all the other packs. They frankly, would be correct too because it would happen! I’ve seen their future already, it would surely happen!”“That will never happen!” Ezra hissed, clenc
ANNABELLE“Then my life is yours,” Ezra said, dropping to his knees right in front of me and bowed his head in defeat.I struggled to mask the shock I felt within me and not let it show on my face. When I demanded his life, I expected him to act the way he did the first time I marched into his throne room. Defiant, arrogant and so sure he could bend me to his will. I thought he would refuse, fight back, or try to talk his way out of it. But now, it seemed he finally understood that I wasn’t bluffing. I wasn’t here to make deals or be swayed. I had made up my mind. I was the one in control now, and there would be no negotiating.Maybe it finally hit him when I killed Elder Matthew right in front of everyone, and then, without a second thought, used his bones to hunt down the other elders who were still scrambling around the throne room like scared animals. Bloody fools. They were strong werewolves. Old, but strong. If only they were smart as I thought, they could have used their stren
ANNABELLE“You’re not Annabelle! Annabelle would never have done all these terrible things! She was a good woman who loved me and my kids!” he shouted, his voice laced with anger. It was as if he was mad that I would claim to be sweet Annabelle. Innocent foolish Annabelle who wanted his love. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to tell him that I was the innocent Annabelle. The real Annabelle would have never accepted to be with him and his kids. She wanted nothing to do with him. I hated that I was the good Annabelle! I hated that I fell in love with this vile man standing before me.I tilted my head slightly, a sly smile playing on my lips. “Oh? But you would have done even worse, wouldn’t you? Why do you think you’re the only one capable of evil?”His mouth opened, then closed. He had no response.I stepped closer, my eyes locked onto his. “You see, Ezra. Everybody has some degree of darkness in them and they only need a reason to let it all out. Oh wait, you don’t need a reason to be wicked
ANNABELLE“Wow… such a lovely speech, Elder Matthew,” I drawled, a slow, mocking clap accompanying my words as I sauntered toward them. I stopped a few feet away. Close enough to unsettle them, but far enough to react quickly if anyone dared to make a move on me. I wasn’t foolish enough to trust that they wouldn’t.Ezra’s snarl cut through the tense silence. “How long have you been here?” he growled, his voice rough and tinged with a dangerous edge. His eyes flared gold, his wolf straining against the surface.Perfect.Ezra rarely let his control slip. Cold, calculating, and infuriatingly stubborn, he only acted when it suited him. The most he’d ever given me was the kiss to my feet, and only because he had no other choice and was desperate for answers at the time. He was a man who needed to believe he was the one making the decisions. Poor thing. He still hadn’t realized that no matter what choices he thought he had, I was the one pulling the strings now.I could see the battle ragin
EZRAThe spell Melucia had chanted as fire consumed her whole still rang in my brain, a curse etched into the very marrow of my bones.“By the flames that take my flesh,I rise anew from fire’s breath.Your hate shall feed my wrath untamed,In death, I live, your souls I claim.As I burn, so shall you,From this pyre, my power grew.The smoke you breathe, the ash you tread,I will return, the unforgiven dead.My blood, my bones, your fuel to light,But in your dreams, I shall ignite.Curse your lands, your lives, your kin,From my ash, the dark begins.”The elders had spoken of it for years, laughing and saying it would never be possible since they watched her burn before they eyes and then they buried her remains with their hands. Even though I hadn’t been there the day Melucia and the last of her coven were burned, those words were burned into me and remained with me for all these years.“I will return, the unforgiving dead,”Her words, even now, echoed through my mind. This particu
EZRA“Alpha, we need to do something about what’s happening in the pack.”I lifted my head slowly, my body heavy with exhaustion.“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, my voice coming out as weak as I felt, “I’ve tried to speak to the witch, all to an avail. She’s been playing with me, toying with us all,” The witch treated all of this like a game. The elders said they’d seen her watching my people suffer, laughing—no, cackling—as if their pain were entertainment. If only I could have strangled her when she came to me the other day then all of this would have been over but I couldn’t do it. Not when she had my kids with her. I shook my head, refusing to let the thoughts of my missing children cloud my mind. I needed to be level headed if I were to find a solution.“Then we find another way. Contact another witch and…” Elder Matthew stopped abruptly when elder Lazarus shot him a sharp, warning look. He looked away after that but what he said has gotten my attention already and elder L
QuinnEven after I’d emptied the contents of my stomach, again, I still felt nauseous. My body trembled, my skin clammy and cold, but it wasn’t the sickness that had me this way. It was fear. Dread.Everyone knew Alpha Ezra was ruthless. Cold. Capable of things most alphas wouldn’t even consider. But if someone had told me he’d been involved in the war between the werewolves and the witches, I wouldn’t have believed it. No way. Not him. Not back then.That war happened over ten years ago. If what Madonna had said was true, he would’ve been nothing more than a teenager when it all went down. Eighteen, maybe nineteen. Still practically a boy. What the hell was he doing in a war between witches and werewolves?I rubbed at my arms, trying to shake the chill that had settled deep in my bones.Yes, I knew the bloodline he came from. His ancestors loathed witches, and his father—gods, his father was a madman in every sense of the word. But Ezra wasn’t his father. At least… I thought he wasn’
QuinnThere was only one chair in my garden. One I use to sit when I needed to rest. I asked Madonna to sit in it but she refused and said if there was anyone who needed to bed seated, it was me. It made me suspect that whatever made her come to me after all these years apart, my mind would be blown.“I don’t know if you’ve heard anything. I cannot be too sure but BlackClaw pack has been taken under control by a vengeful witch,”“I’ve heard about it,” I released a deep sigh, “I was planning on contacting you because of it,”“You were?” She asked.“Yeah, I was going to do it yesterday but something came up. I was just thinking about it again when you appeared. It was almost as if thinking too much about you summoned you,”Madonna nodded as she began to pace in front of me. My sister was deeply troubled. Seems like what was going on in Ezra’s pack is more than what we’ve heard. My heart began to thud hard and fast against my rib cage as fear threatened to overwhelm me at the thought of