Lily POVThe words hit me like a punch to the gut. I froze, my hand hovering over a jar I’d been about to place on the shelf. “What?” I asked, unable to hide the surprise in my voice.He was watching me closely now with a blank look on his face. “You heard me. Vanessa and Lucas are holding their mating ceremony soon. Guess he’s moved on from his little obsession with you.”My stomach twisted. The idea of Lucas being with Vanessa felt… strange. I wasn’t jealous – far from it. But Vanessa was the exact opposite of who Lucas was. She was wild, the kind of wild I didn’t know if he could handle. They were so mismatched – different personalities and all.Kai tilted his head, studying me. “You don’t seem too upset about it,” he remarked.I shot him a strange look. “Why would I be? Lucas and I are ancient history.”His smirk faded, replaced by a more serious expression. “Then why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”My gaze dropped to the floor. “Of course, I’m worried about Vanessa my sist
Lily POVI tried not to react.Normally, a wolf’s scent wouldn’t linger on another unless they’d been intimate – sexually. The idea was wild but it made a strange kind of sense. Briella had been unusually quiet since her sudden departure from the pack – there’s been nothing on her socials and Kevin seemed different.Were they now dating?My eyes narrowed slightly as I stared at him. He must have noticed my probing gaze because instantly, his expression hardened into something more cautious. “What?” he asked warily.“Nothing,” I shook my head, trying to mask my surprise. “Just… thinking.”He crossed his arms. “Thinking about what? Come on, tell me already. You didn’t just come here to read, did you?”I hesitated, my mind still trying to to understand what could be going on between Kevin and Briella but it wasn’t in my place to pry – at least not now. Instead, I decided to change the topic.“I don’t see any books in your hand. This is not your regular hangout, Kevin. What are you doing
Lily POVDeciding not to think too much, I started sorting through the files.A moment later, I look up to find the old woman staring at me not when pity but in admiration. Her eyes crinkled with warmth.“You’re a hard worker,” she remarked “Just like your mother.”The mention of my mother made me pause again. I looked up at the woman, feeling my curiosity piquing. “You said before you knew her,” I said quietly. “On my first day in your office, you told me. What did you mean?”The old lady smiled but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she adjusted her glasses and began arranging some papers on her desk. “Your mother was a remarkable woman,” she said finally. “Strong, kind and full of determination. You remind me of her.”My chest tightened. It wasn’t much, but any scrap of information about my mother felt like a lifeline. “How did you know her?” I pressed.The woman sighed, leaning back in her chair. “We crossed paths many years ago, in a different time and place. I'm afraid I can’t
Lucas POVToday was my mating/marking ceremony with Vanessa Stone – Lily’s sister.This was the only way I knew I could lure out whatever secrets Vanessa and her father were hiding. This way, I’d be able to help Lily and when she discovers the lengths, I’ve gone to get her, she would appreciate me more.The pack gathered in the packhouse compound with a few visitors as guests. I had insisted I didn’t want anything flamboyant. Since the union will not be lasting, I wanted to make sure none of the guest would leave with an impression that what we had would be together forever.The air was thick with the scent of freshly turned earth. I stood tall at the makeshift altar with the Moon Priest who would join us. My dark eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on Vanessa who was walking towards me. Her eyes were still puffy from crying as I had cancelled most of her last-minute add-ons. Still, she managed a smile.She wore a simple white dress, her hair cascading down her back. She was beau
Lily POVFor me, the last two weeks have been hell.The frustration from my mounting school work, Kai’s distance - basically fourteen days of scattered text messages and brief phone calls that felt more like an obligatory check-in than conversations with him and his excuse was ‘I’m busy, Lily. I have a lot of work piling up. I’m sorry.’At first, it was not a big deal for me since I was busy too with schoolwork and all but I was beginning to miss him so much.So tonight, I decided, I’d had enough of waiting for him to come to me. If he couldn’t make time for a date, I would bring the date to him. After classes, I packed an overnight bag and drove to the pack house, hoping to surprise him.The house was quiet when I arrived. Usually, Kai didn’t like servants in his living quarters of the pack house. They only came in to clean the house, make his food etc., so I wasn’t surprised. I settled myself in and then headed straight to the kitchen, an idea already forming in my mind.Kai’s favou
Kai POVI stretched lazily, slowly coming awake.This was the best sleep I’ve had in a long while. As I yawned and stretched some more, my initial grogginess faded making me notice a soft and steady breathing beside me. Turning my head, I was shocked to see Lily lying beside me. Her hair was spread across the pillow, she looked like a baby in her sleep.I closed my eyes trying to remember when she came in, then slowly, everything came to me. She welcomed me last night and told me she made my favourite meal. Sighing, I reached out to push back a strand of hair on her face.She looked so serene, so perfect, that my heart gave an unexpected lurch.My wolf – Hud stirred within me as a primal need surged through me urging me to pull her closer and bury myself in her scent. The thought of that alone was intoxicating but I clenched my fist and forced myself to take a deep breath. This wasn’t the right time – not when I was battling my own uncertainties and hidden memories.Sliding carefully
