LOGINIliana’s POV:The entire next day felt unusually long. And every time I glanced at the clock, disappointment followed when I realized only a few more minutes had passed.“So, a date, hmm?” Thea teased me for the hundredth time.I rolled my eyes at her, “Please don't make me regret telling you.”Turning away so she wouldn’t catch the ridiculous smile stretching across my face, I bit down on my lip. Because the truth was…I was excited. Genuinely and embarrassingly excited.A date. The word alone sent a flutter through my chest.The whole night, I stayed awake in his arms mulling about today, and as soon as Thea returned this morning, I relayed everything to her in a single breath.My glance drifted to the clock again.Thea snickered, “Relax, girl. I have lost count of the number of times you’ve looked at the clock.”I groaned in response, “Why is every minute crawling like an hour?”It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I had survived being stalked. I had survived finding severed fi
Iliana’s POV:It was a Friday night, and my room was as messy as a battlefield right after a gruesome battle. Clothes were piled over the bed, shoes were scattered around the floor, and my vanity was brimming with makeup because apparently, my best friend, Thea, was going on a date tonight.Her parents had to go abroad for business, but their trip was canceled at the last minute. So, she put her clothes in the handbag and told them that she’d be staying at mine tonight.Seeing her getting ready, I felt a weird pang in my chest. How normal it was for her to plan a date night, go out to a nice restaurant, eat, chat, and even make out like any normal couple. So normal and yet so opposite to what I had.“What are you thinking?” My head spun to Thea as she asked me.I didn’t need to hide my feelings from her. In fact, she was the only one I could share anything with. So, sitting on the edge of the bed, I smiled sadly, “That how good it must feel to go on a date.”She looked at me through t
Maddox’s POV:I had no intention to stay a minute longer than we needed to, but upon Mark’s insistence, Eldric agreed that we all moved to the pack house for a civilized chat.But as soon as we all settled down, I turned to face Mark, “Go on now.”His shoulders were stiff with tension as he dug out the secrets buried deep within his memories, “The night your pack attacked the Shadow Hunters Pack and killed their Alpha, Derek Lyserian, his beta, Tyler Adams, knew that they were outnumbered and there was no use in continuing the fight. Hence, he made a choice to leave the battlefield and flee away with Derek’s only heir, Zelda Lyserian, to protect her in order to fulfill his last duty and promise to his late alpha.”As he talked about that night, my mind flooded with flashbacks. That was the first fight I took part in at Eldric's insistence. I was hardly 15 years old at that time, but he pressed that after my father’s murder, it was important for me to make a militant appearance.My att
Maddox’s POV:The very next day, Eldric and I headed toward the Crescent Pack. Caleb didn’t join us because Eldric suspected that all three of us being absent at the same time would raise the questions we couldn't deal with right now.Earlier today, Eldric had sent the word to the Crescent Pack about our arrival. At noon, we were there to get some answers after a long, long while.As the car skidded to a halt outside the metal gates, my gaze swept across the territory with silent calculation. The Crescent Pack seemed nothing like the Midnight Howlers Pack.It was small. Not weak enough to be insignificant, but nowhere near powerful enough to stand against a dominant pack like ours.The guards rushed toward our car to open the doors. Unease crippled under my skin as I hopped out and stood at the last known location of Tyler Adams and Zelda Lysarian.With every breath I took, my lungs constricted with restless agitation. The air was suffocating for me as I could feel the scent of my fat
Iliana’s POV: It was 3 am. He didn’t come tonight, and I kept tossing and turning on the bed, wondering why it bothered me so much. It felt like my soul was pacing restlessly in an endless void. My skin itched, desperate to feel his warmth. I was at my home and yet it didn’t feel like one. We were neither officially together nor were we actually dating…and yet having him by my side every night had become more like a routine...a ritual. Turning over, I faced the window beside my bed and wondered why I craved him like that. I missed the way his scalding breath made my skin shudder or the way his touch made me feel things I never knew were even possible. I hated it. I hated how incomplete I felt without him. I shouldn’t have let him get closer to me and yet I allowed him to consume me whole. I always knew it would happen and yet didn’t have it in me to push him away. And now… Suddenly, my mind went blank as my eyes caught a moving shadow in the window. My breathing hitched as a dar
Maddox’s POV: We all left the pack house at different times of the night and even took different paths to reach our destination. By the time I reached the cottage, Eldric was already there. Guards stationed outside the cottage for the witch’s protection bowed at my appearance, “Alpha,” they all said in unison. I nodded in acknowledgement before inquiring, “Anything I need to know about the witch?” One of them stepped forward to answer, “Nothing particular, Alpha. She had been cooped up inside the cottage for the last two days. This morning, she gave us a list and asked us to bring her some essentials from the market. We did that, after Eldric’s approval.” After another nod, I flung the door open and sauntered inside. Eldric, who had been pacing the floor restlessly, came to a sudden halt, “What took you so long?” “The fact that I had to make sure that no one was following me,” I shot back nonchalantly. Breezing past him, I walked deeper into the cottage, only to find Mene
Maddox’s POV: Ever since Derek Lysarian’s blade spilled my father’s blood and chains of paralysis bound my mother to a state of silence and stillness, I’d neither called nor ever considered the pack house a HOME. No, it never felt like one. It was a cage with no sense of belonging. A labyrinth bri
Maddox’s POV:With a heavy silence lingering between us, we made our way out of the university. Iliana was walking ahead of me.Lights around the campus were off now except for little bulbs here and there but it was enough for her to look at my face if she were to turn around.But she didn’t. Not e
Iliana's POV: Intertwining my fingers through his, I tightened my grip on his hand and tiptoed deeper into the shadows. For once, I was leading and he was obeying...and something about that made me feel overwhelmingly powerful. At the end of the hallway, hidden behind the rows of shelves, was a l
Iliana’s POV: The next morning, I opened my eyes and the first thing I felt was soreness between my legs. A deep blush crept up my neck as the images of last night flooded my mind. Last night, he had fucked me against the wall and then took me again on the bed. We fucked until my moans ran dry and