Lucas POVThe warm glow of the bedside lamp bathed the room in soft, golden hues as I pulled out of Vanessa and lay on the plush pillows, I was spent but my wolf was satisfied.Although Vanessa was not our fated mate she was good in bed… I would give her that at least. Her fingers traced lazy patterns across my chest, stopping now and again to press open-mouthed kisses on where her fingers had just traced but my mind was elsewhere – on Lily.I wondered what she was doing now. All attempts to get a spy into Alpha Kai’s pack had proved abortive and not knowing what she was up to every day was killing me. I closed my eyes, trying to picture her smile, her beautiful eyes that would look up at me with smiles in them…Back when she was still innocent.. when she was still my Lily. The last time we’d met, she’d been cold. She had gazed back at me blankly, without any emotion. The problem was, no matter how much intimacy I shared with Vanessa, my thoughts always circled back to Lily.I have to
Kai POVI cradled the lady in my arms, gazing at her. This was definitely the face of the woman I’d been seeing in my visions. The eyes, the nose, the lips, everything about her was familiar.I felt a close affinity with her, even though everything was just so mysterious. But at least, I knew her name—Maya, and that was something.A while later, the ambulance arrived and the Para-healers that had come with it gave her first aid, after which they strapped her onto a stretcher and loaded her behind the van.“She’ll be fine, Alpha,” one of the Para-healers said assuring. “Her vitals are good, although she has loosed a lot of blood, but she’ll be fine. We’ll take her to the pack hospital immediately.”I nodded. “Thank you so much for coming at such short notice.”“No problem, Alpha. I’ll give you feedback on how everything goes from here on.”“You don’t need to do that,” I brushed past him, hoisting myself to the back of the ambulance “Because I’m going with you to the hospital.”The Para
Kai POVI shrugged. “But it’s true, Kai,” she turned to face me. “I still don’t understand. If all of these happened, why did that part of memory had to be suppressed?”I closed my eyes, letting the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place. “Because it was necessary. Mother had Healer Odin block my memories after I went completely mad under the
Kai POVCeleste was quiet for a long moment, processing this revelation. "There has to be a way to break it," she finally said. "Some kind of counter-spell or ritual.""Maybe," I conceded. "But until we find it, I can't risk being near Lily. The curse is designed to destroy any chance I have at happiness with my true mate. Serena made sure that even in death, she would have her revenge."
Kai POVThe dream shifted again, pulling me forward through time to a memory I had buried deep within my subconscious. This time, I was in my bedroom in the pack house. Moonlight was streaming through the windows, casting shadows across rumpled sheetsSerena lay beside me, her dark hair spread across the pillow like a fan. We had just finished making love, and I felt the familiar haze of
Kai POVHealer Odin cleared his throat, a subtle reminder that I was holding this stranger—my mate—for longer than was appropriate. Heat crept up my neck as I realized how it must look, and I gently helped her settle back onto the bed, though my wolf protested the loss of contact."I should ask you some questions," I said, trying to regain my composure as Alpha. "For our records."
Kai POV"Alpha, this is not wise," Liam warned as I carried Serena to our camp, her small form still unconscious in my arms. "She could be leading the rogues to us.""She's not a rogue," I insisted, my steps steady despite my warriors' apprehensive glances. "She's been attacked by them.""Or she's a trap," Marcus, my grandfather added. "We don't know who she is."
Kai POVDarkness covered me like a heavy blanket, thick and suffocating. I tried to open my eyes, to move, to breathe, but my body wouldn't respond. Was I dead? Did I fail to protect Lily? Did that bastard take her again? I tried to listen again for Lily’s voice, wishing I could just open my eyes. But all I could hear was something—distant beeping, muffled voices, and beneath it all, a familiar heartbeat. Lily. My wolf stirred at the sound, but we remained trapped in this void between consciousness and oblivion.Then, like a projector flickering to life, images began to form in the darkness. A forest, bathed in afternoon sunlight. The scent of pine and earth filled my nose, so vivid I could have sworn I was really there. My men flanked me in formation as we tracked rogue scents through the forest.Three years ago. Before I had met Lily. Before my memories shattered.The dream swept me into the scene completely, and suddenly I was there, living it again as if for the first time.I was
Lily POVEverything hurtBrightness. That was the first thing I became aware of—a harsh, glaring light that seemed to pierce straight through my eyelids. Pain followed, radiating from what felt like every inch of my body, a dull, persistent throb that intensified with each shallow breath.I tried to open my eyes, but they felt sealed shut, heavy and uncooperative. My mouth was dry,
Kai POVI had no time to dwell on it. The silver wound on my flank burned like fire, joining the chorus of injuries from my fight with Lucas. But Lily needed me, and nothing would stop me from reaching her."Kai!"I turned at the sound of my name, surprised to see my cousin Kevin rushing through the trees toward me. He came to an abrupt halt as he took in the scene—two dead assassin
Chapter 151Kai POVI stood in front of the French window of my office, my breathing ragged, blood was still seeping from the wounds Lucas had inflicted. Vanessa had sent me pack to my pack earlier after reluctantly agreeing to help search for her sister after seeing the evidence of Lucas's betrayal, but we had no solid leads on where he might have taken Lily.